Interview with Jon, Nick, and Devan from Emanon
Via AIM.
By Joanne

Big thanks goes out to the guys for taking part in the interview.

Joanne: Who are you and what do you do?
Jon: I'm Alvin. I'm a russian spy.
Nick: I'm Nick. I play bass and some backup vocals here and there.
Jon: For real, I'm jon, I play drums and cymbals. And I press the "go" button on our Yamaha beat box.
Nick: That’s his specialty.
Jon: Yeah.

Joanne: Haha, oh man. Well, you guys are still in school, what's it like trying to juggle school and the band?
Jon: It’s a bitch.
Nick: Well, I’m sure its harder to juggle the two, but we do what we can to make time for our music without failing out of school.
Joanne: Failing would be bad.
Jon: Yah ask nick about that, he's an expert on the subject.
Joanne: F is for FANTASTIC!
Jon: Haha, then our band is going to summer school.
Nick: Which is what Jon got in math, haha.
Jon: Thanks.
Joanne: Oooohhhh low blow.
Nick: We got matching D-'s in our math class, the only class we share.
Jon: Yah ‘cause Nick is a dumbass. Alright lets not get too sidetracked.
Nick: Yes sir.
Joanne: Moving on...

Joanne: What would you say makes for a good atmosphere at a show?
Jon: For me? My drums, a good crowd and lights. And Nick and Devan are nice to have around once in a while.
Nick: Oh well I think the biggest thing in my opinion is the crowd. When you have a bunch of people right up against the stage that are into your music, it creates an awesome atmosphere.
Jon: Yah and other good bands help.
Nick: Yes.
Jon: Bands like Bayside, The Sleeping. playing with Mental Elvis just ain’t cool.
Nick: Well its fun to feed off other bands’ energy.
Joanne: Makes sense.
Nick: No need to mention names :-) But we’ve had our share of awesome and not so awesome openers.
Joanne: Spill some good and some bad, I want to hear this.
Jon: On the bands we've played with?
Joanne: Oh yes.
Jon: Bayside, The Goodwill, The Sleeping, Your Day Strong, Last Picked = good.
Nick: Well for me it was awesome opening for bands like Bayside and The Sleeping.
Jon: Bad bands? I don’t want to really name names but we've had our share of crappy experiences.
Nick: Well I guess we'll name one. We played with a band called Mental Elvis. They were more funny than bad. They had a lead singer who kind of took on the role of Elvis and they played a bunch of covers.

Joanne: What inspired you to begin making music? Why do you want to be in a band?
Jon: Inspiration. Well as far as me personally, I've always wanted to play drums, music is a big part of my family. My dad is a bass player, he used to tour and do a lot of gigging back when he was a young dude.
Nick: Well I started playing bass guitar from just seeing bands on TV and listening to CDs...but then I first thought about playing with other people when our friend matt introduced me to Devan, our guitar player. We just cliqued well. Then Jon came into the picture, and its been downhill from there, heh.
Jon: Cliqued? What a moron. Using your British tongue. This is an AMERICAN interview!
Nick: Clicked.
Jon: There we go, thanks.
Joanne: We once called a British bouncer Australian. Random fact.
Nick: Haha, I could be a bouncer.

Joanne: If you could describe your live show in 3 words, what would they be?
Jon: Alright we've both agreed on an answer/ Wam...Bang...Boom ... – that’s how you feel after one of our shows.
Nick: That’s how we feel too.
Jon: Yah, haha. Kind of like really fast sex.
Nick: You spelled wham wrong. "WHAM...BANG...BOOM!"
Joanne: Haha.

Joanne: What bands have influenced you, either personally or musically?
Nick: Here we go.
Joanne: Uh-oh.
Jon: Oh man, this is gunna be big time.
Joanne: Haha, I know.
Jon: And Nick always beats me.
Joanne: These lists must be huge.
Jon: Somewhat.
Nick: To name a few...cKy, The Mars Volta, Nirvana and Foo Fighters, At The Drive-In, Cursive, RATM, The Faint, (basically anything off of Saddle Creek Records), The Blood Brothers, The Dillinger Escape Plan…I listen to so many bands... and every band I listen to, I get inspired by some aspect of it. Like just 2 days ago I got 15 CDs in the mail.
Joanne: Why and how?
Jon: Rage against the machine, CKY, Cursive, The Blood Brothers, Mars Volta, James Brown, Wayne Shorter , The Faint, Stereolab, Don Caballero, Radiohead, Pumpkins, and a shitload more. We're always introducing each other to new bands. And yah, Saddle Creek rocks.
Nick: Well I work, so that’s how I have money to blow...
Joanne: Work is evil.
Jon: Yah and I'm a poor mofo because all I do is play drums.
Nick: Yeah, I want to quit.
Jon: But one day I'll be rich and famous.
Joanne: Hahaha, I am also a poor child because all I do is run a website.

Joanne: How would you convince me (or anyone else) to come to one of your shows?
Jon: "Come to see us, or we'll fucking kill you bitch." hahaha ... that’s how it usually goes. I don’t really mean that, but yah hahaha.
Nick: Well, I'll put it this way. If you’re sick of seeing the same old punk band, or the same old hardcore band, then come see us. We try to offer something different and refreshing to you guys.
Jon: Yah I like Nick’s answer.
Nick: So do I.
Jon: We really include a lot of different stuff in our shows.
Nick: And I say this after going to show after show of boring bands that do nothing different. We try to mix it up.
Jon: Effects, little interludes, electronic beats mixed in, sounds that you won’t hear anywhere else. That’s what really makes us, along with our kicking material, our live show is really a performance.
Joanne: Haha, good answers.
Jon: Plus, we're all dead sexy.

