by Jason Walsh
Special to Louisville.com
Born on the shores of Long Island, Envy on the Coast came together in 2006 with, in their own words, "a swiss-army rock asthetic, boundless ambitions, and hearts big enough to fit each of their growing swell of fans." Following their self-titled debut EP, they hit the road, touring with bands like 30 Seconds to Mars and Angels & Airwaves. The road was good to them, but they retreated to a wintry existence in cold cabins in a desolate, isolated outpost in Windham, New York, where they were inspired to write their first full-length, "Lucy Gray."
Living out of a van supporting the new record, the guys from L.I. hooked up with Taking Back Sunday, finishing up the year in grand style with high expectations for this current tour that rolls into Louisville on December 12. I caught up with them in the van the day of their first show. Vocalist Ryan Hunter was gracious enough to share a few minutes about the approaching days on the road.
JW: First, how are you guys doing and how has the past year been?
HUNTER: We're anxious and itching to play at this current point in time. I'm currently sitting in our van, parked outside of the venue in Corpus Christi, Texas. It's a 32 hour-drive from Long Island to Corpus Christi, so we developed a decent case of cabin fever these past few days. We're just itching to play and shake all the insanity out of us. As for our past year, it's been great. "Lucy" took us to countries we'd never thought we'd visit and it's been a grueling but rewarding year.
JW: How did the tour with Taking Back Sunday come about? When did it start and how has it been going thus far?
HUNTER: The tour with Taking Back Sunday came straight from the source. Adam heard our record and dug it. He came up and jammed with us at a show back in New York a couple of months ago, and Eddie came down to hang as well. Eddie pulled me aside backstage following the show and told me that the next tour they did, they wanted us on it. I can't really tell you how it's been going yet, because we have yet to play a show. Taking Back Sunday is inside
soundchecking and they sound really good, so I can give you that much.
JW: Are those guys pretty cool?
HUNTER: They're solid dudes, great players, and they're passionate about what they do. I was 13 years old when I saw that band play for the first time, and it's nice to see that 8 years later, they're still killing it and enjoying themselves. That's what it's all about.
JW: Talk about "Lucy Gray." What's the response been like?
HUNTER: The response to "Lucy" was great. I don't know how to answer that question specifically, since it is fairly vague. There's a ton of people with tattoos dedicated to Lucy and people are still coming out to shows and singing along, so that would be my best way to describe the response. Lucy was good to us. She's a sweetheart.
JW: You guys are from Long Island? How did the band start and what inspired you guys to form "Envy on the Coast?" And where did the name come from?
HUNTER: The name came from an old song title of ours. We used to go by "Writ in Water," which holds a s**t ton of meaning to me, but confuses the hell out of people due to the antiquated language. As for the band coming into fruition, it's a fairly complicated story. The most simplified way to put it is that all 5 of us are kids who grew up
making noise in Long Island bands, and when everyone went away to school or experimented with new endeavors, we stuck around and decided we wanted to be musicians. We were fortunate enough to find each
other in that decision.
JW: Now that gas prices have come back to relatively normal, has touring and being on the road gotten easier?
HUNTER: We filled up for $27 earlier today. The last time we were in a van, it cost us $120. That's just freaking ridiculous and I hope things stay this way. However, we all know this economy fluctuates at an incredible rate. We chose to live out of this van and although it smells and I miss New York from time to time, I wouldn't trade it for anything.
JW: The tour winds down in New York at the end of the year. Will you guys be taking a break at its conclusion?
HUNTER: We're done with this tour on December 20th. At that point, we'll relax for the holidays with our families. Following all the Christmas gifts and good home cooked meals, we'll head out on a small holiday tour that we do every year, and following that we'll be returning home to continue writing our new record.
JW: What does the New Year hold for you guys?
HUNTER: We'll be continuing writing the new record until April. Assuming inspiration crawls into all of our beds at night and keeps us warm during the months of January, February, and March, we'll record our record in April.
JW: Lastly, what would you say to get folks in Louisville to come out to
the show at Club Oasis?
HUNTER: Both bands on the tour are from New York. I need to sell you on that s***? Come on now.
ENVY ON THE COAST WILL BE PLAYING AT CLUB OASIS WITH TAKING BACK SUNDAY ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 12 AT 7PM.
