cut out the heart and watch the world burn down.

The Route of All Evil

So I just got back from the amazing Motley Crue and Aerosmith concert and had the time of my life. I went with Breanna for her 16th birthday...and if you ask me, Aerosmith is the best fucking bday present ANYONE could've gotten her. So yesterday at about 1pm Bre, Kalie, Kim, Nick, Britany and me all packed into the Suburban and headed on down to Verizon. We got there between 4 and 4:30.  The gates opened at 5:30 and the show didn't start until 7:30 so we had some time to wait. But we didn't want to take a chance of getting there late and missing all the good seats and not getting any cool merch.

We were first in line so Kim, Bre's mom, sat on all the blankets and stuff while Bre, Kalie and I all went to take some pics. We looked to the left and saw a whole bunch of tour buses. At that second me and Bre looked at eachother and slowly started walking towards them. We kept inching closer, waiting for a security guy to tell us we can't be back there. Everytime a sercurity guy would drive by we'd all stop and take a pic but they would just smile and keep driving. So knowing us, we took that as the OK and went to get as close as possible. I was hopeful that I got a pic of Nikki Sixx's bus which was red and black and Breanna was hoping the black and purple one she touched was Steven Tyler's. On our way back to the line they told us that we couldn't have any cameras other than dispossable inside so we were pissed about that and had to take all the cameras back to the car...so now I don't have any pics of the show!!!

Well, the gates opened at 5:30 and we all flew to the merch booth. Breanna got 2 Aerosmith shirts and an Aerosmith dog tag. Kalie got an Aerosmith shirt and so did Bre's little sister, Britany. I was the rebel of us all and got a Motley Crue shirt, I was definitely most excited about seeing them. I've been singing "Dr. Feelgood" for a week now and have been obsessed with Nikki Sixx for quite some time now.

Seriously, it was just amazing seeing how excited Breanna was. Aerosmith is and always will be her favorite band and it was great to be with her for her first live performance from them. We watched Queen and Aerosmith videos on the portable DVD player on the way there to get in the mood....but we didn't need much help there.  And we stopped at Arby's for food.

OK, so after the gates opened and we all got shirts we went to sit down and wait about 1 and 1/2 hours for the show. It was really cold out but I didn't notice it at all, I'm not sure if that's from the excitement, the blanket, all the bodies on the lawn, or a little of all but it was great. I was so worried we were going to freeze our asses off but everything turned out great, I actually ended up getting hot.

Motley Crue came on at exactly 7:30 and opened with "Dr. Feelgood" (!!!) They also played "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Sick Love Song", "Looks That Kill", "Home Sweet Home", "Same Old Situation", "Shout It At the Devil", and a couple of others that I can't think of. Every second of the show was incredible! After some songs Nikki would do this amazing little laugh, and not to mention how amazing they all looked. The lights, dancers, fireworks, and video projections were really cool. I have to say my favorite part of the show was during "Home Sweet Home" when they had this girl suspended from the ceiling by, what looked like a really long sheet. She wrapped her leg around it and hung upside down then kept doing flips and it was truly beautiful, she looked really angelic. I miss seeing them already. They played for about an hour and 45 minutes and the second they started to walk off stage I wanted them to come back. I hope to see them again soon. I'm worried about that though, hopefully they'll stay together now. At the end of the show Nikki Sixx broke his guitar on the floor and handed it to the crowd to break a piece off and pass it around, which of course didn't happen. I saw the guy that got it carrying it back to his truck after the show. As they walked off stage, Tommy Lee said "When I say Motley, you say Crue" and then proceeded with "When I say Fuck, you say you" that was fun and its been stuck in my head ever since.

So the Crue show was over at 8:45 and we waited for Aerosmith until they came on at 9:30. They played for the same amount of time and sang alot of songs. Some that I can remember were "Toys", "Dream On", "Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way", "Eat the Rich",...damn, I'm really mad that I can't think of any others! Breanna was so excited and I was super excited for her!! She was finally getting to see the band she's worshiped since...forever! When they were getting ready to come on she started jumping up and down and then screamed her heart out to EVERY song. It was awesome! Steven Tyler kissed Joe Perry on the cheek when they were sining and that was really cute. Then, he touched this girl in the audience's hand and you could tell that was the best thing to ever happen to her, then he gave her his hat. If that doesn't cause nirvana happy, I don't have any idea what would! Joe did some really cool guitar playing. He is a great guitarist. I was so happy to hear how strong and loud Steven Tyler's voice was. Aerosmith puts on a great live show. If you ever have a chance to see them live GO!

So this was another amazing experience and I'm so glad that I got to go. Motley Crue was definitely my favorite part of last night and I never want to forget that. [shh! don't tell Bre lol] I'm still sitting here in my new Crue shirt and I don't feel like ever taking it off.

Until next time,
Erica

Warped Tour was definitely the best day of my life. I think I'm going to continue to say that after every concert, simply because they keep getting better. Deal with it. I basically went because AFI was there and I love them more than anything. But, it turned out that there were a lot of amazing bands and people there.

 

I went with my two best friends, Nichole and Breanna. We left with many cameras, lots of money, sun block (se we thought) and high hopes. And we weren't disappointed...except for the fact that we put the sun block in a bag we ended up NOT taking. As a result, I'm sitting here typing this with the sunburn of my life. It's not a good feeling being in the sun all day, with no shade, knowing you're going to get hella burnt and theres nothing you can do about it.

 

We left home at 9:30am and got to Verizon at 11:30. It was amazing. We walked around and checked everything out since we were all Warped virgins. I ended up getting 2 AFI shirts and "The Art of Drowning" CD. I basically didn't eat all day. It was super hot. I'd never sweated that much in my life, nor had I had so many sweaty men rubbing against me. Ah, the joys of warped. Haha.

 

Ok, now I'll get to the point of this whole thing...AFI!!!

They were going to play on the main stage at 4pm. I about died from anticipation waiting for them to come on. So, I went to their stage at about 3pm get a good spot and caught the end of Anti-Flag and they were pretty awesome. In the crowd, I met quite a few people. Now, my friends all call me a fag magnet because I can be in a room of 100 people and the gay guys always spot me out and come to chat. So, warped tour was no different. I met 3 or 4 gay guys who were obsessing over how hot Davey Havok of AFI was and the fact that he may very well be God himself. No objections here, he's said it himself. So, of course I joined in on the obsessing. We had a fun debate over whether or not he was gay or whatever while we waited for them, somewhat impatiently, might I add. I definitely don't think he's gay but everyone has an opinion and its fun to hear them all. I also met some guy (sorry, I don't remember your name) but he was awesome. He had a lip ring, both nipples pierced, some cool tattoos, and was really sweet.

 

AFI came out at 4:10...yes, I remember the exact time, and the crowd instantly rushed to the stage. I mean, this was the most intense thing I've ever been in. I was actually scared. Before AFI even came out we were all so close that I couldn't even begin to imagine being shoved together any more. But squished I was. I ended up migrating to the left side of the stage for the rest of the show and was pretty close, only about 10 ft. or so away from the stage. They played The Leaving Song Pt. 2, Kill Caustic, Silver and Cold, Miss Murder and one really old one, I'm not sure of the name. They were one of the best bands I've seen live. They sounded amazing and were very energetic. It was fun to watch...not to mention drooling over Davey. =)

 

Davey wore his black shirt with white stitching, tight black pants, white suspenders, and white gloves. He had purple eye shadow from last to brow line and huge fake eyelashes. Needless to say, he looked stunning, as always! I got a lot of pics of the band. I got pics of everyone but Adam, I was so mad! I was off to the left side of the stage and there was a curtain blocking him. Davey did some amazing dance moves and he entranced me the whole time. You simply couldn't take your eyes off of him. It was torture to even blink, I'm not kidding...I didn't want to miss a secong and was sad at the thought of the show ever ending. He has a hell of a stage presence; very intriguing. I took a lot of pics...like 70! I'll definitely upload them soon, I promise. I even got a few where Davey was actually looking at me. Well, maybe not me, but in my general direction. Right before their last song, Miss Murder, some guy was going to get kicked out by the security guards for doing something in the mosh pit. Not sure what because I wasn't looking. Anyways, Davey said, "Oh, no, you cant kick him out" then says "what" and took his diamond studded earpiece out to better hear the security guy and said, "Here, bring him to me." in this amazing seductive voice. It was great! If only that had been me...

