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Inside This Issue:

This Is: Jesse Barnett and George Schmitz of Stick To Your Guns,

On Tour: Cory Brandan of Norma Jean, Impact: JR Wasilewski of Less

Than Jake, Dear Dead Abby, The Official J.X.M.X. Flyer, and more!

Cyanide and Happiness Toon of the Week

www.explosm.net/comics

www.the-last-level.com

Wayne Lozinak

Interview and Photos by Liana Marie

It was my first time experiencing that cute little Lancaster City sitting area, & it couldn‟t

have been put to better use! I had the pleasure of speaking with both George and Jesse of

Stick to Your Guns. The guys were great and entertaining, to say the least. Not to mention,

they played an awesome show!

“Rest assured that with a heart that's pure, we‟ll be victorious and not let our hate get the

best of us...MOVE!” Oh! This is an interview...L.M.

PI: So first, tell us a little bit about yourself, a little bit about your background. Where did

you grow up and where are you from currently?

J: Interesting, I grew up in Orange County. I was born in Long Beach, and my mother immediately took me home to

Orange County. And that‟s where I grew up. I spent pretty much 22 years of my life there, and now I am living; kind

of residing in Montreal in Canada with my girlfriend. We bounce back and forth between there and Orange County.

PI: So tell us a little bit about the band‟s background. How, where, and when did Stick to Your Guns get started?

J: It was kind of just more of an idea. I guess the idea started in 2003. I‟m a drummer. I liked to play drums. I‟ll say

that because I wasn‟t ever a drummer. George is the drummer. I just happened to be a guy who liked to play drums.

I played drums in a couple of other bands... They were okay. We played a bunch of shows and I was enjoying it. I was

in junior high, just about to go into high school at that time, when I had the idea. I wanted a band that was more on

the hardcore side of things. So I kind of had the idea to start Stick to Your Guns. So I wrote a few songs, and got over

the idea of playing drums. I was supposed to originally play the guitar in Stick to Your Guns. It was never my inten-

tion to be the singer of the band, if you could call it

that. We couldn‟t really find anyone, and then we

found a dude, and long story short it didn‟t work out

with him. So I just stayed the singer, but I was in-

tending to be the guitar player in the band.

PI: So how would you describe your band, espe-

cially for those who haven‟t heard of you before, in

terms of personality and music?

J: Personality of the band or the personality of the

members of the band? (PI): The members of the

band. (J): Oh boy. We‟ve got a whole smorgasbord

of personalities. We all just like to mess around and

have fun. We take what we do seriously and we

like doing it very much, but we don‟t want to take it

too seriously to the point where it just isn‟t fun any-

more. We are just enjoying it. We‟re all very young

still, except for Chris because he‟s 31. He‟s on the back nine I would say. He‟s on his way out. No, I‟m just kidding.

But he‟s been in some other bands like the Walls of Jericho, so it was good to have him come in to the band, and al-

most revitalize us. I like writing music for the band, and I write some songs for the band, but it was getting hard being

the only person who wrote music. And then our old drummer actually started writing music, but I didn‟t really like

where he was going with it and I started falling out of love with the band. Then, basically, we had a falling out with

him, kicked him out, and then literally minutes later we found George and that was an amazing thing.

This Is: Jesse Barnett and

George Schmitz of

Stick To Your Guns

PI: So, in terms of music, how would

you describe your band?

J: I don‟t know. Corey, from Norma

Jean, kind of put it in a way that I kind

of viewed us as this but no one else has

really said it. When I heard him say it,

when I heard it come out of someone

else‟s mouth, it sounded pretty good.

He said that we‟re hardcore kids that

like hardcore but we don‟t follow the

same loyalties, guidelines, or handbook

rules that make someone hardcore. We

sing…that‟s just something we like to

do. I don‟t really feel like a singer, and

I don‟t think that I can sing that well,

but it‟s something that I enjoy doing.

We‟re not trying to sell insane amounts

of records or anything. It‟s not like

we‟ve never sang before. If you listen

to our first album, there is singing on it. If you listen to our second album there is singing on it. And if you listen to

our latest album there is singing on it. That is something that people sometimes have a hard time swallowing, and also

the fact of being from Orange County. Hardcore Orange County isn‟t taken very seriously, because it‟s not a hard

place to live. It‟s got its own bullshit baggage just like anywhere else does. (PI): It‟s good to step a little bit out of the

box. (J): Exactly. (PI): You don‟t want to follow the same cliché. (J): You don‟t want to be that band where every sin-

gle song you play just sounds like the same horseshit over and over again, even if it‟s not horseshit. There are bands

that I love, but their music is so repetitive that I just get bored. That‟s just my own personality, because I need chaos.

That why I love the members in our band because no one‟s dull. I don‟t feel like our music is dull and our members

aren‟t dull. I just like everything being different. We don‟t do the same tours over and over. This tour is Norma Jean,

Impending doom, and us, and the next tour is Trapped Under Ice, Us and Terror. We‟ll do any tour we want to do and

do it whenever we want to.

PI: That‟s a good state of mind. Overall, I know, it might have be a little bit tough because you said it is pretty differ-

ent but overall, what bands would you say influenced Stick to Your Guns?

