David Wood (Terror, Down To Nothing, Murder Weapon, Game On)

1- Murder Weapon, shit was hard as fuck, blatant Set If Off rip off and all! haha. Was that your first "real" band? Did you guys tour much? 

hahaha, blatant madball and no warning rip offs. Shit was mad fun. Down To Nothing was already a band, we started in 2000, Murder Weapon started the fall of 2002. We could never pull it together to do an actual tour, but we did do a lot of weekend shows. Always some long drives because we only had 2 days to do the shows. We played some cool gigs though.

2- DTN, in my opinion "The Most" was one of the best core albums to come out in the last 5 years. You guys have done a fuckload, but recently have chilled out alot, i know that its hard now with you doing Terror, etc, but do you think DTN is done? Or will you just continue to do stuff when you can? 

Thanks man, we put a lot of hard work into that record, and into our band as a whole in the last few years. People are busy doing some other things right now, but Down To Nothing has worked to hard and come to far to just call it quits right now. We still got a lot things we want to do, and we have some new songs that are our best yet. So we're just going to play when we can right now, do small tours, and hopefully make it back to Australia one more time.

3- While on DTN, do you think you were the "wildest" core band out there? I know you got up to some wild shit on tour, haha. Name some things that you guys did that you think went a little bit too far. I can name one, haha...

Looking back at some of the dumb shit we've done, I'm gonna have to say yes. We're so stupid dude. We almost got deported from Australia for absolutely destroying our hotel. We've shot off roman candles, smoke bombs, and bottle rockets, inside of our van, with 7+ people in it, WHILE driving! Vandalized some of the craziest things, stolen the stupidest things you can imagine. I don't know how we haven't gotten our asses kicked, or put in prison.

4- Whats the deal with Richmond, until i just googled it i didnt even know where it was, haha. But all you dudes seem to love the place and every band from there writes songs about the place. More importantly, are their waves at Virginia Beach?

Richmond is a really small city with close suburbs surrounding it.Very chill place, very old, very historical. If you mixed Philadelphia PA and Austin Texas together, and then shrunk it, you would have Richmond. A beautiful river called, The James passes right through it which makes for great fun. Some of the earliest settlers to find the Americas sailed up the James..So you can imagine all the history.
Richmond is also dead in the middle of the east coast. 2 hours from DC, 4 from Philly, 6 from NY. You have to pass through it to go south too, so we get a lot of good tours coming through. Virginia Beach has small ass waves, but it's all those kids have to learn on, and they don't take it for granted, so dudes can fuckin shred from there! It's pretty though :)

 5- You are now a fulltime member of the touring machine known as Terror. When/where was your first show and how is it all going? And how stoked are you to tour fulltime and be at hardcore shows every night of the week worldwide? 

It's really a dream come true as stupid as that sounds.. Terror was one of my favorite current hardcore bands you know, and I looked up to all those guys, so it's really weird to playing with them now, but fucking awesome as well. I just finished my first tour with them, it was 2 months long, all across the States, and Canada too. My first show was in Joplin, Missouri and I was SO nervous! I played bass in Murder Weapon, and hadn't really played much since we broke up. So it was a big change going from singing back to the 4 string. I love it, we got a metal tour coming up, then some shows with Gwar, and then Suicidal Tendencies, and then Europe with Sick Of It All and H20 and a bunch of others. So pretty much I'm in Heaven right now.

Matt Miller (Most Precious Blood, Photographer)

1- MPB, Whats up? Are you still a band? New Record? Tours? Getting Ross?

Yes we are still a band. we are really spread out right now though. Im living in Atlanta GA. Colin lives in DC. Justin is holding it down in Brooklyn, Rachel is in Maryland, and i think Rob sleeps in a janitors closet at Bally's gym in either Philly or Albany.
But yes we are still a band, but not nearly as active as we were. I think our flavor of CORE was passed in the wind, and we dont fall into the all over print, flat brimmed hat mosh scene , or the black fingernail poslish stupid hair crowd, so instead of us playing shows where noone gave a fuck and getting back in the van to reflect on said shitty show for the next 6 hours till we hit the next town, we decided to not tour full time anymore. and to be honest, we havent done much since. It's hard to get all of us to take time off from work and get together and fly out to meet up and shit. Its harder being a part time band than it is being a full time rock machine i tell ya!
but yes, we are working on a new record. all the jams are tracked and we are waiting on rob to get pissed off enough to get in the studio and tell everyone in the world how much he hates them. he is a fucking animal.