 

So my other favorite bands were 18 Visions and Aiden. I had listened to Aiden before and was excited about seeing them and they were even more amazing in concert. WiL was awesome. He laughed after every song, and has an adorable laugh. I only got about 4 pics of them due to their stage being too dark for anything to show up very good from where I was. Their makeup was so hot. It looked like Brandon Lee's off of The Crow.

 

18 Visions was one of my favorites. They have such a unique sound and the singer, James, has an amazing stage presence. I will be going to pick up their CD...SOON! They also had great style. I can't really sum it up in words but it was great. I got like 30 pics of them and the lead singer was definitely looking at us a few times. Oh! And he did this really sexy dance I'll probably never get over. I was sad I didn't get a pic of that!

 

I can't believe I forgot to mention I met Smith Puget !!! He was so cute! I met him when I went to the AFI merch booth for the second time to buy "The Art of Drowning" and he sold it to me. He was saying it was his first time selling merch...I was instantly so mad that I didn't get a pic with him. What the hell was I thinking?! I could've met Aiden and 18 Visions at their booths at 4 and 4:30...of course I didn't though because I was waiting for AFI, I mean, priorities right?

 

So, I suggest all of you NEVER miss an opportunity to see AFI live, for you will not be disappointed. I plan on attending Warped Tour for many years to come. It is an amazing show for everyone. I love all the different types of music and the diversity of everyone you meet. Definitely a decision you wont regret! Plus, you'll be sure to find a few great new bands you might've never heard, and who can complain about that?!

 

Much Love,

Erica

At a recent sold-out show in Chicago, Bert McCracken wanted to apologize
to his fans.

"I'm sorry we couldn't play for you the last time we were in town," he
announced. It's hard to imagine the cackling lead singer of the Used --
who's as well-known for his back flips and onstage vomiting as he is for
his screaming hardcore -- canceling a concert for any reason.

The cause of his no-show? "I was having
problems with my testicles that day."

When Bert's not on tour (and his family jewels are intact) he often
slips into his notorious TV role as Kelly Osbourne's boyfriend. Excuse
us: make that ex-boyfriend. Bert broke up with America's surly teen
sweetheart -- with whom he shares a matching heart tattoo on his left
pinky -- on Valentine's Day.

"I'm just fucking retarded," he confessed to Playboy.com. "I'm 20 years
old and scared of commitment, and I can't tell her that."

We listened to Bert as he drowned his sorrows into a few rounds at a
hotel bar. In the process, he shared more than a few stories about his
semi-famous sex life with (and without) Ozzy's girl.

1. You were raised Mormon in Utah. Did that give you a lot of sexual
hang-ups?

Bert McCracken: Yeah. I mean, you can't have sex until you're married if
you're Mormon. The first time I had sex, my parents found out. They were
listening in on the phone while I was talking about sex to my
girlfriend. They freaked out, man. They both cornered me in my bedroom.
I didn't really say anything. I had nothing to say. I didn't feel like I
had done anything bad, but I didn't want to make my parents more upset.

2. We hear you occasionally bat for the other team.

BM: My obsession with kissing boys is purely for fun. You know, like
worshipping Satan is fun. [Laughs] It's funny and it's fun to kiss boys.
I asked Marilyn Manson for a kiss on the lips and he gave me one. It
wasn't a big deal. His girlfriend [Playboy cover girl Dita von Teese]
didn't care. She's got nothing to worry about. She's hot! I've got her
issue of Playboy.

3. Have you ever used alcohol or drugs as an aphrodisiac?

BM: Alcohol, yes. Drugs, yes. When my first girlfriend from high school
and I started living together, we were both drug addicts. We did drugs
and we fucked for hours. I was definitely a fan of crystal
methamphetamine, but not anymore. I like Coronas now. Had some great sex smoking weed, too.

4. What about the worst sex you've ever had?

BM: I met this really insane girl at Warped Tour last year. She ran to
my bus right after I played. I had no idea who she was. It was pretty
awful. She was completely wasted, and it didn't mean anything to me. I
try not to have a lot of one-night stands. I have had a girlfriend for a
while, but we broke up. It's a sad, sad story.

5. How did you and Kelly split up?

BM: I did it over the phone. I'm such a dickhead. She's the most
important girlfriend I've ever had. We're best friends. It was just
always so pleasant when she was around. And it smelled better. [Laughs]
I've been down in the dumps. I want to be with her, but I just can't. I
don't want to date other girls. I'm just not ready for a relationship,
period, let alone a huge, public relationship. I just hope that someday
I can maybe be with someone as good and perfect as she is.

6. Did you and Kelly have a lot of good sex?

BM: She's adventurous. I don't know if her mom and dad would like me
talking about it.... I think one of the first things [Ozzy] ever said to
me was, "No sex with my daughter."
[Pauses]
OK. We were in town shooting our video for Buried Myself Alive. She has
these [chauffeurs] that drive her around, and they were taking me back
to the airport. One of her friends was up in the front seat with the
driver, and Kelly jumped in the back and we made love in the back seat
of the SUV. It was really sweet. She's back in LA right now, crying
about some stupid boy who broke her heart.

7. On one episode of The Osbournes, Jack suggested you didn't have a
clean sexual bill of health.

BM: I don't even know where he came up with the shit he was talking
about. He said that people in my band call me "cauliflower dick" because
I fucked a lot of girls. Which, well, I did have sex with a lot of girls
last year. I'm not going to lie. It was my first year out touring. But I
don't know why he came up with all that shit. Maybe he was jealous that
I was dating his sister. Maybe he's jealous that he'll never be able to
do what I do. How could he? Even Kelly doesn't get the respect that she
deserves because she's Ozzy's daughter. But he could never sing in a
band. It just wouldn't work. Plus, he's not as good-looking as I am.
[Laughs]

8. Does Kelly have nice lingerie?

BM: She has the dopest clothes ever! She has all these little cute
undies. She had this cute little purple underwear that she would wear. I
don't know if she ever wore them special for me, but I think she did a
few times.

9. Are purple panties your fetish?

BM: Maybe they are. [Smiles] I like a girl who's really soft and sweet,
who touches my hands a lot, who kisses my stomach.

10. Let's head a little further south. Do you prefer to give or receive?

BM: Give. I love eating pussy. It's my favorite thing, besides rock and
roll. The taste is really soft, and it's really amazing to see a woman
getting pleasure from me.

11. Do you ever watch porn?

BM: Sometimes. Not with Kelly. One time we watched The Ozzporns together
to check it out. It was pretty ridiculous. The girl that played her was
so horrible. She was just some skinny white trash chick. But we've never
watched porn to get turned on. She's totally not into porn.

12. What's better than sex?

BM: Sometimes kissing is better than sex. Especially kissing someone for
the first time. My first kiss with Kelly was really special. We were on
the beach. I leaned in to kiss her, and she turned her head away, so I
thought she didn't want to kiss me. She's really shy. And then we both
kind of moved in at the same time. She's got the perfect lips, too.
She's the best kisser in the whole world. She's really good with her
tongue, and she doesn't spit all over the place. Well, if the moment's
right, she'll spit all over the place. [Laughs]

Interview with Davey Havok of AFI
(04/01/01)

Alright, what follows is an interview I did with Davey Havok of AFI back on April Fool's Day 2001. Before we get to that, I'd like to give a little background information on the interview. Back in 2001, I was a huge fan of AFI, but I wasn't one of those idiots who now plague the malls with their AFI wristbands and Finch t-shirts. I loved the band, but couldn't help but make fun of their fans and everyone involved: a sign of endearment, I would say.

Anyway, over the years, I've read countless interviews with bands, and they always manage to ask the same questions time and time again. It was time I stepped in to make things interesting. Since I loved AFI so much and cracking jokes about them was so easy and so fun, I figured they would be the perfect band for my first interview. Of course, since I wasn't writing for any zine and it was just for my personal satisfaction, I had some trouble scoring the interview. I had to lie to Mitch over at Nitro Records, telling him I was a writer for this made up zine, and we had interviewed all these bands and were looking to do AFI for our next issue. Thankfully, he bought it, and got myself and my friend Eric Craven into the show for free and booked us some time to interview the band.

The interview was supposed to be for the whole band, but only Davey showed up. Hey, it works for me. He's the only one the kids care about anyway. This also worked out for the best, considering Eric and Davey were friends at the time (although now, Davey doesn't even talk to him. what with being so busy with all his OTHER fans), so it made everything a hell of a lot less formal.

