ASKING ALEXANDRIA

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTERY FOUNDATION
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/askingalexandria
COUNTRY: United Kingdom STYLE: Hardcore / Screamo / Trance

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU GUYS TO GET SIGNED AND WAS IT THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THE BAND CAREER WISE OR ARE THERE CERTAIN ASPECTS OF RUNNING A BAND INDEPENDENTLY THAT YOU MISS?

It took us about 5 months to get signed, we were extremely lucky. We are so happy to be signed to Sumerian and couldn't have asked for a better home to have joined. Sumerian don't just treat us as a business partner, they treat us like equals to them, we feel like we matter you know, so it's a great thing being signed to such a caring label.

WITH YOUR DEBUT ALBUM BEING RELEASED LAST YEAR AND LOOKING AT THE AMOUNT OF SHOWS THE BAND HAS LINED UP OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, DO YOU CONSIDER THIS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT “PERIODS” IN THE BAND’S CAREER TO BUILD UP YOUR FAN BASE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE?

Most definitely. The album so far has done so much better than we could have ever imagined, and the fact that we have been offered all of these amazing tours really means a lot to us and we intend to take full advantage of the opportunities we have been presented with and try to build up our fan base as much as possible.

WHILE YOU GUYS ARE IN A HARD WORKING MOOD IS A FOLLOW UP ALBUM TO “STAND UP AND SCREAM” PLANNED FOR THIS YEAR?

We have actually already started writing the next album. We are 8 songs into it and couldn't be happier with how the songs are turning out so far. We plan on entering the studio for the second time, with Joey Sturgis, in August and remain recording all throughout September. The new material I definitely very 'Asking Alexandria' but we have taken a lot more time on each song, making sure we love every aspect of it.

IT IS NO SECRET THAT THE NUMBER OF PLAYS THE BAND RECEIVED ON MYSPACE JUMPED FROM ONE MILLION PLAYS TO TWO MILLION PLAYS IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS LAST YEAR AND THAT NUMBER IS WELL OVER SIX MILLION NOW. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT FIRST, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

We were Gob Smacked, pardon the term! We literally couldn’t believe what was happening. We started to notice the amount of plays increasing significantly almost over night, it's been amazing.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA HAS A REALLY GOOD “IMAGE”. DO YOU THINK THAT IMAGE HAS ALMOST BECOME JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MUSIC IN TODAY’S INDUSTRY AND HAS MADE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO SEE PAST THAT AND JUST JUDGE A BAND ON THE MUSIC THEY MAKE?

For sure. As a band we definitely do, as you say, have an image. We feel it's important to present ourselves properly, however it is very clear that to some people, the music gets lost behind an image. People do still judge books by their covers, but I guess that’s just the way it goes. Always has been in the music industry. Look at hair metal in the 80's, new metal in the 90's, punk in the 70's and 80's...they all had an image, and I think a bands image will always continue to play a vital role in the industry.

WHEN DID YOU GUYS FIRST START TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE TRANCE ELEMENT OF YOUR SOUND AND WAS EVERYONE OPEN TO THE IDEA AT FIRST OR DID IT TAKE SOME CONVINCING?

As a band I don’t really think it was a conscious decision for us to add the synth aspect to our music, it just sort of happened. The first time we tried it was in 'Final Episode' and we loved the element it added to the song and decided to introduce it to more of the songs we were writing.

DO YOU GUYS PERFORM YOUR SONGS EXACTLY THE WAY THEY ARE PERFORMED ON THE ALBUM OR DO YOU “TWEAK” THEM A BIT SOMETIMES TO KEEP THINGS INTERESTING WHEN YOU PLAY THEM A LOT ON TOUR?

We tend to try and play them as close as possible to the album when we play them live, however we do add a few 'surprises' to some songs live to involve the crowd and keep things fresh and exciting you know?

LOOKING AT SOME OF THE FLYERS FOR YOUR UPCOMING GIGS YOU FIND YOURSELVES PERFORMING ALONGSIDE SOME REALLY COOL BANDS; HOW MANY DO YOU GET TO MEET AND IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK ANY BAND FOR THEIR AUTOGRAPHS WHO WOULD IT BE?

Yeah it's been amazing meeting bands on tour and we will continue to meet many more great bands. In all honesty we don't see bands the same way as we used to, obviously we still respect them, probably even more so now than ever before, however we understand that they are just people, like us, who like their personal space and like to be appreciated for what they do, rather than who they are you know?

But I have to admit, personally, I am a huge Tom Delonge fan, and would definitely have to ask for his autograph if I met him, which in fact, I might just accomplish this year as we are playing with Angels and Airwaves at Bamboozle on May 1st.

IF YOU CAN THINK BACK TO ALL YOUR SHOWS SO FAR, WHICH ONES WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE MOST “DRAINING” AND WHICH ONES DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD JUST PLAY FOREVER?

I can't remember the exact dates, but in September we toured with Alesana and I ended up getting Pneumonia which ruined the last week or so of tour for me, I actually ended up dropping off the last date and going to the doctors to get antibiotics. Those shows that I played whilst ill we're physically and mentally exhausting. But other than those shows, in all honesty I could play every other show forever, I love playing live and interacting with or fans, it's the best feeling in the world.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU GUYS TO GET THAT THING RIGHT WHERE YOU THROW YOUR GUITARS OVER YOUR SHOULDERS AND MAKE THEM DO THAT SPINNING THING LIKE IN THE VIDEO FOR THE SONG “FINAL EPISODE (LETS CHANGE THE CHANNEL)” BEFORE YOU CATCH THEM AGAIN?

Hahaha, that didn't take too much practice in all honesty, it's all about commitment and just going for it, throw it hard, and momentum does all the work...it only took a few stitches and minor concussions to figure that one out!

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR ANYTHING ELSE FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR?

Just be on the watch out for us this year, we plan on touring harder than ever before and releasing a new album that is sure to turn a few more heads!

Cheers,
Ben