February 26, 2011

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Feb 26, 2011

PLUG’D IN The Hard-Rock'n Bi-Weekly Magazine Gearing up for J.X.M.X

Inside This Issue Impact: Interview with the Legendary Henry Rollins On Tour: Robert Ortiz of Escape The Fate This Is: Josh and Stephen of The Chariot Dear Dead Abby J.X.M.X– A teaser

We Interview a legend: Vikki Sin talks to the legendary Henry Rollins

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Impact: The Legendary Henry Rollins Interview by Vikki Sin It‟s hard to believe that someone so associated with rage can be such a friendly, refreshingly humble human being, but Henry Rollins is just that. Images of a screeching, neck vein popping, red devil man aside, after about 10 seconds on the phone with him it became clear that Henry‟s just a regular guy whose anger is generally well directed and justifiable. He‟s someone that you could meet at a coffee shop somewhere and have a 2 hour discussion with about literally anything but it would feel like 2 seconds and you‟d leave more educated and going “Hey, that guy‟s right”. Of course, Henry‟s actually anything but regular, he‟s insanely talented and accomplished, and he probably doesn‟t have two hours to spare with his busy schedule. While the former front man of Black Flag and The Rollins Band doesn‟t perform musically anymore, he certainly keeps busy being outspoken, and people love to hear what he has to say. This year, the driven performer, writer, actor, publisher, radio host, and activist will hit the road yet again for a spoken word tour celebrating his 50th birthday. I was lucky enough to get a chance to talk to him between shows about what inspires him and what the future has in store for punk‟s hardest working bad ass. This is what he had to say…V.S.

07/16/10

PI: Happy belated birthday, by the way.

HR: Thank you very much.

PI: Turning 50, you‟re doing a spoken word tour about that. What would you think is the main difference between 25 year old Henry and 50 year old Henry?

HR: Well, more information, chiefly. In that, 25 years ago I hadn‟t seen remotely as much of the world as I have seen now. I‟ve met a lot more people, seen a lot more situations. And perhaps that has led me to not be as quick to judge people, seeing that there‟s more of a dynamic of any situation. I mean, there‟s lots of points of view, not necessarily just my own. So, I think some of the differences are probably fairly generic, in that more laps around the track and a bit more perspective leads one to different conclusions.

Wayne Lozinak

PI: Someone on our website had wanted to know if you still struggle with your anger like you did when you were younger.

HR: Yea, I‟m a very angry person. When I see people getting done over, when I see inequality, that kind of thing, it gets to me to the point where fighting against that takes up a substantial part of my day to day. Not angry like I go kick holes in the wall and kick dogs or anything like that.

PI: Do you still find yourself happiest when you‟re on the road?

HR: Yea, I really like being on the road, traveling, with the obligation of a show every night. I like the discipline of that.

I like the way it forces me to you know be forthright. I like that very much. I like the audience too. I like these people, they‟ve been with me for 30 years now, and I feel a great debt to them, and I quite enjoy seeing them every night. So, I‟d much rather be on the road. When I‟m off the road, my life gets very, very normal. There‟s a ritual to it. There‟s a ritual to the road too, of course. It‟s kind of the same thing, in its own way. You keep doing shows and you keep driving in a bus. But, when I‟m off the road, it‟s the grocery store and again and I feel like I‟m sitting watching life go by.

Where, when I‟m on the road and touring and all of that, I feel like I‟m in life, at the speed of life. That‟s just how I have it in my head, obviously, but its 30 years now, so it‟s kind of my normal, is being on the road.

PI: You have a couple new travel journals coming out soon?

HR: I try and put out a book documenting every year. 2009 was very busy, I spent a lot of it doing a television show, and 2010 was busy. So, my assistant and I, we made the first preliminary stabs into trying to edit that manuscript and it‟s going to take a lot of work, so we‟ve been real busy with stuff and that project is kind of lagging behind. I have a photo and essay book coming out in October. But the next journal book from ‟09 and ‟10, I can‟t see coming out any earlier than 2012. There‟s a whole lot of writing and editing to do. I don‟t know when we‟re going to do it, maybe some gaps this summer.

PI: What‟s the most interesting place that you‟ve been in the world? Have you been anywhere that‟s just blown your mind?

HR: Well, yea, there are places where the sites are so magnificent. Egypt was that, for me, as far as the pyramids and the Sphinx, things like that, the sheer size of these things. Especially the pyramid, It was bigger than I thought it was going to be…much bigger. So, that was pretty mind blowing. I was just in North Korea a few weeks ago and that was mind blowing but not as architecturally. It was like this massive cult, on a planet that is pretty much online, and here was this kind of strange place where everyone was cut off. You walk around with some tour guide wondering if you might know more about his country than he does. That was a lot to take in. As far as seeing things, all of it is pretty interesting to me. I was just in southern Sudan late last year, and that was pretty eye opening. When you look on the ground and there are bullet casings everywhere, because they had that war with the north and you can still see signs of it everywhere, it‟s a hell of a thing.

PI: You had mentioned being on TV. You‟re no stranger to the movies or TV, most recently in the role of AJ Weston on Sons of Anarchy. If there was any TV show that you could guest spot on, whether it‟s cancelled or still on the air, what would you love to see yourself on?

