Throwdown Interview

The Gauntlet: How has the bus been holding up?

Dave: We have been having all kinds of troubles with the bus. It is a nightmare I guess. The bus is alright now though. We had all kinds of problems come up at once though. Our generator actually blew up. There were two fucking softball sized holes on either side of the block. Oil was leaking everywhere and we didn't know as there was a hail storm outside. Some dude ran up to our bus and yelled 'hey, your generator' and all of the sudden the lights went out. So we had our generator replaced and a couple air condition units replaced. I know this probably sounds like we are being princess-like, but when you are on the Warped Tour in the middle of the summer in the most humid and hot places in fucking space, it gets pretty brutal. We also had air compressors break. We also lost our trailer. The axel broke and it would have been more expensive to fix, so we tipped it over the middle of the desert and bought a new trailer the next day. That probably means we won't be able to pay our rent.

The Gauntlet: It seems like the bands are holding up a lot better this year than last.

Dave: Yeah, we are all holding up well. I don't think people are having the same problems. There are a lot of bands on here and I don't know everyone. The tour has been amazing actually. We were hoping it would be a really good tour before we went into it. We weren't really sure though as we stick out like a sore thumb on this tour. It is hard for us. There are a lot of older casual music fans coming out. A lot of the poppier bands are on this tour who might be on MTV for a song and then they are gone. They just attract the casual music fan who might not be actively seeking music; they just take what is thrown at them. That is hard for us as we live, breathe and die heavy music. It is tough being the oddball to begin with and then having the fans not be the typical fans and have the same level of dedication. It is cool as we are definitely the heaviest band on the tour. We are stoked that some of these kids will find out band and find other heavier bands because of it. Having bands like As I Lay Dying, Killswitch Engage, and Maylene the Sons of Disaster to name a few is really good for heavy music. These younger kids have to start somewhere and I think Warped Tour is a good way to do that. It is like a carnival basically with all these stages going at once. It has been a great tour for us and I couldn't be happier. We were pleasantly surprised how active the crowd was. They send over 3x the amount of security that other bands get when we play.

The Gauntlet: After Warped, the band heads out with Arch Enemy and Machine Head for The Black Tyranny Tour.

Dave: We are stoked about this tour. We are psyched as we have never played with Machine Head before. A couple of us are big fans and are really looking forward to playing with them. Just for us to be able to watch them as fans will be great. It is a nice change of pace from the Warped Tour. We will be back in clubs and it will be really cool, both literally and figuratively. It has been blazing hot out here. We will also be out in front of fans of heavier music in general. Nothing negative about the Warped Tour fans, but it is what we are more accustomed to. It will be a good change of pace from the Summer.

The Gauntlet: The last three albums, including the latest, 'Venom and Tears' have incorporated more and more metal into the hardcore sound.

Dave: When I was playing guitars, it took me awhile to get accustomed to the writing process of the band at the time. We have had a lot of member changes in the band to where it is to a different tune now. Before I was in Throwdown, I was in other bands and was writing more metal stuff. When I first came to Throwdown in 1999, it was weird because I wasn't used to playing the straight ahead hardcore. Even though our old stuff wasn't straight hardcore like Minor Threat or Black Flag, it was just heavier and drop tuned. It was a little less metal than I was used to. When I started singing, I became more comfortable on the music writing front. I began to incorporate what I know and what I liked. Before that, I was a hardcore fan and went to lots of hardcore shows. That is how I got into the heavier music. The 90's were an amazing decade of music for hardcore; bands like Earth Crisis, Unbroken and Chokehold. I guess us incorporating more metal in our music is us coming to the roots of what got us into heavy music. It has really been coming out over our last three albums. It is really nice that you recognize that the previous records have those elements and influences there. We get so many kids thinking we used to be a straight-up hardcore band and now they think we are a metal band. The truth is I can't tell if we have ever been a hardcore band. We have always been heavier and drop tuned with that metal edge to it along the lines of Earth Crisis and Hatebreed.

The Gauntlet: When Vendetta came out, I heard people say 'Throwdown got me into straight-edge music now with Vendetta they are metal and I can't support them.'

Dave: At the end of the day, we don't get into the genres and subgenres we might fall into. I wrote a long blog about this on the Headbanger's Ball. It was about how people get so caught on bands being hardcore or metal. The truth is that if you appreciate a band because they play music for the right reasons and it is music that is coming from the heart, you shouldn't give a fuck. If you are concerned about a guitar solo or not and that determines whether you love or hate a band, then you have some shit to sort out before you call yourself a fan of heavy music. The difference between 90's thrash and groove metal is not worlds apart. The lyrical content is different and that is what separates hardcore from the other heavier genres of music. That also separates punk from metal too. For us it is hard coming from a hardcore background and it is proof that kids really aren't reading lyrics anymore. It is a real kick in the balls for lack of a better term. We have a lot to say in our lyrics and it isn't bullshit. We aren't just story telling. We are writing personal things that come from the heart. To find out kids are willing to judge our record, a friends record or a strangers record by the production of it and that is the make or break. That is just disheartening. I acknowledge that bands may take a different path. I admire those bands that might lead me to a different genre or lifestyle. For some of these kids to write us off is hard to hear and kind of bums us out. It is hard to hear. We don't feel like they were real fans to begin with. We want to play for fans who love and appreciate what we are doing. We acknowledge the fact that we love our fans very much.

