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The Scoop: Anberlin - Exclusive Interview 0

Posted on November 06, 2008 by jeremyazevedo

Anberlin on the modern face of the music biz

We sat down with Stephen Christian and Deon Rexroat of the rock band “Anberlin” at the Hollywood Avalon to talk to them about their latest album, “New Surrender”, and their move to a bigger label. We also got some insight into their opinions regarding music downloading, the state of the music industry and what goes on backstage… Check out the video and see for yourself!

“The Scoop” is part of a new regularly occurring interview show, only on CraveOnline!

Rise Against: An Exclusive Interview 0

Posted on October 07, 2008 by jeremyazevedo

Are Rise Against the modern face of punk rock? Or just some hippies that play bar chords instead of mandolins?

By Jeremy Azevedo
Going into this interview with Rise Against I had certain preconceptions that I assumed would be the thesis of this piece. According to OG rock Critic Robert Christgau, punk rock originated as a “subculture that scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth.”

I believe this to be true to a certain extent. Some would say that this would place punk rock ten years ahead of it’s accepted genesis, and that it was more of a rebellion against big, blustery mainstream 70s rock. I could see why people would think that, but things often exist for many years before they receive their “official genre name and title”, so I’m afraid I’m with Robert C. on this one. At it’s inception, punk rock was aggressive, angry, sneering and self-aware, all of the things that hippies and their folksy psychedelia were not. Rise Against are aggressive, angry, maybe not “sneering” but definitely self-aware. But they are also hippies. What does this mean for punk rock today? Where is the line between the fashion and the philosophy?

CraveOnline: So what can we expect from “Appeal To Reason”? Any big surprises, or exciting experiments to look forward to?

Joe Principe (bassist and original founding member of Rise Against): Well I think it’s just the natural progression of the band. It sounds like Rise Against where you still have your more aggressive punk rock songs and then you have like mid tempo stuff… But I just think that there’s, I don’t know, a certain maturity in the songwriting. I just think on each and every record our songwriting gets better. I think that shows on the record. There’s a couple things that are a little bit different than what we’ve done before, but the core sound is definitely still there.

CraveOnline:
How has your music evolved along with your new-found mainstream popularity?

Joe Principe: I think how our music evolves has more to do with the music that we actually listen to… I mean, whatever influences us at the time. We kinda write throughout the year and then we’ll get together as a band and work on those ideas. Tim (McIlrath, lead singer/guitarist and fellow original founding member) and I write most of the music. So like I have my songs, he has his songs we’ll meet up at practice and show ‘em to the band. As far as musical influences, we get older and I guess you just get exposed to new music. Even older stuff, I mean Elvis Costello is a big influence for me, although it’s not like we sound like Elvis Costello or anything. But I appreciate his songwriting, he’s an all-time favorite of mine.

CraveOnline:
So it’s mostly you and Tim doing the songwriting and not so much the newer guys then?

Joe Principe: Well, it’s just always worked that way since the inception of the band, where Tim and I just wrote all the music. I guess its just how we work. But these songs obviously wouldn’t be songs without the rest of the guys. But yeah I guess as far as songwriting goes, it’s Tim and myself. Read the rest of this entry →

Season 4 Premiere of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” 0

Posted on September 16, 2008 by jeremyazevedo

We were on location at the premiere of Season 4/Season 3 DVD release of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, one of the funniest shows currently on television. We asked some of the stars of the show about their experience working on the popular comedy program, a couple of rude personal questions and even one or two questions that had absolutely nothing to do with anything! I would say “that’s how we roll” but that would make me a douche, amirite? So just watch the goddamn video already!

DMX on Obama and the Presidency 0

Posted on August 27, 2008 by Mongo Nation

DMX is the one of the most awesomely crazy people in the music industry, hands down. When he’s not busy recording “gospel” music, carjacking automobiles at the fucking airport while posing as a federal agent, running pit bull fighting rings, selling and taking drugs, and accusing women of “raping” him, he somehow finds the time to do interviews.

In this excerpt from an interview he did with XXL, the interviewer made the mistake of asking DMX what he thought about the likelihood of Obama becoming president. His response further cemented his reputation as being crazier than a shithouse rat, and is guaranteed to provide you with great LULZ:

Are you following the presidential race?
Not at all.

You’re not? You know there’s a Black guy running, Barack Obama and then there’s Hillary Clinton.
His name is Barack?!