HR: Oh wow, The Shield. That would have been great. Another Kurt Sutter production, he‟s the guy who did Sons of Anarchy. I just really liked that show. Quite honestly, I don‟t watch a great deal of TV. I don‟t have one. I watch TV mainly on the tour bus. If I‟m in a hotel, I never turn the television on. I just don‟t. For news, I read. I read online, I read newspapers. I just don‟t dig a whole lot of news, or television, I should get one someday. But on the tour bus, which I‟m on fairly often for long periods of time, I‟ll watch some television. I like some of those real life crime shows. But I can‟t think of any shows- I don‟t think of myself much as an actor, just more of an opportunist. Sons of Anarchy was a lucky break for me. It was great to work with really good actors. But when I‟m between tours, like this tour I‟m only doing a handful of shows, I‟m looking for work. I like to be employed every day, so when that job came up I said “Yea, I‟ll go for that audition”, and I got my part and lived happily ever after. But I don‟t really see myself on any show where I go “Oh I‟d like to be on that” except for The Shield, I‟m a fan of. That was very well done. I recognize a lot of the locations, because they shot right here in Los Angeles.

PI: Do you have any favorite authors, or any favorite books that you kind of have taken inspiration from? Or maybe not even taken inspiration from, but that you just really, really loved?

HR: Oh yea, there‟s books I really, really love and books that have been very inspiring. Maybe the single biggest shot in the arm to try and write was a book I read in 1983 which was called „Black Spring‟ by Henry Miller. It‟s a very well known book. Someone gave it to me and said “Oh, this guy might be up your alley”, and I read Henry Miller for the first time and really found myself very inspired by him. Good artists, they make things look easy. When you read Miller, for me, he almost made it look easy because it seemed so, well, it‟s a guy writing down his thoughts and he‟s able to do it really well. Then you try and do that, in your own wonderful way, and it‟s really tricky. Some people obviously have a knack for it, me not so much. So it was Miller that was very inspiring and influential to me to just tell the truth and really let it hang out there. But when you really try and do it, it‟s a whole other thing. It takes a lot of work. Not having a great deal of schooling, I had a high school education, English I had to kind of relearn it, structurally, to get across to you, the reader. I just did this on my own time, living in a van, I bought notebooks or used the backside of flyers they had at venues, and I would just write. Everything, anything I was feeling or whatever. So, Miller was a big inspiration to me. As far as books I really love, F Scott Fitzgerald is probably my favorite American author for literature. I just think he was a great architect of the English language, and I can read his stuff over and over again. Sometimes the same story I‟ll read once a year. I‟ve read The Great Gatsby three or four times, Tender is The Night, more than once. He inspires me. Thomas Wolfe, the great American writer, he‟s kind of the American James Joyce. And Joyce is a mountain I‟ve never tried to summit. I‟m a little a feared of trying to tackle Joyce. Smart men I know have tried to read Joyce and have been frustrated so I don‟t know if I‟ll ever get there. But Thomas Wolfe, the

great writer, from Asheville, North Carolina, his books, I‟ve read all 4 of his major works and a lot of posthumous stuff. His stuff was really inspirational to me. Especially his second book, Of Time and the River, it‟s just a magnificent piece of work. But I get a lot of inspiration from writers, primarily, not so much musicians or politicians, but writers. They‟re my biggest influence on everything I do.

PI: Are there any musicians or bands out there today that you really get excited about?

HR: Sure. I have a radio show, so I‟m always looking to be turned on by something. There‟s a lot of music coming out of the Midwest, they call it noise music I guess. A lot of small labels around that scene, like American Tapes, Chondritic, Sound, Hanson, Hospital, they‟re these small labels. A lot of times they just release these cassette only releases or handmade CDs with the spray painted sleeves. It‟s crazy laptop, synthesizer, room clearing, noise music, like a saxophone playing in it, and these are young people just making up their own thing with no interest in MTV or popularity. A lot of the records are like limited edition 20, you just have to be there and get one otherwise you have to buy it on eBay for four times what they sold it for. That to me is a very inspiring movement of music in America. A lot of these labels have hundreds of releases, and I‟ve got hundreds of them at my office. Really, really cool. So that scene inspires me. To me it‟s the new jazz or punk rock if punk rock didn‟t lose its nerve and go commercial. There‟s a great young guitarist, a woman named Marnie Stern, you may have heard of her, she‟s on Kill Rock Stars, and she just released her third album and I think she‟s extraordinary. I‟m a huge fan; I play her all the time on my radio show and support her. Jay Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. has a new solo album that‟s coming out next month that Sub Pop generously sent me a copy of it so I could play it on the radio, and it sounds great. Dax Riggs, really great young songwriter. He‟s a real maniac, really, really great songwriter. There are a lot of young musicians who are really interesting to me, a lot of young bands. I prefer the noisier, more adventurous music to the more formulaic stuff.

PI: What do you make of this post-hardcore, emo/ screamo/ metalcore thing that‟s going on in rock today? The new scene, the kids coming up, everything that they‟re doing with that?

HR: It‟s young people doing their thing. I don‟t think they should be judged or critiqued too harshly. In that, if you‟re young, I think it‟s great to pick up a guitar and if you can figure out the same 5 chords that Dee Dee Ramone did, I don‟t think it necessarily has to sound all that different than that which came before in that it‟s more a tool of expression than necessarily musical innovation. If some of these bands around now seem to be hybridizing that which came before. I don‟t have a problem with that. I say, “rumble, young man, rumble‟. Have your 3 great summers, at the show, on stage because adult life will come crashing in, whether you want it to or not, and soon you‟ll be looking at real rent, real taxation, real life stuff. So when young people are at a certain age, in my opinion at least, music should be a huge part of their life, if I had my way. It‟s good for people, music. It civilizes them. It makes them interact. It‟s a good socialization tool. You go to the gig, you meet people, you find out you‟re not the biggest kook in the world.

You might meet some like minded people. It‟s good. You shouldn‟t be isolated in the world so much. So any youthful music, I might not necessarily want to listen to all the time, like the hardcore thing, the lyric and the mentality of it might not be where I‟m at as a 50 year old, but I think it‟s good that it happens.

