Jonny Burgan. vocalist, Trigger The Bloodshed. Metal Blade recording artist.
The Am/Fm Project: Describe how hard it is for a band to perform and travel every day and night for a long time (a year straight for example)?
Jonny Burgan, vocalist, Trigger The Bloodshed: Well, times on the road can get pretty hard sometimes, with regards to everything you could imagine. Imagine trying to fix vans, take care of merch, stay hygienic, contact promoters, agents, friends, family, pack and unpack full backline from said van, practice songs, write songs, find places to sleep, eat, and play awesome shows every single day/night usually with very little to no sleep at all. Then try to think about what happens when something goes wrong...stressful! Despite the hard work that goes into touring for all bands, the outcome is wicked, and there is no better feeling then coming off stage after playing a fucking good show every night.
Am/Fm: Who are some of your favorite musicians and artists of all-time ?
Jonny: To name some within metal, Behemoth, Decapitated, Nile and Opeth are probably the most listened to at the moment, but the range of music we listen to is so diverse and with so many good bands and artists in the world, there are just too many to have a particular favorite.
Am/Fm: Americans don't support Bush's illegal war in Iraq. Are the youth in the UK furious with the mess in "I-racket" ?
Jonny: To be honest, it doesn’t seem to be talked about much, I think the worlds got to a point where there’s so much negative press and politics that the war in Iraq has become just, "another" pressing issue amongst the many that already exist. I’m not surprised America doesn’t support it, and I think that’s more the way to put it in the U.K. as well. It’s not a topic that people are furious at, but it is one that is definitely shunned upon. One death is too many and this war has cost a lot of lives that shouldn’t have been lost and could have been avoided. That seems to me to be the way it is looked at, but of course, I can’t speak for everyone.
Am/Fm: When you think of the future of Trigger The Bloodshed what do you envision?
Jonny: At the moment the future to us is completely open. Currently we are touring out our debut album "Purgation", which has opened up some incredible opportunities for us. Already as it is, having already toured with Dying Fetus and Suffocation, who are two massive influences, being signed to Rising Records and Metal Blade, and currently embarking on tours with See You Next Tuesday, Meshuggah and Cryptopsy, later this year, things couldn’t get any better. We are heading into the studio in October to record the second full length, for which we cannot wait. So keep an eye out for that. We just hope that people come to shows to check us out and have a good time, because it's with things like that which our future will be determined.
Am/Fm: In a sentence describe American political royalty, like the Bush family ?
Jonny: They were pretty funny on Family Guy?
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Makh Daniels, vocalist, Early Graves. Metal Blade recording artist.
The AM/FM Project: Describe how hard it is for a band to perform and travel every day and night for a long time (a year straight for example)?
Makh Daniels, vocalist, Early Graves: Well, you never sleep properly, you never eat properly and it's wear and tear on your body day in and day out. It's incredibly tough to even just do a month long tour and you are constantly in a state of disorientation because you have no idea what day of the week it is, let alone what day of the month it is. So you're constantly in this state of disrepair where you have no idea what the fuck is going on around you but you're having the time of your life. It's definitely not what people see in the movies but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well...maybe for a sheet of acid that is actually just a piece of paper sprayed with Raid that I would sell to our drummer Dan.
AM/FM: Who are some of your favorite musicians and artists of all-time?
Makh: Zao, Otis Redding, Acme, His Hero Is Gone, Leadbelly, Melvins, Dead Prez, The Beatles, Canibus, anything Jeremy Enigk-related.
AM/FM: Americans don't support Bush's illegal war in Iraq. Are the youth in the UK furious with the mess in "I-racket"?
Makh: Americans in general don't support the war but they stood by and watched it happen. I don't know anything about the youth in the UK since I am not one but they obviously stood by and watched it happened too if the UK is one of the few countries who backs the US in it's racist and imperialist war against Iraq. "Operation: Iraqi Freedom"? Bull-fucking-shit. Hundreds of civilian men,women and children are killed over there every fucking day without a shadow of remorse. It's completely a war about oil and money over human life and it makes me ashamed to be a U.S. citizen sometimes. People need to start organizing and get these religious warmongering fuckheads out of the White House. Things need to change in '08 or our children's children's children will be paying for this bullshit for years to come. Also, I personally endorse An-Empty-Beer-Can for president. Anybody but Bush and that includes Bush spirit animal/ hobbit-look-alike McCain.
AM/FM: When you think of the future of Early Graves what do you envision?
