INTERVIEW WITH…..
SOCIALBURN SINGER, NEIL ALDAY
What’s up people? The annual 102.9 The Buzz Birthday Bash is this weekend at City Hall. In preparation for this big event, I recently had the fortunate experience to interview Neil Alday, singer for Socialburn. They will be performing at the bash opening for famed Southern metal masters, Sevendust. Enjoy!
Socialburn are a band composed, mostly, of former high school homecoming kings from Blountsville Florida. Where the hell is Blountsville, you ask? Not many people know but for singer, Neil Alday and his band mates, guitarist Chris Cobb, bassist, Dusty Price and newly-anointed drummer, Syrus Peters, it holds a special place. The fact that these guys went from the mundane, small town life all the way onto the world’s stage and MTV has helped to keep them grounded and appreciative of the success that they’ve worked so hard to achieve. Socialburn has been through the rollercoaster that many national acts tend to go through. After their major label debut, 2003’s ‘Where You Are’, the band was dropped by Elektra Records. They have since picked themselves up, dusted off and signed on with IROCK Entertainment for their current release ‘The Beauty of Letting Go”. Regardless of the major tours and fans across the globe, they remain a tight knit group of friends that enjoy just getting on stage banging out their brand of what I like to call ‘heavy melodic rock’. Never was that more apparent than when I recently had an opportunity to speak with singer, Neil Alday over the phone.
Promo Photo for 'The Beauty of Letting Go'
The band recently lost original drummer, Brandon Bittner. When asked how tough the transition to new skins man, Syrus Peters was and if he had spoken with Bittner, Alday said “I have not talked to him. It hasn’t been that hard. We had like 3 practices which equaled about 3 hours of practice with Syrus before he came out on the road with us and ever since then, everything’s been beautiful. Syrus was in a band called Still Naive in Florida. Before we ever got signed, our first show that we ever played in Orlando back in 2000, we played with his band. Still Naive broke up about a year ago and we’ve all been friends and he called and said “Hey man, I heard Brandon left so, yeah I’m gonna be wanting that gig” and I’m like “Ok, how much are you willing to pay?” (laughs) he was like “I got a van and trailer” and I said “Sold, let’s go”. So, that made it pretty easy. I already had the feeling that Brandon would be leaving because he was planning on getting married and he’s been dreaming about having a family his whole life. So as soon as I knew I pulled Syrus aside and said “You may be asked to step in” and he said “Cool”. And it’s worked out good, thankfully. Could have been a lot worse.”
When broached with the question to compare producers of their previous album, John Kurzweg of Creed & Puddle of Mudd fame and James Paul Wisner on the current one, Alday exclaimed, “John was more of a songwriter’s producer. John helped me grow as a songwriter. Whenever we were working together he put me to the challenge saying “Well, write something for it or else I’ll write something for it’ (laughs). It was great working with John. I’d love to work with him again but it all depends on our schedules. James is just a wonderful producer too. It just so happens on this record that there wasn’t much that we felt like needed changing and James just busted them out. He’s a great arranger and has great ideas and I would love to work with him again as well.”
Socialburn is currently on a coast to coast tour opening for Sevendust. I asked Alday which bands he’s enjoyed touring with. “Seether was our first tour and they showed us the ropes and took care of us. They will always have a place in my heart. Blue October from Texas is one of my favorites. Sevendust are like family and it’s cool to be touring with some southern boys. Taproot was really cool to us. All of the bands that we’ve been out with have really been sweethearts to us.” And just what do these guys do with all of that time between shows? “Drive (laughs). Just a lot of hurry up and wait y’know. Whenever you have an off day you just feel useless. It’s really boring.”
Neil onstage 2002
(photo from www.socialburnfans.1hwy.com)
You would think that being in a band that is considered hard rock and touring with the likes of Sevendust and Seether, that Alday would be heavily influenced by the likes of Metallica, even Pearl Jam. Quite the contrary. Alday is a big fan of country music and it has a large influence in his songwriting. Why, you ask? Alday explains, “I do that because once I got into the rock world, you hear it everyday. You listen to the radio and your hearing Godsmack and Disturbed and if I keep hearing that stuff I’m gonna end up copying it. I don’t want to hear it so I tune out of the rock world so I can have a clean vibe as a songwriter. A good song is a good song no matter what format it’s in.”
