MiamiNights - Miami Night Clubs, Nightlife

R7: So how’s the tour going?
Jose: It’s been great. We've been on for about a little more than a month now. We have been having lots of solid shows and meeting tons of great people.

R7: Any crazy stories?
Jose: We had just played an awesome show with VHS or Beta, and the Institubes DJs in Los Angeles. It was a great show and our first in the West Coast of the tour.  Afterwards we headed north to San Francisco. Right outside of Oakland we heard this terrible noise coming from the van. Suddenly we lost power steering, power brakes, and had to make an emergency stop on an exit.  The van died on the bottom of the exit from the freeway.  We were stuck there in the middle of the intersection.  A good Samaritan that we nicknamed Yukon Dave (and I will tell you why in a second) helped us pull the van out with his jeep.  Afterwards he offered us all sips of his bottle of Yukon Jack Whiskey. He had a long gray haired ponytail and a matching ong white beard.

R7: Sounds hectic!
Jose: He proceeded to tell us all of these hilarious stories of living in Africa and seeing animals get drunk on fermented fruit.  Anyway so we had to pull out all of our gear on the side of the road before Triple A came to tow our van away.  Our van got towed to a nearby mechanic. We still made it to the show with the help of our friends. The show must go on!

R7: I always thought the best part of touring is the crazy stories and stuff that happens on the road.  How’s the show these days.  Everyone in New England knows you for the punk-fueled live thing.  
Jose: Yeah the shows are just as energetic.  Ryan Z’s our new guitarist definitely has maintained that level of energy that we've always had.  I think especially on the road when the shows are ranging from huge club shows to house parties to little dive bars, people really appreciate it when you go nuts and give it your all no matter where you are or what the turnout is like. 

R7: I remember one of the most interested parts of your LIVE show was watching Reid (the drummer) play in total synch with a  drum machine.   Are you guys still doing that?
Jose: Yeah for sure. He runs an IPOD that has tons of backing tracks with synths, drum machine and some other instruments running from a mixer.  He has one side in one ear and the other is a click so that he is always synced to the MIDI clock. Everything always is in time.  People go "where the hell is that mystery keyboard coming from??? Is there some dude offstage??"

R7: LOL...nice... Congrats on being signed to IHEARTCOMIX!
Jose: Thanks! Franki and Travis are awesome. Things have gone well with them and we are looking forward to doing some more with them in the future.

R7: I think it’s a great label!  Matt & Kim, Toxic Avenger...you can't go wrong.
Jose: For sure! They have a lot of awesome artists and they do some really great stuff in LA. We always play their parties when we go out there and they just keep getting bigger and better.

R7: I was telling Danny (the guitarist) that Miami especially South Beach is more of an electronic dj kinda of town.  Does that scare ya at all?  What should the Miami kids be in store for?
Jose: Well its funny because we have played so many electro/house/DJ type nights on this tour. We usually go over pretty well at those places. We aren't as much of an electronic band as we used to be, but we can still bring a good dance party.

R7: Don’t get me wrong..Miami kids can do rock.  The general thought is that there really is not enough of it that comes here to begin with.  I think it’s going to be a refreshing chance for those to check out something different and amazing.
Jose: We have a pretty loud and heavy rock element, but still remain really danceable. I think that's why we can play DJ nights like that and also play dirty underground and DIY (Do It Yourself) stuff and get the same kind of response.  I think there is a fair amount of crossover to begin with…

R7: For sure if you check Toxic Average’s live set there’s mosh pits and slam dancing.  Last question guys, What’s the future hold for ya.  Any hot plans you can leak to my Miami readers about? New Videos or European dates?
Jose: We are touring in '08 around SxSW and are going to try to hit the festival circuit in Europe. There has been talk of perhaps relocating operations to the West Coast during our time off of touring. Ryan and I are already making plans to spend an extended stay in the early part of the year there, living in our van by our own means before we meet up for tour again. We have a new EP out now that is self released and with handmade artwork for this current tour, but it will soon be released digitally on a more widespread base soon.

R7: New EP ...GOOD!  Well guys Buck 15 is a great venue. Located in the heart of the crazy South Beach madness.   It’s a manageable space! So Sunday November 4th it’s gonna be hectic.  People party hard during the Halloween week in Miami going out every day of the week so here at Miaminights we’ve billed the show as the  Official Miaminights Closing Halloween Party Featuring Protokoll (Iheartcomix).E-Flyer will be out soon!
Jose: Hell yeah! One of our favorite holidays

R7: What every you do make sure to bring your bath suit,  half a costume and that bottle of the Yukon Jack Whiskey…cause it’s South Beach Baby!