Scary Kids Scaring Kids On Their Return To Australia
SCARY KIDS were at the vanguard of the post-hardcore boom of the 2000’s, not just as pioneers of a sound that lay the foundations for so many bands that followed, but also for their incredible live shows which created a community that grew into a massive scene. Such is the lasting legacy and love for the band that when they have reunited after the tragic passing of Tyson Stevens, such heavy hitting legends as Craig Mabbit (Escape The Fate), Vic Fuentes (Pierce The Veil), Brandon Bolmer (Chiodos), Cove Reber (Saosin), Kurt Travis (Dance Gavin Dance), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills) and Jesse Cash (Erra) have all stepped up to the task.
This November will see the six piece band, now fronted by Albert Schweizer (violent New Breed) hit the road in Australia in celebration of their defining and appropriately self-titled second album. Chad Crawford and Pouyan Afkary talk to Hi Fi Way about the tour.
Fifteen years since the last tour, you must be really itching to get back and make up for some lost time?
Pouyan: Yeah, big time.
Chad: Absolutely can’t wait.
Is it hard to believe how much has actually happened in that time since you were last here?
Pouyan: Yeah.
Chad: Doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. Honestly, fifteen years is crazy.
When you fast forward to now, is there a different level of appreciation for being in the band compared to the beginning of your careers?
Pouyan: Totally. I think there was a level of never being satisfied, wanting more, wanting to play bigger shows. And now, it’s more about being grateful to be here, just showing up for it.
And having a lot more fun?
Pouyan: Absolutely.
Chad: I mean, it’s always been fun.
Has there been a generational shift in your fan base too? That must be really satisfying seeing a younger crowd following the band now?
Pouyan: Yeah. I think our crowds are staying the same age, but we keep getting older, it seems. When we did our reunion tour, we had a lot of fans our age, revisiting the past. But now, a lot of people are discovering the music between when we disbanded and got back together. It’s really cool that we’ll get to play this music live for them for the first time.
When you made the decision to reform the band, was it easy? Or did it take some back-and-forth negotiating?
Pouyan: It definitely took a lot of negotiating. Chad wrote a beautiful song and sang on it for Tyson when we were down, and people really connected with it. That led to some interest in coming back to tour. Losing Tyson, we wanted to do it right, so we set a lot of rules in place. Truthfully, we thought it wouldn’t happen, but we had a close friend, Cove Reber, who sang with Saosin. He had a personal relationship with the band and Tyson, and when that locked in, it made sense. We played those shows, felt like a brotherhood, felt like family, it was everything we loved about playing in the past and none of the things we didn’t like. So we decided to continue in a more intentional way, only keeping the good things in future shows and the future of the band.
Speaking of the future, will this lead to another album or some EPs? Or are you taking it gig by gig?
Pouyan: We released State of Disrepair, our new single, in April. We have another new single, Oblivion, ou now, and then a full album this summer, just in time for our tour in Australia. And we’ll continue writing music. It’s great to be back together again. We’ve always been friends first, and touring and making music is an escape from daily life. Chad has kept writing since the band disbanded, but I haven’t had that outlet, so revisiting it feels incredible. There’s nothing like it.
What was the energy like in the studio while working on these songs?
Chad: It’s been a little different than it was back in the day. Back then, all six of us were together in one room, writing live in the moment, just playing whatever came out. When we heard something great, we’d stop and develop it. Nowadays, it’s more about sitting around, writing a riff, and thinking, “Oh, that’d be cool, let’s record that,” then fine-tuning it. I can call up and say, “Hey, this is something cool I’m working on, where do you think I should take it?” Technology has made it much easier since Pouyan and I aren’t even in the same state anymore. But when we do get time together in the studio, those are the best times of my life. I love being in the studio, recording, and creating something that feels really cool to us, and hopefully, to everyone else too.
Do ideas ever come at the weirdest times or places?
Chad: Yeah. Things are much different now, it’s just me and Pouyan. With the upcoming album and our last one, Out of Light, we had guest vocalists on each song. It was really cool working with so many different people and seeing how they added something new to our creations, ideas and angles we wouldn’t have thought of ourselves.
Did you have a vision for how the sound would come together?
Chad: Not really a vision, more just whatever came out at the time. Back in the day, we used everything we wrote. For the self-titled album, we recorded about fifteen to sixteen songs and used all of them. Nowadays, I’ll have dozens of ideas, on the last album, we had about twenty to thirty songs. From that, we decided on the best eleven or twelve that best represented us in 2021 or now in 2025.
Speaking of the self-titled album, you must be stoked about its legacy and getting to play it on this upcoming Australian tour.
Chad: I can’t wait! I can’t wait to come back to Australia and perform the entire album. That’s something we never got to do back in the day. We never performed almost half of those songs because we’d never played that long of a set. Back then, our longest set was maybe forty five minutes, but now we’ll be playing the full album, plus another thirty to forty minutes on top of that. Our set is going to be a solid hour and a half. I’m excited for everyone to hear it.
Are there particular moments from when the album first came out that still stand out to you?
Chad: The writing process was incredible, we secluded ourselves in the California desert for a month, just hanging out and writing music. The recording process was amazing too, we worked with Don Gilmore at NRG Studios, such an iconic studio with a legendary producer. Looking back, it was such a great time.
Pouyan: Yeah, and there was a pizza place down the street with the world’s largest pizza, that was cool.
Chad: You guys had to put it on top of the car!
Pouyan: Yeah, one person had to hold it on each side. There wasn’t a trash can inside, so we had to put it outside. It was massive.
Chad: I think my wife, Heidi, has a video of us with that pizza at the place we stayed in Hollywood.
Pouyan: Next time we’re in North Hollywood, we’ll get the world’s largest pizza again.
When you rehearse and play the album live, are there tricky parts you had to relearn or reinterpret?
Chad: Definitely. Like I said, we didn’t play half of these songs live before. Fifteen years went by, so I honestly forgot how some of them went. But weirdly, when I started learning them again, they just came naturally, if I don’t think too hard, my fingers just do what they’re supposed to, and suddenly, I’m like, “Oh yeah, that’s how it goes.”
Chad: Like Power Resolution or the album closer, those are just me on guitar and vocals. Stuff like that really raises my anxiety when I’m playing because no one else is playing, and everybody can hear if I mess up. So that’s what’s going on in my head. But the second I hit that last note and didn’t mess up, I just go, bam! Nailed it.
Touring with Skylit Drive as well, that makes for an incredible double lineup on this tour. Do you go back a long way with those guys?
Pouyan: This is actually the first time we’ll be playing a club tour with them. I believe we may have done a couple of shows together during Warped Tour, but we never had the opportunity to play in a more intimate setting like this. So we’re amped to be touring with them.
What are you looking forward to most about touring Australia? I know it’s been a while, but is there anything you’re excited to see or do while you’re here?
Pouyan: The people. I love Australian people, they’re just so kind and generous. Last time we were out there, we visited the Sydney Opera House and went to the zoo. I don’t think we’ll have as much time this time around, but on previous trips, we met people who just took us around and showed us the sights. That level of hospitality, everything just being cool, with that “no worries” mentality, you can really feel it, and I totally resonate with it. I just love the people out there.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Catch Scary Kids Scaring Kids on the following dates, tickets from The Phoenix…
