AFI
Photo by SomewhatDamaged2
I’ve been fortunate to interview AFI many, many times throughout their career… this interview is with Jade… I’ll be posting chats with Davey and Hunter soon!
Where in the world are you and what’s happening there?
I am home in Los Angeles and there’s not much happening. I’m having a rare day off.
What’s life been like lately for AFI?
We’ve been on the road for five months.
Does it ever get tiring?
No, there’s a lot of stuff in between. We went to do the MTV Awards and we just shot a new video. We tour for a couple of weeks then do some little thing in between then go back on the road.
What’s was it like to play at the Awards?
We played the Movie Awards but we attended the Music Awards because we were nominated.
You guys won best rock film clip!
Yeah. It was great. Last time we went we won one so we thought maybe we’d get the sophomore curse and not win one this time but we won again. It was just great to be there and go to all the parties.
Does it all feel a little surreal?
It’s a bit of a trip. Obviously we don’t do that kind of ting every day and run in those circles and interact with those people but it’s kind of fun to do the red carpet and then go to all the parties. You get a lot of free stuff which is nice!
Is there anything you found surprising about it?
Not really ’cause we did it in 2003 and we knew what to expect this time.
I’ve been reading reviews of latest album, December Underground and one review said ‘it’s a far cry from AFI’s punk rock roots’ would you agree with that?
Oh yeah, everything we’ve done in the past several years has been a far cry from the first AFI record.
Photo by stusev
Do you think it has some kind of punk rock spirit about it?
I think in spirit certainly. We still have the same attitudes that we had growing up. There’s still some elements of punk in there. We haven’t completely given up on fast or aggressive songs.
I read a recent interview with Hunter and he said the new album is ‘more AFI than in the past’, what do you thin he was getting at?
For me if I was to explain that, on this record I think we were more free. Me as a songwriter I felt more free to do what I wanted to. If you don’t place any constraints on yourself creatively then your being true to what your band is about and that would be being true to what AFI is about. On this record we were free to explore any kinds of areas we wanted to.
Did you write the songs collectively?
Usually I’ll write the music and I’ll get together with Davey and write the melody and he writes the lyrics. Once we get the song to a manageable form then we’ll take it to the whole band and flesh it out.
I read you write 100 songs while writing for the album?
Yeah.
What was the culling process like?
It’s really easy. I’m my own harshest critic so I don’t have any problems getting rid of a song. I don’t have any attachment to it. If it’s not up to the standard that we’re holding ourselves to… that part of it wasn’t really that hard.
What was the biggest challenge then making the album?
We wanted to outdo our last record and go somewhere new creatively and that’s always hard. It’s really easy to stay stagnant and recreate a sound you’ve already created. Putting these lofty goals on ourselves, it was hard to realise such an ambitious thing.
Do you feel you achieved that?
Yeah definitely. We spent a long time on this record. We wouldn’t put a record out if we didn’t think we achieved what we wanted to.
Photo by SomewhatDamaged2
Did you use Pro Tools for the preproduction?
Not really. We actually bought a Pro Tools rig for the first time and used it to record some of our demos but it doesn’t really play that much of a part in the creation of the record.
The album debuted on the Billboard Charts at #1, what were you doing when you heard the news?
We were in an airport in Chicago flying to Toronto so we couldn’t really go out to celebrate. It was great, it didn’t really matter where we were. It was very exciting.
When you play the new songs live, have they become tired yet?
No, it’ still exciting. We’ve been on tour since May so we’re still getting comfortable playing them. It’s getting to the point now where we’re playing them naturally on stage. There’s still several songs of the album that we haven’t played live yet.
Is that intentional? Are you just adding a few at a time?
AFI have seven records so we have to dip a little into the past and we just can’t play our entire new record. We got to keep it proportional.
If it was your choice would you just play the entire new record?
No, I hate those bands that do that. You got to be true to where you came from. You got to realise that you’re out there playing to the fans and that the fans will want to hear old songs. If you’re out there just for yourself, why are you on tour? Why are you playing to anybody? You gotta play stuff the people want to hear. I like those old songs too. I enjoy playing them.
Are there any songs that you’ll probably never play again?
Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff that we’ve never played live especially stuff off the first two records. Some stuff just isn’t appropriate anymore. That first record was written when everybody was fifteen years old and now in the context of what we do on stage it wouldn’t be appropriate.
In June AFI had their 15th anniversary as a band, did you do anything special for that?
No, I think I remember we were sitting around somewhere backstage and Adam went like ‘I think it’s the 15th anniversary, or something?’ [laughs] and we were like ‘oh weird’ that was about it.
Photo by stusev
What’s your earliest memory of AFI? Didn’t you join in 1998?
Yeah, we grew up in the same town so I was around when they first started and they actually started in response to my first band in high school. We started a band and they were like ‘oh that’s cool we’re going to start a band too’. I’ve been around AFI before i was even in th band.
