Bree!

To start off, what's your name as well as the names of the other members of the band? What does everyone play?
Hi I'm Nick and I play guitar.
Pete sings and plays and guitar.
Ryan plays guitar and sings.
Seth plays bass.
James- plays drums.

Step Outside Yourself is set to come out at the end of August, how was the recording process as opposed to previous albums? Did the major label status help out or restrain the recording process?
This album was so much fun to make! We took our sweet time to pay as much attention to every song as much as we could! The major label status was definitely a huge factor in taking the time we needed to build this beast! They were supportive of our creativity but also pushed us to stay productive! It was rad!

Jumping from Lobster Records to Virgin Records seems like somewhat of a big jump, how did you guys come to the decision of taking the big step up to a major? How did you pick Virgin over other labels that were making offers? How has the major influenced the band thus far?
It is a nice step up for us but it felt really natural. Major labels and independent labels have a lot more in common these days than ever before so it doesn't feel so alien doing our thing while on a "major label" We chose virgin cause we got a great vibe from the whole team over there! Everyone welcomed us with open arms and we have made so many new friends out of it! Couldn't be more stoked!

How is Step Outside Yourself different from previous Over It albums in terms of the recording process, writing process, and general atmosphere?
This album is a new level for over it. We spent a lot more time in pre-production, we were albe to spend time in some really nice studios and we have this new candle fix so the atmosphere while we were recording was quite sexy!

Your good friends in Yellowcard went through a similar transition as your band is doing now, have they offered any advice on how to deal with the major label world?
They have always been cool to us and given us advice but every band has a different fate so as much as you can learn from another band you still have to find out for yourself. The bottom line is ya gotta stick to your guns!

Adding a third guitarist has beefed up your already booming live performance, what made the band decide to take this route? Is this a permanent pairing or is it just for live shows?
We decided to add Ryan to the band because not only is he a great friend but also an amazing musician and his addition definitely adds more color to our horizen! This is permanent!

Pete's vocals have gotten substantially better on every album, especially live. How does he practice and improve? Also, he is often compared to Dryden Mitchell of Alien Ant Farm, how does he respond to these comparisons?
Pete has just been taking care of his voice, he has been taking lessons in LA and has fun with it! You always gotta have fun with it! Haha that's a sweet compliment AAF rules! I think pete is flattered by comparisons to other good singers.

Silverstrand suffered from some very unfortunate events such as the loss of the master tapes, various pushed back release dates, and an extremely early leak, but the album seemed to do substantially better than Timing is Everything. Do you think that was because of the leak? How did it feel to be able to record an album and (not to jinx it) release it with no problems?
I don't think it was cause of the leak, we had just played more shows, done more tours and made more friends. I feel like there will always be problems, you gotta let the bad in with the good. Just take it as it comes....besides, the sweet just aint as sweet without the sour!

Does the band miss playing the faster songs, or have you grown out of that and embraced this more mature side shown through Silverstrand and Step Outside Yourself?
We love fast songs but SOY was what came out. When we write its all natural and just let the creative energy flow. You can't change the wind, you can only set sail

Your band seems to draw influences from many different genres, what's everyone listening to right now?
We love everything! We have been listening to the new Head Automatica, HIM, Goo Goo Dolls, George Gershwin, Against Me and Rascal Flatts. Pretty across the board huh?

It seems as though your move to California really influenced your sound. How has your move to the west coast changed the way you guys write music?
The move has given us so many experiences to write from. Just living life out there has inspired us and that's where a lot of these new songs came from. The west coast has given us perspective we may have never found had we stayed on the east coast.

So far, the promotion for Step Outside Yourself has been subtle, but the buzz is quite considerable, what's the promotional push going to be like when the record is released?
We are trying to build from the ground up! Move our way along from word of mouth to the big screen. Time will tell but count on seeing a lot of OVER IT

Every time Over It plays in Orange County lately, you guys seem to be getting a bigger and bigger crowd. How does it feel to finally be getting the praise you deserve? Also, how was warped tour?
Orange county is definitely another home. It feels really good to play there! Love it! Warped was awesome! So fun, so much work but worthwhile!

The band has been touring constantly, and improving your live show over the last 3 or 4 years since your move to the BEST coast. How do you guys keep busy on tour? How do you keep your live shows fun for you and the crowd?
We try to stay as active and busy as possible on tour! Playing record stores, high schools, radio stations as well as our evening club shows! We try to give it 110% everytime so the crown can feed off our energy. Come out to a show and find out! Holla

Any last words/sites to check out/bands to listen to? Thanks so much for the chance to question you! Check out Clear Static and Pictures in Pieces Oh and surfline.com Oh and STEP OUTSIDE YOURSELF on Aug 29! Thank you!!!!! --nick over it

Source

9/28 - La Jolla, CA - RIMAC Arena at UCSD
9/30 - Mountain View, CA - Download Festival
10/1 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
10/2 - Los Angeles, CA - Palladium
10/4 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
10/6 - Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
10/7 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s BBQ
10/8 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
10/9 - Tulsa, OK -Caine’s Ballroom
10/12 - Pompano, FL - Cinema
10/13 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
10/14 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
10/16 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial

Source: absolutepunk.net

I think this may be my new favorite site, and I am definitely going to contribute someday. Here is an article about the topic/site:

THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED

LOVE BREAKS HEARTS; WORSE, IT RUINS SONGS

By MANDY STADTMILLER
August 24, 2006 -- WE all have one. That song you can't listen to because it's the one that was playing when she broke your heart, or during that summer job you couldn't stand, or during the dental operation you'd prefer to forget. Now there's a Web site devoted to the concept of the "can't listen."

