COUNTDOWN TO WARPED TOUR PART ONE

You know the hot and heavy summer is about to arrive when the Vans Warped Tour makes it way to your town.  Now in it’s 18 big and glorious year of existence, the traveling rock and roll show kicks off in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 16th and concludes August 5th in Portland, Oregon.

In Part One of our two part Vans Warped Tour preview, Highwire Daze interviews some of the bands taking part in this year’s cross country trek.  So catch up with Divided By Friday, I Call Fives, Impending Doom, It Boys!, Lostprophets, Transit, and Vampires Everywhere! as they give you a glimpse of what to expect this summer.

And be sure to watch for Part 2 of this article being posted on June 3rd for interviews with For Today, Chelsea Grin, Rise To Remain, and many more!!!

DIVIDED BY FRIDAY

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
I’m Jose Villanueva and I sing and play guitar in Divided By Friday. We are based out of Laurinburg, NC.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and watching some of my favorite bands play, everyday. Yellowcard is one of the bands biggest influences, so we’re all really looking forward to watching them. This will be our first year ever playing.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
A TON of energy! We like to have a fun time on stage and to get the audience singing and dancing with us as much as possible.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
The name of the EP is “Prove It.” It was really just inspired by where we were at in our career and our lives, when we were in the studio. We started recording just a few months after we signed, so we felt it was our opportunity to prove to ourselves and to others that we were willing to work as hard as we needed to work to get to where we want to go.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
“Prove It,” is the title track to our EP and it basically holds all the main ideas of the CD. It talks about us being wiling to give up whatever we have to give up to get to where we want to go. We will also be playing a song called, “Forget and Follow,” which is a new. The song is about treating people the way that they should be treated, while you have the chance. You never know when it might be too late to make things right.

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
Honestly, we’re just so stoked to be a part of it that it won’t bother us at all. We’ve wanted to be a part of the tour since we were 15-year-old kids, so I’m sure it’ll be a surreal experience for us.

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
I always say that once you tour for a while, you become numb to things that are “strange.” You kind of start expecting for things to happen that normally wouldn’t happen. Unusual becomes very common and after a while you just kind of accept whatever is happening around you.

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
It would mean the world to you if you all too the time to come and watch our set! We know that we are a newer band, but we want to play for and meet as many of you all who are willing to offer us your time! Oh, and bring lots of sun screen!

I CALL FIVES

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
My name is Drew Conte and I play the bass guitar and sing in I Call Fives from New Jersey .

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
This is our first time playing. I’m stoked just to be there and to get to meet new people and to play on the stage. I’ve been to the tour many times over the years, we’ve sold CD’s in the parking lot in the past, stuff like that..it’s just fun to get to play on it and something we’re really excited about.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
We’re an upbeat pop punk band that’s just going to have some fun.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
Our upcoming full length is self-titled. It comes out just as we joined the tour. We decided to make it self titled since the band to some extent has been going for 6 years now and this is our first full length. It took 6 years to get to this spot and this feels like everything sort of coming together.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
“Late Nights” is about feeling like you’re wasting your time and missing somebody and the realization of having to move on. “Elevator Music” is about hoping someone goes to hell, it’s a really deep one..

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
I wouldn’t be bummed. The closest we’ve been to playing the Warped Tour is entering an online contest 3 years ago and losing. We’ll play whenever.

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
Our old guitarist pulled a fake gun on a band once and it was definitely a prank gone wrong. They called the cops and told the twitter world that we tried to rob them. Oops. The cops were cool about it when they showed up, though. Also, our friend got lost in Canada once and we didn’t see him for a day, at which point he found his way back to the US .

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
Don’t forget to wear sun screen. I guess that’s the lamest ending note ever..so..uhh..wear a condom too!

IMPENDING DOOM

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
I’m Cory Johnson and I play Guitar. We’re based out of Riverside, CA.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
I’d have to say just the overall vibe of the tour! Its such a historic summer festival plus we’ve toured with a lot of the heavier bands before so it’s going to be a wild summer. I can’t wait!

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
Energy! We go fast and loud and we make sure the crowd is very much engaged and having a good time.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
Baptized In Filth. In a nutshell It’s about how much corruption, greed, and evil there is in this world and how humans partake in it.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
1) Anything goes. It’s about the “End times” as described in the book of Revelations.
2) More than Conquerors. It’s inspired by the book of Romans in the new testament.

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
Haha! Thanks for reminding me…. I mean obviously it’s going to be rough but we’ll make it work!

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
Let’s see… It’s so hard to pick one. There are so many crazy happenings day to day on tour haha. Personally for me it was about a year ago when our drummer broke his hand and flew home. We had Phil from the band Revocation fill in for the remainder of the tour. He literally had 5 hours to learn our set and going up on stage in front of 700 people completely winging it not knowing if or how we were going to pull it off was one of the strangest, most surreal moments for me on tour!

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
Come ready to rage and bring the headbang!!!!

IT BOYS!

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
I’m Matt, I sing in It Boys! and I am based out of Los Angeles California!

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
This will be our second year in a row on Warped and I’d say we are mostly excited to hang out with our friends in Breathe Carolina, Yellowcard and Of Mice And Men who are all on Warped this year! Also stoked to see Taking Back Sunday as they are one of my favorite bands.

If this is not your first time on Warped Tour, what advice would you give a band about to attempt Warped for the first time?
Bring sun screen and a whole lot of fresh underwear. Also drink water ALL DAY cuz you will sweat most of it out the second you step outside.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
Lots of energy. Our live show is one big party. We wanna leave the audience with wanting more when we are done.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
Our debut album is titled “Introduction.” This is officially our introduction to the world!

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
“Start The Party” is one and will also be our next single. The lyrics are inspired by our everyday lives of just having a good time and not taking life so seriously.

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
I will most likely be sleeping on stage so I’m sure I’ll feel great!

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
Way to many strange things to list just one…. Stay tuned.

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
Pop is taking over this year. Prepare yourself.

LOSTPROPHETS

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
My name is Jamie Oliver, I play keyboards/samples/backing vocals in Lostprophets. We originate from South Wales, Great Britain.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
Yes, this is our first time playing Warped. I’m really looking forward to playing on US soil again. It’s a chance to reconnect with our loyal fans that have stuck with us through the years, despite our lack of American touring, and it’s also an opportunity to make loads of new fans.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
We’ve been playing live for over 12 years now and have a five album catalogue, so in the short stage time we have we’ll be mixing up our set to try and fit in the more familiar songs we’ve written, all the while playing with the passion the Welsh are renowned for.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
Latest album is called ‘Weapons‘. It’s a highly charged word with many provocative meanings. It’s not meant to be taken literally – anything can be used as a weapon, from images of the body to choice words.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
‘Last Train Home‘ – it’s a nostalgic reflection of small town living.
‘Burn Burn‘ – a song about avoiding complacency and taking positive action.

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
We once had a barbecue at AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson’s house. He wouldn’t let us leave without some British frozen sausages.

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
Let’s ‘ave you!

TRANSIT

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
My name is Tim Landers. I play guitar and sing in Transit. We’re from Boston , MA .

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
As cliche as it sounds- Just the overall experience. When I was much younger, I loved going to Warped Tour to see bands that I loved. It’s a very interesting atmosphere. It will be our first time on the tour, and we will be doing the whole thing.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
Hopefully a lot of fun. We’re playing a smaller stage- the Ernie Ball one, and we honestly couldn’t be more excited about it. We can pack some people together and just have a good time. Also, expect Daniel and myself sweating a lot. We don’t do well at high temperatures. And sunglasses.

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
“Listen & Forgive” is our latest full-length. It’s two things that people suck at doing. We think they should get better at it.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
“Please, Head North” and “Long Lost Friends.” We like to leave our lyrics open to interpretation. So, give em a listen and read along.

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
Luckily, those go to the “battle of the bands” feature on our stage. We’ll be pushing that “SNOOZE” button. Nah, just playing.

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
Our merch dude shits his pants a lot and we have a curse of breaking van windows. I’d prefer not to go into further detail.

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
Please, check out Transit.

VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!

Introduce yourself, what you do in the band, and where you are based out of?
Hello I am Michael Vampire & I am the founder/vocalist of Vampires Everywhere! based out of Hollywood, CA.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and is this your first time on the tour?
This is Vampires Everywhere! maiden voyage on the Van’s Warped Tour. The part that excites the band most about Warped is meeting our fans. We take great pride communicating with our fans & showing them we actually care. I despise people that take a “rockstar” approach to their fans and feel ignoring them is some sort of cool way of showing love. VE! knows without our fans we would be nothing hence we destroyed any idea of an ego a while back. In fact some past members were executed because they had this sort of mentality. We are also very excited to play our new record Hellbound & Heartless for everyone this summer.

What could one expect from your live show at Warped Tour?
Anarchy & Rock n’ Roll!! We want to bring back the same feeling you would get from watching bands from the 80′s & early 90′s. Which to us is a sense of respect but at the same time fun! We pride ourselves on the motto “blood, sex, & rock n’ roll” if we could bring that feeling this summer to the Warped Tour we have done our jobs! Expect an intense theatrical experience with an amazing message!

What is the name of your latest or upcoming CD or EP and what inspired the title?
The new album is titled “Hellbound and Heartless” and basically sums up who I am as a person. Since the bands inception we have been called Devil worshippers and looked down upon because of our appearance. Hence I figured it was appropriate to utilize this hate and put it in our album title. I mean, I do have a VIP section in Hell with my name on it anyway, ha ha, so why not! As for heartless, I have it tattooed on my stomach and for years I’ve considered myself this way. I have been hurt so many times by people close to me that I figured it stopped working all together and dubbed myself heartless because of it.

Select two songs you may be playing in your set and what inspired the lyrics.
“I Can’t Breathe” is our latest single and we will be playing it on Warped this summer. The song is about my struggles with suicide and how I felt when I was completely losing my mind. The people that are close to me know I have high anxiety and this song is a direct cry for help. However, I managed to overcome this feeling and wrote the bridge lyrics based upon conquering these demons. “Drug Of Choice” is another one of my favorites and we will be playing this one as well this summer. The song is about social climbing and trying to get attention through various self degrading methods. I talk heavily about sex, drug use, and the demons that lead one down that road. Let’s just say I had many muses to pull from living in the Hollywood area.

How are you going to feel about playing those infamous 11:30 AM Warped Tour slots?
Well, since our lineup change we have a group of super motivated people that eat, sleep and bleed music. So no matter what time of the day or night.. we are ready to rock n’ roll! We would never dream of complaining about the time we play or amount of people attending our set. The Van’s Warped Tour is one of the best tours in the world and we feel honored to even be a part of it. Thus tell us a time and we’re ready to rock!

Any strange or unusual happening in the past while out on the road?
I think the strangest thing that was given to us by a fan was a vile of her blood. Ha ha, I can’t help but talk about this because she was quite adamant about me drinking it and then biting her. Now… there is over a million things wrong with this scenario, and to her, it was just another day. So I took the blood and put it in our tour van and told her that we don’t bite our fans but thank you for coming out ha ha ha. Now, I know you’re wondering if I still have that blood and the answer is no.. however I did keep it for months for memory sake but I just recently tossed it. Also to our fans reading this … I do “blood play” but only with select people that are obviously tested & willing!

Do you have any messages for Warped Tour attendees this year?
The Warped Tour lineup this year is amazing & I’m looking forward to meeting all of you! Make sure to catch us on the Mysplash (Advent) Stage.. we promise you won’t want to miss our set! Also our new album Hellbound & Heartless drops during Warped June 19th!!

Much EviL Love
~Michael Vampire

LINKAGE

The Official Vans Warped Tour Home Page
Divided By Friday on Facebook
I Call Fives on Facebook
Impending Doom on Facebook
It Boys! on Facebook
Lostprophets on Facebook
Transit on Facebook
Vampires Everywhere on Facebook
Vans Warped Tour 2012 Official Home Page

Photo credit: Cal Knapp

Bryce Avary has declared a massive state of independence!  After a tenure with a major record label, the mastermind behind The Rocket Summer has chosen to take the music on a new and adventurous path.  Launching his own Aviate Records imprint, Avary and The Rocket Summer will unleash the band’s next full length effort entitled Life Will Write The Words!  We recently spoke with Avary on a wide variety of topics ranging from major label mayhem, looking back to the past, his very apparent appreciating of The Rocket Summer fans, the upcoming album, and a chance collaboration with David Archuleta of American Idol.  Read on…

Is there any story or concept behind the CD title Life Will Write The Words?
The title comes from a lyric, and to me, in a sense, that phrase captures a bit of the human experience. I believe there’s a story in everything – there’s a song in everything that we see. We all have a song and a story, but a lot of times we don’t get to write the story – we forget to chose the melody and how the story is sung – how it’s told. We get to suggest that the possibilities are endless and being with this time in my life, it’s totally fitting.

