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Interview with: Joey Barnes of Daughtry
Interviewer: Shauna Brock

Talking to Daughtry drummer Joey Barnes is like stepping into a Robert Frost poem – you never know which road you will take and it will be many miles before you rest. The drummer of pop rocks reigning band is a study in tangents; ask him about education and he will tell you about Christianity. Ask about books and he will speak of Morrissey. A Dylan-esque mind trapped in a world of 140 character twitter feeds and formulaic radio hits, Barnes is as unafraid of the world he is a part of as he is welcoming of the experiences life has given him.

It began innocently enough. A game of phone tag led to a brief conversation about his 13-year old-dog, but quickly our conversation tracked into the maze of the mind Joey Barnes possesses.

So, the obvious question first, how did you get hooked up with Daughtry?
It was five years ago, maybe. We played on the same circuit in bands around Greensboro (North Carolina.) There was one show, a Battle of the Bands, and I was playing in two different bands. I played guitar and sang in one and was playing drums in the other. It was that night we made the connection. He won – he invited everyone he knew. And so really, I lost twice to him that night. But we talked and made a connection. He worked up the street from where I lived – I took my car there, so we were able to keep that connection. We were working toward the same thing. Then he went and did the Idol thing. When he was back in town, we ran into each other at a theater and I went up to him, stuck out my hand, and said, “I’m your drummer if you need one.” We met up on MySpace later and I was in LA pretty quick.

You have a solo career; describe the difference in your creative processes between working with Daughtry and working alone.
Working with Daughtry… you’re working with five guys who are all different. The first album was completely Chris and studio musicians and I had nothing to do with that first record. But, we spent time on the road together for three years, which brought us together as a band and let us gel together. The new record is the culmination of that. It’s the culmination of the five of us being on the road, sharing ideas, running from hotel room to hotel room and getting opinions on ideas. But when working solo, if I get an idea, I can record a basic idea or record a basic riff, and it will just snowball. I’m playing all the instruments on my stuff – the guitar tracks or the piano tracks – and it just keeps going until it turns into a monster. When it’s just you, it’s a longer process. You have full and complete control over what you do and you do exactly what you want and you aren’t doing it for anyone else. In order to have a band, you have to make room for opinion, make room for egos, be humble, swallow pride, and give things a shot that you normally wouldn’t do. You’re trying to please four other dudes.

You released two solo EP’s this year. Was there a reason for the two separate releases?
Whenever we’d have a break, we’d come home and I’d go to the studio and stay there. I recorded thirty songs. It just happened to start that way and I was finishing songs in groups of five so I’d release some here or there and it felt right. I got positive feedback and personally I’d like to keep releasing the five song EPs until the end of the Daughtry tour and then do a full album. What goes on in my head. I don’t stay in one genre. I am working on a new EP for the year and two of the songs are going to raise money for planetwise.com, which is a small version of One. Planetwise does just as much good but it’s smaller and doesn’t have the problems that the bigger organizations have. I wrote two songs when we went to Africa for One and did some work over there. I wanted to do the songs with them but there were so many people to go through that I ended up seeking out other places and that’s how I found Planetwise. The song proceeds are going to them – they’ll be available for download at Planetwise. The EP is called Change.

Do you prefer writing, singing, or playing?
The creative process… The Beatles stopped touring in 1966 and stayed in the studio and put out records and never toured again. They broke up. Playing again would have given them the spark back. You can’t… you have to have shows. As a performing artist… there are people who write soundtracks but performing artists have to perform it. Once you get an intimate view, it makes sense. They need each other. Can’t imagine creating without sharing.

What are your favorite songs on Last Request and Always?
I like… I really like (on Always) “The Wire.” It’s the first track. It’s what started the concept – got me going on all the songs. A lot are about the same character… person going through the same thing. It’s a young person who is a tight rope walker and he’s the best and his parents were the best. He does it because his parents did. It’s all he knows but it’s not what he wants to do. It’s a metaphor for being placed on a platform. Very much how the media/Hollywood/America like to hold you up and make you and break you. You start to lose focus on why you did it and how you got there. Do they like you, do they care? You just want to be happy and play. Like as a kid but then it becomes a business and you’re being sold. People only like you when they are being entertained as they want to be entertained. I’d like to do a “Wire 2” and close it out and have the live show be like a traveling circus and have some substance. It would be better than just seeing a bunch of dudes in jeans. What’s the point of getting on stage if you aren’t going to be someone else? Not a lot of people get paid for being someone else. I’ve always wanted to be that character. The stage is another world and you can do whatever you want to do. Dialog, visual and sensory overload. Video. I’m sorry, where was I?

Oh. On Last Request, I think it’s the title track. I think… it was the first time I ever tried to play piano. Seven or eight years ago. I always messed around but it was then that it began. I thought, I want to give this a shot. Everybody has a story to tell. And so I joined the ranks of writing for therapy, you know. Up until then, I’d always messed around, but it didn’t click. It didn’t make sense until that moment. It’s something I don’t want to take for granted and it became addicting.

Your website sells albums for Patrick Rock. Who is he and how did you hook up with him?
We’ve been jamming for a long, long time. Over a decade. Done and been through a lot together. Done what we could to stay afloat and make money. Tried to make it work – in fact, I’m playing with him tonight. He’s always been a big supporter and he is just tops with song writing. I really think he’s the next Tom Petty. He’s like U2 and Pearl Jam mixed – just… American rock. His record got me started.

So, the reason you caught my attention was your completely different take on the liner notes of the most recent Daughtry album. What inspired that?
Just… I wanted to not be normal. That’s my goal for life. Why spend life in a certain mold? I had to get it done in the moment and I didn’t want to be boring. I had nothing to be afraid of and I wanted to not make sense and have no boundaries. I wanted to… there was a time I liked all the cliques but I want to push boundaries and push buttons and get in trouble and now I just want to be remembered. I don’t take everything so seriously and I wanted to take a big time moment and make light of it. I let it come out naturally and it was a last second thing and they were literally pushing me to get it done and it all came out really quick.

So, switching gears, what is your educational background?
Well, I can’t read. (Laughing)

Actually, I grew up in a really Christian environment. We were in church all the time and school was a Christian school. There was just something about having to fit a certain style and when you’re young, you don’t question all that stuff or ask “Why am I doing this?” We actually went to public school for two and a half years and we got into so much trouble because it was a whole new world. “You can say that?” was a common question. I mean, this stuff was heard about but it was totally on the DL. Especially music. I actually remember in 7th grade being a part of a cussing club and we thought it was the coolest shit in the world. We just couldn’t be ourselves. We had to please certain people and divide the school person from the outside person. I used to sneak pictures of the guys in Duran Duran and A-Ha – those cut outs from the teeny bopper magazines – into my locker so they couldn’t see them but at locker checks they’d always find them and we’d get punished. But see, growing up like that makes you the person you are if you chose to learn from it. You have the opportunity to seek out truth and it’s your choice to delve into it. Everything you possibly believe in (and in my case it was) could turn out to be shit. (Christianity) doesn’t work for me. Whatever makes me a better person, then that is what I’m about. But I have friends who are die-hard Christians and they are the epitome of what they should be. But there are people who use God as a crutch. But there are also people who are not afraid to admit they’re human.

What is your favorite book?
Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. I like the way it was told, with the devil in the 3rd person. I think he was in an altered state when he wrote it – the visuals and scenarios are just wicked.

I got into Oscar Wilde during my Goth phase. I was one of those kids who was more into the substance and the style, not just the “I’m wearing black on the outside because it represents me on the inside” mentality. So, I got into the artists that inspired some of my favorite musicians. Morrissey was really inspired by Oscar Wilde and getting into stuff like that opens up a Pandora’s box of excellence.

And your musical influences and current favorite bands?
Well, it’s been established that I love the Beatles. They are the end all for me. They make sense of this hodge podge. But more, they took it all [musical styles] and put it into a big gumbo. They changed recording and pop music recording. It hasn’t been the same sense then and they are the only band who can put out the old stuff and still be number one. Morrissey was part of my Goth/dark phase and Duran Duran was really my fab five. They were so different than the mainstream 80’s bands. I have every A-ha album, and Tears for Fears was so underrated. Their 2004 album was phenomenal. Recently I’ve been into Silverchair – the Diorama album blew my face off. He is an absolute genius. Recently, I’ve also been into MuteMath who are this art rock, not emo, band. They are their own kind. Musically, they are visual. Artists. They’re on their own cloud and a new record just came out. Muse is a genius band – they mix funk and classical and metal. White Lies is this great UK band. The CD should have been released in the 80’s. They sound different, but fresh. Like 80’s rock. Magnet (Evan Johnson) out of Norway is my favorite singer/songwriter.

I like hard to find artists. I search for certain people. Top 40 is just so full of bands with a couple of songs on a record but singles are fucking boring. There is a formula for singles. It’s hard to listen to an album front to back anymore that gives you an idea of that person; something that is cohesive.

Thankfully, the music business is dying. The kids don’t need the record industry anymore and we’re going back to grass roots again. We don’t need to worry about paying back a big loan . everything we need is at our fingertips and we can load it into the van and head out. That’s what kids don’t realize when the sign a big contract. You have to pay it back. The kids can weed out the bad and connect the good and the more you put yourself out there, for good, the more people will be attracted to you.

