Ten seconds. We have a go for main engine start 3 2 1.
A camera pans in as the space shuttle prepares for launch, and then, flash, thrusts itself into orbit leaving a fiery explosion of atomic proportions in its wake. Time elapses. A camera pans through the dark and desolate stillness of the shuttles inner chamber, seemingly abandoned except for one man, his head in his hands. A faraway voice comes hesitant over a message machine, Hello Lee. Sorry Im sending you this message as a recording but, Ill be honest, it would have been a lot harder to say this directly to you. Even if I wanted to bring you out of orbit, I dont have the people to do it right now. Im sorry Im sorry
This trailer for the upcoming feature film from rock band Angels & Airwaves follows with the question, Have you ever felt like youre alone? What if you truly were? Though slightly sappy -- and discussed ad nauseam on countless therapists couches -- this question remains the ultimate fear kept buried in our hearts. This question is just one of many that the Southern California-based rockers hope to raise through their music, films, and myriad other creative endeavors to inspire others.
Angels & Airwaves initially came together in 2005 as the brainchild of former Blink 182 guitarist and singer Tom DeLonge, soon after internal conflict placed Blink on indefinite hiatus. I know what youre thinking, so lets get one thing straight: Angels & Airwaves is no Blink 182 spin-off. A Blink 182 spin-off would be the equivalent of a boy band beauty pageant where the crown goes to the prankster with the best fart joke. I Empire, the sophomore release from Angels & Airwaves, is nothing of the sort. Completed by guitarist David Kennedy (Hazen Street, Box Car Racer), drummer Atom Willard (Offspring) and bassist Matt Wachter (30 Seconds to Mars), the bands music is an atmospheric, socially conscious and often anthemic call to arms for rock and roll dreamers everywhere. The band has replaced one-upping the audience with toilet humor for something even more appealing -- upping the ante on the value of human connection.
Toms vocals are near unrecognizable as the man who once nasalized his way through Whats My Age Again? His style now is that of a man who no longer caters to his inner-child, allowing the stifled maturity and personal growth held captive by major label wardens and image-makers to break away and run free. Lyrically on I Empire, Tom still holds back and often verges on the hyperbolic -- but hey, give the guy a break -- he has over a decade of emotional and spiritual false imprisonment to shake off. In Toms words, If you could escape from your past, would you be ready for the next adventure? As proven with Angels & Airwaves, yes, it would seem Tom is more than ready.
SuicideGirls tracked down Angels & Airwaves guitarist and Toms longtime friend, David Kennedy, to chat about the rock revolution, UFOs, the bands ever-expanding creative pursuits and, of course, how David earned the nickname the James Dean of Punk Rock.
I Empire is in stores now and the band is currently on tour. Check out the bands website here, the music video for the hit single Everything is Magic here, and making the video footage here.
Erin Broadley: So, I Empire came out November 6 of last year. How has the reception been since its release?
David Kennedy: Well, I believe that the reception has been really good from the people who have received it [laughs]. We havent totally made our full push yet. It came out close to the holidays so we did [a bunch of] radio shows, and then got into the whole Christmas and New Years. We wont really start getting out there until the end of this month. Then well be able to tell how its really going. It seems fun and exciting. With the people that do have the record, the response has been cool. They really get it.
EB: This album is more than just 12 songs on a disc; its very much a multi-faceted project because you guys incorporate a lot of other elements like video and other artistic elements alongside the music. It seems like Angels and Airwaves [AVA] is more than just a band.
DK: [Laughs] I should have you do my interviews.
EB: [Laughs]
DK: No, but thats very true. Were trying to figure out a new way to make [more than just] music; music has to become more than a marketing tool, but also an idea and an experience. It seems sort of empty just to do the record. For some reason people dont put any value in music, even though I think its the thing that defines culture as a whole. Its fine, whatever. But theres no value to it. Its become this ambient thing that people listen to while
EB: While theyre busy doing other things. People just cherry pick songs from their iPods.
DK: Yeah. So were just trying to figure out [a way to] make it deeper with the more things to go with it. That way its not just putting out music to put out music. And thats the way I feel it gets peoples attention. iPods are the coolest thing ever but theyve taken away so much of the experience of what you used to do when youd buy record or a CD and youd go home and just focus and just pay attention to that one record. Now with kids, its just a thing that pops up on their iPod. [It may be] a cool song but then it just goes to the next one. So for us, for people to listen to AVA, we need to offer these different things. Like, they cant get away from us. Theyre bobbing and weaving trying to dodge us.
