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Kristyn: Hello! I see your new album Scream Aim Fire has been
doing quite well. Can you tell us a little about the release?
Jason "Jay" James: Yes. We didn't know what to expect
when we wrote the songs, but it seems to have gotten a really good
response. It got number four or five in the charts. We are really
happy with it.
K: I have been seeing advertising for the CD everywhere including
promotion at Hot Topic and in other US stores. I also heard that
you will be performing on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and that will be
your American Television debut. Are you excited for that?
JJ: Yeah! We have actually done that a week ago, so its been recorded
and it will be put out at different times in different places.
K: How did that go?
JJ: It was different. It was not something that we were used to.
They cut off the screen the last thirty seconds, because it has
to be a certain about of time. We did two songs and it was cool.
K: How was Jimmy? Was he nice?
JJ: Yeah. He got on stage and shook our hands. Yeah, he was cool.
K: Could you please tell our site readers a little about the
band? How did you get started with music?
JJ: Yes. We have been playing since we were fifteen years old and
have been playing for about ten or twelve years now. We all lived
in the same little town and we were all in different bands. We have
been trying to make it for years and years and years. I was in a
band then and we just recorded, because the bass player left and
I had to help them out and I joined them. We thought we would give
it one more shot and changed the names and wrote some new songs
and we went to a showcase for the record companies. It was like
days worth of nothing and one day for everything.
K: How is the chemistry within the band?
JJ: The three of us had been in previous bands in previous years
the energy we got is just something else and the way we write music
and everything and the last four years the songs have just been
pouring out and actually Scott is writing the fifth album now.
K: You play bass correct?
JJ: Hmm mmm.
K: According to your website you are a welsh metal core band.
So, how are things different industry wise in the UK then in the
US?
JJ: I don't think there is that much difference. Metal core you
said? I think all different people from all different places call
us different things. We are what we are and what we write is what
comes out.
K: Who would you say are some of your main musical influences?
JJ: Mine? Steve Harris from Iron Maiden. He is basically who taught
me the bass and when we toured he taught me things and we were there
to watch their band and they were there to watch our band. All the
old school metal. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Judas, Priest, Pantera.
All the old good stuff that we used to listen to and still do listen
to all the time. When we get together to write something it just
automatically comes out of us, because of all our previous listening.
K: How do you feel about the new metal bands that are coming
out?
JJ: I don't really listen to that much new stuff , because we are
so busy in the studio and back and forth with my daughter and everything.
It is kind of hard for me to keep up with it all. The drummer usually
keeps up with all the new stuff. He buys like five albums a week.
At the moment I like to listen to Lamb of God, All That Remains,
Iron Door, all that kind of stuff. All my friends bands.
K: I think I have seen Lamb of God on OzzFest. You guys are
out on Taste of Chaos tour right now. How did that tour come together
for the band?
JJ: It was our US management and they had seen the bill and they
thought that it would be a good thing for us to join. We thought
the same thing. We are friends with Avenged. We played with them
on previous tours and festivals.
K: Definitely. I see you guys will be in our area on the fourteenth
in Camden, New Jersey. We are in Delaware right now. Hopefully I
will get a chance to come check out the tour.
JJ: Yeah. You should definitely come down and we can get some beers.
K: Sounds like fun. I see you have shared the stage with Guns
& Roses , Metallica, and Iron Maiden. Who has been your favorite
band to share stage time with on tour?
JJ: It would be Iron Maiden, because they are my favorite band.
I got ink of them all over my arm. Then Metallica was an amazing
experience. It was like a hundred thousand people. They were our
heroes. It was just such an amazing thing to happen us.
K: How was Axl Rose? Did he behave himself when you played with
Guns?
JJ: It was kind of ridiculous every now and again, but I wouldn't
expect anything less, ya know?
K: You have toured extensively, so you definitely must have
some crazy road stories. Are there any you are willing to share
with the readers?
JJ: There are all kinds of stories about what goes on the road.
Just, the typical drunken antics.
K: I can only imagine.
JJ: If you come out to the show maybe you can be in one.
K: Have you had any crazy fan experiences?
