PALM TREE DEATH INCIDENT (Metal/Punk)

PALM TREE DEATH INCIDENT
Posted Sep 8, 2007

Chris Mayo lead vocals, Drums
J Phelps lead vocals,rythum guitar
Justin Snead Bass
Caleb Mcmackin Lead Guitar

www.myspace.com/ptdi

I love your guys music but what kind of music did you all grew up listening to? I would guess punk and I cant put my finger one one other type of music I hear in your music.
We have listened to music of all sorts coming thru this world. Mostly heavy metal, but also Rock n roll,Jazz,Blues,Punk, I would just like to say for the record that we absolutly hate rap music. Country sucks too. Thrash really is the only way to go.

Do you have any upcoming shows?
Yeah.. We have a few things going on. It has been real exciting watching this thing take off like it has. We are used to playing shows locally and having to travel to be heard. Dave Peters from Throwdown got in touch with us back in Aug. shortly after hearing our album and liked it so much that he offered us a spot on their new tour with Arch Enemy. It should be a great time, tour rolls out in Feb. We really are planning to really take it to the masses this go round.

Where are you guys from?
We are from a very small town located in the middle of bible belt in northwest tennessee. Gleason/Dresden area.

What inspires all of your lyrics?
Haha we get asked this all the time. The world around all of us. There is so much bad going on in the world today. Everywhere we look we are inspired to write. Things now days are worse than they have ever been. We dont sugar coat anything. Unfortunantly we usually get a rep for being a shock band. We just tell it like we see it. with all our personal liberties being taken away from all of us on a daily basis, and with our constitution being used as toilet paper we only see fit to tell it as it is. Beacuse at this rate one day it will be illegal to speak your mind. We tend to write about the bad side of life. We feel the events of the world shape the world and the people that live in it. And all the serial killers, and sensless wars, and incompetent leaders, and avoided tragedies is nothing but fuel that burns our engines. I mean there are enough goody goody bands out there, someone has to speak thru the eyes of the villians....

Do you have any advice to starting bands?
Yeah we do. It is a hard road you have ahead of you. This is not a game. People are ruthless. They will love and hate you, cheer you and curse you, love you and beat you. this market is very saturated with alot of great bands. and to break on thru to the other side is really hard. but this is what you do. Stick to your guns, be very very perserverant, stay dedicated and determinded. Make sure you are a fan of your work. You have to really love what you are doing. That is the only way. Play as many shows as possible free or otherwise. Don't let anyone tell you how to run your thing. Take care of your fans, and take time out for them, without them you aint nothing. Do it for love first, never for money. contribute to the world of music. And most importantly never ever quit.....

What is the best thing about music?
Music is a very mystical/magical kind of thing. To put 1 thing down about it that we truly think is the best thing is very hard. It contributes in alot of areas. Some music gives people strength, some gives people anger, some of it gives people a reason to party and have a good time, and some of it makes people think. What i like most about Music is how it acts like a time machine. it can take you back to a place in your mind and let you remeber what was going on at that time. For example the other day i was riding around and heard Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N roses and i immediatly thought of when it first came out and what the scene was and the girls i was dating, and the events that were going on at that time. The same thing happens everytime i hear a song. It takes me back to another place in time. A better place.....

What do you think about UFOs?
The UFO conspiracy.....Well i dont want to speak for every member of the band But i truly believe they are real. I mean there are too many people that have seen them or seen something they couldnt really understand in the skies for them not to be real. i think the last tally was 3 million people have claimed to have been abducted. And millions of others have had sightings. I have even seen things that i couldnt understand what they were. I mean come on who in the world really believes that roswell was a weather balloon give me a break. That just goes to show you how stupid our government thinks we are. There are numerous evidences of proof that they exsist. I just dont understand why the government cant come clean about it. Oh, I forgot we are talking about the government, chances of them coming clean about anything are as good as a UFO landing in my back yard for a cookout. Just look up in the sky sometime if all the smog and polution will let you. you might see someting that you cant explain.

What religion are you guys and does it effect your music?
You know i dont really like answering questions like this because we believe that religion plays to big a part in the world of music today. Personally i am a follower of GOD. i believe he gives all of us strength. You know people have a very warped view on religions in the world. I dont feel we have to go to church and give money and be hypocrits to have a very good relationship with god. I mean look at how may people have died over religion. also people are too uptight over the whole deal in general. It's like this, fist off religion plays no factor in our music period... But this is my personal belief. Heaven and Hell do exist. But heaven has to be a place that is for everyone. And what i mean by that is to a cowboy his idea of heaven might be to rodeo everyday with geroge strait blarring over the speakers. That is my idea of hell. I think that god is to cool of a being and he should get more credit. He knows what its like to be in a mosh pit and drink a beer, and he knows what it's like to laugh and to make jokes, and love someone, he knows the pleasure we get from sex, he knows everything, he made us that way. I think alot of people turn to satan and other froms of religion because they think god is some mad uptight dude that curses anyone that has a good time. I feel it's quite the opposite. Remember this, the bible and the kuran and every peice of religious writing was wrote by a man, not god. and just because there are things that dont add up doesnt mean that they dont exist. men make mistakes, dont take everything to the heart. there is place inside all of us that tell us when we are doing something right and wrong and i feel that is god talking to us all. take whatever you can get from that........

What do you think of vegetarians?
Ohhh vegetarians, hey look if you dont want to eat meat i totally understand the whole process is truly horrible for the animals. they are slaughtered and abused and are raised to kill. And it really sucks for the animals. vegetarians are very grossed out by the whole process. We are not vegetarians we think there is nothing better in this world than a barbecue. It is really hard to smell a steak or a peice of meat that has been smoking for a few hours and not have our mouths watering. we love meat, yes we dont like what the animals go thru and we feel that the whole process could have some changes but in the end when you put in front of us we are going to eat it. It's that good. However if they want to make some new substitutes that are really delicious and save a few animals im all for it. But i still will have the real thing from time to time...