EB: [Laughs]
DK: Were like, No wait, now were going to try and do films or were going to try and do this because theres no way were just going to let you get away with just having a song on your iPod. The wrath of Angels & Airwaves. Im so excited about everything were doing. I think we all are. I feel like were still trying to get people to understand. I feel like it would be easier or more excepted if we just put a record out and said, Hey, we think its cool check us out. We always have a lot to say about what we want to do with music and all the different stuff we do with short films and films in general. It seems like its more of a difficult thing in general to grasp, at least initially.
EB: I think its good to encourage your audience to step it up and become seekers of music and art again.
DK: Right. Well, to lead anybody youve got to start first. Even if people dont necessarily agree with you, you have to convince people that it is the right thing, that it is the best thing. Anything that is easy doesnt usually have much staying power and doesnt really work for that long.
EB: Well, what I found really appealing about the actual album cover was
DK: My cleft chin? [Laughs]
EB: [Laughs] Yeah. Besides your cleft chin, what I love is that its an actual painting on the cover. Its art. It seems that whole idea has been lost since vinyl stopped being an in-demand commodity, over the past 20 or 30 years, at least in the mainstream. The 70s had some of the most creative record covers of all time. The drawings or paintings or art on the cover used to be one of the best parts about buying the record. I Empire definitely has a grand, cinematic, almost film poster aspect to its design. Didnt you involve an artist who worked with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas?
DK: Yeah. Well, first of all, I love that you said that because it was such a big debate about that album cover like, how much we loved it as opposed to some other people. There was so much convincing, like everyone thought it was going to be pretentious or it was too 70s or too this or that, you know? But I just knew that it was going to be really exciting. When you look at iTunes and all the new records, it was like this record cover was going to fucking stand out. You were going to notice it. Whether you liked it or not, no matter what message it was sending, it still seemed really exciting.
EB: Before I even knew about your band, I was driving down Sunset Boulevard and saw a billboard of the album cover on the wall of the Roxy or the Rainbow Room here in LA.
DK: We had a billboard? Shut up man!
EB: Yeah [laughs]. Anyway, before I knew it was for a band, I thought it was some concept for a new film.
DK: Yeah, the idea of it is like a journey. But to answer your question, this guy Drew Struzan [who did AVAs album cover] is also the one that did all the Star Wars films, he did Blade Runner, 2000 Space Odyssey, Indiana Jones. So, his whole deal is to tell a story in a poster; To do for people what he did for you, where you look at it and you see this thing like, what the fuck is that? There are four dudes and theres a road and a fucking motorcycle.
EB: Its like create your own narrative.
DK: Thats what he does. Yeah, how could that be wrong? How could this dude thats done this for so long and so well, like how can he be fuckin wrong. Hes worked on the greatest movies in the world.
EB: I think the only reason people say things like that and would criticize, Oh thats so 70s is because people simply stopped making covers like that because this understated sense of cool that has taken over and the whole idea of making a grand statement has been forgotten. It doesnt have to be outdated. Great album art can be of any era, if the artist so chooses.
DK: Thats perfect. God, where were you when we were having that debate the other day?! [Laughs] Thats brilliant.
EB: [Laughs] Well, feel free to use it in your next argument on the tour bus.
DK: Ill send you residuals.
EB: Sounds good. One thing you have written on your website is, It is our intent for this website to be our fan club per-seThe fan club we had in the past wasnt in our control and didnt give us instant access to include all of you in our lifeNow, we also have a great beliefwe truly expect and want ours, and all music to be FREE so if a few of you like it, come back and experience the rest of our art. Can you explain that more?
DK: Whether we want it or not, music has become free and will continue to become more and more available to anyone. Right now the modern rock community has been hit the hardest. I think with it being more available like that, even though its a difficult time, trying to figure out how to create revenue or create an income with music, its still bigger than its ever been because of how available it is online. Theres no way to know where its going. Were just trying to figure out a new way, an actual answer, and create a more interactive environment. If music [on a CD] is like a business card, we can put it out there and people can learn and love it and [hopefully] they want to come back and hang out. This model and this idea, anybody can use it, from the smallest band to the biggest band. Were trying to create an operating system with an actual infrastructure where you can plug in all the details and bands can sell what they want to sell -- they can do fan subscriptions, they can do whatever they want to do [in order to] ultimately invest in themselves. Now major labels are having such difficult times tour support is nonexistent. The only thing they can do is make you a record, like, There you go I dont know what its going to do but heres a record.
