(Dec 14, 2007) PCM's
Kristyn spent some time chatting with Michael Grant from
the band Endeverafter. We learned about some of the band's
influences and their mission for world domination...
Kristyn: Hello, this is Kristyn.
Michael Grant: Hi, may I speak with Kristyn?
I'm Michael Grant from EndEverafter. I'm calling you guys
for a interview.
K: Hi Michael, this is Kristyn.
MG: This is Kristyn?
K: Yes. Can you hear me okay?
MG: Pretty well. How's it going?
K: Not bad. How are you?
MG: I'm all right. Good. I've toured since
like forever. It's a very good thing to get to go home and
shower.
K: Get ready for the holidays, right?
MG: Yup. Get ready to be broke.
K: Yeah, trust me, I know the feeling.
I'm just sitting here looking at my bank information going
"oh god."
MG: It sucks. It's like, you know, everybody
gets a head start Xmas shopping but like, my Christmas shopping
is going to start now. You know? This is one of the most
jam-packed times.
K: That's okay, I'm right there with you.
So (laughing) I haven't done anything yet.
MG: Right on.
K: Okay, well to start off, can you tell
our readers a little history behind the band? How did you
get your start? Where did you all meet?
MG: Okay. Well, everybody was from different
quarters of the US. My current drummer is from Chicago;
my guitarists is from Northern California; I live in Hollywood,
and my bassist Tom Andrews lives in Las Vegas and we're
all really spread out but everybody, at one point, lived
in Sacramento and that's kind of where we got our start.
My guitarist, Kristan Mallory, used to be a rock journalist
for this magazine called Ground Zero Magazine or something
like that, or Divining? Some kind of magazine. Before we
were Endeverafter, I was in a band just called Endever and
he came to interview the band. We just really hit it off.
We just really started talking about music and bands and
our love for the Smashing Pumpkins and other bands, and
he just became a really good friend and I was putting together
a line up to start Endeverafter; Kristan and I were just
thinking about what would be the sickest band to put together?
We were thinking about having this crazy Rock 'N Roll band,
the way it once was, you know? It was at that moment where
we decided to start Endeverafter and shortly after I found
Tommi Andrews I was actually dating his sister.
K: Oh, okay. (laughing)
MG: That's kind of how we met, and I came
to live with him. From the moment I met Tommi, actually,
which was a couple years ago, three or four years ago, we've
been inseparable. Me, him and Kristan just became best friends
and about a year and a half ago, two years ago we found
Eric Humbert in Chicago and everything is complete now.
Then we started playing shows in Sacramento and we just
killed it. We just killed it. We got fined within 8 or 9
shows and we were opening up for Fall Out Boys. From that,
it was that show that sort of set everything off. The next
thing you know people were coming in from all over the country
just to check us out! Agents flying out, people were courting
us for management, booking, and it all really fell into
place pretty quickly. Months later, shortly after, we were
able to play in the Cinderella Tour and things got even
crazier, then we set up with Kiss, even crazier, you know?
K: I can imagine! That's a big jump, between
Fall Out Boy, and Panic At the Disco! And then Cinderella
and Poison.
MG: And then Kiss!
K: Yeah.
MG: It's so weird, it was just a natural progression
and it just felt like everything fell into place perfectly
and I had no complaints. (laughing)
K: That's good. It's awesome that you were
to find that connection with people to work with because
so often you have one big personality in a band that conflicts
with others even though the talents there. You're really
lucky to find that connection.
MG: I feel that what was really lucky though
was that I'm in the band with my best friends. That, to
me, is the biggest feeling of accomplishment because my
whole life I've been in and out of bands and you know when
you're first starting out it's hard to people that are like-minded
and have the same spirit and goals as you, the same drive
and passion. It gets really hard, you know, just working,
keeping track of you. That's the hardest thing to find,
much less people to play in a band with what I just described
and who are your best friends.
K: Right.
