T3M: Congratulations on the new album.

JE: Thank you very much.

T3M: It's been out for a couple weeks now?

JE: We're almost going on our third week now. It's being received pretty well... that I've heard.

T3M: Yeah, the reviews I've read have been positive, which must be nice to see.

JE: It makes me really happy.

T3M: In your bio you mention being true to roots, and that you're going to evolve, but not go off and do something completely different.

JE: It's hard to do something that's not you, first of all. That's not going to happen. We all wouldn't allow that to happen. Yet, we do want to be better than we are. That doesn't mean we think we're bad or anything. We just want to always evolve and always become better musicians… write better songs. Once you think you've done the sweetest thing in the world, and you're 'that cool', you're not. You've already defeated yourself. Hopefully we just keep bettering ourselves as we go.

T3M: Who did you listen to that may have shaped who you are, or how write and play music?

JE: I think music in general shaped who I am. Life experiences shaped who I am. Growing up listening to... you know, I loved Motley Crue big time. I still love Motley Crue. That, and Iron Maiden. You name any metal band from the 80's and the 90's... which, there really wasn't that many metal bands in the 90's... you can name anything. Even down to Pearl Jam for the songwriting... stuff like that. I love music. It's not just 'I love metal and that's it', though I listen to 90 percent metal.

Music and life in general has made me and each person in this band who they are. And the fact is that each person in this band has different musical preferences... one guy listens to reggae a lot... one guy listens to [Led] Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead a lot... one guy likes pure punk rock, old school punk rock. So it's what makes Droid, Droid. I think those elements are what's going to help us have a future.

T3M: How did the collaboration with Chino Moreno on Vengence is Mine happen?

JE: Before we got a record deal from Munky we were going to do another demo of about six songs. Chino is a friend of the family. We are lucky enough to have a lot of friends who are pretty big 'rock stars', and we all look up to them at the same time. We were like 'hey man, mind doing a song with us?' He was like 'hell ya no problem.' So we recorded six songs... just music. I stepped back and didn't write anything to them. We gave them to him and said 'hey, you pick the song that you like the most.' And so he picked it. I worked out some free-style stuff in my head.

We met at Christian [Wolbers]'s house, the guitar player from Fear Factory. He has a big ol' giant studio. We all met there and collaborated together... bounced ideas off each other, and free-styled back and forth until we got a kind of structure. So I went home after that and wrote all the lyrics, and fine tuned the structures. And then we met back at Korn's Elementree Studios in Hollywood. About three hours later we got the song done. It's a hell of an experience working with someone you look up to. I've looked up to Chino and the Deftones for years. We're really lucky. Honored. That song is one of my favorite songs.

T3M: I love the interplay between you and Chino on that song.

JE: I think a lot of people have missed that. When Chino sings it's amazing. But when he screams… since I'm a fan of screaming obviously, it's like 'OK, yeah, that's what I wanted to hear.'

T3M: Who came up with the name Droid?

JE: One of the former members came up with 'android'. Jamie, our guitar player, was like 'that doesn't sound right, that kinda sounds stupid. What about Droid?' It just kinda stuck. It's been there for ten years now.

T3M: Did you have to work out a deal with George Lucas to use the name?

JE: Well, we bought the rights to it years ago. We have a thick book with every little thing George Lucas owns with the name of 'droid', and the only thing he didn't have was a rock band named 'Droid'… that we know of. It's been a little while now and we haven't been hit up. He owns everything with the name 'droid'. He invented the damn word.

T3M: I'm amazed by the legal hoops you have to jump through even when just picking a band name.

One week on the Family Values Tour so far; how are things going?

JE: Amazing. You have your ups and downs. Today was kind of a weird day for us. It was so hot and a lot of people don't want to come out in the heat to see the opening band on the main stage. We're here to prove ourselves and we'll do it as many time as it takes.

I think we gained a lot of new Droid fans today, even though it was really hot as hell.

T3M: It was cool to see you go into the pit to liven things up.

JE: Yeah, I do that every day.

T3M: Jamie [Teissere] mentioned to us that in Detroit you ran all the way up to the lawn.

JE: Oh yeah. They were ripping up all the grass and throwing it up about twenty feet in the air. It was insane. I mean... we were the first band. We did a good job that day bringing the anger out of people.

T3M: You had a bit of a Spinal Tap moment today, when you you couldn't find an exit at the end of your set.

JE: Every damn venue has an exit on both sides of the stage... I ran off the side off the stage like I'm out. I just actually was looking for a way back on stage, to finish the show on stage. I'm like 'what the hell?' Whenever you look stupid, just let everybody know (laughs).

T3M: I thought you were going to get a beer.

JE: I should've got a damn beer when I was there, or a lemonade. All that was next to me was a lemonade stand.

T3M: Other than your experience in Detroit , what have been the stand-out moments for you so far on the tour?

JE: Seeing crowds of people up on the lawn just get up go crazy. I mean, people are already sweating their asses off just sitting there. The whole lawn turns into a giant pit during most of the shows. It's pretty crazy. People are hungry for music.

Even down in the front, most of the front seats are for people who are going to come see Korn later on, or Evanescence later on, because those are their favorite bands... and they get there early, and they're so surprised that they start going crazy right there. It's cool to see that... a product of what you've created.

T3M: Have you had a chance to check out any of the other bands on the tour?

JE: Yeah, Trivium. I check out those guys every day. They're really cool people. I'm pretty good friends with them. Atreyu kills it every night. Neurosonic goes on right after us. Those guys are awesome. Really cool.

We're meeting a lot of really cool people. You hear all these stories about bands going out on tour and not getting along with the other bands, but that's not happening on this tour.

And then, Hellyeah... I get to see one of my metal idols Vinnie Paul play drums. That's insane to me... I'm eating lunch next to Vinnie Paul. He's like a metal Beatle.

T3M: You're doing some shows with Trivium and Atreyu on your off days, how are those going so far?

JE: Insane. We played one at Peabody's in Cleveland with Trivium, and it was super packed three hours before anybody played. It was people hungry for music, and that's what's cool to see. I get there, and everybody was yelling, and energetic, and the crowd was just crazy.

I jump into the crowd and hope not to get taken out too fast. When it gets crazy you have to jump back over the guardrail. It's cool to see people into music just like how we are.

That's what I love. Even in the giant venues I try my hardest to make it feel like a smaller venue. That why I get out into the crowd, just like in any small venue, I do it every time. It make me feel like I'm 'one' with everybody. Not some 'cool dude' on stage. The stage is eight feet damn tall... which I'm not complaining about by any means whatsoever. I'm honored to be on any stage. It's just cool to give that big place a small feel.

T3M: What's next for Droid after Family Values?

JE: We're working on it right now. We hope that we're going to be going out with Hatebreed. I really look up to Hatebreed. I'm a big hardcore fan, and a big metal fan. Those guys are awesome, so hopefully it goes through.

T3M: Hopefully we'll get to see you guys again.

JE: We're not going anywhere. We'll play in as many places as they want us to play, with as many bands that want to play with us.

T3M: What should someone expect from a Droid show?

JE: Honesty. I believe in every word that comes out of my mouth. You're going to get a band that believes in what they're doing, whether there's two people there or two-hundred-thousand. We leave every ounce of energy on the stage. I feel like if you don't leave it on the stage, you're kinda shorting people. That's what you're going to get from Droid no matter what... every single time.

T3M: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. It was great show, and we hope to catch you guys again.

JE: Thank you very much.

| 07.28.2007 | Interview by J. Pierson |