Interview

PART 1 - INTERVIEW WITH BEN & STEVE:

Babble & Beat - Your new CD, 'The Serpent' is coming out in a few days [August 7th]...

Ben - Yeah, 3 days! It’s in Australia right now - were going to go fly over there and pick it up [laughs].

Babble & Beat - This is your first Warped Tour. How does this compare to other tours that you have done in the past?

Ben - This is the biggest tour that I have ever done... The biggest crowd I have ever played for is maybe one-thousand. We just got here, so I’m not really sure what the crowds like.

Babble & Beat - So this is your first day of the tour?

Ben - Yeah, we’re on at 8 tonight and have been sweating all day waiting to see what happens.

Babble & Beat - That must be nerve-racking!

Steve - Were a little anxious for sure.

Ben - Yeah, the entire label is here too.

Babble & Beat - You got to get your game together!

Ben - Yeah, we got to step it up.

Babble & Beat - You said the biggest concert that you have ever played for is 1,000?

Ben - We're the new guys, so we haven’t done a lot of extensive touring.

Steve - Yeah, we just recently joined the band.

Ben - These guys (points to the rest of the band) aren’t worried about it. They got mad skills.

Babble & Beat - What is your favorite thing about playing live?

Steve - It’s seeing everything that you’ve gone through, just sort of come through and see everyone get into it. That’s always really rewarding.

Babble & Beat - Before today, had you ever seen the Warped Tour?

Ben - No, never.

Steve - I haven’t either.

Babble & Beat - Kevin Lyman (Warped Tour founder) says that 95 to 100-percent of musicians on the tour have seen it before they came on the tour, so you’re one of the 5-percent. I’ll let him know – um, maybe I shouldn’t.

[everyone laughs]

Babble & Beat - What kind of music do you listen to?

Ben - Rock, Metal.

Steve - Yeah, more on the heavy rock side, but definitely still metal. The new album is definitely a step in the rock-and-roll direction.

Ben - It’s hard to put it in one specific genre though - there are parts where you say ‘what am I listening to?’ but it all blends together.

Babble & Beat - Musically, do you try to set yourselves apart from other metal acts when you record and play live?

Steve - Very much so. On this latest album we really wanted to break a lot of common metal clichés, and so it was a conscious thing on all of out minds. We really just wrote what we wanted to write as musicians.

Babble & Beat - Your music is very heavy. Do you find it hard to keep that energy level up when you play?

Ben - No, not so far. I’ve really been pumped to play, and have been really excited about it. I guess if you talk to people who have been doing it for 20-years then maybe, but were not there yet.

Babble & Beat - In one word, describe the new album.

Ben - Unique!

Steve - Amazing!

Babble & Beat - When the last Keyboardist, Zach Roth left the band, was it a bad departure?

Ben - No, not at all. We all still hang out together. We actually still work together because he does movies – he’s in film school. He was directing a cooking show that we did a couple of weeks ago. He is a very creative guy.

Babble & Beat - Oh yeah, I saw that. I want to try that Pineapple Mojito that you made.

Ben - Were you the one who said we are going to hell?

Babble & Beat - No, I just checked it out last night.

Ben - Someone left a comment saying we are hypocrite Christians for drinking and promoting underage drinking because our drummer looks 16, but is actually over 21.

PART 2 - INTERVIEW WITH ADRIAN:

Babble & Beat - How would you describe the album in one word?

Adrian - Can I do two words with a hyphen?

Babble & Beat - Sure.

Adrian - Tension-release.

Babble & Beat - So, the album is coming out on the 7th, are you excited?

Adrian - We have been waiting so long for this thing to come out. All of the ducks are in a row, and everything is going real well, so it’s killer! We haven’t even toured in a year – we have just been at home writing it and practicing it.

Babble & Beat - You music is very intense. Do you find it hard to keep up that energy when you are drumming live on stage?

Adrian - Just like every other musician, I have tried to figure out a formula for how much sleep you have to get, what you have to eat, exercise – you name it. Everyday is different, and it’s hard to tell until you get on stage. I just try to stay as consistent as I possible can, and if I’m full of energy I will bang my head as hard as I can until it falls off.

Babble & Beat - What is your personal favorite thing about playing live for the fans?

Adrian - Creative expression, and putting smiles on peoples faces. There isn’t a better feeling in the world.

Babble & Beat - What does the future look like for Still Remains?

Adrian - Pretty bright right now. I think this album will do really well, hopefully. We had a great producer, Steve Evetts out of California. He’s produced Story of the Year, The Cure, Hatebreed, Saves The Day. We worked really hard, and I think it’s going to be good.

PART 3 - INTERVIEW WITH T.J. & MIKE:

Babble & Beat - I know some of the other guys in the band are a little nervous about the show tonight. Are you?

Mike - Well, it’s been awhile since we played a tour, so we’re a little big nervous about getting the cobwebs off of our instruments.

Babble & Beat - Mike, you like to cook. Do you cook a lot for the band?

Mike - Yeah, when we go on tour we bring a small grill sometimes. When we were recording 'Of Love and Lunacy' we stayed in a house, so I cooked for these guys quite a bit. It’s fun!

Babble & Beat - I’ve got to try that Pineapple Mojito. I usually don’t like Mojitos - but with pineapple...

Mike - Yeah, pineapple rules.

Babble & Beat - Do you think 'The Serpent' is the best album to date?

T.J. - By far! By miles and miles.

Mike - We put everything we have into this. There is a lot of passion behind the songs.

T.J. - We are really excited about playing these new songs tonight, some of them for the first time.

LINKS:
Official Still Remains
Official SR MySpace - music clips!