Shaun Glass Interview

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HI SHAUN, THANKS FOR TALKING WITH ME. HOW ARE YOU?
Shaun Glass: Were doing great, we are about a week into the Fear Factory "Fear Campaign Tour." We are in the middle of Texas right now in route to San Antonio. We are going to play at The White Rabbit for the second time in six months. We love it there, Texas rules!

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HOWS THE WEATHER?
Shaun Glass: It's real nice out and sunny. We are happy, were a bunch of Chicago boys out in the south and in warm weather, you can't beat it.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: CHICAGO IS DEFINITELY ONE OF THE MOST HAPPENIN PLACES FOR MUSIC. A LOT OF GREAT BANDS COME OUT OF THERE.
Shaun Glass: Chicago has been a real hot spot for hard music over the last ten years. I think that there is so much variety and so many different genres, but hard music has always been really popular. I think that the metal community is really diverse in Chicago. I don't know why, but for some reason it has always had a really strong underground scene, as well as main stream.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: IS THERE A LOT OF CLUBS TO PLAY AT?
Shaun Glass: There are tons of clubs there. There are so many venues there that it's insane.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT IS THE COMPETITION LIKE THERE?
Shaun Glass: There's your all ages scene where bands play in some smaller suburban places. There's a lot of 21 and over rock, metal bars that local bands break out of. There are a lot of avenues and outlets for bands to build there fan bases out of in Chicago. A lot of our early shows were at the Metro in Chicago and we also played a lot in Wisconsin. We were kind of doing both markets at the same time. Our first show was in Milwaukee. In a weird way we kind of developed two fan bases. Kenosha, Milwaukee and Madison have been amazing for us and Chicago has been really cool too. It's weird because we feel like we have two homes, but they are only about an hour away from each other, so it's really cool.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: LIKE YOU SAID, YOU ARE ON THE "FEAR CAMPAIGN TOUR 2010" SUPPORTING FEAR FACTORY. HOW HAVE THE CROWDS BEEN SO FAR?
Shaun Glass: They have been great and really receptive. The cool thing is that we were out with Trivium for 64 shows before the holidays so a lot of the fans that we see at these shows have already seen us with Trivium. We were new to them on the Tivium tour and on this tour so many people have come back so it's obvious that we are doing our job out here winning new fans. It's cool and we are pretty stoked. I think that it's a really cool package and we are having fun. I'm a huge fan of Fear Factory and we all grew up listening to them, so it's cool to be out with one of our heroes.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU GUYS RELEASED YOUR DEBUT ALBUM FORCE FED LIES LAST SEPTEMBER. THE RECORD FEATURES SOME PRETTY AMAZING GUEST APPEARANCES, COREY FROM TRIVIUM AND MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO OF NITRO. HOW DID THOSE COME ABOUT?
Shaun Glass: I was really good friends with Corey and he had heard some early demos that we did. It was really raw stuff before we even got signed. He was really into and when he heard "Forever the Martyr" he was like "This is rad!" We kind of had it in mind that we wanted some guest appearances on it to celebrate our friendship with some people and also just to show other peoples talents with us. When we asked Corey he was like "No problem dude, I'll grab a six pack of beer, record it and send it to you guys." He tracked it in his bedroom with Pro Tools. We sent him the song and he just threw down. We left it like it is and his solo is a little longer than the others because we loved it so much we didn't want to edit it. Michael Angelo Batio came about because our engineer that tracked the album records a lot of Michael's solo material. He lives up in Wisconsin and we bumped into him a few times. He was really digging the stuff and I told him that we had a part on the album where we wanted to have a guest shredder. I emailed him and asked him and he said "I will totally do a lead. I usually don't do a lot of guest appearances, but I really like what you guys are doing." That guy is seriously one of the fastest soloists out there. He's a really nice guy.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: I LOVE THE VIDEO YOU FILMED FOR THE SONG "FOREVER THE MARTYR". TAKE US BACK TO THE DAY IT WAS FILMED AND TELL US ABOUT IT.
Shaun Glass: We took a road trip to Charlotte, North Carolina to do the video. The director Ramon did an amazing job with us. It was a good time and a lot of unhealthy breathing. You can see in the video that there is all this smoke and fog like air. We couldn't breathe through half of the video because they used baby powder I think. They were shaking it for the effect and it was in our noses and everyone's hair except mine because I don't have hair. We were gagging on it, but it was a really cool video. Aside from the not breathing factor everything went smooth and it was a really quick take. I think we filmed for three hours and we were done. Everybody was pretty sore after it, but that is always the case in a video because you're multiple takes of full performance is a lot of physical. The video was a really good portrayal of the bands aggression live.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHO WAS THE GUY THAT PLAYED THE SOLDIER?
Shaun Glass: The soldier was an extra who was a friend of the directors. He was on the set all day hanging out. Three hours into the video he threw on some camos and went for it. He's been in other videos. I can't remember the other videos he's been in, but he's probably a new up and comer.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HE LOOKS FAMILIAR.
Shaun Glass: Yeah, he looks famous, he looked expensive. He cost more than the video. (kidding)

