Interview by Ally Arens
Alternative rockers The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are entering a new phase of their 20-plus year long career, having recently announced their signing to Better Noise Music with the release of new single “Home Improvement.” The song, a retooled demo from their Don’t You Fake It-era that is getting a new life, is just a taste of what 2025 has in store for the band. Backstage at When We Were Young, where the band honored their career-making 2006 album, Stitched Sound sat down with lead vocalist Ronnie Winter to discuss the album and its upcoming 20th (!!) anniversary as well as what’s to come.
Stitched Sound (SS): Hi! So, this is your second year performing at WWWY. What have you been anticipating the most about this weekend?
Ronnie Winter (RW): Like you said, it’s our second year, so I kind of just know the ropes. [The] only thing I was anticipating was a good time. You know, I knew it was going to be fun, and we’re happy to be here.
SS: It definitely was! I could not see you all on the stage at all because I was in the back of the tent, but y’all killed it.
RW: Thank you so much, yeah, it was a big crowd.
SS: Earlier this week, you announced your signing to Better Noise and released a new single “Home Improvement” that began as a demo from the Don’t You Fake It era. How has it felt to revisit the material from that era – both for your festival set and for what’s ahead?
RW: It’s been awesome. You know, we’ve never said anything like, “Oh, we don’t like our old songs, or we’re not gonna play our old songs.” We’re very aware that people like our old songs and we also still like them. So it’s been fun bringing this song back from the dead. It was kind of one of the lost songs. There’s a couple demos flowing out there, but there was no real version, so I don’t know. It’s just been a lot of fun. It makes me feel like I’m a kid again.
SS: That’s awesome. And speaking of, so Don’t You Fake It is creeping up on its 20th anniversary in 2026 – how does it feel to have created an album that continues to resonate with so many listeners?
RW: It’s kind of crazy. When I stop and think about it, it just makes me feel old. I’m glad people still love it. I appreciate it. I still enjoy it. I can’t wait for my son to really like, get to know it. It’s always going to be like the foundation of our career. I feel like bands that remember where they came from are the bands that I like. Like, when you watch blink-182, they still play all the old stuff. Yeah, they’re pushing the new album. They’re pushing new songs, but they still play those songs that they played when I was a kid. So I want to be the band that does that. I do want to release new music, and I do want to promote that, but I always still want to reconnect with the people who gave us our start, the people who supported us in the beginning.
SS: That is really awesome, I really appreciate that. If you were making the album today, knowing the impact that it would have, is there anything you would’ve done differently?
RW: Wow, that’s a really insightful question. No one’s ever asked me that before. I wouldn’t change anything. I really feel like I was in touch with myself and like my mind, my body and my spirit were aligned. And I can tell now that I’m 42, that sometimes in my life I’m really good, and sometimes I’m not; sometimes I’m happy, and sometimes there’s a lot of highs and lows. But, at that time, I was really just in touch with, like, my musical self. So I wouldn’t change anything. I would literally change nothing.
SS: That’s very solid. And, what songs are you most excited about incorporating into the setlist for this weekend?
RW: Unfortunately, we’re supposed to only be doing an album play, so we didn’t even write our new song, even though technically…
SS: It should still count, right?
RW: Right! Maybe we’ll slide it in tomorrow. But, yeah, you know, “Face Down” is always fun. “Guardian Angel” is always fun. False Pretense is always fun. So, I don’t know, it’s easy, like for me, when we get booked on an anniversary show, it’s actually easier than a normal show, because the old songs that we wrote weren’t as musically complicated. We’ve gotten better. Most musicians get better over time. So the new songs are kind of hard to play, so it’s kind of nice. It’s like more fun – the old stuff, we just kick back.
SS: That’s awesome. And, if you could make a guest appearance during any other band’s set this weekend, who would you choose, and what song would you perform?
RW: If I could.. Wow, what a question! Any band’s set? Ah. You know what? I still feel nervous around like all these guys. I don’t know if we quite fit in, because we’re one of the only bands where, like, we’re not rock stars, we’re still fans of all these bands, like, I’m a fan of every single band that’s playing tonight. So I would feel nervous to even ask anybody, but I guess my answer would be anybody that would be willing to have me, I would step up.
SS: Fair enough! What other bands are you most excited about seeing if you have time?
RW: Pierce the Veil, I think they’re great, Sleeping With Sirens, I think they’re great. The Used – I don’t think I’ve missed them yet. Those three are my favorites, and Jimmy Eat World. Obviously, everybody on the planet’s here to see My Chemical Romance, but my personal favorite band of the entire show is Fall Out Boy.
SS: Yes! They are so amazing. With the new/old single and new label signing, what’s next for the band?
RW: What’s next is, we’re just setting up everything for the album release. We got a couple more videos we’re gonna shoot and put out, and we’re just gonna slowly start trickling out more songs and then drop the record.
SS: That sounds like a good plan! And, did you have anything else you wanted to add?
RW: Hey, if you’re reading this or listening to it, go check out our new-old song, “Home Improvement”. I hope you dig it. Everybody else likes it. Jump on the board, on the ship.
SS: All right. Thank you!
RW: Thank you!
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has three more performances scheduled for 2024, along with appearances at next years’ Welcome to Rockville and When We Were Young festivals (with more to come!). All upcoming shows can be found as they are announced on the band’s website.
