Whitechapel – Alex Wade
Posted on October 08, 2009 at 9:32 pm by Justine
Knoxville, Tennessee’s Whitechapel came to show Guelph,ON what they had to offer when they played The Cowboy Bar with Darkest Hour and Trivium. Before they took the stage I got a chance to sit down and talk with guitarist Alex Wade. He talks about their most recent release This is Exile, writing on the road, their love for Metal Blade Records and guitar hero. Here’s the interiew that took place outside with fans gathering around to catch a glimpse of the guitarist.
Way Too Loud!:What influenced you guys to start playing music, as a band and individually?
Alex Wade:For me I started playing music when I was 14 a couple of my friends got guitars, and they were like you should get a bass man! We can start a band and stuff. I said alright and I got a bass and obviously it was terrible we were just making noise more than music. Two years later, when I was 16, I sold my bass and bought a guitar just because I got bored with bass and I wanted to develop intricacies with the guitar and stuff like that. And as a band as I grew up I just got in and out of local bands you know blah blah blah nothing that was too serious. Couple of the other guys were in local bands too and that’s how we knew each other. Our local bands had played shows together so we knew each other through the local scene so when Whitechapel formed people always called it an all star line up of all the best local bands.
WTL!:When you first started did you have a lot of support from family and friends?
Alex: I mean when we first started we never realized how serious it was going to be we were just kinda like you know a couple kids, actually we were pretty old we were like twentyish. We were just a couple of dudes playing local shows; booking our own shows, we didn’t even have a van. I just had a jeep Cherokee that we would hook up a little small trailer too and we’d go to shows and stuff like that. You know back then our parents were fine with it as long as it didn’t affect our work or school. They didn’t really care but when we started to go out and buy a van and go on our very first tour ever that’s when they started to be stand offish about it. We started quitting our jobs and a lot of us were giving up scholar ships to school and stuff. We told our parents you know we want to do this, this is what we want to do. Now obviously where we are now they are all proud of us and how we have come so far in such a short span of time.
WTL!: In 2007 there was a blog that you guys posted about Brandon that he was getting some surgery. How is he doing, is there any plans of him rejoining the band?
Alex: In 2007 Brandon was in a motorcycle accident and he suffered extensive nerve damage in his left arm, he actually hit a wall going 40 mph so he’s lucky to not be dead and not have a lot worse injuries then he has. But, in his arm the nerves were ripped from the muscles so he cant move his arm what so ever so he was forced to leave the band because he just can’t physically play the guitar. He was going to try and get the surgery to make it possible to reconnect the nerves but he could never get up enough money. We played benefit shows and gave him the money and his parents and family tried to chip in but the surgery was so expensive that it just wasn’t possible for him to get it. Zach, who’s in the band now, I had played in local bands with him in the past and a couple of the other guys had played with him too so it was just a natural fit that he became the next guitarist for Whitechapel. Brandon is doing fine, his arm still doesn’t work but he’s doing his own thing. He’s starting a recording studio, so he’s recording local bands. So, you know he’s still involved in music and metal.
WTL!:You signed to Metalblade Records in order to release your second album, how was it working with them?
Alex: Absolutely never want to be on any other label. I love Metal Blade Records we feel like we’re really a part of a family with them. It’s not like they are looking at us with dollar signs, it’s like they really want to help further our career and really invest time into the band rather than hoping we’d just get big and stuff like that. They want to make us big not just hope we get big. I love it; I wouldn’t want to be on any other label.
WTL!:I read that “This is Exile” follows a concept of an evil god sent to destroy the earth, how did that concept come about?
Alex: No real specific reason really, we just wanted to make a step up from the older CD’s on Candlelight we were maturing the music as far as writing goes, we were making the music more intricate and adding more leads and solos and that. Lyrically we wanted the same thing, just a mature theme for the album because we wanted people to take us serious as a metal band and not as a dorky scene band that has stupid sing a longs. So Phil came up with this concept and we were all digging it, so the lyrics follow along with the concept.
WTL!: You have seemed to move up since you released This is Exile, can you tell me what you have accomplished since then?
