The Interrupters' Aimee Interrupter: "My Teenage Self Would Be In Awe Of All This"

2019 was been quite the ride for rising ska-punk heroes The Interrupters – but even bigger things are brewing for their next 12 months…

2019 was a massive year for The Interrupters.What’s your main take away?
“The whole year was wild. We did 110 shows, and for me the highlights were all the awesome festivals we played. There was Coachella, Download, Slam Dunk and Summer Sonic in Japan. Just to get asked to do those was a huge honour, and they totally lived up to expectation. We had an amazing time.”

How thrilled were you to see songs from your last album, 2018s Fight The Good Fight, being embraced in such a big way?
“Oh my gosh – to say I was thrilled would be an understatement! We’ve been a band for seven years, but 2019 blew our minds. Everywhere we went we felt this whole new level of love, way above anything we’d seen before. We feel so blessed that people got it in the way they did. It gave us an incredible, wonderful, magical year. And I feel like we learned something from every artist we played with. Each time we take a little something with us, and we’re better for the experience.”

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Will you take that positive energy and put it into new music in 2020?
“At the end of February we’re going into the studio with [producer and Rancid frontman] Tim Armstrong again. The UK dates we have coming up in January and February will be the last shows of the Fight The Good Fight tour. It’s gonna be a big finale for us. While touring we’ve also been writing non-stop. That means we have a lot of material to get down. We can’t wait to bring everything together to complete the puzzle.”

And, of course, you became Kerrang! cover stars April last year...
“Oh my – that was our first ever magazine cover. Everyone in my family – my mom, my siblings, and even my grandma – all got a copy! Everybody has it out in their house so they can show it to people when they come over. It’s made them all feel very proud. I can hardly describe what it’s been like – it’s really such an honour for us. I think my teenage self would be in awe of all this, and completely shocked to see that what she dreamed of was actually coming true.”

You also got nominated for Best International Breakthrough at last year's K! Awards. Can you go one better next time?
“That would be awesome. Our friends SWMRS won, and we are super happy for them. It’s still an honour to be nominated, and that happening was one of the coolest things about the year. We’d love to win one another time.”

Your set at Download was one of the festival highlights. Was it as good for you?
“That was a magical show. It was raining outside, and everyone was packed into the tent. There were so many people singing along – it was one of those days that I will literally never forget. After we came off stage we all hugged each other. We were just so happy. You had Whitesnake playing on the other stage, and that’s the great thing about events like this – you get a little metal, some punk, some rock, and we’re just thrilled to have been included.”

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What was it like playing the K! Pit and transforming what’s usually a tiny moshpit into a skanking dancefloor?
“Yeah, a different kind of fun! We’ve played small stages like that before – and to fewer people – so it took us right back. We thought, ‘Okay, we got this,’ and it turned out to be really cool. What a special little place it is – and it’s a great thing Kerrang! has got going there. It was a lot of fun.”

What challenges have you overcome in 2019?
“The main lesson I’ve learned is to put my health first. I’m not invincible. In order to maintain what we do, I have to drink a lot of water and get a lot of sleep. I also have to learn not to talk so much, because I’m doing so much singing. I now understand that I need to rest my voice, and that’s been hard. Even though [2019 was] our busiest year, it’s taught me how to cope. I learned how to do everything better.”

Are you excited about playing on the Hella Mega tour next year?
“Playing in baseball stadiums is just crazy. You’d think I’d be able to find the words to describe the magnitude of it all, but honestly, I can’t. We’ve toured with Green Day before and we love them so much. We’re honoured to be part of it. This tour doesn’t even need an opening act, so it’s so sweet of them to include us.”

What would you like to improve upon in 2020?
“Hone my writing skills and become more disciplined about it. I don’t want to just attack the paper when there’s a flash of inspiration – I want to make time and focus on the process. I’m going to do it until I fill up all the empty notebooks in my house.”

The Interrupters tour the UK later this month. Get your tickets here.

The Interrupters 2020 UK tour

January

27: Cardiff, Tramshed
28: Birmingham, O2 Institute
29: Liverpool, O2 Academy
31: Glasgow, SWG3

February

01: Leeds, O2 Academy
02: Manchester, O2 Ritz
04: Bristol, O2 Academy
05: Nottingham, Rock City
07: London, O2 Forum Kentish Town