The interview was a lot of fun to do. Many of Davey's answers are very ironic given the context in which the band finds themselves now. Please let me know if you Davey Havoks like this: Doug at iohyouth.com.

Doug IOH:
So I guess we’ll start off with... What are your plans after Warped Tour?

Davey Havok:
After Warped Tour? Um, I believe we’re going to do a headlining tour of the United States in the fall... um which will probably start somewhere around end of September the beginning of October and will go for about a month and will hit like, just the major cities... um, come back from that and um, supposedly we were supposed to go to the Australian Warped Tour this year, and its supposedly moved to December of 2001. So if that works out then we will go do the Australian Warped Tour. And then, we would also like to go to Japan in December as well, but I’m not sure if that’s gonna happen. And then after that, we’ll start working on a new record.

Doug IOH:
That’s actually my next question. Will there be a new e.p. before the next full length?

Davey Havok:
Nope, no. we’re doing a DVD but that will be the only thing that will come out before.

Doug IOH:
Ok, then uh... What’s your favorite color?

Davey Havok:
Uh, I don’t have a favorite color, I’m sorry.
*Some kid says, "what about black?"*
Black is a shade, its not a color.

Eric:
I have a question about the DVD, you guys recorded, like, two shows for that, right?

Davey Havok:
Ya.

Doug IOH:
Are both shows going to be on there, or are they just going to be highlights of both shows?

Davey Havok:
Yea, I think its going to be the highlights. Actually, I think we filmed, well, I guess we only did two. I thought we were doing three, but I guess we’re only doing two. And then we’ll be filming all of Warped Tour - or at least most of Warped Tour. So there’ll be highlights from most of those shows and then like, us like, sitting around and being stupid. [laughs]

Doug IOH:
Hah, alright. So then what kind of cereal do you like the best?

Davey Havok:
Cereal? Um, my favorite cereal of all time I haven’t been able to eat for years once I stopped eating gelatin, and that um, those were the Monster Cereals. I really really liked Dino Pebbles, which if it still existed, which they didn’t, they discontinued it after like a year I still wouldn’t be able to eat that either, so um, the stuff I eat now... I eat, um, Life.

Eric:
Cinnamon Life?

Davey Havok:
Yea, I like both of them. Umm, what else? What others? I like granola cereal. [laughs]

Eric:
So um, did Boo Berry ever make your poop green?

Davey Havok:
No, wow.

Eric:
Cause it makes mine green. Every single time.

Davey Havok:
Wow... that’s unfortunate.

Eric:
Which was your favorite one?

Davey Havok:
Frakenberry I think was my favorite, followed by Boo Berry.

Eric:
Did you eat Fruity Yummy Mummy?

Davey Havok:
Yummy Mummy? Yeah. Yeah, before they off-ed it. Yeah, Yummy Mummy was good, but I prefer... there was a cereal called Kaboom, but I think it was only East Coast, like, I never found it on the West Coast. And that was pretty similar to Yummy Mummy. Yeah.

Eric:
But its not the same...there aren't any mummy shapes.

Davey Havok:
No, its not the same, it's similar but, um yeah... Mummy used to be Wolfberry years ago, and then it went away.

Doug IOH:
Alright. So there’s a single for Days of the Phoenix, but its only out in Europe, why is this?

Davey Havok:
Well, England, yea. Um, Its only out there because um, its kinda how it works out there in England. They are far more single oriented, the United States doesn’t really necessitate that, so we never even bothered to even considering making one, but since we’re going over there to do, to headline a tour as soon as we get back from this tour, they said, "You need to make a single." "Alright." So we made a single.

Doug IOH:
Is there anything on that? Like, anything special?

Davey Havok:
Yea, actually there is one unreleased song on it. It's called, "A Winter’s Tale".

Doug IOH:
Shit, looks like I gotta pick that up... [laughs]

Eric:
What about the artwork?

Davey Havok:
Uh, its just pieced together from the Art of Drowning artwork.

Doug IOH:
Alright. Um, how about... What’s your favorite pick-up line?

Davey Havok:
I don’t have a pick-up line. Someone asked me that already, just a few days ago. Um, I’ve, uh, I’ve never had one used on me, and I’ve never used one on anybody else, so um, I’ve heard some. I like the one that goes, "Did it hurt?"

Doug IOH:
What?

Davey Havok:
When you fell from heaven? I like that. [laughs] I would never ever use that...but, yeah. So far this is a very good interview by the way.

Doug IOH:
Aw, thanks. I’ve just been thinking of stupid questions over the last week to ask you.

Davey Havok:
Hey, I like it. [laughs]

Doug IOH:
What uh, what Star Wars character best defines you as a person?

Davey Havok:
Shit, Star Wars. See I’m not the big Star Wars fan, you’d get a much better answer outta someone like Hunter or Adam. Let’s see... Star Wars character... not Luke... not Darth Vader... um, not Han Solo... Oh, you know? [hearty chuckle] You know what? My friend Jeff used to say that I was Salacious... Salacious... Um…

Doug IOH:
Salacious Crumb?

Davey Havok:
Yea, Salacious Crumb. And whenever he used to see that, he’d say, "That’s you". So I guess that’s me... unfortunately. [laughs]

Doug IOH:
Alright this is a little bit older, but I’ve never really seen it asked... so uh, How was covering Guns N Roses for the Punk Goes Metal comp?

Davey Havok:
It was cool, I mean it was... they asked us to do the metal comp, and we love Guns N Roses, and I really think Appetite for Destruction was one of the best albums ever. And we talked about it, and My Michelle is one of... I think my two favorite songs on that album are My Michelle and Rocket Queen, and I happened to get my way. [laughs] Sometimes that happens... and we covered My Michelle, and it was really fun, and I love Guns N Roses.

Doug IOH:
Any chance of playing My Michelle live ever?

Davey Havok:
No, sorry. This is the third time I’ve been asked tonight.

Doug IOH:
Tonight? Wow, ok... how many times has this been asked... Are you 100% evil?

Davey Havok:
[laughs] One.

Doug IOH:
Alright.

Davey Havok:
Oh shit, I lost a ring. I sure hope it's in my pocket. This motherfuckin ring. Ok, I had one and it broke in half and I got another one, and now it disappeared. Continue your interview, I’m hoping it's in my pocket.

Doug IOH:
Okay, let’s see, uh. Well, here’s a little bit of a more darker and serious question.

Davey Havok:
Okay.

Doug IOH:
Your earlier lyrics have been a tad depressing. 3 ½ even alludes to suicide. Yet ever since Black Sails, that depressing factor seems to be lifting... for example, "Narrative of Soul Against Soul" appears to be an anti-suicide manifesto.

Davey Havok:
Mmhmm

Doug IOH:
Do these songs accurately portray your views on life?

Davey Havok:
Yes, all of them. [laughs] Really. Each song is kind of a separate entity within itself, y’know? It's an expression of how I’m feeling at the time or how I’m feeling about a certain aspect of myself or of my life, and they each kind of stand on their own in that respect, but they’re all from my feelings and how I feel, and they’re all very honest, so yes. And I’ve lost my ring. [laughs] Where the fuck did I lose my ring? This is not my day for losing things. It was such a good ring!

Eric:
Don’t forget to ask about the swearing question.

Doug IOH:
Oh yea! That’s actually a good question.

Davey Havok:
Ok, what’s the question?

Doug IOH:
Here’s another question kinda like that last one. Some of the older stuff like, Very Proud of Ya and stuff like that, there was a lot of swearing...

Eric:
A lot of GOOD swearing.

Davey Havok:
Yes.

Doug IOH:
Yea, but lately, I haven’t heard any, sort of like you’re dodging it.

Davey Havok:
That’s true. Um, I’m over it. Just as a result of the superfluous, just unnecessary swearing that I did on that album, it was just so much, it was like, "Ok... alright, that’s done. Y’know, I decided that I’m not against using it anymore, um, it could happen again... it might, it might very well. But it just got to be overused, it just lost any sort of impact for me, y’know, where I was saying "Fuck fuck fuck fuck" and its like, "Ok, its done." I can do a little better than that. Now I can express myself better than that. And I think now where I’d use it, it would have more impact... just because I haven’t used it every other word just like I was this time.

Eric:
That answers your previous question, he’s not evil, he’s found Jesus.

Davey Havok:
Hey, I haven’t heard that found Jesus question!

Doug IOH:
No no, the "Are you 100% evil?" question.

Davey Havok:
Oh, you asked how many times I was asked that question.

