Interview with Rock 103 FM

[Brandon Anix]

Hey Guys, just did an interview with Margie from Rock 103 FM!

Here are the audio files on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3EHlBAEsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7rl8YPlCgk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-xvDOS1iBU

Here is the transcribed interview:


"In a villainous world plagued by musical mediocrity, THE ANIX strives to save your soul from the sonic sludge with a soaring, cinematic approach to Electro Rock. Frontman Brandon Smith recently chatted with WVRK's Margie Jessica Patton about songwriting, the music business, super heroes, and why the California government sucks."


MJP: You're a very visual songwriter - your songs always evoke pictures in the listener's head, not only the lyrics but also the mood of the music. Is that how it works when you actually write the song? Do you start with images and moods then go from there?

Brandon: Every song starts out in a different way, but the room that I write all the songs in is actually covered in movie posters and comic book stuff, so I can just look up and I'm staring at a poster of a destroyed city or things like that. Or I put in a movie, most recently it was "American Psycho", I was watching that and just had an idea. It's kind of strange, most of my ideas start from watching a movie rather than most musicians, they hear a song they like and go "oh cool, let's do a song like that", I usually take it from a movie.

MJP: Is that the same with the lyrics? You have some pretty dark, bleak lyrics, but you seem like a happy, positive guy. So are you exploring your dark side or is more that you're a storyteller, like a movie director?

Brandon: I've never been a fan of songs that sound happy or portray positive messages for some reason. I've never been that big into lyrics actually. I've always been more about the entire thing, and how the entire song sounds and the mood that the entire thing puts you in, more of like the vocal melody and all that. But I guess since I watch "Forensic Files" and all that stuff the lyrics tend to go in that darker direction.

MJP: Your songs are written with a strong sense of balance. If the lyrics are too dark it becomes ridiculous and if there's too much going on with the electronics and the musical elements it becomes a mess. So is getting that balance a skill you've always had because you've been writing songs for so long, or is something you have to work on?

Brandon: I hear a lot of music, and when a song is too electronic it loses that personal effect that a normal song would have, or if it's too traditional sounding then it loses my interest. So when I'm writing songs it usually takes me about ten different song attempts before I latch on to one that I like and go with it. Just because either I lose interest or they're not strange enough or different enough sounding or there's nothing unique about it so I just drop them all. So I guess that whole process of having a small idea and if I don't like it I just move to the next one. Eventually one sticks and I go with it. I've always been into electronics, and I've tried bands before that didn't have it in there and I can't do it. Something about the electronics keeps my interest.

MJP: When I mentioned that you've been writing songs for a long time, I don't want people to think you're 60 years old or something! It's actually that you've been writing songs since you were really young. Your brother's a musician (The Anix's drummer, Logan Smith), and your dad is a musician, so you have it in your DNA and had it in your surroundings growing up...

Brandon: Growing up there were always guitars in the house because my dad played in an older Surf band called The Outsiders. Eventually once I started taking an interest in music naturally there are guitars laying around, there's keyboards, so I just started messing with it and he showed me either "Enter Sandman" or "Come As You Are" by Nirvana as the first song that I learned. Then once he showed me how to learn a song from listening to it, then I just did the rest on my own. I would sit in a room, play a CD and try to figure out the notes. And I did the same with keyboard and drums. I didn't like relying on other people to complete a song so I just taught myself to do all the parts, so I could just finish songs on my own and not have to wait until someone could come over and and do their part or sit for hours trying to construct a song. I just wanted it done immediately. That's kind of why I learned everything.

MJP: People might be surprised that not only have you been writing songs for a long time, but The Anix itself has been around for quite a while, and you've just had your breakout in the last few years. I've seen that a lot where supposedly "new" bands have actually been slugging it out for quite a while. So do you think the era of the "Instant Rock Star" is over, that all bands need to be established in a way before major labels and management will even look at them?

