PAUL: “Hi, brief introductions please – who are you and what do you play?”
ALLEN: “Hey, I’m Allen and I sing and play guitar.”
PAUL: “In the UK Lucky 7 aren’t yet a name that trips off the tongue to your average pop-punk fan, but that’s all about to change after your UK tour. To anyone who is yet to hear you guys, describe what Lucky 7 is all about.”
ALLEN: “We actually receive a lot of emails from the UK ever since we put ‘Miss Fortune’ up on mp3.com. I’m hoping we’ll have a good turn out, either way we are excited to be going out there for the first time. For those who haven’t heard us, we are a mix of punk, rock, emo, pop and i’m sure a few other things.”
PAUL: “You’ve got some pretty huge gigs coming up in December, with the likes of Sum 41, Simple Plan, Pennywise and Face To Face on the bill. Which of those bands are you most looking forward to playing with and why?”
ALLEN: “We just played with Sum 41 and they are super nice. Really enjoyed that show. We’ve played with Simple Plan and Pennywise before as well. Again, both super cool bands. Now Face to Face is one of our all time favorite bands and we’ve never played with them, so they win this time.”
PAUL: “At the same time you’re also sharing a stage with Avril Lavigne and Pink! Have you met either of them before? What were they like and how on earth have you ended up sharing a stage with them?”
ALLEN: “I wonder the same thing. Actually they are radio shows so it’s a big mix of artists. I’m glad that bands like Simple Plan are on the shows, otherwise we’d be the only ones playing punk. But also these shows are for charity and that’s good no matter who plays.”
PAUL: “Those gigs are also at pretty big venues, which is going to be a complete contrast to the venues here in the UK which only hold about 300 or so. Does the Lucky 7 show change when you play to a different size crowd? Do you prefer smaller, more intimate shows, or are you comfortable playing at the big enormodomes?”
ALLEN: “I like both personally, it’s a trip to get on stage infront of thousands. It’s like looking at an awesome painting. I just stare at the crowd and appreciate the magnitude, otherwise small shows are much better. We get to meet everyone – it’s really awesome. We try to put on the same show no matter how many people are in attendance, it’s easier to go off when the crowd does, but we always try to put on a high energy show.”
PAUL: “I take it you’re looking forward to playing in the UK? What can we expect when we all come and see you?”
ALLEN: “Rock and roll – that’s the only guarantee we can give at a Lucky 7 show. You can also expect that the 4 of us are stoked to be there and that we’re gonna have fun on stage.”
PAUL: “You were on the Warped Tour this summer, what would you say were the best and worst memories you have of the tour, and which bands did you watch every day and just think ‘wow’?”
ALLEN: “The worst thing about the Warped Tour were the long drives between cities. Everything else was great, we had so much fun. I watched The Used everyday. We shared the same stage so we caught their set very often, which is cool because they’re one of my favorites.”
PAUL: “Doesn’t the new video for ‘California Girl’ feature Ali Landry? How the hell did you manage to get her in the vid? Did you get to meet her, what was she like?”
ALLEN: “‘California Girl’ was picked for a movie soundtrack starring Ali Landry. The director really liked the song so he asked to do the video. I guess Ali was digging the tune as well and agreed to be in the video. She’s a very nice person. Down to earth and polite. Friendly.”
PAUL: “On a similar theme, if you could do any kind of music video, and get anybody in the world in it, what and who would you choose and why?”
ALLEN: “I would like to film my own video. Something low budget with some rare footage of the band, something that would give the viewer an inside look at Lucky 7.”
PAUL: “A lot of the bands from the San Diego area, such as Blink 182 and Unwritten Law, have gone on to become quite big, reach major labels and sell quite a few records. Do you look at those bands and wish that Lucky 7 could have a similar career?”
ALLEN: “I look at those bands and I’m really stoked for them. They’re from my hometown and i’m happy to be associated with them. As for Lucky 7, we want long lasting careers in music, so to achieve that you need some success. Do we ever wish to be a huge as Blink? No, I don’t think Blink did either. We’re just like them back in the day, we’re just having a good time, taking life day by day, no expectations.”
PAUL: “Lucky 7 is possibly the band that MP3.com owes everything to, they seriously love you guys! After Audiogalaxy and Napster were shut down, what is your take on the whole MP3 phenomenon. Do you think kids should share music this way or is it merely ripping off the bands and labels?”
ALLEN: “Mp3.com and the internet in general have been a blessing for us. Our goal is for people to hear our music, not sell records, so we don’t care if fans burn our cd. Go for it. And if you buy our cd, thanks too! We really appreciate that support. Overall, we’re not going to bite the hand that has fed us up til now.”
PAUL: “Every band has obsessive fans, so what are the weirdest things that your fans have done to the band?”
ALLEN: “Some fans get really violent in the pit and I hate that. Our last show in San Diego, some kid had his front teeth knocked out. That shit isn’t cool. Then we get emails from fans saying they’ll run up their street naked to get tickets or something, that’s pretty funny. Some fans bring us nice things to shows, like desert. That’s always cool.”
PAUL: “Lucky 7 are well known for their genoristy to their street team. I saw on the internet that you had spent around $29,000 on merch for them? Is this true?”
ALLEN: “It is true. Every penny we made on mp3.com has been put back into the fans, either by sending them free stickers or making free posters for our shows. They gave us the money by downloading us, why not give it back?”
PAUL: “The new self-titled record sounds amazing, for anyone who is unlucky enough not to hear it, how would you describe it?”
ALLEN: “It’s hard for me to describe it. Some songs are straight up pop punk, others have an emo feel, some have a rock feel. I think it’s a good mixture.”
PAUL: “The song ‘Be The One’ is one of my favourite tracks from the cd, is it autobiographical? If it is, did you really get the name of the person that the song is about tattooed on your arm?”
ALLEN: “This song was written for my girlfriend at the time. Eating out late and going to shows was something we were doing all the time. I did promise to get that tattoo but i never did. But I would of. I meant it.”
PAUL: “Thanks for your time dude and we’ll see you in England!”
ALLEN: “I would like to thank you and Punktastic for supporting us on this tour, also Nav and Bravestar for bringing us out. Hope to see all you punks at the shows. Visit us at www.feelingluckypunk.com “