2- You moved from NYC back to your hometown of Atlanta a few years back. Why was that? and what are some good and bad points of each place?

Once we decided to not be a full time band, i felt there was no reason to live in NYC. Its a rad place for sure, but you live in some tiny apartment that youll NEVER own, live paycheck to paycheck, ride the stinky subway, and eat at the same 4 spots you always eat at. i just felt like i didnt take atvantage of all that nyc had to offer. i didnt go out to bars, and i didnt really care that much about staying around. everything felt like a pain in the ass to do. like you would meet up with friends to go eat, wait 2 hours for a table, eat, then there was nowhere to go, everyones apt was too far away or too small to hang out in, so then youd just get back on the train and go home..ugh!

I moved back to atlanta with my lady who got a rad job out here tattooing at 13 roses tattoo. We bought a house , have 2 cars, 2 vegan pitbulls , and life is fucking so good! i love it here, although itd be nice to have a beach or a lake or something , being land-locked sucks!

3- Your photos are fucking awesome and your blog is cool as shit. Is there a secret to taking such good pics? Or is it just your fancy camera?, haha.

man i hate that question. people see my photos and ask...yo what camera you use....like youd ask DaVinci what paint brushes he used, and if you got those same brushes, your shit would look like his. i know that most people dont realize that its lame when you ask that, but it kind of is...haha.
but anyhow, i started creeping up on being 30 this year and i decided that i needed to get serious about some sort of career, and i knew i loved taking photos, so it was time to get serious about it. I know my craft has grown leaps and bounds in the past year or so, but the hardest part is getting paid. i never thought you had to be a business man on top of taking good photos, but its so fucking easy to get taken atvantage of. noone ever wants to pay for photos. its so annoying. gear is fucking expensive , and its really time consuming to get the right photo and to edit all them shits!
but ive been working hard at taking my photography to the next level.
if you want to take a look, check my blog.

www.thefivemilegrace.com

4- Coca-Cola, i know you are a huge fan, do you think anyone else in the world consumes as much of the product as you? and what attracted you to the company in the first place?

Man. coca cola and the South go hand in hand. i was raised on that shit. and its totally the reason that ive gotten so damn FAT! but yea, Atlanta even has a coke museum. you should come check it out! It was invented in atlanta, and the first bottling plant was here. im sure ill get a coca cola tattoo one of these days. its just so damn refreshing!!!

5- Have you been surfing much lately? You were awesome that day in Sydney when you gave me a lesson.

Oh man. I'll never forget. you woke me up so early in the moring to take me out surfing. mentioned i needed a wetsuit, and that i could wear one of yours(keep in mind im a fat fuck and pete looks like a small g.i. joe) so somehow i squish into the wetsuit and i cant put my arms at my side or bend over. somehow you shove me into the car and put the coffee table, oh, i mean my surfboard ontop of the car and we head to humiliation, i mean my surfing lesson. we get to the beach and all these dudes are shredding and come up to say hi and to gawk at my dumbass in a tiny wetsuit. we tried for a couple hours and i get nowhere near standing up on that goddamned thing. it was fun, but ive never felt more out of my element. but theres gonna be Round 2 when i come out there in October!!!

NA Last Show

Tickets are on sale now.

Adam Riser (Lone Wolf, Betrayed, Love Is Red, Traitor)

1- One of your first bands had the faggotry meter going of the richter scale straight away for me with the name, Love Is Red, haha. Judging by the kids that like that band here in Australia i would not be down. But tell me the deal and what that band meant to you.

