S*KM: The new album, These Magnificent Miles, was just released on August 19th, which comes four years after your last studio effort, Pride: The Cold Lover. What has been going on with the band during that long gap, and what can fans expect to hear this time around?

RWB: In regards to your first question, yeah…it’s been a while since our last studio release. Pride: The Cold Lover came out in December of ’04, and we toured on that record for all of ’05. We then released our first ever live CD/DVD in ’06 called, The Warehouse Sessions, which was not just a collection of old songs. It was made mostly in an effort to show where the band was going musically, bridging the gap between “Pride” and the new album. It had a lot of new unrecorded songs, some of which have made it on These Magnificent Miles. We’ve been touring relentlessly for the past four years, which always makes it difficult for an independent band to find time to record. This new record is also the first album that we recorded with producer Jamie Candiloro ( of R.E.M., Ryan Adams, Willie Nelson fame ) which was an amazing experience, although tough at times, because our schedules were both so busy. However, after everything, I can confidently say that this is far and away our best album effort. It took a lot longer than any of us anticipated, but I think it was definitely worth it. I’m very proud of this album, and as far as our fans are concerned…good things come to those who wait. It’s our best work yet.

S*KM: You guys are a completely independent band who handles almost all avenues of business yourself, is that a conscience choice, or have you ever been interested in entertaining talks with labels, large or small?

RWB: I don’t think that there is a musician out there who hasn’t (at some point) dreamt of hobnobbing with record label execs, touring the planet in tour buses, and living out all of the wild stories that classic artists talk about. Stories that movies like “Almost Famous” immortalize. So, to answer your question…sure, we have entertained the idea. The music industry glamorizes this to us as “the big payoff.” However, this is far from accurate. Most of our friends who have signed with labels over the past few years have nothing but horror stories to tell. So it is with great trepidation that RWB would look into offers like that. We are independent because labels shouldn’t control what music is brought to the world’s table. We are gonna go on with or without them…as will all music. I’m not bashing record labels, mind you. They are the major way to get music to the masses, and that is amazing. But it’s so twisted. The fact that Coldplay’s record label spent 40% of their entire budget just on promotion for their new album is ridiculous. We all love Coldplay, but do they really need that type of promotion? They could release a blog about a new record and the world would know in minutes. Think about how many unknown artists on the same label, who will never be known, could have used some of that money to help promote their music. It’s a shame. You can’t rely on that. I will say that there are a few smaller, boutique labels that share the classic idea of how labels used to be. They believe in their artists and help develop them. The relationship between artist and label should be a peaceful coexistence. If that type of offer was brought to the table, that would interest us. We’re not looking for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but health insurance would be nice.

S*KM: Do you think your independence has played a big role in shaping the sound of RWB?

RWB: Of course being independent has shaped our music. A Song like “Finger in the Air” would have never been written if we were with some label. It’s sort of “fuck you” to everyone who has told us to give up, which includes labels. It goes back to our belief that labels should not control what people hear. When bands like Jump out of Charleston, South Carolina (who we believe is better than Coldplay!) are unknown, because we need to make room for Lindsey Lohan’s little sister, something has gone terribly wrong. Music should not be reserved for the rich and famous. Who wants to hear about what they have to say? They are as relevant to us as a vacation on the moon. I have always rooted for the underdog, and as fate would have it, we have become just that. And maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. I’d rather be Rocky any day…fuck Apollo Creed.

S*KM: If you had signed a lucrative record deal at some point what do you think would be different about the band, other then its tax bracket?

RWB: It’s funny that I’m reading these questions one by one, answering them as I read them (I don’t like sitting on questions. I feel the answers become contrived. You gotta just let ‘em rip.). I go off on these diatribes about “the BIZ”, and there are more questions about record labels. I probably could have wrapped some of these up together, oh well. Anyway, back to your question. Sometimes I don’t think I could deal with being treated so well. I love driving us around. If we had a big bus I’d probably have to get my CDL so I could drive the tour bus. I don’t know how much would change. That’s a good question. I’d like to think that if I was on “Temptation Island” that I wouldn’t cheat, but you never really know until you’re there, now do you? Who knows? I could end up being one of those Hollywood assholes who gets spray tanned, waxed, pumped with collagen, who only eats vegan, and is always saying on my cell phone” let’s have lunch.” Good God! I’m way better off now.

S*KM: What has been your secret to success sans a powerful team of suits, or six guys in jean shorts from a small indie label, backing the band?

RWB: Perseverance, and bull-like, stubborn-as-hell determination. We give everything back to the band. We don’t make shit. Especially with gas prices the way they are now. We put everything into this, and thank god our fans see that and appreciate that. They keep us going, and I hope that we return the favor.

S*KM: With the new record freshly released, do you guys have any innovative marketing ideas planed to promote it?

RWB: Yeah, we’re giving away free gasoline with every purchase! No, not really. We are using the internet more to our advantage than before, but other than that, we don’t have much else to do other than hit the country’s bars and clubs to promote it. Town by town, bar by bar, door to door. Which we plan on doing with a vengeance.

S*KM: You are quoted as saying in the Dayton Flyer “If you found something you love, wouldn’t you do it?” Can you try to explain that inner calling musicians feel towards their profession/passion?

RWB: I think that we have one life to live and if you don’t go after what you want in life, you are a fool. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’d rather be seventy years old working the grave yard shift at a Dunkin Donuts along the interstate with no regrets, than basking in the sun with money in my pocket at that same age, saying to myself…I wasted my life. Some people say getting involved in music is a dangerous thing. Yeah, well so is McDonalds, drinking, smoking, and NOT doing what your heart drives you to do. On a side note, I feel bad for every person who fell in love with music, attempted to make it their career, and failed. I imagine that would be like quitting smoking and heroine at the same time. Some holes just can’t be filled. This coming from a potential future music methadone addict!

S*KM: Why do you think so many people are deathly afraid or lack the courage to listen to their own calling or passion? If we my get a little philosophical.

RWB: I feel I sort of touched on this question with my previous answer. I don’t know. I feel our culture puts a lot of pressure on kids to succeed. I think it’s instilled at such an early age that we are on a path, a path that should always be moving forward. We don’t approve of moving backwards or side-to-side. It’s looked on as failure.

S*KM: What will it take to fully extinguish the RWB flame of dedication and desire?

RWB: I haven’t found anything bad enough to stop us yet, knock on wood, and believe me; I don’t want to push it. We’ve been really lucky, I associate being in a band with gambling. Yeah, I haven’t won big. It’s been a lot of ups and downs, but at least I’ve gotten a chance to enjoy playing. So many get to the table and just lose until there’s nothing left.

S*KM: You recently posted two new tracks, “Where You Wanna Go” and “The Air I Breath” from the upcoming album on your myspace page. Why those songs, do they capture the feeling and sound of the album most?

RWB: We wanted to give a song that people already knew by the band. So, we chose “Where You Wanna Go” because it was on the Warehouse Sessions. We feel it bridges the gap from our previous work up to now. People now get a chance to hear a song they like and know from the live record and get to hear a studio recording of it. It gives the song a whole new feel. We chose “The Air I Breathe” because it’s something new for the people to listen to.