To you, what was the best and worst part about being on a major label?
You know, for me the worst part about it was the handcuffs that you could get put in. I will say that I never really went through what a lot of people go through on the creative side of things. I wrote everything and mostly did what I wanted – but of course I knew the game that I had to play at the same time. It’s not like I was trying to make some kind of crazy weird record that I knew wouldn’t work for them. But the hardest part for me – I went through a bunch of transitions. There were so many regime changes. I had six different A&R people – which that kind of means your point person – your “go-to” guy at that label. I had six different guys come and go. Just to be clear, I’m really grateful for my time there. It was a beautiful experience for a little while – and just like a lot of things in life, it ran its course and became really dark and weird. And I’m extremely grateful for this new situation where I had the opportunity to walk away from the corporate machine. For me, the relationship with my fans is so important – and I don’t like the idea of making a record and wondering if it’s going to come out and then having to wait nine months to a year or a year and a half later And so this is a lot cooler of an opportunity for me to release music in new ways. We released a free live record and we released a free song off this record. I just decided what day it was coming out, and I didn’t have to make sure it went through all of the Justin Bieber plans, you know what I mean? Which he is probably a great guy – that’s not even slightly a dig on him. I’m just saying that it’s a nice feeling to be free when it comes to taking the reins of your own career. So hopefully all of the things that we’re doing giving away stuff – hopefully when the album comes out, fans will support it and pick it up and buy the new record so we can continue doing this. I’m excited to come up with creative ways to release new music.

You recently did a tour where you revisited some of your earlier albums. What was it like playing all those old songs again and did you have to relearn any of them?
Oh my gosh, we definitely had to relearn a lot of them. And there were several songs that we had never even played before. It was a tremendous amount of work on me and especially my band. I went to them and was like, “Hey guys, can we all learn 25 songs to a T and play a two-hour set? And we’re going to do six shows!” And their eyes kind of got really big! But it was amazing, because there’s a lot of people that have never heard those records who are really big fans now. And then there’s people within the natural course of life – those records came out a while ago. We have a lot of fans that have stuck with what I’m doing over the years, and I couldn’t feel more blessed and fortunate to have fans like that. Naturally there are some people who have kids now and are lawyers – and ten years ago were in college when those records came out. It was kind of cool to play those songs and just see so many different pockets of people all over the room. There were the 16-year-old girls and it was the first time they had ever seen The Rocket Summer. And then there’s the 30-year-old people who were kind of like reliving their lives and the memories that are attached to the songs for them. It was a really cool experience! I’m sure I’ll do more of those this year, if not as the years go on.

Has Lisa Loeb heard your cover of Stay and has she ever commented on it?
Oh my gosh – you’re pulling out the old stuff! I think I did a cover of that like almost ten years ago. I didn’t even want to hear it, because I think I was like screaming my guts out and it probably didn’t sound very good. But no, she hasn’t. I always wonder – not about that per say – but I always wonder if Peter Gabriel knows that one of the biggest songs that really launched this thing for me and really set it up in a way for me to do this up until this point – is a song called Brat Pack where I sing about Peter Gabriel. I always wonder if he’s heard about that. Hopefully I get to meet him one day.

If you could open up for any band either now or who has existed, who would it be and why? Maybe even a package tour…
Hmm. I would want it to be – I’m really wracking my brain right now. We’ve had an opportunity to open for some great bands like on festivals. We’ve played festivals with Radiohead before, so it’s kind of ‘Where do you go from there?” I think it would be really cool to open for Jimmy Eat World – who we have opened for before actually – but Jimmy Eat World circa the Clarity era. The Promise Ring circa the same era – Sunny Day Real Estate and maybe That Dog. Bands from ’99-through 2000. When they were putting out those records, like Nothing Feels Good and Clarity – it would be really cool I think to relive that. And maybe Superchunk during the Indoor Living record.

What was it like working with David Archuleta of American Idol and how did this alliance come about?
Oh man, he’s such a good kid – a good dude – a tremendous vocalist. I actually ran into him – it’s so weird man! I had this really weird thing happen one night where I was hanging out with friends and somehow we ended up bumping into Paula Abdul. And long story short – and of the weirdest things I could explain – but Paula Abdul ended up in my rental car with me in a parking garage – and we listened to my entire record Of Men And Angels. And then the very next night was the American Idol finale – and I was in the studio making a song called The Fight. And I got invited to that, and I was like “Well I can’t go, but maybe I’ll try to go to the after party.” I had to work. So I went to the after party and I ran into David Archuleta. It was a really humbling experience and flattering at the same time, because a lot of those American Idol people were coming up and wanting to take photos and stuff – which I thought was kind of the most surreal thing because I’m not famous or anything. But it really put even more into perspective how crazy that American Idol thing is, because it’s literally just guys and girls that go to shows that have great vocals – they tried out and made it onto the show and within a couple of months they’re superstars. And so I was meeting a bunch of those American Idol people, and they were explaining how they had been to a bunch of Rocket Summer shows. And David Archuleta was a big fan. He just asked me if I would ever write a song for him, and I had never really done that. It was a cool experience to put myself in somebody else’s shoes and try to write a totally different song for his demographics. He came over to my house. We went and ate Thai food and wrote a little pop jam. And it was fun! (Editor’s Note: The song was called Stomping The Roses)

What advice would you give talented new bands today looking for a record deal?
First of all, you have to have fun – you have to be inspired by music and you have to do it for the right reasons. There’s so many bands now that just want to be famous and are doing whatever they can do to make that happen. I suppose to each his own. Musical integrity has been a really big deal for me my whole career – and almost to a fault. But you know, I think obviously really try to take advantage of the social media stuff. It makes me sound really old, but I didn’t have that when I was starting. I couldn’t even imagine how much easier that could have been – or maybe it’s been harder because it’s like over saturated. But I would just take full advantage of that and just really try to do something original. Invest in your fans and invest in pushing yourself. Steve Lillywhite – a big producer who’s a friend of mine – told me a quote that Bono told him about what John Lennon said. He said that John was writing a song and he played it for his friends – and he asked his friends, “So, what’s your favorite part of the song?” And his friends go, “That part of the song! The chorus is the best part of the song!” And John Lennon said, “Cool! So I’m going to make that the verse and write an even better chorus!” And to me, that idea blew my mind, because it really is hard work if you want to take it to the next level. And sometimes, songs come really easily and it’s a very spiritually, amazing, mysterious thing – and sometimes it just takes a lot of toiling away and chipping away at writing. It kind of really comes down to that. So never give up! I feel like the kid on the bike who gives the speech after he learns to ride the bike.

Do you have any messages for your fans?
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Through the ups and downs, the fans have been the only constant thing and have absolutely carried this. The new record comes out June 5th called Life Will Write The Words. We’re doing a headlining tour around that, and I would love to see everybody. And thanks for being a part of this!

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

The Rocket Summer Official Home Page

Styx

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House Of Heroes

A new single Touch The Light is about to be released with a brand new collection of tunes to follow in July.  The album will be entitled Cold Hard Want, and it shows a band at the very height of their creativity, ready to rock their hearts out once again.

We recently spoke with vocalist / guitarist Tim Skipper to catch up with all the latest House Of Heroes happenings, including news on the upcoming album, their show at the Gibson, an encounter with the WWE, and other topics of interest.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in House Of Heroes, and how long the band has been together.
I’m Tim Skipper. I play guitar and sing lead vocals in House of Heroes. We’ve been a band since 2002, but Colin Rigsby (drums), AJ Babcock (bass) and I have been playing music together in one way or another since 1998. For this album, Eric Newomer played guitar as well.

Is there any story or concept behind the CD title Cold Hard Want?
Our last 2 albums (The End is Not the End and Suburba) were concept/themed albums, so we decided to gravitate away from that for Cold Hard Want. We really focused a lot more on the individual songs and the songwriting process behind getting the main points across in each song. Having said that, there are a lot of songs and a few themes that go together well and make this album very cohesive. It’s very personal. There’s a lot on there about really, truly standing up for what you believe in. Even when it’s difficult or seemingly impossible.

How will Cold Hard Want compare to the previous House Of Heroes releases?
Cold Hard Want is our most raw and rocking record yet. It’s also our most accessible. There are some really big pop hooks going on, but a lot of the music was recorded live and was left untouched giving it a very human quality. We veered away from studio tricks like “beat detective” and “auto-tune” as much as possible and really went for feel and vibe. I love all of our records in their own way, but this one feels special in a way others don’t. It’s got a certain ‘timeless’ quality that we’ve been chasing for a while.

What inspired the lyrics for the first single Touch This Light?
Lyrically, Touch This Light is a very spiritual song. It’s about feeling lost and alone with no confidence whatsoever to find your way out of a dark and desperate place. And then there is a glimmer of hope. There is something bigger than yourself to put your faith in, and that becomes your confidence, not anything within yourself.

What is the exclusive B-side of your single Dead about and why did this one wind up being a B-side?
Dead is straight up, meat and potatoes rock and roll the best we know how to do it! It was unfortunately the odd man out when it came time to sequence the songs for this album. We liked it enough to be on the album, but it just didn’t fit as well as some of the other songs so it became the B-side. The main idea is in the first lyric of the song, “I might be dead by the time you hear this song…” We’re saying, as a band, we might be dead and gone by the time certain people get around to hearing our band, which would be a shame if you ended up really liking our music. And it might be our fault that more people never heard us because we never compromised in places that we could have to gain a larger audience along the way. That sentiment is summed up in the lyric, “It was my greatest fault and my greatest gift, and I died like a fool for it, so tell them how I lived.”

How did We Were Giants wind up on the WWE Special Once In A Lifetime: The Rock vs John Cena and are you a fan of the WWE?
That was crazy! We have been pitched for a lot of film/tv type stuff and never got a single placement until that WWE Special. The real crazy thing is the album was maybe only done for a week when we got that placement. Someone at Brentwood Benson Universal Publishing pitched it to the music supervisor, and they loved it! I was a huge WWF fan when I was very young and I got WAY into it again when I was in high school and they changed the name to WWE. The Rock was just starting to get super popular, and it was fun watch the soap opera that was him and Triple H week in and week out. I haven’t kept up on it for a few years, but I still like it from time to time.

With Lovesick Zombie, what made you write the song and what is your favorite Zombie or horror film of all time and why?
We wrote that song a long time ago, and it just didn’t have a place on any of our records so we thought it would make a perfect Halloween song instead of doing more Christmas songs. With a few lyrical tweaks, it was ready to go. We knew it was gonna be a while before the next record came out, so this was a good opportunity to get something new and silly out. I’m pretty big on more psychological horror movies like the Shining, Jacob’s Ladder, The Exorcist, Silence of the Lambs. Things like that. I like the stuff that is unexplained. The evil isn’t tangible or necessarily explainable. That’s what makes it so scary. Lack of rhyme and reason.

What was the experience like playing the Gibson Amphitheater and were you guys nervous at all at playing such a huge venue? What goes through your mind when you’re about perform on a stage that huge?
That was ridiculous. Those are dream come true type venues for us. We weren’t really nervous. More so excited. The adrenaline was definitely flowing that night. Earlier in the day a buddy told me he saw Weezer play the blue album there a few weeks prior to our show, so we played Say it Ain’t So and Buddy Holly at soundcheck that day.

At this point, would you consider House Of Heroes to be a Christian band or ministry. Why or why not?
We’ve always just considered House of Heroes a rock band. The idea of music being “Christian” or a genre being called “Christian rock” or whatever has always been silly to me. Our personal faith is in Jesus Christ. We believe he is who he said he is, and we try to live our lives by his teaching, so that will obviously influence everything we do, including the music we write. But at the end of the day, we’re a band. We will partner with certain ministries to help with causes and things like that because Jesus said to feed the hungry, bless the poor, meet the lost and the least in their place of need. But at the end of the day we’re just a rock band.

What do you think has kept House Of Heroes such a vibrant and creative entity after all of these years?
I think the freedom that has been afforded to us is a big key to our longevity. When it comes time to make a record, the team we have around us says, “We love what you’ve done and we’re excited to hear where it goes next, so we’re just going to sit back and enjoy the process. Do your thing.” What more could you ask for?! Support like that is truly amazing and without it, we probably wouldn’t be here today. Now if we could just get a few more people to buy a few more records/concert tickets!

What’s up next for the band?
Well, Colin and his family have a new baby boy coming their way in June! So we’re going to tour a bit here and there, but keep it pretty light so they can enjoy that. Then once the record comes out in July we’re looking to hit it hard this summer and fall. We’ve got about 4 or 5 music video ideas coming along and a few more interactive ideas that we’re really excited about developing.

Any final words of wisdom?
Final words of wisdom: Many hand make light the work. It’s easier to be wise for others than for ourselves. No man was ever wise by chance… This is starting to get a little too “Info section of a Facebook page”. I’ll quit while I’m only a little behind. Thanks Highwire Daze!!!