J: That‟s not tough at all. Bands like Boys Set Fire personally it‟s gonna be different no matter who you ask. The Gui-

tar player, Ronny, loves bands like Nickleback, Creed, and stuff like that. At first I thought it was a joke when he told

me, but he literally has all of the albums for both of those bands on his iPod that he rocks frequently. He‟s also a die-

hard Metallica fan. George loves New Found Glory, Motion City Soundtrack, Green Day, and Blink 182. And then

Chris loves 90s hardcore stuff, which I like too, but that‟s just his era and that‟s the stuff he grew up with. But he also

loves a whole bunch of other shit. Same with me, I love a lot of Orange County bands, bands like Eyelid, Excessive

Force, Death By Stereo, Ignite, I Love Black. I don‟t know if you‟ve heard of him. He‟s from Orange County. He‟s

actually like a soul, Motown hip-hop guy. He‟s great. Yea, all sorts of music, we all love different things.

PI: So how‟s the tour treating Stick to Your Guns so far?

J: Good, I would say. Yea, we came straight out of Europe and had like two days off, well most of us had two days

off. George‟s plane landed and he got right on the tour bus in Kansas City, Missouri and we had to drive to Southern

California. ... So the poor guy didn‟t have any time off. I had two days, which is okay, but then we‟re back on this

tour. Now we have two weeks off and then we have another seven weeks. This tour has been really short though. It‟s

been great. It‟s flown by. (George) What‟s insane though is that we were in Seattle like a week and a half ago and

now were in Pennsylvania. I had my feet in the Pacific Ocean and now I‟m at the coast of the Atlantic. (J) Its crazy

too because we didn‟t just come down, we came up and over and then back down and around. It seems like we trav-

eled so much distance.

PI: What would you say was your most memorable tour?

J: The last tour we did in Europe. (G) It was us, Your Demise, Breakeven, and Let Live. It was just thirty of the

coolest dudes ever. (J) I‟m not going to name any names, but there

is always at least one dude on every tour that you want to stay

away from. Sometimes it‟s even the whole band. I wouldn‟t say

that this tour is like that and the tour in Europe wasn‟t like that,

everybody just hung out all the time. Some of those dudes became

some of my best friends. It was great. (G)There were no egos, eve-

ryone just hangs out. (J) I tend to be anti-social a lot of the time

which is something that is a pet peeve of mine. (PI): I don‟t see you

coming across as that. (J): Sometimes I just like to sit and put my

headphones in; I don‟t really like to talk. But on that tour I actually

wanted to go and hang out and be a dude that hangs out. On a lot

of tours I maybe seem like an asshole because they‟ll be hanging

out and I‟m just in the van alone. I feel like I‟m that guy on this

tour, which bums me out because I don‟t want to be that guy. I‟m

just tired, which I shouldn‟t be because I sleep more than anyone in

the band.

PI: Yea, but it‟s a tiring thing to do. So, do you get much time off

the road?

G: Seldom. (J): Yea, I mean we used to do like three weeks on, two

weeks off, a month on, a month off, two weeks on, a week off. It

was all scattered about, and now it‟s like seventeen years and five

months off. At the beginning of the year we‟ll talk to our manager,

and look at what we‟ve got in the pot mixing, and they seem all

very spread out. But somehow they all come within days of each

other. (G) As of January 1st I was under the impression that I was

going to go on tour for like a month. (J) We just did all of the U.S.

and Canada, then straight to Europe, straight to Australia, straight to New Zealand, Straight to Japan, and then straight

back home. But I like it, its fun. But it seems like we‟ll do a big chunk of touring for a while, and then actually have a

bigger chunk off. There have been a couple of times in the past year where we‟ve had a month and a half off two times

in a row, which is great, but for that month and a half off, you would have three straight months of touring. (G)At the

beginning of the month you‟re like yea I‟m off this is gonna be great. I‟m buying groceries; I‟m a real person, look at

me! I‟m doing cool things, but then the last week you‟re at home, you‟re like get me the fuck out of my house right

now. (J) You start losing it. It used to be like that but I got a girlfriend that I actually like too. There are some girl-

friends I‟ve had where I‟m like, “Yea, you‟re cool. Let‟s hang out!...I guess.” But this girlfriend, I really like. That

used to be a lot like me. Like, “Get me out of here! I want to go on tour.” And I still kind of am like that but now I

seem to enjoy my time off a little bit more than I used to.

PI: So how would you say you spend your time off the road?

J: In my bed with my dogs. That‟s it. And with my girlfriend, somehow she finds a spot on the bed. (G): I‟m on a two

pots of coffee a day minimum. I take online classes so I‟m either doing that or reading. I try to do that. (PI) So you‟re

doing the whole school thing too? (G) Yea. I watch a lot of movies. I watch a lot of movies that I‟ve already seen

though. I go out and buy movies I haven‟t seen, but I just end up putting in Indiana Jones. The new ones just stay

wrapped up in my room. (J) I try to read. I‟m on the one book every two month thing. I try to be that guy, just because

that‟s a big step up for me because usually I‟m just a comic book dude. I try to step up my book game and read some-

thing that doesn‟t have so many pictures in it. (PI) I‟m more of a picture person myself. What are you reading? (J)

Right now I‟m reading the Great Adventures of Cavalier and Clay. It‟s a fantastic book, so far. It‟s pretty thick so I‟m

about half way through.

PI: So if everybody in your band were to play musical chairs, so to speak, and switch places instrumentally, who

would play what?

J: I would probably go to drums. (Other guy, can make out a name) would go to guitar or bass. (G): I‟d do bass. I‟m so

bad at the guitar. (J): Chris would be on vocals, Ronny on the other guitar, and then Andrew on the guitar too. No, it

would probably be Chris on vocals, Schmitty bass, and me on drums. And Andrew and Ronny would be groupies.

