UN: Was Roy started out of a need to play a style of music you really couldn't explore with any of your previous bands? I'm sure a lot of people would expect Roy to sound a certain way due to the Botch connection, but Roy is completely different. The only similarity I can think of is both bands were very original.

Brian:Roy started out as Dave and Ben just fooling around in their basement. Dave was playing drums, Ben was playing guitar and a moog taurus. Nothing too serious. Both me and Ben have always been big four track enthusiasts and I just sort of wound up with all these weird pop songs that I had recorded in my room with no intention of anyone ever hearing them. It was more of an audio journal than anything. Me and Ben had always talked about doing a pop band at some point and I guess we finally just decided to sort of combine our efforts. We added our friend Mike on bass because he also has about ten albums written on his four track, so he was a perfect fit. It all came together in the last couple of months that Botch was a band and I think for me and Dave it was just really rewarding to come out of a situation where it was such a struggle to write songs and we kinda felt like we had exhausted our ideas and to come into this new project where we felt we could do whatever we wanted. We really had no intention of the band ever doing anything, it was just a way to amuse ourselves. And for me it's just really refreshing to play pop music and to feel like I can just write a song, and if it songs like ten million other songs then who cares? Botch was all about trying to reinvent the wheel with every new song. With Roy it's just about writing really straight forward honest songs.

UN: What can you tell us about your upcoming full length album? Do you guys have a title or artwork picked out yet? Who will be producing the album?

B:The upcoming album will be out in January on fueled by ramen. We start recording at the beginning of September. No title yet, Though the whole concept of the record revolves around our roots being in crappy little four track songs. Ryan from initial is supposed to do the artwork, so we're pretty stoked on that. Matt Bayles will once again be producing the record. Aside from that, all I can say is that it's gonna be a good record. It'll rock in parts, it'll make you want to sit on your front porch and cry at other parts. It's an all around good sit-at-home-on-Friday-night-and-drink kind of a record.

UN: Will it be released on Initial once again? Does the material differ in anyway?

B:FBR will be doing the record. It'll be similar to Tacomatose, but a little more developed and epic, hopefully. We're also hoping it'll sound a little trashier.

UN: How has the response to Tacomatose been so far? I wasn't even sure what to expect, but after the first listen I was hooked.

B:It really seems to vary. There are people who won't ever get over the fact that we're a pop band and not a heavy band, but we're all still in heavy bands, so what would be the point in that? But if people don't hate it, then they seem to love it. The biggest compliment I've been hearing is that people seem to listen to it over and over. We all have records in our collection that are really great that we listen to once or twice and forget about. Like who actually listens to don caballero over and over? Of course they're a great band, but do you want to put any of their records on repeat? I've had quite a few people tell me that they'll listen to it several times a day, and that totally makes me happy.

UN: I definitely dug the interesting and very unique layout of the album. How does the running theme of birds fit in with the name of the album? Are you guys happy with the work Ryan did on the layout? Will he do the layout for your full-length?

B:I love Ryan's design. We really wanted the layout to look very organic and sort of simple. I'm just not really into layouts that looked all photoshoped and stuff. I'm way more into cut and paste stuff. So we're really excited about Ryan doing the layout for the full length. The birds were more of Ryan's doing so you'd have to ask him what the connection is with the title. For me, I just think it's fitting to have birds instead of skulls and knives or any of that kind of iconography that's been done to death in hardcore. We're not a tough band, so why have a tough layout?

UN: I was curious to ask where the name of the EP came from. I'm assuming it has something to do with Tacoma. Is the name of the EP negative or is it more a tribute to your hometown?

B:The name is both a tribute and kind of a slam on Tacoma. We all grew up there and it's a pretty sad little city. It's kind of one of those towns that a lot of people never escape from, which wouldn't be so bad if there was stuff going on there, but instead people get factory jobs and drinking problems and it's all just kinda depressing. Aot of the ep is kinda talking about some of the bad patterns of behavior that people fall into, particularly in these sort of mid-sized cities. but Tacoma also has a lot of character and a lot of potential. It’s the kind of place that could totally transform into an incredible art and music kinda town. All the resources are there. It's just sort of a matter of people making something of it. Someday Tacoma will come out of it's coma and it will be a great town.

UN: What can you tell us about the White EP? I haven't had the chance to check it out yet. Was it recorded in the same sessions as the Tacomatose material? Also, what can you tell us about the Red EP? Why such simple names for the ep's?