S*KM: Since we are headquartered up in Northeast Ohio and don’t get down to the state capital to often, what are some of your favorite venues to play in the area?

RWB: If we are talking about Columbus. My favorite place to play would be Newport Music Hall. If we’re talking about Northeast Ohio, Cleveland’s House of Blues, Fat Jimmy’s in Kent, and 7 Martini Lounge in Canton.

S*KM: It’s rumored that a few of the guys in the band are big Ohio State Buckeyes fans, after losing to the SEC two straight years in the BCS Championship game what are your expectations for the Scarlet and Grey in 2009?

RWB: In regards to the Buckeyes, we expect nothing less than the Blue Ribbon.

S*KM: Give yourselves a pat on the back, you made it to the end of the interview. Since you just released your new record we thought you could use a little free time to inform the people of Saw*Kick and the RWB faithful of any upcoming events to mark on their calendars.

RWB: My shameless promotion moment. Even though the record comes out on line for sale August 21, our official CD release party is September 26th at Cleveland’s House of Blues. Everyone is invited! Come one, come all! Ohio forever.

You can sample Red Wanting Blue for yourself at www.redwantingblue.com and catch them live next on Thursday, August 21 at the Empty Glass in Charleston, West Virginia.

S*KM: Where did you guys pick up that atmospheric and soulful sound?

Stiletto: Everywhere. All five of us listen to and play very different styles of music when we’re apart, so it’s just the combination of all our backgrounds that create what we are.

S*KM: You have a show coming up on August 14th with Apres Vous at Musica, do you guys do anything different the week of a show to prepare?

Stiletto: We try to practice nearly everyday of that week, and we spend a little extra time creating a set list that we haven’t used before.

S*KM: You released your “Snowed In” EP back in the spring of 2007, have you guys begun work on a follow up?

Stiletto: Yes, we have begun to write a number of new songs for a new album. Hopefully we can have it ready to record by this winter and out by spring/early summer 2009.

S*KM: What experiences has the band gone through since the last record to impact the writing and sound of the new material?

Stiletto: We have all become more comfortable with each other because of how much time we spend together. And more importantly we’re more laid back and easy going with the way we write, so it comes to us faster and with less hesitation than it used to.

S*KM: Will it be another EP or can fans look forward to the band making the jump to a full length?

Stiletto: We are going to push for a full length this time around with 10-15 songs. Maybe re-do one or two just for kicks. We’re also deciding who we are going to record with, where to do it, and whether or not the band will do a live recording.

S*KM: Give us a little band history lesson, who met who to ignite the musical journey the five of you currently share?

Stiletto: Mike and Ryan have been playing together since the beginning of time, 2003. Years later Kyle joined our band “Argyle.” A year later we added Coop, from the band Half Hearted Handgun, then shortly after that Chad came in to fill our spot at vocals. We aren’t totally sure how it happened, but we like it.

S*KM: On the bands official Myspace page it says you joined in September of 2004, assuming Stiletto has been around for the better part of four years, what are your goals for the band at this point?

Stiletto: The goals for us are simple. Have as much fun as we can with everyone we know, and along the way write some songs that people can relate to and enjoy for years to come.

S*KM: After that time together what is your outlook on elevating the bands status beyond a local level?

Stiletto: We would love to spend a few weeks on the road and see how it treats us. But with current gas prices rising it really isn’t economical for us to do that.

S*KM: Between talent, luck, business sense, dedication, and hard work, how much does a band need of each to give itself the best chance to succeed?

Stiletto: Success is defined by the individual who pursues it. If your goal is to become a famous musician, then success will be much harder to reach, however if you’re just out there enjoying yourself every minute of the day because that’s what you want, then we are successful.

S*KM: Tell us a tale that involves one of the bands more horrific moments on stage?

Stiletto: The first time we played at the grog shop Kyle’s pedal board died during our first song. So we looked like idiots on stage panicking trying to fix it, but in the end we just decided to play without them. It wasn’t the worst thing that could happen, but its the worst thing that HAS happened.

S*KM: We will give you a chance to redeem yourself, tell us a tale of a Stiletto triumph?

Stiletto: Finally getting to play out of state in TN with our friends in Gamenight and Mouth Movements. We met them down there after their tour wrapped up for their homecoming show and everyone just had an awesome time.

S*KM: With the summer blockbuster season coming to a close tell us one movie you WON”T be seeing?

Stiletto: Sex and The City and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

S*KM: Lets finish strong, we would like to give you some time to tell the people of Saw*Kick and the Stiletto faithful what is in store for the band in the coming months?

Stiletto: Tons of new songs, and some new covers. and of course, a full length.

You can sample Stiletto for yourself at www.myspace.com/stiletto and catch them live next on Thursday, August 14 at Musica in Akron, Ohio.

S*KM: In your bio you guys explain a rather free flowing approach to making music that also appears to serve as a band creed of sorts. After ruling out 90 percent of traditional subject matter, what substance is left to fill a WTL song?

Kyle: Well I really hate writing songs about girls, love, and bleeding hearts as criteria for a metal song, so I decided to narrate creepy situations that could really compliment the band’s intensity.

S*KM: What prompted the band to adopt a LeBron James-like policy on controversial lyrical content?

Ben: Sorry, we do not condone Lebron James or Professional Basketball.

S*KM: You guys are signed to OBH Records out of Pennsylvania, how did you get hooked up with those guys and have they provided an enjoyable experience thus far with the label?

Kevin: Well, they basically helped us with funding our recent EP release. They seem to be in the process of expanding, so there hasn’t been too much contact back and forth between us and them recently, but it’s a start for now.

Justin: Jaggons!

S*KM: The band recently launched an online store to hawk its goods around the globe, has that dramatically helped the availability of your products and in turn put a little cash in your pockets?

Kevin: It helps out quite a bit because we expand our merchandise sales beyond the venues we play and allows us to sell our CD to anyone at any time really.

Justin: We’re in pretty bad debt still, so buy stuff to feed our starving bellies. www.wakethelion.bigcartel.com

S*KM: Give us an idea of how far the WTL army spans, what’s the furthest place you have received an order from?

Kevin: We are currently globally(???) dominating on myspace. We have yet to figure out the whole international shipping deal though, so as of now the online orders are confined to the US. We have a few sad fans in the UK because of this.

Ben: We are still researching what this “Internet” thing really is.

S*KM: You released your self-titled debut EP back in May, how well is the effort being received from fans and critics in the area?

Justin: We have no official reviews actually, so far the fans seem to dig it, and a lot of good response on myspace, but no media reviews or anything. We’ll happily take a review from your fine website if you would.

S*KM: I’m sure that can be arranged. Now forget about the fans and the critics for a second, what are your peers saying about WTL? Who are some of your favorite bands playing the area?

Kevin: It’s been generally a good response from our peers and friends. A lot of kind words, people seem to really appreciate the live show and the humor we bring to a lot of the things we do.