PI: It‟s funny because I had posted something about some new band and someone had said „Oh, Black Flag, and Henry Rollins…you like Henry Rollins so much and you‟re listening to that‟ and I had said „You know, I bet that Henry would be like „Hey the kids are having fun‟”, so I‟m glad to hear you say that.

HR: I bet you I‟m older than you are. That doesn‟t mean anything, really. It doesn‟t make me smarter or whatever. It‟s just that at this point, I do have a bit of a vantage point at youth in that, it‟s way behind me now, and I can look at it from not necessarily a great height but certainly a great distance. My only regret, well, there‟s at least a few, but, it‟s that I didn‟t go to more shows, that I wasted time being judgmental. That I wasted time going „Oh that guy‟s hair isn‟t together so I can‟t…” you know, it‟s such a bloody waste of time. Anytime I see a youngster doing his thing or doing her thing with music I‟m like “Yea!” “Great!” Don‟t worry about it. At least you‟re doing something. At least you‟re inspiring some other people to kind of make something happen. That, to me, that‟s the in of it. That‟s great. And if some people get off on it, hey, that‟s the icing on the cake. I think young people should listen eclectically. There‟s

nothing I like better than having my little radio show and getting a letter from some kid in Oklahoma saying “Hey, you turned me on to Sun Ra, you turned me on to Coltrane. I never would have heard these jazz artists unless I heard them on your show. I‟m such a fan of this stuff now.” There you go! Some young person is off on the ride of their life listening to some of the best music ever made. So, I think young people need to be not only turned on by each other and themselves; they need to be turned on by that which came before them. That way, you have a better country, just better everything. Everything gets better when the youth is switched on.

PI: You seem to have done everything. You wear many different hats, but is there anything that you haven‟t done that you would really like to do?

HR: Um...no. I‟m getting to really swing at it as hard as I want. It‟s been all pretty amazing. I have no hidden desire to screen write or direct anything.

I‟ve been pitching different agencies, TV wise, on different shows. I pitched one place on a documentary idea and I pitched them twice on it.

The first time they kind of went “Yea! I want you to do something like that!” and then I pitched them again last week and they basically said “You know what? We can do this. What you just said to us, write that up and send that in so we can get it to our bosses” and I said “ok” and I typed it up last night and sent it in. I would love to have done that. To come up with an idea for a documentary, and get it over the wall and get it shot to where ideally there‟s a DVD in my hand and I can say “This is the idea that I had”. That‟s what I‟d love to do.

PI: You‟ve been very outspoken on gay rights. What do you have to say to the kids out there that are still getting picked on? The suicides are rampant, and they‟ve just had enough of the world. What do you have to say to those kids?

HR: You cannot, cannot kill yourself. Please don‟t leave. I went to an all boy‟s school, and I remember when you hit 10th grade or so, you start to look around and you realize that you‟re going to school with gay guys.

There are some. I work with gay people; my mom had gay friends, so it was never a thing with me. It was never the bolt of cloth I was cut from, but it never raised any anger in me. When I saw these people being put upon, it‟s like being busted for being left handed. I mean, I don‟t know what one does about one‟s sexual orientation. I mean, I‟m straight. I don‟t understand any other way to be. I never picked it. I noticed women at a young age and went “Yea that looks like a good reason to get up in the morning”. I never thought about it twice. If some youth wakes up and looks at the quarterback on the team and he‟s a guy and looks at that guy and says “Yea, that‟s where I‟m coming from”, I don‟t know what he‟s supposed to do about that, in that, that‟s how he turned out. And so when I see young people killing themselves or having to leave school or leave town, it‟s infuriating to me. I mean, this is supposed to be the freest country in the world and these young people are being inspired to kill themselves, over being called gay or not being able to come out to their parents. That‟s not the America you want to be proud of. The America you want to be proud of is a place where someone like that lives a full life without fear and without intimidation. That‟s a strong America. The hatred coming at gay people, that‟s not admirable, that‟s weak, and so I fight against it. So, young people, they should realize that they‟re surrounded by gay people. They‟ve got gay people in their family tree, there are gay people at their school, and there are probably gay teachers, telling them that being gay is bad. There‟s a lot of that.

And they should just hang on until they‟re 18, then leave home, leave that city and get to a bigger one. It‟s ok to be gay in Los Angeles, in New York, in Seattle, in Chicago, in Boston. It‟s not everywhere, some sleepy town that‟s still awaiting some great smiting from some angry god. There are alternatives.

PI: Henry, thank you so much for giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In. It‟s been an honor. Looking forward to seeing you on your tour. Have fun.

HR: Take care of yourself and thanks for talking to me.

www.henryrollins.com

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Dear Dead Abby Brought to you by It’s All The Hair Rage Designs

From The Grave Abby was born and raised in the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The oldest of eight, she constantly had her younger brothers and sisters asking her questions about everything from how things work to why that boy threw dirt on her. She‟d try to steer them straight with her advice, though sometimes she could be a bit sarcastic.

Abby also had an uncanny ability to see the truth in people, despite what they tried to portray with their lies. Unfortunately, this led the locals to believe that she was with surrounded with dark forces. The summer before her final year of school, Abby was sentenced to death by hanging, without a proper trial, simply stating that she was a witch. Abby can‟t recognize the faces of her family through death, but she answers questions, thinking it might be one of her siblings needing her guidance.

Q. With the political turmoil that just happened in Egypt, do you ever foresee anything like that happening in this country? P.P A. Yes, I do, and I think it‟s closer than people realize. The federal government is trying to force the states to do certain things, when according to the constitution, the states have the power themselves to decide what is best for the people. Unfortunately, most people do not realize that. Lemmings.

There could easily be another civil war within our country. (Your initials are PP. That‟s funny.)

