BITE ME! Revolution Smile Interview

The Revolution Smile - An interview with Shaun Lopez -By Nikki Neil

In March of 2000 former Far guitarist, Shaun Lopez, decided to leave the past behind him. Armed with a new vision and a microphone, the zealous musician set out on a quest to find other talented artists who shared the same musical vision.

In spring of 2001 Shaun hooked up with guitarist Tim McCord, drummer Jeremy White, and bassist Octavio Gallardo. A year later this new union known as The Revolution Smile inked a deal with Flawless Records and the result was an ingenious debut tiled Above The Noise.

You used to be in Far. I remember that band. What happened?

Jonah (Matranga) has his One Line Drawing thing and, basically, that kind of…I don’t know…I think he wanted to be a solo artist more than he wanted to be in a rock band. [That attitude] definitely made Far feel more like a corporation than a friendship. So, I think that kind of played a role in the band’s break up.

In a way it was unfortunate, but obviously it was meant to be.

That’s true.

What are the other members of Far doing now?

Chris (Robyn) and John (Gutenberger) have a very cool band called Milwaukee, which John, who was the bass player of Far, now sings and plays guitar.

So there are two singers now.

Three. I sing damnit. (Laughs)

I know, I meant that two singers, aside from Jonah, were spawned from Far.

Oh, okay.

Why did you make the switch? What made you decide to sing with your new project as opposed to being the guitarist?

Basically, I’m going to quote myself here, you can put so much of your time into working with another person and becoming really dependent on them and then one day you could just pick everything up and say, “You know, I just don’t want to do this anymore,” and then you’re stuck with nothing. I couldn’t run out and be a solo guitar player. I don’t have the chops. So, I just decided that I can do this and I’ll prove many people wrong in the process because a lot of people didn’t think I could do it. And, I’m doing it.

Yes you are and you’re doing it quite well.

Thank you.

What was one of your best memories from the Far days?

Saying good-bye to them. (laughs) Just kidding. Probably playing in Europe and being able to travel through Europe. Those times bring back pretty good memories. I got to see a lot of cool things because music has allowed me to see those things. It’s something to be very thankful for.

What do you hope to accomplish with The Revolution Smile that you didn’t get to accomplish when you were with Far?

I’d like to say put out enough records and have enough fans so we can support ourselves doing it. The Far thing was short lived. Not that it is all about money. It’s definitely not about money. I’m very happy doing what I do now and that is most important and I’ve made something that I’m very proud of, which is also important. You just have to think of the logistics of paying your rent and stuff like that, so I hope that we can just keep doing it.

I know the band has played along the West Coast. Has The Revolution Smile played elsewhere in the U.S.?

We’ve done a couple of tours. The only place that we really haven’t been is the North East coast. We’ve been though the South East and the North West and the Mid West.

Has the response been pretty positive so far?

Yeah. It’s been really good.

Was The Revolution Smile your first choice for the band’s name?

The first name I had was Happy Birthday because when the band first started out it was a lot poppier than it ended up being. It just kind of worked itself into being a little bit louder. At the time, there was another band in Sacramento that started playing shows and they decided to call themselves Birthday, so that kind of wiped that idea out and then I came up with The Revolution Smile and that was it.

Do you enjoy being the frontman, and is there more pressure than one would experience as a guitarist?

No more pressure than normal. I love it. I think it was what I was meant to be.

How did you find your bandmates?

Through friends. The only person we found through an ad was Octavio, our bass player. All the other people were friends or friends of friends.

At one point the guys from Buddyhead were involved with the band. Are you still friends with them?

Yeah.

I heard that Buddyhead was going to release your first album and then Fred Durst signed you to Flawless and, well, they don’t seem to like Fred too much.

A lot of the things they say on their website are a joke. They are probably only 40% serious about the things that they say. I think they just try to get a reaction out of people and once you get over that it is like, just be happy that they are talking about you.

Is it true that you were asked to fill Wes Borland’s position?

They wanted me to come play with them and see where it would go, but we never did that.

