Interview by Danielle Boise
2013 was a pretty significant year for the Dublin-based indie quintet Kodaline, as the band released it’s debut full-length album, In a Perfect World and now have returned to the states for the band’s first headlining North American tour. In between tour stops, Jason Boland took some time to discuss the comforts of life on the road, what his favorite song is on the set list and when the band plans to return to the studio to lay down some new material.
You just kicked off the North American leg of your tour a few days ago with LP in support. How does it feel to be back in the states headlining, especially with a number of shows already sold out?
It’s absolutely incredible for us to be able to come back to the states so quickly. We’re playing a lot of rooms and towns that we’ve been to before, so it very strange for us, America is still very new to us Irish lads. We’ve had such a great response on this tour so far and have been able to upgrade some of the shows which we never expected.
What are the pressures of being the headliner verses being one of the opening acts on the bill?
We really like being a support act sometimes. It’s a different type of gig and really pushes you to raise your game. Our very first tour was supporting The Cranberries around France in really big venues and that put a fire under us to perform and try get some new people to listen to our music. Being a headliner is a lot of fun though. We can play our whole album now and have some fun with the audience. They’re two different types of show, but we love doing them both.
And which do you prefer touring your own shows or doing the festival circuit?
Festivals are like a school trip with all your favorite bands. We were playing football with Macklemore last summer and Frisbee with Tame Impala. Everyone is in great form for festival season as well, I think it’s just the sun really!
Now that you will be out on tour through June; what do you love most about being out on the road? What do you miss most from being home? And how do you find the comforts of home out on the road?
We just really love traveling so touring is the best way to see the world for us. Not many people get to go around the world with their best friends. Our crew is like a little family. I think that’s what helps us stay on the road for so long. We are big tea drinkers so thats probably the main thing we miss. No where does tea like Ireland. Vinny made himself a traveling PS4 system for this tour just to bring a few home comforts.
How do you mix things up on the road so you don’t become bored or that it becomes a rut of doing the “same old thing?”
This tour we’ve been demoing a lot on the road and trying out new songs live. Everytime you play a gig it’s a bit different depending on the crowd and the energy in the room so we’re definitely not bored yet!
What is your favorite song on the set list right at this moment that you enjoy performing live?
We’ve just added “Talk” to the set and it’s going down really so far. It’s really fun to play I don’t know why it took us so long to start playing it!
Which song do you think has the most impact with your audience?
“All I Want” is probably the loudest song in the set purely based on how loud the audience sings it. It’s amazing hearing it being sung back to us. Just over a year ago we were still playing tiny shows and now this stuff is happening which is like a dream come true for us.
Are you gearing up to head into the studio for a new album or EP this year?
We’ve been demoing since we finished the first album. We’re constantly writing and recording so we will definitely put out an EP or two this year. I think album two will arrive sometime near 2015 though, we want to get it right.
2013 was a very big year for the band, with the release of 3 EPs (The High Hopes, Love Like This, Brand New Day), along with your first full-length release of In a Perfect World. I love the poignant sway behind In a Perfect World, its expressively powerful and truly a pleasure to get lost in; I especially love “One Day.” How does it feel to take in all you’ve experienced and what do you hope the rest of 2014 will bring?
We’re just very grateful that we’re getting the chance to make this our career. We only really stopped at Christmas and that was the first chance we had to take it in. It was probably the busiest year in any of our lives, but we had so much fun it just flew by! We’re going to be on the road until about November this year so lots of Festivals and Gigs until the next chance to look back and take it in.
If you get a chance, check out Kodaline out on tour right now with LP in support.
2/20/14 Austin, TX The Parish
2/25/14 San Diego, CA Casbah
2/26/14 San Francisco, CA GreatAmericanMusic Hall
2/27/14 Los Angeles, CA El Rey
3/02/14 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
3/06/14 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
3/07/14 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
