Interview w/ Elias and Andy from Nonpoint
So, South Florida band, Nonpoint, has got a brand new album coming out on November 6th, and recently started up on "The Great American Rampage Tour." We were able to catch up with them for a few minutes at their recent stop here in Tampa, FL. Originally our writer, Erin, was supposed to do the interview, but got pretty sick so I jumped into the drivers seat and got the interview done. Thankfully Erin had already sent me the questions, here's how things went down.
|
|
So how’ve you guys been? Elias: Good good, just getting ready for this tour you know, yesterday was the first show, and was a great show. How did last night go, awesome crowd? Elias: Oh it was packed You sell the new album yet or? Elias: November 6th November 6th, going to make them wait for it no matter what huh? Elias: Yea, yea, gotta wait, gotta wait So the new album is coming out soon, anything stand out on this album, compared to other ones, that, fans might not expect, or something you’re really happy about? Elias: I think there is a lot more straight forward just heavy songs on this one then the other ones, I think it’s more straight forward I think. |
Andy: Try to make a record that, truly, you can play the whole thing from start to finish, and not have to worry about the studio tricks we laid on, or the extra stuff we might of added, to try and, when we wrote the songs in rehearsal, to try to make those be the same songs that you hear on the CD, without, you know taking advantage of the endless possibilities there, so the songs end up having a lot more of a, raw edge on them, with out trying to be more polished or produced in that sense.
Elias: And in the same sense we tried to put out songs this time that we knew we would enjoy playing out live.
Andy: Songs that just jammed along, felt like a band playing, and a guy singing on it, that just was a song in it’s self, that wasn’t relying on that amazing effect thing that might happen, or the 20 vocal lines that might be laid down.
Take it back to the garage pretty much huh?
Andy: I mean if Zeppelin could rock with what they had, then we should be able to do the same you know, that mentality.
|
How did the song writing process work on this album, was it more lyrically driven, or did the music come before the lyrics. Elias: It was like 50/50 Andy: Yea it was back and forth, even if actual words changed, or riffs changed, meaning parts came from like a vocal idea, like just a melody of a chorus and the whole song may of came from that, or completely flipped around. There is no real formula to anything that we did, everything came from all of us, and especially on this record, you know, Rob our drummer plays guitar real well, he wrote a lot of guitar stuff, Ken our bass player wrote a lot of things, I ended up writing more vocal melodies on this one, Elias was you know, constantly not just writing lyrics, but you know coming up with arrangements, and actual, you know even if it was him trying to hum to me a guitar part, everyone was trying to come at it from every angle. What was the typical day like recording, how was the day to day process doing it? Elias: Well we kind of went into the recording, knowing I’d say about 85% of exactly what was getting laid down, at least musically, there was still a lot of things we were trying to get polished at the end, you know, vocally and lyrically, arrangement wise. Making parts shorter then they were when we walked in. So, we, I’d say this time it was a faster process in a sense, but we kind of knew what we were doing when we went in, so there wasn’t a lot of writing in the studio like a lot of people normally end up doing |
|
So, are your Latin roots in your music a result of your heritage, or is it from growing up with that influence, I mean, how has that affected the music?
Elias: Um, I guess it is, I mean me and Robert, we are both Spanish, so it’s in our blood a little but more. But I guess this time around we really didn’t, we really weren’t feeling it as much as we were the last record, feeling like this is something that we really needed to do. Those songs sort of wrote them selves, back when they were written, and this time around for some reason, a song in Spanish didn’t come out.
Andy: It’s not something we really try or focus to do, let’s do a song in Spanish, let’s do this, it just, like Elias said, if it comes along
Elias: And it normally comes from the music first, like if Rob writes a cool Latin beat, or Andy writes a thing that Rob is like man that’s so Latin sounding, then that deems a Latin vocal line, for some reason, I don’t know why we didn’t even this time.
