Photograph by Allie Knight (@alliexknight). Used with permission from Ian Berg.
In Her Own Words is a pop-punk band based out of Los Angeles, California. Earlier this month, the band hit the road to play with Hawthorne Heights on their 10-year anniversary tour for the album “If Only You Were Lonely”. They have scheduled twenty-five shows together, including a night to play in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The other bands on the ticket for this show included End The Empire, Never I, and Hope Sets Sail.
Alt Edge Media got the chance to chat with part of the quartet shortly before the show. We sat down with with the vocalist, Joey Fleming, guitarist, Ian Berg, and bassist, Eric Ruelas.
Alt Edge Media: “You guys are on tour with Hawthorne Heights! How are you liking it so far?”
Ian: “Amazing! I listened to Hawthorne when I was in junior high. They were one of the bands that got me into the whole being on the road, being a bum thing. We’re having a great time with some of the best dudes we’ve ever met. It’s a lot of fun.”
Eric: “It’s been rad. The crowds have been older, which is cool. If someone had told me back in high school that I’d be touring with Hawthorne Heights, I would’ve just called them crazy, you know? But here I am.”
Joey: “It’s really great to hear songs I’ve been listening to for forever but now I get to hear them live every night. That’s just been a lot of fun.”
Alt Edge Media: “Have you stopped at any cool places while you’re on the road?”
Eric: “Cook Out. If there’s one thing we have to hit up when we’re in the Carolinas, it’s Cook Out. It tops everything else. Not that I’m trying to score Carolina points.”
Ian: “Before the Hawthorne Heights tour, on the way here, we drove through the mountains and it was kind of light raining and it was so beautiful. It was amazing to drive through the Rockies and see all of the rivers and valleys and such. That was a lot of fun.”
Eric: “We took the route that you’re not supposed to take as a band with a trailer and a van. It was very scenic and really beautiful.”
Alt Edge Media: “What are you listening to while you’re on the road?”
Joey: “Usually whoever drives is the one who picks the music. So, when I’m driving it’s a lot of The 1975. They’re my favorite band; if they’re not on it’s just stupid hip-hop like Drake and shit like that.”
Eric: “I’ve been stuck on Cymbals Eat Guitars and Cloud Nothings. I like listening to music that expands the mind. If it’s not that, I listen to your occasional classic rock bands. If I get bored, I’ll listen to Rush or something.”
Ian: “So you get bored every time you drive then, because we listen to the same song by Rush every time you’re driving. For me, I go through the same stuff I’ve been listening to since I was 12 but right now I just found out about Person L, which is the side project of Kenny from The Starting Line. That’s been on my playlist and it is fucking great. Giants At Large has also been all over my playlist!”
Joey: “For some reason we always circle back to The Dangerous Summer by the end of the tour. It’s something we all agree on.
Photograph by & used with permission from Stefani Soltero (@stef.tones)
Alt Edge: “You’ve recently been signed to InVogue records. How has that transition been?”
Ian: “Very exciting, very easy. The owner, Nick, is such a genuine dude. For a label owner, it’s very hard to come by I feel like. He’s a great guy though. He’s been helping us out and making it really easy for us. He’s given us opportunities we otherwise wouldn’t have, such as this tour, and I think it’s been a really great thing for us.”
Eric: “We love Nick and we love InVogue. We waited a long time to find a home for this album we’re about to put out in a few days.”
Joey: “It’s nice to finally have someone who has some faith in us.”
Alt Edge: “You have a busy year, with being newly signed and being on tour with Hawthorne Heights. Do you have good family and partner support back home? Do you think that your achievements are pacifying any critics you had in the past?”
Ian: “That’s a deep question, kind of. It, you know, goes there. I think they’re all really supportive. My dad, before we left, was running our merch table at our home show and he was helping me get stuff figured out because I had a crazy situation with some road cases I needed for my amps. Family has always been there and friends all came out to that show. There’ve been a few haters with the new music but it’s really not anything we worry too much about. We feel like we’ve been finding a lot of new fans and friends who are connecting with us.”
