Nonpoint is heading to the release of Heartless, their new EP set for the fall of 2023 via the band’s own label, 361 Degrees Records. I spoke with Nonpoint frontman Elias Soriano about the latest happenings with the band. Check it out below:

Chelsea here on the phone with Elias of Nonpoint. Thank you for joining me today.

Howdy!

How are you doing?

I’m wonderful, how are you doing?

I’m doing awesome. And you’ve got a lot going on in the Nonpoint world. Got some killer new music to talk about, so I’m excited to dig right in. So let’s start with “A Million Watts”. Of course, that’s at the forefront for Nonpoint right now as the latest single and music video, so talk to me about what brought Nonpoint to this point and this track.

Well, this track was our party song. We wanted to have a good time. The last couple runs have been really fun, we’ve been having amazing tours, amazing times with the other bands on our tours. It’s been such a family atmosphere, literally for the last year. It kind of leaked out into the song and we really just wanted to have fun with the song, hence why the video is so much fun. People know us backstage and around the touring scene to normally be walking around with smiles on our face and normally we travel together as a band. We hang out quite a bit, so seeing that normally makes people go, holy shit, look at these guys. These guys are actually friends and they actually like to hang out with each other. So “A Million Watts” has that kind of come join the fun, have a good time with us, come out to the show kind of feel to it, and it translates.

That’s awesome and, absolutely, it translates into the energy, the music video, and just the energy of Nonpoint overall. I mean, you guys have been together for a solid amount of time, so I think liking each other is definitely important for that longevity, but also just appreciating what you do and having fun.

Yeah, it’s a good time. It’s a good time, and I guess this song is all about being grateful of that.

Earlier this year you also had the track “Heartless”, sort of a slightly different vibe, but it’s still part of the upcoming EP out on November 17th, so can you talk to me about the ideas behind that one?

Yeah, “Heartless” was still down the line of the Emerald Cities concept that has carried over in both EPs. “Heartless” is a deeper dive into that tin-man character. What he’s going through in his head, all of the imagery of, you know, the day-to-day life, suburban idea model, all the cars are basically Pantone or, you know, tan, black or blue, and all the houses are the same color kind of feel that, you know, kind of makes you feel like something that’s comfortable and that you should be going after. There’s so much life and everything that you’re also having to get through to get to that. And then a lot of those people, they get there and they’re not as happy as they thought. So that’s really where the whole Emerald Cities vibe and that whole concept is actually starting to tie up with the song “Heartless”.

Got it, that makes sense. And then also just kind of tying into the actual EP, is there going to be a sense of that running theme going through it?

Yeah, at least through the end of the EP, there’s a couple other songs on it. I mean, I could drop the names of them here. I really don’t mind. We have a song called “Golden Gloves” and another song called “Wannabe King” that are both touching on that same Emerald Cities thing. “A Million Watts” is really a standout song that just kind of came to us that we couldn’t help but release.

That’s great. Yeah, of course. It’s got plenty of energy and it felt like the right time to you guys to release it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be that specific concept, but I think it’ll definitely be a good vibe, and also to kind of break up the tone of Heartless and give it a new kind of energy.

Absolutely. It just fits because it’s part of the story and perfect to the timeline right now, for sure.

So Heartless is, of course, coming out on your own label, 361 Degrees Records. So can you tell us about what gave you guys the initiative to start your own label and just how everything’s going with it right now?

Everything’s going really great with it, actually. It’s  getting easier to drop stuff, and the team is a great team. We have a good plan ahead, we definitely set up marketing and set up you know plans and make sure there’s things like touring and things like that to support it. So we’re still working like a regular business would under the major label model but we’re just doing it through a distro partner and through our own funding, and it makes things very fluid, makes decisions easy to do and easy to make, makes things like cross promotion and backpacking things and bootstrapping things together, like touring and releases, and things like that a lot easier for us. It works well for us and we’re definitely lucky that it does.

That’s awesome. It’s definitely really important to be able to just kind of reign over your own domain and do things on your timeline and when you feel is right. And also to be able to, like you said, backpack onto other things, and reach out in terms of tours and organize things your own way. Did you guys just kind of figure that out?

