Today I had the opportunity to interview Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw/Head Automatica. There were talks of many things including: old side projects to new ones, Roadrunner Records to Debracadabra, from upcoming tours to the nude photo that leaked online last month and even Paris Hilton! Unfortunately, there is too much to type out right now so I’m going to break it apart in 2 segments.

Here is Part #1 of Danceinmyblood’s interview with Daryl Palumbo…

Enjoy…

Daryl: Hello…
James: Hey…. How’s it going?
Daryl: How are you doing?
James: Pretty good. My name is James and I talked to you a few times this year…
Daryl: Yeah yeah, I know who you are. I remember you…
James: Oh okay… well… I had people submit questions via my site so if some are asked out of context…
Daryl: It’s cool…

James: So…Today you start off with Taking Back Sunday, Angels and Airwaves… are there any dates you’re looking forward to?
Daryl: Um, I’m really excited to be on the whole tour… I’ve known the TBS guys for a while…I’ve known Eddie since I was like, 12. I think especially I’m looking forward to New York because the Nassau Coliseum show is probably the biggest show hometown show I’ve ever played. So, it’s really special for me to play Nassau Coliseum cause I grew up seeing concerts there since I was like, three? and it’s right around my house.

James: So how’s your health nowadays?
Daryl: Um, I feel pretty good. I’ve been under going, new different and exciting treatments for my health issues and since then, i’ve been feeling pretty healthy. I haven’t been in the hospital in a bit, and uh, I’ve just been trying to take care of myself. I’ve been on the road a lot so I cant really ask for more. I do feel good, I have a lot more energy and I hope and believe that these new doctors that I’m working with have a better grasp on my problems. And yeah! I feel good! Ya know? I’ve been on the road a bit without too many problems.

James: Favorite track to play live off Popaganda?
Daryl: Off Popaganda….. my favorite track to play live would probably be…. Ah, I don’t know! Maybe laughing at you… maybe Scandalous, maybe laughing at you, maybe Cannibal Girl.

James: Are you going to play Cannibal Girl more now?
Daryl: Yeah, we hope to. Everything’s ready to be played and we played the record front to back at a show last week. We plan on playing everything.

James: Will there be vinyl for Popaganda?
Daryl: Yeah, it’s going to come out. We’re gonna do a vinyl of it…Doing a vinyl of this record is really important because I feel that the record is indicitive of another time period where a lot of pop records were available on vinyl. If you can hear it that way, it would be great ya know? I’m looking forward to a copy myself! We’re figuring out how we’re gonna do it right now.

James: Sweet…so Decadence is never going to be put on vinyl then right?
Daryl: You know, I don’t know? Maybe… I would really like to do a limited edition or like, special coloring uh vinyl press of it cause there is a lot of electronic shit, a lot of club shit. It would be cool to be able to bang it in a club.

James: Do you have any long term goals with Head Automatica? Decadence is obviously very different from Popaganda. Do you want to keep with that Popaganda sound or do you want evolve into something?
Daryl: Well my goal is to keep touring, keep putting out records. I wanna work, I wanna tour for 8 months, then record for a few months, tour, then record. That’s just my overall goal. I’m not out to change the world, im not out to change anyone’s mind about anything…im out to fuckin (pause) I’m not out to be brilliant. I’m out to do what I want to do and I wanna keep being able to do what I do, and I want to keep doing Head Automatica and that’s the goal. To keep doing it, be prosperous.

(pause)

Do I think the sound is gonna be the same? Absolutely not! I assure you that every record I do no matter what band it is, from band to band, you know it won’t be the same. Every project will be different…you have to reinvent and if you live and with no reinvitation you become stagnant, and if I become stagnant then I wont be creating up to my full potential. But yeah, everything is going to change and this season, this is what the band is. This is where it is right now.

James: That’s awesome.
Daryl: I know the direction it’s going to go in, it’s constantly moving. It’s constantly progressing. I’m constantly writing, I’m excited for the next phase.