Did you have to audition?
No. They got rid of their old guitar player and according to them I was the only choice for the job and they immediately asked me to join.
And you accepted straight away?
Yeah. I just graduated university. I was wondering what I was going to do, I was going to go to graduate school but I’d far rather be in a band. It worked out pretty well! (laughs)
What were yo going to be if you went to graduate school?
I hadn’t really decided. I had a degree in Social Theory. I was maybe going to do Sociology.
How do the tracks from December Underground translate live?
Great! They’re definitely more ambitious to try and recreate but I think we’ve done it really well. It’s fun. Some of the songs have loops and samples which make it more epic sounding.
I heard you have a pretty impressive light show this time?
We have one of the most amazing lighting guys ever! He’s fantastic! We have a lot of little stuff we do on stage, production-wise. I hope we’ll be able to bring all our production over there.
When you talk to kids after the shows, what is it that they say that they can relate to in your music?
I think we’re really honest about what we do and we always have been, there’s no ulterior motive to what we do. We’re doing it for the love of music. I think people respond to that. They respond to lyrics of course. I think people are drawn to our music… it’s not through the image and it’s not about if we’re on radio or MTV I think the true fans are really drawn to it because they respond to what we’re saying with our songs.
Do you feel that is why you’ve become so successful? Like what you said, that it is ‘genuine’?
I would like to think so, that would be very flattering if that was our legacy.
Spin Magazine named AFI as one of the 25 best live bands in the world right now, has that feel? Do you feel like you have a lot to live up to now?
No, I’ve always considered us one of the greatest live acts [laughs] regardless of whether other people think that because we I go to shows I’m just so bored, people for the most part just stand there and don’t do anything. It’s like it’s so boring. People pay good money to go see a band and they just stand around with an attitude. I know that we at least put out a positive energy and move around a lot and try to make our live shows as interactive as possible.
Since AFI has had so much success, what’s your greatest indulgence?
I bought a house! It’s fantastic! I’m not one like Motley Crue to go out and buy a bunch of Lamborghini’s and throw around money.
It must be nice to have your own home?
It is, having a house isn’t something that I ever really thought about, it was never a goal of mine, I just did it. It’s really nice to be in a place that’s not an apartment and to have a place that’s just your own space.
What’s your favourite thing to do when you come home from tour?
Probably just sit and read in silence.
Silence is so underrated!
Yeah silence and being alone are very underrated. I’m on the road all the time and I’m constantly around people so it’s nice to have a little solitary time.
Is there anywhere that you’ve traveled in the world that has had a big impact on you?
I really love Japan a lot. I respond to the culture. Everything is so weird over there but so great. I’m a little bit bummed out about the Americanization of their culture. I really like it over there, we went over there a month ago and we’ll be going back over there after our Australian shows. We all spent a ridiculous amount of money while we were there shopping. Any day we were there that we had spare time we would go out to Harajuku and hot every store.
Is it nice to have that luxury now?
Yeah, as long as you don’t go too crazy with it. There’s plenty of cautionary tales about bands who spent all their money and wound up living living like Gary Coleman.
What’s the most surprising thing about your success?
A band like us who never really had any goals of being in the mainstream or being on radio or t.v or signed to a major, those were things we never strived for, to end up in a position like we have now and had so much success.
Are there certain things you can’t do anymore since AFI’s become really popular?
I can’t really go hang out in the crowd at shows anymore. When we were a smaller opening band you could just go sit at the merch table.
Do you miss that?
I don’t know if I miss it because theres nothing I was really accomplishing by doing that, it was mainly boredom.
Do you ever miss being in the crowd from a fan perspective?
I can still go to shows that aren’t our shows and go see other bands. If I go see a friends band who’s in town I’ll be in the crowd I won’t be hanging out backstage.
New song, Miss Murder has drawn Green Day comparisons...
I think that’s kind of random.. the only thing I can think of is the rhythm it has to it.. but it’s just kind of like a waltz rhythm that’s been around forever. It’s a great comparison though because Green Day are a great band.
What’s the biggest misconception about AFI?
We’ve been put in with this whole goth-punk thing since the last record and it’s really tiresome. People are just going to make up whatever tag they want to put on your music.
What’s the ‘truth’ about AFI?
The truth is, if you’re a true fan of ours you’d probably already know what the truth is. There’s no image or falsity about this band, the truth is in our music and our lyrics and live show.
I really love Davey’s vocals. I remember when I first started listening to AFI and all my friends weren’t into it because they found Davey’s voice ‘annoying’…
That’s kind of the nature of his voice, it’s something you have to get use to. I’ve heard over and over that at first you may even be annoyed by it and then eventually something happens and then you do a complete 180 and love it.
Was it like that for you at all?
I’ve heard his voice for so many years that I can’t even remember what I thought? When he first started when we were teenagers he sounded like a little chipmunk on the first record, I probably sounded like a chipmunk back then too.
