Hit the Lights is a hot new rock band thats made a big impression this past summer as part of the Warped Tour. Their album is called This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder and I got a chance to talk to guitarist Omar Zehery.
Buy This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder
Daniel Robert Epstein: You psyched about the Warped Tour?
Omar Zehery: Yeah dude, definitely. Were doing two weeks in West Coast which is rad because we really havent been out west that much so it should be a good opportunity for us.
DRE: Have you guys been on the Warped Tour before?
Omar:: Weve played random dates, in Ohio where we are from, and then we were on some dates on the East Coast last year, but thats really it. The first time we got on was a through a contest thing. This is going to be our first time having a long run on it.
DRE: Did things pick up after the last time even though you only played a few dates?
Omar:: Yeah, definitely, since then we got signed to Abaca Records and have been touring full time since then.
DRE: Are there other bands that you guys want to go see?
Omar:: Im not sure about what bands are playing the leg that were on, but I know weve got some of our friends bands that are going to be out, which is rare. Were looking forward to that; were down for the hang
DRE: What do you guys enjoy about being on the Warped Tour the most?
Omar:: I seem to think its the hang. Were definitely party dudes and stuff and a lot of our friends are going to being hanging out on it too. So everybodys just really looking forward to going down with all of our dudes.
DRE: What was the inspiration for This is a Stickup?
Omar:: I dont know how to say it without sounding like a shady person but its from Bum Fight. Nick [Thompson], our guitar player, was watching Bum Fights and that is a quote from it.
DRE: Are you guys big Bum Fight fans or did you just happen to see one tape?
Omar:: Yeah. Were not avid collectors of the DVDs or anything like that, it was just one of those things like in passing. Somebody that puts out those DVDs contacted us about using our music for the DVD, we are pretty stoked about that.
DRE: Have any of the bums said Thats my line?
Omar:: No. Im waiting for that stuff to come back and bite us in the ass, like some dude had it copyrighted or something.
DRE: Some homeless guy.
Omar:: Yes, some homeless guy is going to come looking for us. Well probably hang out with him.
DRE: Hell be on the Warped Tour Im sure.
Omar:: Yeah, totally. Hell be selling shirts of Hit The Lights on the Warped Tour.
DRE: What was the inspiration for the album itself?
Omar:: Some songs were from our EP and others weve been writing over the last year. Us getting signed came about really fast so its just songs that weve had and songs that we wrote for the record after getting signed.
DRE: Whats the writing process for you guys?
Omar:: Its really random. The other guitar player Nick and I come in with a part and everybody really develops it. It is a long process but everybody has their fingers up inside of it.
DRE: Is it a very democratic band like that?
Omar:: Yeah, definitely.
DRE: Howd you guys come to that conclusion that it should be like that?
Omar:: Its really natural. Sometimes it takes longer and people get pissed and peoples feelings get hurt but at the end of the day everybodys really stoked whenever we finish a song.
DRE: Howd you hook up with [producer] Matt Squire?
Omar:: Were big fans of records that hes done like with Northstar. We decided to go with him after we heard Receiving End of Sirens record, which is this fucking insane awesome record with so much stuff going on.
DRE: How was it dealing with a producer for the first time?
Omar:: It was great because for our EP we didnt have real producers. They were half-assed and Matt is the next level of who we wanted to work with. Hes the type of guy that really motivates his band and creates this awesome atmosphere that makes you want to make a good record. So that was like a really fun time for us. I cant wait to go back to the studio.
DRE: On the internet someone was commenting on your band and a few others. They were saying that emo bands, always have at least three words in their name and one of the words is either an appliance, an instrument of alarm or geologic phenomenon, and that one of the words in the name is an action verb.
Omar:: Thats perfect. We fit that description man. I think Hit the Lights is a pretty fucking rad name. Its pretty actiony and its a Metallica song on top of that so I think thats where were different.
DRE: Whats up with the obsession with King Ralph? That movie sucked.
Omar:: Listen, its just a good fucking movie dude. John Goodman, solid actor, plot, really good. Its just an all around good movie.
DRE: Do you think youre all going to become kings of England?
Omar:: Yeah, its definitely a great fantasy but I dont know how easy itd be for me to do that.
DRE: What do you know about Suicide Girls?
