AbsolutePunk.net Interview with Davey

AFI/Blaqk Audio (Davey Havok) – 08.08.07 by Steve Henderson

I recently had the opportunity to talk on the phone with one of modern rock’s most recognizable, influential, and admired frontmen – AFI’s Davey Havok. I got to pick his brain about his new Blaqk Audio project, and what the new venture means to fans and strangers alike, among other things. Here is what he had to say.

For the record, can you state your name and what you do in your respective bands?

Davey: I am Davey Havok, currently of Blaqk Audio and historically of AFI. I sing for both groups.

Can you give a history of how the Blaqk Audio project came about? How long has it been in the works?

Davey: Basically, Jade and I have been electronic music fans for most of our lives – since we were really young. And around 2002 or 2001, we started to discuss creating Blaqk Audio for our love of that genre, and Jade started programming. That’s when the band actually began. We demoed some songs in between then and now, only one of which made the CexCells record. Well, most of CexCells then was recorded in the past year.

In general, what sort of vision do you have for the project in terms of longevity and frequency of issuing albums? Is this just a one-off or is it something you want to do as a creative outlet for a long time?

Davey: It’s definitely something we want to stick with, and something that we really enjoy a lot. We don’t really see it as a one-off – I know Jade has been working on Blaqk Audio material since we recorded CexCells. We have actually already written one new song. Our hope is to continue this as long as possible. We’d like to be able to flip-flop back and forth between the two bands and maybe continue that pattern of maybe releasing an AFI record, followed by a Blaqk Audio record. It is very work intensive in that doing it this way in that every minute we have off the road with the rock band is spent working on the dance band. And that is how we did Blaqk Audio. For now, it is working really well – we love it so much that it comes pretty natural.

It sounds pretty masochistic to me.

Davey: (Laughs) Well, it is in that sense that we get really no time off. But at the same time, it is a pleasure for me to write these songs, and it was so fun to record them. It is so detached from anything we have done before, so that is refreshing and it is a plus for me to be able to create this type of music that I have been such a fan of for years. When I began playing music, doing something like this seemed so far out of reach because this type of music was so obscure. So the prospect of doing something electronic was so bizarre. Luckily Jade is a genius, and I am lucky enough to work with someone that when he started programming, quickly became good at it.

On the surface, it seems that a lot of CexCells seems influenced by “older” electronic or new-wave acts like Depeche Mode or New Order. Have there been any “newer” artists that left an impression and might have influenced the album at all?

Davey: Absolutely. A lot of the material on the album is influenced by current acts in the genre, although there is a lot that was influenced by the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and Depeche Mode. All those bands from back then. But there is a lot going on within the electronic scene, whether you are looking at The Chemical Brothers, Oakenfold, Tiesto, or Daft Punk – or in the darker scene there is lots and lots going on as well.

So, since AFI has been incorporating more and more electronic elements into its music over time, will this be a point of divergence where AFI becomes more rock-oriented, and this is your electronic outlet? Or is there going to be a little bit of fusion between the two?

Davey: I highly doubt that this will change AFI in any sort of notable way, since that is so separate, and the programming has been a part of AFI since Art of Drowning. So I can’t really see that going away, but at the same time, I must point out that I never really know what an AFI record will sound like until we are writing it. Actually, more until we record it. I can’t really say, but I wouldn’t think this means that all electronics are coming out of AFI – that would be surprising. But again, who knows.

It is pretty safe to say that AFI has become pretty stable, in that it is sort of an established success. Is it kind of exciting for you to be releasing an album for an act that is essentially unknown as opposed to just another AFI record?

Davey: I must point out first that we are never so sure of ourselves with AFI that we feel anything we release is going to be accepted, but as you said, we do have a great fan base where we know at least a few people would care about it. But you’re right – with this, we aren’t entirely sure how it’s going to be received, and who is going to appreciate it or not. And that is a very interesting experience. I am on the road now with Jade, touring on CexCells, and we were just talking the other day how we don’t know what is going to happen. It is going to be interesting to see when the record comes out to see how it does. The radio airplay so far has been totally unexpected, too. A lot of alternative rock stations across the country, and even across the world at this point have picked up “Stiff Kittens” as a single, which really kind of shocking for us. It’s fantastic considering it is not a rock song at all, in the broad definition of the word. It is really cool. We’ve had stations like KROQ and Live 105, who traditionally go outside the norm and have picked up acts like Fatboy Slim and Depeche Mode, but in this current day and age, but with what is going on currently in the radio industry and music industry, it is quite an accomplishment, really. We were really excited about it – when Jade heard about us getting played once or twice, he told me, and I was like, “Whoa! They played the song on the radio?” Now, we are almost pushing a top 20 single right now. I don’t know if we’ll get there – we might fall off, but still.