What do you guys do for work right now, other than playing music?
Well music is a full time job. It's a heck of alot more than just playing music for sure. You know you have to write, and promote, and book, and travel, resond to fans, make mechandise. It truly consumes you. We all hold down jobs to pay the bills. I own a small store/diner. J works security, Justin manages a national retail store. Caleb does odd jobs to make a buck. We all do our parts. we all have families that we have to support. But music is our # 1 and always has been. We sometimes have to neglect our families of the time they deserve for the good of our cause. We believe it's one worth fighting for.....

What were some of your favorite bands growing up?
When I was younger i was really into alot of metal bands. I didnt really get bit by the bug till I was around 6 or 7. but when all that was going on I listened to Alice Cooper, Slayer, anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, D.R.I, S.O.D, Dio, Black Sabbath, Death Angel, all the great metal bands I also listened to alot of Rock too. Like The Beatles, KISS, Led Zepplin, Jimmy Hendrix, CCR, Janis Joplin, Thin Lizzy, ACDC. I have a student of music all my life. Alot of bands have contributed to what we are today. the list goes on and on and on. It would take an entire page in this magazine to list them all. But there is a little taste. Hey kids listen to all these bands and you can be just like us......

What are some of your major influances?
Major influences list from Slayer and S.O.D to Sam Cooke and the Beatles. I think Anthrax rubbed off on us alot. So did Metallica. It's realy hard to put a few up. so many of these great bands have inspired us. Each of them have their own story and challenges they had to undertake. The bands that influence us are usually the ones that paid a lot of dues. That started from the street with nothing and made it something on their own. Usually in our genre it is very hard to break thru the mass of bands that are everywhere to get noticed. But all these great bands have. I think that they are impressive and should have applause for it. Times are different now....

Anything you would like to say to your fans reading this interview?
What fans?? Im just kidding. Yeah actually i would like to address the masses. We do all this for you guys. Every note, every show, every lyric, every song, we dedicate it all to you. You guys are the backbone of everything we do. without you we are nothing and we will never forget that. You will always get your monies worth. We will always strive to keep you entertained and if we can help you out, we will in everyway . Every message that you send will be answered. Every piece of art work will be used. Every letter you send will be read. We go into this with you guys on our minds. You are the Worm Nation. We dont descriminate. Thank You for the support you have giving us over the years. We couldnt have done any of this without you. You are the sugar in our coffee, the reason we wake up every morning. Each and every one of you has a spot at our table, and a room in our house. We will never turn our backs on you, or sell out. What you see is what you get. And it is what you will always get. Spread the word and Unite the Masses. there is a new sheriff in town. One that will clean up the mess that the industry has made of our genre. And we will never stop. We have devoted our lives to you. Do with us what you will..........

What is the name of your latest CD?
We have been juggling over ideas about the name. We dont have the perfect name now. Someone once said the best things come to those who wait. actually i think that was a ketchup commercial. But no seriously we just did the EP back on the 22nd of July we are going back into the studio in a few weeks to finish the album should have about 14 songs on it. It will truly be an epic album that will stand the test of time. And we will name the album before it's completion.

Tell me a little about it, where it was recorded, and what you guys think of it?
It is a great album. From the start it grabs you and throws you into the back seat. We really wanted to focus on a true Thrash metal album. One that would just as badass 20 years from now as it is today. We went to Ruckus Room studios and went to work the min we hit the door. They have great guys doing great things with music. There truly is no other place we would rather record. The album focuses on a wide aray of subjects. From serial killers to fans to the war in iraq, school shootings. We want to give you a tour of america thru the eyes of the people not the media. One that cant be altered or corrupted. This album gives it to you straight with no strings attached. There are no hidden agendas just pure brutal freaking metal. the way nature intended.

Do you guys have any tours in the making?
Yeah as a matter of fact we are working one up now. We will be on the Throwdown/Arch Enemy tour in feb. not sure all the dates but we will be adding them as they come to our myspace page. So make sure you stay tuned. Also we are in the process of doing our own headline tour after that. And if everything goes right hitting the Ozzfest tour in the summer. That is if we can spread the word enough or dont go broke in the process. We are an independant band and we dont have big money backing us. So right now we have to do alot of things with the money that we feed our families with. It would be a hell of alot easier if we were a boy band or some popstar princess. That seems to be the only thing the music industry is interested in these days......

I know its hard to make a scene in the music industry but you guys have and i know it takes a lot of promoting. Do you guys have any promoting sectets that you would like to shair with us?
There really isnt a secret to it. just release a quality product and spread the word. your work will take care of itself. Those who like you will stand behind you and help. To hell with the ones that dont. Word of mouth has gotten us into 30 different countries. Just get the word and the product out there and the rest will be history.....

What do you think of Big Smile Magazine?
Big Smile Magazine Rocks. It is helping out true hard working artists that pay their dues. It gives a big voice to the little guys, and should be applauded for it's dedication. We only do interviews with the magazines we support and Big Smile Magazine is one of those mags. Every reader truly benefits from every copy. They sure have left a Big Smile on our faces and all of our fans. Big respect from the,

PALM TREE DEATH INCIDENT

Thanks alot Johnny, we hope to see all of you on the road someday..


you can check us out at....
www.ptdi.tk
www.Soundclick.com
www.Garageband.com
www.MusicPlusTV.com