DUZZITROCK

_Can I get your name and what you do in the band?

My name is Telle and I am the vocalist for The Word Alive

I’ve been hearing a lot about a new CD, can you tell us a bit about it and when it’s set to come out?

It is going to be out July 3rd and we finished recording it a week and a half ago. We’re gonna go a couple of days and put the final touches on it, but it’s pretty much done, then it’ll get mixed and mastered. We played a new song today and it went over really well with the crowd. It’s different but it’s like us at the same time, it’s heavier than the last few records. There’s a lot heavier guitars, more intricate guitar parts. This is the first record where we recorded a lot more bass lines, because of our new bassist who’s really good. Everything on the record came out great.

You recently(ish) announced your new Drummer, Luke Holland, how’s that working out for you?

Great, first show with him was today, and he didn’t mess up so… or not too bad anyways, we all messed up a little bit actually because we haven’t played in so long, but it went great, he’s doing awesome. Fitting right in with us.

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like you guys undergo a lot of lineup changes – do you feel like that might destabilize the band at all?

No, no, I mean, a lot of the changes we’ve had – the only one where we’ve kicked someone out was almost four years ago, well I mean if you count the first singer change. I’ve been in the band three and a half years, Tony and Zack have been with the band since day 1, so half the band’s pretty much been there since the beginning. Dusty had been there since the beginning but he wanted to move on to other things, we didn’t really need to replace him so we didn’t. We’ve had two bass players, so not a lot, there’s a lot of bands that have way more than this, like As I Lay Dying has had like 20 people and we’re nowhere near that. I think we’re around the ten mark or something like that, so I think this’ll be the lineup, at least as far as I can tell. It’s just gotten to the point where some people want to do something different with their lives, and we brought in someone, not only someone that was better, but someone who was dedicated, they knew that this was something they wanted to do. But no, we’ve actually only gotten stronger and better with the lineup changes. Some bands, it messes them up, but we haven’t had anyone that actually writes anything leave, cause me, Tony, and Zack write pretty much everything.

 Is this your first year playing Extreme Thing? What do you think of it?

It is, it is, I was very stoked we got on it. I’ve heard a lot about it over the years and we played Warped Tour this summer in Vegas and had a really great crowd so as soon as we got the offer to come play I was really stoked and the crowd was really awesome, I loved it.

How did you learn to transition so fluidly between singing and screaming?

From sucking for a really long time. Honestly, it’s just trial and error, some things work, and some things I’d realize when I do this it takes away from my screaming or when I do that it takes away from my singing and just taking care of my body, learning what to do and what not to do. I went from not sleeping a lot during the night and I’d drive a lot or be stressed out, I try, especially on tour, to have a carefree attitude and not be worried about things and just focused on drinking a lot of water and sleeping, taking care of my body. I don’t get caught in going out to party a lot so my body’s usually really healthy, probably healthier on tour than off. Me and my girlfriend, she’s right over there, we like to throw a few back from time to time.

Any word yet if you guys are gonna hop on Warped tour?

We already announced we’re on All Stars for the summer and we announced no Warped Tour (oops), so, we did two years in a row and we’re taking a year off, the plan is to be back in 2013, so hopefully that works out.

 I think this is one of my favorite questions to ask bands – who is your favorite band-mate?

Luke Holland’s sitting – well, he’s the only one right here, we’ve hung out all of two days so I’d have to say him. Everyone has their own thing, like, everyone’s different in our band, like, extremely different personalities. Like if I’m going to talk about crazy life things Daniel’s my guy, he’s very philosophical. When I want to talk about something crazy that doesn’t make sense but it’s funny I talk to Zack because he like believes in Aliens and abductions and crazy/fun things that’s really weird but fun to talk about, and then Tony, Tony’s probably who I’m closest with, our personalities are probably closer, we’re very strong willed people. We’re more like brothers than anyone else because we’ll fight but then we love each other at the same time. It’s like that, everyone has their own qualities that make me love who they are.

Anything else you’d like to share with us or like our readers to know?

Just make sure you come out, we have some really great tours, the This World is Our Tour, and then our CD comes out July 3rd, we’ll have a single out sometime in the near future I think, hopefully and just check it out, pick it up in iTunes, and when the record comes out support it and buy it, that’s it.

_ I recently had the chance to sit down with Bert and Quinn from The Used. I was a little worried, until now the bands I’ve interviewed have been a lot smaller and I was worried that the guys would be dicks. As a fan of the band myself, I was worried it would shatter my image that the guys were these fun kickass people they portray. It’s all good though because right after introductions they were already laughing and joking with me. They’re really fun and entertaining guys. I sat between them for the interview though and Bert kept trying to peek at the questions, I feel like he was the kid in high school that always cheated. Anyway, Underoath (damn them) started playing during the interview so I’ll include as much as I can make out from the sound.

