Show Recap: Haste the Day @ HeavenFest

Well i feel a lot older today



Last Saturday night my homie Tahoe and I stayed up past our bedtimes and saw Haste the Day play on the Garage Stage at HeavenFest. it was great!

Let me start by saying that HeavenFest appeared to be a success, lots of people, good bands, good sponsors and good parking (for band members!). Unfortunately of all the bands that played the H'Fest (jeremy camp, skillet, seventh slumber...) there was only one band i wanted to see; Haste the Day!

HTD was slotted to be the last band of the night on the Garage Stage, performing after K-Max of DC Talk fame, and therefore TAhoe got a glimpse of a few things lame on the evening. Apparently K-Max is like spoken word type stuff, and we only lasted about 2 minutes before heading back outside to wait for HTD. As K-Max wrapped up a mass of youth group kids took over the garage. The MC warned people to be safe, and that they were expecting a large number of people for the show. she was right, it was packed.

For those of you who might remember the Jesus Freak tour by DC Talk back in the day, you know, where Christian teenagers found a chance to "mosh" to what amounted to heavy alternative rock back then. this show wasn't much different, a ton of sub-16 year olds crashed the stage, and there was Tahoe and I, old dudes, arms crossed, serious faces, ready to destroy any kid that came into the Radius Of Doom that is often created by Tahoe!

HTD finally took the stage about 15 minutes late since the sound guy had no idea what was going on. the crowd was very anxious due to the +100 degree room and some live rap music by some random hip-hop group (who brings up a rap group to perform for a bunch of metal-heads?) anyway, HTD took the stage, opening with Pressure the Hinges which was amazing. the plugged through a few of the hits off their latest album including Minor Prophets and Needles and the place was going nuts. these new songs have such heavy outro's you could help but head-band (thing of wiping your chin on your left shoulder, repeat to the beat of the drums).

The first song almost resulted in the death of 10 teenagers when Tahoe slipped on some water and went down in the pit, almost losing his glasses, and if that happens you can be sure to see a Hulk-Smash moment!

Haste the Day is amazing live, and they haven't missed a beat since replacing longtime guitarist Jason. His replacement didn't miss a note all night! and Jimmy Ryan's replacement, Stephen is amazing live, his growling voice is less harsh than Jimmy's but it mesh's quite well with the great melody/harmony lines usually found in the chorus on HTD songs. Everyone seems to be in good voice on the night

After playing the newest songs, HTD switched back to play some oldies like Walk On which was solid. Next up they played Blue 42 and American Love. At this point you could start to see who really knew Haste the Day and who was there to 'mosh' and be tool. I also noticed something else at this point; the crowd was dominated by girls, probably a 2-1 ratio. this might be good news if you're a 15 yr old trying to decide what you'd rather look at more, the girls in their tank-tops or the band. Tahoe and I aren't 15 anymore and to be honest, that many girls in the pit makes things a little awkward. We stood our ground as mobs of 15 yr old girls pogo-sticked around us, luckily nobody messes with Tahoe, so i just stand next to him so i don't sucked into a circle pit made of a bunch of little kids and hurt somebody, yea thats right, i spared the kids that night.

As for the music, Haste just plugged away, smiling at each other as they rocked out. Stephen even took a moment to thank God for His grace and mercy, which was awesome to hear, even if it was to Christian crowd at HeavenFest and not a "secular" venue. the best musical note of the night probably came during American Love, the outro is a slow sing along and the whole crowd was singing along "Never should have let you, promise me, You'll stay with me forever" and then the places went crazy (at least who was still left).

Haste the Day is so reliable live, they play their songs really well and even through a handful of technical difficulties they just kept going. They play most of their hits though i'd like to hear Perfect Night, Stitches or White Collar live, and maybe we would have if there weren't so many problems during sound-check.

Spend Money On Music!

it seems like i can't talk about music with anyone without somehow getting into a debate about downloading music, free or not. I don't particularly like this argument since i usually lose, but i do learn a lot about how different people think about the music industry and how "illegal" downloading is effecting it. Now that itunes is the largest retailer of music, i think i should try it out.

I personally download a lot of music, i won't deny it. i also think the record companies and bands are going to have to get creative with how they make money because downloading isn't going away (not that this makes it right!). but thats another post.

