Dan Jacobs - Atreyu (04/10/2014)
At the dawn of this millennium, Atreyu were pioneering the modern metalcore/ post hardcore movement with a fervency few other bands exhibited. Their album The Curse became a hugely influential and trailblazing sound, helping to spur on what has now become a gigantic scene all of it’s own, one almost overwrought with hungry bands trying to get along in this ever-complicating industry. Some decade-and-a-half later, the majority of which was spent endlessly touring, Atreyu are back after a three year hiatus with new material, sold out shows, a lofty spot on Soundwave 2015, and an apparently bottomless well of excitement. Lead guitarist Dan Jacobs is as ecstatic as veteran band members talking down the phone to strangers come as he discusses the band’s reformation, what the future holds, and of course beer.
“I’m actually at a brewery right now! Four Sons brewing. It’s a new brewery just opened here in Orange County, California. I own a company that makes merchandise for craft breweries, so we’re here helping them out. We get to make merchandise for all the local craft breweries, so we get to go around… our meetings usually involve going to drink beer with them and taste stuff. Y’know, it’s awful, it keeps me up at night (laughs).”
After hefty absence from stage, one could discern plenty of reasons to feel trepidations about performing live again, but Dan’s ruminations are anything but fear-stricken. His unwavering excitement is evidently palpable.
“It’s kind of crazy to take four years off and then dive right back in to playing in front of thousands of people! We’re just kind of making sure we can knock the dust and cobwebs off before we get out there. Surprisingly (there’s no nerves) yet, it hasn’t kicked in yet. It’s so surreal taking four years off. As a band we’ve been together for fifteen years, and touring for eight years, so four years off is half of our touring career! It’s so weird to step away from the music world for so long, then dive back in on the same level we left on is just crazy. It really hasn’t sunk in. Everything is happening and all these shows have lined up! People are just really excited about the band, and we had no idea people were so excited! It’s crazy, mind blowing. It’ll never get old!”
Chatting a week or so before their first gig back on the road - at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California on September 11th 2014 - it’s worth noting that that particular establishment has the facilities to professionally record a live show. This is made evident by New Found Glory’s decent foray in to the live CD game with Kill It Live, which was recorded over two nights at Chain Reaction back in 2013. Considering this, badgering Dan as to whether or not a live CD is on the way is irrevocably on the cards.
“Possibly! We’ll record the set just so we have it, and we’ll do some video for it, too. Just so we can have it and kind of analyse it. If there’s anything from it we really like or anything that sounds really good, then there’s definitely possibilities of using it for something. Right now we don’t have anything set in stone.”
With the show being monitored across varying platforms of multimedia, Dan is quick to recall that sharing aforementioned content with the world in any aspect has continued importance in getting a band some attention.
“We’ve been around for fifteen years, and we’re one of the first bands to get signed because of the internet. Just coverage on the internet. So to just see where it’s gone from there until now is just mind blowing.”
That said, Dan and the rest of Atreyu are no strangers to marketing, promotion, and hard work both inside music and out; as made apparent by how both his and the other band members’ time away from music was spent. Nothing in the way of work ethic appears to have dimmed over the course of the band’s hiatus.
“Everybody was a little bit in to music here and there, but everyone also had their stuff outside of it. Like, (vocalist) Alex has a gym called Hellenic Fitness that he runs. It’s like a Crossfit, Muay Thai style gym. Myself, I do merchandising, and make clothes for Rockstar energy drinks and stuff. Everyone’s a bit in to everything! But I think everybody just missed it.”
“I guess… I guess I’m kind of the catalyst for trying to get this back together. Probably for about two years now I been like ‘Hey, guys! Come on, y’know? We can’t wait forever! Maybe we should do something?’ There was a lot of talk of not being ready, and then finally I think it came time when the hunger just took over everybody. So we all just went to dinner and talked about it. You could tell everybody was nervous and excited at the same time. It’s was like ‘Alright, how’s going to bring it up first? We know why we’re all here! Let’s just fucking talk!’ (laughs).”
