Sorry Hippies. Bonnaroo Isn’t Just For You Anymore.

With a change in music, a festival will also see their crowds differ greatly from year to year.  Bonnaroo 2007’s crowd was significantly different than 2010’s crowd.  In my opinion, I feel that gone are the days of calling Bonnaroo a purely “hippie festival.”  Sure, there are plenty of “hippie” types, but being a trust-fund hippie does not count as living the “hippie” lifestyle or wearing the “hippie” styles.

On Sunday evening, there was a man who looked very hippie-ish (dreads, a beard, very haggard looking) and was holding a sign saying that he had to bike back home a few hundred miles after the festival.  The sign said that “anything would help.”  One cannot avoid the very nomadic lifestyle that many true hippies decide to involve immerse themselves in, but he looked as though he had partaken in quite a few “recreational” activities throughout his weekend.  Those activities don’t come for free!  Is it really worth biking a few hundred miles to a festival where they spend more money being in an altered state than knowing how they’ll be getting home?  Those choices never made any sense to me.  Many would say that I’d understand if I lived that lifestyle, but I don’t.

As time progressed in the life of Bonnaroo, the bookers have brought in a more eclectic roster of bands, including a very heavy dose of college/indie rock.  Thus, Roo has been inundated with a flood of people that wouldn’t have necessarily attended the inaugural Bonnaroo.  Bands like Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, Kings of Leon, The Police, and even Metallica have headlined over the past few years.  There have been smatterings of jamminess with the likes of Phish, The Disco Biscuits, The Mars Volta, Widespread Panic and more, but they are becoming fewer and farther between these days.

“Recreational” activities have certainly made an about term with more and more college drinking games sprouting up all over the farm.  (We’re guilty as well.  We rock our pro beer pong setup every year.)  As a result, the General Stores at Roo have been charging 8 dollars for a pack of ping pong balls.  (Come the hell on.)  As we walked around the farm, we saw some great games and activities being enjoyed by walks of all life.  This fortified the fact that Roo is not just a music festival, but it is a living experience of what each person makes of it.

So what’s my verdict?

Sorry hippies… (or “hippies”)  Your scene has been overrun by a different generation of concert goers, and I definitely welcome the change.  If Bonnaroo would remain musically the same over the years, if would have no plan of growth.  I do feel as though Roo can use a bit of a Centeroo Facelift (the addition of the Lunar Stage was both genius and needed), but musically, Bonnaroo is making the right steps to a continuous musical progression.

Keep your fans on their toes, and they’ll be even more intrigued year after year;  no matter what social status they may fall within.  However, if there’s one thing for certain, the farm will always be saturated with the scent combination of patchouli, B.O. and dirt.

King B’s Bonnaroo Court

King B hails all of the Tracks’ followers and invites them to follow B’s daily Bonnaroo updates! Come with us as we take you on a journey.. of epic proportions!!

Weds

2:00- We’ve been on the road for about three hours and we’re not making good time. I’ve contemplated throwing some of Moe’s shit out of the window to lighten the car. I’ve been listening to The xx for the past half hour, very chilled out (maybe a little too chilled out). It’s almost my turn to drive.

8:09- So my driving shift lasted a little longer than anticipated (finally back in shotgun). For some reason, even though we’ve made this journey three other times, I thought it was supposed to take 8 hours. I thought we’d miss the Flyers game but instead we’re streaming it from the phone!!

Top Five Bonnaroo Activities: #3 – People Watching

There are between 50 and 80 thousand people on the farm during a Bonnaroo weekend.  If you didn’t know… That’s a shitload of people!  As the lineup has transformed over the years, so have the people who attend.  Bonnaroo has become a very diverse group of people over the four years that we’ve been attending.  The festival has strayed from its purely hippie and jam band roots, and moved towards an all-encompassing groovefest.

