<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is the general atmosphere of a live Snapcase show?
\n<\/b>The main goal, for me, is to lose myself in the show. And to see people walk away tired and sweaty. Can’t ask for much more than that.<\/p>\n
When your band has such a strong belief system, I’m sure you tend to draw some pretty fanatic followers. Do you find they sometimes overlook the ‘think for yourself’ message you emphasize in their eagerness to belong to a movement?
\n<\/b>Sometimes. I think, especially in the early albums, we are just providing options and things to think about and not making decisions for people. Growing up, all of the bands that I really loved, I liked a lot of their ideas. But in a way, they were kind of like presenting them as ‘Well, we believe this. This is the way things should be, or would be better. Those people suck.’ I wanted to be in a band that said ‘Hey, just because we are a band doesn’t mean we know what’s right for you. Only you know what’s right for you. We are only gonna help try to help you in the context of finding it yourself.’<\/p>\n
What can the average kid do to make the world a better place?
\n<\/b>Especially for kids, I know for me, the biggest challenge was kind of like, going back to our one record, “Progression through Unlearning” trying to unlearn parts of your life that limit the way that you think. Whether it’s family traditions, or cultural traditions or religious traditions. They are all positive and good things to have, but sometimes they can also limit you from understanding another person’s religion or culture. And I think to make the world a better place, different cultures need to unlearn what they think is right and wrong to understand the way different cultures think.<\/p>\n
What do you think of people who have claimed Straight Edge allegiance, only to ‘move on’ to something else as they grow older?
\n<\/b>To me, there doesn’t seem to be much of a straight edge presence anymore, as far as a scene or a movement. I hardly ever meet any kids at shows that are straight edge. Five to ten years ago, I’d say 80 to 90% of the bands we would go on the road with were straight edge, or had straight edge members. Now all the young bands that we tour with that are in their late teens or early twenties, almost none of them are straight edge. I find that funny, because I remember the way we were when we were young, we were straight edge and so many other bands that were… became not straight edge later, but these bands aren’t even straight edge at the onset of it. So I’m just thinking, “God, how could you be 17 or 18 years old and going on tour and getting free beer and drunk every night”? Where does that leave you ten years from now?<\/p>\n
Motley Crue.
\n<\/b>Yeah, it leaves you with a VH1 Special about how you had to clean up and what a challenge your life is to stay sober.<\/p>\n
Do you think drugs are the problem?
\n<\/b>Again, like anything, like the Internet, it can be abused.<\/p>\n
Or is it the people who do drugs. Kind of like guns… are they the problem… or the people that abuse them?
\n<\/b>It’s definitely the people who abuse them. There are a lot of people who use drugs that are good people.<\/p>\n
What about someone like Timothy Leary? He abused the fuck out of drugs and was one of the most progressive thinkers of his time. And this time for that matter<\/b>.
\nYeah. That’s true. It’s just some people, their personalities just don’t mesh well with certain drugs and it becomes very destructive.<\/p>\n
Have you ever done drugs?
\n<\/b>No, aside from being drunk.<\/p>\n
You’ve never even tried marijuana?
\n<\/b>No.<\/p>\n
Ok, how about from the open progressive thought line we were talking about, with so many people that are willing to be a vocal proponent to marijuana, how come you’ve never tried it? Just out of curiosity to expand your mind to be open to other thought processes. Not advocating regular use, but trying it.
\n<\/b>Ahhhh, I don’t know. (laughs). Um, I’m fine the way I am. I just never had an interest or need I guess. I think a lot of times, drinking or drugs fills in the gaps for people and I guess I do other things. When I get in certain moods, what I need, is kind of like exercise or something like that.<\/p>\n
Especially being in the music industry, how do you deal with that on a sociable level in a bar or a party situation where 99% of everybody is wasted? I do drugs, and even I can’t handle being around people that are wasted when I am not.
\n<\/b>I’m not that interested in parties and bars that much anyways at this point in my life. The only reason I ever liked going to bars in the first place was to meet girls. I never really cared about talking with dudes and drinking and stuff. So now that I’m married I really can’t meet chicks in bars. We hang out with other bands on tour, been on tour with lots of bands who do drugs and drink and stuff. It’s never become that big of an issue. When it comes to being on tour and goofing around, we are just as fun as the next band. On tour, we play shows. We are here to perform well. Not be here to be hedonistic and goof around and just happen to perform music that night.<\/p>\n