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

House Of Heroes on Facebook
Cold Hard Want Preview Page

At the press conference, Highwire Daze interviewed Kevin Lyman as well as six bands who are slated for Warped this year and/or are veterans of tours from the past.  Read on as we present to you our chats with Cherri Bomb, Iwrestledabearonce, The Briggs, Brian Marquis (ex-Therefore I Am), The Darlings, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, and of course Mr. Lyman himself.  Our Vans Warped Tour Kick Off Party coverage starts now…

Kevin Lyman – Vans Warped Tour Founder

What made you decide to do another Warped Tour this year as opposed to going to the Bahamas for the summer or something?
We are going to the Bahamas actually with the Mayhem Cruise this year! We’re about ready to announce the Mayhem Cruise, and that’s going to be four days in the Bahamas. So not only am I putting on tours this summer, but I’m going to the Bahamas in December!

What were your impressions of the movie No Room For Rock Stars and what was your participation in it?
You know, I had some preliminaries meetings. I’ve watched it a few times now of course. It’s really the perspective of (director) Parris Patton, who had never been really exposed to Warped Tour – and just his experience out there. I kind of like to say that every fan and every artist has a different experience everyday and different impressions – and this is what he came up with. There’s so many stories going on out there at once – and it’s pretty impressive the way he culled this together into four or five really cool ones.

What advise would you give a new band about to go on Warped Tour for the very first time?
Just be ready to work.

Every kid who has a band wants to be on the Warped Tour. How should they go about it?
Everyone should start submitting their stuff to me around September 1st and then I just start listening to music and hanging out – putting it in a puzzle and trying to see where it all comes out. About two months later – that’s what it is – right or wrong. And if I book the right tour, it makes everything else a little easier.

When you attempt to relax after a day of Warped Tour, what music do you listen to?
I like Michael Franti. I listen to a lot of old blues. On the bus, some BB King. Some reggae of course – everyone knows I’m a reggae head, so I listen to that.

Would you ever do a reggae festival?
I used to do Bob Marley Days. I’ve got enough festivals right now with Mayhem and Throwdown – I’m good right now.

Will there be a Punk Holocaust 3?
We already did it! We shot it last summer.

When is it coming out?
You gotta ask Doug. I don’t know. We shot Punk Rock Holocaust 3 last year. I suspect it will come out now or soon.

Will you ever receive any awards for your acting?
No. I’m not worried about that.

Do you ever go talk to the parents in Reverse Day Care and do you relate to them or to the kids more?
Almost every day. I go out there, because I have this new term called “Demographically Desirable.” It’s my new term I came up with last week. Like for 50, I’m demographically fit. Maybe I’m a little cooler than the average 50 year old. Now I’m not going to compete against a 24 year old or 20 year old. It’s not my demographic. But that’s the whole thing – kids were coming up to me saying, “My showcase is at 3AM.” I go, “Not demographically desirable!” You know! I’m demographically desirable to go to a showcase that at the latest ends at 11:00. So even tonight being midnight, you’re starting to push my demographic desirability. So be comfortable within your demographic. But trust me, I go out in that tent and see a lot of those parents. Love that they are all out there, but it actually makes me feel pretty young. They’re all sitting in their chairs and I can still get out there and do this for two months.

What were Eminem and Katy Perry like on the Warped Tour prior to them becoming so famous?
Katy Perry – fantastic! And when this is absolutely all over, Katy Perry is going to be one of my favorite people that I ever got to work with. She’s a genuine real person, and she worked her ass off and she kept a good sense of humor about her. And then to watch her now maturing – at the Music Cares event when she pledged 250 thousand dollars to help other musicians. Kind of a bad ass! Eminem – I didn’t really get to know him as well. Ice T was on the tour that summer, so I was spending a lot of time with Ice T. I ultimately respect him for what he’s done. Some people have pooh-poohed the time they did on Warped Tour – like it was not their time. But it did help him and he’s recognized that – and he’s asked other artists to go do that tour. And he’s spoken with other artists – Yelawolf – these guys all want to do Warped Tour – Machine Gun Kelley is out there. So they recognize that going out there and putting the work in is a good thing.

If Lifetime were to do a movie about you and Warped Tour, who would play you?
I would hope for someone like Tom Hanks. At some point, the young Tom Hanks would be cool. Now I hang out with Matt Lilliard – he’d probably make a good Kevin Lyman. Me and Matt Lilliard are good friends now. He reminds me a lot about myself. He’d probably be a good Kevin Lyman.

Do you have any messages for fans coming to work tour this year?
As always, come with an open mind. Come with an open mind and you’re going to walk out learning something – whether it’s great bands – a great cause to get involved in. It’s a great day! You know, you watch online and people say “The line up sucks!” I go, “Stay home! It’s your choice! Come out! Stay home!” It’s a free country – kinda…

Brian Marquis – The Acoustic Basement Stage

Introduce yourself and tell me what you are going to be doing on the Warped Tour this summer?
My name is Brian Marquis. I’m going to be producing the all-new Acoustic Basement – which is an all-acoustic stage for Warped Tour. And I’m also playing on the stage all summer long. I was in a band called Therefore I Am and now I’m doing solo stuff. Therefore I Am was out on 2009 Warped Tour, and now I’m back doing my own thing.

Who came up with the idea for doing the Acoustic Basement stage?
It was me. I approached Kevin in October of last year. I kind of brought up the idea. I said, “Look, there’s a lot of guys like me who’ve been in indie punk hardcore bands and now they’re doing a little more stripped down, folky kind of vibe. There’s a lot of guys like Into It, Over It, Koji – and then there’s a lot of guys from bands like Anthony Raneri from Bayside, Vinnie Caruana from I Am The Avalanche and The Movielife – a lot of guys like that are doing their own solo acoustic stuff bringing intimate shows – the living room vibe into other people’s shows. That’s really cool.

How did you get all of the other bands involved in playing the stage?
A lot of the guys I really knew – just from playing music for years and years.  So Kevin asked me, “Well, you know a lot of these guys. Hit em up and see if they’re even interested.” And everybody I hit up was like, “This is a great idea. I love it!” And everybody was on board from the beginning. Absolutely nobody that was hesitant – everybody thought it’s the right time and it would be a really cool, new thing to have at the Warped Tour.

Do you have any new recordings out?
I do. I put out my debut EP called Snow Damage – it came out in November. And I hope to have a Covers album come out right before Warped Tour.

Is there story behind the Snow Damage title?
Snow Damage kind of refers to – I grew up in Connecticut and Boston in New England. Snow Damage is kind of when the snow clears in the spring, it reveals all the damage that’s it done. And the springtime is a renewal time and a time to rebuild and get back together. So after my band broke up, I felt a little shook up – and I had to pick myself up and start over again. And I started writing tunes by myself – and here I am – I’m doing it.

Do you still keep in touch with any of the former members?
Yeah, I do. They’re all doing different musical projects at different levels, different genres. But yeah, we’re all friends.

What advice would you give a new band about to go on Warped Tour for the first time?
Gold Bond Medicated Powder is your friend. You don’t need more than two cans of Monster Water to take a shower. And get yourself some baby wipes. And that’s pretty self-explanatory.

The Briggs

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Briggs, and what’s the most embarrassing song you have on your IPOD?
Joey: I’m Joey and I’m from the band The Briggs. And most embarrassing song on my IPOD? I have a lot of embarrassing things. At least people would think I would find it embarrassing – because I have a lot of actual dub step in my IPOD and a lot of things that 14 year olds are listening to – like Bring Me The Horizon and things like that. But even funnier, I have little kids songs in German for my daughter – all these really cheesy kids songs –they probably get more play than The Clash or something like that.

Jason: What’s up? I’m Jason from The Briggs. Actually, you know what’s more embarrassing than the most embarrassing song on my IPOD – is my IPOD! I’ve got an old silver Nano – that’s my IPOD – and that’s probably the most embarrassing part of it. I have a play list on it right now called The Manly Play List – it’s got some rock on there and it’s got some dub step on there that’s a little bit cheesy. And Noisia – I don’t know if anyone’s ever heard of Noisia.

What are you guys looking forward to the most about Warped Tour this summer and how many Warped Tours have you been on?
Joey: We’ve done four Warped Tours in the past. This year we’re actually taking a little break off of the Warped Tour. We have a new single coming out in a month. We’ve been a little bit out of the scene for the last year or so and we’re just kind of getting back in there – having a new song and a new video. The whole thing. We’re just kind of getting back on that pony.

Tell me about the new single. What is the title and inspiration for the song?
Joey: It’s called Panic. It’s a little bit of a hectic song. Basically what happened – we were going in to record a song for a Rancid tribute album. They’re putting together a Rancid tribute album with a bunch of great bands – The Streets Dogs and Left Alone and Death By Stereo and a bunch of other bands contributing a song for that. We were making our song for that. We were all in a room making that song and we were like, “You know what? Why don’t we make a single – release it – do the whole thing?” We had something sitting around for a while – we put it together – and we’re super, super proud of it. I think it’s exciting – I think that Briggs fans will really dig it and I feel that is also pushes the band forward and it’s a little bit of a new direction for us at the same time.

What advice would you give a new band about to go on Warped Tour for the first time?
Joey: Bring lots of Preparation H and other creams that might help you from different funguses. It’s true. I’ve had some serious, horrible things go wrong from that heat and the sweating and all that miserable stuff.

Jason: And don’t do Warped Tour in a used RV. The Horror Pops did that in 2008 and they were breaking down like every two seconds. It was a really nice RV, but it’s not meant to do Warped Tour. You’re driving ten hours a day and it’s really frigging hot – and you’ve got to keep your RV on all day – and most RV’s are just not going to make it. They’re going to break down. So get a bus or do it in a van,

Joey: That’s the thing. A lot of bands think they’re getting fancy and they’re gonna take a school bus or a shuttle bus or something out that. And nine times out of ten it just ends up failing miserably, because those things are not meant for that much driving and that many miles. The 15 passenger vans are great for touring. It’s miserable, because it’s a bunch of people packed in a van, but it’s better off than trying to do it in some odd vehicle that you think is going to be more comfortable for you to sleep in.

When could we expect a new full length from The Briggs?
Jason: We’re working on it right now. It’s in the works, but we just don’t know when we’re going to release it. We wanna really make it right. So probably in the beginning of next year we’ll have something new to give everybody – a full-length record.

Do you have any messages for long time Briggs fans?
Jason: Thanks for hanging in there and sticking around. We took some time off to kind of clear our heads and everything. We’re excited about the new stuff that we’re working on and I think people will really like it. It’s just great that people are embracing that and welcoming us back to the scene, so that’s cool.

Cherri Bomb

Where is your band from and what is the music scene like there?
Miranda: We’re from LA and it’s pretty awesome. There’s a lot of musicians around.

How did you wind up being signed to Hollywood Records?
Julia: I’m not really sure. Our manager helped us a lot. She opened up a lot of opportunities for us. We’re just really thankful to have the right people behind us.

You have a new album about to come out. What inspired some of the lyrics on the album?
Julia: We collaborate a lot. We co-wrote with our producers, and that’s pretty much how our album was made. We actually write a lot of poems – a lot of journal entries – and we kind of combine them all together and form them into lyrics. We’ve done that a lot. They all have different meanings to each of us, since it’s a collaboration. So I think we all have different inspirations, and we hope that people think they could relate it to their situation.

How many dates of the Warped Tour are you on?
Rena: 17 days.

How is it going to feel touring with a bunch of guys on the Warped Tour?
Rena: It’s been really cool, because they act like our big brothers since we’re so young. A couple of them, on some other tours like at Soundwave – a couple of them have actually offered us alcohol – and we’ve told them our ages and they’re like, “Oh, okay, I’m sorry.” And they ended up actually being really nice to us.

What are you looking forward to the most about this year’s Warped Tour?
Julia: We’re looking forward to have more experience. Seeing the bands! The lineup is perfect – oh my God, the line up is so good!

Rena: And hopefully meeting some new bands that we could connect with.

What could one expect from a live Cherri Bomb show?
Julia: Our show will take you on a journey. We want it to be an intimate experience.

How much touring have you done so far?
Julia: We’ve done a lot of touring over the past year. We’ve toured in Europe. We did a bunch of festivals – Reeding Festival, Leeds Festival – we’ve done Rock en Seine in France. Recently we went to Australia and we did Soundwave and we were at South By Southwest. We just got home a couple of weeks ago and now we’re starting up rehearsals again.

What’s the strangest thing that has happened while on tour?
Miranda: This was in Australia for Soundwave, and we were on a bus on the way to our hotel. It was super late at night and everyone was dead tired. Most of the people on the bus were drunk. And we were just sitting there towards the front of the bus, and all of a sudden we hear something coming down the aisle. And we look over and this guy was stark naked – just totally naked! He runs past us, and I think I screamed (much laughter) and then he ran back – and we’re just like, “What just happened?” Apparently he thought it was funny, but he didn’t realize how old we were. He was totally drunk too.