The Gauntlet: It seems like a lot of music critics and writers also have lost their way, not just with Throwdown, but with a lot of heavy music in general. I have been noticing a lot of writers referring to Throwdown incorrectly as 'metalcore' as the band has elements of hardcore and metal music. With this term lately garnering negative connotations, does it bother you to be dismissed off as a formula driven band?

Dave: What is really funny too is we had a couple of kids who don't know the first thing about the genre and what makes up a genre. We have had kids write to us and say our record sounds nu-metal. We are like 'are you serious?' I'm not sure when six minute songs with guitar solos and no rapping became nu-metal. If that is how you are going to frame it, I guess we are a nu-metal band [laughs]. To be honest with you man, and this is no offense to you, but we don't give a shit what critics and editors and what not say in general. A big problem with what bands have these days, and something we have been guilty of in ways in the past, is people set out to please everyone. Too many bands are afraid to just go with something because they are afraid to fall into a trap or a niche and be pigeonholed. For us, we have taken the attitude of 'fuck it!' We write from the heart and whatever comes natural. Those that follow us are the ones that understand us and that's how you have the best relationship with your music and fans. I don't even care though what people call us. We were joking the other day about metalcore and the new nu-metal. It is so funny when I hear someone call us that. When I think of metalcore, I think of At The Gates rip-offs followed by these screaming versus and singing choruses with the token breakdowns.

The Gauntlet: You are describing last years Warped Tour lineup.

Dave: [laughs] Don't get me wrong. I fucking love Swedish metal and I love a lot of what Europe has done. A lot of incredible bands have come out of there in the last few decades. But at the same time, we are not doing what they do and that is not where our influences come from. If you want to dissect it, metalcore is the Americanized version of Swedish metal with pretty singing choruses. Last time I checked, I haven't heard that on our records.

The Gauntlet: 'Venom and Tears' is such an aggressive album.

Dave: Last week we were talking about this on the bus and our bassist said 'you know what, we aren't going to be called metalcore, we are going to be hard-metal.' We gotta write to MySpace and tell them to list the genre hard-metal. We were kidding, but it was funny. So many people are just so caught up in categorizing everything. I don't know if it is just to make it easier for people on iTunes. I am not down with it, but whatever.

The Gauntlet: Was this the first album where everyone in the band contributed in a major way to the songs?

Dave: I think a lot of that had to do with this being Mark's first opportunity to share in the writing process. He joined the band just as we were finishing the recording of �Vendetta.� It is funny, he has been in the band all this time, but just touring. It was cool and different as he has been part of the band for so long, yet we had an outsider's perspective almost as he hadn't written with us before. It was also really good as we had more time to let everyone come in and throw ideas around. When we put out 'Vendetta,' we were at home putting the material together over 5 weeks. We were in the studio for five weeks and then immediately went on tour during the mixing. It was a rush job as we were so dedicated to touring. In order to just survive, we had to be playing. I don't know if the fans realize that the money or lack of money that a band gets these days. We had to keep touring to keep the recording going. It was a rush job and was really difficult. This time around, we were smarter and managed to put some money aside. So we had more time for the writing and recording. The final result reflects the extra amount of time we put into it. But to answer your question, everyone was able to put their touch on it as we could go back and forth and make it work. When you hear the songs on �Venom and Tears� compared to �Vendetta,� there is a broader spectrum.

The Gauntlet: With �Vendetta,� the lyrics were predominantly about family, relationships, friendships and all the other ships. �Venom and Tears� has more of a political vibe to it.

Dave: I don�t know. Even when Keith was singing in the band, he would have a political moment or two on the album that would come out. Even on �Vendetta,� there was one song with a political angle to it. There is a song on �Venom and Tears� called SCUM and it is all encompassing on the things that have been driving me nuts in the media over the past year. All the things surrounding us that make us sick to our stomachs and shit came out in the song. It is just an attack on that. But for the most part, �Venom and Tears� is a personal record. Some of the songs might be a little more cryptic than on �Vendetta� and I think some people might not understand the symbolism which is cool as it gives people the opportunity to apply their own meanings which is something I love to do with bands like Tool or Danzig. There are a few songs in that form, but overall, I think this album was a little less guarded. I write from a personal standpoint and I guess that it is a little more airing out the dirty laundry. The people who read into it will understand that.

