AMP Magazine Interviews

AMP Says: Monthly Music Recommendation for Sept. & Oct. 2009

2009-09-24T21:21:19-05:00

• Bash any bands/talk trash, or THREATS: This is not a place to say how much a certain band, person, music genre sucks. Just stick to voting please.

• Self Promoting: Okay so we always support hardworking bands, especially independant bands who self promote! However, we would appreciate it, if you guys just talked about the listed bands in blog comments. If you just have to promote your band, there is a place for you on our Forums page! If you would like your band to be featured in AMP SAYS, send us a message on myspace!

• NO SCROLLING COMMENTS, OR VOTING TWICE (all scrolling and duplicate IPs will be deleted, blocked from commenting!): Feel free to say what you have to say, just don’t repeat yourself over and over. Keep it to a few lines, and one comment only. Be respectful.

General FYI:

RIYL stands for Rocks If You Like

September / October 2009 RIYL: Hellogoodbye PlayRadioPlay, Breathe Carolina Read more...	RIYL: Simple Plan, Mayday Parade, All Time Low Read more...
RIYL: Casey Jones, Evergreen Terrace, H20 Read more...	RIYL: The Blood Brothers, Refused, Hit The Lights Read more...
RIYL: Every Avenue, Sing It Loud, Forever The Sickest Kids Read more...	RIYL: For Today, Sleeping Giant, A Plea For Purging Read more...
RIYL: Ceremony, Shook Ones, Hour Of The Wolf Read more...	RIYL: Foo Fighters, Fugazi, Hot Water Music Read more...

Win The Worlds Coolest Guitar!

2009-09-21T22:31:13-05:00

Win The World’s Coolest Guitar! Gibson Les Paul Classic, signed by Alexisonfire at Warped Tour 09. The guitar will be auctioned off. Proceeds will be donated to Skate For Cancer.

Please stay tuned for more information on how you can win.

AMP Exclusive: Warped Tour: 15th Anniversary Party Photos!

2009-09-18T18:25:27-05:00

Click Image to Browse through Gallery!

Guest Blogger: HEIDI MINX of Builtonrespect.com!

2009-07-09T19:24:09-05:00

Meet: 1997

2009-10-21T17:24:41-05:00

For their third Victory release, 1997 pulled out all the stops when recording Notes From Underground. Being at the end of their contract, the band made sure to make the album the most well-rounded experience yet. Come October 13th, the world will finally be able to find out just what the band had been up to during their free moments of 2009.

1997 signed early on with Victory Records in ‘06 after playing strong local performances in their hometown of Chicago, Illinois. In April 2007, the band released their label debut A Better View of a Rising Moon while touring the states with THE AUDITION and THE GRADUATE. Fast forward two years and the band is marking their third release with some of the strongest and most well-written tracks to date. Recorded and produced back at home for their first time, 1997 took a different approach when going into the sessions regarding Notes From Underground. The band has flown out to their producers in the past, but this time 1997 took things into their own hands. “We held ourselves up in our practice space for about four months, and wrote all the songs we had going through our heads and while we were on tour,” Caleb told AMP during their interview. “It’s more extreme in every way, I think. We did it ourselves so we had a lot of time and ability to put our ideas into actual sounds. This album turned out a lot more earthy than our previous albums because of its nature. I would say it’s heavier and softer. It’s got heavier parts that were written before, but it has a more intimate feel than we’ve ever had before.”

While recording only took about a month’s time, the album’s pre production had been undergoing for the five months prior to entering the studio. “1997 is a pretty bumpy band, but we kind of thrive off of that. Creative wise, it was very smooth. We were all flowing and on the same channel,” Caleb explained. “Last year we just got our new girl singer, so we have just been really jelling with her. We went out on a couple small tours with her, but now we’re about to go out on our Fall tour. This year we’re booking it ourselves, and we have big plans for the upcoming Spring and Summer. We’re going to hit up a lot of festivals.”

When reviewing the new record, you can’t help but compare the growth in sound between Notes From Underground and the band’s Victory debut a few years back. Everything feels more connected and in tune, making for quite an enjoyable record. “We just recently did a concert at Metro in Chicago where we just played the whole album front to back with guest musicians,” Caleb told AMP when asked what new tracks had been played live. “A lot of kids were coming up to me about ‘Pagan Melodies’...that song is where we channeled all our anger. People really responded to it live because it just sounds like chaos. We’re all screaming and swearing at each other on stage.” Whether it’s the darkly melodic sound of “Falling Down”, the aggressive speed of “Sympathy For The Dead”, or the afore mentioned “Pagan Melodies”, Notes From Underground shows off a unique blend of soothing and violent sounds one is sure to find entertaining.

