Driven Far Off

The latest on the indie, alternative, and rock music scene including news, music, contest, interviews, and more. Best described as your favorite place to find new bands.

Oh No Not Stereo Interview – June 27th, 2007

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Oh No Not Stereo

SN:Sky Nielsen
Gtr/Vox for LA based Rock group Oh No Not Stereo:

You guys recently signed with Takeover Records. How are they treating you guys?

SN: We released our latest EP through Takeover Records for their distribution ability, and we are creating our follow-up full length right now independently as free agents. It seems to totally be the way to do it right now. Honestly though, Takeover isn’t involved with anything we do at this point.

What kind of touring plans does the summer and fall of 2007 hold for you guys?

SN: Oh No is gonna be doing a whole lot of touring the rest of this year. We’re going to see a lot of places for the first time and we’re really stoked. (Like Alaska and Florida) We always keep our website and myspace page up to date with our tour dates, so we advise keeping in an eye out for us. Also we’re gonna be doing a few Warped Tour dates in July. The new Alternative Press issue is gonna feature our band so check that out too!

You guys have a new LP coming out. Can you talk about it?

SN: It’s coming together really well so far. A lot of new direction, really. We have accumulated 20 really great songs already, and plan on having between 30-40 by the time we leave here. We went through a little phase where a lot of the songs we did were very piano generated, so we’re stoked to be working outside the box, going out on a limb because we can. Our friend Airin from the band Sugarcult has been down here helping us out with a few tracks and hanging with us, and we seem to keep getting guest vocalists for the record which is awesome. Danny from National Product and Shawn from The Matches are a couple of my favorite singers, who are helping out with a song each.

Where do you guys draw your inspiration for the songwriting process?

SN: Other music for sure! Girls, working/partying, traveling, living life like it’s your last day every day, friends, and all the crazy motherfuckers we come in contact with that impact the creative aspect of our lives. We live really fast paced lives and draw a whole lot of inspiration from every moment that passes.

How are you guys feeling about the new record so far? Any favorite songs off the record yet.

SN: Yeah we got a song called ‘Miss Hard Time’ that just came out of nowhere a few days ago. I think that one of the coolest things about our new songs is that whenever we have people come over to listen, they all seem to have a different favorite. We’re feeling really good about the progress of the record so far, and have a couple conceptual ideas of what to do with all the songs. Our friends from the band ‘The Photo Atlas’ were here last night and we talked about doing a split with them and ‘Sugarcult’, so we’re anxious to see what’s to come.

Oh No Not Stereo went through an overhaul. Who are the new members, and how has the change affected the band?

SN: We started the band as a duo, just Myk [Lee (drums)] and I… so changing bass players and finding Pat [O’Donnell (guitar)] was quite a smooth process, fortunately. We tour as a 4-piece with Mike Rosenthal on bass. Having four members instead of two or three is quite a sonic difference, and we are stoked to have such a great team to be able to do that.

What was it that brought you to them or vice versa?

SN: We met Pat in LA. Our bands played together once in Hollywood. He was in a band called Knife Fight. Jew Mike randomly fell in our lap via the information superhighway. (Thank you Al Gore)

You guys are currently located in Arizona working on the LP, have you guys started missing LA?

SN: We totally miss LA. We’ve been gone for a while now, it’ll be five months by the time we get back, so we really miss our friends and our house. It calls for an amazing party when we get back so, once again, we’re stoked. Arizona is treating us well though, so no complaints. It’s about 118 degrees right now and the nightlife here in Scottsdale is off the hook.

I read on ONNS Myspace blog that Sky and Pat had a near death experience. Are you guys feeling okay and is it going to inspire a song for the record?

SN: It already has, good call on that one. We are adventurous as hell and had a Rescue 911 moment in the desert. Craziest thing I’ve been through in quite some time. Don’t ever believe 12 bottles of water is enough on a hike, and that you can get water by stabbing a cactus. I almost had to have a kidney transplant from being so dehydrated. Give it up for heat stroke! Pat and I learned some shit that day about helping your homies out. Nothing better than writing a song about something that real.

What or who influences ONNS DIY approach on touring and music?

SN: Our friends are huge inspiration to us, watching them do the same thing that we’re doing, only THEIR way. We consider ourselves a very hard working ‘DIY’ band because it’s the best way to ensure a long career. You’ve gotta climb your way up to the top. We are influenced in many ways just watching how other people do things.

Describe a typical ONNS show?

SN: Well, you can assure yourself that there’ll be an enormous merch table setup on our beer pong table, and ‘running around the venue’ session. Of course crazy amounts of energy, cookies and punch, and one hell of an entertaining and refreshing show where we stick around until the last minute meeting and hanging out with everyone we possibly can. It’s all about having fun with new people on tour.

What kind or music are you guys listening to right now?

SN: Myk is always cranking up the Glassjaw, while Pat is obsessed with the new Brand New record. I was just listening to The Used’s latest record.

How do you believe the Hollywood music scene should be defined? And does ONNS meet those standards?

SN: The Hollywood music scene is pretty dilluted. There are a few clicks going on where people are starting to team up and work together, try and do something different. There’s still a whole lot of stuff going on in LA that’s already been done a million times though. We really like the scene there, as shallow as I make it sound, and every moment that we’re there we strive to make it better any way we can. It needs something else…

What are some of the unforeseen expenditures that come with touring full time?

SN: What, like $6000 in charges for damages to our hotel room in Oklahoma City? We have countless stories where we get button-hooked with some crazy charge. We generally try to be respectful and avoid getting fined- but when you’re driving past the Texas state sign and you see ‘Proud home of President George W, Bush”, what’re you gonna NOT cover his name up with 60 of your stickers???

How would one know if they caught the ONNS disease?

SN: We hope that everyone catches the Oh No disease! Check us out and say hi cause we love hearing from new people, and we’re all personally very responsive. The bug is pretty damn contagious, I’ll warn you. And we know how to party so watch out.

Thanks so much for doing the interview. Anything you guys would like to add?

SN: We have a DVD coming out soon from our SxSW tour this year. We had over 90 hours of hi-definition footage so it’s gonna be sick. Also, we have merch and videos and ringtones, etc. on myspace.com/ohnonotstereo. If you already have a CD, burn it for your friends!!

Kris Anaya (An Angle) Interview – June 27th, 2007

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An Angle

First off, a big thanks to Ana at Drive-Thru Records for all her help in setting this up. Also of course thank you Kris Anaya of An Angle for answering my questions.

Congratulations on releasing your new album; I got it in the mail the other day and have spent much time with it. How long did The Truth Is That You Are Alive take you to write and record?

Umm I spent a brief period in this town called “Elmo”, Missouri… writing a lot of the love songs at the time I was away from this very special woman. I am in Love with her, and alot of my happiness about missing her came out and I expressed how I felt. Funny how happy moments make you write a better tune huh?

After listening to the album I clearly noticed a major change in the overall mood and tone of the songs. I pick up on a healthy amount of positivity and true happiness coming from this record; do you get the same impression from the music?

Yeah I feel like the overall record is very happy, and thankful to be alive… but now I think the road is taking me down a new path, it’s going to be a major change for the next album as well.

Not that your music was ever overtly negative or sad, but what brought on this change and songs such as Clean and Gold, I’m Alright, and Falling in Your Arms?

All those songs are about Melody. This lovely women, who I think everybody should meet.

I’ve been listening to your music since Drive-Thru re-released your first record; I sincerely believe that this is truly your best work. How do you feel that you have grown as an artist, both lyrically and musically?

I feel I got a handle on the balance of music and my energy around me, but lately I have been kind of lost. I escaped to Seattle to hang out with some old friends to get my head clear.

Throughout all your releases you’ve always had a seemingly revolving door of musicians contribute to each recording. Have they all been friends and fellow artists or how have you gone about finding these individuals?

These people I play with on my records are my loved ones they are me think and thin. Without them there would be no “an angle” just an asshole with a guitar.

Stylistically the song Red River is a big departure for you, what brought you to write a song of that nature?

