FREE
CENTRAL PA.
Jan 29, 2011
PLUG’D IN The Hard-Rock'n Bi-Weekly Magazine We put the laughter in Slaughter!
Inside This Issue On Tour: Interview W/ Nick Fredell of Taproot Impact: Interview W/ the guys from An Early Ending This Is: Juliete Simms of Automatic Loveletter Dear Dead Abby What would you do with a Penis or Vagina? Some of the coolest freak’n sponsors around!
Check out our kick-ass full color version online
www.centralpapluggedin.com
Upcoming Shows Feb. 4th - FOR THE PERILOUS,MAESION, A SCENT LIKE WOLVES, PERCY PRINGLE, VON KULL AND THE HOLLOW!! ALL AGES!! $10 AT THE DOOR! Feb. 5th - NIGHT OF 4 TRIBUTE BANDS THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE THERE! REBOURNE (OZZY), MADE IN IRON (IRON MAIDEN), VOODOO (GODSMACK), SHOUT AT THE DEVIL (MOTLEY CRUE) WITH SPECIAL GUEST MIDNIGHT DECADENCE!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR!! DOORS AT 7 SO SEE YA THERE! Feb. 11th - NO REMORSE FOR THE FALLEN, HELL WITHIN, FROM THIS WE RISE, GARMONIA, SAVE THE ZOMBIES! ALL AGES, DOORS AT 6:30! #10 AT THE DOOR! Feb. 19th - THE LAST REMARK, AURORAS, SIX PENNY, HEADSTONE 118, EAST COAST WILD CARDS 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 19th - TORN!! CHASING THE UNKNOWN, SECTION 8 AND MORE TBA! 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!! April 10th - THE WORLD WE KNEW, FAREWELL TO FREEWAY, RIVERS OF NIHIL, INVARIANCE AND MORE TBA! April 29th - THRODL, OF THE NINTH CIRCLE, CONFESSIONS OF A LIFETIME, 20TIL8 AND BODIES IN THE LAKE!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR!
www.drivingmetal.com www.thesilorocks.com
Cyanide and Happiness Toon of the Week
Disclaimer: Cyanide and Happiness is property of Explosm.net. We are just supporting them cause they‟re funny as crap. Want to see more? Check out:
Top 10 Hard Rock Albums on Billboard.com 1) Bon Jovi– Greatest Hits 2) Linkin Park– A Thousand Suns 3) A Day To Remember– What Separates Me From You 4) All American Nightmare– Hinder 5)Disturbed– Asylum 6) Avenged Sevenfold– Nightmare 7) Five Finger Death Punch– War is the Answer 8) My Darkest Days– My Darkest Days 9) Shinedown– The Sound Of Madness 10)For We Are Many– All That Remains
07/16/10
Wayne Lozinak
www.itsalltherage.biz
Wayne Lozinak
On Tour: Nick Fredell of Taproot Interview by Bandi Budwash Foreward by Michael Demos I had the privilege to pop in on while she did her interview Taproot drummer Nick Fredell. Nick is a great guy and is doing a fantastic job beating the skins for Taproot. Not only did he have large shoes to fill (replacing longtime drummer Jarrod Montague) but he took those shoes and made them his own. Here‟s what he had to say…M.D. PI: So how‟s the tour been going for you? Nick: Oh man, cold, in all honesty. Yeah, its winter, so touring in the winter, but other than that, it‟s been great, the turnout‟s been great, the shows have been fun, yeah, and it‟s good, same old same old I would say. Taproot always does really well on the east coast; the guys feel really at home out here. PI: Taproot officially formed in ‟97, correct? Nick: Yeah PI: Where did you picture yourselves being 13 years later? Nick: Um, well, I‟m not an original member, I‟ve been with the band for three years now, but I‟m willing to bet they wouldn‟t have planned on being here 13 years ago, Um, this is like that question at the job interview no one really knows how to answer. PI: What about your personal music career? How do you get started into your formation with Taproot? Nick: Oh man, wow, my personal music career. Well, I‟m from Flynt, Michigan, just outside of Flynt, and there‟s a very big punk and uh, just a very big punk music scene out there. It‟s actually a very different scene from where Taproot is from even though it‟s only an hour and a half north, so yeah, I just grew up playing in punk bands and that developed into playing in metal bands, and you know, here I am I guess basically. I mean I landscaped for ten years. I started Taproot on my 30th birthday, so yeah, I uh, I was just a local musician just playing the game, you know, going to work 12 hours a day to afford drum heads and whatever happened happened, and I was just lucky enough to uh, when Jarrod stepped down from Taproot I was the first person they called. I didn‟t even have to tryout, they just asked me to join. They were like, “Hey, you down?” And I was like, “Yeah!” PI: Do you remember personally when they got big? Nick: Oh yeah, absolutely. PI: Did you ever see yourself playing in Taproot? Nick: Oh man, no actually, when Jarrod quit it like surprised everybody, especially because Jarrod is actually like the more social person in the band, which makes me fit right in too, so like, for him, everyone just tied Jarrod to Taproot cause he was like the face socially in the music scene. He was the one out at clubs, going to shows, um, that kind of stuff, so like yeah, when it was him that quit, everyone was like “Holy Shit” and stuff, but yeah, he did the right thing, he has a family and stuff, and he got a really good job, and you know, he‟s got three kids now and a fourth on the way, but you know, how do you leave that, you know? Somehow I ended up going from my music career to Jarrod‟s kids, but they are that linked, I mean, they got me here.