Barack Obama, yeah.

Barack?!

Barack.
What the fuck is a Barack?! Barack Obama. Where he from, Africa?

Yeah, his dad is from Kenya.
Barack Obama?

Yeah.
What the fuck?! That ain’t no fuckin’ name, yo. That ain’t that nigga’s name. You can’t be serious. Barack Obama. Get the fuck outta here.

You’re telling me you haven’t heard about him before.
I ain’t really paying much attention.

I mean, it’s pretty big if a Black…
Wow, Barack! The nigga’s name is Barack. Barack? Nigga named Barack Obama. What the fuck, man?! Is he serious? That ain’t his fuckin’ name. Ima tell this nigga when I see him, “Stop that bullshit. Stop that bullshit” [laughs] “That ain’t your fuckin’ name.” Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack.

So you’re not following the race. You can’t vote right?
Nope.

Is that why you’re not following it?
No, because it’s just—it doesn’t matter. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do. It doesn’t really make a difference. These are the last years.

But it would be pretty big if we had a first Black president. That would be huge.
I mean, I guess…. What, they gon’ give a dog a bone? There you go. Ooh, we have a Black president now. They should’ve done that shit a long time ago, we wouldn’t be in the fuckin’ position we in now. With world war coming up right now. They done fucked this shit up then give it to the Black people, “Here you take it. Take my mess.”

Right, exactly.
It’s all a fuckin’ setup. It’s all a setup. All fuckin’ bullshit. All bullshit. I don’t give a fuck about none of that.

We could have a female president also, Hillary Clinton.
I mean, either way it doesn’t matter. I don’t care. No one person is directly affected by which president, you know, so what does it matter.

Yeah, but the country is.
I guess. The president is a puppet anyway. The president don’t make no damn decisions.

The president…they don’t have that much authority basically?
Nah, never.

But Bush pretty much…
You think Bush is making fuckin’ decisions?

He did, yeah, he fucked up the country.
He act like he making decisions. He could barely speak! He could barely fuckin’ speak!
Can’t be serious. He ain’t making no damn decisions.

Well Barack has a good chance of winning so that might be something.
Good for him, good for him.

Interview Source

Exclusive Interview With Black Tide 0

Posted on May 20, 2008 by jeremyazevedo

Metal band plays at disgraced author’s book signing!


By Jeremy Azevedo
Do you remember the author, James Frey, who wrote “A Million Little Pieces”, a memoir that became an Oprah book club selection? And then it turns out that a lot of the stuff in the book was made up? Well it turns out that Frey is still working, despite being shamed on live television, has a new book out, and loves metal!

But this isn’t really about James Frey, really, although it was maybe supposed to be. See, Frey had it in his mind that having a rock band play at his book reading would make the whole show more entertaining, and perhaps even endear him to a younger crowd. As such, he hired heavy metal band “Black Tide” to play at his show, which was a free, all ages event… at Whiskey A Go Go in Hollywood of all places.

Now I’m not trying to make broad generalizations here, but in my own personal experience, metal heads are not known to be the most literate of people. Especially teenage metal heads that live in or near Hollywood. It became apparent fairly early on that the majority of the “guests” in attendance were only there for a free metal show. Words cannot describe how awkward the question and answer period after Frey’s reading was, but I can tell you that his frustration with the crowd was clearly obvious. And the guy that went before him? He looked like he was going to jump out of the window, if there even was one.

Anyway, the moral of the story was that I had an interview with the band afterward, the results of which I have taken some minor liberties with in order to punch things up (In the style of James Frey, of course). Following is my account of that interview with Black Tide bassist Zakk Sandler, and guitarist Lexx Nunez.


Read the rest of this entry →

Exclusive Interview with Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman 0

Posted on April 28, 2008 by jeremyazevedo

Lloyd talks about his new film, “Poultrygeist”!


By Jeremy Azevedo
Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment, is one of the pioneers of the B-movie subculture, responsible for countless hit cult movies such as The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke ‘Em High and Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD.

His newest film, “Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead” is perhaps his best yet, embodying the freedom of independent cinema as only Troma can.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Troma Entertainment, they are the longest running independent film studio in the history of cinema, with over 30 years of experience. Troma has been responsible for launching the careers of such notable entertainers as Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Kevin Costner, Samuel L. Jackson, and countless other actors, directors and musicians.

