Art’s Sitdown with Senses Fail and From Autumn to Ashes

First Interview: Buddy Nielsen- lead singer (Senses Fail)

AM: You’ve been on Warped the last three years, what continues to be the attraction of playing Warped?

BN: Well, it seems like we only play Kevin Lyman produced tours (http://www.tasteofchaos.com/"target="_blank">Taste of Chaos, Warped)… It’s just a good environment to play in, and it always exposes us to new fans.

AM: You are playing the Taste of Chaos International Tour later this year, looking forward to it?

BN: Definitely, we’ll be on the road with Taking Back Sunday and Underoath. It’s gonna be for a month and half and take us into Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

AM: Any differences into playing an arena for Taste of Chaos, versus an outdoor environment or a club for a show?

BN: Playing an arena is cool at first. It’s a feeling like “Wow, look at how big this place is”, but after a while, playing an arena sucks. With playing a club, it allows the fans to be closer to the band. I’d rather play a club any day over an arena.

AM: Senses Fail recorded the Suicidal Tendencies classic Instutionalized for the Tony Hawk: American Wasteland video game. How did you get hooked up with that? Did you get to meet Tony Hawk?

BN: We were in the same room as Tony Hawk at one point, but never got to meet him. Our record label (Vagrant Records) was putting together the soundtrack from the game, and approached us. I wanted to cover a song by the Adolescents, but the label suggested Instutionalized, and we liked the choices, and went with it.

AM: It’s a very faithful, well done cover…

BN: It’s a song that bands either nail it, or it just plain sucks. Thanks, we think we did all right with it.

AM: Some of the satellite radio stations play Senses Fail. Do you feel that satellite radio is a good medium for bands like yours?

BN: Absolutely. We try to get on satellite radio whenever when we can, because regular radio is trash, and doesn’t expose too many bands anymore.

AM: Any fall tour plans?

BN: We just finished recording our new album, and we’ll be playing some dates around the release of our new album, and the Taste of Chaos. We should be back in the States after the first of the year.

Senses Fail’s upcoming album will be due out October 10th.

Second Interview: Brian Deneeve - guitarist, From Autumn to Ashes

AM: You guys played Sounds of the Underground last year, how does Warped compare this year?

BD: The Sounds of the Underground sucked last year, just not a good place to be. We played on that tour for about a week, and all the bands had a s----y attitude. I think they all wanted to be the next Pantera or Slayer, and took themselves too seriously. The bands on Warped are a better group of people, and the bands seem to like each other more. The fans also seem to be more receptive as well, which is always good.

AM: Are you afraid that you may be different than a lot of bands on the tour this year?

BD: It isn’t our goal to play with just heavy bands. We intentionally try to play with different bands. If you tour with just hardcore fans, you are playing to fans that already know you, and things turn stale. If you play with other bands, it exposes you to new people and gets the word out.

AM: You were on Ferret Records, and now you’ve moved to Vagrant. Any major differences between the two?

BD: Don’t get me wrong, Ferret was a great label. We worked with them for a while, but made a conscious decision to find a new label that isn’t specifically for one type of music (Note: Ferret is known for metal bands). We’ve been with Vagrant for 3 years now, and their level of success with bands like Dashboard Confessional and others was a big reason for us to move there.

AM: You have toured for a while, any plans to get back into the studio?

BD: We are heading back into the studio in October. We’ll be in Baltimore, with Brian McTernan (Thrice, Cave In) and will be writing for about 6 weeks before recording. The album should be out in either January or February.

AM: A lot of the current group of hardcore bands seem to come from New York and other east coast cities. Is there a large sense of camadarie between the groups?

BD: We feel that the bands get a long, but I wouldn’t say that there is more camadarie with the bands than anywhere else.

AM: Any plans you’re looking to see at Warped?

BD: I want to see Vaux, they just have a great sound, and haven’t got a chance to see them yet.

From Autumn to Ashes’s Abandon Your Friends is out now. Their new album will be out in January or February 2007.