PI: Who does the majority of the song writing? Nick: Um, Steve, primarily I would say, and Mike would be a very close second. Basically for Plead The Fifth, the very last album we did, my first with the band, Steve and Mike would demo demo demo, and then just kind of bring it to me and Phil, and we‟d do our thing on tape, you know, with live instruments and going through the computer or whatever, but yeah, we just sort of jammed you know, it was kind of fun, like a computerized demo that we just sort of did in his room, and then you know, just kind of learn that and just start jamming it and record it. PI: Do you ever listen to the radio and hear your songs being played? Nick: I seldom listen to the radio. Like every now and then I‟ll listen to the radio, like, we listen to a lot of Howard Stern, honestly, when we‟re on the road, it‟s really nice. When you‟re a musician, it‟s funny how much you actually try to stay away from music, but yeah, I don‟t listen to the radio, hardly ever. PI: At shows like this, do you ever listen to some of the local opening bands, or are you so busy that you don‟t really get the chance? Nick: Most the time I do actually. Um, it depends. Sometimes we are really busy, but yeah, most of the time I try to. It‟s sort of impossible to get away from when you think of it, like the band doing a sound check right now. Most the time you end up hearing something, and if it sounds really good, then you know, you just sort of walk out and hmm, you know, especially when we play Michigan shows, I‟ll sit and watch everyone, cause you know, for me it‟s a reminder of that was me, so that‟s what I try to do. Then again, I‟m not Steve. Steve and Mike have facial recognition, like beyond all belief, so like, they can‟t, they have to hide or they‟ll get swamped, but me, I can go anywhere. PI: Who would you say were your biggest influences in getting into music? Nick: My biggest influence, uh, I don‟t know. Is it to last year to say Michael Jackson? Uh, yeah, actually, my first memory of drumming was with No. 2 pencils and my Fisher Price to Thriller, my first musical experience, and not just cause he died last year either. PI: If you weren‟t a musician, what would you probably be doing? Nick: Oh man, I‟d be uh, well, I‟d be landscaping on some level. Yeah, I was managing a landscape office when I got this gig, so I imagine I‟d still be doing that. Speaking Spanish and pointing at where to put sod. PI: If you could pick two other bands to go on tour with, who would they be? Nick: Oh, well, I really would love to go on tour with the Deftones. I am the only person in Taproot who has never played with the Deftones. I met them, which was cool, but yeah, I‟d love to play with the Deftones, that‟s on my bucket list. I‟m going to throw Ice Nine Kills in there too, I saw them and they cracked me up, so yeah, they‟re really something. Yeah, I‟d say the Deftones and Ice Nine Kills, why the fuck not, you know? PI: Say the first thing that comes to mind when you hear these words: Success- Haha, define success, ah, no I guess that would be happy. Touring-Fun Heaven-Hell Impossible-Never Love-Yes Goals-Uh, goals are stupid. Well, I just kind of think they are.
PI: Why? Nick: Say they are attainable goals, and you get to them, but it‟s just never what you thought, like even when you have a goal and get to it, it just never feels the way you thought it would anyway, it always feels totally different. To me, that‟s my opinion anyway. I mean, I guess goals are good for other people, I‟m not saying don‟t have goals, I‟m just saying I don‟t have goals. I mean, my goal I would say is to work hard, like maybe I have goals, but I never knew it would come out like this. I drummed in my room every day, but I didn‟t set a goal to be in Taproot or anything like that. If I‟d expected that, I might have never got it, but I still might have got it. Who the fuck knows, right? PI: Where do you see yourself in ten years? Nick: Still playing I guess, still putting records out and touring would be great, you know. I don‟t know if we‟ll be able to do it at the level we‟re doing now, but yeah, we‟re working really hard right now, and I don‟t know if we can work that hard for ten more years, but you know, that‟d be great. I don‟t know if I can see myself in ten years, but I know I‟ll be drumming in ten years, how about that? PI: What would you do for a Klondike Bar? Nick: Oh wow, I don‟t know, I don‟t even really like Klondike Bars. Why, do you work for Klondike or something? PI: Thank you so much for giving us the chance to get Plug‟d In with you. Nick: Thanks for having me.
