HIT THE LIGHTS
Interview with Nick Thompson (vocals)
By Bobby Olivier
Photos by Brian Dickman
Hold on to your Cincinnati baseball caps, pop-punk fans – Hit the Lights is back and more epic than ever. After two years mainly spent off the road and out of the studio, the band from Glee-famous Lima, Ohio is set to hit the highways in support of its new LP, Invicta. The album’s spacey scope and pulse-pounding drum kicks absolutely engulf past works. Through the work of two separate producers, Invicta’s larger-than-life melodies and polished hooks are nearly impossible to dislodge from a rock-loving brain – good luck getting “Gravity” out of your head. We caught up with lead vocalist Nick Thompson, who shed some light on the decision to record the album in two halves, his excitement to be back on the road, and why 2012 is going to be one big HIT THE LIGHTS comeback party.
How is the tour going so far?
The tour is going awesome so far. It’s a really cool tour with a lot of different types of bands from different genres, so we were curious of what the turnouts were going to be like but so far it’s been great. The bands and the kids have been awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything else. We are touring with THE ACTION BLAST, SPARKS THE RESCUE, LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES and D.R.U.G.S., who is headlining.
Any spots coming up on tour that you’re especially excited for?
We haven’t been to Florida in a really long time and we are going there soon so I’m really excited about that and we have some awesome California dates lined up too, so I’m really looking forward to it. I think California is a little better though. Florida is kind of like California’s little, retarded cousin.
How do you guys stay busy on the long rides from show to show?
We’ve all got our smartphones so we are all nice and separated from each other. That’s pretty much all we do, go on our phones and listen to music and stuff like that.
Any alcohol you guys prefer to have on tour?
We are a whiskey band, and since we don’t have a lot of money we usually go for the big bottle of Seagram’s Seven, but really any type of whiskey. If it’s in our presence, it will be drank.
So, what have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been listening to the new CROSSES album (Chino Moreno from DEFTONES’ side project), I’ve been listening to FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE a lot, KIDZ IN THE HALL, and then LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES and D.R.U.G.S stuff too, because after hearing it live it’s fun to back and check out the records.
How does it feel to be done with the new album?
It feels great. We felt great in the fall when we were done with mixing and everything, but I think it feels even better to have it finally released officially because it took so long and it’s such a tedious process.
Where was the album recorded, and with who?
The album was actually recorded in two different studios with two different producers. The bigger, more edgy rock songs we recorded with Machine in Belleville, New Jersey and the other half was recorded in Bethpage, New York with Mike Sapone, who has done a lot of BRAND NEW and TAKING BACK SUNDAY stuff. Both were amazing producers and they were definitely on different ends of the spectrum as people, and I mean that in the best way possible. It was really cool that the label was up for the idea of doing it this way, since it’s so strange, but overall I think it made sense.
So, you guys chose to have two different producers?
Yeah, we chose to do it that way since we were sort of divided as a band on how we wanted the record to sound, and when we sat down and decided which songs we wanted to be on the record, we asked ourselves, “why are we limiting ourselves to one producer?” and luckily, both producers were really supportive and it was all about the music, it wasn’t about egos or anything. It was about working on the songs and making them the best that the can be.
Now that it’s all said and done, is Invicta what you thought it was going to be when you started out?
Yeah, for the most part it is. It puts out the sound that we wanted to and I think we accomplished what we set out to do.
What sound is that exactly that you accomplished?
On this record, we wanted to make things more open and more epic. It’s been four years since our last release and obviously our music is going to change and we have so many different influences, so we wanted to pull those in. A lot of the music we listen to has the ethereal feel to it, so we wanted to add some atmosphere to it – that spacey feeling.
Any specific influences on this album?
DEFTONES, NUMBER ONE GUN, COLDPLAY, and some old ARMOR FOR SLEEP too.
What do you find most difficult about the writing process?
We have four songwriters in the band, so the hardest part is having so many people to please, and since we are all into different types of music, it’s hard to find something that everyone is into. But that’s a good thing because if we can all find something that we like, and we are on different ends of the spectrum, then the music should work with a broad audience.
Do you ever find it difficult to keep up with all of the social media required of bands these days or is it just part of the game?
Yeah, it’s just the name of the game now. It seems like bands that are able to adapt to the social media stuff have a handle over bands that don’t. Fans see that it is a connection now, this type of media that is so prevalent in the world, especially in the U.S. If you don’t have a good grip on that stuff, you can miss a lot of opportunities to reach a lot of people. I have a Twitter and it’s a great way to keep up with fans and by interacting with them, you can make someone’s day just by tweeting back to them. We definitely embrace it.
You guys are from the same town as the setting for Glee. Heather Morris was in your music video you shot on the Glee set. What are your thoughts on this show that you seem to have a connection with?
I’ve never actually watched an episode, but from what I understand, the Lima, Ohio they show in Glee is the farthest thing from actual Lima. Absolutely nothing like it!
Why is 2012 going to be a great year for HIT THE LIGHTS?
2012 is going to be awesome because we are back on the road and on a bunch of really fucking awesome tours. We are going to be doing a lot of overseas stuff. We are just back in general. We were kind of on a two-year sabbatical. We are just hungry to be back on the road and hang out with kids and play shows again.
One more thing – you always seem to be wearing a baseball cap. Do you have a favorite?
I do. I have this really sweet Cincinnati Reds hat and I can’t find any more like it. I wore it in our new video for “Gravity,” which is coming out soon. Eventually I’ll have to throw it away since it gets gross.
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