Andy: It’s not forced at all, if it comes along, it does, if not it doesn’t, it’s not something we try and make it a gimmick out of it in anyway, we don’t want to be labeled a Latin rock band in anyway, cause were not, just because, you know I’m Jewish, were not Jewish rock, were not a quarter Jewish rock, it’s not how it works, we’re a rock band
Elias: Like Mars Volta, like they have, 90% of their record is English, and there is like one whole song in Spanish, where like I can see, those guys are mainly Spanish, and they have a lot of that vibe, and horns in their music, but I can see how, how just every once in awhile it just comes out, and sometimes it comes out like I said, in beat, or a real cool strumy guitar thing that sounds Latin, that were like that’s a Latin song.
|
|
So do you guys ever worry, or consider what your fans are going to think, on like a new single, or a new album, does that worry at all? Elias: I think every band would lie to say they weren’t worried about that, if that’s what you’re going for. We, we never pick our singles, it’s always like the label, or the people who are in charge of releasing us to radio, that say hey this one, you know we think is going to work on radio. When we write our songs, we write them all to be the best song that that song can be, and some of them may lean towards something that may grab a radio listener’s ear, as opposed to a hardcore kid’s ear. But there’s definitely going to be that song on our record that’s going to grab the hardcore kids to. So like I said, the radio single happening, is, when they pick the single, we go we hope they like it. It’s a dice, it’s a roll of the dice, you hope it’s going to go. Andy: That’s what labels do, is they pick singles and put stuff out, that’s there job, and us as a band, we make music, and then they take it from there. So we try to just write the songs we like, and they pick it, and were like ok, that one, sure. We’re not the band that focuses on that so much, as maybe some other bands would on a particular single, there always the one we write that we might be like, that’s a good one, but it’s never in that sense of trying to, we never want to dumb down things for the masses. We just want to keep doing what we do, and hopefully it will be something everyone can take a hold of, but we definitely don’t want to be like caveman music just so everyone can understand it. |
Elias: We hope we grow into a spot, where, you know, the masses come to an understanding of us, or we grow up musically to that point where, this is what people understand, and were in no rush to do that. We’re hoping they get what were doing, and, they, radio keeps taking chances with us, so it’s like why quit doing what were doing. Radio keeps playing our music so, even if it doesn’t sell a million records, it’s still doing something enough for phone lines to rings, and kids to come to our show, and that’s why you, you don’t try to fix what ain’t broke.
Where’s your favorite place to play at, and specific venue or?
Elias: We like the Northern Midwest kind of area, Madison, Wisconsin, Green Bay, Milwaukee, all those, like northern cold places, for some reason they rock really hard up there, but we got great spots all over the country, Philly we love to play, Atlanta we love to play, Vegas, San Francisco, Michigan, tons of places.
Andy: Where ever we have an appreciation for the band, it doesn’t really matter, not the venue or the city so much, it’s just somehow people just come out in certain areas, and they keep coming out again and again, regardless if we have a record or not, we have a good consistent following in certain places, and that’s what makes it fun for us.