If there’s one thing for certain… Manchester, TN changes to one of the largest “cities” in Tennessee during Bonnaroo weekend.  With the changes in music, you not only have the hippies and the wookies, but you also have the scenesters, the indie kids, “fratboys,” and even some metalheads (GWAR!!!).   Some dig the changes and some don’t.  But then again, you have the choice.  Either you go, or you don’t.  Problem easily solved.

While at Roo, you’ll see some crazy shit.  Many people lose (or find) themselves.  Even more people just get lost in the virtual undulating sea of the Roo life.  For the most part, the people are good.  Some people are just there to take advantage or rip off the discombobulated.  (Yeah, I just used that word.)  You’ve gotta watch your ass a lot of the time while you’re there, but that will happen anywhere.  No matter what, you’re going to see things that you’ll see no where else in the world.

Keep an open mind, and your senses will quickly be overcome by the diversity of Bonnaroo’s people and culture.

- Train

Related articles:

• FREE ALBUM! SPIN’s Picks for Bonnaroo 2010 (spin.com)
• Ben & Jerry’s Launches New Flavor: Bonnaroo Buzz (shoppingblog.com)

Bonnaroo Top 5 Activities: #4 – Shakedown Street

Hippies rejoice!  You can find all the wares you need (and would never need) on “Shakedown Street.”  According to Wikipedia, Shakedown Street is defined as: “In the Deadhead community, and other likeminded musical scenes, an interesting tailgating culture has evolved. More than just a party for fans, it is a way for the faithful to sell wares which in turn fund their tickets and gas to the next concert in order to spend weeks, months, or even entire tours on the road. Along with the more traditional fare, there is a large selection of vegetarian food such as egg rolls, burritos, pizza, and falafel. Certain illicit foods like hash brownies and “ganja gooballs” are also often found among the foods in the parking lots. Other products available for the tailgaters include handmade jewelery, bumper stickers, t-shirts, or certain types of paraphernalia.”  Yeah.  That’s it in a nutshell.

There’s a main Shakedown as you make your way into Centeroo by the arch.  As you walk through this bustling center of free enterprise and opportunism at its finest, you’ll be surrounded by tons of interesting sights, sounds, and smells… Some good, some bad, and some that are downright repulsive.  Drum circles, tons of music (sometimes live), squishy ground, big slices of pizza, rings, hats, artfully created glass, and an myriad of wares are available for your sampling.  (Excelsior highly suggests that you sample each locations local wares!)  Rumor has it that there are other areas on the farm which have their own independent Shakedowns, but they’ve been known to move from year to year.

Do yourself a favor, and remember that Bonnaroo isn’t just a music festival.  It’s a music AND arts festival.  Go check out the many booths around the farm, and bring yourself home a few souvenirs!

A final tip:  If you really want to save a shitload on any purchases you make, hold off either until the last night of the festival, or the day you drive out.  You won’t believe how much money you’ll be able to save, since many vendors are desperately trying to unload as much product as possible!

Keep an eye out for King B and The Train, as we always hit up Shakedown several times during the festival!

- Moe

MGMT

A classic interview with Andrew and Ben From MGMT in 2008 just as they broke as major new players on the music scene.

MGMT Interview on Moe Train’s Tracks

Andrew Vanwyngarden, Ben Goldwasser (MGMT)

Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla (Moe Train’s Tracks)

Starlight Ballroom – Philadelphia, PA

Here’s a great interview that was rescued from The Tracks’ vaults…  Back in early 2008, MTT caught up with Andrew and Ben from MGMT in Philadelphia, PA.

MGMT had just gotten a major break in the music scene with the widespread critical success of Oracular Spectacular.  Keep an eye on MoeTrainsTracks.com for tons of great new content!

Moe:  We saw you guys down at Bonnaroo for your set, it was a great way to open up the weekend.  I was a pretty epic show if I must say.

Andrew: Yeah, it was fun.  We had been to Bonnaroo before so it was good to see it from the side of the artist instead of the person in the crowd.  It was only our second festival show.

