On Sunday, February 10th, at the Key Club in Hollywood, All Access Magazine met with Droid guitarist Jamie Teissere (pronounced "Tess-AIR"), a little before the Long Beach band's "Guerrilla Carnival" performance, along with Florida's EkoTren, locals Fight The War, and headliners Ill Nino. The dreadlocked axeman recounted recent adventures, along with thoughts and views regarding his band's place in the mosaic of modern rock-&-roll.
All Access Magazine: Jamie, a couple of days ago we talked to Chris, your tour manager, and he told us that you guys have encountered a couple of bumps in the road lately, and he meant that literally, in terms of a pair of highway accidents. Could you please elaborate, if you don't mind?
Jamie: Yeah, it was two accidents in one day! In the afternoon the other day, we were in Nebraska, driving down Interstate 80, and it was horrible weather, snowing, with icy roads, and we were doing about 50, 55 miles per hour, and we just slid out, doing almost two full 360-degree spins, and eventually we slid sideways off to the right-hand side of the highway, and ended up in a snowbank. So we were just stuck there, but nobody got hurt, and then we got a ride from the Highway Patrol. And then, when a semi took out our equipment vehicle later, well, that made it a pretty bad day.
AAM: So you had to miss some shows?
Jamie: Actually, only a couple, which isn't bad.
AAM: You've been pounding away at your music for over a decade, right?
Jamie: Yeah, Bruce [Childress] and I have been playing guitar with each other for about twelve years or so. A lot of times we don't even have to talk about what we're going to do, we just look at each other and go ahead and play.
AAM: And you're about 30 now, right?
Jamie: 32, and I guess Bruce is about 30.
AAM: And did you grow up in Long Beach?
Jamie: Pretty much, yeah. I was born in L.A., but I grew up in Long Beach most of my life, all over. I now live on the eastside, and our studio is downtown.
AAM: That's great, you have a studio now, but when you started out, did you do the "garage" thing?
Jamie: Yeah, in my grandmother's garage! My grandma let us jam at her place when I started my first band, when I was about 14 or 15 years old. We knew how to play one song: it was "John Wayne Was a Nazi": and we used to play it over and over, all day long, until we actually learned how to play our instruments a little more.
AAM: Now, not to put too specific a label on you, but people are always defining musical categories and sub-genres, so what kind of a rocker do you feel you've developed into?
Jamie: I like to say metal, that's what we play!
AAM: And in putting together your own brand of metallic music, Jamie, do you personally come up with any of the lyrics?
Jamie: No, our singer, James, writes all his own lyrics, about subjects he feels strongly about.
AAM: Well, in the realm of hard rock, there's always been a strong element of high-energy aggravation in the mix, which is seen in a lot of Droid's music, such as in one of your biggest songs, the popularly acclaimed "Fueled by Hate." Now, since that very slogan has been used in tattoos by skin artists, some folks might wonder, where did that title come from? Which came first, the tattoo or the song?
Jamie: Although I can't really speak for Jamie, I can pretty fairly say, from nine years of working with him, that he doesn't take anything from anybody. Everything he does is really personal to him, all his writing and concepts are all personal and subjective, and he's not even influenced by anybody in the band when it comes to writing lyrics. It's something that he spends time doing on his own, alone. He's really passionate about it, and he goes where he wants with it. He wouldn't sing a song with lyrics that I wrote, because he wouldn't be able to feel it, it wouldn't be real to him.
AAM: But as for the musical construction, you all take part, right?
Jamie: Yeah! But you have to know, each song can have a different formula and pattern of evolution. For instance, sometimes Bruce will come in with a song that's ninety percent done, and then Nick, our drummer, will lay drums down to it, and then we'll just build on it from there. Sometimes we'll just jam with Nick and improvise and come up with parts. Each song is put together, organically, a little different from the others. There's not any kind of specific formula that we work with all the time, all the same.
AAM: Now, back to you and Bruce, playing together for all these years. How did you actually meet?
Jamie: We went to Millikan High School together.
AAM: Okay, now we have to ask: who came up with the name "Droid"?
Jamie: Everybody asks that! It was something that our old bass player, Alan, suggested, about ten or eleven years ago, when he said, "How about 'android'?": and I thought it was the stupidest name ever. So I said, "How about just 'droid'?": And then we were getting ready to play our first show, and we still didn't have an official name, and so that was the name that just kind of stuck with us, and we just accepted it, and it kind of grew on us over time throughout the years.
AAM: Your self-titled album came out in July last year. Did you record it yourselves in Long Beach, in your own studio?
Jamie: No, we actually made the record at a few different studios. We did all the drums at Jim Henson's place at A&M, and we did all the guitars and bass at Paramount Studios, and all the vocals were done at Elementary Studios, courtesy of KORN.
AAM: But now we want to know if you're working on any new material, as 2008 rolls along.
Jamie: Actually, when we were home for the holidays, instead of just sitting around, we went in and started writing some music, and James began on more lyrics, and so in between tours, we're trying to get as much done as we can, so that when it's time to go in and make a new record, we'll have a lot of material to work with, instead of just being on the spot and having to start from scratch. There's already a good foundation.
AAM: You just said "between tours," and since this current Guerrilla Carnival tour is scheduled to end on March 1st, so do you already have another tour lined up?
Jamie: We're under consideration for a handful of tours right now, but nothing is confirmed. We're trying to find something for the spring, and I think we've been submitted for touring with Soilwork, and maybe Calavera Conspiracy, and HIM is also a possibility, but we're not sure just yet, I don't know, because there's a lot of competition.
AAM: Back to the subject of KORN: you've worked a lot with them, and toured with them in the past, so do you think that you'll tour again with them in the future?
Jamie: I would imagine... you never know... we've done three tours with them, and it could happen again...
AAM: Regard possible creative influences and personal favorite hard rock bands, could you give us an idea of who's high on your preference list: maybe past masters of metal, or perhaps current charting artists in your i-Pod?
Jamie: Right now, one of the bands out doing their thing that I like is Unearth. Now, I could go on for days about old and new bands that I enjoy, but with those guys, I really appreciate the guitar work. I've seen them live, and I have all their CDs, and I like them a lot. Another is Mastodon. And as far as the old stuff goes, of course I love Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath: and without those bands, none of us would be here right now! They're the creators...
AAM: Are there any cities on this whirlwind tour-in-progress that have stood out?
Jamie: Last night in Vegas was pretty wild! I didn't expect it to be that good, and it ended up being the rowdiest, wildest crowd so far. And also, in the past, it seemed like that Portland and Seattle have really liked us a lot, every time we went there: they seem hungry, and it's great, and I can't wait to go back up there.
AAM: Well, we believe they're pretty hungry for you here in Hollywood also!
Jamie: Yeah, we hope so.
AAM: For sure. So, as a parting shot before the show, do you have any words of encouragement, as shout-out to your fans, and maybe any youngsters who might be starting up bands of their own?
Jamie: You know what I tell everyone? Just believe in yourself, and don't give up. We're prime examples of that principle, after all these years of making music.
AAM: Words to live by, for sure. Thanks for the insight, and thanks in advance for what's sure to be another hard-hitting, good-rockin' installment on your Guerrilla Carnival tour.
Jamie: Thank you. We'll see you out there!
