Her Campus Point Park had the exclusive opportunity to sit down with some of the talent at the Pittsburgh tour date of Vans Warped Tour 2014, as well as to photograph the acts from the photo pits of the live sets! We got to discuss The Arn-Horn twins of Courage My Love’s 4th time on VWT (but their first time performing the entire length of the tour), where they give the scoop on their favorite bands to hang out with, how they prepared for the music festival, and what it takes to be successful in the music industry:
Mercedes (left) and Phoenix (right). Photo by Samantha Tarr
HC: Can you give us a run-down of how your band got started?
P: “It’s funny because before we were even in Courage My Love together, we were in all these other really bad basement bands and we kind of got fed up with them and decided to just do our own thing! It started from the frustration of dealing with really annoying people.”
M: “I also think that Phoenix and I are pretty controlling when it comes to writing and music, so we definitely wanted to be the writers of the bands that we were in. One of the awesome things about being in a band with your sister is that you don’t necessarily have to be polite all the time. You can be 100% open and honest and not really worry. You still have to be nice, but….”
M: “It was the funniest thing ever. One time we were in our room together writing and were just screaming at each other like, “no, it sucks, it sucks!” Our mom came up and was so scared because she heard us fighting and yelling, but we were just writing!”
HC: Does being both band mates and sisters ever have a strain on your relationship?
M: “I think the music probably helps our relationship and brings us closer. Even though we’re twins and close no matter what, I feel like if we were doing different things, it’d be easier to let the relationship sort of fall by the wayside. But being out on the road together, we make all of the same friends, we write together, we record together, we pretty much do everything together. It’s hard to describe, but playing a live show, the relationship you have with your band mates whether or not you’re close with them on a personal level is just something that’s unexplainable.”
P: “You always have their backs.”
HC: How is being on Warped Tour different than doing regular club shows?
M: “Every day is pretty much the same, which is kind of cool. Even though the set times and press times are different every day, it’s the same routine.”
P: “Everyone compares it to summer camp/boot camp. It’s sick! It’s a really different feel because you meet so many people.”
HC: Which bands have you formed the closest friendships with since joining the tour?
P: “We hung out with A Lot Like Birds a lot when they were on the tour, but they just dropped off. A Skylit Drive, Close Your Eyes, Paris, there’s so many bands! All of our friends didn’t play the full tour so we have to make new friends.”
M: “We have to keep making new friends because ours keep leaving us!”
Brandon Lockwood (bass player). Photo by Cassandra Stovash
HC: How has the reality of Warped Tour been different from your expectations of it?
P: “It’s harder work than I thought it was going to be, but some parts are a lot easier than I thought. Like, basic hygiene is a lot easier than I was expecting. I prepared to never get a chance to do laundry over the entire tour. I was prepared to have water bottle showers and stuff, but it’s actually kind of normal.”
M: “You just take really fast showers in the morning.”
P: “The food has been so amazing! Normally when you go on tour you lose weight because you don’t eat that well, but on this tour I swear I’m actually getting bigger.”
M: “The food is like gourmet food! That definitely exceeded our expectations, but probably the biggest surprise of all because we’re a Canadian band… we’ve toured the States before but we hadn’t been on the West Coast or gone down South before, so I think the biggest surprise was how awesome the fans have been. We get pretty big crowds every day, which I’m really stoked about.”
P: “We literally thought we’d be playing for like, two people in some cities.”
M: “But so far we haven’t had a dead crowd yet.”
P: “We’ve always had a good crowd!”
HC: What is the coolest or craziest thing a fan has ever done to get your attention?
P: “One time we got a marriage proposal! They just came up onstage.”
HC: “To both of you?”
P: “To both of us, yeah! It’s not one or the other. I don’t know, it’s not weird.”
M: “They get that if you want one, you’re basically married to the other.”
P: “Our mom is on the tour as well; she’s here for support and to help out with a bunch of stuff. One time a fan came up to her because I guess they knew who she was, and then yeah, same thing. Marriage proposal and asked her. And she was just like ‘umm, you kind of have to ask them…’”
HC: Do you have any secret hobbies or guilty pleasures besides music that might surprise your fans?
P: “I’ve become a big gamer from being on tour; I think it’s getting way worse. I already gamed at home and then now when we have long drives and don’t have anything to do… We brought our N64 so now I’m killer at Mario Kart. We battled this one band called In Our Glory and embarrassed them so bad, not even trying to be cocky.”
M: “I’m a big reader… I’ve just started doing yoga, which is pretty cool. I haven’t been that good about it on this tour, but on another tour I was doing it every day. I know that there’s yoga stuff that happens after the festival when most people are drinking at the barbecue!”
Photo by Samantha Tarr
HC: What advice do you have for the students at Point Park who want to work in the business end of the music industry?
M: “I’d say it’s good to just take a good look at both sides of it no matter what you want to do- if you want to be a musician, you should look at the manager’s side of things so you’re prepared and you know if someone’s going to try to screw you over. What your rights are and all that sort of stuff.”
P: “Or just know what you should expect out of a manager. You might be surprised at what they can actually do for you! Or what they can’t and that you need to do.”
M: “From a manager point of view, it’s good to look at things from a band’s point of view and know what to expect out of a band, and to know what bands need you to do for them typically. Being a manager is kind of like being the band’s mom in a way- you have to deal with the good sides and the bad sides of every single thing. You’re the unsung hero.”
P: “I would say just try to meet as many people as you can. I’ve literally met so many people on this tour, and they’re not even playing the tour! They’re just working the lines or something. So if you’re just out there and trying to make connections, no one’s gonna shut you out for being too keen, they’re just gonna notice, right?”
M: “And if you’re nice and a good problem solver and you just listen to what the band needs, then a band would be happy to have you, even if you don’t have that much experience.”
HC: What can we expect from Courage My Love once Warped Tour ends?
P: “Oh gosh, we have a lot of stuff going. So basically when we get back from the tour, we’ll be writing and recording in the studio, so I’m not really sure when that will be done. But you can expect some new videos and new updates.”
M: “And new music!”
P: “And we’re doing another U.S. tour in November, which will be cool.”
Photo by Cassandra Stovash
URLS:
• http://ilovecouragemylove.com
• https://www.facebook.com/ilovecouragemylove
• Twitter & Instagram: @couragemylove, @phoenixarnhorn, @mercedesarnhorn
*Author’s disclaimer: we made the mistake of not videotaping this interview and only recording with audio, so which sister said what may not be completely accurate.