More than just a guy with geeky glasses.
Interview w/Mike Hranica from The Devil Wears Prada
"If you write about something you haven’t exactly experienced it doesn’t make it a bad song if you’re a good musician or a lyricist."
It’s cold outside but a few excited fans have still lined up on the parking slot of the venue. Inside the tour bus a man sits in front of me at the opposite side of the table; I’m not a tall girl but he’s still only slightly taller than me. He’s wearing geeky glasses and a thick jacket, the tattoos are peeking from his sleeves and neckline hinting that this man is more than just a guy with geeky glasses. The fact that he is missing his front tooth makes him look rather endearing.
He has a firm handshake and he seems calm and humble. A minute ago he has introduced himself as Mike Hranica. As I ask him to please describe The Devil Wears Prada, he shortly compresses their essence; “The Devil Wears Prada is a metalish band from Ohio. We’ve been around for about four years and put out three albums.”A DEFINITE LINE
Although the band's inspiration for their name was from the novel with the same title, instead of directly referring to the novel their name actually derives from their Christianity as metaphorically the devil is a deceptively appealing figure. “What we believe it to mean is that possessions don't matter at all and someday everyone will realize that this is true. When standing before God, He won't care about your sweet Prada scarf or Gucci shoes or whatever. It's a Christian reasoning for the name, we didn't name it to attempt at being fashionable or whatever”, Hranica recently stated at their official blog.
Their beliefs also reflect on other things than just their band name; such as their lyrics. Therefore I can’t help but to wonder if Hranica’s other qualities reflect on their music as well. “I’m a bit of a cynical person, I’m sarcastic and whatnot”, he says. “My lyrics are never very happy. Well it’s got that essential message of hope but for most parts it’s still pretty dark and apocalyptic or whatever, so I’d say that is a bit of a transfer my personality to over what I do in the band.”
When I ask him about the origin of his inspiration he smirks. “Just from anything”, he says. “Whenever I start recording an album I usually have a couple bands that I like really listen to and that are just really inspiring in general. So it kind of depends from album to album. Just different heavy bands I suppose.” At the moment he lists bands such as Converge, Your Demise, Parkway Drive and Ghost Inside his favourites. “Or something like that.”
While their latest album With Roots Above and Branches Below is definitely The Devil Wears Prada’s heaviest and darkest album so far, the album is also more melodic than its predecessors. The band has truly grown to a fine bunch of musicians and the musicians have surely grown to very talented songwriters.
“I’d say what makes a band better, than a good band great instead of just being good, is bands that can put real emotion in their music and you can really understand or feel certain characteristics from their songs. Whether it’s something sad or it’s something happy I think that’s what makes a band like the best bands. Because they can make their music really express something”, Hranica specifies the essence of how he defines good music.
“But for a band to be something that’s just good, I always think memorable parts like… If it’s metal it doesn’t need a chorus and a verse and all that. But it just needs parts that you can remember and catchy parts whether even if the part is heavy so… I’d probably say those two things.”
Hranica thinks it’s possible to write a good song about any feeling even if you haven’t experienced it yourself. “I write songs that are half based on fiction or just ideas, all the best works of literature or mostly fiction. If you have felt something and make it a song it doesn’t make it a good song because even if a person is writing something from a fictional perspective they can write it better lyrically or write a better song and such even if they’ve never felt that exact feeling, you know? So I’d say if you haven’t felt that exact feeling, if you write about something you haven’t exactly experienced it doesn’t make it a bad song if you’re a good musician or a lyricist.”
With that said he still thinks it definitely matters if you’re true to yourself while writing music. ”I think it’s different if you write a song that is fully based on lying and just make it like a [good pop song]. It’s one thing to write something even if you haven’t exactly experienced it and it’s another thing to write something that’s just lies and says stuff about yourself that isn’t true. I think there’s a definitely a line there.”NOT A STAND STILL
The band’s first album Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord didn’t chart at the US Billboard or the US Indie Billboard Chart. Their second album Plagues charted 6th at the Indie list and their latest album charted 1st at the indie list. It’s fair to say that there’s no doubt there’s plenty of progression made over the years.
“I think all of us have gotten better at what we do, no one has been at a stand still. I don’t know, I always feel like there’s room to progress and I never do something where I’m like “that’s the best it could be” because I always want to do something a little bit better. Just for that continuing progression… So I definitely feel like I’m more confident with myself, I’m happier with the stuff I’ve done recently compared to when I first started”, he says and adds up: “hopefully it just gets better.”
As their success has changed the way of doing things and has enlarged the crowd the songs are created for, the general feeling while making music is still the same for him. “It’s still fun to go to the studio and record something and sit back, listen to it like “this is what we’ve created”. I still like doing it; I still like making new songs and stuff or doing my part on the songs. It’s still a bit different as far as when I first started it was like I didn’t know how many people are going to hear this, now the record sells tens of thousands so someone’s going to hear it. You know? It’s a little bit different pressure now days but I still like creating songs and still have that same general feeling. “
Despite of the cold weather, Hranica says the band has been enjoying Finland. ”It’s cold but it’s pretty nice. The show was fun yesterday and tonight has been like the highest presale of the whole tour. We’ve all been really looking forward to tonight’s show. So I’m pretty stoked…”
On The Devil Wears Prada’s European tour Jesaiah and Your Demise are also rocking the stages. Tonight the crowd seems rather excited as Jesaiah kicks off the night. While the crowd is warming up like they are supposed to, I’m not warming up so much. I can’t get a hold of their songs or recognize them from each other. As the band’s stage presence is energetic and they’re basically playing everything right and just like they’re supposed to, playing it right just isn’t quite enough for me. **/*****
Your Demise pleased me a bit more. There’s definitely something catchy about their songs and in their performance itself. Their songs and especially the lead vocalist Ed McRae’s whole being remind me a lot of Liam Cornier. Actually overall the whole of the band could be described as Cancer Bats meets Limp Bizkit. In my opinion Your Demise is definitely a band to follow. ****/*****
Watching The Devil Wears Prada get on stage, it’s really hard for me to believe that the fierce singer on stage is in fact the same person who sat in front of me few hours ago with geeky glasses and a missing tooth.
With the interview aside Hranica surely knows how to get the crowd moving. The enthusiastic fans in the moshpit are anxious to get on stage and when they do, they are anxious to get back into the crowd. They take a few steps back before jumping off the stage to the arms of shirtless dudes and girls who are brave enough to catch men falling from the skies.
As it’s very common to see live performances in where the whole band is energetic but the singer still beholds the control on stage, it’s a brisk change to see how with The Devil Wears Prada the control is shared between its members. The players aren’t just a frame for a pretty singer; they’re all in control and in motion from the vocalist to the keyboard player.
Overall I’d have to say I’m pleasantly surprised with what The Devil Wears Prada has to offer. They put on a great live show keeping it interesting all the way through. ****/*****
More photos..
myspace / www / the interview videoText: Joanna Tzortzis.
Photography: Nelly Tatti