Stabbing Westward just finished their tour with The Cult.

Stabbing Westward Interview

Question:How is the tour going so far?

Stabbing Westward:It's going really great so far.

Question: How did it happen that you got on tour with the Cult?

Stabbing Westward: Months and months ago before it got started, bands usually farm out to all of the agencys and see who's available. We've always been fans of the Cult and their work. I think it would be unlike any other tour we could go out on. I don't think we would really work well on Ozzfest you know.

Question: Have you had the chance to see The Cult play yet? What did you think?

Stabbing Westward: I've seen a few songs and they are really good.

Question: How did you get on Koch Records?

Stabbing Westward:We were dropped by Columbia Records and we wanted to sign with an independent label. They let us do exactly what we wanted to do musically and not interfere. And that is what we wanted.

Question: Where have you been getting the most response from your new album?

Stabbing Westward: It's been pretty even everywhere we have been. Everybody seems to have embraced it. But obviously some places have definitely been very into it. Chicago is very good. L.A. is very good. Places we have done very well in the past. Toronto too.

Question: How was the recording process for the new album?

Stabbing Westward: In out other albums we definitely used a lot of computer technology. This time we took a more traditional approach to recording. We didn't use any computer equipment and recorded it live.

Question: What is the idea behind: "So Far Away", "Perfect", and "Happy"?

Stabbing Westward: A lot of the songs are about relationships. "So Far" is basically about breaking down barriers and walls. "Perfect is about realizing something just isn't right in a relationship with yourself and your girlfriend. Rather than finishing the song and making it romantic and exciting, we left it without the end so people could decide for themselves. "Happy" is about being in a good relationship.

Question: How does the new album differ from previous albums?

Stabbing Westward: I think it is a little more positive, a little more spiritual. It's way more organic than our other albums. Once we untied ourselves from our machinery, we discovered our persona. Our emotions.

Question: What are your likes and dislikes about touring?

Stabbing Westward: You are on tour for like a year with 10 other guys and it becomes very repetitive. Some days you don't know what the date is or where you are. The cool part about touring is for that hour or hour and a half that you get to play every night.

Question: How did you all meet?

Stabbing Westward: I actually came to the band after they did the first record. I know Christopher and Walter went to college together. They were playing with a band in Chicago that Jim our bass player was in and they asked Jim to join their band. And then Derrek our tour guitar player we brought in a little later.

Question:Where did you get "Stabbing Westward"?

Stabbing Westward:I believe that when they were searching for a name, they were in college. They pulled a bunch of album covers out and written down a bunch of names. "Stabbing Westward" was part of Eisenhower's speech inside a cover insert. Had they done it again, I'm not so sure they would have chose the same name.

Question:What is your favorite song on the new album?

Stabbing Westward:That's really hard to say. Right now, my favorite would be "The Only Thing."

Question:Who do you like to tour with?

Stabbing Westward: Depeche Mode was great. We are all huge Depeche Mode fans so that was amazing. They were really great to us.