How's it going?
Everything is good we're in Manchester right now. Actually, I'm just getting a little bit of food to go, then we're off to th4e venue, it's a nice day and I can't complain.
You've got a new bass guitarist, how did you find him?
Early in 2007 when I started writing for the record I went up to Charleston because I had heard of a gentlemen up there that was a pretty great producer whose name is Eric Bass and I went and met with him, and we wrote some songs and just kind of kept in touch, and when it came time to bring in a new bass player, at that time he was the obvious choice. So I gave him a call and he showed up in Orlando, and now the rest is history.
And you've got a new guitarist...
Actually we have two, we brought in Nick Perri from the band Silvertide, and also our friend Zach Myers who has actually been with the band for a little while, playing with the band off and on for about three years. We all just got in a room in Orlando, Florida and once we all five got in a room together, from the first down beat it was initial that it was going to work, and that's really how it happened.
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't it before?
How would I describe the music? I would describe it as extremely honest, and extremely aggressive as far as the subject matter and what the songs are about, it's rock and roll. I would describe it as having a lot of emotion, the sad songs are very sad, the pissed off songs are very pissed off. It's all about emotion, I would describe it as extremely emotional.
Your currently on tour with Disturbed, how that going?
Yeah, we did our first show, a few days ago, it was incredible, for a band like us, which this our very first time overseas. Especially to do all of Europe, to do twenty cities in thirty two days and this is our very first time touring over here is amazing. Don't get me wrong, we're all rented gear and we're sort of like day tourers, rolling a certain way. It's completely in the United States but this is like starting over from square one, but we've been waiting for over seven years to get the opportunity to play here. To get to be able in front of a band at the calibre that they are here, is a dream come true. So we're very fortunate and very lucky.
But this isn't your first time in Europe?
We played here in 2005 we played Rock In Ring, and Rock Im Park at about nine thirty in the morning so no one was there. We played the Astoria with our friends Alter Bridge, and some people knew who we were, but not a lot. So this is really our first time, the first run we've other done. In terms of touring this is definitely our first time.
So how do British audiences find you, how did it go the other night?
Honestly, we got up there and we just did what we do in the States, we played the same show as we always do, and the crowd reacted pretty wildly I've got to admit. They screamed when we asked them to scream, they jumped when they asked them to jump, and they put lighters and cell phones up during the ballads when we asked them to. They were really, really supportive, and actually I can't say anything negative about it, they were fantastic.
My line director dude did say when he was out there, the first song, because we didn't really get much of a soundcheck at all and we're all on rented gear. it took us a minute to dial in, there was one guy that yelled out, "You suck!" And you know, you've got to laugh about it, it was very throw and go the very first show. I'm sure it'll get better as the tour gets going and everyone kind of locks in with one another. But, we kind of like just do what we do, we're known for coming out and just throwing down. So far everything has been really good.
You've got an album out over here called 'Sound Of Madness' what's your favourite track on it to play live?
Well, that's a difficult question. It's the third record that we've released, but it's the first record to release over here. I love them all, I like to play them all and there's not really one that I don't like, they're kind of like children, you don't like one any less than the others. But, 'Devour' is always a fun song to do live, and there's a couple of tracks that we're not going to be able to do live over here, because of the time restrictions we have right now. We don't want to play a very solemn set, as far as like mid-tempo songs. 'Second Chance' which is going to be the second song we're going to release over here, is a good song that we like to play. But I like them all, I like to play them all.
You've been on tour with a lot of bands in the States, who has been the best fun to tour with?
They're all really good, I hate to be that guy that doesn't really pin point one person, but, I'm just very, very thankful to do what we do, and to have met the people that we've met thus far. They've all been great. I would say 'Three Doors Down', we really enjoyed playing with them, they kind of honed us in on everything, when we started back in 2002 and they were really great. Seether has always been a great band to us over in the States. There's a long list of people that we've played with Black Stone Cherry, Diary Of A Dead Man, I can keep going on, we play with so many bands over there. They've all been really, really great and we've never had a negative situation with any band, so it's always been fun.
As far as the shows are concerned, where we'd like to play most and that, we don't have a favourite city, or venue or anything. It's basically wherever we get to play, where they show up, we just love to play.
Who are your rock influences?
Well, my biggest influence is a black soul singer from Georgia, named Otis Redding, I'm heavily into soul music, but also Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, Led Zeppelin, the nineties grunge era was a big deal for me, AC/DC, Metallica, it kind of goes all over the place.
So, if you could have one band on stage with you, of those which one would it be? Mine. My band.
Where do you get the influence for your songs from?
Just every day life, everything that personally I've gone through, that I've seen, certain individuals in my life. I'm a very personable person, so for me its days to day things, everything that I've seen so far in my life, and things that I've seen other people go through, people that I've met along the way, their stories and what they had to talk about. It's pretty personal just things that I've gone through in life.
article by: Scott Williams
published: 13/10/2008 15:46
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