Jay: All right Ryan, how did Poison
the Well star? We'll get the shitty questions out of the way first.
Ryan: We got together with our old
singer Ari and we just... I had written a bunch of song, and he had written
a bunch of lyrics and we got three of our closest friends together and
started playing. We sucked really bad. It was fucking horendious.
Jay: How did the transition come
about to make it a serious band from there?
Ryan: I guess like we... we recorded
an e.p., we went on our first tour -it was only a week, uh, 10 days with
like five shows. It was terrible. And dudes that weren't into it just
quit right at the end. They were like "I don't like touring"
and "I can't do this." Right after that is when Derrick joined
the band, and we got this kid Alan to play bass, and from there it just
got to be a serious band and decided that we wanted to do a band for real
- to play music and to go on tour as much as possible.
Jay: How do you feel about bands
that are coping the Poison The Well sound from "OOD"?.
Ryan: I never noticed. A lot of people
tell me "Oh, that band sounds like," and I never notice.
Jay: Really? Or are you just saying
that because you don't want to talk shit?
Ryan: No, no, no. It's not that I
don't want to talk shit. I actually don't see it because I honestly, just
from the process of writing and how Derrick and I sit down and put together
a song. It seems like they do everything so much different. All the bands
that people say that we sound like I don't really get it. Some bands I
do, but honestly, it's flattering if I had affected someone that much
and influenced the way they write songs. It feels nice, you know? It's
a pretty cool thing. At least I had a positive effect on their lives instead
of making the go out and kill somebody. [laughs]
Jay: [laughs] Tell us a little about
the new album "Tear from the Red." Just like anything about
it, like the recording process, the title, where it all comes from, how
do you feel about it now looking back after a couple months its been out...
Ryan: I love that record. I love it
to death. I like it. You know, I feel like its much of a step from our
first e.p., "The Opposite," than "Tear from the Red."
You know, there is negative and positive feedback that I received, but
honestly I wrote the record with everyone else to please ourselves.
Jay: Is there anything now that looking
back at that recored that you can change, like maybe you didn't think
about the studio...
Ryan: Oh, there's like about a hundred
million things.
Jay: Really?
Ryan: Yeah, but it's not important.
You know, there's no use in crying over spilled milk. So, I'll get it
on the next one.
Jay: What about now that "Distance
makes.." was re-released. Are you guys going to be playing anything
off of that?
Ryan: Nah. We only rereleased it because
so that people could actually get a hold of it. It's just a totally different
band. It's six months after we started and recorded that. I just don't
feel like it represents like the people in the band now. I almost feel
like - it would be kind of rude to have them play the songs because they
had no part in it.
Jay: Would you rather that it did
not come out then?
Ryan: No, no, no, because it's a period
in my life and its awesome for what it is, you know? My first attempt
at writing songs and it's great. I love it. But it's not something that
I like playing.
Jay: Do a lot of people ask you guys
to play stuff off that?
Ryan: Nah, not really.
Jay: No?
Ryan: Like some kids do, and it's
like "Ryan, why don't you play old songs?" It's a different
time, you know?
Jay: You've guys had some good tours
recently. Have there been any good stories?
Ryan: Oh, the Hatebreed tour was -
both Hatebreed tours were one giant good story.
Jay: Awesome. What's one that you
got off the top of your head that would be very interesting for people
to hear?
Ryan: Let's see. I can tell a story
about how the last day of the first tour they [Hatebreed] poured sour
milk all over on the inside of our van, put peanut butter on everything
in it, just poured salsa on the seats. That was all Boulder and Beattie,
too. I know it. And another cool story is that I guess half way through
the second tour, Beattie and Sean Martin got on this kick where they wanted
to work out, so they bought this weight set...
Jay: A weigh set?!? [laughs]
Ryan: [laughs] Yeah. Everyday, I would
see fucking Brian with a hand cart wheeling in their personal excesize
set. [laughs] It was Beattie and his cadalliac slippers walking behind
him like "Yeah, I'm gonna get my work on." [laughs] That was
pretty cool.