I have always liked the way Jon Brion records string songs, they were always crazy from Rufus Wainwright to Fiona Apple. He has always been heavy into strings; I thought I would give it a try with that song. I don’t think I made it amazing like him… but we tried our best, we are still young.

You deserve to be incredibly proud of this record, many songs are worthy but which one will you be shooting a music video for?

I think they want to do “Trouble” but who knows… my mind is focused on new songs, new outlook on life.

What touring plans do you have to promoteThe Truth Is That You Are Alive?

Want to tour, but it’s always hard for us to go out… because of gas prices and things like that. Don’t have much money, ya know?

In the past there have been songs upwards of eight minutes in length; did you make a conscious effort to shorten the songs on this album?

Yeah nobody doesn’t want to hear an 8 minute song anymore; I ain’t Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen. So I figured I would fit in a 3 minute space. Leave the 8 minute songs to the real poets.

You’ve always played a big part in the layout and design of the art on each record. How much of the artwork did you create for The Truth Is That You Are Alive and what is the meaning and symbolism behind it?

A close person of mine passed away and I made the album artwork to dedicate her passing.

I understand the significance of artwork to an album, but why have you chosen to not include the lyrics in the liner notes on the previous two albums?

I wanted to let people decide what I say, not me. I love how people sometimes have different words when they sing the songs. Like they think it’s that word but aren’t sure… but maybe in their minds it should have been ya know? So let them enjoy art not words, we got enough words in this fucked up place.

I’ve noticed the rather optimistic phrases phrases printed on the disc-faces of the CD’s on the last two records, was that your idea? Also, are you planning to continue that pattern on future releases?

I will always do it for all my records. Yes, they are beautiful I think.

Kris, thank you very much for your time; do you have a final statement that you’d care to make?

Well I would really like to thank you. To let me express my thoughts… so many people aren’t as lucky as me to have a chance to share their feelings, ya know? Maybe change one or two lives… maybe change a thought, maybe change nothing at all. But the fact that I have that is the biggest Gift I could of ever gotten from my music. I have been compared to Conor Oberst or Bob Dylan or Robert Smith or Leonard Cohen or Tom Petty… hell whoever. But I am proud and happy that people have thought of me in that light because those people I think have brought a huge change to music and to this planet. So to be a part of them is a great thing, I love music… I love to write… I love feeling I can give something back to the dust and the sun… kind of thanking this planet for letting me have a voice. But for now I am going to escape and become a better person when I come back. Thank you, xo.

Order The Truth Is That You Are Alive here.

The Academy Is… Interview – June 4th, 2007

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On June 4th, 2007, when the Honda Civic Tour stopped in Columbia, MD, I had the amazing opportunity to interview guitarist Mike Carden of The Academy Is… The interview was very in-depth and it went really well. Thanks to Christina and Tom for all of your help!

Tell me your name and a little bit about yourself, please.

I’m Mike, I play guitar in The Academy Is…, and I started the band with William about four or five years ago.

How did you two end up making a band together? Because I’ve heard the two of you were in rival bands in Chicago, so how did that come about?

Basically in high school, we played in different groups and different acts. He had a solo thing, and I played in another band. We just kind of at one point said, “Why don’t we start a band together?” so that’s kind of how that started. I think we were at a Death Cab for Cutie show, and that’s where we first said, “Let’s do a band.”

So you two were never unfriendly with each other?

Oh, no, it was just minor bullshit.

So what music genre would you consider TAI to go under?

I don’t know, I mean, I guess that’s for journalists to put down. I guess it’s rock music, but we really borrow a lot of things from a lot of different [places]. Being born in the eighties and then listening to a lot of nineties music, I got to choose from sixties music and seventies music, so I had a lot of different decades to choose from. So I guess it’s a melting pot of all of those things, which is very nice because I get to pick from any genre I want, which is cool.

What would you consider your biggest musical influences, having all of that different music to listen to?

I guess early on there were kind of three stages, well, no, four. Early on, my father would play Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, things like that like Bob Dylan. Then when I was old enough to understand that I could go out and buy CDs, Smashing Pumpkins were a huge band, Nirvana, STP. And then I guess when Limp Bizkit and Korn came out, that’s where I kind of went down and started listening to bands I wasn’t really happy with, where music was going, and even at a younger age I started listening to The Getup Kids, Promise Ring, Alkaline Trio, and so that kind of got me into punk rock music or whatever this has come about, or emo, or whatever you wanna call it. Now, it’s just like anything. I kind of go back and forth. I still love the Pumpkins. That is a band that will always stay with me.

What motivated you to pursue a musical career?

I guess just going to shows and seeing bands play and feeling that maybe I could do that too. Early on, the goals were very small and they still to a certain extent have surpassed our expectations of that we get to do this for a living, so I guess just early on seeing bands play and having a van or a trailer I was kind of like “I want to do that”, let alone being on a big tour with a tour bus, so I’m very happy with the way it all went.

How do you think, since “Almost Here” was such a successful album, how do you think your musical style has changed since then, if at all?

I’m twenty-two now. I wrote almost here with William around the ages of seventeen and eighteen, so during those years, influences were different. I guess our relationships were a bit different. For example, just even my family life with my folks during “Almost Here”, we were almost on non-speaking terms, and now we have a great relationship, so obviously things change in four years. My taste changed, the people you hang out with, the way you dress: everything changes, especially in these years of development. So I think we’re finally kind of finding ourselves: where we really wanna be. “Almost Here” was this beautiful mistake in the sense that we went and did that record, and no one had any expectations for the record. It was cheap, it was fast to make, and the next thing you know, we ended up touring two and a half years off of that, and got all this success off of that record, which no one really knew, so looking back on it, it was kind of a magical little journey that I never thought was going to happen but it lets us do what we do now.

Do you write your songs from personal experience, then?

Yes, yes, absolutely. William basically takes care of all of the lyrics, and as far as the melodies and the landscapes of the guitars and drums, then everyone puts their input into that.

How long does it take you to record an album?

They both were fast. Santi was recorded in twenty-two days, so pretty fast. We just kind of go for it. We’re the kind of band that’s hopefully going to make a lot of records. We don’t get too caught up in, “This has to be the one”. As long as there’s people that follow our band, and we like what we’re doing, it’s all good.

Tell me a little about your upcoming tour with Armor for Sleep? When is that going to be?

Nothing’s confirmed right now, but it will be around the fall months, so around September, October, November, sometime then. And we’re very excited about it. I don’t have too many details on it because I’m still trying to figure it all out, but as soon as we do everyone will know.

What do you plan to do following that tour?

Possibly a co-headlining tour with someone. We’re also just talking and it’s a lot about scheduling and hopefully touring with your friends but a lot of the schedules don’t sometimes line up so we always try to figure out way in advance what we’re going to do in February and March and April. But there’s also a possibility of going in and making another record. I don’t see why not, so maybe we should just do that. We’re writing songs now.

What bands would you say that you’re really friendly with?

On this particular tour, obviously Cobra Starship. I mean, we toured with Gabe when he was in Midtown, and Midtown was a band that took us out, and we got to tour with them, so I know him very well. I get along with those guys very well. The Fall Out Boy guys we’ve toured so many times with. We basically grew up with them, so I know those guys. Paul Wall’s real cool. He’s very friendly, and he just completely exceeded our expectations of being bros with him. And those +44 guys are just fun, so good times, and jokesters. As far as other bands, we love touring with, actually, one of our favorite tours was with Something Corporate, which would now be Andrew in Jack’s Mannequin. We’d love to do a tour with them, which is just, again, scheduling, and I’m trying to think of other bands we really get along with. Gym Class Heroes we always get along with, and whenever we see those guys we hang out. We pretty much try to get along with everybody, and there’s just only a few bands that have rubbed us the wrong way.

So you don’t have problems with many people?

No, not at all. I hope not. There’s just here and there some bands that you don’t associate yourself with.

What would you say your favorite song is to perform live?