M:  Oh really, where was the first, Coachella?

A:  Yeah.

M:  So how do they compare?

A:  I don’t know, Coachella was crazier for us because we were more nervous.  Bonnaroo was a little more relaxed and cool.

M:  You guys just started tour together with a band right?

Ben:  We started practicing with them about a year ago.  I think we were kinda thrust into exposure a little too quickly for our taste.  We played on national television after we had only been touring with the band for a couple of months.

M:  Was that on Letterman?

B:  Yeah.

M:  You looked a little nervous.

B:  Yeah, we were very nervous!  But we’re getting more comfortable and we don’t have to think as hard when we’re playing, its kinda getting to be more natural.  We’re getting used to playing for crowds.

M:  Did you guys have sound problems at Bonnaroo in the beginning, what was going on?

B:  Yeah, well, the festival thing, we hardly ever really get a sound check so it’s always a little weird starting out.

A:  I think the monitors were pretty messed up.

M:  (to Andrew) Oh, by the way, you had on some pretty fucking crazy pants.  I remember walking up to set and saying ‘holy shit’, those bright blue ones!

A:  Tropical floral bellbottoms, yeah.  Really big bellbottoms. 

M:  They looked comfortable though!

A:  Yeah, they’re real comfortable.

M:  Saw you guys backstage, you guys looked pretty chill, pretty relaxed, so I guess you feel like you’re falling into place with everything.

B:  We’re good at hanging out.  We’re good at relaxing.

M:  Any standout moments yet from your recent successes?

B:  We just played at the Oxygen festival in Ireland and that was really crazy.  There were all these people climbing up the towers that were holding up the tent and we had to stop the show because this girl made it all the way to the roof of the tent so that you couldn’t even see her anymore and everyone was yelling at her telling her to come down.

M:  Did she take a spill?

B:  No, it would have been ugly if she had!  That was probably at least 60 feet up in the air or something.  It was pretty crazy.

M:  I saw a video of you guys at some festival in Scotland that you guys were playing and you were walking around the grounds, checking out the scene; Andrew you like the thrill-rides?

A:  As much as I’d like to keep the myth going that I like thrill-rides, I’m new to them.  I’ve been on like Space Mountain and most of the Disney rides, and I like those a lot.  I was like twenty when I started going on roller coasters, so I don’t think I’d go on the Slingshot thing.  I would vomit.

M:  You guys got together at Wesleyan, and you were actually making music that you thought would be annoying?

A:  We knew it was annoying.

M:  Just to fuck around, just playing, just to amuse yourselves?

A:  I dunno…  We were young and foolish.

M:  You were freshman?

A:  Yeah.

M:  So it was basically putting that freshman energy, that drunken and banged up energy back into the music.

A:  Yeah, exactly.

M:  What’s up with the clothing optional dorm?

B:  At some point it was designated a “clothing optional” dorm but there aren’t many people walking around naked there.  There were a few, and we were friends with most of them.

A:  I did naked calisthenics with Vin Popper on time.  (all laugh)

B:  Nice.

M:  Tell us about some of those early dorm session jams.  We used to do the same thing.  We’d go out to parties, get all fucked up and come back and just grab our instruments at like 2 o’clock in the morning and start jamming.  So what was it like with you guys getting together?

B:  It was a lot like that.  It’s was just kinda very casual, just having fun.  We had a lot of other friends that we played music with and we were both in other bands at the same time.  It wasn’t like we started a band in order to get successful and get fans and all that, we just started it for something to do and didn’t really care if anyone liked it.

M:  You guys just probably wrote the album for yourselves.

B:  In a way, I mean, we know we were writing it for other people because we had signed a record deal at that point, so we had a delivery date, so there was a little bit of pressure on us but when we were writing the songs we didn’t think that anyone was actually gonna hear the album, so it was pretty much just writing it for ourselves.

M:  So I guess its still a surprise with all of this going on?

