An Interview With the Band, I THE MIGHTY About Their Latest Collection, “Where Your Mind Wants To Go/Where You Let It Go!

I The Mighty’s latest collection, Where Your Mind Wants To Go / Where You Let It Go is out now on Equal Vision Records. Already one of the most progressive voices in alternative rock, Where the Mind Wants to Go / Where You Let it Go sees the band exploring new territory both sonically and topically. It is a collection of nine artistically mature, meticulously crafted rock anthems that sees lead vocalist, Brent Walsh, tackling the topics that have helped shape his own personal growth since the release of their last album; both in terms of life experience and in regards to more abstract topics. You can stream the record now on YouTube or Spotify and purchase the album through the band’s webstore.

The band recently wrapped up a national headlining tour in support of the record.

Here’s a link to check out the record —> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0q3SRceXnw&index=2&list=PL-XbTEkQt3TbxcYmv_GCvT3WTSxlsWaEr

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Learn more about I The Mighty in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time for this All Access interview! Where does this interview you two today? Is there music playing in the background? What is it? What is one song that you are all loving right now? What is a song that you disagree about loving right now?

Currently in the van on the way to the venue in Phoenix. Ray Lamontagne’s “Trouble” plays softly in the background. We’ve actually all been in a pop phase right now. During our VIP while taking pictures we’re usually jamming Bruno Mars or The 1975. I’m not sure that there’s something we all really disagree on at this moment. Been riding a happy music vibe as of late. 🙂

How did this group first come to be? Can you recall the moment when you all thought you could be in a band together? Was it hard to come up with a name that you could all agree on? How did you come up with your band name?

Ian (the other guitarist) and I started playing together in 9th grade. We were an acoustic duo in our early college years when we met Chris at our practice space and eventually Blake at one of our shows. It all just kind of fell into place on October 8th, 9 years ago. We’ve had the same four members and the same management ever since.

The band name actually came from a song we had called “I the Mighty Defeatist.” We dropped the “Defeatist” and thought It had a cool ring to it. When it passed the friend test we locked it in.

How do you think this band has been influenced by the city you are from? How did that particular music scene affect you all?

The scene in San Francisco can best be described as eclectic, which you could definitely use to describe our sound. We were just as influenced as the heavy progressive local bands as we were the pop punk bands like “The Matches.” What we developed into is an interesting blend of about 4 different genres.

How does 2017 compare to last year? What all are you most excited about for 2018? Will any of you make New Year’s Resolutions?

2017 was a different year for us, a creative year. We wrote and recorded the record, played download fest in the UK as well as played our first headline show in London, and finished it off with our most successful headline tour to date. 2016 was a year of epic touring for us. Coheed and Cambria plus Glassjaw in the Spring, followed by Pierce the Veil in the Summer and a headliner in the fall.

This coming year looks to be a lot of fun for us and another year of being on the road as much as possible. Not much I can tell you about at this time, but we’re gonna be all over the place 😉

My New Years revolution is going to be to continue this vegetarian/ health kick I’m on and to take vocal lessons for the first time.

Let’s talk about your brand new album, “Where Your Mind Wants To Go/Where You Let It Go” that was recently released via Equal Vision Records. What did it feel like putting this out finally? How long did it take to put this collection together? Were there unexpected challenges while making it?

We had a few months to write it, which was good for us as we like to over analyze everything. We write the song then break It all down and build it back up. There were a ton of unexpected changes we would try in the studio just because we could and kept a majority of them. It’s been done since May so we’ve been anxious to put it out. It feels so good to get it out into world and see the amazing reaction from our fans so far.

How do you think “Where Your Mind Wants To Go/Where You Let It Go” shows how much you have grown as band over the years? What has remained the same about your sound and the band dynamics?

Our core sound and vibe is intact, but it’s definitely a different venture for us. I think we’ve continued to develop as songwriters and put a greater focus on that than we used to. Rather than necessarily worrying about being as technical or progressive, we just tried to write the best songs we could. In a general sense it’s a softer record for us overall, and while we were a little worried our core fans may not follow the new direction, it appears that worry was completely unnecessary. The amount of people who have been with us from album one and claim this to be their favorite record by us has been extremely humbling.

While this may be difficult to answer, where do you think you are all happiest- on stage performing, in the studio recording or elsewhere? 

Definitely on stage performing. We’re lucky enough to have an extremely passionate fan base. The cyclical energy in the room of us feeding them and them feeding us has always been what we’ve lived for. We truly pride ourselves on putting on a genuinely energetic and entertaining show. Sometimes we even bring out more production elements than the venue can handle and have to scale back. At the end of the day all that comes directly out of our own pockets, but it’s worth it for us to have our fans leave a show thinking “Wow, I can never miss this band when they come to town” rather than “They played well, that was a good show.”

Do you have any other touring plans to end the year with? How has your national headlining tour been going this fall? What have been some favorite crowds and venues?

After this tour we fly to the UK to be main support for Bayside, which is another great milestone for us as far as touring with legendary bands. The headliner we’re on now has been absolutely incredible. It’s our first time selling out a number of dates, many even in advance and the amount of passion from everyone coming out has been at times almost overwhelming. The crowds specifically in SF, Orlando, NY, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, and both Texas dates all need to be mentioned. It’s amazing to see after 9 years of this band existing that things just keep growing and getting better and better.

We are living in a crazy and at times rough world right now so I am curious how you think being in this band gives you the most joy in life today? Do you think that new music being created today is going to reflect this difficult time?

I think a lot of music being created today reflects the time we’re in as it almost always does. In the passed we’ve actually been a pretty politically driven band at times. This record was originally intended to be as well but some of the more politically driven songs just didn’t make the cut. Not because of their content but simply because the writing or vibe didn’t fit the record collectively. We’re a world and a nation divided, but I have faith that we’ll eventually take steps to right the ship. Starting with getting this orange oligarch out of office.

The beautiful thing about music is that it can be this wonderful connector between all of us.

Who are some of your favorite artists right now? Who would you love to work with in the future?  What would be a dream collaboration for this group?

Oh man, loaded question. We all listen to such a wide variety of music. I’ve lately been really into The Japanese House. I’d love to write with them if ever given the chance. There are a number of great producers we’d love to work with given the chance, though I’m not sure we could even boil it down to one or two for this question. I’d also love to write with Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter. He’s a musical genius and I’d love an inside glimpse as to how his mind works.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

I hope our music simply connects with people in whatever way they need it. I’ve been told some deeply humbling things over the years that at times bring me to tears. I can see that the connection people have made with each record is much larger than we would have ever thought starting this crazy adventure 9 years ago. It already feels like this is much, much bigger than the four of us and it continues to be incredibly rewarding, humbling and deeply inspiring.

 This record in particular is a bit of a break up record for me. 6 of the 11 songs are all connected, basically telling the story of my last relationship. Every night someone tells me about how they are going through the same thing and how this record has really helped them sort through their experience and find some clarity. On days when touring life can be hard or overwhelming, it’s the conversations like that with fans and friends that inject a much needed perspective.