Currently mid-way through their ‘Fuck The Reaper‘ tour, The Amity Affliction have already left their stamp on Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, and have the 3rd Melbourne show tonight before heading to Adelaide and Western Australia to wrap it up. Just as the tour was commencing, Deborah Konopnicki quickly caught up with lead singer Joel for a chat about the tour, their recent signing to Roadrunner Records, plans for the next album and more. See below to take a read and re-cap the remaining tour dates.
Hey guys. Thanks for taking out the time to answer some questions for us today.
No problem.
Right now you’ve got your ‘Fuck The Reaper’ tour with Asking Alexandria and Skyway. How excited are you guys?
We’ve just started the tour and it’s already awesome. We had a great time last night, hopefully we’ll be able to get the Asking Alexandria guys down to the beach tomorrow, some of them have never even seen a beach, so wild.
You’ve seemed to forge a bit of a touring relationship with them at both the Soundwave festivals early on this year as well as some sideshows. How are they to tour with?
They’re nice guys, very English (laughs). They’re just a regular band, some quiet members, some loud members, nothing different to anyone else really. They’re down to earth which is good seeing as they’re enormous everywhere the world over.
A whole bunch of the shows sold out so quickly, confirming what we knew already; that you’re one of the biggest names in the scene. Does it still excite you when stuff like that happens?
Always. That feeling will never go away. I know it’s cliché but we never had this kind of success in our sights, we didn’t set out to be huge or anything like that we’ve just been playing the music we’ve always played and it has worked out. Maybe the fact we’ve stuck with what we love instead of trend hopping has helped us out, who knows. It’s just an incredible life to be living, I’m still stoked like a little kid every time I see these shows doing so well.
Is there a particular show that you’re looking forward to more than the others?
I was looking forward to the Tivoli, and now I’m looking forward to Luna Park just because I’ve never been there before, so it should be a great time. I kind of look forward to every show because we’ve got so many friends in different cities now that we only see when we’re touring so it’s awesome just catching up before shows.
You’ve just re-released a deluxe edition of “Youngbloods”. There are some liner notes in there explaining the meaning behind some of the songs. A lot of them are quite emotionally loaded so how do you feel about having more of you inner thoughts out in the open?
I hate it to be honest, but at the same time I’m really happy that kids get a chance to connect with the lyrics on a deep level, and I’ve had so much positive feedback about how they’ve helped people through really horrible times that it blows me away. I guess I hate the fact that there are people who I have never, and will never meet, that have a really sharp insight into some of the extremely personal parts of my life, but at the same time I needed to get it out, so it was cathartic for me as well as helpful to kids going through similar shit. I still have a lot to expand on that I didn’t get out on the last album because I found it hard to articulate, hopefully I can bring some closure to it on the next record. I’ve had a mate try and hang himself since, and another really close friend tried to slit his own throat, so I’ve still got a whole lot to say.
It album was an incredibly successful one for you; kids all over the country adore it. Over a year on, how is that material sitting with you guys?
I’m still super proud of what we created. I mean there are the obvious things that change over time, especially for me regarding lyrics, but as far as the music itself goes I’m still loving it. I think that speaks volumes of what we did, and I’m really stoked that we’re getting the opportunities we are getting from that record. It’s a great life. Poor, but great.
Why do you think that the album has struck such a chord with people and become such a big record?
I think the personal nature of it, along with the fact that Ahren’s delivery of some of the lines is heart wrenching. That guy has the golden touch, I swear. This happens maybe one in a thousand times, where people pick up on something that actually has a deep meaning to it, and we’re just lucky that we get to do it. Hopefully it’s not going to come to end anytime soon, but if it does, then we’ve had an awesome run.
You’ve recently signed with Roadrunner Records. How are you feeling about the signing?
We’ve known about it for close to a year now, so the initial excitement kinda wore off, although looking at their roster on the American site and seeing our band in there was fucking wild.
Why did you decide to sign with Roadrunner?
It was the best move for the band to move forward. There were options with other labels, but this way we have one label worldwide and it’s a large label with the power to help us stop losing so much money when we tour overseas, so it was a logical and smart choice. We never rush into things, and this was definitely something that was discussed at length over the course of the deal coming together.
How are you finding the relationship at the moment?
Perfect.
You announced at a show recently that you’re planning to head to the states early in 2012 to record an album, which will be your first on Roadrunner. How excited are you to get into gear to record your third album?
So excited, I can’t wait to get back into the studio. We were talking about it last night and hopefully we’ll spend a couple of weeks jamming over there before actually recording, which is something we didn’t do last time around. That process should see the songs come together even better than they did last time which is exciting in itself.
Have you written any material for that one yet or are you planning to pen everything over in the states.
Yeah we’ve got new material coming in at a steady rate. The guys are all writing music, and I’ve written eight or so songs lyrically, which will expand out to about twenty by the time we’re ready to record, at which point Ahren and I will sit down and decide which lyrics make it and which don’t. There were a few on the last record that I really hate, so hopefully this time it will be a 100% success rate for me.
Machine was the main man behind the last record and I believe that you’re going to be joined by him in the studio again for this record. It’s obviously the perfect dynamic for you guys?
It is, he’s an awesome producer. He’s got the right drive and attitude for us, so I think it’s going to be a very fruitful endeavour again.
What can fans expect from the new record?
The same thing we’ve been doing for the last seven years (laughs). Only better…
Do you have any idea of when you like it to be released or are you just not putting any pressure on yourselves by setting a rough date?
We have a tentative date, but I’ll leave that to the record label to nut out. Peace!
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THE AMITY AFFLICTION
FUCK THE REAPER TOUR
With Guests ASKING ALEXANDRIA and SKYWAY
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Thursday 13th October – BILLBOARD, MELBOURNE (U18)
With – I EXPLODE LIKE
Tickets SOLD OUT
Friday 14th October – THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE (LIC/AA)
With – A DEAD SILENCE
Tickets from Venue*Tix on (08) 8225 8888 or www.venuetix.com.au
Saturday 15th October – CAPITOL, PERTH (18+)
With – ARTURO CHAOS
Tickets SOLD OUT
Sunday 16th October – NEWPORT HOTEL, FREMANTLE [U18 - ARVO]
Tickets SOLD OUT
Sunday 16th October – NEWPORT HOTEL, FREMANTLE [18+ - NIGHT]
Tickets from Moshtix on 1300 438 849 or www.moshtix.com.au or www.heatseeker.com.au
For more information, visit:
www.facebook.com/theamityafflictionofficial
www.destroyalllines.com
www.weareunified.com
INSTORES NOW - Order your copy now [Here] $24.99 with free postage.
Asking Alexandria - ‘Reckless And Relentless‘ Available now on Sumerian/Shock.
Skyway - ‘Finders Keepers‘ Available now on Takedown Records.
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