“You let your hair grow out,” says Andy Williams as we soundcheck for the interview. “You look like a fucking hippie.”
In the courtyard across the street from the Glass House in Pomona, the Every Time I Die guitarist talks about writing the band’s latest album Ex Lives. During the writing sessions he drank over three pots of coffee a day, having previously never had a cup of Joe in his life. A stimulant kosher with his straight edge lifestyle, he says his Java binge was inspired by The Mars Volta.
“I read this interview with Omar [Rodriguez-Lopez]…and he said he would smoke weed or do acid,” then would re-write the songs sober. “So I said ‘Well, I don’t do anything so I’m going to just drink coffee.'”
Since the release of Ex Lives early last year, Every Time I Die have taken their caffeine-infused antics on the road, stirring up brouhahas in every corner of the globe. Currently on a North American trek with The Acacia Strain and Vanna, ETID will follow the run with a spring tour supporting Hatebreed.
Below is a conversation with Williams about Ex Lives, why he thinks the current metal scene is fake, and his distaste for dudes with bad hairdos.
Photos by Dorothy Gilbert