Justin: Some of our local favorites include Amplexus and A Voice Like Rhetoric.

Kyle: Aldous is another enjoyable band

S*KM: With MP3’s, ipod’s, and the Internet, is it fair to base a majority of a bands popularity on its Myspace stats? Or do you find that is only a small percentage amongst the fan base?

Bill: I’d say Myspace popularity has a decent amount of relevancy to judge who the more popular bands are, but you cant take that completely serious just because of all the loopholes involved with adding friends and plays and whatnot.

Ben: Aside from that, it’s obviously still a great place to have your music and promote just due to the great volume of users and the ease of access to these people.

S*KM: Let’s put together a tour that would be headlined by Wake The Lion and feature the bands biggest influences supporting, who would play?

Bill: Lower Definition

Justin: Aha! (they sing that song “Take On Me”)

Ben: Minus The Bear

Kyle: Life In Your Way

Kevin: Phil Collins

S*KM: If you had to send one member to an extreme play to the death musical tournament, who would represent the band?

Ben: Definitely bill, he is the most well rounded. Excellent pianist, if that counts for anything.

Kyle: Wait, are we playing until we die?

Ben: Is this endurance or skill? Actually I would say endurance, Justin and skill, Bill.

Justin: Logic and reasoning to the death! would be comprised of Kevin and Kyle together.

Kevin: If I get a machete, I’m going in.

S*KM: If you could play in any other band, past or present, besides Wake the Lion, which would it be?

Ben: Oreon

Kyle: Blink 182

Justin: Aha! (they sing that song “take on me”)

Kevin: Slayer

Bill: The Tomorrow Sky

S*KM: Congratulations you made it to the end of the interview, just for that we are going to give you a little one on one time with the people of Saw*Kick and the Wake the Lion fans to inform them of any important events.

WTL: Check out our online store! www.wakethelion.bigcartel.com, www.myspace.com/wakethelion. Also, the Cleveland Browns 2008 season is approaching us quickly, and dear god we can hardly contain ourselves. Go brownies!

As the band graciously stated you can check out Wake the Lion for yourself at www.myspace.com/wakethelion and catch them live next at the Newton Falls Community Center on Saturday, August 2 in Newton Falls, Ohio.

S*KM: You recently performed a 10th anniversary show at Peabody’s in Cleveland to celebrate the bands time together. How did the show go and was there any special surprises planned for the monumental occasion?

Rob: It was really cool. People seemed to enjoy it. There wasn’t really anything special other than playing a couple oldies that we rarely play. I felt a little uncomfortable going into it because we hadn’t had much time to rehearse the old ones, or the set in general. But all the time we’ve spent together on the road over the past year and a half kept us glued together nicely.

S*KM: Take us back to the beginning; did anyone expect the band to reach the level it has?

Rob: Honestly, I bet we all thought we’d be bigger. All of us grew up dreaming of playing Metallica-sized shows, but time is reality, and we’ve learned to keep our aspirations a little more down to earth. But we certainly are proud of our accomplishments and now see how special a band has to be to even last for five years. We’ve toured with a lot of bands that have come and gone, and we’re fortunate to have lasted this long.

S*KM: Can you remember the first Chimaira show? If so, where and when was it and who played with you?

Rob: Our first show was opening for Napalm Death at a place called The Flying Machine here in Ohio. The only other band I remember was Today Is The Day. The show was fun. There weren’t too many people there when we played, but it was the start of something cool.

S*KM: You held an in-store signing at Sam Ash in Cleveland the day of the anniversary show, whose idea was it and how did the fans react to some quality time with the band?

Rob: Our bassist Jim came up with the idea. He put it in motion, and we played it out from there. Everybody that came out seemed super stoked and grateful. It ended up being a great time, and it’s something we’ll probably do again in the future.

S*KM: I saw you open for Slipknot at the Tower City Amphitheater in ‘04. The crowd was so intense they broke down the barricade to the stage, which temporarily stopped the show. What is your most memorable Chimaira show?

Rob: That show was definitely awesome, but my most memorable Cleveland show was outdoors, at the old Peabody’s, in 2000. It was the first show of our first tour, and the place went nuts. Totally packed, people destroying shit, naked chicks, cool beers, and tasty waves.

S*KM: What is going on with the follow up to Resurrection? We hear tentative plans for a spring 2009 release? How many song ideas do you have floating around; is there a producer lined up, or any other details available?

Rob: Spring ‘09 is the tentative time for the release. We currently have about 7 song skeletons on tape, and we plan to start writing together at our rehearsal spot as a band in mid August. We plan to record from mid November to mid December. As of now, we’re planning on going with the same recording team: Jason Suecof, Andy Sneap, and Ben Schigel.

S*KM: It is rumored you don’t really have time to seek out new music unless it’s highly recommended to you by word of mouth. What are some up-and-coming Cleveland bands you have been hearing about?

Rob: The Ohio Sky and The Years of Fire are two that I’d like to mention. Our bass player Jim manages both bands, and both bands contain good friends of mine. While totally different styles of music, both bands are extremely talented and hard working. Check em’ out.

S*KM: Having gone through a fairly publicized falling out with your former label Roadrunner Records that resulted in your request for release, you then subsequently signed a new deal with Ferret Records. Now that the numbers are in, how pleased are you with the results Ferret produced promoting Resurrection compared to your experience with Roadrunner?

Rob: We’re extremely happy with Ferret. It’s a smaller label, so we’re given a lot more attention, we’re great friends with everyone that works there, and they love our band. Those are the keys to success with any label. Looking back, Roadrunner isn’t the monsters that we made them out to be. We were just small fish in a big pond, and wanted more food all the time. I attribute much of our success to Roadrunner Records.

S*KM: Do you ever see the band exploring more radical business methods due to the uncertain future of the record industry?

Rob: You’ll have to wait and see.

S*KM: You guys have finally finished touring in support of Resurrection and are receiving some well deserved down time, is the band still in as good of a place personally as when you released the album a year and a half ago?

Rob: I’d say that we’re in a better place. We’re better friends, older and wiser, a little more talented, more experienced and humbled. We’re all very excited about the future.

S*KM: Since most of the band members are big gamers and the world of virtual shredding has overtaken the marketplace, how come we haven’t seen Chimaira in Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Is it because the tiny plastic guitars could not handle the brutality?

Rob: Haha- I’d like to say that’s the reason, but the truth is that we’ve never been asked. Maybe you could put in a good word for us??

S*KM: Metallica is allegedly one of your favorite bands; the thrash-metal kings have soured many loyal fans throughout recent years. What are your feelings about the band’s upcoming new album “Death Magnetic”?

Rob: I’m honestly not excited at all. St. Anger ruined it for me. Now if I keep my hopes low, perhaps I’ll be surprised..And that’s where I stand.

S*KM: Being from Cleveland, it’s hard not to be a rabid sports fan. I hear your favorite NBA team is the Cavaliers; do the rest of your sports rooting interests fall in line with the home town teams?

