Hyland | Just In Time
It may be easy to brush off another Tooth & Nail addition that flows in the way of mainstays such as The Classic Crime or Hawk Nelson, who, some of us are just growing a bit tired of. On the other hand, don’t we all miss dearly the days of Acceptance and early Anberlin? I know I do! Enter Hyland, a group of Minnesotans here to attempt the seemingly impossible and bring back the glory days of the label. This isn’t to say that Hyland is the savior or game changer that bands such as Anberlin was, but still, it’s nice to see a band paying homage to those who came before them. With their debut Weights and Measures hitting stores early this month, only time will tell if our skepticism can be laid to rest. Fingers crossed!
First off, you guys recently did some Acquire the Fire dates. Tell us about that experience?
Steve Weigel: Playing for ATF was amazing. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to go to ATF and never got the chance, so actually playing it and being a part of it was unreal. Met a ton of amazing people and hope we can be involved with ATF in the future!
For those who have yet to hear of Hyland, who would you compare your sound to?
SW: Anberlin, Jimmy Eat World, Tenth Ave North.
All Great Comparisons! You’re a part of a very catchy crop of new bands at Tooth & Nail. Walk us through how you were discovered by your label?
SW: A friend of ours, Josh Riggs, was interning at the studio where Aaron Sprinkle works his magic. We sent Josh a demo we were working on to see what he thought. Aaron heard it and loved it. He got a hold of us and told us he wanted to work with us and the easiest way for that to happen was for us to be signed to T&N. He asked if we minded if he pitched us to the label. Of course, we didn’t!! (Laughs) Less than a week later we had a record offer on the table. It was all God and we couldn’t be more stoked about that.
No doubt that you were already making waves with your EP which was produced by members of Skillet and Acceptance. How did you wrangle in such heavy hitters on such an early release?
SW: Actually Ben Kasica, of Skillet, contacted us via Myspace (funny right?? (Laughs) But seriously, Myspace ) He asked us if we wanted to work with him at his studio in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Coincidentally at the time we were looking for someone/somewhere to record our next EP. It worked out perfect!! “…there was quite a bit of pressure on us. Not necessarily from anyone, but something we probably put on ourselves.”
What have you seen as the biggest difference between the times when you were a DIY band to now where you have a good label backing you?
SW: The biggest difference is just support, financially and otherwise. It feels great to be able to record with a good budget and it’s amazing to know you have such good people behind you, cheering you on and supporting what you’re doing!
Talk to us about Weights and Measures. Being that is your T&N debut, was there a lot of pressure to make a big impact with your first record?
SW: Actually, yeah, there was quite a bit of pressure on us. Not necessarily from anyone, but something we probably put on ourselves. We have been waiting our whole lives (or at least the 4 1/2 years we’ve been a band (laughs)) to record a full length album that was going to be released nationally. We wanted to make sure we put our best foot forward.
What else can your fans be looking forward to this summer and fall?
SW: We are playing a TON of summer festivals all they way from Rock The Universe in Florida, to Sonshine in Willmar, MN, to both Creation East and West, and everywhere in between. Please come see us and say hi at 1 or 2 of those! After that September 1st - October 16th we will be on Music With A Mission Tour with Hawk Nelson, Superchick and Fireflight, a tour you’re not going to want to miss! Please come say hi, we like to meet anyone and everyone we possibly can!
Definitely! Thanks for talking with us!
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