www.taprootmusic.com
NFL Football Sunday Special Large pizza, 2 Dozen Wings & a 24â€&#x; Cold Sub Only 25.99
www.dineindie.com/bellybusters
www.therecordconnectionpa.com
Vital Remains
www.pennavemusic.com
www.gothamcitytattoos.com
Dear Dead Abby 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. Sheâ€&#x;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 canâ€&#x;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. I caught my girlfriend cheating so I broke up with her. The worst part is she was cheating with a guy i know for about 3 months. When we were together we made a video of us having sex. I want to upload it to the web to show everyone what a whore she is. Is this right? A.P. A. Wow, you're despicable. The fact that you are even considering such a thing makes me wonder why she cheated on you in the first place. What kind of disgusting creep does it take to invade someone's privacy like that? Plus, she could sue you, so in that aspect, I don't think she'd mind not having to work. Q. I want to buy a house and move out of my maintained apartment. Is buying a house instead of renting the way to go? H.B. A. In the long run, yes, but that is something you need to very carefully weigh. Look at the costs of the mortgage, heating the house, oil vs electric heat, taxes, school and property, plus repairs that are going to be needed. Many things that are included in your rent you'll be paying yourself. Look at your financial situation, the economy, and why there are so many foreclosures. I'm not against buying a house, but it is a very serious ordeal. Make sure you are ready for everything. Q.I work with this really nice guy and I would like to get to know him better. Im really shy though. How do I work up the nerve to talk to him? S.D. A. Shy is a waste of time. It stems from insecurity. Work on yourself first. Guys like confidence. When you see yourself in a better light, it makes a world of difference. However, do you share similar interests? Try starting a conversation. Example: If he likes hockey, ask him who he'd like to see in the Cup. Then after talking for a few weeks, get hockey tickets to a Royals game. Say to him, I know you like hockey, and I got an extra ticket for a Royals game, would you like to go? If he says no, don't be crushed right away thinking he's making up an excuse. If he gives you surefire signals that he's not interested, then leave it be, but don't let it damper your spirits. Your view of yourself is most important. Remember that. Q. This world sucks. Is there a heaven? S.S. A. Maybe you suck, or your perception of the world sucks. Ever hear "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? It is what you make of it. If you hate your job, hate your life, hate your situation, whatever that may be, then you're not going to see anything positive in the world. You can change the world that you live in day to day, but the world in general is what it is. There will always be things you can't change, but you can't let it get you down. You cannot dwell on the crime rates of Reading, or the economical situation, for that you cannot change, but you can change your job, your car, where you live, and the people you surround yourself with, your "immediate" world.
deardeadabby@centralpapluggedin.com
www.the-last-level.com
www.1upcollectibles.com
Impact: An Early Ending Interview and Photos by Liana Marie It was a pleasure getting the opportunity to catch up with friends, and to make new ones. Especially a band I‟ve seen grow before my eyes; An Early Ending. They‟re 5 incredibly talented individuals. The heart they put behind their music is incredible and they‟ve got golden down-to-earth personalities to back it up. This band has had their share of loops and unfortunate happenings. Yet, they‟re still here and going strong, today. The band doesn‟t dwell on the unfortunate situations they‟ve encountered instead they‟re grateful for what they have, all the progress they‟ve made, and where they are today. They‟re a great group of guys and I wish them luck towards all of what the future may bring. Here is what they had to share with us... L.M. PI: Let‟s start out by introducing each members and their role in the band. (B) Hi, I‟m Brandon and I play guitar. (G) I‟m Greg and I also play guitar. (L) I‟m Logan and I play drums. (A) Alex and I sing. (M) Mike and I play bass. PI: What brought about An Early Ending? Can you tell us a little about the formation? A: It all started in high school, just for fun. Since we all played different instruments, playing music became a hobby. Later we decided to take this hobby a step further, and form a band. During this process we lost a lot of members, gained a lot of members etc. People were constantly in and out. Between all the member changes and various obstacles, we found some relatively stable ground, and now we‟re here PI: Is there any significance behind the title of your band? If so, what would that be? A: No, not at all. AEE: Not at all. (PI) Not at all? (L) Yeah, no. Not at all. (PI) Just thought it sounded cool? AEE: Yeah, that‟s really it. (L) The dude that made the name is not even in the band anymore. A: Yeah. We were in like...11th grade. Maybe 10th. (L) Yeah, it was like 6 years ago, probably. PI: What made you decide that this is what you want to do? G: It‟s fun. It‟s probably one of the most fun jobs out there. More particularly, of the ones we have all had. Collectively, there have been a lot of jobs worked, between all of us. PI: Prior to deciding your musical path...Is there anything else you thought about doing? Maybe becoming a doctor or something in the political field... L: I always wanted to play drums. But, when I was younger, I wanted to be a nurse. Just because my Mom was a nurse and I‟ve always been pretty good with taking care of people. (G) He wanted to be an actor, actually. (L) No, no. (G) That‟s the future. (B) I wanted to be an English teacher. (G) That‟s actually still to come in the future. I‟m calling it. (G) I wanted to be an Engineer. (M) I wanted to be a Psychologist. I still am kind of looking into that but I‟ll never be able to do anything like that with this. (A) I didn‟t really have any aspirations for anything. PI: What factors do you consider when creating your set list for each show? B: Venue. (G) Crowd. (B) Whether they‟re more of the “Tough” or heavy crowd. (G) When we play different areas across the country musical interests or tastes generally change as well. Some people respect “Rocking out” more than
