(Oct., 18, 2007) PCM's Kristyn spoke with Ben Jorgensen, guitarist/ vocalist for the band Armor for Sleep. Check out this interview for a look at the band's writing process and the meaning behind some of the songs off their new album, "Smile For Them."

Kristyn: Hi Ben. How are you doing?

Ben: Good, how are you?

K: I am not doing too bad. Are you feeling any better?

B: Yeah, I am good.

K: That is good to hear. So where are you guys located right now?

B: We are in Atlanta, Ga.

K: Ah, so the East coast then.

B: Yupp

K: So, how excited are you guys about the upcoming release on the 30th of October, which is only right around the corner?

B: We are really excited. We just worked really hard on this album and it has been a long time coming. I think we are all bubbling with excitement right now. It is definitely the most exciting time you can be in as a band, right before a record comes out and this one is a very important record for us. We couldn't be more excited about the songs on it, so it is awesome.

K: That is good. How many years has it been in-between the releases?

B: It will be at least three years in February, so it has been awhile.

K: Wow, yeah, it definitely has! And you are out on tour right now with The Rocket Summer and The Academy Is, how is that going thus far?

B: It's awesome, I mean it has been a fun time and it is exciting for us to play new songs and see how people are reacting. We enjoy telling our fans about the new record, has been fun, so it has been a great time so far.

K: That is good. So have you had any crazy fan experiences yet?

B: We don't really have crazy fan experiences. I mean, it's good though, I love our crazy fans because it shows how passionate they are and even though it is sometimes a little spooky, it's amazing that they know a lot about us and are willing to come talk to us.

K: Yeah, I have heard that, I was interviewing Joe Beck from the Spill Canvas and he was saying that some girl had a tattoo of their lead guy on her stomach; it was kind of a creepy experience.

B: Wow.

K: I read that the band is from New Jersey. Are you going to be in the Philadelphia area anytime soon?

B: Yeah, we are going to be in Philly at the end of the month, maybe the beginning of November.

K: Well, we would love to come out and review a live show, sometime.

B: That would be great!

K: How do you feel about the music scene in Jersey? I know there have been a lot of up and coming bands coming out of New Jersey, which is kind of odd, just being right around the corner from us here in Delaware.

B: I mean it is good, it makes sense to me. Usually if we are going on tour, it is the same way with Orange County, CA, that are a lot bands coming out there and it seems a weird place to have a lot of music, but it makes sense because it is so close to Los Angeles, but it is not in the city. I think the same thing happens with New Jersey, I think New York City is so close that all these kids kind of feed off the energy of New York and then they go back to their nice homes and start making music in their garages, and I think that is why there are some many bands that come from these places that are so close to these metropolises.

K: Right, I can see that. I was doing some research online and I see that your previous two albums deal with the afterlife and dream-like states, and I read that this album deals with more real world issues. Can you tell me what influenced the previously two albums and how is "Smile for Them" different that that?

B: Yeah, I mean I guess the first two albums were kind of very introspective. Kind of me being stuck inside my own head and this is the first time that I guess I would say am observing the outside world. I guess we have been through a lot in the past few years; this album is a lot about the people in our lives and what happens when you get famous. It looks at how twisted the lives of celebrities get, it is kind of taking a more outside perspective to everything. It is making these observations about what is like to be alive in the year 2007 and I think we haven't done that before.

K: Tell me a little bit about the chemistry within the band.

B: It is great; we all get along very well. I think as the years go by we grow more and more comfortable with each other, so we are able to be honest with each other about the ideas we put into songs and I think on this album we got to the place where we said, let's really do something different and let's break away from what we've been doing. That is sort of the path we have been traveling on and that is what we have done.

K: That is good. What is your writing process like? What comes first for you? The hook or the melody? Or the lyrics?

B: Usually there will be an idea that will spark. Like an idea for the song, yeah it could be lyric, it could be the chorus, or just a little bit of the song and I will come to practice and play it for everyone, and then everyone will just fill in the blanks, and then we will just work it out from there. Sometimes it takes a couple of years before a song that we worked on is done, and it can be a very long process. It is like hammering away at a stone statue, it comes into fruition little by little. It is never an easy thing, which is why it took us so long with this album. We wrote upwards of fifty songs for this record.

K: Wow!

B: I think is just one of those albums that took a really long time to write.

K: I get the feeling when listening to the song "Williamsburg" that is definitely a stab at something, could that be scensters? Could you explain some of the meaning behind it?

B: Yeah, to me it is like the people that believe me, are hipsters that have taken over Brooklyn and you know it is just kind of interesting to me that the whole subculture of people can be so arrogant. Of course it is a characterization of a certain kind of people, but I think the song is just about people who put you down and who bully you, whether it's hipsters or jocks, or goth kids. It is just about people who think they are cooler than you, when they are just as phony as anyone else. It is basically saying just take a chill pill! You are not as cool as you think you are!

K: I think I understand, it is sort of like that whole back in high school kind of thing.

B: Yeah, exactly.

K: I was also listening to "Smile for the Camera" and reading through the lyrics which are almost like a "Truman Show" type reality, I am not sure if you have seen that before, but is sort of what it made me think of. What are some influences behind that song?