EB: And good luck.
DK: Yeah, good luck. So, if a band itself can create its own revenue stream and create its own personal business, then they can invest back in themselves. If they need to get to Lawrence, Kansas for a gig, but they dont have the money yet they feel like its going to benefit them, then they can figure out how to route it and they can get their own tour support and they can create their own revenue, create their own short films, their own videos and figure out how they would do it. If somebody told you, Heres a bunch of money, how would you spend it? You might do it differently than other people. So you have to have a system in place that can create that money for you. I think this is actually a really incredible way to do that. Its a real answer. For us, the business of selling records is not what were really concerned about. Were just trying to get our music and ourselves out there as much as possible and then hopefully a small percentage of [fans] are interested in what we have going on online and want to be involved in that. Thats the way we can start controlling things ourselves and investing back into our own thing. If we could have money to just do free tours, we could do whatever we wanted to Thats what ultimately is going to re-excite people. Right now theres no money, even for shows. Bands are playing but theyre not creating environments where people are just getting lost in.
EB: Yeah, theyre stopping short of creating an atmosphere. You want to be in a situation where, even people who arent particularly familiar with your music can come to one of your shows and have an experience to remember, potentially bringing in new fans. You have to give new people incentive to come see you live because there should be more to a show than just the chords youre playing.
DK: I think the more that you can do that, the more that other people will be able to do it too. And thatll just re-excite everyone about rock music in general and allow more success. The way it is right now, it just seems fucking disconnected.
EB: It seems really defeatist. Rock seems very self-loathing right now.
DK: Yeah, I know. It does. What the fuck? It shouldnt be. I feel like no one has faith in it and the radio stations are all dying.
EB: Lets talk more about the cinematic influence on the band and these films you guys have been doing.
DK: Well, when we started the band, everything we talked about was very visual, like how to take something visual and then create a soundscape out of that. So we talked a lot about stuff like riding motorcycles super fast, or flying through the air, or this sounds gay but waking up in the morning in a meadow as the sun rises.
EB: [laughs] With a Unicorn next to you.
DK: Ah, God. [Laughs] Yeah, I didnt want to actually say that out loud but all the songs started being very cinematic in that sense. When we first started to get people into the band and put out some music, we thought it would be cool for the first time they heard the music to have some sort of visual to go along with it. I thought itd be cool to [do something different]. Thats how we filmed our first one. [Peoples] interest is still there but you just have to hit em from another place to get people to learn about you. So we thought wed start trying to hit em with all these different things. It was just another fun and creative way to be a part of the music. Sometimes I say shit and I think I sound fuckin crazy. [Laughs]
EB: I have those moments every time I talk to somebody. Dont worry [laughs]. Another thing, in response to the pressures of maintaining a particular band image over the course of ones career, Tom wrote on AVAs website, I think as you get older you shed the burden of who is cooler, and the question is who is honest, because thats what in the end is truly cool. What are your thoughts on the so-called industry of cool?
DK: I think hes full of shit man
EB: [Laughs]
DK: [Laughs] No man, I think its more about actually I dont even understand what he said.
EB: Maybe he had another UFO sighting?
DK: You have no idea how many UFO sightings he might have. No, I know what he was saying and I wholeheartedly agree. I think, as weve gotten older I dont like admitting it but I have. And so has Tom, believe it or not, he is older, just so you can write that. Toms older than David [laughs]. But anyway, it took me a long time -- and I think with Tom too -- to become okay with who you are and realize youre not in competition with all these other people. You should just embrace the things that you are good at and the things that you like. It took me awhile to finally realize and be okay with me. And that was when we started the band. Tom and I sat and we talked a lot. I just want to do things, more or less, to get back into music for why I started because I really wanted to affect people the way bands affected me when I was a kid. I totally think its a good place to be, and its taken us a long time to get here. So, I think its awesome that Tom said that.
EB: Well, good. You wouldnt want to disagree with your lead singer in the press [laughs].
DK: Ive never disagreed with Tom DeLonge in my life.
EB: Except maybe about the UFOs. Have you ever seen a UFO?
