Interview

Babble & Beat - Congratulations on the recent release of 'From The Nights You Lost Your Voice'! How close was your original vision of the album to the final product?

Rami - Nothing really close at all. We have had to change a lot of things around to get it just where we wanted with several producers.

Rick - When you consider all the elements that went into making the record, it came out amazingly close. I think we are all incredibly proud of the final product.

Chris - I agree with Rick. It was damn, damn close. The amazing thing is that it took such an incredible journey to get there, and at one point it seemed like it was going to be something else entirely. But, I think in the end, the record sounds like the band, and that was vital to us.

Jeremy - The final product far surpassed any vision I had for the album.

George - I don’t think I could really ask for anything more, everything from the way the record sounds to the way it looks was beyond my expectations. So, I’m really proud to have my name plastered on it.

Babble & Beat - Please complete the following sentence: If you like (blank) and (blank), you’ll love our new album.

Chris - Jack and Coke... yeah... um... Jimmy Eat World and Counting Crows. BTW - The new Counting Crows record is amazing, but of course I’d say that.

Rami - Tony and Danza.

Rick - Chocolate and peanut butter. No seriously, The Killers and maybe Artic Monkeys?

Jeremy - No, Maroon 5 and The Killers.

George - Well, Jay from The Higher said we sound like Blue October, but I would also say Maroon 5 and The Killers.

Babble & Beat - I am really pleased to see the message you are sending with your video for 'Watch the World'; it is especially important for that message to come from young, successful, and attractive men like yourselves. How does this video speak for each of you?

Chris - Being responsible is a big one for us, but being accountable is bigger. 'Watch the World' in both forms of the song deal with the same issue. If you look around and start paying attention you will see that basically our priorities are a little fucked up, and that we are basically being trained to move in circles and chase our own tails. We actually did not come up with the video concept, but I think the director who did really identified with the song. He was able to create a niche for what it meant to him, and I think that is great. Vanity and fear really make up what our culture is all about. It is tough to fight that, but I think the old video for 'Watch the World' is a start. We just did a collaboration with an amazing rap group called the Villainz, and plan on hopefully doing a video for that where we can hit on a lot more topics than just plastic surgery.

Rami - "Beauty is a curse." - Nip/Tuck

Rick - Interestingly enough, the original video for 'Watch the World' was our take more on the superficial wave that seems to thread through our pop culture. We re-did the song for FTNYLYV ('From The Nights You Lost Your Voice') and this time around, tried to drive the point home of what I feel the original meaning was about, taking responsibility for our actions both personally and politically as a society. We cannot continue to blame the media for not covering our world properly and then turn around and shy away from talking about the important issues of our time. We need to demand from our mediums that they address more important issues than Britney Spears. I think we can do this by getting engaged in public discourse more and by trying to lift the bar on the level of where our entertainment content lies again. Just like back in the 60’s and 70’s... we are right back here again. This time around, we are possibly in even much worse shape and some problems are so big that only individuals who inspire masses can solve them. We are planning to shoot a video for the new version of the song real soon that gets at these points.

Jeremy - We are entering, actually, we are in an age of increased awareness. We have more access to more information than any generation we know of. I am excited to see what we do collectively with this new power.

George - Yes, especially the fact that we all live in LA where a lot of that fake people slash plastic surgery thing is kind of made famous. I mean, obviously the song doesn’t strictly cover those issues, but I think it's kind of ironic that the video turned out the way it did. I hope a bunch of people who watched it took a lot out of it.

‘Watch the World’ video:

Babble & Beat - What were some of the less obvious influences on the album?

Rick - I will leave this to Chris. I know we had lots of emotions from our negative dealings with previous music industry partners that fueled us creatively, especially with 'No Cameras'. And then 'Better Than This' and 'Watch The World' were fueled by an overwhelming desire to start taking part and seeing change for the positive in our world around us.

Chris - Ha. Well do you mean musically, personally, or maybe something from film, politics, and literature? I think we would like to think of our music as almost being Vonnegut-esque. I will write about anything from a news report, to being cheated on, to the struggle of dealing with a record label in an industry that does not even care if music is at all artistic these days. I think the world we live in is all together amazing, fucked up, and tremendously embarrassing, and we tend to write about all the nuances of that. Someone asked me why we call the record 'From the Nights You Lost Your Voice', and the answer is that each song is a reason you lost your voice. It could have been from having a blast at a show, someone making you speechless, or being furious at someone, or even politically. But there is a reason for it all. If you’re looking for name influences, I’d say... Barack Obama, Tom Robbins, Ryan Adams, David Cross, Bill Maher, Kurt Vonnegut, Bright Eyes, Zeitgeist, and the Coen Brothers.