Okay, to wrap it up, I lived in North Carolina for six years. I understand just how important sports is to the culture. Are you a sports guy?
You know, in North Carolina you are pretty much born with a basketball or football in hand. I was amazing in sports (not to toot my own horn). I loved football. Part of me wants to be the quarterback. You know, to be “that guy.” I was in school sports and summer sports and then I broke my leg and realized I wanted to be an entertainer. But that still didn’t make sense until I started living life. I still play from time to time but I don’t really care anymore. I don’t want to be around that anymore. It’s like they’re speaking in tongues around me when we’re watching fames. “What does that mean,” I ask. But if I had to chose a team it would be Duke. College sports, especially basketball, is one of those things where it’s all about the moment. Not getting paid. Leaving it all on the court. I just don’t get watching overpaid babies making millions for a kids game. That’s the problem. That’s where the money is. It’s become about gambling.

As we wrapped up the hour we’d spent on the phone, I realized I could have asked a million more questions and just listen to him and his tangents. These few questions only touched on where he could really take you with his thought process. Signing off, he told me to send the bill to him for the therapy I’d offered.

by Frankih Kolbegger

Kevin Devine is a busy, busy man. Currently on tour with Matt Pryor of the New Amsterdams, I was lucky enough to get some time with him across the street from the Mod Club on September 9th, at a little cafe. We sat down, placed our orders, and enjoyed the fresh air. Kevin’s just come from a twelve hour drive. I turn the tape recorder on.

Frankih Kolbegger: Hi, I’m Frankih Kolbegger and I’m here with Kevin Devine on the Toronto date of his tour with Matt Pryor. I’ve got some questions for him, and some of these questions are actually from the fan community on Livejournal.

Kevin Devine: Okay, cool.

Frankih: How’re you?

Kevin: I’m okay. I’m okay… little tired, little haggard, but, uh, here. Life’s good.

Frankih: You’ve had a pretty rigorous tour schedule. Someone asked if you were planning to take a break?

Kevin: I’m gonna be off for most of the fall… or for two months, for most of October and November and then… I don’t know yet what’s happening for early 2009 ’cause we finished a record between the tour with Jesse [Lacey] and Brian [Bonz] and this tour with Matt, so, um…

Frankih: That is not a lot of time to make a record.

Kevin: Well, no… we had it – it was pretty quick but we had it written. Um, I had written the songs and started demoing them in April… and in June, I guess. So we, uh, you know we had them pretty well mapped out. There wasn’t a lot of writing in the studio. But, um… yeah, I kinda keep saying I’m gonna take time off and then things come up that I wanna do and I take them, you know?

Frankih: Yeah.

Kevin: So, I mean, I definitely wasn’t… between… I’m doing some stuff with this songwriter named Rachael Yamagata after this tour, it’s a bit of a different world… bit more – kinda like – mainstream, slightly? She’s really great, but that word means different things to different people – not great, mainstream.

Frankih: Will it be a little less folksy, maybe?

Kevin: Less… coming from punk rock. It’s not like – she didn’t come from the D.I.Y. scene, but that doesn’t mean anything about her music, it’s great. But anyway, I’ll probably take off most of October and November – I mean, November and – yes, October and November, right.

Frankih: Months are irrelevant – time just happens, and we have to live by it.

Kevin: That’s true, too.

[pause]

Frankih: Do you have any plans to tour with more of the Goddamn Band?

Kevin: Yeah, we’re doing a tour at the end of the year with Manchester Orchestra… that’ll be as full of a full band tour as I’ve done in a while. We were in Europe in May with [Mike] Skinner and [Mike] Strandberg playing the drums and bass and, um, the tour I did with Jesse – Brian and Mike played as a version of the band at that. So the tour with Manchester, I’ll have a band, I don’t yet know how many pieces or who, but it won’t be just me. I don’t know the next time I’ll have like a full six or seven piece tour… that was aided along a lot by Capitol’s tour support money, which doesn’t exist anymore, so it’s kind of whatever I can afford. The tour with Manchester, I’ll have at least three or four pieces which will be as close to a – that’s a full band, you know, that’s, uh…

Frankih: Yeah. That’s a band.

Kevin: Yeah.

Frankih: What’s it been like, working without a label?

Kevin: I think its definitely got its own… I mean, part of the reason I work so much with touring is because there isn’t another… uh, support infrastructure right now, I don’t have a label I’m getting royalty statements from, or getting some sort of uh… tour support from, to pay for, um, your rent, or your bills, and I’ve made a commitment to doing this professionally right now, which might not always be the case. You might do it sometimes while you, like, go back to school or get a job as a social worker or a teacher and… not… play in a rock band all your life. But, uh, but maybe not. Maybe you do do that all the time. I don’t know… I try to keep in the present and see how the rest plays out as the rest plays out. Uh… I like not having a set label.

I mean, I think – the next record’s coming out on Favorite Gentlemen, which is Manchester’s label. Put Your Ghost to Rest was re-released by Procrastinate! [Music Traitors], which is Brand New’s. It was put out by Capitol, I self-pressed a thousand of ‘em in between that. Make the Clocks Move and Split the Country [Split the Street] were with Triple Crown… uh… Circle Gets the Square was with Immigrant Sun, so I’ve already been on seven labels or something, over the course of five records.

Frankih: That’s crazy, dude! There’s people like Bob Dylan who’ve been on, like, two!

Kevin: Or one! For the majority… for like, fifty years!

Frankih: He was on one for like… sixteen years or something, on Columbia -

Kevin: Yeah, but now, Columbia… he’s part of Sony and he’s technically still with Columbia.

[The waitress arrives with our coffee. She sets milk down in front of Kevin, and we both offer thank yous. She asks if we'd like sugar; I decline, Kevin accepts, with a please and another thank you. He is possibly the most well-mannered man I've met. After a moment, we start again.]

Frankih: Yeah, that’s… that’s crazy.

Kevin: It’s a different time, and a different era, for that stuff as well – do you want some milk in your coffee?

Frankih: Oh, no thank you.

[Kevin pauses to thank the waitress again. She smiles at us as she leaves.]

Kevin: So yeah, I think. So far, so good. I think getting out of there was a really good move, a good thing that happened to me. It didn’t look like it at the time, but it became really good.

Frankih: Well, it seemed like right afterward your fan base sort of exploded.

Kevin: Well, I mean, that’s a relative term. Exploded… I-I… there’s more of them than there were, but, uh, it’s nice that you say that. An explosion I think of as being slightly more dramatic.

Frankih: Well, uh, here most of the kids I was talking to are here for you, not Matt Pryor, which is, uh…. considering you haven’t played Toronto in a year and a half…

Kevin: Well, that might have been just the people you were talking to. I mean, this tour’s been pretty egalitarian in terms of who’s coming out, and there’s a lot of cross-over, so, you know. So, we’ll see. But there are more people that like it than did. So that’s good. That means your work is paying off somewhat.

Frankih: Right, it’s going somewhere.

Kevin: Right, it’s what you’re hoping to do.

Frankih: So what are you expecting, working with the new label?

Kevin: Oh… uh. As long as they… they’re my friends, and I trust them, and in particular.. the guys in the band that are in charge of the label part are the guys that I… they’re guys who are savvy and know what they’re doing. As long as they get the record in stores, they… the record label’s job is just as a promotional tool for your, uh, your work.

Frankih: Distribution.

Kevin: Whether you’re on Capitol or on your own label in your bedroom or you’re on your friend’s label or you’re not on a label, you’re still gonna be the one who’s… it’s your career, it’s your life, so you’re gonna hustle, ’cause no one else is gonna hustle for you. I think Favorite Gentlemen believe in the record and believe in me a lot and they love the stuff I’ve sent them. And I think they’re gonna work really hard for it. And what that means is that they’ll work really hard to make sure people have a chance to hear it. It’ll be easier hopefully for people to find the records, but I don’t expect much more from a record label than that. You know what I mean? It’s my job to do pretty much whatever else, it’s how I see it. If a record label came in and changed the scope at which I was operating dramatically, then that would be wonderful, but I don’t really wait around for that kind of stuff anymore. I think it’s up to me to do the work.

Frankih: Yeah.

Kevin: But I think they’ll be able partners. I’m looking forward to that.

Frankih: Somebody had asked if the record would be available in bigger stores… Best Buy, for example.

Kevin: I believe it probably will. I mean… I don’t really know the ins and outs. We haven’t really gotten to those conversations yet, the record’s still being like mixed and mastered and the artwork’s being… like, we’re not even. We’re not at the, uh, marketing plan stage of it, but for however well-developed that plan will or will not be. But right now we’re still at the creative part. And we’ll get to the business part afterward.

But I think the point is to make sure it’s in more stores.

Frankih: To make sure it’s available.

Kevin: Yeah.

Frankih: Especially here, it was very hard to get a hold of any of the albums.

Kevin: It still is! And that was… the Capitol thing, which was – it was alarming – did not help that a whole lot. They didn’t really get the record out to more places, and that’s a major corporate record label.

Frankih: And that’s exactly what a label is supposed to do. And if they’re not doing that…

Kevin: Well, especially one like that. That’s their entire purpose. So there was some confusion about that from my end for sure, but… you know, we’ll see.

Frankih: So how have things sort of… changed for you, over the course of time, from Miracle of 86 to now?

Kevin: In what way?

Frankih: Musically. There’s been a huge shift.

Kevin: You know, I think… Miracle of 86 broke up when I was 23 years old, um… I started that band when I was 14, and I was the principal songwriter for the nine years it existed. But we didn’t do much touring, really, till the last year or two we were a band, and even that was nothing compared to the amount of touring I’ve been doing over the last four years or so. It was very very select, mainly the Northeast and some of the Midwestern United States. We went to Europe twice.

