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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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| Interview with Ari and Nima February 21st, 2005 |
Ari Fontecchio - Vocals Bryan Russell - Guitar Guillermo Younger - Bass Nima Shirazi - Drums |
| E: On My Signal, you guys have just recently released your EP, Exit, Paremeters... how much had you recorded prior to this release?
Ari: Even before we tracked our EP, we had fairly regular access to The Hit Factory recording studio in Manhattan. We were able to track a bunch of demos, including 'You First,' which is still one of our favorite songs to play live. You can actually check out some of the early demos on purevolume. E: How widely available is the EP for purchase? Nima: Well, it's available at all our shows and online at Smartpunk, Interpunk, and Insound. Also, one of the songs on the EP ('Words Lost To White Noise') was picked to be included on the new Drive-Thru/Purevolume compilation that just came out. That's available in pretty much all record stores around the world...or at least we saw in NYC's Union Square Virgin Megastore, which is sweet. E: How'd you end up on that comp? Ari: Our manager and good friend Bryan Swepston was able to hook up a showcase with Richard and Stefanie from DTR a while back, before we actually had recorded the EP. When we eventually sent them the song, they said they wanted it on the comp. E: Has the New York crowd been responsive so far? (to your music/live shows in general) Nima: Yes, definitely. Since we're from the city, we get a good mixture of our friends as well as our fans at our shows. When we headline shows, it's a lot like our own personal house party where our friends get drunk and put On My Signal stickers on their asses. When we support touring bands, like Gatsby's American Dream, Straylight Run, Acceptance, Bayside, Action Action, etc..., it's a lot like someone else's house party where their fans put On My Signal stickers on their asses. Ari: It's become increasingly difficult to keep young girls from jumping up onstage and grinding up on Guillermo during our set. But, that guy's a champ and always finishes the song. E: How long have you all played as this band? Ari: A little over a year and a half now. But we'd known each other for a while before and had traded ideas. E: How far from New York have you had the chance to play? Nima: We went up to Boston a little while ago and had a great show at the Middle East with a couple Victory bands and The Sleeping. That's actually one of my favorite shows we've ever played because the audience was crazy and I hadn't had a haircut in about nine months. We've also played out on Long Island and in New Jersey a bunch, and have made it down to Philly for a couple shows, one of which was sponsored by Y100. E: Do you have very specific plans for the future? Ari: Specific? No. Explosive? Yes. Right now we're talking to a bunch of different labels and weighing our options. Nima: We plan to do a national tour this summer and then head back into the studio to record our full-length. Ari: We actually just finalized the purchase of our bus so we'd better be going somewhere, or we just spent a lot of money on nothing. The reason Bryan and Guillermo aren't with us right now doing this interview is that they're busy spray-painting the words "Motor Pussy" on the side of the bus. Nima: We're not sure why, but we're excited. E: So how far are you expecting to take this? Nima: All the way to the bank, hopefully. We're solely in this for the money. Every time we write new song, we do so with the intention of selling it directly to Ikea or CingularWireless to use in their commericals...or furniture. Ari: No no, that's not true. We all grew up on music and none of us can picture our lives without it. We're at a point where we're completely dedicated to each other and to our collective creativity. We're all more than determined to take this as far as we can. Nothing makes us happier. E: Well you guys have my wishes for the best of luck--anything else you want to say? Nima: We thought we'd be revealing all our hidden desires and Baby Boomer trivia prowess in this interview. Ari: We just want to thank you for the interview. You do a really cool thing for bands like us. Nima: Did you know that Kennedy Airport in New York was first called Idlewild Airport? We did. |