Alex: A lot, definitely. A lot more touring than we ever imagined, you know when This is Exile came out we were on Summer Slaughter. Since then we have done Summer Slaughter in the US and Canada, support tours for Unearth and direct support for Suffocation we’ve been to Australia and did a headlining tour and we did a European tour. We were just a part of this year’s Mayhem Festival, which is absolutely huge with Marilyn Manson headlining. Ever since that CD came out it has just been go go go.
WTL!:Is it difficult having three guitarist in the band?
Alex: Sometimes, and sometimes no. I think now it’s become such an intricate part of our sound I couldn’t imagine us without it. If a guitarist was ever to leave I think we would get another guitar player instead of leaving it at two. When Brandon left that was another option, is just keeping it at two and just leaving it at two. But, back then we decided it was necessary to keep it at three, so I think we will always keep it at three. I think it just kinda sets us apart; there are a lot of bands that sound like us or are in the same genre so it’s just one thing that helps us set ourselves apart from the rest of bands.
WTL!:How do you feel about the deathcore tag?
Alex: I get that a lot, it’s not something we get mad about by chance if someone calls us deathcore were not exactly going to choke them out. But, I mean if you had to strip us down to our bare roots I guess that’s what you would call us. We are death metal mixed with more modern elements such as hardcore, metalcore and stuff like that. You know in the same breath we call ourselves metal, we like to incorporate all different kinds of elements of metal whether it be progressive or death, or just straight American metal whatever it may be. We’re just a metal band and that’s what we consider ourselves.
WTL!: What are the bands influences?
Alex: Really anything that is dark and heavy, Meshuggah, Slayer ,Slipknot even more ambient stuff like Deftones. Bloodbath, Dying Fetus and Fear Factory were just over the whole spectrum of metal whether it be death metal or heavy metal, whatever it may be.
WTL!:You said that you are hoping to have the new album out by spring 2010, is that still the plan?
Alex: Yup, it sure is. We’re actually writing still, we’ve been writing before Mayhem, we wrote on the bus all of Mayhem. We just got a 3 week break before this tour and we wrote that whole time, and we’re going to be writing this whole tour .We’re going to be writing when we go home for 2 weeks, we’re going to be writing on the next Trivium leg. We’re just trying to pound out as much as we can, we’re going to go into the studio in January and want to deliver an album that is hopefully more solid than This is Exile.
WTL!:Do you have any ideas for the album name yet?
Alex: We have a couple of ideas, obviously nothing we can release just yet. But we’re definitely looking into ways to tie in This is Exile, and keep the same theme going and obviously well have a different concept and artwork. We want our fans to be able to relate to what we did on This is Exile on the new CD.
WTL!:How is writing on the road going, do you find it more difficult or just as easy?
Alex: Its more difficult, like when you’re sitting at home and you have an idea you can just go over to your computer get into the recording program and just jot it down. When you’re on the road if you’re in the van and you have an idea you can’t exactly just bring out the recording studio and record everything. It’s definitely more difficult but we try to make the best of it, whether it be you have a riff idea in your head and you just take out your phone and just record it on your phone or whatever. And you try to take your guitar out and you know work it out later or something like that. Like I said we just try and make the best of it so when we go home we just try to nail everything that we wrote on the road.
WTL!:How has your writing changed over the years that you guys have been together?
Alex: I think it’s definitely more mature, and we try to now instead of just writing riff riff riff and just sticking riffs that sound good together we try to look at the music as a whole, and write it in the fans perspective. Whether it is like this part would be cool to have a chant live or this would be really cool to write this riff but live have it extended to build up the momentum of the song or something like that. We really look into a lot more than just writing riffs when we are writing albums now.
WTL!:Since you guys tour so much how does this affect your relationships and friendships?
Alex: It’s definitely hard when you are on the road so much ,you miss your friends and family a lot, and having a legitimate girlfriend on the road is pretty much next to impossible. But some people do it, Phil is engaged he has been for a year or something now. I don’t know when they are getting married but you know hopefully we settle down enough so they can do that It’s definitely hard but if you have the right relationship with someone who understands your goals and your career than its definitely possible, it’s just hard to find those type of people to have in your life.
WTL!:What do you guys do on tour to keep yourselves entertained on the road?
Alex: All kinds of stuff, Gabe is the beefcake of the band he works out, Ben is always on guitar pro on his computer mapping out new riffs and stuff like that. Kevin is a big computer nerd so he’s always on his computer. There’s only so much you can do on the road. You listen to a lot of music whether your chillin out with your headphones or driving the van listening to your iPod. You just try to hang out with the other guys from the other bands, and try to make friends because you’re all there for the same reason. You just try to make the best of it.