_Alright, just so my readers know – Can I get your name and what you do in the band?

Bert: I’m Bert, I sing.

Quinn: I’m Quinn, I play guitar

Bert: Question 1, done.

You guys announced your split from Reprise and introduced your new label – Anger Management; Can you tell me more about that?

Bert: It’s actually an art production company which deals with anything artistically creative whatsoever. This encompasses anything from food, to fashion, to film, to management, to bands, music, so we’re really excited that the world is our, uhm, clam.

Me: You mean oyster?

Bert:Mm, ah, it’s like our little house of Gaga, we can do whatever we want.

Vulnerable was released through both Anger Management and Hopeless; Do you see your next CD also being through Hopeless?

Bert: We’ll see. We’ve had a really good run with them with this record. They’re really good people and they’ve done a really good job distributing our record. But everything’s up in the air, we’ll do what’s appropriate at that time. We have the means and resources to do what we want now so… We’re only under contract for one record for their distribution, so we’ll see.

Is there a theme or meaning to Vulnerable?

Bert: Definitely, the theme is really about living your life with an open heart and that’s what Vulnerable means to us. Not so much as a negative word so much as a positive word, we feel like the only way to chase down your dreams and achieve anything, to conquer anything in life, to fall in love, everything that’s special about life is to live with an open heart, to allow yourself that vulnerability. Start putting yourself out there, that’s the underlying theme, to chase down your dreams no matter what the cost.

I’ve heard you guys saying this CD sounds like the first CD but also like the future of The Used (not quite verbatim) what does that mean?

Bert: It has, like, an emotional tie to the first record in a big way. About kind of escaping the mundane realities of your normal life and chasing down your dreams. But I think it’s definitely a modern sounding record, there’s a lot of influences from Hip hop, to R&B, to electronic music, to everything in between, so…

What do you have planned for 2012?

Bert: A lot of touring. We have a headline tour with Dead Sara, have you ever heard Dead Sara? You’re going to love them, she shreds. We’ll also be out on Warped Tour.

 It’s your first year back on Warped after several years, you excited to be back?

Bert: Yeah, it’s our ten year anniversary from when we first did the show.

What are some of your favorite older songs to play live?

Bert: Pretty Handsome Awkward, Box Full of Sharp Objects, Taste of Ink, Blue and Yellow (some more I didn’t get thanks to Underoath)

I think this is one of my favorite questions to ask bands – Quinn, plug your ears. (conflict of interest) Bert, who is your favorite band-mate?

Bert: Quinn.

Bert, plug your ears now. Quinn, who is your favorite band-mate?

Quinn: Bert.

Bert: Who’d you pick?

Quinn: You, who’d you pick?

Bert: You, wait no, I picked Brandon.

Fast Paced Questions – (they both answered every question in the categories, but… blame Underoath)

Music –

1.       Favorite instrument?

Quinn: Drum

2.       Favorite song?

Quinn: Someone Like You by Adele

3.       Favorite genre?

Bert: Rock and Roll

Quinn: Jazz

4.       Favorite The Used album?

Quinn: Jazz

Random Questions –

1.       Favorite article of clothing?

Bert: Undies

Quinn: T-Shirt

2.       Best pick-up line?

Bert: Undies… Can I smell your undies.

Quinn: Are you from Tennessee because you’re the only ten I see.

3.       Favorite movie?

Bert: Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.

4.       Can I have your number?

Bert:  911, only in an emergency though.

Quinn: 0

Alright, time to wrap this up – anything else you’d like to share with us or like our readers to know?

Bert: I’d your readers to know this record’s for them, this record’s for the hardcore music fans, the kids that never really fit in to anybody’s group, and it’s all about the music. Not about how many friends you have or how much money you have, we do this because we’re fans of music, just like you. The more cool or popular you are, the more we don’t like you.

Up and coming rock group My Body Sings Electric played at Johnny B’s in my home town of Medford, Oregon. The group from Denver Colorado met me outside the venue to do an interview. Because of temperatures though, we moved the interview in doors. The two I mainly talked with were Brandon and Nick, and let me tell you, those two are a couple of characters. Right now the band is on tour to support their full length album titles “Changing Color”.

Can I get your names and what you do in the band?
Brandon: I’m Brandon and I sing lead vocals
Nick: I’m Nick, and I play guitar.

How long have you guys been together?
Brandon: Five years now? I think we’ve been together five years now.
Nick: Yeah, going on five years

How did your band get its name?
Brandon: Our whole, like, naming process was, what did we do? We wrote down a list of like, 100 names, and voted them down and we got to like the top five and then we got to something that sucked, and then a week later we just picked this name.

How’d you come up with it though?
Brandon: It’s from a Walt Whitman poem called ‘I Sing the Body Electric.’ I think it was Walt Whitman…?
Nick: Yes.