MG: I think that's what's special about this
band, where, it's not like four dudes like in The Backstreet
Boys where no one knows who one another is. It's like, we
are brothers.
K: That's good. So, how's the writing process
for you guys? What usually comes first when you're setting
out to write songs?
MG: Well the writing process, I mean, I wrote
the entire (?) Album. You know. Usually, how it starts for
me is with a really good guitar rift. Rarely do I ever write
the lyrics first because I think the music dictates which
direction the music should go. So, it's usually the music
first. I'll bring in a riff and we'll jam it. If it feels
good and everybody is vibing off it and everybody is really
feeling it, then we build upon that and I take it home and
I finish the song if I feel like its worthwhile. Then everybody
puts in their own flavor at the end of the day in rehearsal
and after I write all of it, people start to put their own
flavor in it. The music starts to take its own shape and
before you know it it's recorded.
K: That's good. Who would you say are some
of your major influences?
MG: I think, generally, our biggest influences
are Aerosmith, Led Zepplin, Guns 'n Roses, Van Halen, Motley
Crue, the Beatles. Those are the major influences. They
make up the cohesion of this band. Those bands definitely
influence us hardcore.
K: What'd you think of that Led Zepplin
reunion?
MG: I was dying because of those things! Those
tickets were sold out before they were even on sale! That
was insane!
K: Yeah, I know! (laughing)
MG: I wanted to go so bad. We gigged the same
night, and I kept thinking like "God, those guys are
on stage right now!"
K: Yeah, I can imagine. I was like, "Can't
I just stand outside the venue or something?"
MG: (laughing) Hopefully they'll put
out a dvd or something like that pretty soon.
K: I hope so! I can't find any clips on
the internet. I keep looking.
MG: Funny enough, I was watching the news,
and the news showed clips of it! They showed a clip of them.
K: Wow, I missed that. I got the set list,
but that's it.
MG: What was the set list? Tell me?
K: What'd I even do with it? I know they
opened up with "Rock 'n Roll," and "Dazed
and Confused" was in there I know that. And "Cashmere?"
MG: Yeah, that's the all encompassing song,
I think.
K: Yeah, it was a bunch.
MG: I think that song sums up Led Zepplin
to a "T," more than "Stairway to Heaven."
K: Definitely. So, I've got a fun question;
if you could share the stage with any one band, who would
it be?
MG: Led Zepplin.
K: Okay. (laughs) That answers that
question.
MG: It would be Aerosmith second, Guns 'N
Roses third, and then I would definitely love to play with
the Beatles, but…
K: Yeah, not really possible. (laughs)
MG: I know, but you know what I mean? I would
just love to have that opportunity to be on stage with Paul
McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison.
K: I know that feeling.
MG: It would be epic, right?
K: It certainly would.
MG: With new bands? Well, new bands there's
not really new bands that I want to share a stage with,
to be honest. We've been on a lot of tours and that's always
great; going on the road, making new friends, but the people
I would just long to share the stage with are the bands
that idolize. Unfortunately that's none of the new bands
that are out, right now.
K: So, have you had any crazy tour or fan
experiences yet, being on the road?
MG: Definitely! This girl had me, with my
sharpie, she had me write Endeverafter on the back on her
neck and put my signature on her arm, and she came to a
show two days later, and it was inked! She had gotten it
tattooed on herself! That I was just like "Oh my god.
I can't believe it." I was like, "If I knew you
were going to get this tattooed on the back of your neck,
I would have done it a lot neater!" (laughs)
I would have taken my time! I just did it real fast, and
there it is, inked!
K: You know, that's actually common? I've
heard that more than once just interviewing other artists,
and they say the creepiest fan experience is when they do
get those tattoos. Somebody got a picture of, I think it
was The Spill Canvas or Armor For Sleep that she got the
picture of the guitarist tattooed on her stomach!
MG: That's horrible! (laughing)
K: Yeah, it was pretty creepy.