This post is about a plan i have. Sometimes i feel overwhelmed with trying to help so many small bands get noticed or succeed. i'd love to buy a shirt and a cd from every small band out there to help them out but i can't. i go to a lot of shows, i think more than most people, and not just big venue shows, but a lot of very small venue shows helping out bands that need every dollar (especially with gas prices!). i want to make a pledge to go beyond just going to shows and buying the occasional shirt. i'm going to try and purchase at least $15-$20 worth of band merch (cds, dvds, shirts, vinyl...) every month.

Some of you probably already do this and more, but i don't. i've never bought a song off itunes, but i plan to now. i think i'm more likely to order the cds and stuff from the bands official webpages since that gives you something physical to have and hold for your money rather than just a file from itunes.

i've already started this, purchasing the pre-order package from Means (shirt+cd) 2 months ago and then ordering a shirt from Life In Your Way (RIP) this last month. this month i plan on buying a shirt from Haste the Day when i see them at Heavenfest (as long as they have a cool one!).

This little $20 isn't going to change really anything, except help those small bands. playing in a small-time band myself i know that $20 can actually really help, i don't know if people really realize that, but just buying one cd can really help offset the debt for a lot of bands (hint hint buy our cd!)

What do you think? do you already buy songs off itunes? are you a freeloader like myself? are you going to try and put some money back into the arts!?

News: Wertz, Edwin, Haste, 519...

So i've been lazy lately and therefore have neglected to update here. there have been a few news items that i think are worthy of posting, so i just start blasting through them;

Starting with new music

-Matt Wertz is releasing an album titled Under the Summer Sun. it has 12 songs, including some acoustic one's Matt recorded as well as some old and new songs. check it out, there are a bunch of pre-order specials at his site

-Edwin McCain just released his 103rd album titled Nobody's Fault But Mine. this one isn't original songs, but a compilation of covers of Edwin's childhood idols like Al Greene, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye. it's pretty good, though it's nothing really like Edwin's regular albums.

-As I Lay Dying's front-man Tim Lebasis has a side project named Austrian Death Machine that can be bluntly described as a metal band tribute Arnold Schwarzenagger. The album is called Total Brutal, and it's just that. It's pretty epic if you're down for an adventure, so far Tahoe gives it 2 thumbs-up.

-Third Day just released Revelation. If you like older more rock-style Third Day then you'll really like this album. its nothing crazy but it's very solid, good southern rock, and lots of energy!

-other new albums released recently include: Killing the Dream - Fractures, Means - To Keep Me From Sinking, and Street Dog - State of Grace.

and other news;

-For fans of Haste the Day's old lead singer Jimmy Ryan, he's in a new band called Trenches. They're planning on releasing their first album later this year.

-Apparently since gas is super-expensive, no bands are really touring this summer. there's a random show here and there but nothing huge to post except:

HEAVENFEST!

Come see our band, 519, play at Heavenfest along with other great bands like Trace Bundy, Haste the Day, the Brian Davis Band, Jeremy Camp, Kevin Max, and a ton of hip-hop acts. its going to be epic and i'm sure there's music for just about everyone that goes.

here's some Trace Bundy:

Album Review: Killing the Dream - Fractures

"you ask if there's an end in sight...i wish i had an answer. you should have asked me back when i was young. because i've had everything and all i want is more" -Everything but Everything

easily my most anticipated album release of the year and it's definitely worth the wait!

Killing the Dream has taken their sweet time releasing their second full length record after their debut album In Place, Apart. The west coast hardcore act has done it again recording a brutal collection of tracks full of raw passion, breakdowns, fact-paced and straight to the point lyrics that will get your blood pumping.

The first thing you notice when you throw on Fractures is the production quality (or lack of). KTD has kept it real with a sound that comes across like a 50 watt amp turned up to 11. with an overwhelming amount of mediocre bands releasing albums that are over-produced cliche fuzz distortion, KTD is just raw, but clean in the sense that they had a direction and went for it.

Eli's voice is awesome once again, he never apologizes for the strain he throws down telling us "i try to sing and this is how it sounds". it's obvious from the writing on this album the Eli is unleashing his emotions on the listener, holding little to nothing back and you get the sense very quickly that someone has done him wrong when he sings "i've never said it before, i've never meant it more F#%k you, F$%k all of you".

There are quite a few notable tracks starting with the opener Part II. the gang vocals at the end singing Resolution are impactful. Fractures (the track) has a great opening riff that i could listen to on repeat, its kind of light-hearted and sets up the song great. ThirtyFour Seconds has a breakdown that is going to be epic live "the music's getting louder, the feeling so familiar..." and the end of the track really allows you to connect with the energy and passion of the band.