That band matured me is so many ways as a musician, and a person. We started that band in my basement when I was 16 years old. It took us a few years and a few member changes to fully develop our sound, but in the last year or two of that band we actually were reasonably successful by hardcore standards (booking agent, headlining shows, good turn-outs, video on MTV, etc). I think we confused a lot of people with our name sounding like some pussy indie band but our music being heavier and aggressive. We weren't a youth crew band that was putting out 7" vinyl EP's, nor were we a metal band that kept it "brutal as fuck". We had a hybrid sound to our music, so our audience was always mixed and diverse. It seemed like towards the end a few more younger kids were getting into us, and many of them even after the band broke up. I'm not so sure why that was; I'm more sure of the fact that we worked ridiculously hard to be taken seriously as a hardcore band coming from the southeastern part of the United States (a region definitely not known for producing many hardcore bands) and it was frustrating for us at the time to see bands getting record deals after only being around for 2 months and not evening touring, after we had spent years touring on a demo CD and 2 shirt designs. I think ultimately we were all just burnt out on sacrificing all our time, money, and efforts into a project that couldn't sustain our needs as individuals, and as a band. I cringe at most of the music that was written in that band when I listen to it, but at the same time I'm proud to have accomplished what I did in that band at such an early age.


2- You moved from "the depth south Alabama" (said in hick accent) to the best place in America (in my brief time there i made that decision) How great was the day you moved to HB? and why is HB the best place in that crazy country of yours?

I had nothing left for me in Alabama. So in the spring of 2005, I packed up all my shit and moved to Orange County, California with no real intentions other than just starting fresh. I didn't immediately live in Huntington Beach; at first I was in Buena Park, which is the northern-most part of Orange County. Luckily after a year of living there I scored an amazing place with great roommates right near the beach. To me, Huntington Beach is the best place I could live. Everything I could need or want is super close and attainable.....beach, good waves to surf, the majority of my friends, healthy and delicious food options, affordable living, endless entertainment, perfect weather...you get the idea. It's infinitely different than where I grew up, but definitely fits my style of living much better.


3- You played in Betrayed for quite a period of time, and got to tour the world with that band, but were never really credited as being a member. How did you feel about that? Where you cool with it cause those were Todd's songs and you were just happy to be playing and touring like the secong guitarist in Green Day?haha or did it annoy you?

Todd was kind enough to let me hop in the band really without knowing me. Given that the line-up was made up of guys who played in some of my favorite hardcore bands, I was thrilled to be a part of the project. From the beginning, Todd made it clear that he was going to handle all the music writing, and that it was a band that he and Aram wanted to do as friends. I welcomed the idea of me not having to do anything except learning the songs, show up at the shows, and have fun. It was the easiest gig in the world, and I was fortunate enough to travel and see places that I'd never get to venture to without being a part of a band like that. I've been asked a lot about what's up with me not receiving much credit with my affiliation with Betrayed; it's something that doesn't really matter to me. Like I said, I knew from the get-go that it was Todd and Aram's band, and I just helped (hopefully) bring some sound and energy to the live show. I had fun and consider it a privilege to have shared my time with 4 guys who I not only have a great deal of respect for as musicians, but as people. I don't need a text acknowledgment on a record to know my own worth. I know the part I played and that's all that matters.


4- Lone Wolf, no shit, one of my favourie current bands along with TUI, IA, etc. Whats up with the record? Is it ever coming out? And will you ever tour? Maybe with different members so that its an actual possibility? Or are Mark and Martin Lone Wolf through and through?

Lone Wolf started as just a project band. Bo Thomson approached me between watching episodes of LOST, saying we should do a heavy band. I was totally down for the idea and began putting together some songs. After most of the songs (the ones appearing on our EP) were written, we solidified our lineup by adding Mark and Nick. Martin later hopped on board too. It sucks that Lone Wolf is and probably will remain a band that moves at an ultra sluggish pace. Due to Mark and Martin staying on the road with their bands and staying busy just with life in general, it makes it nearly impossible to practice, much less play shows. I make up for it in the meantime by never ceasing at writing riff after riff and song after song. I think I have enough demo songs written right now for almost 2 LP's. Now the goal is just to find the time to fine-tune those songs and get them tracked in the studio. I suppose first we should be concerned with getting our 7"/EP released. The EP, entitled "Hallucinogenic Fate", will be out in a matter of weeks on Words of War records. It will be a 7" and digital download-only release. The songs crush hard as hell, and are just a glimpse into the sonic demolition that's ahead. We're hopefully gonna do a week-long tour in January with our Canadian buddies in Modern Crimes (A Perfect Murder members).