PI: So if you weren‟t in a band, what could you see yourself doing today?

J: Something with animals, something with dogs or animals. I like to write things down. Really anything, but nothing

specific. I don‟t want to call myself a poet or a writer; it‟s just that sometimes I find myself writing things down. So

maybe something that has to do with writing. If I couldn‟t chose music, I would choose either writing something down

or animals. Honestly I would buy a movie theater. That would be amazing. Clean up peoples‟ trash and then see

movies all day long. (G) I‟d like to think that I‟d do something with science. To be vague, just science. Something

with science, so I can step up a lab in my house. I‟d probably be interested in something like that, something with sci-

ence.

PI: So how has being in a touring band affected your life?

J: It becomes your life. I wasn‟t really doing much and I knew that I wanted to do it. People thought I was crazy be-

cause not only did I want to go on tour, but I wanted to go on tour with a hardcore band. Going on tour is hard enough,

but going on tour to try and get people listen to you scream about shit is even harder, especially to my parents. They

supported me, but they were skeptical. They told me I might need to think of something else but the idea was so locked

in my head that I somehow made it happen. Once that happened it seemed like all of the members fell apart, and I had

to find a bunch of other people. I had to find people who were crazy enough to do it. George‟s life went from going to

school and being normal to touring full time. I got gradually into it, and he just got thrown into it. (G) The thing is I

was like Jesse; I always had the mindset that this is what I wanted to do. It‟s like when you‟re twelve and your teacher

asked you what you want to do when you grow up. I always said I was gonna be a rock star. I don‟t think that rock

star is the term for it. I don‟t want to be known as a rock star. I guess playing music in front of people is what I mean.

But with being in a touring band there is always that black listed song... There‟s a blacklisted song called “Tourist”. I

don‟t want to be the guy who cites that song in an interview...And Im about to. But in all honesty, you hear that

song...And I did a tour where “oh that songs not relevant, I don‟t know why anyone would feel like that. He‟s just be-

ing that way to be that way.” Then, after 3 years of incessant touring, and seriously I get home and people forget you

exist! I call my friends and I‟m like, “Hey man, I‟m home!” “Alright.” Or it‟s like “Hey are you home?!” And it‟s

like, “Dude. I hung out with you yesterday!” “I‟ve been home for like 2 weeks!” We‟ve been hangin‟ out everyday!

(J) It sucks being in a touring band when it comes to your friends back home. Your friends all have inside jokes that

you‟re not a part of and then you just sit there and say you don‟t get it. And then they tell you a story about something

that happened like two weeks ago. Then you just stop asking. But now it seems like when I went on tour my friends

got there shit together, because we would all hang out and do nothing before I left. And after I left they did the same

thing for a while, but now they all go to school so it‟s like when I come back, I‟m the reason we all hang out again.

And then I leave again and things go back to normal.

PI: So, your latest album released in 2010 is titled the Hope Division, correct? Are you completely satisfied with the

overall product?

G: That‟s the best record I‟ll ever be a part of. I‟m not saying that record is phenomenal, I think it‟s awesome, but as

far as anything I ever record for the rest of my life, that is gonna be the thing that I‟m most proud of. (J) I think that for

me and the rest of the band, every record we make after this last one has to be better. That‟s what we are going to com-

pare them to. It needs to be better than this. A lot of people are just now hearing us on this album, which is great, for

me and for them because I wasn‟t in love with the band as much then as I am now. Because of other things that hap-

pened and songs we wrote. It was whatever. I didn‟t really give a fuck. For me it‟s my favorite album also. So yes, I

would say more than overly satisfied with these songs and ideas. We had cool ideas and we got to go in and record at

a studio that‟s done so many albums that have changed my life…The Blassinger Studios in Fort Collins, Colorado.

We were supposed to record with Phil Stevenson, the drummer of Black Flag and the Descendants, but he had some

sort of weird brain tumor or health problem going on so he couldn‟t. But we got Jason Livermore which was kind of a

bummer, because we were like we get the B rig guy, but he was awesome. Jason Livermore is the fucking dude. That

was an incredible experience and they took our songs that we thought were good and made them even better. It was

awesome.

PI: So how does this album specifically differ from that of your past albums, like musical direction?

J: This one‟s good and the other ones aren‟t. (G) This is a real record. (J) Before it was just us, looking at what every-

one else was doing, and then ripping that off and making it even worse. Basically, we took what people liked and

played it less good. It was worse versions of all these bands that were just ripping each other off. The other albums

were alright. I‟m the only original member from the first album and even the album after that but it was, I don‟t want

to say a joke, but we just were like fuck it we‟ll just play breakdowns. It was whatever. And people thought it was

cool, for whatever reason. So three years or almost four went by and people were like maybe you should do another

album and see what happens. So we did another one, and our drummer kind of got on this thing where his musical

taste changed and he became extremely Christian, which is okay, but it kind of got weird. Then I was like, this is not

working out. He tried writing a bunch of songs and asked me what I thought. I said honestly I don‟t like them but what

can we do. It‟s coming down to the point where we need to record an album and I can‟t just say no. At that time I was-

n‟t inspired by anything either, so he was like okay you don‟t like it so why don‟t you write something. I didn‟t know

what to do. I would look at my guitar and say fuck, I don‟t even remember how to play this thing. So it got to the point

where I was like whatever. I don‟t completely hate all these songs; I don‟t want anyone to think that. It was okay. (G)

It comes from the heart. Sometimes I go back and listen to them, because I like them but I didn‟t love it like I love our

latest album. (J) First, I love the dudes in the band, that‟s a start. I love the band now, these songs that we wrote are

awesome, and everyone takes their instruments seriously, and loves to play their instrument. It‟s all good things.

