Chad Bowar: You’ve had some drummer turnover since the last album, including just replacing Jay Weinberg.
Freddy Cricien: The drummer on our last album was Rigg Ross, he had been with us for over 6 years. We parted ways because he needed to take care of some things in his personal life. We are still good friends. Regarding Jay, he came along at a time when were looking for someone to fill in for a tour. He tried and did well, so we decided to let him play on the record. Soon after though, we realized he wasn’t a fit for this band. so we let him go. This will not disrupt anything as far as touring, etc. We already have guys in line to help us out. The core is still solid: Hoya, Mitts and myself.
How would you describe the sound of Empire compared to your last couple of releases?
Production wise it’s a touch more raw or organic. Not to take away anything from the last couple, I think Zeuess did a great job. But that is one of the differences. Musically, there’s sort of a throwback vibe with some of tracks. They are old style with some modern twist to them. There’s also some songs that are in the vein of Infiltrate and even a touch more progressive, but still you always know its Madball.
Lyrically I touch on some recent events in our lives, good ones and bad. I speak about a few other different themes as well. I think I covered a lot of ground. People have to actually read the lyrics and pay attention before writing it off as, “Oh he’s talking about hardcore the whole record.” That’s not the case, never was. Of course there are songs about the “movement,” but there’s a lot of other stuff as well. Basically,in a nutshell, this album is pissed off and in your face, the way I think hardcore and Madball should be.
Was your writing/recording process any different than usual?
The process always changes slightly. This time we were under a little more pressure. I think that helped us in the end.
What inspired your lyrics?
Life. All sorts of things, positive things in our lives and also negative. I feed off the bad as well as the good. When you hate on us, misjudge us, especially for no good reason other than you feel intimidated or envious; that is fuel for us! I also look at what we’ve built and how we’re still relevant with the newer generation. That’s inspiring. Honestly, I take inspiration from everywhere. One thing you have to remember though, I also write to complement the music. There are certain topics that just wouldn’t make sense vibe wise.
How did you decide on Erik Rutan to produce?
We met on tour with Hatebreed, but actually a mutual friend made the connection for us to work together. We got to talking and realized it was a good fit. Erik is way more diverse than his resume shows. Empire is a perfect example of that. He helped us capture not only the sound we wanted, but the “vibe”. That’s as important if not more.
How was he to work with?
Very cool to work with. He understands where Madball is coming from and what we represent sonically and as people. He was a fan of the band before all this, contrary to what some may think. So, he was excited to work with us and we were excited as well. It’s all good!
How did you come to sign with Good Fight?
Good Fight are basically all the guys from Ferret. They changed the name for legal and personal reasons. The people involved are the same people I’ve been working alongside for the last bunch of years. I stuck with them because I know how much they believe in Madball. I have a special relationship with the folks at Good Fight. a relationship I’ve never had with any other label.
What are your upcoming tour plans?
We just got home from Canada with Comeback Kid. now we are headed to Europe to do the NY United tour with SOIA. We’ll be hitting a bunch of markets out there and ending in the UK. Should be a good tour. After that we have the East Coast in December with Bitter End and Lion Heart. They’ll be a bunch more stuff next year.
What are your favorite and least favorite cities/venues to play live?
I won't answer that because I don’t want to offend anyone’s city. Even in the worst places there are people who show up to support us, and we appreciate it. I will say though, the very,very middle of the U.S.can get rough for hardcore around those parts.
Where haven't you played live that you'd still like to get to?
Southeast Asia, Africa, Mexico. I’m sure there’s a few more.
What are the largest and smallest crowds you've played in front of?
The largest was 120,000 in 1995 at Dynamo Open Air. We still haven’t topped that! The smallest was probably in North Carolina somewhere, I think Nags Head. I think there were two people there plus the band and crew. It happens,comes with the territory. That was also in the mid nineties.
Any tour horror stories?
On the day of our biggest show to date, I had the flu, kicked Hoya's cables out by accident, then proceeded to walk off the front of the stage into a bale of hay.. I argued with some dude who ruined one of our songs by singing the wrong words. All this while 120,000 people watched. Even still, people were really impressed by this show. Go figure!
What’s the worst injury you’ve suffered on stage?
I’ve chipped my teeth on numerous occasions, I’ve sprained my ankle, I was kicked in the head by a boot at a fest, I’ve been banged around quite a bit, pulled my back out, but knock on wood, that's been the worst of it.
What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you on the road?
I don’t want to incriminate myself or my band, so I plead the fifth on this one. We have seen some crazy stuff driving around though, bad accidents, animals on the side of the road, all sorts of stuff. Interesting indeed.
What are the best and worst things about being in a band?
The worst is being away from your family and those you love, at least for me. The best thing is being able to travel to all these cool places and take in all these cultures. And at the end of the day, we get to play our music, something we’re very passionate about. It’s not the worst job in the world, but it is harder than some people will ever know. You take the good with the bad.
What’s currently in heavy rotation in your CD/MP3 player?
Right now I’m listening to the demos for the next Agnostic Front record. That's whats on heavy rotation. I’m producing it so there’s work to be done. It sounds great, though. Aside from that, I listen to everything; hip hop, rock, everything old and new.
