A Static Lullaby Interview (December 2008)

A STATIC LULLABY
By Rei Nishimoto

Bite Club
Heavy hardcore act say fangs for the memories

Perseverance is a common story for any band’s survival. This is a familiar story for A Static Lullaby, as the band had been through as many ups and downs during their seven-plus-year history. But, they managed to worked through their troubles to make their most recent release, Rattlesnake! .

The new record introduces new members, bassist Dane Poppin and drummer Tyler Mahurin. Unlike past records recording with five members, they found that working as a four piece brought out more of the band.

“Less personality, less conflict,” says vocalist Joe Brown. “Let [guitarist] Dan [Arnold] write the songs he wants to write without anybody telling him any other way; Dan having the freedom to write both guitar parts. And Dane wrote a lot of songs on the album too. That’s another thing we never had before — somebody who was a full contributor writing-wise. I always write lyrics and work on melodies, but as far as musicianship, Dane contributing on that was phenomenal.”

Since the band started, A Static Lullaby forged a sound that brought together their aggressive side with melodic overtones. They shuffled through various lineups over the years (and a brief stint on a major label for 2005’s Fasso Latido). But now they have found a unit that best represents the band on Rattlesnake! .

“We released the last album [2006’s A Static Lullaby] and made the record we wanted to make, music that fans were familiar with that we originally started making and got back to the roots,” Brown explains. “On this last album, I’ve gone through some personal traumas. I was going through a divorce and dealing with alcoholism. We’ve got new members and finally have a band that was solid.”

With four full-lengths and an EP under their belts, A Static Lullaby made major strides in growing as a band.

“It’s about having an idea of who you are and where you came from,” says Brown. “To say we were part of forming a style of music that is way overplayed today, watered down, so many different fashions that you can’t see what it is any more.”

“But I’ve grown up,” he continues. “My tastes in music have changed. I want everything to be heavy as f·ck. That’s what I do.”


On the web: myspace.com/astaticlullaby

The Bronx Interview (Mean Street, December 2008)

THE BRONX
By Rei Nishimoto

Three the Hard Way
L.A.’s hardcore hooligans get in touch with their inner mariachi
There aren’t many bands that work as hard as The Bronx. Staying true to who they are isn’t always hip, but they have no regrets doing things this way. They recently completed a short tour with Every Time I Die and Stick to Your Guns across the East Coast.

“It’s a good little hardcore tour,” says frontman Matt Caughtthran, calling from Toronto, Canada. “It’s always interesting when you’re hanging out with Every Time I Die. They’re good friends of ours. We get into a lot of trouble together. I think when we get back into the States, that’s when the trouble’s gonna start.”

They spent this past summer on the Vans Warped Tour, getting acquainted with fans under the scorching sun.

“It was great man,” the singer continues. “It was surprisingly a lot of fun. It was a good chance to play in front of people who have never seen our band, and hang out with some friends we haven’t seen in a while. It was a really good time. It’s always fun going across the U.S. in the summertime. It’s always a fun thing to do.”

The Bronx last month released their long-awaited full-length record entitled III. This is the first of two full-length albums they recorded under their own White Drugs label and using their own studio.

“It’s our first time recording with Ken [Horne], who is our additional guitar player, and our bass player Brad [Magers],” Caughtthran says. “They’ve been in the band for a while now and it cemented us together, going through the recording process. I think it’s the best [the band’s] been. I think the band’s relaxed and loose, and also confident. Recording in our own studio was cool. It was frustrating at times, since we had to work out the kinks when it came to studio gear.”

The songs on III have evolved and sound stronger than ever. Fans got an early taste of the record with “Knifeman” which was met with strong reaction. Plus Dave Schiffman (System of a Down, Audioslave) produced and engineered the record, giving the band that added punch in their sound.

“He brought a guru-type attitude,” Caughtthran says. “He wasn’t hands-on, as far as sculpting songs. The songs were pretty much there. He was the guy we could bounce ideas off of. He was the medicine ball in the middle of the room. When we needed that extra input, he was there. He’s a great engineer and he’ll get some great sounds on the record as well.”

While the band will be focused on III, they also have a second record coming out in March.

“It’s called Mariachi El Bronx,” Caughtthran explains. “It’s a mariachi record we did. It’s the next step of the band. It’s not rock ‘n’ roll mariachi — it’s really traditional and old school.”

Having the band name The Bronx has drawn many misconceptions about what they are truly about. The band has heard a variety of them, and some simply fall way off the mark. To add to the confusion, on the video for “They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy),” the band used a rapper friend to lip-sync the song’s lyrics.

“If you watch it with no sound on, it looked like a hip-hop video,” Caughtthran explains. “For a long time, people thought I was black. So it worked rather well. Whenever we would do interviews, people would be like, ‘You’re not black!?’ ‘Yeah, I know.”

ON THE STAGE: Dec. 5— The Echo (L.A.)

On the web: thebronxxx.com

Too Pure To Die - Confess (Mean Street, December 2008)

TOO PURE TO DIE
Confess
(Trustkill)

Release date: Jan. 13

Iowa may have spawned another act that is not connected to Slipknot and is making some noise of their own. Too Pure To Die have all of the elements of modern metal — even amounts of raw and melodic vocals and plenty of memorable, chunky guitar riffs. But unlike most aggro-metal out there, Too Pure To Die isn’t entirely a wall of riffs and does sneak in some harmonies. Their sound has the heaviness of Pantera and Machine Head, with the melodic parts of Sevendust and Black Label Society. While they aren’t exactly the most groundbreaking band sound-wise, they make up for that with their energy. These guys show promise and could be something to look out for in the coming years.

Grade: B
REI NISHIMOTO

ANJ Interview (Blistering.com)

ANJ
By: Rei Nishimoto

Russia is hardly known as somewhere that would produce heavy metal music. The country is better known for its vodka and importing its athletes and the music scene is best known for producing 80s hard rockers Gorky Park and female pop act T.A.T.U.

ANJ is an up and coming modern metal band out of Moscow who is beginning to make some noise. Started by frontman and guitarist Anatoly Zhuravlev in 2003, he began writing music on his own. He was a guitar prodigy in his teen years and became Russia’s only Schecter Guitar endorsee. He later wrote satirical songs with such titles as “Gorbachev,” “Power to Destroy” and “Prophecy,” fusing that with his elaborate stage shows.

The band has released three full length recordings in Russia, and has found them appearing on various music fests across Russia, as well as 2006’s Finnish Metal Expo in Helsinki and 2007’s Download Festival in England.

In 2008, Zhuravlev recorded new songs in Los Angeles with producer John Travis (Kid Rock, Buckcherry). He recorded songs with guitarist Levon Sultanian (formerly of Onesidezero and Abloom) and drummer Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour/ex-Soulfly).

ANJ utilized the services of Sultanian and former Candiria drummer Ken Schalk (later replaced by drummer Dmitry Sachko), as well as the live members, guitarist Oleg Izotov, and bassist Nikita ‘Niki’ Simonov for a Gigantour date and As I Lay Dying in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band recently completed a US tour supporting Yngwie Malmsteen.

Zhuravlev (through a translator) spoke to Blistering.com about the band’s history, being a metal band from Russia and conquering the American market.

Blistering.com: Please tell us about the history of the band.

Anatoly Zhuravlev: About four, five years. The band or crew now, it’s about over one year.

Blistering.com: Is this your first time playing in America?

Zhuravlev I played in Milwaukee before. I also recorded in L.A. a music video called “Mikhail Gorbachev.” You can find it on YouTube.

Blistering.com: How are American audiences different than playing in Russia?

Zhuravlev Sometimes I feel like there’s no difference and other times there are bigger differences. I’m actually in the process to find a connection with the audience.

Blistering.com: I read that ANJ has played various European festivals in the past. How did you get onto those festivals? Did you build a fan base over there first?

Zhuravlev I am working hard and doing my best to get over there. Because we’re doing something original, they like that.

Blistering.com: A lot of people are unfamiliar with the Russian music scene, especially the heavy metal scene. How is the Russian metal scene today?

Zhuravlev Metal is not very popular. That’s why I am trying to get outside of Russia to find an audience. There’s nothing there so that’s why I’m looking for foreign audiences.

Blistering.com: Your lyrics are in English. How difficult is it to write lyrics in English when it is not your native language?

Zhuravlev There are Americans that help him [writing in English]. Actually those texts are adapted.

Blistering.com: Do you ever feel that when you are getting the idea down in Russian that it gets lost in the translation into English?

Zhuravlev Some of those songs completely change when you translate them into English. The meaning is totally different from what it meant in Russian. Some of those songs stay the same and mean the same.