"People have lots of creative ways of ruining music for each other," says writer Mary Phillips-Sandy, 29, who with boyfriend Bryan Bruchman created the aptly titled Ruinedmusic.com to document such harrowing tales. "The idea is that you love music and then something happens to alter your appreciation. We think of our site as a way for people to get the story off their chest so they can listen to the song again."

So we asked musicians - from the legendary Paul Anka to electronic pioneer Moby to, well, Candlebox - to share their own stories of Ruined Music to accelerate the healing.

And if just one multiplatinum recording artist or 17-year-old pop wunderkind can find it in his heart to listen to that permanently banned mix tape again, our work here is done.

JUST LIKE EX-ILE

"In 1994, I was living with my girlfriend at the time. We were out one night and we heard 'Just Like Heaven' by the Cure, and she drunkenly mentioned that this had been the song that was playing when she first met the boyfriend whom she had been with before me. So whenever I've heard this song I've thought of the good times, which were invariably better than the times that she and I had together, that she had with her ex-boyfriend. It's a beautiful song, and it kills me that it's been ruined for me for 12 years."

- Moby, whose best-of collection will be released Oct. 24

GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES

"I can never listen to 'Blue Suede Shoes.'

"When I started out, I used to do impressions of Elvis Presley and other singers. One night I drove out to the Glenn Lee Nightclub, in Hull, Quebec, where they were holding amateur contests, and I wanted to do an Elvis Presley impersonation that night. So I bought a blue velvet suit, and went out to the nightclub - took my mother's car without her knowing it, got to the club, changed into the suit. I went on stage with my fake guitar and velvet suit, and at 15 years of age, started gyrating and doing all the Elvis moves. In the middle of the song, I gyrated right out of the suit - pants split all the way up the ass. I ran out and never went back. And, when I drove home in my mother's Austin Healey, there was a snow storm. I couldn't get the car out of second gear, blew the piston right through the engine roof. The car broke down. I then got picked up by the mounted police."

- Paul Anka, who is in the midst of recording "Rock Swings 2"

STAR-CROSSED FLING

"When I was 16 and in high school, my girlfriend and I thought (like every other couple in high school - surprise, surprise) we were the modern-day Romeo and Juliet because our families didn't want us dating. We always related to Pavement's song 'Silence Kit' and the line '. . . don't listen to your grandmother's advice about us.' This song became our motivation and salvation. Then we went to college and never spoke again."

- Gabe Saporta, of Cobra Starship, which plays the Knitting Factory on Sept. 19

COVER BLIND

"I met this girl backstage at one of our shows. Later that night we were hanging out on the tour bus when 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' came on. The moment had the potential of greatness - chilling with a beautiful girl, Dylan's throaty voice and sweet melody filling the room. Instead, five seconds into the track, she turns to me and says, 'Oh my God, who is this? I didn't know someone did a cover of Guns N' Roses.' When I explained that Bob Dylan originally wrote the song, all she would go on about was how Axl and Slash were gods. Needless to say, she was off that bus before the chorus. Now, every time I hear it, I'm reminded of a level of musical ignorance I didn't think possible."

- Peter Klett of Candlebox, which recently reunited

THE FORCED 'OUR SONG'

"My first boyfriend thought he was a poet. Wait, it gets worse. My first boyfriend thought he was a poet but he dreamed of becoming a mime. He also had a long blond ponytail. Henry was willing to drive me anywhere, so off we went, sans map or directions, just heading south with the assumption that we'd find a scenic coastal spot - you always do, if you head south in Maine. As is usual in driving situations, I wanted to listen to a tape. 'Oh yeah,' Henry said, fishing in the glove compartment. 'Um, I made a tape. We can listen to it.' The first song was Simon and Garfunkel singing 'Cecilia.' He took one hand off the wheel and grabbed my hand off my lap. 'This is our song,' he announced. His palm was sweaty.

"When I finally called it quits in the fall, he was so upset he began mailing me drawings of bursting eyeballs - no notes, just sketches of popping veins and detached retinas. Then he started calling my radio show every week, anonymously, to request Tool songs. (This was to let me know that in addition to being upset, he was angry). Ever since then, the sunny intro of 'Cecilia' has made me cringe."

- Mary Phillips-Sandy, co-creator of Ruinedmusic.com

GOT TOOTHBRUSH?