Joanne: How did you end up getting sponsored by Reject Clothing?
Jon: Well, I have been talking to Dickie, the owner for a while now about getting some shows or a tour together for us with them. We were talking the other day and he mentioned he'd like to make us one of his sponsored bands.
Nick: Yeah…

Joanne: What are some of your favorite venues to play?
Jon: Empress Ballroom is nice. We have a show coming up at the Webster, that place is pretty nice too. Haha, we've played in a batting cage before, not my favorite but that was fun.
Nick: Well, Empress Ballroom in Danbury is fun.
Joanne: A batting cage?
Jon: Yah , we've actually done about 2 or 3 shows there. One was with Bayside/The Sleeping. Its a pretty big room that they put nets up in, it’s fenced in and has a turf floor.
Nick: Yeah, well I guess it was a year ago, we were looking for random places to play in Norwalk, and we remembered a band 'Beyond Captivity' played at Grandslam USA, so we set up a show in this big room there.
Jon: They just told us to set up at one end and about 200 kids showed up and filled the room up. It was cool.
Joanne: Ahhh, that's cool.
Nick: It’s a pretty big space, just weird to play on Astroturf.

Joanne: Astroturf? That's awesome. Speaking of Bayside, who are some of your favorite bands to play with?
Jon: Well, my personal favorites have been TheSnakeTheCrossTheCrown from Cali, and Bayside. Your Day Strong is a good band, and we all really liked the Sleeping.
Nick: Yeah, The Sleeping was fun, as was Bayside.

Joanne: What is the ONE band that you hope to play with someday that you haven't yet?
Jon: The Mars Volta. To share the same stage with them would make my life .
Devan: The blood brothers.
Nick: I'll say Cursive, but I agree with Jon and Devan’s answers 100%.
Jon: Thanks Nick, glad you concur. I agree with Nick’s answer. Blood Brothers scare me.
Nick: Jon gets scared easily.
Jon: Oh yah, also I would love to play with James Brown.
Joanne: Haha. James Brown? Care to elaborate on why?
Jon: Haha, because that man makes me wanna dance.

Joanne: What CDs are in your stereos right now?
Nick: Right now I'm getting back into The Smashing Pumpkins, it’s been Siamese Dream nonstop.
Devan: The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Jon: E.S.T. "Somewhere Else Before", a piano/bass/drums trio from Sweden, a crossbreed between Jimi Hendrix and jazz, lots of heavy effects and distortion.

Joanne: What are the band's plans for 2004?
Nick: Lots of shows... lots of recording... lots of love.
Devan: And merch!
Jon: Tour this summer, new CD EP , and thongs, which fall under the "merch" category. Thanks Devan. We've got T-shirts but we just don’t have thongs.
Joanne: Haha, oh man. World beware.
Jon: Yah, women have been waiting a long time for a thong with each of our faces on it. You get to choose which band member you want! So most will pick me, thanks.
Nick: No, Jon just wants to see DEVAN in a thong.
Joanne: Haha.
Nick: He has a crush.
Jon: Hahah man shut up, that’s supposed to be a secret!

Joanne: *cough* Moving on...what inspired you guys to make a band?
Nick: Seeing other bands live, and on the TV.... hearing CDs and wanting to make music and play it. Jon’s in it for the girls.
Jon: I could say something really profound here about some great musician or mentor that inspired me…but really…it was the chicks. Good call Nick.
Joanne: Haha.
Jon: He knows me well.
Joanne: Obviously. Maybe too well?
Jon: Perhaps....
Nick: Yes.

Joanne: How did you come up with the name “Emanon”?
Nick: Me, me, me! Haha, no. Actually it was the name of my grandmas teddy bear. Isn’t that hardcore?
Joanne: That has to be the best method ever.
Nick: Yeah. I’m sure that’s the first time you’ve heard that.
Jon: Yah, damn that’s metal man.Our mascot should be the teddy bear.
Joanne: Haha, oh my god. Get a giant teddy bear and bring him to all the shows, see how confused everyone gets.
Jon: Hah, yah, that would be awesome. And we'll do some Slayer covers.
Nick: I think it was The Sleeping, they have a robot. I think that’s very cool.

Joanne: What color is your toothbrush?
Jon: Orange.
Nick: Mine is pinkish red.
Devan: White and blue.

Joanne: And finally....any last words/shout-outs/shameless plugs?
Jon: Shout-out to my hombre Pedro - he's incarcerated at this time. Pedro, if you're reading this, I love you. Oh yah and shout-out to the ladies. I’m single. Ff you want a man who knows how to handle a stick. give me a call.
Devan: The last question should be "is your middle name Nancy?" Joanne: Is it?
Nick & Devan: We would like to say that we don’t support Jon, or anything he says. If anyone asks, we don’t know him. Shout-out to Rody, our roadie and DONe productions, Reject Clothing, and Ian Malcolm Mulvaney, the best fish there ever was.
Jon: Oh yah and my mom. I love you mom. And my cat, Flee. She’s awesome.
Joanne: Awww, the kitty.
Jon: And my sister Anna. she's hip.
Nick: Ok, enough.
Jon: And Devan’s sister, she's hot. I love you Kathryn.
Devan: See what I mean?
Jon: Oh yah and Franny Panny. Franny, Devan misses you. He talks about you all the time. Oh yah, also GET GEORGE BUSH OUT OF OFFICE. There, now we're a band with a political edge! Also, Nick is an idiot. And you better keep all of these in or toxic gets it! Haha, thanks for the interview!

For More Information:
• Official Site: www.emanonmusic.cjb.net
• Sponsor's Official Site: www.rejectclothing.com

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