Jamie Pham
07/21/08, 02:11 PM
Let's start off by stating your name and what you do in Forever The Sickest Kids.
Kyle: My name is Kyle William Burns and i play the drums in FTSK.
Describe the other members using three words or less.
Kyle: Marc - Bro, XBox, Shredder
Caleb - Camping, Boom, Grape
Kent - Tired, Magic, Treasure
Austin - Metal, Free, Godzilla
Jonathan - Torque, Trampoline, Wrestling
What made you guys decide on Underdog Alma Mater for the title of your album?
Kyle: Well, we wanted to go with Rockin Rodeo... But since it was our
Freshman album we wanted to go with something a little less serious.
We wanted to dress up in Mascot uniforms for the album cover... then
Kent and I got to thinking... the Mascot at school was usually the
"Most popular uncool kid" (at least in our situations...) also known as "the Underdog". We wanted to dedicate the album to the "Normal" kids...
Why do you choose to have 3 different singers?
Kyle: 3 singers because the personalities are expressed to the max with the variety of lyrical content... I think...
Do you think there is a definite problem with today's music trends? If so, what is it, how does it impact your music, why do you think it's such a problem, and what would you suggest fans/musicians do to fix it?
Kyle: I don't think there is a problem at all. A lot of bands are sounding alike lately. But no big deal. People will listen to what makes them happy.
If Jonathan didn't accidentally pay for a front page of Purevolume how do you think that would change your success as a band?
Kyle: Success is a weird word. We feel successful because we are happy with what we are doing. We were successful before we bought the purevolume spot or what not... we would write music everyday in my apartment and party every night dancing with our friends to the songs we wrote. Those were some of the happiest times of my life. A lot of those songs we wrote during that time were re-recorded for UAM. But all those demos we recorded are still floating around somewhere. I came across a hard drive the other day with 20+ unreleased songs. THAT was enough success for me!
How's Warped Tour? Was it everything you thought it would be?
Kyle: Warped is sick. I have made so many new friends and seen so many wild cities on this tour. We did about 3 weeks of warped last summer. But it compares nothing to this year. Having UAM released, kids are starting to lose control every show. Warped Tour production has extra security at our stage everyday because of the amount of kids coming to rock their faces off. I’ve never seen so many crowd surfers in my life!
What are some things you don't like about being on tour?
Kyle: Well, the only thing i can think of is being away from my family and friends at home. And my dog. Plus showers and clean clothes are rare.
When will we be hearing more new songs from the album during shows?
Kyle: We are playing new songs on Warped Tour, and this fall we will be doing a full US tour where we will be playing a handful of new songs.
When you come home after being gone on a tour what's the first thing you do when you walk in the door?
Kyle: A series of high fives and hugs
Fall touring plans?
Kyle: We are going out with a few of our friends this fall on a full US tour... I don't think i can say whom though. So I'm not gonna jusssst yet.
You guys are obviously really close to your fans. As your fan base grows and your band becomes better known, how do you plan to stay close to your fans?
Kyle: We are close to our fans... its so nice to revisit cities and see familiar faces. We hang with our fans a lot after shows and before and we use the internet to keep in contact with them. We also get matching tattoos with our closest fans.
What has been the best/worst gift a fan has given you?
Kyle: The best gifts I’ve gotten from fans were a laptop and a bmx bike. I think it was from tom hanks' kids... I like the bracelets too. The worst gift I got was being put in a choke hold by a fan in Canada... I think he was drunk but it made K Dirty mad. So K Dirty went all UFC on him
What do you want fans to bring you while your out on tour?
Kyle: Fans should never feel obligated to bring anything to bands... but what I do is ask for drumsticks (Vic Firth 5A) at shows. I’ll use them and then after the show give them back to who gave them to me. Its fun and rad. And if they didn’t break, they bring them to the next show when I’m in town and ill use them again.
What are some things you cant survive without when on tour?
Kyle: Food, Water, sleep...
How do you find that the fans differ for you as you tour in different places?
Kyle: It just depends where I am... Music trends, Clothing styles.... it all differs with kids from town to town. It’s exciting to see the trends evolve from one city to the next.
Do you prefer playing big cities or small towns?
Kyle: Big Cities... The kids that come to shows are just in to having a good time. Plus more kids are able to come
What happened to Scuz?
Kyle: We used to constantly haze him, i guess he had enough and quit.
How do you deal with harsh critics?
Kyle: I take it to heart and get real down and upset by their comments... I then spend time alone in my room for days trying to convince myself that the critics are just jealous they wish they had 11 toes, like I do.
How to you feel when people throw around the word "sell out. How do you define selling out?
Kyle: I take it as an insult... I used to call my friend's local band back at home sell outs when they got a trailer to load their gear around. Because I was a little jealous that they had their parents buy it for them... They ended up getting really popular and selling a lot of CDs. I was like, "Bono, can we open up for you when you’re in town?" He never returns calls any more. Apparently U2 takes up a lot of his time now... what a sell out.
Anything else you want to add?
Kyle: Thanks to everyone who listens to our music! You pwn! Come to a show!
You can view the bands AbsolutePunk profile here (http://absolutepunk.net/foreverthesickestkids) and myspace page here (http://myspace.com/foreverthesickestkids).
