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AFI
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By Vinnie Apicella
AFI's been burning up
the bay area hard-core scene for a number of years now. With the release
of their latest collection of fall classics, this unique breed of talent
proves unmatched in the art of merging power and speed with melody,
groove and dynamic song structures! "The Art of Drowning" is proof
positive of that as they wander further through the darkness they first
explored with last year's "All Hollow's." release, an impressive four
song EP of Autumnal Hymns and graveyard classics. Like a chilly winter
wind, AFI continues to blow over the scattered and dead leaves of the
competition with an even more impressive display of progression and
growth without sacrificing their aggressive firepower! Still fueled by
an increasing "fire inside," AFI continues to stretch the boundaries of
Hard-Core, expanding their own resources, while bringing back the
traditional elements of A Minor Threat with the fear factor of The
Misfits into one unprecedented state of the art display of Punk Rock
fury.
VINNIE APICELLA:
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.
JADE PUGET:
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.
VINNIE:
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.
VINNIE:
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.
VINNIE:
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. Me: 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.
VINNIE:
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.
VINNIE:
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!
VINNIE:
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.
VINNIE:
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. Me: 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?
VINNIE:
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.
JADE:
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?
VINNIE:
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.
Discography: Copyright 2000, BallBuster, The Official Int'l Underground Hard Music Report |
