Interview by Shelisah Piggee from DIY Zine
August 2002
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Interview by Shelisah Piggee from DIY Zine August 2002 |
 I actually stumbled upon Randall Flagg doing an MP3 search and when I heard their music I was an instant fan. As always they aren't local to California, they are from the place where most of the really cool bands reside which is Jersey. So I felt like I should get to know this band a little more and find out what they are really about. So the guys did just that for me. If you are a fan of the Hardcore/Metalcore scene then you will enjoy Randall Flagg. So check out what they had to say. DIY: Give the line up of Randall Flagg. Adam Browning - Vocals Ryan Fleming - Guitar Tom Piascik - Bass Vic Savellano- Drums DIY: How did you guys meet and form? Ryan: We were all old friend's from high school, and we would just get together to jam every once in a while. After high school ended though, we all kind of drifted apart going our own ways. Vic: Ryan motivated my lazy ass to start playing again when we get together during vacations. Ryan: The first version of Randall Flagg began when Adam & Vic came up to visit me at SUNY Buffalo in 98. Adam: It was winter, and I was in another band at the time, that I enjoyed playing with, but there was a huge difference playing with Ryan and Vic. Later that summer, me and the other band broke up and I started playing with Ryan and Vic more seriously. After a couple of line up changes with bass players. Ryan: One of which took off with $700 of our equipment when he left. Adam: We finally found some salvation, headaches and pain in Tom. Tom: The first practice I came in without expecting to actually play. Instead I got thrown into the mix without knowing any of the songs, and surprisingly, we all just fit together and everything came out sounding fine. Adam: After Tom joined us, we pretty much scrapped all the songs we had up to that point and just started doing our own thing. DIY: If someone asked who Randall Flagg was, what would you tell them? Tom: He's the bad guy from Stephen King's book "The Stand". Adam: He's a demonic villain and a sick son-of-a-bitch Ryan: He's kind of the wolf in sheep's clothing. A person who's not really what he appears to be on the surface level. DIY: What are some of Randall Flagg's influences as well as personal? Tom: I started listening to music with Nirvana's first album, and that pretty much defines me. I've also been drawn towards Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Primus earlier on, and my main hardcore inspirations have been Vision of Disorder, Candiria, and Dillinger Escape Plan. Ryan: Nirvana got me into wanting to play music too. But what really got me into hardcore and metal was the Buffalo Scene with Snapcase, and a bunch of other local bands. But my biggest influence was seeing Drowningman and Dillinger Escape Plan play the Rotunda in Philly for what would be one of DEP's last shows with Dimitri, who spit fire over the crowd who couldn't love that. Vic: Of course I start out with Nirvana too, everyone here did. I then started hanging out with some hardcore kids who got me into Vision of Disorder, and Snapcase. I've been listening to a lot of other bands like Deftones, Poison the Well, and Sepultura. Adam: By far the greatest influence for me was Trent Reznor. I also was heavily into Nirvana and Deftones like the other guys too. When I started playing with my old band Sutter Kane I started to get into bands like V.O.D., Snapcase, Quicksand, and Will Haven. Lately, I've been into the crazy stuff like Neck, Candiria, Dillinger, Poison the Well, and the whole New York/New Jersey scene. DIY: What is the scene like in Jersey, and how does RF fit in? Adam: The scene is actually really good and supported by some good clubs like The Birchill, Krome, and the reopening of the Stone Pony. All the band's we've run into have been nothing but good to us. It's like hanging out with your boys. Vic: We haven't been really exposed to the Jersey hardcore scene on-stage as much as we'd like, but we've hooked up with a lot of other good bands. Ryan: In Northern Jersey where we've mostly been playing the scene seems to be controlled by the clubs. It feels like a bunch of bands that are doing things by themselves and just need that one thing to unite them into a solid scene. But you know with bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nora and Skycamefalling coming out of Jersey and can't be to bad Tom: It's still growing. Hardcore seems like it's really hitting a big change. It's becoming a little more accepted. Ryan: It seems like hardcore is growing out of its little niche. Tom: Yeah. We're seeing a lot more melody, harmony, and really in-depth songwriting. Ryan: And we really like that idea of trying to push it into new areas and not getting too comfortable. DIY: When you guys play a show, what do you want to get out of it every time? Tom: I just want to see people have a great time. Adam: I think our shows are all about our friends and fans. We have a great time playing all our songs, but there's definitely something a lot better about playing in front of good people. Vic: I just really want the crowd to getinto it. Ryan: Playing live is all about getting the crowd on your wavelength it isn't so easy sometimes, but when you do it's amazing. DIY: What have some of the reactions been to your music/performances? Vic: We've definitely had a lot of mixed reactions Adam: Mostly from bad booking Ryan: Like playing with bands that are COMPLETELY not our style Vic: but for the most part it's been positive. Tom: We've been lucky enough not to ever get booed off a stage yet. Most of the feedback we get from people has been very supportive. Adam: The kids give us a lot of good energy back, especially at places like LAmours in Brooklyn, and Club Crannel in Poughkeepsie, where there's a nice supportive scene for our style of music. Ryan: Hey sometimes it's cool to see people just