10 Questions with ... Project 86

NAME:Project 86 TITLE:Band LABEL:Tooth & Nail Records

Line-up:
Andrew Schwab (voice, words)
Randy Torres (guitars, keyboards)
Steven Dail (bass)

Discography:
Rival Factions (June 19, 2007)
And the Rest Will Follow (2005)
The Making of: And the Rest Will Follow (DVD, 2005)
Songs to Burn Your Bridges by (2004)
Truthless Heroes (2002)
Drawing Black Lines (2000)
Project 86 (1998)

1) Can you briefly introduce the band members using some musical history and personality characteristics?

Steven walks softly and carries a destructive tone. Randy is the resident mad-scientist. I just like screaming at strangers.

2) Can you offer a brief history of the band? How the band was formed?

We met going to hardcore shows back in 1994: Strife, Unbroken Sick of it All, etc. We all had mutual friends in the O.C. scene, so it wasn't too hard to find one another. We started jamming in '96 and played our first show that fall in our home town. Our second show was a headlining show and 400 kids showed up. We signed our first deal in '97 with Tooth and Nail and moved to Atlantic in 1999. We have released six albums, Rival Factions being our sixth.

3) The band is going on 10 years. Do you have a few more years left in you?

We will keep doing this as long as it makes sense. We are loving making music right now so we don't see an end in sight.

4) You're sitting in the studio, working on tracks for "Rival Factions." Describe a moment when you heard something that made you say, "Ah ha! Now we have a record."

The last day, when track five came together. The song is called "Slaves to Liberty." I didn't have anything written for that song and I just came up with it on the spot. It's one of my favorite songs on the record.

5) What's the end goal for Project 86? What do you hope a crowd will take away from one of your shows?

The end goal is to change as many lives as possible with genuine music. At shows, we expect the crowd to leave a part of themselves at the venue just as we leave a part of ourselves onstage.

6) What would you consider to be the most important song on the new record?

Probably the first song, "Evil (A Chorus of Resistance)". I think it's probably one of my favorite songs we have ever written.

7) Not every day is a cake walk for people who travel and work together. How do you guys stay friends as well as co-workers? What piece of advice would you give newer bands?

Friendship remains if there is mutual respect and a willingness to sacrifice your personal feelings at times for the good of the unit. If you have this attitude, you will remain friends. Advice for new bands: be prepared to work very hard if you want to have success. Some people get into this to escape work and are then shocked by the amount of effort it takes day in, day out.

8) Tell us your funniest radio station experience so far.

We played a radio show in Fresno, CA, once where the entire crowd broke through a makeshift barricade and fell on the ground. They had to stop the show. It was funny because no one got hurt. Like 500 people were laying on the ground, shocked at the fact that the barricade broke, looking like they had just been on the receiving end of a bad tug-of-war joke.

9) If there's "nothing new under the sun," how do you keep making music that sounds new and says something important?

By constantly evolving and pushing ourselves to make music that sounds different. We try not to make any record twice.

10) What's life like off the road? What do you all enjoy doing when at home?

Life on the road can be very tough and very rewarding at the same time. There are all-night drives and van issues and you are going constantly with barely enough time to breathe. But if one kid comes up to you after a show and says he was truly impacted by the music, it is the most amazing thing in the world.