What was he doing on the bus?
Rena: He was part of one of the bands and he was probably just drunk and bored and tired, so he just did it. (Laughs)

Do you have any messages for people who want to check out your music for the first time?
Miranda: Basically, we’re here to inspire other people to follow their dreams and we hope that’s what you get out of our music. And you can check us out – our website is cherribombband.com – we have a Youtube channel – and our album is coming out May 15th!

Julia: Our music is modern but also inspired by a lot of classic rock groups. We mesh the two together – and we really enjoy the sound that we have and we hope that other people do too!

The Darlings

Introduce yourself and tell me what you in the band.
My name is Zacc and I play guitar for The Darlings.

Where is the band from?
We’re from South Bay area – Hermosa / Redondo Beach.

What do you think of our local music scene out here?
It’s very consolidated – it’s very concentrated. It’s very hard. There’s a lot of people doing everything. It’s very competitive.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour and how many dates are you on?
We are doing two weeks – 15 days. We start in New Jersey – we’re capping it off. We’re doing the last two weeks of Warped Tour. You know, it’s tough but it’s awesome. There’s no other tour like it! I’m always stoked to do Warped Tour.

How many Warped Tours have you done?
They’ve done like 2-3. I’ve done Warped once, but not with The Darlings. So this will be my first Warped with The Darlings.

What band were you in prior to The Darlings?
I was in Allura.

What could one expect from a live The Darlings show?
Just a vintage rock and roll-y feel. Very high energy. Think like Black Sabbath, but modern, a little faster with a punk edge.

What advice would you give a band about to go on Warped Tour for the very first time?
Wear sunscreen. Pack shorts and swim trunks. And bring a padlock for your own personal porta-potty.

Do you have a favorite Warped Tour memory?
Always love the barbecues.

If you weren’t doing Warped this year, what do you think you’d be doing for the Summer of 2012?
Surfing, working my day job – and playing my music still.

And do you have any messages for The Darlings fans?
Keep it up! You’re the reason that we’ve got as far. And stay tuned for new music videos coming out. And thank you for the support!

Iwrestledabearonce

Introduce yourself, tell me what band you’re in, and how long the band has been together.
I’m Steven from Iwrestledabearonce and we’ve been around for five-ish years.

How many Warped Tours have you been on?
We did 2010 and now we’re on for 2012 again.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour this summer?
Everything! Just drinking and hanging out with all of our friends. We already know so many of the bands on the tour. From 2010 and every tour we do, we’ll make new friends, so that’s awesome. But just everything about it. It’s so organized and there’s nothing to worry about. It’s the only sort of festival thing you will ever do where you know that everyone involved knows their shit and it’s organized. Well for us anyway. Every other fest we do, it’s like, “Well yeah, your set got pushed back an hour and a half. Hey, you’re only playing for 2 minutes!”

How about the New England Hardcore and Metal Fest?
We’ve done that one before. That’s super organized too. Scott Lee knows his shit!

What could we expect from an Iwrestledabearonce live performance from Warped Tour this year?
A lot of movement, because the stage is so damn hot that if you’re wearing shitty shoes – it sounds dumb – like a produce placement – but if you’re not wearing Vans, your feet will god damn melt to the stage. So I’ll probably take my guitar off and throw it at people again. You know, same old same old – probably break some shit and make a lot of people really happy and piss off a lot of others. It seems to be what we’re good at.

What advice would you give a new band about to go on Warped Tour for the first time?
Prepare to never bathe. The best way you could describe it is a traveling summer camp for degenerate musician bastards. I don’t even know. Literally just have fun. It’s so weird and unique – it’s hard to say until you do it. I’d be lying if I said that 2010 that we weren’t all nervous and excited. We grew up going to Warped Tour, so it’s crazy to be actually on it. Don’t sleep. Fucking hang out all day! Get out of your van – get out of your bus, walk up to fucking every band in every tent and make friends. You literally can leave the tour knowing everyone on it and have a million new friends and the best summer of your life. And if you’re not straight edge, drink heavily!

How was Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins of Saved By The Bell) to work with on your music video?
That’s a question I don’t hear enough. He was awesome. He’s the nicest guy ever, considering he’s Mr. Belding and everyone on Earth knows him. We go into a Dennys and “Sorry there’s a ten minute wait. Oh Mr. Belding?!? Come on right in!” But he’s totally okay with it.  He’s been in a lot of things, but he’s Mr. Belding, you know what I mean. You’re lying if you say anyone off the Saved By The Bell cast will be remembered as anything other than that. It’s the first reference. And he’s totally okay with it – he loves it. He says he’s met a million people who have said, “Yeah, your show got me through a lot. It sounds stupid, but I love you. Thank you so much dude!” And he’s totally okay with being called Mr. Belding for the rest of his life. He’s so stoked to be a part of that and he’s the nicest guy. I was shocked! I expected him to be such a dick. But I still have his cell phone number and he will text me and we’ll be like, “Hey, when are we going to Denny’s again?” I don’t know what to say, other than we were super nice to him, so in return, he’s been super nice to us. I expected him to be way more of an asshole. Cuz he’s been around – getting bothered by people in restaurants forever. We went out to eat three times and everywhere we went, people were like “Mr. Belding!” And every single time he was nice to every single one them. He deserves a million dollars and high fives from everyone. He’s the coolest guy!

Do you have any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles area?
I live in South Pasadena, so get your medical card. If you live in the Los Angeles area, your life is good. You have palm trees and good weather every single day. There’s nothing to complain about. That’s all I could say. Life is beautiful in Southern California. And whoever came out to our show in Long Beach the other weekend, thank you for starting a riot and shutting the goddamn show down. Thank you!

Tomorrows Bad Seeds

Introduce yourself, tell me what band you’re in, and how long the band has been together.
I’m in a band called Tomorrows Bad Seeds. We’re based out of Los Angeles. We’ve been together for about seven years going now. We’re working our butts off touring. We are about to release our third album called The Great Escape. It will be out before this Warped Tour.

How many Warped Tours have you participated in prior to this one?
This will be our third. The last two years we did two-week runs. And Kevin asked us to be on the whole tour this year, so we’re really excited for that.

What are you looking forward to the most about Warped Tour this summer?
Honestly, just all the people we’ve grown to become friends with and everyone that’s a part of it and all the bands and all the kids and the fans. Everything about it is real and it’s energetic. There’s a lot of hard workers. It’s like boot camp. I really enjoy the fact that everyone takes it seriously. It’s organized chaos. I like to see all the bands and crews work their butts off and really put their hearts out into the tour.

What could we expect from a Tomorrows Bad Seeds live Warped Tour performance?
A lot of energy. A little bit of dub step breakdowns we’ve got going that aren’t really a part of our songs – so it’s kind of like interlocking that sound. Just a good positive message.

Is there a story behind the title The Great Escape?
The title kind of says that we’re always trying to escape from something as people. And that’s kind of what music is – to me at least. The album has the vibe and the feel of a great escape, so that’s why we named it that. Plus we like aliens and stuff – I’m kind of obsessed with an intergalactic world – so it pertains to that too secretively.

What do you think of our local music scene out here?
I think it’s great! I think it always has been. We’re actually from Hermosa Beach, California to narrow it down – home of Black Flag, Pennywise, the Descendents – so we grew up on a lot of punk rock. But then again, being from the LA Country area, you had bands like Rage and Red Hot Chili Peppers, Incubus and all these other bands that were influencing my generation. So we kind of fused everything. The music in LA is now is a melting pot of culture and it’s amazing.

What advice would you give a band about to go on Warped Tour for the very first time this year?
Don’t expect anything too soon. Don’t whine. And just play and leave your heart on the stage. Do exactly what you came there to do – and that is to play music and promote your band.

If you weren’t traveling on Warped Tour this summer, what do you think you’d be doing for the summer of 2012?
We’d probably be on some other tour, because we never stop touring. We literally just got off tour. This is our break to just finish the record and prepare for Warped Tour.

(Interviews and Photos by Kenneth Morton)

Linkage

The Official Warped Tour Home Page
Brian Marquis on Facebook
The Briggs on Facebook
Cherri Bomb on Facebook
The Darlings on Facebook
Iwrestledabearonce on Facebook
Tomorrows Bad Seeds on Facebook

Paganfest America

Turisas from Finland will be headlining all of the shows.  Alestorm will bring their Scottish pirate metal to the States once again and Arkona from Russia is sure to devastate all with their stunning stage presentation.  The States well be well represented this time around by the mighty Huntress, who reside in the Los Angeles area.

And although Ex Deo had to drop off the tour, they will still be making special guest appearances at two of the Canadian stops.

And now it is time to meet the four bands of Paganfest America Part III to find out more about their current albums, their thoughts on the upcoming tour, stories from the road. beer of choice, and other decadent topics.  Read on…

Turisas

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Mathias Nygård, and I am the vocalist and main songwriter in the band, which I formed together with our guitarist Jussi Wickström in 1997.

Where is your band based out of and what is your local metal scene like there?
We’re originally from a town called Hämeenlinna, about an hour north of Helsinki. Finland in general has a pretty vibrant metal scene, especially Helsinki where most of us also live nowadays.

What are you looking forward to the most about Paganfest America Part III?
Having a good time on the road together with the other bands, plus meeting fans and new people…And of course the shows themselves. That’s always the main thing.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
It’s called Stand Up And Fight. We wanted a very straight to the point title, even “Manowarian”, but the album itself is a loose continuation of the concept introduced on our previous release, The Varangian Way. It’s basically about these North-men who find their way all the way to Byzantium and enroll in the Emperor’s mercenary troop. The Varangian Way is the story about their trip and Stand Up And Fight tells about their adventures in the 11th century Byzantine regions. It’s not only about historical things though– it has a very personal angle to it too. A lot of the songs deal with courage and taking a stand for your values.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
“Take The Day!” – Since the album deals with mercenaries, I read up on a lot of biographies, etc. from mercenary soldiers in Kosovo, Sierra Leone, French Foreign Legion, etc. “Take The Day!” was inspired by their writings about the moral problems that they faced and by the descriptions of the anxious waiting time just before battle.

“Hunting Pirates” – Based in the historical context of mercenaries that used to clear up the Mediterranean of Arab pirates for the Emperor, which is a bit of a paradox itself. It deals mostly with morale and was inspired by the story of Alexander the Great and the pirate. Has a modern connection to state power, Somali pirates, illegal downloading and the difficulties with all of these.

What could one expect from your live performance at Paganfest America Part III?
We put on one hell of a show.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
We were once denied access to Belarus and departed after waiting a whole day at the border. I only knew a few words of Russian and managed to get us cabbage soup and eggs to eat at the gas station– and of course plenty of vodka and salted dry herrings. The show was to be in Minsk and sold out with 3,000 people. We heard they started some sort of a riot there when they heard the show was cancelled. That time, we were all pretty happy to be back in Poland.

What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
Ales, IPAs, and Trappists. I like beer which tastes like beer, not American-supermarket-bland-light-piss.

After Paganfest America Part III, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Paganfest America will probably be the last tour we do in 2012. I’m sure we’ll be doing some selected summer festivals in Europe, but as we’ve been on the road since January 2011, we want to calm down a bit and work on new material.

Any messages for metal fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
Come and see our show. If you like to have a good time, I guarantee you that you won’t regret it. The best parties are always in California!

Alestorm

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
I am Dani Evans, I play Lead Guitars in Scottish/Irish Pirate metal band Alestorm! We have been together as a band since 2006, forming originally under the moniker Battleheart and switching to Alestorm in 2007 upon signing to Napalm Records!

Where is your band based out of and what is your local metal scene like there?
Alestorm originally came from Perth, Scotland but now we’re based primarily out of the Netherlands with members living all over the UK/Europe.

In Scotland, I have no idea what the scene is like any more. When we left there really wasn’t one and the bands that were there didn’t exactly like supporting new and upcoming kids playing music. Which is why we got out of there as fast as possible and have become semi-successful. I’m kind of out of touch of local scenes these days as I am traveling so much and I never spend too much time in one place. Getting to normal shows to see friends is hard enough these days with Alestorm’s schedule.

What are you looking forward to the most about Paganfest America Part III?
I am looking forward to everything about it.

We’ve toured with both Turisas and Arkona recently on the ‘Heidenfest‘ in Europe and that tour was a great success and we’ve become good friends with both bands, and the crew that will be coming along for the tour are mostly people we’ve worked with in the past and have proven to be a lot of fun.

Obviously, for a European band, coming to America and Canada is always a lot of fun as it’s such a complete world away from touring in Europe. The fans are completely different in their appreciation towards the bands and the atmosphere of being on the road there is different as you may only be traveling from state to state, but sometimes it can seem like different worlds away and that keeps it very interesting! We’re always looking forward to meeting old friends we’ve met on the road at shows and of course making new fans and friends as we travel more and more in the US!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our latest album is called Back Through Time, released in June 2011 on Napalm Records.