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHERE IS FORCE FED LIES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE?
Shaun Glass: You can get it on ITunes, FYE, Best Buy, Hot Topic and Amazon.com. If they don't have it, order it. Nowadays, the reality is more people are going into the digital. We know that and so we embrace it. We also sell them on the road so if you're at a gig come on down to the merch table and we will sell you a CD for $10. We will even sign it. We hang out and we are interactive with our fans. We try and meet everyone we can and we just want people to enjoy our music.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: ARE YOU ON A TOUR BUS OR IN A VAN?
Shaun Glass: We are in a beautiful white Ford Van. It's amazing NOT, but you get used to it, its home for eight to ten hours a day.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: I NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE INFLUENCES YOU HAVE LISTED ON YOUR PAGE IS COORS LIGHT.
Shaun Glass: (Laughing) It's funny you noticed that.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WELL, THAT HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF MY MANY INFLUENCES AS WELL.
Shaun Glass: Actually, last night was a Coors Light night. It's definitely one of our influences; I think it's the beer of choice. I wouldn't say it's the whole bands favorite, but I would say majority rules.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: MUSICALLY DO ALL OF YOU HAVE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES OR DO YOU ALL PRETTY MUCH LIKE THE SAME STUFF?
Shaun Glass: I think each member of the band listens to different styles of music. I'm more into hard rock and metal. Some guys like heavier stuff and some like more melodic. At the end of the day there is a lot of stuff that we all love and agree on.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: SO IF YOU GUYS ARE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, DO YOU FIGHT OVER THE RADIO STATION OR DO YOU ALL JUST LISTEN TO YOUR IPODS?
Shaun Glass: For the most part we will all listen to the same thing on the radio, but if some guys are in the mood for something else they will throw on their IPods. We listen to everything from MachineHead to Deftones. Sometimes we are even in the mood for The Poice and we just want to chill out, so it's cool.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHO DOES ALL THE DRIVING?
Shaun Glass: It's pretty split up, everybody takes turns.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HAVE YOU HAD ANY MAJOR MISHAPS ON THE ROAD?
Shaun Glass: No, don't even say or think of a mishap. We did have a tire with a slow leak, but I don't think it is that exciting. We just had a treacherous drive in Colorado. We were driving to Colorado Springs in the middle of a blizzard two days ago in the mountains. It was pretty brutal, but that's the road.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: DO YOU EVER GET TIRED OF BEING ON THE ROAD OR DO YOU LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT?
Shaun Glass: I think going out for six weeks to two months is good, then going home for a couple weeks and then going back out. That's how I like it because when you go home you get a little bit of a break. You get re-juvenated, you re-charge your batteries and you want to get back out. I think it's healthy. I see some bands that play on every tour. If you play the same market six or seven times a year, you are kind of burning it out. I would rather people be excited to see our band instead of saying "Ahh I just saw them last week." I don't think being on every tour is the right route either. There are certain bands where you want to say "Dude, take a break, go home. Go write a new song." Our album isn't even a year old, so we are hammering it hard.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE WORST PART OF TOURING?
Shaun Glass: The worst part of touring hands down is lack of showering. If you don't have a shower everyday, it get's a little tedious. I can honestly say that we like to be clean. We go on stage and sweat our balls off for an hour. Last night we were in Dallas at the House of Blues so we get a shower. At the place we are at today, I don't think they have a shower, but they have a lovely pizza facility.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: IT'S GIVE OR TAKE.
Shaun Glass: Either you get food or you get a shower.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: ON THAT NOTE, JUST HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR THE VAN TO START SMELLING REALLY BAD ON A TOUR?
Shaun Glass: I would say two to three days if there is no shower. There will be anger, hostility and smell. We start stinking and not really wanting to be around each other.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO WASH YOUR CLOTHES?
Shaun Glass: It depends, when we get hotels, most guys will spend a lot of the part doing laundry or friends will put us up. For anybody out there that is in a band or starting a band it's not a glamorous life. It's not 1998 where you get a $2 million record deal and you get to ride on a bus and fly on a jet. Those days are over brother. It really is a lot of work and it makes you want to do this for the love of music. That is why we are here.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: DO YOU GUYS DO A LOT OF PARTYING ON THE ROAD?
Shaun Glass: We raise hell and blow it up sometimes. We're a fucking metal band and we want to have fun. We know that when it comes to show time we are pretty prepared mentally. We know our responsibility is the show. I wouldn't want to go to a gig and see some guy shit faced and not knowing how to play his songs. We know that people pay their hard earned money and we want to give them respect.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE HANGOVERS IN THE MORNING?
Shaun Glass: The best thing I have found for a hangover is Pedialyte. Even if you don't have a kid, stock your fridge. You get home at two in the morning feeling shitty, drink a bottle of Pedialyte before you go to bed and you will feel like a million bucks in the morning. The elixir of the Gods!