beating each other up. So, that sometimes plays a big part in choosing our set lists as well. But it‟s always different with each show. While with tour, we normally pick a set list and generally stick with it throughout all of tour. PI: What is your favorite song to perform live? B: I like “We‟re Coming For You.” (G) I don‟t know If I really have a favorite. (L) I like playing “Saints.” (G) Saints, yeah. (A) “Harder To Be.” That is my favorite one to play. I‟m always too tired to play “We‟re Coming For You.” It‟s always the last song on our set. It‟s like Ughhh. I‟m just getting ready to go! (M) “Saints” for me as well. (A) Way to jump on the bandwagon, Michael! PI: So what are you guys currently listening to? ...Outside of your own band, of course. G: Oh man. (B) We listen to a lot of “The Maine.” (G) We listen to a lot. (B) We listen to everything. (PI) Okay. What would your top 3 be? (B) A Day To Remember. For me anyway... (A) No. (G) I don‟t know. (L) We listen to a lot of Miss May I. That stuff‟s sweet. (G) It definitely changes pretty frequently, too. After awhile, whatever we‟re listening to will wear out. (B) Yeah. (A) Top 3. (G) Top 3. Personally, I‟ve been listening to a lot of Third Eye Blind; both old and new stuff. “The Maine” as well as a lot of heavy stuff. I‟ve been listening to the new As I Lay Dying CD a lot as well. (AEE) Yeah. (B) The Devil Wears Prada (AEE) Yeah. (L) New Prada‟s sick. (G) That‟s like top 5. I don‟t think I could do 3. (A) I like A Rocket To The Moon. I probably listen to that everyday. Foxy Shazaam; I listen to them all the time. (M) My top 3 would probably be Circa Survive, Taking Back Sunday, and Lydia. PI: What style of music or specific bands would you say has or had the most influence on the music your band produces? G: All American Rejects. Rather the live show than the style of music. (AEE) Yeah, We don‟t sound like them at all. (G) Their music‟s good, but we don‟t sound like that at all. (L) Thrice, Atreyu, Haste The Day, Bullet For my Valentine. That‟s the type of music we grew up around and listened to. Those are bands that produce music more along the lines of what out band produces. (A) That‟s what “Bloodlines” sounds like. Not so much our new stuff. PI: What‟s an average day look like for An Early Ending? B: Crazy! (A) On tour? (PI) Yes, on tour. (L) I don‟t wake up until at least noon, everyday. (G) I was going to say, typically our 9-5 is more like...1-5am. (A) Yeah, we usually start our day around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. (G) Which is typically if we‟re at a hotel and they call us and we get kicked out or if we‟re at someone‟s house I‟ll need to leave for work or something. (A) Yeah, we will just hang out there as long as we can... As long as we don‟t have to be in the van all day. (AEE) Yeah. (G) Or we wake up and don‟t eat anything until either someone provides food or we make Ramen and Ravioli in the trailer. We have a little camping grill and a microwave. We plug our microwave in the converter in our van and we‟re able to microwave our stuff. It only takes like 5 minutes to make Ramen so it‟s not too bad. (L) Pretty sweet. (G) Yeah! (B) I just sleep all day.(G) Yeah, the we play the show.(L) Hang out. (G) Yeah, and hang out. (L) We‟ve been writing on the road so, that‟s something we do in our downtime. Recently, we‟ve been working on the acoustic stuff that we‟re doing tonight. PI: Could you tell is a little about the writing process? G: Kind of Crazy. (L) It‟s actually really scattered brained. For example, I‟ll record a drum part and then Gary will put a lick over it. And we‟ll just kind of build the song piece by piece. In a way it‟s like Legos. You start building and building, adding things and changing parts next thing you know you have a song! Then you‟re like, “Oh wow! I have no idea how that came together, but it did!” PI: I‟m aware that Friday, July 10th of 2009, wasn‟t at all an average day for An Early Ending. You were in fact involved in a pretty bad accident... Can you tell us a little about what happened and where this occurred? G: Well it was these 3 guys. Our bass player who since left and our tour manager as well as all of Texas In July that were in the accident. We were all on tour together in our old van and trailer. It was a long drive; we were about 14
hours into it. Everyone was pretty much asleep except for me, as I was driving. This lady just swerved in front of us and we got into a pretty bad accident. They said she had a heart attack which resulted in her losing consciousness and swerving in front of us. I don‟t know whether she had it and clipped this tractor and trailer in front of us or what, but she was sliding sideways. I saw her come out from behind the truck, but by this time there wasn‟t any time left really, to react. PI: What were all of you doing right before this happened? Other than you (Greg), who was driving? G: Most of them were sleeping. (L) Yeah, I was sleeping. (A) We drove from the top of Iowa. (L) to the bottom of Missouri. (A) We played a show up there, the night before this occurred. Then, we also had a show the next day. It was like 17 hours. (L) It was a straight drive throughout the night. (A) Yeah, because we left the night before and just drove all day and night. (G) Which happens, it‟s not untypical. (A) Right. You do that a lot on tour. (G) It was just one of those days. (PI) So none of you had any idea as to what was about to happen? (G) Oh, no. I think Sam remembers seeing her there...But other than that, no idea. Everyone was woken up by either the van flipping and being thrown in the air, or the impact itself. (A) I don‟t remember, any of that. I woke up about 100 yards from the van. I crawled out with no shoes on. PI: Once you realized what was happening, do you remember what was going through your head? G: We honestly, try not to exaggerate or make it a huge deal. But it was pretty horrific. I was freaking out. I was on the phone with no idea of what to do. I was counting heads; I know I had 11 people. I only say 9 people; there were still 2 guys in the van. I had no idea. I saw our van upside down, a Cadillac; which was completely mangled, the lady inside the vehicle wasn‟t moving. It‟s really just what anyone would think at that point. I remember seeing Alex just sitting there starring at his hands and covered in blood. Everyone was covered in