B: I think I have always had a connection to movies like "The Truman Show" and "The Game" and "Dark City". I think it is because I feel like a lot of people nowadays with reality TV and MySpace and YouTube, it is like a lot of people are stuck in their own reality TV shows and it is kind of narcissistic culture that we live in and I am sure everyone has friends who truly think that the world is revolving around them. With everything that I just mentioned being so popular in our culture it is like everyone is spinning off further into their own ego-world. I mean, I have seen it happen. I have see my friends who are in bands now get big, and then they start to think that they are the only living breathing organisms on this planet. It is sad because these people isolate themselves from the rest of the world, and they don't even have to do it. I don't know, I guess it is just a weird thing, and I know this is going to sound angry, but it is more of just an observation and I hope people are going to be able to connect with it.

K: Yeah, hopefully. I mean the whole thing just struck me and I can definitely understand what you are saying with us being a MySpace generation. How do you feel about MySpace in general?

B: I think it is interesting, I don't think it is good or bad. It is interesting that MySpace is such a big part of our culture at the same time reality TV is and I don't think it is a coincidence. I think those two things walk on the same path and I think it is just interesting that people are finally able to create their own world, where they have a zillion friends and are famous in their own right. I am just excited that we got to write an album that deals with those things.

K: I hear ya. Do you guys monitor your own MySpace page or is that something the label takes care of?

B: No, we use it to get in touch with our fans. We have the password and we respond to our fan mail on a daily basis actually.

K: That is good, it is important to connect with fans that way.

K: While I was doing some more research online actually, several sites list your band in the category of emo, or dream-pop, which I actually hadn't heard of (laughs)

B: (laughs)

K: What is your opinion of these types of categories?

B: To me it would be an honor to be called an Emo band. I guess, I used to fight it, but there are some many great bands that started off this whole thing. I think Sunny Day Real Estate, Jimmy Eat World, and At the Drive-In are some of the best band that I have ever been around and they started this whole thing. I am not even sure what Emo means anymore, if we are Emo, then so be it. Dream-Pop, that's cool, I mean if that means we are being imaginative and that's awesome. If you want to call us Dream-Pop, that is like a compliment to me, so you can call us whatever you want. (laughs)

K: Alright, then Dream-Pop it is. (laughs)

K: I read the fill-in-the-blank word art on your official site, what gave you the idea for that concept? It is almost like playing with a magnetic poetry set.

B: I think I just wanted to make people feel like they were connected to the album and to try to guess the song titles. I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the track listing and the artwork for the album.

K: Definitely, I found myself playing around with it last night. It was fun!

B: Awesome!

K: What is the best way you feel you connect with fans? I see that you do take fan criticism very seriously, is this true? And how do you react to it?

B: I don't mind criticism, criticism is fine, I do not think that any art is perfect; it is all a matter of taste. The thing that I want to go out there and correct is if someone misinterprets what my intentions were with a song. Which has happened before, and I just have to go out there and let them know what my intention was. Maybe I did a bad job of making it clear, so this is what I was trying to say, and then maybe they can say it was your fault for not making it clear, or whatever. I will just always try to put myself out there and let them know what my intentions were. I think that is important, I do not want people to be misled.

K: That seems to be the best way to handle things. So, what kind of music are you listening to these days? What is playing in your I-Pod?

B: I just got into a Hilary Duff song called "Stranger" which I think is pretty awesome.

K: We were actually just watching the video for that song a few minutes ago. We have a collection of videos that come into the office and that was the first one on the list.

B: Nice

K: That is pretty interesting.

B: So, yeah, I like that. I have been listening to Ryan Adams a lot; I like his album "Gold" and some Saves The Day.

K: Cool, I saw Saves the Day a few years ago in Philadelphia. It was a good show.

B: Awesome.

K: Another question, I have is where do you see the future of music heading and where do you see the band in that picture?

B: That is a really good question. I don't know, there were quite a few times when I felt that the music industry was just going to collapse, but I stopped worrying about that. I don't know, I think we will always be able to make records, I do not think we have pigeoned ourselves into one specific genre of music that is going to go anywhere soon. I think even if the music industry were to fall apart, bands would still be out there making CD's and getting them out there. I mean if the ship is sinking, there are going to be some kind of rescue boats and I am sure we will figure out where we can go.

K: Right. Do you enjoy playing live versus in the studio? Which do you prefer?

B: It took awhile for me to really feel comfortable playing live, now it is really fun and I love performing and really feeling the songs and trying to bring other people into it. I guess now it is just as fun for me, as being in the studio. Before I used to like being in the studio much more, but now I think they are two different parts of the same brain.

K: My final question is, can you tell us an interesting fact of tid-bit about the band what we may not know already?

B: That Nash and P.J are actually cousins in the band.

K: Okay, I did not know that. Is there anything else you would like to add?

B: I guess, thank you for doing the interview. I appreciate it.

K: Oh, you are quite welcome, it was my pleasure. Thank you so much for talking to us today. And we hope to be out to check out the live show sometime soon!

B: Yeah, that would be great.

K: Thanks again.

B: Alright, I will talk to you later.

K: Bye.

Check out the video for "Williamsburg":