"Everything's Magic" For Angels & Airwaves
By Caitlin Johnson
If there is one thing that can be said for Angels and Airwaves, it's that the band really knows how to keep itself entertained.
Apparently, nothing is more fun than the green screen on the sixth floor of the CBS News Broadcast Center where they arrived early one morning for an interview with The ShowBuzz. Guitarist David Kennedy lifted up his shirt to see if the tattoo on his stomach would disappear against the screen. It was turquoise, so it didn't work as expected.
"We take our music very seriously. We take being funny very seriously," founding member and former Blink 182 guitarist Tom DeLonge said.
Minutes later, DeLonge was mesmerized by the size his of his hands as they appeared on the television monitor.
"It looks like my hands are floating. Look at my hands, and then look at my head," he told the other guys.
Considering that they were once all rivals of sorts, the band behaves as though they have been friends since childhood. It's a refreshing departure from the stereotypical too-cool rock star image, even though their new single "Everything's Magic" is climbing up the charts.
What is also refreshing about Angels and Airwaves is their desire to push rock music forward.
"We try to create sonic kind of landscapes based around our favorite parts of alternative, punk rock, new wave rock 'n' roll," DeLonge said.
DeLonge's Blink 182 was hugely popular in the 1990s and early 2000s with hits like "What's My Age Again?" and "All the Small Things." Bassist Matt Wachter hails from Jared Leto's "30 Seconds to Mars," drummer Atom Willard played for Offspring and Kennedy played for Box Car Racer. But this project, they say, is special.
"It's very much its own thing now. We're all very committed to Angels and Airwaves and there aren't any other side projects," Willard said. "Nobody is bouncing back and forth between anything. We're all, I can speak for myself, we're all so in love with what we've done."
The San Diego-based band debuted in 2006 with their album "We Don't Need to Whisper." The second album, "I-Empire" is a continuation the project, DeLonge said.
"It is the second half of a story that we are doing. It's largely conceptual but it's also largely autobiographical," DeLonge said. "It's taking an idea that, of what the first record was about and communicating it through personal experience. So all the songs deal with human emotions -- love, fear. And we're also making a film to go along with it. We're working really hard to make music exciting again so we've been extremely ambitious with all this stuff."Photos: In Concert
Being ambitious means using all technology available to jump-start a "rock revolution." Now bands have new ways to communicate their music through the Internet and through films, DeLonge said.
"What we're trying to do is show other bands what they can do it they just try," he said. "I think in the next 24 months, we will be starting to show people."
"The standard is release a CD, go on tour," Willard said. "There's so many other things you can do."
The record will be released through their Web site on Nov. 1 and will be sold in stores on Nov. 6. DeLonge says look for a big North American tour to begin after Jan. 1, 2008.
For more on Angels and Airwaves, visit their Web site.