broadwaycalls

Interview conducted on April 11, 2008 by PanasonicYouth.

Buzznet: So...well this is weird.

Josh: I know.

Ty: This could be the best Buzznet interview ever.

Buzznet: I literally didn't write questions. I just jotted down the last 5 things I thought of 30 seconds ago. So you guys just finished your first press conference ever. Describe to me how you feel at this moment.

Josh: Weird. I don't even know. It was weird. I feel dirty.

Buzznet: How about you, Ty?

Ty: I thought I was going to throw up.

Buzznet: How come?

Ty: Mostly because of the pizza and frozen yogurt I had before this. I seriously thought I was going to throw up all over Katy Perry while Kevin Lyman was talking.

Buzznet: Because of what Kevin Lyman was saying? Or just in general? All the flashing lights?

Ty: No, I think it was the food. Definitely the pizza and yogurt.

Buzznet: Was it food they fed you here?

Ty: Yeah, half of it was.

Josh: It was the pizza. It was laced. With ipecac.

Buzznet: So I've already heard stories about it. You guys had a day off yesterday. Describe to me your day.

Josh: Ohhhh. Ok. Man, yesterday...what a day.

Ty: It was a good day.

Josh: We hung out with our friends in The Swellers. They had a show here at The Key Club, so we came and they got us in. There was this once band playing (I don't want to say who they are) and they were really bad. And I knew they were going to be bad. It was their CD release show and they were filming it. So we went down the street and I bought two packs of stink bombs. The glass kind. So during their whole set, we kept throwing stink bombs and they kept saying stuff on stage. It pretty much bummed them out. That was the goal.

Buzznet: Were they recording an audio track or video?

Josh: Video.

Buzznet: So there was no escaping it?

Josh: Nope, not at all.

Buzznet: You do realize that anyone could Google the bands and find out who you're talking about, right?

Ty: Oh yeah, they could.

Josh: The Swellers, here, they played on April 10th at the Key Club. There's all the info for you. Figure it out. And a Slick Shoes reunion show.

Buzznet: Which is weird. How were Slick Shoes?

Josh: We watched three songs of theirs.

Ty: They were good, but....well, I'm not into them anymore.

Josh: I don't think anyone cared.

Buzznet: Who's into them anymore?

Josh: Dude, I don't know.

Buzznet: Ironically, I broke my nose at a Slick Shoes and MxPX show. In a church. In junior high. How lame is that? That's how long it's been since I've seen Slick Shoes.

Ty: I've never actually seen them.

Buzznet: Are they still rockin' Jesus?

Ty: You know...I don't know.

Josh: They might have grown out of it. They singer looks like Jesus.

Buzznet: What??? The singer looks like Jesus?

Josh: He's got long hair and a beard.

Buzznet: No. That's not possible. The last time I saw them he had nothing. He probably couldn't even grow facial hair.

Josh: The last time I saw them, he had braces and a pompadour.

Buzznet: Oh yeah! That's what he looked like. Weird.

Josh: And then we went to Malibu and we ate breakfast, looking out from a balcony at the ocean.

Ty: We actually saw dolphins. It was awesome.

Josh: When does that happen??? Not to us.

Buzznet: How did you guys actually get invited to be on the Warped Tour?

Josh: Through our booking agent, I think.

Buzznet: Is there any story attached to that? Did someone really just hear your album?

Ty: We have heard something.

Josh: So what we heard is that Billie Joe [Green Day]...you know, since we're such good friends with Billie Joe...he gave the CD to Kevin [Lyman], and now we're on Warped.

Buzznet: So how does it feel to know that Billie Joe from Green Day likes your record?

Ty: Awesome! If it's all true, it's all awesome.

Josh: It makes my nipples tingle.

Buzznet: It does?

Josh: Oh yeah.

Buzznet; That's pretty rad. So what about bands you're looking forward to playing with or watching on the Warped Tour?

Josh: There's like...10 that I want to see. Against Me!, Beat Union, 3OH3!, The Briggs, The Street Dogs, Every Time I Die.....is that it?

Ty: The Bronx.

Josh: Oh yeah, The Bronx.  I don't know who else is playing.

Ty: Set Your Goals.

Josh: Yeah, our friends in Set Your Goals are playing. They'll be fun to hang out with and watch.

Ty: I don't know who else is on it. The All-American Rejects are cool. We saw them at Bamboozle last weekend.

Buzznet: Have you heard their side project?

Josh: No, but we were talking about it.

Buzznet; You'd like it. They're called These Enzymes and it's totally weird to think they're also in The All-American Rejects. Go find and listen to their stuff.

So we just premiered your video on Buzznet this morning. How did that process come about, to actually make a full-length video like that?

Josh: It was a long, long day.

Buzznet: Whose idea was it?

Josh: It was actually the Set It Straight last show; you know the pictures from that?