JJ: A guy in Manchester in UK looked exactly like Mark. He wears
the same clothes as him and dyes his hair like him and I have recently
saw some boy drunk and he said that he got a piercing in the same
place as me. I was also smoking a cigarette and this guy kept passing
by a few times and this guy was just completely besought with us
and every time I came out he would ask me questions, asked for a
photo, and on the fifth time he comes up to me he had my cigarette
butt in his hand and asked me to sign the cigarette butt. That is
a little creepy.
K: Yeah, that is a little creepy. I guess he took the time to
pick it up. I also see that you guys have a comic book. Can you
tell our readers about the comic book series?
JJ: The label said it was something that they had done before and
we were like yeah. They thought it would work and we trusted them.
K: I noticed that another band, Coheed and Cambria has a comic
book thing going on. It seems to be a popular thing to do now.
JJ: If it works it works. It is not something I am personally into
myself. We try to reach as many people as we can.
K: Where do you see the future of music heading and where do
you see yourselves in that picture?
JJ: The four of us have been in this for a long time and our idols
are Iron Maiden and Metallica and we want to be like those guys.
Longevity and we want to be in this for the next twenty years not
the next twelve. That is why we took our time with the third album,
because we are on a roll. Hopefully our future will be big. In the
future hopefully we will have a ring of tours just like the big
guys are now.
K: That is awesome I certainly wish you guys the best. What
is next on the horizon for the band? Solo touring plans?
JJ: Yeah. We go home for like twenty-eight days and I get to see
my little girl and then we go to Australia and Japan for a headline
tour and then we have the festivals in the summer. It is pretty
ridiculous. We are pretty hardcore touring for the next months to
come. We have about two to three weeks off for the next two years.
It is life on the road for the next two years.
K: What do you like to do in your spare time if any?
JJ: I have a little girl at home. I am a single dad on the road
and back home, because when I come home her mother needs some time
off.
K: What is her name?
JJ: Abigail.
K: What do you think of Myspace as a way to keep in touch with
your fans? Do you keep up your own page?
JJ: I do not have my own page. I used to, but I could not keep
up. I am not very inclined with the internet. I just go on to check
my email and practice music. I do answer questions if I get time.
There are hundreds and hundreds of pages a day, its hard to do.
We have people that do that for us, but we do try and answer our
fans when we can.
K: I understand its hard to answer everyone with all those messages
coming in.
JJ: You'd be surprised how busy everything is on the road. You
kind of sleep all night because the bus is rolling. The crew and
sleep is all happening at different times and taking showers and
talking to people back home and some food, stay healthy and try
and warm-up before the show and coffee to keep us up all night.
K: Where are you guys at right now?
JJ: Minneapolis.
K: Ok. Are you doing a show tonight?
JJ: Yes. We have a show tonight. An early one at seven.
K: That is pretty early
JJ: We just got a good nights rest in a hotel, because we had a
big concert the night before. We had some food and went to bed.
K: Can you tell our readers a little history behind the name
of the band?
JJ: We were trying to figure out a proper name. I think the name
before this one was a few different things that did not work and
a we needed a proper name. We got a piece of paper and we wrote
a couple things and at the end of it we had that name.
K: It is good and catchy. It does stick in your head. What would
you say is the main message behind your music?
JJ: In the first album it was mostly fictional things, but I didn't
join until late. They were love stories and things people could
relate to in real life. As you can imagine after we did the poison
we were just on the road completely touring. The only place we had
to write the next album was on the tour bus, in rehearsals or wherever
we were. It is not really something that everyone does it is just
something that we learned and experiences we went through as a band.
We sing to kids and the families about being away so much and being
on the road. It is about anything personal really.
K: I really love the CD and I love the sound. It is definitely
my thing. I really enjoyed it. I do have one final question for
you. Do you have any special fact or something that we wouldn't
know about you?
JJ: Moose likes to knit. He likes new blankets and hates cold places.
We drink and jam and go to the gym and try and keep ourselves fit.
We are just really normal regular metal band.
K: What is your drink of choice?
JJ: Mostly Jagermeister. We have like two bottles on the bus and
when they are done we have a bunch of crazy people.
K: You are going to have to teach me to like that black licorice
taste.
JJ: We will have to see when you come down to see us.
K: Is there any final comment you'd like to add?
JJ: Thanks to everyone that has picked up the album and if they
haven't picked it up, tell a friend and we hope to see you on the
road and we love you all.
K: Thanks for talking with us we wish you all the success with
your career.
JJ: Thanks.
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