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Estrella: Where are you from?
Brad: We're from Flint, Michigan. Well not technically, but that's just what we claim it. We're from the outskirts, in Davison.
Estrella: How long has the band been around for?
Brad: Just a little bit over a year and a half now.
Estrella: How do you like playing Joppatowne High School?
Brad: It was pretty interesting, except for the fact that they couldn't stand up or whatever. But it was still alot of fun.
Estrella: Is this the first high school you've played?
Brad: No, we've played alot of high schools actually. I think this is the first out of state high school that we have actually played.
Estrella: What do you think about Maryland so far?
Brad: Maryland, it's got it's cool it parts, I guess. This is our 3rd time being here we've been in some bad parts before but I don't know, it's pretty small.
Bandslut: Who are some of your influences?
Brad: Some of my influences would probably be, like, At The Drive In, Saves The Day, let's see, this is a hard question, a band that got me into a lot of hardcore music is probably Poison the Well.
Bandslut: What do you listen to currently?
Brad: Currently, I have been listening to the new Saves The Day album, "In Reverie."
Estrella: Everyone is.
Brad: Probably my favorite band is from Michigan, they're a band call Anathallo, and also Fear before the March of Flames, I listen to them alot.
Estrella: Have you ever played with Taking Back Sunday before or is it your first time?
Brad: No, we've never played with them. This will be our first time when we open up for them in Lousiana.
Bandslut: Are you excited?
Brad: Yea, I really don't believe it, you know, because it's two bands that I've always really looked up to. And just out of nowhere we get the oppurtunity to open up for them. It's great. It's pretty sweet.
Estrella: What is your look on the mainstream?
Brad: The mainstream? I mean, you're talking like when bands get signed to big labels and stuff like that?
Bandslut: Selling out?
Brad: Like, when everybody calls them sellouts or whatever? I think it's cool if they keep their heads on straight, it, I don't know.
Bandslut: As long as they don't act like rockstars about it.
Brad: Yea, well, it's kinda hard not too when you're in that situation anyways, it's because some people look up to you all. the time and stuff but as long as you keep your head on straight and I think it's cool when bands go mainstream or whatever because they've actually accomplished what they've been trying to do the whole time, you know, but some bands don't work hard enough for it, that's for sure, but when great bands like Saves The Day or whatever have their videos on MTV or whatever that's cool. I wouldn't mind going mainstream myself, I want to do this for a living so why not try to make a living out of it.
Estrella: What do you like about being in a band?
Brad: I like everything from making music cause it's like my psychiatry, and it helps all my problems and playing live shows. But one of the best parts, that's not traveling and making music is probably meeting new people like you guys and all different people you come across and meet and it's an experience to have so many different friends in so many different states.
Estrella: What's it like from Michigan? How do you feel about moving, traveling, and touring?
Brad: I like Michigan alot. The scene we've built for ourselves is really strong and we can always get alot of kids out to our shows. So it's weird going to like different states and playing sometimes shows will be like 30 people and no one even knows who you are but sometimes we get good shows, like a couple hundred people. But there's nothing like a good home town show where there is at least five hundred kids singing along you know. But it's something you got to build up for yourself everywhere you go.
Bandslut: But this way you get to branch out.
Brad: Yea and eventually people will come back to the same places.
Estrella: Not here.
Brad: So you can get some more fans.
Estrella: Play Fletcher's.
Brad: We played there before.
Bandslut: They have a bigger stage here.
Estrella: With who?
Brad: Supergiant MD and Better Than You.
Estrella: You played that day with The Sly Caps?
Brad: The Sly Caps. We played with The Sly Caps.
Bandslut: We were supposed to go to that, then our ride kind of cancelled.
Estrella: Cause I'm like, "I've never seen The Sly Caps", but if I went I would have known who you were before now.
Brad: Yea, The Sly Caps, they're pretty interesting. They were tight live though, I didn't expect them to be that good live.
Estrella: Well, if MTV has them on TV they might as well be good.
Brad: Yea, except for they just told us all the stuff about MTV, they scripted all their other shows and everything.
Estrella: Suprising? Not really. Like Jerry Springer.
Brad: They wouldn't let them sing anything they wanted to. And like, they didn't even pay them alot. We don't live that far from Chicago, so I still have a plan to get really drunk and drive off to Chicago and go in Jerry Springer's audience and going "Yea get him."
Estrella: So yea, there's six people in your band, that's alot of people.
Brad: Yea, it's almost as many as Slipknot.
Bandslut: So who are all of the members in your band and what do each of them do?
Brad: We got Crosby on the drums, Patrick on the guitar, Roger Beavis on the other guitar, Matt on the bass, Myself on keyboards - Brad, and Craigery on vocals. It gets pretty crowded in the bus sometimes.
Estrella: And you have to add all the merch people.
Brad: Yea
Bandslut: Oh, you guys have that little bus out there?
Brad: Yea, that's our short bus.
Bandslut: The short bus!
Estrella: What's everyone's ages?
Brad: We range from 18 - 21.
Estrella: That's young.
