Devin Oliver of I See Stars on growing up and achieving his dreams

Twenty is an odd age. I feel so young, but the fact is I’m not anymore. I believe all the changes bring out my imperfections, and I struggle to understand where my younger characteristics end and my adult ones begin. It's especially weird for me because I was always the youngest one on the tour and that's no longer the case.

I remember being 13 years old, playing local shows at Michigan's famous “MySpace Internet Café,” sharing the same stage with bands I still look up to today: the Devil Wears Prada, August Burns Red, A Day To Remember, Emarosa, Afroman, Alesana, Emmure and A Skylit Drive. Not too many people know this, but I See Stars and We Came As Romans grew up together. We were the “Michigan local buzz.” We played shows together every weekend and held WCAR/ISS afterparties. I think when I'm way older, those will be the times I look back on—the moments when I didn't have a care in the world and I played in a band with my five best friends only for the passion for music. At that point, playing shows and writing music for a living was nothing but a fantasy. I actually remember having a conversation with We Came As Romans bassist Andy Glass when I went to hang out with him at Oakland University. I said, “Dude, wouldn't it be amazing if both our bands are signed with records out and touring the world together in three years?” The irony is that three years later we toured together on the first “Leave It To The Suits” tour—both signed and with albums out.

I guess the moral of this first blog is that dreams are not impossible. Trust me, it can feel that way sometimes. But if you want it bad enough and have the motivation to back it, you cannot fail. Just know: When it comes to the music business, you have to want it and love it more than anyone to live it.

Devin Oliver is the frontman of post-hardcore sextet I See Stars.