Yeah, it was collaborations. Yeah, we had to figure all that out. We had a million questions that we came into this asking. Luckily, we had the right people around us that were caring enough of us that allowed us to get the real answers and then based on those answers and what we were willing to invest, we just started to make some hard decisions.

That’s great. Do you feel you know what you’ve learned by handling a label yourself besides being on a label over the years? What do you feel like are some lessons you’ve learned now that you’re kind of taking the reins for yourselves?

I don’t envy the labels and I really respect them. People should take that the most out of this conversation. The amount of workload, the number of cogs that it takes to make something like this actually happen and work well, it takes a lot of hard work, so hats off.

Definitely agreed here, for sure. You’ve also been working with Chris Collier as the engineer, so can you tell me about that experience, and what do you think he brought to the table in studio?

Well, producer/mixer. Rob is engineer or co-engineer on some songs, I don’t know which ones are which, but I know these last couple he basically engineered. But yeah, Chris Collier is definitely one of those new cogs and he was like a really gigantic cog that for some reason fit right in the middle. And it literally locked in with every other tooth of every other cog that was surrounding it. And he helped us kind of glue some of our musical ideas together in a way that made them sound fresh and exciting to us. So, you know, we really lean on Chris, really for his opinion. You know, he’s sort of our Rick Rubin right now. We really respect his opinion and his perspective. And he’s a player, man. He plays every single instrument and does it amazingly, and that gains a lot of respect from all the players on this side of the field. It’s a valuable partner to have.

Definitely. So, outside of the Nonpoint world, about a month ago, a video surfaced of you with the band Taproot, featured on their new single “Favorite Song”, so how did that connection come about?

Yes, and that “Favorite Song” is…actually I’ve got to give credit where credit’s due, Steve was talking about me on socials and I wasn’t getting the messages, and my guitar players saw a reel on Instagram of him talking about trying to get Elias on this track. And I’ve been trying to get on a Taproot track for 23 years now. So, I immediately jumped on Instagram, reached out to Steve, got in touch with him, and he sent me music and I immediately got to work.

So it worked out on both ends because you guys both wanted to work together, and it just came together at the right time.

Yeah, for real. It was great. And then, you know, they’re doing a couple of shows with their comeback here in the Midwest, and I live up in the Midwest right now. So it’s easy for me to just bounce right over and play. We shared the stage together at Taste of Madison for the first time in years, over a decade. But we got to play the song there for the first time. It’s great.

So you also just got off the road from a crazy tour with Mudvayne, Coal Chamber, Gwar, and Butcher Babies. That’s one hell of a lineup with you guys in there too. So how was that on the road?

That was one of those family tours that you know, “A Million Watts” was really all about. It was great. We know 90% of the people that we were touring with, we became, you know, dear friends with a whole new group and slew of people and bands, you know, between Coal Chamber and Gwar, we knew them in passing, but really never got to be as close as we were. You know, I was close to Dez for a couple shows in Australia while we bounced around on Soundwave together. We became acquaintances there, good friends, and then kind of lost touch for about a decade, and then ran into each other again on this tour. And then I ended up becoming dear friends with all the other players. Mikey is one of my dear friends. I almost talk to him daily. Same thing with Meegs and Nadja. It was a great, great tour. Their entire crew, everybody. It was a nonstop family atmosphere. The parking lot parties on all the days off, and Roadie Friday, all of the end of tour antics and good times, the pictures were insane. Lots of hugs, it was a great, great tour.

What great energy, and I love the positivity that you have overall, just talking about who you’re working with, what you do, it’s a great energy that you bring.

Well, it’s got to be, got to show some level of gratitude when you get to wake up and do what you love.

Absolutely. And yeah, I feel like that’s also kind of one of those things that happens when you’re in a band that’s so established and so appreciated. Things kind of cycle back around. You reunite with people, you develop new bonds. There’s all kinds of great positivity that can come out of that as well.