blood from the accident and sustained one injury or another. PI: What specific physical damages and traumas did this accident cause An Early Ending? G: Well, Logan lost his leg. (L) Yeah. It was rough. (G)...Which is an on-going battle. Alex had facial reconstruction. (A) Yeah, I had a bunch of broken bones in my face. I broke my nose in 2 places, fractured both of my cheek bones, fractured my pallet, and fractured my eye-socket. Paul our old bass player he lost just about all of his front teeth, same with Sam. Sam‟s upper bone; which holds all of your teeth, got shattered. He had to rebuild close to the entire top of his mouth. He‟ll still be getting surgeries for another year or so before he can get implanted teeth. So, right now he and Paul have dentures. (L) They both have had surgeries this past month, and I believe Sam has another one coming up, again. (A) They all had a lot of facial damage that they‟re still dealing with. I know Paul has a couple metal plates in his face, now. (G) Sam also had a compound leg fracture. (A) Yeah, on top of all of his facial damage, his bone was coming out of his leg. Greg somehow only cut the back of his head even though he was in the front. (G) I was knocked out. It was just kind of ironic. The whole thing really shouldn‟t have turned out as well as it did. 11 guys...We were about the safest vehicle. It anyone bigger than me would have been driving; It wouldn‟t have looked to good for them. The van rolled, the whole thing was crushed, the seat was mangled, I was knocked out and had a gash in the back of my head; luckily that‟s all I got. I also had an airbag, which is really all the bigger I am. (A) Same with Ben from Texas In July. The only reason he‟s alive right now is because (G) ... the seatbelt and the airbag. (A) You can see the pictures of what that side and the front of the van looked like. It was exactly where he was sitting. The inside of the van was where the outside should have been. The van was completely flipped inside out. The engine came through the front of the van and the whole chassis of the van bent upwards. It was almost in half. We rolled around in there an awful lot but luckily no one broke their neck. (G) Everyone was unbuckled and asleep, not including the driver and shotgun, were just completely tossed around. Obviously, the 2 in front sustained horrible damages but everyone‟s alive. If you looked at it from a bystander‟s point of
view, you wouldn‟t have even imagined it to turn out the way it did. I got back in the van after, I got out of the hospital, to get everyone‟s bags and try and find everything. I went from being covered in blood from being in the accident to getting cleaned at the hospital, back to being covered in blood again just from crawling around in the van. It was that bad. (A) I found Logan‟s phone inside the headliner of the van. It was like up, within the lining. (G) We couldn‟t believe we found his Iphone. We were calling it and could feel the vibrations. As we were looking we started moving upwards; looking under the seats. This van was upside down. It was within the hood and somehow it didn‟t go out the window or up on the roof. PI: So, the accident definitely still affects your band, in many ways today. How did it affect your personal equipment such as instruments etc? G: We definitely had some equipment damaged but it was nothing we weren‟t able to fix. The trailer broke off the hitch (A) and went down the side of the road. (G) It went into the ditch but it didn‟t flip or anything. (A) Our van and our trailer were completely separated as a result to the accident, which actually, saved our lives. If we would have had that extra 4,000 or so pounds of inertia involved, it would have been that much more force pushing us forward. (G) That‟s pretty much what flipped the van. The trailer and van came up and then the trailer broke off and the van began to flip. The trailer was totaled; the frame was all warped. But we had all of our merch, and Texas In July‟s merch right in the front of it so that cushioned all of our equipment. (A) Some of the flight cases were busted up. (G) Yeah. We still use flight cases with lids that don‟t really fit right. (A) Yeah, we still use them. (B) IS THAT WHY MINE‟S MESSED UP?! (G) No. That flight case just...sucks. (A) I think Paul‟s bass had gotten damaged, but that‟s really it. (G) Paul‟s one bass got completely flattened. PI: Do the traumas still affect you mentally, today? G: We were just talking about it on the drive home. It still messes with us. I„m weird about not driving. Logan and I did most of the driving, anyway. Most of us, who were in the accident, can‟t sleep very well. It was like a freak accident. So, we‟re all a little freaked out about it. But, it could have happened to anyone, really. It can happen at any time and it did. There„s still a lot of conscious stuff lingers. (A) I always have to sit shotgun, so I know what‟s going on. (G) I think we‟re all just more aware of our surroundings. (A) What happened was...I was asleep. And I usually can never sleep in the van. It was one of the first days on tour that I could actually sleep, because we were driving for so long. And as soon as I fall asleep, we got into an accident. I actually sleep fine, now. I think I actually sleep better. But usually when I‟m awake I have to sit up front so I can see what‟s going on. Especially on long drives, and over night I like to keep the person driving awake. (G) He does a good job at keeping people awake. (A) I just talk, the entire time. I don‟t even care if it pisses anyone off... as long as they‟re awake and driving. That‟s all I care about. (G) Brandon does a good job at waking us up when we‟re at the venue. He‟s always raging. Then, he completely passes out within 30 seconds of being in the van and just sleeps the whole time. (A) He‟s like a little kid with a sugar high. (B) Its funny because I‟ll wake up and be tired and then all of the sudden I‟ll be like BAM *snaps fingers I‟m awake! Then, I‟ll just pass out again. I can like sleep at will. It‟s weird. PI: “Bloodlines”, released 2009 is your latest album, correct? (G) That is correct. (PI) What are some of the factors or details you considered when naming this album? G: It had something to do with “Bloodlines” in relation to your family tree. (A) Its like what Greg said. It‟s about family...I can‟t remember exactly how it came about, to be honest with you. (G) The song “Bloodlines” was the title track off that album. It was kind of like a concept album, but not at all at the same time. (G) The whole album really doesn‟t have anything to do with it. (A) Yeah. The next record that we‟re writing is more of a concept album. It all goes together. It‟ll be a lot better. PI: So what does this album mean to you? What is it all about? G: It‟s definitely where we came from. We‟re playing these songs that we wrote such a long time ago. The accident threw any timelines or source of planning completely off. We basically, started over. So, now we‟re still playing this material rather than different material. We would have had a new CD out by now, had we been touring the entire time. We‟re doing what we can now, to perfect it. (M) I think maturity definitely, has played its part. *inaudible... “Bloodlines” is not the CD “Bloodlines” in anyway. (A)It‟s a lot more intense, live. PI: If you could go back and change anything about this album or do anything differently would you? G: Well, probably. (PI) Is there anything that more specifically stands out? (G) Well, the way we play it now, live is a
lot different. We changed a lot of the parts and rewrote some of the material. (A) But it‟s not like ...”Oh, I don‟t understand this song, now...” or that it‟s a completely different song. It‟s the same thing but we changed and/or improved some of the details. (G) It‟s just about where and how we matured as a band as we wrote it. Which I guess, if we could go back and redo that we would. But I mean, that‟s just where we were at the time. The recording wasn‟t incredible... I mean, we could nit-pick it to death, now. As soon as we have something we probably wouldn‟t be completely happy with it a month later. But we wouldn‟t release something unless we were happy with it at that given moment in time. (A) The thing is we‟re SO much beyond that now. We really are, as a band. When we wrote that stuff we‟re like, “Oh! This is Awesome!” And now it‟s like...”Wow, that was terrible.” ...Because we can do it way better. (G) We grew up listening to bands like ABR and that‟s what we played; that kind of sound. Then we started taking things seriously, and decided that it was time to choose what direction we wanted go. That was the album that we wrote. A lot of it was rushed since we were trying to meet deadlines. A lot of it just didn‟t have the maturity. We were trying to figure out a new direction to go in and now we have a better understanding of that. It was a stepping stone from where we were to where we are today. (A) If you listen to the whole CD through some of the songs are definitely more mature than the others. “What Makes Me Breathe” is a pretty cool song but we wrote that like 3 years ago. (G) That was the first song we really... (B) Everyone‟s tells me that “Harder To Be” is a GREAT song. (G) It definitely stands out. It has its own sound....It doesn‟t really fit, so to speak. It‟s all a matter of opinion...But in my opinion it doesn‟t sound like something you hear a lot. PI: Your live video for “The Truth” is actually tonight, correct? AEE: Yeah. (PI) Are you guys stoked?! AEE: Oh Yeah! Very excited. PI: When and where can we expect to see this video? G: It‟ll probably be done it about...a month? I honestly don‟t know. We‟re trying to do the CD and then hoping to have a little time off from touring after February. We‟ll probably pair it up with something like another show. (B) And I don‟t know anything to be honest with you. (A) You never know how long everything‟s going to take. It‟ll definitely be after we get back from this next tour. I‟m going to say sometime around February. PI: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 6 years? B: I want to tour with August Burns Red. (G) Is that...in that time frame? Or is that just what you want to be doing in 5 or 6 years? (B) I think we‟ll just be there. I hope it doesn‟t take 6 years! I hope it takes 5 months. (G) In 6 years we‟ll be touring with Led Zeppelin... (A) We already did a couple shows with them on the road, man! (B) Well, I didn‟t! Anyway... Hopefully we‟ll be alive and playing music! (G) I never think that far ahead, myself. So, I don‟t even know. (B) Alive and playing guitar! We want to do what we‟re doing now! (G) Yeah, if we could still do this that would be awesome. (PI) What about you, Alex? (B) You don‟t have aspirations. You can‟t answer that question. A: 5 or 6 years... phew! How old will I be? Like 26 or 27? I don‟t know... I‟ll probably be balding. That‟s not where I want to see myself but that‟s probably where I‟ll be. I‟ll probably be fat and balding. Hopefully I‟ll still be doing stuff with this band. I mean, we‟ve already made it 6 years, so why not another 6 years? Obviously, I hope we‟re not in the same position that we are now. I hope we continue to improve and progress. I‟d like to eliminate the occasional 10 kid crowd here and those shows and turn them into something more like our bigger shows. I‟d like to be recording full length records, and doing entire U.S. tours. (B) I‟d like to be making a living. (A) Yeah. (B) And playing music... (A) That‟s more like a 2 year goal for me. (B) That‟s more of a 1 year goal for Brandon! (A) I can‟t think 6 years ahead. I can barely remember 6 years AGO. (B) I can only live off unemployment for so long, man. That stuff runs out. M: Hopefully playing music with the same band and/or writing poetry or something like that. That‟s my goal. PI: What can we expect from An Early Ending in the nearer future? B: Some awesome jams! (AEE) New EP, more touring... (B) Who knows, actually? It‟s all up in the air until this new EP comes out. (G) We‟re still trying to figure it all out. We‟re stepping foot in a new direction. But we won‟t know exactly until we‟re writing this thing and releasing it. Hopefully, playing the songs, we‟ll take on what we‟re going for. But, we‟ll see. (A) We‟re going to record this Ep. Then, we‟re going to tour pretty much for the whole rest of next year. That‟s the plan. I hope Artery puts us on larger tours. We‟re already on Artery but we‟re not the largest or most important band on there. We have a lot of good people like that in our back pocket; Rick, Jeremy, the people from Artery, and our sponsors like Dean etc. They have a lot of connections, so now it‟s really just up to us to write a record that is good enough for them to sell us. They know the people and who they can sell it to. (B) It‟s all up to us.