And I love the last record a lot, I love Miracle’s last record and I love stuff from that band and I love the energy and the spirit of that band. I started… that change started while I was still in it. It wasn’t… that band was very much a high-wire, electric, loud rock band. And I love… there’s elements of that in the music still, but it’s not the prime element anymore. And I think that as that band was developing, if I was writing twenty songs a year, four of them were like… rock ‘n’ roll, heavy punky songs, and sixteen of ‘em were… not that they were just me with a guitar, most of my records aren’t just me with a guitar, but they’re not that either. There’s a lot in between stark, by yourself, and loud punk rock. There’s a lot of room in the middle there.

Frankih: And I think a lot of people forget that.

Kevin: Yeah. Well, not – I mean, most of the bands I listen to don’t. And I think that’s what sort of happens, you get sort of influenced more like… and also the idea that your recordings and your live show don’t have to be the same. I can get up and play “Cotton Crush” [with] an acoustic guitar and have it be hopefully as impactful as if I were on stage with nine people playing electric guitars and drums and screaming. Maybe not, but the point is it should feel that way to me.

So yeah, that… that was the… I think there’s just a bit more nuance to it now – not to disparage what Miracle did, I certainly love a lot of what that band did and I wish I could still do… I like when the Goddamn Band plays with me and we can do some of those louder songs, and have that as part of what we are. And I think there’s all this stuff in the middle, where you have something that’s pretty and mid-paced and there’s violins and pianos or these rock-er… heavy, punky songs or different kind of rock songs, something that would be kinda like a Wilco thing or a Fleetwood Mac thing or a Rolling Stones thing.

And then you have your folk songs. There’s all different ways to do it. There’s all different ways to do it even if it’s just you and your guitar! There’s different ways to strum, different ways to pick, there’s different ways to sing, there’s different ways to express yourself lyrically. It’s not all one colour.

Frankih: [laughing] It’s a rainbow.

Kevin: Well, when it’s right, when it’s working, I guess. It’s the goal.

[pause]

Frankih: Well, uh. With the internet, you’ve got a lot of fans on there… what are your feelings about downloading music? ’cause it seems to be the way that a lot of people are introduced to it.

Kevin: You know, I heard someone say something recently that I really liked. It was about having feelings about… being a musician, having feelings about downloading music is like having feelings about wind. Like it’s gonna happen regardless of you having… I don’t know.

Would I prefer it if people bought the records I made rather than got them online? Like… yeah, it looks like… according to like how those things are measured, I’ve sold like eight or ten thousand copies of my most recent record. That’s enormously successful to me, that’s way more than anything I’ve ever sold before. But there’s probably forty or fifty thousand people that actually know it. And have it. Or some of it. And it would be nice if that was reflected in my bank statement, to some extent, but… but at the same time, I have money in savings, I pay for an apartment, I have money to travel, I have a phone that keeps me in contact with friends and family while I’m away, I have a lot of things in my life. I have a Netflix subscription, I have a DVD player that works, I have a laptop computer, I have an iPod, I have things, that I wouldn’t… that I pay for because you guys come and watch me play songs.

That’s crazy, in terms of what other people’s lives are like. You know? And that doesn’t mean I always have that perspective. Some days I’m annoyed, some days I treat someone unfairly for five minutes because I’ve had a bad day, and they don’t deserve it, some days you forget that perspective and just bitch and whine and wish you were home. But the truth of it is, I have a pretty awesome job and a lot of that heat – whatever, relative heat, relative heat that’s been generated is because of kids downloading things from the internet and talking about it and sharing it.

And kids come to the show and I’ve had so many people tell me in this guilty tone of voice that they’re buying it ’cause they downloaded it and I’m like, you don’t have to feel guilty about it, you’re here. You just…

[pause]

What’s preferable and ideal? It would be awesome if other people bought your record, you know? But I also understand people aren’t… the system’s an issue, not personal behaviour. People aren’t supposed to be self-negating angels and if you have the choice to get something for free from an industry that’s fucked you over for fifty years as a consumer… why would you buy it?

I don’t blame people for making those decisions, and I certainly don’t always make them myself. I don’t know enough about downloading music, I’m sort of technologically retarded, so I buy a lot off iTunes. But I don’t go to like… the local record store as much as I did when I was a seventeen year old kid at all. Almost never! Only when I’m in a city and I have time to kill. I look for the coffee shop, the comic shop, the record store.

Frankih: Actually, there’s a great little comic shop just down the street. I don’t know if it’ll be open later, but the next time you’re in town…

Kevin: We got in real late, and we’re leaving real early… it’s a long drive again. I love it here, though, I love it whenever I get to come here but this is just such a condensed night. But… but anyway. That’s what I think about that, for what that’s worth.

Frankih: Um, so things are obviously changing in the music industry because of music downloading – legal or illegal – and uh…

Kevin: Yeah. Record stores are closing, record labels are closing, and… yeah. [laughs]

Frankih: Where do you think it’s going to go?

Kevin: I don’t really know. My worst case scenario is… because, it’s bigger than the industry, there’s economic questions, particularly in the American market… there are ecological questions about touring and traveling and mid-level bands being able to afford four dollars a gallon, rising cost of food, rising cost of… I mean, when you travel, you are very much part of that economy. You’re dependent upon how much it costs to ship strawberries to IHOP to make your pancake. You’re dependent upon how much a barrel of oil costs ’cause you gotta get your gas everywhere you go, and you’re dependent on whether the travel industry’s booming or not booming and how much plane tickets are and hotel rooms are… so I think I could see it becoming a thing that becomes a lot more regionalized.

Frankih: More local scenes?

Kevin: Yeah, and things like Youtube and people can see me play tonight in Germany. Someone could go on tomorrow and someone could have taped two songs on their phone and a kid in Berlin can watch the two new songs I play tonight at the club in Toronto. So you don’t…

What I don’t know… that’s great for fans, and… and on some level it’s great for access… it’s great for start-up bands. I don’t know if it becomes a thing for the career musician in the position I’m in that’s not a celebrity and isn’t a cover band artist, but is just kind of a worker bee. I don’t know what that means for people like me…

Frankih: As in mid-level artists?

Kevin: Yeah. And I don’t know what that means, or if it means anything. But uh… I keep getting work, and… my overhead’s kept pretty low. I keep making strides. And not to be self-involved, but when I look at it from the big picture, it’s more confusing and when I keep it about how I’m existing in this little changing environment, it’s a little bit easier to deal with. I don’t think we’re ever gonna be able to figure out a satisfactory way to replace… I think the days of the 10 million selling album are done.

I think what people have to come to grips with in the music industry is that it’s not a changing paradigm, it’s a changed paradigm, it’s over. And now you have to figure out what comes afterward.

Frankih: Adaptation.

Kevin: Yeah, not thinking you’re gonna change… you’re not gonna roll the tape back from where it’s at now, you’re on a new thing altogether. But what that’s gonna be… I think you’re gonna see that touring decreases, if bands can’t tour, you might see things go back to a more regional kind of scene. And you might see bands putting on concerts that they broadcast online a lot more to access their fans in a cheaper way. Maybe you pay $5 for an access code and you watch Bright Eyes do a show in DC from Toronto or Mexico City or London and that’s the way people make money.

I mean, I don’t know, I think it’s really exciting for the creative side of it. But for the business part, I’ve never been particularly adept at those things. I know enough to make my own little niche work. I don’t know. So, you know, we’ll see.

Frankih: It’ll be interesting.

Kevin: It will, yeah. Music’s not going anywhere. People made music before they knew how to make money off it, entertainment and art and folk songs and dialogue, and those things aren’t going anywhere.

Frankih: Thank god for that.

Kevin: The business might go somewhere. Maybe that’s okay. I don’t know. You know? [laughs]

Frankih: [laughs] Okay, so, moving on to lighter questions.

Kevin: Those aren’t that heavy, don’t worry about it. The music industry is not to be taken seriously.

Frankih: Very, very true. I don’t think… industry’s such a harsh word for it.

Kevin: But it’s what it is. It’s this wonderful little microcosm of capitalism, the music industry. Constant growth, and if you don’t grow constantly, there’s something wrong. If you sell ten million records, then you sell five million records, you’re a failure. Dude, we just sold fifteen million records. But no. You know? So, anyway.

Frankih: So what’s the craziest or stupidest thing to have ever happened on tour?

Kevin: You know, I’m the worst at these questions because I, uh… it becomes… especially since I’ve been on tour with four six-week breaks since June of 2006. So some things are just like mush in my head now. Like I know they happened, but like… I was here… was last time I was here at the KT Tunstall show? No, with Pablo and Jennifer O’Connor.

Frankih: Yeah, Lee’s Palace.

Kevin: But that was 17 or 18 months ago. But that feels like that just happened, to me. Because I’ve been on tour since then. So in one way it feels like one long tour where the people I’m with change every couple months. But so I mean… I can tell you a nice story. But… nothing crazy.

Frankih: That would be awesome! Nice stories are always good.

KD: We went camping last night -

[At this point, tourmates Darren and Matt Pryor walk over from a table across the patio. Darren wraps his arms around Kevin's neck.]

Darren: We really like you.

Kevin: Let the interview reflect that Darren and Matt Pryor walked in as the camping story was being told.

[He looks at them.]

There’s a question about what’s the craziest thing that happens on tour, but I hate that question -

[Quickly, he looks back at me, with an apologetic smile.]

Not you for asking that! But I can never answer it satisfactorily. The nice thing was that we went camping.