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT HAS COME TO BE YOUR FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE ON THE ROAD?
Shaun Glass: If we are on the west coast In N Out Burger. In Texas, Taco Cabana is amazing. It depends on where we are. We all have our crappy fast food that we chow down on everyday. We try and eat whatever is in that state that we don't have back home.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: CAN YOU COOK OR DO YOU LIKE TO COOK?
Shaun Glass: I can't cook at all.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: ME EITHER, ARE ALL OF YOU IN RELATIONSHIPS?
Shaun Glass: Yeah, pretty much everyone in this band is in relationships at one point or another. Our bass player James is definitely not taken. He likes the lay of the land.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WELL THEN HE GETS MOST OF THE CHICKS AFTER A SHOW.
Shaun Glass: Yeah, he's a young buck. A mere 21 years old.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: WHAT ARE YOU PLANS AFTER THIS TOUR ENDS IN APRIL?
Shaun Glass: We got a second leg with Fear Factory and some other tours that we are getting ready to announce. We are staying busy and keeping the pedal to the metal. People should check out our Myspace page and we will keep you updated as soon as we can announce other tours.

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: YOU GUYS ARE BADASS AND I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT UNTIL YOU COME THROUGH MY TOWN.
Shaun Glass: Thank you

SHAUNA O'DONNELL: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW. I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK AND BE SAFE OUT THERE ON THE ROAD. BEFORE YOU GO WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADD OR SAY ANYTHING?
Shaun Glass: Thank you to all the fans for coming out and gravitating to what we are doing. We're a new band for the most part, but we are out here a lot and gaining so many new fans. We are happy to see that our music is being taken to heart. Dirge Within is a force to be reckoned with. Our motto is killer be killed. We go on stage and it's time. We know each show is important and we treat it like that. We appreciate all the people coming out, keep coming and we will keep spreading the hate.

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Tags:  Dirge Within, Soil , Shaun Glass, interviews

Shauna O'Donnell    March 27, 2010