5- Lastly, i have to talk about our day trip to "Florida" (San Diego) that day. What was meant to be a 2 hour max drive took 6 hours plus. Was that the worst day of your life? and if you had a knife would you of buried into my stomach?

Goddamn, that day was awful. It took us 4 fucking hours to navigate through a stretch of highway that should have taken us 20 minutes! By the time we arrived, I only had time to order and eat a burrito (which was might delicious, but couldn't cover up the overwhelming taste of FAILURE) and then drag your ass off the wave pool, just to turn around and get stuck in another 4 hours of traffic. And THEN drive to Santa Barbara after the show, which was another 2 hours or so. I seriously hated you for talking me into allowing us to go to San Diego, even though it made no sense to go that far out of the way. And then you had the fucking nerve to do your "vocal warm ups" sitting in the car next to me. Even if I had a knife on me, I wouldn't stab you in fear that you might actually make noises even MORE annoying than the ones you were already creating. I think the only good thing your warm-ups produce for you is the ability to call people "faggots" from the stage during your set. I thought it was cool to see Paint It Black moshing and singing along to the No Apologies set at Sound & Fury though.

I have nothing to prove.

I have been busy as fuck of late and have had no time at all for this blog.
Today was Fathers day and i ate so much at an all you can eat breakfast this morning with my Dad that i have not and wil not eat anything else today or tonight, thats awesome.
Anyway, what this blog is all about, 5 q's, there will be alot more in the coming weeks.
I have a short list of people, and they will be getting sent questions.
So i/v's will be up straight after they get them back to me.
Check your emails.

Parkway Drive Interview Part 111

Parkway Drive has now turned into your job. When was it that you actually quit your job to be a fulltime "musician"? And what kind of a feeling was that? And on a side note, what are your thoughts on the flock of bands that now start off with the objective of being a "fulltime band" by decking out their myspace, doing promo pics and printing merch before they have even played a show?

It became our job when we first went over seas. At that point it basically became impossible to hold down a job in Byron as well as doing the band and going OS. It was a weird feeling. This has never felt like a job, but to have the band become our only source of income was both a bit crazy and at the same time a bit daunting. I'm not a musician. I'm just a kid who likes playing shows and is lucky enough to be in the position to play enough that i can travel and support myself and my family.

I guess shit has changed pretty quick in this "scene" but your right, there is definitely a growing flock of people trying to make a band with the primary goal of making money. For me it’s kind of like reading the Motley Crue book, "The Dirt". They started that band to be rock stars. That’s it. To me, rock stars and hardcore are at the two opposite ends of the scale. All the promo, all the bulletins, all the merch and all the hype can never replace true substance and heart and there are so many bands that still don't get it. The sad thing is everyone can see right thought that kind of shit and more often than not it just comes back around to kick them in the face.

For me this whole experience has never been about anything more than doing what i love and having fun. I play music that i enjoy. I have a goal to express myself though this medium and live my life. That’s’ it. That’s all this is. Everything else that has happened just happened. I’m not going to complain or say that its shit and i wish we still played to twenty kids a night, because honestly, i don’t really care, i still have the same feeling playing on stage and going to shows that i did when we first started. The day that feeling dies is the day i walk away from this band.



For a fulltime band that obviously has to spend lots of time around each other, you guys really do still get along well.
I know that it would change from day to day but do you ever feel like, "fuck this" and just don’t want to get on that stage.
Like guitarists can get up and play on a night they are not that excited, but for you as the "front man" and the singer, you have to remain (at least to others) upbeat and charismatic, and put on a show for the payers.
How do you do this day in day out? Or like you said in your previous answer do you genuinely enjoy what you do?


