Last year the members of Mayday Parade followed Warped Tour and sold their debut EP, Tales Told By Dead Friends, out of their backpacks. This year they released their first full-length album and are once again part of Warped Tour – only this time they get to perform. Lead singer Derek Sanders discusses the band’s history, the new album and why he prefers life on the road to going home.

Q: How did you guys get the idea to follow Warped Tour around last year?

A: We just had the idea to go around and try this. We knew this is what we wanted to do to get our names out there. We went around with CD players and let people listen to our music. We followed the whole tour and sold about 11,000 copies (of Tales Told By Dead Friends).

Q: The band released A Lesson In Romantics July 10. How is this record different from the first?

A: It’s a lot more powerful than the last EP. A lot of the songs were written on the road with just an acoustic guitar. We were writing exactly what we wanted to write and what we were feeling at the moment.

Q: Whenever a band releases a new album they say that this one is more mature. Now that Mayday Parade has released a second album, do you understand the “more mature record” response?

A: I always thought that was a stupid answer, saying this is a more mature album. But now I understand where these bands are coming from. We’ve learned a lot and have grown up.

Q: Mayday Parade has been compared to Panic! At the Disco. Do you hate being compared to other bands or is it just something you deal with?

A: It’s a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, they are a great band who are getting a lot of attention and have worked hard, but we don’t want people to think we’re just ripping them off.

Q: What are your thoughts on the current music scene?

A: It’s really hard to be original nowadays because everything sounds the same. It’s a challenge to write something catchy because it’s all been done before. We want to be as original as possible.

Q: You guys are home now for a bit before you go start Warped Tour. Are you ready to go back on tour?

A: I would much rather be touring because you get accustomed to life on the road. Plus, we’re planning on going around and selling our CDs this year, too. There are going to be all these kids who haven’t heard of us, so why waste time sitting around?

Contact features correspondent Brittany Moseley at [email protected].