Wow, that’s great…congratulations on that.

Davey: That’s more than we expected right there, so thanks a lot!

I guess going along with the whole process as being something relatively new, do you feel more artistic freedom in creating a Blaqk Audio album versus an AFI one? Did you feel less restricted in terms of what the expectations were?

Davey: Certainly in that respect, being that there are no expectations we feel a little less restricted. (laughs) Not that we feel at all restricted within AFI – I mean, this is just a completely different style of music. It’s not that there’s less restriction, it’s just a completely different outlet – it’s a different style of music, and a different style of writing in the same way that you might appreciate painting a painting in one way to appreciate sculpting a sculpture in a different way. It’s a whole new experience, which is fun.

That’s a really good analogy. Sort of similarly, then – AFI sort of has its established fan base already. Do you envision the same groups of fans latching onto the Blaqk Audio project, or do you envision an entirely new group embracing it?

Davey: It is hard to say. Certainly I would think that the very, very die-hard AFI fans are at least going to look into Blaqk Audio simply because of mine and Jade’s involvement. Whether or not it will appeal to them, it is hard to say. I have had people say to me that they like AFI but they don’t like this, but I have also had people say they love Blaqk Audio, but are not that big of AFI fans. Across the board, it is such a completely different type of music that I don’t know. I will say that I do know that the majority of AFI fans are very open-minded about music – they really have to be to be fans of AFI, since AFI does not really fit into one genre of music. So, the stigma that a lot of people place on electronic music might not affect those people, so it is possible that a lot of them will be into it. But I think we have already seen that it has reached a lot of people beyond just AFI fans.

So it is probably going to be interesting then as you go out on tour.

Davey: Yeah, it will be interesting to see who shows up. Hopefully someone! (laughs)

I guess as you go out on tour in support of CexCells, what is the typical setlist going to look like? And going along with that, is Blaqk Audio going to perform any recreations of any AFI songs? Would there ever be an AFI/Blaqk Audio tour?

Davey: No, there’s really no reason for that. If we wanted to be doing AFI, that’s what we’d be doing, you know? So it’d be pointless. (laughs) We are doing this to do something entirely different. The setlist will consist of the entirety of CexCells, being that’s our only record, and there are a couple b-sides that we might play as well.

How have you decided until now, and how will you decide in the future which songs get allocated to which project? I guess there were some songs off Decemberunderground that were originally going to be Blaqk Audio songs, or vice versa?

Davey: Yeah, that’s true. We were working on Decemberunderground, and there were some songs that Jade was working on programming initially to be Blaqk Audio songs. But as we were working on the AFI record, with that being our focus, we started looking at some of those tracks and seeing how they would translate over to being an AFI song. I don’t know that too much of that will happen from now on, since now Blaqk Audio is now a functioning, real project, whereas before, while we had recorded some demos, nothing had been realized. So, I think it will be pretty clear which songs will lend themselves to which band, being that one is purely electronic, while one is not.

Do you ever worry that there will be some sorts of tensions in the group where the other guys will be like, “Hey, why did you hang onto that song for Blaqk Audio? Why couldn’t we have that for AFI?” Or is it all pretty much understood?

Davey: I don’t think so. Because the versions of the AFI songs that began as Blaqk Audio songs are now rock songs. So, when Blaqk Audio songs get written, there is no rock element to them whatsoever, so to listen to a Blaqk Audio song and wonder why it isn’t an AFI song is certainly something our bandmates would never do. They would be like, “That is not what we do.” (laughs)

So, what about in terms of lyrical content? Do you ever wonder if the rest of the band will hear a track and think, “Man, that would have been a great AFI song.”?