Doug IOH:
Yea, well... Ok, so then are you 100% evil or?

Davey Havok:
No.

Doug IOH:
Have you found Jesus?

Davey Havok:
No.

Doug IOH:
Neither? Ok.

Eric:
He gave up the swearing... because it's one of his commandments.

Davey Havok:
[laughs] Well, Jesus and I are really close. Yea.

Doug IOH:
My friend’s family is really religious, and I got him into AFI, and he was really into it at first. And his mom doesn’t like it, and she told him it was Satanic, and he told me the same thing. He goes, "I don’t know why you like that band so much, because they’re Satanic". I didn’t know how to answer him. I didn’t know whether to say, "No they’re not!"

Davey Havok:
Well, you know, it's like [sighs]... it, would depend, well, no... well, it depends on what your definition of that is, I mean, I guess one could argue that we are Satanic because there are arguments that, you know, anything that could be considered as sacrilegious, or could be seen as anything as glorifying yourself as opposed to God. I mean if you look at strict Christian teachings, you are to place God before everything. Anybody doing otherwise could be construed as anti-Christian, and as a result Satanic. I mean, you could look at the writings of Mark Twain and call them Satanic, and it just depends on what your beliefs are. So if your friend thinks we are, then I guess we are to him.

Eric:
I always thought...

Davey Havok:
Do I worship the devil? No.

Eric:
Yea, that’s just what I was about to ask... that’s how I’d always seen Satanism, but I told him, "Look, the music’s good... so just listen and enjoy".

Davey Havok:
Yea, I mean the thing is that for a lot of really conservative people, it's music that is going to make them question themselves, and it's words that are going to make them push the boundaries of what they’re used to hearing. Because it's not nice and clean and happy and God-fearing by any means.

Eric:
He originally liked you guys, he likes a lot of your stuff, he likes music that is really emotional. He really liked the new cd...but because of his mom...

Davey Havok:
Yea, that’s really too bad. That’s sad. [laughs]

Eric:
He has a trampoline in his backyard though.

Davey Havok:
That’s good. At least he has that. [laughs] Get closer to God, right?

Eric:
Right. [laughs]

Doug IOH:
How was the European tour with the Offspring?

Davey Havok:
It was great. I mean it was really fun... like our reception was on and off. Like, certain shows, people hated us, certain shows they really liked us, certain shows they were like, "This is alright". As far as being on the tour, I mean, it was... like, luxurious. It was so great. The Offspring took such wonderful care of us, and you know, we were playing like, the biggest shows we’ve ever played in our lives. It was really cool.

Doug IOH:
So there is no new material is to be expected from Son of Sam, correct?

Davey Havok:
No. As far as I know of. [Big smile] Well, I mean, there’s the stuff that hasn’t come out yet. [laughs] There’s the first album, but further on from that there are no plans.

Doug IOH:
Rumor has it that Son of Sam might play some small shows?

Davey Havok:
Well, I... I definitely wouldn’t hold my breath for that, I mean, its possible, its not like we’re gonna tour. That’s not gonna happen. There is a possibility of us playing shows if we were all in the same place at the same time and had a couple days to set it up and practice and do it. But the chances of that are slim, because AFI is very very full-time for me, London is in Tiger Army, Todd is in Danzig, Steve lives in Jersey, he’s got China and his job, and it's... it’d be tough. But, we’d do it if we could. It would probably be at most two shows, probably Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Eric:
Around when? Where would you guys be around... say, June 15th through the 26th? Where are you gonna be at?

Davey Havok:
Where am I gonna be? At... in the middle of that I start Warped Tour.

Eric:
Ah, cause I’m gonna be out there...

Davey Havok:
It wouldn’t happen then. It won’t... like, if it... there are absolutely no plans for it. So, it would be a matter of us calling up each other and saying, like Steve saying, "Hey, I’m gonna be in L.A. for two weeks at this time and Todd’s off tour, are you gonna be around?" And then we’d call May to see what he’s up to. Some day maybe.

Eric:
I haven’t even heard it yet, I mean, chances are good I may hate it.

Davey Havok:
Yea, who knows? Who knows? Have you heard it?

Doug IOH:
No, I’m keeping myself away from anything up until its released.

Davey Havok:
Oh, [laughs] your friend won’t like it.

Eric:
No, I wouldn’t think he would.

Davey Havok:
[laughs] Probably less than AFI. [laughs]

Doug IOH:
Where did the same "Son of Sam" come from?

Davey Havok:
Well, Todd came up with it. It’s a play on the modern pronunciation of Samhain, it’s a tongue-in-cheek play on that, as well as the connection to David Berkowitz.

Eric:
I read a review that said your vocal styles are really different.

Davey Havok:
Its different, yeah... I mean, you can tell its me, but the music is not AFI by any means.

Eric:
You’re trying to sound like Glenn on that, aren’t you?

Davey Havok:
No, no! (laughs) I’m not trying to sound like Glenn, but let me say, I wasn’t trying to sound like Glenn, however I will say that when I get sent the tapes, I called those guys up and said, "I’m writing stuff that sounds like Samhain". They said, "Great". "But it sounds like Samhain... do you want me to try and do otherwise?" and they were like, "No no, that’s fine, go for it". Cause y’know, the music to me it was just like, it really sounded like Samhain songs to me so the first thing that came to my mind while writing the songs was very Samhain derivative/esque vocals. Glenn was Samhain... so I wasn’t trying to do anything, but... you know, its very rock. It's a lot more like, dirty rock... like, if we’re... if you were to try to go to either end of the spectrum, and you were to say that we’re (AFI) more towards like the glam-type rock, more like David Bowie and T-Rex... then this is more the bluesy-type rock.

Eric:
Are you expecting a lot of your AFI fans to appreciate Son of Sam?

Davey Havok:
I think they’ll like it, yea. I think they will. I mean really what it is... it's old deathrock. It really sounds a lot like old 80’s deathrock.

Eric:
The review, by the way, it's... it's excellent.

Davey Havok:
Oh, yeah?

Eric:
Yeah, it’s a very very good review.

Davey Havok:
The one that you saw? Oh that’s great! That’s great. That’s cool.

Doug IOH:
What’s your favorite Danzig song?

Davey Havok:
Umm... Soul on Fire.

Doug IOH:
This is sort of a question for everybody, but I don’t really see them... so uh, do you still practice veganism and straightedge?

Davey Havok:
I am straightedge. I have been for many many years, 10 or 11. Um, veganism, it depends on what your definition of veganism is. I eat honey and refined sugar. I don’t consume any other animal products to my knowledge in any way. I don’t care what you call it. Whether that’s vegan or not, whatever, that’s what I do.

Doug IOH:
What do you think of the new fans you’ve gained since receiving airplay on radio and television, and...

Davey Havok:
We get airplay on television?

Doug IOH:
Yea. MTV...

Davey Havok:
Oh, that one time!

Doug IOH:
Yea, that one time.

Davey Havok:
We were huge after that. [laughs] Yeah, we were on once like, a year? Or two years ago? Yea, they did this like, "Return of the Rock" program... "The world’s all-time heaviest videos, A to Z". And they played us, like right between Aerosmith and AC/DC. And I missed it! But my dad saw it, and my dad called me up and was like, "Dave, its 10:15, it's Saturday night, and I’m watching you on MTV". It was uh, Third Season.

Doug IOH:
Actually, Third Season I saw on 120 Minutes back...

Davey Havok:
No kidding?

Doug IOH:
Yea. Back a long time ago, actually.

Davey Havok:
Really? No one’s ever told me that before. None of us knew that.

Doug IOH:
Like before I knew who AFI was I saw this video...

Davey Havok:
Wow, that’s amazing. Oh! So to answer your question... You know we’ve gotten minimal, minimal radio play, and even more minimal... Who’s that? Robbie, you hear that? People are singing Poison! Damn! I’m missing out!

Doug IOH:
Oh, I’m sorry.

Davey Havok:
No, that’s okay. Um, yea, I really don’t think its affected us very much. I mean, maybe we got like, 20 - 30 more kids in California, 10 kids in Salt Lake, or something like that. But I mean, that airplay we got was very, very minimal. Unfortunately.

Eric:
Speaking of videos, are you gonna do any more before the DVD release? To put, like, an extra video on there?

Davey Havok:
I mean, we did Days of the Phoenix... maybe we’ll do one for Wester? If we have time, and if its necessary. If not, then no.

Doug IOH:
What’s your favorite Horror movie?