B:  Yeah, its still a surprise.  And, I don’t know, it keeps getting crazier!

M:  When you guys were first recording you guys had a pretty gritty sound right?  I mean, if you were recording back in your dorms you’re going to have that unintentional gritty, natural sound.  Did you guys try to replicate that sound?

B:  In a way it was the other way around because we were doing a lot of stuff just on computers, so a lot of it was very electronic and very clean sounding.  I think we’ve tried to get dirtier.

M:  You had the producer who worked with the Flaming Lips.  Did you guys pick him because he had that psychedelic background?

A:  We kinda just chose him because we talked to him and we’re fans of the Flaming Lips and other stuff he’s done, like Sleater-Kinney and Mogwai.  He’s not the kind of producer that wants to mold the band into something, he kinda just lets them do their own thing.  So, he was good for us.

M:  So did the album come out exactly how you wanted it to come out?

A:  At the time I think it did, yeah.

M:  Looking back now, what do you think?

A:  I’m sure now if we listened to it a bunch, we’d probably change stuff.  But we think it’s good that we can’t because it captures that moment.

M:  I see you in a lot of pictures wearing sunglasses, you’re not becoming Bono are you?

A:  I hope to God not!!  If I am you should stab me…

M:  What’s your beef with him?

A:  Nah, I just don’t like him.  I heard he’s a great guy, and he seems like he’s got good intentions.  I think it’s really the sunglasses that piss me off the most.  So, now I’m never going to wear sunglasses again.

M:  Will you burn them in effigy?

A:  We stabbed an effigy at our senior recital.

M:  Ben, you said, “To give music meaning you have to have your back up against something”; What, you don’t remember?

A:  (laughs) You sound like Thoreau or something.

M:  Yeah, I guess you were being pretty introspective.

B:  I guess maybe just having some resistance kind of helps.  With us, when we got signed and we had to deal with all the kind of big-record-label bullshit for the first time, I think it kind of forced us to look at what we’re doing and try to give it as much meaning as possible and try to ask ourselves why we were doing it in the first place.

M:  So what’s your validation?

A:  I don’t think we’re validated.

M:  No?  What will be your validation then?

A:  If aliens approve of our music.  So, we’re waiting for contact.

M:  Waiting for the return in 2012 when the earth ends?  I know you guys are joking around about your future, about what will happen hen things will come, but we’re sitting inside of a big tour bus.  Obviously this is probably five times bigger than your dorm room was.  You said that when the fame comes around and you get the big label money that you would go get blow jobs, you would ride horses to your gigs, and go get castles.  What’s going on with the success?

B:  Yeah, we’ve both gotten blow jobs before, which is cool.  We’re working on the horses and the castles.

M:  What have you benefited from just by being in the business?

A: We get a lot of free clothes, a lot of free stuff.  And we both got haircuts for the first time in a long time.  We used to cut our own hair and now we can afford real haircuts.

M:  If you guys think that everything musically has been done before, how does MGMT stray away from the norm’?

B:  I don’t know if everything’s been done before…

A:  All the good stuff has.

B:  Yeah, all the good stuff’s been done before but pretty much…

A:  You could string your guitar with celery or something, but that doesn’t mean it gonna be good music.

B:  Any new good thing I think comes out of recycled ideas and using them in creative ways.  Rock and roll is a pretty basic, simple form of music but there’s so many possibilities with it.

A:  You don’t have to make up your own language to write a good poem.

M:  Who is it that does that again…

A:  Sigur Ros!

M:  Oh yeah that’s right.  Did you guys see them at Bonnaroo, what’d you think?

A:  I heard for somebody that it’s much better to see them in a wide open cathedral-type space, like an indoor space, and I could see how that’d be true.  It didn’t translate that well to the festival thing.

M:  Yeah, it’s pretty grand I guess.  So, what’s the future of MGMT, or have not realized the present yet?

