Underoath
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Hi! Name and role in band please?
Grant Brandell, I play bass in underoath.
This is the first night of the tour, are you excited?
I am. Our CD just came out in the states so we had a couple of shows in New York and Toronto then we came over here so this is the actual city to city tour.
Playing tonight with “Envy on the coast” and “Oh Sleeper” are you a fan of either?
Definitely. Oh Sleeper is a newer band with a mix of members of old bands I used to be friends with and listen to, One being “Terminal” and their guitarist played with “in between the buried and me” for a while. A good mix.
You have 8 days in the UK, is there anything you want to see or do while you’re here?
I just wanna play shows really. This is my 4th or 5th time here so I have seen all the stuff you can see around the venues so I don’t really have anything on the agenda. I still haven’t seen big ben which is kinda cheesy but whatever.
This tour is promoting the new album which is out Monday. What can fans expect from this album?
I think its heavier overall. It’s not too far of a departure from our last album so it still sounds like underoath. We tried to push certain areas and do things creatively. Different sounds, different styles and it sounds more organic.
There are several editions of this cd available (limited, deluxe etc) How much input did the band have into the bonus content?
We had a big meeting with the record label whilst we were recording and decided what we wanted to do. I think its cool because its one of those things where fans of the band can get more involved and get more stuff. If you don’t want to then you have a choice but I think it’s a cool thing.
The first single is different time measures, when you write a song do you think in your head “this will make a good single”?
No No. it just works out. Usually it’s the record label who decide what to bring out. We just write songs and then whatever is considered most radio friendly or closest to it, that’s the one we go for.
After you have finished the UK you are off to South Africa. How important do you think it is to play live?
I think its really important. You can only transcend so much of the music from the CD. You can do so much more live. We try to play as many places as we can but its hard to get everywhere.
What are your feelings about the press you receive? Do you get bothered by bad reviews?
No not really. The only thing I try and stay away from is message boards and forums that kids talk on. Theres a lot of kids who just wanna be jerks and don’t know what they’re talking about despite thinking they do. If you read that stuff all the time you just get annoyed and frustrated. I think press is a huge part of being a band and getting the word out. I think touring and press are both equally important and go hand in hand.
Despite being in main stream press like Kerrang and NME why do you still take time to talk to the smaller guys?
Its like asking “why don’t you just make songs for the radio?” there are people out there who don’t listen to the radio and who are into other things. Any exposure is good exposure weather its with some little girl who’s writing her first high school project or MTV, its all good.
EMI have taken your new video down from youtube. How do you feel about that? For or against?
Well its because our video hasn’t been released here yet. Its similar to leaking records. It’s at a point now with the internet where its inevitable. Our record leaked two weeks early. You want to try and do your best to surprise people and do it on a set schedule where it builds momentum and people get exited. I think it sucks but at the same time it can help.
Your band is from Florida. Which is in America…Election! Thoughts?
I was watching this last night on the news. Honestly I was for Ron Paul but he just doesn’t have the money and the coverage. Basically America is divided into republican and democratic and they control the government and the media so if some guy like Ron Paul is gonna try and make his way up they are just gonna shut him out. Honestly if I had to vote right now id vote McCain. I feel like the foreign policy is a big thing for me.
What job would you be doing if you weren’t doing this?
I really want to, well I am trying to write a TV show. A comedy show. Its gonna be about a local band. It’s not going to be a flight of the concords thing, that’s a great show but mine will be more about the guys in the band and not so much the band. Its in the works right now so we will see what happens. Its gonna be funny though, I guarantee that!