Matt Pryor: There was that bear last night -

Kevin: That was weird!

Darren: That wasn’t a bear. That was chipmunks.

Kevin: Chipmunks that attacked your tent, yeah.

Frankih: Chipmunks attacked your tent?

Matt: I think so.

Kevin: It’s possible it was a tree.

[Everyone laughs.]

Darren: They’re boring stories, like the metal guy who delivered the pizza or -

Kevin: That was – no but, see, that is the best stuff. Like we were -

Matt: He was like, ‘You guys in a band? Here’s my card, I’m in a band called Shreddinger-’

Kevin: And there’s your answer. I second that story.

[To Matt and Darren]

Thank you, thank you.

Darren: That’s really tame though, our stories are never like -

Kevin: No, that’s perfect! We let him in our room briefly, which is dangerous.

Darren: Well, he brought the pizza in, and then he like… put it on the bed, and it had all slid to one side. And he was all, ‘Oh man, sorry about that.’

Kevin: See, that’s a more detail-oriented person, all I remember is we had pizza. That’s a good one, that’s a good one. So there you go. There’s your answer.

Frankih: Well, thank you.

[Matt and Darren leave, waving.]

Frankih: So what’s this nice story?

Kevin: That was it, we went camping. Like… I’d never been camping in my life.

Frankih: You’d never been camping? What, no Boy Scouts?

Kevin: [laughs] I wasn’t a Boy Scout. They didn’t have Boy Scouts in my neighbourhood. Um. But. Yeah, so no, I wasn’t a Boy Scout.

[pause]

Frankih: So how do you keep yourself busy on tour?

Kevin: Um… I… I try to keep in contact with home a fair amount, ’cause I didn’t always do that, and it wasn’t good for me. I read – I read a lot when things are quiet. It’s a little harder in the van, with people around, but I try to keep up on that. You know… I’ll go do something if I have time.

I have friends scattered… the one good thing about growing up in New York and going to college in New York is that your friends tend to… it’s like clusterbombs, they blow up and go everywhere, all over the world, so you go to London, and you know someone, you go to… Cleveland, tomorrow, and I have a friend I haven’t seen in three years, so we’re going to have dinner. I try and reconnect with people, or I just try to find pockets of quiet… I don’t tour the way I did when I was 23 anymore, I’m not getting fucked up every night and living some raging lifestyle.

You are just perpetually, by nature, in motion. So it’s finding ways to kind of slow down. You go to a park, you go for a walk, you go to a cafe and do some work.. things that don’t involve… like. Getting outside the club, and the walls inside your brain about what you do and that it’s not the middle of the world, that you’re just writing songs and you’re lucky to be playing them to people and it’s important in its own little box, but I’d rather know about my brother’s job and about how my nieces and nephews are, and what my friends are up to.

And you know, some days I’m not good at that either. Some days I get very trapped in the bubble, and I kind of float, and all of a sudden four days have passed and I’m like, I haven’t had a constructive conversation with someone in half a week. But, you know, that’s when you kind of gotta smack yourself off, drag yourself out by the hair, get back into it. So that keeps me busy, just trying to be an adult in an adolescent environment.

It’s enough to keep you busy. Or at least enough to keep me busy, other people might glide through it effortlessly, but I’m a bit more fitful than that.

[pause]

Frankih: What are you reading right now?

Kevin: I’m still fighting with Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, I really love it, but it’s very dense, circular… very antiquated language. It’s like chewing leather. I’m like… three months in, and I’m obsessive with books. So I don’t wanna start the next thing till I finish the current one. So I won’t be… the next thing I have with me is Confessions of an Economic Hitman, a book by a guy who used to work for the US government, talking about the sort of shadowy side of how the United States sets up its uh.. puppet regimes in other countries to do its economic bidding, how we’ve really become the most powerful country in the world – it’s more the dollar than the shotgun. But I haven’t really… I’m still doing Blood Meridian. I read comics interspersed throughout there, or magazines, you know, but that’s the book I’m still working on. I’ve got eighty pages to go or something like that.

Frankih: What’s your favourite book?

Kevin: Ah, I don’t know what my one favourite book is… that’s hard, but my favourite thing I’ve read recently, I’ll tell you. And that’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by a Dominican writer who lives in Jersey, I think, his name is Junot Diaz, and he’s quite popular now in the States, and he’s a fucking brilliant writer. And that book blew my mind, I totally loved it and would recommend it to anybody. It’s one of those sprawling, wonderful books that’s so intelligent it just blows your mind with how bright and empathetic and just masterful a writer [he is]. So that’s the one I would say right now.

Frankih: So have you managed to catch any baseball games lately?

Kevin: Yeah! Yeah, this year I went to three Mets’ games. Um… and I went to a Dodgers’ game last summer when I was in L.A… Dodgers and the Phillies. And I watch a lot of baseball, when I can. And I keep up with the Mets on my phone… um… and on the next tour. I, um. I’m gonna go see a Mets’ game at home with my brothers, so that should be cool. I keep track of it, definitely. Especially this year, it’s a very close pennant year again, so I’m keeping an eye on it.

[pause]

Frankih: So who would you love to tour with? Your absolute dream tour.

Kevin: People who are alive, or… anybody?

Frankih: Anybody.

Kevin: Um… anybody?

Frankih: Anybody.

Kevin: Um… I’d love to tour with Bob Dylan in 1965. With Elliott Smith in 1998. And with Nirvana in 1991. When Nevermind came out, they were still touring like… little clubs. I don’t think anyone knew it was gonna do what it did, and everybody… and they were like the number one band in the world playing 500-seat venues when they could have been playing arenas. So that would be a cool tour to be on.

Um… people that are around now, I’d love to go on tour with Wilco. I’d like to go on tour with Stephen Malkmus. I’d like to go on tour with David Bazan. I’m looking forward to hopefully doing some dates with Colour Revolt, because of the people I know, they’re really the only guys I haven’t gone out with yet, and I really wanna do some stuff with them.

And I’m really happy that I get to go out with the people I do. I get a pretty broad range of things I get to go out and do. So I feel lucky about that.

Frankih: Awesome. So, the last question is what songs do you most enjoy playing?

Kevin: Right now, I really like playing “Yr Damned Old Dad” and “You’ll End Up Joining Them.” I probably play those every show I play. Everything else tends to switch up every night, but those two songs I probably play every night cause I love them, I really love them.

Um, but I also like… there’s all the new songs [that] are so new and fresh that I really love playing all of them right now, too. I’m trying to just do a couple of those every night, ’cause we just did fifteen [for the record], and I don’t wanna do… in my head, I just wanna play the whole new record every night, but I just have to hold off a bit on that. There’s a song called “Carnival” I love to play, and “All of Everything Erased” I really love to play right now. too.

But, um. Those two are two that I’ve noticed in the last two and a half years since Put Your Ghost to Rest has been written and recorded and toured on, those two songs… I bet if you looked through… I’ve probably played about 400 shows in that time, and I’ve probably played those songs 375 times each. You know, I play those songs quite a bit. So… you know.

Frankih: Well, thank you so much for your time and all, it’s been rad.

Kevin: No problem.

myspace.com/kevindevine
Many thanks to the Kevin Devine fan community on Livejournal, found here.

by Sabrina Smith

There’s something secret coming out of Chicago (maybe). Oh, Hush! popped up on MySpace and proceeded to churn out some danceable party tracks that were filled with smart turns of phrases and music that got stuck in your brain pan…in a good way. Who are these kids? Their myspace certainly isn’t telling; they change their location more often than we change socks and there are no artistically shot band pictures in their gallery.

Admittedly, I’m a fan! Their music is fresh, and they seem like genuinely nice people. I admit, I’m curious as to who they are, and their blog entry “Contest 2 – True, False, Hell No We Won’t Tell You!!” gives tantalising hints but no pay-out. However, little things might give them away: check out their top four bands; the t-shirt I own came in an envelope with a Chicago return address; their singer sounds familiar, but I can’t pin it down. With a little more Sherlock type hunting, you might figure out who they are. Or not.

I sat down and typed up some questions for the band. Here’s what they had to say about their mystique.

Quick, name your top ten favourite bands of 2007, and 3 bands you’re looking forward to hearing more from in 2008.

That’s a TOUGH question… and quick?? Yikes!! Butch Walker, Cobra Starship, Justin Timberlake, Madina Lake, Angels n Airwaves, The Academy Is…, Maroon 5, Shiny Toy Guns, David Crowder Band, Hello Goodbye…… And in 2008 I’m looking forward to hearing more from Butch Walker, Panic! At The Disco anddddddd Oh, Hush!

How did you all meet and decide to make this awesome band?

I think this past summer 2007 a few of us got together and decided we wanted to do something a little bit different from what we were already doing in our other bands. We didn’t really have much of a plan but just wanted to make some great music and have fun doing it! And a new project would allow us to move into musical directions not really explored in our other projects.

Do you prefer more intimate shows or crazy, pyro-filled shows with 6 million back-up dancers? Why did you choose whichever one you chose?

Do you mean to WATCH or to PERFORM?? I think there’s something really cool about both types of shows. Smaller shows really allow you to connect with the crowd and there’s always more energy in the room. But bigger shows are just.. well BIGGER and there’s something very special about the huge productions with pyro and if you can get 10,000 people all singing the same song, that’s pretty neato!

How do you think your fans will react when you reveal your secret identities?