Were you more focused with getting The Revolution Smile off the ground at that point?

Yeah.

What did you enjoy most about making Above The Noise?

We had a good time. It was stressful at times, but we made the exact record that we wanted to make and that is a good feeling. Sometimes, in the corporate record making world you don’t get to do exactly what you want.

In what ways did the band benefit from working with Sardy on the album?

He definitely gets the best performance out of you. He’s not afraid to tell you what he likes and what he doesn’t like. It’s like a perfect balance.

Were you under a lot of pressure because it was your first album with The Revolution Smile?

A little bit. There wasn’t any pressure from the label and it definitely wasn’t any pressure from anybody but myself because I’m my own worst critic. As far as outside pressure…there really wasn’t any. The label people never really came into the studio at all. They didn’t interfere, so it was nice.

How does the songwriting process work within the band?

I do a majority of the songwriting. I write a song and then bring it to the band and we all sort of assess it together and arrange it. Occasionally other people will write little things here and there.

Does any one song have a particular story behind it?

Not really. They all have their own story and meaning. They are part fiction and part real. Sometimes when I say the word “I” in a song it doesn’t mean I’m talking about me. Sometimes I’m putting myself in the position of somebody else. Usually when we write songs or when I’m strumming something I’ll just start singing whatever comes to my mind. As long as it is not something that is too bad. Other times I’ll just build a song around whatever I just sing. I’ll try to figure out why I said these words and try to figure out what that means to me.

Are you looking forward to Ozzfest?

I’m not looking forward to the heat. But I am looking forward to it. I think it will be fun.

Is there any one band on the bill that you want to see perform?

I’ve always thought that Marilyn Manson puts on the best show because I’ve always believed that if you are doing shows that big and your charging $30 - $40 a ticket you should make it worth the fans’ money. You should make it snow on stage or something. And, he does that, which is why I think that Marilyn Manson is probably the one band that I will enjoy watching.

Do you have any surprises up your sleeve for the tour?

No, not really. We just plan to go out there and do our thing. Hopefully, people will like it.

What are three things that you have to have with you when you are on the road?

A good selection of CD’s, a cell phone, and I need caffeine. Got to have caffeine.

Soda or coffee?

Coffee.

Are you a Starbucks junkie?

Pretty much. I’m pretty corporate when it comes to my coffee.

What is your favorite “One-Hit Wonder” song from the ‘90s?

Real song or guilty pleasure?

Let’s go for guilty pleasure.

I heard this one song the other day, in like a grocery store or something, and I remember hating the guy and hating the video and hating everything about it but there was something about the song. Do you remember that one song…I think it was by the New Young Radicals. The song that said something about Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love.

"You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals.

That was it. That was a good “one-hit wonder,” I suppose. That is very guilty pleasure there. Most people won’t admit stuff like that, but I don’t really care. If a song has a good hook to it. I’ll listen to it.

If it gets stuck in your head, it gets stuck in your head. There’s nothing you can really do about it, except pass it on to someone else and share the misery.

Yeah, I know. But it’s not very metal of me. But, hey, whatever.

Since we are confessing here…what is your favorite movie?

There is a movie called Gummo that we watch all the time when we are on tour.

I’ve never heard of that one.

It’s a pretty crazy movie.

[Directed by Harmony Korine, Gummo (1997) is basically a flick about two deviant Ohio teens who procure stray cats for a local Chinese restaurant. Along the way they have sex with a mentally challenged (as in special) whore, sniff glue, and get into it with racist trailer trash. Hey, whatever. If you’re bored – you’re bored – NIN]

What advice can you offer for newly signed bands?

Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. If you don’t like something that they want you to do tell them that you don’t like it.

Don’t be afraid to speak up.

Exactly.

Will there be any videos from the album?

Yeah, we just finished one for “Bonethrower”

Is it a concept video or performance video?

It is a performance video. There are no gimmicks at all.

I will be on the look out for it.

Yeah, check it out.

For more on The Revolution Smile visit www.therevolutionsmile.com