Blistering.com: You mentioned recording some songs in Los Angeles. How was it to work with an American producer and American musicians, and how different was it compared to how you normally record music?

Zhuravlev Like when we recorded the music video here in LA, “Mikhail Gorbachev,” he got a lot of positive emotions. But with the songs, I think it’s about the same recording here [as in Russia]. With the technology today, the whole world seems the same. Anyways we’re trying to adapt for American audiences. For Russian audiences, we’re going to have to do this a different way. It’s a different mentality and a different culture. You can’t use the same thing. It won’t work like in America. Even the albums are different.

Blistering.com: You recorded the song “Mikhail Gorbachev.” Tell me about the song, including what the point you were trying to get across in the song.

Zhuravlev It’s a humorous tale. You have to look at your past with a sense of humor. It’s not trying to make fun…a lot of intellectual people in Russia recognize it as a good song and a good music video. It’s not making fun, but an easier way of telling the history.

Blistering.com: Do you feel that through your music you are bringing positivity to Russia when there is a lot of negative press right now with what’s going on there?

Zhuravlev I wouldn’t put it that way. The government won’t pay me for that! That’s not my point to do that. It’s cool to be in America. For every band there, it’s their dream is to tour in America. I don’t have any ambitions to change the view or stereotypes of Russia.

Blistering.com: When you started ANJ, what bands did you listen to that inspired the sound?

Zhuravlev: Creedance (Clearwater Creedance Revival), Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne. It’s stuff that everyone’s listening to - no one too famous.

Blistering.com: Are you recording a full-length album any time soon?

Zhuravlev We already have a few songs written already. A full album will be done in a few months.

Blistering.com: Any final words?

Zhuravlev (without the translator) Ladies and gentlemen, ANJ is coming…!

www.myspace.com/anjkill

Beneath the Massacre Interview (Blistering.com)

Beneath the Massacre
By: Rei Nishimoto

Beneath the Massacre is one of the many bands coming out of the rising Montreal metal scene within the past few years. Joining fellow scensters Despised Icon, Ion Dissonance, Neuraxis and Cryptopsy, they have built a following through extensive touring. Their latest record, Dystopia, continues that brash style of technical death metal that pushes the extremities of that sound. Fans have growth more familiar with them touring with Suicide Silence and Necrophagist.

Vocalist Elliot Desgagnes talked about the new record, life on the road, and their background that developed them into what they are today.

Blistering.com: What different approaches did you take on the making of Dystopia?

Elliot Desgagnes: We had to write it on the road because we were constantly on the road for the Mechanics of Dysfunction promotion. It was me and the guitar player (Christopher Bradley) mostly writing music all the time and we hoped we had enough songs. That’s why the release of the record is out a year and a half after the first one. Writing-wise – I think everyone’s had a word to say about the songs, compared to maybe to the previous one. On this one, we all worked for it.

Blistering.com: Much of your lyrical content is based on social decay. How much has the themes of your songs changed over the years?

Desgagnes: Yeah totally. Dystopia is more about the disasters upcoming. I would say it’s a big question mark. It’s a lot of questions that I’m asking, like how I would ask it to the world I’m living in. There aren’t many answers. It’s the opposite of Mechanics of Dysfunction, where I was bringing up like a problem with a solution. This one’s a bunch of questions I threw in there.

Blistering.com: Where did you get the interest in this theme? Are you into conspiracy theories like the 9/11 theories?

Desgagnes: I don’t believe in that many conspiracy theories. There are some, but I’m not the one who believes in these conspiracy things. I think it is way simpler than this. It’s capitalism. It’s the mass consumption of the society we’re living in. It’s bringing us nothing but war, conflicts and the bigger gap between the rich and the poor. A reason for all of these wars and all of these problems…the social problems are so obvious. It’s almost funny that people don’t understand yet.

Blistering.com: Musically, for a band together for such a short period of time, you have quite the crushing sound with such highly technical parts put together. Does it take a while to piece together your songs, as much of it is quite complex?

Desgagnes: Our songs are definitely complex. I think it’s a sound that we got from…it’s weird because we’re such good friends. There are two brothers, the guitar player (Christopher Bradley) and the bass player (Dennis Bradley). I’ve known them forever. I was their neighbor when we were kids. It’s like a bunch of brothers that we knew what we were always trying to do. So when we write music, we don’t question ourselves whether it sounds like us, because we know it will. There are a lot of bands I hear them say, “I don’t know if we do it this way or that way, but it doesn’t sound like us.” We don’t ask ourselves questions about it because we know what we want to do, how we want to sound, and just do it.

Blistering.com: Has everyone in the band been playing in bands prior to Beneath the Massacre?

Desgagnes: Beneath the Massacre’s coming from the ashes of another band we used to have. I was playing bass and at this point we needed a new singer. I grabbed the mic instead of playing bass. At this time, we found our sound and that we were starting something with a new bassist with new members. We’ve always been playing music for a long time. Justin (Rousselle) started playing drums…I don’t know how old he was but it’s been a while. We’ve been musicians before Beneath the Massacre. We’ll be musicians after Beneath the Massacre.

Blistering.com: Being from Montreal, the Canadian metal scene has exploded with bands like Cryptopsy, Despised Icon, and Ion Dissonance. With the exception of maybe Cryptopsy, did you all come up the scene together? Were you familiar with each other?

Desgagnes: We all met when we were at shows. With our ex-band, we did Ion Dissonance’s first show. I met the guys in Despised Icon after shows. The dudes came and saw me and said they were amazed. Ever since, we kept contact and they’re good friends of ours. We went to Europe together. I think it’s the music. It’s about going to the shows and the music we love made us friends. I do realize there are a lot of good bands. I’m pretty proud of the Montreal music scene. The last Neuraxis album is amazing. I know Ion Dissonance is writing a new album right now. So is Despised Icon.

Blistering.com: What is it about the Montreal metal scene? Is it sheer coincidence that all of these bands came up at the same time and got noticed at the same time?

Desgagnes: In Montreal, we’re there for the music first, unlike a lot of places we go. Bands are not there for the music. They’re there to look cool on stage and impress their girlfriends. For us, we’re there for the music. I think Montreal has a huge respect for musicians. No matter what gender they are. Right now, we’re on tour with Suicide Silence, Architects from the UK, Emmure and After the Burial. Architects sounds nothing like any of those bands. So in some places in the States, people would watch them like ‘what are they doing?’ People loved them in Montreal because they’re great musicians. I think places are more open-minded about music. There’s going to be some good bands coming out of these places.

Blistering.com: When you started Beneath the Massacre, what were some of the bands that helped shape your sound?

Desgagnes: Bands like Death, Dying Fetus, Suffocation, and Origin. Death/grind bands like Pig Destroyer. We’re also influenced by the hardcore movement. We don’t sound hardcore but it’s an energy thing. We like giving a show. We’re like sweating like assholes on stage, and dying every night. We’re true to our music. We couldn’t play the music without that. I think also it has something to do with growing up listening to punk music. So there’s definitely some kind of punk/grind/hardcore attitude also behind the music.

Blistering.com: How’s the Suicide Silence tour going so far?

Desgagnes: Good. Suicide Silence is huge. They’re so huge it’s ridiculous. There’s some cities where I’ve never seen turnouts like this. Like smaller cities. We’ve played big cities with big bands before so I knew what to expect. But it’s small cities where there are lots of kids.

Blistering.com: Where were some of the surprise turnouts on the tour?

Desgagnes: There was a stop in Kansas, where we played a month and a half ago with Necrophagist and Dying Fetus. There were 70 kids. When we played with Suicide Silence two weeks ago, a month after we played with Necrophagist, there were 250 kids! This is in Kansas – the smallest place ever! The only reason we had a show there was because we were playing Denver, Colorado the day before, and there was nothing before we were going to the East Coast. So they booked those kinds of shows sometimes. It’s not big markets. It was pretty big.

www.myspace.com/beneaththemassacre

Cro-Mags Jam @ Nike Theatre (www.Vivelepunk.net)

CRO MAGS LIVE AGAIN


New York hardcore legend John Joseph recently toured Europe with this Cro Mags jam band. Big Cheeses Rei Nishimoto caught them in .LA.