Blondie's 'The Tide Is High' was ruined by a single kiss. I was 13, and she was perfect in every way, as 13-year-old girls tended to be at the time. I had spent an eternity, possibly my entire life up to that point, plotting and planning my approach; I schemed and angled and carefully wrestled with the awkward geometry of courtship until we miraculously wound up in the darkened hall outside the school dance. Even muffled by the doors, the bouncing optimism of Blondie was soaring and anthemic, the perfect soundtrack for the universe to converge on this glorious moment. And then I kissed her, and she tasted of spoiled milk. My pubescent world imploded, and the song has never been the same."

- Damian Kulash, of OK Go, whose "Here It Goes Again" video - featuring the band dancing on treadmills - has been downloaded more than 5 million times

TIP O' THE JIG

"I used to play violin in Renaissance fairs every weekend when I was 19 and 20, and my job was to walk around in a floppy hat, pantaloons, a blousey shirt and some Vans that I had to spray-paint black. One day they decided I had too much freedom so they gave me a little Post-it Note that said, 'Privy Lines: 2 o'clock,' and insisted that I play Irish jigs and reels for two hours for all these Dungeon & Dragon enthusiasts waiting in line for the bathroom. I was fairly into Irish music at the time, but it kind of ruined it for me after that. Then I got tendinitis and was in a lot of pain."

- Andrew Bird, whose current album is "The Mysterious Production of Eggs"

OK, FREAKOUT

"When I was a senior in high school, we got to make these political campaign commercials that were supposed to be as if we were having one of our classmates run for president. For whatever reason, I decided that the opening chimes of Radiohead's 'No Surprises' would be a good music sample (I was also obsessed with the song), so I decided to use a loop of that with my commercial. I spent hours and hours doing the commercial and got into a fight with myself over the editing process, and eventually it was a mess. Now, every time I hear that song I'm reminded of the panic attack that happened at 4 a.m. the day the project was due. Good times."

- Sarah Lewitinn, deejay and writer of Ultragrrrl.com

YOUR OWN PERSONAL FLOOR MIX

"With post-breakup vengeance schemes on my mind and several crates of records at my disposal, I created Liz's Triple Threat, a three-song set that I would play whenever I saw them [ex-boyfriend and new girlfriend] enter the club. It started with New Order's 'Bizarre Love Triangle,' second only to 'Blue Monday' in terms of post-Joy Division floor-packers. The title of the song alone said everything. We were three points of a geometrical figure connected by a string of events that could, at best, only be described as bizarre. Next was 'Always on My Mind' as covered by Pet Shop Boys, played to remind him that I was in the booth, hovering above like a spectral reminder of a relationship that neither of us could shake. The set concluded with Kon Kan's sample-heavy 'I Beg Your Pardon (I Never Promised You a Rose Garden),' all sappy lyrics and beats that pulsated through the floor like a telltale heart.

"Eventually we got back together and, six years later, remain a couple. Meanwhile, [the new girlfriend] disappeared, hopefully falling prey to a quicksand-like pit of mothball-scented secondhand clothes. Liz's Triple Threat is now permanently retired."

- Liz Ohanesian, Los Angeles deejay and writer

GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION

The song 'Konstantine' by Something Corporate gives me one of those great ex-girlfriend memories. I was really getting into piano when I was listening to that record and I wrote a lot of songs inspired by that sound. I was also hanging out with my ex every day. So as you can guess, it's still pretty hard to listen to that song."

- Teddy Geiger, performing at the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day presented by Hess on Saturday

SEA OF MISERY

"As a kid, Abby (Amanda's bandmate) used to listen to the Everly Brothers with her dad. We both like their music, but since our label made us cover 'Bye Bye Love' on our new record 'Moon Over the Freeway,' we can't listen to it without cringing."

- Amanda Barrett of the Ditty Bops, playing Spiegeltent Theatre on Wednesday

HOTEL HUMILIATION

"It all happened in college. My last chance to be in a musical at Fordham University. 'Pippin' was being cast . . . I had to get into the show. 'Desperado' by The Eagles was a song I loved and identified with. I decided to audition singing that song. I sang it out loud on that big empty stage and waited to see how I would be cast. I wasn't. Flung my dance shoes out the window into the pachysandra. I had given up on performing for good. Yes, very dramatic. And every time that song came on the radio, I was furious. I used to love that song. Now when 'Desperado' comes on the radio, it just reminds me of my dismal, dreadful failure. As well as my dance shoes that I had left behind in the bushes."

- Valerie Smaldone, 106.7 Lite-FM deejay, the No. 1 rated radio host during the midday

(from a NY Post article... but I pulled this from the Ok Go message board)

Buzznet & Friendsorenemies.com is sponsoring the Snakes on a Plane Album Release Party on August 16 at the Key Club in Hollywood. Cobra Starship will perform along with other surprise guests from the soundtrack.

All fans that buy tickets will get to walk the red carpet and get their pictures taken, which will appear on Buzznet.com the next day.

BE there! And tell all your friends!

Hey, I know most of you got the message but I just wanted to let you know we're DEFINITELY going, so get ready for some great pics and recaps :) And comment if you're going too!