Not much to say here. This was an email interview, so you literally put some questions together and send them to the PR, who then pass it onto the band if they remember. In this case they did, so that was nice.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv in August 2007
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND
Welsh rockers Funeral For A Friend are currently on a mammoth tour of the United States as part of the Warped Tour. We sent an email interview to Ryan Richards so he could tell us what the band are up to. According to his Wikipedia profile, Ryan "is from Brigend (sic) and rocks at drums. He has many sets of drums." Brilliant. Let's begin...
I don't do email interviews very often. So as a nice warm-up I stole some questions off a MySpace bulletin. What do you have in your pockets?
My wallet, my passport and a couple of dollar bills.
What was the last thing you ate?
Some microwave ravioli.
The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
Chris Tarrant.
OK, some slightly more sensible questions now. Whereabouts are you at the moment and what are you up to?
We're currently in Dallas, Texas on the Warped Tour.
I'm not sure when exactly you'll be getting this so I don't know how far into the tour you are. But how's it going? What's the atmosphere like?
It's going great. We played the Warped Tour two years ago on one of the side stages but we're on the Main Stage this time so it means getting to play to a lot more people. The atmosphere is always great on Warped. It's pretty much like a rock and roll summer camp.
We were wondering if you receive complimentary Vans…?
We did indeed. I got myself some nice white and green slip ons. Lovely.
Which other bands are you looking forward to seeing?
There's a lot of good bands on the tour. I'm enjoying seeing how the other British bands - Gallows and The Automatic - go down with the Americans, and it's always fun catching Killswitch Engage.
Been doing any sightseeing while you're out there?
Not really, since most of the shows are out of town in fields and whatnot. Most of the sightseeing gets done when we do club tours.
How do American crowds compare to UK ones?
They're a little more tanned, as are we at the moment. For once. I think the main difference is people's perceptions of us in the States, where we're considered more of an underground hardcore band while in the UK we're considered almost mainstream.
Are you going to play 'The Getaway Plan'?!
In a word - no.
Enjoying the American food?
In a word - no.
You're playing Reading/Leeds this summer. Looking forward to going back?
Definitely. We've always had a great time at the Reading and Leeds Festival and there's a really great line up on our day so I'll be enjoying a lot of music that weekend.
It's a pretty busy summer you've got lined up. What on earth are you going to do to relax?
We've actually just got a Nintendo Wii on our bus and that's the popular 'winding down' activity on the tour at the moment. That and Guitar Hero. So basically, video games.
I saw you supporting Iron Maiden at Earls Court ages ago. I just thought I'd tell you that. I enjoyed it but I hear not everyone did…
That'd be pretty fair to say, I think.It's pretty tough playing to Maiden's crowd as most of them aren't quite as open minded as yourself. Or myself. We still had a great time though as Maiden are one of my favourite bands of all time.
I'm afraid I haven't heard 'Tales Don't Tell Themselves'. Got any messages for people like me who haven't quite got round to buying it yet?
Buy it. Or download it, then buy it. Or buy it, then download it.
How does it compare to 'Hours'?
It's a lot more cohesive. More direct. A bit more 'classic' sounding. It's definitely our favourite record we've done, but everyone says that I suppose. You'll have to take my word for it - it rocks.
'Walk Away' is your next single and the video is quite moving. The 'missing fisherman' is the main topic of the album, can you tell me a bit about the story and what made you write it?
It's just something Matt (vocalist) felt like writing about. He wanted to write a story about fear and the thing he's most afraid of is water and being away from everything he loves. So that's basically where the tale came from.
I notice you've got a new MySpace blog up about Skate4Cancer. How involved are you in charity work?
I actually met Rob, who founded Skate4Cancer, on the first day of Warped and was really inspired by his story and wanted to help out by directing our fans to his site. You should check out myspace.com/skate4cancer We've have had quite a bit of involvement with charities since we started the band and will continue to do so.
What are your plans for the rest of the day, are you gigging tonight?
We've actually played already today and it was probably the best show so far. So now I'm winding down and doing some interviews while watching Samuel Jackson's 'Afro Samurai.'
Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your time out there.
Thank you.
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Funeral For A Friend release 'Walk Away' on July 16th through Atlantic Records. Album 'Tales Don't Tell Themselves' is out now
Funeral For A Friend
MySpace
Skate4Cancer
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