A sit down with Every Time I Die guitarist Andy Williams N: Who else has Melissa Cross out there that are still doing it. But worked with that we would who’s to say the next time we know? come to Columbus, we’re gonna A: Lamb of God, Bono from U2. be playing the fucking Basement? [laughs] I’m probably the first person to ever say those two in a N: Well, when I think of the sentence together. word hardcore, I think of bands like Minor Threat, Black Flag Nick: When I first heard that I N: In the past couple of years, and Circle Jerks. There’s actu- was going to be interviewing I’ve noticed that hardcore influ- ally a documentary coming out Andy Williams, I was kinda hop- enced music has become called Ameri - ing for the 60s pop singer and “popular.” For instance, they’re A: [cutting me off] American then it was you. Am I the only playing at places like [LC Pavil- Hardcore, yeah, I just saw it. guy to make that mistake? ion]. Is hardcore the new gutter Andy: No, no it was really funny, phenomenon, why or why not? N: Oh cool, what’d you think? my mom searched Google for me A: I can’t believe you just said A: It’s great. That’s the shit that I once. She was like, “All that came gutter phenomenon, do you know listen to. When we started this up was the 60s pop singer, what what that is? band, it was like, dude, there has- the fuck?” My mom’s awesome, n’t been a band with the same atti- she’s dirty. Sorry mom, I didn’t N: Yeah. tude as Black Flag since Black make you proud, I didn’t write A: Well, the thing is I grew up Flag. That was our whole big “Moon River.” I didn’t make a going to hardcore and punk rock thing, let’s just fucking do it our great Christmas record. shows, my dad even took me to way, let’s not worry about fuckin’ shows ‘cause he was into punk having the sickest minor scales N: But is that in the future for rock. I don’t wanna say it like this, and just repetitive fuckin’ At The ETID? A Christmas record? but it’s kinda the new nu metal. In Gates bullshit, cause that’s all that A: Well, not ETID, but just Andy that aspect, it’s just one of those came out. That’s what hardcore Williams solo. But I’d have to do things where you’re going to weed turned into, At The Gates ripoffs. Andy Williams Band, because out the weak real quick. Kids' And then bands like Dead Guy and there’s already an Andy Williams; fucking attention spans are so Kiss It Goodbye, those bands were he’s probably copyrighted his small, so right now this might be the ones that we were like, “Whoa, name. the buzz, but then outta nowhere these dudes are pushing the enve- there might be an electronica band lope, this is fuckin’ cool!” When N: When your album Hot and kids will just bite that, you we started the band, that’s what Damn! came out, it was a staple know what I mean? we wanted to do. And then the one for me and the guys I was living band that still encompasses all of with. When I heard the new CD, N: Yeah, it’s fickle. the attitude and stuff is Converge. I thought you guys had a new A: Exactly. I don’t wanna use nu They’ve been a band for over 15 singer, which wasn’t the case. metal as an example, but you see years and they don’t give a fuck. What happened? all those people who were nu They’re not touring in a bus. They A: No joke, every time someone metal fans, and now their pants are don’t care if they’re playing the asks that I just say maturity; he tighter and their hair is getting LC Pavilion. They’re going to just grew up. If you go back and more fucked up and they’re wear- fucking shred any town they go to. listen to Burial Plot Bidding War, ing make-up, even more make-up. And those are the bands that we the dude was 18, trying to be a Or no, they actually take time to look up to cause that’s what we singer, didn’t know shit. And then put their make-up on. To me, it’s a wanna do. Last Night in Town, dude’s 20, and shame. We’ve been a band for now he’s 25, know what I mean? nine years and I’ve seen every- N: Well, the question I was get- He went to Melissa Cross who’s a thing, I’ve seen every faction of ting to with that was: are we famous vocal coach and she taught what we do. I’ve seen old school misappropriating the word him that he was singing all hardcore, I’ve seen noisy stuff, hardcore? For instance, some- through his throat. He would lose I’ve seen dudes that can play their one once told me that hardcore his throat three days into a tour, instruments like Mastodon. They is subjective, which, to me, is a where now it’s automatic, dude’s all come, and I’m not gonna say little oxymoronic. just perfect. they all go because there are bands continued, next page ETID, continued A: When I used to go to shows, and I know its super cliché, but it was just my way of getting away. It was like, fuck, all these people are exactly the same way I am, these dudes are singing about the same shit that I wanna sing about, or I wanna write about, so I’m gonna go to them and now, it’s totally changed because you have fuckin’ bullshit bands that are wearing make-up and they give a fuck more about what they look like, what they’re going to do be- fore the show, what they’re going to do after the show, what they’re going to put in their body and stuff like that. There’s just no convic- Every Time I Die. Photo Courtesy, Adrenaline PR. tion, that’s exactly what it is. Like I said, when we started the band, it sell fuckin’ 50,000 or 100,000. I ya know? It’s not like, “And was all about the music, still is all just wanna get a point across that here’s Andy going to thing!” and about the music. It’s not about you see all these smug faced “The New Black” is fucking rag- fuckin’ buses. Some tours you DVDs of metal bands and shitty ing in the background. It’s like, have to do in a bus, like Warped hardcore bands and their percep- “Here’s Andy, he’s gonna fuckin’ Tour is one of those things where tion of “What is tour?” is com- shit his pants” and we’re gonna you need extra people just to make pletely upside down. Where with play [sings circus tune]." everything operate. You only have us, its like, we don’t sit behind a five minutes to get your shit up on desk, we don’t pick up garbage, N: My friend Steve says he likes stage, play and get off, so you we don’t cut trees down, we play ETID because it “makes him feel gotta have a few extra people and guitars for a living. So on our like a man.” What are some of you can’t tour in a van with that DVD its all fun, there’s no bull- the bands you guys listen to that many people. That’s an exception, shit; you’re not going to see smug make you feel like men? but with a tour like this, its like, faces. I mean, there’s times where A: Converge is always top of the yeah, we could have a huge crew it gets real and you’ll see an argu- list just due to the fact that they’re and we could be in a bus, but ment, but you’ll see how quick it like “fuck you.” When I think of there’s no point. gets resolved because we’re like, Converge, that’s the first thing that “Whoa, what are we arguing I think of: fuck you. When I listen N: Speaking of movies, I hear about? Are we arguing because we to Converge, it makes me wanna there’s a new DVD coming out. don’t have an extra bottle of wa- just tell everyone like, “Alright, A: Shit Happens. ter?” It’s just shit like that, I don’t you’re gonna give me a little shit? know, man. It’s just a fun DVD, Fuck you, get outta here”. It makes N: Yes, yes it does. What can we something that’s two and a half me wanna get in a barfight. And expect, other than people light- hours long and you can watch all then, to be a man, you gotta have a ing their hair on fire? two and a half hours. We were the sensitive side, so like Jeff Buckley A: I’ll tell you what, this is the ones that did it, and we can watch or Elliott Smith or something like expectation: the thing’s not even it and laugh. that, its like, this dude’s pouring out and they already want us to his fucking heart out. It's like, al- start filming for the second one. N: So it’s more of a documen- right, that’s manly. You get a little Websites like AbsolutePunk and tary? It’s not a full live perform- tear in your eye, and that’s just stuff, the servers have been com- ance? being human. And then Pantera, pletely shut down because too A: No, dude, I’m not even kid- that’s everything that a man many people have been watching ding, I think in two and a half should be. the clips. So they literally have to hours there’s maybe seven ETID change servers every day. I’m not clips of music. All the music be- N: I’ve heard a lot of rumors [down]; I don’t give a shit if we hind it is either rap, circus music, continued, next page ETID, continued about ETID in regards to heavy metal hedonistic lifestyles. Let’s try to clear some of those up, debunkify some of them. I heard one time that one of your roadies was a homewrecker. A: Was a homewrecker?

