On Wednesday, October 5th, the St. Augustine Amphitheatre hosted 3 Doors Down along with Theory of a Deadman and Pop Evil. This was Pop Evil’s second trip to North Florida this year. This past April the band rolled through Jacksonville while on tour with Drowning Pool and Trust Company.
Having recently released their second album, War of Angels, this band has certainly had its share of trials and tribulations navigating the music industry. But they know what they want and they stick to their guns. The band’s dedication to its fans may be one of its most impressive qualities. They constantly update their Facebook page and run contests for fans to win tickets to shows or even personal phone calls from the band members. After each show, you can find a crowd shot posted on Facebook so you can tag yourself if you happen to have been lucky enough to be in the shot. Staying true to this dedication to fans, guitarist Tony Greve took some time to talk to me about the band’s non-stop touring schedule.
Jennifer: How long have you guys been on tour, and when will you be taking a break?
Tony:We have been on tour for a good four and a half years now. In this day and age, a band of our caliber can't afford not to tour. I mean, there are so many people out there who still haven't heard our music. The ultimate goal for us is having songs out there that are going to touch and affect people’s lives, because ultimately nothing can do that the way that music can. We are a band that doesn't stop touring. We set out to be a touring band - that was our goal. We absolutely love being on the road. When you give up that spot, there will always be someone there to replace you, so it's very important to stay on your game. As rock ‘n’ roll fans we've always loved going to live shows, so to be able to tour and give back to rock ‘n’ roll, for the memories that rock ‘n’ roll has given us, is absolutely amazing. The only time we've really stopped touring thus far was to take a break to record our latest album, War of Angels, and we spent a good deal of time in the studio recording it. Months. So to answer the last part of this question, we won't be taking a break. For as long as we are able to and the road will have us, we plan to be on it.
Jennifer: What is it like being on the road with your band mates?
Tony: I'll tell you one thing that I've learned - there's no real way to understand or learn what it's like to be around that many people touring. It's something that you can only learn with experience and time, and everyone’s experience and perception of it is going to be different. It's truly awesome being on the road with my band mates. I couldn't imagine a better lineup for our band. If I could have picked the perfect band to play in, these would be my guys. Every one of us is so different offstage in our own personal lives and choices, but it works for us, and on-stage, it just comes together. If the shoe fits, it fits. But I think our differences are what have helped to make our band as successful as it has been. People gravitate towards different guys in the band for different reasons, which really expands our audience. A Pop Evil audience is diverse. I don't think I've ever seen that much diversity in a band’s fans.
Jennifer: It has to be tough spending all that time together; how do you guys decompress?
Tony: It can be tough spending that much time together. When we are home for a few days here and there, we all split and just do our own thing. But even though we’re together all the time, there's times when it seems like we haven't caught up for days just due to the fact that we all have so much going on individually, and as a band. Days will go by and I'll be like ‘Hey Matt, what's been up with you man?’ Which is odd since we all live on a bus together. But there are times where we're more involved with each other and times where we just need to do our own thing. Like a family. It's our family.
When it comes to decompressing, we are all different. I like to read, work out, play guitar, even cook, simply to just take my mind off all the chaos that's going on around us for a few minutes. Most of the guys on the bus golf or rock video games in the back lounge. The games can get a bit heated back there, and as far as I've seen Leigh seems to always win! The other guys are gonna be pissed I said that [(laughs).]
Jennifer: What do you love best about touring?
Tony:Absolutely everything. I love traveling. Always have. My mother raised me back and forth from here to Turkey, so travel has always just seemed like a natural part of my life. I love falling asleep in one town and waking up in the next. It's amazing all the different people you get to meet, the different cultures, the accents, the friends you make along the way, the different crowds you get to play for every night or a whole new city you never knew even listened to Pop Evil! I don't even mind the good old sink showers when there isn't a real one around from time to time [(laughs).]
Touring for me has been a dream come true. It's always been my goal since I was a kid! I remember being a teenager, sitting at the table with my mom having our usual morning conversation over coffee and cigarettes (at that time) and saying, ‘You know what? If I could just one day tour around the country in a bus playing rock shows then I've made it.’ It was never about money to me; isn't now, and never will be. So to have accomplished that is a huge success for me.
To keep up to date with Pop Evil check out their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/popevil
Comments