Who says we’re gonna reveal our identities? Assuming we do, I think it will be really well received and a lot of fun for everyone. And then all of the fans of our other bands who didn’t know about Oh, Hush! will be all pissed off at us for not telling them about this project.

what is your favourite thing about making music?

My favorite thing is creating a song that other people can connect with. Of course when I write a song my harshest critic is myself and it’s gotta be something that I like first. But when other people connect with the song or the lyric or the melody or whatever, that’s really a magical thing! Writing songs is kinda like having a baby. And as a proud parent, you always want people to come up to you and go “ohhhhhhhhh your baby is so beautiful!!” It’s kinda the same thing with music

I know you’re not giving hints to your secret identities, but: true/false: you are all male.

False. Listen to “Shh… I’ve Got A Secret” and tell me what dude could sing that high.

Why are you being secretive about this, anyway? It can’t just be about the music, even though the music rocks my bloody socks off.

Ya know, it’s not so much about being secretitive as it is just focusing on the MUSIC!! When we started this project we didn’t have much of a plan other than to make it about two things: 1) the MUSIC and 2) the FANS!! That’s all that was really important to us. We wanted people to give the music a shot without any kind of expectations or pre-conceived notions about the band. We didn’t want people’s opinions of the music to be swayed at all by who was or was not in the band, what we looked like, or anything else. Love us or hate us, but do it entirely based on the music!!

Tell me a little about your sound: it’s like Justin Timberlake and New Found Glory got together and had some awesome babies.

I’ve actually never heard that comparison before!! Haha! We do LOVE Justin Timberlake for sure. And while I don’t think I actually own any New Found Glory records, they are definitely a cool band. I’d like to think we’re a little bit of retro, a little bit of disco, a little bit of new wave, a little bit of rock, a little bit of grunge and we try to keep the songs intelligent but FUN!! That’s most important. When I’m recording the vocals for the song, if I’m not having a blast singing the song and dancing around while tracking, then the song will be thrown away. So far, no throwaways… Every song has been a blast to sing!

What’s the last good show you went to see? Who was playing?

Last “show” I went to that I wasn’t playing was Trans Siberian Orchestra. It was really amazing!! I think it’s super cool what they’ve done bringing an 80s style rock show to Christmas music and the Christmas season. The guitar playing is phenomenal. The singers are superb! And it’s just a really festive, fun and spiritual way to celebrate the Christmas season with music!! I highly recommend TSO to everyone!!

If you could have any band open for you, who would it be?

Wouldn’t we be the opening band?? We’re just a baby band so I don’t think anyone would want to open for us! But we’d love to tour with Butch Walker (us opening of course).

Why should people listen to Oh, Hush? What are you trying to say with your music?

We’re trying to say that it’s time to have FUN with music again!! We wanna give people music to jam to, to dance to, to sing along with, to enjoy. It’s hop in the car with 12 of your closest friends, roll down the windows, and jam the songs at full volume!!

http://www.myspace.com/ohhushmusic

by Frankieh Kolbegger

Straylight Run had nearly disappeared from everyone’s radar, when they came out with their new album, The Needles The Space. Now they’re back on the map, dodging obstacles on all fronts, from being dropped from their label to the terrible weather that comes with winter touring. I got the chance to catch up with Straylight Run’s John Nolan and Shaun Cooper in Toronto at The Mod Club on January 30 for an interview before the show. This is what they had to say.

Frankieh: So how’s the tour so far for you guys?

Shaun Cooper: It’s been good, we’re only a few days in, so, you know, we’re still getting used to everything but everyone’s cool, we’ve known the Bayside guys for forever… so, um, yeah, it’s been really good so far. Today was a little hectic, we left at 2 AM last night from New Jersey and we just got here about half an hour ago [at 6:10 PM]. So. It was a long time in our truck.

Frankieh: I can imagine. Was it border problems or…?

Shaun Cooper: No, no, just, uh, bad weather.

John Nolan: And there was a bridge out that was like the main bridge to get into Toronto? Something like that, I dunno.

Frankieh: That’s pretty crazy. Gotta be fun. So how do you guys keep busy if you’re in the van for like fifteen hours?

Shaun Cooper: Well luckily we have a driver with his big truck so he was the one who had to handle everything. So we just watched Rambo movies.

Frankieh: [laughs]

Shaun Cooper: And I’m not kidding. For like five hours we watched Rambo.

John Nolan: [laughs]

Shaun Cooper: And we slept a lot, so we’re well-rested.

Frankieh: So it’s all action flicks on tour then?

Shaun Cooper: Oh no, we like to switch it up every now and again but today was just Rambo day. I was in the mood for some Sylvester Stallone. So. Made me happy.

Frankieh: Do you occasionally get in the mood for, like, The Notebook, have a good cry in the back of the van…

Shaun Cooper: Every now and again.

John Nolan: Shaun usually takes those types of movies into his bunk to watch by himself…

Shaun Cooper: [interjecting] I keep it private.

John Nolan: [continues]… so no one can see him crying.

Shaun Cooper: Mmhm.

Frankieh: What are you guys listening to? Do you listen to music a lot on the road?

Shaun Cooper: [mumbled name], Crosby, Stills and Nash.

John Nolan: Yeah, we’ve been listening to a lot of that. Shaun’s been manning the mp3 in the front lounge of our little truck. He’s been listening to a lot of punk rock as well.

Shaun Cooper: That’s only when I get drunk. I get all amped up and I gotta put on The Lawrence Arms and rock out… by myself…

John Nolan: [shakes head, laughing]

Frankieh: What’re your favourite drinks?

Shaun Cooper: Heineken. Heineken and Patrón Silver.

John Nolan: Oh, that’s a tough one… [pauses] I, uh… Heineken would be my favourite beer, I think. But you know, “drinks” covers a lot of ground so it’s really hard to narrow it down. I’d have to go through and tell you in every category of drink. There’s no way I could possibly single it out. There’s too much.

Frankieh: You guys have been having a lot of problems with your label lately, from what I’ve gathered.

Shaun Cooper: [nods]

John Nolan: Yeah.

Frankieh: Do you think this is a culmination, sort of, of everything that’s wrong in the music industry?

John Nolan: I think it’s an example of everything that’s wrong with the music industry. It’s sort of our experience, and not everyone has the same one, but I think, definitely, there’s quite a few bands who do have a similar experience. So it’s just one example, I think, you know? We kind of had that very typical bad major label experience that you hear about. It was almost the kind of thing you didn’t think necessarily really happened, that obviously as or as blatantly as it happened to us.

Frankieh: So the new Radiohead release [In Rainbows]… is that a way that the music industry is going to be changing in the future?

Shaun Cooper: Certainly. I think what they did was really cool. Made them some good money. So.

John Nolan: And I think since they were such a big band and they took the initiative to go ahead and do it, I think it’s going to give a whole lot of artists the confidence to do the same type of thing. Bigger artists, and smaller ones too, probably. I think we’ll start seeing things change in the next few years.

Shaun Cooper: If they don’t, fuck it, the industry’ll be dead. So be it.

Frankieh: Do you think CDs, vinyl… will all be obsolete? Is it all going to be mp3-buying online?

Shaun Cooper: I think CDs will become obsolete pretty shortly but, I don’t know, records… people have some attachment to vinyl, which is really cool, so I think those will still keep selling as collector’s items. And it’s so cool to have the artwork all nice and big and stuff.

John Nolan: CDs aren’t much of a collectible item, I feel like.

Shaun Cooper: Yeah, they’re a cheap piece of plastic and it’s all flimsy…

John Nolan: Vinyl seems to have more value to it… I think there’s always going to be people who want to collect it, like Shaun said. I agree with that.

Frankieh: For a show, what’s your dream line-up to watch?

Shaun Cooper: The Beatles would be fun to see, I would imagine. With Radiohead, too. Throw Wilco in there, maybe.
John Nolan: [nods along] Yeah.

Frankieh: So The Beatles, Radiohead, Wilco… one show, best ever?

Shaun Cooper: It’d be up there, I’d hope!

John Nolan: I would say so. It would be about the best thing… I mean, just to see The Beatles alone, you know?

Shaun Cooper: Yeah.

John Nolan: It would be enough for me. I can’t even imagine how amazing that would be.

Frankieh: It’s really weird to think that now, some of the shows you go to will be those talked-about shows, like the first Sex Pistols show at CBGB’s.

John Nolan: Yeah, that is interesting. And it’s hard to know which shows those will be in the future, you know, which ones will have that…

Shaun Cooper: Yeah. [puts on strange pseudo-English accent] Y’nevah know. Y’nevah know.

John Nolan: [using same accent] Y’nevah, evah know. [speaking normally again] It’s a funny thing.

Shaun Cooper: [normally] I like that.

Frankieh: How was recording The Needles The Space different than recording your last EP, or the album before it?

Shaun Cooper: It was produced by Straylight Run so we didn’t have anyone else in there, trying to control the direction of the record. So that was something we had going for us.

John Nolan: We did a good portion of the album outside of any real studio. We just set up recording gear in different places. So that was different too. And because we didn’t go into real studios, a lot of times we took a lot longer with things.

Shaun Cooper: Which could have been a detriment, we’re not sure.

[Everyone laughs]

Frankieh: Well, I think it’s a pretty good record.

John Nolan: Well, thanks… I think what happened was we took a really long time messing around and then kinda got lost for a little bit. And it was good to have that time at the end – we actually had time to go away from it and come back, and I think that time of going away and coming back was really crucial. If we’d had to end it at that point where we took that break… the record would have been much worse, I’d say.

Frankieh: What were your biggest influences on the record?

