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PZO:
How did the video shoot go this past weekend?
Greg: Great.
Ryan: Cold.
Joe: It went really well. Except for the fact that we were wet for half
the time.
PZO:
What song was it for?
Joe: It was for the song Alone.
PZO:
What was the concept behind the video?
Greg: Basically its kind of like a melancholy song, I guess, if
you wanna say. And so its kind of about being away from people you
love and being on the road and feeling kind of alone while youre
on the road, even though youre around people that are your friends
and playing shows for them. Stuff like that. So its just kind of
about feeling alone, I guess. So we just drove around and took shots like
we were on tour and then the other major scene is just us playing and
it kind of starts out sunny, but then it gets cloudy and starts to rain
and then its sunny again.
PZO:
I heard you got a new bass player, Kevin. How did you meet him?
Greg: We were trying out bass players for a while and we were getting
a bunch of e-mails and none of em were working out. Kevin had sent
us an e-mail a couple of weeks ago, I guess, and through frustration I
just disregarded all the rest of em pretty much, and I went back
and gave him a call. So he came down to my house; we played for about
ten minutes and I knew it was gonna work out pretty good, so we had one
practice and then the next day we jumped into the video already. So its
working out good for these past two days!
Joe: <laughs> Yeah, really.
PZO:
You guys are coming out with a new album next year; have you decided on
a name for it?
Greg: Its gonna be self-titled. Very original, huh?
PZO: <laughs>
PZO:
When do you plan to start touring again?
Joe: We start touring in February, actually. Were on tour probably
for about a month
maybe about 5 or 6 weeks. Then we come home and
were back on tour in April.
PZO:
Do you have certain cities in mind that you want to visit?
Joe: Um, Im really looking forward to going back to Canada.
PZO:
Do you have any control over what the t-shirt logos and the designs look
like?
Ryan: Yea, we pretty much have complete control over that.
PZO:
Whats the most memorable thing a fan has said to you?
Joe: Well, personally I had someone come up to me after a show and tell
me that our music helped him to not commit suicide, in a way. Ryans
lyrics were so positive that even though he was so depressed and had a
lot of problems, it just helped him through what he was going through.
That was probably one of the more touching moments, Id have to say.
PZO:
Do your fans bring you anything at your shows?
Joe: Well, sometimes we get the occasional letter
and a shoe or something
like that.
PZO:
How is your new album going to be different from Wake Up Screaming?
Ryan: I think its a lot more cohesive, in a way, than Wake Up Screaming.
Although I liked a lot of the songs on it, its just to me it sounds
kind of just random; its not together, in a way. I dont know
what it is, I think we were all kind of frustrated and ended up going
through different stuff, so it doesnt sound
theres not
a lot of heart in it. I think this one has a lot of what Wake Up Screaming
was lacking in that way.
Greg: We were really more together as a band and spent a lot more time
with this one. So I think we were more on the same page and it came out
a million times better than the last one, thats for sure.
PZO:
What event in your life has had the greatest impact on you?
Joe: Id have to say it was the birth of my first child. I dont
care what kind of person you are, but the moment you see a child being
born I just changes your life forever, especially when its your
own child. It just softened my heart and made me more compassionate to
everything else.
PZO:
Is the music business like you expected it to be, or is it a lot more
different?
Greg: Like, when youre a fan its a completely different world
than when youre actually in it.
Joe: Yeah.
Greg: Everything seems nice and peachy and
Joe: Everything seems hunky dory when youre looking in from the
outside, but when youre in the music business you realize how much
of a business it is, you know? Its not just fun and games.
Greg: I think a lot of people also look at bands up onstage and say hey,
theyre on a record label, they must have a lot of money, when
in actuality its not that way.
Ryan: Every kid in the audience probably has a lot more money than you
do.
<laughter>
PZO:
How do you pick which songs make the cut for your albums?
Ryan: I think it kind of just has to do with everyone liking it, really.
Especially for this album: we wanted everyone to be completely satisfied
with the album. If there was one song where even just one person was like,
eh, I dont really like it, then wed change the
song around, or just not even do it at all.
Greg: Whenever you finish an album you always go back and say I
wish we could change this, or that, and I think for this one I think
we got really fortunate to re-record it from the first time and theres
a lot of stuff we changed. It probably made us a lot happier in the end.
PZO:
Whats the best prank you guys have pulled?
