Ryan Jordan and Brandon Armstrong 

From

 Greenwheel

October 11, 2002

Since you guys are so young, it is amazing how talented you are- how did you discover your talent??

Ryan: In the shower

Brandon: I don’t know about Ryan but I discovered my talent rather young in the shower

Ryan: That was mine

Brandon: I know but I am just saying I discovered it very young in (cut off by Ran)

Ryan: the shower

Brandon: yeah…

Ryan: we are talking about our musical talent here.

Brandon: I don’t think I discovered a musical talent

Ryan: He still hasn’t (joking)

Brandon: People say I have a little bit of talent but I didn’t discover it

Ryan: I have always just been like a ham since I was a kid and I always danced around to Michel Jackson, and would always be singing along with my music and lock myself in my room and just sing at the top of my lungs. I think that is how I got my talent, just trained by anyone from Michel Jackson, Brooks –n- Dunn to Celien Dion (laughs) and boys to men. I never thought I was going to be in a band until Andy and I used to play at parties. He plays acoustic and I knew a so many songs. I just loved music so much and pretty much anything I knew he knew so that’s how I kind of realized I knew how to sing.

Brandon: In all joking aside I forced it to happen, when I was in like the 8 th grade when I started playing guitar, I forced myself telling myself I was going to be in a band. So I learned how to play guitar and bass and improved it from there. So I did not know if I was any good or not but I just played because I didn’t have anything else going, so…

Me: Yeah that’s the same way with me and photography I liked it…..

Ryan: How did you learn your talent, how did you know you had a talent??

Me :I don’t know …I still do not know if I do…..

Brandon: Did you go to school for your talent?

Me: I got my associates degree in photography but now I am doing journalism.

Brandon: Or are you one of those people that just points and clicks??

Me: no I, it takes awhile to develop your eye for what you are looking for…

Ryan: it’s like almost like a ______ reaction

Brandon: I try to take pictures but I just can’t, I can’t get them to turn out right

Me: A chimp can take a picture but a photograph is different…..

Brandon getting ready to ask me another question interrupted by Ryan

Brandon: I am sorry I am just trying to have a conversation….

Ryan: Stay on the topic!!!!

When you started playing what was your goal as a band? Did you just do it for fun or did you want more?

Brandon: (in a funny voce joking) Just to get chicks man, just to get laid

Ryan: No I just loved the performing and I loved to sing and I think when the band got started we just enjoyed the whole process of going to band practice and writing music and going to perform in front of people.

Brandon: I do not think we took it too seriously in the beginning because we played parties and Kegers and different stuff like that

Ryan: yeah just a way to get free beer

Brandon: That was kind of the way we looked at it

Ryan We were the entertainment

Brandon: yeah we would get invited to all the parties and you get to drink for free ya know (both laughing)

Ryan: Now we get cheese trays (as he points to the filled trays on the table)

Brandon: and sausage and salad and…

Ryan: PAT!! Close the door

Pat: okay!!!

Now Ryan you were a…what was your major in college

Ryan: theater

Did you ever want to do musicals or anything like that?

Ryan: I never ever did I know that I could…. I never put the two together…musicals, like I even auditioned for the wizard of Oz and I didn’t make it because I couldn’t dance very well but they told me to sing and they said “wow, you actually can sing” and I am like wow, I actually can sing, cool. Umm I was going to be a munchkin (in a munchkin voice) we represent the lolly pop kids….

Brandon: What song did you try out with for the Wizard of Oz?

Ryan: I think I sang the National Anthem, I think it was. They made us all sing the same thing; we didn’t have to bring in our own music or anything

Brandon: Ya see being as a band we never participated with music

Ryan: yeah and the lady that was in charge of music there didn’t know me, but didn’t like me. You either loved me or hated me in high school I was one of those students…. I was loud and obnoxious (laughing)

Me to Brandon: what was your major in college?

Brandon: It was music, I was going to be a music teacher, but I sucked really bad…..well I didn’t necessarily suck I just stopped going to school

Ryan: He didn’t have motivation

Brandon: yeah…. I just got sick of it

Ryan: he just wanted a job

Brandon: yeah I just wanted...because you know I still think (being cut off by Ryan)

Ryan: yeah just like any other college professor

Brandon: I can teach high school band about as well…

Ryan: as any other high school band teacher

Brandon: It’s like I know what to do and what not to do and how to make it fun so…ya know but that’s what I went for. It was fun.

Ryan: you don’t want to be one of those teachers that you hated, because in high school teachers have to take teaching courses to learn how to bring the subject matter to a lower level and when you get into college they don’t know how to do that. They are just all majors; they all majored in the subject they teach. But half the college professors, at least from my experience, professors did not know how to bring it all down to that level. There is an art to teaching. You have to be able to take all the information that you do know and forget it, and try to teach it someone. You get those teachers that think that you know what they know and can’t make that mental transformation to try and teach it to you. (Pretending to be a teacher) “What do you mean you don’t know how to do this?” (Back to being him) That’s why I am taking the class!!

So was college basically your back up plan in case Greenwheel did not go anywhere?

Brandon: Actually I think that it was a forefront. I think the band was just kind of like (Ryan interrupts..)

Ryan: The band was fun, I think as it went on…oh look at this carbon monoxide in my cup (as he shows me his cigarette ashes floating in the water)….we saw the reaction we were getting and how quickly we were progressing and realized that we actually had something going on. It slowly and surely became more and more a priority to everyone.

I asked Julena if she wanted to ask any questions and Ryan asks (pretending to be one of us) “How big are your balls??”

What was the hardest track to lay down on the record?

Ryan: uh was it Radiance? (looking at Brandon) no what song was it that we….

Brandon: What was the hardest track to get laid by? Is that what you said? (Looking at me)

Me: Yeah…. that’s what I meant (trying to be sarcastic)

Brandon: What track did we get laid hardest by??

Me: Ya know the hardest to record……

Ryan: I think it was Radiance. It is one of those songs that we had to capture the emotional vibe of the song…

Brandon: and The End was hard too

Ryan: yeah those two songs that we did like 20 or 30 takes on

Brandon: But it wasn’t because of our playing style or anything like that. We could play it right every time. To get the vibe of it…..

Ryan: We had to have an outside source, which was the determining factor of who said. I’d be like “that was good” But you have to have an outside source that would look at it and would say “yeah you guys were really there on that one.”

Do you still see yourselves rocking out when your 60??

Brandon: um well I try not to think about that (being that old)

Me: I know me neither..

Ryan: I don’t want to be alive!

Brandon: I don’t want to be that old, but I probably won’t be rocking out….

Ryan: I am not sure we will still be in the band, but I am sure we still be rocking because we all have tattoos.

Brandon: Everyone will still be doing music I think, but I don’t know if we will in the forefront of things. We could be in the back of things producing, mixing ya know anything…..

Ryan: writing, working somewhere, who knows? I don’t want to think about that right now!!

Brandon: as long as I can chill by a pool with my gold chains, my cabasiea and a nice robe….ya know just hang

What is the most annoying or boring questions that you get asked?

Ryan: How do you still expect to be rocking out when your 60 (laughing)

Me Oh gee thanks (laughing)

Brandon: I would have to say…. (As Ryan cuts him off)

Ryan: Where did your name come from? What does it mean?

Brandon: How did the band start?

Ryan: yeah I get so sick of telling that story…. the hardest thing is that it is the most annoying question, but right now it is the most “needed to be known” ya know…I think the reason it is so annoying is because it is asked so often.

You all seem to put your heart and soul into your performance, especially you (as I point to Ryan)

Ryan: yeah I do not know what it is or why it does that to me. I’m on stage and my emotions are right there next to me, it just captures….. To know that everyone in the crowd is looking at us and it is so personal, I take it so personal. If I am having a hard day, it’s going to show on stage, if I am in a good mood it’s going to be different than if I had some sort of argument with somebody earlier you know. You just let it all out right there on stage. It’s like a venting… its therapy!

Me: Yeah that is what caught my eye when I first saw you guys!

Brandon: I think I look like an ass on stage….

Ryan: (going back to the emotions bit) I think that’s the way music should be. I mean there are a lot of bands that are very talented, but when they get on stage…

Me: are boring??

Ryan: there is nothing wrong with that, um I guess it just runs through our blood differently and that’s what really thrives us to do it. We could miss 30 chords but people wouldn’t even notice probably, because it’s just so weird…

Brandon: Yeah I look like an ass on stage but apparently there is nothing I can do about that.

Ryan: you have a nice bald spot

Brandon: yeah my bald spot…

Me: yeah I will have to get a close up of that tonight.

Brandon: I’ll have to get some Rogaine or something!!

Ryan YOUR GREEN (pointing at my mood ring Brandon stole from me)

Ryan asks me “what does green mean?”

Me: I don’t know I forgot the little paper that came with it!

Brandon: boring??

Ryan: Let me see what mine will be…I think green means happy

Brandon: Happy, Happy, Happy…

Ryan: Mine’s going to be fire red (deep voice) Satin!!!

