Nonpoint 
An interview with Andy Goldman
By Debbie Seagle

<--Part I

RNW:  So he’s not shy?

Andy:  No, not at all.  Like the second we get off the stage, I like to go on the bus, change my clothes.  Rob runs out immediately to go sign stuff, say “What’s Up?” to people, so he’s always on the internet too.  He’s the one who writes the most on the web site.

RNW:  Right on . . . you have a killer web site.  I love it.  So, do you all contribute to the web site? 

Andy:  Pretty much its all Rob who has the stuff, like the daily tour diary.  But Elias was writing something else for another web site we have.  But its pretty much all Rob.  He’s on every day.  Every hotel we stop at, he’s immediately off the bus, trying to see where to plug in and try to get on line.  That’s his big thing.

RNW:  What other web site do you have?

Andy:  There are a bunch of branch web sites that kids have made – fan sites.  I’m the only one in the band who doesn’t have a computer, so I’m like really . . .

RNW:  How do you get along?

Andy:  Anybody I need to talk to, I have my cell phone with me.  I don’t really use the computer or email really.  I’m kind of behind on all of that.  I’m totally out of that loop. 

RNW:  You will be assimilated!   Resistance is futile!

Andy:  I know, I keep thinking I don’t need one but, I don’t know.  I don’t think I need one yet.  Its going to happen for sure . . .

RNW:  Your music is described as “intelligent,” heavy music by some of the reviews I’ve read.

Andy:  Famous historians say?

RNW:  Famous historians say. 9 out of 10 people surveyed say, that Nonpoint is “intelligent” heavy metal.  Do you feel that you guys have something new to bring to the heavy metal scene?  What’s your tag?

Andy:  We don’t really like to label ourselves, with stuff like “we’re THIS metal or THAT METAL.”  We try to add something new.  There’s so many bands that are just kind of rehashed.  The same sound over and over again.  Like, “we can do it too,” and they do it too.  I’m totally unimpressed with all of that at this point.  So, my mission, I love playing music, and writing songs.  But my mission is, if I’m going to be a musician and make it my career, and put records out and let people hear it, I want to give them something new.  I want to turn something in a different direction.  I write the majority of the actual music.  We all arrange it when we jam together, but I write all the music on the guitar and me and Elias get together for vocals and stuff like that.  So we really try to do something different.  We’re a heavy band by nature, we play heavy music, but we try to add lots of layers to help make us more of heavy band.

RNW:  I’ve heard people say that it sounds like there’s three guitarists in the band and they are surprised at your live concerts that its you making all that sound.

Andy:  I have a couple of little overdub things on the record and I figure the sound, what a band sounds like on a record is one thing, but what they sound like live is a different type of thing.  I see us more of a raw, stripped down machine live.  Cause there’s lots of vocal effects and crazy s*** going on on the record that you do on a record.  But live, you can’t recreate everything.  I don’t have four overdubbed chunking guitars live so . . . that would be awesome . . . but we do live and it’s a different type of feel than on the record, but I think its cool both ways.

RNW:  Well, you definitely have a flavor.  I don’t know what it is, but I like it.

Andy:  You know, I’m trying to figure that out.  It tastes funny every now and then . . .

RNW:  No, it’s a good flavor!

Andy:  Excellent!

RNW:  How would you describe your relationship with the fans?

Andy:  We’ve always been real down to earth with the fans.  We see ourselves as just regular dudes.  Except for K.B., of course. 

RNW:  Oh, K.B. the distinct one . . .

Andy:  Yeah.  I don’t know, we just hang out and go on our bus after we play.  We walk out into the crowd and hang out with people.  We’ve always done that.  Since the club tours and starting out.  After the show we would always go to our merch. booth and sit around for like an hour, talking to kids and signing s***. 

RNW:  That’s cool.

Andy:  Its important with our type of music. 

RNW:  It keeps them close to you.

Andy:  We trying.  Our image is like, not really having an image.  We wear regular clothes, we don’t do out hair or makeup or anything.  We totally get away from all of that and we just get up there.  Sometimes I get out of bed and whatever shirt I have on, I just go play in it.  It doesn’t really make a difference, you know?

RNW:  Okay, well, sleep in this antiMUSIC t-shirt, right?

Andy:  Yeah, I’ve got a new shirt to wear!

RNW:  Hey, I gotta plug our merch!  If you wear that to bed, its okay for you to wear it for the next tour you do my brother!