Interview by Rachel Jablonski
With the recent release of Hunter, their latest album out on Ferret Music, and a summer thus far spent on the Sounds of the Underground tour, life for A Life Once Lost must seem pretty hectic. But they won’t be relaxing for quite some time with constant tours planned in Europe, Canada, the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and possibly South Korea starting in September and running at least through January/February. After a brief introduction my interview with vocalist Bob Meadows abruptly began.
Bob: It’s hot, very hot. We’re out here finishing up Sounds of the Underground tour.
Rachel: Well then let’s jump right into it. The sound of your album is great. It’s big, powerful, and intense, it’s just enjoyable. One thing I’ve kind of noticed, unlike other albums I’ve heard lately in the hardcore genre, is that your lyrics seem more inwardly directed than outwardly. More like this is how I am rather than this is how you are or this is what you did. What is your motivation for this approach? What aspects of self are you trying to reveal?
Bob: I’m not sure if I have a real motivation per se, but the record’s just more of a relationship kind of a theme going on built around a lot of the songs. It’s just very hostile towards people.
Rachel: Ok, well “Pain and Panic” is probably my favorite track. Does it concern a specific event or is it very generalized? Because I picture it as having to watch someone die.
Bob: It’s more about someone that I know involved in a drug addicted lifestyle and just trying to walk away from that person, seeing them not really coherent and not being able to function and be a part of society. They’re basically unconscious to reality in a sense. So it’s just kind of like me walking away and then falling in and out of it. Coming around and then just falling right back into the pain and the panic of dealing with someone in a situation like that.
Rachel: Your album’s called Hunter. What is the title referring to?
Bob: It’s about taking what you want in life and not settling with the "no you’re not good enough." It’s just about doing it, not settling with someone saying you can’t because you can, anyone can. We’re all given the same opportunities from birth and it’s just how everything falls together, how we take it, and how we react towards what happens. It’s all about being the hunter, being the master.
Rachel: Is this your first record on Ferret Music?
Bob: Yeah this is our first record on Ferret, our third record as a band.
Rachel: How did you end up on Ferret?
Bob: We were just good friends with [the Ferret people]. They were fans of the band so we just developed a really good friendship over the years and it kind of fell together.
Rachel: Randy Blythe from Lamb of God contributes vocals on the song “Vulture.” How did you end up working with him?
Bob: Again we’re just good friends with Randy. I’ve known him and Lamb of God for the last four or five years. I was booking some of their first shows in Philadelphia independently, not through a major corporation like Clear Channel or House of Blues, so I just developed a really good friendship. Again, they’re fans of the band and he’s a fan of the band. It was more of an honor for him to be working with us, someone that he respects so much musically. It works out for the better.
Rachel: You guys compliment each other well. Paul Romano did your CD layout. Very cool looking work. What was the concept behind what he did? Did you give him direction or did he interpret what he wanted to do on his own?
Bob: That’s more of his decision, his artwork, his direction, the way that he interpreted all my lyrics, the meaning and the message behind the record. That’s more of an artist question I can’t really…
Rachel: So he interpreted it his own way and went from there.
Bob: Yeah, with the lyrics I don’t hold any kind of true meaning behind them it’s more interpretation. If you get something from it, that’s what you get from it. I’m not going to knock you and people shouldn’t knock you for believing in something that you believe in. I’ve always felt that way and that’s the way he took it, that’s what he saw in his mind when I was telling him basically what the majority of the things were about.
Rachel: This is your last week of Sounds of the Underground. How has the tour been?
Bob: It’s a lot of fun. The drives have been hell. A lot of driving, a lot of driving and it's been very hot. But the exposure that we’re getting on this tour is pretty amazing. We really couldn’t have a better setup for our record coming out on Ferret and belonging to this tour, everything just kind of made sense.
Rachel: So it’s your last week and you’ve gotten to play in front of a lot of people. What has the biggest challenge been?
Bob: It’s just trying to play to the new crowd, ya know, the new fans, the new audience. It’s definitely a challenge to really conquer, to overcome, to beat it. It determines what’s in store for you and it’s just a challenge just being out here and playing in front of all these new people and all of these new bands we’re making friends with on this tour. It’s enjoyable ya know there are memories.
Rachel: The response is good?
Bob: Some shows yes, some shows no. It all depends where we are in the country. Some people seem to soak up what we’re doing a little easier than others, but people are catching up slowly throughout. We’re a small new fresh band.
Rachel: What has been the most memorable moment?
Bob: The whole tour itself. Everywhere we’ve been and everyone we’ve met and all the drunken incoherent ramblings of other guys in bands. A lot of smoking with good friends, old friends, and just the company of the music. It’s just good to be part of the first Sounds of the Underground.
Rachel: Your next tour is in Europe?
Bob: Yes.
Rachel: The first handful of dates are in the UK. How do you feel about playing there after the recent bombings?
Bob: Actually this is my first plane trip also so it’s weird just getting on a plane and going to another country. Basically a band that I’ve been a part of from the very beginning, it’s weird to now finally leave your home country, a piece of land you feel so familiar with after touring for four years now, to know that you’re going to conquer another piece of territory. It’s pretty nerve racking especially with all the tension and everything that’s going on there. It’s even more nerve racking because you’re not really sure what’s going to happen and what the reactions are going to be like and even really what to say when you get up on stage. What are you supposed to say to people in that mood? We can pretty much understand on that level, but it’s a weird situation.
Rachel: You’ve never been on a plane before?
Bob: Never.
Rachel: Oh wow, it’s going to be a tour of firsts! After Europe what do you have planned? Are you going to be touring the U.S. again?
Bob: Yeah, September 17th we go out with Unearth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Zao. That tour’s over sometime in October. We will then be touring in Canada and then we’re out with As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, and Madball November 27th through December 20th. And then in January and February we’ll be traveling to Europe again for two or three weeks, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and possibly South Korea, so we have a pretty extensive tour schedule coming up. I’m just looking forward to being on the road for a very long time.
Rachel: Well thank you very much! Good luck and I hope to catch you guys soon.