Q. What is going to be the next flavor of Mountain Dew? S.G. A. Whatever Mountain Dew, or the people of the DEWmocracy decide. That‟s a stupid question.

Don‟t waste my time.

Q. I've always wanted to go to a Psychic. Are they real? S.F. A. Placebo effect. If you believe they are real…. There are things that happen that cannot be explained, premonitions and such, but as far as psychics, and telling someone their future, no, I think that‟s a giant load of horse crap.

Q Sometimes the way my brother hugs me makes me feel weird. Plus, he does it all the time. It‟s really creeping me out. What can I do without telling my parents? Anom A. If it creeps you out, put a stop to it. Whether he‟s your brother, uncle, grandfather or whomever it may be, if something makes you uncomfortable, don‟t subject yourself to it, and what are you, 8, that you want to go tell your parents instead of handling it yourself?

Q. Who is the greatest Rock N Roll vocalist of all time? G.L. A. That is a matter of one‟s own opinion. Everyone will have their own ideas on this, plus, I‟m dead, what do I care?

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Through Their Eyes:

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On Tour: Robert Ortiz of Escape The Fate Interview by Vikki Sin Post Hardcore bad boys Escape the Fate are no strangers to controversy.

This modern day Motley Crue has dealt with front man Ronnie Radke being thrown in jail, replaced him with Craig Mabbit, cancelled a tour so bassist Max Green could go through rehab, signed to a major label, and dealt with some of the craziest, opinionated fans around. In fact, bring up the name Escape the Fate to a group of teenagers and you‟re likely to start a heated debate rivaling any vampire movie (Ronnie vs Craig!). But despite everything that‟s happened and perhaps even because of it, these guys are moving on and pushing ahead with a vengeance. With a new album, new tour, a slew of catchy anthems, and a killer image, there‟s just no escaping them. Recently, I had the chance to talk to drummer Robert Ortiz about what it‟s like to be part of the band that makes „Issues‟ so popular…

V.S. PI: You guys are in the middle of “The Dead Masquerade Tour”…

RO: Actually, we are 1/3 of the way through the tour. (PI) Ok, you‟re 1/3 of the way through “The Dead Masquerade” Tour (with Alesana and Motionless in White), and you guys are pretty much going non-stop on that. How‟s the tour going and what do you guys do to keep up your energy level? (RO) Well there‟s a lot, a lot of stuff. See, I just have boundless energy, ok?

PI: You guys having a good time?

RO: Fuckin A, it‟s a band, dude. It‟s the greatest time in the world. Just as good as that gets and it can‟t get any better something comes by and derails it and you think the bands going to break up, and you reassess what you want to do with your life, and then the band picks back up and then you are having the time of your life. Its extremes that you always go through. I‟m in New York right now. Craig‟s baby‟s mom is out here visiting and she‟s never been to New York and she‟s just like “Oh my gosh, this is incredible” and I‟m like, “Oh yea I‟ve already been here. I‟ve seen it”.

It‟s cool but I‟m just trying to go day to day. I‟ve been to every part the world. You get to experience things that are freaking wonderful, dude. I love being in a band. I‟m having a good time. But you know, when you‟re working with 4 personalities, shit‟s going to happen, you know? People are going to do things that really piss you off and make you question what you‟re doing and why you‟re with them. That‟s just how it works, man. You go to all kinds of extremes. You get to enjoy the things that people can only dream of.

PI: The band has been through a lot in the past couple of years, with the vocalist change between Ronnie and Craig and most recently, Max going through rehab. Has everything that has happened made the band closer?

RO: I don‟t know. It‟s hard to say. I‟d like to think it does. When bad shit like that happens, it gets you talking. It‟s like if you‟ve ever been to a fucking funeral, saddest times and shit. You‟re seeing family members you haven‟t seen in forever, you‟re burying the hatchet with people you thought you weren‟t going to speak to again, some of those grudges are old, and you‟re like wow, I really don‟t need to be around this. The way I look at life, I just kind of roll with the punches. I never let anything hold me back. I take the good. I got advice one time that said you need to be thankful for all the problems you have in life. Thank God you have problems in life because they‟re going to make you stronger. I got to put that to everything including my band, especially my band, because shits going to happen. It‟s worth fighting for. It‟s worth talking it out, disagreeing with one another and then fixing it. It‟s brought us closer in a lot of aspects but it‟s also frustrating. But what are you going to do, it‟s a relationship, you know?

PI: Who do you personally draw inspiration from, musically and otherwise?

RO: There are a lot of things. There‟s no one musical, like, I want to be like this artist. It‟s all music, a variety of every single thing. I draw inspiration from other things, too, not just music, to define the sound. Personally I can sit and tell you my favorite artists; I love Metallica and Guns and Roses. I look like Slash, people ask me if anyone‟s ever told me that, like no shit, he‟s my favorite guitarist. It‟s a compliment. It gave me the confidence because I saw it and I‟m like fuck it I could look cool too. I love Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks, country, and Eminem . Typically for me, I always draw from usually the biggest. I don‟t dwell on people who are trying new things; I always go for the people that have mastered it. That‟s what I typically go for. It comes from everywhere. You have to be inspired in life for the sound to come out.

PI: What‟s one of the craziest things that have happened to you guys on tour? Any funny stories? Any crazy fans?

RO: Are you kidding me? Crazy things will happen in life the way it is, but in a band it‟s like you‟re on a damn rollercoaster. A couple of weeks ago we had this girl, who everyone found out likes to sneak on buses. You know, you wake up and all of a sudden there‟s this girl on your bus from the city before. We were trying to find this girl, not on my bus, we had 2 buses, and we‟re like “I guess she‟s not on here, cool.”, so we leave anyway and get going and an hour later, “What the fuck? How did this girl show up?” and she like hid. They had to kick her off at some truck stop somewhere and called the cops, let them know she was there. It‟s just like what the fuck, and it‟s always something like that. The other night we were playing the biggest headlining show we ever played, for us, like we‟ve played bigger shows, but with our specific fans, and these people came to see us from New York, Washington and New Jersey.

