Closure in Moscow interview

Before listening to the above interview, please read the introduction, otherwise you will be rather confused!

When researching Closure in Moscow, I discovered the band is notorious for their sense of humour, especially during interviews. I prepared myself for the onslaught of silly, but was still caught off guard when lead singer Chris DeCinque decided to answer all my questions by whispering into his friend's ear, who then talked for him. Fortunately, guitarist Manny Zennelli was not feeling shy and joined the interview as well. It's a long interview (23 minutes!) but worth the listen because it's comedy gold. At one point I mention a site they don't believe is real, it so is: http://brospony.ingbros.com/

Here's a list of the people present to help you distinguish voices:

*Myself- The girl whose voice makes me sound like I'm 12.

*Manny Zennelli- The Australian fellow who actually talks.

*Chris DeCinque- Present, but silent. Speaks with the help of Jersey Guy.

*Jersey Guy- The American speaking on behalf of Chris. He also contributes his own opinion, the best way to tell if he's speaking for Chris or himself is whether or not there's a long pause before he speaks. (I feel terrible for forgetting his name, but you can see him on the right holding a camera in the first photo.)

*Camera guy- There was also another entourage member there either filming or taking pictures during our interview. He's mostly silent, but talks at a few points when we're discussing eagles.

*"Mary"- A girl walking by at an inopportune moment. She ran away, haha.

*Warped tour worker- A guy who asks me for a pen and handed it back with the cap off, getting ink on my hand. That's what lead to the awkward pen comment.

Interview with Dan O'Connor from Four Year Strong

Four Year Strong interview by TakeAimZine

It took some time for me to post this interview because despite seeing them three times, I realized I don't have any photos of Four Year Strong! As discussed in the interview with lead guitarist/co-singer Dan O'Connor, Philadelphia FYS shows unfortunately have terrible luck. They've been shut down by the fire marshal and had rowdy crowds get them kicked out for trashing the infamous First Unitarian Church basement. Warped Tour was no different, two of their amps sparked out causing a delay. The show eventually went on, but photographers were not permitted to take any pictures due to time issues.

The band finally had a jinx-free Philly gig in October 2010 while on tour with Comeback Kid. However, yours truely underestimated the excitement hometown heroes The Wonder Years would create and recieved a concussion due to five teenagers jumping from speaker tops directly below onto my head. Needless to say, I was not able to take photos in that condition. Sorry once again for the lack of accompanying pictures, but the movie recommendations, Tom Hanks talk, and Dan's guilty pleasure song confession make up for it. Enjoy!

Interview with Winston McCall of Parkway Drive

Last July, I was given the opportunity to report on the Camden, New Jersey stop of Warped Tour, but the magazine I was freelancing for ran out of space and opted out of using my article. Ironically, the same thing happened the only other time I'd been to Warped, in 2006. The hilarious interviews and photos I risked heat stroke for sat in my computer, gathering virtual dust. I imagined anthropomorphic versions of the files crying and wishing that I, their creator, share them with the world. Well, my gigabyte friends, now is the time.

I start off with my first interview of the day, Winston McCall of Parkway Drive. Winston is the sort of person you look at before a performance starts and think, "Well, he doesn't seem like he'd be in a hardcore band!" Then he goes on stage, blows your mind and eardrums, and walking off, becomes that friendly chap from Byron Bay once again. He was honestly the nicest person I've interviewed and as soon as our conversation started, my nerves went away. Unfortunately, for our interview they stuck us in the hallway where the catering line was, so the chattering you hear in the background is a mixture of other interviews and bands complaining that they're hungry. At one point you can clearly hear a girl say, "I want some turkey!"

Parkway Drive are currently touring the US (I'll be at their Philly show on the 27th!) and will tour Australia in May, starting in Brisbane for their Mix N' Mash Tour.

Photos and interview by Danielle Reicherter July 16th, 2010

P.S.- Before I started recording, I nervously (read: stupidly) told Winston that the gym I go to is on a Parkway Drive. While this is true, I regretted saying it instantly, but he was genuinely interested in that, saying that he always likes trying to find actual Parkway Drives around the world. Aww.