“From there it’s just grown exponentially. Everything we’re doing is just taking off and coming together really nicely. It’s just really exciting, it’s just really exciting to be back! It’s interesting where the scene’s gone too. We, well us and a bunch of other bands, helped create this scene and it’s gotten so big! We stepped back, and now to come back in to it with bands like Of Mice And Men, Bring Me The Horizon, and Asking Alexandria are just killing it right now. It’s so exciting for us to come back and be like ‘Hey, we’re kind of like the band that helped create what all these people love!’ I feel like we just know how to do it. We know how this type of music needs to sound, and are just excited to show case what we can do”.
Fans are sometimes wary of a reformation of a band they grew up idolizing due to the fact they may have lost some of their original lustre. Dan is quick to sate the assurance that Atreyu are back and better than ever.
“For the last couple of albums we had Alex take the lead with the singing a little bit, like, the melodic singing. Y’know, it served it’s purpose at the time, but our place is having our drummer Brandon sing, and front man Alex just fucking scream his head off! Just fuck shit up in that way. Just writing heavy riffs, and that’s all this whole new song (So Others May Live) is. It’s just heavy. Really fucking heavy.”
With such ball tearing and influential riffs so welcomely bore from Dan’s guitar, it’s interesting to see from where he draws influence and inspiration.
“I’ve always personally been influenced by the 80’s and 70’s, just classic rock and metal. Whenever I can push that in to our music, I do. As far as heaviness, our influences have always been late 90’s, and early 00’s hardcore like In Flames, Soilwork, or Poison The Well. Even just listening to our own records just to get us in to that mentality. My thing was I just want to make music I was listening to when we made our first few albums. I’m being influenced the same way again, and that’s kind of what… you’ll hear it in the songs. If you’re a fan of old Atreyu it going to kick everyone in the balls!”
And what of their impending, and extremely welcomed tour with Soundwave 2015?
“We were just like ‘Hey, remember us? We’re Atreyu, we’re back, and we wanna fuck shit up!’ They were like, ‘Yeah! We’d love to have you, come be on our show, we’ve never had you before’. So here we are, we’re just going to come to Soundwave and fuckin’… get crazy!”
Go get fuckin’ crazy with Atreyu as Soundwave blisters through Australia in the Summer of 2015.
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
Todd Gingell
“I’m actually at a brewery right now! Four Sons brewing. It’s a new brewery just opened here in Orange County, California. I own a company that makes merchandise for craft breweries, so we’re here helping them out. We get to make merchandise for all the local craft breweries, so we get to go around… our meetings usually involve going to drink beer with them and taste stuff. Y’know, it’s awful, it keeps me up at night (laughs).”
After hefty absence from stage, one could discern plenty of reasons to feel trepidations about performing live again, but Dan’s ruminations are anything but fear-stricken. His unwavering excitement is evidently palpable.
“It’s kind of crazy to take four years off and then dive right back in to playing in front of thousands of people! We’re just kind of making sure we can knock the dust and cobwebs off before we get out there. Surprisingly (there’s no nerves) yet, it hasn’t kicked in yet. It’s so surreal taking four years off. As a band we’ve been together for fifteen years, and touring for eight years, so four years off is half of our touring career! It’s so weird to step away from the music world for so long, then dive back in on the same level we left on is just crazy. It really hasn’t sunk in. Everything is happening and all these shows have lined up! People are just really excited about the band, and we had no idea people were so excited! It’s crazy, mind blowing. It’ll never get old!”
Chatting a week or so before their first gig back on the road - at Chain Reaction in Anaheim, California on September 11th 2014 - it’s worth noting that that particular establishment has the facilities to professionally record a live show. This is made evident by New Found Glory’s decent foray in to the live CD game with Kill It Live, which was recorded over two nights at Chain Reaction back in 2013. Considering this, badgering Dan as to whether or not a live CD is on the way is irrevocably on the cards.