There is a ton of experimentation on this album, especially for a hardcore act, when band are putting out album of 12 songs, 2:00 long, verse-chorus-breakdown-chorus-outro, KTD mix it up more than most. Isaac is so creative on the drums, changing pace and beats with ease, with a mix of faster punk rock beats from back in the 90's to the locomotive hardcore beats with a twist, he never plays the beats simple, there is always something more going on (just ask the drummers who audition to play with KTD on the tours that Isaac can't do).

DJDJ has really become quite the guitar player as well, i believe he was a bass player before playing with KTD fulltime and he has really brought a lot to the table on this album, the high-point being the closer Resolution.

Other random great points would be the guest vocals by good friend Rob from Ruiner on You're All Welcome and the great intro to Hang the Jury with a slow buildup followed by eli informing us that "the dead are f$%cking dead!!" follow by an explosion of crazy hardcore.

Album Review: Means - To Keep Me From Sinking

man, i just don't know about this one

I have been anxiously waiting for this album to come out, hoping for a great follow-up to Sending You Strength. its not everything i hoped for, but i'm not disappointed (at least i don't think i am).

i really really like Means, i can't find anyone else who does though. they are built in the image of Comeback Kid meets underOATH meets As I Lay Dying meets Life In Your Way. its a great mix and they fit right in on Facedown Records, homes to Christian heavy heroes No Innocent Victim.

As for the album, i just don't know. i want to like it. as a whole product i love it, i can listen to it over and over (which i have) and i never get sick of it. but even after listening to it 100 times i still can't recall individual songs or choruses. unlike Sending You Strength where you would go right to the songs you loved, this album doesn't really have those star tracks. i could easily rate each song as above average, nothing special, nothing terrible.

The first thing i notice is that the drumming and guitar work is much better than the last album. much more technical and diverse riffs really help this album survive. but after that the lyrics and melodies have fallen off a little. i'm left stuck in the middle of whether or not i put more weight in lyrics/choruses or music.

As I start working on my next compilation to hand out to the masses i'm looking for a track or two from this album to take away, which is tough, tracks like Breaking In, Refuge and Of Dread and Dreams seems to be the keepers. the guitar work on Refuge is really good as well as Of Dread...

And speaking of confused, i'm not sure Means knows what they want to be as well, with recent shows with Comeback Kid and With Honor in contrast with their last tour supporting Life In Your Way. This is one album and band that i'd love to get more feedback on from my friends. even searching the web you get such mixed results. check out the album, let me know what you think.

Show Recap: theAlmost/Emery 6/8/08

Last night Tahoe and I headed down to Cervantes Ballroom in Denver to catch a show. I didn't realize that 93.3 was promoting the show, as well as giving theAlmost some radio play, but nonetheless the place wasn't packed. the crowd could easily be described as high school / young college Christians. i would say that at least 75% of the crowd was christian. on top of that there were at least 5 moms there with their kids, as young as 12 by my estimate. Tahoe and I felt very old to say the least.

There were four bands on the the ticket; Army of Me, Envy on the Coast, Emery, and theAlmost. We knew the show wouldn't be intense, more of a rock show than anything, so with that in mind i wasn't holding my breath for the first 2 bands to be any good.

First up Army of Me was, to be kind, terrible! the sound was totally 'alternative' like a mix between Everclear and Wallflowers. the singer was trying to act like Eddie Vedder and looked like Kurt Cobain. the music was boring and unoriginal and i think i fell asleep standing up. I realize that the comparisons here are pretty good comparisons, well maybe in 1994, but this is 2008, that sound is old and boring now.

Next up was Envy on the Coast. i had never heard of these guys and once again i was not excited. the lead singer was rocking a rasta hat and dreads which i wasn't totally in to. but i would be proven wrong. these guys had the most energy of the night and the heaviest sound. The lead guitar player was switching between keys and guitar at a frantic pace and it worked. they sound like a heavy version of theAudition, some nice poppy vocals mixed with some heavy screams/yells, very loose sound with tons of energy. the music focused on energy before polish, even though their sound was great. The drummer was particularly good, as was the bass player, every song (5 in total) had very diverse and unique parts, but nothing seemed over-done. they played 5 songs, but the second song "Sugar Skulls" was easily the best one, the driving beat was impossible to resist. I'll be following these guys from now on.