Rob: Yes- my first love is the NBA, and of course the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James has done a lot for Cleveland. I used to drive to Akron to see him play in High School. He was awesome then, and he’s awesome now. Of course I love the Browns and am excited to see what happens this year. While I’m not much of a baseball fan, I still root for the Indians, and occasionally catch a game here or there.

S*KM: You said in an interview recently conducted with Pegasusnews.com that one of the bands “fantasies” is to play Quicken Loans Area, can S*KM be the first to start the Chimaira at the Q campaign?

Rob: Please do.

S*KM: We would like to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, as a reward we would like to give you a little face time to tell the city of Cleveland and the rest of the Chimaira brotherhood what to expect from the band down the road.

Rob: I’d say to expect another crushing record, relentless touring, maybe another DVD, and some great quotes from Jim. I wish I could give you more, and with more enthusiasm, but I honestly returned home only two days ago, after six straight months of touring and all my brain can do is say, “Home! Home at last. Enjoy it while you can because the next cycle is right around the corner!” But like I said before, I’m excited about the future. I look at each record as “another chance”.. Another chance to get to that level where we’re doing the Metallica-sized shows.

I’ll keep dreaming.

If you haven’t already, you can check out Chimaira for yourself at www.myspace.com/chimaira and will have to wait for the bands next tour to catch them live.

S*KM: You have a pretty active schedule booked throughout the rest of summer, but stated your show schedule was slowing down. How often do you play out when you are going full speed?

Rosella: Full speed for us is probably about 10-15 shows a month.

S*KM: How do you think live music in the area compares today as opposed to 5-10 years ago? Do you have a hard time drawing people away from their computers to experience music in the real world?

Rosella: Overall I’d say it is harder than it used to be, which I think is due to a lot of different things like: The shear abundance of music out there and the economy. But in our experience, it really depends on where you’re playing, every city is different.

S*KM: You are going to be opening up for Paramore at the Time Warner Amphitheatre on August 24. How did you get on that bill?

Rosella: Our friend Ray Leonardi at the Free Times hooked us up with that, he is a big supporter of us, and has thrown us quite a few quality opportunities. Plus, being voted “Free Times Best Rock band in Cleveland” helped a little too.

S*KM: How well do you feel your sound will go over for thousands of 15 year old girls in skinny jeans?

Rosella: Haha. Well, I guess we’ll find out. We’re not concerned though. We’re happy to have the exposure.

S*KM: It’s been about a year and a half since the release of your debut album Seasons, when can fans expect new Rosella material?

Rosella: We’re working on new stuff right now actually. But we aren’t putting any time constraints on ourselves at this point. When we feel we’ve got the best group of songs we can possibly put out recorded, that’ll be when we release another album.

S*KM: In your last blog post to the fans you said you were “honing your sound even more” what direction is that taking the music in this time around?

Rosella: Well as any band should, in my opinion, we’re trying to challenge ourselves to do things we haven’t personally done before and grow as musicians. One thing that is always important to us is dynamics. We want our heaviest song to be just as strong as our slowest. So we plan to explore the peaks and valleys of our writing skills a little more. Our potential has only begun to be realized.

S*KM: You recorded and produced Seasons at drummer Chris Urminski’s Subtracked Studios. What advice would you give to bands who are thinking about handling the recording process themselves?

Rosella: Don’t be afraid to screw up. Read everything. Be patient. It’s a lot of work but will be the most rewarding.

S*KM: Do you think some bands underestimate the importance of extensive recording knowledge?

Rosella: Either that or just lack the actual recording experience to understand that capturing sound is an art form all itself. An art form every musician should be constantly learning about.

S*KM: You won the Free Times “Rock Band of the Year” award back in March, who else were you up against and how did it feel to take home the gold?

Rosella: Lunavelis, The Jack Fords, Redwater Rojo and The Doctor Teeth. It’s a good feeling to know that people pay attention and appreciate what you’re doing. It was a great accomplishment for our band and we hope that it won’t be the last.

S*KM: Other then Myspace what do you think is an unsigned bands greatest aid in its quest for musical domination?

Rosella: Their own drive will do more for them than any website.

S*KM: Say you were playing a show on the Titanic as it went down (ignoring the discrepancy that electric instruments had not been invented) and you had time to play one song as people plummeted to their death, what would it be?

Rosella: We’ve got a new song we’ve been playing live and, are working on recording, that I think I’d like to hear as my ears fill with freezing water. It was inspired by someone I love very much and I think, under the circumstances, that it would be a very comforting song to die to. It’s called Sweet.

S*KM: What else is in store for Rosella in the coming months?

Rosella: We’re going to be playing a couple great festivals throughout Ohio like: Clay’s Park Rock N Resort Festival in North Lawrence, VEX FEST 5 in Youngstown and the Mid Point Music Festival in Cincinnati as well as some sweet club dates. In-between all that we’re going to continue writing and recording new material for our next release. We’ll eventually start focusing a little more on recording as winter approaches.

You can sample Rosella for yourself at www.myspace.com/rosellaband and catch them live next on Friday, August 8 at Royal Oaks Bar and Grill in Youngstown, Ohio.

S*KM: In the song “All I Do Is Cry” you sing “I’m fifteen and I hit rock bottom.” Are you referring to yourself? If so what could have caused you to hit rock bottom at such a young age?

Jessica: Well, if you refer to the next line of the song it’s because at the time, I couldn’t write about anything but my falling out with one person. I was very depressed and yes, had felt like I hit rock bottom.

S*KM: As legend has it, The Black Keys lead singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s dad introduced your music to the bearded blues rocker. Which then prompted Auerbach to contact you and subsequently begin recording together. It also led to you performing a guest vocal spot on the bands track “Things ain’t like they used to be” from the duo’s new album Attack and Release. How fulfilling has it been working with such talented musicians and do you feel blessed for the fateful meeting?

Jessica: I’m very grateful for meeting Dan Auerbach. Now the other guy Pat…. whatever. He doesn’t impress me much. The real story isn’t how I met Dan but rather how I met his father. I sat next to him on a roller-coaster at Six Flags. He seemed very nervous and told me that he hadn’t ridden one in years. Well about half way through the ride I could see him turning red and suddenly he began to vomit. Spraying what looked like it might have been a falafel sandwich earlier in the day, all over me. After the ride he apologized profusely and offered to by me a new shirt. We walked over to the gift shop and he bought me a six flags shirt. We began to talk and I told him I was a song writer. He said “My boy Danny is a songwriter too” A few weeks later I got a Myspace message that simply said “Hi my name is Dan, and I play in a band called The Black Keys” we started recording the day we met.

S*KM: Is Dan Auerbach’s beard as impressive in person as it looks in photos?

Jessica: Well, a lot of people don’t know this, but Dan was horribly burned in the face from a terrible fire breathing accident a couple years ago. He tried to grow a beard to cover his mutilation but was unable to. The hair we see on his face today was actually transplanted from his back

S*KM: You recently won the Free Times Vocalist of the Year award, what was it like taking home the brass and beating out the best Cleveland had to offer?

