Doug Court, drummer for Sirens & Sailors, joined the metalcore band in 2008. The band has since released two studio albums, two EP’s and a wealth of singles to date. After tirelessly working on their latest album, “Rising Moon : Setting Sun,” it is set to drop August 7th.

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Mike O’Keefe: How has Warped Tour been so far? Where are you from?

Doug Court: It’s been great — an absolute dream come true! We are from upstate in Rochester, New York, about an hour and a half from Canada. Our accent is a mix of New York City and the Canadian accent — we get ripped about it all the time. It’s the best place in the whole world. A lot of people either love where they come from, or hate it. We are one of the bands that absolutely love where we come from. We rep it whenever we can — great food scene, great music scene.

MO: What would you suggest a first-time visitor to see?

DC: That’s a tough call. We have a lot of really cool dive bars for people who are into fancy beer. I absolutely love the Rochester Museum of Play. I don’t think it’s for adults, but I love doing that. Definitely catch a show — the shows are great. The rock, metal and pop-punk scenes are great.

Photo courtesy | Rich Engelbrecht

MO: It’s one of my favorite things about traveling. You get involved in local culture.

DC: You got it! Another main thing you have to do is get a garbage plate — a Rochester staple. It’s two cheeseburgers or hot dogs, and a side of macaroni salad or home fries. You then put ketchup on it or meat sauce, mix it all up in the container and go to town. It’s the best hangover food.

MO: How does music and travel fit together?

DC: I get to see the world because people want to see us. It really is a shock every day I get to wake up and I’m at Warped Tour playing for kids who are actually singing the words and calling me by name. It’s like, “Dude, this is crazy! I’m a 20-something-year-old kid basically who’s just trying to rock it.”

Photo courtesy | Melody Ayres-Griffiths

MO: Everyone has a bucket list. What are some destinations on yours that you’d love to travel to?

DC: One of the bucket list destinations that we actually checked off as a band was Europe. We went last summer; it was a fun experience. I definitely want to go to Japan. Definitely want to go to Australia. The metal scene there is prime. They have some really sick metal bands.

MO: I’ve heard the energy out in Australia is insane.

DC: I’m with you man. The energy sounds great. I actually really want to go to Alaska too. Our boys that we toured with in October, just did, or are about to do, a couple of dates there. I am extremely jealous of that — it sounds amazing. The Alaskan cruises are amazing. I hate the sun. I’m out here every day hiding under a tent. Anywhere I can get shade. I am never under the sun.

Photo courtesy | Cecil Sanders

MO: As a band, if there was one destination that you could play at in the world, where would it be?

DC: I would love to play in Alaska. Not a lot of bands go there. Alaska would be great. Japan, just because the Japanese culture is really cool. I love sushi now — that’s my new thing. I feel like Japan is so advanced in technology these days. It would almost be like going 20 years in the future.

MO: It’s crazy because it’s everything — fashion, gaming, technology.

DC: Yeah, gaming especially. I have my Destiny lanyard on right now. I game all day, come see me!

MO: Do you have any personal destinations that you’ll be going to soon?

DC: Nothing planned, but want to go to Japan and Australia. Those are the hot places. We got to go to France on our European tour. That was the sickest. We explored; we got to see the Eiffel Tower. The weather was great. That atmosphere there was great. It’s weird how you can tell that it’s a city of love. You walk out and you see couples everywhere. Everyone is smiling.

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For more on Sirens & Sailors, visit their website and listen to some of their music:

Additional thanks to Warped Tour: