Lazarus A.D. Interview By Wheeling Rampage Productions

http://www.facebook.com/lazarusad

 http://www.youtube.com/user/lazarusadband
http://www.myspace.com/lazarus1
http://www.thirddegreemerch.com/lazarusad

Where did the name Lazarus A.D. come from?

Our name comes from the story of  Jesus Raising Lazarus from the Dead. The story itself is a lesson about persevering through difficult trials. We added the AD to the name after some old shit ass band that never did anything threatened to sue us if we didn’t change our name.

For those who don’t know, who is in the band and what do they play?

We are an in your face metal band from Kenosha Wisconsin. We play loud and if you’re not careful you might snap your neck from the uncontrollable headbanging our music will cause you to do.

What gear does each member use?

We currently use ESP, EVH, Pearl, Ampeg, Paiste, those are the main companies.

Who writes the lyrics and is there any main theme or topic to the songs? What are some of your more popular songs about?

Dan and I both write the lyrics. The topics of the songs vary from being political to personal endeavours. I’m not going to say what the songs are about I leave that to the fans to interpret. The songs mean different things to different people and who am I to tell them differently.

With Black Rivers Flow being your second album, how did it change affect your playing since your debut album?

It really shows progression and growth from “The Onslaught.” We knew some people wouldn’t like it because they’re too involved with their strict concept of “thrash.” Then again we also knew that most people would love it and we’d open up to more fans. It turned out to be a great album that is getting great review and in our minds we definitely believe it to be our best work. It really shows an evolution and that was the biggest thing we looked for with it. It was a way for us to have our own sound and show that we are capable of making great music.

I have read that the band had some personal tragedies at the time of recording that album, what had happened?

Dan's Dad was dying of Cancer throughout the entire writing process We practice at Dan's house and thats where his father was being treated. Every day we came to write, we would first see him, and literally, every day it became worse. We watched a man (whom we all felt was the strongest and most lively person we've ever known and happened to be our number 1 supporter from the start, fall to a disease and crumble him to nothing, it was absolutely terrible and I would never wish anyone to have to go through something like that). My uncle (mid 40s) unexpectedly died of heart failure 10 days before we hit the studio (I and the band were very close to him). Dan's dad passed away 1 week later. I lost my cousin to cancer that week as well. Along with a good friend of my Dad's whom was a bass player too and use to mentor me when I was younger a few weeks after that during the recording, and Dan's brother's significant other passed away as well. We lost 5 people in less than a month, all during the writing and recording of this record. It was not easy to focus, but we still put forth every ounce of effort we could, all in the name of these people we lost.

What would be your favourite venue or city to play in thus far in your journey?

Tokyo, Japan is our favourite by far. It was such a great place to play. We can’t wait to make another trip out there.

Is there a venue that you could say was the worst venue you have ever played at?

We have played in a lot of shitty clubs to say the least. They are all the same none of them really stood out. They all suck in their own way.

How does it feel to be able to tour with some of the greats in the metal experience, for example Death Angel?

Its great getting a chance to tour with all these legends of metal hopefully we end up learning a few things along the way.

As bands grow they experience positive and negative times. What would you say was your all time high and all time low?

All time high was playing LOUDPARK festival in Japan. The all time low was having our shit ripped off in England. It really sucks when you are a stranger in a strange land. And some fucker breaks into your van and steals all your shit.

What has helped you out the most when bringing Lazarus A.D. to where they are now?

Baby Wipes! They are a must have on any tour. No in all honesty it’s the fans without them none of this would be possible. They are what drive us to succeed.

Are there any goals that you, or as a band, have for the future? Have you accomplished any goals you’ve had so far in your music career?

Our goal is to be able to pay our bills from playing music. Let’s be honest at this point we are a bunch of broke ass musicians struggling to survive. When we are the biggest fucking band in the world then we will have reached our goal.

What music does each member listen to these days?

We all love 70’s era rock bands as well as whats current on the charts today. We all have pretty eclectic tastes in music.

What is your opinion on the joining of Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, and Slayer to create the “Big Four” Tour?

They didn’t ask us to play and they have yet to take us out on tour so in the end it doesn’t mean shit to us.  Besides it’s not like they have a full tour booked in the US they are playing a couple of shows.

Thanks you for letting me conduct an interview with you and I hope to see you in Toronto at one of our future tour dates!