Lets Meet Devin Tait & The Traitors

We recently interviewed Devin Tait & The Traitors, a 5-piece indie pop band from West Hollywood, California. They are releasing their album “Mixed Signals” on July 22, along with a new single and video, “All Mixed Up.” This is their first album together. Here is our conversation with the band.

Twist Online : First Tell us a little about the starting of your Band.
DT & TT : I had been in a band called Shitting Glitter for 9 years, but during the last couple years of it, I started working on solo material. A few months before I released my first solo album, I started playing the songs out live, and decided to form a band to play the songs. That became Devin Tait & The Traitors.

Twist Online : Our readers would like to know about your band members and their responsibility in the band.
DT & TT : I sing and play keyboards and write most of the songs. My brother, Brandon, started out playing guitar but has played bass for the past few years, although he has been on an extended leave from live shows. Myles Matisse plays drums, and Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap sing and play percussion. Jarod also plays keyboards.

Twist Online : Why did you chose the name “Devin Tait & The Traitors”; is there any reason or influence behind it?
DT & TT : The word “Traitors” sounded good with my name, and also come from the opening track of the Sugarcubes’ debut album.

Twist Online : Tell us about your upcoming Album “Mixed Signals.”
DT & TT : This album has been a long time in the making! After I released my solo debut, “It’s Never the Way You Imagine It” in 2011, I immediately starting working on a follow up album, “Art Damage.” I had demoed most of the songs, but my band was asking me why I wasn’t having them record anything. So I decided to make it a Traitors album instead of a solo album. That brought on a bunch of new challenges, and we ended up writing a bunch of new songs. All of us are very busy so it’s always difficult to schedule time to work on the band, so that’s why it’s taken so long. But we’re really proud of it, we think it’s a great indie pop album.

Twist Online : The band has already released two singles and videos. How was the response from your fans?
DT & TT : We got a lot of great feedback on the singles and in particular the videos for “Now I Know What I Want” and “You Leave Me.” People really react to them, and especially when we play “Now I Know” live.

Twist Online : Why did you choose to classify your band as “indie pop?” Any particular reason of choosing this genre?
DT & TT : I just think it represents us well. We also say we’re dance rock, or synth-rock. We do aim to write pop music, but we want to have a little bit of an edge. Also because I’m not really a producer, my productions skills don’t really equate to full-on pop. There’s a bit of lo-fi quality to it.

Twist Online : What do you enjoy more, performing on stage or working in studio?
DT & TT : I think I can speak for all of us when I say we prefer playing live. It’s much more satisfying when you can see the audience and see how they are reacting in real time. However, I personally really enjoy hearing the finished product from the studio, even if I don’t enjoy working in the studio as much.

Twist Online : Any new project after “Mixed Signals” you are working on?
DT & TT : My next record will be a solo project entitled “The White Tomato” and it should be out next year.

Twist Online : Are you on Social Media? Your fans would love to follow you.
DT & TT : Yes, here are our links:
http://www.facebook.com/devintaitandthetraitors
Twitter: @devintait
Instagram: devintait
Snapchat: devintait