Eric: “It’s cliche, but the ones who support you are always going to be there and the ones who aren’t there, you don’t need anyways. So, it’s all been good.”
Joey: “My family has been really supportive of me. I moved from New York to LA, away from my family. We’re actually meeting up with my mom and my step-dad in Florida in two days. They’re flying down from New York to meet up and hang out with us just because they love to support it. My parents were musicians too, so they know how it goes.”
Photograph by & used with permission from Stefani Soltero (@stef.tones)
Alt Edge: “Do you guys dress alike on purpose? Is this color scheme intentional?”
Ian: “That’s the idea. When we first started touring we would be really unmatched. I would be playing in like basketball shorts and sandals. It got to a point where we just wanted to look cohesive-”
Eric: “What it was is that we started to see pictures of ourselves and we would be like ‘we look like garbage’.”
Ian: “We have this thing now, shout-out to Krystian Hodges and his Uncle for this because they started it. Around 5 or 6 every night, we put on our ‘R.O.’ and that stands for ‘Rock Outfit’.”
Joey: “I hated it at first but it’s really growing on me. I get excited to go put on my ‘R.O.’”
Alt Edge: “You guys have a social media presence. How do you feel that presence has impacted your success as a band?”
Ian: “I think it’s been really cool. We have a lot of people who seem to appreciate that we genuinely try to respond to every message and comment we get. We don’t have anyone to do that for us, so it’s all personal. It’s all us.”
Joey: “We of course read every comment and every reply. We’re interested in what people have to say about us.”
Ian: “It’s kind of hand-in-hand nowadays. You can’t be successful without having a strong social media presence and you can’t have a presence online without being successful. It’s a give-and-take for sure. It’s helped us a lot.”
Eric: “That’s the idea, you know? Up to this point, our band has been very DIY and social media has been the best way for us to expand ourselves. We’ve booked tours strictly from social media. We try to use it to our advantage.”
Alt Edge: “Do you feel like local/regional fans have also had a positive impact on your success? If so, what have they done to really stand out?”
Joey: “Everytime we come around to a region of the US, the same kids will come out and we’ll talk to them and hang out with them. They come out to every show. It’s a lot of good vibes from our old fans and friends.”
Alt Edge: “Do you guys have inspiration or influence for your stage presence?”
Ian: “Paul from Chunk! No Captain Chunk!”
Joey: “I pretty much just try to be like Drake. I’m the Drake of the band.”
Eric: “I don’t really try to be like anybody. It depends, you know? If I have a lot of energy and I’m feeling the music, I’ll start dancing. It’s the Hispanic in me. I start grooving. It is what it is. If I’m feeling it, I’ll start moving.”
Alt Edge: “Did you guys have different expectations of what it would be like to be in a signed and touring band?”
Joey: “Of course! I thought I would’ve been pampered with only green Skittles in my bowl in the dressing room. But no, I love what we’re doing. I don’t have any complaints whatsoever. This is what I’ve been dreaming to do for my whole life.”
Eric: “I want a bottle of champagne every night, InVogue, and Flaming Hot Cheetos on deck! Extra hot. The black bag.”
Ian: “In Nick’s respect, he’s been great. When we came through Ohio, he invited us to the office, he took us out to eat and put us up in a hotel. He’s taking real good care of us and we have no complaints at all.”
Alt Edge: “You guys didn’t expect drugs and hookers?”
Eric: “Mostly chips and beer. We’re content with chips and beer.”
Alt Edge: “What can we look forward to from you guys after this tour?”
Joey: “After this tour, we’ll be a month into our album cycle for our first full-length record ever. It’s called ‘Unfamiliar’, it comes out on the 14th, and it’s something we’ve put our hearts and souls into. We’ll be touring a lot more, I think. This record is really going to kick us into gear, into where we need to be.”
Photograph by & used with permission from Stefani Soltero (@stef.tones)
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