This is just a backup of the original interview. You should check the original one here.

Interview

By Jeff M. Powell @ Mammoth Press
With Vinnie
On September 21th, 2005

So how are you?
I'm doing well, man. I'm doing well.

I'm guessing since you're playing CMJ tomorrow you guys are out there getting ready.
Yeah, I'm actually driving around Brooklyn (New York) finding a parking spot so we can have rehearsal. (laughs) So, yeah, we're preparing.

According to your tour journal you were not feeling well recently. That's behind you now?
Yeah, I got it all checked out and they said I was OK and go back to work, so we are. Just basically, like, we had a week left of dates and I knew we then had two weeks off, and I knew something was going wrong. So I figured I'd try to take care of it before the bulk of the touring for the record. So, we're back and in full health, and we're ready to do it. The record's coming out in a few weeks and we've got touring straight up until the holidays booked, so we're ready to get back into full gear starting tomorrow.

You've obviously put out records before, but not with this band. Is there more pressure for this release than others you've put out in the past?
Well, uh... I suppose there should be because there is pressure being applied (laughs) by people who are instantly comparing it to Movielife. But I'm not comparing it to Movielife; which I shouldn't because it's not Movielife. We're not putting any pressure on ourselves, but there are obviously people who cared a lot about The Movielife, and the first thing they think is, "OK, let me hear a song." And they hear five seconds of the song, and go, "Oh, OK, Movielife is better." Or, "Avalanche is better." And it's not supposed to be about which band they like better. If you like Movielife, you can like Avalanche. And if you don't, well, don't yell Movielife songs at me. (laughs) Just go to the back. (laughs)

Has that been a problem at Avalanche shows?
No, like I said, it's not a problem because it's expected. But it happens, and we kind of laugh about it. I usually make a joke about it because it's like, "Alright, well you bought a ticket, and you didn't see Movielife on the flyer did you? Let's stop kidding each other. You're here to see us, so get into it." So, no, it's not a problem; it's expected. And I would imagine that other artists who have done what I've done, and gone and started new projects and things, probably had to deal with it much worse than I have—people have been very cool about it.

Was Drive-Thru Records an obvious choice?
Yeah. I mean, Drive-Thru is Drive-Thru. When it was time to figure out who was doing the record, it was going to be Drive-Thru the whole time. Drive-Thru and I have a good rapport, and a good understanding of what's happening, and a good understanding of I Am The Avalanche. And there's a respect that's there that makes things easier to do. So, I mean, everything is so far so good with Drive-Thru—they take care of us, for sure.

Now I'm sure everyone has asked you this same set of questions, but it's kind of par for the course, and you have to go over some of The Movielife stuff: Why did The Movielife end?
Movielife ended because it was time to end. I mean, there was no really in-depth, dramatic explosion of an end that kind of happens to a lot of bands. There are bands that break up and are mutual about it because it's sort of a the-band-ran-its-course kind of thing, and I would imagine Movielife was similar to a lot of those cases as far as it being the band's time. Basically people grow up. I was 18 when I started Movielife and everyone grew and everyone wanted to go on to do different things whether it be musical or career-wise or just a get-away-from-each-other type of thing. It got ugly for a little while on tour and things weren't going that great. Things were going great as far as people digging the band and coming to see us, but as far as our mental state, and our happiness with each other—that wasn't really happening. And the vibe with the Movielife, and the vibe, I think, with any band that I do, especially Avalanche, is just a family vibe. It's good vibes during the live shows and that's kind of the way things go. And the last thing I wanted was for people to notice that the vibes weren't good any more. I didn't want to tarnish anything. I didn't want to drag it through the dirt for another year, and have people be, "Yeah, Movielife are just whatever now..." So it just kind of ended mutually in way that we were all like, "Let's just end this because we can't really come to any sort of understanding as far as where we're going, and what we're doing, and when we're playing, and where we're playing." So it kind of ended like that.

You said certain members of The Movielife wanted to do different things such as pursue careers outside of music. Were you one of those members or did you immediately jump into another musical project?
I actually did jump into another band right away. I joined Head Automatica as a guitar player, which wasn't exactly like jumping into a band right away because the Head Automatica that I was in was a little bit different than the Head Automatica that everyone has come to know. This was before the record the came out. And this was before the touring had started. And it wasn't just before the record came out, it was before people really knew who they were and before "Beating Heart Baby" and "(The) Razor" and all of that stuff was written because they went and recorded all of that stuff afterwards. And I guess my point is: it wasn't really like jumping back in the van. Head Automatica was pretty much a jam session while I was in it. We were kind of trying to get it together; trying to rehearse for the future, for touring and stuff. So I'd say I was in Head Automatica from October (2003) to maybe February (2004), something like that. With that, I mean, basically that's an easy explanation as far as I wanted to do a band and I didn't really know I did. I was very happy being in Head Automatica because they are a great band and they're great friends of mine, but while I was in the band I was writing, and kind of got my confidence back up, and kind of was wanting to tour again. That's kind of my main thing with Avalanche: I like writing, and I like when people can relate to what I do, and I like being a frontman because it's fun, and I like having that experience with the crowd—and I kind of wanted that again. So that's when I decided to get this thing going. But it took a while because I wasn't in the mood for any of that any more. I was home, and I was kind of liking it. But at the same time, you just end up missing it. I guess I was home kind of going, "Let's see what happens. Let's see if I miss this. Let's see if I have to go back to it." Because I knew I'd always write and that I'd always play tunes, I just didn't know if I'd be doing it for the people. But I kind of got to that point again, so now I'm kind of back; back to where I was as far as writing, and touring, and making records, which is great. I feel like it's really the only thing I'm confident doing and the only thing I like doing for the majority for the year. I'm pretty lucky. I'm pretty lucky that I got together with this band, and these guys all like the music and everyone's into it. It kind of came together pretty easily. And I think it came together easily because of the amount of time I took putting it together—trying not to make the same mistakes that I did last time.