In our exclusive interview with Lloyd, he talks about the making of Poultrygeist, a film described by critics as “The Citizen Kane of undead fast food revenge comedy scat porn musical horror movies”:

The Hives: Chris Dangerous 0

Posted on November 19, 2007 by jeremyazevedo

An interview with Chris Dangerous, outspoken drummer for The Hives!

CraveOnline had a chance to speak with Chris Dangerous of the Hives about their new “Black and White Album”, touring with Maroon 5, disco rock and The Hives’ recording process…


CraveOnline: Who exactly is Randy Fitzsimmons, and what role does he play in the band?

Chris Dangerous: Well the thing is, that he sort of started the band… We’ve answered this question about 8 billion times I think, but he’s sort of the brains behind the band so to speak. He’s very involved in the songwriting and stuff, he just doesn’t want to go on tour and be in the pictures and all that. But he’s sort of the sixth member.

CraveOnline: Is it true that you had recorded 20-30 songs for “The Black and White Album”?

Chris Dangerous: Yeah we had a lot of songs this time. We never had this many before. But I mean, we could have recorded and released the album a year ago, but since we didn’t want to do it the same way, like the other 3 albums, we decided to work with a producer… and we couldn’t really agree on just one. So we traveled the world and found some great people to work with. Some were in projects at the time so we had to wait for like 5 months for some of them, and while waiting we couldn’t just sit around doing nothing, so we just wrote songs, pretty much, and recorded in a lot of different places.

CraveOnline: See, now I heard that you recorded most of the album in Mississippi…

Chris Dangerous: Oh yeah, mostly, like 50% of the album was recorded in oxford Mississippi by Dennis Harry.

CraveOnline:
What made you choose that particular place?

Chris Dangerous:
Mainly actually because there is this Buddy Guy record called “Sweet Tea”, that we just thought sounded fucking amazing. And Dennis Harry recorded it in Oxford Mississippi so….you know, that’s how it went.

CraveOnline: Where did you (or Randy Fitzsimmons) find the inspiration to do so many songs in so many different styles? The new album sounds like a decade’s worth of material for most bands…

Chris Dangerous: Yeah, well that was sort of the plan, to make sort of a greatest hits record of a band that didn’t really exist… I mean we’ve always done some weird stuff but this time we figured, we’re not gonna release anything we’ve already recorded and done. I mean we’ve even got one or two great songs that aren’t on the record. As I said, we made the songs over like a year, so a lot can happen in that time.

CraveOnline: What are you going to do with the rest of them?

Chris Dangerous:
We don’t know really. I mean we could release like EP sort of singles here and there… But I don’t know really, this record isn’t even released in America yet so you gotta take one thing at a time. But yeah I mean there’s a lot of stuff that’s good that eventually will go on another record.

CraveOnline: I notice that there are more than a couple of disco rock songs on your new album. What was your (or Randy Fitzsimmons’) inspiration for those songs?

Chris Dangerous:
If you listen to the song, “I Miss You” by the Stones, it’s like one of the best songs we’ve ever heard. And then we also like AC/DC songs so we could do like “Hey Little World” but sort of like a disco AC/DC kind of thing.

CraveOnline: Funny you should mention “Miss You”, I was just thinking that your new album reminded me a bit of that same Rolling Stones album, “Some Girls”.

Chris Dangerous: Ah yeah, we love the Stones of course.

CraveOnline: Do you often get compared to the Stones by rock critics?

Chris Dangerous: Not really. It’s mostly Pelle, because people think he looks like Mick. That’s usually the Rolling Stones connection we get.

CraveOnline: What’s it like touring with Maroon 5? Do 12-year old girls enjoy the Hives as much as the rest of us do?

Chris Dangerous: It’s great, its so much better than we’d ever imagined it to be… We haven’t done the tour stuff in a long time, and when we were asked to do this, we were like “I don’t know why should we do that, we can tour America by ourselves”… But then when we started to think about it, we were like, wait a minute, we’ve had some great times opening up for other bands, and that’s how we started, we used to play with anyone. Even though they hated us, it was so much fun, you know, just to get a reaction out of people. But on this tour, I mean its amazing, we’re playing at arenas that are big as hell and there’s like 10,000 people who have never heard of us before we start playing. And you know, fifteen minutes into it we’ve got them all standing up, and half an hour after we’ve started, at the end of the set, we’ve got 10,000 new Hives fans. That’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to gain new fans man.

CraveOnline: What new bands are the Hives into these days?

