(Loudside.com recently had the opportunity to chat with 10 Years skinsman Brian Vodinh about the band's upcoming album, the impact that illegal downloads have on artists and music, and what it's like to write music from the heart when your label is hounding you for radio friendly hits. Here's what Brian had to say about all that......) 

Loudside.com: So how is the whole recording process coming along?

Brian: It's going really well. Ya know, actually we only have I think less than two weeks left. So we're pretty much in the final stages.

Loudside.com: Right on. Vocals are all done being recorded as well?

Brian: Yeah we're actually finishing up some little guitar parts here and there, and just finishing up Jesse.

Loudside.com: Ok, so you're getting ready to go into mixing mode then?

Brian: Yeah, mixing will start at the beginning of next month.

Loudside.com: Cool. So tell me, from the release of The Autumn Effect, through the entire touring cycle for that album, into the writing of the new album, what are the biggest changes the band has gone through?

Brian: Honestly I would say we've just grown up alot. I mean, touring for The Autumn Effect gave us the opportunity to tour with some AMAZING bands, and bands that we've looked up to and bands that have been around for a long time. So we were lucky enough to be able to just pick their brain and watch them everynight. So once we got off the road and it came time to write, we had alot more experience and alot more knowledge under our belts. So just playing live shows, you get a better vibe of what songs work better live and which ones don't. So when it came time to write this record, we knew that we needed energetic songs that would still move people emotionally. So we needed to have all the elements in place.

Loudside.com: Now you guys are working with Rick Parasher on the new album, and last time out you worked with Josh Abraham. What are the biggest differences in working with those two producers?

Brian: Well Rick is definitely a musical guy, and he hears things that we don't hear and he really knows how to dig in to parts and to really push us to play our instruments better. Where Josh, he's more of an executive producer. He's kind of a business man, more so than a music guy. I mean honestly, he didn't bring much of anything to the table musically. It was kind of just us and the engineer doing the record, and actually that was fine with us ya know. We didn't have to answer to anybody. We just kinda did what we wanted to do. But definitely Rick is way more of a musical guy.

Loudside.com: And is that because he's actually a musician as opposed to just being a producer?

Brian: Yeah Rick is skilled on the piano, and he has a really good sense for melody and things like that. He really knows how to build a song. And that's what we were looking for the most. I mean as a band, we can write amazing songs, and amazing skeletons for songs, but sometimes we need somebody to help us come in with maybe a little arrangement ideas, or just to shed a different light on it. Because we're so involved in it, we're the ones writing it, so sometimes it's tough for us to stand back and look at a song from an outside point of view.

Loudside.com: Ok, so he brought in his ideas, and not necessarily changed anything, but maybe just helped you guys to flesh out some parts here and there?

Brian: Oh yeah, definitely!

Loudside.com: Now initially you guys were supposed to be working with Travis Wyrick. What exactly happened with that?

Brian: Well, there's a number of things that went wrong with that. Number one, as a band, we weren't ready to make the album. What happened was, we just came off the road in October and everybody thought 'Ok give us a few months to write, and then we'll go in January or February and do an album. Well, the reality of it was that we all had been gone touring for two years or so, so when we got back, everybody wanted to take some time off and chill and just hang out. And we bought houses and we were kind of just going back to everyday life and having to adjust. So by the time January or February rolled around, we had written a handful of songs that we really believed in and that we loved. But we just didn't have the full album, it wasn't ready. And even creatively, it just seemed like things were just getting a little bit stale with Travis in Knoxville. I mean, Travis brought alot of ideas to the table  that were really great, and he was especially good with working with Jesse on vocal stuff. But there was just...ya know you have to click on all levels with the people you're making a record with, and just at the time, the whole vibe wasn't there, and we couldn't go on in that capacity trying to make the record. So we kind of had to back off and get grounded again, and then just go back to the drawing board and keep writing.

Loudside.com: Cool. Now I previously read online somewhere that the tentative title for the album was "Bye Design". Is that an official title now, or is that still something that is being talked about?

Brian: Definitely NOT a confirmed title. Uh, that was just an idea at one point. But that's not gonna be the title of the record. We're not sure at this point. We haven't even really talked about it, we've just been so immersed in recording.

Loudside.com: In regards to lyrical content, I know alot of other bands are writing about the war and politics. Is that something that's possibly making it's way into the lyrics for 10 Years?

Brian: Not so much. There's songs that you might be able to interpret that way. But to be honest with you, for the most part, we've always just written about just living life and observing whats around us and things like that. We're not super political people, and actually we have things that we stand for. But as far as wanting to write songs with heavy political lyrics, we leave that to alot of the other bands. Especially at a time like this, EVERYBODY's doing it. So for me at least, I enjoy it when I hear a new song that I like that's NOT talking about the war, or NOT talking about politics. I mean you can say it a million different ways, and believe me those bands are doing it.