stand there and nod there heads it's those people who really want to know what we're about DIY: Who normally writes for RF, and what would you say fuels your lyrics? Vic: For the most part, we all write our own parts. Tom: We all seem to put music together really easily. We all give input for each other too, but for the most part we take care of our own parts. Adam: Honestly, hearing the guys play is what really fuels my lyrics. Most of it rolls off the top of my head during practices. I definitely stick to writing what I know or wonder about. A lot of social ranting about fucked up things I've seen, been a part of, or gotten caught up in. DIY: Does Randall Flagg speak out about anything in particular? Tom: Adam? Adam: Pure self-expression. We'll speak out about anything, but mostly it's about playing some really fucking heavy sick music. Tom: There's a lot of insightful shit in Adam's lyrics. A lot of ideas that we've put a lot of thought into and hopefully, can be inspiring to people who hear it too. Ryan: "Insightful shit" huh? Nice. Adam: I think the most important thing is that when people listen to our music they get out of it something that inspires them or makes them think about themselves or of their surroundings in a different way. DIY: How is RF's fan base? Does it continue to grow? Vic: It's pretty fucking good. At each show we play at, our mailing list Continues to grow, and we get a lot of positive feedback from the Internet. Adam: Considering we've only been playing out for a relatively short time, we've been surprised by how many people come back to see us three or four times. Ryan: Yea, seriously everyone in a band should abuse the Internet to get their band heard. It's like it was made for people like us. You just can't reach so many people so quickly anywhere else. DIY: Do you guys have anything new happening with the band? Adam: We're going to be touring for a couple of shows with the Rocketball festival and probably late Fall/early Winter we're going to be putting our new songs on another EP or redo them all for a full-length CD. Vic: Pretty much just working on a couple of new songs, playing gigs, and going back into the studio. Tom: We're all excited to be playing Rocketball. It's probably going to be the biggest event we've been part of so far. DIY: What is RF like away from the music, what do you guys do for fun or work? Ryan: I'm a graphic designer in NYC, I work all the fucking time, even on Saturdays. At nights, I usually spend the rest of my time working on band shit. I don't get much sleep unfortunately Vic: I like getting fucking drunk, fucked up, and looking for bitches. Adam: Yea what he said... And sometimes I work to pay for all the other things. Tom: I work a fucking desk job too. It pays the bills, and in my time off I just spend my time with computer work, some multimedia creation, and music. DIY: Have any funny or weird things happen during a performance? Tom: Adam hit a ceiling when he jumped once. Adam: I got really into it, forgot my surroundings, and leaped off of Vic's drums and into the ceiling. We also had some asshole steal Vic's cymbal set at Castle Heights. We found out about it 10 minutes before we had to play. Vic: Yeah that really screwed my night up. Ryan: Also, some guy in a band that followed us once decided to imitate the way I played guitar. He actually did it pretty well, so I decided not to throw my beer bottle at him. Tom: What was fucked up was that their drummer borrowed some of our Vic's gear minutes before that. DIY: What kind of message do you guys want to send during a performance? What do you want a person that goes to a RF show to walk away with? Tom: We just hope people dig the music Adam: and just constantly want more like a heroin fix. DIY: What do you think of today's hardcore scene? Adam: It's split 50-50. I ran into a ton of bands playing stuff I heard years ago, but I've also been surprised by bands playing riffs and beats you wouldn't imagine. I think there's a lot of energy and youth in a scene that seems to be finally rising out of the underground. Ryan: I agree. It's 50-50 at every show we play. Half the crowd wants to hear what their used to, traditional hardcore beats and dance parts. And the other half wants something new and different, and that's the kind of music we're trying to make. DIY: What has been the best advice anyone has ever given you? Tom: Keep an eye on all of your gear. Be responsible for yourself. The way to get a start is to get as motivated as possible and make sure that everyone contributes as much as possible. Vic: Keep on playing and getting exposed. Watch out for your equipment. Adam: Don't be discouraged if you play at the wrong show, just remember all the good ones you've had. Ryan: Always play to impress yourself and not the crowd, and you'll always have a good show. DIY: What are the plans for RandallFlagg, where do you see yourselves going from here? Vic: We're following our dreams and seeing where that takes us. Adam: Leaving ourselves open to fate, so to speak. Ryan: Honestly, anything else we do would be amazing, we're just having fun going out there and doing our thing. DIY: Will we ever see RF on the West Coast? Ryan: Right now if someone will pay for our plane tickets, hotel room or van, we'll go anywhere. Tom: First Class only. Adam: I'm down to play anywhere, just give me the funds. DIY: Anything you want to add? Ryan: Keep supporting underground music, get the fuck out, and see a show Adam: (preferably ours) Ryan: Seriously, everyone complains how bad the radio is so do something about it, buy a guitar and start a band or support the local scene Adam: Half your friends are in band's, go give them some support. DIY: Thanks so much for doing this interview, and I wish you guy's much success. You guys deserve everything you get. Make sure you check the guys out @ http://www.randallflagg.ws and give them a listen @ http://www.mp3.com/randallflagg I promise that you will not be disappointed at all. |
