PropertyOfZack Editor in Chief Erik van Rheenen sat down with Brian from The Front Bottoms a few weeks ago at SXSW. We chatted with Brian about SXSW, the reaction a year later to Talon Of The Hawk, writing new songs and writing on the road, touring for the rest of 2014, and much more. Check out the interview below! by Erik van Rheenen

Just to get started, can you say your name and what you do in the band?

Sure. My name is Brian, and I play guitar and sing in the Front Bottoms.



So, how’s your South By Southwest Experience been?

So far, it’s been pretty chaotic in the best way possible.



Yeah, you’ve played three showcases already.

The last time we played South By, we had like two shows a day, which was insane. So we decided, let’s pack three shows a day and take a day off. So we have two shows on Friday, we have today off, and we played three shows yesterday. I kind of like that schedule.



Do you switch your setlist up at all to keep yourselves sane?

You’ve got to mix it up. And it’s like, we figured there’d be the same people at some of our shows, so we should give the people what they want, you know? Switch it up a little.



Are you guys planning on playing “Burn Harvard Burn” at all?

That song, we recorded for a friend of ours who was making a movie. And we recorded it, like, two years ago, and then the movie just came out. So it’s just a song we did for a movie. Probably we will never play that live.



I didn’t know that song had been kicking around for that long.

Like I said, it was for a movie, so it really didn’t have anything to do with us. It’s more like we made it and then gave it to the movie, and it’s a long process to put out a movie. They had to get the money for it and stuff, and I think they just got a release date for it, so they put out the soundtrack with it, and we were lucky enough to be on the soundtrack. You know, it’s just a fun little ditty.



Speaking of movies, you guys just released a music video not all that long ago for “Backflip.”

That’s right, yeah.



It’s a blast to watch. How was it to film?

It was a lot of fun. It was like all of our friends, so it was great. Sometimes filming a music video, well, the way we do it, it’s not very professional, so hanging out with a bunch of friends while you’re doing it, it’s a great feeling.



And next month, you’re heading on tour with Brand New and Saves the Day. Are you guys excited for that?

Oh man, yeah. That’s going to be like a dream come true for us. It’s like, those shows are huge and I’m a huge fan of Brand New and Saves the Day, so to play with both of those bands is like, “oh shit.” It’s something else.



You guys have a crazy hectic touring schedule.

It’s been non-stop for a few years, just doing whatever we could to keep it real.



Do you get any writing done on the road?

Yeah, that’s like a pretty constant process when I have time off the road. I haven’t been home for more than a week in the last nine months, so it’s like a matter of being able to sit down and put all my thoughts together. So it’s a pretty constant process.



Is it easier for you to write at home instead of on the road?

I usually get a lot of the lyrical inspiration from the road, but when it comes to putting actual three-and-a-half minute songs together, I like to be able to sit down on my bed and just kind of do it, you know? So usually the final construction comes together at home. But all the inspiration is mostly from the road.



Talon of the Hawk came out just last year, and it feels like it’s really blown up since then.

Yeah, the reaction’s felt very positive. We’ve been on the road, like I said, for so long just constantly playing the songs, and more people have been coming each time. So it seems very positive, and I think the combination of us constantly touring and putting out a good record — something we all liked and could get behind — helped for sure.



I feel like a lot of people found out about us on Talon of the Hawk, so I feel like people have a connection with those songs, as I do. It’s nice to be able to share it with somebody.



The older stuff always goes over well, too — is it tough balancing what you play to please both old fans and new fans?

I think people usually are satisfied. We play a pretty good mix, so I don’t think people would be pissed. Sometimes people want us to play like, really old songs, which one day we will relearn how to play them and play them, but yeah, people always seem pretty satisfied. Hopefully, you know? At least nobody’s upset with me afterwards, that I know of.



What was up with the matching shirts at the Run For Cover showcase?

We have a buddy of ours who came down with us named Tony, to South By, and he bought us four matching shirts, so we were like, “we have to rock them.” The plan was to wear them for all the shows we did, but as people got drunker and spilled things on them — I pushed Matt into a tub of ice cream — I think just me and Tom had the shirts on by the end of the day. I like doing things like that too, wearing matching clothes and stuff like that. Just silly things that people can talk about.



Other than touring Europe, have any big plans for the rest of 2014?

Just taking it in stride and doing as much as we can. I just got a new apartment in Jersey City with Matt, and we haven’t had a place to live in like four years because we live on the road so much, so I’m going to go home and enjoy having my own room for the first time in my life. Try to write some new songs, tour obviously a lot more, that’s sort of our thing, and just kind of do it like that.