Back in Spring of 2013, The Maine headlined Case Western’s Springfest. Now, the band is tagging along with Warped Tour for the second time in its history.

The tour is different than most shows, since the band is given a shorter amount of time onstage, and it travels to a different city almost every day. But The Maine’s drummer Pat Kirch is enjoying every step of the way.

Anne Nickoloff: Could you tell me a little bit about your experience of being on the road with Warped Tour? What’s it like to play in a different city every day? Do you sleep?

Pat Kirch, drummer: It has been a great experience so far, nothing to complain about. The shows and set up all happens in the day and we are done by eight at night. It is a nice change of pace to have the nights free to hang out with friends and just sit around the bus.

AN: How does Warped Tour (this time around) compare to your tour in 2009? What has changed about the tour in the past five years, and what has remained the same?

PK: I think it feels the same as it did in 2009 for me. I feel like the tour is the same as it was, not as many bands are working hard, though. We would see tons of bands on the tour walking the line in the mornings with us before but now we are one of the only bands out there.

AN: What’s the craziest Warped Tour show that you’ve played yet (either in 2009 or 2014), and what happened to make you think that?

PK: The show in Buffalo was crazy; it started raining very hard and everyone stuck around and went crazy. It was a great experience, I had a blast.

AN: How does Warped compare to some of your other shows?

PK: We are playing such a short set so it feels way different than a headlining show. We don’t stop between songs. It is just go time.

AN: I just have to ask- Lady Gaga or Katy Perry?

PK: Katy

AN: In the Spring of 2013, The Maine played at Case Western’s Springfest show. Would you say college kids are a big part of The Maine’s fan base? What kind of person do you usually play for?

PK: I think a lot of our fans are in college now. It is crazy to see that because a lot of these fans have been with us for seven or so years. Seeing them grow up with us has been a cool experience for us as a band.

AN: Comparing “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” to “Forever Halloween” shows a world of a difference in The Maine’s sound. It seems like you’re making less pop and more rock; why the change? Should we expect this trend to continue with future music?

PK: We are just growing like anyone would, from being 17 to 24, being introduced to new music and learning new things about recording and songwriting. We have not tried to sound different; it has just happened with age. I think we will continue to never make the same record twice [because] that is not very exciting for a fan or for us.

AN: How would you define innovation in music?

PK: I think everyone is just playing catch up, trying to make as good of music as The Stones were in the 70’s!