“It’s been a good ride and we’re really thankful for everything they [Victory] did for us,” Caleb expressed about the ending of their label contract. “I think that our plan is to become as do-it-yourself as possible.” So what is following the band’s October release? 1997 plan to tour their asses off for Notes From Underground, so make sure to pick up the new record when it hits shelves on the 13th and catch them on the road.

Four Letter Lie

2009-10-21T17:21:20-05:00

With A New Day nearing its release, FOUR LETTER LIE have a lot more than just a new record to be proud of. The band has not once slowed down since their careers took off several years back. Their latest, and third, release is powerful, raw, and unbridled, so it’s safe to assume the attack is still underway.

FOUR LETTER LIE started receiving press attention soon after their formation in 2005. Before the band was even signed, they had self released a successful EP and appeared on Warped and Taste of Chaos tours. Victory Records took notice and signed FOUR LETTER LIE in 2006, immediately putting them in the studio to record their debut, Let Your Body Take Over. The band followed the record with lots of touring and the 2008 release of What A Terrible Thing To Say, a record that took the band’s formula and improved upon it.

Now comes A New Day, an album that immediately proves more aggressive than anything the band has previously released. Thanks to the Victory stream of the album, fans have already tasted the power and energy encompassing the band’s latest release. With the loss of their singer, it was up to Brian Nagan to step up and bring his game more into the mix. “The record hits hard. There’s a lot of emotion. The vocals, the lyrics...a lot of stuff built up and came out that came out to give it that more aggressive and brutal sound,” Brian explained to AMP.

When Kevin Skaff left the picture, FOUR LETTER LIE members had no other choice than to become more involved in the writing process. “He [Skaff] wrote most of the guitar parts. Connor and John weren’t really included as much. It was kind of switched up this time. John and Connor were the main song writers and now it was time for them to showcase their talents and show what they could do. They stepped it up huge,” Brian explained. “We were working on an album when Kevin left the band. We had a record that was almost done. And then he left the band, so we pretty much had to scrap that and start over.” Despite pushing things back, the change in line up allowed the remaining members to unite in a fashion better than anything the band had previously released. In the words of Nagan, “it came out sick”.

“People are digging the transition and the change. So far the feedback has been awesome,” Brian told us when discussing the reactions the band was receiving from new tracks. With a new sound akin to a crossbreed between POISON THE WELL and EVERY TIME I DIE, A New Day proves countless times that FOUR LETTER LIE are branching out into a much more brutal and progressive breed. “With this third record, I’m getting to do what I want. Rather than being like ‘well I have to scream in this part, and not scream in that part, and not scream in this part’...it was the first time I got to sit here and think ‘I get to go all out on these songs’. We definitely progressed from where we were back then. If we weren’t growing musically, that would be kind of weird.”

As for the remainder of the year, the band plans to be on the road from now through 2010. “We lost a member, but life goes on. We’re going to keep on rolling,” Brian expressed when the conversation turned to the title of the new record. “The overall theme of the record is a lot of people tend to live in the past. It’s kind of about putting the past behind you and ‘it is what it is’. It’s like living and learning from your past experiences...the world doesn’t stop, it just keeps on going. You’ve got to make the most of right now, and you’re going to wake up tomorrow and it’s a new day. You’ve got to make the most of it.” Lyrically and musically, A New Day showcases just that. Tracks are tighter, more honest, and more realistic than ever before. “I’m pretty big on writing about things I’ve experienced in life; it would be weird for me to write about something I’ve never experienced in my life. A lot of it is personal battles and struggles.”

Right from the get go, the record shows no mercy. “We’re All Sinners” feels like a series of breakdowns, while “Key to the World” is the most expansive track the band has ever recorded. Like that song, A New Day has a very adventurous tone throughout, even when chaos is unleashing. Ambitious and true to itself, the album is a chapter leap for the members behind FOUR LETTER LIE. Make sure not to miss it or them. “We live and die by living and learning. Friends come and go, bands come and go. The world keeps right on turning and we will be right here with it.”

ANTI-FLAG: 30 Minutes with Justin Sane…and a few with Fat Mike.

2009-09-24T22:48:34-05:00

In this casual and unscripted interview I talk with Justin about the new album, The People Or The Gun. We also talk about hairstyles for big heads with Fat Mike and a new Justin Sane solo record in the works. There is a lot more in there too, so as they say in Pittsburgh, “Read on ya Jagoff!”

I love the fact that you guys made an album that was 30 minutes long. I heard you had to cut the album down to hit that time frame. Why did you guys decide to do that?