“Possibly! We’ll record the set just so we have it, and we’ll do some video for it, too. Just so we can have it and kind of analyse it. If there’s anything from it we really like or anything that sounds really good, then there’s definitely possibilities of using it for something. Right now we don’t have anything set in stone.”
With the show being monitored across varying platforms of multimedia, Dan is quick to recall that sharing aforementioned content with the world in any aspect has continued importance in getting a band some attention.
“We’ve been around for fifteen years, and we’re one of the first bands to get signed because of the internet. Just coverage on the internet. So to just see where it’s gone from there until now is just mind blowing.”
That said, Dan and the rest of Atreyu are no strangers to marketing, promotion, and hard work both inside music and out; as made apparent by how both his and the other band members’ time away from music was spent. Nothing in the way of work ethic appears to have dimmed over the course of the band’s hiatus.
“Everybody was a little bit in to music here and there, but everyone also had their stuff outside of it. Like, (vocalist) Alex has a gym called Hellenic Fitness that he runs. It’s like a Crossfit, Muay Thai style gym. Myself, I do merchandising, and make clothes for Rockstar energy drinks and stuff. Everyone’s a bit in to everything! But I think everybody just missed it.”
“I guess… I guess I’m kind of the catalyst for trying to get this back together. Probably for about two years now I been like ‘Hey, guys! Come on, y’know? We can’t wait forever! Maybe we should do something?’ There was a lot of talk of not being ready, and then finally I think it came time when the hunger just took over everybody. So we all just went to dinner and talked about it. You could tell everybody was nervous and excited at the same time. It’s was like ‘Alright, how’s going to bring it up first? We know why we’re all here! Let’s just fucking talk!’ (laughs).”
“From there it’s just grown exponentially. Everything we’re doing is just taking off and coming together really nicely. It’s just really exciting, it’s just really exciting to be back! It’s interesting where the scene’s gone too. We, well us and a bunch of other bands, helped create this scene and it’s gotten so big! We stepped back, and now to come back in to it with bands like Of Mice And Men, Bring Me The Horizon, and Asking Alexandria are just killing it right now. It’s so exciting for us to come back and be like ‘Hey, we’re kind of like the band that helped create what all these people love!’ I feel like we just know how to do it. We know how this type of music needs to sound, and are just excited to show case what we can do”.
Fans are sometimes wary of a reformation of a band they grew up idolizing due to the fact they may have lost some of their original lustre. Dan is quick to sate the assurance that Atreyu are back and better than ever.
“For the last couple of albums we had Alex take the lead with the singing a little bit, like, the melodic singing. Y’know, it served it’s purpose at the time, but our place is having our drummer Brandon sing, and front man Alex just fucking scream his head off! Just fuck shit up in that way. Just writing heavy riffs, and that’s all this whole new song (So Others May Live) is. It’s just heavy. Really fucking heavy.”
With such ball tearing and influential riffs so welcomely bore from Dan’s guitar, it’s interesting to see from where he draws influence and inspiration.
“I’ve always personally been influenced by the 80’s and 70’s, just classic rock and metal. Whenever I can push that in to our music, I do. As far as heaviness, our influences have always been late 90’s, and early 00’s hardcore like In Flames, Soilwork, or Poison The Well. Even just listening to our own records just to get us in to that mentality. My thing was I just want to make music I was listening to when we made our first few albums. I’m being influenced the same way again, and that’s kind of what… you’ll hear it in the songs. If you’re a fan of old Atreyu it going to kick everyone in the balls!”
And what of their impending, and extremely welcomed tour with Soundwave 2015?
“We were just like ‘Hey, remember us? We’re Atreyu, we’re back, and we wanna fuck shit up!’ They were like, ‘Yeah! We’d love to have you, come be on our show, we’ve never had you before’. So here we are, we’re just going to come to Soundwave and fuckin’… get crazy!”
Go get fuckin’ crazy with Atreyu as Soundwave blisters through Australia in the Summer of 2015.
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
Todd Gingell