Bullet For My Valentine interview with Jay James and Padge
by Amber Hartman – 2008
What is the story behind the original name?
My intestines are bleeding through
How many times have you been to Japan?
4 times
Favorite place in Japan?
Tokyo was alright.
Is there any one single band that has been your greatest inspiration?
Iron Maiden. All the big classic bands like Metallica, Pantera.
What was it like touring with Metallica?
A dream come true. Amazing. We actually managed to sing on stage with them.so that was pretty cool.
Who has been your favorite band to tour with?
36 Crazyfists.
There wasn’t as much for Scream, Aim, Fire as there was for your first album, The Poison is that going to effect the writing of your next album?
No. We don’t listen to anything anyone says. Most if it was internet negative DNA. We’re going to do what we’re going to do.
How many tours have you (Bullet For My Valentine) been on?
Put it this way…we haven’t stopped touring since 2004. We’ve been touring straight since we’ve been signed. I think we’ve had a month off once otherwise we have a few days off here and there. Before this tour we did an American tour with Taste of Chaos.
Do you have another tour planned after this one?
This tour goes up until December, but we have a few weeks off in October to do some practicing and writing.
Is there a difference between European and American fans?
Not really. No. They all come to the shows excited to see us. Americans are more into to the mosh pits. The mosh pits keep getting crazier.
Do you have any crazy fan stories?
Some of our fans get similar tattoos to us, but no one can really copy mine and Padge’s. There was one guy that had the lyrics to one of our songs tattooed all the way up around his arm.
Have you had any fans that were over the top?
I (Jay) had a kid ask me to sign a fag (cigarette), but that’s really it. I had someone throw a chocolate bar at me last night. Someone threw a half-eaten chocolate bar at me and hit me in the chest.
Is everyone in the band involved in the song writing process?
Yeah…we’re all involved. We help write our parts, but Matt is the lead guy.
How is your relationship as a band?
We’ve known each other for a long time. We were friends for a long time before we started the band. We’re like brothers.
How long did you have to wait for a contract with Sony after you turned down a deal with Roadrunner records?
They were pretty much at the same time. It came through a good time and Sony has been really good to us.
How long have you been playing your instruments?
Since we were 16 or 17….so about 10 years. But then again we didn’t actually start playing the guitar until we started the band. That’s when we became serious, before that we just winged it. We’ve actually started really learning the last few years. Like really, really learning.
Are there any other challenges about being the band besides not having adequate time for family and friends?
No. That’s really been the hardest thing. And when we’re home people don’t understand why we’re so tired. It’s hard sleeping on the bus; we never get an adequate night’s sleep. Health is always an issue. It’s hard to get proper nutrition…we take a lot of supplements. When we get a few days off to go home, we try to see all our family, friends and try to do the jobs that need to be done around the house and then all our time is gone and we have to back on tour. When we’re home we actually get more tired because we’re trying to do so much in such a short amount of time.
Is a third album in the works?
There are some pieces like riffs and stuff, but we’ll be doing the majority of the writing on our break from the tour.
How long did it take you to write and record your last two albums?
Both of them took a long time for different reasons.  The first album took a long time because our producer was really, really anal about everything. He wouldn’t let us stop until every single string sounded amazing. The second album was recorded in seven week in El Paso, Texas. But then Matt had tonsillitis and had to have his tonsils removed, which lead to him not being able to sing or talk. We had a big gap in production, so that’s why the second album took us so long. If we didn’t have any interruptions, it shouldn’t talk us more than a couple of months.