What do you think about the “cute band alert” Jane magazine put out?

Ryan: we had NO control over that. Big deal…

Brandon: What was the comment?

Me: They said that you were cute, went on how much you rocked, and then said remember they are cute…

Ryan: we are scrumptious

Brandon: They said something about biscuits didn’t they?

Ryan: sex biscuits

Brandon: something weird didn’t they?

Ryan: yeah some local journalist back home in St Louis found that and used it to write whole article totally ripping us apart and it’s like…

Me: get over it?

Ryan: It’s like give me a break. That stuff is going to be there no matter what. It’s not like we called Jane magazine and said “will you write something saying we are scrumptious and cute PLEASE!!” ya know…. they just did it.

Brandon: yeah I don’t even think that we are all that good looking

Ryan: yeah you know me neither. We just get on stage and just look like any other guy.

Brandon: Ya know I actually read Jane magazine. My mom had a subscription she got suckered into. So it used to come to the house and I used to always read them. Some stuff was interesting…ah ya I know I sway off topic!!

Julena: What advice do you have for your peers who are striving to be artist in general?

Ryan: Honesty, to music and to your band members and to yourself. It’s hard…. it’s not really hard but more of a test and trial of the human spirit to do this as a living and with the whole business side to it there is a lot of factors that can try and sway you from what you really are and who you really are you just have to stay grounded and do that. I think being optimistic and positive about everything whether it be what is going on at the time and especially with other music. I think that’s a big problem with a lot of musicians today. As an artist your going to be more critical then not being an artist but at the same time you can’t say everything else sucks and what you do is the greatest because you just cut yourself off keep effecting your own creativity when you do that. Just say that it isn’t your “cup of tea”

Brandon: you should just be a sponge and just absorb everything good or bad because good or bad you know you are going to have to take it any way. So just Roll with the punches…

Ryan: bruises can heal

Brandon: That’s right!

Me: Yeah!! Dim Halo!!

Julena: What or who inspires your writing??

Ryan: Everything we just talked about. I think it is just a universal acceptance and intake of everything music, art, movies, books

Brandon: Cats, Dogs…

Ryan: Love, pain and meeting all these wonderful people and being inspired by everything that is around us all the time you know… If you have to nail down some artist that inspire us they probably do not even shine in our music. It is more of how they take their craft

Brandon: Because it’s different because the people we list that inspire us now, will change from who inspired us when we wrote the record and whom we listened to when we wrote the record.

Ryan: So we are just inspired a lot by just in how they do handle their craft. Like Radiohead, tool and bands like that they don’t shine in our sound but it is in how they are always pushing themselves to make a different record and to always be sounding like they have grown. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a prime example with their new record. It was their box of memories for that moment in time, and that’s something I always want to be focused to do for every record. If the next record sounds like this record then there is going to be a problem.

Brandon: I always like the fact that radiohead and tool would only do interviews if they only had something to do an interview about, like having a new cd out and stuff like that.

Ryan: They let the music speak

Brandon:Yeah instead of their personal life. Like hey check this out…(in a silly voice) Hey I’ve been arrested for heroin!! I was caught with Brittany doing this and we got busted for heroin

Ryan: and I have my own clothing line too (in a silly voice)

Brandon: Hey I am going to have my own clothing!! You watch!!

Ryan: I have changed from blue and now I am going to green…(my mood ring)

Julena: What are your thoughts on artist such as Brittany Spears, DMX, and Missy Elliot joining a campaign making commercials telling their fans not to download their music?

Brandon: oooo we are getting into that..

Ryan: It is just a hard topic, but there is nothing you can really do about. I mean how are you going to stop people from downloading music

Brandon: Legally they have the right to. They can’t stop them because the constitution says you’re allowed to have a backup of any like tapes or anything like that for your own soul purpose

Ryan: I mean in a way it is great it is awesome to know that people have that much of a resource of music. But as far as that being your overall income it does effect that, so you are either pro-choice or not….

Brandon: It’s really hard to because like…it doesn’t necessarily affect the band, but it does. Because it hurts the record label, which in turn gets to the band, so it does hurt the band

Ryan: You want people t hear your stuff but the same time you are not getting the money which fuels you to make more of it

Brandon: The majority of the money anyway goes to the record label right, and everything and everyone knows that they make money from the merchandise and stuff like that from touring. So the CD is more for the record label and so the band can get even and do all that stuff and make more records and if the record label can’t get that then it hurts the band ya know. It’s just one of those hard topics that I just like to…..

Ryan: it doesn’t exists!!

Brandon: Yeah it doesn’t exist!! Let’s talk about weasels!!!!!

Ryan: Demons!!

Julena: Do you have any particular hobbies that you do to keep you sane on the road??

Ryan: video games and books…..

Brandon: Ryan likes to this one in the shower…

Me laughing

Ryan :(in a funny voice) PORNOGRAPHY!!!

Brandon: Pornography is amusing.

Ryan: Umm overall everybody reads, listens to music, plays video games. SLEEP, SLEEP, AND SLEEP!!

Brandon: We like to scare people sometimes. That’s always ya know…fun.

Ryan: yeah we like to scare people

Brandon: ya know you just have to do it sometimes…ya I know what else that we do…. besides annoy the hell out of each other!!

Me: yeah but that is natural!!

Brandon: We like to be dirty, not in like the sexual sense. Just dirty filthy like pig pen from Charlie Brown. We like to live in filth!!

Ryan: and that’s not by choice!! That’s just they way it happens with 10 guys in an RV, it’s not the cleanest thing in the world! No one will make the effort to clean it so…. we call it the moving fraternity house.

Julena: What CD’s are in your cd players right now?

Brandon: I have an MP3 player right now so…

Me: That’s what Danny said!! Ggrrrr

Ryan: so we have like 1600 Cds

Brandon: yeah we got the hook up! We got MP3 players! The ones that I listen to the most is Our Lady peace still…

Ryan: Motley Crew for brin

Brandon: Ya know Motley Crew gets me going no matter what for some reason

Ryan: Nothing says party like Motley Crew

Brandon: It gets you pumped and your just like Rrrrrr…Deftones, Jeff Buckley is in there that I listen to a lot. I have been going back to Matchbox 20 for some reason. I dunno why….

Ryan: The last 3 CD that I bought, let’s make this easier…. The Chines “O and inverted World,” Spiritualize “Ladies and Gentleman we are floating in space,” and the best of the Joy division. My last 3 purchases!!

Brandon: The last Cd I bought was umm…. yeah I don’t recall…. it’s been awhile  

Ryan: I saw…. I know this is way off the subject but you said, “It’s been awhile, “ ya know that Staind song…..I saw the video for Bowling for Soup last night and they make fun of that whole video.

Me: Yeah I saw that, it was pretty funny!

Ryan: yeah the guys is sitting there like this (as he imitates the guy in the video) all curled up. And they pull the camera back and he sitting on the toilet (both of us laughing) The guy was like taking a pee against the wall and he is sitting there looking at pictures smoking a cigarette and it is pictures of his dog.

Me: yeah (giggling) I though it was funny

Brandon: yeah I haven’t seen that yet

Me: I was up at like 2 am and saw it, yeah I had to stay up until around then to see your video!

Ryan: Yeah I still haven’t seen ours!!

Me: I taped it! I should have brought it!!

Julena: Do you know what the next single will be off of Soma Holiday?

Brandon: What would you like it to be?

Ryan: It is kinda still up in the air right now. We are still waiting to see if “Breathe” is going to really going to ya know….”breathe” is doing alright but not what we thought it was going to do. So a lot of it is going to depend on how “breathe” does. I mean if “Breathe” does well I think Dim Halo will be a good follow up to that, but if it doesn’t then….because “dim Halo” is kind of similar to “breathe” that’s why I think it would be a good follow up, but if “breathe” doesn’t work then we wouldn’t want to do “dim halo” because ya know….we have such a diverse amount of songs on our record that we could take a completely different path if we wanted to. So it is just a matter of time!

Brandon: I wish we could just go to the radio station and give them the CD and they could play whatever.

Me: I actually hear “breathe” played a lot on out Krock station, and Abbie plugs ya by saying “greenwheel up next”

Brandon: cool

Me That’s it!!

Ryan: I have to go to the bathroom. Can we move the interview to the bathroom?

Me sure…..

Ryan: Will you sit next to me on the toilet?

Me: You want me to hold your hand too?

Ryan: you can wipe my ass!! Have you ever heard a guy in Greenwheel take a dump? I already got my sour toss I’m okay……

Me laughing while ryan goes off rambling about taking a dump as Mark asks me about Laurie (who missed her interview hee hee gotta rub it in!) And I feel something on my hand and it is ryan humming into the microphone that I was holding…..

Thank you to Ryan and Brandon for doing this interview with me. I had the most fun and enjoyed every min!! You guys are awesome!!!!!!

~Rebecca