Rev Theory Interview

HI RICH THANKS SO MUCH FOR TALKING WITH ME. HOW ARE YOU TODAY?
I'm doing okay, hanging in there. It's a little cold, but other than that I'm doing okay.

YOU GUYS ARE DOING A TV SHOW TODAY RIGHT?
Yes, we are doing a CBS news affiliate in Kansas. It's very cool.

I AM SO EXCITED THAT YOU HAVE A NEW RECORD COMING OUT. ON FEBRUARY 15TH YOU WILL BE RELEASING YOUR THIRD ALBUM TITLED JUSTICE.
That is correct.

IS THIS THE ALBUM THAT DEFINES WHO YOU ARE AS A BAND?
Yes, I think that we worked really hard to get ourselves to a place where this record could be a defining sound for us as far as musicianship, lyrical content and overall maturity of the band.

YOU TITLED THE ALBUM JUSTICE. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE TITLE?
We had tons of names, but the overall theme of the record is based around that. It didn’t happen that way, it is just kind of the way we wrote the record and at the end of it we felt unanimously that was what the record needed to be called. Overall, I feel like it’s a call of arms for our justice. We are out to get what’s ours.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THIS RECORD?
We started writing it as soon as we got off the road in December/January and we had even started writing on the road prior to that. It was in the works for almost upwards to a year.

DOES IT GET EASIER OR HARDER WITH EACH ALBUM YOU WRITE?
I think it’s a little bit of both. I think it’s easier because we understand each other as musicians, writers and as a band. I think it gets a little bit harder in the fact that you don’t ever want to write the same song twice. You have certain fans that expect certain things from you so you have to write for yourselves, not necessarily just for the fans. We want them to like the music, but you just hope that they will appreciate it for what it is.

MATT SANG A LITTLE MORE ON THIS ALBUM. IS THAT SOMETHING WE WILL SEE MORE OF IN THE FUTURE AS WELL?
I don’t know, he has always sang. He sings all of the background and counter melodies. This is the first time we have ever used him featured on a track. It was what the song called for and when you are writing a song it’s all about what the song calls for.

TERRY DATE PRODUCED, WERE YOU ABLE TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT SOUNDS AND/OR INSTRUMENTS THIS TIME AROUND?
I mean that’s what he does. He’s all about experimenting with all different types of things. Drums were such a process because he is a guy that says the foundation needs to be the right way. It took us almost a week just to do the drums and the bass. Overall it was a great experience and he really pushed us to be a better band.

“JUSTICE” HAS A POWERFUL MESSAGE BEHIND IT AND THE VIDEO REFLECTS IT WELL. DID YOU GUYS COME UP WITH THE CONCEPT FOR THE VIDEO?
It was a collaboration, but overall it was something that we came up with. We then worked with Artificial Army who did the video and brought it to fruition. The concept of the video was something that we have been talking about for a while.

BESIDES “JUSTICE” I REALLY LOVE THE SONG FIRE. TELL ME A LITTLE ABOUT THE SONG.
Oh cool, basically that song means that it’s never too late, that you can’t give up on something and when you feel it in your heart, you have to keep striving for it and go for it.

WHICH OF THE SONGS IS CLOSEST TO YOUR HEART?
I would have to say “Dead In A Grave” and “Say Goodbye.”

THEY HAVE PERSONAL MEANING TO YOU THEN?
Absolutely, “Dead In A Grave” is because throughout my life many times I’ve been told that I couldn’t do things. I’ve always pushed forward and kept the blinders on. “Say Goodbye” was when a friend of ours Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan (Avenged Sevenfold) had passed away. That song came into play when we were dealing with that.

IF PEOPLE PRE ORDER THEY CAN GET AN AUTOGRAPHED CD BOOKLET RIGHT?
Yes, absolutely, you can go to our Facebook page and pre order it on there to get the autographed booklet.

I WAS AT DIMEBASH 2010. YOU GUYS GAVE AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE.
Thank you, that was quite an experience. To be honest, we weren’t sure how well we would be received because it was a heavy night. We are a heavy band, but that was a really heavy night. It was an honor to play for Dime in his honor and that Rita asked asked us. We had a great time.

IN THE PAST YOU HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO DO A LOT OF TOURING. ON FEBRUARY 16TH YOU WILL BE KICKING OFF ON A MONSTER ENERGY DRINK OUTBREAK TOUR CALLED ‘ROCK ON THE RISE IN 2011 WITH POP EVIL AND HAIL THE VILLAIN. HAVE YOU TOURED WITH ANY OF THESE BANDS BEFORE?
We have done a little touring with Pop Evil, we have never toured with Hail the Villain. We have two other bands on the bill. Black Cloud Collective which is Brandon from Atreyu’s new band. There is also a band called Aranda. We are really looking forward to the tour. It’s a great bill, it’s five bands and it’s a really cheap ticket. It gives us the opportunity to give back to the fans a little bit.

THE PRESS RELEASE REFERS TO YOU AS AN UP AND COMING BAND. I DON’T SEE YOU GUYS THAT WAY.
I think it refers to us as an up and coming band because we haven’t achieved the success that most bands have and that is where we felt that we have underachieved. We are not really considering ourselves veterans because we haven’t got to where we want to be.

WITH ALL THE TOURING YOU’VE DONE I SEE YOU AS MORE ESTABLISHED THAN THAT. YOU GUYS HAVE CERTAINLY PAID YOUR DUES. YOU ARE ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKING BANDS I HAVE KNOWN. I SEE YOU AS BIGGER THAN AN UP AND COMING BAND.
Yeah, but in the grand scheme of things we’re really not and we recognize that. We’re not ashamed to be called that. We are not hanging our hat on any of the success that we’ve had because we don’t feel we have had our greatest success yet.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS AFTER THAT TOUR?
We will be touring extensively throughout the year. As far as with who, no plans have been etched in stone yet, but we will be out on the road in 2011.

YOU HAVE TOURED WITH BANDS LIKE MOTLEY CRUE. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE VALUABLE LESSONS YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM BEING ON TOUR WITH THEM?
You can keep doing it for as long as you want to do it. You don’t have to stop until you decide to stop, which is the coolest thing. It was so inspiring every night to be out there with those guys and watch them throw down. I’ve been doing it for so many years.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW RICH.
Thank you so much for doing it.

REV THEORY IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS.
Aww thank you so much Shauna, I appreciate it.

BEFORE I LET YOU GO WAS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD OR SAY?
Check out the record on February 15th and go to our Facebook page Facebook.com/revtheory. Let us know what’s going on, say hello and pre order the album.

Read More News

Tags:  Rev Theory, Rich Luzzi , Rich Luzzi - vocals, interviews

Shauna O'Donnell    January 21, 2011