UN: The first thing I ever thought when I discovered A Static Lullaby was what an interesting and unusual band name. Can you give us some insight into what the band name means? Did it take you guys a long time to come up with it? Any other names you guys threw around?

ASL: Well, we came up with it early on in the band, it was kind of by accident it matched our musical style. But, it just sounded perfect and we ALL loved it, so we had to keep it. We threw around a few other names, very dumb names, but when we heard ASL we forgot about names like "a boys dream" and other dumb shit like that.

UN: And Don't Forget to Breathe is an amazingly varied album. Does the songwriting process take a long time for the band? Would you say that everyone in the band brings sometime else to the plate? Do you find that a certain dynamic is created when you all get together to write?

ASL: The song writing process does take a bit longer, especially lately, we're on tour. But usually one person will come up with something, usually then Dan, Nate and I will sit down with our instruments and jam on it. Then we'll show it to Brett, he adds if he likes, constructively critisizes if he doesn't. Joe loves whatever we come up with 99.9% of the time, so it's usually seconds after we come up with it, he is like FUCK YAH! There is definantly a dynamic to when we write, because it's not one dude in a room coming up with everything. It's five dudes coming together to make the best song possible.

UN: I have to say that the layout of And Don't Forget to Breathe is stunning. Did it take a lot of time and effort to get everything laid out so well? Also, how does the name of the album tie in with the artwork? Is there a concept behind the album name?

ASL: The artwork was done by Asterik Studios. They came up with about 10 mock up covers and we decided on the one you see now. The mouth on the inside of the layout was originally one of the mock up covers. We didn't like it as a cover, but we wanted it in there. One of the reasons we chose the cover we did is because of the no lungs in the drawing. We really dug that. the title of the album is definantly something of humor.

UN: How was it to work with Steve Evetts? I was extremely impressed with the production. It has a very different sound for the style of music you guys play. It's raw, which definitely helps emphasis the heavy parts, yet it helps the melody stand out as well. Are you guys happy with the results?

ASL: Extremely! Steve Evetts is not only an amazing producer and musician, but a good person, a good friend and it was an amazing experiance recording with him. And he knows how to find a good chicken wing. (CLUCK U @ Rutgers)

UN: Was it a concious effort for you guys to try and get a live sounding album? It's lacking that studio polish that takes away the sense of immediacy that is missing from many hardcore albums these days.

ASL: Well, we were sick and tired of bands having a flawless album and not being flawless live. We are not a band that is going to be flawless live. There are imperfections, but that makes the show great. Well, at least in our case. Let me explain, most bands have tons of auto-tune on the vocals and triggers and effects and this and that. That didn't appeal to us. We felt the songs and the way we sang them were good enough. We didn't use auto-tune or crazy ass shit. We plugged in, recorded, listened back, and we loved it.

UN: Lyrically you guys have a lot going on. Do you find the lyrics and music as a form of therapy? There has to be something therapuetic about screaming your head off about something that's bothering you. Are the lyrics written before the music, or do the lyrics come after the music is written?

ASL: It really depends. the lyrics come before, after, or during, depending on the song. The lyrics are very threaputic, definantly.

UN: How did the idea to make a video from Lipgloss and Letdown come about? Has it been getting played at all? I haven't seen it yet on the Canadian music channels but I may just always miss it. Was it a weird experience making a video? Do you think it's an important part of promoting bands these days?

ASL: Well, the idea came about when Carl from Ferret and our Management thought that we had a really good chance of actually getting some airplay. That, plus the fact that film/music video director Darren Doane wanted to do it. We were just like, "we just wanna have this dude do our video, even if it's just my mom that sees it" so we wanted to do it, not for mtv, but for ourselves. We were right, he made an amazing video and he was amazing to work with. he is hilarious. we will be working with him again. making a video is a good form of promotion, but I dont think it's ever neccesary. MTV doesnt transfer into fans like touring does. Tour your ass off, if you want real fans.

UN: Being a younger band, have you guys had to make a lot of sacrifices to try and get the name out there? I'm assuming you had to leave some stuff behind just to be able to tour as frequently as you'd need to. Do you think you'll ever regret these sacrifices or do you think they'll totally pay off in the end?

ASL: Like any sacrifice, it seems a little scary at first, but you know it will be ok in the end. Something about this band has always felt right to me. I left high school early to do this band. I'm in the process of completing it now, but we started touring when I was 17, a junior in high school. Also, my girlfriend of two years and I split up shortly after we started touring. So, the band really does take over everything else, but it's all worth it.

UN: Do you think it's important for a band that plays music this emotional and agressive needs a strong live show to make the music seem sincere? It seems odd when a band that plays hardhitting music doesn't seem to be feeling it when they play! Do you guys go all out when you play live?

ASL: I think it's important for a band to be sincere, period. If they are rocking out, and it seems unsincere, like they know they have to or something, then it's totally lame. But, if you see in their eyes and the way they move their bodies that it's real, then its amazing. we go off when we have the room, because we need to. It's the most amazing feeling to be able to loose your mind for 30-45 minutes and have everybody in the room rock out too.

UN: What made you guys decide to sign with Ferret over the other labels that were interested in you guys? I think Ferret has an amazing roster of bands and they seem to put a lot of effort into every release. It probably can't hurt that it's run by a guy in a band that knows what it takes to get a band out there.

ASL: Well, that was exactly one of the main reasons why we signed to ferret. Carl being in nora helps. Also, he is the most real dude we had met at that point. Besides people we were already working with,but, ferret just felt like home.

UN: Do you guys find yourself being lump into the current crop of emotional hardcore bands? I hear elements of Finch, and Taking Back Sunday, but you guys are much more agressive and much heavier. Do you get compared to a lot of bands you don't really think you sound like? I may be a bit crazy, but I think I hear a bit of early Grade in there as well. Are you guys Grade fans?

ASL: We are fans of grade and aren't ashamed to say we were influenced by them in the early days. But people keep comparing us to the used and such and it really bugs us. We don't feel that the bands in the scene now a days really know what their doing. It seems like a good percentage of the new breed are just copy cats of good hardcore bands and good rock bands. But since it's a copy of two styles, its all good, right??? No, it bugs the shit out of me. We feel that we do something different, anyone who doesnt see that is missing something.

UN: I'm always at a loss at what to label bands that play music like this. It has elements of hardcore, but yet it still just sounds like rock to me. Do you think bands should throw labels like screamo, and emo right out the door and just call it rock? I guess if it rocks then it's rock.

ASL: No, I definantly think there is such bands that fit that stupid "screamo" category. Which by the way, never meant pop-punk meets hardcore in a melodic sort of way to me. Screamo used to be angel hair, heroin, i have dreams, etc. bands from san diego, ca and such, back in the day a bit. But now, its what mtv and the mainstream wants to call melodic pop-punk hardcore. I think there are bands like thursday that incorperate sounds from alternative bands and 80's rockers like Depeche Mode and stuff like that. Then there's glassjaw who make references to zappa records. When I hear stuff like that, I feel warm inside. But when (insert pop-punk label here) all of a sudden comes out with a hardcore band that is dark and dreary it makes me feel like shitting on them. And no, I'm not talking about finch or senses fail. Think outside the box.

UN: You guys have a great album on your hands. Do you guys plan on riding it as much as you can? I'm sure you guys have lots of touring planned. Do you think touring is what it takes to get a bands name out there?

ASL: Thank you. We are going to tour for a while, because we have a lot of places to go. Like I said earlier, touring is the best way to get a bands name out there.