Interview with Jade in Cologne - English Version

(AFI)

08.10.2006 von Melanie Schupp

Much satisfaction was had as the long awaited AFI tour 2006 at last came around. Not only an excellent show but also a personal interview with the band.

On the afternoon of 8^th October we met AFI guitar player Jade Puget in the tour-bus to ask him a few questions.
Benign, friendly and composed, patiently he graciously gave us 30 minutes of his time. Somberly dressed in black he sat with us on the bus, later to change into a shocking white stageoutfit.
Short greetings made, he filled out our “Shortcut” question sheet (“It´s like a job application”, he said. Jade´s amused look said it all) we were ready to start.

The album contains 13 songs. Did you have more than those 13 to choose from?

Jade: We actually wrote a hundred songs for this record and we recorded I think 15. There are three unreleased songs oh so it´s 16 songs! It´s three that haven´t come out yet I hope they’ll be released someday.

Which criteria made you decide for the songs that made it onto the album?

Jade: Ahm... well generally we made it just democratic. We judged out how they fit together as an album. There was no special criteria.

What happens with the extra tracks that didn´t made it onto the album?

Jade: We were talking about releasing an EP on Christmas. I really like the songs and I´d like them to come out.

How long did the recording take?

Jade: 5 month I think.

And did something extraordinary happen?

Jade: No, not really we recorded them in Hollywood which was kinda cool because the studio we recorded at was like a little compound where all different people were recording. There was only three rooms and Michael Jackson was there too.

Michael Jackson??!

Jade: Yeah he did this kind of allstar thing.

Is he still alive?

Jade: He is – apparently. Maroon 5 was recording in there, Stevie Wonder came in and recorded there. So there was always different famous people around there. It was kind of interesting.

So you did not catch any of these artist for guest singer? Michael Jackson & AFI...

Jade: No. He was a great artist once upon a time.

Yes of course he was.

Jade: Before he became a freak.

Yes. Back to AFI. You got the award for best Rock Video at Mtv Music Awards. How did you feel?

Jade: It was great. We won one in 2003 on our last record. And so this time we were up against Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Almost big bands and we were not really expecting to win that. But we won it and it was kinda cool because Lou Reed gave us the award.

Lots of fans do still think of you like an underground band and do not appreciate this commercial twist. How do you deal with this?

Jade: You know that´s been happening for years and years and even before we became a big band people where like, “Oh you guys are too big”. Anyone I can think of was worried about that. We stopped to think about that a long time ago, we´ve been selling our records and have been on Mtv and the radio for years now. If anyone has a problem with that... well, we just don’t think about it.

Alright. You invest a lot of time in the band... actually you can say you invest your life. Can you imagine a similarly worthful life beside the band?

Jade: Can I imagine... what I would be doing?

Yeah I want to know if you could imagine something beside AFI that could give you this satisfaction?

Jade: Well I mean... it had to be something in music obviously cause playing music, writing music, performing music is kind a similarly type of – you know – experience. For example I couldn´t start mountain climbing. That might be fun but it wouldn´t fulfill that side. You know if I wasn´t in a band I don´t think there would be anything that could fulfill that side. Even my main hobby is writing electronic music and programming and I´m writing a lot of like RnB stuff and Hip Hop stuff on my computer. You know – even my hobby is music. I couldn´t go far away from it.

Are you planning to record any of it (Allusion to Blakq Audio)?

Jade: Actually Davey and I have a sideproject called Blakq Audio. It´s an electronic sideproject that we´re trying to finish it up and put it out some time next year.

Do you plan to go on tour with Blakq Audio?

Jade: I´d like to. I mean... I´m sure we would. Maybe not for a whole tour but we would definitely play some shows. That would be fun. Just electronic shows.

But I think most of these shows would be in America?

Jade: Maybe... you know Germany has a really good electronic music scene. If we gonna go outside the US we probably go there.

Yeah that would be cool! Can you tell me something on the video shot “Love like Winter”?

Jade: Yeah we shot that about a month and a half ago. It was in L.A. It was a very hard video shoot it was a lot of fake snow and we were all bundled up as if we were, in the snow. But in reality it´s hot in the lights. And the snow is like... getting in your face and you´re swallowing it. It was terrible it was so hard and it was like two days.

And Davey actually had the shoot the second day under water. They started filming and they had scuba divers beside of him. And they rushed in cause he was ten feet under water and they gave him air before he started inhaling it.
We just premiered the video last week on Mtv.

I don´t know if you can tell me something about the fashion label Davey has.

Jade: He is working on it right now. It comes out some time next year.

