MindEqualsBlown: Your new album, The Listening, is your full length debut, and it’s been pretty well received. How does it feel to finally have released it?

LIGHTS: Awesome, for starters! It feels like it’s been a while in the works. It’s kind of a collection of the best stuff I came up with over the past few years, and it’s all really honest and heartfelt, and I’m actually really proud of it. Everything from the music, to the artwork surrounding it, to the comic that’s spawned from it, to the videos and everything, it’s just something that I’m so proud of, so actually seeing it out there and doing a tour on it, it feels almost effortless because it’s something that I’m so stoked on. It’s really, really cool. I feel legitimate! (laughs) Read More »

Put your red editing pens away.  I know you all have anxiously waited for the chance to grade Mayday Parade’s new album, if only to snidely criticize the Jason-less follow-up to 2007′s A Lesson In Romantics.  Open your minds back up and let’s take a look at Anywhere But Here. Read More »

Paramore is back, and that’s all you need to know.  Brand New Eyes has everything you’ve ever loved about the band, and then some. Read More »

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of speaking with Grant Harris of Breathe Electric over the phone. Below is a transcript of our conversation.

MindEqualsBlown: Just to give you a background on MindEqualsBlown, we are an up and coming music website. We do album reviews and interviews. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Grant Harris: Yeah, of course man.

MEB: So you’re on tour right now?

GH: That’s correct.

MEB: And how is that going?

GH: The shows have been going really good so far, we’re having a lot of fun and really getting to know the other bands and having fun with them.

MEB: Any upcoming tour plans?

GH: Yeah, we have tour plans for October into November, which are not posted yet. Then we meet up with the Brokencyde tour in Seattle for the entire west coast.

MEB: Is your new EP available in stores, or just online?

GH: It’s in like 25 or 30 different Hot Topics regionally around the Midwest, and it’s on iTunes and Smartpunk.

MEB: So your EP came out last month, do you have any news on an upcoming full length?

GH: I’m actually heading out to the studio in LA at the end of this month, and we will be out there for two weeks. We are hoping to get at least five songs done, and I’m not sure what we are going to do yet as far as whether we are releasing another EP or putting that towards the full length, so I guess we will see.

MEB: Are you in the process of speaking to any labels?

GH: It’s always an interesting thing, I can’t really say too much about it, but, you know, we are definitely looking for something that will be the right fit.

MEB: You were on Warped Tour this year, correct?

GH: That’s right, we just did two days.

MEB: Was it your first time doing Warped?

GH: Yeah, it was actually my first time ever going to Warped, I’ve never been to Warped at all. It was like the best two days of my life.

MEB: Do you have any funny Warped stories?

GH: It’s funny, we didn’t really have that many funny stories because we were only on it two days, but I guess it’s funny because we were so overwhelmed getting there because it’s such a ridiculous production, you know? But it was a lot of fun.

MEB: Now I am going to ask you some random personal questions. What do you do during your free time on tour?

GH: Drive, mostly. Like this tour we have had a lot of drives – long drives. But if we’re fairly close to the venue the next day and we don’t have to load in for a while, we will just see what’s in the area, like music stores and malls and stuff like that and pass out fliers and meet kids and all that kind of stuff.

MEB: What bands would you say have influenced you the most?

GH: I’ve gotten influences from all over the place, but one of my favorite artists, well actually my favorite artist of all time, is Ben Folds. Everything he does I follow.

MEB: Were you home in Chicago during Lollapalooza this year? Because I know Ben Folds was there.

GH: No we were actually playing Warped Tour the first day Lollapalooza was going on, and I ended up not going. I went last year though.

MEB: Did you watch the VMAs last night or hear about what happened between Kanye and Taylor Swift?

GH: Yes, I did.

MEB: Do you have any insight on that?

GH: (laughs) You know, I guess Kanye is gonna be Kanye no matter what. So I mean Taylor Swift definitely deserved the award, there’s no doubt about that. So it’s kinda whatever, he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do.

MEB: That’s all I have, is there anything else that you would like to add?

GH: Just to anyone reading this, please check out the MySpace, check out the music on iTunes and stuff, and check out our tour dates because we’ve got a lot coming up.

MEB: Well thanks for your time, Grant.

GH: Thanks so much.