It‟s a New York show and it‟s the biggest one we ever headlined and Max passed out on stage. That kind of shit happens all the time. Always some story that becomes legendary after it‟s pulled enough times. There‟s been all kinds of crazy shit.It‟s never ending. It‟s always some fucking ridiculous thing. It‟s like a damn circus, it really is.

PI: Would you say you guys are really into the horror thing, with the cover of “Issues” and “This War is Ours” being horror inspired. Is everyone in the band really into the horror genre?

RO: It‟s hard to say. I used to be huge into horror movies, like straight up, like I watched “Night of the Living Dead” on fucking repeat, and all kinds of shit. But there‟s just a certain dark imagery. We‟re very particular about the way we look and the way we present our band. We write our music because that‟s what we love, that‟s what we do, and that‟s how we express ourselves. That‟s how we find joy. That‟s what we do. We create music. That‟s what you have to do if you have a special edge. People say “Oh, all the care about is the way they look.” Well, yea, it presents your music, the way you look is a direct reflection of what your music is and that‟s the way we approach it. I don‟t know anyone who really shit on Michael Jackson and said he sold out for dressing up in a mummy outfit. That‟s what we do. We look the way we do because of the sound we create. It‟s themed toward that kind of horror look to it, and we just really love that. That‟s the way we present it, so people will latch on to it. That‟s the way we do it, so yea. Specifically horror movies, we‟re not locked on to anything. I don‟t think any of us are going to out and make some movies like that, like straight up horror movies.

PI: What do you specifically like to do when you‟re not on tour? What are some of your hobbies?

RO: I don‟t know man; I‟m really weary about this question. I‟m usually really private but fuck it. Being home and being away from the tour and the rest of the band, I personally share that time with my family, because I sacrifice so much time away from them, physically away from them. I love my family, they‟re always there for me but a phone conversation is far different than talking to someone, going out and meeting, even something as simple as having dinner with them. When I‟m not doing the band, I‟m spending time with my family and my friends. I don‟t have very many friends anymore, but I have to spend that time with them. Talking about how I get the energy on the road to do so many shows and just being on stage a lot, I‟m totally into being physically fit. Your body is your temple. When it all comes down to it, I give everything to my art; I give everything to what I do. I‟m the drummer of the band, but its more than that, I‟m in the band, I have to give everything I have. I can‟t be fucking out of shape and half-assing everything, so I do other stuff to work towards that so I‟m really, really physically fit. I love sports. I just got $100 in my pocket because I just bet our tour manager the Steelers would lose, and obviously I was right. But I‟m into all kinds of sports and do other things. It‟s really weird when you used to do music as a hobby and then it‟s your job and you have to do things to get away from it. I love boxing, I absolutely love working out that way. Not so much MMA type but straight up boxing, so I do that, it‟s a great work out. I just love watching people beat each other up.

PI: What can we expect from Escape the Fate in the future, as far as the direction you‟re taking?

What can we look forward to?

RO: I don‟t know, dude.

It‟s so hard with this band.

I feel like sometimes we‟re our own worst enemies because whenever things are going great, we sort of bring ourselves down. I don‟t know why, it‟s like we‟re addicted to chaos. I just feel like we‟re coming up with a bunch of great ideas. I just feel like we can entertain the world, really. As far as musically, there‟s no clear cut, because I can tell you we‟re going to go into the studio tomorrow, we‟ve got a great song, by the time we actually get into the studio between now and tomorrow the whole direction will change. It‟s just always in the moment. It‟s all about what we‟re into right then, so I can‟t tell you the future like stylistically what we might be doing. It‟s all just what we‟re into.

We‟re calculating, we‟re smart about it. We don‟t want to leave anyone behind and just go „I don‟t care what our old fans think of what we do now‟. We love our fans, and I want to give them something that they can latch on to and be like „I love this band‟. I want to bring them along for a new journey, wherever we‟re going in that way. In the immediate future, this album is what we‟re proud of and this album is what we have to promote. We‟re going to keep bringing the biggest shows possible and make those songs happen and make people believe what we‟re giving them because we genuinely believe in them. That‟s what we got in front of us right now.

PI: Your fans are absolutely crazy about you guys. What do you have to say personally to the fans that have stuck with you guys through everything that you‟ve been through and are just die hard Escape the fate fans?

RO: Our fans are an interesting bunch, because some of our fans like to hate us, but yet they still love us. They know we‟re not the same band we were 5 years ago. It‟s hard to believe we‟ve been in a band for that long and we have those fans that who were fans of that era yet they still are willing to come along for the ride. I‟m grateful. I used to be very bitter and very just like „I don‟t want to talk to the fans whatsoever‟. I didn‟t want to hear their opinions, positive or negative, but I‟ll commit now. I do know that you can‟t please everyone, but those people that you do please, that come to you like “your music saved my life” or “you inspire me ”, or “keep making good songs”. Probably the best thing I‟ve ever heard was, the other day we were signing autographs and this girl said to me “keep making songs‟. But I mean, for me, that‟s all I could ask for. That someone loves the songs that we make so much that she just wants us to keep making more. That‟s the best thing. I love it. I‟m just very, very, very thankful that I could touch their lives.

They touch mine more than they even realize. I just want to make them happy. I‟m giving my life. I‟m giving them the best of myself because I appreciate the love.