Davey: I don’t think so, because so far lyrically CexCells is quite divergent from anything I have touched with AFI. And pretty obviously so. And my bandmates just really let me do what I want with my lyrics. I bet you if you asked any one of them to recite an entire song, they wouldn’t be able to do it. (laughs) So, they probably won’t care.

Okay, fair enough. (laughs) So, when you guys decided you really wanted to pursue this side project and make it your own, how did you discuss that within the band? What sort of conversations do you have with something like that? Were there any sort of difficult times, or was it all pretty cool?

Davey: Not at all. There really wasn’t any conversations at all. It was more like, “Oh, we’re doing this electronic side project.” “Oh, cool.” (laughs) So, to answer that question for you, that’s pretty much it.

Hey, that’s pretty good.

Davey: Yeah, well right now, Hunter and Adam are off, while Jade and I are out working on this project, so I think they are very content. And I know they are – I spoke with them just the other day, and they were like, “Wow, you’re leaving on a press tour? HA!” (laughs) They both put in guest list requests for their respective cities on the Blaqk Audio tour, so they’ll be coming to check us out too. I think it will be interesting for them to see their bandmates on stage without them.

When you think about the issue of free time, then – do you worry at all about burning out?

Davey: Yeah. Of course I do. I was pretty burned out after the end of the Decemberundergound tour, and I was burned out at the end of Sing the Sorrow. If what I was doing right now was beginning another AFI cycle, I would be far less relaxed about it. So this is very refreshing, being that it’s something different.

So, if you were to get to a point where you had to choose between one or the other, which one would you pick? Right now, you sound a lot more excited about the new project, so does that mean you’d go with Blaqk Audio?

Davey: I mean, that’s something that’s such a fantastical situation that I can’t really say. It’s just not reality, at this time, I couldn’t ever reach that point. And that would take a few Blaqk Audio records for me to say I can’t go back and forth between these two all the time – I need to cut one of them. And then I would have to see where it is then. Now, that’s not even close to being an issue.

That’s good – I think that is the answer AFI fans wanted to hear at least. And I would think by now, you know what you have to do to juggle so you don’t get to that point.

Davey: We have been the entire time we’ve been working on CexCells. We’re just taking it one step at a time, and seeing what presents itself. We’ve really put no expectation on it, and no limitation on it, so I think a lot will become clearer when we release the record and start touring on it, you know?

In general, what do you think about the trend in recent years of more electronic influence and the use of electronic elements within the rock arena? What do you see as the drivers for that and what do you think when you hear pop punk bands putting dance beats in their songs?

Davey: I think it is a case-by-case basis. Now this is a subtle distinction, but typically I don’t mind a little electronic in my rock, but I don’t like rock in my electronic. And that’s just a taste thing. If bands are using electronica to enhance their songs, then that’s great. But some bands are just awful bands whether they have electronica in there or not, you know? (laughs)

So they can’t really hide behind it, then?

Davey: No, not as far as I can tell.

Going off on a bit of a tangent here, how do you feel about “Miss Murder” being a track in Guitar Hero? Is that kind of a trip for you?

Davey: You know what? I just heard about that. Honestly, I don’t care at all, either way. (laughs) My videogame era was mainly 1980 with Pac Man through Sega Genesis.

You guys had a song in Tony Hawk also, though – was that any different?

Davey: We did, and my foundation in 1980s skateboarding allowed that to be exciting for me. I think that it has come to the point where there are other skateboarding games besides 720. When 720 came out, it was the best thing ever, and Tony Hawk was an enhanced version of that. So that was cool.

So is this a little less exciting than the Tony Hawk, then?

Davey: Well, for me. But it might not be the same for someone else. I don’t care though, since I don’t play videogames, but it is a rock-based videogame, so it’s not inappropriate. Certainly we have been on videogames before where it is inappropriate, but whatever. (laughs)

Really, I had one more question here. There are a lot of people that have heard rumblings of an AFI EP somewhere here in the future?

Davey: I think so, I think pretty soon. I’m not positive about it, but I think there might be an EP or some versions of the outtakes from Decemberunderground and Sing the Sorrow. That will be released before the year is over.

Well, that is really all I had, Davey. I just want to say thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. We are all looking forward to seeing what the future holds for all of your projects.