Some of my favorite records are like SOCIAL DISTORTION’s Mommy’s Little Monster record. It’s under 30 minutes and when it ends I want to hear it again. Our last record was really long and I think more then anything, it was a reaction against that. It was also a reaction against those records where you don’t really know track 16…

(At this point in the interview, Fat Mike joins us under our makeshift interview/shade tent to shoot the shit with Justin. I proceed to hear more about hairstyles in the next two minutes than I could have ever imagined! Here is a small sample of what I heard.)

Justin: Yo dude!

Fat Mike: How are ya buddy?

J: (Points to me) AMP Magazine.

FM: Yeah, I’ve heard of it.

J: How is life treating you? Everything ok? Actually, you know what? Let’s catch up when I’m done.

AMP: Oh, no it’s cool, I’ve got nothing but time today.

FM: I changed my hair look! (Howls)

J: You look good!

FM: My hair looks too big!

J: Maybe if you pull it forward a little bit in the front and get the Justin Sane look! (Laughs)

FM: There you go!

J: There was a lady cutting hair for free yesterday. You should have got in on that!

FM: (Pointing to his black spikes) It makes my head look abnormally large.

AMP: I know what you mean man. If I’m wearing a fitted hat, I rock an 8!

FM: Yeah your head is huge! (Laughter)

AMP: It’s bad dude!

J: Why do guys with big heads shave their head? It’s like what are you thinking?

FM: Yeah you’ve got to do something in between.

J: It looks like they have a bowling ball for a head.

AMP: Either that or they get that lumpy football player head with all the rolls in it!

Fat Mike/Justin: (Laugh)

J: Savage! (To Fat Mike) Now go away….I’ll catch up with you after the interview.

Back to it…

(Justin breaks the height adjustment tab on one of the legs holding up the B.B.Q. tent that we were using for shade.)

Yeah, I won’t touch that anymore! I can’t stop messing with this thing. I have to leave it alone!

As far as the record length is concerned, I think that it’s great because people have short attention spans. Do you think that anything is lost in translation because of stuff like that? I mean, like you said, people don’t remember track 16. Do you think that some longer albums lose their impact because people usually listen to them in bits and pieces?

There are a lot of records like that, but like I said a lot of it was just a reaction to our last record. We wanted people to feel an intense listening experience by the end of the record.

My first exposure to ANTI-FLAG came with your record The Terror State. You said in the liner notes for this album that it is really in the same vein as some of your other records. You guys put this record together yourselves. Can you talk a little bit about that process and give me some insight as to why you feel that way?

We recorded the record ourselves, but when we did Die for the Government we rented a bunch of recording gear and we didn’t really know what we were doing. We hired an engineer for like a day to come and set it up for us and make it work and we ended up hitting play and record. On this record we did very much the same kind of thing except that we built our own recording studio this time so we would have something that would be more permanent. We also have like ten years of recording experience behind us now you know?

Our recording studio isn’t like some lavish cathedral ceilings and hardwood floors kind of thing. It’s really like our practice room and we put some carpeting on the walls so it’s more like two rooms you know? It did feel like days of old in the sense that there was no urgency to get things done and play things perfect the first time. It was such a loose experience because we could do as many takes as we wanted and there were no time constraints. Ironically, I think it helped us get through it a lot faster because all of that pressure was off us. A lot of the takes on the record were early takes because it’s not like we played things over and over again.

There was that D.I.Y. spirit for us. I mean it’s different when you’re twenty and you scrape together every last penny you have to rent gear. It’s slightly different than that, but I think it has that same attitude and spirit. I think for us it made for a great recording experience. We were basically able to bring a song in and work on the song until we liked it, hit play and record and boom…its down! As a result we did the whole thing in like three weeks. ANTI-FLAG has always been the kind of band that writes lots of songs in a short amount of time. A lot of the time one of the guys will come in with a song and it’ll be almost done. Someone might suggest that we change this or that and on the other side of it, if one of us comes in with like a guitar riff or lyric or an idea usually by the end of the day we’ll have a song.

I like interviewing bands that have something to say. I was reading the lyrics to your song “This Is The First Night” and I immediately thought that it was a song about election night. However, it is one of those songs that can be ambiguous to anybody and it could be about anything. Could you tell me a bit about the song?