Third up was Emery. at the beginning of the night i would say Emery was the band i was most excited to see. Tahoe and I moved from our bar perch to the crowd for Emery, expecting some chaos but that didn't happen. Emery were solid, playing mostly from their latest release More Than A Man and almost ignoring The Question (which was our favorite album unfortunately). I'm never sure what to expect from this band, sometimes they sound very heavy and intense and other times they are very poppy and easy-listening. We got the easy-listening version last night so it was good, but nothing spectacular. some songs i remember them playing: Party Song, Rock-N-Rule, Can't Stop the Killer, Don't Bore Us, and ending with Studying Politics.

Last up was theAlmost. Aaron from underOath started a side project with his homies from Dead Poetic and others and well, it exploded into a very successful rock band. with only one album out we kinda knew what to expect. The played almost the entire album and unfortunately with all the energy they brought, these songs are just simple rock songs and sometimes they lack energy. we were not disappointed though, Aaron is a great front man, his vocals were remarkable. i was expecting his voice to be raspy and worn out from touring but it wasn't, it was perfect and he was confident hitting every note all while hiding behind his ridiculously long red hair (reminded me of seeing Megadeath back in the day). I was wondering how they would handle the topic of Jesus in the set, and i was soon answered when Aaron spoke between songs giving credit to Jesus and offering to talk to anyone who was interested. The high point of the set was after covering Coldplays' Yellow they moved into Amazing Because It Is. during the chorus of Amazing Grace, the band completely dropped out and it was just the crowd singing, totally powerful!

All in all it was a fun night, nothing too crazy though. Probably the funniest moment of the night would have been when Envy on the Coast front man dropped the F-Bomb. it was dead quiet after that. all of the Christians were in shock, and the mother's as well. i thought it was hilarious. good times.

My Interview with Eli from Killing the Dream

I recently interviewed Eli, lead singer for Killing the Dream, over email regarding their new record, Fractures, and some other good stuff:

So first question; who's gonna win the NBA finals this year?

man, good question. the way it's looking right now, i guess i'd have to go with the lakers...but honestly, all four teams left are pretty much on the same level, so it wouldn't surprise me if any of them won. but for the sake of not being an indecisive loser, i'll go with the lakers. lamar odom rules.

Speaking of basketball, you're quite the street baller, do you and Chris (bass player) hustle people for money while you're out on the road?

i wish...haha we try to play whenever we can, but we really don't have too much time when we're on tour. we haven't stepped up to playing for money yet, but maybe we should...me and chris are a pretty formidable duo. he plays the defense and hustles, i talk the trash and get buckets.

also, you'll be happy to know that chris recently got his first street ball alias when we were playing at sutter middle school in downtown sacramento- he was killing dudes on the boards, and one of the dudes on the other team started giving his boy shit. to quote him- 'c'mon mang...how you gon' let the leprechaun do you like that?'

i tweaked it a little bit, but chris is now known as 'lep in da hood.' i think it's classy while maintaining street cred.

I remember back in the day when Chris lost a tooth diving for a loose ball in a basketball game, do you guys ever get injured during your shows?

not too bad, outside of the usual cuts/scrapes/bruises. there's been some pretty interesting injuries i suppose, but most of the time it's because we're running into eachother. i've had to get stitches in my face two or three times now, and i'm still missing the nail on my pinky finger from back in january, when my hand and dj's guitar decided they didn't like each other and needed to get in a fight. other than that though, we've managed to stay injury-free.

The new record, Fractures, is about to drop and everyone has been waiting for new music from you guys for like 3 years, why the long wait?

haha tell me about it man...it's been a long time! there were a lot of things that happened that contributed to the time between releases, but we pushed through it and we can't wait to get fractures out. in order to save you from a real long answer, i'll give you the quick summary- joel and bart quit and it took a while for us to find new guitarists (dj and phil); 'in place apart' had just come out and we focused on promoting that for about a year; started writing new songs, but had to really figure out who we were again with the new members; lost phil in december 2006, had to find a new guitarist (patches); finally got some songs together, recorded them in may 2007; right after that, i started having some problems with my voice, and between tours and everything else, i didn't get the vocals finished until january 2008; after that, it had to get mixed/mastered/artwork had to be done/etc...and here we are.

What should we expect from Fractures? any surprises?

nah. nothing big. it's a different record for sure, and we definitely took some chances and mixed it up, but it's not like we're doing dave matthews band covers or getting 16 bars from dmx (i actually tried to make this happen, but my man was having some problems with the law haha). so yeah. no real surprises.