Davey Havok:
What period?

Doug IOH:
Umm... how about... the early stuff...like, "Creature".

Davey Havok:
Oh, the black and white, like the Universal classics? Bride of Frankenstein.

Doug IOH:
What about the 80s?

Davey Havok:
[blank stare]

Eric:
Late 70s, early 80s?

Davey Havok:
Late 70s? The exorcist... or Rosemary’s Baby. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 80's, Pumpkinhead, Halloween, the first two Nightmares... yeah, there you go.

Doug IOH:
Alright, how about favorite Gangster movie?

Eric:
Wait, the first two Nightmares?

Davey Havok:
Yea, the first two.

Eric:
Number two??

Davey Havok:
It's good.

Eric:
It's crap. What about three?

Davey Havok:
Three was good too. But I like the Wes Craven stuff better.

Eric:
Wait, Wes Craven didn’t do part two, he did part three.

Davey Havok:
[shakes head] No...

Eric:
You wanna go?

Davey Havok:
Let’s go! He did the first two.

Eric:
He did one, three and seven.

Davey Havok:
No way, he did one and two!

Eric:
I pinky swear.

Davey Havok:
Alright, I believe you. [laughs] I believe you. Umm... what?

Doug IOH:
Favorite Gangster movie.

Davey Havok:
Oh! Umm, God, there’s so many good ones! [pauses] Goodfellas. God, there’s so many good... Godfather Trilogy, Goodfellas, Casino... Resevoir Dogs is great, yeah.

Doug IOH:
What’s your favorite Director?

Davey Havok:
Tim Burton.

Doug IOH:
Favorite actor?

Davey Havok:
Johnny Depp.

Doug IOH:
Jason Cruz has just left Strung Out to pursue his artwork and tattooing full-time. (*)

Davey Havok:
What? Jay quit??

Doug IOH:
Yeah.

Davey Havok:
Really? To be a tattooist?

Doug IOH:
Yep. So now if you were to leave AFI to pursue, say, acting full-time exclusively with upcoming Director Eric Craven, what do you think the rest of the band would do?

Davey Havok:
What would they do? Before or after they killed me? [laughs] Let's say they didn’t kill me?

Doug IOH:
Yeah, what if they didn’t kill ya.

Davey Havok:
They would go on without me. They’d do something. They’d either do AFI, or they’d do something else, um, they would play music.

Eric:
You do realize you’d be starring in the crappiest movies of all time.

Davey Havok:
[laughs] Hey, c’mon Eric...

Doug IOH:
Do you find it hard to adjust to the afternoon sunshine during the Warped Tour after all of your extensive time in the darkness?

Davey Havok:
Very much so. Yea, its really not the most appropriate playing atmosphere for us, but, we’ve actually got used to it. You know, I’m totally not making this up, but when we were on those nine shows, half the shows, when we went on, the sun would disappear. Like, the clouds would cover it up, it would hide behind some sort of structure, it would start raining... something like that. It was true too.

Doug IOH:
Actually, at Buffalo, the clouds came over right after your first song.

Davey Havok:
See? So it worked out really well. Yea, lots of sunscreen... bringing a parasol this time! [laughs]

Doug IOH:
Alright, um, do any of you guys ever visit fan sites?

Davey Havok:
Sometimes yea, if I get on a computer, I’ll look at stuff.

Doug IOH:
Okay, um, The Misfits are going to be on the Warped Tour this year.

Davey Havok:
They are?

Doug IOH:
Yea, actually, some shows. Is there any chance you could be seen talking to or hanging out with any of them?

Davey Havok:
Probably [laughs] Everybody hangs out together on the Warped Tour. They are?

Doug IOH:
Yeah.

Davey Havok:
Weird. Didn’t know that.

Doug IOH:
Alright, I guess this is going to be the final one, what is the most asked question during one of these interviews?

Davey Havok:
There’s so many [laughs] The most asked is gotta... here’s the most asked questions: Could you please do a brief history of the band? What does AFI stand for? Um, Was the change from the first record up into the sixth record... up into the sixth? Fifth?

Doug IOH:
Fifth, yeah.

Davey Havok:
Fifth record, was that a natural progression, or is that something that you were striving for? Um, those are, I think, the most asked.

Eric:
I’ve heard a lot of Totalimmortal questions...

Davey Havok:
Oh God! Yea! And its always phrased, "So what’s up with the Offspring covering Totalimmortal?" That’s how its phrased, every time. Yes. Those are the ones, the main ones. With the occasional "Do you worship the devil?" Those first ones, those are it. Every interview. And you evaded all of those.

Doug IOH:
Yea, I tried to.

Davey Havok:
...Making this a great interview. And I appreciate that.

Doug IOH:
Well thank you.

Davey Havok:
Thank you so much for evading those questions (laughs) Cause I’ve answered them a million times.

THE END.

 

 

Davey Havok 

Name: David Havok

Parents: Penny and Paul

Height: 5'10

Birth Date: Novemeber 20th, 1975

Siblings: A brother Mike

Home Town: Ukiah, California

Position in AFI: Vocals

Drives: A black SUV

Favorite Food: Vegan Treats and Tofutti (has a thing for corndogs)

Favorite Bands: The Cure, The Smiths, Misfits, 7 Seconds, Joy DIvision, Minor Threat, Bauhaus,

Favorite Movies: The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lost Boys, Beetle Juice, Suburbia, Taxi Driver, Queen

Favorite Movie Director: Tim Burton

Favorite Authors:  Anne Rice, John Fonte, Edgar Allen Poe, Jhonen Vasquez, ETC

Favorite Song to Perform Live: God Called In Sick Today

Inspiration: Morrissey; Danzig

 

Davey's Quotes

Interviewer: All your guys stuff is all 666 and everything so whats all that about?
Hunter: Its my phone number, I didnt want to give it away
Interviewer: so do you believe in God?
Davey: I am God.
Hunter: He believes in him (pointing to jade) and I am an Atheist.
Accually I do believe in one god, I have a picture of him (takes picture out of wallet) his name is Molo, he is the god of moles.

Geoff: Oh yeah, ask us about Wal-Mart
Davey: Yeah, ask us about Wal-Mart
MRR: What about Wal-Mart?
Geoff: Well, let me tell ya. I went there with Dave and Mark looking for material to print patches on and there was this gangster girl there and she walked by and laughted and said, "It's not Halloween, you know." While she was walking away I said, "You coulda fooled me." She came back and got in my face and said, "What did you say?" I looked her in the eye and said, "YOU COULD HAVE FOOLED ME." I basically spelled it out for her and she was tough or something and said that Ukiah was her city and Wal-Mart was her territory and to watch out for her or some crap.
Adam: That's basically why we left. [lotsa laughter]
Geoff: Then her boyfriend got in my face and said, "Hey man, this is my girlfriend. Why don't you shut up?", and I said, "well then why don't you tell her to shut up?!", and he just walked away. That was about it. Oh!, and there's another story about Wal-Mart. Davey and I were buying dog chains and this redneck, typical Ukiahan guy walked by, and said, "Hey look, they're buying their jewelry." And then Davey says,....
Davey: "That's right, MOTHERFUCKER!!" [laughter]
Geoff: I didn't see who it was. I looked for him and was gonna go up and say, "Yeah, they're for your wife", but I couldn't find who he was."

Davey: I blow!
Jade: Davey is quite a 'demon in the sack' so to speak

Jade: People that like Ricky Martin are going to see our Latin song titles and be like, "Yeah, I'll buy this."
Hunter: That and Dave's pants
Davey: Yeah, Ricky Martin's got nothing on my pants.

Davey: Well, we have a couple of stories about that... When we played with SNFU, Geoff and I and our friend Smiff... Mark was there too, Adam had already left, for reasons unmentioinable. We were standing at the table selling stuff, and there was this big girl... She was really tall, about 100 feet tall and...She wasn't fat or anyting - she was just BIG. She had this big smile and bright red lipstick and a short blonde flat - top - a bleached blonde haircut like the girl in Rocky IV, or whatever.
Mark : Like Susan Powter.
Davey: Yeah, like her! 'Stop the Insanity!' So, she kept coming up to the SNFU table and out stuff and saying, "Anything free?" and she'd smile. We'd say, "No" and she'd make this grimace, pout, roll her eyes and walk away. She kept coming up and doing that and at one point I was drinking Jolt and I had let somebody else drink out of it. There was lipstick on it when she gave it back to me. I said to Dave (SNFU's manager) after I drank from it, "That's the closest thing I've come to a kiss in a long time." And so, he says, "Aw, Davey, you just got to exert yourself." So the big girl comes back and takes these two SNFU stickers off the table and tapes them to her breasts, which were kind of large. Dave says, "Don't make me go there, cause I will." She says, "Well what if I run?" and Dave says, "Well, me and Davey will have to catch you and tear them off. Won't that be fun?" I was just sitting there, so Dave says, "I'll tell you what. If you give my friend Davey here a little kiss I'll let you have those two stickers for free." She says, "Okay," and then he asked, "How about you, Dave?", "Uh, okay." - I thought I was just gonna get a little smooch...
Geoff Kresge : So Davey puckers up and the girl takes her hand, puts it behind Davey's head, and this 80 foot tongue shoots out of her mouth and goes down Davey's throat!
Davey: I was shocked, I was crying, I couldn't breathe. Ohhh - it was horrible.
Geoff Kresge : My eyes popped out of my head about three feet.
Davey: It was traumatizing.
Mark : And later on when she saw you what did she say? Oh, "I'll see YOU later."
Davey: I'm a fucking idiot.

Davey: I like French Crullers. There's adonut they make in this donut shop in Ukiah, it's called the "Chocolate Fuck You" or the "Fuck You I'm Chocolate" or something. You know what I'm talking about Adam? It's this big chocolate bar.
Adam: Uh, no.
Davey: What's wrong with you?!

Q: Hey Jade, are the rest of the guys jealous that the entire Girl’s Not Grey video occurs in your crotch?
Jade: Hey Dave, are you jealous that the entire Girl’s Not Grey video takes place in my crotch?
Davey: No, because I’m going to take place in your crotch.

Davey: Yeah, they'll listen to it, and if it says something crazy, they'll say, "Oh, we can't play this. This is too much for the people to handle." There are some exceptions to the rule. There are bands like Tool, or Smashing Pumpkins. Rage Against the Machine. Nine Inch Nails. What other bands have valid things to say?
Adam: Slipknot.
Davey: Slipknot??? I don't know what the hell they're saying!
Adam: They want to take over the world.

Interviewer: Isn't it weird to think your faces are on a lot of bedroom walls?
Davey: We don't think of ourselves in those terms. It may be true but it's hard to think of ourselves in those terms.
Hunter: I have a poster of Adam on my bedroom wall
Davey: We all have posters of Adam.

INTERVIEWER: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one album would you want with you?
Jade: I'd build a lifeboat out of sand.
Davey: [looking confused] What?!

Galaxy-What's your spiritual background or religion?
Davey: I'm God.
Hunter:  He follows him. I'm atheist.
Galaxy - Oh my god, you don't believe Davey exists?
Hunter: No

Jade: We don't encourage our fans to send us dead things.
Davey: or alive things

In person, AFI's Davey Havok is so charming, upbeat and funny that it surprises you that this is the guy who writes tortured lyrics like ''My whole life is a dark room.'' From his home in Oakland, California, Havok, 30, says AFI's seventh album, Decemberunderground, is about finding love -- and is aimed at ''those detached few who, in their relative abnormality, find solace in each other.'' It's the group's most eclectic disc yet, a far cry from AFI's doom-and-gloom punk-rock roots, and it mixes disparate influences, from Television to the Cure. The hot single ''Miss Murder'' even has a whiff of glam. ''I'm really happy with the whole record,'' says frontman Havok. But is he super stoked that December will be released on June 6th (6/6/06). ''I don't put too much weight in those Christian concepts,'' he says. ''Does Slayer have an album out on that day? I hope so -- it would be so right.''

You're vegan. What cities do you like to hit on tour, based on the vegan dining options?
Good question. I've got it covered. New York, absolutely. You've got Zen Palate, you've got Red Bamboo. There's a lot of vegan treats. There's a woman who makes vegan desserts in -- I want to say Pennsylvania or New Jersey, and she ships them into New York. But then, I believe she also sells them in Philly, which is great because in Philly you've got a place that sells vegan cheesecakes, all these vegan desserts. Like one year I happened to be in Philly on my birthday and everyone on tour with us surprised me with a -- check this out -- a vegan cookies-and-cream birthday cake. It was out of control. L.A. -- it's fantastic. San Francisco has my favorite vegetarian/vegan restaurant anywhere, which is Millennium. Chicago has vegan French toast, as does Portland. Seattle has vegan cinnamon buns. Salt Lake City used to have vegan soft-serve. And Vegas now has vegan donuts, which is yet another reason to go to Vegas. Then you've got Toronto and Montreal, which has Le Commensal, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant where you pay for your food by the weight. Like, you go through and they weigh your plate and charge you accordingly, which is very interesting.

Why don't you live in San Francisco?
I like San Francisco, as far as that restaurant place. But I really don't have any desire to live there at all. There's really not much going on there except inability to park. Like, if anything's going on I can just go across the Bay and enjoy it and then come back to where I live [in Berkeley]. It's funny, we grew up here in the East Bay, and we always said that San Francisco was a place where people went when they retired and got old -- retired from the scene basically. And, really, I've never gotten over that concept. Starting with that, I've never really wanted to live there. It seems like the social scene over there, is mostly going out to bars, which I don't think is much different than anywhere else in the world, but there's not really much going on other than that. And I have absolutely no interest in going out at night and sitting at a bar, especially since I have nothing to do, other than asphyxiate on smoke and watch people get wasted.

Did you get drunk once and then realize it wasn't for you?
Actually, no I've never been drunk in my life. I've never even had like a beer. It never really appealed to me. That culture was just very unappealing and I never wanted to be part of it. I just saw how people acted and treated each other. And I was just like ''that is not for me.'' And I also thought of it as something very civilian. It seemed like the mandatory recreation for civilians. I thought, ''If alcohol makes you do this, I want no part. I want nothing in common with these people.'' That's when I was fifteen.

Let's go back to being a kid. When did you start singing?
Technically, I started singing when I was maybe like five years old. My grandfather used to sing to me. And my mom was very musical. I remember going to see my mom in a local musical in New York where we lived, and I was probably like four or five years old.

What musical was it?
Oh man, I think it was a local children's production. All I remember is a song that she sang with a group that was called ''It's All Okay.'' That might have been the name of the play to tell you the truth. But I was surrounded musically. And I just used to sing songs that my grandfather had taught me. And then, at a young age, I was probably doing local musical theatre. I think I did Oliver Twist in fourth grade -- in fact, I don't think, I know I did Oliver Twist in fourth grade. I did theater throughout my childhood and throughout high school. And there was a pretty good time where I was doing AFI and musical theatre in high school.

What was your grandfather singing to you?
''Darktown Strutters' Ball,'' ''Mr. Moon,'' ''Ballin' Jack.'' We're talking very old songs. So I learned those and I would just sing those along with him. Then I would listen to my mom's 12-inch records. I'd jump up and down on the bed and listen to Diana Ross and Michael Jackson's Off the Wall. And then she had The Rocky Horror Picture Show on vinyl, which I was fascinated with at a very young age. Somewhere around there I got my first tape player, and then I went out and bought my first tapes, which were Duran Duran, Devo, Men at Work and Journey.

Why'd you get those?
We didn't even have MTV where we lived, but I knew Duran Duran and Culture Club and, I think, Devo came from seeing the videos somehow. Or I knew the songs from the radio. I don't know why I bought Journey, to tell you the truth. It was 1980-whatever and Journey was everywhere. So I was like, ''Well, I need a Journey record.'' I didn't even know what I was buying, but I got it.

You we’re talking about doing musical theatre. Were you like the star of the show at that point?
Not when I started. When I first auditioned for Oliver I was just one of Fagan's boys, but I think the director didn't know what was going on. [Laughs] Later, yeah. I mean, we're talking local theatre, so I don't think ''star'' is the appropriate word. Lead role possibly, but definitely not star. I was the lead role in my last musical that I did in high school, which is Pippin. I was Pippin.

Nice. Do you think your interest in musical theatre has to do with the make-up that you wear now?
I would imagine that it has something to do with it. I definitely had a propensity for that for years, since a young age. And I think musical theatre helped with that. I remember being in high school, and it helping as an excuse with the more threatening students when they'd say: ''Dude, are you wearing make-up? Oh, you're in a play, right?'' ''Yeah, it's just from the play, I'm not gay.'' [They laugh] ''Yeah, I'm in a play.'' ''Oh, okay.'' And it's funny, because the same girls who thought it was totally freakish that there were guys wearing make-up, when you're wearing it because it's left over from the play the night before, it turned into, ''Oh wow, you look really pretty!''

Do you remember the first time when you heard yourself on the radio?
I do. I absolutely remember it. Well, I remember it the first time I heard it on mainstream radio. I was in my car with my friend Tigerlily, who used to help me hang flyers for our shows, and she used to do a fan 'zine. My car had one speaker that worked, which was on the passenger side. The driver side speaker was broken. The tape player was broken; there certainly weren't any CDs in it.

What kind of car was it?
It was a 1982 Honda Accord. And this was 1995. And the little button that you press for FM and AM was broken. So, you had to shove a toothpick in it to make it go to FM. All I could listen to was the radio. And so we were listening to Live 105 and the song came on. It just fuzzed out of the blown-out speakers. Before I could make out what was going on, I turned to Lily and I said, ''This doesn't sound like it sucks?'' And she's like, ''Yeah.'' And then I'm like, ''What is this?'' And I turn it up, and I'm like, ''Oh my God.'' So, I was really excited and I also really embarrassed that I was saying that we didn't suck. It was really like, ''Oh my God, I can't believe this is our band!'' And she couldn't believe it either because radio stations definitely didn't play anything like that at the time. Ever since then they've been -- that radio station, Live 105 -- has actually supported us, which is really exciting for us.

Cool, what song was it?
It was ''Don't Make Me Ill'' off of Answer That and Stay Fashionable.

Wow.
That's only the most really accessible song on that record, if you can say there was one at all.

What are your favorite, or the funniest uses of the AFI acronym?
Oh, I really like, Aw, Fuck It. On a couple occasions people will maintain that it stands for something like, A Fire Within, or A Forgotten Song, something like that where they totally ignore the letter of the acronym. Those are always really good. It's always good to hear the really sort of uninformed, base, derogatory definitions aimed at the band. It's always good to hear the new improved versions, like A Fag Inside. It's always good to see what they come up with. I kind of enjoy those just to see how those people's minds work; it's kind of interesting.

Is there a kind of music that annoys the shit out of you?

As far as genre?

Yeah.
I remember what was called ska-punk -- excluding bands like Stiff Little Fingers and Operation Ivy. You know what we're talking about. That drove me crazy.

That was a huge East Bay thing, too.
Yeah, there was a lot of it here. There was a lot of it everywhere. It drove all of us crazy at the time. It was very prevalent in like '95-'96, so much that it was appropriate to say to our booking agent when we went on tour, ''Look, just make sure that the local bands aren't ska-punk bands.'' It would be fine if they're ska, or if they're punk. But when you put those two together it drove us crazy. Luckily, that's over, which is nice. As far as broad hatred of the genres, I don't really hate entire genres. I mean, usually there's something good within a greater genre, even if the whole thing is mostly bereft of any sort of quality.

What are your guilty pleasures, in that regard?
I don't really see any of my pleasures as guilty pleasures, because anything I like, I feel like, ''Well, I like it. It's good. If you don't like it I don't care''.

So you'd still throw on Off the Wall?
Yeah. Well, I never owned the Michael Jackson record -- it was my Mom's -- but yeah, a song came on when I was getting my eyebrows done from Off the Wall yesterday, and I was like, ''Oh yeah, this is good.'' It was interesting because it was kind of a good example of what you're talking about. Three songs came on in a row and they were completely different, but I thought to myself, ''Wow, these are really great. This is like three songs in a row that I like'' -- completely different genres of music. There was a song off of Off the Wall, DJ Sammy's remix of Brian Adams [''Heaven''], which is great, I love that, and then they played a Smashing Pumpkins song off of Siamese Dream. So, that was really cool.

You know, people ask me, ''Is there anything you would listen to that would shock people?'' and for me it's hard to answer because so many people have so many different perceptions of who I am. Wherever I go, whatever show I go to or whatever event I go to -- and I go to a lot of shows -- people always say ''Wow, I'd never expect to see you here.'' I don't know where people expect to see me. I mean, when I'm at an industrial show, or a Morrissey show, or a hardcore show, or some sort of fashion event or whatever, they don't expect to see me there.

That's funny.
Yeah, and I always say like, ''Why? Where did you expect to see me?''

In a park, under a tree, in the rain, writing gloomy lyrics?
They never have an answer! [Laughs] Yeah, I guess it's just that they don't expect to see me at all, anywhere.

Are you super-excited that your record's coming out on 6/6/06?
No. I mean, I'm not disappointed. It's not really a big deal. I don't put too much weight in those Christian concepts. It's kind of fun in that it's memorable, and maybe it's going to bum some people out. But let me tell you: To answer your question, I would have been super-stoked in junior high or high school if you would have told me that I was going to have a record that came out on 6/6/06. It would have been amazing. But now it's like, you know, whatever. It was coincidence; it wasn't on purpose. It just landed on a Tuesday. So, there it is. Like, I would be super-stoked if Slayer was coming out on that day, because it should be. I hope so. I hope so. I hope Slayer planned that out in advance. You know, it's just so right.

Do you decorate your vocal booth in the studio?
I do. I do, yeah, for inspiration. I like to put posters of my favorite singers up around the vocal booth, so there's always Moz and Bowie and Freddy. Unfortunately, the last recording session was greatly lacking in all my Ians: Ian Curtis, Ian Astbury, Ian MacKaye. We couldn't find any of the Ian posters. So, you know, you might be able to see they aren't represented in the vocal quality. Umm, Peter Murphy, Robert Smith. And lots of candles. Most studios actually provide the candles.

Cool. What's your bunk like, on the bus?
Passenger side, closest to the front of the bus, lower bunk. Adam's always above me.

What happens after the show when you guys all get back on the bus? What do you guys do?
It's pretty uneventful. I mean, we get back on the bus, we all sit around a little bit, kind of hang out with all our crew. And, most recently, I think the South Park movie happened to be on. We discuss anecdotes of the day and then just go to bed. But, pretty rock and roll, huh?

That's outta control.
Completely out of hand.

How do you remember anything?
I know. It's nuts that I'm even still here.

Is there one record store that you've spent the most money at? Maybe at Amoeba?
You know, it's probably Rasputin's, because Rasputin's actually had a greater industrial, dark section than Amoeba did for years and years. Now that's not the case. Now, Amoeba's better.

I read somewhere that you got letters written in blood.
Yeah, I've gotten a few.

What do those say?
They say really nice things. They're usually professions of adoration and commitment and appreciation. They just happen to be written in blood.

What other kind of bizarre stuff do you get in the mail?
Most of the stuff, luckily, is not as frightening as that, or as unsanitary. I get socks, kind of cute socks sometimes. I get make-up. I get nail-polish. I get little Japanese plastic toys or plush toys. I'll get things like that, which is far preferable to any sort of bodily fluids.

Do you have an iPod?
I do.

Is there a ton of shit on there?
There is so much on my iPod. In fact, I actually need a new iPod.

You need a separate one.
I hear rumors that they're going to come out with the 100-gig. And I'm kind of holding out for that. I think it's going to come out really soon, so I'm holding out.

So you have a 60-gig now?

No, I don't even have the 60, that's the thing. I need the 60. I really do. In fact, I should be going to get it today so I could connect it and have it on tour tomorrow. So, who knows, maybe by the end of the day I will have a 60. But I just have a 40.

Do you have it in nearby?
Yeah, let me grab it. Or do you want it off my Nano, which'd be the gym iPod?

Definitely the gym one. Isn't it amazing that with the Nano, we can finally shove 100 songs up our ass?
[Laughs] I've wanted to do that for years. And CDs are just so bulky and sharp. Okay, I could tell you every artist that's on here; there's not that many. Ready?

Go ahead.
Okay. Error, 108, A Perfect Circle, Atari Teenage Riot, Black Audio, Catherine Wheel, Circa Survive, Covenant, Day of Contempt, Dead Guy, Depeche Mode, Dillinger Escape Plan, Duran Duran, Echo Image, Erasure, INXS, Iris, Jawbreaker, Modern Life is War, Morrissey, Quicksand, Sisters of Mercy, Tool, and my vocal warm-ups, which are scale exercises I do before the sound check and before the show. It's about a 45-minute vocal warm-up. So, I have to do it like...I usually do it two hours before we play so I have an hour to get physically prepared, like visually speaking. And stretching, as well.

