Saosin-Interview mit Beau

After Anthony left the band you had audition for the position as sing and posted on your website “The main things that we are looking for now, is someone that does not do drugs, someone who can actually sing live, and someone who is good looking and fun to get along with. Oh, and they have to have a really dry sense of humor, because the rest of us do." How did the audition go and when did you know that Cove is the right guy?

Beau: Let me see the quote there. Yeah, well basically Cove is all of that. Except that his sense of humor is a little less dry than ours. Like, we’re sick guys. We are crazy. Cove is a little more straightforward, you know, kind of conservative.

Why did you come up with that sort of add for an audition? Was it because the old singer wasn’t all of that?

Beau: Well, you know, if you break up with a girlfriend, it’s kinda like that all the things you didn’t like about the old one wou will not look for in a new one. It’s kinda like that.

How was auditioning?

Beau: Dude, it was crazy! We started to get all those demo CDs and tapes from people, but everybody sucked. No, not everyone, but for the most part it was just really bad singers. Like, it would be them singing in their car-stereo, alone in the car with a tape recorder in hand singing along to our songs, and they were just way out of key and stuff. It was really funny. And then after a while, Cove kept calling me and emailing me saying: “I wanna sing in your band. I wanna try out. Let me come up there and we’ll jam together and play together.” And I was like: “No way! I am not doing that anymore.” Because basically what has been happening before was that people were saying the same thing, and so we get there, and it was the same thing. As I said, like you are meeting a girl and you know right away that they are not your type, it is the same kind with singers. Like, they walk in the door and you go: “Oh, man!” SO then you have to spend like the next hour and a half with: “Ok. Who’s gonna come up with an excuse why we have to leave?” So, anyways, Cove wanted to come up and practice, but I told him no. And I told him to record some of his voice before I even let him come up. So he recorded some songs and I really liked. So he showed up, and he practiced with us and we took him on Warped Tour for like a week, and now he is our singer.

Before the auditioning, did you try to get someone specific for the job? Whom did you ask?

Beau: We asked Jason Gleason from FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER, he sang on “How To Start A Fire”. So I asked him, but he always wanted to do his own band. And then I asked a couple of other people, but it’s been about two and a half years now, so I forget. But for the most part we just wanted a really good guy who is not so fond of himself, and Cove is a really nice guy.

Wasn’t there someone from MIDTOWN also for try-out?

Beau: Gabe. He tried out for a little bit, but he has his other band that he doing, so things didn’t work out.

Are there any different influences Cove brings into the band? Especially in comparison to Anthony, your old singer?

Beau: No, not really. I mean, the old singer was much more out-there, where as Cove is much more fresh and new to everything.

What is your relationship to Anthony Green and where do you see the differences between him and Cove Reber?

Beau: If we see each other we are fine. And Cove is actually pretty good friends with him. He never really calls me that much, but I think the rest of the guys talk to him. There’s no bad blood or anything like that.

What do you think about CIRCA SURVIVE and “Juturna”?

Beau: I like that song “Act Apalled”. That song is really great. The rest of the album, in my opinion: Not so good. I know, it’s not really my kind of thing. It’s just a different vibe. They are kinda like a get-stoned-band. And I like stuff that is more like “uppers”. I like faster, heavier Metal stuff whereas they are more spacy. But that “Act Apalled” song.

You released 2 Eps and now your first Longplayer is already released on a major label. How do you explain this success, and how did it feel?

Beau: I don’t think it was THAT big of a difference because I personally produce bands as well. So to me there was no real difference. It was like: Ok, I’m in the studio, but instead of be recording bands, it’s somebody else, but I still tell him what to do. So it wasn’t a big difference. And then, once you’re done recording the album, then you just hand it off to the label and say: “Ok, do your thing.”

So there’s not much difference between what you yourself would do for the band or a major label?

Beau: It’s just on a bigger scale. When we toured by ourselves, we had no money. And now that we are on a label, they will give us some money to help us out and work with. And like, with the artwork for our Eps, I did all the artwork. But the artwork for our record they wanted somebody else to do, and then instead the five of us agreeing on it, the five of us had to agree on something and then the label had to agree, too. So it just adds more people that have to agree on certain things before things get accomplished. It kind of takes a little bit longer?

Isn’t that kind of strenuous sometimes? When all of you really want something, and then the label just says: “No way!”?

Beau: Yeah. Well, they said no on the beetle which is on the cover of our CD. But we just said: “Fuck you guys, we want it!” And they did it. I mean, there’s definitely some things where, for example they wanted “Bury Your Head” on the record, but they did and that is one of the things where it’s like: “Who cares?! We’ll put it on there.” But for things like the cover of the record or things like that, which mean something for us, we stand up for it. And then they listen, and it’s all good.

You entered the billboard charts on #20 in the first week. Did you expect such thing to happen?