DK: Ive never seen any UFOs but I believe they exist. But when he talks to me about them constantly, I can only take so much of it.
EB: Another thing Tom said about I Empire is that, It reflects an idea that the world is yours for the taking, and all that exists, exists inside you. It can be something as trivial as a personal struggle, or as grand as the inescapable idea of world peace If this is how he feels, then what kind of ideas does the album bring up in you?
DK: A lot of things like world peace we were like fuck it, I know for a fact that when Queen started they werent like, Hey lets just go be this cool band and go around and tour clubs. They were like, Were going to be the biggest fucking rock band in the world. And whether or not we can do it, lets start a band and try and touch as many people as we can.
EB: I heard youre nicknamed the James Dean of Punk Rock. Care to explain?
DK: No Well, I dont own a car or anything. I have a motorcycle and thats the way I get around. So Im assuming its something about that. I think Tom said that. If I had to tell you why I would tell you its because Im super fucking cool. I look great in leather.
[Both Laugh]
EB: Last thing, I know in addition to a documentary involving your music titled Start The Machine, there is also a feature film titled I Empire after the album. Whats the status with that?
DK: The documentary is done. We were trying to submit it to SXSW and Tribeca so we cant release it in any form, unless we did just a bunch of free showings, because it needs to go untouched into a film festival. We cant create any sort of income or revenue until it goes to the film festivals. So, until it either gets accepted or rejected, its just a waiting game until we can put it out. With the feature film, we are trying to have it done for fall but we really dont know the lead-time of how everything gets done. Its kind of like a song; we dont totally know what were doing but theres tons of work done and the stuff is shot. We dont know if we need to put a live performance in there or some more dialog, because right now its all these vignettes that intertwine kind of like Pink Floyds The Wall meets Crash, where everything is interwoven and it tells a complete story but characters come in and out and its kind of overwhelming. People can check out the trailer on our site. You dont have to know what it is; you just have to know that were doing something that no one else is doing. Its fucking cool and nobody talks about it but maybe you can talk about it.
EB: Maybe I will
Angels & Airwaves is currently on tour. For more information and tour dates check out angelsandairwaves.com
A camera pans in as the space shuttle prepares for launch, and then, flash, thrusts itself into orbit leaving a fiery explosion of atomic proportions in its wake. Time elapses. A camera pans through the dark and desolate stillness of the shuttles inner chamber, seemingly abandoned except for one man, his head in his hands. A faraway voice comes hesitant over a message machine, Hello Lee. Sorry Im sending you this message as a recording but, Ill be honest, it would have been a lot harder to say this directly to you. Even if I wanted to bring you out of orbit, I dont have the people to do it right now. Im sorry Im sorry
This trailer for the upcoming feature film from rock band Angels & Airwaves follows with the question, Have you ever felt like youre alone? What if you truly were? Though slightly sappy -- and discussed ad nauseam on countless therapists couches -- this question remains the ultimate fear kept buried in our hearts. This question is just one of many that the Southern California-based rockers hope to raise through their music, films, and myriad other creative endeavors to inspire others.
Angels & Airwaves initially came together in 2005 as the brainchild of former Blink 182 guitarist and singer Tom DeLonge, soon after internal conflict placed Blink on indefinite hiatus. I know what youre thinking, so lets get one thing straight: Angels & Airwaves is no Blink 182 spin-off. A Blink 182 spin-off would be the equivalent of a boy band beauty pageant where the crown goes to the prankster with the best fart joke. I Empire, the sophomore release from Angels & Airwaves, is nothing of the sort. Completed by guitarist David Kennedy (Hazen Street, Box Car Racer), drummer Atom Willard (Offspring) and bassist Matt Wachter (30 Seconds to Mars), the bands music is an atmospheric, socially conscious and often anthemic call to arms for rock and roll dreamers everywhere. The band has replaced one-upping the audience with toilet humor for something even more appealing -- upping the ante on the value of human connection.
Toms vocals are near unrecognizable as the man who once nasalized his way through Whats My Age Again? His style now is that of a man who no longer caters to his inner-child, allowing the stifled maturity and personal growth held captive by major label wardens and image-makers to break away and run free. Lyrically on I Empire, Tom still holds back and often verges on the hyperbolic -- but hey, give the guy a break -- he has over a decade of emotional and spiritual false imprisonment to shake off. In Toms words, If you could escape from your past, would you be ready for the next adventure? As proven with Angels & Airwaves, yes, it would seem Tom is more than ready.
