Nonpoint
An interview with Andy Goldman
By Debbie Seagle
<--Part I
RNW: So he’s not shy?
Andy: No, not at all. Like
the second we get off the stage, I like to go on the bus, change my clothes.
Rob runs out immediately to go sign stuff, say “What’s Up?” to people,
so he’s always on the internet too. He’s the one who writes the most
on the web site.
RNW: Right on . . . you have a killer
web site. I love it. So, do you all contribute to the web site?
Andy: Pretty much its all Rob who
has the stuff, like the
daily tour diary. But Elias was writing something else for another
web site we have. But its pretty much all Rob. He’s on every
day. Every hotel we stop at, he’s immediately off the bus, trying
to see where to plug in and try to get on line. That’s his big thing.
RNW: What other web site do you have?
Andy: There are a bunch of branch
web sites that kids have made – fan sites. I’m the only one in the
band who doesn’t have a computer, so I’m like really . . .
RNW: How do you get along?
Andy: Anybody I need to talk to,
I have my cell phone with me. I don’t really use the computer or
email really. I’m kind of behind on all of that. I’m totally
out of that loop.
RNW: You will be assimilated!
Resistance is futile!
Andy: I know, I keep thinking I don’t
need one but, I don’t know. I don’t think I need one yet. Its
going to happen for sure . . .
RNW: Your music is described as “intelligent,”
heavy music by some of the reviews I’ve read.
Andy: Famous historians say?
RNW: Famous historians say. 9 out
of 10 people surveyed say, that Nonpoint is “intelligent” heavy metal.
Do you feel that you guys have something new to bring to the heavy metal
scene? What’s your tag?
Andy: We don’t really like to label
ourselves, with stuff like “we’re THIS metal or THAT METAL.” We try
to add something new. There’s so many bands that are just kind of
rehashed. The same sound over and over again. Like, “we can
do it too,” and they do it too. I’m totally unimpressed with all
of that at this point. So, my mission, I love playing music, and
writing songs. But my mission is, if I’m going to be a musician and
make it my career, and put records out and let people hear it, I want to
give them something new. I want to turn something in a different
direction. I write the majority of the actual music. We all
arrange it when we jam together, but I write all the music on the guitar
and me and Elias get together for vocals and stuff like that. So
we really try to do something different. We’re a heavy band by nature,
we play heavy music, but we try to add lots of layers to help make us more
of heavy band.
RNW: I’ve heard people say that it
sounds like there’s three guitarists in the band and they are surprised
at your live concerts that its you making all that sound.
Andy: I have a couple of little overdub
things on the record and I figure the sound, what a band sounds like on
a record is one thing, but what they sound like live is a different type
of thing. I see us more of a raw, stripped down machine live.
Cause there’s lots of vocal effects and crazy shit going on on the record
that you do on a record. But live, you can’t recreate everything.
I don’t have four overdubbed chunking guitars live so . . . that would
be awesome . . . but we do live and it’s a different type of feel than
on the record, but I think its cool both ways.
RNW: Well, you definitely have a
flavor. I don’t know what it is, but I like it.
Andy: You know, I’m trying to figure
that out. It tastes  funny
every now and then . . .
RNW: No, it’s a good flavor!
Andy: Excellent!
RNW: How would you describe your
relationship with the fans?
Andy: We’ve always been real down
to earth with the fans. We see ourselves as just regular dudes.
Except for K.B., of course.
RNW: Oh, K.B. the distinct one .
. .
Andy: Yeah. I don’t know, we
just hang out and go on our bus after we play. We walk out into the
crowd and hang out with people. We’ve always done that. Since
the club tours and starting out. After the show we would always go
to our merch. booth and sit around for like an hour, talking to kids and
signing shit.
RNW: That’s cool.
Andy: Its important with our type
of music.
RNW: It keeps them close to you.
Andy: We trying. Our image
is like, not really having an image. We wear regular clothes, we
don’t do out hair or makeup or anything. We totally get away from
all of that and we just get up there. Sometimes I get out of bed
and whatever shirt I have on, I just go play in it. It doesn’t really
make a difference, you know?
RNW: Okay, well, sleep in this antiMUSIC
t-shirt, right?
Andy: Yeah, I’ve got a new shirt
to wear!
RNW: Hey, I gotta plug our merch!
If you wear that to bed, its okay for you to wear it for the next tour
you do my brother!
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