Beau: That was awesome!!!We had a bottle of Dom Perignon. Not the huge one, but it had to be a bottle of Champagne.

So your’re all in the drinking age already?

Beau: Cove and our bassplayer don’t drink, but actually we are all over 21.

A stupid question on my part now: did your life change after that?

Beau: No. I mean, it does. Well, actually our life doesn’t change, but people’s opinions about our lives change. You know what I mean, like, everyone automatically assumes that we are rich now because of that, but we’re not.

How did friends change? Or family or attitudes towards you?

Beau: You know, your close relatives are always the ones that know what’s going on, and they are informed on stuff. It’s more like the extended family that’s kinda like: “Wow! Our nephew’s band is really big now.” Or something like that. It made a difference more to them, whereas the core family, they understand it more, and they are more like: “Cool! Good job!”

What did your family say about your personal plans to dedicate your life to music and making music?

Beau: Well, I was involved in choir when I was really young, and I started playing piano and stuff like that. So I’ve been doing music. And the choir I was in, we actually came over here I think, and we sang with the Vienna Boys Choir, and y couple of other choirs, and we travelled a lot. After that I came back home and finished highschool, and I have been playing in bands in highschool. Then I started recording bands, and then I was making money producing bands. And then I said: “You know what?! I just wanna do music.I wanna drop out of college.” And they said: “Well, we’ll keep letting you live at home if you continue to go to school.” I was fine with that, so I kept going to school at day, and as soon as I came back from school, I practiced with bands and record bands. So I almost finished school. I’ve got a semester left, but that was the only restriction they put on me.

How do you manage all your life when you are on tour so much? It takes up a lot of time, doesn’t it? I will always remember 3 INCHES OF BLOOD saying that they don’t have homes and don’t live anywhere because they are constantly on tour…

Beau: Well, we have homes. Actually the four of us, Justin, Alex, Cove, and I live in a 2-bedroom apartment. So Justin and I share a room, and Cove and Alex share a room. So we live together, and only Chris has his own place. But for us, it’s just a matter of saving money when you’re on the road. Our rent where we live is something 1800$ a month for a 2-bedroom apartment. It’s really expensive, and so we all moved into one apartment. And we are on the road so much, so we are saving money.

What about rehearsing?

Beau: When we are at home we barely ever rehearse. So when we come home, we usually take a couple of weeks off and just relax, go our separate ways.

Do you need that? Taking a break from each other after a tour?

Beau: No, I mean, not really. It’s fun to. It’s fun to kinda come home. Being in a band is some kind of a 24-hour-a-day-job. A lot of people think that you have to work only 30 minutes a day, so you just kinda hang out all day, and then you go up there for 30 minutes, and play, and then you’re done. But it’s not! We are SAOSIN all day. When we’re off stage we are still SAOSIN. When I go home it’s kinda nice that nobody knows I’m in a band, so I can just walk around and be a regular guy. Hanging at a bar, shoot pool, whereas when you’re on tour you can’t do that.

You guys got signed in times, when a lot of “scene” bands were getting signed. Do you worry that this whole thing is just a trend?

Beau: I don’t know. I don’t really look at it that way. I think we are trying to make the best music we can, and I think that a good song is always gonna be in style no matter what kind of music. If you look back, even at like, as an example U2 – I know we’re not as nearly good as U2 – if you look at a band like U2. They’ve lasted throughout the New Metal scene, the Ska scene, and stuff like that, and throughout all those times, when LIMP BIZKIT and KORN were big, you still heard U2 on the radio and stuff. If you look at it like that, if you keep writing good music, you’ll always have people who like you, I think.

Do you think being on a major label will change your kind of music?

Beau: NO!

Because I have a question right here saying: What do you think about MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s “The Black Parade”?

Beau: Oh man!

Gotcha right here, huh?

Beau: Well, that has nothing to do with the label though.

Well, who knows?!

Beau: I think that’s just a coincidence. Like, after talking with those guys, I know that they really love QUEEN. So that has nothing to do with the label telling them what to do.

You know, I was just thinking of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE…

Beau: I don’t know that band…

Never mind, but it sounded like their album was sort of label-infected because you hear the differences in style to their EP. It sounds so..clean, and nice, and sort of mainstream-compatible.

Beau: Well, yeah, you know the thing is that it is always the band’s decision – no matter what! Because you have the right to say: “Fuck you! We’re not gonna put out a record. Sorry!” Sure, you’re in a tough spot then. But you don’t have to do anything. You can always fight for what you love.
Back to MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE. What do you think of the album?

Beau: I have only heard one song: “Welcome To The Black Parade”. I like that song. I think that they definitely have their own sound. It is similar to U2. A lot of U2 songs sound the same, and for example OASIS especially. Every OASIS song is the exact same song. But I love OASIS. You know, especially with that one song…you know…. “All my people right here, right now”, that sounds like “Wonderwall”. You could lay them over another and have the same song.