Brad: Yea, I'm 20, it's one of the worst ages there is. How old are you guys?
Bandslut: How old am I? 17.
Estrella: 17, 18 next month.
Brad: So, are you guys still in high school?
Estrella: No, I graduated.
Bandslut: This is my last year.
Brad: Awesome, yea, I loved it, I wish I was still in high school.
Estrella: Do you have any crazy fans? Have you ever had any random ones, that try and rape you as Laurren would say?
Brad: Yea, we've had quite a few stalkers.
Estrella: Do they come to your house? Hold up signs to your windows?
Brad: I'm not really gonna say anything just in case people read this. I don't want them to be reading it and be like "Hey, what's he talking about?"
Bandslut: Ohmigod my stalking paid off.
Estrella: They know I exist. Yay, they give me the time of day, I don't have to stalk them anymore.
Brad: I have like girls just show up in my driveway and refuse to leave.
Estrella: Do they put a tent up on your front lawn?
Brad: I'm just like, "Hey, we're leaving now" and they're like, "No, we're not going to leave."
Estrella: Turn off all the lights and hide.
Bandslut: I'd be like, "Bitch, it's my house, leave, get the hell out". Crazy.
Bandslut: You guys seem to have a good crowd reaction though.
Brad: Yea, we usually do, except for bars. We never get a good crowd reaction at bars. Last time we played a bar, they're like, "Linkin Park called they want their band back."
Bandslut: That's mean. You guys don't even have a DJ in your band.
Estrella: Yea, I said something sort of mean.
Brad: What did you say?
Estrella: About how you should add another member and I can be turntables. I could be like Black Eyed Peas, you know, only chick in the band.
Bandslut: She's nonchalantly trying to get on your bus.
Estrella: Not at all.
Estrella: Okay, worst case scenario, has the bus ever actually broken down when you're away from home?
Brad: Yea, one time the belt snapped or something like that, but it wasn't anything major, we've had a couple flat tires in the middle of the desert and had to walk six miles, on like the hottest day of summer, wasn't anything to bad
Bandslut: Oh, wasn't too bad we we're just walking in the desert hallucinating, and it's all okay.
Brad: But we've been really fortunate, we treat her this well, we found her on Ebay, we had to drive down to Kentucky to get it.
Bandslut: How much did you pay for it, if you don't mind me asking?
Brad: We payed, I think it was like, $4,000 for it. It had like 40,000 miles on it.
Bandslut: Are you guys signed at all?
Brad: Yea, we're on Search and Rescue records. It's a record label in Michigan.
Bandslut: Is there any dream label you guys want to be on?
Brad: I've always really respected bands on Vagrant or Equal Vision. That'd be cool to be on one of those labels and a bunch of my favorite bands have been signing to DreamWorks lately, it looks like, and Island. But I don't know about going major because of bad news I've heard and stuff.
Bandslut: Do you have any hobbies besides touring and playing music?
Brad: I enjoy playing billiards and ping pong. We're trying to collect good stories about dirty girls.
Bandslut: Ask Home Grown, I'm sure they can give you a few.
Brad: I don't know, just things we can get girls to do is kind of fun.
Estrella: Have you had any of them yet?
Brad: Oh, we've had plenty.
Estrella: Plenty. So you enjoy groupies, I see? Do you have groupies for each member of the band when you go somewhere? Or is it like just one?
Brad: Most of them actually have girlfriends but they try to remain commited to them. But there is a couple that aren't so faithful. I hope their girlfriends read this too. That'd be sweet.
Bandslut: You're telling them out, you're not supposed to tell on them. Bro's before Ho's.
Bandslut: So who is your dream band to tour with?
Brad: My dream band to tour with...
Estrella: Saves The Day?
Brad: Yeah, that'd be pretty sweet. But, you should have some names, that I really like alot, like Fear before March of Flames and Anathallo. But I'd really like to tour with Justin Timberlake.
Estrella: Staying true to your roots.
Brad: Do you know how many girls would be at all those concert?
Bandslut: No, not Justin Timberlake, you're not allowed to like him anymore because he's not cool. You gotta go for the punk bands, Good Charlotte.
Brad: No, Justin Timberlake has got like the best voice in mainstream that there is.
Estrella: He's known as the sexiest man I think.
Brad: Yeah.
Bandslut: I'm guessing you have a crush on Justin.
Brad: If I was a girl, I probably would, you know.
Estrella: You probably go for the more Avril Laving type.
Brad: If Avril wanted to go out on a date I wouldn't say no. But she seems kind of airheadish.
Bandslut: Who's your celebrity crush?
Brad: My celebrity crush.. nobody really agrees with me, but for some reason I have this weird fetish for Mena Suvari.
Estrella: She's married to a guy 20 years older than her. Sorry to crush your heart right there.
Bandslut: He's gonna cry. Do you need a tissue?
Brad: Denise Richards.
Estrella: Denise Richards? She's married too. To Charlie Sheen
Estrella: Any last statements or advice?
Brad: Stay in school, don't do drugs
Estrella: Basics?
Brad: Come out to a show sometime if you're reading this. If you're reading, come.
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