Shaun Cooper: I think it’s more a culmination of different influences, from music we grew up with to music we’ve been listening to more recently. So I don’t know. It’s really hard to gauge that, because when we go into working on songs or whatever, we’re not thinking about it, it’s just this amalgam of influences that influence every single facet of our playing and our writing. So it’s really hard to say, “We liked this band at this particular point a lot, and we wanted to emulate them,” ’cause that’s not what we want to do. We want to be Straylight Run, not a light version of someone else who we think is great.

[long pause]

John Nolan: Right on.

Frankieh: So what are you guys reading, if you’re reading anything? Or what was the last thing you read?

John Nolan: I’m actually reading Moby Dick right now.

Shaun Cooper: Do you feel like a man lost at sea?

John Nolan: [laughs] Yes. I can really relate to it.

Shaun Cooper: I saw that in your bunk, I was like… [strokes chin] You are looking kind of sailor-esque with your big beard these days.

John Nolan: Going on tour is kind of like going out on a whaling vessel. Into uncharted waters.

Frankieh: To spear a great white whale?

John Nolan: (grins and laughs) It’s not really like that at all.

Shaun Cooper: No.

John Nolan: I can’t even remember if I read the book or not when I was younger. I don’t think I did, now, because when I’m reading it, I’m pretty impressed by it, and nothing is reminding me of anything. I’ve actually been really surprised at how good it is. I kinda read it because I felt like it was something everyone should read, and I’m really liking it. It’s really good.

Frankieh: I think I read an abridged version when I was six or seven… I can remember the first line, but I can’t remember the guy’s name.

John Nolan: “Call me Ishmael.”

Frankieh: “Call me.” doesn’t have quite the same effect.

John Nolan: Call me Gary. [pauses] Not the same. Call me… Jerry.

Frankieh: You guys are getting pretty popular online, or have been for a while… are you very aware of the internet fanbase?

Shaun Cooper: I feel like we’re aware of it because we used to be way more popular on the internet a few years ago. Now we’re slightly less popular but I think because of this whole major label thing, and how blunt we’ve been about it, and how openly we’ve discussed it, kids are discussing us more… maybe kids that lost track of us for a little while are hearing about us again because we have some drama going on that we’re pissed off about.

Frankieh: If you’re aware of the internet community, do you know about fanfiction and slash? What are your thoughts on that?

John Nolan: I’m not sure what the fanfiction is… is that when people make up stories about people in bands or famous people?

Frankieh: Yeah. I’m not sure if you guys know about this, but there’s a lot of it involving you.

John Nolan: I know that there’s lots of people that are really big fans of our band or who like to do that kind of thing. Or like to go into online communities and pretend, for fun, to be someone in our band or in another band. I personally think it’s really weird.
Shaun Cooper: I find it very creepy and I… [pauses] just the idea that anyone would be fascinated enough by little old me to make up stories about my possible life.

John Nolan: Yeah, or to create these elaborate scenarios that are totally fictionalized but like… still revolve around our lives. I don’t know. To me, it seems like a colossal waste of time, mostly. And I know, like I said, some people are fans of our band and I’m sorry if it offends people that I say that. But I can’t help it. I mean, if any person who does that, if they could stop for a minute and think about what it would be like to have somebody doing that to them, I feel like it would change people’s opinions. But people don’t have that ability, to really think of it that way. They think of people in bands as somehow being different than them, and kinda being up in the public eye, to have anything done to their lives…

Shaun Cooper: I mean, what shocks me the most is that I feel like my life is so mundane.

John Nolan: [laughing] Yeah!

Shaun Cooper: There’s nothing really cool about it, I’m not a very popular figure in any sort of music scene. I just play bass in a band that, you know… tours! And for someone to have any idea about like… I dunno. It’s weird. It’s not like I’m Paris Hilton and I’m all over the internet, going out and seeking fame.

John Nolan: Yeah, I guess. Well, what are you gonna do?

Shaun Cooper: Well, I didn’t put myself there. I’m not walking around in front of paparazzi with my celebrity girlfriend or something like that…

John Nolan: Not wearing underwear when you go out to the clubs.

Shaun Cooper: Yeah, and my little short skirts.

John Nolan: You always wear underwear.

Shaun Cooper: I make sure I put on my best thong.

Frankieh: So, speaking of the internet, there’s a rumour circulating that the song “Skinny Mean Man” by Say Anything is about you, John. Thoughts, comments?

John Nolan: I’ve never heard the song, I don’t know anything about it, really.

Shaun Cooper: Max would know a lot better than us.

John Nolan: You could ask him, he could probably tell you. But I have no idea. I’ve heard the same rumour, and I have as much of an idea as anyone else. And I’m not interested enough to look into the song, and check it out. So. Whatever.

Frankieh: What kind of shows do you like to play best, when you’re on tour?

Shaun Cooper: (grinning) Big shows. Where they’re well-attended.

John Nolan: Good shows?

Shaun Cooper: Well-attended headlining shows. But those are unfortunately few and far between.

John Nolan: We do really love being able to headline, whether it’s at a small club or a big club… to be able to headline, and have a packed out show of people who are all really excited… it’s the best thing for us. Better than any kind of big support tour that we could get or any kind of support tour. There’s just something about having our own show, and having all our fans out there, and the excitement that that generates, it’s really something.

Shaun Cooper: It’s very rewarding.

Frankieh: Any last things you want to say? Comments to our readers?

John Nolan: Hello!

Shaun Cooper: Thank you for reading this.

Frankieh: Well, thanks so much. Have a great set.

John Nolan: Thank you.

www.myspace.com/straylightrun

by Lynn Malpass (originally posted to www.noizefront.net, October 2007)

Last month, after seeing Driver Side Impact perform at the Trocadero, in Philadelphia, opening for Bayside on the Victory Tour 2007, I had a chance to talk to both Branden Langhals and Teddy Feighan about the band, how life on the road’s been for them, and about the trials and tribulations of having a band on the ground floor and starting that slow, tough climb to the top. It was an interesting time, to say the least, and one thing I found out is that the guys in this band definitely have the drive that it takes to make it. They’ve already been through some tough times, but it doesn’t seem to get them down, because they’re in this for the long haul.

Lynn: So… how’s the tour going so far?

Branden Langhals: Yeah, yeah! Tour’s going really well. We’re playing with bands that we either know, or we like a lot. Like, we like every band’s music, our whole band is listening to every band on this tour’s record, like, a lot, to the point where we really know it. So, I mean, it’s like… this is cool. We’re just having fun. And just we’re pumped because this is something huge that we can do where like… no one knows who we are at. All. Because we haven’t been touring. So it’s kind of like a guarantee that people will finally figure it out, you know?

Lynn: Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking. I knew you guys were kind-of like… new-ish. But I didn’t realize just how new the band was until I tried finding some information about you all. It was… well, there’s nothing there!

Branden: It’s crazy. Yeah. I mean, we’ve been signed for a year, but we haven’t done… we’ve done one tour. And so with this being our second tour, we’re actually doing pretty decent considering like… no one knows who we are. So… we’re pretty pumped about it.

Lynn: So as far as touring is concerned right now, what is life like for the five of you?

Branden: Well, we find a place to sleep every night, but usually we either know someone or… we’re lucky on this tour because Victory Aaron -he’s a street-teamer for Victory – he gets a hotel every night, and he told me before tour, “if you guys ever can’t find a place to stay, just come stay in my hotel with me,” and so we always have a place to go, but so far, you know, we’re only three days in, but it’s like… finding a place to sleep, waking up between like, 9 and 11 and just driving to the show. And we’re doing some acoustic in-stores now though, too…

Lynn: Yeah.

Branden: So we’re pretty busy, and it’s really weird because, for instance, my girlfriend was actually like… really mad at me today because I was busy since 1:00 till like… still. You know what I mean? So I’m like, constantly doing something. Even if I’m hanging out, it’s like, I’m hanging out because you’re hanging out and meeting people and stuff like that, so it’s not really like I can be on the phone and dedicate time to just be by myself. But we’ve been really busy and I think we all feel like we’re getting a lot done because we’re sticking with a schedule, we’re sticking with the tour itinerary and we’re just making it happen as best we can.

Lynn: And you guys seem really upbeat about the whole thing.

Branden: We are like… we’re all so pumped about it. But that’s how we are with everything. You can catch us at a show with like… four kids, and we’re the same people. I’m dead serious. We’re just always like… we try to have fun, no matter what. And like… let kids have fun, no matter what. And that’s… just how we are.

Lynn: That’s really cool. So how did you guys all get together?

Branden: Teddy and Jack decided to start a band, and they had a drummer that they recruited from Norwalk, Ohio. And then they threw out that drummer and recruited me. And then we played as a band with another guitarist that they were friends with for like… a year and a half. The guitarist left, they kicked out the drummer, we got a new drummer, a new guitarist, being Mikey. We did that like… forever, and got signed with that lineup. Then Zack quit the band like… a week and a half ago. Our new drummer, today was his fourth show ever with the band… care. He was really elite into the music scene, into these really obscure bands, so he didn’t care about…

Lynn: What’s the new drummer’s name?

Branden: His name is Dave. And his last name is like… crazy, I dunno. [laughing]

Lynn: And Dave’s a new member of the band? Or he’s a touring drummer for you guys?

Branden: He’s probably, definitely a new member of the band. We set it up so that we’d all make the decision after the Bayside tour, but he’s been awesome so far. So I mean, just to be the first to say it, he’s probably going to be a permanent deal.