There isn’t really a concept in the album other than the opening title track which basically pokes fun at the ridiculous and blind worship of Norse (or whatever the fuck you want to call it) mythology that has sprung up between metal fans recently. We proved it with the reaction to the song receiving threats through the (oh so scary) internet. Frankly it’s a bit of fun and people don’t seem to remember what that is like these days.  They need to grow the fuck up and drink more cocktails.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
‘Back Through Time‘ – See above.

‘Scraping the Barrel‘ – This song is another scathing song, we’re cynical bastards so that’s going to happen.

A lot of people in the early days of Alestorm wrote us off as a band that would never make it past album 1, let alone 3 albums (and more!). So this is a big fuck you to those people and another fuck you to those who compare us to Running Wild (80′s German Thrash). We get this comparison more than I care to write about but it’s such a ridiculous comparison that we’ve just stopped answering any questions related to it. We’re nothing a like and if you think that, you’re retarded. Simple.

What could one expect from your live performance at Paganfest America Part III?
Plenty of booze, lots of stage divers (including our lead singer) and a lot of fun. Maybe a song or two.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Anytime you’re on the road so much shit happens that it’s sometimes hard to put it down on paper with any degree of accuracy.

Our last adventure with Turisas,w e were splitting a bus with them and an impromptu sing along occurred with us singing such amazing renditions of Queen, ABBA and of course Gary Glitter. All the while polishing off any and all alcohol on the bus that evening. A lot of hangovers occurred and a lot of members of certain bands weren’t seen the next day, I can’t actually remember the day after.

What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
I haven’t drank beer in a long time. The last time were in the US though, I took quite an exceptional love of Shiner and Blue Moon. I now spend my days drinking cocktails as they’re much more alcoholic and tasty.

After Paganfest America Part III, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We’re busy up until the end of the year with bookings into December already. After PF we are heading out on the Metalfest tour with such bands as Megadeth, Blind Guardian and Behemoth. Covering 8 festivals over 9 days or something insane. After this begins summer with us putting in appearances at Graspop, Sonisphere (UK, our biggest show to date), Karmoygeddon in Norway and various other Euro fests yet to be announced!

Any messages for metal fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
I would like to thank all our LA based fans for all their support, every time we’re in LA we always get a rapturous crowd and a lot of booze bought for us. We love you all very much and can’t wait to play for you guys in the coming weeks. We’ll see you all at the bar!

Arkona

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Hi! Masha Scream, founder and singer of Arkona here!

Where is your band based out of and what is your local metal scene like there?
We are from Moscow, Russia. Russian metal scene is quite strong, but not strong enough to have worldwide popular bands. But still there are some interesting bands and I hope they will have a good success in future.

What are you looking forward to the most about Paganfest America Part III?
We are looking forward to get again that amazing support of our North American fans. Our last tour with Korpiklaani showed us, that people want us to come again, so here we are! Also, we are looking forward to have a good time with our friends from Turisas and Alestorm!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our last album Slovo was released in August 2011 on Napalm Records. It’s very diverse and interesting album, we got a lot of positive reviews on it. For the first time we recorded chamber orchestra and choir. Slovo has a lot of folklore and at the same time a lot of brutal elements. Most of our fans already heard Slovo, and in upcoming Paganfest tour we will play at least 4 songs from it.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
When I’m creating lyrics, I’m inspired of all, what surrounds me. It can be sound of flowing river, singing bird, or it can be my personal thoughts, worries and so on. I can’t tell, what exactly made influence on concrete song.

What could one expect from your live performance at Paganfest America Part III?
People, who visited shows of Arkona knows, that every show is a big energy blast. Setlist, that we are prepared for Paganfest, is very active and will not let you stay on one place. Just come and check what we prepared for you!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
You know, we are not very “partying” band, but we have some stories of course! Better will not tell you, otherwise someone will be angry on me : – )

What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
I’m not drinking a lot of beer, but, to be honest, US is not a country, which makes a good beer : – ) By the way, the same as Russia : – )

After Paganfest America Part III, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
After Paganfest we are planning to take a small break with tours. But we will have about 15 summer festivals across all Europe, so see you there!

Any messages for metal fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
I wish all the best and good health for you, your families and friends! With a good health you can realize all that you are planning. Thank you very much and see you!

HUNTRESS

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
I am Blake Meahl, I shred my life away for Huntress by guitar and been at it practically since forever. Jill Janus (vocals), Ian Alden (rhythm guitar) and I have been at it for a couple years but the new dream team is just turning one year old! Carl Wierzbicky crushes drums and Eric Harris smokes bass.

Where is your band based out of and what is your local metal scene like there?
Highland Park, California, esse! The Mariachi scene is off the hook!

What are you looking forward to the most about Paganfest America Part III?
Hangin out with pirates! We’re stoked to be part of Paganfest, we’re not pagan metal, but we feel like Huntress can party with anyone, let the hedonistic rager begin!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our upcoming debut album is called Spell Eater. Our singer has visions, she’s guided by witchcraft and all kinds of heavy shit. This one’s true.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
Night Rape – Jill getting penetrated by electric Incubus demons that traveled via major power lines above her Mom’s house as a kid.

Sleep & Death – The eternal, cyclical patterns of unconciousness. Jill’s way into Rudolf Steiner.

What could one expect from your live performance at Paganfest America Part III?
Loud, sweaty, heavy metal with fire and magic.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
We are heavy metal heshers. We juice vegetables and fruit all hardcore and try to stay healthy for the slaughter. The funniest thing is scoring free auto parts and oil changes in middle of nowhere USA because Jill is a babe. It rules.

What is your favorite beer of choice and why?
Jager! I’m a whore and it feels good.

After Paganfest America Part III, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Tour our asses off. Paganfest, then Dragonforce then off to Europe for the Metalfests Open Airs in Europe with Megadeth and Kreator!!

Any messages for metal fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
I love you guys.

Tour Dates and Linkage

Guitar World, Full Metal Jackie, and Metal Injection present: “PaganFest: America Part III” tour dates feat. TURISAS with ALESTORM, ARKONA, HUNTRESS

3/29 – Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
3/30 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium
3/31 – New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
4/1 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda **PaganFest with EX DEO**
4/2 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House **PaganFest with EX DEO**
4/3 – Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
4/4 – Detroit, MI @ Blondie’s
4/5 – Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s Rock Club
4/6 – Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4
4/7 – Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
4/8 – Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
4/9 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
4/11 – Dallas, TX @ Trees
4/12 – Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s
4/13 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis
4/15 – Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
4/16 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
4/17 – San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
4/18 – West Hollywood, CA @ Key Club
4/19 – Tempe, AZ @ 910 Live

(Interviews by Kenneth Morton)

Turisas on Facebook
Alestorm on Facebook
Arkona on Facebook
Huntress on Facebook

The first ever Facedown Fest took place at the late great Showcase Theatre in Corona featuring sets by genre legends Overcome, Figure Four, and Point Of Recognition.   Now in 2o12, Night One will commence Friday, April 6th at The Stronghold in Chino where bands from their artist development Strike First label will be performing, featuring sets from Dynasty, Leaders, Letters To The Exiles, Nothing Til Blood, We The Gathered, Ark Of The Covenant, and Altars.

Then on Saturday April 7th, Facedown Records will showcase its heavy hitters at the Glasshouse in Pomona.  Band ready to celebrate as well as devastate will be War Of Ages, In The Midst Of Lions, XLooking ForwardX, Gideon, My Epic, Onward To Olympas, Hands, Your Memorial, Hope For The Dying, A Hope For Home, and The Burial.

So as a countdown to Facedown Fest 2012, here are interviews with several of the bands performing at the event.  We also spoke with Facedown / Strikefirst founder Jason Dunn to find out a bit more about the venerable record label and what to expect at this year’s much revered festival – as well as offers advice to bands wanting to join the Facedown Family.  Read on…

Jason Dunn – Owner of Facedown Records

For this year’s edition of Facedown Fest, what made you decide to go with two separate venues instead of just the Glasshouse?
While working on the line-up for this years fest we were looking at more smaller and mid size bands than any year in the past. A few of these bands will definitely be headliners in the next couple years for the Fest, but they are not quite at that level yet. So rather than stretching it a bit then with 2 nights at the Glasshouse, we decided to do a Strike First night at the Stronghold in Chino this year as our night 1 of the fest. This is a smaller room (300 capacity) that will be packed and will have a ton of energy. Small stage, and more of an intimate feel. Then Saturday will feature all of the Facedown bands for one big night at the Glasshouse. We think it shaped up pretty good and it mixes things up a little bit.

How was it to do Facedown Fest last year after skipping a year?
It was great. It seemed like the excitement level was very high from the fans and the bands and we were happy to be doing it again. We didn’t really want to take 2010 off, but a few of our larger bands had conflicting tours that would have made it impossible to get them all on the fest that year.

What can one expect to find at Facedown Fest 2012?
I think it will be like Facedown Fests in the past: lots of passion, a good time from the fans and bands and overall positive attitudes. As far as bands go, we’ve got 19 this year so I think that’s the most we’ve ever had for any 1 Facedown Fest. There might even be a special guest the first night!

Have you heard the new War Of Ages yet? And if so, what do you think?
Yes, it’s a great album. They get better with each release and this new album, “Return To Life” is no exception. We are very excited to be releasing this album on April 24.

With the emphasis being on family when it comes to Facedown Records, how do you feel when bands like Impending Doom and For Today go to different labels?
It’s bittersweet really. We are bummed that we no longer get to work side by side with them, but we are excited for them at the same time. Sometimes new labels bring new and bigger opportunities so that is always a good thing. A band like For Today is going to explode so we could not be happier for them. And we get to be involved in a small way with them on the vinyl release of their new album “Immortal“. Their new label, Razor And Tie, gave us an exclusive color of the vinyl for our online store, so that was very nice of them. We’re still friends with all of our bands and do what we can to support them even if they are on other labels now. And I think we’ll hopefully see some of those bands come back to play Facedown Fest in the years ahead.

What are you currently looking for when it comes to signing bands to Facedown and Strike First Records?
Passion and honesty are the two words that come to mind first. It’s our goal to only release albums by bands that are real in their music, their faith and their art. I’m not looking for bands that are going to be the next big thing, I want bands that are passionate about what they do, and that’s why they do it. There’s all this talk about the “next level” and there seems to be a lack of bands coming up that want to do this because they love it. That’s what I am looking for.

A sweet elderly church lady wants to come and worship at Facedown Fest this year. She looks like she’s fairly hip. What do you tell her?
She’s more than welcome and I think if she was open enough she would see that there’s definitely worship taking place at something like Facedown Fest. Some people might not like the music or the sound, but if they try to see the bands hearts and the crowds reaction to that, they can see that there’s something very cool taking place.

Would you ever want to be active in a band again, like you were with No Innocent Victim?
Not really. I actually don’t have the desire to play drums anymore. It’s a little strange actually, but I don’t want to force it. A couple of years ago I played drums with My Epic for 3 weeks one summer because they needed a last minute replacement, and that was one of the best times of my life. But I don’t think I would ever want to do that full time again. I had some great years of traveling around the world but I’m at the point now where I love being home with my family, enjoying California every day of the year, and working for the bands behind the scenes.

What’s up next in the coming months for Facedown and Strike Fest?
We don’t have any new releases for Strike First planned at the moment, although that can change at any moment. For Facedown we have new albums from Leaders and The Burial coming out on March 27, then the new War Of Ages on April 24. Then in the summer we’ll have new releases from xLooking Forwardx, Gideon, Altars, Your Memorial and Onward To Olympas. So it will definitely be a great year.

Altars

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Mike Searle, I play bass in my band Altars, and we have been together for nearly two years now.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Well being from Colorado, I’m excited to get some beach time in and to see all of my Cali friends.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
This will be our first Facedown Fest experience. We are all very excited!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our full length album, “Conclusions“, will be coming out this summer on Facedown Records. The title of the record has to do with finding peace and redemption despite questions and struggles.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
Although I am the bassist of Altars, I wrote the lyrics for the first half of the record. Canaan, our singer, wrote the second half. The album lyrically pieces together in a way that makes it difficult to single out two songs that I wrote and discuss their meanings. The lyrics for the entire album are inspired by Canaan and I’s personal outlooks on faith, our generation, and an introspective view of our own lives.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
Songs off of our upcoming record, injuries, etc.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
This is always a difficult question. I feel like every thing my band does turns into an interesting story. We were just reminiscing about when we were in Port Huron, MI, lighting plastic army men on fire in some parking lot. The cops were called and we ended up just hanging out talking about nu metal bands with them. Strange things like that seem to happen to us quite a bit.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Our new record releases early this summer, then it’s just touring and trying to sell CDs in a market where few people care about CDs anymore. Regardless of sales we just want to share our music with anyone who might appreciate it. So that is the plan.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
Yes, make sure to check out go watch Seahaven if you haven’t yet! They are from Torrance, and are likely to be playing near you all soon.