Off of “Almost Here” probably “The Phrase that Pays”. I like “Black Mamba” a lot too, playing it live. Off “Santi”, I like “Seed” a lot, that’s one of my favorites, and I like “Neighbors”. Those are fun songs to play. It changes. Some of them we haven’t really gotten to do. There are some we’re holding off for the headlining tour to do some of the stuff, so we’ll see soon enough.

How long do you guys get to play on the Honda Civic Tour?

Half an hour. It’s not very long, so it’s about half and half. We do half songs off of the new record and half songs off of “Almost Here”. It’s anywhere from seven to eight songs. It’s good. It’s get up, do it, and get out. It’s fun.

How was it to perform on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”?

Great, I mean, TV’s always a little bit weird. It’s weird. When you sign up and you try and do a band, you don’t really think of those things, but it’s like things you need to do. As far as emotionally, it’s a bit more stressful than anything, but we’re getting better at it. As you keep doing it, you start losing the whole thing, but obviously the initial, “This is on TV” and for some reason when there’s cameras around it’s a different way of performing, where it feels different. It’s just because even though it seems live, and it’s like “You do that every day”, it’s something different. I mean, I like it. It stirs it all up for a second.

Here’s a final question for you: What would you say to your fans that haven’t had a chance to meet you yet?

A: It’s hard, because we try to…It’s funny because with this band that’s a hard question because a lot of times before the Internet and before technology, you’d have to kind of read about your favorite bands through interviews and magazines, where we attempt to show a window to our fans and specific fans through journals and videos and TAI TV and these things. So hopefully there’s more of a togetherness, where you’re not reading it completely through anybody because we craft those ourselves. So hopefully you kind of get to know us through that. But I guess if they met us, I think…This is so cliché because every band probably says it, but we’re pretty down-to-earth guys, and I know for a fact that we’re very happy and proud, and I think we have great fans, so we get to do this because of them, and vice versa, so it’s good!

Actually, I decided I have one more question for you. What message do you try to convey to your fans through your music and everything?

I think with “Almost Here”, looking back on it, it’s a very green message in the sense that we were very ambitious and ready to go and take it all over kind of, and I think a lot of people connected with that idea, especially when I was seventeen and eighteen. I think that was the biggest thing. It was, “Well, let’s go out”. As you tour, and you get off a bit of your high horse, and you tour and you come home, you start seeing that the things you want in life are pretty much the same overall where you just want to be happy and you want to be around your friends, you wanna find that one person that you wanna hang out with a little bit more, and you want your family to be safe and happy. I think a lot of “Santi”, a lot of those themes, deal with a lot of just more things that are really happening, and no matter what’s going on, and no matter how successful you are, there are just some things that are across the board, relative for everyone. And that was a very important record for us to make because in making “Santi”, a lot of the themes, lyrically, William really went in deep to some things and I think the landscapes of the music changed a little bit and we got to be a little bit more. That’s kind of that. But as far as the messages go, the other thing is, which we laugh about and joke about, we take our music very seriously, but as people we don’t take it so seriously. So hopefully through the TAI TV and the journals, people see that side of it, too, that we’re not all sitting here and going “How are we going to do this?” We’re really just friends and we try to have a good time .

You mean like you’re not just famous?

A: Yeah, exactly! And the other thing is that I would much rather have someone come up to me and go, “I feel like I know you, Mike” rather than just being in like a hysteria, “Oh my God, this is this person” because really, we’re really normal people. I know how I am, and there’s still bands for me that when I look up to certain guitar players or certain singers that I’m even impressed or just in their presence I’m happy to be or even to meet them, so I understand it. But with technology, we have a way, a nicer way to do it, because back when you couldn’t really show your own true colors and you’d have to read through someone else’s eyes about a band, where now hopefully people can go up on a blog or go up on TAI TV and look at us and go “That’s them and how they want to present themselves” which is the way we are, and hopefully going along with that, that’s great.

Thank you very much for your time! Good luck tonight!

Cobra Starship Interview – June 4th, 2007

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On June 4th, 2007, when the Honda Civic Tour stopped for a show in Columbia, MD, I got the amazing opportunity to interview Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez, guitarist and bass guitarist of Cobra Starship and members of their own band, Ivy League. Gabe Saporta, frontman of Cobra, stepped in for a few words, also. I’ll be posting the unedited version of the interview as a podcast soon, so, once it’s posted, if you’d rather listen to that, be my guest, and tell me if you find any mistakes. Thanks to Christina and Tom for all of your help!

Tell us your names and a little about yourselves.

Ryland: My name’s Ryland Blackinton and I play guitar.

Alex: I’m Alex Suarez and I play the bass guitar.

I’m really sorry, but I have to ask this question. How did you come about with the name Cobra Starship?

Ryland: Actually, Gabe came up with the name. Alex, I don’t know, how did he come up with the name?

Alex: You know that whole story about Gabe going to the desert? Yeah, that’s the story. That’s how we got the name.

Ryland: Check out the video! That’s basically it.

Would you tell us a little bit about those two videos?

Alex: First we did “The Church of Hot Addiction”. They kind of tie in together, because, you know, Gabe went out to the desert for spiritual retreat and while he was out there I guess he found the Church of Hot Addiction and he got bit by a snake and got sent into outer space and this cobra from the future kind of told him he had to start this band Cobra Starship. That’s basically it.

How did it come about that Victoria, Nate, and you two were recruited to Cobra Starship?

Alex: When I moved to New York from Florida (Ryland and I already knew each other), we made another band together called Ivy League. I met the drummer from Midtown, Rob, who was my neighbor pretty much, and he introduced me to Gabe and we became friends, and he saw us play, and he asked us to start this band Cobra Starship. We met Nate when he was the drum tech for Armor for Sleep, and Gabe found Victoria on the Internet, and I actually already knew her through her ex-boyfriend.

So, you guys are still in Ivy League, aren’t you? How is it to be in two bands at once? Is it difficult?

Ryland: We’re focused on both but we’re a lot busier with one than the other, but we’re still recording.

Alex: We’re trying to keep up with both.

Ryland: You’ve got to water the plants, you know what I mean?

Cobra Starship has a unique sound, so what musical genre would you consider yourselves?

Ryland: That’s a tough question.

Alex: Gabe, what musical genre would we consider ourselves?

Gabe: Punk rock Justin Timberlake!

I like that! Where do you get the inspiration to write your music?

Alex: Gabe?

Gabe: I think that the idea for this band was kind of drawn from a lot of influences that we had growing up that weren’t necessarily punk rock but we were all punk rock fans until we started playing so, you know, we wanted to do something just reflecting about music and what it was about like when we were eight and we didn’t even know what it was. It’s just cool. It reminds me of Sound Machine.

What bands were you all in before Cobra Starship?

Alex: Gabe was in a band called Midtown. I played in a shitty screamo band called Kite Flying Society. It was awesome.

Ryland: I’ve been in so many bands, I don’t even know.

What has motivated each of you to be part of the music scene?

Alex: Love for music, I guess.

Ryland: The kids get really excited about shows, so that’s motivating.

Yeah, there are a lot of kids out there that wanted me to say hi to you.

Ryland: Yeah, that’s awesome! All of those little things are very motivating. It’s very self-contained in that way. It motivates you to keep doing it, which motivates you for it. It’s a great cycle.

Alex: Playing a show of any size is motivating, you know? Even when we were in other bands and we would play shows in tiny basements it was just as nerve-wracking just playing a show for seventy five people as it would be playing for six thousand people.

Not many people play the keytar. Do you know how Victoria got into playing the keytar?

Ryland: (jokes) She doesn’t actually play it.

Alex: I think the keytar kind of plays her.

Ryland: She doesn’t even play it. She’s all digital. She’s not even real. Victoria’s an idea. She’s not a person. Haha. No, I don’t know, it’s really just an inverted keyboard.

Alex: It’s not even a keyboard. There’s a whole different machine that runs the sound.

Ryland: There’s more glamour than genius involved.

I’ve really rarely seen people playing keytars.

Ryland: Don’t be surprised if you start seeing them a lot more. I think that a trend has been set.

How did it come about that Cobra Starship did a song for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack?

