Formed in 2010, Dayton, OH’s The Paramedic seamlessly blend blistering, breakdown-laden metalcore with indulgent synth-pop hooks. It’s like Parkway Drive and Panic At The Disco! met at a dive bar and became instant best friends. Having signed to NJ-based Bullet Tooth Records, The Paramedic is set to release their debut album “Smoke & Mirrors” on October 23rd. Comb recently spoke with guitarist Jake Nolan about super heroes, all-u-can-eat tacos, and the age old question of Paxton or Pullman. We also talked a little bit about their new record and life on tour. Check out their lyric video for “Back To The Start” at the end of this post.

For potential fans who have never heard of you, how would you convince people to buy your music or go to a show?

Our live performances are always out of control. We give it everything we’ve got and our fans do the same. We try to interact with the crowd as much as possible while on stage and off, it’s always a good time for everyone!

How did you get in touch with Josh from Bullet Tooth?

We are all big fans of the bands that Josh is putting out these days, and we all grew up listening to the stuff he was putting out when he was running Trustkill. When we decided to start looking for labels it was a no-brainer, we went to him first. I remember I sent him an email and I just KNEW he was going to love it, and then he sent me an email back not really feeling it and I was really bummed out. And then, I will never forget this day, I was working at my awful McDonald’s job and I got an email on my phone. It was Josh and he said that he had been jamming the tunes and loved them, and wanted to talk a little more. The rest is history.

Why the illuminati imagery and how does is it relate to the lyrics/concept of the record?

It’s just really interesting. There is more to this world than people think.

Are you a believer in conspiracy theories like the illuminati, the new world order, etc?

Oh yes.

There is a straight-up R&B track on this record. What prompted the decision to include this on the album? Do you think fans will be surprised at all by this?

This is possibly the coolest song on the album, to us at least. One of the cool things that sets us apart from everyone else it Michael’s singing style. He’s a very R&B influenced singer in a metal band, and somehow we pull it off and make it cool when it shouldn’t be. We also have a ton of pop influenced synth in our songs, and pop influence beats in our songs, so we just thought it would be super cool to focus on those two aspects of our music exclusively in one song. I think the fans don’t expect it, but I think they will totally get it and appreciate it. I wouldn’t be surprised if this song became a scene classic instantly.

If The Paramedic was an existing super hero, which one and why?

Probably Spider-man. Badass on the outside, awkward dork on the inside. That sums us up pretty well.

If you could cover any song ever written, what would it be?

I think I speak for everyone when I say… The Dawson’s Creek theme song.

Do you have any guilty pleasures, musically speaking?

If people knew how much Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Ke$ha we listen to in the van, they probably wouldn’t like us anymore.

Describe playing your dream concert. Budget, the limits of technology, and the laws of physics do not apply. Go crazy.

This is easy. Have you ever seen Metalocalypse? THAT.

If The Paramedic can co-write and record a track with any musician or band, alive or dead, who would it be?

I would really like to work with Kanye West. He’s just the man. No matter what anyone says, he may be the greatest producer of our time.

If the band couldn’t get paid monetarily for the shows you’ve played, what food would you accept as payment?

If we could get paid in all you can eat tacos every night, that would actually be better than money.

When you’re not writing or recording, how do you fill your time?

It’s funny you ask. I feel like touring so much has kind of messed up our down time. I don’t remember what I used to do for fun while at home! We all hang out a lot and play video games or go out and irresponsibly spend money. That’s about it.

Generic question that usually still yields interesting answer: What is your most wild tour story?

We really don’t have that many crazy tour stories. Mainly we just laugh at Mike while he hits on very over weight girls and then make fun of him until we fall asleep in a wal-mart parking lot.

Bill Paxton or Bill Pullman?

Bill Paxton, of course!

When a Paramedic biopic finally gets made, what actors would each band member like to be played by?

We would probably just hire people off the street in order to save the money it will cost to get Brad Pitt to play the part of myself, because I’m the best looking one in the band.

How has The Paramedic evolved musically & lyrically from its inception? And how do you see it evolving in the future?

We have evolved in a few different ways. We used to play music that was a little more “artsy”. Now we mainly focus on what will be the most fun to play live, and we are focusing a lot more on having good, solid structure to our songs.

Finish this sentence: “In the next ten years, The Paramedic will be __________.”

at least the 2nd largest economy in the world.

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