A couple of years have passed since Glass Mansions came throughout ZOne. We were listening to “Matches” and wondering when we’d get more new music from the quartet. Fast forward to today and we’ve got a new album from the next evolution of Glass Mansions. Now a duet, Jayna, and Blake are still going strong with Ritual, touring and even more. We caught up with Jayna just to see what was going on and here’s what we found out…

Kendra: Ritual is finally out and it’s been a long time coming. What hurdles did you two have to get over in order to get this released?

Jayna Doyle: Where to begin? Ritual has been several years in the making for us. From letting go of toxic people in our lives, to downsizing to be a two piece, to figuring out how to fully self-fund an independent release that sounded bigger than DIY. Our biggest hurdle has been to stay focused on what we’ve wanted our end goals to be and to not be swayed away or bogged down in self-doubt. Ritual is truly the EP we’ve always wanted to make, from start to finish. It feels good to finally release new music that is 100% us.

Kendra: You went very DIY for the “Landmines” video. Is it more satisfying to do things like that on your own instead of hiring someone?

Jayna: “Landmines” was a really fun video for us to shoot ourselves. We’ve worked with Shae Winston in the past on both music videos for “Just Friends” and “Nightswimming.” We absolutely love him and working with him. For this song in particular, and before releasing the EP, we wanted to take a chance in doing it ourselves this time just to prove to ourselves and other indie bands out there that you can def make a badass music video on a budget.

Kendra: I noticed that in both “Landmines” and “Just Friends” you guys have this flirtation with light and a beautiful relationship with color. Would you say that light and dark visual showcases a parallel between your sound?

Jayna: Interesting question! I’d definitely say that the answer to that might be different depending on the viewer’s perspective and how they interpret the songs personally. I work closely on our music videos’ lighting and coloring details and have this really cool physical condition. I’ve come to learn more about in recent years, called synesthesia. Basically what that means is that when I hear/listen to music I actually hear the notes and chords as individual colors.

I try to recreate those colors in the music videos for each individual song – and I’ve realized more synthy/bass heavy songs of ours like “Landmines” and “Just Friends” are more in the purple/red world for me whereas “Nightswimming” appears more green/teal/blue for me. It’s an interesting thing for me to personally experience and I try to replicate that in how we portray the songs with our visuals.

Kendra: In your opinion, what is the number one sign that two people cannot be “Just Friends?”

Jayna: I’ve always been an all-or-nothing type person. You’re with someone 100 % or not at all, I don’t believe in the grey area.

Kendra: Last time we talked you guys noted which Suicide Squad members you’d be. You said, Harley Quinn. It was just announced that she is getting her own movie soon. With that, which song off of Ritual would you pitch for the soundtrack to that and why?

Jayna: This was a tough question! We think “If You Need Me / Don’t” would be the perfect song for Harley Quinn. The song is initially about cutting ties with toxicity and what no longer serves you. The chorus captures her wild card spirit: “Run from me / I’m a wolf cutting teeth/gold electricity.” I love that from time to time she uses the damsel in distress characteristic to lure victims in, which is also present in the song: “one more thing before you go / if you need me, then… don’t.” You could also lift the pre-chorus as a direct line meant for The Joker: “always had the Ace but never played it / I was always a risk worth taking.”

Kendra: You guys just got off the road but are going to play some one-off shows in May/June. How are shows like that different than the ones you play back to back?

Jayna: One-offs are special in that you have more time to prepare for them individually. You can make them larger than what you’re allowed every night on a six-week long tour, like the one we just did. Playing local, regional one-offs or even weekend warrior type stuff is also nice for us. That way we aren’t as road weary or eager to get back home. It’s funny though because these one-offs completely ignite the itch in us to get back out on a longer tour because we just can’t get enough of playing live and touring.

Kendra: What do the summer months have in store for you guys?

Jayna: We have quite a bit of things lined up that we are waiting to confirm. I can say we’ll be doing a RITUAL TOUR: PART II. You can also expect to see us at some new festivals. We’ll be spending a lot of the summer writing new music as well.

The post Finding a New Ritual with Glass Mansions appeared first on ZO Magazine.

One of the best times for a band to tour is the summer. Younger fans are out of school and older ones are often times in a better mood because of the nice weather out. With that, many pack up and head out anywhere between June and September before the leaves start to turn – and Glass Mansions is one of them this season. Not on the road just yet, they’ll be kicking things off mid-August. Before you go and scramble to get a ticket – make sure to check out what their own Jayna Doyle had to say when it came to their current single “Matches,” what you can expect when you see them on stage, what member of the Suicide Squad they are life and so much more!