Jessica: I wasn’t able to physically take it home, because I was on tour with an awesome band called the Avett Brothers during the awards ceremony, but I sent my Mom & Dad, who I think bribed them with cold hard cash.

S*KM: Do you ever feel overwhelmed at times having accomplished so much so early in your music career?

Jessica: Nope.

S*KM: Not many kids have the opportunity to grow up in a musical household and play in a family band like you did, is that something you are grateful for and do you feel it has helped you furnish a sound that is well beyond your 18 years of age?

Jessica: well, I guess so. I don’t think of myself like that so much. I do think that I wouldn’t even play music at all if it wasn’t such an important thing in my house. No one ever pressured me to play, but it was always around. You had to move an instrument if you wanted to sit down, each room of the house had someone either playing music themselves or listening to music.

S*KM: On the surface a lot of your songs seem simple in structure yet manage to create a massive world of illusion around each one, do you feel some artists get lost overdoing things and forget about what’s important for a good song?

Jessica: I think what might be a good song to one person, might be a terrible song to someone else. Who am I to express my opinions on what a good song is? I don’t even know, or think that there are, “keys” to writing good songs. I write my songs for me, and if I think there cool, then that’s all that matters.

S*KM: What has been the most surprising experience of your time in the music business thus far?

Jessica: Everyday is something different and new. I guess nothing has been a surprise, I’ve been doing this since I was 8 years old…this has always been my life, so I guess I’m used to it.

S*KM: With the warm Ohio summer weather upon us, what is your perfect night out on the town?

Jessica: I don’t ever really go out…I prefer to spend my nights surfing the internet on my mac book and i-chatting with boys.

S*KM: If you could pick one song from any other artist that you wish you could have written, what would it be?

Jessica: Honestly, one that made a lot of money. Because then I could buy a car that didn’t stall out on I-76 west, and I could put that money into my career. Right now things are really hard and touring is almost impossible, but I’m out there doing it. I’ve never had a day job, and with the way my schedule is looking I can’t apply for one anytime soon.

You can listen to Jessica for yourself at www.myspace.com/jlmayfield and catch her live on Saturday, July 19 at The Clubhouse in Tempe, Arizona

S*KM: You guys have been laying low since you finished the Churn n’ Burn tour and CD release show, what has been going on in the HH&C camp?

HH&C: We’ve actually been planning our fall schedule as well as recuperating. We’ve had some family and health issues that we had to deal with, so it’s good that we’ve had a little bit of down time.

S*KM: The title of the new album is Revolution & Revelations, what kind of revolutions and revelations would you like to see happen?

HH&C: Revolution - We’d like to see the American people take charge of our country again. The Bush Administration consists of a bunch of renegades who abused the Constitution for the past 8 years and used 9/11 as an excuse to carry out a false war. Revelation - We’d like to see the masses figure out that religion is BS and the root of most of the world’s problems.

S*KM: Along with a review here at S*KM you were also recently reviewed by Cleveland Scene magazine. How has the new album been received and has it opened any new doors for the band?

HH&C: The new album has been received really well. It’s sold better than expected thus far and the reviews have been mostly positive. No new doors have opened yet…at least that we know of, but the disc has only been out for a little over two months so we’ll see what happens.

S*KM: With a name as zany as Hot Ham & Cheese I can’t help but ask how the name came to fruition?

HH&C: Well, the story really isn’t that exciting. When Charlie and Robby jammed together for the first time, it was apparent that we had something. After the session, Robby jokingly said, “I always wanted to be in a band called Hot Ham & Cheese,” and Charlie replied, “okay, then that’s what we’re called.” The rest is history.

S*KM: Other then your label, who or what from the Cleveland area has provided the most support for bands like yourself to help gain exposure?

HH&C: Scrub Radio, Track_Six_Recording, Cleveland Free Times/Cleveland Scene, Toxic Entertainment, Cleveland Rock Network. We also had sponsorships from Budweiser & Vitamin Water for our tour, which was really cool.

S*KM: How has your label, Jib Machine Records, helped give you an edge over the slew of unsigned bands patrolling the area?

HH&C: It mainly helps because you’re taken more seriously when you’re on a label. But, it also helps because we’re able to partner up with other bands on our label to cut costs for things like promotion, merchandise and even touring. Plus, our label has its own radio show (JibNation on Scrub Radio…every Tuesday night from 10pm - 1am EST) that really helps to get the word out in the underground.

S*KM: Let’s get technical, name some choice gear featured in a HH&C rig?

HH&C: Charlie uses a Mesa Single Rectifier, Custom Mesa Cab, Gibson SG Gothic with custom pick-ups, Washburn Dime V, BOSS pedals. Louie uses an Ampeg SVT 4 Pro, Ampeg 8×10 cab, Schecter Studio 5, Fender Jaguar, Ernie Ball Strings. Robby uses a 97′ mapex 7 piece mars pro series with maple shells, DW5002 double pedal, zildjian hi hats, zildjian, sabian and paiste cymbals, all sorts of hardware and Nova 5A nylon tip sticks.

S*KM: Take a band vote, what is your favorite song in the HH&C catalog?

HH&C: “Gias”…track 10 from Revolution & Revelations.

S*KM: Some of your lyrics harbor political overtones stating, “I’m not a nephew of Sam” and “Just gonna go and get Saddam” Why do you think it is important for musicians to keep the government in check every now and then?

HH&C: We don’t think it’s important for musicians to keep the government in check…it’s not our job. But, we do believe that through our music we can help open other people’s eyes to the lies, manipulation and corruption that permeates our government…especially today. If we can make just one person not accept things at face value and/or seek out “the truth” whatever that is, then we’ve done our job.

S*KM: With that being said, what party is most inline with your political views?

HH&C: The one with the hot chics and free drugs.

S*KM: If you had the power, what is one thing you would change about the current state of the music industry?

HH&C: To rid it of all the no talent, weasel fucks that make a living by taking advantage of young bands with a dream and screwing them into signing their lives away. Along those lines, we also wish that rock n’ roll could once again become more relevant to the youth of today as the majority are brainwashed with mainstream rap and other crap like that.

You can check out Hot Ham & Cheese for yourself at www.myspace.com/hothamcheese and catch them live next on Saturday, August 16 at Fat Jimmy’s in Kent, Ohio.

S*KM: You just finished up a national tour of sorts, what are some different things you enjoy about performing out of state?

Maurice: It was just nice to see that our music went over well everywhere we played. We all embrace the chance to share our music with people all over the country. That is obviously the first of many tours for us, but we were able to look around at the end and say “OK, cool. We really can do this.”

Brian: It was nice to see our music carry over from state to state. We haven’t gotten a chance to see how we come off to others outside of Ohio and people that don’t know us, I think it went really well.

Justin: Your guaranteed no one has seen you before, therefore you get to give it your all. Plus they don’t know you have a useless job back home and that your not almost famous.

S*KM: Five of the six members in the band hold music degrees, what drew each of you to such rigorous formal training, when the do-it-yourself approach seems to be most common with bands today?