|
Is there any pranks you pull on each other while on the road, anything sticks out as the funniest thing you have done to each other, or other bands even? Elias: Um, we like to tape people into their bunks when they get to drunk and pass out. It’s amazing what a couple of pizza boxes and some gaffe tape will, will scare somebody that’s claustrophobic when they are taped to their bunk. Cause we, everyone once in awhile party, but when are crew goes off, we like to know, let them know their job is fun. Andy: I like to throw bags of shit on opposing bands trailers, not opposing like were fighting, but like, their still, if you’re not on our side your against us kind of thing. So yea, you’re going to get a bag of shit on your trailer. Elias: And we really mean that, shit in a plastic bag, tie a knot on the top, put it on the top of your trailer, and you drive a couple hundred miles until a cop pulls you over and says you have a bag on your roof, and when you pull it off, hopefully the sun hasn’t baked a hole into the bottom of it, so when you pull it up, just the bag comes up, and your left with this like, glove. Bands got something to worry about this tour or is everybody on your side? Elias: No, were; this is a family. Andy: It’s all friendly, but they will get it anyway. |
|
|
|
Is there anything creative or out of the ordinary that you guys do to keep in touch with loved ones back home, or friends, I know e-mail is a big thing, but is there anything else? Elias: Phone bills are jus ridiculous these days, credit card companies are demons, they just, there ran by satanic colts who are trying to suck you, you know, how can you have a $700 phone bill? How is that, how can they get away with that, is what I want to know? Andy: Never seen one of those Elias: I know, neither have I, but I have heard of them Andy: I have heard rumors about them Elias: And it’s out there, and this isn’t an urban legend Andy: I don’t know, I recommend having as few friends as possible, you know, sever any tie you can before you go away on tour, and that’s the best way. Elias: Change your name. Andy: Yea Elias: Just change your name Andy: Completely disconnect from any home life you might have. Elias: We’re from South Florida, so reconstructive surgery is a big thing, you know, south beach, nip and tuck |
|
So besides playing music everyday, what do you guys enjoy the most about this lifestyle, is it the fans, is it being able to travel around the country, the world, seeing different places? Elias: It’s watching the evolution of the Port-a-Poty for me, honestly. I mean honestly it is, I remember the days of just the plastic, I mean with out even the seat that lifts up Andy: And now they have like a sink option Elias: I know, and now they have the urinal thing, Andy: Which I don’t really understand the difference so much Elias: Well, cause then you don’t want to pee on the seat. Andy: Oh dude, like that’s your biggest concern, I mean the splash back factor is like exponentially higher with that little urinal right there. Elias: Good point, and the hornets nest doesn’t help either at the top left hand corner. But it’s that, that to me is the most fun. It’s the ability to do number two, or number three, in the, in the craziest places man, I mean the craziest places. |
|
In your whole career, what’s the most memorable moment, is it from the time you signed to Bieler Brothers, a specific show, what’s the most memorable.
Andy: I say what stands out to me the most, is when we were, the first time we were in Europe, we were in England and we played Downingtown there, and it was UK Ozzfest, and Ozzy was headlining the main stage there, and it’s like his home town, and I remember watching Ozzy’s firework show that he had, at the end of his show through this skylight in our bus, and like we just come from Amsterdam so I need not say what else is going on there, but just laying there, watching Ozzy’s lightshow, in England, at Ozzfest that we just finished playing, looking up at the skyline, that’s probably my proudest most defining moment of doing what I do there. Just feeling like, wow, this is something I didn’t imagine I’d ever get to, but this is really cool.
|
|
So take the band Nonpoint away, and say you guys weren’t playing musically, where would you guys be now, is there a specific thing you enjoy doing, a hobby you would be doing if you weren’t playing in a band? Elias: I’d be, I’d probably be the biggest coke and heroin dealer, so I mean, I’m talking Tony Montana Scarface Andy: I’d get my golf game together, but other then that, there’s nothing else I’d rather do Elias: Yea, I’m talking machine guns, Bentleys, I mean, I, I want a panther in my house man, I want, I want my own tiger So where do you see the rest of your career going, anything big planned for the end of this year, next year? Elias: Uh, we’re touring all this year, it looks like. We’re supporting this record, and looks like we’re, looks like were going to be out for like the next year it looks like, just trying to get this record in front of some faces, November 6th!!! |
Well we thank you for everything, is there anything you want to say to your fans before we let you go?
Elias: Nah, Great American Rampage tour, it’s, were on the road until December 15th with it, it’s hitting the North East, Midwest, South East, on this leg, and hopefully will be hitting the next leg next year, so keep your eye out, we’ll be around.
To visit Nonpoint's MySpace page click here
By. Drew Zambrano & Erin Lemke
