MyTelus
(bum) - Honor Society was named the “Breakout Band to Watch” in 2009 by Rolling Stone magazine, which is absolutely the case. The American foursome, who has toured with the Jonas Brothers, released their complete debut album Fashionably Late this year, which includes some Jonas Brothers collaborations. Their single Where Are You Now can also be heard on the soundtrack for the teen flick Bandslam, starring Vanessa Hudgens. As one of the hottest boy bands out there, Honor Society is not immune to the onslaught of juvenile hysteria.
Did you choose the band name “Honor Society” because you wished that your excellence would be recognized?
Michael: That’s a good question. It’s partially it. We do try to thrive for excellence; we try to be the best band that we can be. The name also just kind of describes our friendship, our fraternity type of feeling. That’s why we like the name, and it also just gave us the feeling that our fans are just in the “honor society” with us. So it’s kind of very inclusive in that way.
Is your worst fault not to be punctual; is that why you called your album “Fashionably Late”?
Andrew: (Laughs). The name Fashionably Late, the way we look at it, was from the minute that you start playing music as a child, especially rock’n’roll music, you envision your first record, and it feels like it takes forever to get there, to the point that you release your first album. This is our first record, so it feels like we’re late. Inevitably, it takes a while to get there, but we feel at the same time fashionably late; it’s kind of a perfect timing. We’re showing up just at the right time. It’s kind of that play on words.
Before doing the Fashionably Late Tour, you did one called The Full Moon Crazy Tour. And you’ve got a track called Full Moon Crazy on your album. Are you guys obsessed by full moons?
Michael: (Laughs). I guess we used to be obsessed with crazy girls!
Andrew: Yeah, that’s where the name came from. The song is about a girl that you’re in a relationship with – and it can happen to anybody – who just kind of goes a little crazy. I remember when we wrote this song, Mike came up with the title. We knew what we wanted this song to be about, kind of a crazy girl and a crazy experience (we usually start with a title when we write songs).
Jason: And then we decided since the tour we did was sort of an after hour tour, shows at night time… The name Full Moon Crazy just made sense.
You had the chance to go on tour with the Jonas Brothers. How was that experience?
Jason: It was a dream come true, just to go on tour with them and play from anywhere from 20 000 to 50 000 people. We actually played in Toronto, did this huge stadium there. Every night was just a thrill to be able to go out and play music and play in the round, too, which is something we had never experienced. It took a little while to get used to that, but we got very comfortable in that round. Jordin Sparks was on the tour as well. We became really close with her and her band. It was like a traveling musical summer camp! We had the best time of our lives, really.
Are any of you guys going out with Jordin Sparks?
Jason: (Laughs). No, but she’s our buddy!
Michael: Anyone must be very lucky. She’s beautiful and she’s so talented. She’s excellent!
Nick Jonas collaborated on four songs on your album, Joe Jonas on two, Kevin Jonas on only one. Do you get along with Nick the most?
Michael: We’re close to all of the guys, but it seems like when we’re around Nick, there’s always a guitar around or some other kind of instrument, so it just kind of lended itself to write a little bit more with Nick. He writes very quickly too. In a couple of minutes with him and us in the room, we have a song. But we’re as equally close with Joe and Kevin for sure.
When you were teenagers, did you dream of being a popular boy band such as the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync?
Jason: I think we looked up to more bands like Nirvana or Pearl Jam and those kind of bands, and also Prince, Michael Jackson and someone who entertains people. It was certainly something we wanted for a long time. But definitely, we had respect for bands like Backstreet Boys, N’Sync and music that they made. I think we always wanted to play instruments and be more like a rock band.
Which one of your songs is the most meaningful for you and why?
Andrew: Probably Don’t Close the Book. We wrote this song not too long before we moved out to Los Angeles from New York, when we went out to record our record. It has a sentimental feel to it, like, “Don’t close the book on us; we’re going out to LA to make this record, but we will be back…”
Jason: One of the songs that sticks out particularly is Two Rebels. It’s a song that we all co-wrote kind of early on, when we first started the band. It also is very inclusive of our fans, saying, “Hey, become a rebel with us, we can do it together.” It’s definitely one that is personal.
Michael: I would say Two Rebels also. It’s got so many different meanings to it. There was someone at the end, special, that sort of inspired the song. You know, just that feeling of running somewhere with someone is very romantic, and sort of leaving everything behind, just jump in your car and drive, forget everybody, forget everything…
Alex: I think, for me, probably Here Comes Trouble. It’s one of the last ones that we’ve recorded for the album and we wrote it with one of our very good friends, Jared Scharff. It has a lot of meaning for me.
Let’s talk about two of your most popular songs on iTunes… What inspired you to create Over You?
Michael: We did co-write that one with Nick (Jonas). From our perspective, it’s about a guy that just can’t figure out why he can’t get over his ex-girlfriend. And I think we’ve all been there; you know the relationship is over, you know it’s probably not a good relationship for you, but at the same time, you want that person and you just can’t figure it out.
What inspired you to create See U in the Dark?
Andrew: It was the first song that we all wrote together as a band. Again, we started with the title of the band and Michael had the title of the song. It had such a visual element to it. The story came out of that visual idea. We wrote it very quickly.
Michael: Basically, See U in the Dark is a metaphor for seeing… a guy seeing a girl who he grew up with, who he was always seeing as a friend. It’s about that moment where it shifts and you see her in a romantic way; she kind of blossoms in front of your eyes…
Oh, so you’re talking about your best friend in that song…
Andrew: Hmm… Maybe! (he smiles).
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