In a recent interview you were asked about your sound, how it sounds angry, are you angry?

i think you know me well enough to know that i'm not angry at all. i guess i can understand people saying in sound angry, but i haven't written too many angry songs...it's just how my voice sounds, you know? it's hardcore. hardcore has screaming. there's an urgency there, for sure...but it's not coming from anger. it's just what comes out when i open my mouth.

I know you and Chris have been unlucky in love with the ladies, does that fuel your energy and/or writing?

i think if you would have asked me this question when i was 18, or even 20 or so, i would have said yes. but honestly it's not much of a factor. i've been as lucky or unlucky as most people in their lives to this point. i've had a few relationships, some good, and some not so good...but it's not something that is on my mind all the time. i have written a lot of songs about relationships and things of that nature, but that's just because it was something that was going on in my life. anyone knows me knows that when i'm in a relationship, i'm in a relationship, and it's something i put my all into. relationships are really sort of an all or nothing thing with me, and it's really hard to find someone worth that sort of effort. i've really come to just enjoy life outside of relationships and not worry about finding something...sure, it would be nice, but it's not something i'm going to drive myself crazy over or force.

it's funny you mention chris in this question...i actually wrote the song 'if it rains' for him. it's basically just about being unsure about yourself and trying to find someone. after a certain point of being alone, you kind of build up your expectations for what you are looking for because you have gotten used to being by yourself, and it gets even harder to feel comfortable with someone. and you start to question yourself a lot...wondering if you are just being too picky or if you should be trying harder, or even what you are looking for at all. it's like you know exactly what you want, but you really wonder if you will be able to recognize it when you see it. it was a cool song for me to write, because when i wrote it, i was in a long-term relationship but i knew exactly how chris felt because i had been there for 20+ years of my life. and now, over three years later, i'm there again haha

I see you guys are heading to Japan again this summer, i think this is your 2nd or 3rd time touring over there right? What does Japan offer that the mid-west doesn't?

nice guilt trip. dude it's not a matter of one place offering more or less, at all. we've been through different parts of the midwest a few times, and we have loved every part of it. but this country is so damn big, and it's hard to hit everywhere. honestly i think it's more just a case of unfortunate circumstances...it's hard for us to get out to the middle of the country. it's easier for us to fly out, do a string of east coast dates, and fly back home. or, fly out to japan for ten days and fly back home. because we only have so much time to tour, we can't do those big month-long tours that a lot of bands do...and that's where the midwest really gets screwed. really, it's not something we try to do, trust me.

for what it's worth, we'll be in denver in august though. so brush up on your ktd lyrics so you can make another cameo during our set :)

Besides your hometown of Sacramento/Folsom, where are some of your favorite towns/places to play?

this might sound like a cop out, but i really can't choose one over the others. it's always nice to play places where we have old friends, just because it's so great to see them. but shows wise, everywhere has been great. the chain reaction has always been really good to us. gilman st. in berkeley has always been great. seriously, i can't choose one of two over the others. we have been really lucky as a band.

Speaking of Sacramento, if i were to head out there, where would be the most likely place to run into you guys during the day?

probably our jobs. but besides that, anywhere pizza is served. dj could probably be found at a skate park taunting aspiring tony hawks. isaac would be perusing the fine polyester rags at banana republic. patches is dude's night out seven nights a week, and the only reason he's crying is because of the adrenaline. chris is probably doing a chris farley impression or hanging out with his dog jacob. i'm usually eating ice cream at my house, or playing basketball, or trying to learn the dance from bell biv devoe's 'poison' video. we're a pretty wild bunch.

Which hometown band are you more proud of; Papa Roach or 7seconds?

lance briggs.

It seems like you guys have a different set of guitar players for each record you do, whats up with that? does that make it difficult to write music having a different group every time?

it just happens man...when you do a band, sometimes things change and things don't quite work out. it sucks, and i love all three of the dudes that have been with us, but i don't know if it's realistic to expect a hardcore band's lineup to stay the same from start to finish. it complicates the writing process, but as long as your core group is staying the same, you learn to work through it.

