Like a Phoenix Rising

Exclusive Interview with AMZ's Vinnie Apicella

AMZ I want to address the latest record, "The Art of Drowning" and then touch a little on the band's overall career and move ahead from there. What is actually meant by "The Art of Drowning?"

Jade Dave (Havoc) and I came up with the name jointly; I came up with the "Art of" and he came up with the "Drowning," so there isn't really a single clear-cut meaning.

AMZ Judging from the band's overall sound, it's stayed pretty consistent over time but from the last EP "All Hallows" and to this new one, there's a broader characteristic I hear in the songs-without calling them commercial by comparison, I think there's a definite growth in the music and a broader design to the song structures... For instance, a tune like "The Days of the Phoenix" has much more complexity and range going for it than just the simple two minutes and out formula usually built into the HC/Punk formula...

Jade Well, we're definitely about progression and I think the songs on "Art of Drowning" are a natural progression from where we were at on "All Hallows." We have no desire to make the same record twice so each release is going to be somewhat different.

AMZ Building on the previous thought, was there or is there a desire to broaden AFI's appeal and maybe move into a more mainstream direction along the lines of a Bad Religion type or The Offspring? How have you fared as far as airplay in general and do you bother to concern yourselves at all with that possibility?

Jade We're concerned with making good records that are uncompromised by any outside considerations. If radio wants to play our song, that's a bonus but we aren't writing these songs a certain way so they'll get radio play.

AMZ I understand the band to have begun sometime during the mid-90s and the album "Very Proud of Ya" as starting things off. There's seems an overall looseness and colorful personality that ties in your album illustrations and titles and yet the music possesses a very tight and mature characteristic that really breaks through on the new album. So what is AFI about in general and how are these tangibles representative of the band?

Jade Well, the first two albums, "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" and "Very Proud of Ya," were written when AFI were younger, and many of the songs, particularly off the first album, were about things that a high school kid would be interested in. I think the album art reflects that too. As the band got older, all the various ingredients, such as lyrics, art, and music, matured accordingly.

AMZ Obviously with the "All Hollows" EP, there's a Misfits tribute with the song "Halloween." From that, I really hear a similarity in style, particularly with the backing vocs... Describe their influence on you guys as a young band and who else out there could you say has either helped define your style or influenced you as a band?

Jade We all listened to the Misfits growing up� Obviously, Dave is heavily influenced by Danzig and the Misfits. We share some of the same anthemic qualities, as well as the "whoahs". Other bands such as Black Flag, Minor Threat, the Germs, Bad Religion, etc. were influences as well.

AMZ What happened to the "Artist still known as Mark" who once played guitar for you? Who is the primary songwriter and how much would someone like another guitar player as you, do on the new album to change or enhance the AFI sound?

Jade Mark was asked to leave the band for personal reasons. They asked me to play guitar after that and I became the primary songwriter. On "Black Sails�" I wrote 11 of the 13 songs, all the originals on "All Hallows," and most of the new album. Obviously with a new songwriter with a completely different style, the music is going to be fundamentally affected, which I think you can obviously hear. The unifying thread, I believe, is Dave's lyrics and vocals, as well as Adam's drums. They make any music sound like AFI. Hunter is also starting to write more and his writing style has changed, he used to write more harder edged tracks but now he's writing stuff like "6 to 8" and "Days of the Phoenix," which are great songs in a completely different vein.

AMZ Describe some of AFI's highlights during your career and feel free to share any outrageous or ridiculous road stories or which there must be many...

Jade For the two years that I've been in the band, there haven't been any really outrageous things happening on the road� I don't know if that's good or bad. As far as highlights, we've played incredible shows all over, toured with great bands, and have been able to record albums� there's nothing better than that!

AMZ Speaking of the "road," do you find there's a greater "closed door" policy toward hard-core/punk groups these days or with this recent ascendance of popularity within the music, have you seen a greater response or respect toward the scene?

Jade Scenes vary in different parts of the country and world. Some cities have a good Hard-Core scene or a good punk scene, or sometimes both. In Europe, Hard-Core has been bigger than Punk for a long time but that's starting to change. I think the mainstream does affect our scene but regardless of what happens with mainstream music, there will always be a core of loyal fans that don't care what's going on with radio.

AMZ How do you portray yourselves as a band... are you comfortable with being labeled as "this" or "that" or at the end of the day, is AFI basically an existence all its own?

Jade People have consistently told us that it's very difficult to label our music, which I think is a great compliment, one of our goals is to play original music that's accessible at the same time.

AMZ You've been with the same label now for several albums which in most cases is practically unheard of in the life of a punk group. What would you attribute to the staying power of the relationship? Personally I think AFI offers a different and more interesting aspect to the music where each song is identifiable and unique on its own� an attribute of staying power?

Jade I think that's true. AFI's fans have followed the band through all this musical progression, which is awesome, and I think our fans appreciate the fact that we don't make the same record twice. As far as Nitro Records goes, they're really good to us and take care of us and that's why we're still there.

AMZ And again, I'm leading toward the newer material, but aside from a more creative consciousness, why should fans dig this new record and what happens next?

Jade Well, we really believe this a good record� we're proud of it, and we think people won't be disappointed if they buy it. That would be a good enough reason for me to buy someone's record. Next, we'll be touring with Rancid starting on November 1st in Minneapolis, and from there I hope to be on the road as much as possible.