How would you describe your music?
Brandon: Uh, Dance-y, Indie, Pop, Rock, it’s a combination of those four things. Something like that.

Is there a theme or some sort of underlying message to your music?
Brandon: I think it’s mostly just upbeat and positive for the most part. The lyrics can be sad or dark, but they’re all like, really hopeful. All the music’s really upbeat and energetic.

How have fans reacted to “Changing Color”?
Nick: It’s been a lot better than how they reacted to ‘They Don’t Want Music’
Brandon: Yeah, our first EP wasn’t very good, admittedly.
Nick: I don’t know, I still think it’s pretty awesome.
Brandon: But the new album has been great. We’re kicking ass in Denver, we’re playing huge shows out there, we’re just trying to branch out and spread the word. Our Halloween show in Denver was like 600 people. We’re trying to take the buzz we have in Denver and build it up in other cities, so we’re going to try and focus more on touring. I’d say we’re at our highest point in the band and it’s like it’s all from ‘Changing Color’.

I listened to your album today, and it’s really good, has it gotten you guys any attention from labels?
Brandon: Sparse, like, we’re kind of watching you, kind of stuff, nothing too official. But we get emails, from like, crappy wannabe labels a lot.
Nick: Yeah, we get that a lot.
Brandon: Like “We want to sign you guys,” and we’re like “Well, can you do any marketing or promotion, or put us on tours?” and they’re like “I’m not going to email these guys back”

Have you been having fun on this tour?
Brandon: We’re having a blast because we’re all best friends. We’re all just really close, so we could be playing for zero people, which might happen tonight, and we’d still have an awesome time. So yeah, we’re having a great time.

What’s your favorite thing about being in My Body Sings Electric?
Brandon: Um, my favorite thing… what’s yours?
Nick: I have no idea, that’s like, one of the best questions I think we’ve ever been asked.
Brandon: I think my favorite thing is, like, I’ve always wanted to be in a band that was… good. It took so long to get here. I’m just glad to be in a band that sounds really good and people seem to like it and respect. ‘Cause it’s been a struggle up to this point.
Nick: I think I like best, that it’s like to get to this point it wasn’t just like – we’re all like best friends, we’ve known each other so long now, it’s not like we threw together a bunch of people we didn’t really know. We actually worked for like 7 years together, too get to where we are now. So that’s the best part about it, after working hard things are finally paying off.

Did it make the writing process harder, being best friends?
Brandon: Yes, absolutely, because we’re so close that emotional stuff – Like, if you’re in a group of people that you don’t know too much, you’re going to try and hold back the emotional stuff that gets into your head. But since we’re so close we just kind of let it out.
Nick: Everything that goes into our lives goes through our band. It’s kind of wild in that way.
Brandon: Yeah, so whenever we hit hitches in the writing process we tend to get emotional or upset. We’re less apt to hold our tongues, or something, so we’ll say something and piss each other off which is kind of awesome.
Nick: It’s like two people are mad and three are laughing.

Do you think that might be why it’s taken so long to get where you are?
Brandon: I don’t think so, I don’t know if it hinders us from actually… I don’t know how bad we actually get hindered from the lyric stuff.
Nick: I don’t feel like the song writing has actually hindered us at all, so I don’t think the best friends thing detracts from that.
Brandon: I think what took us so long to finally get better, is that now we’re really, really motivated. It’s like we just made a conscious choice to write catchier, more likeable music and really dedicate ourselves to making it sound great whether we’re recording or playing like and I think that’s what has helped us a lot.

Alright, this is probably the hardest question bands have had to answer – Who is your favorite band member/mate?
Nick: I could say every one of us for specific reasons.
Brandon: This is going to be in print too! This is a point when I could be really facetious and try and make someone angry in like a mean way.
Nick: My favorite band member is Ben.
Brandon: Yeah! That’s what I was going to say! My favorite band member is Ben because he’s not an asshole; he’s really nice to everyone.
Nick: I would say Jason is my favorite band member because he’s kind of, like, the most solid player. I would say Jeff is my most favorite band member because he’s, like, the funnest to be around. I would say Brandon is my most favorite band member because he does the most to push us forward. Ben is like – he keeps our head on all the time.
Brandon: Ben keeps us tethered. My best friend Nick, that’s my favorite band member because that’s my best friend Nick. We’re all best friends. That’s awesome, that’s such a trick question, it’s hilarious.

What’s the hardest part of being in a band?
Brandon: You have to be willing to fail a lot. Being in a band you have to be willing to play through, and stay motivated, when things aren’t going the way you expect them to go. You just have to be, and this is kind of true for everything in life, able to learn from your mistakes and be able to keep going rather than dwell on them and bring yourself down.

