Interview: Andrew Schwab of Project 86

Project 86 is an American Christian rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1996. Frontman Andrew Schwab’s poetic and introspective lyrics have addressed a wide variety of topics such as conformity and emptiness. Their latest release, Wait for the Siren, was just released independently through a Kickstarter fund. We chatted with Andrew about his roots, lyrical messages, the music industry, and more.

For the record, what’s your name and what do you do in the band?

Andrew Schwab, vocals/songwriter/co-producer

Let’s talk about your roots. I’ve never been to California before. What’s it like there?

Great weather, too many people, too many people acting like they are important, lots of fun things to do!

What do you feel has contributed to your long career as a band? Bands like Haste The Day, Thrice, and Thursday have recently broken up, a band that had been at it for awhile.

It’s definitely hard to do music these days.  It is getting harder, too.  We owe the longevity to our fans, point blank.  They treat us like we are family. 

How would you guys say you’ve grown as a musician just from the time-span between your self-titled debut and Wait for The Siren?

Oh man…we were a different band completely back then!  When we started we were a post-hardcore band, but now we are a rock band.  I think we have grown infinitely since back then, and the sound has evolved, but the heart remains the same…we still want to make unique, intelligent, heavy music that is diverse and creative in lyrical approach.

When appealing to different sets of fan bases, new and old, young and old, what is the thought process when trying to write something that has an appeal to both, but also embodies what Project 86 is?

We don’t think too much about who we are going to appeal to when we are writing music. The approach has always been to make music we like first and foremost.  If you worry too much about your audience you can start making music that isn’t honest or authentic.

Are there any songs you guys are most proud of? Like one of those kind of songs that ten years ago you never could have imagined being involved in creating it?

I think Fall, Goliath, Fall from the new album Wait for the Siren is one of the best things this band has ever written. Very proud of that jam.

What are some of the particular messages you tried to get across in the lyrical content of the new record? Are there any topics that you cover on Wait for The Siren that you haven’t in the past?

Great question.  The overarching theme is that you can overcome any obstacle if you believe in your cause.  There’s a line in the first song that says, “We fight not for the hate of a tyrant but for love of what is behind us.”  I love the idea that heart can overcome talent, that the faith of an underdog can defeat a goliath.  Another big theme is that heritage does not equal destiny. In other words, it doesn’t matter what kind of family you were born into, it matters what kind of family you make for yourself as an adult.  We aren’t bound by our genetics, and even if we were born into less than fortunate circumstances, we can overcome them through character, heart, and belief.

What other bands do you see yourselves touring with in the future? What other bands do you guys recommend for your fans to check out?

We will be hitting the road with 12 Stones this October.  You can check our website for details: www.project86.com.  We will have to see about future tours.  We have played shows in the past with August Burns Red, Haste the Day, Linkin Park, Blindside, 30 Seconds to Mars, Sevendust, and POD.   Bands to check out?  Good question. I would start with this little band called The Black Keys.  They are awesome.  And Maybe the new Fiona Apple record. 

The music industry has changed significantly since you guys started out. What advice would you give upcoming bands— musically and business-wise?

Get a real job.  Ha.  No really, it’s very difficult to even make a living playing music today.  I would say the only hope is to make unique music that doesn’t sound like everyone else.  Be yourself.

Any last words for the fans?

Love you guys.  Thanks for the love and support for Wait for the Siren. 

Interview: Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman

In 1994, Warped Tour started out as Kevin Lyman, a 3-year Lollapalooza veteran, took a handful of his favorite SoCal Punk & Ska bands, including Sublime and No Doubt, shoved them on a bus and embarked on what was inevitably a financially unsuccessful, but life-affirming tour. Debating calling the whole thing off for the upcoming 1995 summer, Lyman was approached by the Vans Shoe Company to put together a skating fest. Seeing the obvious connection, Kevin jumped on the chance to incorporate their idea into his Warped Tour, and the longest-running annual tour in North America was born: The Vans Warped Tour.