With the traumatic experience of being dropped from their major label (Elektra), Alday and co. worked to stay positive and not let the ‘hangman’s noose’ type situation bring them down. It was an eye opener to say the least for the band. “I’ve learned a lot and coming from a small town to getting into the scene. Everything that I’ve learned from being signed to the label, having money to back up a single that’s on the radio, getting dropped, and then having to look at yourself and say “Do I really want to do this?” and making the commitment saying “Yes, it is what I want to do” to putting together an album that I think is better than the last album. I wouldn’t change a thing. If it all worked out and we stayed with Elektra I wouldn’t have learned a thing. I’d just be the mule I guess (laughs).”
When asked about what it’s like to see the dream realized in the form of a video on MTV, Alday has a much more sobering response the most would expect. “Once you actually go through all of the work and the process of doing it and you see it, the shyness wears off of it a bit and you know it’s the “machine”. But if I was a friend of mine I would have been blown away by it. It’s really surreal. The more you’re in this business; you’re too busy to look back on anything. You’re looking for the next step.”
Promo Photo
(photo from http://www.buzzbakesale.com/soc.html)
The mid to late 90’s saw a burst of Florida acts hitting the national airwaves such as 7 Mary 3, Matchbox 20, and for the hard rock genre, Creed. I asked Alday if he thought Creed’s success helped to shine a national spotlight on Florida rock acts such as his. “Well, I think that Matchbox 20 had a hand in that as well as 7 Mary 3. As for the Tallahassee music scene, what Creed did was give everyone hope that you could come from this area of Florida and do something. When Creed broke out I wasn’t even in a band, I was 16 around 1996. They had an influence on the area but many of the bands started to sound like Creed cover bands. When we came around we were a complete anomaly. Everyone was like “What the hell is this? Something different” So Creed helped us in that way (laughter).”
The day to day grind of a national tour can really take its toll on a group of guys that are jammed together in a bus. The ultra-closeness can become a pressure cooker for bands. I asked Alday if the fact that the guys have known each other since high school has helped to remedy that situation. “Yeah, but at the same time sometimes you want to just put on the boxing gloves and go at it to. Everyone knows the perfect crack to come back with. Like “You son of a bitch, I needed you to say something different than what you just said” (laughter).”
It’s no secret that Myspace.com has created a revolution for bands on a local and national level. Music fans all over the globe can check out a band, and contact them at their fingertips. I asked Alday what he thought of this new trend. “It’s taken the attention off of downloading, I guess (laughs). Myspace helps us keep a base with our fans and gives us the opportunity to make new fans. There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s free promotion. I love getting on there and hanging with my friends on my personal page. I think it’s awesome but I’m scared that it might go overboard and end up being like Crystal Pepsi (laughs).”
With the band getting ready to roll into town for the 102.9 The Buzz Birthday Bash, I asked Neil if he had any fond memories of past trips to Nashville. “We went there to visit one of my buddies who is in the Army. Me and Chris drove up there and spent a couple days there. I just called up one of the late night guys on The Buzz (McFly) and I said “Hey man, this may sound weird but I’m Neil from Socialburn” and is there anything going on in town?” and he said “Let me give you Russ’ number” and Russ called me back and said “Yeah, Linkin Park’s in town tomorrow” and we went and saw Linkin Park. Always good times in Nashville. I like hanging out in Tootsies, that’s a fun strip to be on. It’s a really good vibe.”
I must admit that I wasn’t sure what to expect of my conversation with Neil Alday. I was pleasantly surprised to speak to a person that has the same attitude of many of our own local rock groups; foster your talent, enjoy the opportunities you get, and never forget where you came from. Many thanks go out to Neil Alday, Chris Cobb, Dusty Price, and Syrus Peters of Socialburn, and Amanda Cagan of ABC PR.
Socialburn hits Nashville along with Sevendust, Wicked Wisdom, Nonpoint, and One at City Hall this Sunday, March 12th for the 102.9 The Buzz Birthday Bash. For more information on Socialburn visit www.socialburn.com. For additional show information visit www.1029thebuzz.com.
That’ll do it for this time.
Until Next Time, I’m out like Axl Rose’s vocal chords.
Chris “Uncle Daddy Longlegs” Czynszak
Message from Uncle Daddy: Remember, only YOU can prevent a lame local music scene.
To contact Chris Czynszak, e-mail at cczynszak@nashvillerock.net