A:  We have trouble comprehending what’s happening at all times.  But the future should hold good things.   We’re trying to get a cabin somewhere in the woods.  James is gonna cut firewood, I had a vision of him walking towards me with an arm full of firewood and I’m gonna smile and then our dog is gonna lick our faces.

M:  (laughing)  Alright guys, thanks a lot.

Festival Fever

Every year about this time, I get “Festival Fever.”  You know the feeling…  The weather’s shitty, you’ve been cooped up indoors for way too long, and all of the festival lineups are coming out.  You long for fun in the sun, and the amazing music which becomes the soundtrack of your life.

Well, that time is here, and The Train’s got the fever!  (No, it’s not a Swine Flu symptom.  I’ve gotten the shot, thank you.)  We’ve got about four months until The Tracks kicks it into super media mode, and does some more amazing interviews! (Check out the new interviews posted on the site)  King B and I love being out in the crowd and also back behind the scenes so we can bring you as many great and uncensored musician interviews as possible!

What do you do when you get the fever?  Do you start researching all of the bands that you’re going to see?  Listen to new music?  Check your tent to see if it still works?  Hit the gym, so you can physically make it through the grueling festival weekends?

Well, no matter what you do… You’d better get ready, because there’s not much time before FESTIVAL TIME!

- Moe

Related articles:

• Dan Deacon feeling better, played Purchase (pics), playing MtyMx & Bonnaroo, shares a name with a Philly cop (brooklynvegan.com)
• The Flu And Getting Lucky (plastic.com)

Train’s Thoughts on Unorthodox Festival Booking

What’s up everyone?  I’ve got summer festivals on my mind (and why shouldn’t I?  All the lineups are coming out!)  Anyway, I was on Twitter (@MoeTrainsTracks), discussing what people would think if festivals like Bonnaroo would do a booking that was totally out of character for the festival.  For example, I was watching the Olympics tonight and heard Andrea Bocelli‘s music used for ice dancing.  I thought, Andrea Bocelli would be an off the wall, yet amazing addition to Bonnaroo’s lineup this year.

Metallica seemed to be one of the biggest stretches for the perennial hippie/jamband and indie friendly festival, and their booking was met with very mixed reviews.  Personally, I was pumped to have Metallica on the farm, as I’m a big fan of their music.  Yeah, I definitely think that Lars was an absolute prick for what he did to Napster, but Metallica’s live performances are top notch.  Many of the Bonnaroo purists were upset that the balance of their universe would be thrown off it’s axis by such a notable metal act.  On the other hand, their presence brought a different “type” of festival goer which wouldn’t usually have made the trek to Manchester, TN.  When all was said and done, Metallica had blown the roof off of the farm, and made fans out of non-believers.

The same booking mentality would certainly apply to a talent like Andrea Bocelli.  Imagine Sunday night, when everyone is exhausted from four straight days of music and mania, and enter Andrea Bocelli on the main stage.  Surround him a laser show of Tool proportions, and give him the best backing band that Bonnaroo artists have to offer.  The result would be one of the biggest sensory overloads that the festival world has seen.

Everyone’s always wondering who the Superjam lineup will consist of, and it’s usually a nicely diversified group of musicians, but sometimes, the best things come from the most motley of crews (or Crue).  In the overloaded market of festivals (RIP Rothbury…for now), promoters need to continue pushing the envelope so they can continue to attract huge audiences.

What do you guys think?  Are music festivals doing enough to keep you coming back year after year?  What would be the most off the wall booking that you’d like to see at the festivals in the coming years?

- Moe

Related articles:

• Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup (stereogum.com)
• Jay-Z To Headline Bonnaroo (current.com)
• Metal at Non-metal Festivals (metalsucks.net)

Bonnaroo 2010 Lineup

The 2010 Bonnaroo Lineup (as of 2/10/2010)!

