Diandra Interviews Animal Years: What I’m Fighting For

There is a magic born from people that like each other, which is why Animal Years feel special. These guys are friends as much as bandmates. In a world that still exalts “tolerance” as good, Animal Years understand that you don’t just “deal” with people’s existence; you get to know them and, through time, love them. For Animal Years, love is a vital feeling. It was for love of music that have stayed through the highs and lows of the music business, and it was out of love that they have become active advocates for BLM, even experiencing numerous arrests fighting for a truth: Black Lives Matter. In our interview, they discuss the inspiration behind their new single, “What I’m Fighting For,” why they divided their new album into three parts, and what songs they would dedicate to each other.

Diandra: What was the inspiration for What I’m Fighting For? 

Mike McFadden (vocals): “What I’m Fighting For” is one of those songs that l had to write for myself. A couple years back, everything was up in the air about our future as a band. I wanted this song to be there as a reminder to myself to always keep going and pursuing music no matter what life decided to throw our way.

Diandra: What is a social issue or cause you would fight for? What is something annoying or rude that people do that you would fight them on? 

Anthony Saladino (bass): We’re super passionate about fighting for equity for Black people in this country. Something that’s incredibly annoying that white people do is performative activism. Posting a black square on Instagram and then never actually taking the time to invest in their own anti-racism work. They don’t amplify Black voices, they can’t go to a protest without posting pictures of it to make themselves look good, they don’t read up on how ingrained systemic white supremacy is in our history and our culture, and how it unfairly benefits them every day. We are by no means perfect people,and we have so much to learn and unlearn, but we’re committed to the process.

Diandra: What was your experience in the BLM Protests, and how did what you learn frame how you see 2021 so far? 

Anthony Saladino: It was intense and eye-opening. We’d been to marches and protests before but being on the ground floor for a 62-day occupation was completely different. A lot’s being said right now about how differently the people storming the capitol were treated compared to BLM and that’s completely true of our experience. Our proximity to Blackness and the fact that we were calling for justice for Black people led to us getting arrested several times and having to spend long nights in jail. What you don’t see about the BLM movement is how much time, energy, and money is dedicated to mutual aid and taking care of the community. We were not just participating in acts of civil disobedience, but we were out there serving three meals a day to the houseless community and doing clothing drives and offering medical attention to anyone who needed it. Taking care of people that the government is failing.

Diandra: What did you choose to split This Is An Album Called Animal Years into three parts? 

Mike McFadden: These songs were pulled from all different parts of the band’s life over the past 7 years. For example, there’s one that didn’t make the cut on our last album because it was “too different” from the rest, and one l was writing lyrics for in the studio right before l was about to sing it. We had been touring for the past two years and didn’t have the time to sit down and write an entire album, all at once. Instead, we pulled songs from all over that we always wanted: to record and never did. The outcome was a totally mixed bag of music. Although we love the songs, we realized they just didn’t fit together the way we wanted on a full album and so we tried to group them as best as possible into smaller EP’s to make them cohesive.

Diandra: What does Part One represent to you, and what will it say or cover, thematically, compared to the others? 

Mike McFadden: With Part One we wanted to come out swinging with some heavy rockers and catchy pop tunes. We knew we hadn’t released any new music since 2017 and only had 5 songs to make a big impact with our first release since then. This one just felt like the perfect mix. Thematically, it varies from some light-hearted, break-up songs to not giving up when everything, in your professional career, comes crashing down almost all at once.

Diandra: If you could compare the three parts of your album to a film trilogy, which would it be and which character would you give each other? 

Mike McFadden: With three parts, the obvious answer is Star Wars. Since Spinnato is our tech and audio guy and always has the latest Apple gadgets, l think he would be C-3PO. I would be Jabba The Hutt because of my low self esteem and, at times during the pandemic, my laziness felt akin to him sitting there doing nothing. I also am not a confident actor; so I’d rather just mutter a bunch of gibberish and not learn any lines and be on my way. Saladino has to be Han Solo because of his classic good looks ,but also because he’d be mad if l didn’t give him Han Solo.

Diandra: If you could turn a book, film, or show into a concept album, which would it be and why?                           

Mike McFadden: I love what Eddie Vedder did with Into The Wild. I have spent so much time in nature, since the pandemic, began that l would feel very inspired scoring the music for a movie along those lines. I can’t think of one in particular, but any nature themed documentary or biographical movie would be right up my alley.

Diandra: If you could turn an album into a movie, which would it be, what would be the premise, and who would you cast? 

Mike: McFadden: My first thought is Ruston Kelly’s Dying Star. It chronicles a dark time in his life when he was struggling with addiction. I imagine it would be a biography of sorts, just following his music career, his downward spiral, and eventually his path to recovery. I feel like Tom Hardy looks like him and could pull off the role well, and l think Zooey Deschanel would be excellent as Kacey Musgraves. She’s already got the singing and performing chops for it.

Diandra:If you could dedicate one Animal Years’ song to each other, that matched the others’ style, which would it be and why?

Mike McFadden: For Saladino, l would pick “Friends.” The music video was his directorial debut and he absolutely knocked it out of the park. I watched him pour his heart and soul into that project and the video is one of the first things l show to someone who is new to the band.

For Spinnato l would definitely pick “Home.” We are both Baltimore boys: born and raised. We talk often about our hometown and bond over Baltimore sports especially the Ravens!

Anthony Saladino: For Mike I’d pick “Haine’s St. Station.” To me, it kind of hits on everything that makes Mike such a killer songwriter. There’s a story that’s personal and emotional, it blends a couple of different musical genres, it’s dynamic in the way that it builds, and watching him perform it live is a huge joy because he’s so in his element and he gets the entire room completely transfixed.

For Spinnati Jones, I’d pick “Meet Me.” He’s such an unbelievable performer. People always come up to me after shows talking about how great he is and I couldn’t agree more. Any time I’ve ever watched a clip of one of our shows, I can’t take my eyes off of him. He brings an insane amount of energy to the end of this song, every time we play it live, and it’s a blast to be on stage with him for it.

Diandra: What is something you learned about yourself in 2020 that you want to build in 2021? 

Mike McFadden: The extra time from not touring got me into some volunteer and activism work, which was extremely rewarding and eye-opening. I would love to make time to continue to be more involved in 2021.

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