Interviews

Interviews: Unjust

Unjust hails from the Bay Area in California and has been quietly wrecking havoc on the scene for the past few years. Their unique brand of music fuses the best of melody with an aggressive style that outlaws the stereotypes of the nu-metal scene. Their latest effort "Glow" is their strongest album to date and instantly commands attention. Recently Smother.Net talked with Eric from Unjust...

Smother: What did you hope to accomplish with your new album "Glow"?

Eric: A nice fat major label record deal would be nice and just simply for everyone to hear and enjoy it.
Mike: Ya and to capture all types of genre into one.

Smother: What were some of the influences for this album?

Eric: Dredg, Muse, Faith No More and the general Bay Area buzz....
Mike: there is this band that paul and I are into lately called The Mars Volta.

Smother: How is the translation from studio to the stage going?

Eric: All of the songs on Glow we duplicate exactly live. A couple we cant do unless it is a good P.A., so we leave those for the bigger clubs.
Mike: Ya, we definately come off heavier live, but the feeling of the record is the same.

Smother: What are some of your future goals and plans for the band?

Eric: Write more music and tour.
Mike: and to mature further as a band.

Smother: Will you guys be doing any big tours this summer? Or will you stay more local to your scene, at least for the time being?

Eric: Mostly up and down West Coast.

Smother: Do you think that our war against Iraq was justified even though we have yet to find any weapons of mass destruction?

Eric: I must first state that we are not a politically motivated band, and we dont preach politics. It doesnt matter to me if it was justified because it happened and there was nothing I could do about it.

Smother: Do you guys try to live the rock star lifestyle?

Eric: no we all have day jobs, but we do like to have fun when its time to.
Mike: ya, workin the 9-5 like rockstars. But we have our moments.

Smother: What do you think are some of Unjust's best accomplishments thus far?

Eric: Dynamo Festival, California Music Awards, high profile local band on Live 105, and Glow.
Mike: having our name mispronounced at the CMA's. haha.

Smother: I really dig the artwork on both your website and album. Wasn't a member of the band responsible for this?

Eric: No, this real fruitty artist from Finland hooked us up with the artwork. His name is Tero.....www.terorized.com. Thom our keyboardist did the layout. Website is done by a good friend of ours who is a good drummer too. www.glitchdesign.com

Smother: Do comparisons to other bands like Faith No More annoy you or are they more of a compliment? Obviously your sound is quite unique and speaks for itself but was there ever any comparisons that you felt totally came from left field?

Eric: The FNM comment has died down, but we consider it a compliment. We do have a few beers with the bass player Bill every now and then. He is a fan of the band which is quite humbling. There definitely have been some left field comments, but I cant remember any right now.
Mike: Totally. However, i dont understand the whole Nu-metal tag we get sometimes. its like throwing us in the pool of killswitch engage and soulfly. were not nu-metal.

Smother: Are you guys planning on signing to a major label any time soon?

Eric: Some Euro indie stuff is on the table but as far as planning to sign a major label deal we are hoping its in the cards. We are trying.
Mike: haha! know anyone that will sign us???

Smother: Speaking of major labels, do you think that they sometimes corrupt or change bands for the worst in an effort to sell albums and merchandise?

Eric: I have seen that happen, but not as often.
Mike: I try to stay far away from the industry stuff, but I hear of that happening.

Smother: How has the San Francisco area treated you guys thus far? What's one of your favorite places to play at?

Eric: The Bay Area is cool. Pound S.F. and Slims are the best, but the scene seems more alive in places where there is less to do.
Mike: ya this is a tough scene, but we seem to be doing ok. people are awesome the farther away from home we go. not to say anything bad about our home, but the scene here is very tough.

Smother: If you had to narrow some of your best or most interesting memories throughout your history together, what would some of the highlights be?

Eric: Dynamo Festival, California Music Awards, high profile local band on Live 105, and Glow.
Mike: hmmmm.....I'd say my little drunk incident in hollywood. I was quite intoxicated, and I decided to make it known. all over the sidewalk, and the bush, and some "pretty" hollywood people, and a land rover. a nice one. haha, I love hollywood.

Smother: Do you feel that the Internet has helped Unjust spread their music?

Eric: yes, we are definitley an internet band, and we have received 90% of our music industry requests because of the internet.
Mike: what he said.

Smother: And in going with that, do you guys feel that Napster and peer-to-peer download services are in general good for bands/artists or do you feel that it violates their rights?

Eric: On an underground level it does nothing but help. I would rather have some kid in the Midwest nowhere close to a music store be able to download our music and spread the word to his friends, aside from the fact we arent in music stores in the MidWest.!!! If people are true fans they buy your music or merch when you come around. I think it may hurt bands that just get signed big and people find out early they dont really like the music. If your music is good they will buy it no matter what.
Mike: Its hard to put a price on music, and usually that price is $14.99. but if you want to support a band in that way, youre that much cooler.

Smother: If you got an opportunity to jam out with anyone dead or alive and regardless of whether they were an established musician who would it be?

Eric: A few songs with Black Sabbath, Metallica, or Ozzy would be cool.
Mike: hmmm....I don't mesh with a lot of musicians. I'm happy with my boys.

Smother: What's currently in Unjust's CD player? And what's kicking your ass on PS2/XBox/Gamecube?

Eric:Evanescence.
Mike: For me, Vod's "Imprint", Muse "Origin of Symmetry".

Smother: Do you feel that Bush and our Republican Congress have done a good job or do you think they should be shown the door in '04?

Eric: Done better than I thought they would. Its always the lesser of two evils.
Mike: Agreed. Though I am not even remotely Republican, he's done better than I would have, so I can't complain.

Smother: If you met a guy named Carbomb what would you do, say, or act like?

Eric: Depends what he looked like.
Mike: I met a guy named "crank" in high school, but that doesnt help this brain buster.

Smother: Got anything else you'd like to add?

Eric: Thanks Brotha.
Mike: Ummmm no. Thanks.