Maurice: Actually only 3 guys graduated. I never finished and Neal is still in school. When I personally first went to school, my plan was to be a music teacher. When I decided I wanted to perform, I wanted to learn as much as physically possible so that I could be the most well rounded singer possible. There are never any guarantees in this business, so I wanted to gain the most knowledge I could possibly get so that I could give myself the best shot. There were frustrating moments for all of us. When you study music, there are times when it just starts to suck and is not fun. I think we are all much better musicians because of it though.

Brian: I personally didn’t come from any real hard formal music training with theory as my other band mates have. We all came in with a relative idea and feel that we wanted. We all have been such music fans that when we play, it all kinda fits. I know that I want to be a master at my instrument and I think we all have that same mentality. Keep it simple but with a great deal of musicality.

Justin: I think everyone just wanted to be great at playing music so we just sort of fell into that degree program. Personally a percussion performance degree doesn’t exactly prepare you for a career in rock music, I did that on my own outside of school.

S*KM: Does the bands extremely large pool of music knowledge ever flood the songwriting process with excessive theory?

Maurice: No, I don’t think so. Most of us don’t really rely on theory during the writing process. We don’t want our music to come off as formulaic. Can you groove to it? Can you sing along? Is it the sound we want to go for? If so, then we’ve done our jobs. That is what we focus on, the theory comes later when we go back through to analyze exactly what we have written.

Brian: I think it makes it easier since some of us don’t really know what we are doing (me). We can whip out songs fairly easy, but we don’t want to move on until the song that we are working on is completely finished to a tee. We all listen to so much music that we can get ideas fast when we see what other members are playing or singing and then build around each other. I’m glad that only a few tunes we have now are tunes that we have written as a band.

Justin: Not really, we all play by ear so we just use our theory knowledge after things are written.

S*KM: How well do you feel formally educated players mix with self taught players, or is it something better off kept separate?

Maurice: I don’t think it is a problem at all. Brian has no formal training and he is every bit as quick as the rest of us. A lot of people who are formally educated are just people who were self taught and then tried to go a little farther. Lets face it, this is pop music. We want to play with people who know how to rock out on their instruments and write quality material. We aren’t music snobs, just kids who had the same dreams as a lot of other people and chose to take a different path to get there.

Brian: Well being a self taught player can sometimes put me at a disadvantage but the amount of time I have behind my bass makes me able to keep up with the more formally trained. Having a good creative approach to a song or a part in a song will not matter if you had formal training or not. Don’t play all the notes, play the good ones.

Justin: If a musician has good instincts, and good ears, than that counts for a lot. I know a ton of people with music degrees who can’t play for shit, but our bass player Brian has no formal training at all and I wouldn’t be in a band without him.

S*KM: You originally started out as a cover band under the name 1959, at what point did you get tired of playing other peoples songs and want to start writing your own original material?

Maurice: I personally was writing well before 1959, but when we formed the band it was just to have a good time playing for our friends. Honestly, I think part of it for me was the fear that people would think my music sucked haha. Once we started working on originals and playing them out, they got great responses. When people started singing a long we felt like we had something special. Deep down, we all were just looking for the right project to throw ourselves in to and try to make our dreams come true. When the music started to form the way it did, we felt like this was the project to go for it. At that point, it was time to give ourselves a new identity, make the best recordings we could, and really go for it.

Brian: I joined the band at the end of the 1959 thing. I don’t mind playing covers. I see the point in playing them, but playing originals and getting people to listen and groove is more satisfying to me.

Justin: At some point we realized that the songs we had written were good, and people really seemed to like our songs too. Why not take a stab at it.

S*KM: Who are some individual musicians that have heavily influenced you in the development of your respective instruments.

Maurice: Some of my greatest influences are Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, and Marvin Gaye.

Brian: I learned to play bass by listening to rancid then moving on to Chilli Peppers, 311, Primus, Jaco and Tool. I started to listen to other bands and bassist but stopped learning the songs and tried to just play lines that sounded like that band or that person. I didn’t want to get sucked into just the bass lines in music. They are only a part of a song, I wanted to listen to the whole of the song and get whole picture. I still try to do that but I have to say my biggest influence on technique and style would have to be Les Claypool.

Justin: For me: Jon Theodore, Stanton Moore, John Bonham, Josh Freese, DJ Shadow…

S*KM: You won the 2006 Kent State Battle of the Bands and most recently the 2007 Molson Battle of the Bands, besides playing good music what has helped you attract the most attention?

Maurice: It is definitely our live show. We all love to be on stage and I think that comes across to people who watch us. We want our fans to walk away thinking “man that was a good time.” We focus on the total package…a tight musical set that is entertaining.

Brian: Our live shows. the way we see it, this might be the only time you see us. We have to sell our performance to separate us from any other no name band. We want you to remember our show. So far it has worked. The more times we play an area I start to see familiar faces, I guess which means we are doing something right.

Justin: We strive to have an entertaining stage show that fits the music, yes that includes dressing up a bit for our shows.

S*KM: You are signed to FTF records, which is based in Stow, Ohio. What has the process been like working with a local label, do you feel they have provided invaluable services you would have otherwise been unable to handle yourselves?

Maurice: No doubt. Every young band is just looking for a team of people who will rally behind them. FTF does that for us. Jeff Gargas and the rest of the team truly believe in us and throw themselves into helping us get to the next level. We owe a lot of the growth we’ve had and increase in visibility to the hard work of our photographer, publicist, and Jeff.

Brian: Oh definitely! I try to stay out of the whole process as much as possible but do know that the stuff Jeff and FTF records have done have helped a lot. They have one thing that makes being a label one less thing to worry about, money. But as a band you have to earn your keep which is one thing I think we do well. We know that without FTF we wouldn’t have some of the things we do.

Justin: Working with FTF is really personal, I mean the founder Jeff is in my phone and he is at about half of our shows. FTF has been really supportive of everything we have done and there aren’t many labels that just throw out money to let someone record at their leisure.

S*KM: You also recently picked up a well known national booking agent, can we expect you guys to play Madison Square Garden soon?

Maurice: Well that would be pretty bad ass but I think we still have some dues to pay first! Sometimes when people hear us, they think we have been around a lot longer than we have. We have been really putting everything we have into our original music and I know we are on the right track, but this stuff takes time. I would say we’ve made a lot of progress in a short period of time between the albums we’ve sold, the loyal fans we’ve made, and some of the great press we have received. Having said that, we need to just keep trucking and pay our dues before Madison Square Garden comes knocking. We feel like we have the formula for something special, but part of that formula is never taking anything for granted and keeping our noses to the grindstone.

Brian: Touring is fun, but hard, and we all have to make a choice to go and tour and tour and tour or work a day job that will let us. I Don’t see us playing anywhere huge soon. I know we have to pay our dues and I think we have gotten pretty far for how young we are as a band. The more we play with bigger acts we find out they are four, five, six, years in. I think it takes away, but then again who knows.