Lynn: Oh, well good. I hope it works out. So what music are you guys into? You were telling me before, you’re really into Saves the Day.

Branden: Personally, Saves the Day is one of my favorite bands…

Lynn: I know you’re really into Bayside…

Branden: Bayside’s awesome, umm… Thursday…

Lynn: I guess I was just wondering music motivates the band?

Branden: I give the same answer every time, and I feel bad for this, but it all depends on what each member has been into, and to be honest, each member is into different things. Like Mikey, he’s been into like metal and hardcore bands with names like Caligula and like… Dead Yellow Elvis and stuff like that. He’s been in bands that are just like… the hardcore, the breakdowns, the metal, the squeals, all that kind of stuff. So that’s where we’re really getting that background from. Jack’s been into pop punk his whole life, I’ve been into Saves the Day, stuff like Arcade Fire, Alkaline Trio, really that whole following, and then like… Teddy kind of the same thing as me, pretty much. So I mean, it all kind of just blended in, all those bands together kind of combined our whole feel for what we’re doing but at the same time we just… love stuff that’s like… experimental. The big thing we’re trying to do is to be a band that sticks. We’re not a band who’s trying to be a trend. We’re not trying to stick to some certain trend. We’re trying to, like, there’s so many different things that we’ve done that we’re like ’uh, we can’t do that, it sounds like a U2 song’. Because obviously, that band’s been around forever, but we’re trying to make it so that we can do this for the rest of our lives and make a career out of it.

Lynn: Right, well, actually, I wanted to ask you about that. The fact that… I know that sometimes Victory has been criticised for signing a lot of bands that sound the same, and it’s all that… really popular sound right now. And the few articles that I’ve managed to read about you guys, a couple of people really loved you, and a couple of people lumped you guys in with that whole sound.

Branden: Yeah.

Lynn: Now, I listened to it, and I think you guys are different than the rest, and that you are trying to do something different so… what…

Branden: Personally, I think the people who would agree with the fact that we’re summed into the ‘lump sum’ of being like everyone else, they’re listening for like… they hear a high-pitched vocal for two seconds, and they’re like… “new song, click! New band,” like it’s a dime a dozen. Bands are a dime a dozen, it’s true, and to stick out, it’s really hard if someone doesn’t give you the time to listen to your full record, they’re not understand what you’re doing. And even if you do listen to our full record, you might not get it because Sal Villanueva, awesome producer, awesome person, produced Taking Back Sunday and produced Thursday, tried to make another pop record out of us, kind of like Taking Back Sunday, which isn’t exactly what we wanted, but it’s something we were still kind-of striving for. But like, he really did kind-of strip us of our experimental and, like, ambient aspect that we really have, and it’s like… what we’re all about. So when we do our next record, we’re just going to do whatever we want to do, and that’s going to be like… not mainstream and not poppy, none of that stuff.

Lynn: So you’re saying that you guys are actually a little bit disappointed…

Branden: To the turnout of our record? Yeah. But it’s only because like, there were a lot of things like… all of our guitar effects were supposed to be
totally different. Like, there was actually a sheet that was all of our guitar fact, and that sheet got totally thrown away. This is Teddy, by the way, the guy you were looking for before.

Lynn: Hey!

Teddy Feighan: Hi!

Branden: So he can join the interview if you want.

Lynn: Yeah! Sure!

Branden: But uh… it was no one’s fault? It wasn’t like, a bad thing? But it was just that there were different visions for what was supposed to be created for the band and for us, I think we wanted something that we could really pride ourselves on, on being really different and… I dunno. Different’s a really hard word to explain. Music’s music, we all use the same kind of instruments as every other band…

Lynn: Yeah, but I get it. You want to be memorable.

Branden: Exactly. We want to be memorable. We want people to look at us and be like “that band did, you know, X thing,” and that’s what
made us…

Lynn: You want people to be able to listen to it and pick out that there’s something about it… There’s something about that, that just really grabs me, yeah, I totally understand that. But, like… at what point in the recording process did you guys begin to realize that maybe it wasn’t sounding like you wanted it to, or was that not until the end?

Branden: We didn’t. It wasn’t until a few months after having the record done that we were kind-of like… Oh, but we still love it, like, don’t get the impression that we don’t…

Teddy: Yeah, we didn’t realize it at the time.

Branden: We like…love our CD. But…

Teddy: That’s why we were like… putting all this work into it and we were all like “cool, cool…” and taking his advice…

Branden: We trusted him because we were awestruck by him, because he is who he is, who he’s worked with, and we like… really, really trusted him on this.

Lynn: Ah, okay.

Teddy: But then afterward we were like “you know what,” and there was a lot of stuff I would have done differently, you know what I mean? But…

Branden: No, yeah, we still love our CD.

Lynn: And this one is your second CD, is that right?

Teddy: First album.

Branden: First ever.

Lynn: Oh, okay… what did you have out before?

Branden: Well, we have an EP, but that was literally like, something that our management, in combination with a producer they knew, did with us to get us signed. So that was the whole point. It was just a demo, basically… so I really don’t count the demo as being a record. Although, we’re selling them now, because we have a thousand of them left, and we figure… they’ll be a limited edition and some lucky kid can maybe sell it on eBay in eight years.

Lynn: Yeah! OK, how did you come up with the name Driver Side Impact?

Branden: Teddy! Why don’t you pick that one up?

Teddy: I was in a band before, in my freshman year of high school, and we were thinking about band names, and somebody’s friend was like, “how about you call it Braced for Impact,” and I thought that was… I dunno, but it totally jarred my memory and I was like “no, wait, Driver Side Impact,” and I thought that sounded…

Branden: It’s kind of funny. I don’t know if you feel this way? I’m just gonna… we’re gonna have this discussion on paper now, but, I feel like, right now, if we were to name the band? It would never be this.

Teddy: Yeah, it was Austin.

Branden: Austin, our old keyboardist, actually… what we did was, each of us basically got, on our own, like… pen and paper, write down whatever you want to do for the album name. And we took whatever, like, everyone kind of came to the studio one day and we were like “Alright, what do you want to name it?” Everyone brought all their names too the pool, and we were just like… well, Austin actually had like… three really good ones. And I think we just really dug The Very Air We Breathe because since before that name, people used to tell us that our record was like a breath of fresh air. It was like, something that wasn’t totally typical for this whole emo post-hardcore scene because we’re doing something at least a little bit different and whether or not people agree with that about the full-length, I think they should to listen to our EP and they can understand that at least from our roots, they would agree with that. The Very Air We Breath, was just like, alright, cool, that makes perfect sense. The Very Air We Breathe. Plus, to me, it was like a tightness thing, you know, the fans breathe the same air that we do? And it’s like, we’re doing the same thing that they want to do. Like… I know it sound cheesy. Everybody’s laughing at me…

Branden: No, no I’m not!

Branden: But like… for real. I’ve always thought of it in terms of how I used to be that kid in the crowd, who was watching a band and thinking how that would be so sweet. And… we all breathe the same air. And all of a sudden, it happened for us, too. Like… we earned it. We worked really hard, but it can happen for anybody. I don’t know.

Lynn: I’ve seen you guys called experimental, and I’ve seen the word progressive used as well. Do you find a difference in experimental or progressive?

Branden: You know, I’m not much of a music guru, and that’s the truth. I took music theory in college and I was in marching band in high school. Other than that, and playing drums for nine years, and trying to sing in a band, I’m not trying to claim that I know more about music, so a lot of like… “elite” music people rip us apart for being wrong with using the term “experimental”, but in terms of what I think of, we literally do sit in our practice room and experiment with weird guitar sounds. And to me, I don’t know what else could be experimenting, I mean, in terms of science, that’s an experiment, you’re trying something. And we mess with weird stuff and try to make some cool little sounds out of some stuff and…
we experiment.

Lynn: Great.

Branden: And we’re ambient, because we do like… pretty little stuff. And that’s ambient to me.

Lynn: The MySpace. MySpace has been having a huge influence in music. How much of an influence would you say your MySpace is making for the band?

Branden: You know what’s weird? I’ve seen bands like… Teddy, give me an example of a band that’s got huge MySpace numbers, who’s huge because of it.

Teddy: Devil Wears Prada

Branden: Like the Devil Wears Prada. That’s a band who – and I’m not trying to bash them. Great dudes, probably, but – I feel like because of MySpace, that’s why they became a band. Not why they became a band, but why they got big as a band. For us it was busting our balls and sweating in a Pontiac Aztec every Saturday or Friday night, trying to figure out if we had enough tickets sold for all of our shows because we busted our balls trying to make sure we had the right amount of stuff going out for every promoter for every show. And the only reason we ever got recognition from management was because we did that. Every single time, we sold as many tickets as they’d ask us to, we did everything they said we should, and we tried our hardest to be on time. And we probably weren’t all the time, but like… MySpace in general, our numbers aren’t huge. We don’t get a ton of plays a day. We still average under a thousand, which is like… nothing. Like, that’s so bad. But we don’t… there’s bands that are equal level that are getting 35,000-60,000 thousand plays a day.

Teddy: I think that, actually, MySpace is like… invaluable.

Lynn: I agree with that. I completely agree with that.

Branden: I agree with that, too.

Teddy: And I think that’s pretty fucked up, too, because it doesn’t really…

Branden: I agree with it too, because MySpace is such a good promotional and marketing tool. MySpace… but to show the other aspect of what I just said, MySpace is literally what got us signed. Our manager sent a completely informal email to Tony Brummel and said ”hey, this is another one of Don’s bands, Driver Side Impact, this is their MySpace link, check them out”. Three hours later, the response to that was “we’re all going to Chicago next week.” It’s amazing, but at the same time I’m not saying that I agree with it. Agree with bands getting big off it.

