SET IT OFF // Warped Out Of Shape

Answering his phone at “the mall”, Set It Off lead vocalist Cody Carson is staring down a bed he could take the rest of the interview on. He’s in a good mood on a day off from responsibility, and we joke about his temptation to put his feet up for a relaxed chat. Deeming the store to be too snooty to allow someone like him to recline though, he opts for an unassuming bench instead.

Beginning by discussing their Warped tour run, he laughs, “I feel like a seasoned vet!” Although it may have been smooth this time around, their history with the famous tour has been anything but a free ride. Launching into their past, it turns out that Set It Off have gone through hell that some bands couldn’t even imagine. “The first time ever we played Warped tour we won a contest and only our friends watched basically. The next time we were on for two weeks, and it turns out we were on a ‘scam stage’. Basically they had bands pay to be on Warped tour and then the organisers found out so that was bad news.”

Bands paying to be a part of shows is nothing new, but for it to happen on one of the most respected and well known tours is a huge revelation. It only got worse though says Carson. “Because it was so illegitimate, we didn’t get water or food. Everyday was a constant battle so we’d have to think about promotion, making sure everyone knows about you, what time you’re playing, and where your tent is. Then you have to figure food out! It was pretty much ‘for every CD you sell you get a dollar’, and then by the end of the day we’d have enough to eat! We didn’t even have a lanyard, we had wristbands.”

We were preparing for a 16 hour drive and we were all super excited. We turned a corner, and we realized that someone didn’t close the back door of the van. It caught the trailer and it bent the back door of the van in half. It exploded the back window—I’m not making this up!—and this is after Day One!
[Cody Carson]

So this must be the end of their Warped misfortune? Laughing again at another tour story, Carson clarifies that Set It Off weren’t out of the woods just yet. “After that first day, we’d just gone to Walmart and got all our supplies. We were preparing for a 16 hour drive and we were all super excited. We turned a corner, and we realized that someone didn’t close the back door of the van. It caught the trailer and it bent the back door of the van in half. It exploded the back window—I’m not making this up!—and this is after Day One! So we decided ‘hey let’s fix this’, so we got wrenches from Walmart and bent the door back in shape as best we could. We tied it together with a rope and kept going, and we made it!”

By this point, it’s pretty damn clear that Set It Off aren’t just a product of Carson’s YouTube channel success alone. They’ve gone the hard yards, and the singer confirms that they knew it wouldn’t be an easy ride from the beginning. Moving onto their upcoming new record Upside Down, he says, “Things like that are why we named the record that. In the past year a few things have been turned upside down on us but we always try to turn it around and flip it into a positive.”

As bands grow, they often hone in on their writing process and streamline the entire recording experience. Carson’s explanation of how the band came together on this record is the complete opposite. “It was really kind of chaotic [laughs]. It was really fun though. It’s not as rigid as it used to be. Before it used to be ‘we’re this band so we have to write this style’. I didn’t realise it when we were doing it but we kind of forced ourselves to be a certain way. It’s not like I’m not proud of it and it was necessary. But we were in a box and we would’ve had to have kept writing in that style.”

Stating their new record is “really just raw emotion the entire way” through, Hysteria questions whether it’s nearing 8 years as a member of the group that’s made Carson so open. With only two more until the decade mark, the singer responds it’s the hope that their slow beginning is finally over that’s made the writing process so easy. “In the beginning we booked our own tours with no support, we played at malls for barely any people and handed out CDs. It was an uphill battle and we understood that because it was all about progression. But now that we’ve figured out who we are as people, we’re way more comfortable. I think that’s where it really started to take off for us. Take us or leave us. A lot of people connect to artists, and now that we’ve found that, I think it’s going to continue at an accelerated rise and I hope it stays that way!”

Upside Down is out now through Rude Records

Purchase the album here.