SHANE HALPERN (Vocals/guitar/synth, Keepsake): Life is good. I have no complaints.
ADAM: You know, I hate to say it, but right now when I think "Florida music," the first thing that springs to mind is "boy band factory." What have they been putting in the water down there and, growing up, what saved you from taking the Backstreet to success?
SHANE: I don't know what it is, but we do seem to crank out band after band. And good bands at that. We have Poison The Well, New Found Glory, Dashboard, Shai Hulud, etc. I could go on and even name some bands that are now broken up that were amazing but honestly I can't say why we're all coming from this area. I think certain areas go through phases of releasing amazing bands. Hopefully South Florida isn't through.
ADAM: Speaking of Florida bands, how much of an influence has Dashboard Confessional been on the reshaping of Keepsake's sound?
SHANE: I don't think any, really.
ADAM: Emo: what the hell does it mean?
SHANE: It's the lamest thing in the world and whoever made up the term should be shot. I laugh when I hear it used to describe a band’s sound. Eminem is more emotional than any so called "emo" band. I wish people would just stop saying the "E" word.
ADAM: The feedback for Black Dress In A "B" Movie has been mostly (and strongly) positive. But how do you respond to the inevitable fans who gripe that you've gone soft?
SHANE: I'm actually getting so sick of it. If they don't like it, don't buy it. If they're that mad at us, don't come to our shows. Our true fans love us and support us no matter what we decide to write. And to say that we've gone soft is ridiculous. I've used a "soft" voice on every CD going back to our first one. We wrote what we were feeling when we wrote it and it happened to come out with no screaming. Almost everything I've been writing after "Black Dress" has screaming in it but just because people seem to want to be all pissy towards us I feel reluctant to want to put it out.
ADAM: Keepsake got its start at a very early age. I look at short stories and things I wrote when I was 16 or 17 and I'm horrified. Is it ever hard to reconnect with those older songs or to work up the desire to play them live when the aforementioned fans request them?
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