AFI: There’s Always Room For Improvement
We pick guitarist Jade Puget's brains.
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Think of black-clad punks and your mind will most likely veer towards American AFI. They’re famed for poppy numbers like ‘Miss Murder’ but they’re currently riding on the wave of new album ‘Crash Love’, so what better time to catch up with guitarist Jade Puget and pick his brains about his band.
Are you happy with where AFI is in 2010?
Yeah I guess. There’s always room for improvement - there’s always been room for improvement in the entire history of the band which is what I think drives me. As long as you think you can do better, then there’s somewhere to go.
Do you think then that AFI has grown with every album?
Changing and growing yeah. We’ve gotten better as musicians, and changed as people, like what we’re interested in musically.
So has the music definitely changed over time?
Yeah, for sure. It’s a product of several years of evolution. Whatever anyone was interested in 10 years ago is completely different from what they’re into now, so naturally, an evolution is going to take place.
Are you scared you might lose fans by doing that?
Ever since I’ve been in the band, and even before, we lost fans with each record and gained fans too, it’s just the nature of it. There’s always gonna be people who want you to do a certain thing or sound like a certain record or sound like somebody else. And if you try to please everybody then there’s no way to do that really because everyone wants something different from you.
Have you ever felt the pressure from labels to be a certain sound?
That’s something we’re lucky with. Our label has always been supportive of us. When they signed us we were an established band so we knew what we were doing, we knew what we wanted to sound like. They didn’t want to mess with that.
And what’s next for the band?
As long as I’m able to write music that I’m interested in and go out and tour on it then I’m happy, and I think all of us feel the same way. We came from a sort of underground scene so it was never about making money - it was just about making music that we were passionate about.
Are you one of the major songwriters in the band or is it a more collective thing?
I usually write most of the music and Davey writes the lyrics. We both work together on the melodies.
I see you do a lot of remixing – is that a big passion of yours?
Yeah, I just love electronic music in general. Davey and I have a side project that’s electronic, when we’re not doing AFI.
How have a lot of the remixes come about? Did you get in touch with the bands or did they come to you?
They come to me because I don’t wanna bug some bands. I think bands know who they want to remix their music so luckily people come to me about it.
Have you got a good reputation as a remixer then?
I don’t know. I’m really busy so I only really have time to do things here and there, so it’s more of a hobby. If I had the time I’d do more, but if I have time I’m usually writing stuff for Blaqk Audio cause we’re getting ready to play our new record. But yeah, anything interesting that comes along, I’d like to remix it.
How long do you think AFI have got left then?
I don’t really think about it – it’s not really something at the forefront of my mind. We will do this until it makes sense not to do it anymore. As long we’re all having fun then that’s an important piece.
You pretty pleased with the last record?
Yeah, it’s a good document of where we were as a band at that time - and that’s what every record is, a snapshot of where your band is at the time. That’s why every one’s different, with three years between each record.
How does it compare to your earlier stuff?
It doesn’t really. Cause our records are so different it’s hard to compare them – they sound different and don’t come from the same place so it sort of stands on its own.
Has it gone down well on the tours?
Playing the songs live, it’s more of a rock record, opposed to our last record which is a little more layered and electronic. It’s more geared to playing live.
I also see on Wikipedia that you’re straight edge. Is that a hard thing to keep up being in a rock band?
Well straight edge is something I’ve been for so long that I haven’t thought about being any other way, so it’s not even really a consideration.
So you’ve never been tempted to stray, so to speak?
Like I say it doesn’t even occur to me to drink or do drugs or anything like that. It’s not part of my make up.
Why did you choose to do it? Influence from your parents or was it a personal choice?
Part of it was when I was kid there was a straight edge movement in the 80s which exposed me to it and stoked me and was something that seemed right for me. Obviously that was true, because here I am, y’know, 15-20 years later, still straight edge.
Do you think it’s come on to be a bit of a fashion statement?
It was certainly in the 90s but at this point it’s not really a fad anymore, so I don’t really think it’s cool to be straight edge anymore like it was say in the 90s. Now it’s just people who are really into it. And even if there are people who are fake about it, you can usually tell.
Going back to the remixing, do you feel the pressure when you’re playing around with other people’s songs?
When people want remixes they always want the same sorta thing, which is a remix which sounds like everyone else’s remix. So it’s frustrating remixing, cause you know what people want – they don’t want something that’s unique, they want something that sounds like a club, dance remix. So you’re a little bit stifled in remixing, but sometimes I don’t care and just give people what I want.
What kind of equipment do you use?
I have a million pieces of software - I work on PC and Mac and I’m sort of a software nerd so I have lots of platforms and plug-ins.
You not just a Mac guy then?
I’m not actually. In fact, I do a lot of the final stuff on PC cause a lot of plug-ins aren’t made for Mac or supported by Mac. Macs obviously have a lot of amazing programs like Logic or Pro Tools but PCs have a lot more of the little sort of boutique pieces of software. I started on a PC so they’ve always had these certain programs that I like to work on.
If you could choose any one band to remix, who would it be?
I would really like to remix a Depeche Mode song, that’d be great.
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