



Staff writer Ben Wieber recently caught up with The Plot In You vocalist Landon Tewers as they discussed the band’s forthcoming follow-up album to Could You Watch Your Children Burn, how Tewers’ new solo project got started, favorite horror films, and much more.

MEB: Can you introduce yourself and your role in the band?

Landon Tewers: My name is Landon and I do vocals.

You guys have had a new album in the works for a while now, how’s that coming along?

Yeah, it’s been a work in progress for the past year, almost year and a half. I’ve got about 17 songs written. About eight with vocals. The goal is to write at least 20 to 25 and pick the best for the next album. I try to keep the mindset that every record could easily be the last, and this is definitely the most effort I’ve put into my songwriting. I just really want this to be the best thing we’ve put out, give people a record they can latch onto for a long time.

What direction are you hoping to take on this release musically compared to your past records?

The overall theme and vibe is still pretty dark, but there’s also some tracks that I think will catch people by surprise. The only word that really describes what I’m aiming for is “bigger”. A lot of experimenting with percussion and just new sounds in general. A lot of focus went into creating a unique sound that will hopefully set us apart from what’s currently being done in our genre.

Could You Watch Your Children Burn was pretty heavily focused on anti-religious themes, but I know you’ve mentioned that you’re not really going to touch on this topic anymore. What provoked that change, and what will be the lyrical focus this time around?

Most of it so far is about drug addiction, struggles with family and friends, and depression. I feel like I’ve said what I wanted to say about religion, and got to blow off steam about other things that had pissed me off. But now I really wanna put the focus back on something that’s more relevant to my life and hopefully others. Not everyone has dealt with drug addiction, but a lot of people can relate to feeling lost and hopeless at times. It’s a side of myself I haven’t been very open about so I’m hoping that’ll give the listeners a new perspective.

What, in your opinion, makes The Plot In You stand out from other heavy bands? What do you want your band to be known for?

I always have a hard time answering this question. I guess what sets us apart is the same thing that sets any band apart. We’re just a different group of people with different upbringings, and musical backgrounds. I just want us to be remembered for being a band that pushed limits on things. Stepped outside the box a little and maybe said some things others would be too afraid of. I hate boundaries in music and it’s fun to see what brutally honest terrible shit you can say in a song and get away with. Haha. I still can’t believe I’ve gotten away with some of the twisted shit I’ve said.

In other news, you’ve recently started a solo project. What can you tell us about that?

Yeah it’s a good time. Most of it was written while fucked up in one way or the other. It’s cool because there’s a lot of topics that I can finally write about and it’s not weird. Like for instance, I’ve always wanted to write a really disgusting sex song. That couldn’t have worked with Plot, but the solo shit doesn’t have any limitations. I self release it so I can literally say WHATEVER I want and no one can do shit about it. Any time I get lyrical inspiration and it doesn’t fit Plot, I have this to fall back on.

And you’ve even got a small tour for your solo material coming up soon. How’d that come about?

It was really random actually. I posted that I wanted to book some solo shows for the summer. A booking agent named Doug hit me up about doing a week in Canada with Winds In Sail. I said yes, we started talking, he started handling my booking, ended up adding like 12 more shows to the little “tour”. I’m not expecting much from it, it’ll just be fun to play this shit live for a few people that like it.

Most of your music, whether it be The Plot In You or your solo stuff, tends to be pretty dark when it comes to lyrics and overall atmosphere. I feel like the horror genre has inspired a bit of the imagery in your music, and as a big horror buff myself, I’m curious what your favorite horror film is.

That’s awesome to hear you say that. I am a horror movie fiend. There’s a movie called Martyrs, I believe it’s from the early 2000s. That movie gets me every time. So sad and could totally happen in real life. The movie A Serbian Film actually inspired a lot of the music from my solo EP. The soundtrack to that movie is unreal.

What are your other main influences when it comes to writing music, and who is the most influential musician/band in your life?

Everyone says this but seriously, I don’t listen to heavy music often anymore. There are only two heavy bands I ever jam. George Carlin is a huge influence to me because he always said what he wanted to say, no matter what people would think. Musically I think Tom Waits is one of the most talented songwriters in history. He inspires me so much.

What are your touring plans looking like for the rest of 2014?

We’re doing a tour with Chimaira in August and that’ll be interesting. There’s talk of fall tours but nothing set in stone as far as plot goes. Possibly something REALLY sick for my solo stuff but I can’t say much about that yet. We’ll see!

Alright, for 30 seconds, you get to broadcast a message to every human in the world. What do you say?

FUCK HER RIGHT IN HER PUSSY!

Any last words for your fans?

Sorry I’m an extremely slow songwriter. We’re hoping to put something out this fall to hold you over for the next record. Thanks for supporting us.

