Altsounds Q&A Interview:
Brandon and Travis of Atreyu
Interviewed in person at the 2009 Leeds Festival.
Fresh from Warped Tour, I interviewed Brandon and Travis from Atreyu. It was my first interview using my brand new equipment and the Atreyu boys were both chirpy and patient. They are such great guys. Brandon especially was brilliant, I hope they really do have a never-ending story.
Altsounds: Google says you guys are from Garden Grove, California but judging by your faces now that's a no?
Travis: Ahhh kinda around there, we're basically from Orange County.
Brandon: Google fucked up. Technically they're right, Garden Grove is in Orange County and we are basically from cities that surround Garden Grove like Huntington Beach, Anaheim, Costa Vasa etc.
Travis: They were just this far [about an inch] from the bullseye.
Brandon: Probably on the next level ring. We're from Orange County, basically to make it easier.
Altsounds: OK, awesome, so if I wanted to go to Orange County to rock out, where would I go?
Brandon: Like, what venue?
Travis: Orange County venues are dropping like flies...
Brandon: They're limited. We have Chain Reaction as a smaller kind of place. That's a good place. There's House of Blues, which is nice.
Travis: If you go just outside Orange County there's the Glass House in Pomona.
Brandon: We only really have maybe, aside from in Los Angeles, [in Orange County itself] maybe three venues.
Travis: Lowly Bar Michaels you might wanna consider?
Brandon: That doesn't count.
Travis: Other than that you have to go 45 minutes to an hour up North to LA and then there are loads.
Brandon: You've got Whiskey, Roxy.....
Altsounds: You're not straight edge?
Travis: No. Never have been, never will. I don't think.
Brandon: (Laughing) No.
Altsounds: What's your recommended hang over cure?
Brandon: Oh, fuck. Greasy food?
Travis: Umm, don't drink yourself to that point?
Altsounds: That's a bad hangover cure!
Brandon: Yeah, just stop before you get there.
Travis: Know when to stop. If that fails, umm, be vertical. Don't just lay around all day as much as you want to. Be vertical, and if you can, sweat it out.
Brandon: Pedialytes is good too.
Travis: Yes, Pedialytes is good.
Altsounds: What's that?
Brandon: Pedialytes, I don't know if they have it here. It's like what you give babies when they have diarrhoea, and they get dehydrated. It's a drink.
Travis: Electrolytes.
Brandon: You drink that, and you're back in the game.
Altsounds: You are classed as metal, do you agree with that? I've got 'metal core/alternative metal.'
Travis: Sure. Whatever.
Brandon: Metal works. Rock works. Hard Rock works. We're an aggressive band. We're loud. We play loud music.
Altsounds: What other genres do you like?
Travis: Everything, good music is good music.
Brandon: Exactly. I like rap, hip hop.....
Altsounds: Awesome, will you rap for me?
Brandon: I mean I can't rap! I just like rap. I wish I could you know, I wish I could.
Altsounds: Now, if I were a princess stuck in a tower, how would you rescue me?
Travis: We could do the whole Rapunsel thing, you could let down your hair.....
Altsounds: But I don't really have long hair.....
Travis: Hey, we could meet half way!? Help me help you.
Brandon: You could just jump and trust that I would catch you.
Travis: I could bring a trampoline.....
Brandon: .....and that way it's fun too.
Travis: Ummm, grappling hook.
Brandon: That works, ummm, stairs work. You could just walk down the stairs?
Travis: Even better, elevators.
Brandon: Or, just have wings and fly out. That's the easiest one.
Travis: Defy nature. Yeah.
Altsounds: Ok, well those are all good, and there's more than one! Nice to see you guys are keen to save me.
Brandon: Well you've got a couple of options now.
Altsounds: What was the turning point when you thought, 'this is it, this is what I want to do?'
Brandon: Probably the first show we ever played. We used to play at high school and shit and do small shows locally and it was just fun, it was indescribable. So, from the very beginning we just wanted to make this work, so we did!
Altsounds: Have you always had the same line up then?
Brandon: No we've gone through a few. Travis was the first new guy, and then we got a new bass player that we've had for about five years, so we've had the same line up now for about five years.
Altsounds: So as you are classified generally as metal, what's you're favourite type of metal, like zinc, steel or iron?
Brandon: Gold metal, silver metal, al-u-minium, as you say over here.
Altsounds: I actually heard the other day from a British person that the Americans say it right, but I don't believe it.
Travis: Tom-ah-to, tom-a-to, whatever.
Altsounds: Altsounds.com is an independent publication, for the people by the people. What have you got to say to our readers who may or may not have heard of you before?
B: I think a for the people by the people kinda place is good. I think if that's the kind of people you have reading your website then we're probably a good band for your demographic. We've been a FUBU band - for us, by us - and we've really done everything ourselves and worked our way up all by ourselves. So Atreyu is a good band to listen to if you're into that shit. And we're sexy gentlemen too, and that doesn't hurt. Strapping.
Travis: Yeah, [deadpan] I mean look at us.
Altsounds: You guys are hot. I would.
[Finally got Travis to smile!]
Brandon: I've never heard an English person say that!
Travis: Let alone a female!
Altsounds: Oh, sorry.
Brandon: Awesome.
Altsounds: You've just played Leeds, have you played Reading yet?
Brandon: We've never done Reading or Leeds before, we've done Download and a couple of others like Give It A Name.
Altsounds: Which was your favourite so far?
Brandon: Out of the two we've played, I think Give It A Name was awesome because it was indoors.
Travis: We had a lot of friends on the bill too so it's always good to see friends.
Brandon: But this so far is pretty good so I think it will be sweet.
Altsounds: And what's your best festival tip?
Travis: Hold it.
Brandon: Yeah, hold it. If you just don't go to the bathroom that's good.
Travis: I mean, it's like 10am...
Brandon: Yeah and there's like muddy drunk dudes in the tent. Here's one thing that's really fucking me up in the head. So you're walking right and you're walking on a regular walkway and there's just dudes taking a piss. They aren't even in the bushes trying to be discreet. Not only that, but there's dudes behind them waiting like it's a bathroom?
Travis: They're being polite I guess.
Brandon: So there's like dicks on dudes everywhere and that is really strange to me. Maybe try to be in the bush if you're gonna pee?
Travis: Maybe be discreet about it? Subtlety.
Brandon: And from what I've seen today we are stupid and forgot our rubber boots (wellies). Whoever makes the rubber boots is fucking happy as a pig in shit cause they are making some money from this festival!
Atreyu release their new album 'Congregation of the Damned' on Hollywood Records on October 27th.
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