Mayday Parade just finished up recording their third full length album last week. Earlier today, Common Revolt got the chance to talk with Derek Sanders, the band’s frontman, about the new album, touring and more.

In the interview, Mr. Sanders talks about new song titles, how many tracks will appear on the album, the album release month, a headlining tour this fall, and more. Be sure to read on and stay tuned for more from the band! You can also see the band’s latest studio update video here.

You guys were named #1 hardest working band in the world of 2010, playing 194 shows and traveling 71,000 miles. How has it felt to kind of take a break and chill out for awhile?
It’s great, it’s kind of been the cycle of this band from the beginning until now. We’ve been a band for about five and a half years, in the beginning we’ve always kind of been on the road for long periods of time, as much as we possibly can. We usually have a month or two break and then we’re back at it again. It was really awesome to see we played the most shows last year, we’re definitely proud of that.

Mayday’s acoustic EP, Valdosta, was just released last month.  What rose the decision to go back and re-record older tracks acoustic and throw in some new ones?
Well, awhile ago I thought about doing an acoustic EP befure we even recorded Anywhere But Here. I always think it’s a lot of fun whenever bands put out things between albums like acoustic EPs or cover songs, holiday songs. We went to this studio really close to Tallahasse, in Valdosta, which is why we gave it the name “Valdosta”. We recorded in a studio with a guy we’ve known and recorded with for a long time, where we recorded Tales Told By Dead Friends at. It was also a place where we’ve recorded with all of our bands before Mayday Parade. And the two new songs were actually both tracks we were gonna record for Anywhere But Here, and were just songs that didn’t make it on the album. We love both songs and really just wanted to put them out. We played “Terrible Things” live last night,  on the first night of our new tour and the reception was great.

That’s really great to hear. Speaking of that, you’re currently playing a stint with Select Start, and You, Me, And Everyone We Know were also supposed to be on it but dropped off after breaking up. How has the first night?
They’ve been amazing, and tonight will be the second show. Select Start are a really good band and have the potential to do some really big things. Extremely talented and really good guys. I was super bummed to hear that about You, Me, And Everyone We Know, because they’re a really great band. I actually hadn’t listened to very much until I found out they’d be on this tour. I checked out some of their stuff and it was really, really good. I hope they all go on to good things and be happy.

It’s to my understanding you just finished up recording your third full-length album, who did you end up recording with this time?
We did the album with Kenneth Mount and Zack Odom, who did our first album, A Lesson In Romantics, and it was an awesome experience. It was great to finally get back together with them and do a new album, we’re really pumped on it.

Every release from you guys has differed from the last. What would you say makes this full-length separate from the other two?
With this one, now I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but my mindset was just do whatever we wanted to do and not worry about anything else. Just to make music the exact way we want it. Some songs are structured different than we would normally, because we wanted to be more creative with it, definitely more original. It’s hard to say how I felt when we recorded the past two full lengths. Right now, this is my favorite album we’ve recorded.

What process did the band go through when you chose what tracks would make the cut and which wouldn’t?
It’s hard to know the best way to do that, but it’s always been kind of the same way. We have a vote between the 5 of us in the band, and our producers (Kenneth and Zack) as well as our management. Our manager was there when we were picking the songs. It was a lot easier this time because we wrote more or less than sixteen songs for the record, so, we narrowed that list down to twelve. There were about ten we all unanimously agreed on. The album will be twelve tracks and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.

Have you guys been throwing around an album / track names just yet? 
Yeah, most of the songs have their final names, just a couple we’re still considering. We sort of have some ideas for the album name. We’re hoping to release it in October, assuming everything goes as planned. We’ll be touring in the states in October/November on a headliner to support it as well.

Are there any specific tracks you’re specifically excited for us to hear?
We’re all definitely stoked on the album as a whole, but there’s one track that’s generally the most well liked. It’ll probably be the first song on the CD, but we can’t say that for sure yet. The track name is tentatively titled “Oh Well, Oh Well”. We’re definitely stoked to play that one live.

So as you said before, expect an October release and a tour in the fall?
Yeah, if everything goes as planned, that’s what we hope. We’re pumped about the next few years, touring as much as we can. We appreciate the support from you and all of our fans. 

Common Revolt would like to thank Derek Sanders and Atlantic Records on behalf of Mayday Parade for coordinating this interview. Make sure you keep an eye out for more info about the band’s new album soon, be sure to follow us to keep up-to-date.