Dan Yemin, guitarist of Lifetime and vocalist of Paint It Black posted a myspace bulletin (addressed to Paint It Black friends) discussing the band's recent signing to Pete Wentz' Decaydance label.
The signing was the source of some controversy and Dan has both offered to answer questions and also had this to say:
Hey everyone, this is Dan Y. and I sing and write the songs for Paint It Black. I also play guitar in Lifetime. As you probably know if you're receiving this, Paint It Black is pretty heavily concerned with political subject matter, and for me personally it's always been important to try to keep my actions and my lifestyle consistent with my beliefs and ideals.
A lot of people have been upset by the news that Lifetime has signed to Fueled by Ramen/DecayDance records. From what I can tell, most of the uproar is based on people jumping to conclusions or making inaccurate assumptions. I'm flattered that Lifetime and Paint It Black are important enough to people that they can get this upset about who puts out our records. I'm also really happy that people care what we believe in and whether or not we're sincere. This is punk rock and those things are important. I totally understand that people feel like they have some ownership of theband and the music because it's played a large part in their lives, and I'm gratified and flattered by that.
I'm concerned that some people seem to be questioning the legitimacy of Paint It Black because of this. I wish I could be punk enough to say that I don't care what people think, but that would be dishonest. I'm more than a little upset over some of the vicious things people have said on message boards.
I can honestly say that Lifetime hasn't done anything that I'm ashamed of, but I understand that people have questions, and I'm more than willing to answer them. I want to encourage people to contact me here at our myspace page and feel free to ask whatever questions that you might have about what any of this news means for Lifetime or for Paint It Black. Just be sure to put "Lifetime" in the subject heading.
I'll give you the FAQ to start with, it might make things easier:
- Fueled By Ramen/DecayDance is neither owned nor funded by a major label, I made sure of that.
- Our motivation in signing is not to "cash in " or "sell out". We simply wanted the resources to make the record we wanted. I still make more money if I stay home and go to work. We all have day jobs and it will stay that way.
- No $$$ advance, just a recording budget.
- No "big name producer" on the recording, just Steve Evetts who recorded "Hello Bastards", "Jersey's Best Dancers", and "Tinnitus", and also all the Kid Dynamite stuff. Although I suppose Steve has become a big name in his own right in the last 8 years. We will be working at the same old studio, TraxEast in NJ.
- The new stuff is fast melodic HCpunk, like the old stuff.
- No one will be interfering with our songwriting or recording.
- When we play something big and ridiculous (Bamboozled) we will attempt to balance with something intimate (Court Tavern, New Brunswick).
thanks for caring. I look forward to answering your questions… -dy