It's actually easy. I work pretty much in two ways. Playing on stage is my outlet. It’s the only way i get all my negative, pissed, fucked up shit out of my head. The person on stage is pretty much the only thing keeping the person off stage alive and sane. Anyone that knows me knows im totally different off stage. Basically i'm a shy, anti social, misanthropist in every day life. The only way i can keep my head in line is by let the other shit out, but like i've said before, that’s what hardcore has always been about for me.


So basically there is no real need to "perform" or whatever. I get as much out of playing as people do that are watching me. Still i can't say that there has never been a time i didn’t want to play and had to. It's fucked when it happens. If my head isn't in the right place then its sooooo awkward having to play songs that normally mean so much to me but for some reason or another don't apply at that point in time.


You guys are killing it worldwide at the moment and its only getting bigger and bigger, but there has to be a time when things start to drop off a bit and crowds get a little smaller. Have you guys talked about what to do when this does eventually happen? Like i know Graham probably has a business plan for you, haha, but what i love is that you guys just do what you do and don’t give a fuck about what anyone else is doing.

Yeah we've talked about it a bit. We have plenty of theories, but it’s kind of hard to even imagine. I mean not imagine parkway going down, but imagine what we'd fell like doing when it happens. It’s weird because every day that passes, every show you rock up at you’re just waiting for the fall, because to be honest i've been waiting for it for years, but for some reason we keep going up. Its great but kind of unnerving at the same time and i guess it makes everything all the more uncertain, because the longer we spend doing the band, the older we get and the more options get shut down to us due to age, education and circumstances. It’s weird.



Your right in saying we don't give a fuck, because we never have, so i'd love to say that we'll be doing this forever no matter what, but i think travelling and being in such close confines with the same group of minds and personalities changes your perspective pretty dramatically. What was great for you last year may not be so great the next. That being said we're lucky we are all still such good friends and are still stoked on life. I still love what i do, love hardcore, love records, love shows and love my friends, and for me that's never going to change.


What would Winston McCall be doing right now if the hardcore band he started with his mates to play shows at the local Youth Centre didn’t blow up and end up taking him all over the world touring and playing shows to thousands of poeple?
And, what do you see for yourself in the future after the band is said and done?

I’d be at uni, doing god knows what and getting barrelled at tallow’s i guess hahaha, but seriously i honestly couldn't say. I can remember being at a bit of a loose end before parkway came along. Touring just gave me something to do that i wouldn't have had otherwise, and then it slowly took over.




After the band im not sure. we're going to be seriously behind the eight ball when it comes to any kind of employment qualifications. I guess we could all be pretty fucked, especially being from Byron, but we'll see what happens. I’ll start another hardcore band. Not sure what anyone else will do.


Parkway Drive, the house, and the people behind it. How big a part of the band and Byron Bay Hardcore in general has the Parkway house and The Gordon Family been? From jamming there, to just hanging out there, to even having a couple of shows there. And also housing pretty much every touring band that has been through Bryon/Qld.(As well as your parents place!)


A huge part. like I’ve said in plenty of interviews before, there is a reason we named the band what we did. That place is our home, and has been the home of many BBHC bands before us. We hung out there, jammed there, helped build what we could of it and had the occasional show there. The Gordon family have done so much for this band and the Byron scene in general, i highly doubt anyone will ever be able to comprehend it. Between the Parkway house and my parent’s house, they pretty much enabled every band that has ever come to our small little town to be able to stop and play instead of just passing through to Brisbane or Sydney.



We had some great shows in that house. I’m not sure if Restraint ever played? I think you did, but Parkway, Think Straight, Shoot To Kill, Blueprint For A Nightmare, IKTPQ, Shot Point Blank, Comeback Kid and i think some other bands all smashed that room at one point or another during the years


Jed Gordon, the man, the myth, the legend, and for the past few years your Tour Manager/Lighting Guy.
How is the Chode? Is he still hanging in there or is he hating life? And how is it to travel through numerous countries with him? and when times are tough is it easy just to write him off and have a laugh again?




hahaha ummm, maybe not the best tour to ask me that question. He's done his part in the band over the years. He's fat, he's useless, bar lights and yes we laugh at him. He’s a good mate, but a shit worker. Travelling with him is stressful, funny, and smelly. He has some foul body odours. Still mates though.