MG: That's, shady.
K: Yeah. It's getting more popular for
some reason. Pretty soon people are just going to be a walking
autograph table or something. (both laugh) What would
you say is the overall message that you're trying to convey
to fans with Kiss Or Kill?
MG: Our message is to bring back the fun of
Rock and Roll. You know? I mean music has been in such a
sad state for the past few years, I mean it's just sad.
My grandpa left my heart bulltish , I'm so goddamned sad,
give me my eyeliner and then you sit in the corner and carve
a peace sign crying my eyes. It's just like, I'm so sick
of that. You know? It's time that Rock 'n Roll needs a kick
in the ass, and I think we're the feet that would like to
give it that kick in the ass. I mean, everything out there
that I've heard is just so "Whoa is me, wah wah wah.
All this pain, all this suffering," and it's like,
"Get out of here! You're sitting up here in your damn
mansion, rich as sh**, singing about the same bull as when
you first started out." Nobody wants to hear that,
you know?
K: Right.
MG: You're supposed to have a damn great time,
smiling, going crazy with all you have! They're finally
starting to get reconnecting with that vibe of fun, you
know, and having a good. But that doesn't necessarily mean
that every song has to be a party, that's not what I mean
because music doesn't have to be all chipper in order to
be fine, it just has to have a feeling of enjoyment. They
have songs with a tone, but you don't feel sad when you
listen to them, you still have a feeling of enjoyment listening
to the message that the band is trying to deliver, because
they don't deliver them in a whiny way.
K: Yeah. Well, it's that whole "emo"
thing that's just completely taking over. I completely thing
it's time for Rock to make a comeback.
MG: Well, yeah. If you didn't realize it,
that's exactly what I'm talking about.
K: Yeah, exactly.
MG: Exactly what I'm talking about. I mean,
I've heard all these bands that are coming out are just
copycats of one another. They change little elements in
the band but it's still this whiny bastard music and I can't
stand it. Sorry I'm getting all vulgar, but I have feelings
on this issue.
K: No, I can understand, trust me. So,
I see you're headed out on Vince Neil's Motley Cruise in
'08? How did you end up in that?
MG: Set up that not too long ago. I was very
excited about that.
K: That's awesome. When are you leaving,
January?
MG: I think it's January, like January 20,
something like that. It's 4 days, playing 3 sets a day.
K: Wow.
MG: Yeah, I don't know how that's going to
work. We've never played more than 2 sets a day.
K: (laughing) Yeah, are you going
to play for the breakfast crowd too?
MG: I know!
K: Yeah, I think I want to be a stowaway
on that boat, but it sounds like a lot of fun.
MG: It sounds like a good time. I'm very excited
about it! Vince Neil just left messages not long ago saying
he was excited about he saw us, and that was really cool,
and sort of give us a little nod, tip of the of the hat
sort of thing saying "Glad to have you guys on the
tour, it's really good.
K: That's good.
MG: Especially since Motley Crue is one of
my favorite bands ever.
K: Definitely sounds good.
MG: Getting a message from Vince it's just
like you start feeling like a little school girl. "Vince
messaged me!"
K: You get all giggly going "wow I
talked to him!"
MG: Yeah. You get excited like, "I can't
believe this dude's messaging me!"
K: It's good to connect with some of your
idols. It gives you a sign that you've kind of made it.
You know?
MG: Right! Just, honestly, I think making
it seems weird. I mean, what is making it? To me, I haven't
made it yet until I'm headlining Madison Square Garden and
it's sold out. That's making it to me. Right now, I feel
like I'm living my dream, but I haven't made it yet.
K: Well, it is good to keep striving to
reach your goals
MG: I've just had a sample about what all
this is about. We're taking the rock 'n roll crowd to the
top of the hill. We're still down at the bottom, making
our way to the top.
K: Well, it's good to hear you still have
goals. Some people get to start out touring and it's like
"okay, we're done, we've done what we're supposed to
do."
