August 18th, 2008 
James Shotwell Recently, James and JP met up with Aaron Gillespie [Drummer/back up vocalist] of Underoath. They discussed the band’s Summer on Mayhem, Pig Cloth, and especially the band’s new record Lost In The Sound Of Seperation which will be released on September 2nd!
J: Before we dig into Underoath, I wanted to ask you if you could tell us a bit about Pig Cloth [the clothing company he runs with his wife]?
UO: It’s going quite well. We’re trying to keep it DL kinda. I feel like a lot of things get overblown. There are so many bands and clothing companies happening right now and we just want to dot his because we’re passionate about it. We put Bible verses on the inside in an attempt to spread the word. We haven’t really taken it to a place where we are trying to get everyone and anyone to buy it; there’s a Myspace which links to the store and yea…it’s kind of on autopilot right now. That’s good though because that’s kind of how we wanted it to be at least for a year or so.
J: What’s the history behind Pig Cloth?
UO: About 4 or 5 years ago, I used to weigh like 200 pounds and Spencer [vocals for Underoath] called me “pig” and it stuck. I liked it and when my wife and I were looking for a name for the clothing company we just used that. There’s not really a lot of significance to the name, but my wife always wanted to have a clothing company where we could donate the money to good causes and to spread the world. That was all kind of her idea really and the name was just sort of my idea,.
J: Does your wife come out with you or does she stay in Florida when you’re out for these long treks?
UO: She’s in Florida right now. I have another band [The Almost], but we split the interviews up so I won’t talk about them, but she comes out with that band all the time. We have like 4 dogs and a horse and she just misses them too much to be gone. She was just out for a bit then I get to go home in a short while.
J: True, Mayhem is wrapping up. How has the summer been for you on this large tour which is a bit different than Warped which your generally known for?
UO: It’s been a great ride. It’s totally different for us, very different, it’s very metal. Which is great and was the point. We wanted to do something different and felt this is where we needed to be ride now. We’re very blessed with the Warped crow and we know what that’s like and do great there, but this was a situation where we wanted to trade to make a cross over.
J: So after Mayhem wraps, what’s next?
UO: Um, we go home for about a week. I think I’ll go to the beach with the wife for a few days, rent a hotel, and just hang out. Then we have a few days of practice then fly to our first show ever in Mexico. Then we fly from there to New York to play Irving Plaza for a cd release show. Then off to Toronto for another release show. From Toronto we fly to a show in London then play about 5 other dates in England. From there we go to Germany, then Italy, then South Africa, then Australia, then Hawaii, then home for about 10 days. Then in October we’re going out on a headlining tour in the US. However, those 10 days will be spent practicing for the headlining tour. We have a projection show that plays with us and that has to be coordinated and filmed so it all is filled time wise.
J: So let’s move on to the album. Let’s start with the cover art which is a lot different from your previous album. What made you go in this direction?
UO: Our last record was like a computer generated type of image. The photos were real, but I think the whole thing was a bit slicker than we wanted it to be and we really wanted a hand painted, organic thing. It has that separated feel and it’s really organic and natural and great. He was able to do a whole lot of templates, and it’s the same artist, but different editions have different covers.
J: You guys have a couple different versions out there. It seems you’re really trying some new ideas with how you’re releasing this. For instance, the ten suitcases you had specially made and the die cut vinyls. Could you explain why you chose to go this route?
UO: A friend of ours who actually runs projection stuff for us does that stuff on the road for us [the suitcases]. He has a studio and does all this cool stuff, but he put it together for us. We only made ten and sold 9 so that the tenth could be auctioned off for charity to be sold…somewhere. We plan to do a standalone vinyl release at some point in the future [for now there is the special edition with die cuts available online only and in limited print]. We love music and I love to hold it and keep it. It’s a cool thing to do and we didn’t do it too charge more or anything, but just to give a bit extra to those who wanted it. It’s all limited print and only for presale. We may put out some in stores if they don’t sell out, but they’re all hand numbered and going pretty fast.
J: So then is it safe to say you’re quite the audiophile yourself?
UO: I just love music.I always buy records and cds. I just never got into the whole ipod thing. I have one that I use on airplanes, but that’s really the only time. Coldplay a lot. I think it’s the best record of the last 5 years. My friend Kenny Vasoli, from the Starting Line, just put out his Person L album and it’s amazing. J: Back to the record, if you had to sell it to someone who didn’t know anything about you or the band, how would you do it..
UO: I don’t really know. All I can say is that we strive to make great real music and music that we love. I don’t rack my brain about sales or who will love it or hate because people will do both.
J: Could you tell us about the evolution of Underoath from the last record to this on.?
UO: I feel like Define The Great Line was when we found what we wanted to sound like. So with this record there’s more of that sound, but bigger I think. If not bigger then more experimental for sure. It’s hard to say really, so I guess just buy it and find out. It’s not a major change like in the past. I think it would have crushed us to make a pop record. It would have been scary bad. So we just decided to make the hardest record we could.
J: It seems like on the last album you took a step back vocally, where can we expect to find you on the new album?
UO: I don’t know because the drums are really a feat for me on this record. I got really into them and tried a lot of new and somewhat weird things so..I mean, I sing on it, but I’m a drummer first. It’s always been that way though. It’s hard for me to explain a record because it’s hard to explain it when you’re living it.
J: Are there any themes on the new album?
UO: To me, it’s about being lost as a human and trying to find yourself and God. It’s not a concept record or anything like that, but it’s thematic in that we’re talking about how we’re nearing the end and we have to figure it out. Not as a band, but as a people. I don’t know if that’s band wide because we don’t sit around and make solidified decisions like that. We just write the music and put it out there.
J: Well you’ve got a lot to do tonight still, but instead of a last question we simply ask you to make a statement on something. Anything that’s on your mind you care to share with us?
UO: Do what you want to do. If you’re in a band, be in the band because you want to be in a band. A lot of kids ask me for advice and I’m not one to give it, but if I had to say something it’s to give everything you do in life 100%. Today there are so many bands, which are really cool, but then you talk to bands and they’re together because they want to be cool or get girls. People can see the difference between real people and bands and those who aren’t in it for the right reasons. Follow your heart and have a goodnight.
J: On behalf of Under The Gun Review I just want to thank you taking the time to work with us and I can’t wait to see what you guys do next and hear the album.
UO: Yea dude, Thank You.
*Written By: James Shotwell*
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