WTL!:What has been your favourite place to tour so far?
Alex: Australia, definitely without a doubt. It’s so beautiful over there, and we were over there for two weeks it felt like a two week vacation. The shows were smaller because we had never been over there before and we were doing a headlining show. The cities were different, you know Sydney was like 400 people but most of the major cities were really good they were usually over 200 or so. But some of the smaller cities were like 60 kids, which was awesome because we haven’t played a show that small in forever because we have been touring with all these big bands and stuff. It was kinda cool to go back and play all these smaller shows and we’re going to be going back in February for Soundwave Festival, so I’m excited about that.
WTL!:If you could tour anywhere in the world, no limitations where would you go?
Alex: Back to Australia, or Japan I hear it’s crazy because they are so starved for music over there. They don’t really get a lot of bands especially American bands so when they go over there tons of kids come out and they go crazy. I would definitely like to go to Japan.
WTL!:Who would you tour with if you had no rules?
Alex: My dream tour would definitely be Slipknot, Meshuggah, Deftones and a Fear Factory reunion or something like that.
WTL!:How is it touring with Trivium?
Alex: It’s awesome, its a lot of fun. They are definitely a huge band but it’s cool because they are still down to earth guys. We met them on Mayhem and got to spend six weeks hanging out with them then, and now we get to continue that friendship on this tour. We get to do the second leg of this tour with them and Chimara. After that we are doing the third leg of this tour which is in the UK, so it’s really cool to keep this friendship going between all the different tours.
WTL!:I have heard stories of bands eating beef jerky and peanut butter to survive on the road, have food choices ever become slim for you?
Alex: Not now, obviously we have established ourselves and we make enough money on the road that we don’t have to worry about where we’re going to get our next meal or anything like that. In the early days on our first one or two tours we played it pretty smart, we would ration it out we would go to Wal Mart and buy groceries to keep in the van, you know non perishable stuff. We didn’t want to waste our money buying fast food and all that, so we could make our dollar stretch a bit more by buying groceries at Wal Mart. So I would definitely say we have never been starving by any means.
WTL!:Is it pretty safe to say that you guys are fuelled by alcohol and some other stuff?
Alex: Some of the guys are. I think that’s one thing I like about this band there is no one that has a drug or alcohol problem in the band. I, myself, am straight edge but I am the only one in the band. Some of the other guys enjoy a brew every now and then, but yeah we’re a pretty clean band.
WTL!:So you guys still sleeping in a van on tours or have you upgraded since then?
Alex: We have definitely upgraded, as I said back in the first couple of tours we’d have to sleep in the van and stuff but on Mayhem we had the privilege of being able to be in the bus, it was amazing. It was our first time on the bus, other than in Europe but it was really cool to not have to drive and being able to sleep whenever you want and stuff like that. But, even now it’s not that big of a deal we get hotels every night so you’re able to sleep in a bed and get a shower so it’s really not that big of a deal.
WTL!: In July Guitar Hero made one of your songs available to be downloaded for the game how did that feel? 
Alex: It was really cool, we were all really stoked on it. It was cool to go on Youtube and see kids posting their scores and that they were proud that they got the high score.I haven’t got to play yet, honestly I hate playing the guitars on the game I like doing the vocals or the drums something that is out of my element.
WTL!:Do most people make the connection between your band name and Jack the Ripper?
Alex: Sometimes, sometimes not. We get mistaken for a Christian band sometimes because Whitechapel is a white church and stuff like that, which you know kinda sucks but at the same time it’s just a name more or less so hopefully people will start picking up on it more often.
WTL!: Have you guys ever lied about your band name or what it means?
Alex: Yes, to police enforcement *laughs* Sometimes we’ll get pulled over for speeding or whatever and he’ll obviously know that it’s a band. He’ll ask what the band name is so sometimes they will ask if we are a Christian band and we’ll just say yes. Because obviously we will get let off the hook a lot easier as a Christian band as opposed to not being one. So you know, we might be going to hell for that but we don’t think so. *laughs*
WTL!: Thanks for doing the interview, and good luck with the show tonight!
Alex: No problem, and thank you.
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