SuicideGirls tracked down Angels & Airwaves guitarist and Toms longtime friend, David Kennedy, to chat about the rock revolution, UFOs, the bands ever-expanding creative pursuits and, of course, how David earned the nickname the James Dean of Punk Rock.
I Empire is in stores now and the band is currently on tour. Check out the bands website here, the music video for the hit single Everything is Magic here, and making the video footage here.
Erin Broadley: So, I Empire came out November 6 of last year. How has the reception been since its release?
David Kennedy: Well, I believe that the reception has been really good from the people who have received it [laughs]. We havent totally made our full push yet. It came out close to the holidays so we did [a bunch of] radio shows, and then got into the whole Christmas and New Years. We wont really start getting out there until the end of this month. Then well be able to tell how its really going. It seems fun and exciting. With the people that do have the record, the response has been cool. They really get it.
EB: This album is more than just 12 songs on a disc; its very much a multi-faceted project because you guys incorporate a lot of other elements like video and other artistic elements alongside the music. It seems like Angels and Airwaves [AVA] is more than just a band.
DK: [Laughs] I should have you do my interviews.
EB: [Laughs]
DK: No, but thats very true. Were trying to figure out a new way to make [more than just] music; music has to become more than a marketing tool, but also an idea and an experience. It seems sort of empty just to do the record. For some reason people dont put any value in music, even though I think its the thing that defines culture as a whole. Its fine, whatever. But theres no value to it. Its become this ambient thing that people listen to while
EB: While theyre busy doing other things. People just cherry pick songs from their iPods.
DK: Yeah. So were just trying to figure out [a way to] make it deeper with the more things to go with it. That way its not just putting out music to put out music. And thats the way I feel it gets peoples attention. iPods are the coolest thing ever but theyve taken away so much of the experience of what you used to do when youd buy record or a CD and youd go home and just focus and just pay attention to that one record. Now with kids, its just a thing that pops up on their iPod. [It may be] a cool song but then it just goes to the next one. So for us, for people to listen to AVA, we need to offer these different things. Like, they cant get away from us. Theyre bobbing and weaving trying to dodge us.
EB: [Laughs]
DK: Were like, No wait, now were going to try and do films or were going to try and do this because theres no way were just going to let you get away with just having a song on your iPod. The wrath of Angels & Airwaves. Im so excited about everything were doing. I think we all are. I feel like were still trying to get people to understand. I feel like it would be easier or more excepted if we just put a record out and said, Hey, we think its cool check us out. We always have a lot to say about what we want to do with music and all the different stuff we do with short films and films in general. It seems like its more of a difficult thing in general to grasp, at least initially.
EB: I think its good to encourage your audience to step it up and become seekers of music and art again.
DK: Right. Well, to lead anybody youve got to start first. Even if people dont necessarily agree with you, you have to convince people that it is the right thing, that it is the best thing. Anything that is easy doesnt usually have much staying power and doesnt really work for that long.
EB: Well, what I found really appealing about the actual album cover was
DK: My cleft chin? [Laughs]
EB: [Laughs] Yeah. Besides your cleft chin, what I love is that its an actual painting on the cover. Its art. It seems that whole idea has been lost since vinyl stopped being an in-demand commodity, over the past 20 or 30 years, at least in the mainstream. The 70s had some of the most creative record covers of all time. The drawings or paintings or art on the cover used to be one of the best parts about buying the record. I Empire definitely has a grand, cinematic, almost film poster aspect to its design. Didnt you involve an artist who worked with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas?
DK: Yeah. Well, first of all, I love that you said that because it was such a big debate about that album cover like, how much we loved it as opposed to some other people. There was so much convincing, like everyone thought it was going to be pretentious or it was too 70s or too this or that, you know? But I just knew that it was going to be really exciting. When you look at iTunes and all the new records, it was like this record cover was going to fucking stand out. You were going to notice it. Whether you liked it or not, no matter what message it was sending, it still seemed really exciting.
EB: Before I even knew about your band, I was driving down Sunset Boulevard and saw a billboard of the album cover on the wall of the Roxy or the Rainbow Room here in LA.
DK: We had a billboard? Shut up man!
EB: Yeah [laughs]. Anyway, before I knew it was for a band, I thought it was some concept for a new film.
