VIA Interview with vocalist and guitarist J. from the Hard Rock band VIA. Interview August 19, 2015.
VIA Interview
– What’s new with VIA? Our partnership with Pavement has been the biggest change recently. We’re very excited to be working with them and their team while we re-release our album worldwide. We have a lot of opportunities opening up for us including upcoming tours, radio play, interviews, etc. and we couldn’t have done it without theirs and our joint efforts. They’ve been great to work with!
– How was it working on the album Sanitize This? It was a great experience overall. The song writing process was great and the songs really came into their own after we had been performing them live for nearly a year. We’re happy we got several shows under our belt before going into the studio for that reason. We all work really well together so we were able to make the most of our time in the studio. We worked with Bryan Mengy and Colt Leeb, who we’ve known previously to entering the studio. They work with a lot of big local and even national touring acts. In the end, they were able to share their expertise and ultimately get our album to sound the way we had envisioned it.
– Are the equipment and instruments used on stage mostly the same as the ones used on the albums? Actually, we’ve upgraded a lot of our equipment since making the album. Our lead guitarist, Eric, also works in a guitar shop so we’ve been spoiled lately with nicer equipment. (We’re much, much heavier live we are told by fans who’ve seen us live and own our tracks)
– What is the strangest inspiration you’ve ever had for a song? Evo once said he saw a bumper sticker on a dumpster that read something like “I’m not trash… but you are for littering”. I don’t think it was supposed to be on a trash bin but possibly a recycling bin but anyway, that was all I needed to start the lyrical process. (this is a new song we are currently writing)
– How was it Working on the promo video for Closets? Well, funny story, we (VIA) didn’t really work on it at all. Our good buddy Tony Perkins is a photographer and videographer who had basically been at a good portion of shows and he took some pretty epic footage for us. So when he heard we needed a promo video, he offered to throw one together with all the previous footage he had. The end result is a compilation of several live shows and after parties. Everything on that video is totally authentic. Tony did a great job capturing the essence of the music and the live shows.
We also have another version of “Closets” hopefully coming out by the end of the month, which is being shot and edited by Brynn Arens (vocalist/guitarist of the local musical legend/Juggernaut group named FLIPP, whom some might recall in the late 90s. Brynn is brother to Kii Arens whom is known in Hollywood for doing art pieces for bands. Kii also just produced Queens of the Stone Age’s “The Vampyre Of Time And Memory” music video).
– How many shows do you play per year on average, and how crazy does the schedule get? It gets pretty crazy in the summer. We’re basically playing a show a week all summer long and there are several weeks with up to 3 shows. During the winter we slow it down a bit, but we’re still playing out close to once or twice a month. That number will be going up from there with tours scheduled for this coming year.
– Could you describe what goes on in a day in your life as a musician on tour? As of right now, everything behind the scenes and not is all done ourselves. Things such as choosing a set list, gathering merch, handling the books for merch and the show, making guests lists for media personnel, roadies, GFs, etc – This all has to be done the day of a show. Not to mention coordinating with your roadies, merch people, techs, girl friends and sometimes even family gets to be tiresome but much needed. Communication is key. The day of a show can get kind of hectic, it’s definitely not boring. There’s work to be done but we make time for fun as well. While on the road, the shows are at night, so our down time is driving. That can get interesting. ;)
– How important is merchandising? Could artists survive without? No, absolutely not. You can’t survive without it, it’s crucial. Not only are a lot of musicians dependent on their merch income to pay for tour expenses, it’s also important to your fan base. Merchandise creates a memory for your fans, it bridges the gap and gives us a time and place to connect with people and make an impression. We’ve met SO many people at the merch booth after shows and we’ve made forever friends and fans that way. It’s one of our favorite times of a show because we get to put a face to the people who are there supporting us.
– Could you describe some of your earliest influences in life and in music? Being that music is life, lol, I turned to the warped tour compilations and the actual festivals in the mid 90s for insight to the next big thing. I saw Avenged Sevenfold just starting out on a smaller side stage, I was handed an EP by Quietdrive before they were ever on the tour, watched Senses Fail thrash and they were all under 20, Finch had a guitarist I believe that was 16, Something Corporate’s Andrew McMahon lit his piano on fire and continued to play the last song, Bert of The Used puked while screaming during a song and he continued to sing, and the list goes on. So I would have to say that the Warped Tour was my influence! :) I wanted to be a part of the Punk Rock magic, dammit! Haha.
– In your opinion, which album would be essential to have if someone were stranded on a deserted island? Tough question, I almost feel like it would need to be an album that took some time to fall in love with and even more time to enjoy every little note and the meaning of each and every lyric. You remember the first time you heard a Tool or Pink Floyd or Deftones album and were thinking… That was a little weird. You choose. Any album from one of those bands. Live and die by it on a deserted island. You’re stay will be much better! :)
Check out Via online https://www.facebook.com/viarockviaroll
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