Alex: Atlantic released the soundtrack for that, and we’re a subsidiary for Atlantic, so we got in for that one when they asked us to do a song. We’re all huge Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans.

Can we expect any other videos from While the City Sleeps We Rule the Streets?

Alex: That’s a good question. We have a concept for the next video, which I can’t explain obviously.

I’m really interested in the storyline you have going on.

Alex: I think this one will be a little bit different, and I’m curious to see how it will actually turn out.

What do you plan to do as a band following your tour with the Academy Is… this summer?

Alex: Yeah, we’re going to Australia, and to Japan as well. It’s gonna be awesome, because we’re bros with them [The Academy Is…] to begin with. We’ve gotten much closer with them on this tour as well. It’s gonna be a good time.

Ryland: We’re working on writing demos for the next record.

I’m sure a lot of people will be excited about that! What song gets the best reaction when you play it live?

Ryland: Snakes on a Plane.

Are you guys going to be playing that tonight?

Alex/Ryland: Yes!

What do you do in the part of the song where Travie raps?

Ryland: You’ll be surprised. Someone else will be filling the shoes, and will be doing a very good job.

What do you think of having your own fan club, the Cobra Clan?

Ryland: Oh, it’s great! It’s awesome great. Great kids!

Alex: We have a really good fan club.

Ryland: Don’t forget about Cobra Clanada.

Alex: We have Cobra Clanada, and the original.

Ryland: OCC, the Original Cobra Crew.

Alex: There are some whole different branches of the fan club.

Ryland: There are some battles going on between them, some bloodshed.

Alex: Civil war, you know?

Ryland: We’re trying to explain to them, though, that they should all join one another and not fight one another. Unfortunately, though, that’s kind of what happens.

Alex: Sometimes it’s violent.

Can you explain your hand signal?

Alex: It’s a cobra. There’s fangs and then a hood, see?

Oh, is that what it is? That’s awesome!

Alex/Ryland: Thank you.

Bands don’t really have hand signals a lot.

Alex: I think we’re more like a gang.

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What would you say to your fans that you haven’t yet had a chance to meet?

Alex: We look forward to meeting you. We try to meet everyone as much as possible!

And all of those people out there that told me to say hi to you, what would you like me to tell them?

Awesome! They’ll be really excited about that. They’ve been yelling at everyone coming in and out of the venue.

Ryland: Oh, really? Awesome.

Alex: It’s kind of hard to hear in here because of the sound from all of the buses.

Thanks so much for taking the time for an interview! Good luck tonight!

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August Burns Red Interview – May 9th, 2007

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August Burns Red

This August Burns Red interview took place May 9th in Richmond, Virginia while sitting in the band’s van. I would like to thank Dustin, Brent, and Jake for taking the time out for the interview and being really nice, entertaining guys. Make sure to pick up their new record, “Messengers”, on June 19th . Get ready for the heaviest, most addictive record of the year.

– State your name and position in the band.

Brent: My name is Brent and I play guitar.

Dustin: My name is Dustin and I play bass.

– Give a brief history of the band and the origin of the name.

Brent: Uh, the history of the band is we started when we were seniors in high school, most of us, in March 2003. Then we started just playing some shows, we recorded a demo, released an EP, and than more demos. And than we got signed to Solid State from those demos and we put out “Thrill Seeker”. And now our New album, “Messengers” is coming out June 19th.

We got our name, it’s really ridiculous story. We had our name because in high school, one of our best friends, Jon Hershey, who was also our vocalist at the time. But right before he joined the band, he was dating this girl named August. And the relationship got a bit out of hand and he really wanted to end it. So he ended the relationship and instead of getting just sad about it, she got really really really angry and Jon at the time had a dog named Redd, it was an Irish setter and it had red fur and everything. So she got really mad, went up to his house, and burned his dog Redd alive, in his dog house. And the name and everything comes from, because the next day, the headlines in the newspaper in the local news was “August Burns Redd” and then we just kind of went with it. It really affected Jon, so when we were picking a band name, that was one that stuck in his head, so he decided to use it. So our name doesn’t mean nothing, it just had a really weird and kind of gross meaning.

Dustin: And Redd was spelled with two D’s.

Brent: R-E-D-D.

Dustin: Jon didn’t know how to spell.

Yeah, I read that story online and I wasn’t sure if you guys were serious or just making it up.

Brent: Nah, it’s messed up. It’s a messed up situation. It was a while ago, so we can kind of look back and not be so upset about it.

– What impression do you want to leave the audience with after playing a show?

Dustin: I want to leave the impression that we did really good, that we played tight. Kind of like, you know, you sounded like the CD. You can compare us to the CD and “Wow, they sounded really tight and moved around a lot, they just didn’t stand in one position.” I’ll just really like them to say ” I’ll like to come back to see them again, they were so good.”

Brent: I want to entertain people.

Dustin: Yeah, I don’t want to, I just don’t want to stand there, I want to move around and let the kids have fun. We’re having fun, we want the kids to have fun with us. We want them to interact with us and have fun with us. So that’s what I try to do every show.

Jake Luhrs, lead vocalist for August Burns Red enters the van.

Brent: Jake has just entered the van, so he’ll be talking too.

Jake: What was the question?

What impression do you want to leave the audience with after playing a show?

Jake: That was a fricken awesome rock show, that is what I came to see. I just want them to have a great experience, have a great experience of live music, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy our message.

– What has been the best and worst show in the band’s history?

Jake: I’ll cover the worst show.

Brent: I know one of the worst shows.

Jake: My worst show, well our band’s worst show I believe, when we were on tour with Ringworm and we played this skate park. There was about 30, 40 kids that showed up for the show and I was severely sick. I had a huge fever and our bassist Jordan, at the time, Jordan Tuscan was really really really sick. And so, he ended up not even playing, he played two songs?

Brent: Nah, he got up on stage and did sound check and threw up in his mouth, so he couldn’t play.

Jake: So we played four songs without our bassist and I felt like, so bad. That was definitely our worst show.

Brent: The best show I’ve ever played, the festivals are awesome. And every time we play at home is awesome.

Dustin: Last time we played at home was awesome.

Brent: Yeah, we just played at home last Saturday. It was incredible. We love playing home and Cornerstone and those festivals are the best.

Dustin: Tonight was a lot of fun, except my wireless keeps cutting in and out.

– What is the best aspect of being on tour? The worst?

Brent: The best aspect of being on tour is being able to actually go out and….

Jake: Have fun.

Brent: Yeah, have fun. Play shows for people every night, get to see the country, all over North America and everything like that. The worst is…

Jake: Overnight night drives because you get a layer of like….

Brent: Filth.

Jake: Some kind of film that covers your body and basically it’s your germs with everyone else’s germs and like fart, cough, snot….

Dustin: The van usually smells like….

Jake: Butt hole.

Dustin: Yeah…well you didn’t have to say that. The van usually smells like stink. So that’s definitely one of the worst parts of being on tour. I’ll say the worst part is playing inside in July, which we are getting ready to do, playing indoors, not having AC, get drenched to the point where you can ring your shirt out, and than coming out and doing an overnight drive. I just combined them all.

Brent: Yeah it’s awful. Also, getting sick on tour is terrible because you can’t get better. It’s impossible.

Jake: I was sick from the beginning and I’m still sick.

Dustin: And you don’t get enough sleep.

Jake: You don’t get enough sleep on tour anyways. Everybody.

Dustin: Yeah, that’s what I said.

Jake: I thought you said I didn’t get enough sleep.

Dustin: No, I said you don’t get enough sleep.

Jake: You….

Brent: He means “you” as a whole.

Jake: I know, I know.

– In your opinion, what makes the band stand out compared to other bands?

Brent: I’ll say….

Jake: Our sick Hollister apparel.

Brent: No, we don’t look like other metal bands. That’s one that people usually point out. We also try, a lot of people say we have our own distinct sound. A lot of off time stuff, not so much four four, everything like that. As far as live performances, we really try to put on a good show for people and some metal bands try really hard but can’t move around as much. We put a lot of effort into being creative, like in our music and on stage.