Jeremy - Yes, Zeitgeist. I encourage you to look it up.

Rami - “Betrayal and happiness.”

George - Crap, I think Rick and Chris took the words out of my mouth.

Babble & Beat - Is making a video a fun or tedious task? Oh, and do you get to pick the girls for your vids?

Chris - I was a film major, so I love the process. I really want to start directing our own videos, and creating the concepts that go with the songs themselves.

Rami - If you let Chris direct our videos we'll end up as clay people on unicycles, ha-ha.

Babble & Beat - I LOVE claymation!

Jeremy - It’s all outlook and attitude. If you want it to be tedious, it will be. I think it's fun. Actually, I think it’s fantastic. All these people working to make you look good, how could I complain about that?

Rick - Ha-ha, ask George. To me videos are a blast and tedious all at the same time. I’m ready to shoot 6 right now.

George - Of course making a music video is fun, every one dreams about making videos even before you start a band. To be able to actually do it is an amazing feeling. I mean, sure it’s tedious and a little over whelming, but it’s so worth it!! I never thought I would be in 2 music videos... ever! It’s funny you ask about the whole picking the girl thing 'cause in our latest video my girlfriend is the one seducing the clown.

Babble & Beat - What amusement park were the album and group photos taken at? You ran out of quarters playing skee ball? What did you win?

Chris - It was from the Santa Monica Pier. Which has been used to death, but we tried to make it look different with how we approached the shots. I’m really happy with how they came out.

George - During the group photos, we were actually were yelled at for sitting on the skee ball.

Jeremy - We won self-respect... not easy.

Rami - I won on the same machine Tom Hanks won on in the movie Big. Fortune Tellers.

Rick - I won a stuffed baseball bat and I tried to beat George with it, but it just didn’t work.

Babble & Beat - You currently have a few shows scheduled in support of this release. What other bands/musicians do you want to share a stage with?

Chris - I think there are a bunch of acts that we would fit with, however a lot of bands that I do love wouldn’t fit. But I’d love to tour with The Killers. I really identify with Brandon Flowers, and I think I could learn a lot from him. I’d kill to tour with Green Day. We got a chance to meet them, and they are about the nicest musicians you’ll ever come across.

Rami - Hanson.

Babble & Beat - Hmmm.

Jeremy - I'd love to play with Fallout Boy... or The Killers.

Rick - Truthfully, we just want to play with any acts that are doing their thing and connecting. I think we are lucky because our listener base is so wide. We could get people interested from hip-hop to hard rock. They just have to be open and looking to listen. We have proved on our tours to this point that we can turn cold rooms our way... we just need to be on the road. Period.

George - I agree with Rick, at this point anyone who is really networking their band and getting themselves out there. I mean, obviously touring with huge bands like The Killers or Jimmy Eat World would be amazing, but in reality just any band who is on their game and killing it! For example, this band called There for Tomorrow is perfect. They’re all really, really young, like I think 17 and 18, and just got signed to Hopeless. I think at least 80% is because of touring.

Babble & Beat - We understand there will be many more show dates, that you’ll be touring in spurts throughout the year by region. What city or venue are you most looking forward to playing and why?

Chris - I want to play Japan and Europe the most. We just did a bunch of dates in the Western US, and I fell in love with Tucson and Grand Junction, Colorado of all places. It’s the cities that you never expect that end up being your favorites.

Rami - Japan!

Rick - Sometimes, the best shows come from the most unlikely places. I look forward to playing any day I can. The more people the better. That being said, I also want to get to Japan and Europe. I know we would slay there.

George - Yeah, definitely Europe and Japan. I know it's farfetched but Australia would be killer too. Kids there love American music. I don’t even think you have to be good, you just have to be an American band, ha-ha.

Jeremy - I look forward to Chicago, hometown and all.

Babble & Beat - Will you be doing the whole tour bus thing or will you be hopping from hotel to hotel? Do you have a preference?

