We caught up with Chiodos at the Barfly in Birmingham before their headline show, to talk about how the band came together, what they have planned for the future and much more.

Thank you for doing this interview for alternative vision

Can you let us know about Chiodos tell us a bit of history about the band?
Been a band for 8 years now, started in suburbs of Michigan. Just a bunch of best friend started to work hard as we can to get it to where it is now.

Can you please tell me where the name of the band originates from?
The bass player Matt and I used to be close in high school, we used to watch cheesy horrible horror B flicks. One day we had rented some Vincent Price movie and some other random’s, and one was called killer Klown’s from outer space. And we turned the movie over, since we were searching the covers back to front, for a band name for this talent show the next day. And we ran across the kyoto brothers who are actually the creators and directors of the movie, and that’s where the name stems from.

So what would you say are you influences and why did you decide to become a musician?
I believe it was fate, its nothing something I decided to do it was something I was born to do, as far as musical influences you can go from Zeppelin, Queen to Bob Dylan.

How would you describe your music, I know you have been labelled a post hardcore band, but when I listen to your music there is a lot of interesting ideas going on there?
One of the things we pride our selves on is not being pigeon hold into a genre, so we I guess the best way to describe are music is as reflections of who we are, people who go through sad, happy who aggressive sexual what ever it is, its human emotion is the vain of rock I guess

How do you guys write your songs is it an individual idea or a group effort when you get together?
Its 6 people who listen to completely different music, it can of goes through the system you know. There some riffs made, some ideas we all pool together and then one person gets a vision for it and we complete the vision.

You’re currently on your UK tour how has that been so far?
Amazing, overwhelming, we have been here each year since 2005, but it really has been the best so far. The crowd response has been amazing. Makes us want to continue to come over here,

I know it’s a standard question but how do the UK fans compare to other ones? i know the usual answer is better
It seems as though they know there stuff, I have a lot of side project that the fans are a bit more educated in that. Not so much thrown what ever is thrown in front of them in the main stream scene. I think that is partially since our record just came out on earner records right now, and before that it was really hard to fine, so what they have to grasp onto is from the internet, and I think that’s how they keep them selves updated. I think allot of kids in the US are more word of mouth of friends, it just more available for the kids.

Any highlights on this tour anything interesting happen to you guys?
The shows in Manchester and London were just brilliant, really great shows.

You have a song of your album Bone place Ballet called “I Didn't Say I Was Powerful, I Said I Was a Wizard" what is that exactly about?
Its basically about our guitar tech we call him the wizard, I don’t know why. And there was this one time when someone told him to do something, and he said “hey man I never said I was powerful, I said I was a wizard” and we said hey that’s a song title. We like to have fun with our titles they are all inside jokes.

How come you guys re-released the album was that a personal thing or was that a record label decision?
It was a combination of both we are very close to equal vision records. That’s who released it in America and Warner Brothers was amazing enough to sign on for the rest of the world. There were a lot of b-sides we wanted to get out there that we originally never had a chance to finish. So we were just really excited to release this music to the rest of the world, plus we wanted to do some acoustic versions of the songs, since we had been doing that for radio shows and things like that. Also we wanted to add a DVD to it as well. You hear a lot of kids complain about re-releases, but for me as a fan of music our favourite part of it you get so much more than the initial album, there just so much more to it.

What can we expect from your live show today?
Well unfortunately we are going to have to cut our set in half, so we will have to play 45 mins as supposed to 120 minutes. So I hope they enjoy there club, with bullshit dancing, damn slag’s, but seriously its going to be intense, its going to be fun, a lot of energy, when I said we cut the songs out we cut the slower ones out tonight, and its going we very sweaty and intense

What are the plans after this tour then?
Tomorrow we are of to Germany, then Japan and then we are off to Australia with Nine Inch Nails, and Hawaii to finish off with. Then its back home to write more songs.

Where do you so you’re self in a few years?
I don’t know like to see where I am in a few years, but rather than I can live of what I like to do

You said earlier you like to play acoustic sets, so if I said to you there this acoustic guitar what pop song can you play me and do a cover of right now?
I probably wouldn’t be able to do a pop song , em I guess I do a Bright Eyes cover, its hard for me since I don’t listen to the radio, haven’t in years, but I guess I probably should to stay at the top of my game. I probably do a folk song maybe, like Ballard of Hollis Brown.

Ok one random question if you had to choose animal out of a zebra and a giraffe to be, what would it be?
Giraffe since it seems to be more powerful, just because of its size, plus ive seen to many things on discovery channel where a lion rips a zebra in half, I wouldn’t want to be apart of that. I haven’t seen many where giraffe have got that. Plus zebras only eat grass so that sucks since I love meat.

Thank you very much for doing this interview guys, and is there anything you would like to say to the people reading this?
Oh yes it’s a good time to plug other bands, check out exit ten who are awesome, also sunny more who is really brilliant. Also a band from the states that are really heavy called in fear and faith. Also a cool slow electronic band called eye lashes, check all of those guys out

Interview By Ashik