There are a lot of bands sharing a lot of time on the taste of chaos tour. Are there any problems between the group or do you feel as a group at all?

Beau: It is definitely a sort of family thing. We all make fun of each other, we all play handball and kickball. And I probably smell really bad right now. Because, Timmy from UNDEROATH is the smelliest guy EVER! So, I didn‘t know this. I knew it was bad, but…So I had this great idea. After we finished playing one night I go up to him and say: “Hey Timmy! I got a great bonding experience for us. Do you wanna share the same show shirt?” And he was like: “What do you mean?” And, you know, I have this shirt that I basically…you know, we all have one shirt that we wear while we play, then it gets dirty, and you wear it when you play, and then you kind of crumple it up in a ball, and put it in a bag. And then you take it out the next day, you put it on, and play in it. And it smells really bad. So I have worn that shirt for about a week, and then I was like: “Timmy, you wanna share the same shirt?” So I played in it, I took it off, and then he put it on and played in it, and then put it back in his bag, and I wear it the next day, and he wears it the same night, too.

Do you still feel like yourself?

Beau: Dude, I feel so GROCE! And then they just informed us tonight that we can’t shower here tonight because somebody messed up the bathrooms the other night. So now I am being punished. It’s groce.

Who has the biggest ego on this taste of chaos tour?

Beau: I’d say nobody. Everybody’s like super cool. At least to us. Maybe to other people, but to is it is so cool. We walk around, and even like to big old Chris, we walk up to him, bearhug him, all the the ANTI-FLAG guys are cool. And TAKING BACK SUNDAY, we have known them forever. SENSES FAIL, the same thing. We share a dressing room with them every night. It’s awesome fun.

Is there a difference from the Taste of Chaos Tour here and in the US?

Beau: The only difference is that in the US most of the bands are consistently popular throughout the different cities because most of the bands have toured there. Whereas on this tour there’s definetely places you haven’t been before, and so one night we might not get such a good response, whereas the next night all the kids will go crazy, and then another badn might have a bad response. Maybe that’s another reason why nobody has egos because some nights you’re really popular and other nights you’re not.

I heard you made a really big deal about the leaking of your new album….tell me about it?

Beau: I don’t necessarily know if we made a big deal about it, but what happened was that all the demos , like the preproduction stuff. It was like 20 or 30 songs. And what happened was that Cove, our singer, was down at his parents’ house in San Diego, and he had those songs on his parents’ computer, and was at home trying to write vocals for it.. And what happened was that he has three younger sisters I think, and they had friends over at the house and they all love SAOSIN. So they went over there and were looking at Itunes, and the were like: “Oh cool! This new SAOSIN song I have never heard of before!” And so they downloaded them, and of course they had the file sharing network going on. So they went home, ut it on their computer, and so everyone had it, it was on the whole internet.

You said that you hate FROM FIRST TO LAST. Why that and what do you
think about their current issues with ATREYU (being kicked from tour)?

Beau: First of all: I never said I HATE FROM FIRST TO LAST. I think their music is….I think “Heroine” is a …

Debateable maybe?

Beau: It’s quetsionable. Personally I listened to the record three times to try and figure out why people liked it a lot. And….

I wish I could picture the look on your face right now!

Beau: Well. And after I listened to it, I couldn’t figure out why people liked it. And I haven’t listened to it since.

But how come an issue like that becomes public?

Beau: No, they asked us what we thought about it. Another interviewer asked us: “What is a band that you guys think totally sucks?” And…

I see.

Beau: So, there are certain bands where I don’t like the music, and I think it’s totally OK to not like somebody’s music, but to still like them as people. AIDEN for example. I am not really into the music, but they are really nice dudes. We’re doing Taste of Chaos in the US with them, and they are awesome dudes. We like to party with those guys more than anybody else. But I am still not into their music. And it’s the same thing with other bands. Say, like…I don’t wanna name any other bands. But there’s definetely other bands, big bands, that I don’t ever watch or go to their concerts, but when we’re home we will totally go out. And the other….can I see the question again? Oh, right. The reason why we said we don’t like FROM FIRST TO LAST is that they were talking shit on us, saying that WE sucked. Which is funny because I mixed their first record – the one that got them big. So it’s kind of like: “Why would they say they hate me when I was the one who mixed their record and did them a big favor?” So, anyways. And their current issue with ATREYU…what happened? Did they get kicked from tour? I heard that their singer couldn’t sing…

Yeah, he is sick, and they wanted the CHIODOS singer to finish the tour. But the management said that they would get less money, and somehow the got kicked from tour. And now it’s a big issue about all that has happened.

Beau: Hm, well, it seems that that band just always has news about them, but nothing really cool. I just think…they should stop being babies and finish a tour for once. I mean everybody gets sick, but I think what makes people mad about all that is that they cancel tours all the time. From what I have heard…I am not totally sure about that.

Thanx a lot for the interview!