MG: (laughing) Yeah! People from back
home and what-not will be like "hey, you guys made
it" and I'll be like, "What are you talking about?
We didn't make anything." We're still the same dudes,
we're still doing the same things, and we're not rich bastards
yet, so I don't think we made anything except our dreams,
part of our dreams come true. We're living our dreams. That's
fruitful enough but in my mind I'm far from having made
it, you know?
K: Right.
MG: I'm very driven that way.
K: That's good because you have to keep
those goals. That way you keep striving to do better the
next time, not just give up because everything keeps raising
the bar all the time.
MG: And that's true. I love to have people
keep raising the bar on me, and I'll meet it. From time
to time you have to worry about it.
K: That's good. There's a very, I guess
the word I'm looking for is like a hard rocking sexiness
to your music, especially with songs like "The Baby
Times Three."
MG: Thank you!
K: (laughing) How did you develop
that sound?
MG: Well, I'm a very sexual person. I'm very
open with sex and everything that has that in sex and it's
just very natural to me. Being turned on and the whole sexiness
and swagger of the band is just very natural because it's
very reflective of my personality and it's very reflective
of the personalities of Tommi Andrews, Kristan Mallory,
and I mean, we're four guys. You know what I mean? We're
no fakes. We like our adult entertainment, and we have sex,
and you know? Just like everybody else. And it's just so
natural. We'd rather sing about that than my (in falsetto
whine) "My girlfriend is so fine, wah wah wah."
K: So, I hear the video was too hot for
MTV, but 500,000 hits on YouTube is pretty good!
MG: Actually we're up to 5,000,000 now!
K: Oh, my god!
MG: (Laughing) Yeah, we're up to 5
million views on YouTube.
K: It was 500,000 in one day, wasn't it?
MG: Yeah, it was 500,000 in one day, and it
was over a million on the second, and now we're up to 5
million.
K: Wow. Oh my god.
MG: Yeah, I don't know what people are doing!
They must have our video on repeat or something like that,
you know?
K: I don't think you want to know what
they're doing!
MG: "Mom! I'm watching the Endeverafter
video, I told you to knock!"
K: (laughs)
MG: No, but I just in general think that the
sexual side of everything, the libido-driven side of the
band it's just reflective of how we all feel and what we
all really think and our primal instincts, you know?
K: Right. I don't think I could show my
fiancé that video. We're not watching it!
MG: Most guys will come to me and be like,
"you're video's awesome, and my girlfriend totally
wants you!"
K: How do you feel about YouTube in general
as a way to connect with fans and show music that way?
MG: I think that, in order to make it, you
have to move with the times and you've got to shape-shift
into what is happening. Not in terms of style and genre
but as far as technological advancements you've got to embrace
it and use it to your advantage because this is not 1986.
The tours and promotions are completely different these
days.
K: Right.
MG: YouTube has proven to be one of the most
useful tools in promoting bands, as well as MySpace, and
Friends or Enemies. All these sites geared towards that,
that's what makes it, you know what I mean? It makes connecting
with your fans a little bit easier, a little bit more direct.
Where there will be a little bit more of a struggle to see
your band, the band you love's video. You don't have to
wait for it all. You can go to TV and watch VH1 and just
wait.
K: Yeah, you've got to hope it comes on
once or something.
MG: Now I'm on my iPhone and I'm checking
out everybody's video. "Wow, check that out!"
So, I think YouTube is great and I mean, come on, it's brought
back the news.
K: Right. So I'm assuming you feel kind
of similar about MySpace?
MG: Definitely! Tom, I never met Tom, but
thanks Tom. I appreciate you creating MySpace. It's provided
us a lot of opportunities, and it helps us connect with
our fans really well, keep in touch with them. It's really
great to always from your fans about the show you plan or
the music changed their life, so it's good! It's a great
way to stay in touch with your fans.