Is it men and women fashion?

Jade: Yes. I don´t know much to tell about it, but it comes out next year.

Everytime you´re talking about your fans in interviews... you talk in a... yes, let´s say in a loving way. I wonder whether you feel this kind of connection when working on new songs or everywhere you are? Or is it just on the concerts and when getting in direct contact with fans?

Jade: When, writing songs ever since I´m in this band... a lot of times when I write a part of a song it´s like “how does it work on stage” like the fans sing this part and then we gonna sing this part. A lot of times I keep the fans in mind and think about of how they are going into the record. Which I think is a good thing because when you write a song you basically write it cause touring is the automatic stantion of being in a band coming out and playing shows. You gotta keep the fans in mind.

We love our fans and they know that, anyone knows that. We´ve got a close connection to them we always keep them in mind.

Is there also anything you don´t like when you´re on tour?

Jade: You know sometimes... not getting a shower. And the language thing is hard sometimes. Otherwise it´s much easier now than it was when we started. When we were touring in a little van sleeping on the ground or sleeping on some basement. It´s much easier.

It´s been a long time since you played in Germany before (expect the gig in Berlin in Spring). What do you associate with Germany? Is there something special?

Jade: Germany... well we came here quite a few times. We never had a good distribution here so people don´t really know us here. And I think now finally... people are starting to find out about us. We are playing a pretty big show tonight. So it´s nice after coming here so many times that people start to know about us. That´s cool.

What about interviews? What was the most weird question you were ever asked in an interview?

Jade: Oh we´ve done so many interviews. I can´t even remember any weird question. Weird.... no nothing. I´m sure there was but I can´t remember.

Your cover artwork shows a rabbit and there´s also a rabbit mentioned in the bonus track title. What´s behind the rabbits?

Jade: Rabbits have a lot of different meanings. In the wintertime rabbits bury under the snow and it´s... Decemberunderground... you know...? And rabbits can also be an omen of futility so they can also be an omen of foreboding. And the “Miss Murder” video it´s also a kind of an omen of foreboding.

And there is also the number 37 twice on the album (Rabbits are Roadkill on Rd. 37 & 37mm)... is it on purpose or just coincidence?

Jade: Yeah the number three it´s kinda old number in history it´s a number of power. It has also had a different kind of meanings in different cultures. We use that number a lot.

Why did you choose “Love like Winter” as second single release?

Jade: It could have been any other song as well. We like all the songs on the record. It´s just with a whole album being a winter theme that one was the most ovious to release.

There´s a book on the story of AFI based on internet reports. Your band wasn´t involved in production of this book and it not 100% correct. Do you intend to write your own book on AFI maybe to correct and adjust everything?

Jade: You know so many people know so much about our band. I don´t know what I could say that people don´t know. Maybe I could write like a “Behind the scenes”.

And as you are touring a lot. Is there a special story you could tell us? Did something extraordinary happen. Something funny or something extraordinary?

Jade: Let´s see... a scary story. There´s just one hotel that we stay at in Los Angeles everytime we´re down there playing or doing something. It´s haunted and Adam always gets this one room on the top floor. For some reason they always put him in there. They don´t do this on purpose I think. But for some reason he gets it. It´s haunted... he wakes up and he sees an old man standing in the doorway. And it happened to him several times. He also hears footsteps and stuff. It´s very creepy.

An old man? Which room number is it?

Jade: I think it´s 336. Creepy.

As a musician, what do you think of the internet? Evil curse or a good way to promote?

Jade: It´s both. For new bands coming up it´s very important these days. But it´s also a curse you know... all the rumours and dramas and stuff it´s all internet related. And the downloading thing is also a curse for bands. But it´s both.

Where do you see AFI in the future, what are your plans if everything goes like you wish for?

Jade: Keep on touring. You know we don´t think about how long we gonna do this for. We just keep staying in the moment and keep doing it.

What about reviews, like f.e. fan reviews, press reviews? Do you actually read that, or don’t you just bother?

Jade: I don´t look for them. I don´t go online and see what people are saying. I have read them before but... We got a lot of good reviews, we got some bad reviews. Everyone has got a different opinion on music. I don´t really care what other people think on our music. You gotta do what you think is best. It doesn´t really matter what people think.

After Jade answered every question and after he showed us his essential Sidekick III, we left the tourbus and waited through the last actinism of the October-sun for entrance to watch the fabulous show by AFI.

We´d like to thank Dorit an Niels of Oktoberpromotion who made this interview happen. We´d also like to thank Jade and AFI.