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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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Rick - Vocals, Guitar, Bass Tony - Bass, Vocals Chris - Drums |
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| Interview with Tony and Chris November 4th, 2003 |
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| E: Guys, your band was started back in early '97, and since then you've definitely made your mark. How close would you say you've come to achieving what you set out to do as a band? Chris: On some fronts, I'd say we've already done it. But we still want to go so much further. Tony: When we began, we didn't really have any plans. We were just having fun playing music. Now, we have in no way completed our goals as a band. But, we wouldn't be disappointed at all if this was as far as it all went. We've done some amazing things... like played Warped Tour, put out four CDs or something and played some crazy-ass shows. We've met some amazing people too--bands and fans alike. E: Since your formation, you guys have played shows with some awesome bands; Alkaline Trio, Taking Back Sunday, and Thursday are just a small few one could name. So which is it that you prefer--playing these high-level shows with great major-label bands, or fronting your own smaller shows? Tony: Both "types" of shows kick ass. Smaller shows where you can be a little more personal with the audience are pretty sweet. But playing with bigger bands gives us an opportunity to reach a much larger fanbase and get our name out to so many more people who came to see bands other than us. Chris: Personally, I like playing the larger shows with bigger bands. It generally means that there will be more people there, and I like playing in front of a ton of people. But I love playing the smaller, more intimate shows, too. Tony: A lot of times a bigger crowd gives you a little more of a rush. Maybe it's more people, more energy. Chris: That's what I'm saying. E: What do you feel as though you (the band) contribute to the shows you play? Chris: I think that we are a high-energy, fun band to watch live. Tony: When we're playing, we're busting our balls up there to make sure everyone is having as much fun as we are. Chris: Rick and Tony have a very good comedic balance onstage. Tony: We like talking to the kids when we're playing. I think it makes it a little more personal. Chris: Agreed. Tony: And it makes every show a little different; we're not just up there playing a set that we prepared a month ago. E: Do your favorite songs tend to be crowd favorites as well? Chris: I think right now, my favorite songs are our new ones, so I'd say they aren't crowd favorites yet. But they are definitely our best songs yet, and they should be fan faves very soon. Tony: My favorite ATM songs change all the time; usually I'll get sick of our older songs and really like the new ones that we haven't played much. The crowd doesn't really know our new stuff yet, but they will soon. But I think we (us and the crowd) usually have similar tastes in ATM songs. A lot of times when people request certain songs at a show, they are songs that we were planning to play. Chris: Yep. E: What songs tend to be requested? Tony: "The Ocean Is A F*ck Of A Long Way To Swim"... "Cheerleader"... "Your Mother Lied"... "Rocket Fuel"... Chris: "Rocket Fuel." Tony: "For Christ's Sake"... Chris: No one ever says, "Hey! Play that new song!" I wish they did, though. Tony: Or, "Play one I've never heard before!" Chris: *Laughs* Yeah. E: Now into the studio. How much time and effort is put into recording, as opposed to touring? Tony: Recording and touring are totally different. Both are pretty difficult and pretty sweet. And the effort put into each one is rewarding. When it comes to touring, the really hard part is planning and booking it. That is ridiculously time-consuming because don't have a booking agent. But once you're out on the road, it's a blast. Chris: Yeah, once the booking part of the tour is done, touring is the best part of being in a band. Tony: Recording is the opposite; writing and practicing and preparing to go into the studio is really fun. But when you're in the studio, it's really expensive and there's a major time constraint because of that. Chris: On the other hand, recording is fun in its own right. Though it can be very frustrating at times. Tony: Trying to make the best CD in a certain number of days is really nerve-wracking. Chris: Yeah, being on a tight schedule in the studio is enough to give you ulcers. But there is something gratifying about hearing the whole album come together in the studio. Tony: Plus you only record once every year or two. And you tour constantly. E: Even with some awesome songs penned by the band, you guys have maintained a tendency to do some obscure yet amazing covers--you've done versions of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Meredith Brooks' "Bitch"... even Peter Paul & Mary's "Puff the Magic Dragon." In fact, your most recent album off Springman Records--Taking Back The Covers--consists entirely of cover songs. What inspired you to go back and put your own touch on these classics? Tony: When we were planning on going into the studio for Death Of The Party, we booked a lot of time in the studio because we knew we wouldn't be able to get into the studio again for a while. And we wanted to do something fun (and hopefully funny) and have another CD for our fans before we could get into the studio and do another full-length. We thought a CD of guys covering girls' songs was a pretty novel idea. And we went with it. Chris: Word. That's pretty much what I was going to say. E: How hard was it to convert the very... un-punk songs into punk? Chris: A couple of songs took some work, but for the most part, things just kind of fell into place. Tony: A couple of them were pretty tough. But we had pretty similar ideas as to what we wanted to do to the songs, so it wasn't that bad. It was pretty tough picking which songs to cover, though. Chris: Yeah, that was the hardest part. We all had other songs we really wanted to do but just weren't quite right. E: What songs got left out? Chris: I wanted to do a No Doubt song. Tony: Well, we wanted to do "Kiss" by Prince. Chris: But he's not quite a girl. Yet very close. Tony: We were debating if he was close enough... "I'm Just A Girl" by No Doubt. Chris: Yeah, that's what I wanted to do. E: What went wrong with that? Tony: The others just kinda turned out better. So we dropped it. Chris: Yep. Tony: Plus Rick sings higher than Gwen. *Laughter* Chris: No way. E: When songwriting, do you each stick to your own respective instruments? Or does advice sometimes leak over? Tony: We usually stick to our own stuff, 'cause that's what we know best. But there are times when one of will hear something that should be in the song that the other one doesn't. And we'll make suggestions and work on sh*t. Chris: Yeah, sometimes one of us will hear something in a different way that will work better. Or some of our different influences will make us think of something that one of the others won't. Tony: Very true, Chris. E: I hope this hasn't gotten too redundant, but... explain the pink thing to me. Tony: We started wearing pink a long time ago when the most popular image in punk rock was looking really tough. You know... leather jackets and studs and sh*t like that. Chris: Yep. Tony: And we did it because it was the exact opposite of that. We're not in a band to look tough or cool. And people should realize that. So many people get caught up in the image associated with the music. Chris: But now, tons of other bands--regardless of styles of music--have started doing it, which is funny, because we've been doing it all along. E: What do you get from all this? What makes you go to sleep at night happy to be in a band? Tony: I'm chasing my dream. Being in a band is exactly what I want to do. That's honestly all I need to be happy. Chris: I just love playing music. There are so many things involved that make me happy, I don't even know where to start. There are definitely hard times, but it's all worth it. E: Well, coming to a close here. Tell me, guys--how do you believe you've affected the music scene? Do you think you'll have made a lasting impact on it by the time you call it quits? Chris: I'm sticking with my idea that bands using the "pink and black" designs got it from us. Tony: We've been playing for a sh*tload of kids, and I hope that they can get something out of our music. We have fresh ideas and do our own thing. But who knows if we'll have a lasting impact. I don't think any bands around now will be as influential as bands in the past. Chris: I just hope that some of the music that we've made has made people happy or helped them out in some way. We love doing what we do, and having it make an impact on people is better yet. Tony: Well said, Chris. Chris: Thank you. E: Well, thanks to both of you for taking the time to share your stories and thoughts. Tony: Thanks for dealing with us. |