Jeremy - Hotels!? We should be so lucky, ha-ha. I'm stoked to get a bed.

Chris - Our van is our home. We treat her like shit, but she’s still really good to us. Ha-ha. I’d like to stay in hotels. There is nothing better than room service.

Rick - Ha-ha... as an unsigned band, it's from the van to a fan’s floor. Hopefully that won’t be for long, but for now... that’s what it takes. I prefer the Four Seasons.

George - I actually really like our van. It's cozy, everyone has their own little nook.. I mean hotels are great and everything, but I enjoy sleeping in the van.

Babble & Beat - Please tell us a little bit about your current (& past if applies) endorsements and how they came about.

Chris - We used to be endorsed by EV Mics. They were great. Actually, our first guitar player knew the company because they were based out of Wisconsin. Then we fired our guitar player because he stole the mics. Now we are endorsed by Tigi Bead Head... it’s a great product. We got it 'cause they liked our hair.

George - Tigi Bead Head is the jam, that is all I have to say!

Rick - I’m stoked to have just been endorsed by Aguilar Amplification. They have been my favorite Bass Amp and Cab for a while now and to be endorsed by them... it is simply super gravy.

Babble & Beat - What are each of your "dream" endorsements?

Chris - Fender Guitars and Amps, Shure Mics, Diesel, Starbucks, and the Palm Steakhouse.

Rick - Aguilar was the start of a dream... so I got that going for me, which is nice. Past that, Fiji Water, the Federal Reserve, and my landlord.

Jeremy - Gibson and Fender. Oh, and Orange.

George - Panera Bread, Tomato Pie Pizza on Melrose, SJC Drums or Truth Drums, Zyldian Cymbals, Remo Heads, Vater Sticks, oh and Long Island ice teas if that was at all possible.

Juicy Tidbits Section

This is where we ask personal questions for the fans. Yeah, they're often stupid questions. We like reading the answers though!

Babble & Beat - Is it true what they say, that you have to get permission to change your hairstyle in this business?

Rick - Not us. You must have us mistaken for accountants.

Jeremy - Maybe... depends on the people.

Chris - I used to have a manager that wouldn’t let me cut my hair too short. Fuzz Records wanted us to grow our hair out. So, depends on who you are working with. Now that we are endorsed by Tigi Bead Head, I think they’d be pissed if we shaved our heads.

Babble & Beat - What is your favorite packaged junk food?

Chris - Starbursts, or sour Skittles. It's tough. Can’t beat a good ol’ Snickers.

Rick - Twizzlers.

Jeremy - Egg McMuffins baybeeee.

Babble & Beat - God, I love those too.

George - Too many to name, but my top 3 is Snickers, salt and vinegar chips, and hint of lime chips.

Babble & Beat - What has been one major highlight and one major bummer during your music career so far?

Chris - Playing for Green Day was a huge highlight. Fucking Billie Joe Armstrong was actually dancing to our music. I think recording with Jeff Saltzman was a highlight and a bummer, 'cause I think if we had more time with him and more money behind us, we could have made an amazing record.

Rick - Highlight, watching Larry Graham play bass from 10 feet away. It is a bummer, people devaluing good music by flooding the market with so much crap. People expect music for free nowadays, and that puts all the music on the same level subconsciously. You wouldn’t treat a painting by different artists that way, why should recorded music be there? It’s due to the medium and that’s why, hopefully, good music will rise to the top again... and like most of us, people don’t mind paying for something if it's good. I’m happy to give Prince my money.

Jeremy - Being in this band. I have yet to encounter a major bummer.

George - Playing for Green Day was about the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life, but it was definitely the highlight. The downer is how much money I’ve spent, ha-ha-ha kidding.

Babble & Beat - You freaked when you met ______________. Or, you’d freak if you met ______________.

Chris - Being in LA you get to meet your heroes sometimes. I freaked out when I met Chan Marshal (Cat Power). But she is an amazing person, and really fucking funny.

Rick - Prince. I was at a sound check with his band. I was 6 feet away and for the first time in my life, I was speechless. I’d freak no matter how many times I got to be around him. Just sayin'...

Jeremy - I'd freak out if I met Michael Jordan in 1998.

George - I've met a lot of people and I’ve never really been that star struck.

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