Justin caught up with Black and Devin from VersaEmerge at Birmingham Academy before they supported We The Kings to chat about their quick rise to fame and much more.

We first caught up with you back in April 2009 when you were touring on the Give It A Name Introduces Tour, how’s things been for you since then?
Blake: It's been a while yeah but since then we did Warped Tour twice, our first headliner this past fall in the US, it's going really well and we're happy to finally get back here.

Devin: Yeah it's definitely a cool lineup to come over with and I think the Ready Set was supposed to be on this tour as well but something happened so we got stepped up, which is awesome after doing the Secret Valentine tour with them a couple of years back, it's been cool to come back with some familiar faces as well as playing loads of sold out shows.

You released your debut album ‘Fixed As Zero’ back in the summer of 2010, how has it generally gone down with the press and your fans?
Blake: It's gone really well. We didn't know what to expect with it being the first time we've made a full length record, so we were a little anxious. It's a slow build and you can't expect it to happen over night but it's awesome to just now finally see people coming to the shows to see us and screaming the words as loud as they can. It's the best pay off to see people loving it.

Devin: Especially as our album just got released over here like in the past day or so and for kids to be already hyped up on the songs and to be singing the words back is incredible, really surreal and that's what is like when we came over last time and we just had the EP out. That was our first time over here and we didn't know what to expect but it was so good.

What would you say your favourite songs from the album are and why?
Blake: For me, "Up There". It's cool to bring in the keys aspect although that sucks tonight as we just found out the keys are broken, it's kind of a big part of our set but hey!

Devin: "Stranger" is a fun one for us to play as well, with it being a little bit more up paced and dandy and "Your Own Love" is another one, it's a really powerful song and it was cool that we got to put out a tour video promoting it so yeah those are definitely some favourites.

You are currently touring the UK with We The Kings, how have you found the shows so far?
Blake: Definitely, one of our first great tours was with We The Kings, we toured with them in the states and on Warped Tour. We've played with pretty much everyone on the tour before so sharing a bus together is really cool, it's a whole different level seeing how everyone interacts with each other in terms of space and stuff but we've been meshing really well.

A few weeks after your UK tour ends you are heading out on the Alternative Press tour, how much are you looking forward to it?
Devin: It's really cool with the AP tour being so big. It's crazy as we're home for like 2 weeks then we head back out on the AP tour and we've got some other things planned pretty soon after which we'll be heading straight into

Blake: And our headliner went so well this past fall that we're ready to hit those markets again and see those same faces, really stoked about it.

How are you finding playing in the UK compared to the states?
Blake: Very different, it always depends on the whole tour as a package, until we headline here we can't judge it how it's supposed to be, but all the kids that have come to see us over here really love it so that's something for sure

Devin: I think when you compare and contrast I feel like the kids seem a little more stoked about things, maybe doing a little more research into all the bands playing, especially the ones they don't know and really give them a chance, where as the kids back home maybe brush that off a little bit, it feels really fluent here, we always talk about that and really enjoy it and everything is just so different here, we really love it!

Recently you have been tipped for big things from many different publications, how does it make you feel getting such high praise?
Blake: It's exciting, I feel it's been a constant climbing motion since we put our first CD and as long as that keeps going we're not in any mood to stop that.

Devin: It's cool, it's definitely amazing having people like MTV reaching out to us and seeing things really unravel, having a full length album out and really pushing that, along with having some really awesome people to help us with promotions and such, it's all helping us rise together which is really cool.

Where do you hope to see VersaEmerge in a year’s time?
Blake: That's a good question, we just wanna keep playing and reach as many people with our music as possible, we're about to start writing again, working towards another full length album which is exciting and not as scary as writing the first one, we feel we have more of defined sound with each record which helps get more of a clearer vision of what we're trying to go for. And we just wanna keep touring touring touring as well.

Devin: I think that's all you can really do, get your name out there and keep that cycle going. we're really proud of everything on the CD and it'll be cool to kick back in the fall and just start trying to get some new tunes out there, experiment a little more, dip a little more into it as now we have this sound that we've sort of established that people can relate to and just tour tour tour! No time to get comfortable!

One last random question that we ask every band, if you could be an animal out of a zebra or Giraffe which one would you be and why?
Blake: Okay well I already know Sierra would want to be a zebra, and I'm pretty tall already so I think I'd go with that too.

Devin: I dunno I think I'd wanna be a giraffe, lead that sort of chilled out kinda life. I think on that level we can sort of relate you know, "Hey I'm a giraffe, how are ya?"

Thanks for your time is there a message for your fans reading this? Blake: Yes, come see us live, love music because you love it, not cos it makes you look cool and just be you!

Devin: Thanks for the support! I really think we have some of the best fans out there and I feel like they're very die hard so keep that up! It helps us do what we do so keep that coming so we can stay on that level and we'll be in your city really soon.

Interview By Justin Andree