– How do you think having a different vocalist on each record has affected the overall sound and message of the band?

Jake walks away and than comes back (he’s the third vocalist in August Burns Red).

Brent: Ah, Jon Hershey, the first vocalist, we were so young when we made that record. We were a completely different band. The main difference I see between Josh and Jake is Josh would fill every part with words, which is cool, a lot of weird and really hard patterns. Whereas now with Jake and stuff, we try, we look for more catchy patterns rather than the weird patterns. And obviously all their voices are different.

– How would you sum up the new record to someone that has never listened ABR?

Jake: It’s a metal record. If you like metal..

Dustin: I feel like there is a lot more of…

Jake: I’m not going to be like one of those dudes that’s like, “If you like ravishing riffs and falcon screeching screams.”

Dustin: I think the new one has a lot more harmony in the guitars. There is definitely a lot more of that, there is off time stuff everywhere. Still a lot more harmony now. It’s a lot catchier.

Jake: What’s the…oh sorry.

Dustin: You cut me off. It’s alright, I’m done.

Jake: What’s the original question?

How would you sum up the new record to someone that has never listened the band?

Jake: Do you want us to use band names right here?

Brent: No!

No, I don’t like that at all.

Brent: I’ll say that it’s a record that has catchy parts that’ll are going to get stuck in your head, but it also has some off time stuff that’ll make you think.

Dustin: It’s a really good progression of Thrill Seeker, I think.

– How do you think the fans are going to receive the new record?

Jake: Hopefully in a positive way. That’s what I’m thinking.

Brent: We haven’t really had, from all the comments on the new song we put up, we haven’t really had, there has barely been anything negative. I think if you like Thrill Seeker, you’ll like this one because as a band, I think so many kids worry about bands getting softer and losing their sound. But as a band, we got way more metal.

Jake: It’s true.

Brent: So if you like Thrill Seeker, you’ll like this one. It’s a progression, everything from the instruments to everyone’s abilities and our writing skills.

– If you had to do a cover album, which bands and songs would you want on it?

Dustin: We’ll all have different ones.

Brent: Cover album….what bands would I want to cover?

Dustin: I’ll say something like Darkest Hour..

Brent: No, I would want to cover something that is not metal.

Dustin: Ok.

Brent: For the longest time we thought about covering that song by Destiny’s Child, “Say My Name”. I just thought that would be funny. A Foo Fighter’s song would be cool too. Or that Blur song, that woohoo song, I forget the name of that song.

Dustin: Puddle of Mudd?

Brent: No, Blur.

Dustin: Blur?

Brent: Yeah.

Dustin: That’s the band name?

Brent: Yeah, Blur.

Dustin: I don’t know who that is.

Brent: Come on.

Dustin: I really don’t know who plays it.

Brent: Woohoo. starts humming song.

Dustin: Oh yeah! I know that song.

Brent: Yeah, that’ll be fun.

Dustin: Spice Girls maybe, my old band used to cover Spice Girls. I just thought I’ll let you know.

Brent: We’ll probably cover a lot of people like Johnny Cash….

Dustin: Aerosmith. I’m kidding. I don’t know, that’s a tough question.

Brent: it’s a tough question, it’s a hard one to think about because nothing pops into my head right now.

Dustin: I would want to do something that is funny. I want to have some serious songs too like some rock, but I want do something like “My Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. That would be so funny.

Jake comes back after leaving for a few minutes.

Jake: What’s the question?

Brent: What songs we would want to cover on a cover album.

Jake: My stomach hurts so bad right now.

Brent: That’s not a song.

Jake: Freaking Madonna, anything off of Madonna.

Jake: Rod Stewart maybe, The Boss, I love the Boss.

Brent: We’ll really love a cover of “The Boys are Back in Town”…

Jake: “Born in the U.S.A”, that’s a good song.

Dustin: This will never be done.

Brent: We did record a cover though, for this album. We recorded a cover of “Carol of the Bells”. We’ll hoping it’ll make a Christmas movie.

Dustin: Maybe Home Alone 4.

Brent: Yeah, I think there is already a 4.

– In your opinion, what would be the greatest accomplishment for the band?

Brent: Right now as a band we have accomplished a lot. One thing I would like to do is….raise a family while still being in the band. That’s something that everyone, I think wants to do. It’s kind of hard, right now we make enough money to go home and pay our bills and still have money left over and stuff, so we have already accomplished being able to support ourselves. The next level will be to go to the next level as a band, like keep getting bigger and bigger and gaining more and more fans. I just want to do what I want to do, which is this, and still be able to have a normal life back home.

Yeah and not have to leave the band because of it.

Jake: Yeah. I kind of have a goal that will maybe, probably never going to happen. Mine will be to have a platinum record on my wall. That would be so legit. You walk home and you look at the platinum record every day. Maybe on your doorstep.

Brent: Maybe you can do guest vocals on the next Reliant K record or something, than you can get one of those.

Jake: I want one!

– What goals did you have when the band started and how do those goals stand now?

Brent: When the band started, we just wanted to play with bands at home. We were just a local band, we just wanted to play shows.

Dustin: Just have fun.

Brent: As you go, it sort of progresses more and more and more. Next step for us would be to hit up most of North America. Going overseas right now is a big goal for the band.

Have you ever been to Europe?

Brent: No, not yet. Every time we try and go to Europe, it falls through. We don’t know why.

Jake: We are coming though.

Brent: Yeah, we’ll be there.

– If someone was only going to read the lyrics and not listen to the music, what would you hope they take away from them?

Jake: Well our lyrics are pretty blunt and some of them are built around a story or something that has actually happened. So it’s not like random stuff like, you know? And you can definitely make sense of it just by reading it. Just the message that is in the lyrics…

Brent: I just want kids to be able to connect with the lyrics that we write. On the new record we wrote a lot of stuff that a lot of people can relate to. I know some of the songs that I wrote, I just tried to make songs that I know everyone kind of has a problem with, that they struggle with. I just wanted to be able to write down and have kids read it and then have the song have a positive message to them and they can relate to it and be more into the song I guess.

Jake: I think on this record compared to the last one touched a lot of subjects that are kind of touchy, like a lot people don’t like to talk about. And we wanted to bring those up above water and kind of confront those and make people think. We just didn’t want a girlfriend/breakup/heartbreak record.

Brent: Yeah, there isn’t really any song about girls.

Jake: There was one that I really wanted to get on the record but…

Brent: They vetoed it…

Jake: Because it was about a girl. But all the songs have a message about them. None of them are about break up stories.

Brent: The songs do touch some touchy material..

Jake: Divorce, drug abuse…

Brent: A lot of people have problems with their faith, problem with their church. We wrote about how Christian homes a lot of times will shelter their kids and not let their kids experience things. A lot of parents are just, they are against everything and they are for nothing.

There is this girl that goes to my school that her family is really Christian and, I don’t know what the name of it is, but the company gets PG-13 and R movies and they’ll edit them so they can be viewable for kids. I don’t see what’s the point. The more you shelter your kids, the more they want to rebel.

Jake: It’s just the hard thing about sheltering your children so much is that once they hit the real world, what are they going to do?

Yeah, they are not going to be there to watch over them.

Jake: Right, you just have to find out the negative things in this world and try to present them to your children in a manner of “Ok, you can learn it from your parents first and not from some kid that has smack (drugs) and is trying to show you what it’s about.”

– In your opinion, what issues in society are being overlooked and need the most attention?

Brent: Mm, that’s hard. There’s a lot of issues. I think one issue that is being overlooked a lot and maybe it’s not overlooked a lot but it’s not talked about much as being brought to life more is gun control issues.

Yeah, with the whole Virginia Tech thing.

Brent: Yeah, and just even before that, there are so many problems with gun control, but no one ever touches on it and nothing ever comes out about it because there are a lot of people in powerful positions that wash it immediately. But there are so many problems with gun control and the fact that anybody, any little kid can get his hands on a gun and easily if he wanted to, shoot himself or shoot his friends.