Kendra: You guys note your sound is like “Annie Lennox going steady with The Neighbourhood.” With that, if you could go steady with any artist’s talent/essence, who would it be and why?

Jayna Doyle: That’s a toss up, either Emily Haines from Metric’s effortless swag or Murph from The Wombats’ tongue in cheek writing.

Kendra: Let’s talk about a different kind of date, tour dates. You just announced your Burritour that’s starting up this August. You guys are no strangers to the stage, so what can fans expect when they head out to this?

Jayna: This will be our eleventh tour but our first time out on the road with our good friend Rodney joining us on drums. Every time we tour we try to make each show and each tour better than the last for people that come out. I guess you could say we’ve gone “all in” with our stage show at this point and stopped caring about what works and what doesn’t and just making sure that we’re creating a uniquely different live experience for each stop on the tour and that we’re making personal memories with each crowd each night.

Kendra: Going back for a second. You’ve played everywhere from SXSW to Warped over the years. They’re all great, but what’s the best part about hitting the road on your own?

Jayna: Seeing it all come together. We’re still a DIY band, booking all our own tours ourselves and likewise managing all the details; so, when we say our goodbyes and hit the road it’s finally time for us to enjoy all the previous month’s’ hard work in making our own little dream happen. The hard part is over once we hit the stage and the cherry on top is getting to meet new people each night that become friends.

Kendra: The tour kicks off a little while after Suicide Squad hits theaters. With that, what member of that do you think each of you would be and why?

Jayna: Amazing question. I would be Harley Quinn, no doubt – I can be very sweet and approachable but also a spitfire and more blunt than people expect sometimes. Patrick (guitar) would be El Diablo because while he does have a fiery attitude, he can also be a bit more reserved than the rest of us at times and ironically has this Devil tarot card shirt he wears constantly on tour. Blake (synth/guitar) is 100% the Joker because if he’s awake he’s making really bad, but sometimes good, dad jokes and puns. Rodney (drums) is easily Captain Boomerang because he’s always up to something and jumps/climbs on just about anything he can find when he’s not playing drums – plus he’s obsessed with his Tech Deck which would double as a boomerang.

Kendra: You’ll be playing quite a bit around home in South Carolina. Do fans show more love for you guys there?

Jayna: Our local shows in South Carolina can definitely get a bit rowdy and are always over-the-top fun. Our SC fans are so incredibly supportive of what we do and we always start/end our tours with Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Greenville, and of course Columbia, stops – each being little mini ‘going away’ or ‘homecoming’ parties with longtime fans that have become friends. I wouldn’t want to say that we’re shown more love in SC though, because we have felt that same love in many of the places we’ve played and that’s what keeps us on the road.

Kendra: No matter where you’ll be, everyone coming out will be hearing your new single, “Matches.” What about this song in particular made it “the one” to lead your upcoming release?

Jayna: It’s interesting because initially we were going to release a different single off the upcoming EP, but at the last minute changed our minds. We wanted to really hit the ground running with more tours and new material this year – so the fast-paced and almost throwback sound of our earlier stuff found in “Matches” made it the more obvious choice to lead with. This song is also so much fun to play live and we’ll most likely be starting our set with it.

Kendra: Speaking of, when can we expect that new album?

Jayna: Very soon! I feel like we’ve been saying that forever, and we have, but we really want to make sure that we’re challenging ourselves as songwriters and putting out the best possible music to our fans that we can possibly write. Behind closed doors and in secret studio sessions, we have a ton of new material ready to be released but now it’s a matter of finishing up the EP with the best possible track to complete it. We will be releasing another single, “Nightswimming,” before the release of the EP though so that’s very exciting.

Kendra: Other than “Matches,” what can expect to hear on it when it drops?

Jayna: I want to say maturity, but not in an adult “oh they’ve really grown up” kind of way – because we are still just a bunch of wild, passionate kids – but because I think our new material showcases a songwriting maturity we hadn’t really tapped into yet on our prior releases. I think we’re getting smarter when it comes to songwriting and we’re learning more and more each day and we’re really excited to share this new chapter with fans.

Kendra: Other than new music – what’s up with you guys for the rest of 2016?

Jayna: Hitting the road on The Burritour, releasing our next single, releasing another music video, finishing up the EP and getting more content out to fans – we’ve also been flirting with the idea of a Fall acoustic tour.

The post Glass Mansions Present Squad Goals on Upcoming Burritour appeared first on ZO Magazine.