DK: Yeah, the idea of it is like a journey. But to answer your question, this guy Drew Struzan [who did AVAs album cover] is also the one that did all the Star Wars films, he did Blade Runner, 2000 Space Odyssey, Indiana Jones. So, his whole deal is to tell a story in a poster; To do for people what he did for you, where you look at it and you see this thing like, what the fuck is that? There are four dudes and theres a road and a fucking motorcycle.
EB: Its like create your own narrative.
DK: Thats what he does. Yeah, how could that be wrong? How could this dude thats done this for so long and so well, like how can he be fuckin wrong. Hes worked on the greatest movies in the world.
EB: I think the only reason people say things like that and would criticize, Oh thats so 70s is because people simply stopped making covers like that because this understated sense of cool that has taken over and the whole idea of making a grand statement has been forgotten. It doesnt have to be outdated. Great album art can be of any era, if the artist so chooses.
DK: Thats perfect. God, where were you when we were having that debate the other day?! [Laughs] Thats brilliant.
EB: [Laughs] Well, feel free to use it in your next argument on the tour bus.
DK: Ill send you residuals.
EB: Sounds good. One thing you have written on your website is, It is our intent for this website to be our fan club per-seThe fan club we had in the past wasnt in our control and didnt give us instant access to include all of you in our lifeNow, we also have a great beliefwe truly expect and want ours, and all music to be FREE so if a few of you like it, come back and experience the rest of our art. Can you explain that more?
DK: Whether we want it or not, music has become free and will continue to become more and more available to anyone. Right now the modern rock community has been hit the hardest. I think with it being more available like that, even though its a difficult time, trying to figure out how to create revenue or create an income with music, its still bigger than its ever been because of how available it is online. Theres no way to know where its going. Were just trying to figure out a new way, an actual answer, and create a more interactive environment. If music [on a CD] is like a business card, we can put it out there and people can learn and love it and [hopefully] they want to come back and hang out. This model and this idea, anybody can use it, from the smallest band to the biggest band. Were trying to create an operating system with an actual infrastructure where you can plug in all the details and bands can sell what they want to sell -- they can do fan subscriptions, they can do whatever they want to do [in order to] ultimately invest in themselves. Now major labels are having such difficult times tour support is nonexistent. The only thing they can do is make you a record, like, There you go I dont know what its going to do but heres a record.
EB: And good luck.
DK: Yeah, good luck. So, if a band itself can create its own revenue stream and create its own personal business, then they can invest back in themselves. If they need to get to Lawrence, Kansas for a gig, but they dont have the money yet they feel like its going to benefit them, then they can figure out how to route it and they can get their own tour support and they can create their own revenue, create their own short films, their own videos and figure out how they would do it. If somebody told you, Heres a bunch of money, how would you spend it? You might do it differently than other people. So you have to have a system in place that can create that money for you. I think this is actually a really incredible way to do that. Its a real answer. For us, the business of selling records is not what were really concerned about. Were just trying to get our music and ourselves out there as much as possible and then hopefully a small percentage of [fans] are interested in what we have going on online and want to be involved in that. Thats the way we can start controlling things ourselves and investing back into our own thing. If we could have money to just do free tours, we could do whatever we wanted to Thats what ultimately is going to re-excite people. Right now theres no money, even for shows. Bands are playing but theyre not creating environments where people are just getting lost in.
EB: Yeah, theyre stopping short of creating an atmosphere. You want to be in a situation where, even people who arent particularly familiar with your music can come to one of your shows and have an experience to remember, potentially bringing in new fans. You have to give new people incentive to come see you live because there should be more to a show than just the chords youre playing.
DK: I think the more that you can do that, the more that other people will be able to do it too. And thatll just re-excite everyone about rock music in general and allow more success. The way it is right now, it just seems fucking disconnected.
EB: It seems really defeatist. Rock seems very self-loathing right now.
DK: Yeah, I know. It does. What the fuck? It shouldnt be. I feel like no one has faith in it and the radio stations are all dying.
EB: Lets talk more about the cinematic influence on the band and these films you guys have been doing.
DK: Well, when we started the band, everything we talked about was very visual, like how to take something visual and then create a soundscape out of that. So we talked a lot about stuff like riding motorcycles super fast, or flying through the air, or this sounds gay but waking up in the morning in a meadow as the sun rises.
EB: [laughs] With a Unicorn next to you.