I think I’ve gone through some pretty bad things lately personally. I think that when you have disappointments that happen one after another it can be very discouraging just to be alive. (Laughs) Life can feel very hard sometimes. One day I woke up and I was pretty bummed out and I felt like, ‘Man, this is bullshit!’ I can basically roll over and die or I can look at the things in my life that are good and find a way to appreciate those things. It put more emphasis and more focus on the things that were good instead of feeling sorry for myself or being unhappy with my situation. I was just thinking about that throughout the whole day and I realized that my future was in my hands. My ability to be happy or not be happy is in my hands and it’s really my choice. I was thinking about it later that night and I was sitting down with my guitar and I started playing and I remember singing, ‘This is the first night of the rest of our lives,’ and I was like, ‘Fuck yeah! That’s kinda cool!’ (Laughs) I was just thinking about the idea that this is my chance to either make it good from here out or give up and be miserable. That’s kind of what the song is about. It is about the idea that every day or night is an opportunity that you have to make your life better.

Thanks for asking about that though. Many people don’t ask about that and I like your insight and I think that it’s really cool. I think that what it leads into is that there is optimism in this record that hasn’t been there for a while.

It was a total shift man and it was awesome. I know you guys have done the heavier and far more aggressive stuff on other records that fight to get down to the root cause of certain issues. It was just so cool to hear the band shift gears on a song like that. I know you guys had a countdown on your website for a while that marked Bush’s final days in office so I thought that might be what the song was about. I just had to ask because I would have always been left to wonder if I didn’t.

You know that is what’s kinda cool. There aren’t any liner notes to that song. I didn’t really want there to be because I thought that this is a song that people can put their own meaning to. It is really cool when people put meaning into a song in a way that I never thought of. I never thought of that so that’s really cool. There is optimism on this record that we haven’t had in our records for a while. It wasn’t really a conscious thing, I just noticed it and it was like, ‘Oh, this is nice!’ (Laughs) I don’t feel totally hopeless about the future of the world for the first time in a long time. Of course I think that the main emphasis behind that is the election of Obama.

I feel like Obama is a really great step in the right direction, but I don’t think that Obama is the end all, be all savior. I don’t think that Obama is perfect or flawless, but at least with Obama there is an opportunity to head in a new direction. He is talking about things that we would just have never heard people talk about two years ago. These things include closing down Guantanamo Bay and a National Health Care Program. These kinds of things are almost like somebody speaking in Greek you know? It is just so foreign to what has been going on in America. There are still troops on the ground in Iraq and there will be for a long time. They’re still ramping up the war in Afghanistan. There are many issues and more than anything with Obama, he has really pandered to the Wall Street brokers, the bankers and the corporate CEOs. I’m gonna fuckin’ call Barack Obama out on that. Barack Obama doesn’t get a free pass just because he is better than John McCain. That said, I think it’s up to us as citizens to put pressure on Barack Obama to do the right thing and go in the right direction. Lately, and I think this has been a result of public pressure, Obama has been stepping up to put stricter regulations on Wall Street and to do some things that before he said were off the table. I think that you can credit that to public pressure and at least I feel that with Obama we have a chance. I think that more than anything I saw the election of Obama as a stepping stone to something better. I didn’t see Obama as the best person for the position but I saw him as somebody that would take us into the direction that I would like to see us go.

That said (Laughs) I will say this. I have been really impressed with him. I just felt like if McCain didn’t come into office than we already won. I felt like anything else was icing on the cake. Obama has been so much better than I thought he was going to be. I just wrote a piece for Alternative Press and I talk about the fact that I think Obama totally fucked up when it comes to how he’s dealt with the releasing of the final two-thousand torture photos of people that were tortured by their U.S. handlers. I’m not giving him a free pass because he is a step in the right direction because I think we need to call him out on the things that he fucks up on so he can continue down the right path.

I really like your song “Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C.”. Part of it is kind of personal to me. I’ve been in a relationship with a girl where her mother didn’t see me as fit because I didn’t go to church.

Cool, cool! Yeah, me too.

I was brought up Catholic but I stopped going for a long time about 15 years ago. I think the reason was that I didn’t see my family behind it and so I think I felt alone. Just because I didn’t go, all of the sudden I became a bad person to this girl’s mother. When I started going I thought I would go to a non-denominational place. What do you think is one of the first things that they ask when you go into a place that’s not supposed to care what denomination you are?

What’s your denomination? (Laughs)

Why does it matter? That’s what I see in a lot of the things that you guys are talking about. Who cares if you’re White, if you’re Black, Jewish, Protestant or Catholic? What about human? I love that song and I like how you talk about Abe Lincoln’s quote, “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” That was fucking awesome! Tell me about your experience with that.