(A) So, the heats definitely on for us. It‟s make or break right now. This band won‟t make it another 2 years if we don‟t write the best album that we possibly can, and that‟s what we‟re going to do. PI: Anything you‟d like to add or maybe share with your fans? G: Stay pumped. And just...Thank you. Going around seeing how hard it can be to draw people and write music that people from all over can get into, I‟m happy. I‟m grateful for what we have here, tonight. (B) Be prepared and look out for our EP! PI: It was nice getting caught up with all of you! Thanks so much for your time and giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In. AEE: Thank you.
www.anearlyending.com
Jokes
We apologize if you found any of the jokes to be crude or offensive. We also apologize for you not having any sense of humor and for being so damn uptight. Jeez, they’re only jokes.
What women would do if they had a penis for a day. 10. Get ahead faster in corporate America. 9. Get a blow job. 8. Find out what is so fascinating about beating the meat. 7. Pee standing up while talking to other men at a urinal. 6. Determine WHY you can't hit the bowl consistently. 5. Find out what it's like to be on the other end of a surging orgasm. 4. Touch yourself in public without thought as to how improper it may seem. 3. Jump up and down naked with an erection to see if it feels as funny as it looks. 2. Understand the scientific reason for the light refraction which occurs between a man's eyes and the ruler situated next to his member which causes two inches to be added to the final measurement. 1. Repeat number 9...... What men would do if they had a vagina for a day. 10. Immediately go shopping for zucchini and cucumbers. 9. Squat over a hand-held mirror for an hour and a half. 8. See if they could finally do the splits. 7. See if it's truly possible to launch a ping pong ball 20 feet. 6. Cross their legs without rearranging their crotch. 5. Get picked up in a bar in less than 10 minutes ... BEFORE closing time. 4. Have consecutive multiple orgasms and still be ready for more without sleeping first. 3. Go to the gynecologist for a pelvic exam and ask to have it recorded on video. 2. Sit on the edge of the bed and pray for breasts too. 1. Finally find that damned G-spot.
This Is: Juliete Simms of Automatic Loveletter Interview and Photos by Liana Marie PI: Let‟s start out by introducing each member and each individual role they play in the band. J: I‟m Juliet, and I sing. My brother, Tommy plays guitar. We have a new bass player named Shane, and our drummer‟s name is Ryan. PI: What inspired you to name your band “Automatic Loveletter?” J: The term “Automatic Loveletter” comes from the time in which I first started writing music. I wrote love letters, and poems etc. Eventually I turned those love letters, and poems into songs. “Automatic Loveletter” essentially means ...a love song. PI: Could you tell us a little bit about the band‟s formation? How did Automatic Loveletter come about? J: Well, I was a solo artist for a long time. When I got signed, I wanted to have a band name, and you know, have a band. So, I decided to start putting it together about 5 years ago. PI: How has tour been going so far? How does it feel to be on tour with Valencia? J: GREAT! We actually were on tour with them a month ago, as well. We had month break when they went over to Australia. Then, we came back out. We just started again, 3 days ago. So, so far it‟s been very fun! It has also been very cold... PI: Do you have a pretty good relationship with the other bands? Are you enjoying their company? J: Yeah! We‟re getting a long like a family! Yeah, totally. PI: What was your favorite show to play, so far this tour? J: My favorite show so far is Philly. Even though it hasn‟t happened yet. I just know it‟s going to the best. (PI) What makes you say that? (J) Well, first of all it‟s sold out. I mean, come on. Secondly, every time I play Philly It out does everyone else. So, I know and have faith in our fans here. I know they‟re going to fuckin‟ bring it. PI: So would you say that in general, Philly is your favorite place to play? J: For sure. Well, that and New York. PI: As you‟re growing up, everyone has their specific role models or someone they look up to... Who were yours? J: Mine were Robert Plant, Jim Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Janice Joplin, Heart, Pat Benatar, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.” (PI) That‟s awesome Ariel‟s a favorite of mine too. And no, I‟m not just bias because I have red hair. *Laughter, Juliet Claps (J) That‟s awesome. PI: When you were a young child, did you have an idea of what your future holds? Did you plan on being where you are today? Or did you have another plans..maybe to be a doctor, or a lawyer...
