Interview: Full Throttle's, Max McGill, Chats About Their New Single " Generation of Tomorrow"

What inspired the creation of this single?

The song was originally an idea that Cone (Sum 41) had. He had the riff and the chorus, and he approached us with it, and we loved it. I really dug the idea of writing a song about how the next generation of people is getting screwed by all the billionaire tech bros and their agendas, so we got to work writing lyrics and jamming the song.

What story or message does the song convey?

This song, to us, is a protest against the people who run our world for profit. It's about how surveillance and technology is used as a tool to exploit our everyday activities. About how data centers destroy ecosystems so that our information can be stored and sold. About how we do not have to give in to the idea that artificial intelligence is above the human brain.

Can you tell us about the creative process?

The creative process for this song was unique for us. It was really cool going back and forth with Cone, talking about lyrics and different parts of the song. We would work on the song, send a version to him, and then work together on perfecting it. Then when we got into pre-production and started really jamming it with him and finalizing a version to go into the studio with, we got to all bounce ideas off each other and come up with some really cool parts together.

How does this song differ from your previous releases?

The biggest thing for us that sets this song apart for us is that we co-wrote it with Cone McCaslin from Sum 41. They were a huge inspiration for us when we started the band, and being able to write a song with Cone and have him produce it was a total dream come true. Working with him brought out different parts of our writing and playing that we had never explored before, and I think you can definitely hear it in the song. The song also stands out because we've never really tackled a theme like this in our writing. We have a lot of great songs about girls and heartbreaks, but this is our first one about a heavy topic like this.

What challenges did you face while writing or recording?

The biggest challenge we faced when writing this one was just being apart. Evan, our bass player, was out in Ottawa when we were writing the song, so there was a lot of back and forth with him and also with Cone, over text and Zoom calls. I think we did a great job of staying really motivated to write an awesome song, and we were able to do that, even with us being far away from each other.

Did you experiment with any new instruments, techniques, or styles?

I think this song is a lot more straight-up punk rock than some of our previous releases. We pride ourselves on having really catchy pop-punk tunes, but this one leaned more into the fast and raw punk side of the spectrum, which we’re really excited about. Working with Cone had Evan really challenging himself with his bass parts, and that's a part of the song that really stands out to me.

Is there a personal connection or story tied to the lyrics?

We think this song can personally connect to anybody out there who uses a phone or social media or any other technology that is listening at all times and isolating you as a data point.

Have you performed it live yet, and what was the audience’s reaction?

We’ve performed the song a couple times live and it's gotten an awesome response from the audience. We've had a number of people come up to us after shows asking about “that new one,” which has gotten us really excited to release it for everybody to listen to. We think people are stoked about a new song that's a little different than the rest.

Is this single part of a larger project, like an album or EP?

Right now, it’s just a single, but we're always writing and recording new stuff, and we’d love to see it as part of something bigger.