~  W E A P O N S  F O R  P E A C E  ~

February, 2003

Band Members:

• Rick Reardon (vocals)
• Tony LaMonaca (bass)
• Jim Bedorf (drums)
• Jason Callais (guitar, vocals)
• Phil Williams (guitars)

"Negativity and self-doubt create the momentum for failure. Surround yourself with individuals who (sincerely) believe in your band as much as you do. Learn as much as you possibly can about the inner-workings of the industry… it’s a snake pit…cover your ass and protect your rights as an artist. Also, you’re only going to get out of the band what you put into it. If you don’t work at it, nothing will happen…stay focused. We have to remind ourselves of this all of the time…"

The band formed in mid-2000, nearly a year prior to the launching of TheLab. I have been watching Weapons For Peace from the sidelines for a while now, and I have been intrigued by the workings of the band. They never struck me as your sterotypical rock band.There's something strangely professional in their conduct... something solid in their relationships with each other that comes through in their music and their dealings with others. It's an almost overwhelming sense of experience and pride in the things that they do...with just a touch of innocence and bravado that makes them so complete.

In February of 2002, Weapons For Peace graced the cover of Unsung Hero Magazine (R.I.P.). Within the interview, they had stated that the band was not yet ready to infiltrate radio airplay.

"Has our point of view changed in terms of infiltrating radio airplay since the release of our EP/version 1.0: Yes.

When the EP came out we were only together for six months, as a full band. We didn’t have enough time to develop a true chemistry between each other as players. We wanted to get a product out to solicit to clubs and have something physical that represented us at the time. The songs are incredible, but the avenue of airplay was not an issue because we didn’t have the means to take everything to the next level. We believe Individual Revolution is that next step…I’ll let the album speak for itself."

When asked what influenced Weapons For Peace to choose this recording studio, they responded:

"We knew we wanted to record all the instrumental tracks live to two-inch analog. Right there we limited our choice of rooms. Then the second factor was who would be the one to understand us as players and what we were trying to convey on the album, tonally.

We went with Mike Newman for a couple of reasons: Jimmy and I have known Mike for years. We knew him on a personal level, what he did professionally, and how he worked with people. What sold us with Mike, ultimately, was the fact that he believed in the material. He listened to our pre-production and was getting that same feeling inside that we got when we heard the songs…Mike was on our level of understanding. And he keeps reaffirming our view of him even after his part of “engineer” has been completed.

I have a high degree of curiosity in the learning process of recording of an album...so I asked Weapons For Peace what they took away from the experience:

"You can only push people so far, and I think there were times that we pushed Newman to his mental and physical limits during the course of creating this album. We’re very demanding individuals. We were locked out of the control room at one point…There’s a fine line between expecting the best and trying to induce slave labor."

Weapons For Peace band members seem to drive toward a common goal as a group rather than individuals.

"WFP’s current professional goal is to make ourselves known throughout the Mid-Atlantic region by (exposing) as many people as possible to the WFP experience. It is the same as two years ago, but on a larger scale. The perimeter keeps getting wider."

"Beyond the musical roles we have, as individuals, we also take on (but are not restricted to) specific aspects of the business to help create a well-oiled machine…and to keep our own sanity.

Since Jimmy is the most eloquent speaker of the whole, he is the one who handles the upper echelon of business: perspective management, public relations, soliciting radio stations, etc. Also, since we practice at his house, he is the provider of our practice space. It’s nice to have heat.

Rick maintains and updates our website, www.weaponsforpeace.com: keeping our show dates and news page current so the most accurate information is available at any time…this is important because things do change like the wind. Also, he sends information through our mailing list, keeping fans informed first-hand. A band’s web site is its most valuable asset for information soliciting/receiving purposes.

Callais is the visionary behind our printed material: He designs our promotional posters/advertising, flyer/leaflet designs, as well as all of the artwork concepts and design for our new album, Individual Revolution.

Phil has the legal channels that we submit any inquiries that need answers-to cover our ass. He is also the one who handles communication for promotion-i.e. Verbal interviews.

(Tony LaMonaca is) the one who handles the booking of the shows: acquiring the bands to play with, developing a rapport with club owners/bookers, soliciting our material to venues we have not yet played at the present, and making sure the venues we are booked at have proper promotional material in them to support the upcoming shows."

Tony LaMonaca - I can’t speak on behalf of the band on this one, but can only give you my personal experience of when the band was there for someone emotionally/mentally: For the first six months I was in the band, my live performances were horrendous-bad notes, freezing up on stage, etc. I would be fine at practice, but live was a different story. Phil took me out one day and explained the situation to me (on behalf of the band) that I was not up to “par”. But instead of kicking me out on the spot he told me I should see a medical doctor, because of certain “symptoms”. I went to the doctor, and through a series of tests, was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease-the more common term is hyper-thyroid disease. The thyroid controls all glands in the body and the heart. When it over acts, it creates symptoms of stress, hyperactivity and nervousness. Everyone thought I was a coke addict. The remedy was a radioactive iodine solution. Within two months I was “normal” again. I knew there was something wrong with me, but didn’t have the balls to get diagnosed. I was informed I had the condition for at least five years, and if it went undiagnosed for another five-ten years it would have caused damage that would be irreversible. So essentially, the band saved my life.

