Live Interview with Shim and Mark from the band Sick Puppies conducted by Miranda Wilson (Aka Sidine). I would personally like to take this opportunity to thank the guys from Sick Puppies for sitting down with me and taking the time to answer a few questions, it was truly a pleasure to speak with them.
Miranda: Is this your first time in Nashville?
Shim: This is like our fourth time
Mark: Three or Four
Shim: yeah Three or Four
Mark: Maybe Four
Shim: We've been here for two gigs and one show that was like a promotional thing for the show were in called "Rock Prophecies".
Mark: We've did like the Exit/In
Miranda: So this is a lot bigger then the Exit/In
Shim: Yeah this is a lot bigger.
Mark: Yeah a little bigger
Miranda: Next is the Sommet center
Shim: Hopefully
Mark: or we will play here again
Shim: Head lining
Miranda: Have you guys had a chance to explore Nashville?
Shim: We did last night we went out because it was Eric's Birthday the bass player in Shinedown. So we went on a sort of strange little tour, the drive or the car were in got lost so we saw some interesting back streets. We've been here a few times so we've seen
Mark: My favorite is the um, Honky Tonks you guys have, we did that the first time we were here.
Shim: yeah that was a lot of fun
Mark: Cheap beer, Good ol fashion country music.
Miranda: Good ol'fashioned something, Rockabilly or whatever.
Mark: there's things like bluegrass
Shim: Lots of REALLY good musicians
Miranda: If you ever get out during the daytime the Rhyman is worth seeing, that place has a lot of history.
Mark: I think that is something that will be on the list or things to do, unfortunately we are leaving at 2am for the next stop.
Miranda: you guys are heading to North Carolina and then to New Zealand
Mark: New Zealand and then Australia
(Miranda points at mark)
Miranda: you're not from Australia are you?
Mark: no, I'm from L.A.
Miranda: you haven't been vegemited yet?
Shim: no he has, we've acclimated him as much as we can and he doesn't recognize the accent as much.
Mark: we went to Australia a few years ago too.
Miranda: So how long have you guys been together?
Shim: about 4 years with Mark now, Emma and I started when we were like 15 and we moved over about 4 1/2 years ago and met Mark and we've been doing it like this for about 4 years now.
Miranda: I had read on your Band Bio that you Shim started out on drums.
Shim: yes
Miranda: and then you switched to guitar and then you picked up another friend to play drums and then he couldn't tour and then you picked up Mark. You guys have had very few lineup changes.
Shim: not as many as some bands yeah, Emma and I have always done it together there was one other guitarist and like two other drummers and that was it.
Miranda: so it's like a story about 2 guys and a girl.
Shim: (laughs) yeah pretty much
Miranda: So how did you come up with the band name Sick Puppies?
Shim: I was on a train going to going up to my dad's place I had my page of names and I thought of Sick Puppies and I got to my dad's place and he had thought of the same name as well because he was a book with that name. But I thought of that first but it was the only thing that was kind a of fated and kind of strange and we went with it.
Miranda: Its interesting
Shim: It's cool because it's kind of catchy
Miranda: Is the music industry different in the U.S. than it is in Australia?
Shim: Yes, there is more music industry in the U.S., the reason we came over here is because there is more music industry, more bands, more opportunities, more places to do.
Mark: Australia is a beautiful place but just not for music.
Shim: that's unfortunately true, there's great music there, but for rock music there just isn't the market for it. There's 20 million people and you guys have got 300 million.
Miranda: yeah there's a lot of people over here
Mark: Unless your Nickelback then you can't go to Australia
Shim: It's hard you lose money
Miranda: When Silverchair first came out I was a big fan of theirs
Shim: they got lucky
Mark: The blew up real fast
Miranda: Okay who influenced you to play music?
Shim: Silverchair was a big one, I think we all are the mutual one is we're all big fans of Incubus and Green Day, Rage Against the Machine.
Mark: all the bands in like the early 90s. Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden those types of bands.
Shim: Grunge stuff all that stuff is really cool
Shim: Yeah so just all the good music, like a lot of mid 90s rock like once you got past 2002 everything kinda started to suck
Mark: and then Sick Puppies come out
Shim: Yeah Sick Puppies come out and added to the suckage. nah I'm joking.
Mark: it's bad to talk shit on your band man.
Miranda: You debut single that you guys have out ("You're Going Down")
Shim: the first one off this record?
Miranda: yes, it makes me think about Highschool about all the people that picked on me.
Shim: yeah that's exactly what ...
Mark: That's what it was meant to be about.
Shim: it doesn't really come up to a few years after you leave school and everything has changed and everything's different but you still feel the same way.
Miranda: well then you get on these things like MySpace and Face Book and your bands on there
Mark: and then people start coming around
Shim: A lot of people try to get in contact with me again after the band got successful and I don't even remember half of them because everyone knew my name because I have a weird name. But I didn't know then because we weren't friends, but everyone knew me for my weird name.
Miranda: and now they want to know you.
Mark: Hey Man! What's Up!
Shim: yeah
Miranda: didn't you used to lock me in the locker?
Miranda: So how did your Buzz Sessions go?
Mark: It was good
Miranda: those things are hard to get into
Mark: it was very intimate is was nice
Shim: it was a lot of fun
Miranda: How did the Rock on the Range Festival treat you guys?
