Type 3 Media: Now you're getting ready to hit the road again in support of the single "Jailbait." Any hidden meaning in that song?

Chris Lee: It's just a story. I'm a really big fan of old school country. One of my favorite types of song is the story song... what happens to somebody. That's just where it came from. I want to try to write a Johnny Cash song, or an Elvis song. That's how it came about.

T3M: In general, what's your song-writing process like?

CL: I honestly think that the lyrics are the least important thing, and the last thing we do. It's me and Benji sitting around going "Okay, I've got these riffs." And we'll try them out, mix and match them till we get a song structure. Then we'll take it to the boys and play it live, and figure it out. Once you add drums and bass to it, it changes a bit. Once we have the structure of the song down, this is going to be the verse, this is going to be the chorus, this is where the solo goes, and that kind of thing, then we'll just keep practicing it. As we keep practicing it, I will put my pentecostal speaking in tongues over it (starts scatting). That goes on for a while, and I'll record that. It's loud in our practice room. I'm not saying anything, but if you listen back on this tape you can pick out words, and that's usually my first draft. Then Benji and I will just massage that until we figure out "that's it".

T3M: You mentioned Johnny Cash and Elvis; what other music helped shape your sound?

CL: We wear our influences on our sleeve. We're fans of classic rock; Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath. Pretty much every rock band will say that, but I don't think many of them actually sound like their influences (laughs). I was reading an article about Puddle Mudd, and the title said "Puddle of Mudd Sounds Nothing Like Their Influences"... tears them to shreds. I thought it was great. We're humongous fans of pop music, like good pop. Some of my favorite bands of all time are Abba, the BeeGees, and ELO. Those are all like children of The Beatles in the way they write songs. A good song is a good song. We just happen to play it in a guitar driven genre.

T3M: That question is asked so often that a lot of bands will just rattle off the names of bands they like, not necessarily those that they are trying to emulate.

CL: We take it seriously. Song writing is my favorite part, other than playing live. You should think it through. You have a forum and you should have something to say, even if it's something stupid, which we often do (laughs).

T3M: What's your favorite song on this album?

CL: For some reason the entire band's favorite song on this record is "Bow Down." I'm not exactly sure why. It's mid-tempo, stompy, rocker... it has a weird riff before every verse. The lyrics are politically motivated. It was written at a weird time. Toward the end of Reagan's second term a lot of political punk bands came out. I'm not saying that's why they were punk bands, but it was something in the zeitgeist that created this attitude, and that anger. I don't think that there are a lot of acts out there that are responding to what it's like to be in America today when they really are trying to take away your freedom at every turn. That song is about that. It's not that we're just angry that we're getting our freedoms taken. It's like, why isn't anyone else angry? That's why that song appeals to me. Musically, it just totally fucking rocks. (laughs)

T3M: Are you headlining the upcoming tour?

CL: It's the type of thing where we're setting up the headlining tour with the hopes that someone will pick us up.

T3M: Any closing words?

CL: We just got back from Europe. It was our fourth time over the past several months. There's a big difference over there. It seems like over there people listen to music and they have open access to it. Here in America, they have stuff shoved down their throat and they're told this is what you have to listen to... these are your only choices. I'd like to say, you don't have to take it. Go out there and find something that you actually like. Don't be a fucking robot. That's what I want to say.

T3M: Can't close with any better words than that.

 
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| 07.01.2008 | Interview by J. Pierson |