“This Is Real Life” for Pop Rock Band The Maine

By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Entertainment

A year and a half ago, a summer tour with Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte put The Maine on the radar as they released their debut album, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop.” This past fall, the band traveled across the country again, opening for Boys Like Girls on the OP presents tour; Cobra Starship, A Rocket to the Moon, and Versa Emerge also shared the line-up.

Jared Monaco, The Maine’s guitarist, discussed how the band was excited to open for Boys Like Girls again. “They (Boys Like Girls) welcomed us back for another tour and we’re really thankful for that,” Monaco said. “The tour we did last year with them, I feel it’s the tour that really put us on the map. It’s definitely good to come back and do it again and have a little bit more of a draw this time and a little bit more of a following.”

The band now has a following. Although Boys Like Girls headlined, The Maine’s set became a sing-along with most of the crowd knowing the words to their songs. This tour also allowed The Maine to expand their fan base, playing to some of the audience who had not heard their material before.

Within a year and a half, The Maine have sold 100,000 records, headlined the 2009 Alternative Press tour, appeared on Warped Tour and signed to Warner Bros. Records.

Monaco feels the success the band has encountered has not changed any members. “It’s one of those things where you have so much new stuff coming at you at one time that you don’t really have time to change,” Monaco said. “You’re just kind of dealing with one thing after another.” He does feel that the success has positively affected their performances, however, making them more comfortable on stage. Monaco hopes that this will show through on their next album. “It will really show the things that we’ve picked up along the way and whether we’ve matured,” Monaco said.

One of the ways the band continues to stay grounded is keeping in contact with fans which made them popular early on. The band makes sure to constantly update statuses on Twitter and blogs on Myspace to fill fans in on what is happening on tour.

To show fans what it is like to be out on the road for a whole summer, the band is adding another way to stay connected with fans. The Maine is releasing, “This is Real Life,” a photo book following the band around this past summer’s Warped Tour. The photos, shot by Dirk Mai, accompany journal entries of each band member which show the ups and downs of spending a summer on Warped Tour. “It really gives kids a perspective of what it’s like being on warped tour,” Monaco said. “Some entries are like ‘having a great day.’ Some entries are like, ‘I want to go home so bad, I hate this.'”

The release of the photo book will be an example of how far the band has come. Playing a full summer of Warped Tour, along with selling 100,000 records, are huge accomplishments for a young band. The members of The Maine range in age from 19 to 21, ages when most are in college figuring out their career paths. Monaco recalled the first time he told his father he was dropping out of college to join a band full-time. “I remember being like, ‘dad I’m not going to go to college anymore’ and I remember him being like, ‘oh ok, you’re joining a band? When is the bus going to pick you up for tour?'” Monaco said. “I was like, ‘well there’s not a bus. We’re going to be in a suburban. It’s going to be brutal.'”

Monaco clarified that this family has always supported his decisions, but want to make sure that he was thinking through his choice. “I had a feeling it might be a good idea,” Monaco said. Now, having toured the past couple years, his family is more supportive than ever that he made the right choice. “Things are looking up so they’re really really supportive of everything now,” Monaco said. “They see that we’ve really worked hard and gotten what we’ve wanted.”

The Maine plan to take some time off for the remainder of this year and beginning of next before heading into the studio to record their second album. When the time comes to record, the band has a collection of songs already written. “We have a lot of stuff backed up and a huge archive of songs to pull from,” Monaco said. “We’re really excited we have a lot of material and we’re really confident it’s going to be a great album.”

While there is not a set date for the new album, Monaco expects it to drop sometime next year. For more information on The Maine, check out wearethemaine.net or myspace.com/themaine.