Shim: It was great it was sort of our coming back show, we had not done a show at all and it was in front of a lot of people. What was cool was "War" the song we opened the set with had been out for a little while that was the first taste anyone got of the new stuff and a lot of people in the crowd already knew the words. So it was good, it was a good confidence builder for us to know that people haven't forgotten about us.
Mark: that's probably the biggest rock festival there is for our type of music or its one of the bigger ones, that was our first year on Rock on the Range. Before that, we had heard about it, there are such big bands; all the bands that get on it are huge and fun to watch.
Miranda: What has been the most memorable tour for you guys?
Shim: probably this one, this one has been badass. Evanescence was great.
Mark: I think as far as family goes, bands become a family on the road I think this is the tour that has done that the most. Because Shinedown takes you in like your their own.
Shim: we're mutual fans of each other's music.
Miranda: so you get to sit down and trade secrets
Shim: Yeah that's actually it.
Mark: Too bad you guys aren't going to witness it but tomorrow is going to be crazy because tomorrow is the last show.
Miranda: Who would you like to tour with in the future?
Shim: Incubus that would be the number 1
Mark: if they tour again
Shim: they will, Incubus or Rage, but Rage it would be just one show. One show with Rage would be good; those are the two main bands and Silverchair. If we could get Silverchair to support us that would be, I could literal die. Because we've always wanted to support them, and now we are in a position where we're doing better in the States then they are because they are in-between records. So, it would be cool if we did a tour with them and we did some co-headlining tour thing. That would be cool to co-headline with Silverchair that would be fuckin great! We could probably do that.
Mark: I don't know
Shim: their music wouldn't work because they've been playing some weird shit.
Miranda: Give me a general overview of your writing process.
Shim: There isn't one. Every song is written differently, every song is written from jams or melodies, or bass lines. Every song is handled differently in a different way. Some of them took like 30 minutes to write and some took like a day and some took the whole four-month writing process. They all come from everywhere at the same time, and we just go with what sounds the best at the time.
Miranda: So basically your writing all the time?
Shim: When we're writing for the record. We don't write on the road.
Miranda: On the road, you focus on what you already have.
Shim: yeah we focus on the shows.
Miranda: How do you prepare for a show? Is there any ritual you guys do?
Shim: Yeah, We've all got our own thing. We separate actually, we kinda of just separate and do stretches and vocal warm ups, and drumming things.
Mark: We don't see each other before the show, it's kinda of like getting married. You're not suppose to see each other before the wedding. We see each other and it's like
Miranda: A lot of people that don't see each other again before the wedding get married end up divorced. We spent the whole day together.
Shim: Shit! We've been doing it for like 2 years now you tell us.
Miranda: Well you never know someone until you live with them. (laughs)
Mark: I wear the same clothes every night
Shim: we all do
Mark: I go like 40 shows without washing them
Miranda: that's usually what happens, I think it's a male thing
Mark: I just Fabreze them
Miranda: Do you guys prefer indoor or outdoor venues?
Mark: Outdoor nighttime big festivals
Shim: Yeah outdoor nighttime is great, I usually prefer indoor because it's more...
Mark: I like big arenas like this
Shim: the funny thing is Emma and Mark usually like the bigger shows, and I actually prefer the acoustic shows
Miranda: it is more intimate
Shim: Yeah, the energy is totally different. It's not a matter of what's better it's just like being able to sit down and just play and see everyone and talk.
Miranda: it's like playing with your friends
Shim: Yeah it's like playing around a campfire it's a different sort of vibe.
Miranda: What is your schedule like after this tour?
Shim: Where doing Nickelback for 3 weeks in Australia and coming back and Breaking Benjamin till the 20th of December then where doing some Christmas stuff.
Mark: we will be doing some Christmas shows and festivals and stuff. That's pretty much it.
Shim: I think we're taking Christmas off.
Mark: Were talking Christmas off in like January.
Shim: I think half way through January it picks up again.
Miranda: So what do you guys do when you're not on Tour?
Shim: Absolutely nothing
Miranda: Or do you remember? (laughs)
Shim: We're always on tour, so pretty much sleep. Main thing is sleep, I remember when we went off after this last tour was finished I slept for 2 weeks straight.
Mark: damn
Miranda: Jetlag?
Shim: Probably Jetlag or fuckin exhaustion
Mark: I don't really change to much
Shim: he doesn't do that much, he's a machine, I hate him
Miranda: he needs something else to do
Mark: it's nice to get out and like
Shim: Surf
Mark: Yeah that stuff you don't get to do on the road like golf.
Miranda: What type of music or bands can be found on your MP3 player?
Shim: Adelita's way is the new things now, and also the Shinedown record usually what happens is you listen to the bands you on tour with. You listen to them a little bit but when you see them and your hanging out you listen to each other's music, that's usually how it goes.
Miranda: Final Question. Do you have any message for your fans?
Shim: Yeah 1: Sickpuppiesworldcrew.com. Go to the website become and ambassador, free mp3's, free downloads, free videos, backstage passes, the whole nine yards. But, you got to earn points to get those items.
Mark: Shim would say "Keep bringing...
Shim: No I would say "Keep Breathing".
Mark: Ahh, that song
Shim: No, it's not a song
Mark: breath is breath
Shim: Yeah keep breathing
Miranda: I thought you said breeding (laughs)
Shim: no no no that's the last thing we need
Mark: that's what I'm about, no I'm just kidding
