(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!
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