R: Alright, thanks guys. Could you tell me a little about this recent tour you’re on right now?

B!: We’ve had a lot of bus breakdowns, actually. We started in Vancouver on June 17th. And then went cross-Canada, and we’ve just been having, I don’t want to say troubles non-stop, but like five bus breakdowns, we’ve just been living off the pennies that we make. Like, we can’t even afford Chef Boyardee at some points, so we’re eating like Great Value from Wal-Mart. But, we love doing this more than anything, this is home for us: being in our bus, traveling the Country, doing it with my best friends, people that have been my brothers. It’s a huge blessing in my life to be able to be here and doing this. And I know all the guys feel the same about that, definitely.

(New Voice) As a recent highlight we did get to swim in Lake Superior. We were driving, just on the highway and there was kind of a rest stop, and we’re like, “okay, let’s pull over.” We go down kind of a little cliff face, and there was a rock and it was all full of rocks, but I mean like six, seven foot waves, and we’re like, “Okay! Well, the best decision here is to just jump in with the rocks and let the waves take us.” That was solid fun. That was one of my highlights for sure.

R: So what would you say is something that God has taught you over this tour, or give an experience that He used to grow you?

B!: Basically, the thing that God has really shown us is that He will provide, if you let Him. Like, no matter what’s going on, if you are down to your last penny, God will provide for you, and give you something so you can get by. Right when you think everything is pretty much lost, and feel like you just want to give up, keep your faith strong, and God will really bring you through it, no matter what the circumstances.

(New voice) I think another thing, too, that we learned is praising God no matter what. Over the first few days we found a lot of struggles, like bus breakdowns and other difficulties going on, and something I can definitely say for myself that I learned is when Job had everything torn away from him, the first thing that he did was got down and he worshiped. And that’s something we’re learning, is that when things get rough, or things get bad, not to curse God, but to look and just worship how mighty He is. Even when it sucks, that worship is the key. It’s so important.

R: That sounds like it’s been a powerful time on the road right now. How much longer are you guys playing until you get home? You’re playing with Your Memorial and some bands this weekend, is that right?

B!: Yes, we’re playing at Meltdown Fest in Altona, Manitoba, with yeah, Your Memorial, and some other awesome bands like Vessels of Veritas, and Forever, I. And then that’s unfortunately our last show and then we make the long trek home.

R: Crazy. Then so what happens after this? There’s a little more work on the album?

B!: Yes, as soon as we get back, basically all that’s left of the album is just vocals for the remaining songs. So I’m just going to go in there and hammer them off, get ‘em down, and then basically just album production after that. As soon as we can we’re going to get it out, get it digitally distributed, and then get CD’s printed for the next tour and whatnot.

R: Any plans yet for the next tour, or just going to see what happens?

B!: We have prospects, but we have no concrete leads at this point.

We know it’ll probably be some time in the new year that we’ll tour again, just in order for us to get our finances in order and to afford a new van. But we’re probably looking at going cross-Canada again as an album release.

R: Sweet! I look forward to that. Okay, here’s something I was wondering: the name “Battleship!”, where does this come from?

B!: (laughter in background)
To be honest, it just kind of popped up out of nowhere, like a looong time ago when we first started jamming. But to me, personally, it means like, a battleship is something that is so strong and powerful that no matter what you throw at it, it’s still going to keep on going. I kind of take that mentality with this band that no matter what troubles we face or, oppression, or people say they hate us, we’re just going to keep on going and keep doing it all for God.

R: Were there any ridiculous, or crazy band names that were passed on, that didn’t make the cut?

B!: We’ve all been in little local bands and stuff, like bands that have played maybe one show in their lifetime, and they have had some of those ridiculous names. I know Bryce and I used to play in a band called Dead Hollywood Lights, and it had no meaning whatsoever, just was something kind of cliché we thought up, and thought it sounded cool.

R: And playing the style of music that you guys do, are there any funny bands or artists, or TV shows, like those guilty pleasures that might surprise a person to find out that a metal band loves?

B!: We all love Taylor Swift. And John Mayer is awesome too. Everyone just thinks we listen to death metal, but we actually like a lot of other music.
As far as TV shows go, Bryce, Paul and I are all big fans of Breaking Bad and Dexter. I’ve been trying to catch up on all those Breaking Bad seasons as we’ve been driving, and then Workaholics is another awesome one.

R: Like the Great Commission recently covered Katy Perry’s “Firework,” is there one kind of fluffy or pop song that you think it would be fun for Battleship! To cover?

B!: It would be Taylor Swift. I don’t know what it would be, but it would be Taylor Swift.
Yeah, I feel like it would be Taylor Swift.

R: I would love to hear that!

B!: Oh! Defintely “Sparks Fly”

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Battleship!’s album was released on April 28, 2013. You can get it here: http://battleshipmusic.bandcamp.com/.

Check out the lyric video for the title track, Resurrection: