We recently caught up with Clearwater alt-rock band
The Almost, who will be headlining a show with This Providence, Anarbor, The Dares and T13C! at The Venue this Friday (Sept. 25). The band is made up of Aaron Gillespie (also of Underoath) on lead vocals, guitar, keyboard and percussion; Dusty Redmon and Jay Vilardi on guitar; Alex Aponte on bass guitar and Joe Musten on drums.
Here’s what guitarist Jay Vilardi had to say about what candy is their “drug” and why Gainesville is so cool.
*WIN FREE TICKETS! See below.*We recorded it in Nashville because we just wanted that vibe, and we got it; Taylor Swift recorded there. We did it a little differently, though. The album was written on the Internet, I would record with Garage Band, e-mail it to the next guy, and then it would get vetoed, it would get changed, e-mailed to the next guy, and we wound up with 18 songs. We recorded 17, which is pretty unheard of these days.
What’s the central idea behind the album?The subject matter is basically how, even with us being a Christian band, life isn’t all roses. People aren’t all good, especially if you have religion with you or they know if they’re empty. Lyrically, Aaron drew upon that darker side of the human condition—as far as the title goes, when you sit back and ask yourself, “What am I, what kind of person have I grown into?” sometimes the answer is a monster.
Do you engage in the typical band-on-tour shenanigans?We’re a drug-free band. We’re pretty G-rated. Skittles will alter our mood.
What do you like best about traveling around as a band?I genuinely like to travel, and I like playing shows and meeting people and talking to kids. Every now and then you meet someone who is crazy and you’ll never forget them, and kids give you stuff, which is nice. I didn’t know, before being in this band, that kids would draw you pictures and give them to you—I look forward to that stuff. I do appreciate when it happens—I guess I’m a softy like that.
You’re heading to Gainesville for the show at The Venue on Friday. Looking forward to it?Gainesville’s awesome. I remember in our past bands, we would tour in Europe a lot, and in Europe the hardcore, straight edge, vegan people want to know all about Gainesville. They have this vision that the streets are paved with gold, chocolate milk flows from the faucets—I’m not saying anything negative. Floridians view Gainesville as a cool town, but it’s just home to us. They see Gainesville as this magical place. It’s crazy, but eastern Europeans really want to know about Gainesville. Plus, Gainesville has the closest American Apparel, so when me and my girlfriend want to go there, we have to go to Gainesville. I will say this: in my past, people used to think I was cooler because I lived two hours away from Gainesville.
—Lindsay SmithPhoto by Kevin Estrada The show is this Friday (9/25) at the Venue. Doors are at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the door, online at
TicketWeb, at Hear Again CDs and at Blockbuster.
Labels: free, giveaways, interview, music, prize, The Almost, tickets
