Interview: Modern Welfare

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Lucas Hay – Lead Singer of ModernWelfare

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

My Family growing up all played music. Some are drummers some guitar players. My Mom Sings also in our church back home so I just grew up around and also loved it.

I have a Psychology degree so maybe something with that.

What do you like to do when you're not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I watch a lot of movies. I spend a lot of time with my family also. I say both keep me inspired to write about my experiences.

How long has your band been around?

It will be two years in November.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We are all based out of different places and cultures, and I think that’s the biggest leg up we have. We all bring different things to the table and are always pulling inspiration from that.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.

We tossed around a lot of names and really liked ModernWelfare. To us it means family, Struggle and Perseverance, and support.

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

Best show we have played was selling out the Smiling moose with Fame On Fire. The Worst is hard to say we all love playing music so there really hasn’t been a bad experience yet ( knock on wood )

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?

I say as a band We all loved the venue 222 Ormsby in Pittsburgh. It’s a punk house so it has a great feel. We would all love to play the viper room in Hollywood.

If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?

We love Bring Me The Horizon, Crown The Empire, Awake at last.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?

Work hard. Just making music isn’t enough. Look outside the box to promote yourself. Never give up.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Use a metronome when you practice !

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

The Song Daunting isn’t released yet but will be in November and that one has the most meaning to me. I was struggling bad with substance abuse, and I died. Thankfully I was brought back to life but that song is about that near death experience.

Which songs are your favorite to play, and which get requested the most?

Right now, it’s the song Walls because that’s our only official release so far.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We all sit in a room with our instruments and toss ideas back and forth. When we find something, we like we run with it. Sometimes the ideas come from nothing just messing around and sometimes we have ideas inspired from other artists in our genre and sometimes artists that not our genre. Sometimes its ideas from movies or books. It just depends on what we are all doing at the time, I guess.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I want people to know that music is a way to relate and talk about our experiences. I hope when people hear our music it provokes thought. Maybe it reminds someone to check on their family and friends. Maybe it gets them talking about things they have bottled up. Maybe it just helps them not feel so alone. Most importantly we want people to come together.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

A band is a business so yes, we have disagreements, but we all have a common goal and a common dream. We vote on our decisions and talk to each other about the pros and cons of whatever we think is next. A solid group is one that can talk to each other. We are a family and have mad love for each other so at the end of the day we just keep pushing forward together.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?

Our plans for the future are to play some shows and keeping promoting our releases. We have 5 Songs coming out before November so, we have a lot happening but our next single “Death Of Me” Drops July 16th.