Teddy: Also, I think it kind of takes away from the whole experience in finding new music where… you had to get the album from a friend or you had to go see a band and now, with MySpace, it’s like “Oh, check my band out. Oh, your numbers are low,” or whatever.

Branden: Yeah. People make a really big prejudice based on what your plays look like, or what your pictures look like, which is something that’s really weird about it. So as much as I think it can be a promotional tool, it can also shoot you in the foot really quick.

Lynn: That’s interesting. I, personally, have found so much new music through MySpace. Up until now I’ve been a strict LiveJournaler, and when I first started with MySpace, and this was just a personal page, I hated it. Then I put up another page, for my photography. Now I love it. I’m on MySpace so much, because it really is a great promotional tool.

Branden: It’s a promotional tool. Now it’s marketing, the business aspect.

Lynn: Exactly. Exactly. And I’m really finding so many ways to use it.

Branden: Totally different.

Lynn: What do you guys think of the downloading issue, and… have you ever given away songs for free to attract attention to the band?

Teddy: I’m all for it. I would put our entire album online for free.

Branden: Yeah, I would, too. All of us would. We told people that the week our album came out, “Look, buy our record! Buy our record, and if you can’t afford it, have a friend buy it, burn it from a friend, just listen to our music. And come to our shows and hang out and be our friends. Like, anything. And… we did at one point in time, though, yeah. It was nothing we’ve done on Victory though, that we’ve given away for free, but we’ve let people download our EP. At Victory were to be like, “yeah, it’s cool, you can let people download a song,” we’d be like “fuck yeah, let’s do it.” But… we actually just aren’t allowed to…

Lynn: Yeah, I figured as much, now that you’re signed.

Branden: If we’re giving away something that’s a business, and sold and paid for by someone that isn’t us, for free, that isn’t really right.

Teddy: Record sales are kind of skewed. They’re really hard to gauge.

Branden: Yeah, it’s true. It’s true. So it’s like saying, if you’ve sold 3000 records, you’ve really sold about 9000.

Lynn: Or there’s 9000 out there, at least.

Branden: Well, yeah, figuratively saying, 9000 kids have your record, and are listening to it.

Lynn: Saying that you were able to give the album away, you would want to do that, to attract more people, to get them to the shows?

Branden: Yeah, I mean, we would be totally down with that.

Lynn: Are you going to make the money at the shows, if more people come to them?

Branden: Absolutely. The plain truth is we’re probably not going to make any money off our record, or our… anything. The only thing we make money of off are our t-shirts and our, like… selling stuff at the shows is the only way we can make any money. To this day, I’m still living off a five-dollar a day per Diem. And like… when you’re on the road long enough that your paychecks from working at Starbucks at home runs out…

Lynn: Five dollars a day?

Branden: I literally live off of five dollars for a whole day.

Lynn: Wow.

Branden: And that’s because this whole industry is set up to the point where it’s like… how else are you going to make your money if you aren’t selling enough t-shirts and playing in front of tons of people? And like… every band plays tons of shows in front of twenty kids.

Lynn: This was a pretty good crowd tonight.

Branden: Oh, this was amazing. It was awesome. This whole tour is like… awesome. Well, like last night, it was 2000 kids. It was sold out. I mean, I can’t complain about this tour, but this is one of many. It’s harsh. We spent, yesterday, in New York City, $120 just to park, we spent $103 paying the venue our percentage of merch that we sold, and that’s more than we make for the show, playing it. We make $100 for the show. And owed $103 to the venue for that. So there’s no way to really win in this situation because there’s no one giving you money… other than yourself. Apparel. You know what I mean? We’re a clothing company.

Lynn: That has to be so frustrating and so ridiculous. You’re just getting famous, but you’re not famous enough.

Branden: Exactly.

Lynn: To, you know, put your whole heart and soul into it like this…

Branden: Yeah, we bust our balls.

Lynn: Wow. Yeah. That’s hard. And you guys have had your gear stolen, not just once, but twice?

Branden: In one week.

Lynn: In one week.

Branden: We had our van robbed right in front of Victory. We had a GPS, three iPods and a MacBook Pro. And then literally one week from that in Sacramento, California, our trailer was broken into, $11,000.00 worth of equipment stolen.

Lynn: So the first time they didn’t steal all your equipment?

Branden: No, they didn’t touch the trailer. They just broke into the actual van. Because we were dumb and left our shit out in the open.

Lynn: So, how… a small band like you guys, just starting out, $11,000.00 worth of stuff. How do you recover from something like this?

Branden: Umm… out of pocket. Help from parents. Depleting the band’s bank account. Everything. And we’re still suffering from that. This was last summer, and we’re still like… dying from it. We haven’t been able to pay back our merch contract yet, and we’ve probably got like… fifteen t-shirts, total, right now, left in our merch right now and you’re supposed to sell way more than that. And we can’t even sell those because we don’t have the right sizes right now. So we’re hurting even more right now on this tour, in front of sold-out crowds, because we don’t have the right amount of merchandise to give to these kids, so we’re kind of… we’re kind of fucked right now, for lack of a better word, because we really don’t know what else we’re gonna do. Anthony from Bayside said he’s going to help us out with getting merch made, and I’m not sure when that’ll happen, but, yeah. Literally, getting robbed like that, and recuperating, we spent like eight hours in a Guitar Center. We were late for the show, and we played right before the headliner, because that’s when we got there. We had to go around and buy new equipment and get ready for the show, and like half of it was on credit card and other stuff. And it was so expensive, recovering from that.

Lynn: And then you guys aren’t making anything right now…

Branden: Yeah. Everything that… it’s so weird because that stuff, it’s a really big issue and every time I think about it it kills me, but at the same time I don’t think about it enough to the point where I’m unhappy. I have so much fun, like… when I was just out there handing CDs to kids and dancing around and being stupid, just having a good time hanging out with the fans, and I know it sounds so cheesy but… I’m ready to go to tomorrow night’s show, and the next show, and the next show.

Lynn: Well, yeah. There’s got to be something to motivate you to do that so…

Branden: If we didn’t, okay, not literally, [laughing] but if we didn’t get off on playing on stage, we wouldn’t be doing this.

Lynn: Yeah. So what are you guys doing after this tour? Any plans yet?

Branden: I don’t know yet. I’d prefer to be home, because by then it’s December 9th or something, and the holidays come up soon. I think January we’re talking about, we have some other small tours, a headlined, but I don’t think we’re ready to headline so… yeah. We’re not big into headlining yet. But we just got a new booking agent, and January we’re doing some stuff with Mayday Parade, definitely going to be doing more stuff, so we’ll see. I’m sure we’ll do more stuff in December, but it’ll be more regional, like, home kind of stuff, where the kids know us. It was good tonight, because the kids liked us a lot, but it’s weird because they didn’t know who we were, and they don’t get into you and dance around because they don’t know what’s going to happen, and they’re not comfortable yet. But at the end of the night they were very appreciative, which was cool, so hopefully when we ever come back to Philadelphia people will actually know who we are.

Lynn: What band is it your dream to tour with?

Branden: Honestly, if I were to tour with Saves the Day, I mean, I know I keep talking about this band…

Lynn: Is there somebody, collectively, that the whole band would love to tour with?

Branden: OK, I guess… I can speak for Teddy and I, because we’re the business dudes in the band. If we toured with Saves the Day, we’d be like… freaking out. Every day. But I know… even Mikey would probably fall into that category. Jack, you know… OK, it would be like, Blink 182, if they ever reunited and we all got to tour with them. That would be crazy. I mean, it’s like, we grew up in that same era. We’re not old enough where we’d want to try and tour with like… Led Zeppelin, which people might knock us for but yeah. I graduated in 2004. I listened to New Found Glory and Blink 182, and I used to like Linkin Park way back in the day, you know what I mean? I’m not trying to sound cool or anything. But it would be Saves the Day, Blink 182, Thrice, Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, Thursday. Any of those bands.

Lynn: Cool.

Branden: Because those are literally the bands that even just to play with them, it means a lot.

Lynn: Everybody’s got to have that dream, you know, in their head. To tour with someone, no matter who it is, even if it’s…

BL: If you could get Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, maybe Glassjaw, and Thrice on the same tour…

Lynn: And you guys!

Branden: I wouldn’t be able to play every night, because I’d just be like… wondering what the other bands are doing backstage. I’d be late for sound check, because I’d be freaking out.

Lynn: That’s funny!

Branden: Well that’s how this tour is for us right now. We love Bayside.

Lynn: It’s really great that you guys are all having so much fun doing this.

Branden: We’ve been waiting for this… forever. Everyone at home has been like, “You guys are going out with Bayside!?” We’re kind of a big deal at home now, people know who you are and ask “You’re going out with Bayside. Are you excited?” And of course it’s like ”yeah, totally!” It feels like we’re watching a movie, really, to know that we’re standing on the side-stage because we’re on the same tour with Bayside. It really hasn’t sunk in yet but… day three!

Lynn: Yeah, that must be a great feeling, I’m sure.

Branden: Yeah, it really is.

Lynn: Well great. I hope it continues to go well, and you guys have a great rest of the tour. Thanks for letting me do this, and come talk to you about this stuff!

Branden: Hey, yeah. No problem. Thanks a lot.

http://www.myspace.com/driversideimpact