A lot has changed for Eve 6, the pop punk/alternative rock outfit from Southern California who had a series of smash hits in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s. After finding success in the music scene in their teenage years and into their early 20s and doing business with major labels like RCA, BMG and Sony, the group broke up in 2004.
They have been back together since 2011, but, according to guitarist Jon Seibels, they operate more like an indie band now.
“It’s definitely different times. It’s sort of different for everyone. It’s sort of a different era,” Seibels said. “But, yeah, definitely the way we operate now is like an indie band. We find the most affordable way to do everything and we handle as much stuff as we can.
“It’s interesting, though. A lot of this has to do with being frugal and making sure you’re doing things right, but a lot of times you start doing stuff on your own and it’s like that stuff is getting done a lot better because you’re just doing it the way you want it done.”
Back in the day, Eve 6 would tour for 12-14 months at a time to support singles like, “Here’s To The Night” and “Inside Out,” but for the past few years they have been touring for about the equivalent of 2-3 months each year, Seibels said.
The group is currently preparing a headlining tour of the United States that kicks off on April 15 and will continue through at least early September. As part of that tour, they are coming to the State Theatre on June 9.
Another thing that has changed for the group is the pressure placed on them to make another album. The what have you done lately ethos of major record labels is behind them for now. They released a comeback album, Speak in Code, in 2012 with Fearless Records. The record spawned one single, “Victoria,” for which they shot a music video and “Curtain,” for which they shot a music video featuring lead singer and bassist Max Collins walking forward, but taking moments to interact with objects and people in reverse, which was apropos for the group’s return to the music scene.
“Max always likes to say that we lost our pretty little heads, our undeveloped brains. We were totally lost, which I think would probably be the case for anyone…. But I think at this point…. Now we’re all at this point where we’re all adults and rather than being like [messed] up about it or anything like that, we’re grateful for what it was and what it is,” Seibels said.
“We’re at the point where 15, 16 years later we can tour and have a fanbase and make a living doing music and everyone is at a good place….In a lot of ways it’s more gratifying now than it was then.”
Seibels said that Eve 6 plans on releasing new music in the future, but said there was no timeline for when they would do so. One thing that hasn’t changed much about the group is their sound. It’s not like they are doing the same thing that they were doing in their heyday, but they haven’t lost their identity or sound as a band either.
“We used the producer that did the first two records with us and I think that naturally having that team in place was going to bring those results and I think that was conscious,” Seibels said. “I think a few of the songs start to spread out a little more than others. Some are right in that pocket of the old stuff and some of them start to kind of step away from that a little bit….We haven’t seriously started working on a new album yet.
“But if and when we do I could see it heading a little more in the direction of some of those songs that stepped away a little bit.”
• For more information about Eve 6, visit eve6.com.