PI: So if you had to choose, what would your favorite song be off of this album?

J: Oh man. That‟s so tough. We get asked that question a lot. I think our answers are different every time. I think

I‟ve said every track on the album. But if I had to choose, maybe for me, it would be “Some Kind of Hope”. That is

definitely one of my favorites. (G): I definitely like a lot of the somber songs on the record, like Some Kind of Hope

or Scarecrow. Scarecrow is definitely one that hits real close to home because I‟m from Kansas City, Missouri and I

live near the West Borrow Baptist Church. (btw their fucking fascists) But also, the song “360”, I love. We have yet

to pull that song out live; I would love to pull that one out live. We played it once during a sound check but never live.

It‟s one of those things were I don‟t think we‟re worried but we just don‟t know what‟s going to happen if we play

that song.

PI: So what can we expect from you guys in the future?

J: More music and more touring. This is completely off

topic to the question but it should be in the interview.

Last time we were here was in 2006 0r 2007 with Bury

Your Dead and Suicide Silence, and we were at the Cha-

meleon Club. After the show we were told that we were

never allowed to play here again. So now I‟ll rewind and

tell you why this happened. There is a man that now we

have become extremely good friends with because of this

show. His name is Brandon Biggins. He‟s got a giant

beard at every freaking show. He was singing along to a

song and a security guard had grabbed him and threw him

on the ground and then choked him out and dragged him

outside. It was way to excessive for my liking and for

some reason something snapped in my brain and I

stopped the song and said in the microphone, “You know

what I wanted to be someone to respect the venue but

right now I need everyone to pick something up and

throw it at something.” The place turned into a full

blown riot. And I took all the microphones off the drums

and I started smashing them. They then, of course, didn‟t

pay us because they needed all of our money to fix the microphones, which we broke. And they made us set up all of

our merchandise out in the rain, which we didn‟t end up doing. We just took it all down. And they told us we weren‟t

allowed to come back here. (PI) And here you are. (J) And Brandon is here too, so we‟ll see what happens.

PI: Well, thanks for giving us a chance to chat and get “Plug‟d In!”

J: No Problem! Thank you!

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Dear Dead Abby Brought to you by It’s All The Hair Rage Designs

Submit your questions to: deardeadabby@centralpapluggedin.com

From The Grave Abby was born and raised in the coal regions of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The oldest of eight, she constantly had her younger brothers and sisters asking

her questions about everything from how things work to why that boy threw dirt

on her. She’d try to steer them straight with her advice, though sometimes she

could be a bit sarcastic.

Abby also had an uncanny ability to see the truth in people, despite what they

tried to portray with their lies. Unfortunately, this led the locals to believe that she was with surrounded with dark forces. The summer before her final year of

school, Abby was sentenced to death by hanging, without a proper trial, simply

stating that she was a witch. Abby can’t recognize the faces of her family

through death, but she answers questions, thinking it might be one of her sib-

lings needing her guidance.

Q. Why do women love chocolate so much? M.G.

A. Chocolate contains phenyl-ethylamine, the same chemical re-

leased in the brain when falling in love. Women love falling in

love; it's the hell that follows afterwards that presents the is-

sue. Chocolate won't cheat on a woman, tell her she's no good,

beat her, or anything else that bastard men do to a woman; hence

why women always resort to chocolate when they need to be

picked back up after being dropped.

Q. Sometimes my boyfriend gets really cranky for no reason.

Do men get periods? S.S.

A. Men do actually suffer from a form of PMS, called IMS, Irritable Male Syndrome, caused by a drop in testosterone

levels. Anger, irritability, depression, anxiety and hyper-sensitivity are all symptoms. Men also can't deal with emo-

tional issues and pain like women can, so something that a woman might shrug off will affect a man. They may be

the stronger sex physically, but that's where it ends.

Q. Do you think the world will end in the year 2012? M.H

A. No one knows if and when the world will end. Personally, I don't think the world will end, and it amuses me how

upset people are getting over the ridiculous notion that we're all going to die in 2012. Simpletons.

Q. What is the best way to lose weight? S.A.

A. Die; takes the weight off real fast.

You want to lose it the healthy way? Eat right and exercise. You'll feel good as well. Never try to become skinnier

than your body type. If you're naturally a thicker woman, don't worry so much about becoming skinny, focus on be-

coming healthy. When you feel good about yourself, other people will see that in you. People who worry too much

about keeping up with all the trends just irritate me. Be glad and make the most of what you have, clothes, friends, a

home, your health. Some people don't have any of that. Pissing me off now....

Q. I play the lottery every week, but never win. What can I do to increase my odds of getting that big payoff? D.A.

A. Drive down to where you play the lottery, smash your vehicle through the window, and load up all the lottery ma-

chines into the vehicle.

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On Tour: Cory Brandan of

Norma Jean Interview and Photos by Liana Marie

It was grand meeting up with Cory Brandan of Norma Jean, before the show. It was my

first time seeing the band live, and I was more excited than ever. Cory was an interest-

ing guy and overall the interview went great. I hope you can enjoy it as much as I did.

Here‟s what Cory had to share with us...L.M.

PI: I recently came across the title

„Luti-Kriss‟. Was this a whole sepa-

rate project or was this just another

title of what is now „Norma Jean‟?