Jake: We also stand a little different politically, so that should be noted. I agree with what he is saying but it’s funny because sometimes we have conversations that get a little silly. One thing that I think that…..we can’t talk about abortion, I don’t want to get on that topic. Oh yeah, racism. That is something that I’m just so tired of. I’m so tired of people just being like “Oh, you’re racist” or “Oh, that’s so racist”. Like people would just…. I don’t know, just people that are saying “Ah, that’s racist”. Like dude, you know like, I’m sorry but none of us in our band are racist. It hurts me because I feel bad for people that are racist and I feel bad for people that get crapped on because of their certain color. I just think it’s bullcrap. It jut really frustrates me.

People just throw around the term to everyone, when you aren’t racist at all.

Jake: Yeah, and then you got racists…

That are just being overlooked and no one is telling them that they are racist.

Jake: Yeah, I don’t know. I think it’s a battle that has been going on for a long time and it needs to be over. We are all the Lord’s children.

– If the band was forced to change the name, what named would you choose and why?

Brent: Holy crap!

Jake: September Turns Green.

Brent: Haha.

Jake. It does!

Brent: Wow, I have no idea. You’ve stumped me.

Dustin: Come back in a few months, we are still working on names.

Brent: Yeah, Dustin has a little side project here, it’s him and a guitar and TabIt. TabIt is a guitar program. So when he gets the name for that, we’ll let you know.

Dustin: That would be my choice. I’m still working on it. I don’t know, I’ll pick like a good a bible verse and use the verse itself as the band name. You could say like 3:16, obviously that wouldn’t be a good one. And Like spell it out, like Three Sixteen.

Brent: I personally think the name is a little generic. We would want something that has meaning and not generic.

Dustin: And that’s why the bible verse would have meaning to me.

– Which band has had the greatest influence on you?

Dustin: Bands that had influence on me would be Between The Buried and Me, Misery Signals.

Jake: Hopesfall, old Hopesfall.

Yeah, new Hopesfall isn’t that good.

Dustin: Bands that I wish I never listen to, maybe Cartel because they get stuck in my head all day. I really love that record but it gets stuck in my head. I’m sorry to admit it. So the other day, I just want to say this for the record, the other day I said something about Cartel playing on Saturday at the community hometown. I said something about Cartel playing and a kid was like “Yeah, Cartel sucks, I hate them” and I said “Oh…I like Cartel.” The kid goes, “Yeah, they’re alright.” I thought that was funny.

– If you could write the music for a movie, which movie would you choose and why?

Dustin: Oh my gosh.

Jordan: Any movie ever?

Yeah.

Brent: Die Hard.

Which one?

Brent: Any of them, maybe the new one.

Dustin: I would say…big orchestra stuff like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and what’s that movie called? About freaking those people that tried to…help me out…

Brent: Requiem for a Dream. I would write those soundtracks. I love orchestra soundtracks. I love Lord of the Rings. Or the Notebook.

Brent: Haha.

Dustin: JK.

– Where do you hope the band is two years from now? What do you hope to accomplish by then?

Brent: I hope we’re huge, haha.

Dustin: I hope we keep progressing and keep writing stuff and keep improving on our instruments on the albums because I feel we definitely did on “Messengers”, from “Thrill Seeker” to “Messengers”. I hope we keep our fans and just meet new kids and continue to have fun. Yep Yep Yep.

– Anything else you want the readers to know?

Brent: Our new record comes out June 19th, pick it up, listen to it anywhere you can. Prefer you buy it, but I won’t be mad at you if you download it.

Dustin: I might be.

Brent: Dustin will kill you. Alright, that’s it.

MxPx Interview – May 4th, 2007

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photo-01.jpg I was really fortunate to get to talk with the band that created my love for music, MxPx. Mike Hererra was nice enough to answer some of my questions about their history, and present state as one of the longest-standing bands in music. A huge thank you to Libby Henry and all of MSOPR for setting up this interview!

Why is your tour bus named the black pearl?
The Black Pear, that’s our cursed ship because it’s crewed by the damned and it breaks down a lot! It seems to break down quite a lot so we ended up calling it the black pearl just cause of all of the problems we encounter along the way, so it’s always an adventure.

MxPx has been together for 15 years now, what is your secret  for maintaining being friends and in a band for so long?
(sarcastically) I tell you…it must be communication…
No, it’s just drive, and having a focus that’s common, which is making music, touring and getting the job done. Obviously, we have our disagreements and we have our own ideas about certain things but when it comes down to it, we just want to get from point A to point B, live life and enjoy life and that’s what the band’s all about.

What would you say has been your high and low in MxPx?
Let’s see, a lot of the lows came with the highs. As you gain a lot of popularity for the first time and it’s all new to you, you get a lot of the bad with the good. You get a lot of criticism. For every person that loves you, there’s another person that hates you. You put out a record and it’s sort of your little baby and some fans don’t like it, ‘you’re a sellout’ so that’s the way it is. The better you do, the more criticism you’re going to get. I guess in a way criticism can be good, because it means you are doing well.

Secret Weapon, comes out in July, and saw the return of Aaron Sprinkle behind the production helm, how did it feel to be back working with him?
It was really easy and comfortable. Aaron Sprinkle brought a lot of laid back experience. We’ve worked with a lot of great producers that we’ve really enjoyed working with but it was really cool to have the experience of being his first record and over ten years later, here we are again with him. He’s learned so much and gotten so good at what he does. I feel like we did too, you know, through the years. It really made the process super easy and super fun, but it’s going to go down in MxPx history as one of the best records we’ve ever made.

You did live video feeds on the internet while you recorded, that’s not something a lot of bands would consider, what did that change in the studio?
I don’t know what it changed in the studio. Obviously, we wanted to let fans in a little bit. We wanted them to check out where we were recording and what we were doing. You couldn’t hear any music obviously, because we weren’t going to let people hear all of the bad parts when it’s not finished but people were really stoked. It really succeeded in getting people interested in the new record and paying attention to what we’re doing.

How was it having Brian from Bad Religion, Benji from Good Charlotte, Tim from Sugarcult and so many more friends in the studio with you?
It was cool, some of the people we had do stuff, like Brian from Bad Religion was in LA working on the new Bad Religion album and so we just sent the files. It’s great because technology today makes it so easy to just call somebody across the world and send them the files and they record it. Back in the day that just wouldn’t happened. On “The Ever Passing Moment” we had our friend Stephen from The Descendants/All fly in from Denver to record a solo, where now we would just send the files.

One of the songs on the new disc is a call-out to get rid of your cell phones, what tech devices are you currently wired to?
I don’t have anything, I don’t have a cell phone, computer, fax  machine, video game, nothing. (long pause) I’m kidding!
I was going to say…that’s really impressive!
In that song, I’m not saying technology is evil, I’m just saying we let it become our lives instead of help our lives a lot of times. Anytime you’re spending more time on the internet than you spend doing normal things then you’re losing yourself. It’s really hard to learn and to really grow as a person if you don’t interact with others or interact with the real world.

It seemed like things were going quite well with SideOneDummy Records, so what brought the return to Tooth & Nail?
We struggled with the idea to go back to Tooth & Nail for quite a while. There were no problems with SideOneDummy at all. We love those guys and we’re really good friends with them. Basically it just felt like the right thing to do to go back. They were offering us a great record deal. We reconciled past differences, which to me was the most important thing out of all of this. We really felt like going back to Tooth & Nail would open up a new chapter to our band. We really needed something new, to be a catalyst, to get people to look at the new album in a different light.

The Tooth & Nail Tour kicked off this week in Seattle, what has it been like for you guys to be out with some very new and diverse bands?
It’s been good, it’s super new. I don’t think I’ve even met all of the guys yet who are out on the tour. It’s just a matter of learning all of the names. I’ve watched the bands and they’re all really good.

MxPx is filming a new video on Sunday, can you tell me a little about it?
The song is Secret Weapon, the title track. It’s not really a single, just an introduction song for everyone to know we’ve got a new record coming. The concept for the video is like mid-80s early 90s LA punk scene. A lot of punk-rockers in the video, a lot of dogs barking at cameras, real gritty and dirty, live performance stuff. It’s going to be a really cool looking straight up punk video.

