Did you have a good Christmas/New Year? What did santa bring members of the band this year? Do you have any festive traditions at all?
We had a great Christmas. Both Neil and I have birthdays in December so we usually celebrate pretty hard.
Is there a specific meaning behind the name of the band? On a similar note, is there a specific day you remember most during your lifetime in the band?
There isn’t really a meaning. We were looking for a name, and a kid who was playing rhythm guitar for us at the time use to have a band named ADTR. I happened to like the name, so we used it. Then we kicked him out.
You’re from Ocala in Florida which isn’t exactly known as a thriving musical town. Did coming from such a southern part of the country make it harder for you to get heard?
Not at all man. Some of the best bands come from Florida. The force is strong with our State. I think there is way more opportunity there than in most places.
You’ve got a UK tour – your first – coming up soon with Maylene… do you have any expectations of what the UK crowds will be like? What can we expect from the ADTR live show?
We have no clue what to expect. We try to just have fun live, and try to translate that as much as possible with the crowd.
Going back a few years, which bands influenced your sound? How would you describe yourself to someone who is yet to hear you?
Bands like Seventh Star, and New Found Glory. We have all always been into both hardcore, and pop. So that’s what we do. We play what we like.
How did you hook up with Indianola Records?
A friend of ours showed them our purevolume, and the rest is history.
‘And Their Name Was Treason’ came out in 2005 – did you learn any lessons from the recording/touring cycle of that album which you took with you when you recorded the new record?
To be honest we had no idea what we were doing when we recorded that record. We really honestly learned when we recorded the new one. The first CD was recorded in our friend’s bedroom.
How did you hook up with Victory? Were any other labels interested in you at the time? What made Victory such an attractive proposition?
Our bass player had been talking to them for a while, and they came out to see a show that another Victory band was playing with us. There were a few labels interested at the time, but nothing felt right. Tony was very open with how much he was into our band, and it just felt like we would be going with someone who actually cared about us rather someone who didn’t.
‘For Those Who Have Heart‘ seems to have been a slow burner – the buzz is really beginning to pick up now and you’ve been featured in a lot of mainstream magazines, even though the record is now around a year old. Why do you think it has taken so long for people to realise how good the album is?
Well we really did come out of nowhere. Nobody knew who we were until this record. We’ve been touring nonstop since the record came out. So I really think people heard about us, saw the magic live, and told there friends.
Why did you choose to cover Since U Been Gone? Are you surprised at just how many people have listened/liked it? Will it ever feature anywhere where people can download/buy it? Has Kelly Clarkson (or any of her people) heard it/given feedback?
We think that Kelly Clarkson’s song embodies what we’re trying to do. We’re a pop band that plays mosh music. We thought it would take people by surprise, and it has. We’re re-releasing FTWHH Feb 18th, and the cover song will be on it, along with a new song, 2 old songs re-recorded, and a live DVD of our last hometown show. So everyone should check that out.
On a similar note, if you were to do another cover which would it be and why?
We’ve actually been talking about doing another, but this cover would be more of a song that means something to us. We can’t give away the secret just yet!
What are your plans for 2008? Will we see you again in the UK and can we expect any new music?
Like I said before we’re re-releasing the record feb 18th. We’re going to tour all year on all the major tours.(Bamboozle, Warped) We’re gonna headline a tour, and then we plan on going into the studio sometime this year to pump out the next chapter. This year is gonna be a big one for us, so brace yourself.
At a time when myspace, facebook and other social networking sites are bigger than ever, do you think bands place enough emphasis on touring or can bands simply get big by building an online army rather than actually doing the hard graft?
They can, but I think it hurts them in the long run. We’ve been on the road with the next big thing on MySpace before, and they were atrocious live. Now people are starting to realize that, and that band is fizzling out. You have to tour to actually grow as a band. If bands are big online and not from touring most of the time they are just boring live. You learn how to entertain when you do it everynight.
Are you fans of the MP3? Do you think CDs dying out is a good/bad thing?
We don’t care. We just love music. If you downloaded our cd, and came to a show and spent 30 bucks on merch we would love you just the same.
If you have a New Year message for our readers please leave it here!
We will, we will, rock you.