CB: Kind of both. It‟s really more

of a different project. The music

was different and the band changed

into something else, so the name changed. Plus that name was

dumb. Norma Jean‟s a way cooler name. (PI) Isn‟t that a rapper,

too? (CB) It‟s also a rapper. That helps with the name change.

PI: What brought about these changes?

CB: Well, I wasn‟t in the band at the time, actually, but I was

friends with the guys. They stayed at my house. We were best

friends. So I kind of remember that. Actually they were at my

house asking me, like, I remember Scotty waking me up at 6am

when they were leaving, like “What should we change our name

to?!” and I was like “I don‟t know, dude”. They had all these other

wacky names. I think it just got thrown around and that one name,

somebody said it on stage and it stuck.

PI: What‟s the story behind Norma Jean, both the name and the

band itself?

CB: The name, it comes from Marilyn Monroe. (PI) What about

Marilyn Monroe?

(CB) She‟s just rad. Have you ever seen her? That‟s her original

name. Her name isn‟t Marilyn Monroe, it‟s actually Norma Jean.

PI: What about when you joined the band? Can you tell us a little bit about how you got involved?

CB: I was in a band called Eso-Charis, back in like ‟96-‟98, and they were doing Luti-Kriss and we played all the

shows together and we became friends, stayed at each other‟s houses. We liked each other‟s bands and when the

singer left, they asked me to join. It‟s pretty much as simple as that. They thought I was cool, I guess. (Laughs)

PI: One of your more well known songs, off of „Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child‟, it‟s called „Memphis Will Be

Laid to Waste‟, can you tell me a little of what it‟s about, maybe explain the lyrics?

CB: I don‟t know, and it‟s funny because I asked Josh what the songs were about when I joined. And he asked me

what I wanted to know, and I asked him what this song was about. I think his answer was „I can‟t remember‟. I think

the thing is, with any of our songs, even the songs I do know the meanings to, we like that people read the lyrics.

When you think of something to write the song about, lyrics are the best explanation for that. We write down, how can

I explain this best? Read the lyrics, you can kind of get your own interpretation from that, like if you look at a paint-

ing, you‟ll see something different. It‟s art, so it‟s okay to interpret it yourself.

PI: So, how‟s the tour going?

CB: Good. Really, really awesome. We‟re

having a lot of fun. We left for tour at the

end of February and we have 4 shows left.

PI: Did any of the shows stand out to you

for any specific reason(s)?

CB: There are ups and downs on tours.

There are some cities that you know, you

can play Seattle, and it‟ll blow your mind

and be the best show you ever played and

the next day play Salt Lake City, which

you‟ve had good shows at before, but on

that tour it would be terrible, you would

hate it. It changes from tour to tour, but on

this tour Houston was really great, San An-

tonio was amazing. Portland, Seattle was

great. Last night was insane. We played in

Worchester. So awesome. Most of the shows have been really, really awesome. (PI) Awesome turn out? CB: Yea,

yea. Really good.

PI: Are you enjoying your time here in Lancaster, PA so far?

CB: Yea, we played here a bunch. It‟s one of our favorite places to play, so we like it.

PI: So, out of all your albums, if you were to pick one , which one do you favor the most and why?

CB: I think any band would pick their newest record, and I am not excluded. Our newest record, for sure. I think it‟s

the best interpretation of this band ever. I think it‟s the most honest record we‟ve ever written. We did everything we

wanted, but it‟s the first record where we continuously asked ourselves, like ok let‟s do what we want but let‟s try not

to be so selfish about it. Every band says “We‟re going to do whatever we want; we don‟t care what anybody thinks”.

That‟s really cool and stuff, but if you think about it, kind of selfish. We asked ourselves on this record, what do our

fans want? Let‟s do a little bit of that too. Let‟s make it something we want and something we think people would

want to listen to, and that‟s what came out and so very, very, very happy with it.

PI: What‟s your favorite song to perform live, and why?

CB: Right now it‟s a song off the new record called „Falling From the Sky Day Seven‟. It‟s a really different song. It

has a really different vibe to it. After our 30 minutes of abrasive music, it‟s a nice break in the set but it still has a lo t

of energy.

PI: Can you tell us a little bit about the band‟s accomplishments, awards, achievements?

CB: I know that when I first wanted to be a musician, I was real young. All I wanted to do was play my local venue in

Fort Smith, Arkansas and have 100 people show up. That was my first goal; if I could do that, damn that‟s awesome.

So, did that, several times over, then we did that on tour. You know, you can keep setting goals for yourself, but you

don‟t want to do it to where you‟re unhappy with what you‟re doing. I‟ve seen a lot of bands do that. We did OzzFest

in 2006. We were on tour with Ozzy Osbourne, and I had to like, slap myself. Like, you‟re on OzzFest. That‟s insane.

At the time that was the coolest metal tour. That was the tour you wanted to get on to if you were a heavy band. And

so, 2006, we had already done so many cool things, but we really wanted to make sure we told ourselves we‟re happy

with where we are and anything after that was awesome. We‟ve done a million other things. We did Warped Tour

twice. Before that, we were nominated for a Grammy, which is pretty cool. (PI) Do you remember what the Grammy

was for? (CB) Yea, it was for artwork on the record. There‟s different cool things like that but, really all of its awe-

some. Being here playing the show is awesome. We‟ve been really lucky to do this as long as we‟ve been doing it. We

just enjoy it.

PI: Did you ever think you would be this far?