Loudside.com: The reason why I ask that is based on the demo track that you guys posted on your myspace page. After listening to the whole song, and reading the lyrics, it could definitely be interpreted as being politically charged.

Brian: Yeah. The funny part about it is, with that song, everybody thinks that it could be political. But at the time that the lyrics were written.....I mean, when you think about it, everybody knows a person that's like the person that's being written about in that song. And there are obviously some major political figures that fit the bill quite well. But that's not necessarily who that's about. (laughing)

Loudside.com: Ok cool. (laughing) It's just based on interpretation, and like you said, I'm sure everyone potentially knows someone like that. But for me, the initial thought was that it was politically charged.

Brian: Yeah. I mean with some of the lyrics.....well number one "Fool the world with all your lies", that definitely could sound political. But then you could have a third cousin that's full of shit, and that could remind you of them too. (laughing) You just never know....we're kind of sneaky over here.

Loudside.com: (laughing) Also on that demo, I noticed that you incorporated some screams into the backing vocals. Was there a specific influence or reason you guys decided to add screams to the track?

Brian: No not really. Actually, that was just...that track at the time felt like, let's get a little angry on it. Let's get a little aggressive. With The Autumn Effect we really didn't get aggressive vocally. So we decided to do that on the demo, cause the demo is just kind of a road map. It's like 'ok here's an idea, let's record it real quick and see what happens.' And as far as the way that song "All Your Lies" is gonna end up on the record, it's gonna be different than the demo. I'm not gonna say exactly how, but it's gonna......we had the time to listen to the demo and say 'ok we love this, this we can make better, this stays, this goes' you know. So yeah....(laughs)

Loudside.com: Well it was definitely a different element for 10 Years, and it seemed like you guys got a pretty good response to it.

Brian: Yeah, I mean that's all I can ask for is that people appreciate what we do. And we've always been the band that with every song we write.......well first and foremost we do it because we love it. And then if other people enjoy it, that's a complete added bonus. And especially when people can actually relate to a song and not just enjoy it. Cause it's one thing to be like 'oh cool I like the beat in this song' or whatever. But if they can listen to a song and say 'Man this reminds me of my third cousin, he's full of shit!' (laughing) then that's great! I had to go back to that third cousin thing, I like that.

Loudside.com: (laughing) Ok, now in regards to the writing of the lyrics, was Jesse the sole writer, or did the rest of the band also contribute?

Brian: Jesse is the sole lyricist. There's a handful of songs that I'll write lyrics on as well. But he writes the vast majority.

Loudside.com: Ok, now I wanted to ask briefly about this 'Terror Normal' show that Jesse and Lewis took part in. Is there any chance of that experience potentially coming into play in the lyrical content of the new album?

Brian: Not necessarily, no. But you know what, Jesse's still ironing out all the lyrics right now, so as far as I know.....I don't recall seeing anything that had to do with anything like that. But you never know. He's kinda getting everything finalized right now.

Loudside.com: Cool. Now in reference to the last album, I know that "Wasteland" and "Through The Iris" were actually on the independently released album 'Killing All That Holds You'. As far as the new abum goes, are you planning on re-recording any older tracks, or is this going to be strictly new material on the album?

Brian: Strictly new material.

Loudside.com: Ok. Also in relation to that question, is there any chance of the material being re-recorded, not for this album obviously, but in the future?

Brian: I'm pretty sure not. That was cool for the time being, but again I think we've grown alot musically and as musicians. For us it's neat to go back and listen to, but it would be taking a step back to really spend alot of time on re-recording that.

Loudside.com: Gotcha. Now in regards to the iTunes acoustic ep that was released, is that going to be a recurring theme for 10 Years, to release acoustic renditions of regular material?

Brian: Absolutely!! We love just sitting around and playing acoustic guitar, not to mention every song is initially written on an acoustic guitar. It's fun that way, and when you take away all the distortion and the loud drums and cymbals and all that, if you're left with a beautiful song, then that's an amazing thing. And with a singer like Jesse who's voice can translate, whether it's acoustic or full band or whatever, it's really just fun to do. And also there's a certain level of intimacy, especially when we do it live where its the five of us sitting around with acoustic guitars and Jesse with say a handful of people as an audience, that's Killer! I mean to me, that's just as much of a rush as playing in front of  20,000 people full band. Just because they're there listening, and if anybody makes any kind of mistake, you're GONNA hear it!! It's cool though, we love the acoustic side. It's a good vibe.

Loudside.com: Right on. And have you guys actually done a number of acoustic shows in the past?

