Interview: GlassJAw

GlassJAw Questions Answered By Daryl Palumbo (Vocals). 07/17/00 Interviewed by wookubus

Related Links: Official Website

PRP: Lets start with the basic question, how did you guys form?
Daryl: I met my guitar player Beck in about 1993 when I was 13 and he was 14. We started playing then in Long Island, New York and over the next 7 years, had about 20 line up changes while playing weekend shows up and down the east coast.

PRP: Rumor has it that the band has former/current members of Sons Of Abraham are any of the other band members from another band?
Daryl: I played guitar in the bands Irony Of Lightfoot, The State Succeeds, and Tinsnips. I played bass in Silent Majority and sang in Stillsuit.

PRP: Some feel the group has somewhat strayed from the hardcore sound that used to be associated with the band and went for a somewhat more metal approach, any comments on this?
Daryl: We never were a hardcore band nor are we now and metal band. We now and have always played whatever felt right, regardless of what anything sounded like.

PRP: How was it working with Ross Robinson and recording at Indigo Ranch, and is it true ross really pushes band members to their limits, like throwing stuff at you guys and things like that to bring out more aggression?
Daryl: Working with Ross was by far the greatest experience of our lives. He did in fact push us to the limits which is what gave this record all it's sincerity, integrity and character in the first place. This record was as honest and sincere of a recording that we could have possibly wanted to make.

PRP: If Howard The Duck had did it with that chick in the movie, would it be considered bestiality or not?
Daryl: No way. More power to the two of them.

PRP: Is there a certain scene you guys would like to be associated with, or would you guys be comfortable playing with say everyone from Korn to Candiria?
Daryl: We would play with anyone at any time. Music in general is our scene.

PRP: How do you guys feel about the exaggerations by some of the press about your health?
Daryl: Well since it's me, I get a kick out of it. It doesn't shock me that the media needs to over-glamorize and glorify serious shit like a persons health.

PRP: Would you like to explain your medical condition so fans know what's up?
Daryl: I suffer from a disease called Chron's disease. It is a bowel disease that effects the small intestine. I have undergone several surgeries and am permanently on medication.

PRP: Just what exactly is a "Siberian Kiss"?
Daryl: A kiss devoid of all warmth and emotion.

PRP: Would anyone in the band care if another radish was never grown for the rest of their life?
Daryl: I love radishes. They are my third favorite vegetable.

PRP: Musically you guys implement unexpected song structure changes that connect with a tight rhythm, do you guys find it hard to do so, or is this a natural thing for the band?
Daryl: We have always been dynamic and unpredictable. It just seems to come natural. No elements within our music are premeditated or contrived.

PRP: It's rumored that your role model for vocals is Julian Vasquez, would you say he has a heavy influence of your vibrant stage presence?
Daryl: He isn't a role model for vocals, but he was a big influence on how crazy I end up going on stage. He is and has been for years a very close friend of mine, and we have always looked at our stage presence the same way. He was the vocalist for a band called Stillsuit that had been one of my favorite bands for years before I joined that band for a short period of time.

PRP: You are at a friends house and while using the toilet you misjudge your aim and get a bit on the toilet seat, do you wipe it up with toilet paper or pretend it never happened?
Daryl: Wipe it up damn it.

PRP: Would guys be comfortable with a video on MTV and the whole promotion deal, or would you like to go for the touring approach?
Daryl: We would be happy doing both. If having a video on MTV was an integral part of doing this band and playing my music, then I would do it. MTV is in no way a goal for me, but if it happens, it happens.

PRP: Anyone in the band ever worked at a fast food joint?
Daryl: yeah, Todd.

PRP: How do you feel about the web and mp3s as promotion of the band?
Daryl: I don't really know enough about it to make a blanketed statement about napster and the trading of mp3 files...but I do know that I was upset to see that a record that I had spent a year of my life working on was on the internet for the whole world to hear and own before it was released.

PRP: How was working with acclaimed NY hardcore producer Don Fury?
Daryl: It was a very important time for us as a band. Don helped us learn the difference between 5 people playing five different things and 5 people acting together as a band or a whole unit.

PRP: A lot of people feel that you guys bring a brand new fresh sound and are among one of the few bands expected to usher in a whole new breed of music, do you feel pressured by this?
Daryl: I don't feel pressured at all. We are just going to play the same honest music that we are accustomed to writing. We know what sounds are not us and we know that musical trends are just that. If us playing what is truly us counts as a fresh new sound, then so be it.

PRP: Any bands who you could list who could be considered influential to the whole band?
Daryl: Faith No More, Bad Brains, Anthrax.

PRP: Boxers, briefs or undies?
Daryl: Boxers.

PRP: How did the whole meeting of Ross Robinson and the eventual getting signed to his imprint label take place?
Daryl: He called me on a Friday, came to New York to see us rehearse on a Sunday, agreed to sign us that evening, and signed us a month later. It's as simple and as improbable as that.

PRP: Recently hardcore and punk music has seen a bit of a resurgence as the once underground rapmetal music has begun to cannibalize itself and fans look for something more real, how do you feel about the current state of heavy music?
Daryl: Fuck rap metal. I can't say that enough. Fuck the false metal that seems to be surfacing in the American pop culture-mainstream. Also, fuck any journalists who review our record with a preconceived notion of what we sound like just because Ross Robinson produced our record. Wake the fuck up and realize that both us and Ross and us could not care less and be more distanced from rap metal and false metal.

PRP: I once read that you wrote the song "Ry Ry's Song" about a friend of yours who had been dumped, with most musicians only focusing on personal experiences this was somewhat of a shock, would you say your lyrics stem from situations you can relate too or do you draw from everything you see?
Daryl: I write about whatever it is that moves me to write. If I am emotionally moved by something enough to write about it then I guess I am relating to it whether it be in a good way or a bad way.