CRO MAGS JAM
The Nike Theatre
Los Angeles, California

5/5
Original Cro Mags vocalist John Joseph made his long awaited West Coast appearance with his all-star CRO MAGS JAM band at the ‘Radio Silence: A Selected Visual History Of American Hardcore’ book release show. A packed room eagerly awaited the appearance of the tattooed frontman to throw down the old school hardcore jams, and he, along with the band, definitely did. The band, featuring guitarist A.J. Novello (Leeway), drummer Mackie Jayson (Bad Brains, Hazen Street, Madball, Cro-Mags), and bassist Craig Away (Sick Of It All) delivered the goods, punching away at all of the classic tunes and keeping the crowd moving throughout their set. Joseph introduced many of their long-time friends in the crowd, including Lord Ezec (Skarhead/Danny Diablo) and Toby Morse (H20), dedicating songs to them and speaking about the positive message behind hardcore. They played many favourites including ‘We Gotta Know,’ ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ and ‘Hard Times’, with Morse and friends joining in the fun. Showing that despite the drama behind some of the members’ relations, the Cro Mags were definitely a huge part of shaping hardcore and heavy music in today’s scene, nobody should ignore this.

Rei Nishimoto

The Bronx - Bronx III (Mean Street - November 2008)

THE BRONX
The Bronx III
(White Drugs/Original Signal)

Release date: Nov. 11

Rock ‘n’ roll got a swift kick in the rear by The Bronx, and their latest release continues to do that. Sticking to their raw, edgy sound full of AC/DC-style rhythms and punchy Black Flag-style aggression, they have created what is easily an anthem for a new generation of antisocial youths. But on III, they have honed and refined the maniacal side, where hooks appear in spots throughout the record, but without losing any of the intensity along the way. Songs like “Knifeman” and “Pleasure Seekers” pack memorable guitar rhythms with sing-a-long punk style choruses, while older fans will get off on “Inveigh” with its abrasive blasts of riffing from start to finish. Longtime fans should enjoy this, as well as newer fans looking for music to bash your heads to. This is a record full of edgy songs that could easily become the logical progression of rock music that is missing today.

Grade: A
REI NISHIMOTO

Pig Destroyer - Natasha (Mean Street - November 2008)

PIG DESTROYER
Natasha
(Relapse)

Release date: Nov. 11

This tune was originally available as a bonus DVD Audio to ’04’s Terrifyer album, but is now available as its own standalone release. Natasha is a one-song, 35-minute epic that plays like a soundtrack to a slasher flick. The band created a slowed down, doom-filled masterpiece that falls somewhere between Godflesh, the Melvins and Neurosis, with horror-movie samples, synth melodies and ambient parts. Longtime fans may be thrown off by the lack of their familiar grindcore ways, Natasha still brings out the brutality in many other ways. The gradual buildup throughout the track is quite immense, as the slow grinding behind the low end heaviness is felt throughout the entire tune. Natasha may not be for everyone, but fans of doom should give this one a test drive.

Grade: A
REI NISHIMOTO

Cave In (Modern Fix, Issue 50)

by Rei Nishimoto

photo by Erin Caruso

It isn’t very often when a band like Cave In enters the world and changes the perception of average music fans. Ever since their humble beginnings back in Boston in 1995, they were creating music based on their love of music, whether it was Snapcase, Threadbare or Sunny Day Real Estate. Guitarist Stephen Brodsky named the band after a Codeine song off of their “Frigid Stars” LP, and began shaping the early version of the band around the heaviest sounds they could create while also stretching the lengths of the songs at the same time. These songs were found on a variety of seven inch singles done for a variety of independent labels before landing on Los Angeles based HydraHead Records.

A few line up changes occurred along the way creating what is now heard on their 1997 “Beyond Hypothermia” CD, which was called their ‘debut’ but was actually re-worked versions of previously recorded songs from past seven inches. But they later brought in current bassist Caleb Scofield to secure the position. Having trouble finding a vocalist that fit the band’s needs, Brodsky handled the vocals and recorded their first ‘real’ full length, 1998’s “Until Your Heart Stops”. Longtime Cave In fans grew to love the sheer raw aggression behind this release.

It wasn’t until 2000’s “Jupiter” (a running theme based on Brodsky’s interest in the solar system) that truly saw a climaxing in the band’s musical abilities. Stepping away from the sheer aggression and exploring more progressive melodies, it was a Cave In long time fans weren’t expecting.

The success behind Jupiter found them in a huge bidding war by several major labels for exclusive signing rights. RCA/BMG won bidding war and released “Antenna” in 2003. For the first time in Cave In’s history, they received a large recording budget to record in Los Angeles. They spent two months in the studio while soaking in new techniques such as re-listening to the same songs repeatedly and spending more time on arrangements.They became students of the major label game. “Antenna” became the band’s most melodic and progressive sounding release to date, although long time fans were somewhat lost by their new direction. Being a band that never relied on radio singles in the past, they quickly learned that the big label world was not for Cave In and quickly parted ways with RCA.

The band spent the past few years doing extensive soul searching to lead into the recording of “Pitch Perfect Black”. After rediscovering what made Cave In important to each member, they began writing this new release. This is Cave In’s first release in three years and raises the bar on creativity. It’s a representative work in overcoming their recent troubles. It takes the best parts of each era of Cave In’s history and creating an ambitious record that needs to be heard. Long time fans will be re-acquainted with the classic heaviness while recent fans will also be familiarized with their spaced out guitar tones and dreamy indie rock melodies.

Guitarist / singer Stephen Brodsky and bassist Caleb Scofield spoke about the making of the new album, the challenge of creating music, the major label experience and the future of Cave In.

You went through quite a struggle to release Perfect Pitch Black.

Caleb Scofield: The majority of the material was intended for our next release on RCA. After a year and a half of disagreements and things not working out the way we’d hope it would, we parted ways with RCA. We weren’t sure what was going to happen to these songs. We had made demos for six or seven of them and knew we were happy with them, but we knew we had a ways to go and needed a home if they were to be properly released. We came full circle and came to talking to our friends at Hydrahead again. They were interested in releasing the stuff. It’s kind of a surprise to us that the record is out. The songs have seen the light of day. They’ve come as far as they have from the initial demos to where they are now. It ended up making a pretty cool record.

This new CD took a lot of elements from the past and present without sounding repetitive. Is this something that just happens with unspoken chemistry?

Stephen Brodsky: We kind of wanted it to happen that way. I really felt the couple releases prior to this one (“Jupiter” and “Antenna”) weren’t pushing us as players and songwriters as much as I wanted to. Collectively, we came on to the same page in terms of that idea of writing songs. Whenever we want to shed a layer of skin musically, we don’t go about it nonchalantly. There’s a real driving force in our band to be the best as we can with what we’re trying to do. We’ll just do it. It’s never felt as though there was a weak link in that attitude when it came to actually writing music.

Caleb: It allows everyone in the band to showcase their personality and what it is they’re good at. This record was really collaborative as far as the writing process went. Everyone was open to each other’s ideas. It’s always healthy. You feel more connected to it. It’s fun. When we did that tour with Converge, we knew that we would have to play some older material. Otherwise, we would be getting booed every night. So we started doing that, and after that tour, it was fun playing those metal songs. Next thing we knew, we’re writing heavier riffs again. My vocals are becoming more a presence. It’s important for us to always do what we’re good at, instead of running away from certain things because you don’t want to end up being pigeonholed as this type of band.

“Antenna” was on a major label. What did you learn from that experience?

Stephen: I think we learned more about ourselves as people more than anything. When it came to shedding layers of skin like I said earlier, in terms of musicality, it’s probably more important for us as musicians than anything. It’s more important to us than playing stupid little games to sell more records, which is what you have to do when you’re on a major label. You’re encouraged to be more of that nature. That was the biggest lesson. That had an effect on the way we wrote these songs, how went about writing them and the ‘carefreeness’ by which we chose to maintain the process.

Were you surprised major labels took that much interest in Cave In, considering you have such a hardcore following and not meant for the mainstream?

Caleb: That whole time period was bizarre for us. We never had any aspirations of being a band on a major label or even considering it an option. Then with the release of “Jupiter”, we started getting this attention from people from a totally different world than where we came from. At the time, exploring different avenues seemed good to us. It did take us about a year to decide whether or not it was something we wanted to do. But all of us were enthralled with the idea of being able to do the band full time and not having to commit ourselves to anything else. We decided to go for it. It still baffles me to this day, especially in retrospect now seeing how things turned out. We ended up living up to every cliché that you have about any band going to a major and having things just fall apart. I still wonder what the interest is from that world with a band like us. I think those people are so far removed from what it is that we do when they see a band that can travel across the country and the world on their own and have people come see them and buy their records. Imagine what we could do with the money and power they have. But in reality, that’s not how it works.

I never could put concepts like radio songs and Cave In in the same sentence. They don’t go together.

