The 2008 Bamboozle Left Music Festival, which took place in Irvine, California, included performances by Story of the Year, Foxy Shazam, The Bouncing Souls, Jimmy Eat World, Face to Face, Hot Water Music, Finch, My Chemical Romance, Goldfinger, Anti-Flag, The Dillinger Escape Plan and one of my personal favorites, Protest the Hero.

The weather was near perfect as the golden sun rays played hide n' seek with the pallid-colored clouds while the sky freed gentle breezes throughout the day.

Pop-punk-crazed kids swarmed the main stages in their much-loved band tees and multicolored hair. Their eyes were concealed by plastic, fluorescent sunglasses and their filthy hands painted in black polish were weighed down by MySpace shopping bags overflowing with merch and free band stickers.

The performances never failed to impress while I got to witness Foxy Shazam's front man Eric Nally smother the stage in his loud-mouthed chants and fanatical dance sessions just before quickly downing a lit cigarette. And shortly after Darrin Pfeiffer, drummer of Goldfinger, decided to moon the crowd with a twinky being chomped out of in his ass by some wound up kid, Black Audio engaged its audience in a mini rave shindig while playing psychedelic, 80's-influenced trance. Nonetheless, the highlight of my day was having the opportunity to exchange a few words with Rody Walker, vocalist of Protest the Hero.


Kimberly Haddad: How did you guys become a band?

Rody Walker: Um, we were like 12 here in the suburbs and as in any suburbs, it sucks, you know, there's nothing to do. We all started listening to Southern California punk rock which is kinda funny cause we're in California. But we just wanted to do it, ya know, we wanted to create something like that so we wrote a bunch of bad punk songs called like "Jurassic Fart" and stuff like that. Eventually we got a little more serious and we started playing shows and that's pretty much it. We met our manager, he was playing in a band and he recorded our first record and then we just moved on from there. We became the biggest band in the world, scored a lot of chicks, did a lot of drugs, scored a couple dudes along the way and lots of drugs and pussy and asshole (laughs).

Kimberly: How do you think the performance went today?

Rody: I think it went pretty well, um, I was pretty worried cause my throat's been acting a little strange the past couple days. I've been on like a month binge of drinking my face off every night of my life and it was really sketchy the night before but I just went up there today and I think it went well. The crowd was bigger than we could've hoped for.

Kimberly: Were you happy with the crowd's feedback?

Rody: We kinda like the crowd's reaction where they just stand there with their arms crossed and stare at us with this look. I don't like people to move, ya know, like those guys who are fighting the invisible ninja. What the fuck is that? No I know exactly what that is! (laughs) It's white people man, we can't dance, everyone knows it so they all say "I know what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna just push people and throw drinks at people I'm gonna call it dancing!" It's pathetic.

Kimberly: How do you feel about being on a bill with most bands you probably wouldn't normally play with?

Rody: It's kinda interesting ya know, it makes us stand out a bit. I don't know, it's a big corporate rock fest ya know, so they have to have like commercial rock bands covering Kelly Clarkson. There's some screaming here and there but I don't know, I don't really care. I resent the bands to some degree but I understand why it's popular and why these kids like it. I don't personally care for it myself but whatever. That's kinda my attitude, I have certain feelings regarding these bands but regarding the festival, it's like a shopping mall. It's an extended version of Hot Topic.

Kimberly: So did you get that Misfits shirt at Hot Topic?

Rody: No! I actually found it in the back lounge and thought it would be funny. I thought I would fit in more.

Kimberly: Your album has been out for a few months, now that you have had time to let it sink in, are you happy with it? Is there anything you wish you would have done differently? How has it been received by your fans?

Rody: Well the feedback from fans has been great. I don't think I would have done anything different, you know when I look at things like that, it's like if you think of something you would've liked to do differently, save it for the next record. That's the great thing about the creative process, ya know, time is infinite, there's always time for more creation and there's always time for more music to correct those mistakes you made in the past. And we feel very much that "Fortress" is a correction of the mistakes we've made on "Kezia," and we're not ashamed of either disk but this is us growing with constant progression.

Kimberly: I know that a lot of bands like to write on the road while touring. Now that you are finishing up Bamboozle and beginning Warped Tour, are you working on any new material for an upcoming project?

Rody: Yeah, we're starting a new band called Strength Through Strength, also another band called Cheese and the Mouse Traps. Cheese and the Mouse Traps is a garage punk rock band and Strength Through Strength is a hardcore band based on weight lifting. We're actually gonna have, you know, dumbbells on stage, we got it coming (laughs) but we're not the type of band who writes on tour. It's too difficult for us because we have to be in that environment where we all sit in a circle with our instruments and um, I know it's really easy for all these break-down bands to do it but it's just too difficult for us. And we're lazy, real fucking lazy.

Kimberly: Can you tell me a little bit about the recording process? I believe Arif, your bassist, writes the lyrics. What inspires him to create them?

Rody: Um, well he credits it to mushroom hallucinations. I don't know the legitimacy of that statement but I trust him. I think he takes a bunch of mushrooms, sits down at his computer and types a bunch of crap out. It's mostly just gobbledygook. We sorta tell him the kinda thing we're going for. We were looking for a very brutal yet archaic, poetic form of playing, just different historical periods of battle and the creations of certain types of battle. That's really where the lyrics come from.

Kimberly: Who are your biggest influences in terms of making your music?

Rody: Um, collectively as a band, we like to site Propagandhi from Winnipeg, SicTH from the UK, they're a great band, actually they just broke up which really sucks. Aeon from Sweden I think, but they're a sweet satanic death metal band. Satan rules (laughs). Umm, personally I'm all over the place, I like Mike Patton, The Boredoms, Haley Williams, that's about it.

Kimberly: Were there any bands here you were looking forward to seeing?

Rody: I'm excited to see The Dillinger Escape Plan. I've seen them a lot of times but it never hurts to see them a couple more. And that's it, that's all.

Kimberly: Looking forward to Warped Tour?

Rody: Yesss.

Kimberly: You know what stage you're playing on?

Rody: We're playing in the Ernie Ball stage. I don't know, Warped Tour is kind of a fuck fest, you know, just like this, hot days in the sun, you feel sick everyday cause you drink every night. It's not the most pleasurable of experiences but it can be a lot of fun. You meet a lot of new interesting people, it's kinda cool.

Kimberly: Any last words for your fans?

Rody: Star Trek rules! Man, my hands are filthy. How do they get this way? I don't get it.

Kimberly: One more thing for ya, you being Canadian and all, what do you think about Canada going on strike?

Rody: Ahh yess, South Park, the bus driver just told us about that episode. I love South Park and when they rip on Canada. It's great.

Kimberly: Hey thank you so much for everything, I appreciate your time.

Rody: No! I appreciate your time!