Brandon: I think definitely the way the music industry is now, to get a major deal with major backing behind you, you have to be a band that's already been around touring, selling records on your own, and you can fill clubs and all that. Once you've done that and have maxed out what you can do on your own, that's when a major label would step in and pull you up to the next level. But it's so rare. I know so many musicians who are unbelievably talented and nothing happens for them. It makes no sense. I know a lot of my friends who have famous parents who are musicians and they can't get anything going. It's probably the worst business to ever go into.

MJP: I don't know if it's changed recently, but I read an interview you did about a year ago where you said that L.A. was full of pretty unoriginal, basic rock bands with nothing really unique, so do you think that approach, kind of a "DIY gone wrong" may be the down side of YouTube and MySpace, where bands think they can make themselves stars without having any talent?

Brandon: I really don't like to judge anyone because I personally can't tell if the stuff I write is even good. But with YouTube and MySpace and Facebook it seems like what it takes to be well known is just the ability to market yourself. There are so many YouTube videos that have millions of hits that are just some girl in the bathroom dancing and singing a song in her underwear, but there are legitimate artists who have 2,000 hits on a video you don't understand isn't everywhere on TV. So it's disturbing to see what people actually like and what makes it. I don't know if there's any real technique to doing it. I guess most of it's based on luck and unfortunately how stupid or ridiculous you can market yourself.

MJP: Do you think as a result of that there's been a loss of respect for musicianship?

Brandon: Yeah, to a certain degree I guess. Obviously back in the 90's before the internet exploded, bands had to tour and the only way fans found out about them was from the radio or seeing them live. Bands that just toured across the world and never stopped. Now you get these bands that just post something on YouTube and they have that quirky little ridiculous aspect to it and they get a million views. So it's definitely a different era compared to even twenty years ago when musicians really had to work at it to get somewhere.

MJP: So how do you keep yourself inspired and challenged as a musician when things are pretty tough?

Brandon: Once in a while I come across bands and I see them doing it, and it may be a new band to me, but I find out they've been doing it for the same amount of time we've been doing it. Or someone who does something new and it's not just the traditional stuff that everyone does, like a band called innerpartysystem, that one basically opened my eyes that there's hope. And then of course, there's Muse, that's always a huge one to me. But I always seem to fall back on my original influences like Nirvana, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode... Once I put one of those CDs on again it starts another whole wave of inspiration.

MJP: With how long the band has been around now, you've seen a lot of changes in the line-up, which can also be disheartening...

Brandon: Yeah, it takes a certain type of person to be in a touring band that really takes it seriously. We've had a lot of members who jumped in because they thought something was going to happen right away and that type of person is in it for the wrong reason. So to find people that want to play music because they truly love playing music and they're not in it for money, fame, or self-promotion or anything like that, that's absolutely the hardest part about being in a band. And that's why we've had so many line-up changes, because you meet people, it seems like they're the right fit, and everyone takes it that it's just in the moment and that's what they want to do for that day or that year. But to find people who actually want to stick it out and they see what being in a real touring band is like, that's unbelievably hard to find.

MJP: I guess that's when something special happens, when you've got all those people who are really in it 100%...

Brandon: Definitely. With my brother in the band, he's been part of it from the start. That's a natural fit. And then Chris (Dinger) playing guitar with us, he's been there since day one also helping out with things. So the people that are in the band now have been there since the start so it seems like we finally have things in order.

MJP: When you finish writing a song, have you ever gotten that feeling like "Wow, where did that come from?"

Brandon: Yeah, a lot of songs you sit there for days and it's the only thing you do for a week solid, 24 hours a day. So by the time it's done the last thing you want to do is listen to it again. But after a week passes and you play the song in your car or whatever and you kind of get to hear it for the first time, then things start unraveling. A lot of the time I don't understand why I wrote certain lyrics or where they came from but after I listen to it I figure out why I wrote it. So as I'm writing lyrics I'm kind of....not there, just because I'm so buried in the song. Then once I step back it kind of makes sense. It's part of losing yourself in the song in the moment, when you're writing it all. During that process that's when you're the most vulnerable and I guess that's when the truth comes out. And in normal, everyday life you're not like that, you're not exposing yourself in that way. So that's why it takes a while to write songs now, that moment doesn't happen very often.

