FYPP At Warped Tour: Man Overboard Interview

Last week at the Noblesville, IN date of Warped Tour (7/10), we were lucky enough to interview three bands: Man Overboard, Transit and Tonight Alive. Click “Read More” to check out our interview with Man Overboard’s guitarist, Justin Collier!

FYPP: Okay, for the record, please state your name and role in the band.

Justin: [laughs] I’m Justin, I play guitar in Man Overboard.

FYPP: This is your guys’ first time playing Warped Tour, and you’re not only playing one, but two stages. 

Justin: Uhhh, Transit is. We’re only playing one.

FYPP: I thought you guys were playing the acoustic basement stage.

Justin: We do, but like, only like three times. We’re lazy, so..

FYPP: That happens. How have your guys’ crowds been?

Justin: They’ve been great. We’ve played first, we’ve played last, and we’ve played everywhere in between. 

FYPP: Cool. How have you guys been choosing your set lists?

Justin: A lot of it we like have, y’know, pre-planned, but we have a handful of songs that we switch in and out based on our vote box that we have on our merch table. 

FYPP: So, you guys are included in this new wave of pop-punk that’s been signed to Rise [Records]. How do you guys feel with Rise, being such a predominately metalcore, screamo, heavier label, being in this new little family of pop punk bands on the label?

Justin: I mean, it’s cool, some of the metal bands are cool too, some of the other.. not pop punk bands like Hot Water Music and The Bouncing Souls and Piebald, it’s cool to be on a diverse label. 

FYPP: Alright! Cool. Your guys new video for “Dead End Dreams” got nominated to be on MTV.

Justin: It did.

FYPP: How does it feel going from this tiny band, that no one really heard of, to being nominated to be on MTV?

Justin: Uhh.. it’s cool. I think my parents thought it was pretty cool. Like “MTV, oh yeah, we know that, you dropped out of college so maybe it’s worth it.” So obviously, it was a big honour. 

FYPP: Which bands do you guys think people should be watching at Warped Tour?

Justin: My favourite that I wasn’t already friends with like, Transit, Polar Bear Club, all those bands, was Funeral Party and Dead Sara.

FYPP: Awesome. So some people have kind of said that “Defend Pop Punk” t-shirt has basically made you guys famous. How do you guys feel about people saying that a t-shirt design made you famous versus your music?

Justin: I don’t think people like us because of just the t-shirt, but I think that because we use that logo to like, brand our band, it kind of gives us a, y’know, something that kids can recognize easier. Instead of being like “oh yeah, I heard this band called so-and-so”, you can be like “I heard this band called so-and-so, that’s their logo”, and they’re like “true, now I remember.” There’s plenty of other bands that have a logo, like if you see the little cutout, you know it’s New Found Glory. Any smart band has a logo.

FYPP: Right. So, who are your biggest influences?

Justin: I mean, like all of the standard pop punk bands like blink-182, New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, all that stuff. Just, whatever else we’re listening to. There’s nothing else really like, completely original. Whatever else we’re listening to just somehow seeps into our music.

FYPP: Cool. What’s up your guys’ sleeves after Warped Tour?

Justin: Well today (7/10), the deluxe version of our album came out digitally. It has 5  extra songs, so people should go check that out. And then later this year we’re going to be doing a bunch of press stuff, and then we’re going to be going.. I can’t say yet, sorry, and then we’re gonna go to England with The Story So Far, Less Than Jake, and New Found Glory for the Road To Warped Tour, which ends at Alexandria Palace in London on the 10th of November for Warped UK, which is just the one day. 

FYPP: Well, that’s all the questions I have for you, short and sweet. Thank you guys so much for talking to us. 

Justin: Thanks a lot!

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