Justin: No, if we blow up that fast we definitely did something sleazy

S*KM: When you guys aren’t crafting your own sexy neo-soul funk sound it is rumored you enjoy checking out other live shows, what bands and venues do you frequent most?

Maurice: I love to support the local Kent scene. Acts like Sean Benjamin, David Ullman, The Speedbumps, and Amplexus are some of my favorites. I also am really starting to love Youngstown musicians like the Zou as well. In the end, I think I’m just big into supporting local music. Hopefully many of us will be the national acts of tomorrow, so I try to support the cause the best I can.

Brian: I live on the Eastside of Cleveland so I go to different venues then the other guys in the band, but I really like the Beachland its gotta cool vibe. As far as local bands I really like: Return of Simple, If These Trees Could Talk, mr. Gnome, and Poetic Republic. If you have not check out any of these bands you need to.

Justin: Whatever we have time to check out, especially if our other friends are playing. I love going to the Grog. I love going to see This is Exploding, Junior Revolution, Pete Nischt, and The Dr. Teeth.

S*KM: You have a healthy list of shows booked throughout Northeast Ohio this summer, which one are you looking forward to the most?

Maurice: Honestly, we just look forward to every chance we have to share our music. We will be touring a lot of colleges over the next few months, and we will be hitting up several big cities in the next few months. In the end, its just about playing in front of as many people as possible and having as much fun as possible. Where do we want to play? Everywhere that people enjoy us and we can further the name. One gig at a time, one new fan at a time. We are at the beginning of the ride and we are looking forward to it.

Brian: Which ever one has the singer from Maroon 5 there and he says he wants us to open for them.

Justin: Anything with a crowd.

You can listen to Winslow for yourself at www.myspace.com/winslowsoul and catch them live next on Friday, July, 18 at Around The Corner in Lakewood, Ohio.

S*KM: Let’s talk about the current music scene in Cleveland, are you guys encouraged with what you have heard from other bands or does it sound like they are all starting to run together?

LT: We’ve been at this thing for a pretty long time and we have seen a lot of bands come and go. There are a lot of new young bands popping up, and whats cool is a lot of these kids are working pretty hard to make things happen for themselves. It’s cool to see a new band out of Cleveland surviving on the road!

S*KM: Back in February you announced guitars Rick Sans would be leaving the band and replacing him would be Aaron Salo. What kind of impact has it had on the band, especially the songwriting process for the new album?

LT: Getting Aaron in the band has been such a great thing, for the past few years I had been doing all of the writing ( as far as riffs are concerned ) and now the process is much less stressful having someone that I can jam with and bounce ideas off of like Aaron. He is a mega motivated cat, and it really gets us all pumped to do things!

S*KM: Keeping with the new material, what can be expected from the new album? Are there any surprises in the direction of the bands sound this time out?

OB: Not to sound cliché, but this new album has more mature songwriting. It’s a good progression from the last record as it should be. It’s taken three years to get this thing done. As far as the actual material goes, you’ll just have to listen to it when the record comes out. It’s different, in a good way. It’s a pretty fun album, and we’re proud of it.

S*KM: What kind of details can we squeeze out about the new album, recording plans, title, track list etc.?

OB: We started last Friday. The album is currently untitled. It contains the three demo songs that were on our myspace, and seven others. We’ve played a few of them live recently. I’d say the release will probably be in late September, but don’t quote me on that.

S*KM: Here at S*KM we have dubbed 2008 the year of live music, do you think there is a large gap between the live and recorded listening experiences?

OB: Depends on the band. If the bands you listen to do a lot of extra stuff in the studio that they can’t do live, then obviously there’s a big gap there. I know it sucks when you go see a band, and you ask to hear your favorite song only to find out it’s a “studio track.” In general, I wouldn’t say there’s too big of a gap in this genre.

S*KM: If you could only pick one medium for fans to experience your music for the rest of your careers, either playing live shows or putting out studio albums, which would it be?

OB: Tough question. We have a lot of fun playing out, but we don’t tour extensively. So, ideally, it would be playing out.

AS: Live shows for sure. I love going into the studio and recording, but I’d go crazy if I couldn’t play live. The connection you get with fans, especially at our shows, is amazing. When you see someone that sings along with all the words to every song, nothing beats that.

S*KM: Which actor would best embody all that is Above This Fire?

ATF: Steven Segal and “Back to the Future” era Michael J Fox’s child

S*KM: Which super power would you rather have, flight or invisibility?

AS: Definitely flight. Have you seen Iron Man?! I always love flying in planes, so that fits perfect for me. I’m not the “stalking Sally in her shower” type.

OB: Aaron wants to fly like Harry Potter.

S*KM: Describe the components that make up Above This Fire’s favorite summer back yard BBQ?

LT: Backyard? Above This Fire parties at the beach. Were talking chicken fights, marco polo, and jet skiing. You’ll always find a grill packed to the edge with: Hot Dogs, Beer Brats, Burgers, BBQ Chicken, Corn on the cob, and steaks.

S*KM: If you guys could organize the perfect evening of live music, who would play?

LT: Man, well Above This Fire would have to open, and than I’d say The Fucking Champs would play, than maybe Minus The Bear, probably followed by Fu Manchu, and than Lebron James would introduce Iron Maiden circa its “Somewhere in Time” album.

AS: That’s a tough one. I know we’d probably have Minus The Bear there, who we’re all huge fans of. Just to be the chill band of the night. I’d also have Terror play so I can get my dose of hardcore inspiration from Scott Vogel.

OB: At the Drive-In would open it up. Then David Ruffin would magically come back to life and the Temptations would headline with Chuck Mangione playing his flugelhorn between sets.

You can check out Above This Fire for yourself at www.myspace.com/abovethisfire.

S*KM: You recently traveled to New Jersey to have one of your live performances streamed over the internet. How was that experience for you, and where do you see technology taking the accessibility of music beyond the ridiculous heights we have already seen?

Mahlon: I think in two years we will be able to scuba dive and download albums over the internet at the same time. Underwater. Jammin. Its ridiculous and scary how far technology has come, so since its here we might as well take advantage of it. Its never been so easy to get your hands on music these days and without even having to leave your couch. So in a way the technology is good. But it also means that’s more junk I have to teach my dad. Might not sound that bad, but trust me, It gets old.

Chris: Overall the experience was amazing. It was something we had never done before and it’s always good to get out of town to do something band orientated. The opportunity actually came as a “prize” for being selected as musicemissions.com independent artist of the year. Thrice, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Underoath had all played there before so it was extremely cool to follow in their footsteps.

S*KM: We know Amplexus refers to frogs knocking boots and is Latin for embrace. Since there is only one founding member (Mahlon Rhodes Vocals) left from the original line up, is there anyone who can tell us how the name came to be? If I didn’t know any better it sounds like a WWE finishing move.

Mahlon: I think when we came up with the name; we were jackasses and thought it was awesome. We seriously considered changing it several times, but I guess it just wouldn’t let go. I’m really glad it ended up meaning something cool that we can actually relate the name to (thank god). Then again, band names aren’t really cool unless the band is actually good, thats when it starts sounding cool to people. I don’t know what that means for us. Names are pretty lame in general though.