Caleb: It was pretty weird. Even stuff off of “Jupiter”, like the song ‘Braincandles’, is pretty straightforward. It’s kind of a pop format, verse, chorus, verse. I hope that even when we write songs that are more ‘accessible’ or whatever you want to call it, there’s still something more interesting to them. There’s still that tinge of Cave In and you can tell it’s a Cave In song. On “Antenna”, we got into this groove of re-working everything so hard. Everyday we’d have a finished version of a song but we were reworking it. Before you know it, we’d have a record full of these tiny, short songs. It’s not a very good representation of us in that style of writing. We can’t fully express ourselves. It’s funny because major labels put so much attention on bands always having songs for the radio. For a band like us, we never relied on that format to get out to people. Ever. We never even considered having a song on the radio. We tour, release records and if people catch onto it, they catch onto it. We did have a couple of songs on the radio from “Antenna” and it didn’t do anything. It wasn’t like as soon as our song went to radio, we saw a massive difference in our turnouts or record sales.

“Antenna” took a musical departure from past releases where melodies played a bigger part than before. Any regrets?

Stephen: Maybe the aggression by which we went about shedding the idea of Cave In strictly being a hardcore band was somewhat necessary. The scene that we came from didn’t really champion that sort of thing as much as it maybe should have when you consider what defines punk rock or what the idea of punk rock really is. We overcompensated for that by really just sticking it in people’s faces that we weren’t going to be this kind of band with this handle on it that people could swing it by and take a grip on. We were going to be more of our own thing and we would define what we were. It wasn’t going to be anyone else’s words or opinions. I don’t regret that. As much as our fans are important to the continuation of this band, there is no way I could pick up the guitar and play something I’m not going to be feeling 100%, because I don’t want anybody else to see that. Nobody else should have to hear that.

Do you think you may have spooked some of the older fans with direction of “Antenna”?

Caleb: Absolutely (laughs). That was something that we knew would happen. But you can’t live your whole career worried about what your fans are going to think. You have to do what feels right for you at the time, and hope it is the right thing. This record is sort of a return to form for us. We’re realizing what type of band we really are, what we are good at and what type of songs we’re most comfortable writing and playing. I’m sure a lot of people look at our band and they’re like “These guys are too all over the map. One year they’re a heavy metal record and next year it’s an attempt at some pop-rock record.” It’s understandable. Hopefully we ourselves are sort of realizing what we need to stick with and what we’re good at.

I guess not everyone can be AC/DC.

Caleb: Yeah! (laughs). It’s tough putting out the same record over and over and having people dig it. Especially being in the band, you are always wanting to do something different. Challenge yourself a little bit and change it up just enough to keep you wanting to write another record. Go out and tour. Keep things interesting for yourself. We definitely bounce all over the map musically, but it’s something that keeps it fun for us.

Was “Perfect Pitch Black” the record that was originally supposed to be the major label release? How much of this was written at that time?

Stephen: All of it.

What was it about Hydrahead Records that appealed to Cave In to release this CD?

Stephen: Those guys were really supportive of us through the whole process of making this record. They said themselves, “If RCA won’t put this out, we’ll do it.” Right there, it just rang a bell. They were on the same page as us in a lot of ways. Neither party necessarily wanted to go for the throat and stuff this thing into people’s ears like most major label records are worked. We didn’t feel comfortable about that. We enjoy people gravitating more to something we do as opposed to having a noose thrown around their necks and yanked towards us. And we didn’t approach any other labels. We weren’t interested in that. I think with anything, the words ‘record label’ were sort of like redrum written in blood on a mirror.

Wasn’t there a point where Cave In was close to not being a band any more?

Stephen: Yes. There were plenty of points where we didn’t know why we were in a band or with each other. We were questioning that even prior to discontinuing the promotion madness for “Antenna”.

Caleb: We did a tour about a year ago with Converge and after that, we hadn’t been touring much at all. We had finally gotten off of RCA and just burnt out. We toured so hard for years. We really got put through the ringer with the label and management and all down the line. I think we all reached this point where we were like ‘Let’s just step away from this for a while. If it does come back together at some point, great. If not, so be it. I moved out here (Los Angeles), and our drummer J.R. moved away to Germany. He was nursing a broken wrist anyways so we knew it would be a while until he would be able to play. For a while, it did look like nothing was going to happen. These songs on “Perfect Pitch Black” were shelved away. Everybody was busy doing their own thing. But when you’re so close to something for such a long time and then you step away form it, it’s only a matter of time until you’re like ‘Oh man! I miss this.’ The fact of the matter is that we can still put out records, so why not take advantage of this?

Is that when you started doing your solo record?

Stephen: I’ve done music on my own for as long as I can remember. Ever since I got my first four-track machine when I was in high school. I’ve put out a couple records under my own name on a small label a few years ago. We all had time away from each other to explore playing with different people and develop our own skill in the process. That was refreshing. When you play with the same dudes for four years straight, in one sense, it’s really like a nice sweater that you’ve always had that fits every time you put it on. But in terms of our inspiration for playing our instruments, we had run out of fuel by the time Cave In had decided to take a rest. At this point, it’s more exciting that I can ever remember. You really develop your arsenal as a musician, when you learn a bit of the language and the traits of other players out there in the world. Everyone has their own way of speaking through their fingers or their mouth or whatever to make sound. At this point, when we get together and write some more music, I think it’s going to be that much more exciting.

How do you differentiate between what works with Cave In and what will become your solo material?

Stephen: At this point, if I play something for those guys that might work for the band and they’re excited about it, then they’re pretty verbal about it. So it depends on the excitement level of it. Now all of the other garbage, I do on my own (laughs). The solo stuff is like the garbage disposal of Cave In!

What other projects are the rest of the guys in? Do you have other projects you’re involved in?

Stephen: In the past couple of years, there’s been other stuff that I’ve gone back and forth on, but ultimately it’s the two worlds. Caleb (Scofield, bass) does Old Man Gloom once in a blue moon. He was also playing in the Icarus Line for a little while, but I don’t know if they’re even a band any more. Adam (McGrath, guitar) is playing in a band called Clouds, which is mainly his creation. By his description, it’s sort of a punk rock jam band. Ben also plays in Converge. Caleb: I only really do Old Man Gloom. We have a hard time getting together to do anything because all of the members are so busy with their other bands. We had a record come out last year. We didn’t get a chance to tour on it at all. We played a few shows. We were all happy with the record and it deserves a little more attention that what it got from us. There is only so much we could all do. That’s kind of a thing that will always be there and there will always be time for it, here and there. Adam has another band in Boston going. They’re playing shows. Steve’s working on something. He’s got his own record that he’s constantly working on. He’s playing in this band Octave Museum. He’s always going. He’s got so much musical energy.

There’s a lot of recent metal bands coming out of the New England area. Any insights into the regions prolification of good bands?

Caleb: I don’t know. That’s a good question. As detached as I am from a lot of it now, I think it’s something about those New England winters. Tough skin makes for good metal records. Especially with the earlier hardcore scene. It developed in New York, Boston and DC. The area built a lot of amazing bands that set the bar. You have bands like Unearth, Converge, and Shadows Fall that play in a band, tour and put out records all of the time and people catch on. You can’t get away from it. It’s great. They have a great work ethic and a love for what they do.

Plus the neighbor, Jamey Hatebreed. Has Cave In toured with them yet?

Caleb: Connecticut. No, I would love to tour with Hatebreed. That might be pretty challenging for us opening up for them. That band’s unreal. I’ve followed them since day one and I have their first demos and seven inches. Just seeing them evolve into what they are now is impressive.

How’s it working out with new drummer Ben?

Stephen: So far, it’s been really, really invigorating. Ben is a musician in his own right and has his own bag of tricks and his own way of speaking behind the drum kit. It’s exciting and a new toy for us to dabble with. We’ve already written a few new songs with him. It’s stuff that doesn’t sound like any other Cave In songs we’ve ever written, which is the key.

Caleb: We brought him on when J.R. was like ‘I don’t know when I’m coming home.’ We gave Ben a call and he’s been a friend of ours for a while and totally excited about helping us out and play with us for as long as need be. We did a couple of shows in Boston with him and it went really well. We recorded a couple of new songs which we’ll have on this next tour.

What happened to John-Robert Connors, your last drummer?

Stephen: Ultimately, J.R. hurt his wrist badly and had a lot of bad luck in accessing that situation and getting it taken care of. He also was living out of the country for a little while. That is where he is still with his wife. Even if he wanted to play drums in Cave in, he couldn’t. He doesn’t live in the same country and his wrist is messed up. He’s not able to work. That’s where it stands.

You’re about to do a U.S. tour with Doomriders?

Stephen: Yeah. It goes for about a month.Caleb: Nate from Converge’s band. Nate also plays in Old Man Gloom with me. That’s cool. It’s like a giant family of the same dudes but a few different bands. They’re all great friends of ours. We grew up playing music with them. More so Steve than myself.

Is anyone from Cave In involved in Doomriders?

