BAND: Hawthorne Heights
INTERVIEWER: Evan Harris (evan@bandvibe.com)
DATE OF INTERVIEW: 10.27.06

BAND MEMBERS:
Eron Bucciarelli- drums
Casey Calvert- guitar
Micah Carli- guitar
Matt Ridenour- bass
JT Woodruff- vocals/guitar

Evan: How’d you guys start playing music together?
Eron: Well Dayton, Ohio is a really small city and even smaller music scene and we were all playing around town in different bands. You realize really quickly who’s serious about playing music and who isn’t in such a small city and scene. It was really just a matter of meeting each other more than anything. We had similar goals.

Evan: You’re from Ohio, do you miss the Midwest when you’re on tour?
Eron: Definitely. All of our family is there and four out of the five of us are married. We miss our wives and everything which sucks, but it’s also nice to travel the world.

Evan: Tell me a little about what it’s like being on tour.
Eron: Being on tour is great because you’re in a different city every night, playing in front of totally new faces every night. People are coming out to support your band who appreciate the music that you’ve helped to create and that’s a really cool feeling.

Evan: Was there ever a moment when you guys knew you were going to make it as band?
Eron: No, no. I mean everyday, even now you never know what’s gonna go on and tomorrow it could be over. We don’t take anything for granted. There was never a point where we thought we’d made it and thought we could just coast.

Evan: Any influences from when you were growing up?
Eron: As far as my drumming is concerned I listened to a lot of Led Zeppelin and Nirvana growing up. Dave Grohl and John Bonham where huge influences on my playing. Then I started getting into hardcore and some drummers like Sammy Siegler, who was in pretty much every old school New York hardcore band, influenced me a lot as well.

Evan: What kind of music are you listening to now?
Eron: Now it’s a whole random array of things. The new My Chemical Romance is really good and I want to get the new Sparta album, I like that band a lot. The Killers, and a lot more indie rock really.

Evan: What do you guys usually spend time doing when you’re on the road when you’re not onstage?
Eron: Normally just playing video games, walking around and stuff, and watchin movies. We’ve been doing a lot of writing on this tour; we have a studio in the back of our bus this time and we’re starting to write our next record

Evan: Any favorite movies or games you guys play when you’re together on the bus?
Eron: Actually me, JT, and Matt are doing a season of Tecmo Super Bowl right now and we just got to the playoffs so it’s gonna be interesting to see how it goes. We’re all first in our respective divisions so it’s gonna be a tight one.

Evan: What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t playing music?
Eron: I’d probably be doing something in the music industry; that was always sort of my goal. After college I started working at Time Warner Cable with the idea that Time Warner Cable at the time owned Warner Music. I think now they’ve split off but my initial goal was to sort of work my way in and transfer to the music division.

Evan: What do you like on your pizza?
Eron: Cheese. Sometimes onions, but mostly just cheese.

Evan: Your first album seems like it’s a lot about heartbreak. Do you have any advice for any of those kids out there who might be going through some of that?
Eron: Stick with it. It’s not the end of the world if one relationship doesn’t work, because there’s always time for other relationships. If you’re in a good relationship then you’re gonna have to make some sacrifices and compromise. That’s the only way to make it work.

Evan: What would say the biggest difference between your first and second album is?
Eron: I would say that we were all better prepared going into the studio [on the second album]. We’ve grown as musicians and songwriters. The transitions in songs are a lot smoother and we had a better idea of what we wanted to accomplish when we went in to do this record, whereas the first record we were sort of discovering ourselves.

Evan: I’ve seen you guys do a really cool headband move together onstage at one of your shows. Is that something that just happens or is that something that takes practice?
Eron: Honestly, it just happens. There’s nothing in our show that’s choreographed so it’s always totally random. Maybe after you play songs together so much you can start doing the same things.

Evan: A lot of bands say that they like playing small venues, but is there something to be said about rocking a huge audience?
Eron: Definitely. They both have their plusses and minuses, but playing a big venue is cool because you’re walking out onstage in front of so many people and that’s an amazing experience and one that I’m definitely glad we’ve been able to get to do. The smaller venues are amazing also because the energy level is so much higher, you can actually see the crowd and it’s a much warmer atmosphere.

Evan: Do you ever still get nervous before you play a show?
Eron: Not really, no. There’s times when I’m pissed I didn’t get to warm up enough or something like that, but never nervous.

Evan: Do you guys have any pre-show rituals?
Eron: No, we all just warm up in our own ways.

Evan: So, no huddles or cult thing you guys do?
Eron: No, not at all.

Evan: Tell me how you feel in five words or less.
Eron: Five words or less? I feel great right now.

Evan: Anything you want to say to all the fans out there?
Eron: Thank you very much for supporting us. We’ve relied so heavily on the support of our fans and we completely appreciate everything. Without them we wouldn’t be where we are right now.

For more official information on Hawthorne Heights, please log onto:
http://hawthorneheights.com/
http://www.myspace.com/hawthorneheights

Check out Bandvibe's photo coverage of Hawthorne Heights:
+Nintendo Fusion 2006 pics by Kayli@bandvibe.com - 10/27/06