I know most of you guys were listening to punk rock growing up, and you can hear that influence on your sound. But your vocals and your breakdowns have a serious hardcore feel, do you feel like you guys have a unique sound?

i don't know. i guess so? vocally at least, it's not something i'm really trying to do, it's just what my voice sounds like. musically, i guess we sort of combine all our other influences, and hopefully that comes through. we've always just tried to make honest music that hopefully could express some sort of emotion people could identify with. the rest just kind of falls into place after that.

what are some bands out there, maybe on the Deathwish label, that people should check out?

there are so many awesome bands on deathwish right now. BLACKLISTED just put out a new full length called 'heavier than heaven, lonelier than god' and it is great. THE CARRIER is about to come out with a new 7" right around the time our lp comes out. TRAP THEM has a new record, and of course our dude andy rice's band MELTDOWN, if you are into that old nyhc style. i also have to mention our northern california bros LIFE LONG TRAGEDY...check out their record 'runaways' if you like hope conspiracy (another great dw band) or modern life is war (also put a record out on deathwish).

what about your ipod, what are some artists on there that might surprise people?

man, A LOT. i don't even want to get started. i like every kind of music. i guess just check it out for yourself-

http://www.last.fm/user/garthxalgar

speaking of ipods, what are your feelings about P2P file sharing?

it's good and it's bad...i mean on one hand you can't deny that it's easier and more convenient to just download a record rather than go out to the record store and buy it, or order it online and have to wait for it. and i'm not going to act like i've never downloaded a record without paying for it. on the other hand, it is way cooler to have the album as it is supposed to be- with the layout and the artwork, and the jewel case and all that. it makes for a much cooler 'experience' i guess. in some cases, where it's a band or record that means a lot to me, i really want to have the real disc/record. in others, it's just more about casually listening or trying the band out, so i'll take it any way i can get it.

as a band, it's the same. on one hand, any exposure is good- the more people who hear your band, whether they paid for the record or not, the better. and i think that a lot of times, if a kid downloads your album and likes it, then they'll end up essentially repaying the same money they would have spent on the record had they bought it- by coming out to a show or buying the vinyl version or a hoodie, or even just telling friends about you and getting them hyped on your music. the problem, though, is that it hurts the label that put money/time/sweat/work into producing the album. in the case of major labels, i could honestly care less, but for labels like deathwish, or rivalry, or bridge 9 (amongst other independent labels), they can't absorb that kind of blow and if enough people stop buying records, they could go under. i can't tell you how important labels like the ones i just mentioned are to hardcore/independent music. they are the ones who make it possible for bands like us to tour, make records, and be heard.

i guess what i'm saying is, if you like a band or a label, support them. buy records, buy shirts, go to shows, bring friends. especially to ktd shows :)

You said recently that if you weren't fronting Killing the Dream you'd be rapping, what kind of style can we hope for Common, Dre, Kanye...?

haha that was really more of a joke just because i like a lot of hip hop and stuff. i can't rap to save my life, but if i ever tried, i would definitely be trying to emulate dudes like jay-z, rakim, biggie, even common...you know, guys that were more smooth with their flow. i feel like those kind of mcs are less restricted by the beat than most- they don't let it confine them, they make it theirs. i'd also get a bunch of dogs like dmx.

What advice would you give for someone who has never seen you live? What can one expect from experiencing you guys live?

not sure about advice...haha probably 'don't expect too much.' really though, i guess you can just expect to see five dudes doing something they love and something that is important to them. i hope that comes through when we play. also- if you know the words, come up front and sing along! it's more fun than standing in the back watching, trust me.

What are your current touring plans?

world domination! haha we go out east for a little over a week june 14-21. then we have our sacramento release for fractures june 28th at the vfw. japan is july 4-13, and we do a two week us tour august 15-31. check www.myspace.com/killingthedream, www.deathwishinc.com/tours/, or www.killingthedream.com for more details and updates.

On your last US tour you guys were killing time with Super Strikers on gamecube right? Do you know how you will be killing time on this tour?

making fun of patches, probably. haha if we are lucky enough to have a tv again, hopefully we'll have a new video game to wear out. but i doubt it. so we will probably have to resort to the usual van banter, which is always highly intelligent, informative, and enlightening.

Any chance of making a music video for a song on the new record, maybe get on MTV2 like Comeback Kid?

our joint for 'fractures' is gonna debut on sucka free sunday sometime in july, followed by my sucka-free freestyle that i uploaded on my webcam.

no.

Well, we're all excited for the next record, the new tracks i've heard so far sound awesome, any last words?

eat pizza. have fun. do something nice for someone today.

thanks for the interview man...come back to sacramento sometime! we miss you.