PI: Thanks for giving us the chance to get Plug‟d In. RO: Thank you!

www.escapethefate.com

This Is: Josh and Stephen of The CharInterview and Photos by Liana Marie I‟m grateful for having the opportunity to sit down with Josh and Stephen of The Chariot.

They put on an amazing live performance; one of the best I‟ve seen in my entire. From swinging from ceiling rafters to crowd-surfing w/ their instruments & jumping around like mad men they put on an incredible show. It was nice getting to learn a little more about the members and their band in general. They‟re a great, not to mention talented, group of guys. Make sure to check them out and see for yourself!

Oh, and don‟t forget to purchase a The Chariot silly band. It makes them super happy... really. They‟ll clap…

L.M. PI: Name each member of your band and their specific instrumental roles.

J: Well, I‟m Josh and I do the vocals. Stevis here does guitar. We have a Brandon that plays the guitar, a Wolf does bass and a David that does drums.

PI: Is there any significance or meaning behind “The Chariot?”

J: It actually comes from a book in the Bible that talks about a chariot of fire that came down picked this dude up and took him straight to heaven. I didn‟t necessarily grow up in a Christian household but I somehow heard that story and always thought it was interesting. In my brain, I‟m thinking "This dude is so on-point with the Lord.” As a kid I always remembered that as an interesting story.

PI: Describe yourself and your background in music and in general.

J: I was a kid that really loved music. There were a lot of times that I really felt it saved my life. I‟ve always loved it and wanted to do something with it. Being able to be a part of the music industry for so long is such a blessing. I love music and I‟ve always dreamed of playing shows etc.

S: The earliest bands I listened to are bands that my dad would listen to. He listened to Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer & The Who as well as some hair metal. So, that‟s the kind of stuff I was into in 4th and 5th grade. I got more into punk rock in 6th grade. (J)...And it‟s been downhill ever since (S) (Agrees, Laughter). No. But punk rock seemed to stick more than anything else over the years. Later, while still being into punk rock I also got more into Hardcore.

I‟ve been playing guitar for a really long time thought I‟ve only played it in this band for about a year and a half. The Chariot is actually the first band I played guitar in. I‟ve always played music but never in a band, until now.

PI: Josh, you were always a founding member of the band, Norma Jean, correct?

J: Yes. I did vocals on “Bless The Martyr and Kiss The Child.”

PI: Who‟s responsible for coming up with the name “The Chariot”?

J: I came up with that name. As far as our new record, “Long Live”, I may have technically pined that in, but then again it was where we were all at mentally, when getting ready for this record etc. It kind of admitted itself, in a way.

It fit the vibe that we were going for.

PI: Tell us a little about the formation of “The Chariot.” How did all the excitement begin?

J: The band started after a year-long break from the music world... maybe a little less than that. I took a little break to get my head back in the right spot and make sure everything was on point. When I started again, I started with The Chariot. It‟s hard to say how we got to where we are at right now because I‟m just kind of a long for the ride as well.

With a few different member changes plus many other factors, the band evolved into what it is today. It‟s not really anything that can be mastered. It's literally continuously evolving; becoming what it is. It‟s funny because you look back on it and think “Oh, cool. That‟s why that happened...” etc. But I truly feel like all of us our just along for the ride. It‟s an instancy on it‟s on; moving forward. It‟s something cool that I‟m really happy to be a part of. I wouldn‟t want to be in any other band.

PI: In terms of stage performance and the musical aspect...Does The Chariot have any specific musical influences?

J: Yes. Performance-wise I think all of us are influenced along the lines. Specific performers would be James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. I personally like a lot of that stuff because both performance-wise and in terms of the musical aspect. We all love that stuff. We just did what we wanted to do with that. We love writing and recording, but I think we do that mainly just to play more shows. The studios cool but you don‟t get the full effects that you do playing a live show. The people aren‟t there, neither is the crowd or the sweat, ambiance or the energy. That‟s what keeps us going and makes it all worth every second we put into it. The reality of what it is becomes such a blessing for us; being able to do that every day.

PI: I am aware that not only is your band known for its musical talent but you‟re also known for your stage performance...Was this your intention(s)? Did you want to be known for your stage performance?

J: We didn‟t plan it. We had music that we knew was in us, and it came out one day. The live show is just a biproduct of the music we write. I‟m glad people are into it, but that is just who we are. We don‟t know anything else.

We couldn‟t just stand there, you know what I mean? It‟s not something that we really play out or anything it‟s just a natural progression. I think we all have ADD and a short attention span so when we write, we write it and then we‟ll get bored with a part so we‟ll shorten it or change it etc. It becomes very “Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!” ...Short attention span kind of stuff or ADD-friendly, if you will. So, because it‟s us, that happened and because of that you can‟t help but move! We try to write music that will push us on stage but like I said it‟s not really a planned thing, I don‟t know what else we would do, it‟s just who we are. There‟s times where I won‟t be having the best day... I don‟t think about it but If I did at the time I‟d think stuff like” I can‟t move on stage tonight because I feel terrible” etc but then you hear those clicks and the song kicks in and it‟s just...the only thing you can do. I think it‟s all just naturally progressed to this point.

PI: What are some of the craziest things you have done or witnessed while performing?

J: Those 2 Germany shows... (S) Oh! That‟s more of what the crowds done, though.

