SPB: Do you read a lot when you travel? Any recommendations?
Andrew: Yeah! Once again the nerdiness is gonna come forth.
SPB: Don’t worry. I’ve got, probably the nerdiest question at the end.
Andrew: Ok! Well, I go between serious and just complete fiction-candy. I read this book, The Hunger Games. That was my last read, and I think I read that in two days because when I’m not driving the van I’ll just sit there and read. I actually bought a good graphic novel yesterday. Old Man Logan?—some Wolverine graphic novel.
SPB: I think I’ve heard of it.
Andrew: It’s good! He’s old and like—
SPB: Is it like, The Dark Knight Returns?
Andrew: In a way. Super villains have taken over the entire U.S. and everyone else is dead like: Captain America, Cyclops, and all of them are fucking murdered and all that shit. This is fucking nerdy as hell.
SPB: No, this is good because—I’m just gonna skip and go to my last question. This is very convenient because my last question is: If you could pick any superhero to run the world, who would it be?
Andrew: To “run the world?” Not Superman, he’s too square. Superman is the worst fucking comic character in the world. I mean, he can’t be defeated!
SPB: He’s so boring!
Andrew: Who would I trust to run the world? No Fantastic Four members. I’d probably say … not Batman because he’s always—I’m gonna actually think about this now. Probably Spider-Man.
SPB: That’s an awesome choice.
Andrew: I pick Spider-Man because he has a sense of humor, but he’s got his head on straight.
SPB: Speaking of Fantastic Four, did you hear about—
Andrew: Please tell me they’re not making a third movie.
SPB: No, they’re actually rebooting it though.
Andrew: Oh god!
SPB: No, this is actually about the comics. They killed off one of the Fantastic Four.
Andrew: Really? Please—well actually I hate them all, so who’d they kill?
SPB: (spoilers for comic fans) Human Torch.
Andrew: Oh, that’s good! I remember a long time ago they got rid of The Thing, and She-Hulk was a member of the Fantastic Four. Never my favorite comic.
SPB: Yeah, I don’t read a lot. Spider-Man and Batman are probably like my favorite two.
Andrew: Yeah, I like Batman a lot. I only kind of get something if someone recommends it to me, you know? Like, I read The Walking Dead comics.
SPB: Did you watch the series?
Andrew: Yeah! I think the first 3 episodes were really good, and then it kind of went off, but it has a lot of hope. Because they’re so successful, I think they’re gonna get a huge budget and be able to do it really awesome.
SPB: I thought the whole thing was good. The only thing … I think the last episode was kind of cheesy. Especially that explosion.
Andrew: Yeah, and also they should have killed Shane already. Have you read the comics?
SPB: Nah, I’m trying to avoid it because—I mean, they say they’re going in two different directions anyway, so it shouldn’t be a big deal but—
Andrew: Yeah, I read an interview with the guy, Kirkman, who writes it, and they said that it’s not … like, the comic is the guideline, but it’s not going to stick to it exactly. If you’ve read the comics and seen the first few episodes you know there’s a lot of stuff being left behind.
SPB: I know the first episode sticks pretty close.
Andrew: Yeah, the hospital. Actually, that was really good. I can’t believe they actually pulled it off doing that stuff.
SPB: There’s some pretty gruesome stuff in there.
Andrew: Oh yeah!
SPB: I think in the second episode when they show them chopping up the corpse.
Andrew: Oh, to put the guts on? Yeah, that was a good. That was a good one.
SPB: The look on my face during that.
(laughter)
SPB: Alright, before I let you go—one more—you’ve got a big show tonight. This is the small club show before the theater show tomorrow. Is there anything special planned?
Andrew: No man. Just to fucking kill it. Like I said at the beginning of the interview, everything’s just been going fucking great, so knock on wood. And, you’ve gotta—
SPB: (points to the wooden pole)
Andrew: Dammit (haha)! You’ve gotta play the show like it’s your last you know (Andrew walks over to knock on the pole)? It doesn’t matter if it’s Chain Reaction to 400 people or if it’s the Fonda to 1200 people. I’m not bullshitting you when I’m telling you, it’s still played exactly the same. Like you’re playing your fucking living room. Hell, I’ll probably crash into more stuff. It’s gonna be fun. It’s nice to be back in Southern-California.
SPB: The fan and band relation’s gonna thin out since there’s not barrier here though, so it should go off.
Andrew: Oh yeah! It’s gonna be nuts. It’ll be fun.
SPB: That’s gonna complete the interview. Any good final words?
Andrew: Cool. Great first interview my man.
SBP: Thank you.
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Words / Photos / Graphics: Aaron
Special thanks to Vanessa Burt at Fat Wreck for setting up the interview!
