E: So Chris, A Wilhelm Scream is a band on Nitro Records that has played a number of shows in its life... do constantly touring and playing ever begin to become a burden on you as a musician?
Chris: Definitely not. We aren't a studio band; we're a live band and [we] always have been. We love touring and playing shows. I don't think I'd be as happy in a band that didn't tour as much as we do. I mean, everyone gets a little tired of being out on the road when you're out for three months straight, but a week or two at home and you're all rested and ready to go again.
E: Will the upcoming tour be at all different from those you've been on in the past?
Chris: Well, we aren't going to be headlining small tours so much anymore, we're looking to support bigger bands for a while. We've beaten the U.S. and Canada to death on our own, so we're trying to get out there with bands that draw more kids�kids that normally wouldn't come to see us, so we can try to win them over.
E: Will the songs from your newest record, Mute Print, take over most of the set list?
Chris: The new record makes up pretty much the whole set list. We might throw in one or two older ones here and there, and if someone requests an older one that we remember we'll play it, but for the most part it
'll be all new songs. We've been playing the old material for so long that we're kind of sick of it.
E: On the road, do you usually listen to the same kind of music you play?
Chris: We listen to tons of different stuff, everyone has their own things that they're into. We all like a lot of the same stuff, but we all have things that we are into that others aren't. I listen to a lot of old school metal, Trevor likes a lot of alternative stuff like Dinosaur Jr. and Sparklehorse, Nuno listens to a lot of rap and metal. There's a huge mix in the van.
E: Were the songs for the album released not long ago�Mute Print�all written around the same time?
Chris: For the most part they were arranged around the same time, but as for the writing, a lot of the songs were put together from a mixture of both new and old ideas. After our last record, Benefits of Thinking Out Loud, there were something like 18 songs written right afterwards. Some of those songs were used, but had parts swapped in and out from other songs, or had vocal parts added, intros, guitar solos, or new parts thrown right in the middle. None of the songs that were used ended up sounding anything like the original. So really it was a mix of everything that we had written after Benefits put together in a span of three or four months.
E: Do you think that the band's being part of the label Nitro Records does a lot to show its merit?
Chris: We are extremely happy to be a part of the Nitro family�they are a great bunch of people and are all very supportive�but as far as the merit of the band goes, I think we've earned that on our own, label or no label. We've been together in one form or another for about eight years, touring heavily for about five. I think that on the business end of things we've always done the right thing, we work our asses off, and we're not douche bags. We truly appreciate anyone and everyone who has bought a record, come to a show, put us up at their house on tour, bought a shirt, or talked to us after the show. And we've maintained friendships with a lot of those kids, and the bands that we tour with. I think that shows our merit more than what label we're on.
E: What about the band do you think will remain unchanged no matter how long you are together?
Chris: As a band we've always had a lot of integrity, we've always tried to avoid doing things that we thought were corny or lame. I don't think that will change no matter how long we stay together.
E: Are there specific people that you think were necessary in getting you to where you are now? Do you think that you could have done it on your own without help like this?
Chris: Of course, there are a ton of people who helped us along the way. I don't think any band could do it all on their own. If you want me to name names, I will. First off, there's Jeremy Meyers from Jumpstart records, he invested a lot of time and money into us when literally no one else cared, he believed in us from day one. Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore at the Blasting room�Bill agreed to do our record for a ridiculously little amount of money because Jeremy from Jumpstart talked to him about it and was able to get him excited about the project�those two guys put in stupid hours working on our record in order to get it done in time. Our A&R guy Sean at Nitro, he really believed in us from day one, all the time that we were looking for a label for Mute Print, Sean just seemed like he wanted us more than any of the other labels that were interested. So he got us and hasn't stopped working his ass off yet. Our old booking agent Ray Picard from Rocket Booking... I can't even start to describe the shit that he went through with us, years of being on his phone booking tours for us, I'm sure he has a brain tumor by now from it. There are so many others, these are just a few of the bigger players who helped us get where we are. I could never name them all.
E: Hey, thanks a lot for doing the interview. It'll be great to hear more from you in the future.
Chris: No problem. |
