ThatвЂ™s sort of the overall idea, I guess. ItвЂ™s just kind of moving on, moving forward, and not getting weighed down by negative things in all of our lives right now. So I think a lot of it is, right, like a mindset. And I think that is certainly appropriate right now, with everything thatвЂ™s going on. I just kind of felt like, the whole EP sort of has this vibe of moving forward and moving on to better things. I mean obviously itвЂ™s a lyric in the song, вЂњFirst Train.вЂќ You know, take the first train out of here. Yeah, for sure, that was kind of the idea. So the EPвЂ™s title, вЂњOut of Here,вЂќ seems like it could be referencing a state of mind. Just trying to stay busy and trying to keep creating in any way that we can, really. Like, recording acoustic versions of songs and covers and whatever. But weвЂ™re trying to just make the most of it and weвЂ™re trying to do as many things as we can while weвЂ™re so limited and while we canвЂ™t get out on the road. But thereвЂ™s also times where I just kind of get, like, frustrated and I canвЂ™t even really focus. And itвЂ™s like, things are just so not-normal that itвЂ™s hard because when I do have time to sit and mess around with a guitar for a couple hours, there are definitely times where I write something that I love and IвЂ™m able to make some progress. But also itвЂ™s just like, I donвЂ™t know, itвЂ™s like my brain is kind of all over the place. And IвЂ™ve been writing a lot, but itвЂ™s difficult to even have as much time to spend on it with so many things going on at home. Like, weвЂ™re kind of getting ready to hopefully go in and finish up a full-length album before too long.

But it also, in a lot of ways, makes things difficult - especially for songwriting. So itвЂ™s like, in some ways, kind of nice to not always be jumping back and forth between two different lives and thereвЂ™s a lot of things that weвЂ™re able to focus on with that time.

I mean, in the past fifteen years of this band - since we started almost exactly fifteen years ago - this is the longest that IвЂ™ve been home in some time without going out and being on the road and being together with the guys. There are things that actually, for us, have been kind of nice in some ways. ItвЂ™s been so crazy for so many different reasons, but obviously the pandemic being kind of at the forefront of all of that. But I have to ask, has the pandemic had much of an effect on your creative processes? So, you recorded in early March, kind of right before lockdowns started happening. I got a chance to speak with Derek Sanders about what he and the band have been up to during lockdown, the inspiration behind their new music, and their unplanned decision to release an EP. In fact, theyвЂ™ve just released a single called вЂњLighten Up, KidвЂќ which is to be followed by a brand new EP, and thereвЂ™s even talk of a full-length album next year. TheyвЂ™ve put out pretty consistent releases in their fifteen years as a band, and despite the utter chaos of 2020, theyвЂ™re showing no signs of slowing down. TheyвЂ™ve made us smile, dance, sing, and cry (probably more often than weвЂ™d like to admit). Having got their start in 2005, theyвЂ™re a band that has truly grown with their fans. For many of us, Mayday Parade is a go-to band.

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