Transitioning a bit, I heard a rumor going around that we might see a return of the MxPx side-project Arthur, is this true?
I think eventually we would like to put out a full-length and if people like it we’ll go on tour, but at least we’d like to put out the full length. We have all of the songs and it’s there, it’s just not quite finished recording.

Is the Rock City Recordings label done with?
It’s kind of done with, it’s been hibernating for so long and I just don’t know if I really want to do it now because it’s so hard being in my own bands and doing a record label. We signed one band and they were great and then they quit and stopped touring and it was a letdown.
But, I’ve got Tumbledown going, it’s my country-folk project and I’m starting a clothing company called Legionnaire Apparel. There’s another guy doing a lot of designs as well as me. That will be coming soon online.

You’ve maintained a fan club for your band for years now, as well as recorded a free christmas song every year for the fans, what motivates you guys so much more to be in touch with your fan base than other bands?
I think we realize the fans are what keep us working, paying our bills, elevated to where we are and if it wasn’t for them we would just be working regular jobs and not being able to see the world. We really value that in our fans and we want to give back as much as possible. The fan club is pretty awesome, you get a lot of band access, free songs, contests and it’s pretty sweet.

Any Last Comments?
Secret Weapon, coming out July 17th. We’re really stoked to see you guys out on tour. If you can’t make it out to a show, check out our online web-store, the MxPx Merch Arsenal!

No Way Jose Interview- April 29, 2007

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I got a chance to do a phone interview with No Way Jose, a Spanish-Punk band from Los Angeles. They formed by the magic of the internet and by being in the same place as one another. While their line up has changed, they have finally found one they like. You can see them playing in Los Angeles this weekend or catch them later this month in Bakersfield. As I’ll try to see them play, make sure to check them out and see them perform at one of their shows coming up, they deserve it.

Tell me about the process of how you guys recorded the album?

Jose: We started recording last year in the summer. We took our time. We didn’t want to try to rush things. We wanted to make sure everything sounded good and…

Eloy: Me and our drummer did our track in one day. We were happy with the bass part, so yeah that eight-hour session we kept all the bass part. Then after that a week or two later Jose did the guitar part and then we did another session for vocals and solos. Then after all the recording were done we had to have a mix session and then a mastering session. So between me and Jose we were funding the whole thing like we were rich and shit. So we had to save our money before we worked too. We took our time with it, we didn’t want to rush it, we wanted it to be really good and not just be a full length album that sounded like shit.

When I first got the CD and saw the song titles, I was like ok this could be different. They were also women related, was there anything going on during the process that made you guys write about them?

Jose: Do you mean like Stripper?

Yeah.

Eloy: Well they’re from past experience from Jose and myself. We play some songs that we’ve been through over the years like “Stripper”, “Te Extrano”. Yeah, like Martha is about an ex-girlfriend. And then “Stripper”, wrote about a strip club which is by my house.

Did you guys send them the CD for them to hear the songs or are you guys hiding it from them?

Jose: Not yet, but I’m curious if anyone will come up to use on day and tell us to play “Stripper” while they dance.

How was the first show you guys played?

Jose: Oh, the first show was at the Roxy. There was a couple of people there, not too many. The sound guy and maybe like six people.

Do you guys still perform great regardless of the number of people watching or are you guys just like “Ok lets just play”?

Both: Now, we’re surely building our fan base. Actually the last two years have been more favorable than the other years, because our line up was changing a lot. Now, this year slowly but surely with the CD out, we’re hoping that we get more recognition. Actually, the CD has opened up our doors to other things and hopefully our CD will get us more fans. For example, this past weekend we played in Vegas and we actually sold ten CDs. It was really cool and felt pretty good. We were doing a good thing. We’re actually not just staying in California, but going to other cities.

What are some of your guy’s influences?

Jose: We’re originally from Texas so our influences range from Freddy Fender to Ritchie Valenz. We have metal influences, NOFX, Misfits, Jazz influences, classical background. In Texas or just being bilingual, you get exposed to both types of music. I used to play for a mariachi when I first started playing. So, it’s a variety of everything.

Eloy: On our ride back, we listened to 2pac, Misfits, Megadeth, Slayers, The Ramones and some Cumbia.

Is that how you guys decided to make music with a blend of everything that you listen to and have influenced you?

Eloy: Yeah, we have songs that sound like Spanish music like “Te Extrano”, then we have “Stripper” that I think sounds like Brian Setzer, “Motherfucker” that sounds like the traditional Spanish folk. So, this band helps us open doors and expose to people other type of media.

Jose: Yeah, other type of music then just one thing. We don’t just want to sound like just one song for every CD we sell.

Do you see this type of music getting huge one day or music becoming diverse?

Both: Yeah, I hope one of these days. Yeah, because pretty much when we get asked to play shows most of the time we get different genres for example, sometimes we get punk bands and play with them, psychobilly bands, or Rock en Español bands, or even emo bands.

How do you guys play with emo bands since they are different from you guys?

Eloy: Well, some of the promoters that book us, they do Rock en Español venues and some of those screamo bands have Latinos in them, so we’re all in the mix. But we don’t mind, I mean the audience are looking for a variety too. We have no problem and it’s better playing with other punk, ska, psychobilly bands. So we don’t get all pissed off.

Jose: Yeah, we don’t discriminate.

What are some bands you guys like playing with?

Eloy: Lower Class Kids, Fozzy’s Heroes, we always have fun playing with those guys. We also like playing with bands outside our genre like Fatima.

Do you guys get people who try to sing along to one of your songs in Spanish, who don’t know the language at all or that well?

Jose: Yeah, some people. There’s the Spanish speaking people who try to sing along to the Spanish songs and then we’ll see the others.

Eloy: Yeah, there’s some that go to our show and know the lyrics and on the choruses they’ll sing along, so it happens once in a while.

Has a fan done anything crazy at one of your shows?

Eloy: There’s was one at the show last night in Las Vegas. We were playing a song and I wouldn’t mention the songs title and if they got them right I would literally give them my own drinking coupons and I ran out eventually. So, I had a glass of whiskey on the rocks and I was like, does anyone want this. So I asked a question, “Ok, so what song did we just play and what’s it call?” and this girl got it right and I was gonna hand her the drink and she like motioned to pour it down her throat and she tilted her had back so I was like, sure I’ll try, so I poured the whiskey.

So are you guys well known in the Los Angeles area?

Jose: Well we’ve been around for five to six years and like for the first two to three years we spent, were ok. Then like maybe from 2004 to 2005 were kind of slow and basically we used to do a lot of promotion and that type of stuff, so you can say yeah.

Eloy: Go back to what you were asking earlier, it’s not like we’re Guns N’ Roses or anything that famous, no way. A lot of the bands we play with their fans know us.

Jose: Yeah, a lot of people know about us, but a lot of them haven’t showed up to shows and what not. But hopefully once our CD comes out we can get more exposure. Then there’s this channel called LATV that were trying to get on there to basically get more exposure.

Any last comments you have or want to give to the fans?

Jose: Thanks for coming to our shows.

The Receiving End of Sirens Video Interview – April 4th, 2007

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We just put up an exclusive video interview with The Receiving End of Sirens who are currently in the studio recording their sophomore album, The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi, which is due out this summer. Check out the YouTube video below and if you would like this on your iPod subscribe to our Podcast in iTunes here.

The Receiving End of Sirens Interview – February 16th, 2007

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Mike: I’m here with Andrew from The Receiving End of Sirens. Let’s start with the questions, shall we?

Andrew: Let’s do it!

Mike: The follow-up to Between the Heart and the Synapse is projected to be completed by April, and out by summer 2007. Is that correct?

Andrew: Yes, it should be released in July sometime, hopefully if all goes well.

Mike: In the 2+ years between the two releases, what’s changed in your band and how have you adapted?

