MUEN: HELLO! HOW ARE THINGS GOING? WHAT ARE YOU GUYS WORKING ON RIGHT NOW? IT APPEARS THAT THE LAST RECORDING WAS 2005? AND YOU HAVE OTHER ALBUMS BEFORE THAT? .. IS THERE ANOTHER ALBUM COMING OUT SOON?

SAGE4: We have released 2 EPs: �Lightning Strikes� in late �03 and �In Vain� in late �05. We�re actually in the studio right now working on our debut full length CD release.

MUEN: I KNOW YOU PROBABLY GET ASKED THIS ALOT, AND WE KNOW SAGE IS TRACEY'S LAST NAME, BUT WHY THE 4?

SAGE4: To avoid possible legal issues, we recently added the 4 at the end of our band name SAGE because there are 4 band members.

MUEN: IN OCT. 2006 YOU SCORED A MOVIE SOUNDTRACK DEAL IN THE HORROR FLICK, "EVIL ANGEL".. HOW MANY SONGS WERE ON THE SOUNDTRACK, AND ALSO THERE WAS A FEATURE SONG FOR THE MOVIE THAT RAN WITH THE TRAILERS AND SOFORTH.. WHICH SONG WAS THAT?

SAGE4: Yeah, right after we won the Hot Topic National battle of the bands, we landed the �Evil Angel� deal. We will have several songs in the movie and there will be up to five on the �Evil Angel� soundtrack. We can�t say which songs are being used yet, but there will also be a music video released in connection with the movie release, which as of now is slated to hit theaters in Spring �08.

MUEN: YOU ALSO HAD AN ACTUAL SCENE IN THE MOVIE AS WELL.. COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT WAS ALL ABOUT?

SAGE4: We can�t say too much about it yet, but we have a club scene appearance in a totally wicked part of the movie. We got to have a few of our fans come out and be a part of the audience in our scenes, which was really cool!

MUEN: WE DEFINITELY HEAR SOME MIDDLE EASTERN TYPE INFLUENCE WITHIN THE MUSIC OF SAGE4.. ESPECIALLY WITH THE SONG, "GRAVES" AND "IN VAIN" WHY IS THIS?

SAGE4: We write music that we feel matches and enhances the mood of the lyrics. Tracey�s lyrics tend to be on the darker side, so the music reflects that. The band likes to add in harmonic minor to change things up, which really brings to mind a dark, more mysterious mood.

MUEN: YOU SEEM TO HAVE A FAIRLY BIG FAN BASE.. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE A SAGE4 FAN? WHAT MAKES THEM UNIQUE?

SAGE: We have the most amazing fans in the world! We�re blown away by how quickly word has spread about our music and our fans have definitely had a huge role in that (before our site got hacked, we had over 54,000 fans!). Because our music blends so many different styles and genres, our fans are really diverse. We blend Metal, Progressive, Rock, Alternative, and Gothic music, so most of our fans fit somewhere in that spectrum.

MUEN: OK, TELL US ABOUT THE RECORDING STUDIO PROJECT THAT MIKE HAS GOING... IS THIS JUST FOR SAGE4, OR IS THERE MORE TO THIS?

SAGE4: We like to have total control over every aspect of our band, from writing, producing, managing, marketing, to personally answering every single myspace message and comment and the one aspect that we used to not have control over was the recording process. After relying on other studios to record us and spending A LOT of money, Mike decided to take matters into his own hands and started Sinister Studios. It is primarily for SAGE4 due to the mass amount of time we need to write and record, but he has started to record other bands as well on his free time. Mike�s plan is to eventually bridge out and have it be another part of his expanding musical presence (custom guitars and amps are in the works). If anyone is interested in recording at Sinister Studios, they can contact Mike: [email protected]

MUEN: WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF MUSIC? WHAT INTERESTS YOU IN THE CHICAGO AREA?

SAGE4: Some aspect of music generally consumes most of our time, but we all do have other interests outside of the band. If we�re not doing something music related, Tracey is most likely playing poker, Mike is most likely working on his race cars or watching sports, Vito is most likely playing video games and Eric is most likely weightlifting. We also do our best to make time to hang out with our family and friends.

MUEN: DOES TRACEY PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS AT ALL?

SAGE4: Tracey can play guitar and keyboards, but in her own words �not very well�!!!

MUEN: WHAT OTHER BANDS IN OR AROUND CHICAGO DO YOU LIKE?

SAGE4: Unfortunately, we�re so busy with our own music, that we really haven�t had the chance to hear too many local bands�

MUEN: LOOKS LIKE THE LAST BIG SHOW MAY HAVE BEEN WITH ANTHRAX, HOW DID THAT GO? AND WHAT OTHER GIGS DO YOU HAVE BOOKED?

SAGE4: We�ve been so busy writing and recording the new CD and preparing for the �Evil Angel� release that after the Anthrax show, we decided to shut it down for awhile. We should have some tour info soon, and we�ll post updates on our website, myspace etc as soon as we can!!! For fans that want to get SAGE4 updates, please sign up for our mailing list on our website: www.sage4.com

MUEN: ALRIGHT, THANKS FOR THE INTERVIEW!

Interview by G. Cataline<