Web Exclusive: A conversation with Phil Sgrosso of As I Lay Dying

It’s been nearly two full years since AS I LAY DYING released An Ocean Between Us, an album that earned them a serious chart debut (No. 8 on the Billboard 200) and a Grammy nomination. But as the band tell it on their new DVD, This Is Who We Are, that success isn’t, well, what makes them who they are. The triple-disc DVD offers fans an in-depth, full-length documentary spanning two hours, a full live show and an array of music videos. That should be enough to hold you over until their next album in early 2010 on Metal Blade, right? No? Well, maybe we can help with this conversation our own BRIAN SHULTZ had with guitarist PHIL SGROSSO–a transplant from another San Diego band, TOMRA— about new musical ideas for the next LP and one near-death experience.




You mention on the DVD that you joined the band when you were 17?

I [had] just turned 18.

What job did you have that you had to quit?

Oh, I just worked at this pizza place. I’d work there during high school. I had to quit there, and quit [going to community college] on, like, two days notice.

What were you going to school for?

[Laughs.] I didn’t even know. I was just like, "Oh, I guess I’m gonna go to community college." I had no goals for my future with a job outside of music. I was taking this Recording Arts class. I had to take Introduction to Jazz History, and I had to take all these classes that I just had to kinda get through before I could really take, like, a music theory class or something. And there were so many kids in the class, and the teacher didn’t really care for the Recording Arts class, [so] I was like, "This is so stupid. I’d much rather be writing music and doing something from that aspect." I think eventually I’ll try to take classes online or something and see what I can do [to] broaden my horizons musically.

A Recording Arts class?

Recording Arts class. And there were, like, 50 kids in the class. I remember the teacher talked for an hour-and-a-half on how to plug a patch cable ring. It was just stupid.

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When you first joined As I Lay Dying, did you have any doubts about whether you would become a permanent member?

Not really. I’d really wanted to be in the band, and at first, it was–I wasn’t an official member. I had to pay my dues, I guess. I’m sure the band had more doubts [about me] at first, just because they had experience with so many people leaving. I like music, and being in a band was something I really wanted to do. So it worked out. [Laughs.]

It seems like Tomra, your band at that time, were sort of "that" band that came up with As I Lay Dying since you were both from San Diego and formed around the same time. How would you describe the relationship between the two bands?

Well, As I Lay Dying started playing some bigger shows throughout San Diego and Orange County, and Tomra were just a bunch of friends from high school who loved writing new songs and playing shows. You’re just so excited about being in a band when you’re in high school. I remember we couldn’t play our school’s battle of the bands because we had an actual show to play. It was kinda funny because everyone was like, "Oh, you guys competing in battle of the bands?" And we were like, "No, we’ve got…an actual show." [Laughs.] I think that’s what every high schooler wants to do: Not just play for 50 kids in a local crappy venue, but an actual legit show.

It was kinda cool. We would see As I Lay Dying here and there. We played with them a few times, so that’s how I got to know the other guys and they got to know how I was as a guitar player, as well.

What do you think you learned in Tomra that helped you later on in As I Lay Dying?

That people’s personalities can really collide and conflict with each other. I was in Tomra with all my best friends but somehow there was still tension created, you know? I’ve been in As I Lay Dying for almost six years now and I realize that people are different. You really have to compromise on what everyone wants and work out your disagreements and stuff on the music side of things. I would write most of the stuff for Tomra, so I was capable of leading for the songwriting. That kinda helped when I jumped into As I Lay Dying to be more involved with the songwriting.

Can you recall a specific instance in As I Lay Dying where there was a personality conflict and it was eventually resolved?

It happens a lot. Most of the time it’s in the studio, or when we’re writing. When we were writing and recording for–[2005’s] Shadows Are Security, Tim [Lambesis, vocals] and I were in the studio everyday trying to get everything done. I had to kinda take over the reins and told our bass player [at the time], Clint [Norris], that I was gonna be tracking the bass. He kind of understood it. There was this thing between Tim and I when we were writing and recording our last record, just butting heads over what sounded best. It just got to a point where you get burned out on arguing everyday. But when you have dudes like Nick [Hipa, guitar] and Jordan [Mancino, drums] in the band, they can really help mediate certain tensions and problems that people might have with each other.

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There’s one scene on the DVD where you’re in your first tour bus, I think it was on OZZfest: the bus is rolling down the hill in the middle of nowhere…

[Laughs.] Yeah.

What was going through your head when that was happening?

"This is it. I’m going to die." I was in my bunk, and I knew we were on some sort of sketchy road. I didn’t want to get up because everyone was falling over everywhere. I was just gonna stay in my bunk. And then when we started backing up down the hill and it was just like, "No way this is happening." I didn’t even know we were in a desert. Then I got up and it was just like, “This is the most screwed up situation I think any band I’ve ever been in has had, with a driver that obviously has no common sense.” It was a pretty crazy thing for us. I think the fact that we were so young at the time and it was our first bus, let us get through it and just laugh it off at the end of the day–as much as it really, really did suck.

I thought it was funny how someone actually managed to film all this while it was happening.

Oh, exactly. We’ve told that story in interviews for years, and I’m finally glad that the footage has been able to surface and people can see what we experienced.

Would you say the touring cycle for that album has been the most rigorous since you’ve joined the band?

Yeah. I would definitely say that. Well, I think there’s been a lot more pressure and a lot more responsibility on us during this record cycle. We’ve been doing a lot of headlining shows, whereas a lot of times for the other records, we were supporting and supporting. So with this one, yeah, more responsibility for sure.

Do you ever feel burned out on it?

Yeah. At the end of the day, we’re all stoked to be making music for a living. That’s why we do it. We have fun doing this, but at the same time, there’s a lot of conflicts that come up and a lot of time you miss being at home. You miss your family. You miss the good weather and the good food that we have back in San Diego. But we’re playing music. Kids are coming out. Kids are stoked. Things are looking good for us.

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What else do you think keeps you going?

Making music has always been something I wanted to do since I started playing guitar. If I could just be in a band, that would be the funnest thing to do. I can’t picture myself going back to school and trying to do anything that’s not music-related. I can’t just drop out of it and leave it behind. Music is such an important part of my life.



So how is writing going for the next album?

I think it’s too soon to tell. But a lot of ideas have been going around, and it’s the earliest phase of the writing process right now. I think I’ve got, like, more than 45 riffs that I’m pretty amped on, and I think we can start getting some songs going after this tour. We’ll probably get a few more riffs in there and we’ll start jamming out. It’s tough to tell what we want to do for the next record. We don’t want to do anything too drastic, but I’ve been inspired by so many other genres of music that I definitely want to incorporate new sounds and new textures into the next album.

Like what?

For the past couple years, I’ve been getting really into Pink Floyd, and I’m like, "Man, how can we incorporate that?” How can we keep the heavy aspect of our songs, but have that texture that [Pink Floyd] had. They would layer the keyboards and synths and effects but they’re so subtle and it gives this different kind of ambient feel to a lot of the songs. I think there’s just some different progressive elements that we could try to add to our songs to kinda have them stand out a little bit from the rest of what the metal scene is doing: riff, chug part, riff, chug part. We’ve all been fans of the Deftones. We’ve got a couple songs where you can kind of hear that a little bit, I think. I think if we could keep doing that a little bit more, we could have something pretty good. alt