Jay: [laughs] You guys also had some
odd tours, with Strung Out and such. What's the approach on something
like that?
Ryan: Honsestly it's an excuse to
stay on tour and not go home. Like I'm stoked about it though. It's a
chance to play to new kids.
Jay: How do you guys think that it
will go over well, or do you think you're going to get a lot of blank
stares...
Ryan: Proabably 50/50. I think it
would be fun though, you know? I'm sure those guys are cool guys - they
kind of requested us, so...
Jay: Awesome.
Ryan: Obviously, they know who we
are, so. I don't think they would bring a band that they thought would
get booed every night on tour with them. Hopefully, it'll be good though.
I'm hoping I'll have fun, which I will.
Jay: What's the next step for Poison
The Well now? Like what would you like to see happen? You know with a
band like Hatebreed who like first week do #50 on the Billboard charts
- do you think that that's something that where you'd like to be eventually?
Ryan: If that happens, it happens.
Honestly, the only thing that consiously all of us think about is being
able to put out a record a year from now and just being able to keep writing
songs and putting out records.
Jay: Now come on, give me the real
answer! Come on. Come on, let's go here, man. [laughs]
Ryan: Honestly, honestly it would
be amazing to be able to live from my band. That would be amazing - for
us to all be able to support ourselves from our music. That would be amazing.
I'm not going to lie. I would be totally stoked on that.
Jay: Do you guys already have new
material written?
Ryan: Yeah.
Jay: What's it like?
Ryan: To me it's even more a magnification
of Tear from the red It's heavier, and it's more melodic. Imagine if Smashing
Pumpkins got in a train wreck with Hatebreed, that's probably what it
sounds like.
Jay: Nice, dude. So when can we expect
that third album? Is that still like a while away?
Ryan: Spring.
Jay: Springtime?
Ryan: Spring - we're recording in
December or January.
Jay: Are you guys going to go back
to Studio 13 or...
Ryan: I don't know...
Jay: It's up in the air?
Ryan: Yeah, it's really up in the
air. We are going to the 13 at the end of August to record seven songs.
Oh, not seven, like five songs. Just to record...
Jay: Demo stuff?
Ryan: Yeah, we wanna take our time,
a little more time with this record than we took with the last one and
make sure that some of the mistakes we don't repeat.
Jay: What other bands were some other
guys in before Poison The Well?
Ryan: Most of them have been during
Poison The Well. A lot of us have done seperate bands. I was in a band
called the Rocking Horse Winner for a couple months, Chris was in Shai
Hulud for a little while, Jeff was in a band called Defied that was on
Back To Basics... there's a couple of others.
Jay: What are some of the newer bands
that you're listening to?
Ryan: Jesuseater, that band in Paramus
on....
Jay: On Death Wish?
Ryan: Yeah, amazing.
Jay: Really?
Ryan: Yeah, SO good. New Hatebreed,
obviously. Um, Code 7?
Jay: Ah,. the new one? What did you
think of that?
Ryan: It's amazing.
Jay: I don't know man. It's a little
different, a little on the Cave In - it's way different.
Ryan: Yeah, but it's either hit or
miss. I mean there's people that think they're great, or they're just
like not into it. We're all into it, we like it. What else? Jeff won't
stop listening to System of a Down, which I hate.
Jay: [laughs]
Ryan: Um, we have Unearth demos that
are really good. They turned into a biker rock band, don't let 'em tell
you any different. It all totally like Clutch - it's amazing.
Jay: The last question is with the
success of the last two records, how do you feel about that? How does
it make you feel, how does it make the band feel...
Ryan: Awesome, it makes us all feel
great.
Jay: Is this something that you thought
would happen or?
Ryan: No. Dude, we never thought there'd
be more than 15 kids at a show...
Jay: Really?
Ryan: ..let alone 15??? kids at home
even to 15 kids anywhere we went, which is just so - it's just great.
I mean honestly, nothing can feel as good as I feel right now.
Jay: Awesome. Any last comments?
Ryan: You're a sexy bitch, dude. [laughs]
and I'm waiting to hear your new band.
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