The Warped Tour lineup for 2012 will be announced soon. How do you feel about next year’s lineup compared to the past few years?

I sat back after the summer and thought about the tour and it being around 18 years and what a musical range and time frame that was. Where I was and music was then. Also realizing that Bad Religion was 12 years old or so and NOFX 7.
I also realized the average fan is still 17-18 years old and built a line-up reflective of that thought. I am sure there will be critics but I went with a gut feeling and you live and die by those so we will see.

In your opinion, what are the best/worst run venues from a production point of view?

There really are no worst ones; we stopped playing them years ago. Best are ones near water.

Are all the bands you invited on board to play next year? Any surprises?

Working on a few surprises and I guess most are since we have not announced the bands yet.

What’s one band you’ve always wanted on the tour that you couldn’t get?

Anyone who knows me would welcome anyone back if they wanted it to work; usually finances get in the way.

What do you wanna say to the critics who think that Warped is losing its “punk roots”?

"Punk roots,". I think that’s funny the first year of Warped had Seaweed, L7. Sublime, No Doubt, Civ, Orange 9mm, Quicksand, No Use For A Name, Fluf. I think the last few years the line-up has been as diverse as the first. Just saw a video of the tour in 1999;, Eminem interviewing and live clips of, Ice-T, Black Eyed Peas, blink 182, Sevendust, and Less Than Jake. I love punk and am involved with Goldenvoice’s 30th anniversary show, and that is about punk roots; Bad Religion, Social Distortion, The Descendents, Vandals, Dickies. TSOL. Wait, they have also played Warped. I think Warped is about music festival with its roots in punk but with branches that spread everywhere.

Would you ever take the tour overseas again?

Most likely; actually working on some ideas now.

How did you get involved with the companies that sponsor the stages?

Without sponsors, Warped would not happen. In all the years of the tour, it has only broke even on ticket sales in one year. The ticket price before any fees would have to be $40.00 which would make make it cost almost $60.00 to go. Right now before fees, it is about $27.00.

I know the venues have their own food/drinks/catering but have you ever thought of having places like Taco Bell or any other fast food place set up a tent on the tour? 

We worked hard on water prices last year and the tour paid the promoters to bring them down, we also had the Kleen Canteen free water fill-up station that we provided. Another thing we got venues to do were pre-paid lunch vouchers so parents could pre-buy lunch so kids would eat, because they wouldn’t and would get sick after spending all their money on merchandise. However, the venues control what is sold and decide what venues sell. You should ask your local venue to bring in Taco Bell.  I know a lot of the bands would buy it but man, would the vans and buses be stinky. I know the bean and cheese gives me the worst gas, x’s that by 1,000 people on the tour and that could cause spontaneous combustion.

Tell us about this “Radius Clause” (which all the bands sign) which states that the band cannot play within a certain mile radius of a city the fest is booked in, for a certain amount of time. Could you elaborate on this and explain to our readers why you make bands sign them?

Our radius clause is very fair for the business: on paper it is 120 days before and 30 days after the play, and we only start to enforce it at 90 days. For example, Mayhem is 120 days and 90 days. Lollapalooza in Chicago is 6 months and I hear others are like that too. People want freshness to their packages and when bands are advertised on more than one show in the same town it dilutes the excitement.
This is always a struggle to figure out and I am constantly working with bands on special requests. But, we have lots of facts that when bands over play a city their draws go down.

You’re a partner at SideOneDummy Records but have you ever considered starting your own label? 

I love my relationship with SideOneDummy; I have brought bands to them and they work them day to day and when I can help I do, No real pressure.

Last question: do you have any advice for someone who would wanna do what you do?

Make sure to be patient, keep listening to music and to keep an open mind because when you stop, you will be emailing me that “warped is not punk enough.” And I will still be doing what I am doing!