[Brandon Anix]

Part two:

MJP: So what's your personal belief system? Do you consider yourself a religious person or a spiritual person, and if you do, does that have any influence on the music?

Brandon: I guess more spiritual, but I'm not really big into either just because I have so many unanswered questions and I've seen so many things that can't really be answered by any religion. There's just no explanation for certain things that have happened to me and my family. I really don't want to preach about stuff like that but I guess right now I'm kind of not into anything.

MJP: I guess if you're a good person, that's all that matters, and I can tell you're a good person.

Brandon: (Laughs) Thanks!

MJP: You're very friendly and down-to-earth, but without naming names, have you ever met a musical hero who was a disappointment in real life?

Brandon: Yeah, one person I really looked up to. We were playing a festival on the same stage. I got to meet him briefly and it wasn't what I expected. I just kind of got blown off, but after the tour we ended up in a rehearsal room right next door to them out in L.A. and he actually remembered who I was and we started talking for a while and that kind of made up for it. Actually it's more the people working the stage than the actual musicians who are the assholes. There are so many egos with sound guys and people setting up the stage. That's the most disappointing part.

MJP: But we both know one person who is a genius musician and an incredible, amazing human being as well, and that is Stephan Groth of Apoptygma Berzerk! And some people might not know that not only are you a core member of The Anix, but you are also a member of Apoptygma Berzerk. So how did that happen? How did it go from opening for APOP to actually becoming part of APOP?

Brandon: Being on tour you have a lot of free time, just kind of sitting in the dressing rooms. He and I just kind of clicked instantly. We had the same kinds of problems in our bands, the same kinds of ideas and musical influences. In that short tour in Germany, we just became really good friends right off the bat. And I've been a fan of the band since like '99, and that was one of the reasons I started incorporating keyboards in my music. Programs, synthesizers and that sound was based on them. So once we had the opportunity to do that tour of course it was a no-brainer. And we talked on Skype before the tour for about an hour, and after that, I knew everything was going to be cool. I guess as frontmen we both have the same struggles, so that's kind of what clicked.

MJP: Since you're playing in both bands, is that difficult to deal with at all? Being a frontman in one band and being a sideman in another, especially in a band where the frontman is the band?

Brandon: I've never done it where I was playing in both bands in the same show, so this tour's definitely going to be a challenge, but I think I can do it. I actually enjoy playing in APOP because I'm not in charge of doing everything, Stephan's in charge of everything, so in a way I get to relax since I'm so used to The Anix where I'm doing everything in it. When I'm playing with APOP it's kind of like a fun, vacation type thing.

MJP: I guess that's more common in Europe anyway, where bands seem to share members all the time, and I think that's great, kind of like the music is more important than the individual egos...

Brandon: Yeah, it's cool. I was friends with the original members of the band and everyone's still friends and there's no bad blood. During that tour I think I played two shows with APOP, before I actually joined the band, where I just came up as a guest guitar player for a couple of songs and it was fun, it felt right for everyone.

MJP: Stephan has gotten a lot of attention for his belief in conspiracy theories. So are you a conspiracy theorist at all?

Brandon: Yeah! I've always had certain things that I feel about that whole topic. Especially since I joined APOP, Stephan's brought up so many things to me and it's pretty disturbing what's going on out there.

MJP: Everybody has a different angle on the most important part of conspiracy theories. I believe that there are cover-ups and lies, but I think it's more based on economics and I'm not quite sure about the whole NWO and global government stuff... So what's the most concerning part of it to you?

Brandon: Recently it's been more local government and the way California is handling things here and how they're scamming citizens out of absurd amounts of money. It's not a global issue, but everyone knows California is horrendously in debt and the ways they get money from the people are just absurd and putting people at risk. Like they're installing all these traffic lights with speed cameras with photo reinforcement, but they're actually changing the yellow lights to make them shorter to get people to run them in order to get that $400 ticket. It just really, really disturbs me, what's going on.

