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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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Justin Burgos - Vocals, Bass Dusty Brooks - Guitar, Vocals Matt Fazzi - Guitar, Vocals Omar Cuellar - Drums |
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| Interview with Justin and Dusty October 8th, 2003 |
| E: Thanks a lot for offering your time, guys. Dusty: You're welcome. Justin: Thanks for interviewing us. E: First off... you guys have become rather successful in the music industry, especially in the Bay Area. How have you worked to establish yourselves? Dusty: Basically, it has found us for the most part. I mean, we work hard, but we try to have fun while we do it. And it seems like the more fun we have, the more it seems to attract people. Which is cool, because it gives us the chance to share our moment with all the fans. Justin: We just concentrate on writing music that we think is good, and just hope that others can see the same thing in our music that we do. Promoting is a big part of it also; we do promote a lot, but we should promote more. And our boyish good looks help, too. Dusty: *Laughs* E: What are some of your musical influences? Dusty: You want the whole list? E: How about just a few of the more major ones? Dusty: Okay. Justin? Justin: Mine are: Midtown, Green Day, Poison, and Rx Bandits. E: Poison's a bit of the odd man out, there. Justin: Yeah, I like 80's rock. Dusty: Jane's Addiction, Smashing Pumpkins, Michael Jackson, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorias, Victorwooten, Crumb, Coheed and Cambria, Midtown... damn, there are so many more. I'm leaving out so many. Buckethead, Primus... etc. M.I.R.V.... Locale A.M... okay, I'll stop. E: What do you, as a band, tend to focus on more about your music--album recordings or live shows? Dusty: Hmmm... good question. Justin: I say live shows. Dusty: Actually, there are two sides to us... the recorded version, where it's semi-polished, trying to get our point across... and then the live shows, where people get to see a more personal side of us. Justin: Yeah, what he said. Dusty: Everything from our tones to our voices to our human error. It's all a part of the live show that makes us who we are. E: Are you still at the stage where you have to go looking for shows to play? Or do they come to you? Dusty: Both. Justin: Yeah, I mean, we still look/ask for shows, but a lot of people do ask us to play. And we haven't been without a show scheduled for about four years, and I'm proud of that. Dusty: We aren't where we want to be yet, so we still have to work to get there. I would consider us more than just a garage band, if that's what you mean. E: What is your current goal, working as a rock group? Justin: To live off the band and tour non-stop. Dusty: And to inspire the minds of people everywhere. And just to have fun doing what we love. E: What would be your dream live show? Dusty: Just to play in front of people that feel like it we do. Whether it's 5,798,409,582,948 people or just one person. I seem to like playing with Locale A.M. a lot... they are always good people. Justin: Yeah, I'd wanna play with Green Day, in front of tons of people. Dusty: Or Green Day in front of tons of people. E: What do you feel has kept you all together as a band for the years you've been playing? Dusty: I don't know. We all kinda share the same musical interests, and we seem to relate well to teach other. Justin: It clicks on the stage. And the fanbase keeps growing. And people keep telling us we'll make it, wherever we go. Dusty: But even if it weren't, we'd still be here writing the same old songs. E: As Tragedy Andy, you guys have written some awesome songs. Dusty: Thanks. E: But tell me honestly--any cover song you find yourselves consistently playing, at least during practice? Dusty: Maybe in earlier years. We used to play a Jackson 5 cover: "I Want You Back." But we kind of grew out of covers. And we don't usually have a long set when we play, so we try and get as many of our own songs in as we can. Occasionally we'll play a Cindy Lauper cover, "Time After Time." But we hardly play that anymore. Justin: "Time After Time"... I wanna start playing that again. Dusty: Yeah, I think we should, too. Justin: I actually just sang that song in a karaoke bar last night. *Laughs* Dusty: *Laughs* E: What are your favorite songs to play live? Justin: "Safe To Say," "So Right," "Damsel," and "Time After Time." Dusty: For me it's "So Right." Just because for us it's about this incredible time we shared with some of our best friends--doing what we love and seeing the world. And then when it comes to the breakdown part, it's just like... "ahhhhh." I don't know how to explain it. It just feels right. Justin: Yeah.......... SO right. Dusty: *Laughs* Hence the title. E: Tragedy Andy is made up of talented musicans going by the names of Justin, Dusty, Matt, and Omar. So tell me--who the heck is Andy!? Justin: Heehee. Everyone wants to know. Dusty, you know the story--why don't you handle this one? Dusty: Well... Andy was this girl I met in [San Francisco]. Andrea. Justin: Pshh. Dusty: But she went by Andy. And after a month or so of dating, I found out she was no she at all. Justin: It came from "Wacky Packages." I got it from a trading card called "Tragedy Anne." Dusty: Some called it devistation. Some called it a crisis. I called it a Tragedy. So from then on she was known as Tragedy Andy. And so were we. Justin: Damn. We should have kept that story. It's better than the real one. Dusty: Yeah, I know. E: How would you define the general sound and feel of Tragedy Andy's music? Justin: I'd say pure, no holds barred, ROCK. Dusty: I guess it's really up to the listener. I mean, people hear things differently. Sometimes we purposely write things that way. Like, take a painting for example. You might see a happy little boy standing in the sun. I might see him as sad, because he's all alone. Kind of like that. "Best Fiend" was about this problem we had with a good friend of ours. But some people hear it as a problem they had with a teacher, or a parent, or a boyfriend/girlfriend. So I guess it's all really relative to the listener. Justin: Yeah, we try to make our songs have different meanings for different people. Because that's what music is all about, relating something in your life to the song you listen to. Dusty: For us it's just this powerful connection where we can all just let it out. There are no wrong answers with us. E: Well, that's all I have for you. Once again, thanks a ton, guys. Dusty: No problem. Thanks for taking the time to get to know us, aside from what you see onstage. |