Page 28 - RockRevoltMagazine-Fall2016

everything is at the touch of a button, on either
a smartphone or on a laptop. So, we’re proud
of this album, and we can’t wait for everyone
to hear it.
Well, you guys come out hard to start this album
with “Fed Up”. I can tell you guys are amped up
about this album. It almost felt like a tale of two
albums, really. You guys have this hard, in-your-
face style, and then on the backside of the album
was more of the emotional parts, almost ballad
style, emotional songs on that side. It really was
like a tale of two albums for me; it was great, like
reading a book.
Oh, wow, I appreciate that, man. Music,
melody, and lyrics for me are used, for me, like
telling a story. I feel like substance in music is
a dying art, with all of the stuff that you have
regurgitated in other genres, especially in the
pop world. It’s kind of a shame, but we also
feel like it is our responsibility to keep a form
of integrity in music where there is actual
substance, emotion, and meaning behind the
lyrics. You know, people are able to listen to
it and relate to it in some way and take away
their own interpretation of the lyrics. There is
too much music out there where the lyrics have
no substance, and unfortunately, the younger
generation is being force fed some of this music
where there is no point, no high caliber to the
meaning of the song. And we feel that is one of
the things that is most important to us, and we
hope that comes across in the songs.
You said it all the way; I agree wholeheartedly.
A lot of the music out there today has no
substance; it’s become nothing. I know as a fan
and consumer, I appreciate the hell out of it when
an artist or band has that meaning there, that
emotion. For bands that appreciate that like you
do, I applaud you because there will be people
out there that love this album because of that.
Well, I definitely hope so. We’re in a strange time
with new music that’s coming out now. A song
can sell ten million copies, from one song on a
record, and when you read the lyrics, there is no
substance. It’s all, “Baby this” or “Baby that”, or,
you know, I can’t begin to get into it because it
makes my head spin to think how little actual
substance is in lyrics right now.
Right, you’ll see fifteen people credited with
writing a song that has seven original words…
Right! You need a whole team of people that has
maybe three lines that differ from each other,
and it goes diamond in month. It’s a really big
reach – I hate to go back this far, but I will – but
when you think about the substance of music,
back in the 60s, mid to late 60s, there was a lot of
revolt against the Vietnam War, and you know,
society was at a weird tipping point at that time.
If you read the differences in the lyrics, if you
go back that far to today, it almost makes your
heart hurt. It’s just… I don’t know what else to
say about it.
Well, it’s mind-boggling, and you summed it up
with that. You guys are about to hit the road and
head out there with Dope to tour and support
this album.
Yeah, we’re really excited about that. We have
some dates in August we’re doing. We are
playing a CD release show in Louisville at a
venue called Diamonds on August 19th, then
we’re in Clarksville, TN, on August 20th at The
Warehouse for a military appreciation show.
We have some dates in August, and then from
the second week of October all the way through
the end of November, we are out with Dope and
Motograter. And that starts in California and
works all the way to the East Coast and then
back to the West Coast. We are really looking
forward to that, too, because back in the day,
when we first got signed and there was the
“NUmetal explosion”, we did a lot of tours with
Sevendust, Cold, and Dope, American Head
Charge, you know. Mushroomhead. Ozzfest
2002. It will almost be an old reunion for us
because we haven’t toured with the Dope guys
since the early 2000’s. We’re looking forward to
it.
I remember those days fondly and remember the
shows fondly.
It’s going to be a lot of fun. We can’t wait.
Everybody is in such a different place in our
lives. When we got signed, everything happened
relatively fast. We had been a band for a while
and had been playing shows for a long time, and
signing that major record deal, we went from
selling out the tri-state area around Louisville to
playing in front of thirty-five thousand people at
Ozzfest, and now everybody has made changes
in their lives. Everybody is older; everybody
is more mature. Most of us have families to
support, kids and priorities are in a different
spot. Not as far as music is concerned, but as far
as life in general is concerned. So, we handle a
lot more things in house now. We’re not paying
for people to do jobs that we can do ourselves,
and we’re not coming home in debt because we
have a huge crew and two tour buses. It’s much
more in house and consolidated. We’re almost
having more fun now because we can enjoy it
more now.
I hear that a lot from a lot of the guys who have
been doing this for a while, as many years as you
have. At the start, it was a whirlwind and a crazy
rockstar lifestyle, and you guys are able to come
back and do it all again today. Everybody who
does it that way seems to appreciate it more now,
even though they’re working harder and doing
more of it now hands on, they love it more today.
Yeah, it’s a different level. It’s not that we
appreciate it more or that we didn’t appreciate
it then. This is a really tough industry to make
it in. I don’t remember exactly what the stats
are, but it’s rare to get a record deal and have
a successful career with it. Back in the day,
it was great, and the fact that we get another
chance is even more, shows us even more to
take this seriously and give it 110%. And we’re
extremely grateful and humbled to even have
this opportunity.
Absolutely. What’s a message for your fans before
we let you get on your way?
Basically, we appreciate the many years of
support, and we can’t wait for everybody to
hear this record in stores on August 19th,
and available for digital download and on
pavemententertainment.com. We can’t wait
to see you all out on the road when we come
out to your town, and thank you for all the
support. 