| A DAY TO REMEMBER's NEIL WESTFALL talks upcoming NZ show! |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Saturday, 18 February 2012 17:07 |
 It’s only five more sleeps now, until Florida’s A DAY TO REMEMBER will make their return to our shores for one show only at Auckland’s Logan Campbell Centre! Coup De Main was lucky enough to get guitarist NEIL WESTFALL on the phone for a quick chat yesterday, to find out just what’s in store for their upcoming show... and by the sounds of it, we’re in for a treat! There’s still plenty of time to buy your tickets, so be sure to get them as soon as possible and let’s make this a show to truly remember.  COUP DE MAIN: So you’re finally returning to New Zealand! What do you remember about your last trip here and are you looking forward to coming back? A DAY TO REMEMBER - NEIL WESTFALL: Yes, we’re really excited to come back! The thing that I probably remember most about our last trip to New Zealand was when we got there, we played a show in Auckland and we were with two other bands at the time. It was an awesome first time and then when we got there, there was two vans for three bands to travel down to Wellington and play a show the next day, and then we had to come back to Auckland to play another show, so the main thing I remember I guess is being in a really cramped van with a bunch of smelly guys, learning about NZ and driving through it and seeing all the sights. CDM: It's been almost four years since you were last here, what can people expect from your live show this time round? NEIL: Well we are a lot better looking now, and we all have learned to play our instruments since, then so you can expect a good show hopefully. CDM: In terms of set-list, what can people look forward to? NEIL: It’ll be a mix of everything, that’s what we always try to do - put together a set-list that has a little something for everybody whether they’re new fans or old fans or people who only like one style; we try to cater to everybody, that’s really important to us. CDM: And will you be bringing across any of your stage production to NZ? NEIL: I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything, so I’m not sure what we’re going to do yet. I guess that will be a surprise to everyone, including us. CDM: And of course, do you think it's likely there will be some kind of opportunity for your fans to meet you next week? NEIL: We’ll be around the venue before and after the show and we’ll try to meet and sign as many things as possible while we’re out there, that’s what we always try to do.  CDM: Your last album ‘What Separates Me From You’ was released in 2010, and near the end of last year news came out that you'd be heading to the studio around March 2012 to start recording your next record. Is this still the case? NEIL: Yeah, as soon as we get back to the U.S. we’ll be home for two weeks. We’re not going to be hitting the studio in March because we have another tour, but as soon as we get back from the second leg of our Rise Against tour in the 'States we’re going to be buckling down and working on the new album. There’s no real set date yet. CDM: Now, I read a rumour online that there is a song ‘This Is Not What We're Supposed To Be’ already recorded, but it didn’t make the cut for 'What Separates Me From You' and is likely to appear on your new album... NEIL: We don’t have a song named that or anything recorded, so I don’t think that’s a real rumour. CDM: Can you tell us anything about what direction the new album is taking? NEIL: We just have parts and choruses and stuff like that, that are all over the spectrum, there’s no real shape just yet - just literally tonnes and tonnes of ideas that cover every end of the spectrum, heavy, poppy, rocky, everything. CDM: 'What Separates Me From You' was produced by Andrew Wade and Chad Gilbert. Have you decided on a producer for the next album? NEIL: I don’t think so, we’re probably going to do what we’ve always done before and figure it out all at the last minute and finalize everything then. Nothing is set in stone yet, we’re still just working out everything like when we’re going to go and actually record. But we do know that we will be tracking and recording with Andrew Wade, he’s going to be involved 100%.  CDM: Since you last played in NZ, the band has grown significantly - how does it feel to get awards like Fan-Favourite Breakthrough Band on MTV Buzzworthy and have your audience numbers increase? NEIL: It’s amazing, it’s kind of surreal. When we were a young band this is what we dreamed of every night when we were driving in our van in hopes that one day people would like us, and it’s just an amazing feeling to see things that you always hoped would happen but you were never really sure would... it’s something you could only hope for. CDM: The single ‘2nd Sucks’ has a sample from the game 'Mortal Kombat'. What is your favourite video game of all time? NEIL: Just for the record, that sample is something we actually made in the studio and it was meant to sound similar to ['Mortal Kombat'], it was influenced by that sound you could say... that’s just a fun fact <laughs>. My favourite video game probably would have to be 'Zelda'. CDM: You filmed the video for '2nd Sucks' in December with Drew Russ. When can we expect it to be released? NEIL: There’s no telling, I have no idea. All I can say is that it’s probably one of the most crazy music videos I’ve seen in a long time and that’s really all I know.  CDM: You recently played an acoustic version of ‘It’s Complicated’ for MTV Buzzworthy. Was it easy for you guys to translate the song into an acoustic version? NEIL: It was kind of crazy how it happened. We were all sitting backstage at our show with Rise Against, I think in Boston, and it was the day before we were supposed to go [to MTV] and our tour manager comes and goes: "Hey guys, tomorrow you’re going to be going to MTV and you’re going to be playing 'It’s Complicated' acoustic." And it was the first time I had ever heard about it, so we were like: "Holy shit what are we going to do?" So we grab the acoustic guitars out and we played it a couple of times, we played it regular and we were like: "Man we feel like it could sound so much better." Then Jeremy [McKinnon] and Kevin [Skaff] suggested that we do an open tuning on the rhythm guitar and kind of strummed it and it felt right and that was the version that happened. So yeah, it literally happened the day before by accident and I think it came out really awesome and I’m thankful that I didn’t mess up. CDM: Every band that experiences some rise in popularity, especially from a non-mainstream genre always seems to get some critical attack. What’s your best advice you’ve learned when facing critics or negative attitudes? NEIL: I’m still learning myself, but the thing that’s really helped me is to take what everyone says with a grain of salt and realise that their point of view is always going to be different from yours, and it’s good to get a different perspective on what you’re doing. If you use it to make yourself better then awesome, you should really not even listen to it if you don’t. That’s the best advice I can give.  CDM: And I believe your show with Rise Against in Chicago was one of your biggest indoor audiences - of 9000 - what goes through your mind when you’re on stage in front of so many people? NEIL: Don’t fuck up, that’s literally it. To be honest, when we went in to play that show and someone said: "We’re going to play the biggest show we’ve played to date, like just a single show and not a festival." It’s like you can’t think about it like that. We’re just going in and playing music that is fun and awesome and we’re trying to have a good time and when there’s that many people there to have a good time with you it’s an awesome combination. It went off, it was one of the best shows we’ve ever played, it was sick. You couldn’t even really tell that there were 9000 people there, it felt intimate and really cool as it felt like everyone was involved and having a great time. CDM: Do you have a final message for New Zealand fans ahead of the show? NEIL: We’re excited to come. Last time we were there we went up to the top of a volcano in Auckland we looked up over the whole city and that was probably one of the most memorable days in my life so I hope this time I can do the same and have another very memorable time, so I hope everyone can help me make it that way. COUP DE MAIN, SOLID ENTERTAINMENT & SOUNDWAVE TOURING PRESENTS... A DAY TO REMEMBER + Antagonist A.D, Snakes Of Iron, ‘Til Death Do Us Party. THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY - doors open 6:30pm. AUCKLAND - LOGAN CAMPBELL CENTRE. ALL AGES & LICENSED. TICKETS ON SALE NOW! $69 + booking fees. Ticketmaster 09 970 9700 www.ticketmaster.co.nz Under The Radar www.utr.co.nz  |