B:The white and red ep are all our really early songs. All the songs were recorded either in Ben's basement or in one of our rooms. Most of the songs were written entirely by one band member or another and we all just kinda played along with them, as opposed to Tacomatose where there was a little more group involvement. The recording quality is obviously not as good, but at times it's kind of endearing because of that factor. It sounds a lot more diy, and just kinda strange. We originally recorded the songs as demos, and then I just thought they seemed like really good songs, and I always wanted to put out a record so I figured I'd just put it out myself. I figured no one would ever want to release a record by us so I would do it have to release it myself. Then our friend Dylan approached us about doing an ep, so we just divided the songs in half. Since they're all from the same recording session we figured we'd just have a theme connecting the two. The theme kinda fell apart when it came time to actually do the artwork, and we were stuck with the red and white eps as titles. But the titles don't even correspond with the colors in the artwork, which I kinda think is funny. But it almost seems appropriate because it's so random and inappropriate, which is the way the songs feel to me. But I think they're good songs, they have a lot of character and some of our strongest lyrics.

UN: Are you guys excited about the chance to tour with The Weakerthans? One of the first things I thought after hearing Tocomatose for the first time, was that you guys were similar to The Weakerthans. They seem to be the perfect touring partners for you guys.

B:I'm really excited. I always wondered who we'd tour with because I can't really think of any bands that we'd match up with. I hate the idea of touring with "emo" bands, because I feel like there is this whole weird fashion that revolves around that scene and we definitely don't fit in with it. We don't have the right clothes or hair. We're just awkward, ugly dudes. the weakerthans are awesome because they write mellow sad pop songs but don't really fit into the emo mold, which I guess is how I feel about our band. I can't picture the weakerthans on mtv2 with moppy haircuts, diesel jeans, thrift store-esque shirts from urban outfitters, etc. They just seem way more honest and focused on their music than looking good when they're rocking on stage. Remember how all those old dead kennedys and bad religion albums never had pictures of the band? You didn't know how they dressed or what they looked like. Now all bands look like dumb ass fashion models in all their layouts. It's gross. So when the offer came up I just remember thinking it made a lot of sense, and I'm glad someone else made the mental connection that it was a good musical pairing because I had never thought of it.

UN: How does the music of Roy come across in a live setting? You guys aren't really aggressive in anyway, do you find any people trying to start awkward mosh pits? Do you guys play with mainly hardcore bands, or do you try to stick with similar rock style bands?

B:We just did a week with Black Cross and These Arms are Snakes and it was a little weird, but definitely fun. I still think of myself as a hardcore kid, so I love playing hardcore shows, but I think at times kids just don't get it. They want the mosh and we just don't bring it. We've had fun shows though. There's been great shows where people let down their defenses and dance without being assholes. That's the kinda crowd I like. We're still searching for the perfect balance on stage of being energetic and fun to watch without being sloppy and shitty sounding. Playing the music well comes before flailing around like a madman. We tried it the other way around at some of our earlier shows and it was just embarrassing. As far as bands we play with, I'm down for anything, But I'd really prefer staying away from the whole drive-thru mtv2 emo thing. I just don't want to get lumped in with that.

UN: Just a quick one here, I was curious to ask why you guys decided to use the name Roy? It's incredibly memorable, any special meaning behind it?

B:It's a small town outside of Tacoma. It's even sadder than Tacoma. Poorer, fewer people, way more meth labs. It just seemed fitting because it's so tragic. Besides bands only seem to name themselves after their hometown if they're from somewhere cool, like Boston or Chicago. Fuck that. It's all about Roy.

UN: What are your thoughts on the current state of rock music? I think it's a shame that the mainstream rock has become so stagnant and boring. Do you think it's up to the underground scene to keep rock vital and alive? Do you think the scene is alive and vital right now?

B:There is always cool music going on, you just have to find it. Hardcore/punk/emo is pretty profitable right now, so I think that bands that easily fall into those sort of musical categories just based on their sound tend to be pretty crappy. I'm really into the idea that when I first started listening to punk and hardcore, I loved it because it was so new and refreshing. and it was something that my peers didn't understand. But now punk and hardcore is everywhere, and it's a part of mainstream music. So it's important for punks and hardcore kids to remember what the music is really about and keep trying to challenge the notion of what music is. punk isn't about three chords and mohawks, It's about doing something trashy, spontaneous, and passionate. It's about articulating what's wrong with the world around you and calling people on their shit. I guess it sounds weird to say, but I think that makes Roy way more punk than blink 182. And I'm not dissing on blink 182 because they write great pop songs, but they don't have any urgency, and social commentary, and enough distance from mainstream culture. In that regard, I think bands like wilco are more punk than all the new bands that want to sound just like Thursday or jimmy eat world. wilco didn't think they'd sell any records, they said fuck you to their record label. That's pretty admirable. That's the kind of integrity i wish more "punk" bands had nowadays. I also really admire what labels like 31g, GSL, k, kill rock stars, alternative tentacles, and troubleman do, because I think they constantly seek out bands that are pushing boundaries whether by experimenting or by avoiding some of the standard conventions of rock music. I hope we sort of do the same thing, But with pop music as our structure. Maybe that's sort of a contradiction, I don't know... fuck it. I have no intention of this band ever being big, and I would be at home writing these songs on my four track anyway...