Over the last few years, Into It. Over It. has been highly regarded within a new movement of young and lively contemporaries that are inspired by the iconic and heartfelt emo scene of the 1990s. Through past studio efforts like Proper and Intersections, Into It. Over It. presents a serene delivery that champions the same heart and esthetic that is derived from precursors like Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, Braid and American Football to name a few. This month, Into It. Over It. is on the road supporting The Get Up Kids, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band.
Right before Into It. Over It. embarked on this East Coast run of December shows, I got speak with founder and frontman, Evan Weiss, about his personal relationship with The Get Up Kids over the years, and his excitement to catch up them on tour once again. Weiss and I also briefly discussed slight details on Into It. Over It.’s forthcoming studio full-length to be released next year, and also his plans for the holidays, which includes sharing the stage with The Promise Ring in his hometown of Chicago around New Year’s.
So, after the Thanksgiving holiday you’re going to be supporting The Get Up Kids on their run of East Coast dates, supporting their 20th anniversary. Tell me, what’s like it have the opportunity to share the stage with The Get Up Kids for this special occasion?
Well this is the third tour I’ve done with [The Get Up Kids guitarist and frontman] Matt Pryor. We did the Where’s The Band tour a couple of years ago. Then, I did a tour with Matt and [The Get Up Kids keyboardist] James Dewees maybe a year and a half after that, which was just me and then Matt and James on the road, riding around in a minivan together.
You know, I’ve recorded in Kansas and have had a long-standing relationship with pretty much everybody in that band for probably the last five years. So, it was pretty cool that they invited us to do this trip. It was kind of like, one of those where, “Oh, this is a chance to get all the buddies together.” It’s a way to have really big friends hang out for two weeks on the East Coast and play a bunch of really cool shows, so it’s exciting. I totally respect them, and we also really appreciate each other’s company.
Do you personally have any memories of how you were introduced to The Get Up Kids that you would like to share? For Into It. Over It.’s music or for any of your past musical projects, would you consider The Get Up Kids as a huge influence?
I don’t know if I would credit The Get Up Kids with any direct influence to Into It. Over It. But I definitely loved those records when I was young. You know, I really loved those records when they came out, and I used to see them all of the time in high school back when I was 15 or 16—and up until I was 21 when they broke up. I first met Matt Pryor on that first tour we did together, and then we really hit it off. He introduced me to everyone else, and we all hit it off.
But yeah, it’s cool getting to see a band that I really enjoyed for a good portion of my life, and I am sure it will feel pretty nostalgic to me (laughs).
Nice! I’ve been a pretty huge Get Up Kids fan for a very long time and this tour will be a very cool experience to hold onto since you’ve grown to know them throughout that short period of time.
Yeah, I mean James played piano on a Their / They’re/ There record. There’s a lot of lineage there, where we’ve gotten pretty close over the last half of the decade.
I know around the time when you were heading down to the Fest in Gainesville, you chose to play solo. Will the full-band be joining you for these dates with The Get Up Kids?
No, the full band will be there.
Oh, cool, cool. Not too long ago, I’ve read that one of your members was experiencing some personal matters, and you let him take care of that instead of having the full band go out and play Fest.
Yeah, everybody’s been doing really good right now.
Glad to hear everyone’s well. Over the summer, I’ve seen on social media that Into It. Over It. has been hard at work on your third studio full-length. What was the writing and recording process like for this record?
I would love to talk to you about that right now, but I can’t (laughs). For my “new album press cycle,” I can’t really give anything away before we start announcing things. I appreciate the hustle though (laughs).
At the least, I can say we’ve spent a couple of months last year working on songs, and we got to record them over the summer. There will be more to follow on that once the New Year approaches.
A lot of time has passed since your last record, Intersections. How do you think you’ve grown both personally and musically since then?
I think the main goal for writing songs after Intersections was to not think too hard about what we were making. And I think that was the problem that I’ve slowly over the course of three to four records really got way too inside my own head about that kind of stuff. I focused way more on songs that I had to write than just writing what would come naturally, or what felt good, or what made me feel inspired at the time.
So, rather than focusing too hard on that, I decided to trust my instincts and went back to writing songs the way that was the most fun for me. That was the ultimate takeaway for the new record, was just how much fun to write, how much was to make, and I think people who liked any outlet that I’ve done in the last maybe four or five years, like since the Koji Split, or since Proper, are really going to dig what we made. I think it fits the natural progression after, you know… from Proper to Intersections was the natural progression from there. Also, aside from that, it was just the one that was the most exciting for me to make.
Nice! I’m sure once you start to slowly announce more details for this record in the coming year, it should be pretty exciting.
It’s the most terrifying shit (laughs). Like, getting into any transition where you get to show people and when you get to start to release songs and stuff, it’s the most scary shit in the world (laughs).
Oh, I see. In that case, I bet the fans are usually excited, whereas from your end, it’s always kind of scary to transition into new album cycles because you never really know what people are going to say or think at first.
Yeah, totally. You’re putting yourself out there completely, and in my case, definitely! You know, because I’m not falling back on a group of people, it’s just me. I was actually just saying this to somebody else, but I’m getting better with it, but it’s hard to still not take stuff like that personally when you put yourself out there completely on the line like that.
Since you’ve finished working on this new record, will you be playing any new songs on The Get Up Kids tour?
No, I think we’re going to be playing some new songs on the tour. I mean, we’ve toured so much this year playing the same material over and over and over again, it would be really unfair if we went out and played the same material we’ve been playing all year, you know? To mix in a few new songs I think is absolutely not only fun for people who might be excited to see Into It. Over It. play, but it would be fun for us, just being able to play some newer songs that people haven’t heard.
The tour will be ending about a week before the holidays. How are you planning on spending them this year? Especially since you’re going to be playing with The Promise Ring on New Year’s. I can imagine that would be a great way to ring in the New Year.
Yeah, yeah, which is awesome, we’d get to do three shows in Chicago in one month, which is pretty unusual for us. We don’t usually play at home that much. I remember talking about it with my friend Ashley and she said, “Do you guys play Chicago a lot?” I was like, “No, not really!” (laughs) And thinking about it now that I am talking with you, we’re playing there three times in one month, basically.
But yeah, my girlfriend and I are splitting the holidays so we’re spending the East Coast for some of it, and then the Midwest for some of it, just hanging out at home. I’ll be home in January and February as well, just kind of prepping for the New Year and the new cycle.
Into It. Over It. is currently supporting The Get Up Kids on their 20th anniversary, which will be making stops at Irving Plaza on Dec. 9, The Bell House on Dec. 10, Trocadero Theater on Dec. 11 and at the Starland Ballroom on Dec. 12. Into It. Over It.’s second studio album, Intersections, is available now on Triple Crown Records. For more information, go to intoitoverit.com.