Yeah. Well, I mean, it’s understanding that your story is going to change. And being around for 23 years, it always hasn’t been a climb up. There’s been dips, and deep dips, and valleys, and ups, but this has been my only job for the last 23 years, it’s all I’ve done, and that’s a blessing. I take care of my family. My wife is a stay at home mom with my daughter, homeschooled, and we get to travel. My daughter has been to over 20 states and she’s 12. You know, she’s seen Megadeth five times before she was, you know, four years old.

Raising her right.

Yeah, yeah. What I’ve learned is you really can’t compare your life to anybody else’s life. And it goes for everybody that’s listening right now. You have to find the value in what you’re doing and the happiness that you get out of your life, because of the life that you live, because of the job that you have, because of the apartments and the neighbors, all these things that you are just there living around, that’s your environment. You’ve got to find what you love about it so that way you’re waking up every day with the right state of mind. If there’s something else that you want out there, you’ve just got to put your mind into it and go.

That’s awesome advice and, you know, all you can ask for as a musician as well. I mean, just being able to have fun, also make a living, also being able to have your family and the whole package there. And of course, it’s not always easy. It’s not a steady road, like you said, of just having that consistently. But the gratefulness, and just understanding the little victories along the way is super important.

Yeah, always, always be thankful.

Definitely, and just keeping on the topic of tours as well, I mean, since you just got off the road and now you’ve got the Million Watts Tour coming up, can you talk about what led to this lineup?

It came together real fast at the end. Sumo was definitely down to do it again, H.E.D. came in very late into the game and we were excited because we wanted somebody else that, again, it’s going to bring that party vibe, because that’s what this whole tour is gonna be about. And you know, they got the same kind of bounce and groove that we got. Same thing with Sumo. And then when we heard VRSTY was down, it was like, you know, last box checked. And we were ready to go. Those boys are amazing to hang out with and play with, especially for an entire tour. And then across the board, the entire lineup is insane when it comes to music values. So we’re just happy that we got a ticket that as soon as people walk in, they’re going to have good music all the way up until the end.

Absolutely, that’s perfect. So you do collab with bands a lot, like we’ve been saying, you featured vocals on Taproot, and then Fear of Water is another band you had a recent feature with. So in general, what are some bands that you’re really digging right now that we’d find on your playlist?

I’m a really huge fan of a lot of the young bands coming up right now, and luckily I befriended a few of them on Shiprocked where we really got to hang out for a couple days, repeat the camaraderie and the brotherhood and sisterhood. But Dropout Kings, outstanding bands, just amazing people to be around. The Nova Twins, I’ve watched them literally explode over the last few months. But not even the last few months, just the last couple years. Those girls are just oozing talent and so much fun to watch. And they have amazing songs. The new Skindred is just a testament to what everyone else considers a legacy brand, like they consider our band a legacy brand. But for some reason, always feel brand new. So a lot of British bands, right? I’m into a lot of British music right now. Yeah, it’s funny because I’m really into…I think it’s Drill, which is British rap. Just a lot of good music coming up from every single genre coming out of the UK for sure. And then when it comes to bands here, your bands like your Bad Omens, your Dropout Kings. Yeah, just good bands to watch live. I’m excited about the future of music.

And again, with the positivity, I love that you’re looking forward to the future of music and finding really cool niches of it and everything, whether it’s coming from here, or international…it’s always good to keep your mind open with different music. Well, this has been awesome getting to know you and what’s going on with Nonpoint right now. So can we wrap it up with what’s on the horizon for Nonpoint?

Yeah, like you said, the release of Heartless comes out in November. We have the A Million Watts Tour that already has two sold out shows and a third fast on its heels, and it hasn’t even been a week, so I would just suggest to everyone, if you’re in any of those cities, get your tickets now and then we’ll see you guys in the new year. We have a bunch of great shows that we’re about to announce that we’re very excited to be a part of, and then there looks to be a future of a second leg of the Emerald Cities tour, and possibly another small leg of the Million Watts tour, so you’re definitely going to get a chance to see us live. Everyone asking if we’re coming to your city, I would say most likely.

Great stuff to look forward to. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

Thank you!