Ark Of The Covenant

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Hi, my name is Mike and I drum for Ark Of The Covenant. The four of us have together since the fall of 2009.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Pretty much everything about the fest is what we are excited for (especially the famous Facedown Feast). We’ve talked to several bands that have played it before and they all have had nothing but good to say about the entire weekend.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
This is going to be our first time playing and we’re honored to be a part of it this year.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our latest release was our EP Separation which we put out in May last year. The main concept behind the album is how we, being Christians, are separated from this world.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
- Alex did a great job writing the lyrics for our EP ‘Separation‘, so I thought it’d be fitting if he answered this one.

Alex - ”The book of life, I would have to say, was pretty much inspired by the basic gospel message. It’s pretty much your Christianity 101 and explains the relationship with God you gain through faith in his son. And Locusts look like horses was inspired by my view of the world as a believer. It speaks of the end days and tell believers to stand up against this world that tries to put us down and mock us for our faith.”

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
Intense and passionate from each of us on the stage. Constant movement from both us and the crowd during our entire set. Even if you’re just standing there listening you’ll find yourself bobbing your head during our set. We do everything possible to make our live show as good as it can be and pour every bit of energy we have into each set we play.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
There are so many to choose from…I would have to say last October, on our way home from tour, we were in Maryland and it was snowing. All of the sudden we heard a loud thud and Jake saw sparks coming from our trailer. We pull over and the wheel had broke off of our trailer. The funny thing is, the wheel ended up a few hundred feet ahead of us on the side of the road.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
After Facedown Fest we have a 3-4 week tour heading back to the east coast with Onward To Olympus. Then we plan to finish writing our full length in May and tour as much as we can over the summer.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
It’s been over six months since we’ve been to CA! Come hang with us and the rest of the bands April 6th at The Stronghold in Chino.

The Burial

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Todd Hatfield/Guitar:  Technically, the band started in summer of 2005, but we have went through a few line up changes since. Jake Neece (bass) and I are the only original members. With the addition of Kaleb (drums) and Elisha (Vocals/Guitar), we feel like a brand new band.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Getting to see everyone and hanging out. I’m really looking forward to seeing Hands and My Epic play.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
Last year was our first year. What stands out the most is worshiping during My Epic.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
“Lights and Perfections” is the name of the new album.
The name comes from the meanings of “Urim” and “Thummim” in the Bible. They first show up in Exodus 28:30 and were some sort of oracles or stones that were placed on the breastplate that the priests would wear that had the twelve stones for the twelve tribes of Israel on it, and God would use them to answer the priests.

Some Theologians suggest they would glow because of the meaning of the words. Pretty much everything in the Old Testament was somehow a type and shadow of Jesus, so with a strange way that God chose to communicate with people then, and even now with the veil lifted between God and man through Jesus, we still see through a “darkened glass” but will see him face to face in the Resurrection, and that is the main, underlying theme of the album.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
(Answered by Elisha Mullins):  All of the songs on this album mean a lot to me personally, but “Salt and Wrath” and “Shackles and Embers” stand out as the most personal.

“Salt and Wrath” talks about how destructive even a seemingly little anger problem can be to any Christian’s walk. I was a really angry person for a long time, and the only people I ever hurt with that anger were people I loved or people I should’ve been helping grow. Even if you’re not in a “ministry position” we’re all supposed to be the best examples of Christ we can, and letting yourself become completely immersed in rage is detrimental to your witness… The only way to get past it for me was laying my pride at the foot of the cross.

“Shackles and Embers” deals with the struggle for purity of thought, and lust control. It’s a touchy subject to some people, and to me that just shows how deeply it effects so many people, whether or not they’re willing to admit it. Personally, I’ve dealt with it a lot, and the more I tried to get over it on my own, the more I failed. It’s a way of thinking that really ensnares you. You don’t bother repenting because you don’t think you deserve it, you avoid spending time in prayer and reading the Bible because you’re ashamed, and that only serves to keep you in that bondage. Turning your focus on God, and the hope that He brings is the only way to overcome ANY temptation that surrounds you.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
High octane heavy metal!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
There are so many, haha. Ill name a few off the top of my head. We met a guy in Kansas who called himself “ferret” because he is “flexible and smells real bad”. We met a guy named Donkey in Arkansas…I don’t know how he got the name. There are so many more, I could spend all day typing them out.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Tour, tour, tour.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
We can’t wait to get out there to play and hang out. Make sure to come say hey and give us a high-five.

Dynasty

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Joel Muniz, I’m the dude on the mic. We’ve been together for a while now. But doesn’t count cuz we took a long hiatus.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
I’m definitely looking forward to night one because that’s the night that will be filled with the dopest stagedives!

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
My fondest would have to be Comeback Kid at showcase theatre! Best venue known to man! RIP.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
The new album is untitled at the moment, but lyrically we’ve wanted to add more spiritual goods to this album and put lots of New York in it.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
We have a new song “Rise to Victory” which we’ll be playing at the Fest and that jam is inspired from the strength of the Lord that comes from Him alone.

“Way of the Wolf” which is on our current album is a song standing against all the injustices “HOLLYWOOD” brings about, and the darkness that the music industry bring about.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
Mad stagedives!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Once got chased out of a house which slightly resembled the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” house, but maybe we were paranoid. But they had dead animals and live rattle snakes roaming. It was too shady.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Praying, working out, skating and of course getting in the studio to bring the ruckus.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
Crush the Demoniac!
ps. We’ll be very active as the next album goes platinum!

Gideon

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Timmy. I play bass. Gideon has been around for about three and a half years.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
I think the thing we are looking forward to the most is going to be hanging out. Since all of the Facedown bands are in one place, the hang outs rule. There is truly a sense of family at Facedown Fest. You just feel comfortable and right at home. Also all the people who come to the fest who aren’t in bands rule. We met a ton of people last year who we can’t wait to catch up with, and can’t wait to meet a ton more.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
Last year was our first year to play. We got to play the second night when For Today headlined. If I remember correctly, it sold out before doors opened or right after. We ended up playing for close to a thousand people. It was by far the most kids we had ever played in front of. We all were super nervous. We ended up having a great crowd response and that helped calm our nerves. Our set was a ton of fun. I don’t think any of us wanted it to end. It was truly an experience I will never forget.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
We are actually in the studio this very moment recording our 2nd full length. We do not have an album name settled on yet. But the main theme on the album is about people and experiences that we have encountered personally that have changed our lives and how we live it.  Some of those experiences were good and some were bad. So far everyone in the band has written lyrics for one of the songs. So this record is personal for everyone in the band, and not just one or 2 guys.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
We just released a single called “Gutter” not to long ago. The lyrics were written by our vocalist Dan. It is about a person who seemed to be very firm in his Christian beliefs and was influential on Dan. That person later renounced Christianity. A line of the lyrics says “If I walk away with one thing from all of this, It’s to never again put my faith in man.” That’s just saying that man is flawed and is going to mess up. Man will let you down, but we believe God will not let you down.

One of the songs on our upcoming album is called “Maternity.” It was written by our guitarist Blake. The song talks about the struggles he and his mother have been and are currently going through and how he feels helpless in attempting to help her. The chorus to the song says “Mother, I’ve done all I could to bring you back. We’re growing older as the years they pass. Just bring her home, God bring her home.”

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
Lot’s of energy. Playing shows for us are so much fun. So we just go nuts. We love having a crowd that goes crazy as well. So we put lots of energy into getting a crowd riled up. So just an action packed set with lots of energy…and maybe a new song…just maybe though.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
We opened for A Plea for Purging on their headliner not to long ago.  One day on our drive, they passed us on the interstate and threw an entire gallon of sweet tea at our van. It hit us right in the windshield and it exploded everywhere. The people who were driving thought that gallon jug was going to come straight through the glass.  The huge thud it made startled everyone in the back who wasn’t really paying attention. It was just crazy. Those dudes are the king of Van wars. Do not ever mess with them. But they are also some of the nicest dudes we’ve ever had the privilege to tour with.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We have a tour starting with Sleeping Giant, In The Midst of Lions, Betrayal, & First Blood just a few weeks after Facedown Fest. It tours to New England Metal & Hardcore Festival and back to California. As soon as that is done, we jump on a tour in Canada with Counterparts, Hundredth, and Your Demise. By then we should have a release date for our record and some summer tour announcements.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
Can’t wait to see you Cali. See you in April at Facedown Fest and in early May on the Sleeping Giant tour. Let’s go grab some In-N-Out.

Hands

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Shane Ochsner, and I sing and play guitar for Hands. We’ve been together since 2007.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Being in sunny California. Hanging out with all of the other bands. Root Beer madness at the Facedown Records HQ. And reconnecting with our fans out west!

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
My favorite memory, would have to be the first year we played. So many firsts on that weekend! That was the first time Jason Dunn of Facedown had ever seen us play live, my first In N Out Burger experience, first time being at The Glasshouse and witnessing the craziness that is Facedown Fest. That whole weekend was amazing!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
We release an album in July 2011, titled “Give Me Rest“. The whole album is about my personal struggle of trying to seek God and understand Him. I’ve always considered myself to be a Christian, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized my roots were in a foundation that I never had a hand in building.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
“The Helix” is one of my favorites, mostly because I feel like it is the most cut and dry expression of my feelings in this album. The 2nd song would probably be “Jovian“. I wrote the lyrics shortly after the birth of my daughter Arbor. I had never in my life experienced a moment that powerful. I had to write about it, how could I not? It changed everything in my life, and it could not have happened at a better time.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
I think this will be one our best performances to date, to be honest! This will be the last time Hands plays Facedown Fest. Not to mention, this is our last year really doing anything as a band for a long, long time. So I’m sure the emotions between all 4 of us will be extremely high, and we hope that all of our fans out west can be there to experience that with us!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Anything involving our drummer Josh, is usually a strange or interesting story. During tours, the guy has suffered from 2 broken arms, 2 broken ribs, a tour ending stomach ulcer, food poisoning, and an addiction to drinking Nyquil, which he claimed was the only way he could sleep at night. Needless to say, this band has had more than a few fill in drummers.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We’ve got a few things in the works to finish out 2012, but other than that, we’ll go back to working our jobs and trying to find excuses to play shows.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
If you are a fan of our band, this is the time to come and see us play! Plus, Facedown Fest is loaded with great bands this year, as usual. It’s an awesome night, in an awesome venue. Worth every penny!

Hope For The Dying

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Josh Ditto, I sing and play keys. We’ve been a band since late 2006.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Just seeing everyone and hanging out! It’s also always great to see all of the great people behind the awesomeness that is Facedown Records!

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
This will be our 3rd time playing. Our first year there we played a cover of “The Trooper” and some of the dudes from War of Ages joined us on stage. Probably my favorite memory of playing so far!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our latest album is “Dissimulation.” The general concept of the album is to seek God and not to lean on entirely on the teachings of others. Not everything that glitters is gold…and not every word that is “preached” is from God.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
1. “Transcend” …this song was dedicated to a good friend of mine who lost his life serving in the military. The day of his funeral was protested by the Westboro Baptist Church (this was in 2005) when they were just “gaining ground” with their protest, before people were really prepared on how to deal with their presence. This song is about rising about those who try to dissolve true teachings from the Bible into watered down half truths. Organizations like this preach hate…based of of what I like to call “selective reading.” The God I serve hates sin, not people.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
This year we’ll be doing a sampling of “Dissimulation” as it is on the CD….we’ll do a few gapless songs. There is talk of a possible cover song this year….but I won’t say what song…or if it’s actually happening!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Plenty….we’ve had enough strange encounters and experience that I have trouble choosing one. Let’s just leave it like this…we sleep at a lot of Walmarts.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We will do a bit of the summer festival routes (Cornerstone, etc)…our main focus for the next several months is on writing though. We have a LOT of work to do!

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
I just want to say Facedown Fest is an awesome experience all around. It’s just “done right.” The venues are both great, the bands are great…if you like Facedown bands and live anywhere near the West coast….there is absolutely NO reason to miss this show!

Leaders

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Lazarus & I am the vocalist. We have been together since March of 2007 and officially Leaders since the summer of last year.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Meeting everyone this year from the Facedown Family & enjoying their sets and being able to chill with them! We all have listened to a lot of the Facedown bands prior to our signing so this is a blessing!

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
This will be our first year playing the fest! We look forward to making some great memories though!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
“Now We Are Free” is the name of our album to be released on March, 27 2012! The main theme of the album I guess you could say is about leaving behind your past and choosing to walk forward with Christ, knowing that there will be hardships that we will endure but in the end with God we can overcome all of that.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
The song “Instance” was inspired from the point in your life where you feel things are always the same and never change yet you are running away from the only one who can help…God. Then you realize that God is never changing and never ending. The second song I would choose is “La Onda” this song to me meant a lot and was very personal when I wrote it. It’s about knowing that after you’ve been broken and have given everything to try and live right and do right by people we will always fall short but God’s love never takes count of that. His love and mercy never fails us, he will always love us.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
A live show with us giving it our all, we hope that you feel our energy!