What are your favorite lyrics on Decemberunderground.
I love ''Love Like Winter,'' ''Endlessly, She Said,'' ''Kiss and Control,'' I really like the mood of that song. I'm really happy with the lyrics. I'm actually really happy with the whole record, in every aspect. It's really exciting. But those are the three songs that spring to mind.

What about a specific lyric?
I was thinking about this the other night. Just a really quick lyric off of ''The Killing Lights'' came to mind, where it just says -- it's very simple -- it just says, ''Am I beautiful; am I usable.'' I really like that line.

You said in a press release, ''Decemberunderground is a community of those detached and disillusioned who flee to love like winter in the recesses below the rest of the world.'' Can you expand on that?
It's basically describing a sort of exclusive, unique type of feeling that certain people have, and those people gravitate toward each other, and find solace in each other in different venues. I mean, whether they find that within music, within our music, within different forms of art, within different cultures, it's those detached few who go to each other in their relative abnormalities to find that winter love, in that respect. And, more specifically, to quote Gahan, or art specifically I suppose, it's that strange love, it's that dark love, it's that cold love, it's the outlook that it's completely different than what most people perceive as something maybe even positive. That's kind of involved in the whole mood of Decemberunderground.

But, it reflects a lot on the band as well, I think. As opposed to just this album.
Yeah, most definitely. To speak of it in those terms directly kind of puts an air of importance on the band that may or may not be there, depending on the listener. But, it definitely speaks that way to us, internally.

Is there a moment, a place, a time that you realized that this is the album that you want to write, that this was the overriding concept of the album, the theme of the album?
It was really more natural than that. It wasn't a moment in time. It was just a flow and a growth in the album. And, as it became realized and created, it just all came together in that way, and the title just fit perfectly with the whole mood and sentiment. So, it just naturally came together and it worked.

I love ''The Missing Frame''.
Ahh, the ''The Missing Frame,'' yes. Sorry, what was the question again?

I was just telling you that I dug it.
Oh, you like it. Oh, thank you very much. I love playing that song. It's been one of Adam's favorites for a long time, too. It's really, the mood that it creates, I think, has a sort of...now, let me say a few things, because I've always felt this when we were working on it -- it seems to have kind of like a protopunk vibe to it, kind of a mid-period Joy Division or a...not vocally, obviously. But maybe like a Television kind of feel. Kind of Magazine, maybe.

Wow, that was great. Do you remember a show with the least amount of people in it?
Yes, I do. We played a show in Olympia, Washington on tour to three people. There were two people who came to see us; this couple, this guy and this girl, who used to come see us every time we would play in the northwest to very few people who typically come see us. And, this time there were [three].

Do you remember the names of those two people? We should give them a shout out.
I wish I remember the names. I don't, I don't. I really wish I'd remember the names. If they read this, they'll definitely know who they are; they'll definitely know because they were the only ones there.

The last record you bought?
I haven't listened to it yet, but just last night I bought Gnarls Barkley. Is it good?

Yeah, it's fucking great.
Awesome. It sounds like it's...I mean, I've only heard the one song. It's amazing. It reminds me of something Moby would sample.

Writers who influence you?
I love Wilde -- I know Morrissey's been citing him for years. Fante, John Fante. Chuck Palahniuk. [Bret Easton] Ellis. Poe. Baudelaire.

Most attractive band?
That's a good looking band. They're all tall, skinny and good looking! And very nice. It was cool to meet them recently.

Girl musician you're attracted to?
I was getting my nails done and I looked to the left and this girl had these gorgeous, red glitter heels. I look up to see one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. The type of beauty that just closes up in your chest, like I was looking at something surreal. So I said, ''Your shoes are amazing!'' I had a brief conversation about glittery shoes -- she was really nice. This is how lost I am: When she walked out, Paul, the guy doing my nails says, Oh my God, I can't believe that was Beyonce -- I have to call my boyfriend!

Fifteenth anniversary of AFI -- when's the date on that?
It's June of 2006. Yeah, fifteen years. That's amazing!

What was that first day like? What happened fifteen years ago?
Okay, here's what the first day was -- lunch time, Ukiah High School. Mark, Vic and myself are sitting in our little area. You know, it was, of course, like any high school lunch -- separated by little cliques. And we were in our very small group. It was just the three of us, that's how small our group was. And, we were just sitting around talking about music, like we always did every lunch. We used to talk about music or skateboards or some such thing. And, we said, ''Hey, let's start a band!'' And, Mark immediately gets dibs on guitar. And Vic said, ''I'll play bass.''

I said, ''I've gotta sing.'' I believe someone said, ''No shit, choir boy?'' And, then I'm like well what are we going to do? We need a drummer. And Mark's like, ''Do you know Adam Carson?'' I'm like, ''I think so.'' And he said, ''He has a drum set. He's a friend. Let's go by him and ask him.'' So we went over to where Adam was hanging out and we're like, ''Hey.'' He's like, ''Hey.''

''We just started a band. Do you want to be in our band?'' He said, ''yeah.'' And that was it. And we didn't have instruments. We didn't know how to play. Adam had a drum set and that was it.

 

Aidin Vaziri

Sunday, June 11, 2006  
(the Q's are the questions and the A's are Davey's responses)  

Is he or isn't he? That seems to be the big question surrounding A.F.I.'s gender-bending lead singer, Davey Havok. But the more relevant one is: What does it matter? The Bay Area goth-punk group has just released its most ambitious album, "Decemberunderground," and has gate-crashed the malls and fast-food restaurant speakers of mainstream America with its snarling first single, "Miss Murder."

Q: You're one of the few people who didn't leave the Bay Area for Hollywood the second you got a song on the radio.

A: I am holding firm in Oakland.

Q: It's just you and Green Day.

A: Yeah. We're neighbors.

Q: That sounds like an exciting neighborhood.

A: It's actually pretty reserved. It's funny. When I moved in a few years ago my friend helped me bring some stuff over from the squat we lived in and he was like, "Whoa, man, you really are Edward Scissorhands." I was the freak who moved into the nice neighborhood.

Q: It's kind of hard to shock people in Oakland.

A: You would actually be surprised. The neighborhood is fine but, shockingly, I've been called a faggot more in Berkeley in the past few years than anywhere else I've been in the world. And I've been lots of places.

Q: I think in Berkeley that phrase is meant as a term of affection.

A: Perhaps. I don't think it was in these situations, but I'll check into that next time. I'll leave that open as an option in the future.

Q: You should just turn around and give these people a giant bear hug.

A: I usually turn around and blow kisses. Sometimes I give them invitations for more, but they never take me up on it.

Q: Did you plan on releasing "Decemberunderground" on the totally evil date of 06/06/06? Are you into all that weird stuff?

A: It was actually for my grandmother's birthday. She turned 90 years old the day "Decemberunderground" came out.

Q: No other reason?

A: No. I just thought it would be a great birthday present. Honestly, no. It was a coincidence.

Q: So it's not true that you eat children and have sex with goats?

A: Actually, that's on 06/06/08. That's the day of eating the vegan babies and fornicating with the wildlife.

Q: Actually, a lot of your fans don't know what to make of your sexuality.

A: It is a huge topic. I've found that at times that question and the dubiousness that I seem to exude has given people something -- not simply gossip or whether God is going to smite them for liking our band, but actually they've found strength and become more comfortable with who they are as a person. It's pansexual, that sort of reach. It's a wonderful side effect of what we're doing, to give someone the strength to come out of the closet to their family, or simply present themselves aesthetically in a way they feel happy with, whether or not their friends are going to be allowed to like them anymore. So it's actually a really cool side effect to all the rumors.

Q: What are some of the best rumors?

A: I heard recently that I used to date Patrick Swayze.

Q: At least they're attributing some good taste to you.

A: Absolutely, although I am significantly younger than he is.

Q: In the rumor, did you cuddle together and listen to "She's Like the Wind"?

A: You know we did.

Q: When you go out on the Warped Tour you're wearing fake nails and green eyeshadow. How do you deal with all the dudes?

A: You know, it's very interesting. The distinction between myself and the people on these tours was very obvious right from the start. It's a summer tour. We're in parking lots in the middle of the day, in the middle of the South. I'm not about to get a suntan so I have a lot of sunscreen on, obviously, right? But it's been open arms. The same type of person one might expect to break my parasol and then beat me with it finds it, at worst, amusing.

E-mail Aidin Vaziri at avaziri@sfchronicle.com.