(Laughs hysterically) Well, I think that what you’re saying is interesting because there are these people that are the most fundamentalist, intense Christians out there and yet they do so much harm and they are so hateful. They are continuously preaching hatred towards others. For example, the day Barack Obama got elected, gay marriage was outlawed in California. A lot of the people behind it were people that were considered to be these really holy, righteous and religious people. To me, all I see in that is hatred. I don’t see any moral values begin upheld by saying that a group is inferior because they are two men or two women loving each other. Right now in our country I think that homophobia is last form of acceptable discrimination. The song in general is about the idea that there are so many people that are “religious” that just use religion as a tool to divide people and secure their own power. It’s basically saying that any kind of religious fundamentalism is dangerous. Whether it’s Islamic or Christian fundamentalism it is just the idea that they both come from the same place which is usually a place of division and hatred. They use religion as an excuse to make their hatred acceptable. More than anything that is sort of the point of this song.

Look at the “War on Terror” we’re having. Who are the bad guys? Most people would say that it’s the Islamic fundamentalists. What about the Christian fundamentalists? They kind of suck you know? (Laughs) It’s just interesting because over in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia they’re talking about the evil Christians and over in Washington D.C. they are talking about the evil Islamic fundamentalists. It was just pointing out the teachings of Jesus and Mohammad or what their teachings supposedly were. Who really knows what they said? I mean the Bible was written hundreds of years after Jesus died. If someone was to write a book about me hundreds of years after I died I’m pretty sure it would be pretty inconsistent with what I said. Basically though, their teachings were about talking care of the poor and treating people well and loving one another. They didn’t say, “Hate that fuckin’ dude cause he’s got a different colored skin or lets cut taxes for the richest people in the country.” You know what I’m sayin’? (Laughs) At the core the teachings of Jesus and Muhammad or other religious figures around the world are very similar. I think that it is just these fundamentalist, twisted motherfuckers that take what these religious prophets said and twist it to their own advantage.

Do you find it troubling that people tend to find any way possible to differentiate themselves with one another? It could be something as basic as saying, “I’m an Italian-American or I’m a Polish-American.” Everyone finds some way to say that I’m different than you. I think it’s disturbing.

I’m with ya and I hear what you’re saying. I think it’s unfortunate. I lived over in the U.K. for about a year and I actually have Irish citizenship. I understand that there is almost this inherent need for people to find an identity and be from somewhere and hold on to that place so they can identify with something but I’m not against it. I think it’s interesting to go to Ireland to see where my Dad grew up and to see where my Grandparents were from and to see the little dirt shed that my family lived in. It is kinda interesting to know where you’re from but in the end, the main reason that we started ANTI-FLAG was that idea that you talked about earlier. It’s the idea that we are not a religion or a color of skin or a nationality or a flag, we are human beings. In the end I think that culture and different cultures are interesting. I just hope that people can respect those different cultures and at the same time find a way to see each other as equals. I hope that those cultures aren’t something that gets in the way of people seeing one another as important.

You already kind of talked about this song indirectly but I wanted to take a second to ask you about “The Gre(A)t Depression. Maybe I was too naïve when I looked at it but why did you spell it that way?

Yeah with the (A)? We’ll have to ask #2 about that. That was #2’s contribution so I’m sorry. If anything I think it was probably because he thought it looked cool but it was a shout out to Anarchism. I think that he was trying to plant the idea of Anarchism into people’s heads so that maybe people would try to read about it and understand it a little better.

Anything else you’d like to add?

We’ve done some shows in Europe and some small shows back at home and the reception to the new songs have been great. We have done a couple of really small shows on purpose. It’s great to play in front of a lot of people, but it’s also a lot of fun to do something smaller because we don’t always get that chance.

Along those lines I’ve been working on some solo stuff. I did a solo record years ago and I plan on releasing one in the next year. Hopefully I’ll have something out at the end of the fall.

Are you going to be on your own label or SideOne?

You know, I have no idea. I haven’t even really thought about it. I’ve just been writing songs and a lot of them are just about what’s been going on in my life for the last year or two. They are not really songs that fit the ANTI-FLAG mold you know? What’s pretty cool though is on a couple of the last shows that we did in Europe I broke out my acoustic guitar and just played songs for the kids at the shows. It really just kinda got me inspired to do that again. In a way I think it’s a nice way to connect with people on a more personal basis. As great as doing Warped Tour is or playing festivals in Europe that are like 100,000 people, I have to find a way to balance that out for myself. I really like to stay connected with people you know? I’ve been working on the solo stuff and I’ll probably release it under my name, Justin Sane. I’ve been kicking around maybe putting a title to it and I was kind of thinking…I don’t even know if this is a name that’s even available…AMP exclusive? (Yeah dude!) (Laughs) I was thinking of calling it Transcontinental cause I plan on living in Ireland during the next year and I’ve already lived in the U.K. I’d like to bring some friends in to play some songs with me and I felt like if I was going to do that I should give it a name. That’s kind of something else I have going on the backburner right now.

