Friday, October 30, 2009

“Saving Abel headlines the Class of 2009 tour.”

By Bob Zerull

While its name is based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel, don’t be fooled. Saving Abel is a straight up rock band. The guys kicked off their headlining tour entitled the Class of 2009 with Red and Pop Evil on October 27th. Saving Abel’s also going to bring out “freshman” act Taddy Porter, hoping to make this a yearly tour with a different “freshman” act each year.



Zoiks! Online had the privilege to talk with Saving Abel bassist Eric Taylor about the upcoming tour, the state of the music industry and when to look for a new Saving Abel album.

Q - You guys are one of those bands where even if you’re hearing a song for the first time, it feels like you’ve heard it before. Where do you think that comes from?

A - We write what we know. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. The music we grew up listening to really shows up in our music.

Q - If you had to describe your band’s sounds how would you do it?

A - Modern southern rock. We cut our teeth on southern rock. So it’s a mixture between today’s rock mixed with old southern rock.

Q - What is the band’s writing process like? Do you try to shoot for a certain sound?

A - We’re recording our second album right now and the process actually changed a little bit. Some of the songs are heavier. We have the ballads, because we’re Saving Abel, but we’re better writers. You know, you continue to grow.

Q - Who or what influenced you to pick up the bass and start making music?

A - Justin Chancellor from Tool made me switch from guitar to bass. I loved his work on some of the earlier Tool albums.

Q - What was the first concert you went to as a child?

A - George Strait actually (laughs), that was a while ago. I think Confederate Railroad was there too.

Q - What band or artist are you really into right now?

A - One of the bands we’re taking out on tour with us, Taddy Porter, out of Oklahoma, they’re kind of like The Black Crowes. Great rock band.

Q - Is there a band or artist that you’re a closet fan of, someone that we’d be surprised by?

A - Huge Michael Jackson fan, which I guess is not that surprising. The whole band was huge fans of his. We had a moment of silence as a band when he passed.

Q - Who have you enjoyed touring with the most?

A – Nickelback, a bunch of good guys and they took good care of us, I hope to do it again.

Q - Who would you love to tour with?

A - Alice in Chains. That’s a band we all grew up listening to. They’re great writers and musicians. The new singer has an amazing voice.



Q - What’s your opinion of going on tour; is it fun, is it rough?

A - It’s a mixture of both really. You don’t see family or friends, but it’s fun. You get to see the world, meet different people. It’s the best job in the world.

Q - Do you have any embarrassing or memorable stories from the road?

A - I’ve almost fell off the stage; haven’t yet. I’m sure that day will come. I guess just tripping or getting caught up in cable, nothing too bad. That’s happened to all of us. But nothing too embarrassing yet, knock on wood (laughs).

Q - Do you have a favorite song to perform live?

A – “Addicted” because that song did so well for us; everyone knows it. It’s amazing to hear the crowd singing back to one of your songs.

Q - Do you have a favorite place to play?

A - Not really, I mean different venues vary. Some are intimate; you can see everyone and it’s great to be able to see everyone. Then you go out with Nickelback where we’re playing to 15 - 20,000 people and you can’t see anyone but the energy is amazing. I don’t have a favorite.

Q - Tell me about your upcoming tour and where “the freshman” idea came from?

A - It was a combination between us and our management. If we’re going to do a headlining tour, it’d be cool to have heavy hitting radio bands. We’ve had some radio success with “Addicted.” Red and Pop Evil have had some radio success as well. So they’re headliners in their own right. Then we’d bring an unsigned band along which we refer to as the freshmen, which is Taddy Porter. They’re a real fun band to watch live. We have the same management. They had never toured before; we’re trying to break ‘em in, and it’s going to be fun.

Q - What do you think of the state of the music industry? How do you think it’ll affect your future releases?

A - I think you’ll still have true fans of albums and the artwork who will still buy them. Technology has advanced and a lot of people prefer digital. We’re almost double platinum digital. So as long as we keep the fan base, I don’t think the state of the music industry really matters. I think digital has hurt album sales but at the same time more people have access to your music.

Q - When can we expect another album from Saving Abel?

A - We’re shooting for sometime in the spring, 2010, March or April.

Check out Saving Abel on the Class of 2009 tour with Red, Pop Evil and this year’s freshman Taddy Porter. They’re a bunch of down to Earth guys from Corinth, Mississippi. I’ve seen them live and they do NOT disappoint. For more information on Saving Abel, visit the band’s website at: www.savingabel.com.



BYLINE:

Bob Zerull is a frequent movie and concert goer who talks about his ventures to arenas and theaters more than any person should be allowed to do. Now, he puts them down on paper. Visit: www.cadaverchristmas.com. Email Bob at bob@zoiksonline.com.

0 comments:

Post a Comment