Brian: Yeah we've always done acoustic shows. I mean back before we were even signed, we were at the local Arena records store doing acoustic shows and different things like that. And then as we were touring on The Autumn Effect cycle, we went into a different radio station everyday it seemed like. And played acoustic over the air and to small audiences, so......yeah we love it! (laughs)

Loudside.com: Now I read in one of the studio updates about a track that's supposed to be on the new album that just has Piano, Cello, and Jesse doing vocals. Is that still gonna make it on the album?

Brian: Maybe. That one actually, it's kind of......we haven't been able to spend much time on it because that was actually not going to be part of the album. But what ended up happening was, we were sitting around the studio one night. A couple of the guys are hanging out drinking or whatever, and somebody mentions 'Hey I wish we could do that song', and the engineer here was like 'well why don't we lay down just an acoustic guitar version of it first, and then maybe we can do the piano later.' And so I went in and laid down the acoustic guitar, and Jesse laid down some vocals on it, and it's not complete. It still has a ways to go. Whether we have time to finish that one up or not, I really can't tell you, but its......it's floating around.

Loudside.com: Maybe use that for a b-side or potential movie soundtrack or something?

Brian: Yeah, ya never know.

Loudside.com: Ok, now tell me a little bit about the jam session with the DeLeo brothers. How did that all turn out?

Brian: Well actually it ended up being just Dean DeLeo, but we have a mutual friend. And I guess Dean got my number from our friend, and he called me up one day. And I'm sitting at my house in Knoxville with Jesse and we're working on some vocals, and I get this weird number calling me. And usually I don't answer weird numbers, but this time I was like screw it, it's an LA number so I might as well see who it is cause I have alot of friends out there. And it was this guy on the other line saying it's Dean DeLeo, and at first I think it's a joke. But it ends up that it was him, and we talked and he said he loved us and he was off the road with Army Of Anyone and we were writing. And he said he would love to jam with us. So Jesse and I go out to LA, and we jammed with him and we wrote an amazing song, and it's gonna be on the record.

Loudside.com: Right on. So was it just one song that you worked on?

Brian: Well we jammed around a handful of songs, but this one in particular, it had something so special about it. And the interesting part about  how this song came up, that song that you mentioned earlier about just Jesse and the piano and the cello and all that. I showed Dean that song and I said 'Hey man how do you think I should end it'? And he started playing this thing, and we were like 'Man what is that?', and he was like 'I don't know'. And so we just started jamming on it, and that thing turned into this song, and it was one of those things where it couldn't be the ending of the other song. It turned into it's own entity, and it developed into this song, and everyone will get to hear it soon.

Loudside.com: Now I know that alot of times in their main band the DeLeo brothers do backing vocals. Was it just Jesse on this particular song?

Brian: Yeah,

Loudside.com: Ok, now as far as touring goes, you guys have done some tours with some big name bands, including last year's Family Values tour. Throughout that entire touring cycle, did you guys have any filming going on for a potential dvd?

Brian: Yeah, we have some footage from the road. Not a whole bunch, but we have a good little foundation started with video footage, but there's definitely no talk of a dvd anytime soon. I think we're gonna have to compile a little bit more.

Loudside.com: So maybe after this next touring cycle then?

Brian: Oh yeah, that would be great!

Loudside.com: And you guys are obviously shooting in studio footage.

Brian: Yeah, we have our camera here, and we're getting some shots. Mostly of us playing basketball outside(laughs), but yeah, we're gettign some stuff.

Loudside.com: Now is that also going to potentially be compiled, or is that going to maybe be for a bonus disc with the new album?

Brian: Ummm, we talked originally about doing a bonus thing with the new album, but at this point I really don't know. It's up for grabs. Who knows? (laughs)

Loudside.com: (laughing) Now prior to getting started on the new album, you guys apparently had some disagreements with both your record label and management. What was the deal with that?

Brian: Oh man, well all it is...is basically we did well on the first record, but we didn't go platinum. We're not this success that absolutely blew up. So when you have mild success, and you sell around half a million records, the label is thinking 'ok this band has potential', this record has to sell two million. So as we're writing the songs for this album, we're getting calls everyday, 'Hey, are you writing hits?' Ya know, and it's like.....oh man. But you know what though, every band has probably gone through this pretty much, and it's just how it goes. It's the music business, and BUSINESS is all capital letters. Because nowadays, bands don't sell the way they used to. I mean, "Wasteland" was number one on active rock charts and the alternative chart. So five or six years ago, we would have sold three maybe four million records off of that. But nowadays, since everything is different with downloads and whatever, you can't expect the same success. But the labels, I think they're just scared. And everybody wants that three minute long, radio formula hit. And it sucks, cause I think I've mentioned it before, but can you imagine if a band wrote "Stairway To Heaven" now, they'd get laughed at. People wouldn't take it seriously. They'd say 'Are you kidding me? Eight minutes long? There's no way that's gonna go on radio, trash it!' It's amazing the commercialism has taken over the art. And that's a damn shame!!