Chris Dangerous: We like our new record a lot! And me personally, I’m a Springstein fan, so I listen to his new record quite a bit. And the new White Stripes record we listen to a lot, we listen to pretty much anything. Usually before we go on stage we’re sorta into 70’s disco music right now. Great warm up music man. “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen is probably the best song to get warmed up. Yeah, that song works really, really well.

CraveOnline: Here’s another one you probably get asked a lot: What’s with the matching outfits?

Chris Dangerous: It looks fucking good! We started with the black and white thing back in ’96… We always sort of looked up to those kinds of bands who sorta went the extra mile like the Ramones and Devo or AC/DC and we just figured, okay, lets just do black and white. We didn’t have any money at the time so we just went to thrift stores and bought everything black and white, and then when the cash started rolling in, the first thing we did was we bought ourselves suits. You’re supposed to dress up if you’re gonna perform to people you know, we’re showmen, we’re supposed to look good. It’s the gang mentality thing. It’s really fucking cool.

CraveOnline:
You guys are known for your crazy stage dives and onstage antics… Ever suffered any injuries as a result?

Chris Dangerous: Oh yeah loads and loads and loads of injuries. I mean everything from bruises to… I got an inflamed arm right now! We’ve got bruises all over and stuff like that. And then you know how it is when you sing and you get the microphone in the mouth, and have to get the teeth switched out.

CraveOnline: What is the craziest place you’ve ever been to on tour?

Chris Dangerous: Our first time in Japan was fucked up. It was so different from anything else. Now it’s getting more normal, you know, by western standards. But it was really weird, just the fact that you go on stage, and you play a song and as soon as you end it… it’s dead silence. Like when Pelle talks, he wants the reaction out of people… but they’re like standing completely still, and not clapping, not screaming, not anything. It’s weird, yeah, so that has to be sort of… the weirdest place.

CraveOnline: It’s not that way anywhere else?

Chris Dangerous: No not really. I mean its not that anymore in Japan either. Now they’re sort of getting familiar with how a rock audience is supposed to act or whatever, I don’t know. It’s just culturally very, very different. They’re so polite, they don’t want to be in your way, and they definitely don’t want to scream when someone else has the microphone and talks.

CraveOnline: Ever gone back home and played in Fagersta?

Chris Dangerous:
No we haven’t played our hom town in a very long time because it’s a really small place. I mean the town, 12,000 people live in the city. The last time we did, we played at this lake, and but we put a big fucking raft on the lake and we played on that. We had about 5000 people show up for that one.

CraveOnline: Half the population!

Chris Dangerous: Yeah it was a big happening. But we’re going back. We finish the European leg of the tour in Stockholm on Dec. 4th, so if we play Sweden we want to play all the summer festivals going on at that time.
CraveOnline: Will you be coming back to the US after that?

Chris Dangerous:
Definitely, we’re gonna be back in February, on our own headlining tour.

CraveOnline:
Do you know who you’re going to be playing with?

Chris Dangerous:
I might know but I’m not telling you!

CraveOnline:
It’s still a secret?

Chris Dangerous:
Mm-hmm.

CraveOnline: Allright, fair enough. Okay, if you had to pick just one favorite song off of your new album, what would it be?

Chris Dangerous: Right now for me it would be “Wont Be Long”. Yeah. I can’t really explain why, we just play really, really well on it, and Pelle sings like a god on that one. I sort of get the same feeling listening to “Won’t Be Long” as I do listening to “Pet Cemetary” by the Ramones. You know, it’s one of those songs that the hardcore fans are not supposed to like, because it’s a bit slower and it’s got some melodies and stuff, but hey, I love “Pet Cemetary”.

CraveOnline: Where there any songs that you were really disappoined didn’t make it onto the final album?

Chris Dangerous: Yeah there’s a few. But you know we can’t really agree on 14 songs out of 25 0r 30 or however many we have. It’s impossible. It was sort of a long fucking voting kind of thing and the songs that are on the record are the ones that finally made everyone’s final list, blah, blah, blah, that’s how we did it. But the new “Black and White Album” is the best one we’ve done, you should buy it, and check us out on tour when we come back on tour in February. It’s by far the best one. There’s no point making one that’s worse than the previous one. It’s same thing when we perform songs. It has to be the best song you ever heard, otherwise there’s no point in doing it.

CraveOnline: How does Randy Fitzsimmons do it?

