On Friday, January 6, 2012, Suite101 spoke with Doug Brown, the lead singer of pop-rock band SafetySuit. Doug opens up about their latest studio album These Times, released via their label, Universal Republic Records.
Doug Brown Talks “These Times”
Doug notes that after touring for two or three years, he and his band members listened to song demos and saw which ones rose to the top; moreover, a key component for the song selection of their newest record involved playing songs for people and seeing which ones their audiences reacted to the most.
Most recently, These Times escalated to #1 on the iTunes Album Charts. “It was unbelievable!” Doug exclaims. “I was totally blown away by it. We were actually at #2 for several hours on the first day it debuted. I ended up tweeting Adele and I asked her if she could tell her fans to stop buying her albums for a few hours, so that we could experience what it’s like to have the #1 record in the country. When that ended happening, I was very thankful, and I actually tweeted her again and said ‘thank you.’”
“Howard Benson is the quintessential producer! He is one of the biggest producers in the world. Most importantly, he refused to let us write anything that was fluff or filler. Everything had to have heart, and evoke some kind of emotion, and that was awesome,” Doug adds.
Doug Brown Talks About “Let Go”
“We co-wrote that song with Ryan Tedder. We were friends with Ryan long before OneRepublic was even a band. ‘Let Go’ is awesome. It’s cool to be working with him in the studio. He has an amazing ear for pop music. I think we got a really fun song out of it. It’s really fun to listen to and it’s exciting to play live!”
On working with Ryan Tedder, Doug remarks, “he’s a genius! He is incredibly talented musically, and we have such a good rapport with him.”
The music video for ‘Let Go’ was very fun to make,” Doug admits. “It has a happy feel to it, and it allowed us to showcase our personalities and have some fun on camera.”
Doug Brown Talks About “These Times”
The title track is the band’s newest radio single. “It was one of the last songs that we selected for the record. It describes how times are hard and it’s a song about hope. This is my favorite tune on the album. It’s everything that we want to be as a band in one song. It has emotion, depth, and it can intimate at times too. It speaks to something that’s real and it’s tangible right now. It’s very current and relevant. People are going through hard times, and you have to put something good in their ear, and hopefully we could do that with ‘These Times.’”
Doug Brown Discusses “Life in the Pain”
These Times closes with their ballad “Life in the Pain.” “For the fans of the last record, they know that we like to close our albums a little slower. We wanted to write a song that spoke to the idea that sometimes in life, the hard times and the pain that you go through is what makes you appreciate the good times and it teaches you. Sometimes the down moments make you understand why life is so great in the first place,” he says.
Doug Brown Talks About Working with James Durbin
“I wrote the song ‘May’ a while back. I had played it for Howard Benson, who was recording our album and he also did James’ new record. When James was looking for songs, Howard told him to listen to that song, and they both loved it. I couldn’t be happier with the way that James sang it! It just made the song come to life, so to hear a song that you wrote sung by a guy of his caliber was really awesome, and a true privilege,” Doug acknowledges.
Doug Brown Talks About Opening for The Script
“One of the best experiences we’ve had as a band was opening for The Script. They are incredible musicians that put on a great show, and they are even better guys. They taught us a lot, and they took the time to mentor us, and we are a better band for knowing them for sure.”
Doug Brown Reveals SafetySuit’s Future Plans
“We have a lot of press and promo to do over the next few months, and then we will head out on a small tour,” he shares.
Doug Brown Talks About his Dream Duet Choices and Hobbies
Doug lists Carrie Underwood and Adele as his dream duet choices in music.
In his spare time, Doug reveals that he loves to play golf. “I’m addicted to golf, and I enjoy spending time with friends and being around good people. That’s the highlight of our days!”
Doug Brown Shares his Definition of Success
For Doug Brown, the word success means “having a great family and friends around you. Being with people that you love, and to be excellent in what it is that you are doing. I want to make sure that I am the best lead singer that I can be, and that my band can put on the best shows that they can. If we can do that, I think he have done something really special! “
For more information on SafetySuit, visit their official website,and to watch their newest video for 'These Times' on VEVO click here.
Markos Papadatos - Markos Papadatos holds over six years journalism experience, authoring over 700 articles, many of which are feature profile interviews.
Join the Conversation