Interviews

Interview by Denise Blaz

   Spastic breakdowns and powerhouse screaming are only a snippet of what ornaments Haste the Day's debut CD, BURNING BRIDGES. I showed up late to the venue the night of this interview to find a line of people stretching around to the corner waiting in the rain to get into the show. But once inside, I introduced myself and began the interview shortly thereafter—only to find out that their music in no way matches their personalities.

    Jimmy happens to think that's he's quite timid while doing interviews, so this interview was conducted in two parts—hence my asking some questions twice. The first part was done with frontman Jimmy Ryan, the second with guitarist Brennan Chaulk and drummer Devin Chaulk.

SKRATCH: Your CD just came out this past Tuesday, and you guys played at a high-school cafeteria for your CD-release show. Why did you decide to do it there?
JIMMY: We have a really great group of fans in Indianapolis. At our last show in Indianapolis, we had 700 kids out. It was amazing. And three guys from the band went to the high school, and a lot of people that go to our shows are from that high school, so we wanted to have a CD-release [show] with all our fans and all the people that we love. We also did another one a half an hour later at a record store, and there were about 250 people who came out to that who were at the first one, so it was really exciting.

SKRATCH: How has the response been so far towards the record?
JIMMY: We haven't gotten the first-week sales report yet, but I know that the first day in Indianapolis we sold 610 records. And a lot of my friends in different cities are calling me and saying that Best Buy was sold out.

SKRATCH: What are some of your favorite places to go in your hometown?
JIMMY: I know some of the guys hang out in coffeeshops, but I like to drive my Jeep. I love driving my Jeep.

SKRATCH: How do you entertain yourselves on the road?
JIMMY: It's pretty easy, because we're all best friends. We don't have a TV or anything, but we listen to CDs and we wrestle. We like to goof around.

SKRATCH: You're on Solid State Records. Is that a part of Tooth & Nail?
JIMMY: Yeah. The heavier bands are on Solid State.

SKRATCH: You scream a lot in your music. When did you first realize you had the capability to do that?
JIMMY: I was in eighth grade, and I started listening to metal, and I was like, "I just want to try that," so I just started screaming.

SKRATCH: Are you planning on voting?
JIMMY: I'm not registered, and I'm very upset that I'm not. But I would like to vote. I'm not at home, so….

SKRATCH: Can't you mail in your vote?
JIMMY: Can you really? I don't know these things, but I totally want to vote.

SKRATCH: What's a band out there right now that you think deserves more recognition?
JIMMY: I would say Emery on Tooth & Nail Records. They get a lot of recognition, but they deserve more, because they're awesome.

SKRATCH: What's your favorite band?
JIMMY: I love Fugazi, Bjork, and I really like The Police and The Cure.

SKRATCH: Spirituality plays a very prevalent role in your music. Has it always been a part of your life?
JIMMY: No. I'm 25 now, and in the past six years it's taken a role in my life. I haven't been into it my whole life, so it's kind of a new thing.

SKRATCH: How about the other guys?
JIMMY: They were all raised with religious backgrounds.

SKRATCH: What's your favorite word?
JIMMY: My favorite word would probably be "word," because I say that all the time. [Laughs]

SKRATCH: What's a hobby that you've always wanted to take up?
JIMMY: I've always wanted to learn how to play guitar—which is funny, because I'm in a band and I should learn.

SKRATCH: Do you have a motto that you live your life by?
JIMMY: I just think that we all try to love God first before anything. That's the most important thing for us, so I guess that, if that's a motto.

SKRATCH: Have you received any bad criticism for that?
JIMMY: Yeah, we have. But, you know, that happens.

SKRATCH: Who's the girl on the cover, and who designed it?
JIMMY Asterisk Studios designed it. They do a lot of artwork for Tooth & Nail. And the girl on the cover is one of Demonhunter's Clark brothers' wives.

SKRATCH: If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be?
JIMMY: I want to say fun, but I hope that doesn't sound conceited.

SKRATCH: What are some of your other interests outside of the band?
JIMMY: I really like Jeeps a lot.

SKRATCH: What kind of Jeep do you drive?
JIMMY: I have a '94 Jeep Wrangler. I love Jeeps.

SKRATCH: What color is it?
JIMMY: It's white. It looks like one of those Barbie Jeeps.

SKRATCH: Are you planning on voting in the upcoming presidential election?
MIKE: I can't, because I'm actually a Canadian resident. I have my green card, but I wish I could. Maybe one day I'll become a citizen.

SKRATCH: Who would you like to vote for?
BRENNAN: Bush. Is he going again?

SKRATCH: What's a band out there right now that you think deserves more recognition?
MIKE: I've been listening to Bleeding Through a lot.

SKRATCH: Are you guys just into metal?
DEVIN: No, I'm actually more into bands like Jimmy Eat World. I like Copeland and Death Cab for Cutie.
BRENNAN: Copeland is my favorite band right now.

SKRATCH: Is there anything that annoys you guys about the other members in the band?
BRENNAN: Jason cracking his toes all the time. (I hope that makes the magazine!)

SKRATCH: Is there anything that you would like to add?
BRENNAN: Oh, I don't know…. What do people usually say?

SKRATCH: Stuff like, "Go buy our CD."
BRENNAN: [Laughs] Okay, then: go buy our CD.

SKRATCH: Well, let's talk about the CD. How stoked are you about it now that it's come out?
DEVIN: I love it. A friend of mine called me today and told me that all his friends that despise screaming music are really liking the CD are going out to buy it because there's so much melody. We're not the best at what we're doing, but I think we have a little bit of something different. So I say: go buy our CD. If you hate our style of music, just give it a chance—you might like it.

Haste the Day will be touring with non-stop tenacity this year. Go to www.hastetheday.com to find out tour dates.

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