AFI Interview with Jade Puget

A Fire Inside (AFI) :: Interview with Jade Puget :: Cologne :: Palladium :: 10/7/06

Oliver(Punk76): Today I was listening to the radio. We have a huge Radio station here in NRW (our state is called North Rhine Westfalia), called Einslive. I recognized that you was invited there to do a Radio interview. So, how was it to do an interview with such a huge Radio station in Germany? By the way, I think Einslive really sucks, cuz they have no idea how to present Punkrock Bands on their station (note: they played some Hip Hop and some shitty sounds while the band was there, like Warren G and New Kids On The Block!!! Lousy, huh?)
Jade(AFI): It is just like any other interview for a Radio station. Nothing really special at last. So, I was not really nervous (smiles). But it was really strange that they played that kind of music, while we was there. Anyway, I don´t mind. But we finally made it to Germany again (smiles).

Oliver: The last time that I have seen AFI is probably ten years ago. Davey had blonde hair back then and everyone in the band was wearing Vans at that time. You was also signed to Nitro records at that time.
Jade: Yeah, we just don´t had the right distribution at that time. And it is hard to built up a fan base, if people don´t even get our record. So, finally we´re starting to headline and people were able to get our records. Any help we can get over here in Europe is welcome.

Oliver: I know about your band since a very long time now. I also renember your very first release on Nitro Records, which was a simple Punkrock record. You made such a gigantic change, when I compare your releases from the beginning and yet. I think that even the last record on your old label (Nitrorecords.com) showed a drastic change in comparison to the previous releases. But then you got signed to Dreamwork Records and your music was not compareable to all the other releases before. How did that change in your music came?
Jade: I guess the band changed their style a lot of times over the years. I mean if you compare the very first record "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" (1997) with "Art Of Drowning" (2000) then you will recognize a total difference. You know, signing to a major label had nothing to do with the change in our music. Most of the songs was already written, when we got signed to a Major Label. Changing our musical style is something that WE do as a band. It doesn´t has anything to do with the outside world. The first AFI record was written, when everyone was 15 years old...

Oliver: How old are you now?
Jade: I am 32. So let´s get back: The kind of music that you play, when you´re 15 and the kind of music that you play with 30 differs a lot. This is more than obvious. (smiles and laughs). It is a matter of beeing musican and learning how to play your instruments better and learning how to write songs better. If we still be shitty songwriters, then we probably would play shitty songs.
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Oliver: If I compare the old releases with the new(er) ones, then I have to admit, that the old ones are only simple structured Punkrock Songs. The new songs are impressive and they have a high-technical approach. There are still so many trifles that I can find out, altough I have listened so many times to your music. I would like to know, if it was a help for you to sign with a major label. Were they of any help for you? Have they helped you to produce a better record with a higher technical approach? Or could you do the same record on a small indie label? And did they helped you to recruite any other musicians, who helped out with Piano or Violin parts?
Jade: Oh, you know all the syntheziser stuff was done by our own. I like to keep all the songwriting stuff etc. in the band. We only had one person that helped out with Cello on "Sing The Sarrow", cuz I can´t play a Cello (smiles and laughs).

And Dreamworks allowed us to produce an expensive record. All the videos around the record and the recording sessions where pretty expensive.

Oliver: By the way: How long did it took to record "Sing The Sarrow", because it sounds so complex.
Jade: Well, I think it took about four months.

Oliver: I think it works out when you spend a long time on new songs. It shows, that you´re not in that kind of "mass-production", like many other bands are. I even found out, that your new record (Decemberunderground) has reached Platin in America, which is a huge discitinction for a "Punkrock" band.
Jade: Well, this is so strange if I think about where we came from. We never even thought, that we will have a audience on the radio or a video out. All we wanted to do was to make music - we never expected anything.

Oliver: Ok, and this is the fact that differs you from all those "Plastic-Bands" out there. I mean those kind of bands that was picked, because they look cute together and so they gain very fast a name in the media, altough those guys are not able to write and sing well togehter. I like it when a band is authentic and comes all the long way from the ground.
Jade: Noone wants to get in a Van and tour. Everyone wants in a Bus and play in Arenas and have their first song beeing on the radio and beeing on MTV. But today all those bands can use different ways now to gain more fans, through using the internet. You can have fans allover the world, altough you never played a show. It is a different world today, because we come from a totally different generation.