Dave Matthews Band • Kings of Leon • Stevie Wonder • Jay-Z • Tenacious D • Weezer • The Flaming Lips with Stardeath and White Dwarfs perform “Dark Side of the Moon” • The Dead Weather • Damian Marley & Nas • Phoenix • Norah Jones • Michael Franti & Spearhead • John Fogerty • Regina Spektor • Jimmy Cliff • LCD Soundsystem • The Avett Brothers • Thievery Corporation • Rise Against • Tori Amos • The National • Zac Brown Band • Les Claypool • John Prine • The Black Keys • Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers • Jeff Beck • Dropkick Murphys • She & Him • Against Me! • The Disco Biscuits • Daryl Hall & Chromeo • Jamey Johnson • Clutch • Bassnectar • Kid Cudi • Baaba Maal • Kris Kristofferson • Medeski Martin & Wood • The xx • GWAR • Dan Deacon Ensemble • Tinariwen • Wale • Deadmau5 • The Melvins • Gaslight Anthem • Miike Snow • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band • Dr. Dog • They Might Be Giants • Punch Brothers • Isis • Blitzen Trapper • Blues Traveler • Miranda Lambert • Calexico • OK Go • Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue • Martin Sexton • Lotus • Baroness • Dave Rawlings Machine • Mayer Hawthorne and the County • Japandroids • Jay Electronica • Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros • Ingrid Michaelson • The Dodos • Manchester Orchestra • The Temper Trap • Cross Canadian Ragweed • Big Sam’s Funky Nation • Carolina Chocolate Drops • Needtobreathe • Tokyo Police Club • The Entrance Band • Local Natives • Brandi Carlile • Mumford & Sons • Rebelution • Diane Birch • Monte Montgomery • Julia Nunes • The Postelles • Lucero • Here We Go Magic • Hot Rize • Neon Indian • B.O.B

Dillinger Escape Plan Interview

The Tracks and Greg from Dillinger speak about camaraderie, DIY or Die and more at Bonnaroo.

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN INTERVIEW WITH MOE TRAIN’S TRACKS

Greg Puciato, Monty Wiradilaga, Brian Kracyla

Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo 2009

You never know what’s going to happen during a Moe Train’s Tracks interview, as Greg Puciato, frontman of Dillinger Escape Plan, has his own interview with a dazed and confused girl, we speak about the camaraderie of the scene, how “DIY or Die” fuels his band, their new lineup, and next year’s upcoming album.  Enjoy.

M:  What’s going on man?

G:  Nothing, just hanging out, just walking around checking some stuff out.

Random girl:  (to Greg) Can you point me in the direction of the Rendezvous Tent?

G:  Umm. (Laughter)  What is your name?

RG:  I’m Caroline.

G:  Caroline, I’m Greg from the Dillinger Escape Plan, and we are doing an interview right now.

C:  Okay.

G:  Um, and I have no idea where I am right now either.

C:  I’m supposed to have a rendezvous at the Rendezvous Tent.

G:  That what you do at the Rendezvous Tent, right, but you don’t know how to get there, which poses a problem.  I don’t know either.  (to random passerby)  Do you know how to get to the Rendezvous Tent?

RP:  I don’t know how to get there.

G:  What good is trying to rendezvous with someone if you can’t get to the Rendezvous Tent?!  (all laughing)  Caroline, good luck trying to get there.

C:  Thank you.

G:  Wow!  How many drugs did that girl take?

M:  Welcome to Bonnaroo.

G:  Seriously, that was amazing.  She was higher than a kite.

M:  (Laughter) I think that’s the general consensus with most people here right now.

G:  Most people I look at here, if they don’t have sunglasses on, you can just look in their eye and be like, “You’re on some other thing right now in some other place.”

M:  Exactly.  Earlier today, when you guys came on, it was like, “Wake the fuck up Bonnaroo!”

