If Pierce the Veil has proven anything, it's that perseverance pays off. The post-hardcore band from San Diego played their earliest gig for an audience of ten kids. Six years and three albums later, they took the main stage at the Vans Warped Tour.
Much like The Kinks and Oasis before them, this outfit began as a family affair. Brothers Mike (drummer) and Vic Fuentes (front man) founded the group after the breakup of another act, Before Today. After recruiting Tony Perry on guitar and Jaime Preciado on bass, Pierce the Veil was born.
The band's strong suit has always been knowing who they are at their core and staying true to themselves through their lyrics and music - a lesson the Fuentes brothers learned from their father. Because of their solid foundation, these musicians can be flexible enough to go from playing pop-ier songs, like "Bulletproof Love," as well as harder material like "Caraphernelia," with ease. They've even recorded piano-driven music, such as "Stay Away From My Friends," which proves they can do many stylistic variations well.
"We're trying to challenge ourselves and do some new stuff, but at the same time, we always try and make the record sound like one whole, and not like eight different bands. I think with every record, we get a little closer to what we want," Vic told Alternative Press.
Pierce the Veil's debut album was 2007's A Flair for the Dramatic, followed by Selfish Machines in 2010 and Collide with the Sky in 2012. Jaime Preciado told us about the band's writing style and what life is like on tour.
Much like The Kinks and Oasis before them, this outfit began as a family affair. Brothers Mike (drummer) and Vic Fuentes (front man) founded the group after the breakup of another act, Before Today. After recruiting Tony Perry on guitar and Jaime Preciado on bass, Pierce the Veil was born.
The band's strong suit has always been knowing who they are at their core and staying true to themselves through their lyrics and music - a lesson the Fuentes brothers learned from their father. Because of their solid foundation, these musicians can be flexible enough to go from playing pop-ier songs, like "Bulletproof Love," as well as harder material like "Caraphernelia," with ease. They've even recorded piano-driven music, such as "Stay Away From My Friends," which proves they can do many stylistic variations well.
"We're trying to challenge ourselves and do some new stuff, but at the same time, we always try and make the record sound like one whole, and not like eight different bands. I think with every record, we get a little closer to what we want," Vic told Alternative Press.
Pierce the Veil's debut album was 2007's A Flair for the Dramatic, followed by Selfish Machines in 2010 and Collide with the Sky in 2012. Jaime Preciado told us about the band's writing style and what life is like on tour.
Dan MacIntosh (Songfacts): How do you typically come up with the songs that make it to the record?Jaime Preciado: Normally what happens is our vocalist (Vic Fuentes), he has skeletons of a lot of songs. And when we're in the studio we break all the songs down and start with little pieces, whether it be a riff or a vocal idea. And then the song pretty much goes from there. We try to just jam out the song as best we can, record it, listen to it again, then jam out again. Then the song pretty much builds itself. We show the producer what we have and then he kind of puts his two cents in. Then we build it again, and hopefully by that time, the song comes.
Songfacts: What do you typically contribute?
Jaime: When we're all working together is when I come up with riffs and things, because I'm a lot better at writing guitar riffs than I am at leading the whole song without the help of a band.
Songfacts: So you don't get involved in the lyrics or anything like that?
Jaime: No. Our singer, he loves having that. Because when he sings, he wants to be real passionate about it.
Songfacts: So it's got to grow from him.
Jaime: Exactly. And we let that process go 100% towards him. And he's been great so far.
Songfacts: Does he explain his songs through his lyrics? Do you know what they mean?
Jaime: Well, most of the time. And we'll know, because he's very personable and we've been there with situations he's had. So we kind of know already, before.
Songfacts: Give me a little bit history of the band, because I know your band's name, but I don't really know how long have you been a band?
Jaime: We've been a band about six years now. And it's a 4 piece from San Diego. We've just been touring ever since. We've just been non stop touring. We started out playing in front of like 10 kids, touring non stop, and then every show got better, every show got bigger, and now we're on main stage out at Warped Tour, so it's kind of crazy.
Songfacts: Does it seem different in San Diego than other places?
Jaime: I don't know if it's different, but we're lucky enough that it's such a big city that every touring division knows to do that. You know, I've heard a lot of camps in other cities all over the US that say bands can always go there.
Songfacts: This venue used to be a Marine Corps Air Station, and you're from San Diego, which has a strong military presence. Do you feel right at home?
Jaime: Anywhere in California for us. I mean, the weather is awesome. We were in Vegas yesterday, and we couldn't be outside for more than 10 minutes, it was awful. But all of California's been great to us. We're out here in beautiful weather, so we can't complain. I think the entire Warped Tour is always stoked when it comes to California.
September 27, 2012
More Song Writing