(PI) That‟s okay! Could you tell us a little about what went down? (S) There was a show in Germany...I‟m not sure anymore which part of Germany... But I didn‟t know what to expect going into that show because I‟ve never been there before. We got to the venue and it was your average bar-looking place with a really low stage and no security from what I can tell. On the stage, as soon as the show started, I‟m setting my stuff up on stage and there‟s broken glass on the stage over by my pedals. We start... (J) It was like an explosion. (S) Literally everyone had no regard for anyone else. It was a hell of a show. (J) It was the most dangerous show we had ever played. It was awesome. (S) It was really awesome. As I said the stage was very, very low, but this kid managed to…you know how when you drop kick both feet are horizontal? Well he did that horizontal to the stage. It was a really low drop-kick...It took my legs right out from under me. (J) It was nuts (S) Like I said there was also broken glass on the stage. He just got up and ran back into the crowd. (J) It was just chaos. (S) He wasn‟t trying to hurt me. (J) Kids would jump up and jump on my back to sing but what they were actually doing was choking me out because they were falling etc. It was awesome.

But that scenario was a true sense of the term “energy bubble.” It was literally just the coolest thing. Afterwards it was more of a religious experience...Not just with the band but all of us, crowd included. The crowd and everything…

We felt like we had been through something together and it was really magical. It was really cool. I remember we were talking about it later that night, just being so humbled at how great of a show we had that night... And in a whole different country in which we don‟t even deserve to be known and yet here they are going “ba-zerk.” It was awesome.

PI: How would you describe your overall crowd reaction?

S: In general or on this tour? (PI) In general. (S) In general I feel like the people that come to see The Chariot understand what we do. I think that becomes half of our show; what they do. Especially, these last few tours...They‟ve

been incredible. We‟re pretty good at doing tours that get us new fans. So, people see us climbing on things and they climb on things. We say “This stage is yours” and they take full advantage of it. (J) We feed off them and they feed off us. It‟s a very community-like thing. Obviously we have to play on a stage of there is a stage there and there‟s enough people but at the end of the day we don‟t think of us and the crowd as 2 separate groups of people. It‟s more “We‟re all in this together.” I mean, we‟re holding out technical instruments but you‟re holding your voice, just as I am. I‟m the singer, so all I have is my voice, they have a voice; we‟re all equals. It‟s a really a positive energy, as long as everything goes well. It‟s very pleasant. I think that as far as the crowd response goes, we never know what to expect. Like he said before, we do tours where we‟re sort of the odd-band out; as on this tour, but we‟re okay with that. We‟re always on our toes. We watch these kids go from like, “What is going on?!” to sheer terrified to “I kind of like this. I still don‟t know what‟s going on but I‟m kind of into it.” For example, last night was the only show of this tour so far but in terms of crowd reaction we definitely saw that last night...We watched “ I‟m kind of scared” turn into “I‟m still scared but I‟m kind of into it...” They look at a friend thinking “Am I into it?” & their friend‟s like “I think you are...” Then by the end it‟s all kosher, everyone‟s fine. It‟s really fun for us to get to watch every night and see what happens.

PI: You mentioned earlier how a lot of you guys climb on stuff... Did any of these stunts ever end up badly?

J: Stephis chipped his tooth. (S) Yeah, half this tooth isn‟t real. (PI) Really? What happened? (S) I was climbing on stage I pulled my guitar forward as I‟m getting up and hit my mouth, chipped my tooth, and then spit it back up. (J) He clean-cut it in half. It was awesome. It looked so cool. (Laughter) I mean there‟s times where thing have happened, we‟ve had bloody noses and stitches here and there but that‟s not what we‟re about. We‟re hoping that in best case scenario that doesn‟t happen but it kind of comes with the territory. At the end of the day if that does happen it‟s pretty harmless, I mean stitches is pretty extreme...for the most part we haven‟t had anything too crazy happen. So, that‟s good. As long as it‟s us, we don‟t really care. I hate hearing about someone in the audience getting hurt, never by us. There‟s usually a bully in the pit or something and that sucks, I hate that kind of stuff. Things happen but for the most part it‟s pretty cool. We‟re like a well-oiled machine; we thrive off each other, so at the end of the day we‟re able to make it all work. I don‟t really know how we do it, but we do.

PI: Your latest album is “Long Live” and that was released this past November, correct?

J: Correct. (PI)Could you tell us a little about this album? What‟s it all about? (J) That‟s a pretty loaded question. We didn‟t initially plan on this but it‟s kind of a thank you album. The whole album isn‟t a point A to point B concept record but it‟s definitely themed. The names on the back; the short version of that is just the people who like and have supported our band. The “Calvin Mckenzie” song is basically a thank you song to anyone that has helped us along the way. It‟s called “Long Live” which is a positive term. It‟s our 4th record, and that‟s cool! A lot of bands don‟t get to make it to their 4th record so, we‟re really grateful and humble to be able to do that. The more we talked about it we the more we agreed with where we are with this record and what felt right about which direction it was going to go.

It‟s a lot deeper, but like I said it‟s basically a thank you record. Lyrically and everything about it...The album artwork was created from some of our live shots and it kind of ties in with its concept as well.

PI: Would you say if fulfilled your expectations? Is there anything that you would have done differently?

J: I don‟t think so, no. I mean, obviously if you give an artist a year, they‟ll take a year. If you give an artist a week they‟ll take a week. But there are always changes, and things that could happen. I‟d like to think we wouldn‟t release something that‟s not something we‟re completely happy with. With the exception of deadlines that‟s the first and foremost test as to whether we‟re releasing it or not. Does everyone love it? It‟s important that we‟re all happy with it. I wouldn‟t change anything. (S) I wouldn‟t change anything either.

PI: Are there any major differences between this album and your previous albums?