A lot of bands that I've spoken to have told me that going "home" after spending months on the road is always a very sobering experience because chances are "home" is a bedroom in their parents' house and a very different kind of life. What was home like for you before you started Avalanche?
Home was going back to sleeping at my parents' house, which as a 24-year-old guy—I think I was 24—as a 24-year-old dude not wanting to live at his folks' house. I mean, he loves his folks, but he's got to be somewhere else. And that was really the first time. I never moved out or did any shit like that because we were only home a month and a half a year, so when I got home I was like, "Wow. I really live here now, huh? I haven't lived on Long Island (New York) really since I was 18." So that was kind of tough—getting out of that exciting-ass lifestyle where I was playing in front of kids and having everything go well. That was tough. But I think pretty soon after that happened I was in San Francisco where we had kind of relocated because Head Automatica was a bi-coastal band, and Daryl (Palumbo, vocalist of Head Automatica and Glassjaw) and I wanted to get out of New York for a little while. And then I came back from San Francisco and moved into Brooklyn, which is where we started I Am The Avalanche. But yeah, you're right, it's a really, really sobering experience, very humbling, very go back to work. It was like, "Work? I haven't been to work in forever." A band is work, but it's work you like. So it was definitely tough. It's not like The Movielife threw it away, but we worked hard, and at the peak of our success we broke up. So that's kind of hard to deal with—thinking of what could have been. But at the same time, it would have run into the ground a few months later if we hadn't done it. We were about to go on a month-long tour in Europe and we would have pulled each other's heads off.

When The Movielife broke up, what was the overall fan reaction?
Very surprised. People were really surprised, and I think that we became more popular (laughs) which is what usually happens. You know, you tend to take a band for granted—not saying that people took Movielife for granted, our supporters were very diehard about it—but we would come through four or five times a year to everyone's city, and now we were gone. And people were pissed. People were upset. People were sad. People were confused. I could imagine going to see a band every time they came through and then they just break up, and I'd be like, "Whoa, what the hell?" It was a tough reaction, and the reaction was weird. But it was funny. Like I said, we were one of those bands that became more popular because people were now like, "Fuck. Now we can't go see them." And our record was still selling because we were doing well. So, I don't know. That was interesting: going to shows back at home, going to see my friends' bands play and having kids just going, "What the fuck?" (laughs) It was a weird time. It was just a weird, weird experience. It was like a twilight zone.

How did you announce I Am The Avalanche?
We didn't really announce it. I kind of recorded demos and stuck them on the Internet. And people recognized my voice. People started talking. That's kind of how people came to be aware of who we were. And people were kid of just finding out for themselves. And really, still so many people don't know that I have a new band, and that's why Avalanche is working so hard because we can obviously use that to our advantage—which we do, which is great. Like, we have people come to see us play and we don't even have a record out, and it's really cool. But touring is pretty much the biggest tool as far as letting people know, "Hey, I'm back. Check it out." So basically I just leaked demos on to the Internet and saw what people thought of them.

How has the response been from Movielife fans? And how has the response been from kids who have no idea about what you did Movielife?
I'd say on both parts it's been great. There are always the Movielife purists who are just like, "Movielife. Movielife. Movielife." And they're not going to open their ears wide enough to pay attention—which is fine; I've been guilty of that before with bands that I like. But for the most part, I've come into a city with Avalanche and there are, like, 50 kids standing there who, I know for a fact, were standing there the last time I was there with Movielife. And it's like, "This is awesome. These kids are just following what I do." It's definitely a good feeling. And this is a very self-indulgent band. We made the record that we wanted to make and for people to—but at the same time, it's not full self-indulgent. We're playing music for people and luckily those people have been awesome about it. For the most part, it's been great. We've been doing a lot of different types of tours, and we're getting good reactions. And the record's not out, but the record is coming out soon, and people are starting to hear it, and people are liking it. So I think things are looking pretty good.