As for the fans, it’s been great seeing everybody and I hope people come out to the shows. We’ll be on tour in the U.S. in January and its’ definitely been so far so good. Seeing a lot of familiar faces on this Warped Tour has been nice. We’ve been doing a meet and greet kind of thing in our tent everyday and I saw a lot people yesterday that I saw the last time around. It’s always great to reconnect with people.

Devil Sits Shotgun

2009-09-24T21:36:40-05:00

Far from your ordinary punk act, Devil Sits Shotgun combine the raw vigor of 50’s rock ‘n’ roll with a rockabilly twist, making their sound uniquely their own. The band recently debuted their second full length Serenity on Ball and Chain Records and are currently making plans to tour in support of its release. I was able to touch base with front man Brian “Baldie” Swane and here’s how our chat went.

I bet that there’s a lot going on with Devil Sits Shotgun at the moment. You’ve just released a new record and plans are being made to support it on the road. What have you guys been up to lately?

SWANE: Lately we have been trying to hock this record as much as possible in order to pay for another pressing. We strongly believe that this record is worth all the hard work, and that anyone who picks it up will feel the same. We are playing as many shows as possible, trying to promote the record, and getting it out to zines and magazines for write-ups; normal band protocol.

Devil Sits Shotgun is an interesting albeit odd sounding group name. Tell us how you chose it and whether or not it bears any real significance to you and the rest of the band.

SWANE: The name derives from ones conscience. You know the old cartoons where the angel and devil would pop up on a characters shoulder telling them what to do and what not to do? Well that’s where it came from. We all have an eclectic past of being arrested, substance abuse and overcoming our own demons; not to say we have a “holier than thou” outlook, but we have overcome a lot, and so the name for me is a reminder of what I have been through.

Your debut record was called Voices of the Dead and I believe that it was written and recorded with an old lineup. What can you tell us about this?

SWANE: Voices of The Dead was written by Larry, our old drummer Joe and me when we were about four months into being a band. To put it nicely, it was a long-playing demo. From the work we laid down on that album, it allowed us to rearrange the songs, make some line up changes and reach the potential we knew we could achieve.

You’ve acquired two new members whose skills must be huge for the band. What’s it like having Charlie on lead guitar and Kevin on drums? What do they bring to the table musically?

SWANE: It is a breath of fresh air! We are all on the same page, and their talent is limitless. They are two great musicians and overall good people.

Your band has a very original rock ‘n’ roll sound with throwbacks to 50s rock and rockabilly in general. Do you think that these are accurate representations of your group? Explain.

SWANE: I think that as a listener one is able to hear influences, but I don’t think that our music can be classified by just one genre. I personally, in my singing style and guitar playing, do have a very strong 50’s/ rockabilly influence but also stay true to my punk rock and hardcore roots. I feel that the band as a whole does the same.

Let’s talk a little about your new full-length, Serenity. What was it like working on this album and how does it compare to your first release?

SWANE: Like any album it was a labor of love. It really does not compare to our first release, in that we went in with more focus. We had more money to spend and although we finished it in under 24 hours, it is more of a solid representation of the band and gives more insight as to where we are headed.

"Working Class" and "The Fallen" are among two of my favorite tracks and have been included on Serenity. What do you have to say about these songs?

SWANE: “The Fallen” was on our demo, but it was incomplete. We were able to polish this track and refine it to the point were I originally heard it in my head. It really is a eulogy for my friends who took their own lives. When you listen to the track it actually starts off like a funeral mass. From the beginning of the Whoa’s to the end it is supposed to be a eulogy. “Working Class” is the true-to-life everyday struggle that each of us face. We have never had anything handed to us and have always had to earn what we have; this track is a representation of that. Really all you can do is look on the bright side, keep your head down and focus on the positive.

The rockabilly scene is gaining a lot of speed down south in places like Dallas and Austin. With that said, do you think that you guys might be at the forefront of what could potentially turn out to be new movement of music here in the New York community? What are your thoughts on this?

SWANE: I think Rock and Roll has never died, but it has gone in stages; with that being said, I think it is apparent that there is a strong return to roots Rock and Roll. This can be attributed to the influx of tattoo culture and old school style. While I think it is gaining speed The Stray Cats really capitalized on this craze, but I don’t think it will come around that strong again; if it does great, if not, great. As a band I don’t want to be a flavor of the week, and I think if you stay true to your values over time it will be appreciated.

You guys hail from Long Island. What do you feel your role is in this scene community and how is Devil Sits Shotgun different from other Long Island bands?

