| An interview with Zacky Vengeance & M.Shadows from A7X
D=Debunk TV
M= M-shadows
Z= Zachy Vengeance
D: Hi, I’m Alex and I’m here with a couple guys from Avenged Sevenfold, and we'll just start off by them introducing themselves and what they do in the band.
M: I’m M-shadows, I sing
Z: I’m Zachy and I play guitar
D: So this is your second time on the Vans Warped Tour, are you liking it better now that you have more of a following as opposed to last year?
M: Last year we did six dates, six dates don’t get you a laminate, you don’t get fed, you don’t get anything, so its cool to have a laminate, to be able to hang out with the rest of the band. You know the followings been great, we’ve come through a couple times with like mushroom head, and some other bands, and I think god forbid, shadows fall, so uh, the following is definitely growing. So it’s a lot more fun, it is a lot more fun.
D: Do you think that its beneficial that your on Hopeless, which is a label not necessary known for hardcore bands?
M: I think it is I think it helps us hit another type of crowd. Which a lot of those kids that wouldn’t be introduced to hardcore or metal, can be introduced to it in a way that they feel comfortable. A label like hopeless that they have probably grown up listening to, so I think it’s a good thing and sometimes I think it’s a bad thing, cause I think sometimes kids don’t want to listen to a hardcore metal band, on a punk label.
D: Warped Tour obviously provides a lot of exposure for bands, what are some of your favorite bands to see this year, that might be up and coming bands, that kids should check out.
M: Up and coming?
Z: Uh, all my favorite bands are pretty much on the set list
M: Yeah all our favorite bands are pretty much. Damone, Damone is good
Z: Damone is really good
M: Damones a good band. I love like Poison the Well, AFI
Z: The Used, It’s a great line up this year
M: Yeah I like all the bands, there is no band that I don’t like on this tour, that I don’t, really like. I own most of all their CD’s, and From Autumn to Ashes are coming on the tour, I’m sure most of you have heard of them, but if you haven’t check them out,… um I like Coheed and Cambria, stuff like that, that stuffs not on the tour now, but it will be, on the east coast
D: Yeah Coheed and Cambria, they’re playing the Cleveland date which is August 5th,, and theres a bunch of other bands like Coheed and Cambria, Brand New and some other bands. So I think the draw will be better because its just a real strong line up, but the tour has appeared with not so much variety this year. Just an expansion in hardcore and metal bands that are appearing, because last year it was mostly Ska, straight up punk, and pop punk. This year it seems that there is five or six pretty good hardcore and metal bands playing.
M: Yeah I think hardcore and metal is starting to sell again, and when kids go out and buy it, that’s what Warped Tour is all about. Its not about punk, its not about anything, its about what kids want to hear. It’s a tour for the kids, so when bands like Poison the Well and the Used do really well, those are the kinds of bands their gonna bring out, so the kids kind of brought it out on themselves
D: What is your view on all these hardcore bands that are getting signed to major labels, like Thursday and Thrice getting signed to Island Records? Do you think its beneficial for those bands, and what’s your view on major labels in general?
M: I think its really beneficial for those two bands, in particular, because they have a following, and a major label can’t break your following. I think its safe to go to a major label if your someone like AFI, Thursday, or Thrice, cause they’ve already built themselves a fan base. Like theres bands that you know that don’t have fans yet that are jumping in majors, because majors need bands like that, you know. The next Thrice and those bands I think that could hurt them because I think majors want one thing, and that’s they want money and they want radio singles, and if you can’t do that I think its hard to find a label that is willing to nurture bands and create careers instead of just trying to throw out a single. If it doesn’t work, go onto the next thing, and I think bands like Thrice, and Thursday, and AFI you can’t hurt those bands because they’re already so big in their own sense, and they can’t get any bigger on independent label. A major label can only put more CD’s in the stores, which is more beneficial for them.
D: Do you find you have a lot of problems with your throat, because of your singing style?
M: Um I used to. I went to a vocal coach, I went to a vocal doctor, and learned a lot about my vocal chords and now I have some really good warm ups and some really good techniques. I found on this tour I haven’t had any problems, which is really cool.
D: What are your favorite songs to play in terms of fun to play, and also along with crowd reaction?
Z: Um, I personally like playing some stuff from our new album, cause its cool, 'cause it gives the kids the chance to hear it, and its really fun to play, like Unholy Confessions is a new track coming out on the new CD, and Second Heart Beat always goes over well. It's always fun to play. And songs off of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, Turn the Other Way and Darkness Surrounding are always great.
M: Whenever the kids are into it, its always your favorite song. So like, Darkness Surrounding everyone loves that it’s a fan favorite, but we like playing the new stuff obviously because we just wrote it and its not old to us, everything else is kinda like three years old to us, so its cool to be playing new stuff.
D: When your on big tours like this do you find that a lot of humorous things tend to happen.
M: Yeah I think humorous things do tend to happen, but things I shouldn’t talk about
D: Its TV and its Cable so.
M: Yeah I’ll get us in trouble and a lot of other bands so.
D: That’s pretty much it, you guys still have to play, so um thanks for doing an interview, um n stores now, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, Avenged Sevenfold, on Hopeless records, New album’s coming out,
M: August 26th
D: Also on Hopeless?
M: Yeah
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