Ricky Sans Onwards And Upwards
How Melee Are Feeling The Pace But Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way
In the final part of our interview series, Ricky Sans of Melee talks to Suite101about hectic touring schedules, exhaustion, and why they wouldn't swap it for the world.
- Genre: indie / pop / rock
- Chris Cron (vocals / keyboards / guitar), Ricky Sans (guitar / vocals), Ryan Nalloy (bass / vocals), Mike Nader (drums)
- Sounds like: Keane, Ben Folds Five, Coldplay
- Home: Orange County, California
- Melee
Sunshine In Dark Places
Coming from the sunshine state of Orange County, California and with music giant Warner Bros currently promoting their new album Devil's & Angels (which will be reviewed on Suite101 soon), it's easy to understand why the music of Melee is so upbeat and undeniably happy. Yet this isn't just another run-of-the-mill Californian band singing about sun, sea and all other connotations; songs about mental problems and suicidal thoughts stand Melee out from many of their contemporaries.
Currently on a massive North American tour that runs until the end of May before hopefully hitting the UK in June, Melee recently played in Toronto where Suite101 caught up with guitarist and co-songwriter Ricky Sans to discuss the darker side of pop rock. Here, in the final part of this special interview, Ricky talks about the tough touring schedule with Melee, but how they wouldn't have it any other way.
Ricky Sans Interview Part 5: No Rest For The (Not So) Wicked
Suite: We were talking about touring earlier, and on that side, you've been part of the Warped Tour before. How did you find that experience?
Ricky: It wasn't the best experience we've had to start with (laughs). I mean, the bands on that type of bill are a lot heavier than we are. It was really different, and there were a lot of times when we felt that we didn't fit in. We actually did that tour because of the punk background the indie label we were on had, and there are only so many tours available for you to get on. But it was also good for us; it helped us break new ground and gave us three solid months of touring.
Suite: Now the current tour's until the end of May, is that right?
Ricky: Yeah, this part of the tour ends this week, then we have a week off, then it's back on the road on April 23rd until the end of May on our own tour, then hopefully into the UK from June onwards.
Suite: Not a lot of rest in-between then?
Ricky: No, we've pretty much been non-stop since the beginning of this year. It definitely takes its toll on you, for sure, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
Suite: Has the constant touring since your debut changed the way you write songs at all, or is the process the same? You hear bands finding they struggle to write new songs on the road.
Ricky: No, we're lucky in that we've got a great formula for writing songs, and that's continued even on the road. If anything, it's actually helped us hone our craft more, as we've become better and tighter musicians whilst on the road for such a long period. Each song we write, we try to better ourselves as songwriters and musicians, and playing live every night definitely allows you to do that. We know we'll never get it perfect, but as long as we do the best we can every time, we'll be happy.