CB: No. I mean, kind of, because it‟s all I cared about when I was growing up. As soon as I got a guitar, that‟s all I

wanted to do. That‟s all I thought about, school went

down the drain so I knew that‟s what I was shooting

for, but you never really know what‟s going to hap-

pen. I‟m just really stoked that we‟re still doing it.

PI: What are some of your personal influences, in

terms of specific bands?

CB: I have a lot. There are so many. That list is ri-

diculous. One of my favorite bands in the world is

The Smashing Pumpkins. That‟s the band that when

I heard I thought “I want to make that sound. I want

to do a record like this. That‟s cool.” Fugazi is an-

other one. Helmet, a huge one. The list is so long.

Those are the 3 really good ones though.

PI: Would those be your top 3 favorite bands today

then? Or would the list be completely different?

CB: No. I‟m 34 and as you get older, you can‟t pick a favorite band anymore. When I was young, I had the favorite

band and it was Alice in Chains. Before that it was like Def Leppard or something. You go back and forth, but really

after a while, you just have a lot of favorite bands. You really have a list you could make. (PI) Are there some that you

listen to more than others? (CB) Not really, no.

PI: „Meridional‟ is your most recent record. Can you tell us a little bit

about it?

CB: We wrote the record for a year, from January 2009 to January

2010; the first record that we took that long to write. The strategy

throughout the year, we would tour, come back and write, tour, come

back and write. We would just spend a lot of time on songs, and went

into the studio in February, recorded it in 28 days, and it‟s been fun. It‟s

definitely been the most accepted, most well received record we‟ve ever

done I think, by the industry. Fans love it. It is a different record but

that‟s going to happen every time. We can‟t do the same record twice.

That‟s too easy and boring. So, we‟re going to continue to do that kind

of stuff.

PI: So, all around you think the record turned out the way you wanted it

to?

CB: Definitely. Way beyond our expectations. I listen to it still and it‟s

kind of weird, like how is that us? I listen to it from a fan‟s perspective.

(PI) What about the music...Is it heavier? (CB) I wouldn‟t say heavier.

There are heavy songs and there are songs that aren‟t as heavy. I think it

has a lot of passion and a lot of energy.

PI: What can we expect from Norma Jean in the future?

CB: We‟re going to be touring our butts off until we‟re ready to write

again. We‟re out in May, we‟re out in July. We‟ll take months off in

between, on a month, off a month. So that‟s what we‟re doing right now.

PI: Thanks for giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In!

CB: Thank you!

www.normajeannoise.com

Through Their Eyes: Exceptional Photography by The Plug‟d In Photographers

Photos by Liana Marie

Photo by Liana Marie

Interview by Vikki Sin

If you‟re looking to go to a fun show (and

really, who isn‟t?), Less Than Jake does not

disappoint. These Ska punk veterans al-

ways bring massive energy to the stage,

along with half the crowd. I had seen them

in January and had a great time, so I was

very happy to get the chance to speak with

saxophonist JR Wasilewski recently about

what it‟s like to be in the band, and when

we can hear some new stuff (very soon!).

Here‟s what he had to say…V.S.

PI: You just got back from Australia not too long ago; how was that?

Did you get to do anything cool while you were down there?

JR: Because the tour kind of moves from city to city day to day, you

have to fly usually from city to city, so on the weekends not so much.

But during the week we were in Melbourne for like 3 or 4 days straight

so we got to go out and kind of experience the city and some of us

probably experienced a little more of the nightlife of Melbourne than

others, but you know everybody has their own choices in life I suppose.

Yea, we‟ve been there a bunch of times so it was great to go down there. It‟s definitely one of my favorite countries in

the world to go to.

PI: You guys just got added to the Warped Tour too, are you excited about that?

JR: Yea of course we are! We were doing some research and apparently we are, I don‟t know if we‟re the first band,

but we are the only band this year on Warped Tour that‟s played on the Warped Tour all 3 of the decades that it‟s been

in existence.

PI: So do you have a new CD you‟re coming out with?

JR: We‟re actually working on music right now so I don‟t really have anything to tell you right this moment, but we

will have something for Warped Tour. I don‟t know exactly what it‟ll be but we‟ll have something for sure.

PI: You came out with TV/EP in the fall that was covering some TV show themes. What made you guys want to do

something like that?

JR: We were bored. We definitely talked about doing it for a couple years, and it made sense I guess. We were taking

some time off, we hadn‟t recorded in a while and we wanted to do something for fun. Most people I think understood

that and they just took it as like fun and then some people, well you can‟t please all people all the time I guess. Some

people tolerated it and that‟s good and they probably didn‟t buy it anyway, they just downloaded it for free. My only

problem with anybody that complains about music is if they don‟t pay for it. If you pay for it, you definitely have your

right to bitch and moan, but if you‟re just downloading it for free, nobody cares. The people that bitched about it that

bought it, I‟m sorry but we‟re actually writing some songs now, Less Than Jake songs, so hopefully that will satiate

the small amount of people that actually purchased the record. It‟ll satiate their need for real Less Than Jake songs.

PI: You guys obviously have a love of cartoons and things like that, what‟s your favorite cartoon?

JR: My favorite cartoon, any of the Looney Tunes stuff; definitely so timeless and classic. It could make anybody

laugh, if you‟re 88 or 8 years old. It‟s great. So definitely Looney Tunes would be my favorite.

Impact: JR Wasilewski of

Less Than Jake

PI: Being a saxophone player, are you a big fan of Lisa Simpson?

