Phil: Alright, cool. So I just wanted to get to the roots of Atreyu: the name. Right, I’ve heard it comes from a character in ‘The Never-Ending Story’ is that true?

Dan: Yeah, I mean there's nothing behind it or nothing. Just more so, just a name that we thought was cool, sounded kind of metal really: sweet, we’ll take it.

Phil: So, are you all fans of the film?

Dan: Erm, yes, I mean it’s definitely a good film, we all like it.

Phil: Is it something you grew up with?

Dan: A little bit, yeah. I mean it’s definitely something when you think back to being young you totally remember: ‘The Never-Ending Story’ and ‘Falcor’ flying around and ‘Morg’ and all that stuff.

Phil: There’s some rumours around that you’ll be playing download?

Dan: Not anymore.

Phil: Ah one of my friends wanted me to check on that because he’s going and he’s really looking forward to it. You know how the internet works, rumours go up everywhere and every band is playing everywhere.

Dan: Yeah, not anymore.

Phil: So, how’s the tour been going: UK? This is your last UK gig?

Dan: Yeah, yeah, the last one. We did five days here.

Phil: So, how’ve those days been going?

Dan: They’ve been good, they’ve been really, really good. The fans have been really awesome and a lot of kids have been coming out and singing along and stuff.

Phil: Yeah, how are the crowds?

Dan: They’ve been good, they’ve been really, really responsive.

Phil: What are they like compared to US crowds?

Dan: I dunno, I guess a little more enthusiastic, a little more in your face.

Phil: Cool, that’s good. I’ve got some pointers here on my little notepad. I had to write it all down in the car. So what bands are you into at the moment?

Dan: I don’t know. I listen to a lot of like old rock kind of stuff, that’s pretty much all I really listen to. I mean like, you know; ‘Van Halen’ and ‘Dokken’ and ‘Winger’ and ‘White Snake’ and all that stuff.

Phil: You did a ‘Bon Jovi’ cover on ‘The Curse’.

Dan: Yeah.

Phil: Whose choice was that?

Dan: I dunno a little bit kind of; Alex’s a big fan of ‘Bon Jovi’ and he was like ‘I’d like to do a ‘Bon Jovi’ song if we’re going to do any sort of song’. So we were kind of like, what song can we all agree on, that we could all be into.

Phil: Yeah, it fits the mood of the album. So are you off to France next?

Dan: Yeah, yeah: Paris.

Phil: How’s your French?

Dan: Erm [Laughs] Good. No Bueno.

Phil: [Laughs] That’ll do.

Background: That’s Spanish, Dan.
Dan: Yeah exactly [Laughs].

Phil: Close enough. Are you sick of interviews yet?

Dan: Erm, a little bit yeah.

Phil: I thought you might be, so I’ll try and keep it short. Are you planning on recording anything new soon?

Dan: Erm, probably not, ‘til like maybe early next year, something like that.

Phil: Finish touring?

Dan: Yeah, yeah we’re gonna tour a couple. Do a Warped Tour and, uh, maybe another headliner and then get that going.

Phil: How do you feel your music has evolved through ‘Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses’ and then ‘The Curse’? How’s it progressed?

Dan: I think it’s just, kind of matured a little bit, I mean we wrote a lot of the songs on ‘Suicide Notes’ when we were like sixteen, seventeen years old and now we’re all in our early twenties, early to mid-twenties. So, erm, just our taste in music’s changed.

Phil: Is it a reflection of your life events?

Dan: Even things like that, yeah. I mean just anything you know, and even just listening back to the old stuff, you know, we could do this so much better you know.

Phil: When did you set up the band then, when did you start playing?

Dan: Erm, I started playing with the band, well I met Alex and Brandon when I was like thirteen I think, and, uh, I’d been just jammin’ with them and like even just punk bands and stuff for a while. And then, so about ten years with them and like different bands.

Phil: Cool. That’s something I should have done, but I’m stuck interviewing bands instead of playing in them so…

Dan: Yeah

Phil: [Laughs] It’s not so bad. What do you feel are the three most important things in your life right now?

Dan: Most important?

Phil: Music must be up there somewhere.

Dan: Oh, music is definitely number one. Erm, I guess music, my friends and my dog.

Phil: Ah, your dog. What’s your dog called?

Dan: His name’s Ralphy, he’s a little Chihuahua, he’s awesome.

Phil: Did you bring him with you?

Dan: Nah, no, I couldn’t do that he bites people, can’t have that around.

Phil: [Laughs] You should just throw him out into the crowd.

Dan: Yeah [Laughs].

Phil: Have you got a personal favourite on ‘The Curse’, a song, when you were playing you were really into it?

Dan: I like playing, err, I dunno, I like playing ‘Right Side of The Bed’, that’s a fun song to play. It’s got a lot of cool rock parts in it; it’s got a guitar solo in it, which is always fun for me. It’s just a good, fun song to play.

Phil: I noticed on your website that you launched a poll.

Dan: Yeah, vote for our songs.

Phil: Yeah, the ones which you will play on tour. Are you sticking to that?

Dan: Yeah, yeah. I mean, err, pretty much. I mean like we’re not taking everything on you know, but I mean like we basically took the top ten and we kind of like picked out of that, like, what to do.

Phil: Do you happen to know what the top three were?

Dan: The top three? I wanna say. Uh, I can’t even remember, I don’t even know if I saw the list. I think ‘Right Side of The Bed’ was up there, ‘Lip Gloss and Black’, err, and then; I can’t remember what the other one was. I think those were the two: top two.

Phil: How’s the relationship with the support bands been going?

Dan: Oh, it’s awesome. ‘Norma Jean’, we’ve been on tour with them for the past two months, they’re doing our headlining portion in the US. ‘He is Legend’ guys we just met but they’re really nice.

Phil: Yeah, my friend was asking me if I’d heard of them.

Dan: Oh they’re so good, they’re so good. Really good band.

Phil: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to tonight. Hopefully I don’t break the Dictaphone.

Dan: Yeah [Laughs].

Phil: Yeah, I think that pretty much wraps it up, that’s all I have to say.

Dan: Cool.

Phil: Oh, I got told to ask you this; it’s a bit of a random question. If you were a chair who would you want to sit on you?

Dan: [Laughs] Who would I want to sit on me? Erm, I dunno, that’s a tough one, there are so many people I would like to have sit on me.

Phil: [Laughs] In order. If you played musical chairs you’d get them all.

Dan: Erm, exactly, yeah. If I played musical chairs I’d be more into it. I’ll say, I’d say Carmen Electra. Carmen Electra’s pretty hot.

Phil: Cool, alright. Well thanks for doing the interview.

Dan: Yeah, Thank you.

You can find out more about the band at their website, www.atreyurock.com or Victory Records' site, www.victoryrecords.com.