Brandon: Let's start with your name and what you do in the band.
Todd: I'm Todd and I play guitar.

Brandon: Where did the title of the new album Worship and Tribute come from?
Todd: The CD as well as all of our music, not even necessarily this album, but just all of our music is kind of a conglomeration of all our influences and all the different shit we listen to. It's like our worship and tribute to everything we've ever listened to and 		Glassjaw
everything that's entered our ears. Loosely, that's the meaning of the title.

Brandon: Who are some of the bands that are included in that conglomeration of influences?
Todd: Well when we were real young we all came from metal like Faith No More and Anthrax and Bad Brains. When we got a little older we got into punk and hardcore and post-hardcore from New York. There were a lot of bands that were really influential, too many to list.

Brandon: How did the writing and recording process for Worship and Tribute differ from Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence?
Todd: Well the first record was written over like 6 or 7 years and was just like a bunch a songs. We never really did a record before that besides a little EP so we had tons and tons of songs and we just put them together. With Worship and Tribute it was just like “you have six months to write a record, so go write this record”. It was definitely a completely different sort of thing, this was way more focused on making it a unit as opposed to just a bunch of songs.
Brandon: Do you think that while you were writing and recording Worship And Tribute there were any particular factors that influenced the record's less angry and more mellow approach or are you just older and more mature than your angry youth?
Todd: I guess, but I hate to say what every band says when they are releasing their sophomore record like “You know, it's really more mature than our first record, blah, blah blah...”. It's just where we were. I don't see it as much but I guess it's a little lighter and Daryl sings more, but I just see it as whatever.

Brandon: What led to your departure from Roadrunner Records and then signing with Warner Bros.?
Todd: Ummmm.......
Tim (from American Nightmare who was in the room re-stringing his guitar while this interview was taking place): Are you at liberty to talk about that?
Todd: We're at liberty and I can say whatever the hell I want about that cock-sucking label. It just didn't work at Roadrunner, they didn't understand us and they didn’t do anything for us. They don't do anything for any of their bands. Even their most popular and successful bands hate it there. They run a terrible business and don't care about people. They ruin people's friendship's, ruin people's lives, ruin bands, and it just wasn't working. We told them we wouldn't give them another record and we were going to break up because they were pulling us off the road and telling us to make another record even though they did nothing for the first record. We were like, “why should we record another one? So you can fucking ruin it and no one will hear it”? So we stuck to our guns for a while and almost broke up and went back to school because we didn't think we were getting out. Then after a while they finally realized they really weren't getting a record so Ross, our producer, bought us out. We didn't get bought out by Warner Bros., it's a very strange situation but our producer bought us out and we started recording this record on no label. Then Warner Bros. came in and bought the record.

Brandon: How did you like being on the Warped Tour this last summer?
Todd: It was fun…it was cool…. I mean…uhhh…how can I put this?
Tim(from AN): It’s a traveling extravaganza.
Todd: Yeah, there’s too many stages and it’s kinda too carnival like and too day camp like. There’s like 20 stages going on at one time at all times and it kind of dilutes what’s going on because there’s so much going on. But I’m happy we did it and it was a fun experience and we were friends with a lot of the bands. I don’t how many fans we gained because of it because I don’t how many new kids watched us. It was mostly our fans that were watching us and it was cool.

Brandon: Do you prefer smaller tours like the one you’re on right now?
Todd: I prefer playing inside, I’m a big advocate of like dark venues where you can get the whole vibe. I think playing in the daylight outside totally kills any vibe that there would be. Especially some of our shit, like the slower stuff kind of just blends into the air if it’s outside and sounds like shit. I like playing inside way better.

Brandon: Who are some of the bands that you prefer to tour with? Are you enjoying this tour with American Nightmare?
Todd: Yeah, this is one of my favorite tours ever so far actually. Every show has been really awesome so far and even if they weren’t in here I’d still say that. But the Blood Brothers guys are so late all the time. Print that shit across the top, make it the title of the interview, “The Blood Brothers are always fucking late”.

Brandon: What do you guys think of San Diego and how did you like it here the last time you played?
Todd: San Diego is like a loophole in the United States for us. Like we’ll go an hour and a half north or to LA and it’s huge but for some reason San Diego always sucks for us. We didn’t even want to headline tonight because we were scared. American Nightmare is going to kill us tonight, they are going to destroy us. But I don’t know, San Diego……I like the city.
Brandon: You guys didn’t think you had a good show the last time you played here with Poison The Well?
Todd: Poison The Well destroyed us that night, blew us off the stage. At least that’s how I felt. We headlined that show and I felt like a chump asshole getting on the stage after Poison The Well. But maybe tonight will be cool.

Brandon: Now that your video for "Apes De Mil" has gotten some play on MTV and MTV2 have things change at all as a result?
Todd: I think so, now that they’re not playing it anymore the records sales have leveled off. It definitely did something and it definitely helped.

Brandon: Did you notice any backlash from your fans since kids tend to get a little pissy when a band they like gets a little exposure outside of their designated scene?
Todd: I think we definitely felt some of that, like there is always shit on our message board and stuff, but you got to ignore it. What are you going to do? Just stay in one place always and stay dormant at the same level? You have to progress in your career, if you see it as a career.
Brandon: Were you guys worried at all about how the kids were going to react to seeing you guys on MTV or were you just like “Whatever, let them deal with it”?
Todd: We don’t just say, “Fuck the kids” but we just do what we want to do.

Brandon: Well that’s it, do you have anything else you want to say to San Diego?
Todd: Well we talked about the Roadrunner thing and I always close interviews with if you care about music and you care about bands or are a music fan at all, nobody should buy anything off Roadrunner.
Brandon: What about the new Killswitch Engage record?
Todd: Ok, let me revise my statement. Don’t ever buy anything by us on Roadrunner definitely. I always say don’t buy anything because I would have rather no one bought our record on Roadrunner, it would have been easier for us to get off. I’m sure Killswitch Engage is not happy. They’re awesome and I think they’re sick, but I just say that because seriously, if bands don’t sell on Roadrunner they’re better off because then they’ll be able to get off the label. Have you ever interviewed those guys?
Brandon: No I haven’t.
Todd: Next time they come ask them about Roadrunner. I’ve never spoken to them and I have no idea what their opinions are but I’m sure it’s like, ”Fuck that”. It’s doing any band on Roadrunner a favor to not buy their record because then they’ll have an easier time getting off the label. That’s it.

Glassjaw interview conducted by Brandon Grigg, November 2002.
http://www.glassjaw.com
http://www.warnerbros.com

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