JR: I probably am a fan of Lisa, I probably relate more to Bart, though. I‟m definitely a fan of Lisa though.

PI: I went to see you not too long ago for the first time, and I have to say that‟s probably one of the best shows I‟ve

ever been to. I‟ve never seen a band that‟s so involved with the audience. You guys had more people on stage than I‟d

ever seen. Has there ever been anything in particular that was real crazy that‟s happened when you‟ve pulled a fan up?

JR: I‟ve had that question asked a couple times and to be honest, every time somebody comes up there it‟s ridiculous.

I actually remember more of the people that didn‟t do things than the people that did things. Sometimes there‟s this

pretty steep demand placed on these guys to just to get pulled out of the crowd for whatever reason, whether it be a

haircut or the fact that they‟re texting or whatever it is. Our whole thing has always been, there‟s really no separation

between the band and the crowd. We‟re all there having fun together so we try not to be too mean about anything, be-

cause it‟s all in good fun. As far as crazy that I‟ve seen, I couldn‟t even begin to tell you. We chopped some kid‟s hair

off one time on stage for $8. He had a real mop head too. I think the kid thought Chris told him $80 but it was actually

$8. We‟ve had multiple people make out with each other.

Sometimes it gets crazy, it just depends on the people and

how willing they are and how drunk they are. We try to

make it so people can walk away and at least have a smile

on their face. There‟s a lot of misery in the world so if

nothing else, for that hour and a half that we‟re on stage I

hope that people will forget about the horrible shit that‟s

outside of that club and they‟d smile about it on the drive

home. Mission accomplished, we‟ve done what we‟re sup-

posed to do.

PI: Who are some of the people that have inspired you,

musically?

JR: My friends, that‟s who inspires me the most. I don‟t

want to list them all because that‟s just name dropping.

My friends inspire me the most and that‟s kind of awe-

some.

PI: If there‟s one artist that you could see that you might

not have the chance to, but if maybe you could go back in

time or something who would you have loved to have seen

in concert?

JR: Frank Sinatra, in the heyday. I think he would have

been probably the greatest thing I‟ve ever seen. In the

40‟s, 50‟s when he was at his peak, that would have been

awesome.

PI: What are some of the things you like to do when

you‟re not on tour? Any hobbies?

JR: I‟m a big baseball fan, so I try to go to baseball games

so long as I can. I try to play music, even though music is

my profession, I try to play other things besides saxo-

phone. People are always like “Yea, I race cars” or “I fly planes”. I don‟t do any of that stuff. I just kind of come

home and putter around my house like a grandfather, just garden (laughs), mow the lawn, fix stuff around the house.

It‟s really quiet when I come home and I like that. So when I come home, I don‟t really do anything. I save it all up for

when we go out on tour.

PI: Do you prefer being on tour?

JR: I used to but I‟ve gotten to the point now where I don‟t mind being home. It doesn‟t bum me out. I like getting up

in a bed that doesn‟t have a generator buzzing underneath it. I like taking a poop in my own bathroom. It‟s the little

things, you know. We‟ve been going on tour for so long. I‟m not going to complain about it, because that‟s my new

thing in 2011, I‟m not complaining anymore, because what‟s really to complain about? It‟s like anything else, going

on tour to me, it‟s like going to work. It is, because I have to leave my house, like if you work you leave your house

and you go to work and you hate your life when you‟re at work some days. So I try to equate it like that to people.

Imagine if your job is your lifelong thing you wanted to do for your entire life, so I‟m really lucky in that aspect, and

so I try not to complain too much. Being on tour is great, but being home is great, too. When you get older you start to

realize that I think.

PI: What would you be doing if you weren‟t playing in a band?

JR: I don‟t know. I probably would have been a teacher. I went to college. I have a degree, believe it or not. I‟m one

of the few guys that are in a touring band that has an actual working, living bachelor‟s degree. I have it in music edu-

cation, so I probably would do that. I guess I would teach elementary school kids or something.

PI: Have you been playing since you were a kid?

JR: Yea, I started to take up piano when I was 6, played saxophone when I was 11. I always thought that was a cool

thing, so I went to school for music teaching because if I told my parents I was going to school for music performance

they would tell me I‟m out of my fucking mind. I went for what I thought was the best thing I could do for myself and

the future so I could always be around something I love. I would probably do that because when I was student teach-

ing I enjoyed seeing little kids discover something for the first time. It‟s as awesome as playing in front of 80,000 peo-

ple, and trust me, I‟ve done both.

PI: Thanks for giving us a chance to get Plug‟d In!

JR: You‟re welcome and thank you for the interview. It was very good. I appreciate it.

www.lessthanjake.com

Thank you Bandi Budwash for 1 Year of service. Without you we

would not be able to do what we do!

Award-winning

work in a clean

environment

www.reverbconcerts.com

@ Reverb

www.mayhemfest.com

June 24, 25, 26

Reverb

1402 N. 9th St

Reading, Pa. 19604

www.stereokiller.com/eastcoasttsunami

Friday, June 24th Single Day Pass: $30

Leftover Crack, Toxic Holocaust, Murphy's Law, Mucky

Pup, The Spudmonsters, Ensign, Common Enemy, Vi-

sion. CDC, American Werewolves, Animal Haus, Last

Call Brawl, Combat Crisis, Stoked On Being Pumped, Get

Railed, Repressed

Saturday, June 25th Single Day Pass: $40

Blood For Blood, Hazen Street, Wisdom In Chains, Skar-

head, Death Threat, Shattered Realm, Sworn Enemy, No

Redeeming Social Value, Ashers, Colin Of Arabia, Steel

Nation, Lionheart, Bulldog Courage, Line Of Scrimmage,

Hate Your Guts, Fist Fight

Sunday, June 26th Single Day Pass: $40

Shelter, Trial, 108, Freya, Shutdown, XLooking For-

wardX, Foose, Such Gold, The Last Stand, Incendiary,

FocusedxMinds, Concrete Reality, Unlearn

From The Throne of The Rock God Rants, Raves, Reviews, and News for the Minions

Special thanks to all the following for making this issue happen:

Without you...well, we just would have had to work a little harder.

