With their infectiously catchy new EP Homecoming out now, Long Island pop-punk group, This Is All Now have really come into their own. Admittedly their most honest release to date, Homecoming is full of upbeat summer anthems and inspirational lyricism that is sure to hit home with many listeners, both old and new. We caught up with guitarist Louie Malpeli recently to chat about the new EP, the changes they’ve gone through as a band and This Is All Now’s plans for the future. Read the full interview below and check out their music video for “24 Hour Nights” featuring Jason Lancaster of Go Radio and Mayday Parade!
Interview by Shannon Shumaker
First off, congrats on the release of Homecoming! How does it feel now that the EP is finally out?
Thanks!! All of us are very excited about it! We’ve been working hard all winter down in Atlanta at ZK Productions really honing in on our sound and what we feel is our best songwriting and musicianship yet! It feels great that the world can finally hear Homecoming and all we’ve been working on.
You’ve mentioned that this EP shows the true colors of This Is All Now after years of experimenting with your sound, so how do you feel that you’ve grown or matured with this release?
Our first EP, Supernova was very organic. Okan and myself just started This Is All Now and didn’t expect it to take off so fast the way it did (Shortly after its release we jumped on tour with Allstar Weekend). Following up with the other releases, Live It Up and Nightmare respectively, we first tried to sound like what we thought would broaden our fan base and popularity but over the years we’ve come into our own. With Homecoming we are finally back to that organic songwriting but with much more meaningful content that we’re really proud of.
Was there anything you wanted to be able to accomplish with Homecoming that you haven’t had the chance to with your previous releases?
Absolutely! With Homecoming we feel we were able to dig deep with our songwriting and show off both the honest and the party side of us that our fans are used to. It’s by far the most honest This Is All Now record to date.
How was working with ZK Productions for this release?
Working with ZK Productions was absolutely phenomenal! They truly shared our vision of the album bringing out the best of our musicianship and it really shows on the recordings. From the second we walked in we didn’t feel like strangers, ZK Productions was the best and most fun experience we’ve ever had recording a record.
I personally really love the “realness” (if that’s what you want to call it) on this EP. You’ve got your party songs, but you’ve also got some more serious tracks like “Voices.” Can you talk a little bit about that song? It’s definitely an inspirational one.
Thanks a lot! That’s exactly what we wanted to show the listeners on this album, the honest This Is All Now. “Voices” is definitely an inspirational song and it means a lot to us because of all it represents. It represents our struggles and experiences coming up in the scene, realizing we shouldn’t conform to fit and to fight off the negativity. It also relates to our listeners because it evokes strength and passion, assuring that we all can co exist and overcome anything.
You also have a song with Jason Lancaster on the EP called “24 Hour Nights,” which you also released a music video for. How was working with Jason on this track?
Working with Jason Lancaster was a very rewarding experience for us. From the minute we met and entered the studio we figured out the concept of turning a 12 hour day into the feeling of a 24 hour night. The song came together so smoothly and it was an absolute pleasure working together. We all grew up listening to Mayday Parade and Go Radio so it was very humbling.
The music video for “24 Hour Nights” is awesome as well! Can you tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind the video?
Thanks a lot! That video was so much fun to shoot! The inspiration behind the video is to really bring home the fact that life can take people down different roads at times. That sometimes there isn’t much time to spend with those you love. This video emphasizes the importance of making the best of your time with those people to make those 12 hour days feel like 24 hour nights.
What would you like listeners to be able to take away from Homecoming?
We want listeners of Homecoming to be able to take us with them anywhere and everywhere life takes them. We want all those familiar with our band to remember why they fell in love with us at the same time gaining a new audience through our honest and feel good party songs. We want to be able to relate to our fans and continue to spread the message of This Is All Now.
Now that the EP is out, what are your plans for the rest of the year looking like? Could we expect some more tour dates in the future?
Now that Homecoming is out we’re gonna be following the 5 Seconds Of Summer tour starting in Las Vegas and ending in Florida this Summer! We’ll be promoting Homecoming and hoping to make some new fans and friends along the way! After the 5SOS tour we’re planning to revisit all those areas we hit and urge all to be on the lookout for tour dates! We hope to see all the new faces we meet this summer again on tour this fall!
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Anytime!! Be sure to pick up your copy of Homecoming off iTunes, check out our NEW website Thisisallnowband.com , watch our NEW music video for 24 hour nights on FUSE/VEVO and we hope to see you out on the road this summer!
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