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
3 of us drank a case of Rockstars in 3 days on the last tour haha

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We leave for tour the weekend after Facedown Fest! Expect to see us on the road as much as possible this year!

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
We love you guys! Can’t wait to meet all of you and hang! Blessings!

Nothing Til Blood

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Hi! This is Matt on bass and Will on drums. We’ve been together since 2010.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
The experience as a whole. It’s something we’ve never done before and we love SoCal and Facedown so mixing them together sounds like the best thing ever!

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
First time, ask us this next year. Haha

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our latest release was “When Lambs Become Lions” which dropped September 27th on Strike First. The album touches on many different points from worship to Christians and how we live. We’re stoked on it, give it a listen!

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
In the track titled “Stands True” the lyrics have no hidden message, it’s simply about being strong and boldly says what will happen in the end times. The track “Depths of the Sea” is a slow instrumental song with clean vocals that closes the album. That’s basically a love song inspired by emotion and feeling.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
The same thing as always, haha. We go hard if it’s five people or five hundred people.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Yep, too many actually, I should probably write a book. We’ve hitch hiked in northwest Texas to buy a tedious part for our engine which got us a mile up the road before our radiator blew and we made camp at a truck stop to wake up the next morning being towed to a service stop to spend about 90% of our band money on repairs. Oh well, those things make you stronger.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
To tour and write new music. We’re shooting for another album this year, we’ll see how that goes.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
Yes, we love you and can’t wait to hang out and meet more people.

Onward To Olympas

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
My name is Kramer Lowe and I am the vocalist in Onward To Olympas. We have been together about 4 years now.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
I am really excited to get back out on the west coast again and hang with all the Facedown Family. Also Facedown Feast is pretty awesome too.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
Last year was OTO’s first year. My favorite memory had to be when a random kid got up on stage during In The Midst of Lions’ set and messed up a part when he grabbed the mic and started screaming the wrong lyrics.

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our latest is called ‘The War Within Us.’ I probably can’t say anything about the upcoming album yet. The concept to TWWU is about the constant struggle we all face as Christians and always remembering that God is there to help you through these problems no matter how big they are.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
Rebuilt is about the struggles we went through as a band losing members and almost getting to the point of breaking up. And Structures is about the enemy doing everything possible to bring you down. One part is “I will not settle for failure” meaning no matter all the obstacles and trials we all face we will never be brought down and settle for the worst.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
A lot of energy, crowd participation and maybe some goofy times. Pretty much what every band tries to accomplish haha.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
On tour with Becoming The Archetype in 2010, we were both pulled over and BTA was pulled out of their van at gun point because we were in traffic and BTA tried to take their guitarist Daniel, who was wrapped in a sleeping bag, and throw him in our van. Traffic started moving so they stumbled back to their van and threw him back in. I guess some people thought he was a girl and “she was trying to escape.” So that’s when they called the police. At the end of the day we were all laughing with the state troopers and definitely left one of the best life long memories.

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
We plan to release one of the best albums we have written and tour harder than before on it.  We are so excited to get this out and think it will surprise our fans and hope to gain a lot more.

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
We will see you all soon! And again we are super excited to get back out here play on the west coast. Thanks for always supporting us. It honestly means so much to us. It is still crazy to think people like our band all the way across the country!

We The Gathered

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Hello! My name is Kyle and my name is Lance. We are the drummer/vocalist and  handle a lot of business oriented stuff for the band. We have been together for just under a year and a half.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Kyle: Facedown Fest has always been something that we have wanted to play. This year we are! Words cannot explain how pumped we are to see all of the other Strike First/Facedown bands and finally meet and play for label owner Jason Dunn for the first time.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
Kyle: First year playing, but hopefully not our last!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Lance: Well, Believer has been out for a good 6 months or so, and we have toured on that record extensively. Since the release, we have been tossing around ideas for new songs that would become our new record. We have a very good foundation for this new record, which will be called “This Dedication“. The story behind this new record is that with every thing we’re blessed with in this life, we always seem to take it for granted. So basically the record tells the story of how we dedicate everything we have achieved so far and may down the road, to God. It’s a story of hardships and trials, but overcoming all of that can bring you victory in the end.

Pick two songs from your latest or upcoming album and tell me what inspired the lyrics?
Lance: The first song is entitled “Daydreamers“. When you’re in a touring band, it seems like the list of critics is endless. Yet, something keeps you pushing through all of that. Something pushes you beyond your comfort zone, and beyond the limits of anything you ever thought you could achieve. Our band believes that God is the one pushing us through all of this. The road can be very lonely at times, but with God on your side, it is very bearable. This song is about how it’s alright to dream, to be what you want to be, and not let anyone tell you you can’t achieve something great.

The other song I’ll share is another new one entitled “The Realization“. I’d like to think of myself (Lance), as a very optimistic person. The world can be a cold place, however, and this is kind of my venting session about just that. I grew up in a broken home, with very little family to turn to. But I always knew that there was something better in this world than that. I see kids today going through the same things I did as a kid, and it sickens me. The song is basically about me being only one man, with a big heart, but without any help, the world will never change.

What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
Kyle: We move around, A LOT. Facedown Fest will be a big night for us, so I would expect to see us getting a lot wilder than most nights :]

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Kyle: We have a personal goal of being out 250-300 days this year. After Facedown we will continue to tour the US as hard as we can, along with Canada in July!

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
-COME TO NIGHT 1 OF FACEDOWN FEST AT THE STRONGHOLD IN CHINO, CA!!! This will be our first time in California, show us a night to remember!

Your Memorial

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in your band, and how long you’ve been together.
Willy Weigel of Your Memorial. I play guitar and backup vocals. We’ve been a band for a little more than 5 years.

What are you looking forward to the most about Facedown Fest 2012?
Spending time with the Facedown Family and fans.

What is your favorite Facedown Fest memory or is this your first time playing?
Last year was our first year as a band and I think we were all pretty stoked on those whole weekend. From the first night meeting up with the bands and sharing a meal to the last day on the beach. It was awesome!

What is the name of your latest (or upcoming) album and is there any story or concept behind the title?
Our new album is set to release this summer, and unfortunately I can’t say yet what the name of the album will be. We’ll be announcing details very soon though, so be on the lookout for that in the coming weeks.
What could one expect from your live performance at Facedown Fest 2012?
There’s a really cool lyric from a Phil Wickham song, “If You are the sun, then I want to be the moon. I want to reflect the light that shines from You.”  I’d of course hope everyone has a good time but also be able to see Christ alive in the music and the reflection of his light in our set. For anybody watching to be impacted in some way even if just for a moment, and to walk away with a positive experience would be awesome.

Any strange or interesting stories from the road you could share?
Last year we were touring back from Facedown Fest and up until that point in time had never been in any sort of serious trouble because of bad weather and had never blown a tire on the road. Somehow in a period of 48 hours we managed to get stuck going up the rocky mountains in a blizzard, we were then towed to the top, played a show that night, we’re stranded on the way to our next show because of straight line 60-70mph winds. The next day our tour mates As Hell Retreats went into the ditch because of 3 foot high snow drifts while driving right behind us, then we blew a tire, and our other tour mates Onward to Olympas’ axel broke, and we were the only band to make it to the next show. It was the craziest 2 days on the road. You never know what’s going to happen next!

After Facedown Fest, what are your band’s plans for the next couple of months?
Touring for the majority of April, and again in late May/early June. Followed by a big summer tour and the release of our new album. Some really exciting things up ahead that will be announced as soon as possible!

Any messages for your fans out here in the Los Angeles / Orange County area?
We’re really excited to spend some time in Southern California. Hope to see you at the Fest and upcoming shows!

(Interviews by Kenneth Morton)

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Shannon Quiggle, publicist extraordinaire at Facedown Records for setting up these multiple interviews.  And many thanks to Jason Dunn for his continued support of truly passionate bands throughout the years. See you all at Facedown Fest 2011!

Linkage

Facedown Fest Official Home Page
Altars on Facebook
Ark Of The Covenant on Facebook
The Burial on Facebook
Dynasty on Facebook
Gideon on Facebook
Hands on Facebook
Hope For The Dying on Facebook
Leaders on Facebook
Nothing Til Blood on Facebook
Onward To Olympas on Facebook
We The Gathered on Facebook
Your Memorial on Facebook

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Diabulus In Musica, and how long the band has been together.
I’m the singer and founder of the band. We’ve been together since 2006, but before I used to sing in a band with Gorka (keyboard player). I decided to start the project with him after our previous band disappeared.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We all are from Pamplona, which is a small city in the North of Spain. Almost all the metal-heads here know each other; we were friends before we founded the band.

Metal in general is not the most popular style in Spain. I guess the same happens in the rest of Europe… Also Spanish metal-heads like better the national ‘old school’ heavy metal, sung in Spanish. Nevertheless, there is a rising new metal scene, although these bands aren’t well-known.

How did the cooperation with Napalm Records come about, and why did you not go with Metal Blade this time around?
Things turned out this way, not sure why… Maybe we felt that Metal Blade’s promo was more oriented to a different kind of ‘metal audience’… We were the only symphonic metal band in MB’s roster, so we were like ‘isolated’. Our agency 2wild4 started to deal with Napalm and when we knew they were interested in us, we felt really excited about and directly say ‘yes!’ to the signing. Napalm is a label with much experience in bands like ours. They were one of the first labels to support this kind of style in metal and there are quite big names there, so they are for sure doing a great job! Besides, we are also friends with some other bands from Napalm, so we feel more like in a family now…

Is there any story or concept behind The Wanderer CD title?
Yes, it is a concept album. The story talks about a girl who has something ‘special’, ‘different’ and somehow feels isolated. She wanders searching for a place where she can finally be accepted. It’s related with people who somehow feels or is ‘different’, specifically all those who are specially linked with Nature, who still stay ‘pure’, ‘different’ and the shock this way of living or thinking sometimes provokes when living in modern society. It is not easy to reconcile this way of being with all the changes that society is suffering, and above all, with human corruption. All these ‘special’ people are starting to disappear and they are the last hope to change the World.

Please select any two songs from The Wanderer and what inspired the lyrical content.
My inspiration comes from the World itself. I usually write about my personal worries, which are mostly related with nature, freedom, spirituality and social problems. All this topics are reflected through the whole album, so it is difficult to choose. Anyway, I would maybe pick up ‘Hidden Reality’ because sometimes I have felt that way; these lyrics have a special meaning to me, it’s like an anthem to our ancestors and a lament of the lost spirituality. I also like ‘No Time for Repentance’ which is a kind of warning; it talks about the Karma.

How did the duet with John Kelly of Elfenthal (Sentenced To Life) come about and what was it like working with him and then performing the song live with him? That duet is breathtaking!
Thank you, I’m happy that you like it! I also love this song…

John and his wife and also singer Maite are very close friends of mine since years now. We live in the same city and we are together almost every day… We have so many things in common! One of those things of course is music. Maite already sang in our first album ‘Secrets‘, but in that album there were no song that could fit John’s voice. We had the perfect song for him in ‘the Wanderer’ and for me it was very special to count also with John this time… and so we did.

What could one expect from a live Diabulus In Musica show?
Much passion, energy and a band that really loves playing and sharing its music with the audience. We like writing songs, but we think that the songs aren’t complete until they are played live. It’s really impressive how people react to each song. You can vibrate with the audience and connecting with them -  it’s the best thing you can experiment! Without any doubt, a special and indescribable energy flows…

Besides, when we prepare our shows we don’t think them as only music, I think it’s important the theatrical side so people gets more involved and receive more than only listening to the songs. That’s why, apart from a little theatrical performance, we sometimes try to travel with a small choir. It helps giving this extra to our shows (it would be great to play with an orchestra too!). We really enjoy sharing this experience with the audience and additional musicians, although unfortunately we cannot do it always due to logistic and economic issues.

You has such a stunning voice! What kind of vocal training have you had and what other bands or musical projects have you been in?
Aw thank you so much for the compliment, I really appreciate it!

I started my music studies when I was 8 and joined several choirs in my childhood. Afterwards I started to learn classical singing and I still continue doing it nowadays, as I think that learning is a never-ending process. I always feel I have many things to improve!

I also complete my learning singing in the chamber choir of my region as well as some Early Music ensembles.

Regarding rock and metal I started to sing in a rock band when I was 18. After that I started to sing in a power metal band called ‘Dragon Lord’ and when it disappeared I founded Diabulus in Musica.

Apart from this, I’ve also sung in a jazz duet and I’ve collaborated with a Belgian dark ambient project called Voidwork.

