Chicago – This summer, 80s inspired Cali electro-pop band The Heirs will be playing the 2016 Vans Warped Tour. Last year The Heirs released the debut four-track EP Ecliptic (Capitol Records), which features the single “Alright Goodnight.” The L.A. based band was formed by Florida natives, lead vocalists, and siblings Brandon and Savannah Hudson. The teenagers are joined by their friends Alex Flagstad (guitar), Eian McNeely (bass/keys), and Brennan Benko (drums). Legend has it – aka according to a press release – the band’s name was inspired by “a mutual dream where the youth are heirs of the world, inheriting everything the adults leave behind.” This concept is the influence behind the band’s music, both in Ecliptic and the band’s forthcoming album, which was recorded in Los Angeles with Justin Stanley (Beck, The Vines, Sheryl Crow) and Bram Inscore (Beck, Icona Pop), and saw Benko sharing in various producing roles and co-writing songs with Hudson.
Best New Bands chatted with The Heirs’ Brandon Hudson about his love for music, preparing for Vans Warped Tour 2016, and the single “Ecliptic” being dubbed a feminist anthem. We also played a Warped Tour themed game of trivia.
You and your sister started the band originally as a duo, when you were kids, but then you grew into a five-piece. I’m wondering at what age did you discovered your love of music, and at what age did you make the decision to create music for a living?
We were always really into music and involved with music. When we were in middle school, Savannah and I would meet up at the playground with a couple of our friends, who were also into music, and literally just sit there and write songs and play guitar and stuff. That was at a really young age. It was all very – our household is a very musical household. Our parents aren’t musicians, but they are avid music lovers, always playing different music. Ever since we were little kids, we grew up with such a wide variety, from 70s rock to 80s pop to 90s dance to whatever. It was always something different, something fresh, to stimulate our ears. I think when you’re in a household that is like that with music, you kind of get thrown into it, whether you like it or not… When we were young, we really knew that was something we wanted to do; it was a passion, something we liked to do to get away from reality, something that was fun to us, and it really just expanded into becoming our career, which is a really cool thing.
Last August you released the EP Ecliptic. I read you’ve been writing and recording since then.
Yeah, we are working on another EP… We’ve been working really hard to create and expand off of what we’ve already laid the foundation down for. To us, music is really something special, so we’re really excited to share [our new music] with people.
The Heirs are going to be playing Warped Tour the whole summer. Can fans expect to hear new music at your Warped performances?
They can! We’ll be playing our songs from [Ecliptic] and there’ll be a lot of new material, too. We’re excited to see how everyone responds to it live, how everyone reacts to it. What’s really exciting about Warped Tour, is genre wise, we’re very different than what the “norm” is there. We’re excited to stretch the boundaries there and have a good time with everybody! It’s going to be a good summer!
I was on your Facebook page and saw that you covered a Yellow Card song and a Paramore song. You’ve been doing lots of covers in anticipation of Warped. That is so brilliant! Who thought of that idea?
It was something that all of us wanted to do, to start some traction… these [covers] are all of really well-known bands, who have played [Warped Tour] in the past. We wanted to post and get people excited.
Might we hear you play any covers at Warped?
We do have a Kanye West cover of “Love Lockdown.” That will be in our set for sure!
On Twitter, Mother Feather hailed the song “Ecliptic“ as the “unofficial feminist Vans Warped Tour anthem.” I think that’s amazing! How are you guys feeling about that?
It’s definitely really cool. I feel like if you talked to Savanah about it, she’d be really, really, really stoked. She was excited about that. The song itself, lyrically, was more about self discovery and about growing up, into the people we are becoming – because the Ecliptic EP was the first bit of material we released publicly, it was the first material open to judgement, open to opinions, open to everybody’s mindset – I feel like that’s really what the glass ceiling represented, in that sense, but I really like that people are getting creative and are coming up with their own conclusions for the song because that’s what music is all about.
We’re going to end this interview with some Warped Tour Trivia. Do not feel bad if you don’t know some of the questions because I would not know most of these either! [laughs]
Yeah, this is our first year going, so I’m probably going to be horrible. [laughs]
In what year did the first Warped Tour take place? I’ll give you a hint: it has a five in it.
1995?
Yes!
Oh, damn, we tagged teamed that question!
Andrew W.K. played Warped Tour three times. True or False?
Uh, that’s probably true?
Yes!
Oh man!
You’re on a roll! Which pop star performed at Warped Tour, Katy Perry or Kesha?
Katy Perry. I knew that.
Yeah, that’s the only one I knew. Which rapper performed at Warped Tour, Future or Eminem?
Eminem.
Yes. You are killing it!
I am doing really well. I’m really surprised!
Kid Rock played Warped Tour. True or False?
Kid Rock? No, no.
He did. Isn’t that crazy?
He played Warped Tour? Oh my Gosh! My Gosh, really?
Yes. Unless Wikipedia is lying to me. Which it could very well be. [laughs]
That’s a surprise to me.
Paramore played Warped Tour three times. True or False?
Oh, geez. Umm, my initial guess, given the genre of music would be yes, but I don’t think they’ve played it three times.
You are right if you’re going with false because they have played six times!
Oh my gosh, yes! I knew it!
This year will make for the fifth consecutive row Sleeping With Sirens has played Warp Tour. True or False?
I know Sleeping With Sirens has done it a couple of times. True?
Yes, it is true. Okay, last one: The number of years Sum 41 has played Warped is 5, the actual sum of 4 and 1. Is this True or False?
Wait, is this a math question? I have to think here. Yes, this is true.
Well, it is true the sum of four and one is five, but it is false because this year will make for the 7th year the band has played! That was a bit of a trick question.
Seven times! That’s nuts! Man, this was so much fun!
The Heirs are also a ton of fun! Make sure to see the band at Warped Tour this summer. A full list of 2016 Vans Warped Tour dates can be found on the Vans Warped Tour website. Follow The Heirs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with the band’s fun-filled summer. Ecliptic is available for purchase on iTunes.
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Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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