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![AoS: You tend to play on tours packed with fellow southern acts, including this one. Do you find that the music scene is more intense down south than it is up here in the north?
Cory: I don’t know. I think with us, that’s what we do the best, and you know, that’s where we’re from. I don’t think that it’s a personal decision we made, “Oh, southern stuff is better!” Like, we think that (laughs), but it’s not purposely done that way, it just ends up that way because that’s where we’re from and that whole deal.
AoS: You have tour dates into the summer. Will you continue touring in the fall or will you start working on new material?
Cory: This fall we’re going to Mexico [and] South America, after that it’s kind of wide open, but we won’t be writing. It’s not really in our plans.
AoS: Last year you sported the “dirt people” look along with the wall of disheveled speakers on-stage. Have you been doing any on-stage theatrics for recent shows?
Cory: [On] this tour we went for something a lot different. I don’t know, we have trouble staying with something that we choose to do, so we like to change a lot. Obviously the production on this tour is a lot more stripped down, but I think it still has a lot of energy in it. It’s not as theatrical per se, but I think with all the new songs we’re playing it’s really awesome, and it’s still really different.
AoS: While writing and recording Redeemer, where you trying to create a somewhat different style or more of a bridge to past Norma Jean efforts?
Cory: I don’t think there’s really a plan, especially with Redeemer it was very spontaneous, the whole process of writing, recording, everything. We really just wanted to write a high-energy record that was fun. That was really what we would talk about when we were writing. We would have talks where we just made sure we were having fun and not stressing out about the music or the songs we were playing. I feel like when you’re in a band you get into comfort zones and those build up and build up until you become something else, and every once and awhile I think it’s really good to just strip all that away, and not necessarily start all over, but take everything you’ve learned and just bring it back to the basics, and that’s what we did. We just wanted to write a fun, high-energy record without thinking about it too hard. That’s what Redeemer really is, a very spontaneous, natural work.
AoS: Your sound is very unique, both in your sub-genre as well as in the universal sense. Did it take a long time to achieve that or did it just come to you?](Cory%20Brandan%20Interview_files/shapeimage_3.jpg)
