MySpace a place for friends

1. How was LMAYFM started?

>>> My girlfriend went crazy. Literally. She had undiagnosed bipolar disorder, which was compounded by the copious amounts of weed that she smoked. We’re both from New Orleans, but we got separated by Hurricane Katrina and I was in Houston at the time when I found out that she had moved in this homeless Italian dude she had met and was engaged to be married to him. What I didn’t know at the time, even though the signs were there was that she was suffering a breakdown and was losing touch with reality. She was really sick, but all I knew was that she was engaged after a week of knowing this dude, and I snapped. Music has always been important to me, I’ve always been in one band or another over the past five years, so it was the first thing I turned to. I sat down at the keyboard and Leave Me As You Found Me awoke and started pouring out of me. It literally was the only reason that I didn’t go down to New Orleans and destroy somebody. Looking back that would have been a terrible end to a tragic relationship, but I was out-of-control with rage. The music was the only thing that kept me sane.

2. So would you say your music is dark?

>>> You know actually I wouldn’t say my music is dark. Of course there are aspects of it that are dark and angry because that’s what I was feeling at the time and that’s what came out in the music, but the album is not about Hate, contrary to the title. The album is about hope, because ultimately my battle with the hate I was feeling became bigger than my issues with her. That might sound weird, but it got to a point where I was like how do I deal with all this hate? I can’t breathe, this can’t be healthy; I want this monkey off my back, and she became a distant side note.

3. How would you describe the sound of your album?

>>> I would have to say the Killers meet Marilyn Manson or Shiny Toy Guns as played by Escape the Fate.

4. Do you become defensive when people categorize your sound as pop industrial or glam goth?

>>> No, I don’t become defensive. I mean in a way what does that even mean? I sat down at the keyboard to deal with these issues and this is what came out. I had very little control. I mean, I’ve heard other musicians talk about this happening, but it was as if the music wrote itself. It was surreal, like it was being channeled through my body. My hands would move, words would come out of my mouth and the song would be done. The whole process was very quick. It was strange, but powerful. So if that’s how people categorize it, that’s fair, but I didn’t have any intentions to make a certain type or a certain genre of music. My only intention was to stay true to what I was feeling. If you do that then your music will always have value no matter how people categorize it.

5. Why is the album called Die, Bitch?

>>> The short answer is cause that’s how I felt when I was making it. But no really, I mean there was a time when someone could have called me and told me, hey man, she’s dead. She got into an accident or committed suicide and I would have been like, ‘oh yeah, good riddance.’ Which is so far from the type of person I am, it amazed me how much it affected me. So maybe it was a little bit of that, but the real reason is when the murderous rage finally died down, I wasn’t able to forgive and forget. I just couldn’t let her get away with what I felt she had done to me. It just so happened that I knew the password to her myspace. So I was going to post all these nude pics I had taken of her, and email them out to her friends and family; even post a video we had made together. Then I was going to finish up by posting her pics, number and address on craigslist, which is what the song Die, Bitch is about. I had it all set up, the only thing is I couldn’t go through with it because I was so close to her family. It was a split-second decision though, and came down to the wire before I finally decided that I wasn’t going to do it. But it wasn’t lost on me that this album was becoming a metaphor for that. It picked up where my revenge left off. This album is my revenge. It’s constructive revenge, so I had to call it Die, Bitch because that's the revenge song on my album.

6. What about people who might say the album's misogynistic?

>>> Anyone who says it’s misogynistic hasn’t listened to the album.

7. Do you have a favorite track you can talk about?

>>> I mean obviously every track on there is my favorite. Each song is so personal and so powerful to me. But if one were to stand out I would have to say No More Messages because that’s the victory song. That’s the song where I’ve crossed the finish line and I can hold my head up high. I built that song around a series of voicemails that she left me, and to hear her voice on that track makes it even more special. I mean if it wasn’t for her this album wouldn’t exist, so I have to thank her in a way because she was my anti-muse.

8. What do you hope people get out of this album?

>>> I really hope that if there is anybody who is going through or has gone through what I went through that this album can get them through, let them know they are not alone and give them the patience they need to keep their head up. This album kept me from doing something really stupid and I hope it can be there for other people too.

9. What should people expect when they see you perform live?

>>> Raw energy. Honesty. Sexuality. A lot of sweat. It’s everything the album is but bigger. I basically open my chest, let you take what you want from it, and leave the rest on the stage. But it’s also communication. There’s a rapport with the audience, a communication. I’m giving energy, but I’m taking it as well. We’re sharing stories, we’re learning from each other; helping each other.

10. What do you feel about the state of music today?

>>> I mean it is what it is. If all the bands that they are playing on the radio are pouring their hearts out into their records then who can knock them for that? And how can I say if they are or aren’t. But I’ll tell you what, if you’re not getting out and seeing live music and supporting your local bands, you’re doing yourself a disservice because there are a ton of amazing bands out there that never get on the radio. Some are probably in your own backyard, you just got to go out there and find them. I probably see 2 to 3 local shows a week when I’m not performing. There is just something incredible about seeing someone on stage pouring their soul out, and knowing that you and a handful of other people were the only witnesses to it. And it’s amazing how great these bands are. If you’re just depending on radio to expose you to what’s happening in music, you’re definitely missing out.

11. If there is one message you could leave people with what would it be?

>>> You’re not alone. Never. If you think that dinosaurs never became extinct but super-evolved and live in alien base camps on the ocean floor, then there is probably at least one other person in this world that agrees with you. So no matter what, you’re not alone. Always be true to yourself and don’t worry about what people might think about you. Life is too short not to be happy. That's not just one message, but you get the point.