Stephen: No. Might as well be. It’s such an incestuous scene over here. I guess that shows the rabid love that New Englanders share for playing music. It’s always something I felt about this area, ever since I became involved with playing music. That’s probably why I chose to stick around here as long as I have.

Other tours scheduled?

Stephen: This tour ends right before Christmas. We’ll hang with our families and open some presents. Then after New Years, we’re going to do a tour over in Europe for about a month. We’re doing that with Pelican. We’re really looking forward to that. Then we’re planning on being at South By Southwest next year. Shortly after that, we’re touring Japan for a week. That will lead us into April, and hopefully by then, we will have formulated another record.

Have you toured Japan before?

Stephen: Not Cave In. I went over there with a band I was playing in called the New Idea Society.

Cave In traditionally releases a number of split singles and songs for compilations and tribute albums. Do you have anything like that coming out in the near future?

Stephen: For this tour coming up, we have a two song cassingle. It’s Ben’s recorded debut on drums. It’s two brand new songs and it’s a limited thing. I don’t think we’re going to make more than 500. If we manage to sell 500 cassingles, we’ll be surprised, considering the cassette is a dying format at this point. It might already be dead. We found a way to dig up some plastic corpses to make 500 of these things to give away. It’s fun to do stuff like that. It will test the love of your fans. How far can you go to test your love for the people who love what you do? That’s part of what it is. Here’s a couple of new songs, good luck trying to play them! We’re really excited about it. They look awesome. Aaron Turner did the design work for it. We gave him the rule that he wasn’t allowed to use a computer in his design work. It’s all done by hand. It’s like a demo you’d buy a local hardcore show ten years ago.

cavein.net

Every Time I Die (Mean Street, December 2005)

EVERY TIME I DIE

By Rei Nishimoto

The success story behind Every Time I Die could not be written any better than what they have experienced. They toured non-stop behind their previous CD, Hot Damn!, supporting such bands as As I Lay Dying, Unearth and Dillinger Escape Plan, but winning over fans with their energetic rock sound.

On their latest release, Gutter Phenomenon, the band started things off big. They debuted at number 71 on the Billboard 200 chart the first week, selling 14,230 copies and becoming Ferret Records top-selling artist. Before that, they took part on the first ever Sounds of the Underground tour and gave fans a sneak preview.

"It was cool to be part of the first one," said guitarist Andrew Williams. "It is [somewhat] like the bands that get to say they were part of the first Ozzfests. It sounds cool and it is what it is. The people that put together the tour did well and I think they broke even this time. So we hope they keep doing it and maybe in a couple of years we get the chance to do it again."

They filmed their latest video for "Kill The Music" with a guest appearance by actor Michael Madsen. Williams and director Darren Doane developed the concept for an over-the-top video.

"When we started working on a story line, I presented the idea of doing an underwater video with us playing live, William says. I thought it would be cool and different. But then we thought about getting someone with a name that could make a statement in the video. Darren said he knew Michael Madsen, but we thought hed be too expensive. After a while, he called him to ask if he would be interested and he (Madsen) agreed, Williams said.With some reassurance, everything proceeded smoothly."

"He (Madsen) was way cool and hes one of these people that you have to tell him he did a good job", he said.

On the web: http://www.everytimeidie.com/

The 2008 Valley Film Festival (Valley Scene Magazine, October 17-30, 2008)

The 2008 Valley Film Festival

By Rei Nishimoto

Just over the Hollywood sign in the San Fernando Valley area, many of today's films are being developed and made. To highlight the talent from this area, the 2008 Valley Film Festival has brought together five days of films by upcoming filmmakers and talent alike, in front of fans who want to get a taste of what is to come.

Held at the El Portal Theatre in the North Hollywood Arts District, the 2008 edition is in its eighth year and showcases short films broken down by categories ranging from short stories to dramatic to comedy. Each genre of film is shown in blocks of three to four films, while audience viewers vote on their favorite films of that block. The films are an average 15 minutes per film.
One of the film sections that stood out was the Horror Shorts Program that was held on the Friday of the five day showing. Each of the four films showed tremendous promise and often was a shame that it ended so soon. The stories were well crafted and kept the audience on its feet within its allotted time.

The strongest film of the block was Everyday Joe, a suspense filled film by Shane Cole. This is a film that was built around a simple storyline and gradually built up into a heart pounding flick.
The story revolves around the main character named Joe (played by Jason C. Miller, also the singer/guitarist of the LA based rock band Godhead), a guy who leads a below average life. He is unable to hold down any odd jobs around town, and lacks a social life. He does not have any friends or relationships, which the film captures by showing his awkwardness in spending excess time on the internet as well as his inability to speak to Gina, a girl from his help group, (played by actress Persia White). Gina is also shy but shows interest in Joe, however his paranoia keeps him from showing his true feelings.

The suspense builds up when Joe drifts off to sleep, and awakens on a random alley. This occurrence happens again later, except he wakes up in an office building by a lawyer's office, the difference is that the second time he finds a murdered body next to him where he wakes up. This is where Joe's past takes him down a dark twisted road. The scenes build up to the suspense and are well crafted by Cole, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

The turning point comes when Joe is confronted by the guy who had him believing that he was losing his mind. It turns out to be Simon (played by Zack Throne), an unusually quiet guy from his self-help group who targeted Joe from the beginning, and now is ultimately trying to hurt Gina. After a struggle occurs and Simon tries to kill Gina, Joe fights back and is forced to kill Simon.

Everyday Joe is a well-crafted film that could easily be expanded into a full-length film that could be either a suspense film as well as a dark comedy (ala Falling Down). If films with larger budgets would follow this as an example, there might be more hope for the movie industry in the years to come.

Another highlight within the block of this film festival was horror/gore film Hallow Halls, a fictional story about five kids who entered a prison building they believed was abandoned. They gradually learn that the prisoners that were originally there were tortured and experimented on, but still walked the halls. The film is filled with zombies that kill, and there is a lot of blood and guts flying from the kids who become their victims. This is definitely one for fans of horror films with killer zombies.

The rest of the films include Eater, a Silence of the Lambs meets Twilight Zone style story about a rookie cop that works the nightshift at a jailhouse. During his shift, he learns that there is a cannibal on the loose, who kills and eats his victims. Much of the film is about him trying to evade the cannibal before falling victim himself. And Stuffed is a short film about a woman who finds a new man in her life. She collects stuffed animals, which are all over her apartment. But when he gets too close, her stuffed animals take matters into their hands. This film was creatively done, but it has more cuteness to it than horror.

The Bronx Interview (Big Cheese Issue 103)

There aren't too many bands out there that are as real as The Bronx. In this day and age where substance is a secondary thought, The Bronx throw it all down and don't regret doing it. It takes this type of a band to carry a name with such an impact as The Bronx.

Currently ripping up and down the US as part of this year's Warped Tour, the hard work has been paying off Stateside for the Californian wrecking crew, who already routinely play to larger crowds abroad than they do in their native country. However, standing out like a greasy smear across the white silk sheets of Warped's shiny pop punk stars and starlets, The Bronx are a breed apart on the summer's travelling festival. "It's a bit of a mixed emotion," says vocalist Matt Caughthran, about his thoughts on being on Warped: "It's like being in a hot tub with a man. The hot tub feels good but sometimes the company ain't that great."

Having toured for just over two years in support of 2006's second self titled album, the last few months have seen the five piece working on not one, but two new albums (as revealed in BC 97). "That's what we do," explains Caughthran: "One of the main things about the band is all talk, no action - we talk about things, and randomly do them. We've been working hard in the last year in the last year especially to get two records out. We're doing a mariachi 'El Bronx' record, which is the tradional Hispanic record - as traditional as we could do it. Plus a regular, what you have come to expect - or not expect, Bronx record."

With new song 'Knifeman', newly uploaded onto the band's Myspace page, showcasing the 'regular' Bronx, Caughthran and guitarist Joby Ford took the time to explain how the idea of a mariachi CD came about. "We did a TV show in LA and they wanted to do an acoustic song, but those suck," said Ford: "Have you ever heard a good one - an acoustic rendition of another band's song? With the exception of, I don't even like it but the first time I saw Eric Clapton do all of his music unplugged, I thought it was great. I'm still not a fan but when he changed 'Layla' to what it was, I thought it was an incredible thing, even though I don't like that song. It was great to see what he could do with that song..."That had nothing to do with anything I was talking about. But we decided to do a mariachi version instead of a bunch of guys with acoustics looking great. It came out great and we had a bunch of our friends play on it."

But, contrary to what people may think, the songs on 'El Bronx' are in English and not in Spanish. "I didn't sing in Spanish. I kind of use the force when it comes to that. There's a natural evolution of things. The record came natural to all of us and in certain ways, it came naturally to me, vocally, in English. It was a way for me to get out more of the melodic side of singing, and it felt really good. I felt no need to force myself to speak horrible Spanish," says Caughthran.

