Interview with vocalist/guitarist JT Woodruff | By Annette Hansen
As summertime creeps ever closer, there’s an anxiousness in the air—a desire to feel the sunlight warm our skin after an endless winter. There’s also an underlying sense of freedom that stays rooted in the back of our minds, even as summer vacation becomes a thing of the past. It’s the effortless joy that summer brings that fueled the creation of Hawthorne Heights’ first full-length album in five years, Bad Frequencies.
“A lot of [Bad Frequencies] is about the adventure that summer brings,” vocalist and guitarist JT Woodruff describes, “the jumping in your car, cranking it up, hanging out with people who you love, and just choosing your own adventure, just trying to not get caught up with the crazy part of life, really just throwing that all out the window.”
Throughout the course of 2017, the band spent most of their time on the road and piecing together what would eventually become Bad Frequencies, released via Pure Noise Records on April 27. According to Woodruff, this was the first time Hawthorne Heights had really taken their time with a record.
“We found that it was just a much better way to do things, because we didn’t force ourselves to continue writing when it wasn’t there,” he says.
The change of pace ended up being an overwhelmingly positive experience for the band, giving them the time they craved to make sure every moment of the album came out exactly the way they wanted.
“In the past, it seemed like we had to get into the studio, [but] this time around, we wanted to get into the studio, so it’s, like, entirely different,” Woodruff expresses. “We had no self-imposed deadlines or anything like that.”
Bad Frequencies is full of vibrancy and energy from start to finish. The songs brim with hopefulness, nostalgia, and, as you would expect from Hawthorne Heights, an overarching sense of melancholy. Thematically, the album touches on the pangs of watching the best moments in our lives turn into distant memories.
“When you go back to your childhood, you couldn’t wait to get out of school, and then, you had the whole summer to just kick it with your friends and do crazy things,” Woodruff recalls. “You just remember that bittersweet feeling that you just had the best summer of your life and that summer has now come to an end, and now, you have to really learn to deal with that.”
It’s that balance between the light and the dark moments we all experience in life that Woodruff says the band tried to express with this record. “It’s almost like you went from as high as you could possibly get to this despair, only because this fun is over, the summer is over,” he says. “It’s not that anything tragic happened or anything, you just don’t feel that warmth that you just felt.”
But Bad Frequencies isn’t all about the feelings lost when the magic ends. Woodruff explains that the album may be reminiscent of the loveliest moments in life, but it’s also a reminder that there are more wonderful moments ahead.
“You cannot look over your shoulder and think about who you were; you can’t let that define you. You have to concentrate on who you are right now, and you can make wonderful decisions in your life right now,” he relays. “This is an album about only looking back to the most beautiful, purest parts of your life where you had the best time and how you don’t have to worry about all the bad times you’ve had.”
After 15 years as a band and now with six full-length studio albums under their belts, Hawthorne Heights have maintained a solid career and loyal fanbase, all propelled by a humble and passionate work ethic. While many other notable acts of the mid-2000s emo era have called it a night, Hawthorne Heights have persevered with their enthusiasm intact.
“When your new record comes out, this is the time to swing for the fences and put in all the miles and all the hours and all the sleepless nights and all the hanging out at the coffee shops trying to get a little bit of energy and conversation happening,” Woodruff says. “We’re ready to just make the most out of our new summer.”
Purchase Bad Frequencies here: Physical | iTunes
Photo Credit: Kyle Bergfors