SWANE: It’s always nice to play a punk show and see the crowds’ reaction to an upright bass player. I think what sets us apart is that we are not easily classified as a punk, rockabilly, or psychobilly band.

Without getting into too much detail, what are your thoughts on touring and getting your name out there?

SWANE: It must be tough. As soon as we have a little bit of money we are gone! We welcome touring, and can’t wait to get out on the road.

You’re currently signed to Ball and Chain Records, what’s that experience been like so far?

SWANE: It’s been great. I mean sometimes we butt-heads but overall the label has our best interest, and we never worry about being screwed over.

Is there anything you’d like to discuss that we haven’t already touched upon and do you have any final points you’d like to make?

SWANE: Nah, awesome questions, thanks again man.

Warped Tour 2009 Diary - Exclusive Photos and Videos.

2009-09-24T21:00:23-05:00

VIDEO:

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EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS:

Nikki Jumper Photography Avalon Greer Photography

The Blackout

2009-09-23T21:42:54-05:00

Punkers, Punkettes, Skate Grohms and Screamo enthusiasts unite!! Tis the season of the Warped Tour! So don’t forget to spike your Mohawks high in the air (I suggest Elmer’s glue- its a bit hard to get out but it gets the job done), buff those studded belts to a shimmery gleam, throw on a pair of the skinniest black jeans you can find, and head on down to an abandoned fairgrounds near you to join in this 15th annual punk rock extravaganza. Many of your favorite bands like BAD RELIGION, NOFX, ANTI-FLAG, ADOLESCENTS, and DOA will all be there tearin’ shit up along with many other talented up and coming bands from near and far, all looking to get their feet in the door and their names out in the open. Personally, I’m rooting for THE BLACKOUT, a hilariously talented bunch of gents from Merthyr Tyydfil, South Wales, who love to shoot guns and talk about anal sex...what more could you ask for?? Their new album, Best in Town, is a highly impressive debut (Epitaph), and I’m refusing to take them out of my CD player, and for good reason. Their hardcore drive blended with an integration of not just one, but two, lead vocalists, and a sheer knack for writing addictively anthemic songs such as "Children of the Night" and "ShutTheFuckUppercut" is what makes these blokes a worthwhile band to get to know. BUT BEWARE!!! Once you hear these guys for the first time it might be a bit hard to get them out of your head. So don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So is it fair to say that 2009 has been a pretty good year so far for you guys? I mean, you were just signed to Epitaph Records!

An event worthy of sweet, sweet blasphemy! We’ve had a great start to the year, getting the record done right before Christmas allowed a little bit of downtime whilst we decided who we were going to sign with. We had the luxury of being able to pay for the record ourselves, which allowed us to make the record we wanted and then take a finished product to labels and get their reactions. It’s a great way to work and Epitaph was the most enthusiastic and the most artist friendly of the labels who were interested. It’s a legendary label and we’re honored and happy to be part of the family.

You also just shot a couple of music videos back in March for "Children of the Night" and "Save Ourselves", two singles off the new album, The Best in Town. It appears that all of you had the chance to be quite destructive in the "Children of the Night" video. That had to have been a good time.

Well it would have been if we’d been allowed to do any of the destroying! Instead they let some bloody American kids smash the place up, have all the fun!! And this all happened at like 11pm, when we’d been there since 6am and were all in the other room trying not to pass out from exhaustion! Some people get all the fun, and on this occasion, it wasn’t us. But we’re not bitter!! We had a blast doing those two videos and they’ve both come out fantastically well. It’s also good to actually have some airplay of our videos, our previous efforts were somewhat ‘elusive’, shall we say. That is to say, they never got played anywhere. I’m not even totally sure if they exist.

How did the idea of using two vocalists come about?

Both of our singers are really lazy, and have really short attention spans, and neither can manage to do a whole song on their own. Therefore we set up a sort of timeshare system!!

What I find really cool about you guys is your incorporation of humor in your music and especially in your song titles, ie: "I Love Myself and I Want To Live’’, "We’re Going to Hell...So Bring the Sunblock", "ShutTheFuckUppercut." You all seem like really funny gents. I saw an interview that Sean did on TasteiTTV.com that was hilarious and everyone should check that out because it really shows a huge part of what The Blackout is about. Do you all, as a band, have that same thought process that music shouldn’t always be so serious?