Oliver: By the way: You told me that you´re 32. So, what kind of people join your shows? I mean when we came here to the venue, I have seen a lot of young kids, who are probably 15 or 17 years old. If you compare our audience with the people in America.. what would you guess: what kind of people come to see you play and how old are they?
Jade: All different. I mean, sure, we often play in front of a younger crowd, but when you go to our shows you see first of all all kind of kids from many different scenes, like Industrial kids or Hardcore kids. But when we was playing in Berlin recently I have seen two pretty old skinheads (note: no Nazis, just skinheads!) who joined our show.

Oliver: You are reasonable for all the synthesizer stuff in AFI. So I guess, that you was infected by all those great bands, like TheCure, Depeche Mode and so on, right?
Jade: Yeah, I love Depeche Mode! But as far as Electronic stuff in AFI I need to admit that the electronic parts should not take over the songs. They are more of a layer.

Oliver: Altough you need to admit, that the eleventh song on December Underground is almost just based on Electro stuff.
Jade: Well, ok..

Oliver: You really should insert more of that Electronic stuff, because it sounds so great in your music.
Jade: Davey and I just found a new Electronic project, called Blaq Audio. Actually I have written two songs from December Underground, who were destined for Blaq Audio in the beginning. Actually we´re so busy with AFI, but we try to put the songs together in the next months and put them out with Blaq Audio.

Oliver: It seems that many bands was infected by the "darker music industry", like The Cure and Depeche Mode. I have also seen you guys performing a THE CURE song in front of a large audience, while Robert Smith (singer in The Cure) was sitting and clapping in the audience.
Jade: Right, that was tribute to The Cure. Many bands, for example The Deftones, Blink182 and others, performed on that day. We all went to London and covered The Cure songs. It was the first time that I met Robert Smith and he is very nice.

Oliver: I mean many people and bands was infected by the Cure, for example Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, Blink, Thursday and many more. They even infected me and my brother.
Jade: (laughing) Well, they are just a great band. I renember myself beeing a kid. I was into Punk, but also into darker music, like The Cure or The Smiths.

Oliver: Do you also like the band "Heavens", which is fronted by Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio? This one is a pretty dark side project, which was definitely infected by The Cure and some 80´s stuff.
Jade: Ah, you know, I was never a big Alkaline Trio fan and to me Heavens sounds pretty much alike Alkaline Trio. It is a little different, but his voice and the vocals... it´s still like very Alkaline Trio. I mean, I don´t hate it but it is alright...

Oliver: Could you tell us, what the lyrics in AFI are about?
Jade: Davey is not here, so I don´t like to talk for him. But his songs are pretty interpretive. It is not like, this song means this and the next one means that. In general people can refer on the songs.

Oliver: How did AFI became a band?
Jade: I cannot tell you about the very beginning, because I joined the band about eight years ago. But we all grew up in the same town, in Northern California. I was in another band and Davey and Adam started a band and we knew each other. The original bass player in AFI was also in my first band. We just grew up together and we also joined High School together.

Oliver: I once read, that AFI started as a Misfists Cover band. Is that true?
Jade: No, I mean when AFI once started they covered a few songs, but that rumor is wrong. We were just kids in a small town starting a Punkband.

Oliver: You´re together for so many years now. How is it possible to keep peace in the band? I mean, sometimes your mates must hurt your nerves, or?
Jade: A lot of good band break up nearly, because people can´t get along. But I think in our case a part of it is, that Davey and Adam are really nice. They are not confrontational, they are very gently and kind and they have a lot of respect for people, which makes it a lot more easier in the band.

Oliver: What about your partents? What do they think about AFI and how do they evaluate it?
Jade: At this point all of our parents were very happy. We´ve been sucsessful for so many years now. Davey and Adam dropped out of College, because they gone on tour and their parents weren´t very happy about that. But, I finished College and my parents were fine, when I graduated. Parents are like: When you´re in a band and you´re not sucsessful, then they say, that you need a job and you need to this and that. But when they realize that this is the real thing and this is what you want to do with your life, then they support you.

Oliver: When I talked to Mark Hoppus from +44 recently, I asked him if he became a Millioneer through Punkrock music. And he confirmed it. Today I saw, that your record gained Platin and meanwhile you play in large Arenas and you got often played in the media. So, have you earned already so much money, that you could became Millioneers too?
Jade: (laughing) No, we are not even close to Millioneers. Maybe someday.. Blink182 sold a lot more records, then we did.

Oliver: Nevetheless you can life a great and comfortable life trough your music, or?
Jade: Yeah. I mean when I first joined this band, I lived in a little room. We all just lived in a house together with a couple of guys from The Destillers, Nick13 (Tiger Army) and it was really a shitty house. I wasn´t making very much money, but for me that was ok. I don´t need to have a nice house or a great car, as long as I was able to make music. To me, I don´t need to be a Millioneer.

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