James: On the same note, as far as the Rough Demos (pre-Dan the Automator), Tokyo Decadence… (pause) You have a very impressive back catalog of stuff that isn’t released. Do you ever plan on putting it out on a B-Side CD or something? Cause you know, they’re a big difference from what Decadence is too.
Daryl: I don’t know, you know? Bit by bit some of the back catalog will be mixed, masterered, and put out as B-sides you know?
James: Nice…
Daryl: We have some singles coming out with some live, acoustic versions, demos, b-sides… I don’t know how much is going to be released but uh, I’d say the biggest bulk of material I would like to see the light of day would be…
(pause)
I’d say there’s like, 30..40 songs that were from this past album that aren’t out. I want a lot of those to come out… I feel that those are pretty much the next phase of the band. I don’t even know if the band is up to it. It’s very next level… it’s kind of like working in reverse. It’s the next phase of the band. Some of the old material will be on the next record. (laughs). I want those songs to see the light of day. They’re important. A lot of them.
James: I’ve heard a studio version of Continental Divide… and I just know a lot of people really dig that song…
Daryl: Yeah, that’s one of my favorite songs the band has right now…I just don’t think it was time for it to come out. I don’t think it made sense to have it on this album. I don’t know whether people were ready or not… but it’s definitely going to come out. There is a version recorded and there is a couple of bootlegged versions people put out there. But yeah, it was recorded in a studio about 2 years ago. It’s strong. It’s a strong song. I wish people could’ve heard it. It’s just not the time yet.
James: Yeah, like the song There is a Pill. I know that’s an older song even though that demo was just recorded last summer..
Daryl: Yeah, I wrote There is a Pill… uh, I started writing There is a Pill in like 1999? I’d say I finished it the week that we recorded Beating Heart Baby.
James: I have a demo and the version of it that has like, a reggae feel to it… but yeah, it’s instrumental…
Daryl: Oh yeah, that version is just me doing that in my home studio in 2003…

James: So what’s the status of House of Blow? And I know that you guys said on your myspace about some MP3s in Spring and… it’s
Daryl: Well… (laughs) It’s summer already! (laughs) There is only 2 songs we have vocals for. We’ve made 2 songs and we’re kind of in the middle of mixing them,cutting them, sequencing them. One of the songs is named “Afghani Black” and I don’t remember what the second song is named. But we’re gonna put up the roughs on Myspace just to get some MP3s out there and generate some excitement.
Jesse, my keyboarder for Head Automatica helps engineer the whole project. If it was up to Sean and I we’d be working on this non-stop but he just got back from Europe with Hatebreed and he’s doing Ozzfest all summer. So, ya know? It’s just a matter of how soon I can stay on this bus and work on some music or as soon as he can come on my bus and work on some music.

James: So do you have any upcoming new collaborations?
Daryl: I just sang on the new This is Hell record. I sang on a few songs on the new We Are The Fury record. I wrote a few of songs for that and I sang with Jeremey. They just finished recording it and they’ll be on tour with us in the Fall. I’m working on material for the new Cage. I’ll be singing on that album off Defjux. I’m working with Camu. He’s on Defjux as well and he’s on Cardboard City/Weatherman. I’m just doing some production with his record.
James: Nice.
Daryl: Jessie and I are working on a few songs. We want to put out a small record. It’s a project called The Immaculate Conceptions. It’s really keyboard heavy, some improvisation involved in it.
James: That’s awesome.
Daryl: I’ve been working on some of Jarvis’ music. He’s writing a bunch of country tunes and uh, his record is coming along. He has a bunch of songs together that him and I are both writing for. There’s a lot happening you know?. I’m gonna be on this Taking Back Sunday tour all summer and then in August we start our headlining tour.
It’s us and our main support is Men Women and Children and DJ Krazy Glue and mix between bands. We’re gonna have is Rock Kills Kid and then we’re gonna split the opening slot 3 ways. It’s going to be either I Am The Avalanche, We Are The Fury, but I’m not sure who the third is going to be.

James: That’s coming to the West Coast right?
Daryl: Oh yeah definitely. We’re gonna be on the West Coast in a few weeks with TBS and the headlining tour we’re gonna do the whole US. It’s going to be the Popaganda U.S. Traveling Road Show Extravaganza! (Laughs)
James: (laughs) Nice !

CLICK HERE TO READ Part #2