Kyle: My name is Kyle William Burns and i play the drums in FTSK.
Describe the other members using three words or less.
Kyle: Marc - Bro, XBox, Shredder
Caleb - Camping, Boom, Grape
Kent - Tired, Magic, Treasure
Austin - Metal, Free, Godzilla
Jonathan - Torque, Trampoline, Wrestling
What made you guys decide on Underdog Alma Mater for the title of your album?
Kyle: Well, we wanted to go with Rockin Rodeo... But since it was our
Freshman album we wanted to go with something a little less serious.
We wanted to dress up in Mascot uniforms for the album cover... then
Kent and I got to thinking... the Mascot at school was usually the
"Most popular uncool kid" (at least in our situations...) also known as "the Underdog". We wanted to dedicate the album to the "Normal" kids...
Why do you choose to have 3 different singers?
Kyle: 3 singers because the personalities are expressed to the max with the variety of lyrical content... I think...
Do you think there is a definite problem with today's music trends? If so, what is it, how does it impact your music, why do you think it's such a problem, and what would you suggest fans/musicians do to fix it?
Kyle: I don't think there is a problem at all. A lot of bands are sounding alike lately. But no big deal. People will listen to what makes them happy.
If Jonathan didn't accidentally pay for a front page of Purevolume how do you think that would change your success as a band?
Kyle: Success is a weird word. We feel successful because we are happy with what we are doing. We were successful before we bought the purevolume spot or what not... we would write music everyday in my apartment and party every night dancing with our friends to the songs we wrote. Those were some of the happiest times of my life. A lot of those songs we wrote during that time were re-recorded for UAM. But all those demos we recorded are still floating around somewhere. I came across a hard drive the other day with 20+ unreleased songs. THAT was enough success for me!
How's Warped Tour? Was it everything you thought it would be?
Kyle: Warped is sick. I have made so many new friends and seen so many wild cities on this tour. We did about 3 weeks of warped last summer. But it compares nothing to this year. Having UAM released, kids are starting to lose control every show. Warped Tour production has extra security at our stage everyday because of the amount of kids coming to rock their faces off. I’ve never seen so many crowd surfers in my life!
What are some things you don't like about being on tour?
Kyle: Well, the only thing i can think of is being away from my family and friends at home. And my dog. Plus showers and clean clothes are rare.
When will we be hearing more new songs from the album during shows?
Kyle: We are playing new songs on Warped Tour, and this fall we will be doing a full US tour where we will be playing a handful of new songs.
When you come home after being gone on a tour what's the first thing you do when you walk in the door?
Kyle: A series of high fives and hugs
Fall touring plans?
Kyle: We are going out with a few of our friends this fall on a full US tour... I don't think i can say whom though. So I'm not gonna jusssst yet.
You guys are obviously really close to your fans. As your fan base grows and your band becomes better known, how do you plan to stay close to your fans?
Kyle: We are close to our fans... its so nice to revisit cities and see familiar faces. We hang with our fans a lot after shows and before and we use the internet to keep in contact with them. We also get matching tattoos with our closest fans.
What has been the best/worst gift a fan has given you?
Kyle: The best gifts I’ve gotten from fans were a laptop and a bmx bike. I think it was from tom hanks' kids... I like the bracelets too. The worst gift I got was being put in a choke hold by a fan in Canada... I think he was drunk but it made K Dirty mad. So K Dirty went all UFC on him
What do you want fans to bring you while your out on tour?
Kyle: Fans should never feel obligated to bring anything to bands... but what I do is ask for drumsticks (Vic Firth 5A) at shows. I’ll use them and then after the show give them back to who gave them to me. Its fun and rad. And if they didn’t break, they bring them to the next show when I’m in town and ill use them again.
What are some things you cant survive without when on tour?
Kyle: Food, Water, sleep...
How do you find that the fans differ for you as you tour in different places?
Kyle: It just depends where I am... Music trends, Clothing styles.... it all differs with kids from town to town. It’s exciting to see the trends evolve from one city to the next.
Do you prefer playing big cities or small towns?
Kyle: Big Cities... The kids that come to shows are just in to having a good time. Plus more kids are able to come
What happened to Scuz?
Kyle: We used to constantly haze him, i guess he had enough and quit.
How do you deal with harsh critics?
Kyle: I take it to heart and get real down and upset by their comments... I then spend time alone in my room for days trying to convince myself that the critics are just jealous they wish they had 11 toes, like I do.
How to you feel when people throw around the word "sell out. How do you define selling out?
Kyle: I take it as an insult... I used to call my friend's local band back at home sell outs when they got a trailer to load their gear around. Because I was a little jealous that they had their parents buy it for them... They ended up getting really popular and selling a lot of CDs. I was like, "Bono, can we open up for you when you’re in town?" He never returns calls any more. Apparently U2 takes up a lot of his time now... what a sell out.
Anything else you want to add?
Kyle: Thanks to everyone who listens to our music! You pwn! Come to a show!
You can view the bands AbsolutePunk profile here (http://absolutepunk.net/foreverthesickestkids) and myspace page here (http://myspace.com/foreverthesickestkids).