In the past three years as a band, describe what you consider to be the milestons in the development of Weapons For Peace's current "sound."

One milestone would obviously be the establishment of our current line up. If you took any of us out of the picture, the sound would definitely be different. Phil and Callais compliment each other so completely. They work so well with each other as players. Jimmy and I provide the backbone. Rick does what he does best…sings his ass off. Our “current sound” is the culmination of over two and a half years of writing. But to pin point any specific event in time…there’s nothing that is ground-breaking, so to speak, it’s just a flow of ideas that create what we are. We write what makes us feel good.

Is there an order in which the components of your music is written? How is the writing process shared among the band members?

There is no order to how we write our songs. We all write and come up with ideas. Someone might have a whole song written or just a single riff. But no matter who has the initial idea, when it’s completed it’s a Weapons for Peace song. But if there is a completed song that the band is not 100% behind, it does not get printed to a recorded media for solicitation.

What is the most gratifying experience you have had as part of Weapons For Peace?

There are so many good things…But the most gratifying experience I’ve had being in WFP is the fact that I am a part of a group of individuals who all believe in what we are doing. And that’s something a lot of people cannot say they have. I feel very lucky to be a part of the experience. The band is my emotional and mental outlet.

What was the strangest experience you have had on stage?

One of strangest things that has happened was actually not on stage, but outside of the club…We were playing a show at TT Reynolds, VA with Jack Potential. There was no parking behind the club, so we parked the van in a lot behind a Fairfax municipal building. When some of us came out of TT’s to get the gear, a SWAT team siege was going down with two guys in a truck. SWAT team members in flack-jackets, ski masks and machine guns pointed at this truck. This was all going down in front of our van. Our sound guy dove in the back of van when he saw all the SWAT team commandos coming from behind him on both sides. It was really intense, freakin helicopter flying around and about fifteen officers with machine guns were surrounding this truck. None of us could tell what the reason was…but they took away two guys and then everyone disappeared as if nothing happened…what you gonna do when they come for you….

What was the most challenging situation the band has found itself in?

One of the most challenging situations was acquiring the monies to finance the recording of the album. As individuals we’re not financially well off, most musicians are not, so we had to rely on selling our merchandise and the revenue that we earned by playing shows…which is why it took a year. Nobody handed us the money to do it.

The single strongest impression I have gotten from every profile or encounter with Weapons For Peace was that you believe in and support original music above and beyond what is necessary for a band to sustain itself. What are some examples of work that you have done to help develop the music scene that most people are not aware of?

We’re not doing anything new, per say. What we try to do is show our faces throughout the scene by checking out bands on a regular basis, by going out to the shows where bands are playing original music. There is only a scene if people are there. I constantly hear people say nothing good comes out of Harrisburg, but they’re usually the same people who never leave their house to find out what’s out there. Also, there’s a whole separate under-age circuit that is going on (which the mainstream audience is not aware of). I’ve seen really great bands at all-age venues, high school kids playing their hearts out. There’s a lot of talent here in the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York area; you just have to expose yourself to it.

Given unlimited resources, what would you do to make the music scene in Harrisburg and surrounding areas better?

Given unlimited resources I would open up a rock club in Harrisburg, right downtown that featured local/regional/and national bands. And not just national bands that are played on the radio either. This is the Capitol City of PA and there is not a facility that can accommodate a national touring band. Since the demise of the Metron on Cameron Street, this has not been able to happen. Wouldn’t it be cool to go downtown and see a band like Rival Schools or Queens of the Stone Age. If you had a venue that had national acts, you could feature local and regional acts as openers on the bill as well…but that’s with unlimited resources…

What makes a venue a good place to play, and why?

There are many different things that make a venue a good place to play, but a couple things would be: When you don’t have to provide sound equipment would be one thing. That way you don’t have to worry about anything except for playing. It allows you, as a player, to get into the zone of giving the best performance possible. Free drafts are definitely a cool benefit. But I would think the most important thing would be when there’s a mutual respect between the venue owner/booker and the band…when they understand what you are trying to do. We’re lucky to have rooms in the Harrisburg/Lancaster/York areas to play in on a regular basis. When a venue asks you to come back to play again, that’s one of the highest forms of flattery a band can get. I believe that this is because the owners/bookers understand the amount of work that we put into promotion and to making sure the night will run smoothly…inturn, generating as much of a crowd as possible…then hopefully by the end of the night everyone is happy.

Given the opportunity to voice your opinion to a large audience, what would you want to say? What point would you want to drive home?

This is a loaded question… There’s a lot of talent in this area. To me, being in a band is not a competition, it’s about people expressing themselves in the way that they know how. We, as original bands, need to support each other. If we’re not going to, who will?

To the spectators: support live original music

…My attorney has just advised my not to answer any further questions that could further incriminate me in a court of law…

Featured Artist - Created by TheLab – Local Area Bands
http://www.thelab-pa.com + angela@thelab-pa.com ©2003 Angela D. Francisco