INTERVIEW: Stick To Your Guns
The Vans Warped Tour rolls through Milwaukee on Monday, and the annual stop at the Marcus Amphitheater forecourt is a pilgrimage of sorts for punk fans. For bands, however, the Vans Warped Tour is part a fun chance to play with other bands, and partly a proving ground to make an impact on new fans in the Milwaukee market. Fresh off of recording their sixth full length album, this year’s Warped Tour is a little bit of both for Stick To Your Guns. We caught up with guitarist Josh James to see how this year’s tour is going.
B&E: Introduce yourself! Who are you?
JJ: Hi, I’m Josh James. I play guitar for Stick To Your Guns.
B&E: Your sixth album is coming out this fall. Was the process any different for the band on this record?
JJ: This was by far the most relaxed recording experience. We all met in California and did a week of pre-production, then everyone went home and really only came back into the studio to track their parts. It took away a lot of the pressure that is normally felt in the studio and created more excitement since we weren’t constantly getting drowned by the songs every day.
B&E: You guys are veterans of the road at this point. Is touring different now?
JJ: Some of us have been touring for over 18 years, it’s hard to tell if it’s actually easier or if we’re just numb to it now. Haha. However, we can afford to sleep in actual beds now. It’s a nice step up from the floors and the van that we used to sleep in.
B&E: Who have been the coolest people to hang out with on the tour so far?
JJ: We hang out a lot with Hawthorne Heights on this tour. Great guys, fucking hilarious actually. Besides them we hang with who you’d probably expect: Knocked Loose, Counterparts, Being As An Ocean, Hundredth, Sick of it All, Hatebreed, etc.
B&E: We love a great road story. What’s the craziest thing that’s happened to you guys on the Warped Tour so far this year?
JJ: We had three days off in Jacksonville, FL. My girlfriend flew out to visit me and one night her and I were the only people sleeping on the bus. Around 3 AM, we were woken up by the sound of something exploding. The bus was filled with smoke. I immediately checked for fire and upon inspection I realized one of the AC units had blown. I turned around to wake up my girlfriend but she wasn’t in her bunk. I saw her slamming her shoulder into the bus door while wearing a flesh colored shirt with giant realistic boobs drawn on it. She thought the bus was on fire. It was not.
B&E: Lastly, you guys are playing Milwaukee. What’s your beer of choice when you’re here?
JJ: Sprecher Root Beer!