J: Yes. There‟s a ton of differences. (PI) Okay. Does anything stand out? (J) I don‟t know. This record was super impulsive. A lot of our records have an impulsive vibe but this one was just intense. One of our favorite parts is in a song called “The City.” The very end of that song came up about 20 minutes before tracking it, while we had been doing drums for it. Someone was like” I Like this ending BUT I think we can do something cooler.” We were really just trusting our instincts...there was a little bit of that on our other records but there was much more of it with this record. I think that‟s where we do our best work; going with our first instincts. You start over-thinking stuff and it begins getting complicated; you second guess yourself. There‟s so many times on this record where we went to the studio with one way and we loved it..We would have been fine with it but it grew from what it was and it became; developed into something better. On all the other records I think we were in the process of developing that. Maybe we

wouldn‟t have trusted ourselves as much. This record has really evolved right before our eyes and we were all just kind of watching it happen. I‟m super stoked how everything turned out.

PI: What is your favorite song to perform live?

S: Of the new songs, probably “The Audience.” It‟s really riffy..It‟s equally balanced between rifts and just having fun. As far as overall, probably either “Goodnight My Lady” or “Yanni Depp.”

J: I don‟t know. My favorite live is probably “The City” but we‟re not doing it on this tour. Of all our songs I‟d probably choose any song in which a lot of people are familiar with and can sing along and get involved, such as “Teach.” That song... people tend to really gravitate to the tail-end of that song. The lyrics are pretty simple and people really get into it. It‟s funny for me to say, because in that song I don‟t do much vocally. I do a couple of lines and then head-bang for awhile. But, maybe that‟s why it‟s my favorite.

PI: Is there any particular message(s) that you hope fans will take from your music?

J: I just want fans and people are our shows to have a good time. At the end of the day we‟d just like to give hope where there is no hope...I was that kid, back in the day. To me, If we could somehow show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, that‟s awesome. I feel like there is a lot of people that really don‟t know that and think that for whatever funk they‟re in, that‟s it. But that‟s not true. There‟s always hope. I know we may not achieve that every time but that‟s definitely what I hope our music could do for our fans. I‟d just like it to somehow be some sort of blessing in someone‟s life.

PI: What can we expect from The Chariot in the future?

J: Tours, tours, and more tours. We‟re actually doing a lot of touring this year.

We‟re doing Japan, China, Australia; some crazy stuff that we‟re really stoked on. We haven‟t been to those places. As far as the future goes, who knows? We‟re along for the ride, as well.

PI: Great. Thanks so much for your time and giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In. J&S: Thank you.

www.myspace.com/thechariot

From The Throne of The Rock God Rants, Raves, Reviews, and News for the Minions

J.X.M.X Is coming soon We are looking for: Bands, Vendors, Charitable Donations, and Volunteers,

Wanna be involved?

Email us @ Jxmx@centralpapluggedin.com

www.centralpapluggedin.com www.myspace.com/centralpapluggedin www.facebook.com/centralpa.plugdin Special thanks to all the following for making this issue happen: Without you...well, we just would have had to work a little harder.

The Reading Tattoo Co, Shoo, American Heroes, Belly Busters, 1Up Collectibles, Its All The rage Hair Designs, Vertical Pole Fitness, Pottstown Tattoo Co, Gotham City Tattoo, The Last Level, Pocket Aces Skate Shop, Crocodile Rock CafĂŠ, Michael Demos, Liana Marie, David Barber, Mark Kohl, Nicole Marie, Nicolle Stella, Vikki Sin, Dan Clark, Bandi Budwash, Designs By Your Arsonist, Roadrunner Records, Century Media, W.M.G., Victory Records, Facedown Records, Fearless Records, Metal Blade records, E1, Hollywood Records, Disney, Adrenaline P.R., Solid State Records, DRP Records, and all the amazing National and Local bands weâ€&#x;ve had the privilege to work with.

Upcoming Shows

March 6th - ACE AUGUSTINE, AARON CHARLES, SUCKERPUNCH, LEGIONS, BEARTRAP, INTO THE DEPTHS, SAVE THE ZOMBIES!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT 4:30!!

March 12th - March 18th - AFTER 3 AM UNITED WE FALL AND MORE TBA! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR! March 14th - LIQUID ASSASSINS, LORD MALICE, FREELANCE ASSASSINS, WHITNEY PAYTON, KAHNVICT, PIGSTICKER THA G W/ RAZOR BLAZE, OPTIMUS, BeEezy, SHAMOO, SYDE PROJEKT!!!! TICKETS $10, $12 AT THE DOOR, ALL AGES!! DON'T MISS THIS! March 18th - A SCENT LIKE WOLVES CD RELEASE SHOW!! MORE TBA! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! March 19th - TORN!! CHASING THE UNKNOWN, SECTION 8 AND JONATHAN A ANDRUS! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! March 25th - NO REMORSE FOR THE FALLEN CD RELEASE SHOW!! SEVEN YEAR EXISTENCE, DYING EUFORIA, FROM THIS WE RISE, OF THE NINTH CIRCLE AND EXODIA!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR!! DOORS AT 6:30!!

April 1st - TOKKS FAREWELL SHOW... FOR NOW! DEM KORRUPT BOYZ FEATURING T.O.N.E.Z., H8TRID, PHATAL, R.E.G, 7TH LAYER, THE UNSTABLE MINDS, THE PUMPKIN KING, K4AC, OPTIMUS, B-FRESH, SNIPER, THE REAL CHAOS!! TIX $10!! ALL AGES! DOORS AT 5!!

April 8th - HALF ANGEL AND MORE TBA! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! April 10th - THE WORLD WE KNEW, FAREWELL TO FREEWAY, RIVERS OF NIHIL, INVARIANCE, AS CITIES FALL, HELL OR HIGHWATER AND CONTENTS OF A DEADMAN, TIX $10, DOS $12, ALL AGES, DOORS AT 5:30, SHOW STARTS AT 6!!

April 29th - THRODL, OF THE NINTH CIRCLE, CONFESSIONS OF A LIFETIME, 20TIL8 AND BODIES IN THE LAKE!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR!

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