Lisa Selvaggio: Your latest release, The World in Shambles, was recorded completely live, which, I must say, is pretty ballsy of you guys. I admire the fact that you wanted to capture those imperfections and give a taste of what your live performances are like, especially since most of the music out there is so overly engineered and polished. How have the listeners responded to this type of recording? Do they appreciate it for what it is, or have you received any complaints?
Bruno Mascolo: Our fans received it really well. I think it’s a lot to do with how we built our fan base. For the first two years of our band, there was really no other promotion going on besides us touring our asses off, so when our fans heard our new record, our fans saw it as, “oh this is the band I originally fell in love with.” We wanted to make a Garage Rock/Punk-ish record. We committed ourselves to that, not over-thinking much; just going off vibes and energy.
LS: The other aspect about your band that I like is the fact that you’re trying to encourage people to live outside the confines of society and follow their dreams. Do you feel that your fans are picking up on the message, or are they mostly just enjoying the high-energy catharsis that comes with your music?
BM: Our hardcore fans have been making changes to their lives, changing jobs, going to school. That’s definitely the coolest thing to hear about, but I’m completely okay with people just enjoying our music. I can’t really say I take every lyric that I’ve ever heard from another band that seriously or to heart, but sometimes it strikes a chord in someone and can be a turning point, and it’s a beautiful thing.
LS: In your own lives, how have you broken away from the life that’s “safe” and found the courage to take risks?
BM: I found it through passion for music. I just felt so strongly that I had to play music with my life that I had no other option without going insane.
LS: So if you could change anything about what’s going on in our world today, what do you think the one most important thing to change would be?
BM: I know I’m going to say the wrong thing here, but I would change everyone’s thoughts to only allow positive thoughts. I think that should solve the war and shit, right? ::laughs::
LS: The song "Revolt!" is about the differences you’ve noted in the lifestyles of Europeans versus Americans. In your experience, particularly in the music scenes of these countries, where do you prefer performing live (i.e. where do you receive a better response from the crowd, where do you feel more support, etc.)?
BM: We haven’t played enough shows in Europe to really tell. I think the music scene is a lot more open-minded. They accept bands that are trying to do their own thing, whereas America pretty much allows bands to be alike and still grow.
LS: What kind of an impact has social media had on you as a band trying to expose your music? It used to be that you’d rely on a website and publicist, but nowadays you can use social media to promote yourself at no cost. How effective is it, really?
BM: I think its been really great for our band. The way you build a fan base is one-on-one contact nowadays until you can reach an audience that pretty much demands the airwaves. It’s a great way to build a community around music.
LS: Okay, and finally, this is your chance to mention anything that we haven’t discussed already. Plug away.