Chris: The name actually was the idea of the first bass player. He was in med school and noticed the name in a biology book. I think the deciding factor was based more on how the name rolled off the tongue than the actual meaning. The “embrace” meaning fits us better in a variety of ways now with this current line up and we (at least I) have kind of dismissed the frog sex thing as being somewhat of immature for what we’re trying to accomplish. We’ve embraced music as our lives, we want the listener to embrace the songs, and we hope that we will always be able to do this as a career. But, before anyone wanted to get in to a huge inquiry about the name I would just say that we’d rather be identified by the music itself, rather than the band name label we use for it.

S*KM: Here at Saw*Kick we have dubbed 2008 the year for live music. What format do you think delivers the truest representation of the Amplexus sound?

Chris: I would hope that both formats represent us honestly. The studio and playing live are just two facets of how we want to be represented. From the studio, you get a crisp, clean representation of the music and songwriting and can most likely hear the nuances that make recording such an amazing art form. You can focus so much more effort into making things perfect, which translates into hours spent on one individual song. During a live show that normally only lasts an hour you don’t have that luxury of having everything sound exactly how you want it to. Stage presence is another variable that isn’t present in the studio. I know live I would much rather miss-hit a note on bass than just stand there with my thumb up my ass making sure I played like I was in an orchestra. I’m not saying its ok to mess up, because we try to play live as perfectly as we can but you also have to consider putting a memorable show and showing people that you feel the music you made through your presence on stage. Hopefully they will feel it to if you do a good job of this. We’re constantly fighting to make ourselves as open and vulnerable during our live performances as possible so that the entire venue sees and understands how much music means to us. Finally, most any live show is going to be more intense, heavier, more moving, and all around a better experience than popping a tape in your walk-man and going for a jog along the brook. We just really appreciate both forms and feel that they both bring out different things in our songs.

S*KM: You have been selected by a few national publications as unsigned artists of the month or year. Have you been approached by any significant labels looking to be in the Amplexus business?

Amplexus: No Comment

S*KM: In your experience has it been more beneficial to receive all this attention and praise for being an unsigned band, as apposed to being singed to a small local label?

Mahlon: I don’t know honestly. I think we would work with a small local label if it was a situation where they could help us in ways we couldn’t help ourselves. Otherwise there isn’t really a point. Somewhere down the line we”ll meet the right people and I think they’ll be able to help us reach people and places we wouldn’t get to on our own. Hopefully people stop giving us props for being unsigned and we fade into the sea of “signed bands” with Hummers, just kidding.

Billy: Being unsigned and running our business the way in which we do is great at times and frustrating at others. We are currently in control of every facet of our business. We run the entire ship as if we were our own independent label. This is great because you don’t have to worry about others making decisions on our behalf, but at the same time we aren’t always free to focus on the most important part of it all which is the music. There will be a time when we will partner up and take on the help of a bigger team but for now we are focusing on ourselves and working as hard as possible.

Chris: That’s kind of hard to answer because I can’t speak from the side of being signed to a small local label. Most small labels are loan sharks or the band falls into a position of having to pay a label to do things they can’t do themselves. The way I look at it is the attention we have received is a result of us busting our asses. We work so hard and it, which makes it that much more gratifying when it pays off in different ways. We started off playing at the smallest clubs to about 20 of our friends and now we consistently draw 200-300 in Kent. A lot of this was a result of learning how to promote and what you need to do to get people interested in you as a band.

S*KM: With so many bands trying to “make it” they sometimes seem to lose focus of why they started playing music in the first place. At what point will you consider your time spent in the music business a success, or did that happen the first time you took the stage?

Mahlon: When I smell my arm pits after 9 days of not showering, a week straight of eating gas station hot dogs (gas station cuisine), and after my handle bar moustache fully comes in. I’ll look towards the eastern sun, call my mom and tell her that her boy is a man, and we made it. I definitely did not think “we made it” after our first show. In fact, I probably thought, “ man, this is really cool, but we should probably practice A LOT more.

Billy: Obviously the longer you play music and are on the level of an independent act you feel the gears of time grinding. It is an extremely gratifying job at times and one of the most trying paths in other times. Ultimately there really isn’t much of a choice for any of us because we know that nothing could make us happier than to play music for a living.

Chris: To me “making it” is being able to play music for a living, while having enough money to eat, pay rent, and go to good will to get t shirts. It would be unrealistic to have the goal of selling out the Q at this point in our careers. You can have successes along the way to smaller goals, eventually getting to an ultimate goal. For example, Deus Ex Machina was the most important thing I have ever been a part of in my life. The writing and recording was so intense and I really don’t know what I would have done if we weren’t able to complete in the way that we did (without anyone telling us what to do and how to do it). But I’m not going to call it quits just because we accomplished one amazing goal. Before we were even done recording we were planning a tour for the summer. In between playing a ton of shows in the fall we started writing new music, now were talking about demo-ing a couple songs for a new album. To do this for a living, in my opinion, you always have to be thinking about the next step. When I can afford clothes shelter and food because of plaing music, one of my next goals will be to get a murdered out LeBarron and a multi-flavored Gatorade fountain for my shitty apartment.

S*KM: You recently had to replace your drummer after Andy Mares who departed the band for the Air Force. Are there any Amplexus hazing rituals new members endure during the acclamation period?

Mahlon: Ever seen Full Metal Jacket?

Billy: No hazing rituals persay. The tryout process was intense and we tried to put each person through the most intense try out process as possible. Having to replace a drummer is so tough for so many reasons that we didn’t want to have to go through it again.

S*KM: Time to loosen things up a bit, which was the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, one or two? If you say three the interview is over, if you say the new animated movie, a Saw*Kick handler will immediately be on your door step to punch you in the face.

Mahlon: Secret of the ooze, easy. I couldn’t stand watching the foot soldiers kicking the crap out of Raphael in the first one. Plus that kid Danny sucks and the second April O’neal is pretty comparable to the first one. Also Kino was the man and Casey Jones looked like he was homeless.

Billy: I saw the first one in the theater and it changed my life for a long period of time. I still have all my original toys at home.

S*KM: Do you guys like to hang out as a band off stage, maybe taken in a matinee, or play a rousing game of Monopoly, if neither what is Amplexus’ favorite past time?

Mahlon: Definitely, I think we could form a pretty lethal band ultimate Frisbee team. Probably a devastating flag football team too.

Chris: Actually a lot of time we try to just hang out but someone will pick up a guitar and we’ll start working on something and before it’s the thimbles turn to pass go, we’ll be at the computer recording something. Normally we throw a football around as therapy, going to shows, watching our favorite shows like curb your enthusiasm, listening to new music that inspires us.

S*KM: What do we have to look forward to from Amplexus in the future?

Billy: Lots of new music and other good stuff.

You can listen to Amplexus for yourself at www.myspace.com/amplexusrock and catch them live next on Wednesday, July 2, at The Bar Fly in Akron, Ohio.