Makh: Touring and touring and touring and seeing the decline of the music industry on the whole and also watch people care less and less about music on an emotional level and seeing them just use it as a background noise for their movies, shopping, eating, breeding and meandering lives and we'll eventually quit and become outcasts that speak of the days when people actually "listened to music because they loved it". It'll be like Fahrenheit 451. Or more like Decibel 0.0: The level at which sound disappears.
AM/FM: In a sentence describe American political royalty, like the Bush family.
Makh: The American Taliban has got a posse.
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John Laramy, vocalist, Epicurean. Metal Blade recording artist.
The AM/FM Project: Describe how hard it is for a band to perform and travel every day and night for a long time (a year straight for example)?
John Laramy, vocalist, Epicurean: Well, I can't say that I've ever traveled for a year straight, but we are on the tail end of a 2 month run. It's much more "hard" on the body then anything else; lack of sleep and malnutrition come into play quite a bit when you're out for any extended period of time. What's draws hard on the mind is not having a "home base" to return to (and the inside of a van doesn't count). You do begin to feel like a gypsy after a while.
AM/FM: Who are some of your favorite musicians and artists of all-time?
John: Oooh, well... I would have to say Coheed and Cambria, Bad Religion, Thin Lizzy and Elvis Costello rank pretty high. Those are kind of my "Four Horsemen of Awesome". There are an plethora of other artists that scratch at the top as well: Symphony X, Citizen Cope, Brandi Carlile... That's such a difficult question to answer because there are just so many people I love, and I'm always getting my mind blown by new music. Oh, and I can't fail to mention Mission of Burma.
AM/FM: Americans don't support Bush's illegal war in Iraq. Are the youth around the world furious with the mess in "I-racket"?
John: That seems pretty general and biased to me. Where I stand on that point is rather irrelevant. Personally, don't ask a musician that question, ask a soldier and see what they have to say about it. I think that most Americans who complain about Bush have sort of an "Arm-chair Quarterback" quality to their complaints, and their opinion is more backed by a popular emotional alliance as opposed to rock hard fact (and no, fox news and CNN's one sided reports do not qualify as fact, rather a carefully positioned opinion). I think America's youth are told what to think, and the liberal left have almost become the "bullies" when it comes to this issue. Obviously some people agree with what he's doing, the idiot got re-elected.
AM/FM: When you think of the future of Epicurean, what do you envision?
John: You mean besides hookers and cocaine? Kidding. [AM/FM: LOL.] We all just really love to make music; we're not here for fame or money (obviously), we're just 6 guys who love to make music. All that I can hope for the band is that we have the opportunity to continue to make the music that we love and get to make a connection to the people who listen.
AM/FM: In a sentence describe political royalty, like the Bush family.
John: Well, I don't of anyone who considers the Bush family political "Royalty". I do think that even the most right-minded person would have a difficult time being thrust into an untouchable position of absolute power. How do I feel about them? I think it is that "untouchable" feeling that causes Bush and his preceeders to completely and utterly lose touch with the people they have been elected to represent. When that happens where 1 untouchable human being become the face and the voice for 300 million, there are bound to be issues. I think in a lot of ways a stand-alone leader, or "family" as it was put earlier, is rather unnecessary at this point.
The AM/FM Project: Describe how hard it is for a young band to perform and travel and party every day and night for a year straight.
Pin, guitarist of SikTh: Having never toured straight for a year, I can't really tell you! But from our month-plus experiences, it's all about balance; you have got to try and eat well and try to do stuff in the places you travel to, otherwise you find yourself getting into a really unhealthy routine,which can start to drive you mad and wouldn't really be sustainable!
AM/FM: Who are some of your favorite musicians and artists of all-time?
Pin: I like a broad range; it would go from guitarists like Steve Vai & Jason Becker onto bands such as Pantera, Metallica, Iron Maiden, etc. Also, electronic artists like Squarepusher, plus classical composers such as Stravinsky and Phillip Glass. Oh, and I musn't forget jazz composers/players like John Zorn and Charles Mingus...
AM/FM: Americans don't support Bush's illegal war in Iraq. As you know, he roped Great Britain into it with his lies and sickening smirk. Are the youth over there as furious with the mess in "I-racket" as American youth are? As you know, Great Britain is looking to pull out.
Pin: Yes!
AM/FM: In a sentence describe British royalty.
Pin:Great for tourist revenue and keeping journalists employed.
AM/FM: When you think of the future of Sikth, what do you envision?
Pin: Just pushing the songs we write forward; continuing to come up with real, uncompromising, creative music and vocals in a world of what's-cool-now copycat artists; expanding our fan base to a far greater level worldwide for a long time to come.