Loudside.com: I agree. That whole three minute and thirty second formula....

Brian: Is it like a fuckin RULE?? I mean, I feel like there's a referee in the fuckin studio, with a whistle. And it's like he blows the whistle everytime we do something creative, ya know. Like, 'What the fuck is wrong with everybody?' But I can promise all of our fans, and to anybody else, that this record is definitely, for us a big piece of our heart. And it has alot of creativity, and we're coming from an artistic standpoint, and we're not just trying to make that three minute long fucking bullshit commercial fake rock song, ya know? Cause that's already been done enough. I would rather go down in flames doing something with integrity, than the other way.

Loudside.com: Nice! (laughs) Now I was actually gonna ask you about that as well. With the internet being what it is, and just about every record that's being released ends up being leaked prior to the official drop date, how do you guys feel about that knowing that you have a new album coming out soon?

Brian: Well I'll tell you what, I think it sucks cause we're so excited for people to hear it. But since we're the ones creating it, it's like we want them to hear it with the total package. We want them to get the cd, we want them to see the artwork. Cause think about back in the day...I mean, I'm 25 and I'm not even that old, but I do remember when I was younger, Smashing Pumpkins or Nirvana or anybody came out with a new album, you couldn't wait to go and get the cd to see what the artwork looked like. To see what the cd itself looked like, and to see when you pick up the cd out of the tray, what kind of artwork did they have under the tray. It was exciting ya know. And nowadays, people don't even buy fucking records! It's like MAN! ya know. But yeah, it does suck, because we're gonna put alot of work into trying to create the total package. I mean, number one, we have to create the songs, and we have to do that with as much heart and soul as we possibly can. But then that's not the end of the line there. It's like there's.....each album has it's own life, cause there's like Tee shirts, and what kind of stage set up we have and different things like that, ya know. It all influences eachother. I do hate when stuff gets leaked, and the idea of our record getting leaked early kinda sucks because you know, it takes away from the excitement for us. But you know what, that's life. I guarantee you it's gonna get leaked somehow, and I hate to say that but I mean, every record does. Like I heard that Linkin Park on this last album had armed security at the factory that was making the cd's, and the thing STILL leaked. So......I don't know ya know. If they had dudes with guns running around and stuff, I don't know what we can do.....ya know? (laughing)

Loudside.com: (laughing) Now it seems to be pretty standard to bands to film a first video to coincide with the release of a new album. Are you guys in any planning stages for that at all?

Brian: I'm sure we will, cause that's something we definitely want to do. But you know, we have no idea what the first single's gonna be and all that stuff. So when the time comes to cross that bridge, we definitely will. I mean we love making videos, and especially this time around, we feel like maybe we even have some stronger visual ideas. And some of these new songs are a bit more visual anyway. I mean, not just the way they sound, but even just what Jesse's talking about. So, I think when the times comes to make a video we're definitely gonna do it. Hopefully soon, but there's no telling.

Loudside.com: Cool. Now in regards to getting back on the road and playing live, are you guys going to try and work a good portion of new material into the set, or are you going to keep it limited until after the fans have had some time to become familiar with the new album?

Brian: Um, we were actually talking about that yesterday I think, and I think we're just gonna start playing alot of it. May as well. I know that the fairweather fan, or the person that you know.......the guy three rows back, hammered drunk, that always yells 'play Wasteland' between every single song. That dudes not gonna give two shits if we play something new or not. But then somebody that has 'Killing All That Holds You', and that's a REAL fan.....somebody that really knows about the band, they're gonna be into hearing something new usually. ya know.

Loudside.com: I'm just askin because it's always a toss up between playing something that fans know and can sing along to versus playing something new. Although it's always cool for the fans to get to hear something new, just like most bands enjoy playing new material because it's still fresh to you guys. ya know.

Brian: Well, we were actually just joking around making a set list, for when we get back. It will be interesting to play some of these new songs right beside some of the older songs. But some of the set lists that we were just throwing around were pretty amazing as far as a good balance. Like four or five songs from The Autmn Effect, and a couple from the new record. And I think that will be a good balance. Throw a couple two or three new songs in there with the majority of The Autumn Effect. I think it will work out.

Loudside.com: Now I know it's been a little while, and you guys have been working in the studio. But I know that sometimes things are put together by management teams as the band works. So taking that into accord, are there any solid confirmations for tours, or is all that still up in the air at this point?

Brian: Ummm, at this point, I think......I think it's still up in the air. We're waiting to hear back about some Tour stuff, but I don't think I can give anything solid right now. I would like to....(laughing). I mean, I'm really not 100%,  but I'll just throw this word out there, and I think it's supposed to be happening later this year.....Sevendust. There ya go......