(Victory Records)
Genre: Screamo/Ambient comparable to Angels And Airwaves or (new) Hawthorne Heights.
Interviewed on: 4/20/08
From: Cleveland, OH
www.myspace.com/driversideimpact
1. First & foremost, I just want to say that your work ethic is nothing shy of 'just plain crazy'! You guys had your debut album drop last year, you've gone through multiple line-up changes, and it seems that you guys have constantly been touring in support of 'The Very Air We Breathe'. I'm curious to know, where as most bands would have given up already, you guys have continued to persist & grow. What exactly keeps you going?
I'm not sure if you can swear in this interview but the band's core motto has been and will always be "fuck adversity." And to be blunt, its exactly what we've had to do to be where we are today. Our label and management is excited as we are about our upcoming album, the line up we have now was meant to write this record, and we could not be more thrilled. Many of our fans and people who work in the industry dont know the amount of obstacles we have had to cross over, its been quite a journey and we cant wait to see where it leads us next.
2. Now, I caught you guys down in Philadelphia back in October 2007 on The Bayside Tour & besides a couple sound malfunctions [which can only be attributed to the venue], you were all really good and very much on point. As you guys tour across the States, how has crowd reception been since when you first were coming out? Are a lot more people catching on?
The band's first real tour was with Mayday Parade, Dear Whoever and Crash Romeo, since then, we have developed a strong response from touring all over the country. At that point people only knew us as the new Victory band and had never really listened to us, that tour set the tone for where we are today. The Victory Records tour was also amazing for us, it allowed all different types of crowds to see us and appreciate what we do, and they enjoy watching us live.
3. With that being said, I’m going to ask what you what EVERYONE wants to know! Have you guys been working on anything new & when can we hear it?! I, for one, Am curious because with new faces [line-up changes], comes new ideas!
Since the current line-up has been together (January) we have been on the road constantly, and it has been difficult to write, however now that we are home, ideas are flowing like water, look to hear a very mature, and catchy sophomore record with a lot of meaning behind it, not a record that we are less than proud of. We will put out a couple demos from the record once we get a chance to get them recorded, we are extremely excited about it!!
4. Who or what are some of your biggest inspirations when it comes to your personal lives? Like, what helps you through your day-to-day existence?
Other than music, the support of our family and friends. When the road gets hard on everyone, we start to rely on each other, and our friends from other bands we are out on the road with. Touring is such a heartfelt community, everyone knows that bands don't do this for the money, we do this because we love to tour. Because we share this common outlook, we inspire each other to be better people and better musicians.
5. If you could have one dream ‘job’ BESIDES being in a band, what would it be? It can be anything! From an elementary school teacher, to a city bus driver, to even being a contestant on ‘Americas Next Top Model’!!!
We all would want to be Brewster in "Brewster's Millions" because we would get paid to spend money!!!
6. If given 24 hours to live and a million dollars in cash, what would YOU do with your last final hours?
We would live in the 500,000 sq ft marsh mellow house that we just built.
7. How do you rate/view todays ‘scene’? Does it seem that most kids now are more concerned with style over substance or vice versa? OR is it even a ‘toss-up’? How would you compare it to years of past?
There is a different scene in every city we play in, and that scene also depends on what bands we tour with, some are extremely welcoming and accepting of our style, and some aren't, we would rather not spend our time trying to impress those who don't accept our style, rather we would want them to be curious about us and find out for themselves, we understand the whole elitist click and how it all works, we just want to tour and have fun and we want everyone to have fun with us to be completely honest. We've all been touring for a long time now that we personally dont care about how a band looks, as apposed to how they sound, because all we do is sit in a van and listen. Although the music industry is more of a fashion show to a lot of people now, I think everyone who likes music has a pair of ears that can decide for them if they like a band or not.
8. It seems nowadays that collaborations between different bands and their singers is becoming quite the norm all of a sudden again. Who would you absolutely LOVE to link-up with to work on a song with?
We love bands like the Dear Hunter, Saves The Day, Jimmy Eat World, and just about every band we've toured with. It would be sweet to have any of those singers come in for some guest vocals, if it enhances our sound in the song, we would be grateful..
9. Was there ever a band you guys played with, who you were really big fans of, but they turned out to be a bunch of jerks? We’re not asking you to name any names, we’re just curious? If so, Have your opinions changed much about them?
We've run into a couple situations where a band would bail out on a tour in the middle of it, but never any bad blood, just puts us in a hard spot and sets another obstacle in front of us. We have respect for anyone who we play with, we would hope for the same.
10. NOW! For my personal favorite part of the interview!!! These might seem kinda off, but its how we keep things fun! You have to choose one or the other & if you feel the need to, you can elaborate, too. Ok, ready?! Here Goes:
Pancakes-OR-Waffles?
Waffle..fries.
Old School Game Boy-OR-New School PSP?
Game Boy for SURE
Hillary-OR-Obama?
DSI IN '08!!
Living The Vegetarian/Vegan Lifestyle-OR-Living As A Omnivore/Carnivore?
We dig on swine.
Tyrannosaurus Rex-OR-Stegosaurus?
T REX
Rice Krispy Treats-OR-Softbake Cookies?
Funny you mention that.. haha, today's occasion is chocolate chip cookies
Pirates Of The Carribean Movies-OR-The Harry Potter Movies?
PIRATES!!!!!!!!!!! y'arrrrrrrrr
Friends-OR-Family?
Our friends are our family.
11. Well, unfortunately we gotta wrap this up BUT once again, thank you guys for agreeing to do this interview with us!!! Are there any last words that you would like to share with us and/or your fans?
Thanks for the interview Nate!! If you want to continue keeping tabs on us just go to Our Myspace and check out our blogs and tour dates to see when we are in your town.
Also visit Victory Records and our sponsorships!!!!
NEW RECORD COMING OUT VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!
