Poison The Well - Ryan
Interview Date: February 01, 2007
Associated band: Poison The Well
You have a few weeks before the band goes out on tour. What have you guys been up to in this down-time before the tour?rn
RYAN: We’ve been rehearsing a shit-load. I guess we’ve been hanging out and enjoying home after so much time in Sweden. There was no sun in Sweden for like a month in a half.
April 3rd is the release date for Versions. How excited are you to finally get an album out to the fans after so long?rn
I really really am excited to just have this record get out, period. It sucks that it has been a three-and-a-half year gap. That’s something I never wanted to have happen. Because of the difficulties here and there, that’s just what we’ve had to happen. I’m really excited to get this CD out and play these new songs though. A lot.
Are there any songs in particular off Versions that you really enjoy playing live?rn
Any of them really. I think I would have fun playing any songs on the record live. I would say some…. if I knew what the titles of the songs were. I would say #1, but that wouldn’t mean anything to anyone but me.
Your new album mixes the heavier sound of PTW from the past with a much more surreal, rock element you’ve introduced. How did that come about?rn
It sort of progressed like that naturally. It came about from just us all writing music together and having that happen. I’ve been extremely excited for this coming out, and I feel really good about the material on the new record. I hope people dig it!
How did you specifically challenge yourself on this record?rn
I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone with it. I think everyone did with the new record. I challenged myself with guitar and everything else. I played most of the stuff on the new record except for the drums. Well, our producer actually did play one mean guitar solo. It sounds like really amazing. The album stepped out of the comfort zone for all of us because we wanted to make something new for us and make us grow.
Were there any bands that you guys were around a lot between the last album and this album that you have come to admire and respect?rn
I think that I have a lot of respect for almost everyone who is in a band for the right reasons. We’ve done a couple of tours with a couple of bands over the last few years that have amazing people in them. They have a lot of really cool ideas about music. Being on the Sounds Of The Underground tour and being around a band like High On Fire, who does exactly what they want to do and have no questions about really what they are going to do, it just makes you want to go out and do it. On the Strhess Tour, all the bands were doing what they wanted to be doing. And hanging out with a band like Darkest Hour is pretty awesome. They do a lot of what they want, and it really became a thing where we could do what we want.
Last year, there was a demo leak online of six or seven songs from your demo sessions. Did you end up finishing any of those demos?rn
I think one of those songs is on the record. I could be wrong…. No, I think one of those songs did make it to the record. It’s funny; those songs actually got leaked directly from my computer. I had file-sharing software and didn’t protect my iTunes…. I wasn’t really bummed because you know, it happens. I’m sure our record will be out online before it’s really out in stores. That’s how it works nowadays. Which I guess is cool. I’m more concerned with how kids think about the record. I get excited because I want to know what everyone thinks and how everything goes with this record.
Is there any story behind the title Versions?rn
I think it’s because we went through four different recording sessions to end up making the record that we made. I think that has a part to do with it.
Brian Montuori did the art for Versions. Was there a certain theme you were going for when you went to him about doing your CD design?rn
We asked Brian to do some work for us, and we played him a few songs from the record. We told him what was in our heads as far as what we were going to do with the music. He went off from there, and he really took it to his own place. That was one of our goals with going to him for the art.
Do you have any preliminary touring plans coming up?rn
First off, we’re going to Europe at the end of this month… We don’t have any supporting bands for that confirmed yet. We have a month-long tour in April with Fear Before The March Of Flames, Heavy Heavy Low Low, Portugal The Man, and the band The End.
What are your goals for touring this year?rn
Our plans right now are to just tour our asses off and play as much as we can play. I think that if festivals or big tours happen, that’d be awesome. If not, we’ll have something big and exciting of our own to do instead.
Right now, you have Mike and Brad filling in on bass and guitar. Is that for just this tour?rn
We’ll see how things go. It’s going to be for the next couple months for sure. Hopefully it’ll be something that lasts. That would be my ideal situation, at least.
Do you feel that maybe some of the work you did on the record may not be able to translate to a concert atmosphere?rn
Well I’m sure that we wouldn’t be able to extenuate all the elements of it exactly the same. There are going to be a little bit of different riffs, melodies, etc. That’s kind-of the point though…. When you play live, it should be different than the record. I don’t think we’d want to sound the exact same live as on our record. That defeats the point of it being a different experience.
At the end of last year, you signed to Ferret Records. How did that come about?rn
Carl and our whole band has been friends with half the people who work there for six or seven years now. They are people that we know really well. Our bands play together a lot and whatever. It’s always been a friend situation. It felt really logically when we didn’t have a label anymore to be with someone who had some real history with us. That part was really exciting for us.
Do you guys have any plans for music videos for the record?rn
I’m sure we’ll be doing a video sometime soon for the new record…. I’m not quite sure with who, or what song, but… It’ll be happening most likely. We definitely want to do a music video. I think that our main focus right now is to just get back on the road.
Are there any bands in particular that you really miss and can’t wait to see again while you’re on the road?rn
I would really like this band from Sweden called Cult of Luna. They’re a really good band. I really hope I bump into a lot of bands. I’m just excited to go on tour. I hope to meet a lot of new bands I don’t know yet too.
What do you want to accomplish on 2007?rn
To continue to make music and be able to play shows life. That’s my goal in life. I don’t really have any lofty goals or aspirations. Get rich, win the lotto, and marry Pamela Anderson…. I don’t know, that just isn’t me at all. I just like playing music, and as long as I can do that, I am happy. That’s my final goal: to be happy.