Chris Dangerous:
Do it? Hey, he’s a genius. He’s our genius. And you cannot rent him at any cost!

Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria 0

Posted on November 05, 2007 by jeremyazevedo

CraveOnline talks to Claudio about his new album and comic, Amory Wars.

We had the chance to talk to Claudio Sanchez of “Coheed and Cambira” about his new album, “No Word For Tomorrow”, his “Amory Wars” comic, and the mythology that he seamlessly integrates within the two separate mediums. Whether you’re a long time fan of Coheed, or just checking them out for the first time, you’ll want to hear what Claudio has to say about the past, present and future of the refreshingly imaginative world of “Coheed and Cambria”.


CraveOnline: Many of our readers are interested in the idea of having an overarching storyline that flows through each of your albums. Has this idea of a multi-album epic narrative been the plan from the beginning, or did it sort of grow into that?

Claudio Sanchez:
Well the idea was actually created together. About 10 years ago in ‘98 I took a trip to Paris. At the time the band was called “Shabutie”. And I created a side project called “Coheed and Cambria” which kind of chronicled my adventures in Paris, but in a fictitious sense like a science fiction fantasy. I hadn’t ever been anywhere other than Jersey, and I’m from New York, so this was a big thing for me, you know, to go outside the country. So I thought it would be cool to create a project like this where the music would kind of tell the story and then maybe eventually push it into another medium. And it was something that I just started working on, like for instance the songs “Time Consumer” and “Everything Evil” were actually created abroad and were a part of the story. But it wasn’t until 2000 when we signed to Equal Vision that it really became my main focus because the band had decided to change the name and everyone really liked “Coheed and Cambria”. So the idea, the two things, the comic idea and the mythology of the music were actually born together.


Claudio doing one of his best Guitar Hero moves.

CraveOnline:
Your new album, “No World For Tomorrow” is billed as being the end of the story you’ve been developing for years now. Can you fill us in on some of the story elements that have led up to this albums narrative?

Claudio Sanchez: Well, “The Second Stage” (Coheed and Cambria’s first album) is where we really visit the characters of Coheed and Cambria. You catch them in their mid-life, they have children, and some of the things that happen in that story lead them to believe that they aren’t who the are, and in a sense that’s true. But there is a bunch of deceit at work here, and they get a bit confused, and eventually it leads them to their demise. The decisions that they make kind of affect everyone within the mythology, within the Keywork and Heaven’s Fence (the fictional setting of the Coheed and Cambria story). The remaining stories in “Keeping Secrets” and “Good Apollo” are about their son’s quest for vendetta and are also kind of a coming of age story in which this nobody becomes like the ultimate entity within this universe, with the power that can either change it all or destroy it all, and in this sense, destroy it all. And then next we’re gonna go on to the prequel album and revisit the characters of Coheed and Cambria and tell their true origins, because “Second Stage” is kinda based on a lot of lies, so you don’t know. You get a sense of where Coheed and Cambria are coming from, but you don’t know the true story, like why they are a couple and things like that. This will all be a part of the band’s next record, which, at the moment, is still untitled.

CraveOnline:
After you’ve completed this story and then touched upon the prequel, in keeping with the theme of the band, what comes after that?

Claudio Sanchez: Well I’ve toyed with the idea of pushing into another mythology, and still using the characters of Coheed and Cambria… One of the things I was thinking of, and it probably won’t be the thing that I go with, is making this whole mythology a dream sequence for a character named Coheed in another universe and thus almost re-creating these characters and doing something like that, but I’m not sure that’s the one I want to go with. I feel like that’s the easy way out. The other idea is to push into telling stories of other characters. Like although “No World For Tomorrow” brings us to the ultimate end of Heaven’s Fence and the Keywork, the mythology is fairly large… the systems hold 78 planets, so we can tell stories of other characters in the same timeline, and how they are affected by the decisions of Coheed and Cambria and things like the “Amory Wars”. You know, I’m almost kind of toying with the idea of allowing the audience to kind of choose the adventure in a weird way. Do they want to kind of branch into another mythology, or do you want to meet and visit some of these other worlds that we don’t really touch upon in these stories and meet some of these other characters and that sort of thing…

CraveOnline: Despite the fact that the hero of “Armory Wars” shares your name, Claudio, I am particularly interested in the character of the “Writer”. Does the writer symbolize a part of your self? Are the two characters one and the same or are they mutually exclusive?