Raw, honest and as subtle as a luminous breezeblock to the forehead. The Bronx play hardcore punk in its truest essence, compounding their vicious studio attack with furious live shows. "It's definitely our favourite type of music," says Caughthran: "I also think a lot of bands take a shit creatively. A lot of bands enjoy the fact that they're in bands and not really doing it for music." "Because I can't play it, therefore I should," adds Ford.

"We try to push ourselves in that direction also. We're all proud to be in the band. It's a nice feeling," concludes Caughthran.

Their debut on the first date of the tour in Pomona, California featured the usual opening day of organizational madness as kinks were ironed out last minute and confusion reigned supreme.

The 108 degree heatwave Southern California was sweltering under didn't help much either, but the band worked through the problems and are enjoying their time on the tour. "You know what? We're glad to be here. We're having fun. We work our asses off all the time - we're excited to go on summer vacation. We've got some friends on the tour here and there, so it's cool," adds Caughthran. "What was awesome was a guy in a wheelchair was fucking people up in the mosh pit. I could give a shit about anything else but seeing that dude do that. It was awesome!" adds Ford. "It was like, I wanna hang out with that guy! [There's] so much positivity coming from that guy."

Scars on Broadway Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

Under the Skin

While the future of System of a Down remains in flux, Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan are making their own mark with Scars on Broadway.

When System of a Down announced their extended hiatus in 2006, their loyal fan base was unsure how to react to this news. Vocalist Serj Tankian immediately released his solo record last October. Bassist Shavo Odadjian launched his new project Achozen with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. But there were rumblings of the two remaining members and when their new project was about to be unleashed upon the world.

Guitarist Daron Malakian introduced Scars on Broadway earlier in 2008, after premature reports of various incarnations over the past few years, including Amen's Casey Chaos in one version. "I've been working on this a little before System went on the last tour on Ozzfest," says Malakian: "Ever since we got off Ozzfest I've been working on this non-stop. Right after that tour, I called up John (Dolmayan, System of a Down drummer) to do this. We've been in this for about a year and a half. It doesn't seem like it, but it is."

"The biggest benefit of me and Daron being in a band together outside of System is that we already know each other," says Dolmayan. "That's what brought me to John. I liked his playing I know his bad and his good. He knows the same. There are no surprises for each other. I'm not in the mood of getting surprised by shady types," concludes Malakian.

'Scars on Broadway' is an eclectic record that captures a wide array of sounds where no two songs are alike. Songs like 'Babylon' captures a punkier edge, while 'Chemicals' explores a tripped out psychedelic sound. There are other songs that bring back the heavier SOAD sound from their earlier days, as well as some Armenian influences appearing as well. Fans got to hear 'They Say' on the band's Myspace page, but this is but one aspect of the band's sound.

"It's like one facet of a diamond. Every time you look at a diamond from a different perspective, it's going to shine a different light on you. That's what this album's like. It has a lot of different hooks to it," says Dolmayan.

Scars on Broadway played their first live show at the Whisky in Los Angeles in March, which introduced the live band with guitarist Franky Perez, keyboardist Danny Shamoun, and bassist Dominic Cifarelli (former Pulse Ultra guitarist). The packed crowd brought back memories of the old SOAD shows in the mid 1990s, when they sold out the club circuit before they signed a recording deal.

"There was a sense of excitement in the audience," says Malakian. "Like, 'What's this band about? I've heard it was happening'...That's how it was with System. With System, we'd sticker all over LA but no one had seen the band yet. The first time we played there was a sense of excitement in the air. We felt that at the Whisky. That, to me, is the important thing that need to happen to make Scars stand on its own two feet."

Before the record was released, 'They Say' was played on US radio, creating a strong buzz. "the first time I heard 'They Say' on the radio, it was like hearing 'Sugar' for the first time. It was taking it back for me because it was 'They're playing Scars...' We weren't under that SOAD safety net, where we know they're going to play it. I actually didn't know they were going to play it. I didn't know Scars would stand up on its own two feet."

Malakian was one of the main songwriters in System, penning many of their well known songs with Tankian but Scars on Broadway is entirely his vision, where he wrote and produced the entire record himself. While writing for Scars may sound challenging, he makes the process sound a lot more basic than it appeared. "I write catering to what I know and who is playing the songs," he explained. "In System, I knew John's playing style. I knew Shavo. I knew Serj. So when I write I had them in mind. I wanted to write around their styles. When I brought in a topic for the song, I usually wanted it to be a topic that I thought Serj would be into singing so I would try political stuff because he's very involved in political things. In that way it was different because the members have changed."

"Some I wrote after. The approach is very different. I wanted these songs to be very eclectic and not necessarily start the big moshpit. I wanted to make an album that was listenable."

In Scars on Broadway Malakian handles all of the lead vocals, which is not new to him. While in SOAD he played guitar while occasionally doing backup vocals, he was once a lead vocalist in a prior band. "As I've gone more into my writing and even with the last two System records, I wanted to sing on my own songs," explains Malakian. "The things I'm singing about, I can't sing it to somebody else and have him sing it. I'm capable of it. It is taking a little getting used to for me live, because going from stage right to centre stage...I'm still getting comfortable with that. Even if this were a System record, you'd probably hear me singing more than on 'Mesmerize' and 'Hypnotize.' Then where are we? Serj sings his songs and I sing my songs. We didn't feel it was a band situation any more. As i get older now and as a songwriter have matured more, I want to express my voice in my own songs. In a lot of cases in System, I may have written a melody line and the lyrics, but I'm not singing on them. But I wouldn't trade it for the world what we did because I love Serj's voice." "When Serj and I met, I was a singer and he was a keyboard player. We reversed roles. He had never been a frontman of a band before, and I was the frontman of a band that broke up and his band got together. I wanted to do what I did before, write the songs and be creatively involved, but not necessarily stand there and sing."

One key point that drives Scars on Broadway is bringing back the energy and excitement of a brand new band. Malakian wanted to recapture that spirit in his new band that he once had with SOAD. “There are a lot of things going on with this band that goes back to the innocent times of System of a Down. It’s refreshing and it’s almost like you never thought you can feel that again. And you do. If a crowd gets in front and cheers for us, we don’t expect it because they haven’t heard any of our songs. We actually appreciate it opposed to knowing they’re going to cheer.” “The less you expect, the more impressed you are by the reaction. That’s what’s happening to us right now,” added Dolmayan.

With Scars Malakian wanted to create new music that pushed forward his creativity, while showing a different side of him from what he had already done. “I keep writing songs I’ve never written before, but at the same time keep a style. When you hear it you know it’s a song that Daron wrote. Whether it’s System or Scars, you can see my signature there. That’s something that’s important to me. But that happens naturally. So I don’t think about that much.”

Malakian praised Dolmayan’s drumming on the Scars on Broadway record, and a key reason he brought him into the project. But Dolmayan was modest about his role in the songwriting. “It’s pretty much drumming,” he said. “Daron handles all the production and songwriting. I might make a couple little suggestions. I guess a lot of what I bring to the table is comfort. Daron’s comfortable with me. He knows me as a person because I’m not going to change.” “He brings great drumming to the table,” adds Malakian: “I have a lot of friends that are drummers and they’re all good drummers. For some reason, I associate with drummers. I like the drums. One thing there’s a difference with John is behind the kit. I’m not saying it because he’s here. The more people I’ve played with, the more I appreciate John. He fills up the song and is a solid player. You can rely when you’re playing live."

So where did Scars on Broadway come from? Like System of a Down, which came from a poem, this name also has an interesting story behind it. “One day I was talking to a friend on our way to a hockey game about these light posts in Glendale on Broadway that has Swastikas on them in the design,” explained Malakian: “When I said the name Swastikas on Broadway…[I thought] that’s interesting. There’s a dark feeling to that. But I don’t want to use the name Swastikas. The way they’re on there, it’s scarred on there. I thought Scars on Broadway sets up a cool image.”

“Now the name to me, when I related it to the songs, it has nothing to do with that lightpost. It has more to do with all the world is a stage. We’re just scars on that stage that come and go. All we did is left a mark on the world.”

Kevin Lyman Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

Talking Tours

Big Cheese catches up with Warped head honcho Kevin Lyman to find out if Warped will be coming back to the UK any time soon...

On this year's Warped Tour...