The Reading Tattoo Co, Shoo, American Heroes, Belly Busters, 1Up Collectibles, Its All The rage

Hair Designs, Vertical Pole Fitness, Pottstown Tattoo Co, Gotham City Tattoo, The Last Level,

Pocket Aces Skate Shop, Crocodile Rock Café, Michael Demos, Liana Marie, David Barber, Mark

Kohl, Nicole Marie, Nicolle Stella, Vikki Sin, Tyler Heckard, Bandi Budwash, Mark Kohl, David

Barber, Designs By Your Arsonist, Roadrunner Records, Century Media, W.M.G., Victory Records,

Facedown Records, Fearless Records, Metal Blade records, E1, Hollywood Records, Disney,

Adrenaline P.R., Solid State Records, DRP Records, Strike First, and all the amazing National and

Local bands we‟ve had the privilege to work with.

www.centralpapluggedin.com

www.facebook.com/centralpa.plugdin

I‟m sitting here writing this and I have to admit, I‟m nervous. J.X.M.X is a little more

than a month away and there‟s still so much to do! When I decided I wanted to do this I

didn‟t really know what I was getting into. I knew it was going to be hard, just not this

hard, or time consuming. Thankfully though, all is proceeding as planned. Here‟s the up-

date…

Our official flyer has been released and is being distributed everywhere. Sorry to the guys

in Apollyon for the misspelling. The updated flyer will fix that shortly. The bands are all

confirmed and boy is it a kick ass show. We handpicked some of our favorites from all

over Central Pa. Each band will be bringing something unique and their own kick ass style

to the show and I spoke with each of them personally and believe me…they‟re ready to

rip you a new one! We‟ve got Throdl in the headlining spot. A lot of you guys already

know what to expect from these veterans. Following them will be Dreamland Park, who

are absolutely amazing, and will be reuniting for our show. Rumor has it they will be also debuting some new mate-

rial. Rounding out the night is a slew of bands that are performing together as a whole for the first time @ J.X.M.X.,

so be prepared for lots of surprises!

Tickets are being printed as we speak. Trophies for the bike show have been ordered and will look amazing! Wait

till you see these things. The motorcycle show is open to all types of bikes (Harley, Sport, ect) and we have different

trophies for the different bikes. The cool thing about the motorcycle show is if you register your motorcycle for

$15.00 you get into the music fest for free! How cool is that?

Anyways, there‟s so much more to tell you about…but I‟m short on time and space, but don‟t worry, you will see

soon enough! Till next time…

Upcoming Shows

May 20th - GRAVEROBBER, UNDER COMMAND,

FIREBORN, TWELVE AFTER, MIDNIGHT DECA-

DENCE CD RELEASE SHOW, 20TIL8 AND REARVIEW

DESTROYER!! Tix $10 advance, $15 at the door. All Ages!

Doors at 6:30

May 29th - MEMORIAL MADNESS!!! DREAM DEVICE,

CIRCLE OF SANITY, SUNSETS NORTH AND SEV-

ENTH CORVUS! DOORS AT 6:30, START AT 7! ALL

AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR!

June 3rd - END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR BASH!!

UNITED WE FALL, SECTION 8, CALL ME CRAZY!

June 4th - SIX PENNY, 5 HOUR SHOWER, EVAN RUS-

SEL SAFFER (VOCALIST FROM FIXER), INVARI-

ANCE, AND CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS, THE FLYING

PIGS!! ALL AGES, $10 AT THE DOOR! DOORS AT

7:30, SHOW STARTS AT 8!!

June 9th - IT'S A TRAP, BAMF, SEVENTH CORVUS,

THE GREAT VALLEY AND MORE TBA! ALL AGES,

$10 AT THE DOOR!!

June 11th - "JUNE MONGOUS" XTREME MUSIC EX-

TRAVAGANZA!! BANDS, VIDEO GAMES, RAFFLES,

AND SO MUCH MORE! THRODL, DREAMLAND

PARK, NO REMORSE FOR THE FALLEN, APOLLYON,

AMORA, GARMONIA, CURSE OF SORROW!! MORE

DETAILS COMING SOON!

June 17th - FAITH IN EXILE, FOR THE PERILOUS, THE

GUNPOWDER KINGS, MOMENTS OF SILENCE, AND

DAY TAUNT!!! ALL AGES! $10 AT THE DOOR,

DOORS AT 7!!

June 18th - MANTIS, AND MORE TBA!

June 19th - POE WHOSAINE, TEAM STYLES, FIFTH - I,

LOYALTY RECORDZ! ALL AGES!

June 24th - HEIROSONIC AND MORE TBA! TICKETS

$10 PRESALE AND $13 AT THE DOOR! ALL AGES!

DOORS AT 7:30!

www.drivingmetal.com

www.thesilorocks.com