Claudio Sanchez: They are one and the same. You see, the thing is with a lot of these stories is that they come from a very personal place. Going back to your first question and talking about the Paris thing, this story actually kind of morphed into something else, it was no longer just a story that kind of paralleled that adventure, it was really more of an autobiographical story. The likenesses of Coheed and Cambria are definitely based after my parents, the symbolism that Dil-Ariuth IX (a desert world that factors heavily into the story) holds is very real it’s a very interesting metaphor, the 78 planets within the Keywork, the Keywork symbol, everything kind of has a real origin if that makes any sense. I think with the first “Good Apollo” where we see the writer, and we see the Willing Well and kind of the parallel between the fiction and the real… I think in a way I was trying to tell the audience that this science fiction story comes from a very real place with using those two different universes, and the two different sides to the characters. It’s almost like you can think of the writer character as almost like the homebody side of me whereas the character within the fiction can be whatever he wants, and eventually will be more of the performer and things like that. And there’s a lot of symbolism and metaphors that run with that. The main one would kind of show the audience that this whole thing is coming from someplace real.


An image from the “Amory Wars” comic.

CraveOnline: That having been said, how much input does the rest of the band have on the writing? Is it a collaborative project, or more of a personal one?

Claudio Sanchez: It’s definitely more personal. The story is kind of something that I created. It’s funny because the band definitely has moments, for example there’s a character inside “Keeping Secrets” and all the continuing stories called Sizer, who’s kind of this character who eventually will come to protect another character called Chase. There’s a relationship between the two, and Sizer I really based off of Travis, because I saw a parallel between their personalities. Sizer being a protector, Travis is very much like that and I thought it would be cool to make them work together, and use a little bit of his personality.

CraveOnline:
Speaking of comics, what’s your take on the whole death of Captain America thing? Despite the fact that it happened quite a few months ago, it’s still a hotly debated on the CraveOnline comic section.

Claudio Sanchez: Well aren’t they recreating the character? Isn’t that sort of the continuing story of Captain America? See I’m not really much of a fan of the character, you know, I certainly purchased that book (the death of Captain America) to have in the collection just because “oh, it’s the death of Captain America”. And I can see the symbolism in killing the character, but I just had a feeling that he wouldn’t be dead for too long. It’s just a way to stir up interest in the character. Although again, I can kind of see the parallel between that and what we’re going through as a country. But you know in a weird way it kind of works because you cant help but think that they’re going to bring him back to try to revitalize that hope… you kind of focus in on this character that has this important role as a symbol for our country and then here he comes back super revamped, new costume, all of that.

CraveOnline:
As an independent comic producer, do you see yourself ever working on a major Marvel or DC comic title yourself, or do you prefer to be the master of your own creation?

Claudio Sanchez: Hell yeah, dude! I would. Totally, I have a story for Batman actually, that I would love to work on! But right now, my main focus is completing the Amory Wars. But if DC or Marvel approached me for something like that I would totally do it. You know, I grew up on those characters. And certainly Batman is one of my favorites, and I’d like to give him a little sci-fi twist, not necessarily “Batman in Space”, but you know, something in that genre, using the character.

CraveOnline:
If you could have any book after Batman what would it be?

Claudio Sanchez: Maybe wolverine? Yeah. I love that character a lot. On of my prize comics is “Incredible Hulk #181”, you know, the first appearance of Wolvie, I love him.

CraveOnline: What are your influences as a sci-fi writer? Do you have any particular favorite books, authors, and movies?

Claudio Sanchez: Yeah of course… you know, writing-wise, I’m definitely a fan of Brian Herbert, with “Dune”, I really like the mending of both religion and sci-fi, I kind of do that a little bit, to some degree, although I’m not religious. Honestly, I’ve never read the bible, I’m kind of drawn to the idea of religion but not to the extent that I’d actually join the church

CraveOnline:
So no plans to become the next L. Ron Hubbard then?

Claudio Sanchez: No, no no! But you know I definitely love “Star Wars”, that’s a big thing for me, and Tolkein. I’m also a really big fan of Stan Lee and what he did with the Marvel mythology, in kind of creating an alternate New York… that’s awesome.

CraveOnline:
Any plans for a film or perhaps a novel in your own future?

