Interview with I Fight Dragons

It’s a bird. It’s a plan. No, it’s I Fight Dragons! This group from Chicago IL is not your ordinary boy band. Half rock-stars, half superheros, these men can do it all! They have set out on a mission to combine melodic rock-and-roll with chiptune (creating music on video game sound-cards). This summer they are boldly going where they’ve never gone before: Warped Tour!

Check them out on twitter and facebook and make sure you visit the Warped Tour date nearest you.

How did you guys form?

“Like any good crime-fighting squadron, we came together rather spontaneously around a concept.  It just so happened this concept was integrating pop-rock and chiptune.  Also I (Brian) knew Bill from high school and met the rest of the guys through the Chicago music scene in various ways.”
We are from Chicago as well, do you have a favorite venue to play there?
“Definitely the Metro, we’ve played there a handful of times now, but every time it’s damn awesome, the place has so much history.”
Craziest moment on tour?
“Chad actually turned 21 while we were on tour 2 summers ago.  Travie McCoy through him a birthday party and let’s just say I regret what he did to those penguins.”
What do you think your band has that sets you apart from other bands?
“Excellent dental hygiene.  I guess high-caliber musicianship and songwriting combined with an original sonic palette too… nah I’m sticking with the dental hygiene.”
Do you guys play video games on tour?
“Yes, although not as much as you’d think, because tour is EXHAUSTING and we’re usually driving ourselves, but there’s generally a fair amount of emulator gaming as well as something happening on the van XBox as well :P”
If you could pick the ultimate concert line up what would it be? (Of course you guys would be in the line-up as well)
“Weezer, Muse, Fountains of Wayne, Us, Zombie Beatles (John and George would be reanimated for this because it’s ultimate after all).”
How excited are you guys to play Warped Tour this summer?
“On a scale of 1 to 10 I’d say we’re about a JHFODISHGOISDJGFOKVM)OIVMN!!!!!!!!
Are you currently working on any new music?
“Yes!  We’re actually in the middle of writing a rock-opera-type-thing that we’re hoping to do a lot of work on before Warped Tour.  We’re always working on something new, keeps the juices flowing so to speak (eewwww)”
Do you guys play pranks on each other?
“Yes.   We find ourselves INCREDIBLY entertaining although I’m not sure if that opinion is shared beyond our small circle of people who are empirically knowledgable about how funny we are.”

If you were not a band, what would you guys be doing?

“Brian: World’s Foremost Astrophysicist
Bill:  World’s Secondmost Astrophysicist
Hari: Astronaut
Chad: Policeman / Astronaut
Packy: Copywriter For An Auto Parts Supply Website”

Who did you listen to growing up? Do you feel this has reflected in to your music?

“Hmmm well there’s obviously a healthy dose of Weezer and Fountains of Wayne in a lot of our music, both of which were definitely formative influences.  In terms of individual players though we come from very diverse backgrounds, all of which do have some bearing on our styles.  Hari (bassist) was a metal head growing up, Chad and Packy are much more classic-rock heads and Wilco fanatics, and Bill was much more into dance and electronic music.”
What do you have planned for the upcoming months?
“In addition to working on the rock opera I mentioned earlier, we will be working on creating a small black hole or wormhole-type singularity.  You’ll know if that ends up working out because it will destroy the planet relatively quickly in the grand scheme of things.”
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGKYmjsS0hg]
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