Ixion: In your bio, it states that the name 40 Below Summer means "opposites" when it comes to your music. Would you re-iterate what you mean by that?
40BS: The name 40bs is a dichotomy...it represents the extremes in our music..heavy and brutal..yet melodic and harmonious..at the same time.
Ixion: Your debut album, "Invitation to the Dance" has broke out as a very successfull album. Are you thus far pleased with the albums success?
40BS: Yes. We're very pleased. Considering the problems that we've had (which we'll go into in the next question), the cd is doing very well.
Ixion: Do you think the collapse of London-Sire Recorders hinders that success at all? Seeing as the shutting down came right after the album was relese?
40BS: The shutting down of London/Sire was certainly a detriment to the cd's success. It came as a total shock to us and, unfortunately, happened so quickly after the album's release.
Ixion: Now being signed to Warner Bros., do you think that has given the band some opportunities that perhaps wouldn't have been available before(ie: the upcoming Static-X tour)?
40BS: Life is funny sometimes. We're very happy to be signed to Reprise now and the label has been very supportive. We're in a much better position now and, strangely enough, the closing of London/Sire has put us there.
Ixion: Was "Falling Down" a simple pick as a first single?
40BS: We feel that "Falling Down" best represents our music all within the framework of one song..i.e., the opposites that we mentioned previously.
Ixion: The song, "We The People" is a very powerful song, and almost anthem like... whats the message you're trying to convey with that song?
40BS: We the People is our plea for everyone to get together as one body...and "jump". It was written well before 9/11..yet, in some way, might have been an omen.
Ixion: Is the song, "Rope" geared towards anyone/anything? Or is it just a concept?
40BS: Rope expresses the anger and frustration that we've all felt in our lives. Everyone, at one time or another, feels that they're at the end of their rope. But, as we all know, things change...and life goes on.
Ixion: The band was together quite a while before the bass position was finalized in 2000. Why did the band go through so many bass players?
40BS: That's very complicated. Our original bass player no longer wanted to play bass and his objectives were different than ours. Another bass player was actually a guitar player and wanted to do that. We had a bass player from Peru but there were immigration problems there. Finally, we lucked out and found Hector...and he was perfect!
Ixion: The Jagermeister tour recently ended... how was that?
40BS: Actually, we're still on Jagermeister...and it's been going great!
Ixion: Any good stories from the road?
40BS: We'll save those road stories for some other time.
Ixion: What bands, if any did you find yourself watching a lot?
40BS: We've been very fortunate in playing with so many terrific bands. We don't want to single any of them out because they've all been great..on and offstage.
Ixion: What so far has been your best expirience playing out?
40BS: Wow. That's hard to say..because it's the fans that make the experience...and the fans have been wonderful to us in every venue we've played
Ixion: 40 Below Summer has played out with some pretty great bands... are there any bands in the future that you would definetly want to hook up with?
40BS: Yeah...all of them!
Ixion: Will the bands previous release, "Side Show Freaks" be available at all in the future?
40BS: As for Sideshow Freaks, that's hard to say. Most likely not...unless the label decides otherwise. We might however, in the future, want to put some of the material on a future album.
Ixion: 40BS is definetly a band that knows what its like to work to get where they are. How do you feel about overnight success stories?
40BS: Well, we certainly can't be called an overnight success. We're still struggling to reach our goals but the progress so far has been obvious to us. All of our hard work, and even our disappointments, has been rewarding and we've grown alot as a result of it. It's not always the best thing to "make it" too quickly because you can go down just as quickly.
Ixion: What direction do you see metal taking in the future(turn for the worse? trends? etc?)?
40BS: We really don't know much about trends. We just try to stay honest and from the heart...and see where that leads us. If that's a trend..so be it.
Ixion: What cds are in your player right now?
40BS: We listen a lot to AHC, Flaw, Chimaira and so many other bands...Deftones, of course...it's impossible to list them all.
Ixion: Is there anything that you would like to say in closing?
40BS: Yes. We'd like to thank our loyal fans for sticking with us all the way...they're really the ones who make things happen for us.
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