July 29th, 2008 
James Shotwell Recently, [UTG] James and [UTG] JP spoke briefly with Frank from Emmure. Below you can find the interview that transpired and don’t forget to buy their new album: The Respect Issue, in stores now!
J: Hey, this is James and JP coming to you from Grand Rapids, Michigan and I’m talking with; well, let’s just let him introduce himself so that he can do it the proper way.
F: Yo, what up? This is Frank, you know me from Emmure and yea, that’s it.
J: You guys are on tour right now, so that’s a good place to start. Could you tell us a little bit about how the, “Brothers of Brutatlity,” tour came together and how it’s going so far?
F: Well, the tour came together because our booking agents did their job quite well and uh….that’s the back story [laughs]. However, we’re really good friends with a lot of these guys. We’ve known Tony Danza [Tap Dance Extravaganza] from like the early years of the band, but with everyone else it has been like elementary school. You know, everyone is new and a bit shy, but we’re cool now. It’s still brutal though, we love all those guys.
J: The Respect Issue shows a few new sides to your band. It’s still heavy, but there’s less chugga-chugga guitar work and more technicality. Is this something that developed naturally or was it more of a conscious progression?
F: I don’t know really, we’re just kind of influenced by each other a lot. We talk about what we like and what we want to do as a band and then try to make that happen. We never listen to a record and try to copy it or anything, but we ask each other what we want to do and what sounds like fun. In the end, we figure what is fun for us will be fun to listen to and that’s what we put down. As far as a change of sound goes…we’re trying to go into places that bands haven’t been going. A lot of bands have been playing stripped down music and we want to creat a lot more atmosphere.
J: In reference to the creative process, we were wondering, since your lyrics tend to have darker tones and stories, how many of the lyrics are based on fact or actual events?
F: 100%…well, it’s either 100% true or what I feel about what happened. It’s all fact.
J: Since it’s all true and you write all the lyrics, that must mean all these horrible tales are from your past? Also, why do you hate the Pittsburgh Pirates so much?
F: Ha, yea basically it all happened to me [laughs]. I actually don’t hate the Pirates at all. In fact, I sometimes wear a Pirates hate because my last name has the same initial as the team and whatnot. What you have to think about the lyric is that it’s not about the team, it’s about a person from Pittsburgh. Like, if you’re from New York, people guess you’re a Yankees fan, so that’s what I used there.
JP: How did you guys get hooked up with Kurt Angle [Kurt appears on the album art for The Respect Issue]
F: Well…We didn’t “hook up” with him [laughs], but what happened is that Victory and TNA wrestling has a business relationship through cross promotion and we got to work with him as a result of that.
J: So what can you tell us about Emmure’s fall plans?
F: Look out for some big tours coming your way. We’re going to be working with bands like Suicide Silence and such. Just be on the lookout for some big things because I don’t want to give too much away, but yea, keep an eye out.
JP: Do you know when you’re going to work on new material again?
F: We’ll probably star writing really soon. Our last record came out May 13th and our new record will probably be out next year, but don’t hold me to that. We want to release fairly often because we hate to keep playing the same things and sitting on material until we’re bored with it. It’s all about good morale.
J: Do you write on the road or is it something you have to step back to work on?
F: The music just happens. We get together and discuss what we want to do and then we just piece everything together. We write primarily fast so we just find what we like and run with it.
J: You’re known for having an intimidating stage presence and it makes one wonder where you could find someone like Frankie before Emmure? What was, “back in the day,” Frankie like?
F: Oh man, I dropped out of high school and played in a band. I did worthless jobs and did a lot of graffiti. I was a bad kid, but with the band I found a reason to focus and it keeps me out of trouble.
J: Your new video involves a lot of special effects and Playboy models which is a lot different than your previous video, could you tell us a little about the making of the video?
F: We decided that a lot of the metal/hardcore/punk videos in the last year looked a lot alike. Not saying it sounded the same, but the imagery was a little worn. So we decided instead of making another dark video, like our last one, which tv didn’t want to touch, we’d do something different because the main goal is to get it picked up by tv. So, we decided to try something fresh with special effects and models mixed with this brutal music that throws you for a loop. Your mind can’t grasp why there’s all these hot girls hanging on a guy screaming like a fool and it’s just really hits you.
J: We’re running out of time, but to keep our summer theme going, what would Frankie’s guide to school survival involve?
F: Stop messing up, don’t be an idiot. Don’t be Frankie [laughs]. Do your homework and party it up on the weekends.
A lot of people ask me what they should do with their lives or how to do things and really you are where you put yourself, so think of where you want to be and run for it.
J: Well, we don’t do final questions, but rather give you some time to share any thought you want with our readers. You’re last question is just an open podium to share your thoughts, so let loose.
F: Since this is the internet, I want to tell people to stop caring about what happens on the internet. Stop caring about what people say on message boards or myspace. Get off the computer because there’s a whole world out there. All the things you stand for, all your crews or anything you think makes you a person is worthless. All that matters is what you leave behind in this world and it’s not going to be the internet. so get over it.
Peace.
J: Well, there you have it, from Frankie himself. We want to thank Emmure and Victory for working with us and hopefully we’ll get to talk these guys again later on down the road.
*Written By: James Shotwell*
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