J: No, no. I always knew I was going to be doing music. No other plans. I knew what I wanted to do when I was 3. (PI) That‟s awesome! It‟s probably nice or reassuring to know that you‟ve accomplished so much of what you desired to... (J) For real, yeah. But, I mean, as an artist or musician I always long to improve...whether wanting my band to be bigger or better. So even though, I am where I am right now, I still haven‟t gotten to where I want to be. PI: From being in a touring band, I assume you have had the chance to travel the world...If you could pick one place, out of all the places you have been, to live...Where would you choose? J: Well, I haven‟t really been out of the country besides Canada. So, this question‟s answer is boring! I don‟t have a good answer for you... (PI) Okay. Well what about out of all the places you‟ve been? It doesn‟t necessarily need to be out of the country. (J) Okay, fine. I would move to Seattle. (PI) Alright. And why is that? (J) I Love it there! It‟s SO beautiful. They have great food! The farmer‟s or fishermen‟s market is right down by the water. There is cherry blossom trees EVERYWHERE. It‟s very city-like but there‟s still beautiful landscape and plant life. (PI) So, it‟s just the right amount of everything. (J) Right. Yes. PI: What are some of your favorite and least favorite parts of touring? J: During the winter...how cold it gets. Yuck. I hate the fact that you never feel like you stop moving. You play a show you pack out, and drive for hours. Then you have to check out of the hotel at like 2 or 3 am. After all of that, you wake up at 9 and then have to pack and drive again. Eventually, after all that, you end up at another venue just waiting to do it all over again. Sometimes all you want to do is just keep your pajamas on, sit in bed and stare at a wall all day. But you don‟t get to do that. (PI) So, you probably don‟t get to see your friends or family too often? (J) No, not at all. (PI) I would think that part really kind of sucks too. (J) Yeah! (PI) But you have to do what you have to do... (J) Yeah. Right? It‟s the SACRIFICE YOU‟VE GOT TO MAKE to MAKE IT! PI: Your latest album, released June 2010, is “Truth or Dare” Correct? J: Mhm. PI: What does this album mean to you? What is it all about? J: It means a lot to me. It‟s about love and relationships with people around you... Life problems and barriers. It‟s about living life spontaneously and honestly. (PI) It‟s always nice to write music people can relate to; true life problems and experiences. You know, Vs. various obsessions with “bitches, hoes, fast, cars...money. etc” (J) Yeah, exactly! Shit. PI: What is your favorite song to perform live? J: Right now...probably “Hush.” (PI) Great. Will you be performing it tonight? (J) Yes. PI: What genre or style of music would you consider your band and the music it produces? What inspired you to write this style of music? J: I would consider it “Passionate Rock.” And I didn‟t necessarily choose this style, It‟s simply how I write. PI: If you could stop or solve one major world problem, only one, what would it be and why? J: Oh, that‟s so hard. I guess I would choose eliminate any possibilities of Global Warming. Meaning, It billions of years we‟re not going to be here. I guess that would solve us not being here anymore, because it would mean that we have eternity to fix everything else.
PI: Do you have a New Years Resolution? J: Yeah, I do! I don‟t really smoke cigarettes, but I do every now and then. I want to stop smoking cigarettes completely. Especially, since I‟m a singer. So, that and... I want to get my own place; my own apartment, somewhere. It‟ll have a loft and a lair and it‟ll be awesome. PI: What is your ultimate goal or hopes for your musical path? J: I want to become a household name. I want to be fuckin‟ huge. I want to sell millions of records.... haha, Duh. (PI) Well, I hope you get to where you desire to be! (J) Thanks! PI: What can we expect from Automatic Loveletter in the future? J: More touring, music, and...Hugs. PI: Anything you‟d like to add? J: I have to pee? PI: Okay, haha! Well. I will let you do that! Thanks so much for taking the time to sit down and chat with us, and for keeping us Plug‟d In! J: Yeah! Thank YOU!
www.automaticloveletter.com
Please welcome Mark Kohl and David Barber to the Plug‟d In Staff!
From The Throne of The Rock God Rants, Raves, Reviews, and News for the Minions Wow! It‟s been a year already. Unofficially it‟s been 13 months because I started this thing in December of 2009. Officially our 26th issue comes out in 2 weeks so that will be our calendar birthday. It‟s hard to believe that it‟s been a year already. When I started this thing I wasn‟t really sure what direction I wanted to take it in. All I knew was there were these huge National bands that kept rolling through our towns and if you missed the shows you were shit out of luck. Plus, even if you did go to the show you never really got a chance to learn about the artist, you just got to hear their music. I always wanted to know more. So that why I created Central Pa Plug‟d In Magazine. I want to highlight and make the National music scene more accessible and personal to you. It‟s a work in progress though. Next issue I will talk more about how we got our start and what it was like during our first year. It wasn‟t easy, trust me! It‟s on the horizon now and I‟m ready for some birthday cake. Who‟s bring some? Until next time….
www.centralpapluggedin.com www.myspace.com/centralpapluggedin www.facebook.com/centralpa.plugdin CENTRAL PA.
PLUG’D IN 1 Year Birthday Edition February 11, 2011 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 Café, Michael Demos, Liana Marie, Curt Ridall, 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 we‟ve had the privilege to work with.
www.crocodilerockcafe.com