G:  Dude, I can’t believe how siked people were.  I thought for sure, in general at this fest’ because it has a reputation for being more of a hippy peace-love type of thing, that as soon as we come out and start screaming at people and doing cool shit, people are going to turn around and just walk the other way, but people were siked, at one in the afternoon on the last day!  It was honestly, we were talking about it after the show, the best big show that we’ve ever played in the United States.

M:  Really?

G:  Yeah.  We felt like we played well.  People seemed stoked on us.

M:  Yeah, the reception was definitely great.

G:  This type of vibe, it just doesn’t exist that often in the U.S., this type of festival vibe.  It felt very European.  In the United States, when you think of a festival, you think of Ozzfest or Warped Tour, and it’s like the same thing all day long.  But this is cool because yesterday was Nine Inch Nails and today, if you wanted to, you can see the Dillinger Escape Plan and then Erika Badu.

M:  She’s still on right now.

G:  I really wanted to see her…

M:  I’ll cut it short then.

G:  It’s okay.  It’s cool because it seems like, for a very long time here, people have been very into the mind-set of like, “I’m only listen to metal” or “I only listen to hip-hop”.  Now, it’s cool to see so many people turn out for such an eclectic thing.

M:  Exactly.  It’s just always weird to see the different  the different scenes clashing.

G:  No, it’s cool, it’s very cool.

M:  In watching your set it became evident how camaraderie really works its way into your music.  You don’t see often where you can throw your mic into the crowd, let them sing, and when you call for it, they throw it right back to you.

G:  I think something about our music, we’ve been around for ten years, I think there’s some aspect to it, besides the obvious insane energy and aggression of it, there’s a vibe of everyone knowing that it’s not the easiest thing in the world to listen to and it’s not the easiest thing in the world to get.   For as many people who are siked on it there’s a lot of people that just probably hate it.  I think that makes the people that are into to it have this really us-against-the-world type of vibe.  We’ve always tried to be really hands-on with our fans and really communicative and never to-cool-for-school and always talk to them and do cool stuff with them.  If they right to us online we try to write back to every person.  I think, over the years, it’s created now a point where we have this really cool synchronous type vibe with our fans.  It’s neat man, it’s really nice.

M:  It’s also basically crossed the line from camaraderie to trust.

G:  Yeah, that kid could have stole the mic and ran away with it, but he threw it back.  That’s the other thing, I think when you have confidence and you give someone some responsibility and your cool to them, they feel obligated to be cool back.  If that kid had tried to run away with the mic I probably would have jumped on him and killed him.  But it feels good and it’s interesting, I have a lot of people say that our shows, even though they are so aggressive and so violent, it feels like the overall vibe is still positive in a way.  So, yeah, that’s really cool.

M:  Absolutely.  Also, not just that, but you doing stage diving and your guitarist stage diving with his guitar!  Now that’s trust.

G:  Yeah.  To me, we just try to take the vibe of playing in a basement to twenty people where we came from and try to get that to translate to bigger places and the only way to do that is to be as hands-on and as physically in people’s faces as possible and force them to wake up a little bit.  It sad to see so many people have such a rock star complex that the only time that they engage their fans is if they do some kind of scheduled meet-and-greet or a signing or something.  You know, hang out for a little bit and shake some people’s hands or jump into the crowd or do something.  I do know man, you (the rock star) are no better than anyone else. This is going to be over for us one day and who knows what we’re going to be doing.  So to try to act like you’re cooler than school is silly.

M:  Hippies versus hardcore kids…

G:  It’s two sides to the same coin because the whole hippy vibe and the punk rock thing, which is what hardcore came out of, are both very socially aware movements.  There both very communal, we’re all in this together versus some type of exterior force type of vibe, and one just took a much more aggressive approach than the other.  It’s kinda like one is Malcolm X and one is Martin Luther King Jr.  They want the same thing but one is like, “I’m gonna smoke you out” and the other is like, “I’m gonna kick you in the fucking face!”  But we want the same thing, so I think that’s why it translates.  It’s not like we’re just knuckleheads trying to incite the crowd to beat each other up.  I’d like to think it’s more intelligent than that.