Claudio Sanchez: I’ve toyed around with the idea of doing film…. Not so much with the “Amory Wars” just yet. I’d really like to see it out in graphic novel comic form before ever taking that step. I mean it is a comic first. But my other project, “The Prize Fighter Inferno”, I’ve toyed around with the prospect of making it a comic but then I thought at the same time that this would make a better movie, possibly. I’ve toyed around with the idea of making a screenplay for it. It’s pretty much like a horror story, a “Romeo and Juliet” meets “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” kind of thing. I think it would probably make for a better movie. Hopefully, we’ll see. I haven’t had a lot of time to focus on it but it’s something I’ve been considering.


Coheed and Cambria’s current lineup enjoying a very natural looking blue-screen.

CraveOnline:
I know you probably get asked this a lot, but your music doesn’t seem particularly influenced by a lot of the fly-by-night trendy bands out there today. What are some of your influences, and what new bands are you into right now?

Claudio Sanchez: Well you know, I haven’t been keeping up with contemporary music so much. I do listen to stuff, but it just doesn’t stick. Recently Travis turned me on to a band called “A Band of Horses”. I like it, but I haven’t had the urge to go and buy it. I’ve heard it in passing and I like it. Music is definitely my first love, but recently I haven’t been focusing on it, you know I’ve been focusing much more on the conceptual side of things and the comics and that stuff.

CraveOnline:
What about the guys you are touring with, “Clutch” and “Fall of Troy”, how’s it working with those guys?

Claudio Sanchez: So far so good man! Now those guys, they’re awesome bands, and really nice guys. I think we’re all gonna have a blast on tour with those guys.

CraveOnline: Ok, so I wouldn’t call your new album “emo”, but it is clear that there is a very emotional undercurrent to it. Is there any one or two songs in particular that is especially meaningful to you?

Claudio Sanchez: They all are, but at the same time they are very much a part of the concept. But they also mirror some of the things that we went through last year with some of the member changes and things like that. There are very personal sides to these songs, which goes back to the earlier question of seeing things from two sides of the writers perspective and getting the audience to understand that this is all coming from a real very place. I think for the new album, I certainly think that “Mother Superior” is one of my favorites, and “Justice in Murder” is another… I think all of the songs are great, but if I had to pick two, those would be the two.

CraveOnline: Coheed and Cambria have been working on helping the fight against Alzheimer’s. Can you talk a little bit about how this came to be and what our readers can do to help?

Claudio Sanchez: Well we got together with the Alzheimer’s Association in New York City because last year my aunt actually passed away from it… and it was about the problems that she endured before her passing… and my mother who was helping and for a while her caretaker that was taking care of her, I just thought, what a horrible thing for anyone to have to go through. And I wanted to do something to help, and so we played a benefit show in Manhattan, which made sense because that’s where my aunt lived, and she loved the city so much. It was my way of saying goodbye to her, because I really didn’t have a chance to. The one thing you can do is just to get information from the Alzheimer’s Association, to learn about the disease. You don’t know, it might happen to you. It’s a bizarre thing to go through. I just wanted to do my part to help.


It’s all about the Panteen Pro-V.

CraveOnline:
What’s it like playing live with one drummer, Chris Pennie, and recording with another, Taylor Hawkins? Does that create any particular challenges for the rest of the band?

Claudio Sanchez: Not really, because Chris has been there for the entire album with us, but unfortunately, due to a contractual obligation, he was unable to record with us. With Taylor, he pretty much went off of Chris’ template, so you know he certainly added some flavor here and there but at the end of the day it’s pretty much the same. There wasn’t that much of a departure from what Chris had done originally

CraveOnline:
“Welcome Home” is featured on the upcoming game, “Rock Band”. Have you had a chance to play it yet? Does it live up to the expectation of simulating a live Coheed and Cambria performance in the comfort of your home?

Claudio Sanchez: Some of the guys got a chance to play it, because we actually did an article about it, and got a chance to demo the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to, but they sure as hell looked funny doing it. So you know I can’t wait to get my hands on it. I’m definitely a gamer, certainly, and I’m a fan of “Guitar Hero”. I’m sure that “Rock Band” is just as strong.

CraveOnline:
One last question before we go: How many bottles of shampoo does it take per week to provide you with such a luxurious mane of hair?

Claudio Sanchez: Ha ha ha ha! Good question. Well actually, I don’t use shampoo that often, it kind of dries it out. The only reason I would ever put product in my hair… really the only thing I ever put in it is conditioner. And even then it just kinda gets brushed through it. And I use Panteen Pro-V, so I guess you can consider that a ringing endorsement!



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