Band: As I Lay Dying
Label: Metal Blade Records
Official Site: Click here
Date: April 30, 2004
Conducted by: Kim Worpek

TMF Kim: If your band was given the chance to be on a billboard, what catch phrase or slogan would you want featured to describe your band?
Tim: On a billboard....um...I guess like, "The New Sound of American Metal", because...I think like, this whole genre is...changing the way metal is, and I like to think that we're a part of that.

TMF Kim: Give our readers 3 reasons why they should come out to see you on tour.
Tim: Well there’s...I think... I think that we're more energetic than most bands. We're very passionate about what we're doing, and about...the chance to play. It's really hard to explain why a band has a good live show, and not to be boastful but, I do think that we really portray...the passion behind our music when we play live and I think there’s something....some things that can't be caught on recordings....like um..
TMF Kim: Like an energy?
Tim:: Yeah I mean, on recordings it's just..you can hear everything, you can hear the guitar and the drums and the bass, and everything like that, but you can't really catch the...like the drive and the emotions behind the music.

TMF Kim: You guys have a religious background to you, so what's your opinion on the airplane incident where the pilot reportedly asked Christian passengers to identify themselves by raising their hands?
Tim:I think there's...that like people take.....I think they take their views out of context, you know...I mean...Christianity is something that - the followers of Christianity should follow it because they know that its true in their hearts, and they know that its undoubtedly the truth and...it's something that's very personal and hard to really...convince...or shove down someone's throats, so....if someone's interested in Christianity, that’s good, if they just want to talk about it or ..but, I'm definitely not very forceful at all about the way I view religion.

TMF Kim: When you set out on the musical path, where did you expect to end up, and do you think you've come that far by now?
Tim: I hoped to end up about half way where to where we are now. So anything that's happened in the past like....4 or 5 months has been you know, beyond what I ever hoped for, and it's an amazing thing because it's like I'm living my dream, being able to play music to make a living, and I think because of that you can tell that we're a band who's definitely very very grateful for everything we have.
TMF Kim: So it's safe to say you're not in this for the...like the fame or the money or anything?
Tim: Tim: No, this is definitely the wrong style of music to be playing for the money and the fame.
TMF Kim: Yeah.

TMF Kim: When you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, what's the first thought that comes to your mind?
Tim: I actually, believe it or not...only shower like every three days, so...the days I do look in the mirror it's usually like "Oh man, I've got to shave!" [laughs].
TMF Kim: [laughs] Ah, the life of a rock star huh?
Tim: Yeah.

TMF Kim: If you could leave one of your lyrics in a time capsule to be discovered many years from now, which lyric would you choose?
Tim: I'd probably choose the lyrics to "Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier" because that song....essentially it's just me, pouring my heart out...and I think that...we don't really have any other songs that are more....real than that song.

TMF Kim: On CDNow.com, 23 out of 29 users gave your new album, Frail Words Collapse, 4 or 5 stars [out of 5], how do you plan to make the next album as well-liked as its predecessor?
Tim: Well, naturally, young bands are always progressing and we're a young band - we're all about 18 - 25 [years old], so I think we've got a lot of room to grow...and our next record will definitely be a progression off of this one, and every record will be a progression from the one before, or there's...really no reason to keep playing music. I, in my opinion I think that the excitement of being a musician is progressing.

TMF Kim: In another interview, it was mentioned that your band gained a lot of fans through having some of your songs up at MP3.com, do you think that shutting down the site was not such a good idea, considering it was a haven for upcoming bands to preview their sound?
Tim: Yeah....I had heard that they were going to shut down the site, and then they were going to re-open it under new ownership and that never happened. I definitely agree that it was very helpful for bands that are in a position like we were - we put our mp3's up about three months before our CD hit the stores...and by the time it was released it had enough buzz behind it where people were actually out there picking it up - otherwise it takes...you know if a band releases a CD, it takes three or four months for that CD to be out before people actually...catch word of mouth.
TMF Kim: Yeah. I know that I actually heard a lot about it before it even came out...like...on other band forums...like, the Powerman 5000 fan forum actually, believe it or not [laughs]
Tim: Yeah.
TMF Kim: Yeah, there was a lot of people talking about it on there.
Tim: Yeah, I think all that stuff is helpful for up and coming bands, and I think also....it challenges the bigger bands to.....put themselves out that much more because there's so much more exposure for the newer bands. And that's one thing...I think bands...sometimes get to certain stages and they kinda level off, and they run out of creativity and I like the challenge....I like challenging those other bands.

TMF Kim: Have you heard of the book 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner, and if so, is the similarity between your band name and that book strictly coincidental?
Tim: Well, the novel is where we got the idea for the name, but there's no correlation of the meaning.....the book is written very very well, but...I mean...the way we interpret the name and how we've applied it to ourselves is much different....but that is how we got the name.

