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Interview
with Adam, Davey and Hunter Jim Thiebaud: OK, so, first thing we need to do is give your name, what you play in the band, and what AFI stands for. Davey: My name is Dave, I sing, and AFI stands for A Fire Inside Hunter: My name is Hunter, I play bass, and AFI stands for Aggressive Furious Intense. Adam: My Name is Adam, I play drums, and AFI stands for Asking For It. Dave: And Mark plays guitar. He thinks AFI stands for Absent For Interview. JT: I know you finished your new album. How was the process of creating music different on this one than it was in the past? A: On this one, all the songs were written within the same couple of months, which has never been the case. In the past we've had songs that are years old mixed in with songs that are totally fresh, and there's always a big difference This one feels more like an entire work that has continuity. JT: It definitely sounds like a complete continual work. The music on the new rrecord is heavier and harder hitting than the last one. Did the way it sounds now come out as a conscious thing, or was it just the natural result of the fact that you guys were together for two months straight? A: It just really documents a certain period in the history of the band. It is a little bit heavier, but I think that's just where we're at right now. It's not anything we really set out to do; it's just now the songs came together, the way we're feeling right now. JT: Is it hard for you guys to write songs knowing that people are going to pick them apart? D: I don't think so. We just do what we feel, and what comes out is us, although it's kind of scary when you're putting yourself out there for everyone to criticize.. to like or to hate and to have their own opinion about, but we know that whatever we create and finalize we're happy with, and that's what we like. If people like it that's great, it makes us feel good. And if they don't they can listen to something else. That's fine. Either way it's okay with us because we enjoy what we're doing. JT: With the new record I know you've been doing a lot touring, and you went to Japan for two weeks. How was Japan? Did you play with local Japanese bands? D: Japan was amazing! We played with the Offspring, which was a great opportunity. And there were a couple local Japanese bands on the bill. Everyone over there is really nice, thet're generous, courteous, very enthusiastic, very open to all sorts of different types of music. The scene over there is far less segregated. It seems that all kids who are into the broad "punk" or "hardcore" music go to all sorts of shows. And they're so into it. We were with the Offspring and we sound a lot different from them, so we weren't sure how we'd be received. But we go out the first night and there are 3000 kids, and the kids were just screaming and going for it, they were really great. Another thing about Japan is that it's very nonphysical as far as the dance floor. There's not really a pit. They all pogo, for one thing, they all bounce. I mean, the whole room bounces. The enthusiasm is just amazing. H: The thing I liked most about the shows over there is that every single person that's there is really happy to be there. And they're into the entire show. It's not like where half the kids show up and then they walk around, or stand there. In Japan they all come early, they're all completely 100% into the show, whether they're in the back corner or front or wherever. JT: Do all of you skate? Anybody ever have a ramp, or are you strictly street? A: In the summer of '91 we built a ramp in my backyard. It was a mini ramp, but the transitions were parallel to like a vert ramp. The building was OK, but the planning was poor. It was really tight. It was amazing, really big. We just took it on and built it without thinking about the size of the project. We finished it, and it felt great and we skated it all summer long. And then it rained and after that it was never the same but it was still a good summer. D: I don't skate as much as I should. I've skated since I was eight years old, I suck terribly. I got my first subscription to Thrasher in '84. I got it for my birthday from my mom. And I didn't get any premium with it. I got no shirt, no skate rock, no video, nothing. They offered it, but I didn't get it. JT: So what you're saying is Thrasher owes you a skate rock tape? D: Yes. I believe it was Skate Rock Two. What are some of your most memorable shows you've played that stand out as being some of your favorites? D: We played with Sick Of It All, Snapcase, Vision of Disorder, and Ensign at the Roxy in New York City about two years ago. It was absolutely awesome. Playing the Rancid show at the Fillmore, too. That was so fun. Pretty much any of our Rancid or Sick Of It All shows. A: One of my most memorable shows was when we played with Rancid at Gilman Street. It was our first show back together, we ahd broken up for a small period of time, and we decided this is what we want to do with our lives, and our first show back was June 22nd in '94. To play with Rancid at Gilman Street, you know, which was their kingdom... There's something about being allowed to play a show and open up for people that you truly admire and love their music, it's just a really great feeling. JT: Do any of you read books? Who are a couple of your favorite authors? D: HP Lovecraft, Anne Rice, John Fonte, Bukowski, and Clive Barker. H: I don't know, because most of the books I read are non fiction. Like how to books. A good book I have is by Francois Truffaut about Alfred Hitchcock. A: I just read a book that was a collection of Herb Caen's columns. Herb Caen was a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1938 to '94 or '95. It's really down to earth. I try to take stuff that I can apply to my life. JT: What are some lessons you could pass on to people who are starting bands now who are just beginning? What are acouple of things you've learned that would be good advice? D: Just never stop. Everything sucks at first; no one cares about you. And if you start out like we did and don't know how to play your music, no one cares probably because the music sucks and you can't play. But if you keep with it and keep playing, and you really want it, eventually you'll be having a really good time. A: What I would say is just listen to as many bands as you can; there's something positive to learn from every band there is.
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