DK: Ah, God. [Laughs] Yeah, I didnt want to actually say that out loud but all the songs started being very cinematic in that sense. When we first started to get people into the band and put out some music, we thought it would be cool for the first time they heard the music to have some sort of visual to go along with it. I thought itd be cool to [do something different]. Thats how we filmed our first one. [Peoples] interest is still there but you just have to hit em from another place to get people to learn about you. So we thought wed start trying to hit em with all these different things. It was just another fun and creative way to be a part of the music. Sometimes I say shit and I think I sound fuckin crazy. [Laughs]
EB: I have those moments every time I talk to somebody. Dont worry [laughs]. Another thing, in response to the pressures of maintaining a particular band image over the course of ones career, Tom wrote on AVAs website, I think as you get older you shed the burden of who is cooler, and the question is who is honest, because thats what in the end is truly cool. What are your thoughts on the so-called industry of cool?
DK: I think hes full of shit man
EB: [Laughs]
DK: [Laughs] No man, I think its more about actually I dont even understand what he said.
EB: Maybe he had another UFO sighting?
DK: You have no idea how many UFO sightings he might have. No, I know what he was saying and I wholeheartedly agree. I think, as weve gotten older I dont like admitting it but I have. And so has Tom, believe it or not, he is older, just so you can write that. Toms older than David [laughs]. But anyway, it took me a long time -- and I think with Tom too -- to become okay with who you are and realize youre not in competition with all these other people. You should just embrace the things that you are good at and the things that you like. It took me awhile to finally realize and be okay with me. And that was when we started the band. Tom and I sat and we talked a lot. I just want to do things, more or less, to get back into music for why I started because I really wanted to affect people the way bands affected me when I was a kid. I totally think its a good place to be, and its taken us a long time to get here. So, I think its awesome that Tom said that.
EB: Well, good. You wouldnt want to disagree with your lead singer in the press [laughs].
DK: Ive never disagreed with Tom DeLonge in my life.
EB: Except maybe about the UFOs. Have you ever seen a UFO?
DK: Ive never seen any UFOs but I believe they exist. But when he talks to me about them constantly, I can only take so much of it.
EB: Another thing Tom said about I Empire is that, It reflects an idea that the world is yours for the taking, and all that exists, exists inside you. It can be something as trivial as a personal struggle, or as grand as the inescapable idea of world peace If this is how he feels, then what kind of ideas does the album bring up in you?
DK: A lot of things like world peace we were like fuck it, I know for a fact that when Queen started they werent like, Hey lets just go be this cool band and go around and tour clubs. They were like, Were going to be the biggest fucking rock band in the world. And whether or not we can do it, lets start a band and try and touch as many people as we can.
EB: I heard youre nicknamed the James Dean of Punk Rock. Care to explain?
DK: No Well, I dont own a car or anything. I have a motorcycle and thats the way I get around. So Im assuming its something about that. I think Tom said that. If I had to tell you why I would tell you its because Im super fucking cool. I look great in leather.
[Both Laugh]
EB: Last thing, I know in addition to a documentary involving your music titled Start The Machine, there is also a feature film titled I Empire after the album. Whats the status with that?
DK: The documentary is done. We were trying to submit it to SXSW and Tribeca so we cant release it in any form, unless we did just a bunch of free showings, because it needs to go untouched into a film festival. We cant create any sort of income or revenue until it goes to the film festivals. So, until it either gets accepted or rejected, its just a waiting game until we can put it out. With the feature film, we are trying to have it done for fall but we really dont know the lead-time of how everything gets done. Its kind of like a song; we dont totally know what were doing but theres tons of work done and the stuff is shot. We dont know if we need to put a live performance in there or some more dialog, because right now its all these vignettes that intertwine kind of like Pink Floyds The Wall meets Crash, where everything is interwoven and it tells a complete story but characters come in and out and its kind of overwhelming. People can check out the trailer on our site. You dont have to know what it is; you just have to know that were doing something that no one else is doing. Its fucking cool and nobody talks about it but maybe you can talk about it.
EB: Maybe I will
Angels & Airwaves is currently on tour. For more information and tour dates check out angelsandairwaves.com
VIEW 10 of 10 COMMENTS
SinisterMike said:
The vocals in this band make me want to smash everything around me. the band sucks and so does the ego behind the singer.
Egos? In the music business? No fucking way, man.
It was nice to hear about this band from a different prospective than Tom's.