We behave in interviews and on stage, or anywhere you may encounter us, pretty much exactly how we behave when we’re on our own or with each other in private. We’re a bunch of stupid Welsh idiots messing about and writing songs that somehow everyone seems to like as much as we do. We know how lucky we are to be where we are, and how everything that’s going on now could go away in a second, so we want to make sure we have as much fun as possible. Also, we want music to be about having a good time. We’re serious about the music we play, but we’re not serious when we play music! There’s plenty of bands out there with important serious messages that they do very well, and I have the utmost respect for them. Bands likes Rise Against and Anti-Flag, Rage Against The Machine etc are important, but it’s not what we’re about. We want to have a good time, rock the fuck out and have fun, and I think in these trouble times that’s more important than ever.

Now I know you guys tour incessantly and have been for the last three to four years. Being the fact that there’s six of you in the band, does it ever get a bit difficult to move around on stage?? I have to imagine that there’s many times when you guys just bash into one another, or maybe just get a case of mild claustrophobia.

We must have some sort of collective sixth sense thing going on, because we somehow, for the most part, always manage to avoid each other on stage. There have been a couple of occasions; Sean, one of our singers, was rocking out a little too much, and headbutted Matt, our other guitarist’s, headstock. He split his head open pretty bad, but we finished the set, watched the other bands, drove like 3 1/2 hrs home before he decided he wanted to go to the hospital, primarily because his split skins was starting to curl away from his head, and looked like rashers of bacon. Silly boy. The other occasion I can think of was when Sean (again) managed to throw his mic into the headstock of my guitar and destroy two of the tuning pegs. Maybe it was some sort of karma revenge thing for his head injury. I was nonplussed.

Going back to the topic of touring, you’re about to go back on the road in promotion of The Best in Town your first album off of Epitaph Records which I have to say is such an impressive major label debut. Its constantly been playing in my car and I’ve even been picking up good friends of mine just so I can drive them around and let them hear what it sounds like. What are your feelings and opinions about the new record and how do you think hardcore fans of the band will respond to it?

We’re over the moon with the record. Everything about it surpassed our expectations. I think it’s a great progression in both material and production from our previous records. I think we’re all just psyched to be out there playing the new songs live. It’s great to have a new group of songs that are new and exciting to mix in with the older stuff. Most of what I’ve heard from people who have heard it is that they agree with us. I would imagine that some of the more old school fans will feel it’s too poppy, even though it’s got some of the heaviest songs we’ve ever done on it!! I’d urge them to give it a chance, we’ve gone for the strongest songs we had, regardless of genre, and that’s why I feel this album eclipses everything we’ve done before.

The single, "We are the Children of the Night," almost seems like it was made to be an anthem that younger kids of this generation can sing along to and maybe relate to as well. Was this at all the intention when you began writing the song?

Once we had the hook ‘we are the children of the night’ we knew it had the potential. It was originally just the bridge, but when we were working on the record Jason (Perry, Producer) convinced us that it should be throughout. We’ve always tried to concentrate on making the hookiest, catchiest songs we can, and that one’s been a real winner for us. It’s a total blast to play live too!!

Was there at all a general theme or tone to the album that you wanted to achieve, and was Jason Perry able to help you guys out in getting that?

When we first sat down with Jason, he said to us, ‘the song always comes first,’ and that was the rule we lived by for this album. Everything was trimmed back, needlessly complicated guitar parts were gone, the drums were tightened right up, we tried everything to allow the songs to come through to the best of their strengths. All the songs we all (including Jason) had to 100% behind or they were gone. It was savage and quite hard at times, when you think nothings going to work for a certain part, but we always managed to pull it off. I guess you can say the theme of this album was ‘the best songs possible’ I hope people like what they hear.

How was it recording in El Paso? Did you get the chance to ride any horses or wear ten-gallon hats to enhance your Texas experience?

No but we shot guns!!! Big bloody guns!! And Jason did arrive in El Paso airport wearing a miniature pink cowboy hat on! We loved it out there, it’s like another world in comparison to where we’re from. The sheer size of it is daunting enough. Everyone there was amazing and the studio at Sonic Ranch was unbelievable. I’d love to go back, it was a totally amazing time, both inside and outside the studio.

Besides this upcoming tour, what else can we expect from The Blackout in 2009? Where are you headed out next and what stops are you gonna make?

It’s tour, tour, tour for the rest of this year. When we get back from the States in July we have a couple of weeks off, then do some festivals in Europe, including headlining a tent at the Reading festival which we’re really pumped and honored by. As for the ‘Fall’ as you call it, for some reason, Autumn for us, we’ve got a few things in the works but nothings finalized yet. Let’s say we’re excited already. We just love to be out there playing to be honest. We had a few months off at the start of the year and I think we all went a little bit crazy waiting to get back out there. And when we’re not on tour we all get fat, so it’s probably best we stay on the road!!