MJP: Do you think politics is inherently corrupt, or that some people come in with good intentions and the system makes them that way?

Brandon: They may think that they have good intentions, but I believe that every politician is corrupt, no matter what. It's part of the game.

MJP: So I guess the ultimate question then is, what can we do about it?

Brandon: Move to a different country? I don't know, there's really nothing you can do about it.

MJP: Well I guess like Stephan says, raising awareness is all we can do. Maybe if enough people raise their voices something will happen.

Brandon: Definitely. There's a TV show now on TruTv and I think it's actually called "Conspiracy Theory" where they're trying to uncover things. But even that, since it's on TV, can only go to a certain extent. I don't fully believe everything that's on there, but they do bring up things for you to investigate on your own more than what they can get to on TV.

MJP: After this tour, I'm assuming you'll be back at work on the new Anix album?

Brandon: That's correct, gotta finish it! We've got six or seven songs ready to go, and we were kind of discussing doing a six song album, but I've never done that previously and really don't want to start now. I'd rather just finish it and get another whole one out.

MJP: A guess on a possible release date?

Brandon: Definitely this year, hopefully by Summer.

MJP: You've mentioned before about doing guitar parts for the new Apoptygma Berzerk album as well. Have you already done that or is something still to come?

Brandon: We kind of messed around with some ideas, last time I was in Norway. Stephan would show me an idea then we'd discuss the direction we're going with it. And we're going to try something, rather than me flying back and forth, we're going to do some of the tracks through the internet where I'm going to record a clean guitar, send him the clean file, and then he's going to run it through an amp there, then mic the amp, so it's technically like I'm playing the part, just a couple of hours earlier. So we're gonna mess with that. And I guess the direction of the new (Apoptygma Berzerk) album will be more simplistic, so it's still going to be electronic, just less elements to it.

MJP: So you've definitely got a lot going on all the time. How do you keep yourself from going a bit crazy with it all then?

Brandon: Definitely going to the movies is one of my favorite pastimes, that and eating. I also like dogs. So any time I get to play with a dog that's some much needed stress relief.

MJP: Well, if you ever have any big problems, we all know you can use those hidden super powers that you have but haven't revealed to anyone yet! So who is your ultimate favorite super hero?

Brandon: As cliche as it is, it's going to have to be Batman. It's always been a toss-up between him, Iron Man, and Spiderman. But I think the whole Batman idea is really sweet because it's realistic, there's nothing impossible about the idea, and you have to wonder if there's someone out there actually doing something like that. There has to be. There are too many people with too much money for it not to happen. That's basically all it takes, someone who can defend himself and has the money to build the needed equipment to make it happen.

MJP: Well, you also need ingenuity, intelligence, and courage... kind of like you - you're the Batman of music!

Brandon: (Laughs) I'll take that!

MJP: As well as being an amazing musician, you're also an amazing artist. So have you ever thought about creating your own super hero?

Brandon: No, I think Marvel and DC do a good enough job with it! I don't see anything missing from their line-up. But I definitely like drawing those characters.

MJP: Maybe you should do something with Thomas (Jakobsen), Apoptygma's drummer. He's also an amazing artist.

Brandon: Yeah, he's ridiculous! He's really good!

MJP: So who knows, there could be an art project coming out of this tour as well.

Brandon: Yeah, we could have a full artist line-up!

MJP: And you'll be doing the art, the cover graphics, for the new Anix album?

Brandon: Yeah, I have a photographer I'm working with for the cover shot. As far as the layout and all that I'll probably handle that part. That's always one of the fun parts for me.

MJP: And if you could pick one super power to have, what would it be?

Brandon: Probably infinite knowledge.

MJP: Like a "Highlander" thing.

Brandon: Yeah, seeing through walls and being able to fly, that'd be cool, but having a built-in Google encyclopedia in your head, that would be pretty worthwhile!!!

[Brina's Music Mania]

Very good!

[echelon1230]

I really loved this interview too. Very inspiring for other artists actually.. And just overall exciting. Awesome stuff!