M:  What do you think about the term “DIY or die” and how’s that relate to your band?

G:  Well, for us, that’s pretty much exactly how we try to do everything.  We don’t have a manager, we self-manage ourselves.  We are very hands-on, there’s no merch’, there’s no poster, there’s nothing about our band visually, sonically, how we are represented in press, anything, that we are not the seed of and have the final say in.  As much as it drives us nuts and we spend every waking moment of our lives working on this, I know that there is absolutely nothing out representing us that we didn’t see from its inception to its finality.  I think that it’s another thing that our fans appreciate.  If they get a t-shirt from us, they aren’t getting it from some graphic designer that works for the record company that we were just like, “Yeah, whatever, that sounds cool, how big is the check we’re gonna get?”  That thing has to look like something that I would wear, that means something to me, that’s looks cool.  I think, especially in the climate now where the record industry is just collapsing completely, that the people that can do the most DIY are the only ones that are going to stay afloat.

M:  That’s basically how the trend in music is going these days.

G:  It has to be.  It has to go back to that.  If you’re forced to be in a position financially to cut back every bit of slack you possibly can and to try to do as much by yourself as you possibly can, it’s gonna weed everybody out.  The only people that are going to stay alive are the people who really give a shit and the people who care enough to put in the time to do everything themselves.  The days of being a kid, and thinking that your rock star fantasy is going to come true and someone else is going to wipe your ass for you and do everything for you and you’re just gonna get a check at the end of the day, are completely over.

M:  Hit the road and promote yourself.

G:  Yeah man, go out and do the shows.  Don’t suck live.  Don’t write shitty music.  Put out cool shit and you’ll last.

M:  So what’s your favorite lyric, the one that means the most to you?

G:  You know what, it’s probably a lyric that’s going to be on our upcoming record because, for me, lyrics are snap-shots of where you were in your life, and you don’t want to be there forever.  So when we sing songs from our past records it’s like looking at a picture of myself in an auditory way.  I’ll be singing a song, and I’ll remember writing that song, I was twenty-three, I was in my basement, this is exactly what I was talking about.  I might not relate to it now.  Hopefully, you’re in a different place, especially when you’re yelling and screaming and pissed, you know.  You shouldn’t still be pissed six years later at the same thing.  The trick is to find a kernel of that memory and hone in on it, you can still mean what you saying and you’re not just spitting out consonants and vowels.  That’s for someone else to decide.  I know that’s a shitty answer, but I don’t have a favorite one of my lyrics.  I know they’re all pretty piss-poor, to be honest with you.  (laughter)  If you want to listen to lyrics, you should probably listen to Dylan or something.

M:  So when’s the new album coming out?

G:  February or January of 2010, which sounds like a long time but it’s realistically like 6 months away.  We do three more weeks of touring and then we go home and start recording in late July, early August.  January, February at the latest, we’ll get it out, and we’re siked man.

M:  What can we look forward to in the new album?

G:  Well, we got a new drummer, and that’s the biggest difference.  Our new drummer is just on fire!  He’s twenty-four and honestly the best drummer I’ve ever played with.  He wants to crush everyone.  He’s got this fire in him that he needs to prove to the world he’s the shit.  That’s kinda cool because he’s pushing us, and we’re really hard on ourselves so to be pushed by someone who is brand new is a really good feeling.  I can honestly say, after being in this band for a decade, that the stuff we’re writing now is the most inspired stuff we’ve ever written.  It’s hard to know whether you’re still going to be able to do stuff without becoming a caricature or parody of yourself.  The fact that we can still have something to say, ten years into it, with essentially the same style music, to me is nice, the fact that people still give a shit.  I think everyone will like it.  Anyone that likes us should be pleased with the new record.

M:  Awesome.  We look forward to it.  Thanks a lot for being with us.

G:  Definitely dude.