Today, September 13th, marks the release of senses’ debut EP Take Me Out of Here, with the band being made up of Madison Taylor (singer), Josh Bissell (guitarist) and Nick Sampson (drummer). Take Me Out of Here includes five original songs, including Gonna Make Sure, for which the band filmed their music video and were directed by Erik Rojas. Currently, senses are supporting Leah Kate on her The Super Over Tour, and they have been announced to support Boys Like Girls on the last five dates of The Speaking Our Language Tour, where Madison, Josh and Nick will be performing at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Silver Springs and Raleigh, with their first date being the 26th October. senses chatted to us recently about releasing their debut EP Take Me Out of Here, how Madison, Josh and Nick got together as senses and their upcoming shows with Leah Kate and Boys Like Girls.
Can you tell us about your debut EP Take Me Out of Here, which is released today?
Yes! We are honestly so excited that it’s finally out. This is our first complete and cohesive body of art that we released and we are just so happy that it’s out in the world now. This EP is made up of five songs, and they all are just such a wide range of what we wanted to share. There’s a couple of emotional ballads, a classic pop punk anthem, and a couple that just have so much energy and really ride the pop rock and pop punk line.
Where did the inspiration come from for the EP and how long was it in the making?
The EP really has a lot to do with escapism. Every song just has some sort of element of releasing something, or wanting to take yourself out of your current situation even for a minute. There’s so many different instances that we just want to feel like we can escape somewhere, and we wanted these songs to really be that place or time for people.
What was Take Me Out of Here like to work on, and did you have a favourite song to record?
I think we experienced the whole range of what it’s like to record music. Some songs came together so easily, some took a little time, and one song in particular (One Last Time) actually started out as a completely different song musically, and the next day we were like “let’s change it all!”, which sometimes can be the kiss of death, but it actually worked out so well and we love where it ended up. Gonna Make Sure was pretty much done, but it actually had no bridge. At first it was shorter and we wanted to really solidify how we felt writing it, so months later we added the bridge. Can’t Find the Words is my (Madison’s) favourite because it just came so easily to me that day. I was feeling really inspired and connected to what I was feeling in that moment and it just honestly flowed out of me.
Josh – It’s also my favourite because of how emotional and relatable it is. I think it will really connect with people.
Nick – My favourite is Gonna Make Sure because it’s just the right amount of sassy and has so much of that classic pop punk energy.
How was it seeing the EP come together and how do you feel now it is released?
We were just so pumped to be working on songs that we knew would live together on the same project. We had only released singles, and once we were like okay these are all going to be this cohesive family of songs, we just wanted to get it done and get it out! We had planned on not being able to finish recording and writing the last two songs until later in the year, but we went in for a few days in January with our producer (Keith Varon) and the last two songs we had finished by the end of the month. And we all kind of looked at each other and said did we really just finish our EP ALREADY?! We are so excited to hear from people what their favourite songs are and which ones they relate to most. That’s the coolest thing to hear.
What has it been like seeing the listeners’ response to Take Me Out of Here?
We’ve been really focused on growth this year in terms of fans and our social media, so to see it all come back full circle with genuine reactions and people that are interested in what we’ve put out, there’s just nothing better. It’s exciting to see people listening to the full work of songs back to back and just connecting to each one differently. We’re also just antsy and wanting to get back into the studio and keep releasing and making more music.
What was it like filming the music video for your single Gonna Make Sure and being directed by Erik Rojas?
It was such a blast! He’s such a legend and I (Madison) had been a fan of his work for a while. When he hit us back and wanted to work on the video I was like a giddy schoolgirl. The way he works is really cool to watch and there’s so many things that he just improvised while we were filming. It all came together so well and we were instantly excited about it when he sent the final our way. 20/10 recommend.
How would you describe your sound and who do you think your music will appeal to?
We love to think we coined the term “punk curious”. So we tell people we’re a punk curious pop rock band if you can decipher all of that. We think our music appeals to anyone who just feels deeply and is looking for a place to belong. We make our music for everyone, and for people who feel like they don’t fit in a particular niche or path, well that’s kind of how we feel too with our music. We’re not just this or that, we try to experiment and push the boundaries and make something each of us just love and can also escape to.
Can you tell us about each band member and how did the group come about?
I (Madison) posted an ad on Craigslist, and the rest is history. I was playing music around LA but missed being in a band, so I threw some ads out on a couple of different sites and crazy enough Craigslist was the one that worked! I’m originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, Nick is from Fresno, California, and Josh is from rural Maine. So between the three of us we all kind of bring tougher roots from east coast, west coast, and middle America.
What do you enjoy most about working on music together?
Just the collaborative process and when we get excited about the little things we add even on accident. When we get close to finishing a song, we take a listen and usually there’s always this moment of “oh what if we did this” and usually it becomes our favourite part of the song.
You are currently on tour supporting Leah Kate, how is The Super Over Tour going so far?
It’s going really well! Everyone is so nice and the energy of the show is just infectious. Everyone is on their A game and it shows how passionate each person is about being here. The crowds have been really engaged and fun too.
It’s been announced that you will be supporting Boys Like Girls on the last five shows of their The Speaking Our Language Tour, what are you looking forward to for touring with them?
Well, these will be the biggest shows we’ll have played so far, so that in and of itself is really exciting. Also, they were in sort of that original group of bands that were in this emo pop punk scene, so to be able to tour with a band we’ve listened to and admired for a while is so cool. We are just ready to jump in and bring the energy.
Do you have a favourite aspect of performing live and what can audiences expect from one of your live shows?
They can expect a ton of energy. If there’s one thing we never leave behind it’s that. We are there to get the crowd ready and pumped up and we really love being able to do that. Just looking into the crowds and seeing people’s faces light up at certain parts of the show is really cool. I personally love going to new cities where not many people have heard of us, because I think one of the coolest parts of live music is gaining new fans from the full live experience.
Who are some of your favourite music artists to listen to?
Between the three of us we have a very eclectic range of music and artists we love. To name a few would be MUNA, Blink-182, Paramore, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Pierce the Veil, Evanescence, Fleetwood Mac, Mötley Crüe, the list goes on and on!
How do you all like to spend your time away from music?
Madison – I love anything active and outdoors. I love anything board sport from snowboarding, wakeboarding, wake surfing, skiing, just anything outside.
Nick – I love being at the beach or just also being in nature in general.
Josh – Mostly playing F1 games and Xbox.
Do you have any upcoming plans that you can tell us about and what are you hoping the rest of 2023 brings for you?
We are just planning to keep the music train going. We may have more music yet to come in 2023… or do we? We’re just really trying to stay focused and energised on these two tours, and then after that just releasing and writing, and hopefully we’ll have some exciting things to announce for the beginning of 2024!
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