How has it been like for you to tour with a bunch of metal guys on the road so far?
Great! I guess that same than if I was a boy, I’m one more inside my band. I’ve sometimes felt uncomfortable with some people in the business, as there are some that unfortunately think that I’m only ‘the girl singing’ when I’m the founder and also one of the main songwriters in the band. There is still too much sexism in the metal scene and this kind of things bothers me sometimes… Anyway, the relationship with my band mates is very good, we are friends since years and I have my couple there too! They are my second family ; )

How does Secrets compare to The Wanderer and what do you think of Secrets now?
I think The Wanderer it’s a big step forward. We kept our main influences: classical music and metal, but the arrangements are more ambitious and there is space for more ’mystic‘ sounds as well. I’d say this second album reflects a clear and natural evolution and maturity.

The main difference between Secrets and The Wanderer is the concept, as the new album is a conceptual one. We first thought about what we wanted to tell and then start to work on the songs, having a very clear idea about how they should sound. We maybe were searching for something more like a ‘soundtrack’. Music had to fit what we wanted to tell in each song, it had to recreate the atmosphere we had in mind in each ‘scene’. The Wanderer is a very passionate album. All the feelings are perfectly captured. I would say that it’s denser, more bombastic… but also more refined than Secrets. We tried to join different music influences in the best way and at the same time, let each instrument having its own ‘space’.

Anyway, every song in ‘Secrets’ is special and has its own story, collaborations, memories from the studio… Of course if I had written the songs now, I would have done some things in a different way, but this doesn’t mean I would change ‘Secrets’ now, because it represents a period, it’s a very fresh album and it wouldn’t express the same feelings if it sounded in a different way.

Has Diabulus In Musica ever played here in the States or plan to do so in the future? If you have played here, what was the experience like?
Unfortunately we haven’t been in the States yet, but we are really looking forward to it! We would really love to go there!! Any promoter interested? ; D

What was it like supporting Manowar, were they cool to hang out with and how did the shows go?
We didn’t spend much time with them, but they were very correct and nice people when we met them. The shows went great, people was surprised because they didn’t expect a band like ours to open for Manowar, but they liked our performance!

Since your vocals are so dramatic, would you ever want to do theater such as Phantom Of The Opera or Mamma Mia? Any secret acting aspirations?
Oh I would really like to do so! I’ve had similar experiences singing in some opera productions and really liked it! Anyway, I’m not sure if I would be a good actress hehe. When I was a child it was my dream, but finally became a singer. It would be great to try to do both… Who knows? If there is any chance of course I will try!

Do you have any messages for metal fans here in the States?
Yes, thank you so much for taking the time to read this interview. Special thanks to our beloved fans overseas, we really hope to see you all soon!!!

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! I really hope to see your band here in the States some day soon!
My pleasure! Thank you so much Ken!! I hope to see you there too! ; ) )

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

Diabulus In Musica on Facebook
Diabulus In Musica Official Home Page

How did initially become involved with Xandria and were you a fan of the band prior to becoming their singer?
The first time I got in touch with Xandria´s music was when I bought their CD Ravenheart. I really liked it, but at this time I haven´t spent a single thought on the possibility that I could be once singer of this band. It makes me smile when I think about this and I am always surprised which unusual and unexpected ways life offers to us.

Where was the first show you did with Xandria and what was going through your mind just right before you went onstage?
The first show was in Xandria´s hometown Bielefeld and I was extremely nervous just right before the concert, because of two reasons: It was my very first gig with Xandria and I wanted to give my best and hoped the people will like my voice and our performance. Second, I had a very bad cold at this time, so I had been a bit scared if my voice works. Right before I went on stage allI thought was: “Now I´ll give my best and just have fun on stage” …and in the end all went well : )

Prior to Xandria, what other bands or musical projects were you involved with?
Before Xandria I have been part in 2 bands. In one band called Forty Shades, in which I am still involved as a singer. I still love to be with them and I try to handle it next to Xandria. The other band is called Haggard, where I have been singer from 2008 till the end of 2010 until I joined Xandria. It has been a great experience for me to be for the first time on tour and get to know the real music life. I had a lot of fun and met wonderful people. I don´t wanna miss this time.

Your voice is absolutely stunning! What kind of vocal training have you had in the past?
Thank you for this compliment : )  As you might know I started singing extremely late in the age of 23. Not late for singing in general, but very late for the wish to become a professional singer.  I always thought I cannot sing and was kind of a typical “bathroom singer” (laugh). Finally everything changed in a choir in Finland where I discovered my voice and wanted to learn more. Back home I began to take classical singing lessons at a private teacher (opera singer). But I consider myself not being an opera singer, that would be pretentious. I am singing with classical technique, but I vary it. I change my voice in the way the song or the content (lyrics) needs it. Every song needs a different voice: Powerful, dramatic, soft, fragile….and I try to express this with changing styles, f.e. in the song Soulcrusher – in the refrain I use an aggressive rock voice, because it fits to the song.

Have you met Lisa Middelhauve and what do you think of her vocal talent?
I have met her a few times, of course, because she is the wife of our bassist Nils, not only the Ex-singer of Xandria ; ) I think everybody has its own unique voice and singing style. Voices are as different as the personality behind, so you cannot compare her voice with mine. Everybody has his strengths and weaknesses, so do I.  Lisa brought her unique style into Xandria´s past and it was really perfect for the old songs. And now I try to bring in my own unique style into Xandria and the new songs.

Is there any story or concept behind the title Neverworld’s End?
It´s not a concept album if you mean this. We recognized that many songs belong to the same topic, so we tried to find a title for the album, that represents it in the best way. Neverworld is the world of your fantasy and your dreams, especially the ones, that you had as a child. The more we grew older the more we realized that not all dreams can become true. We began to be more serious, to forget what we once wished for our lives, what we really wanted to be deep in our heart and which dreams we wanted to have fulfilled. The boy on our cover sits in front of his sinking and destroyed fantasy world, but he still has got the key in his hands, to save this world at least in himself.  And so do we : )

What are two of your favorite Xandria songs to perform live and why? Select one new and one older song.
Older song: India. New song: That´s difficult,  ’cause until now we have only performed Valentine and Euphoria live.  I´ll tell you after we had our first shows with our new material ; )  Now I cannot decide, ’cause I really love to sing every single song on our album : )

What could one expect from a live Xandria show?
We don´t have a fire show or something like this ; )  But you can expect an energetic show, because everybody of us gives 100% on stage and I think you can feel and hear the passion we have for our music.

Is there any chance that Xandria might do a tour here in the States and have you ever been to the States before?
Of course we´d love to give concerts in the US, but it is nothing planned yet. Hopefully in the future we have the possibilty to go there. I have been once with Haggard to South America, which has been a wonderful experience. And I know that Xandria has been to South America with Kerstin and gave some concerts there, which have been great. I know that especially Nils is a fan of this country since then and would immediately fly there if there was the possibility to ; )

How has it been to tour with a bunch of metal guys? Does that take some getting used to?
Haha, well, I´d say just one word: Crazy : )  We really had a lot of fun on tour: You have to imagine we have been THREE bands in ONE tourbus. That means 15 crazy men and 3 lovely women (Heidi from Amberian Dwan, Clementine from Whyzdom and me), hehe; ) ) But as me and the other women were on the same wavelength with the guys it took no time getting used to. Making jokes and talking shit started immediately ; )

How long did it take to shoot the Valentine video and what was that overall experience like?
It took just one day, we managed to do it quite fast. For me it was a very new experience and my first video shoot at all, so I have been very nervous before. But the film team was very professional and kind to us. So after one take it felt already very natural for me and I had a lot of fun singing in front of the camera. The only really hard thing was that it was so damn cold on this day while I was wearing a kind of summer dress (haha). I got a big cold afterwards, but it has been worth ; )

With your singing being so dramatic, would you ever want to do a musical or rock opera such as Phantom Of The Opera or Mamma Mia? Do you have any acting aspirations?
I´d really love to sing once Christine in Phantom of the opera.  I love these songs and sometimes I sing them at weddings, but it´s not the same as singing them on a real musical stage. That would be awesome! I don´t have experiences in acting, but I think it could be something, that I want to learn once.

What do you think of Tarja Turunen? Is she a musical influence at all for you? Who are some of the other singers that influence you?
I really adore her and her voice, she is a wonderful singer! When I began to sing she has been one of my idols, so I am sure she had influences on me at the very beginning. I sang Nightwish songs up and down ; )  But the more I made my own experiences in music the more I tried to find my own voice and style. And I still try to find it. I think it´s a longlife process that never ends and always motivates me to move a step forward.

What’s up next for Xandria? Any tours coming up?
At the end of March we are going to have three concerts with Epica. I am really looking forward to enter the stage and to perform our new songs! Perhaps there´ll be a spring tour, but it´s not sure yet. As soon as something is confirmed you´ll get informed on our facebook page and homepage…

Any final words of wisdom?
It would be veeeeeery wise, if you go to the music store at 24th of February and buy our new album!! (laugh)

Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions! Congrats on the fantastic new album!
You´re welcome, it was a pleasure for me : )

Xandria is:
Vocals:  Manuela Kraller
Guitar & keys:  Marco Heubaum
Guitar:  Philip Restemeier
Bass:  Nils Middelhauve
Drums:  Gerit Lamm

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

Xandria Official Home Page

Xandria on Facebook

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in My Ticket Home, and how long the band has been together?
My name is Nick Giumenti and I do screams in MTH. We have been a band for about 3.5 years, starting in July of 2008.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We are from Columbus, Ohio and to be honest the scene here sadly isn’t what it used to be. When I was younger before I was in a band the scene here was so alive and shows were so packed and everyone would just go completely mental and now it seems that once all the bands that used to be local got big there hasn’t really been anyone to take there place and no one seems excited about music around here anymore. Now that’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with the people here cause we love our home, but the scene needs help right now.

How does the music on To Create A Cure compare to what’s heard on The Opportunity To Be?
Well, I like to think that it’s much better. Our band pretty much became sick of our EP before it even came out and we didn’t feel like it represented us well at all. We kind of view To Create A Cure as being our first record. It’s got way more heart, way more intensity, more diversity, and even there’s things I wish we could change, it is just a better portrayal of who we want to be as band.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the To Create A Cure title?
There is and there isn’t. We came up with the title randomly but we felt it was fitting for many reasons. Our band was in a very rough place throughout our time recording this album and we viewed our overcoming that and succeeding in finishing it to represent curing ourselves from all the bullshit that was around us.

Who exactly is 67?
You are.

Select two other songs from the new album and what inspired the lyrics.
Dark Days was inspired by the previously mentioned “bullshit” and is the heaviest song on the record. Fear Complex was loosely inspired by the movie “antichrist” and is my personal favorite song.

Since being signed to Rise Records, how much touring have you done and what has the experience been like?
Not enough haha. We sadly weren’t given the opportunity to tour until only a few months ago but those few months have been incredible. Everyone says that touring will really separate whether you really are ready to devote yourself to music and we all found out just how much we love doing it.

Who did the cover art for To Create A Cure and how much input did you have on it?
It was done by our friend Glenn Thomas out of Australia and we had a TON of input on it. That poor guy must have hated us because we made him redo it like 10 times or something!

What was it like working with Caleb Shomo this time around and what do you think makes your collaboration with him so successful?
Working with Caleb is really nice because we already have a great relationship with him that we wouldn’t have with any other producer. Being that we’re so close you can really share creatively without anything getting the way and I think that gives us the best product possible.

How did Sean leaving affect My Ticket Home and do you still keep in touch with him and the members of Attack Attack!?
It was actually a very positive thing for our band and made us closer and more tight as a group. We don’t see them as much but we hangout on occasion

Who is the new clean vocalist and what is his background? Wnat other bands or projects has be been in?
His name is Derek Blevins and we knew him from another band we had played with called Agape. We got to be good friends with him and then their band broke up so we asked him to join.

How do the two brothers in the band get along and have they always been in bands together?
This is actually Marshal and I’s first band. And I would say that we get along very well. We have always been close growing up so this isn’t anything new for us.

What is the best and worst part about being in a band with your brother?
The best thing is that we’re always around each other and the worst thing is that we’re always around each other hahaha.

Has My Ticket Home ever played here in the Los Angeles area or plan to do so in the future? If so, what was the experience like?
Not yet, but we leave for tour in a few days and will be there !

What is the strangest thing someone has ever said or written about My Ticket Home?
There’s probably something strange that I’m forgetting but I can’t recall anything specific. The funniest thing is to see when people post about the band with completely wrong information while acting so confident. That’s a laugh!

Are you or any of the other members involved with bands or projects outside of My Ticket Home?
Not yet. But I’m sure there will be things in the future!

Any final words of wisdom?
Pursue what you love, forget the world. Thanks for reading!

My Ticket Home is:
Nick Giumenti- Vocals
Luke Fletcher- Bass
Derek Blevins- Guitar/Vox
Marshal Giumenti- Drums
Matt Gallucci-Guitar

(Interview by Kenneth Morton)

My Ticket Home on Facebook