N: Yeah, you know, split up a marriage?

A: Oh, Big Rig, that was awesome ‘cause we only had him for one tour, it's like one of my best friends back home. He was fuck- ing making out with this lady named Dusty and shit and we had no idea; she had this multimillion dollar house, fucking huge, had a tennis court, had a pool that was above ground that drained into a pool that was in ground, so it was like a bi-level pool. She was walk- ing around naked and shit. We posted it all on our website, like, “Dude, Big Rig was making out with this 56 year old lady named Dusty blah, blah, blah” and her daughter read it, and her husband read it and they got a divorce.

N: I heard ETID drinks a lot; that’s why I wanted to buy you a drink. A: Me and Rat are straight edge. Been straight edge forever. But everyone else…like we got this new bass player named Keller and when the dude gets drunk, he just gets out of his mind.

N: I heard you guys sometimes sing karaoke. What’s your fa- vorite song to sing? A: “The Heat is On.” I like “Highway Star” by Deep Purple. Any Eagles song is good. “Love Shack,” I did that when I was like fuckin’ 13, there was a karaoke dance at my school and I did “Love Shack” and “Beat It.” So yeah, we’re huge karaoke fans.

N: Well, that’s all the questions I had. Thanks for the time, man. A: Hey, thank you.

—Written By Nicholas Messer