dds are you’ve seen the name I Am Empire somewhere. The advertisements for their Tooth & Nail debut release Kings have been sprouting up in seemingly every music magazine and e-zine us fans can get our hands on. This has to make one wonder what all the fuss is about. I Am Empire is a welcome departure from what we’ve been seeing come out of the Seattle label in the past year or so but will they start a revolution? Will they bring the label back to the days of old when bands like As Cities Burn, Copeland and Anberlin reigned supreme? Well, I guess that’s for you guys to decide. Eager to hit the road, I suppose you’ll be seeing a lot more of I Am Empire in 2011. Eric and Austin of I Am Empire spoke with us prior to the January 25th release.
I know that you guys are not an overnight success but I was unable to find much about your beginnings. Can you fill us in on the history of I Am Empire?
I Am Empire: The band officially came together in August of 2008 under the name I Am Empire. We released our self titled record independently in April of 2009 and toured for the following two years. It was rough but we knew we had to tour. We showcased for various labels including Tooth and Nail at one point during those two years. In May 2010 we officially signed with T&N. We went to Nashville in June and spent 3 1/2 weeks with producer Rob Hawkins recording Kings. As soon as we came home we went back out on the road. Now, here we are in 2011 with a new record out in just a matter of weeks. We plan on touring the remainder of the year.
Kings is pretty diverse. Who are your collective influences music wise?
IAE: Some of our favorite bands include Queen, Jimmy Eat World, Van Halen, Switchfoot, My Chemical Romance, Brand New, and Future of Forestry.
Your single is “Saints and Sinners”. Give us some background about what this song is about?
IAE: The song is about confronting hypocritical behavior. It’s calling out people who think they are perfect in their ways when in reality none of us are perfect.
You guys have a certain swagger to your sound. How important is exuding that confidence and swagger while on stage?
IAE: It’s very important! Just standing there would be boring so we keep our swagger on every show.
I have yet to see your live show but what can fans expect?
IAE: You can expect to see madness. Expect to have your face melted.
Tooth & Nail seems to have been signing a lot of similar sounding bands lately but you guys stand out a bit. How did you grab their attention?
IAE: We spend the majority of our time out on the road playing shows and making connections. Also, a couple of our independently released singles did really well on the charts so I think that was the initial connection. We work really hard, and our manager works really hard, so I think Tooth realized that we have a really great team.
You guys have a few tracks on the record that are very spirit filled. How important is communicating your faith through your music?
IAE: We love talking to people after shows about life, God, and music. If they listen to the music and read the lyrics, they will find a very profound message.
What do your fans have to look forward to in the first part of 2011? Big tours coming up?
IAE: Shows! In February we are heading out with a couple of our label mates Children 18:3 and Hyland. After that we will be supporting a full US tour. We’ve also been confirmed for a number of music festivals across the country for the summer. We have multiple music videos that we will be releasing as well. Thanks! 
