Nonpoint: Still alive and kicking

September 10, 2006

Though many have become aware of Nonpoint due to their cover of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” featured on the Miami Vice movie soundtrack and previously on their 2004 album Recoil, the band has built a loyal  following over the course of four major label releases and nearly a decade of relentless touring. Greg Maki of Live-Metal.net recently sat down with vocalist Elias Soriano when Nonpoint headlined the first-ever national show at Great Slates in Cambridge, Md.

Live-Metal: I guess the first question is what are you doing here? I can’t remember any metal or hard rock bands ever playing around here.

Elias Soriano: The radio station [WZBH 93.5 The Beach] invited us. We’ve been top five phones for months now, so they just wanted us to come out and invited us out.

Have you ever been anywhere near this area before?

We’ve played Baltimore. That’s probably about as close as we got.

Yeah, most bands don’t make it across the bridge.

It’s a little tough. It’s expensive to travel these days.

So how’s this tour going for you?

Excellent. Sold out shows. The single’s doing good. Fans are happy. That’s good.

Do you get to pick the bands that come out with you?

Yeah, we asked these guys to come out [points to Silent Civilian’s RV]. We had Seemless on for a couple weeks. They had to do other things after this. But yeah, we put this bill together and we’re psyched about it. People seem to enjoy it.

So how did you choose these guys?

We know [Silent Civilian vocalist/guitarist] Jonny [ Santos ] from back in the day. My drummer’s a huge online—constantly getting people in touch with the band, so we got in touch with some of the guys in Seemless. Somebody said it would be a good idea, that they were a very good live band and they were. They’re an excellent live band. So we invited those guys out and they said, “Yeah.”

Now that you guys have been around for a while and have four major label albums, is it hard to put together the set list for the show?

Real hard, real hard, ’cause we want to play a lot of the new stuff. We’ve been around the country so many times that it’s almost like people expect to hear certain things. So we try to change it up as much as we can but still give them the favorites that they want to hear.

Are there any that you don’t really like playing anymore?

Lately, our set’s been more heavy than not, so we’ve been leaning towards a lot of the heavy stuff. Probably the only single that we don’t play is probably “Your Signs” right now, just ’cause it’s a little bit more laid back than most of the other singles. We’re just trying to keep the show energetic.

The last album seems to be a lot heavier than the last couple. Is there any particular reason for that?

Not any particular reason, just that’s kinda what came out this time around. We try not to pigeonhole ourselves or say, “Hey, let’s do this this time.” We just kinda do what we feel like doing.

What would you say is the best way to experience Nonpoint, on CD or live?

The show. The show, without a doubt. It’s a completely different experience and it’s because of the fans moreso than anything.

Does it feel kind of strange that the hit single right now isn’t from the new album?

I don’t know, ’cause “Bullet [with a Name]” did really well. “Bullet” did a lot better than “In the Air” and “Alive and Kicking” is doing well, too. So it’s not too weird.

What is the meaning behind the title To the Pain?

It’s just, you know, like you said, we’ve been doing this a really long time, and when we get out on the stage, we push ourselves way past where we’re supposed to. We just feel like we take it to the pain every single night. So it was the way to go.

How did you end up on the Miami Vice soundtrack?

I guess somebody heard through the grapevines that we had the track. Michael Mann really didn’t want anything to do with the old stuff that had to do with the old Miami Vice, so we really didn’t expect it. Supposedly, the story is somebody put a trailer together with our song, showed it to Michael Mann and Michael Mann fell in love with the song and decided to use it. But it was so after the fact. The movie was pretty much almost done. It was so last minute there really wasn’t that much hoopla attached. And supposedly, the movie’s tanking.

Did you see it?

No. Well, yeah, I saw it at the premiere, but I really wasn’t paying that much attention.

Why did you decide to do the song originally?

We were throwing around ideas of songs to cover. That was one of the very first ones that actually came up. An old tech of ours said a long time ago, “Yeah, man, you guys should cover that Phil Collins song. You guys are from Miami . It was real big down there with Miami Vice and everything.” This was three-and-a-half, four years ago. We had time left over in the studio. The record was already done. The label was like, “Do whatever you guys want. If guys want to cover a song or something, put it together.” So we put it together. We really wanted something with not a lot of rock element in it. If you cover a rock song, it’s gonna sound like the fuckin’ song that you covered. It’s taking a song and turning it into your own kind of song which makes it what it is. Whitney Houston covering “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton, I mean, Dolly might as well have been singing it for the movie and it would’ve been just as big. It’s about changing it a little bit and making it your own.

I’m sure that song now is exposing you to some new fans, a different type of audience.

We’re on heritage rock radio, whatever that is. We’re charting on heritage rock.

[laughter]

I’ve never even heard of that.

I have no idea what that it is.

For the people who are just getting into the band, how would you describe what you guys do?

I think we’re heavy rock music you can swallow, that goes down easy. Even though it’s heavy and it’s hard, people like to take our music in. It’s fun.

And what about the live show?

It’s all energy. It’s back and forth, band, audience, band. It’s a show, man. It’s definitely a show. No doubt. It’s what we pride ourselves on more than anything.

I think it shows. I’ve seen you guys a few times.

Thanks.

We were talking earlier about how long you’ve been together. It’s what, almost 10 years or so now?

Close to.

What keeps you inspired and keeps you going?

The shows, I think. The shows, the fans more than anything. I mean, I can get a job doing anything. It’s the gratification at the end of the night that does it.

When you’re on the road, particularly in an out of the way place like this, what kinds of things do you like do between shows?

Lately, me and my guitar player and bass player have been working out on pretty much almost a daily basis. We’re trying to stay healthy for—you’re out here for months at a time. We’ve been touring solid since the 18th of January. It takes its toll on the body. I’d say more so than anything, I think the four of us have been getting a little bit closer, just getting prepared for the long haul.

How long do you plan to stay out on this album?

At the least through the year. At the very least. The record’s been out since last November, so we’ve done a bunch of tours around the country. We’ll see what gets offered to us and hopefully we’ll keep going.

Do you know what’s next after this tour ends?

There’s buzzes about Disturbed, a couple other things. We’ll see.