The Gauntlet: Does the airing out of the dirty laundry account for the more aggressive vocals?

Dave: I think so. It is funny too because I am really excited as not many people have heard the record as you have. I am excited that you see a lot of these things in the album. I think that when I am able to dig a little deeper and be more personal, the lyrics will drive the music and not vice versa. There are also a couple songs that are on the other end of the field and have that Crowbar feel; heavy and dirty yet sorrowful. It is a new line for us to walk as we always keep our music energetic and heavy. We wrote some songs that were more suited for that lyrical content and have that fatter feel.

The Gauntlet: How was the song "Propaganda" chosen to be covered? It isn't one of the most popular songs by Sepultura, yet it is fucking brutal.

Dave: We like to have fun with the songs we cover. We did a few songs in the studio with Mudrock. We did a Misfits cover, a Crowbar cover, and then the Sepultura cover. We really didn't think about the lyrical content so much, maybe a little bit though. We are a band that has endured a lot like fighting rumors and myths of who we are and how we live. Propaganda on the lyrical end was pretty fitting. On the musical end it is one of those songs that was really important to all four of us. It was one of our favorite songs off Chaos AD which was one of the most important records to our band period. Recently I had the opportunity to have a round table with Max Cavalera over the phone. I was doing a feature for Revolver with him and we had a chance to talk back and fourth. I told him we just covered the song and he told me it was one of the heaviest songs he had ever written. I agreed. That was a huge reason why we chose it. He thought it was awesome that we picked it. He said it was one of those fan favorites and not a single. It was something that the casual Sepultura fans might not have picked up on. It was really cool to get a chance to talk to him and have him be stoked that we picked that song.

The Gauntlet: With all the internet downloading going on, both legal and illegal, don't you think it detracts from the total musical experience?

Dave: Totally, especially for a genre like hardcore metal. By nature it is harder to understand a guy who is screaming than a guy who is singing pretty. We have a lot of grit on our vocals and it might be very difficult to decipher what I might be saying. A couple words off and you might hear a completely different song than what is going on. It is rough that we can't defend ourselves lyrically with no lyric book. We do post our lyrics on our MySpace page for the songs we post as we want the fans to be able to read and see what the song is about. Especially a song like SCUM that is so fast paced and has so many words jammed together. Unfortunately these days, you are lucky to hear vocals with the music now. So much of what you hear these days is just background noise for video games or movie soundtracks. It is almost like the album itself has lost it's luster with people. It is a sad thing for real music fans who get so engaged with music and have a passion for it.

The Gauntlet: I think we are about the same age or close to it. I am sure you still remember the days of having $15 in your hand and riding your bike to the local music store to get the new Sepultura album, taking it home shutting your bedroom door and not coming out til dinner. Those experiences are gone now with this generation.

Dave: That is funny how you bring that up. I never thought I'd look at a CD as something that is nostalgic. But the truth is it is the dinosaur of the music industry. Unfortunately what so many now end up getting is shared music and you lose getting that experience with a CD for the first time. I would love for the music industry to catch up and maybe have a modern day version of what we had the chance to encounter. I guess those times have passed. It is a shame. Bands like Sepultura and Metallica; I was always stoked to get the CD home and see how the artwork was different from the last album, but was still along the same line as they used the same artist. It was cool to see what fucked up thing they would have on the cover. Arise had that weird looking castle on the beach or whatever with the eyes and the claws. Those records were so cool. It was a new chapter for the band and it was something you could share with the band. The closest you can get to that is when the new Harry Potter book comes out. We try to maintain that with our albums. We have had the same guy do our album art since "Haymaker." They have that same feel and that dark imagery that is really close but it gets switched up with each album. I like being part of it now that I am on the other end of things from where I was buying the records.

The Gauntlet: Since the band's inception, you are the only remaining member and you aren't even in your original position. Has the bands spirit changed any since the beginning?

Dave: I don't think so. I know it hasn't. Obviously we've changed members like you said and grown older. I think that is the soul reason we kept Throwdown as Throwdown. We have always had that same spirit and drive that we have had in the beginning. The really cool thing is the people who have come on have like Ben for example. He was a guy that we were friends with and toured with when he was in other bands. We were fans of his band and he was a fan of ours. We had this same respect when we saw him play and went on tour. When he came in, it was this great thing. It has always been such a natural rollover when we have taken on these members. We never really have thought about the band being different. It has always had this same soul to it. We have that collective element that has always been there.

The Gauntlet: Do you haze the new members when they come in?

Dave: We try not to take the fraternity aspect to seriously now. I still make the audience flip Mark off weekly when we play live. I try not to bust their balls too much. We try to let our aggression out on the crew members as much as possible.


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Tags:  Throwdown  , Dave Peters, interviews

Jason Fisher    August 13, 2007