To jump back a bit, you said with this band you were very deliberate about putting together Avalanche so as not to repeat the same mistakes as The Movielife. What is it about Avalanche—in particular your new band mates—that makes this different?
Well, it was more like to not repeat the mistakes of everything in the broad scheme of things, not just putting together a band. There weren't any mistakes made in putting Movielife together. It was just that I knew what it takes to have a band stay together, and for people in the band to be happy together, and for people to create music together, and people to write, and stay happy, and be a unit. This time around I was like, "I'm not doing this every five years. I don't want to sit there and break up and have new things all the time. I need longevity with this band, and I need to get with guys who totally understand this whole thing. That was kind of the first step: putting together a band that I thought from my experience would work in what we need to do. And I kind of knew what we needed to do because I'd been there before.

How has everyone taken to life as I Am The Avalanche?
Everyone is loving it. Kellen (Robson, bassist) toured a bunch in Scraps And Heart Attacks, Mike (Ireland, guitarist) and Brett (Romnes, drummer>)don't have much touring experience, and Brandon (Swanson, guitarist) obviously has touring experience with Further Seems Forever—but everyone loves it. We all love our songs, and we all love being together. It's not that often where you step into a band where you have a van, and you have a trailer, and you have a record label, and you have a place to go to record your record. And a lot of my friends have been really generous with giving us tours and things like that. So we've gotten a nice little head start, and all of the guys in the band are stoked. It makes our lives a little bit easier. We just know that we need to work our asses off. I don't know, it just seems like when we went on tour that everybody had been touring forever together, and it wasn't really a big adjustment or anything for everyone.

For you personally, have you matured and/or have you changed since The Movielife?
I've definitely changed a lot—a lot, a lot. I'm going to be 26 next week, and it's like from 18 to 26 I've come completely full circle as a dude, and as someone who understands things a little more. I've matured for sure in my dealings with people, and my dealings with being mature about certain situations have changed a lot. My songwriting has changed, like, my lyrical approach, my influences—those kinds of things have changed. It just feels different. There are probably people who think I'm up on stage just kind of reliving Movielife. But that's not really the case at all because this feels completely different than The Movielife. It's a completely different vibe on stage, and a completely different vibe in the van. It's just different. It doesn't feel like The Movielife at all.

And that's a good thing?
I think it's a good thing. Movielife was a good thing, too. I mean, Movielife was a great thing, and I loved it and everything. But for this time in my life, this is it. That's the past, and the only thing you can do is take the good things from it, and then kind of make it work for the future. And that's kind of what I'm doing right now.

What is the best thing that has ever happened to you?
The best thing that has ever happened to me is music in general. I'm walking around the streets of Brooklyn right now and every single person is just hustling and struggling—and I'm struggling at the same time, but I'm going into a little basement practice space to rehearse for three months of touring. And now that I know that I can do that, and I know that that's there and that this life exists—when I figured out that this could happen, I could never go back. Like, we've been home for a few weeks. The only reason that I'm happy being home is because I know that I'm going back out, and I know that I'm going to play music, and I know that my record is coming out. You know how you're having a tough week and you've always got that light at the end of the tunnel? That light at the end of the tunnel for me has always been music. Ever since I've started playing, music is the thing I've always looked forward to. Whether it's a show, whether it's making a record, whether it's going to practice or going on tour—that's all I think about. In my brain when I'm walking I don't pay attention to anything and almost get hit by cars because I have five different songs that I'm writing at the same time in my head. It's like all music right now, and that's kind of the best part of my life.

And how about the worst thing?
The worst part, the worst thing that's ever happened to me—I don't know, there's been a lot of bad shit. I could talk about all of the shitty things that have happened over the past year, but I don't know if those are necessarily bad things because I've kind of turned them into a positive. The worst thing that is going on right now is the worst debt of my life. (laughs) I'm pretty much just sitting in debt. That's the thing I hate most about life: money. Playing in a band doesn't equal money. And it's not like I need a lot of money, but I need a little bit to pay my bills. So I'd say that life is good and all of the shitty shit that's happened to me—that shit's come out on the record and that shit's been exorcised, and those demons are gone. So, I'm happy. If I didn't go through a lot of horrible shit, then I don't even know if I would have a record. And I don't know if that drive on stage, and that happiness, and that kind of therapy that I get on stage would be there.

Just to reflect on The Movielife experience—did you achieve the kind of success with Movielife that you had wanted to?
Well, the way Movielife started was, "Hey, let's play some shows around Long Island, and our friends will mosh." And that was it—seriously. We were not planning on touring. We didn't have any goals at all. I didn't even play on being in a band. I was like, "I'll sing." That was like all it was. (laughs) Then things on Long Island started getting good, we started getting more attention outside of New York, and things just escalated. So it wasn't ever a thing where we were like, "We have to sell this many records or we need to do this and this and this." By the time we realized that that was what we were going to do, as far as touring and being a band for real, I guess the goal was to just tour, and just have fun doing it—because it was so fun. We ended up touring with so many bands that we respected and loved, and we were just happy about it. We were never one of those bands which were put together with the intentions of achieving something. We were just going to write tunes, hang out on Long Island, and never leave.

And where do you intend to take I Am The Avalanche?
With this band, we put together a band, I knew I was going to get this van, and I knew I was going to tour. I knew what we were going to do. The goal with this band was to make a record. We did it, it's coming out, and we'll see how it goes.

Back to interviews index