I book the tour in November. The world’s changed very quickly. We set the ticket price. We said we would go out for the same ticket price as last year. Then the past few weeks, we had accountants asking ‘are you charging extra at the door?’ How will gas be hit? We’ll go out there and it will cost us. I told everyone we’ll make less money this year. That’s what will happen. Luckily I’ve got the Mayhem tour so instead of making money for retirement it will be going to paying for the gas on Warped Tour! For me, yesterday was a weird day. Just looking over how this tour’s been for 14 years, having this open society and a lot of things going on. Every year the tide comes in and the tour grows. Last year it was a little scaled back. But it’s hard when so many people want to be involved in it. I look at it and it’ll probably be the last year the Warped Tour will be able to be this way. It’s not because of any other reason other than forces taken out of our control. But I think we could make the Warped Tour work. We’ll probably do a lot more locally next year. Probably travel with fewer stages. We’ll go with the bigger stages, or maybe tell the promoter to bring in a stage and a sound system. Maybe they’ll come in from a little city and play two or three shows. It’ll still be a great show. We just won’t have 70 bands going out on the road with us. Next year’s the 15th year so already into some ideas for a pretty cool show. We’re hoping to tie it in with NASCAR and make it a big weekend. A lot of NASCAR drivers like punk rock, like Ryan Vickers’ crew. They’re coming down tomorrow because they’re racing up at Sears Point.

On deciding who plays on the tour...

I always thought Warped Tour was eclectic. Some people think it got too emo, too screamo, or whatever. When you really dig into it, the Warped line up is pretty diverse. In 1995 – L7, Sublime, No Doubt, Quicksand, CIV, Orange 9MM – what did they really have in common? They had a thread and a lifestyle, but they didn’t sound alike. If you look at the Hurley.com stage and watch the Smartpunk stage – when we get on the East Coast, a lot of the amphitheatre stages are split in half. I wanted kids to hear the difference in the sounds of music. So that’s why you’re out there, you’ll hear Oreska Band and Alesana, and then Beat Union. I think kids are all over musically. I think it’s playing well. Katy Perry is going up with that. It’s interesting to have someone like Katy Perry now. I heard her demo tapes in October. When I first heard those demos, I went ‘good attitude. She’s a punk kind of at heart.’ With Oreska Band, how cool is that kids are into it. There were 1500 people at their stage – an all girl Japanese ska band. I think people are open minded right now to the music. We did the Old School Stage last year. That was really cool down in Carson. We’re going to expand that to four cities. We have Big Drill Car coming back. We have the Germs coming out, and D.I. I think this is the time where maybe at one point it scared people. TSOL played a few shows at the Warped Tour, and the kids ran, like, ‘who the hell?!’ But now, when they see that band, they’ll start looking into Fear and those kinds of things. Last year it was awesome at Carson, where people were asking ‘would people go see these bands at a venue any more?’ Probably not, but come out to the Warped Tour and learn about a history lesson of punk.

On a possible return to the UK...

We’ve been asked quite a bit about that. It’s hard with Warped. We take A Taste of Chaos around the world now. When you go to A Taste of Chaos in the US or Japan or Australia, it’s a similar show – indoors and a second stage. Warped Tour’s taken up this massive proportion. This is the vision of the Warped Tour and with the internet, videos and DVDs and international travel with kids coming over here, when you take it overseas, you can’t duplicate this, no matter how hard you try. Kids will go ‘this isn’t the real Warped Tour.’ Kids want to come here. A lot of other places don’t have free things that kids in America like, from the stuff in the booths, activities and signings. So we go overseas, you have six to eight booths and kids go ‘I want that overload of the Warped Tour.’ My thing was I always took the Warped Tour to places I never go to travel. I got to travel because I started the Warped Tour. I went camping in Australia with bands, traveling in buses, having a great time around the world. Now they’re talking about Warped Tour South Africa…sometimes I’m wondering if it’s better to buy a ticket to go see it. You don’t necessarily need to do a show everywhere you want to go in the world. We’re doing Warped Tour Mexico. We’re doing a little show out there at the end of August. There are some kids that used to sneak in to the country to see the Warped Tour. Then they started throwing their own little Warped Tours down there. Then they’d bring me pictures and they’d have a little truck with two bands that reminded me of Warped Tour in 1995 in many ways. Now we’re trying to take a step up, helping them booking bands, Vans connections so maybe they could be doing this.

Warped Tour Feature (Big Cheese Issue 102)

One Big Mother

With the temperature a skin-roasting 108 degrees in the shade, Every Time I Die's Keith Buckley acting as some sort of demented ringmaster leading today's Southern Californian crowd into moshpit carnage, lost luggage, Japanese ska bands wander around looking mightily bemused as the backstage catering kills hundreds of burritos. Welcome to the first day of Warped 2008.

While much of the mayhem is happening out on the main grounds, the bands have their own personal drama happening behind the scenes. Every one of the 120 bands that participate on each of the shows has their own routines that they are responsible for. Big Cheese followed Norma Jean, who are participating on the entire tour for the first time. Aside from promoting their forthcoming release The Anti-Mother, they let us into their daily routines, their past Warped Tour experiences, how they keep themselves entertained, and their forthcoming record.

THE DAILY ROUTINE

Cory Brandan (vocals): Wake up…who knows when…
Chris Raines (drums):…wake up when someone comes and wakes us up yelling! It depends because we have a new record coming out, The Anti Mother, which comes out August 5th. We’re promoting that record. That’s what this tour is for. That’s the most important thing. We have tons of interviews like this, so we’ll get up and do that. And take naps. That’s the thing about touring…especially a tour like this. We only get 30 minute slots. We play for 30 minutes and then it is 23 1/2 hours of doing nothing.
Jake Schultz (bass): It’s a lot of us sitting around.
Scottie Henry (guitars): We got good at doing nothing! I don’t get bored easily at all. I can do nothing and be fine with it.
Chris Day (guitars): Air drum competitions…we have a grab bag, if you say something awesome…you get to reach your hand in and get a prize…
Scottie.:…like an army man.
Cory: Or a friendship ring.
Cory: We need to get some different prizes.

PRE-SHOW RITUALS

Scottie: I usually drink a Monster Energy drink before just to get wired. We were playing in New Jersey one time I accidentally took some of those bumblebee pills. I didn’t think it did anything. I forgot something and I ran upstairs and back down, and for some reason I’m coming back down the stairs, it kicked in. I was bouncing off the walls. I felt like I should have been drunk. It was the weirdest feeling. I was saying stupid stuff into the microphone.

Cory: I like to smoke a cigarette before we play.
Chris R: I just listen to music in my IPod and pace around.

BC: What’s your song of choice?
Chris R: I’ll listen to something crazy. Depends on what I’m into at the time. I’ll be a lot of En Vogue…older TLC, original Debbie Gibson lately.
Cory: Deborah…
Chris R: She’s Deborah now.
Cory: We like Debbie, OK.
Chris R: I like her Out Of The Blue record. My mind goes nuts before we play. So whatever goes with that is what I listen to.

BC: So you should add Tiffany to that list.
Chris R: My wife’s claim to fame is that the first concert she saw was Tiffany.
Cory: She saw Tiffany’s first concert?
Chris R: No, her first concert was Tiffany. That was her claim to fame (laughs)!
Cory: That’s going to be trivia!
Chris R: You wanna know what my first show was? It was Biohazard and Stompbox, at the Insect Club when I was 13 years old. It was the coolest thing ever. One of my older friends took me and I remember I had big pants on and I had this extra large Focus tee on, which was this old Christian hardcore band. I was right in front like this…it was me and the ‘Hazard!
Chris D: You know who was the opener of that show? Unsane.
Cory: Why would you not mention that?
Chris R: Because I was there to see Biohazard!

Cory: Mine was Warrant, Trixter and Firehouse, and some other band. It was during the Cherry Pie record. Firehouse during that big record they had.

BC: Is Debbie Gibson, Warrant and Trixter what inspired Norma Jean?
Cory: Warrant and Trixter…
Chris D: And Silverchair with Spacehog.

WARPED TOUR MEMORY LANE

Cory: We did five dates last year and we’ve never done anything else.
Chris D: I’ve never been to a Warped Tour.
Cory: That was my first time going to a Warped Tour as well.
Jake: Last year when we played? I went once…to see AFI. That was it. That was awesome. Did you go to Warped Tour a lot, Chris Raines?
Chris R: I went to one in high school.
Jake: Who did you see?
Chris R: Who was playing? Sick Of It All played. Rancid, Lagwagon, Downset, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack…Limp Bizkit was supposed to but they didn’t.
Chris D: You said Limp Bizkit and I heard biscuit. That reminded me that I’m hungry. I would eat a biscuit right now. I haven’t eaten all day.
Jake: That’s something we like to do on tour, also is eat.
Chris D: We’re good at that. Watch a lot of baseball games.
Jake: I like to watch Warped Tour actually. I like to people watch. I’ll just walk around and look at the people.
Chris R: I think on cooler days, it’s totally different. If it’s cool, then we’ll go out and do stuff. When it’s like this, you don’t want to get off the bus.

