MARK: Hi. Can you introduce yourself and your role in 1208?
MANNY: Well, hello, my name is Manny and I am the drummer for 1208.
MARK: Having heard ‘Turn Of The Screw’ I have to say I’m impressed at how much you’ve grown in two years. How do you rate your second album?
MANNY: 10 out of 10!!! Nah, I don’t know, it’s hard to say because you have so
much time invested into these songs that you become almost jaded in a sense. I know we all worked really hard on this record and are more than happy with the way it turned out.
MARK: Do you have any favourite tracks?
MANNY: Umm, I kinda dig the first track on the record (my loss). It has this piano intro that sort of crescendos until the drums kick in. Matt Hyde, the guy who mixed our cd, came up with some pretty cool sounds as far as that is concerned.
MARK: What do you think are the main difference between this album and your first release, ‘Feedback Is Payback’?
MANNY: I think the new album shows that we have matured a little. This record was also a lot more fun to record then the last one.
MARK: You teamed up with Darian Rundall to record the album again. What did you do differently second time around?
MANNY: This time around we had more of an idea of what was in store for us. We did a lot more pre-production so we wouldn’t have to waste any unnecessary time in the studio. Also we felt more free to experiment with different sounds. Darian helped us out a lot with that.
MARK: What impact has dropping the dual guitars had, and what made Alex decide to concentrate on vocals only?
MANNY: The guitar situation just kind of evolved by itself. Our singer, Alex, would occasionally just sing for shows, anyway, and I guess over time he preferred to lose the guitar so he could just sing. He still plays guitar though.
MARK: Did any real life experiences influence the writing of ‘Next Big Thing’?
MANNY: I assume your referring to the lyrics which isn’t exactly my department. But I don’t think it was about anyone or anything specific. Just a casual observation by my boy, Al.
MARK: How big a deal was it to sign for Epitaph and what is it like working for the label?
MANNY: Epitaph was the label to be on when I was growing up. I mean all my favourite bands where on there so yah we were pretty jazzed. And the people there are just great, very supportive.
MARK: Did Alex’s relationship to Greg Ginn prove to be a help or a hindrance in the early days of the bands life?
MANNY: To be honest Greg had no involvement with the beginnings of 1208. We actually got to play some shows with him recently and I got to know him a little, which was cool.
MARK: When your first album came out I remember seeing a lot of comparisons being made to the Offspring. Two years on the same is still being said. Is this something that annoys you or that you don’t mind?
MANNY: I don’t know, man, we get that offspring thing a lot. But does it annoy us? No, not really.
MARK: How healthy a state do you consider punk rock to be in at the moment?
MANNY: I didn’t know punk rock had its own state. It seems to be working out pretty good for the punks!
MARK: Is there any chance we will see you guys playing the UK this year? A tour with the Deviates would be great…
MANNY: Hopefully we will be there soon. We love the UK and had a blast when we where there last time with Guttermouth.
MARK: Are there any bands that you really enjoy touring with, or that you would like to tour with in the future?
MANNY: Wow there are a lot of bands I wouldn’t mind touring with. There’s a Bouncing Souls/Hot Water Music tour that is passing through and I remember thinking, “damn, I wish we were on that!” As far as bands that we like to tour with: Authority Zero, Guttermouth, Western Waste, Pulley among others.
MARK: What bands are rocking your world at the moment?
MANNY: I really like this band the Bronx. They are a great band from Los Angeles. Umm, Ryan Adams, Outkast, Lemonheads, Elliot Smith(r.i.p.).
MARK: If you didn’t have 1208, what would you be doing?
MANNY: I would be a quality inspector at a machine shop making 10 dollars an hour.
MARK: Thanks for your time. Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans in the UK?
MANNY: Thanks for the questions and we cant wait to get out there and play our new record for you guys.