Interviews

American Nightmare

Interview with Tim & Wes on Nov 30, 2001 by Archive Bot

I'd like to thank Wes and Tim from American Nightmare for their time and especially for their support of our site and what we do. Photos courtesy of www.xryanx.com. 

PB: From a fan of punkbands.com comes the question...... "The lyrics to all of your songs are very poetic and lyrically well written. Has Wes ever taken classes in college that have focused on writing or poetry?
Wes: I went to school for a few years that was based around English but I dropped out because I wasn't really into it.

PB: Are there any ideas or philosophies you try to get through to the listeners in your music? What are some bands you listened to growing up, who had an impact on you?
Wes: I'm bad at summarizing. There are definately ideas that we believe in, no specific messages however. Some of the bands that I grew up on and still love, such as The Cure, Smiths, and a lot of early 90's indie/alternative.

PB: American Nightmare started with your well circulated demo and a positive relationship with Bridge 9 Records out of Boston. Since your first demo..... have you been happy with the path that the band has taken?
Tim: Yea definitely. We have worked our asses off for two years, and the path we have taken has been the path we have chose. That sounds lame and generic. We sorta set our sights on just becoming a full time band, and that's where we have gotten. I think its very hard to say that your band (and especially a punk band) is your full time job. Its not easy. Its not easy to play punk rock and make a living at it. Since our demo, we have just tried to improve every single aspect about our band. And if you ever listened to our demo you would hear a lot of room for improvement I think. I don't know, things have honestly taken off much faster than we could have ever expected, but we've just sorta taken it for what it is. We don't ever expect there to be anything to be handed to us, so we are very happy with what we have earned. 

PB: To put all the rumors to rest you've told me before the band isn't breaking up, and you also have a new album coming out soon. What can we expect from it and is there a name or release date yet? What's on schedule after the album is released?
Tim: The number one rule is, don't believe every message board or scenester out there. They are wrong. There are so many rumors that go around about us, its really amusing. No, we are not breaking up. Yes, we plan on taking off the summer to practice our new stuff, and there is no name, nor release date set as of yet for the new record. It's only been like a little over 10 months since our first LP came out. We are in no rush. We don't want to rush ourselves putting out records, because that's when bands fall apart and write bad music. We have stressed ourselves out in the past doing that, and its not good for any band. We have rushed every single record we have ever done, so now that we have the time, we are going to relax and take the time.

PB: American Nightmare has toured with hardcore power houses from Madball to Converge, and Boy Sets Fire. If Tim Nightmare could create his "dream tour" who would be on the bill?
Tim: I would like to tour with AFI, Hot Water Music, the Deftones, Thursday... We have toured with some of our favorite bands so far, so it has really been amazing. Kill Your Idols to Converge, Avail to Poison the Well, ahh Hatebreed to Hot Rod Circuit. We just try to do something different every time we go out. We always want to appeal to different kids, and the way you do that is by playing with different style bands. We don't ever want to be pigeon holed to any certain genre of hardcore. Fuck the "old school" or "emo," "toughguy" or "mod-core" labels that people give us. That shit is lame. We are a punk band at heart.

PB: You guys have a die hard work ethic which many bands should take note of. Besides the love you have for the music you perform, what keeps you on track night after night?
Tim: We all feel that if you work hard enough, in the end you really do get what you deserve. We love traveling and meeting new kids. Playing for kids is what we care about. But really, bands get big because they work hard at it. How many bands fall flat on their faces, and bitch about not getting enough support from their label? A lot. You can't force a band go out and tour ten months a year, and get no money for it. They have to want to do it for themselves. We have gotten where we have gotten, from having a good work ethic. Period. 

PB: You guys are on Equal Vision which has become home to Converge, Bane, As Friends Rust, and more. Recently, with the signing of Rocking Horse Winner the label showed it may begin to become more diverse. Do you think more labels with be branching off in that direction as well?
Tim: Ahh yea Coverge, Bane, and the Hope Conspiracy are all family members, but maybe because we are all from the same city and are all close friends. As far as the new bands they are signing, honestly I don't know what is going on. I am in no way saying that to discredit any of the new EVR bands. It's just really nothing we care about. We are a hardcore band at that label. Of course I am all for new bands of all types getting big, but I just don't agree with the game plan a few independents are using. Independent labels pulling the "sign "X" amount of bands in the hopes that 1 of them takes off..." kind of mentality. That's what majors do, and look where that gets them. Do we really need 10,000 pop punk bands ripping off Blink 182, or Greenday? No. But do we really need 10,000 hessian rap core nu-metal bands ripping off Limp Bizkit. Hell no! We are in a very strange period of punk rock right now, where a lot of people, both in the majors and independents are starting to see that there is a lot of money to be made. I see many labels doing it, but I don't think it's very smart. The way I guess I should summarize it is like this: There is only one Saves the Day, and signing a band and using the same marketing plan to hype a new band doesn't work.

PB: "Tea bagging" is on the rise and has become the hobby of many in the punk rock scene. Does American Nightmare tea bag, and if there was one band you would love to tea bag who would it be?
Tim: What the fuck is "tea bagging"? Sounds lame. Or a bit sexual?!?
Wes: Come on, tea bagging went out like 4 years ago. 

PB: A band that has really blossomed over the past year Bane, recently lost a very close friend and had to drop off their tour. What was the biggest loss you've ever face and how did you over come it? Have you found music to be an important tool in coping during the shittiest of times?
Tim: Personally I think that band has been in full bloom for the past five years. Its just taken this many years for kids across the country to really see it. Bane is my favorite straight up hardcore band. I know that during those couple weeks after Steve died, I was in contact here and there with them, because we were supposed to meet up with them on tour. They dropped off the Hatebreed dates and canceled the entire tour with us and Poison the Well understandably. What happened is a shame, and there's really not much more I can say about it. As far as my own losses are concerned, two years ago a close childhood friend I grew up with died in an accident. It was just horrible to see such a talented kid gone so early. I guess just don't ever take anything for granted. Take care of your friends, and love them.

PB: Lastly, thanks for taking the time in between tours to talk to punkbands.com. A lot of bands do some interesting things when they aren't touring be it help produce other band's albums, or just sit next to the keg and tap it at every chance they get. What can American Nightmare be found doing when not on the road?
Tim: Sleeping in every day and relaxing.
Wes: We sleep and try to catch up on our lives and friends that fall apart while we are gone.