Chiodos - Life on the Road
June 25th, 2008 - Written by gemma
For me, the quality of lyrics is part of what makes music good or bad; that is one of the reasons why I enjoy Chiodos’ music so much. Their lyrics have an honesty that is easy to relate to and when writing, the band doesn’t feel it necessary to degrade or defame like some other artists out there.
When I asked Derrick about his outlook on certain music being released these days he answered, “It just really depends, there’s a lot of good stuff out there and there’s a lot of bad stuff. So many people are playing in bands and stuff, it’s not as small as it used to be… like when I was in high school there were like four bands. And now there’s probably like 10, 15, 20 bands per high school. So yeah, there’s just so much music out there; you really just have to be choosey with what you like and everyone likes something different.”
Another topic we discussed was that of music pirating. It’s the opinion of many that downloading music is ruining the industry. “Well, now with everything that’s going on with the internet, it’s almost like everything’s gonna be eventually on the internet. I think as long as people hear it that’s a good thing.” Derrick answered when I asked him what he thought of the practice, despite acknowledging that artists often times rely on the sale of their art to get by; a problem to which he offers a solution. “I mean you get to hold the record, you get to have it, have a piece of that or the bands merchandise. Just a lot of kids like to burn or download the CD and I think that’s great too and you’re supporting the band but if you’re gonna do that, at least go to the shows and buy a ton of ‘merch’ or something, you know?”
Supporting a band you love is the best thing you can do for them. If they’re taking the time to make music you love and going on tour for you to see them live, it’s only fair to show them your appreciation by purchasing their albums, buying a t-shirt or going to a show.
“I feel like: how are we supposed to know how many people actually like our band?” Derrick asks. “Because you can say 100 people went out and bought your CD, but how many hundreds of people burned it? You know what I mean? So you never really know. It’s kind of a mystery.”
Sometimes, people can get so caught up in a band’s music, or even the band members themselves, that they become demanding, requesting that the band come to their city every few months. Wanting to please their fans, bands oblige, forcing them to leave their friends and family behind for long periods of time.
It’s a normal reaction to want to hear music we love live, or be able to meet our favourite artist face to face; that’s what fans are supposed to want. However, we tend to ignore what these artists are sacrificing to accommodate their fans’ demands.
“Some people always assume that just because you have this really neat job and stuff, that you don’t miss all these people you care about because you’re having so much fun.” Derrick mentioned when I asked him about that very thing; a question he’s never been asked before and doesn’t think many people consider. “But really, touring is like ‘wake up and wait all day to just play’. Up from 11, and say you don’t play until 10, you wait 9 hours or so just to play. Touring isn’t as exciting as everyone thinks it is. I mean, there’s crazy cool nights that it’s just like ‘I love this! but you miss out on a lot because of this. So yeah, to do this it takes a lot.”
On a lighter note, I asked Derrick what he usually eats while on tour and if there has been any dishes he’s tasted in different cities that he had really enjoyed. “In San Francisco I had a shark burger; that was pretty cool. Like an actual shark. It was delicious”.
“Did it taste like Chicken?” I asked him jokingly.”Yeah it actually did taste like chicken” he answered, laughing. “It had pineapple and some barbeque sauce on it; it was really good. But every place has its own thing I guess but then a lot of places have similar foods too, like you can find Thai food everywhere, and like sushi and pizza too.”
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