Andrew: A lot has changed. I mean, first and foremost we’ve all grown a ton as people individually, and grown as a band. I think we’ve figured out who we are as a band. Obviously, the change everybody knows was with Casey. Casey is no longer with the band. He’s off doing The Dear Hunter and you know, doing his own thing and I think it’s just better that we went our separate ways and everybody’s happy and playing music still. It’s all good, you know. That’s probably the biggest change that we’ve undergone and everybody knows that, so I don’t really need to say it again but also I just really think we’ve grown a lot, so I think it’s going to show in the new songs.

Mike: Do you ever look back on the subtraction of Casey from the band in 2006, or even Ben Potrykus in 2003, and wonder how they’re doing right now?

Andrew: Yeah, I mean, they were both an influential part of all our lives. I haven’t talked to Casey much. I’ve talked to Ben. Ben is on good terms with all of us. We’re friends still; it’s all good. So I think about them a lot, you know. They were both guys that were in my life for two-year stretches and we spent a lot of time together. I would never forget about something like that, you know? Things happen, people grow apart and whatnot but I donâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t regret the time I spent with either of them, you know?

Mike: How did you find Brian Southall?

Andrew: We actually toured with the last band that Brian was in. He was in Boys Night Out playing drums. We did a tour with them in Canada. He ended up leaving the band. He didn’t leave their band to join our band (reading my next question); that’s not how it was at all. He left their band just to kind of move on with his own life and he ended up coming on a tour with us, tour managing us and doing lights and stuff, and then he went and worked for a couple of other bands. He worked for Alexisonfire for a while and worked for Panic! And then a lot of time had passed and we were still looking for someone to be the fifth guy in the band, and we had grown really close to Brian all the time we spent on the road, and we knew he played guitar really well, so it just one day clicked and we were like, “We should ask Brian to be in the band. We already get along with him so well, he’s a great dude, and he’s a friend” so we all agreed to do it and it was perfect, you know?

Mike: So Brian used to play drums and now he’s playing guitar. Does he ever feel like he’s in uncharted territory, where he’s played drums for so long?

Andrew: No, not at all. He’s a guitar player; he was a drummer second. He’s been playing guitar his whole life. He was in a band called For Dire Life Sake for a really long time. It was a pretty popular underground hardcore band from Detroit. He played guitar and sang in that band so I mean, I hope he doesn’t mind me saying this but he’s a much better guitar player than he is a drummer. He’s a good drummer for sure; he definitely holds his own. But I think he’s a phenomenal guitar player. This is a good time for him to step up and shine.

Mike: He should be a good addition to TREOS then.

Andrew: Absolutely.

Mike: What specifically are you doing differently in your music now, which you were not doing back then?

Andrew: I think we’re trying to just write a lot more space into the music and let things “breathe” a little more. I think certain things about the music have become even more epic. The songs are a little more structured now as opposed to collections of parts and stuff. So I guess that’s different.

Mike: What’s the same?

Andrew: I think what’s the same is just that we still write songs with a lot of emotion and as much passion as we can muster. We try to make sure that comes across. They’re not just lyrics or whatever, but even down to the chord changes “we try to evoke emotion out of everything we do as a band, so that’s very much the same.

Mike: Above all places, why have you chosen a llama farm to work on preproduction for the new album?

Andrew: We chose the llama farm because it was presented to us. That’s where Alex’s grandparents live. They go to Florida for the winter and they offered us the place to live and practice, and it was an unbeatable opportunity so we’ve just been there, loving life and enjoying it, you know?

Mike: Do you have any time to do extra stuff?

Andrew: Yeah, we do our own thing. We just hang out all day pretty much. Some of us go home on the weekends. We occupy ourselves.

Mike: It’s like Real World: TREOS or something!

Andrew: Yeah, exactly.

Mike: I read that you’re writing a screenplay. What’s it about and what are your plans for it once it’s finished?

Andrew: Uh yeah, I’m trying! I’ve been getting into writing a lot in the last six months to a year. I used to do a lot when I was younger, got out of it, and just rediscovered my love for it. It’s nothing special to talk about now; I haven’t done anything noteworthy. I’ve just been doing it on my own and I think it’s just an important therapeutic thing, and I really have always been a big movie nerd and you know, I figured why not combine the two? I just came into the craft of screenwriting and found it was something that I really liked to do, and just stumbled upon it. I think that I can do it so I’m trying my hand at it. I have a few different ideas.

Mike: What are those ideas?

Andrew: I mean nothing really worth talking about now. But I’m writing kind of this historical fiction that’s based in the 1920s, so that’s what I’m working on right now. So yeah, I’ll let you know how it goes. And if I do finish it I’m going to try to sell it or something. I’ll probably go through a number of revisions and hopefully get a lot of help from some of my friends that are writers and stuff, and hopefully get it to the point where it doesn’t suck! And then I’ll send it out and see what happens.

Mike: The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi will be the title of your sophomore album and is of astronomical significance. Who is the science nerd in the band and how did they stumble across this really cool theory?

Andrew: If we had a science nerd I would say it would be Alex. He’s really into astrology and spends a lot of time looking at the stars with his fancy tools and whatnot. He has a pretty sweet telescope that he uses. But actually I stumbled upon the title myself probably around a year ago just reading about something random, reading about Johannes Kepler, and I just came across this thing he wrote called Harmonice Mundi, which is “The Harmony of the World,” and read about this theory of planets and orbits making sounds and creating harmonies with each other and stuff. And The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi just tonal sixth harmony that the Earth and Venus make in their orbit around the sun, and he took that to represent misery, famine, misery, which is a reflection of the world at the time that he lived. He had kind of a negative outlook on the state of the world and everything, and so we adopted that theory just because we thought it was a really powerful thing. Because there’s music in everything in the world, wherever you look, and to think that music can be created just by the spinning and orbiting of planets is a pretty cool idea. And the world now is in a lot of turmoil “there’s a lot of chaos, and a lot of awful things, and genocide and war” I think it’s just something that we wanted to use to say to people: “Open your eyes and look at all the misery and famine that’s around you and do something good with your life. Try and do something positive,” so that’s kind of why we came up with that.

Mike: Who is doing the artwork for the new album?

Andrew: A guy named Mars-1. Brendan stumbled across him researching artists online. He’s this really crazy painter. He doesn’t really do band stuff. That’s kind of what we always try to do. With the last album artwork, we used a guy that had never done a band layout before. The same thing with Mario “he’s just crazy, man. He’s one of the best artists I’ve ever seen, and we thought it was really farfetched to actually get him to work with us, but we hit him up and we told him the idea for the record, and he was really into the concept and thought there was a lot of meaning behind it that he could attach himself to and get inspired by, so he’s agreed to do it. And we’ve seen some of the paintings he’s done already and they’re just mind-blowing. I can’t wait for it to get put together because it’s going to be more a piece of art than an album booklet. We’re not even sure if there’s going to be any words on the booklet or not. We’re still throwing ideas around but we want the focus to be on the art itself as a representation of the theory behind the record, you know?

Mike: Why do you sometimes play shows as The Red Eye of Soromon?

Andrew: Sometimes we just feel like playing a show near home and not announcing it as a TREOS show, just keeping it small and intimate and stuff. And you know, when you play a lot of shows you have to worry about your draw, and a lot of bands will purposefully not play their hometown area for a long time to build up a draw. It’s something that every band needs to be conscious of. And for us, we got to thinking, “We haven’t played a show in Massachusetts for a long time, kind of purposefully “we need to give ourselves a break and not saturate the market so people don’t care about seeing us anymore,” you know? And it got to the point where like, “Man, we miss playing hall shows and stuff. Let’s just do one,” and we talked to Alex from Therefore I Am because we love those guys and love playing with them, and worked it out. He set up the show and it just worked out great. People have caught on and every time they see The Red Eye of Soromon they’re obviously going to know it’s us, but it’s just something to do to be fun, you know, just be goofy about it, show people that we don’t take ourselves too seriously and that we still love playing shows like this. Playing big shows is great, playing big clubs is great, but it looses something at that level, you know? And it’s not as intimate and off-the-cuff and random as shows like these, and we love doing it, so we’re going to keep doing it as long as we’re a band, regardless of how well or how poorly the band does from here on out.