PRP: Is anyone in the band an admitted fan of Pokemon?
Daryl: Me, Beck and Danny are.

PRP: How has your guys experience with Roadrunner Records been and are you guys fans of anyone on the label?
Daryl: I was always a fan of the metal bands on the label. I grew up loving Deicide, Obituary and Sepultura. Vision Of Disorder are also good friends of ours and if it wasn't for them as musicians and as peers, we wouldn't be where we are right now.

PRP: Ross Robinson's imprint label I AM Recordings has parted ways with Roadrunner and joined forces with Virgin, are you guys confident that the label will promote you guys? Since you are the last Roadrunner/I AM band and it's not to clear on what totally went down, some people think that there's some bad feelings between the two sides and you guys could be used as an example or something.
Daryl: No bad feelings at all. Everything is great with us and label. No one will be making an example out of us out of spite. That is absolutely ludicrous. Relations between everyone involved with that situation are cool.

PRP: You guys were once called "The Glassjaw", what happened to the "the"?
Daryl: We only used the "the" because the "KissKiss BangBang" EP was supposed to look like a jazz record from the 50's and we figured the "the" would make it seem more authentic.

PRP: The title "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", any story behind it?
Daryl: Kisses and gun shots are the same shit, ain't they?

PRP: You guys do realize when the full length takes off, that people will be hunting down this EP to be the bragging fan, are you guys happy with it or would you rather it disappeared?
Daryl: I am completely proud of that record. It was something that I did when I was 18 and I look back at it and take pride in what I had accomplished at such a young age.

PRP: Did any material from your guys previous EP's and demos show up on your latest album "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence"?
Daryl: Nothing was re-recorded. We just had so much new material that we were happier with that we focused on that shit and not so much the older stuff. Keep in mind that I am 21 now and the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" material was from when I was 18, like I said. We have grown past those songs musically, not to mention that what I was writing about lyrically was a different time in my life. Jesus, I was in 11th grade in highschool when some of that material was written.

PRP: Punky Brewster really wasn't a punk, did she give punk music a bad name?
Daryl: No, she gave huge breasts on small children a bad name.

PRP: Is it a rite of passage for New Yorkers to watch the movie "The Warriors", or have never seen it?
Daryl: Never seen it.

PRP: The music you guys make I feel is very innovative, chaotic and yet soothing, how would you guys describe the music you make?
Daryl: It is "music for everyday life", because that is exactly what it reflects. Our music is as unpredictable and as dynamic as real life.

PRP: Could you guys have though of a longer album title?
Daryl: Hehe. Probably.

PRP: Your vocals seem to be really pure and fiercely emotional, do you feel like you are doing more than just singing when on stage? Perhaps like letting out an emotional release? If so do you feel drained after a performance?
Daryl: My singing to me is a complete cleansing and release. Singing in the first place for me was what I needed to expel all the demons that were inside my little head. On stage I give my all to release everything that is pent up inside me and visit the exact spot where those lyrics came from in the first place. Draining? Yes. very. It is a daily exorcism.

PRP: Where you guys heavily influenced by the New York hardcore scene growing up or was it more or less just music to you?
Daryl: We were very much influenced by that scene. We are all hardcore kids at heart even though we don't listen to much new hardcore any longer or go to shows anymore. Some of our favorite bands are Leeway, Agnostic Front, Sick Of It All, Burn and The Cro-Mags.

PRP: Is it human nature to look at the toilet paper after wiping before you flush it or more of a progress meter?
Daryl: I feel a little of both.

PRP: Ross Robinson spoke of you guys by calling you the "the new post-millennial destroyers of Adidas rock", how do you feel about this?
Daryl: I don't intend on literally "destroying" anyone. What Ross was insinuating by that tongue in cheek remark was that it is time to usher out false rap metal and usher in honesty and sincerity. Music that conveys humility and the harsh truth of what it is like to be young, hurt and alone. Fuck rap metal.

PRP: Were you aware that the first album Ross produced was a W.A.S.P. record and would you have been scared knowing this beforehand?
Daryl: Didn't know. Doesn't matter. I have never even heard W.A.S.P.

PRP: Should people give Pee-Wee Herman a second chance?
Daryl: Yes.

PRP: Your guys song titles are very colorful, "Her Middle Name Was Boom", "One 8 Becomes 2 Zeros", is there any theme or anything behind this or is it just the product of some vivid imaginations?
Daryl: Are you serious? Everything is real. No empty imagery.

PRP: Would you feel more comfortable on the Warped, Ozzfest or Tattoo The Earth tour?
Daryl: Whatever. I just want to play music to the crowd that is most receptive to what we are trying to say whether it be skaters, or metalheads.

PRP: You guys are currently on tour with the Deftones and were handpicked, how does that feel and how is it hanging out with them?
Daryl: It feels amazing. They are practically the only band in the mainstream that is actually playing uncompromisingly heavy music. They are honest and they have worked their asses off for many years. As far as them as people, they are the most down to earth guys we could have asked to tour with.

PRP: What can we expect from the band in the near future?
Daryl: Constant touring.

PRP: Well that's about it, any shoutouts/words of wisdom?
Daryl: Mad love to our clique the Lost In Space Crew from New York. It's a conservatory of bands and artists that we have grown up with. Wherever we go, we take them with us physically and in spirit. The clique is comprised of the bands Glassjaw, The Movielife (Revelation Records), This Years Model, One King Down (Equal Vision Records), and Silent Majority (Initial Records).