K: Do you maintain your own MySpace page?
MG: Yeah. We maintain our own page. All four
guys sort of shuffle through it and answer as much as possible.
We all have our accounts and stuff like that. We maintain
it pretty well.
K: That's good. It's definitely a to connect
with fans a lot easier.
MG: Yeah, it gets hard to stay in touch with
everybody because at some point the messages come pouring
in and you're like "Jesus Christ. How am I going to
get back to all these?" The thing is, it's just like
the post office; mail just keeps coming and coming and coming.
If you don't get back to it right away it just gets backed
up. Before you know it you have 300 unread messages and
you're like "All right, I don't think I can get back
to these people. I'll have to write a blog, or bulletin
or something. Because there's no realistic way you can do
that but yet you want to keep that personal touch. You want
to stay in touch personally with your fans, and these people
who love you and these people you love, but it's sort of
an unrealistic venture, to be honest.
K: Can you tell our readers one interesting
tidbit of information about the band that we may not already
be aware of?
MG: Well, let me think. (Humming "Jeopardy"
theme song.) Okay. One interesting thing about the band:
Tommi Andrews is a vegetarian. There you go. Done. (laughing)
Okay, well, we all started in different kinds of bands.
I was in a Death Metal band, Tommi Andrews was in a weird
Jazz band or something like that. Eric Humbert was in an
alternative rock band, Kristi was in a punk band. We all
came from very different backgrounds but all wanted to play
Rock 'n Roll. Just wanted a shindig. The other thing is
that we have a general mission statement in this band. How
about that?
K: Okay.
MG: Would you like to know what it is?
K: I certainly would!
MG: Our general mission statement is, it's
very short but we live by it. The mission statement is to
dominate. World domination.
K: (laughing) Total domination.
MG: Yep, it's pretty simple. That's how we
feel. Every time we get on that stage, whatever band we're
play with better step up their game because we're going
to bring all the heavy artillery. It happened last night,
and it's happened every night on the tour that we've been
with.
K: Who are you on tour with?
MG: We're on tour with Chap(?), Fuel, and
Submersed(?) and we're a very competitive band. That's definitely
an interesting factor, something people may not know. We're
very very competitive. See? That's great! I gave you the
vegetarian thing, mission statement, and that we're competitive.
K: That's good. What's next on the horizon?
Any plans for the new year? What's next?
MG: We have some plans to go out with Finger
11 in January. We're going to do that Motley Cruise. So
we'll probably do like 2 weeks of club dates with Finger
11 and then we're going to go directly to the Motley Cruise,
no time off. We'll be touring January 7th, then to the 20th
we'll go the cruise, and then after that we go on tour with
this band called Airborne(?) from Australia and then I think
we're going to do Avenged Sevenfold this summer. So, many
tours.
K: Definitely! If you're ever in the Philadelphia
area, we'd love to check you out!
MG: Well, if we're there you better check
us out! I would be upset, I would be personally offended
if you don't come out, you and your crew!
K: I love live shows!
MG: Definitely. Then, maybe we can do it in
person, you know?
K: That would be fantastic!
K: We'll definitely keep an eye out for
you being in the area.
MG: You better keep an eye out!
K: (laughing) I promise.
MG: It's definitely a show you don't want
to miss.
K: So, is there any final message or comment
you'd like to add?
MG: To the fans; we love you. To our friends:
we love you. To our enemies: Suck it. (laughing)
K: That's great. I'll definitely leave
you a MySpace message, and send something through to Special
Ops, letting you know when the interview goes live.
MG: Definitely. Is this going to be posted
online? Or is this a publication like a 'zine?
K: It is Popculturemadeness.com.
MG: If you could, please go to my personal
page, and send me the link where it's at so I can check
it out?
K: Definitely will do.
MG: Sounds good?
K: Yup. Thank you so much for talking to us
today. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
MG: Thank you so much.
K: Bye bye
