my vagrant connect reached out to me for an press-op to interview ace enders, and i most certainly had to. considering how much of an early november fan i was, it was hard to stray away from asking questions about them. aj and i had a few minutes to talk to him before the houston stop of the bbq across america tour.

ace wasn’t as talkative as i’d imagined, but it was still cool to get a chance to meet/greet/talk to him.

hit the jump to read the short interview with ace enders.

-grizzly

Roshan Bhatt, weworemasks.com: First off, the whole concept of the BBQ and the summer tour was a really good idea, how has it been so far?

Ace Enders: It’s been great. There’s been some days where we haven’t been able or allowed to barbeque, and some days like today where it was too hot and they had opened doors early, so we couldn’t do it. Other than that, it’s been really fun every day.

WWM: Were they bands handpicked by you?

AE: Yeah, kinda.

WWM: It seems like they really fit well with each other.

AE: Yeah, we definitely wanted it to be a cohesive tour.

WWM: How was the transition from Drive-Thru to Vagrant?

AE: Technically, we’re still on Drive-Thru. Vagrant is just for [When I Hit the Ground].

WWM: How has Vagrant treated you?

AE: They’ve been really great, man.

WWM: Was there any reason for the Drive-Thru/Vagrant split?

AE: Well, I think it was just a money thing, really.

WWM: Everytime you’ve resurfaced, you’ve come out with a new project, like I Can Make a Mess [Like Nobody’s Business] and now [and a Million Different People], is there a reason behind the new concepts?

AE: I just want it to be something fresh everytime, it’s just a thing to feel young again, you know?

WWM: You’ve never strayed from The Early November-type sound in your music. Was there a conscious decision to keep that up?

AE: It’s just a natural and comfortable sound for me, you know? I like to do things a little bit different and keep a natural progression. I’m sure the next record will be similar, too.

WWM: Have you ever thought of venturing out and experimenting?

AE: Yeah, I have. You know, it’s not that I want to think about it too much. I just want everything to naturally fall into place the way it should, something like that.

WWM: You just released When I Hit the Ground, which seems quick after The Secret Wars came out last summer. What inspires you to constantly write?

AE: Honestly, it’s the only thing that I’ve ever been able to do in my life confidently. So when it’s like something you really love, it’s just fun for me. It’s just like everyone going to work, this is just what I do.

WWM: There’s an EP coming out at the end of the tour, right?

AE: Yep!

WWM: Do you have a title for it yet?

AE: No, not yet. It’s all still up in the air at this point.

WWM: And you’re doing pay-what-you-like this time around, what made you want to release it using that method?

AE: Just to do something different, I guess. Everyone’s in a tight money spot right now and I know a lot of people feel guilty for just taking the record. When I did The Secret Wars, a lot of people were coming up to me and saying they downloaded my album, and that they’d give me $20 later. It was like, “I don’t want your $20.” It was more of if you can’t afford it, then you can’t afford it. But if you can afford it, I appreciate what I can get, just because we need to make money to keep this thing going. So, I’d totally give everything out for free if I could, but you’re kind of stuck if you do it that way.

WWM: You’ve been doing Early November songs on this tour, right?

AE: Yeah, we’ve been doing a couple.

WWM: Is this more of a personal attachment, or something for your fans?

AE: Absolutely, both. I feel like I wrote those songs and haven’t played them for years. It’s just nice to be able to hear and play them again. And it’s also an easy way to give back to my fans who have supported me for so long now.

WWM: Is that attachment also why you brought Sergio [Anello, ex-bassist for The Early November] along?

AE: Well, that’s just because we’re friends. We’re boys, that’s all.

WWM: After the EP and tour, what are your main plans?

AE: Well, I’m gonna be having a baby after this tour… [ed note: Ace and his wife, Jenn, have set up a web site for the baby. Check that out here. How cute]

WWM: Oh yeah? Congratulations.

AE: Yeah! So it’s good to plan to [be a dad] for a while and not worry about the music business at all. There are definitely some bands I wanted to produce when I get back home, too.

A.J. Gutierrez, WWM: What bands were you planning on producing for?

AE: Well, there’s a band I did some work for, Just Surrender, and I’m going to be doing some more work with them, definitely. They’re really cool, and I think they’re gonna have a good year this year. I’m very psyched about all the good things that are gonna happen for those guys. There’s a guy named Allred out in Salt Lake City, and he’s really good. You guys should definitely check him out. That’s pretty much all I have planned that’s coming out soon.

WWM: Cool, man. This is a lead-in question, actually. When you used The Get Up Kids line in “Baby Blue,” was there a fiasco back then?

AE: Well, I don’t…I’m not sure. It’s been so long, I can barely remember.

WWM: Well, my follow-up to that was if you were excited about The Get Up Kids reuniting, because a lot of great bands like Hot Water Music are getting back together.

AE: Of course. And yeah, man. A lot of bands are doin’ it.

WWM: Alright, well, I guess that’s pretty much it. Do you want to add anything to the readers of weworemasks?

AE: Yes, thank you so much for your support over the time. Hopefully we keep our relationships [rising sun hand gestures] blossoming. You gotta put that in there. [Laughs]

WWM: [Laughs] Yeah, we’ll put the hand motions in.

AE: Great man, thanks again.

thanks for stopping by!

ace enders on myspace.

-grizzly