Ok, word association time. Tell me the first things that come to mind when you read these words?

Sugar- Brain

San Diego- The fucking wave house!!!!!

Touring- Heaven and hell

Home- Jess and kitten

Desmond- Jeff

Graz- Newtown


Alright, let’s finish this up. I know your memory is about as good as mine, but what are some highlights from the last few years that you will never forget? And what does the future hold for Parkway Drive? New album? DVD? Limited edition 43 colour split 7"? haha


Everything is a highlight. I never could have imagined i would have seen so much of the world or experienced the things i have. I would never have thought that i would meet some of my closest friends on the other side of the planet. Being in this band, travelling with my friends, playing shows and doing shit from the ground up, our way, has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Sleeping in car parks and in fields. Eating nothing but raw corn for four days straight. Getting caught in floods and tornados. Living life. It’s crazy.

The future is a hard one to predict. Everything changes so quickly. I’m surprised we've lasted this long let alone still having new kids listen to us. We're just going to keep what we're doing until we breakdown completely. Releases wise we're working on a DVD documentary thing. We have filmed EVERYTHING we have experienced in the bands existence and it's pretty interesting so we're going to try and make that ourselves. Another challenge I’m looking forward to. We're also starting to write again slowly, but we're going to try to make a couple of changes to the way we write, see if we can mix it up a bit this time. 43 colour split7" fuck yeah lad hahaha. Nah seriously I’d love to release something on Vinyl, but i doubt the other guys really care hahaha. Ah well.

On the whole i just want to keep playing shows. We played ieper fest in Belgium last night and it was one of the craziest things i've ever seen. basically it just made me smile and think, i love hardore, i love playing in this band with my friends and i'm going to do this until my voice is destroyed and i can't stage dive anymore.... then I’m going to learn bass hahaha.

U.S.A

(edit- Parkway Drive are out on tour right now in the states, so instead of trying to conclude part 111 of the interview with Winston i will wait till he is home)

2 days ago i returned home from my first trip to the United States of America.
It was a pretty crazy trip, but instead of trying to break it right down iam just going to post some random thoughts and pics.
Here goes;

-Burritos are great in California, i ate alot of them.













-The flowrider is also great, if i lived in San Diego i would go there every day.
(and then maybe i would be able to actually surf the fucking thing and not have to ride a bodyboard.




-We bodysurfed the Wedge at a solid 6 foot and it was great but we got fucked up.




-The weather too was also great. i was meant to get tattooed but barred it cause i wanted to go to the beach every day.




-Sound and Fury was a long fucking weekend but some great fucking sets went down (Trash Talk, Violation, Rise and Fall, Trapped Under Ice, Terror, Alpha & Omega, Bitter End, Blacklisted and Ceremony to name but a few GREAT ones)
We got a good response but played like fucking shit and iam still pissed off about it.



-Thanks to my brother Todd, for putting my band on his fest and making me after a solid 5 years of saying "ill be there this summer" actually be there this summer

-Santa Barbara/ Carpinteria was great. Going surfing with Derek and Chris Violation ruled, even though it was tiny.

-Corey Williams, Greg Bacon and Adam Riser are men amonst men. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

-It was good to catch up with old friends or recently made ones

-I even met some new people who i actually got along with (Bo, Luis, Edgar, Joey, Josh, and iam sure iam missing some) which dosent happen often, if Bo Thomson and i lived on the same side of the world things would be wild.

-I enjoyed baseball alot more than i thought i would. However there was no fight or home runs hit at the game i went to. 2 things i would of liked to of seen(in that order).



-Tijuana was great. Carlos and Rene rule as do Forfeit and Foundation. I want to travel through ALL of mexico one day.



-I got my first ever razor blade shave in Tijuana and it was great!