BC: Besides the heat, what’s the best part about the Warped Tour?
Chris D: Playing for a bunch of people that we don’t ever play for.
Scottie: The shows are really fun, at least the five we’ve done last year. It was a lot of energy. I’m excited to start playing today.
Jake: We have our friends on this tour too. Friends are nice.

BC: Do you find the kids in the crowd to be metal kids, punk kids or hardcore kids? Chris R: It’s a pretty good mix of all that. There are a lot of different kinds of music on this tour. You have heavy bands and some punk bands and rock bands and some dance bands even this year. They mixed it up and you’ll see fans of all of these bands. I know if I were going to a festival show, there had to be some bands I’d want to see. It’s cool though.

'THE ANTI-MOTHER'

Jake: We all got cabin fever a lot because we were recording the same place we were staying. This record took the longest to make than any other record. There was a struggle in the air to make this record for us. We were trying to make this the best thing it could possibly be.
Cory: It was a pretty frustrating record to make. We barely finished it.
Jake: It’s probably finished today.

BC: Ross Robinson is notorious for going to extremes to get performances out of people. Did anyone get hit in the head with plants this time?
Chris R: He did it with my drum sticks a few times. Not threw them at me. He did it to aggravate me.
Scottie: We clicked really well with Ross, since it was our second record with him too. I feel that we have the same energy that he has and wants for the record. It moves in a different direction as far as not having stuff thrown at us, but all of us getting to the same place that we need to be to record the song.
Chris D: When we did Redeemer, he pushed me down and you could hear me fall down on the record. It’s track two at the very end (‘Blueprints For Broken Homes’). He pushed me and I fell over a chair with my guitar on. I was playing the riff and the song was almost over. All of a sudden he pushes me and I fell down the step and over a chair. He was like ‘dude…that was bad ass! We’re keeping that!’
Chris R: He made me run a lot. But they would run with me.
Jake: He made us run in the sand and back. It sucked.

BC: What did he do to you to inspire you?

Cory: The thing about being the singer is that my voice is the instrument. My health comes into play and my sleeping habits, which both of those are terrible. He had to push me really hard. We would talk about what the song’s about to get the best performance out of you. The best way is to know what the song is about and mean it when you sing it. You’re going to put passion into it, where as you are trying to sing well.

BC: What was it like working with Page Hamilton?
Scottie: We actually played ‘Tic’ with Page at our practice space. That was one of the best things ever. He was singing and we were all playing guitar. That was really cool. He’s an awesome dude.
BC: Does he blast his rig?
Scottie: I think we play really loud too. It matched. We were in a pretty small practice space and had four guitars going and bass and drums and singing really loud. He came in for one day and we decided to play ‘Tic.’ The first hour he was there was him sitting down on a stool showing us chords.
Cory: We nerded out on guitar for a while. Then we talked about guitar stuff and wrote a song with him [‘Opposite of Left and Wrong’].

BC: What about Chino Moreno?
Scottie: Page came to Atlanta to write with us. He came to the studio to do guitar parts and then came back and sang on it. Chino came in and wrote a song with us. It was a lot more spontaneous, plus we had Ross there too. He had on a guitar and we were in there about to talk about whatever. He tuned up and started playing this riff. Cory had a couple of riffs that happened to fit perfectly with it.
Chris D: We wrote two songs with Chino but we only ended up using one of them. He was there for two days. The Deftones were recording so he sang on our record from their studio. It’s called ‘Surrender Your Sons.’

Mighty Mighty Bosstones Interview (Big Cheese Issue 102)

Boss Tuneage

After a five year hiatus the Bostonian kings of original American skacore the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are back, back, back!

When the badly kept secret of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones reuniting to play the Hometown Throwdown in Boston around Christmas 2007 was uncovered, it became news that their longtime fans were longing for. The Bosstones had fully recharged their batteries and were ready to take over the world once again.

“It feels really good. Now it doesn’t feel like not so much time has gone by. It feels a little more familiar than I thought. I certainly wouldn’t have pushed to get it going if I wasn’t looking forward to it,” said bassist Joe Gittleman, about the band reuniting, minutes before they play their first Los Angeles show since 2003, headlining a sold out Hollywood Avalon.

Coming together in 1985, the Bosstones created'ska-core', a sound that fused ska with a punk and hardcore edge Influenced by a wide array of music from 2-tone ska to bands like AC/DC, Motorhead, the Clash and Stiff Little Fingers, the Bosstones slowly created a following that many bands wished they could have. From their early years on the 'Mash It Up!' compilation and their debut release, 'Mashing Up The Nation!' through the Taang! Records era and through the major label years, the band has a following that has stood up strong for over two decades.

While the likes of 'The Impression That I Get' rocketed up the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, the Bosstones also contributed 'Where'd You Go?' to the 1994 Alicia Silverstone movie 'Clueless', as well as recording a cover of KISS's 'Detroit Rock City' for the 1994 tribute CD 'Kiss My Ass'. They also made appearances on the 1997 Vans Warped Tour and the 1995 Lollapollooza tour, as well as opening for Aerosmith on New Year's Eve in Boston in 1994.

After recording seven full length records, three EPs, a live record and countless seven inch singles released across the globe, one thing was clear, the Bosstones had transcended trends and scenes. “We were packing places. We had a lot of people supporting the band long before ska was popular,” remembers Gittleman: “When we were touring in 1990 to 1994, there were some metal years in there. There was Nirvana in there. Being a ska band wasn’t an easier or popular thing to be. I feel like we’ve been immune to it because we never really wanted to do anything but what we wanted to do, and didn’t really care. There was a summer there or two summers when a lot of people liked ska music. Now a lot of the people obviously don’t. But the people who supported the Bosstones from the beginning still do. It’s a good position to be in where you have people who are willing to put energy into the thing you like to do.”

The Mighty Bosstones recorded three new songs and compiled a number of B-sides and unreleased tracks onto a new CD called 'Medium Rare' through their own label Big Rig Records, giving long-time fans songs that were previously available on hard-to-find import seven inch singles or on assorted compilations. “When we left the major label we were on, we wrote it into our agreement that we could release a bunch of those songs. A lot of those songs had been on vinyl or a lot of people had shitty versions of them. We didn’t have the rights to release all of the extra songs, but we had it to release a bunch. We picked our favorites of those and recorded a few new songs, and even though it had been recorded over ten years, we tried to turn it into a cohesive thing as we could. Working on new tunes was fun. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to do more of that.”

Prior to the LA show, they played five shows at the Middle East in Boston and a New Years Eve show in Providence, Rhode Island. These were their first shows in a few years, and they quickly became reacquainted to the vibe again. “It was weird. The first night felt like it had been a long time. By the second night, it felt like it was the same routine. The same jokes still apply. You fall back into the groove of playing the songs. It was pretty easy to get comfortable with it.”

During the hiatus, each member moved onto different projects. The most public was Barrett, who briefly had his own morning radio show on LA’s Indie 103.1 FM from 2005 to 2006. He is also the announcer on the popular late night US television show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Gittleman fronted Avoid One Thing, which released two CDs through SideOneDummy Records. He also tour managed Flogging Molly, as well as worked at SideOneDummy as in house producer and A & R. “Joe Sirois [drums] played in the Street Dogs for a number of years. Ben Carr had a son, works and lives in Providence, Rhode Island. Tim Burton [saxophone] lives up in Florida and does some movie production stuff. Chris Rhodes [trombone] hangs out in Connecticut and played with the Toasters,” adds Gittleman.

Their return was not planned as most would speculate. While nearly half of the band relocated to Los Angeles from their native Boston, they began contacting members about starting the band up again. “I did a lot of the pushing for it. It wasn’t long before everybody was excited and involved. I started talking to Dicky [Barrett] about it probably about a year before we did it. There was a lot of planning and getting everybody on the same page and ready to go.”

Around the time they released their last studio record, 2003’s 'A Jackknife to a Swan', internal burnout from consistent touring was felt and priorities shifted towards other projects amongst each member of the band. “By that point, it had been ten solid years of touring or more -thirteen years,” said Gittleman: “I think it’s not something that we should do if we’re not enjoying or able to put everything into it. Out of respect for what we had created, it felt like a good time to put it aside. We never talked about how long it would be. Everybody started doing other things. One year turned into two, three, four and five. Then it seemed like it would be a good time to revisit it and see the guys again.”

As for a new full length release, Gittleman did not have a definite answer towards whether that would definitely happen. “It’s not really discussing it at all. It’s definitely something I’d like to see us do. It takes a lot of time, finding the time, and having it is something that we’d give our all to.”