Is there anything you’d like our readers to know about your guys or your music?
Brandon: We’re all best friends guys, and we’re trying to be best friends with everyone.
Nick: Ben should answer this one.
Brandon: Ben’s here now guys.
Ben: What was the question?
Brandon: What do you want her readers to know about us?
Ben: Uh, I don’t know.
Brandon: That we work hard, and that we’re really funny guys, and we want to be friends with everyone. We want to hang out with you.

So I was sitting at a table, waiting to start my first interview and soon enough a nice looking man walks over and introduced himself as Levi from the band Miss May I. We talked a little bit before the interview began, he was still shook up from a rather enthusiastic woman that had made her way on to the bus the previous night and got excited over his hair and his hair products. So if anyone was wondering what he uses to maintain that nice hair, it’s Garnier Fructis.  

 

Can I get your name and what you do in the band?

Levi Benton I’m the singer of Miss May I.

Have you been having a good time on this tour?

Yeah, it’s just been hot, it’s not hot right now but we’ve had hotter days.

Have you guys played Warped Tour before?

Nope, this is our second summer touring, first time on Warped Tour.

Alright, so what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen or done at Warped Tour?

Man, every night’s been crazy, there’s always a bunch of little fights. But I guess the craziest thing, for me at least; I don’t know how it happened the stage manager said it’s the first time it’s ever happened at Warped. Somehow a kid was crowd surfing and got past security guards, jumped up on our stage and was like dancing on our stage. That’s probably the craziest things because that’s probably like a five foot jump and he made it up there, it was pretty awesome.

It’s the last day of the tour, how’s that feel?

It’s awesome. We got another week after this. But I’m excited to go home, we never go home we tour nonstop. But after this we got a month off so it’s really nice just to hang out.

Is it hard holding relationships and stuff when you’re always on the road?

Uh, sort of, I’ve been with my lady for years.

What’s life on the bus like?

Awesome, it’s our first bus tour so it’s nice to have a nice bed and internet and TV and all that, so it’s pretty sweet.

Do you miss the van?

Yes, we’re doing the van after this. We were going to do a bus tour – I miss the van because on the van you get too go to a hotel every night.

What band, or bands, did you enjoy touring with the most?

August Burns Red, they were the most awesome to watch, but a lot of my friends like Attack Attack, We Came As Romans, the Word Alive, all those guys, like, I was real close friends with them.

Who is your favorite band mate?

Probably Ryan, because me and him are the business guys so we’ve got a lot to talk about.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in a band?

I’d be in college right now for advertising. That’s what I want to do, we got a record deal in high school so we were all set for college, and I’d probably be in like my third year of college right now. That’s what my favorite thing about being in a band is, advertising stuff.

Chelsea Tyler from The Aviator Set took some time out of her schedule to answer some questions for us. I just asked some basic questions, but check out what she had to say!


Can I please get your name and what you do in the band?

 -My name is Chelsea Tyler and I sing and play guitar for the Aviator Set.

Where are you guys from?

-We're from Bel Air, Maryland.  

How did you meet?

-I met Chris (Galante, drums) through a local music website that we had up here when we were in high school. We started playing together and that original band eventually evolved to the Aviator Set. We met Craig (Perkins, bass) through a mutual friend and kinda dared him to play bass for us, haha.

How long have you been playing music together?

- Chris and I have been playing music together since I was fifteen, but the Aviator Set really got started last summer. 

How did you get your name?

- Before I moved up to Maryland I lived down in Charlotte, North Carolina and there was a great music scene that got me into music. I fell in love with this one band Mona Ray and they had a song called "The Aviator Set." We liked the idea of using that as the name.

Are you guys working on any new music?

-We just released our debut EP, "Better Days," back in February, so that's pretty fresh for us. But, we do plan on releasing a 1 or 2 song EP this summer. 

Planning a summer tour?

-We're working on a tour for the end of summer, as well as working on planning dates for the rest of the year. We hope that by the end of 2011 we're touring constantly.

If you could tour with any band (current or past) who would it be?

-I think the dream tour I would want us to be on would be with Brand New, Death Cab for Cutie, and the National. All three are some of our favorites, but if you ask me the question again in two minutes I bet I'll change my answer.

Is there a message or theme to your music?

- I try to write about a lot of different things. "Better Days" is basically about a chapter of my life where I was figuring out what I wanted to do. The whole thing is has themes about distance and change and discovering what you are. But, I always try to keep a hopeful spin on it. Like, no matter what it's gonna be okay. 

What are your live shows like?

- Our live shows are probably the best thing about us, at least that's what we try for. We try to make them emotional and crazy. We play the songs a little bit faster than they're recorded so you can really get into it. We just have fun with it. 

How about off stage, what are your personalities like?

- Offstage we're all goofballs. We like having fun and going crazy and making people laugh. Sometimes we're shy, sometimes we're loud. We just love music. 

Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Thanks for checking us out! If you like what you hear, tell a friend and hopefully they'll do that same!