<laughter>
Joe: Oh man, thats got to be the one in Cornerstone. Well, basically
it boils down to this: there was a new band on Tooth and Nail and we were
at this festival in Illinois, I think
somewhere around there. So
we decided one day that we were gonna mess around with their trailer,
so we just kind of wrapped it in toilet paper and put baby powder and
stuff like that. It was really innocent. So they retaliated by covering
our trailer in Crisco and wrapping it in saran wrap. Later on a few of
their guys [from the Undecided] and a few of our guys were on the way
back from some place and they found a dead raccoon and they stuck the
dead raccoon in the new bands trailer. So I think thats probably
the worst thing weve ever done.
PZO: Were they pissed?
Joe: Uh, you know, we didnt really stick around to find out. We
drove by a few times to see if they were outside so we could laugh at
them, but from what I heard they were pretty alright with it. Its
kind of something you expect from other bands on the road and stuff, so
I fear their retaliation; they just might blow up our trailer.
PZO:
If you could put a tour together, including yourselves, who would be on
it?
Greg: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera
<laughter>
Joe: Basically, like Metallica and like, I dont know. Itd
be the weirdest tour ever
wed have Metallica and then Blink
PZO:
Is it hard to see yourselves doing anything else besides music since you
formed this band at a pretty young age?
Greg: I think were more fortunate to do it now.
Ryan: I never really thought when I first joined the band that Id
be doing it for even this long; I thought it was just gonna be something
like 2 or 3 years max and then just for fun. But now I just
my love
for music has grown so much that I would love to be able to do this for
my whole life. I think that would be the coolest thing I could ever do;
that would kind of be like my dream, I guess, if you wanna say.
Joe: Yeah, itd be great to be able to do this for a long time.
Ryan: What do you think, Kevin?
Kevin: Um, definitely
Greg: Dude, shut up
stop talking!
<laughter>
Kevin: Im still thinking about that raccoon thing.
<laughter>
Kevin: Im looking forward to that
PZO:
Whats been the best experience about touring?
Joe: Just the tour in general. Every time we go in tour its so
its
50/50. It starts out where you leave and youre kind of bummed cause
youre leaving your family behind or your girlfriend, or whatnot.
And then what takes over is
I dont know, cause were
pretty tight-knit. We always have so much fun on the road. The whole tour
experience in general is so hilarious and fun for us all the time.
Ryan: Its like an unreal experience because we got to do what we
love: write songs, and play music, and play in front of crowds, and hang
out with kids, and see the whole country and hang out with each other.
These guys are my best friends, so theres nothing else I could do
that would be as fun than hanging out with my best friends and doing all
that stuff.
PZO:
Do you have any crazy groupies at all?
Joe: No, not really
well, actually, we have a couple. So Id
have to say yeah.
PZO:
Whats the weirdest thing theyve done?
Joe: I dont know, I cant really tell from where Im at.
Greg: I think Ryan gets most of them, probably.
Joe: There was one that kind of just ran up to him and tackled him and
tried to kiss him.
Ryan: Yeah, I guess that was kind of awkward.
<laughter>
Joe: Yeah, that was kind of weird.
Greg: Joe gets most of the guy groupies.
<laughter>
PZO:
What do you do if a crowd isnt responding well to your music?
Greg: Walk off.
Joe: Yeah, we all throw temper tantrums and we all drop our instruments
and just walk off the stage.
<laughter>
Joe: I think its kind of tough, to be honest with you, but like,
my goal personally is just to get at least a dozen or more kids into it.
If we have a totally dead crowd, which its been a while since we
had that, but thats just it
you gotta play for whatever amount
of kids that are out there going off and having fun to it, you just gotta
play for them. Then eventually the other kids will get into it.
PZO:
Whats the best part about being in a band?
Joe: I think at different stages of your career its different things.
Like, when you first start out its just fun. Youre just having
fun. Then you start to get grateful that you can actually do it and get
by. But the greatest thing is the music in general. I love playing drums,
so the fact that I get to play drums and be in the band is just great.
Ryan: Its incredibly rewarding to get to write something and see
it develop to where, not only just enjoying it yourself would be incredibly
rewarding in itself, but then playing in front of kids and having them
buy it and tell you how much they like it is really cool.
Greg: I think traveling is the best part for me. I mean, you never get
a chance to go around the whole United States and we get to go 4 or 5
times a year. You wake up in New York and the next day youre in
Pennsylvania, which is crazy. You get to do what you wanna do and you
get paid for it. Well, kinda
<laughter>
Ryan: You also get to see new people everyday; thats great.
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