Omar:: I know that Im too poor to afford a membership but Id like to have one. If theres like any strings you can pull or something.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Buy This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder
Daniel Robert Epstein: You psyched about the Warped Tour?
Omar Zehery: Yeah dude, definitely. Were doing two weeks in West Coast which is rad because we really havent been out west that much so it should be a good opportunity for us.
DRE: Have you guys been on the Warped Tour before?
Omar:: Weve played random dates, in Ohio where we are from, and then we were on some dates on the East Coast last year, but thats really it. The first time we got on was a through a contest thing. This is going to be our first time having a long run on it.
DRE: Did things pick up after the last time even though you only played a few dates?
Omar:: Yeah, definitely, since then we got signed to Abaca Records and have been touring full time since then.
DRE: Are there other bands that you guys want to go see?
Omar:: Im not sure about what bands are playing the leg that were on, but I know weve got some of our friends bands that are going to be out, which is rare. Were looking forward to that; were down for the hang
DRE: What do you guys enjoy about being on the Warped Tour the most?
Omar:: I seem to think its the hang. Were definitely party dudes and stuff and a lot of our friends are going to being hanging out on it too. So everybodys just really looking forward to going down with all of our dudes.
DRE: What was the inspiration for This is a Stickup?
Omar:: I dont know how to say it without sounding like a shady person but its from Bum Fight. Nick [Thompson], our guitar player, was watching Bum Fights and that is a quote from it.
DRE: Are you guys big Bum Fight fans or did you just happen to see one tape?
Omar:: Yeah. Were not avid collectors of the DVDs or anything like that, it was just one of those things like in passing. Somebody that puts out those DVDs contacted us about using our music for the DVD, we are pretty stoked about that.
DRE: Have any of the bums said Thats my line?
Omar:: No. Im waiting for that stuff to come back and bite us in the ass, like some dude had it copyrighted or something.
DRE: Some homeless guy.
Omar:: Yes, some homeless guy is going to come looking for us. Well probably hang out with him.
DRE: Hell be on the Warped Tour Im sure.
Omar:: Yeah, totally. Hell be selling shirts of Hit The Lights on the Warped Tour.
DRE: What was the inspiration for the album itself?
Omar:: Some songs were from our EP and others weve been writing over the last year. Us getting signed came about really fast so its just songs that weve had and songs that we wrote for the record after getting signed.
DRE: Whats the writing process for you guys?
Omar:: Its really random. The other guitar player Nick and I come in with a part and everybody really develops it. It is a long process but everybody has their fingers up inside of it.
DRE: Is it a very democratic band like that?
Omar:: Yeah, definitely.
DRE: Howd you guys come to that conclusion that it should be like that?
Omar:: Its really natural. Sometimes it takes longer and people get pissed and peoples feelings get hurt but at the end of the day everybodys really stoked whenever we finish a song.
DRE: Howd you hook up with [producer] Matt Squire?
Omar:: Were big fans of records that hes done like with Northstar. We decided to go with him after we heard Receiving End of Sirens record, which is this fucking insane awesome record with so much stuff going on.
DRE: How was it dealing with a producer for the first time?
Omar:: It was great because for our EP we didnt have real producers. They were half-assed and Matt is the next level of who we wanted to work with. Hes the type of guy that really motivates his band and creates this awesome atmosphere that makes you want to make a good record. So that was like a really fun time for us. I cant wait to go back to the studio.
DRE: On the internet someone was commenting on your band and a few others. They were saying that emo bands, always have at least three words in their name and one of the words is either an appliance, an instrument of alarm or geologic phenomenon, and that one of the words in the name is an action verb.
Omar:: Thats perfect. We fit that description man. I think Hit the Lights is a pretty fucking rad name. Its pretty actiony and its a Metallica song on top of that so I think thats where were different.
DRE: Whats up with the obsession with King Ralph? That movie sucked.
Omar:: Listen, its just a good fucking movie dude. John Goodman, solid actor, plot, really good. Its just an all around good movie.
DRE: Do you think youre all going to become kings of England?
Omar:: Yeah, its definitely a great fantasy but I dont know how easy itd be for me to do that.
DRE: What do you know about Suicide Girls?
Omar:: I know that Im too poor to afford a membership but Id like to have one. If theres like any strings you can pull or something.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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