Jeremy McKinnon - A Day To Remember 'A Big Ole Knotfest Chin-Wag'

You gotta give it to A Day To Remember, no matter what capacity they come to Australia in, they always know how to bring a party with them.

Fresh off the back of their first trip down under since 2019's Good Things Festival run, the boys tore up stages at KNOTFEST and that incredible Brisbane sideshow and not only did they destroy all expectations, they won over more fans than they arrived with, after a calculated intertwining of their heavier metalcore elements and the emotional sing-a-long inducing anthems that made them a household name in the scene.

Backstage in Brisbane, we got the chance to shoot the shit with frontman Jeremy McKinnon, chatting all about their surprise release Big Ole Album Vol. 1 - which is single-handedly changing the way fans consume music - by dropping physicals a month before streaming platforms. Was this a strategic plan or simply a happy accident?

Watch the chat below to find out or read on for the best bits...

When discussing the method behind the madness of surprise releasing the album psychically - in turn pioneering a new way for the music industry to take back control from streaming platforms - Jeremy was more than happy to divulge his secrets. Honestly, more than anything we thought it was cool to just do something different," the frontman explains, before adding, "We've been a band a long time now... we hadn't been sharing any news because we didn't want to get people's hopes up."

We're notorious for stringing people along over the years and people get annoyed by that. So we wanted to try something a little different.

Turns out, they had the stock sitting, ready and waiting, so why not just give it to the masses early and in turn instigate a movement which benefits the band and their most loyal fans first!?

"The idea got brought up to just put it out on physical first because we had the vinyl done. We had it just sitting in a warehouse somewhere for months and the little funny video we made really was the conversation [we had], like 'why don't we just put out the vinyl since it's made and then put the music out a month later and see what happens?' just to get people talking and get people excited."

The process worked for A Day To Remember who consequently landed in the Top 5 Billboard Album Sales Chart in the US (and #6 on the ARIA Vinyl Charts in Australia) - without any streaming support.

This massive 'take back the narrative' step also worked in the favour of independent record sellers who had been neglected for years since streaming overtook the industry's music consumption. Not surprising, they were all on board when it came time to surprising the world on launch day accordin to Jeremy.

"It was really cool to see, when we reached out to all the retail stores... these people were so excited to be a part of this because they went from being the first place that people would go, to now streaming is the first place that people go, so they just don't get that attention anymore. When we asked to do these things with them [early release stocking and in-store signings], people were going above and beyond trying to do anything they could to make it easier and to be apart of it. It was just cool."

It was kind of like a happy accident the way it all went down, but we've been really happy with the way it turned out.

A Day To Remember have been a forward thinking band for over two decades now, and in that time many conversations have come about from their supposed change in sound. Critics and "fans" relentlessly leave comments online stating the band had gone soft and lost their heavier edge, but in fact, they never were a band that solely released albums containing back to back heavy hitters and breakdowns.

After bringing this to Jeremy's attention, the vocalist was more than willing to hook in. "I think it's more our fault than anybody else's..." he stated, before clarifying. "We've always been a band that kind of catered to multiple genres at one time. So we could go on a heavy tour - I always use Parkway [Drive] and The Acacia Strain the first time we came over here as an example of we fit right in on that tour - and bands that plays pop punk couldn't."

We're this weird in-between band where we can play to both crowds, but there are definitely people that only like us for that one sound that we did or that one song that they liked.

"And I can understand why if you liked that from us, you only want us to do the thing you liked, but A Day To Remember is a little bit more than that. There's a portion of the fanbase that isn't catered to as much as they would like as normal bands do. Because normal bands are like 'this is our sound and that's it,' so I get it."

With the approaching release of their 8th studio album, titled Big Ole Album Vol. 1, the scene was left in a frenzy for two reasons. One impying that a Vol. 2 could very much be on the way down the track, and the second surrounding the notable names from the heavy/alternative scene who feature on the front cover.

With a solid list of who's who - including Cody Quistad from Wage War, Oli Sykes from Bring Me The Horizon, Chad Gilbert from New Found Glory, Will Putney (from, well, everything) and so on - many of us pondered the reasons behind their inclsuions, something McKinnon was not shy about discussion in detail.

"Pretty much everybody you see was a part of the creation in some way. They worked on it or they wrote with us [or] some are a guest vocal spot. We'll see what happens as it rolls out."

"Everybody who's on there worked on it [in] some way shape or form and that's why they're on there."

As the heavy music community continues to play Where's Wally with the album cover, it should very much be noted that Oli Sykes is credited as a writer on track #8, 'Die For Me'. Those with an early physical album would be aware of what this means, but for those without a copy - I guess you'll be waiting for the drop next week.

Before wrapping up, attention turned to the band's calmer and more chilled out antics since becoming dads. Jeremy, along with his wife Stephanie, are proud parents of two girls (aged 7 and almost 4) and conversations lead to living the rockstar life with kids, and their opinions of dad's work life.

"They're still pretty young... so when they come out [on tour] they're still very excited. They think it's super cool and we let them come out and throw toilet paper and they think it's the coolest thing ever.

They're not quite old enough to be like 'you're lame' [laughs] so the vibe is still very much a cool experience for them currently

I'll have to get back to you when they get to the age that they're over it."

Perhaps by the time A Day To Remember reaches their 30th Anniversary, the harsh reality may sink in... but until then there's still plenty of things to get excited about for the band - both at home and on the long road ahead.

Interview by Paul 'Browny' Brown @brownypaul

Big Ole Album Vol. 1 hits streaming on March 21st, 2025. Order and pre-save here

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION: Help us hit 30,000 Facebook Followers and win one of three copies (on vinyl) thanks to Warner Music Australia - Enter Here