Pierced the radio veil

It pays to play well. Even if there aren’t many people there to see you.

“The other day I went to the Ché Café and there were, like, ten kids there,” says singer/songwriter/guitarist Vic Fuentes of San Diego’s Pierce the Veil. “One of the bands playing was this band Movements [from Orange County]. I thought they were awesome. I texted all the guys in [Pierce the Veil] and they agreed. Now they are opening this tour for us.”

That 16-city tour launched Sunday in Las Vegas. It celebrates the release of Pierce the Veil’s fourth album, Misadventures.

Eight of those dates, including June 25 at the North Park Observatory, have already sold out.

While the post-hardcore quartet has yet to conquer the world of radio airplay, there is no question that the ten-year-old band has made an impression. Misadventures debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s album charts two weeks ago. And this summer, Fuentes and his brother Mike (drums), Tony Perry (lead guitar), and Jaime Preciado (bass) tour Australia, South America, and Europe.

“We already had our CD-release show in Mexico City [May 13],” Fuentes says. “Our fan base in Mexico is super passionate.”

And not bad in the U.S.

Their previous album, Collide with the Sky, sold a respectable 400,000 copies. Their video clip for a single from that album, “King for a Day,” has logged 68 million views. Pierce the Veil headlined the Warped Tour last year, and they currently roll with 5.5 million Facebook likes and 4.5 million Twitter followers.

How does this band (which first got noticed opening for touring screamo bands at SOMA) generate so much juice?

“A lot of artists steer clear of letting their fans know about them. We always made a conscious effort to connect with our fans [via social media], even if it was just making a new video talking about what we did that day.”

Fuentes hopes their first single from Misadventure, “Circles” (a catchy tune about being trapped at the bloody Eagles of Death Metal show in Paris) will get them their first national radio play. “We were just added on the BBC and 91X picked us as their Local Break Artist of the Month. Radio is something new to all of us. We never thought of ourselves before as a radio band.”

Pierce the Veil appears on Conan June 27.