TMF Kim: Is there any particular thing that will make or break a concert for you when you're on stage?
Tim: Usually, if there's like major equipment problems. I notice every little detail because we play the same songs every night so, you know...even someone hitting like one wrong note in the set...it like...rings in my head for the next half hour..
TMF Kim: [laughs]
Tim: But...when the equipment fails...or there's an entire instrument missing, that kinda takes away from the energy.
TMF Kim: So does something like that effect the whole show or is it just kind of like an annoyance that you can shrug off?
Tim: It really depends, I think usually no matter how hard we try to make believe it's not bothering us, it usually effects the whole show.

TMF Kim: If you were to become president, what are some things you would change first?
Tim: There's probably....a huge list that I'd have to think up for the next week but right off the bat I think that....the communication between like...the president and his cabinet...and just the general public is uh...is a strange communication where there's always this...mystery as to what the true facts are. So I'd try to just get everything out in the open and try to have some honesty in...in politics.
TMF Kim: Yes, that would be nice.

TMF Kim: In what ways do you contribute to the world, other than your music?
Tim: Well, some of the money that I make personally in the band....you know, certain people like to give to different organizations...and I see a great need for like...in third world countries, you know you see those ads on tv with children starving to death and stuff. There are actually a lot of organizations that are very credible that take that money and are able to do a whole lot with it, as far as saving lives goes. Um...there's also a lot of those organizations that does do really emotionally driven advertisements, but then they take your money and give maybe a third of it to starving people, then keep the rest for so-called 'administrative purposes.
TMF Kim: Yeah.
Tim: So that's one of the things I do. There's also a website that’s like from a religious perspective....um...it's something that I've given money to called 'Stand to Reason' and their whole philosophy is to present religion in like a reasonable way....like without people arguing over their situation, they just kind of present the evidence and kinda let people...
TMF Kim: Kinda like, draw their own conclusions?
Tim: Yeah, exactly. And I think that's really important.

TMF Kim: What song on your latest album do you feel that fans will identify with most?
Tim: It depends on what a person is going through in their life. I think a lot of people can relate to songs like 'Undefined' which is a song of ours where ..it's about how everything that we hold will pass away, and that life itself is only temporary and it [the song] takes a stand against materialism, which is definitely popular in America right now..
TMF Kim: Yeah.
Tim: And um...it was written as a reminder to myself of what truly mattered and what I could hold onto, and I think a lot of people can relate to that.

TMF Kim: VH1 recently aired a show about celebrities kissing, and for about 30 seconds in that show they played your song '94 Hours' -
Tim: I heard about that.
TMF Kim: You did?
Tim: Yeah.
TMF Kim: Did you guys know, originally, that they were going to play that?
Tim: No, um. It's funny...the way that publishing works, generally you find out about that stuff beforehand because they ask your permission, and uh...that video had been airing on Headbanger's Ball...MTV owns VH1..it's all kinda the same...so they never officially asked our permission to do that, which ended up being fine with us because we definitely got a kick out of it.
TMF Kim: Yeah, how did you hear about that...did you see it yourself or..?
Tim: A couple of friends of mine back home called and said, "Hey, you'll never believe what I just saw on VH1" - and...our music being on VH1 was definitely one of the last things that would have come to my mind.

TMF Kim: If you were given the chance to kiss any female celebrity, who would you choose?
Tim:  Hmm.. [long pause] ...I'm not very good with celebrity names...who was the girl that was in um..The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - what was her name?
TMF Kim:  Oh, I don't remember.
Tim: Was it...Jessica....Biel?
TMF Kim: I have no idea [laughs] I'm not really good with..-
Tim: I have no idea either..[laughing]
TMF Kim: ...movie.....actors and stuff either. 
Tim: [laughs] ...That girl.
TMF Kim: That one?
Tim: [laughs]
TMF Kim: [laughing] I'll find out before I...before we print this, ok?
Tim: [laughing]

TMF Kim: If you had to die in the name of something, what would it be?
Tim: My beliefs.
TMF Kim: Anything...specific? Like any one belief that stands out above the rest?
Tim: I believe that I've made a lot of mistakes in my lifetime, and that...those mistakes have been forgiven through Jesus...so I guess that I would die...um...defending the resurrection of Jesus.

TMF Kim: You've mentioned before that in the van you listen to other music, and eventually you're ready for a change of sound - what's one song or artist that you like that would probably surprise your fans?
Tim: I actually like Elton John's Greatest Hits [laughs].
TMF Kim: [laughs also] Is there any particular favorite song that you have or..?
Tim: It's hard to...hard to pick one. There's not one particular song...I can't... [pauses, laughs]. 

TMF Kim: [laughs] Ok...um...there was one more thing I wanted to get...more in depth into... [shuffling through papers]. Ok... How do you feel about...saying "one nation, under God" in the pledge of allegiance...like how do you feel about that whole controversy over whether that should be..--
Tim: Yeah.
TMF Kim: ..included..
Tim: I think that....we live in a culture that somewhat rejected God in it's education system, and for that reason, I think that it's a little presumptuous to expect people to pledge allegiance to their country and God. I personally...I believe in God so I personally would like keep it that way, but I'm definitely a person who doesn't want to impose my views on other people [laughs].