Citizen was one of the many up-and-coming bands that performed when Vans Warped Tour stopped at the PNC Bank Arts Center on Sunday.
The band, currently in its first Warped Tour, was one of the first to play during the festivities. Guitarist Nick Hamm took the time to talk to Mstars about the performance, Citizen's recent album success, the band's future and more.
Mstars: First things first, how did the show go?
Hamm: It was actually by far the best set of Warped Tour so far. For us, not ever. [Laughs] But yeah, it was incredible. It was the most people we've played to so far so, yeah, it was great. People were very enthusiastic also, which always makes things easier. So it was great, yeah.
This is your first Warped Tour. Was there any butterflies or nervousness going into your first Warped Tour set?
I don't think physically I felt any nervousness but it was definitely pretty nerve-wracking just doing something on this level. We're used to playing clubs, intimate shows and this is just a whole 'nother ballpark, so that was definitely pretty crazy for us. But it's been great. I feel like any nervousness has kind of faded out.
How did you guys come together as a group? How did you get started?
We started as a full band in the end of 2009, 2010 maybe. We've been playing for like three years. We were in high school at the time, so we just kept writing and stuff. And some of our earlier releases got the attention of some people, so we just kept doing it and kept writing. And then, last year, (lead singer Mat Kerekes) and I graduated high school and we just immediately went on tour. And a year later, here we are.
You guys are one of the younger bands here. You see all the bands like Reel Big Fish and all these other veteran bands. Do you get intimidated being alongside those guys?
I feel like we don't get too intimated. We just kind of chill, but it's definitely crazy. There's certain people on the tour that I didn't think I would ever be touring with. It's pretty nuts if you kind of stop and think about it, so yeah, I definitely feel that.
You released Youth last month, and it charted on Billboard and Heatseekers. Were you expecting to have that level of success so fast or did it take you by surprise?
We were definitely surprised. I thought a lot of the listeners would be downloaders and then when I learned that so many people were buying it, I was very shocked, very surprised. We're all very happy about how it's been received thus far. It's been really cool.
You signed with Run For Cover Records last year. You put the album out. You're doing Warped Tour. Have you had a chance to take stock of where you are or has it all been so chaotic that you haven't had a chance to stop and smell the roses at all?
It's been pretty fast. The first tour we went on, there were some nights that were very surprisingly successful and there were some really bad nights. The second tour we did, it was like very small crowds and then a few months ago, we toured with The Story So Far and it was just so different than anything we had done before. It was incredible. And then this, now, it's also been incredible. It's always growing and that's really awesome, but we never really know how to gauge where we're at a as a band. Either way, it's been very overwhelming, very good.
Are you working on any new stuff?
We've been writing, yeah. People are gonna be able to hear some new stuff coming up fairly soon, just a song. But, yeah, we're just gonna keep writing.
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