Ty: You were there, right?

Buzznet: No.

Josh: Ryan [Power, of Future Primitive] was there. So our manager showed a film company those pictures and they were like, "Let's re-create that." I mean, that's all we wanted to do was a performance video. That's what it is. We played the song ten times, I think.

Ty: Yeah, we played like, six or seven times in a row. We played it live, but we played it to the correct tempo, so it could match up with the CD. Then we played a regular set, so the kids wouldn't get too bored.

Josh: Plus a Set It Straight cover. We had Harry [Set It Straight] sing.

Buzznet: Whoa. What song?

Ty: "For You. For Me."

Josh: We told him we were doing a New Found Glory cover, since that's his favorite band. But it was really Set It Straight. It was awesome.

Buzznet: It's really the best thing you can do at that point.

Ty: And then we had to play it another four or five times.

Josh: And we also had to play a show that night in Sacramento.

Buzznet; Damn, that's a long drive.

Ty: Yeah, it was rough.

Buzznet; That sucks. I'm sorry.

Josh: It wasn't horrible. It was actually really fun. And the kids were awesome. The video is real. The kids were going off. We were actually playing and singing.

Buzznet: Oh yeah, I've been to Redding. Those kids are f---ing nuts. So as far as new stuff, are you guys still writing that stuff when you're on the road?

Ty: Not really on the road, but when we're home for like two weeks or something, if we have time, we'll get together and write. Like this last time we were home.

Josh: Adeline is doing a 7" split with us and Teenage Bottle Rocket. Monday we start recording with the dudes from Comadre and get that done.

Buzznet: I hate you guys. I really do. So, I imagine that since you guys have been getting in "the press" ore often, are you guys getting offers from labels now?

Josh: Not that we know of, but if that were to happen, they'd contact management. I'm gonna say it hasn't happened, but it could very well happen.

Buzznet: Do you have any dream labels you'd like to be on?

Ty: Not anymore. I don't think it really matters what label you're on anymore.

Josh: Epitaph and Vagrant are two labels that we would definitely be happy with. We'd still to this day love to be on them.

Ty: When we were all 15, we loved Lookout! I think Adeline is a second Lookout!, so we're pretty stoked on Adeline.

Buzznet: You guys come from a punk and hardcore background. You were both in Countdown To Life. But you write ridiculously poppy music. Do you find yourself listening to pop music and enjoying it as a genre?

Ty: Oh yeah, I listen to mostly pop. I barely listen to hardcore or metal.

Buzznet: Is that a recent development or do you think that's always been the case?

Ty: We started playing this kind of music because we've always listened to it. I mean, we like other kinds of music.

Buzznet: So Broadway Calls makes more sense for you musically than Countdown For Life?

Ty: Yeah. I mean, they both made sense to me, to us. We do like that kind of music and we were able to play because we liked that genre. This does make more sense, I guess, when you look at our playlists.

Josh: Our local record store, they had everything, but they really pushed Lookout! and Fat Wreck Chords. So we grew up on that. That's why it makes sense.

Buzznet: Best mid-90s Fat Wreck Chords album. Go.

Ty: Hoss. Lagwagon.

Josh: Yeah. Trashed.

Ty: I'm gonna go with Hoss.

Josh: Lagwagon in general. Yeah, Hi-Standard was pretty awesome.

Buzznet: They were from Japan, weren't they?

Josh: Yeah!

Buzznet: And they had that gnarly cover of "California Dreamin,'" right?

Josh: Yeah. That ruled! Those comps were the best things ever.

Ty: Yes, every one of those was good.

Buzznet: I'm pretty sure the third one was my favorite. It had...I already forgot what was on it. But I remember Propagandhi was on it.

Josh: How To Clean Everything!

Buzznet: So, as the second half to that last question, do you guys follow pop culture at all? Or is your pop consumption only centered around music?

Ty: It's really hard to be a consumer of anything when you're in a van all day.

Buzznet: That's true.

Ty: I mean, we listen to one talk radio show in the morning, when we can, and sometimes they touch on certain things that are happening in pop culture.

Buzznet: So you guys would be oblivious to....what's big right now? Oh, like Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson getting engaged.

Ty: Yeah, totally.

Josh: Actually, we know about that because of Buzznet. We checked it today.

Buzznet: Well, regardless of that, you wouldn't know that kind of stuff.

Josh: No, not at all. Sometimes I'll go to Perez Hilton, because it's already programmed into my phone.

Buzznet: Yeah, mine too.

Ty: That's all my friend talks about. She buys trash mags every Thursday and always has something exciting to talk about. Like, I knew about the Pete and Ashlee thing because of her.

Buzznet: So how do you feel about Pete and Ashlee?

Josh [laughing]: Good for them!

Ty: Rich family.

Buzznet: Very.

Josh: Some beautiful babies.

Ty: I don't know about that. Yikes.