The Sounds of the Underground tour has taken the US by the groin and has given it a little twist. The debut of this tour features 26 shows in 31 days; bringing 22 of today’s most hardcore underground bands to the masses. Managing to remain somewhat scene-friendly, the tour has kept ticket prices fairly low, under $30.00 per ticket in most cities, and hasn’t made too deep of a dent in fan’s pockets.
SOTU features Lamb Of God, Opeth, Gwar, Clutch, Poison The Well, Every Time I Die, Chimaira, A Life Once Lost, Throwdown, Unearth, Norma Jean, DevilDriver, From Autumn To Ashes, Madball, High On Fire, Strapping Young Lad, All That Remains, Terror, The Red Chord, Nora and Fear Before The March Of Flames.
Having been well underway since June 25, the tour is nearing the end, but that’s not to say there’s nothing to look forward to.
Kaffeine Buzz caught up with bassist Mike Madruga of Denver’s Fear Before the March of Flames on the road, where he was able to shed some light on the subject and talk about all things new with FBTMOF.
Kaffeine Buzz: I know that you guys are playing a limited number of dates on the Sounds of the Underground tour and have a tour with BvS, Fire When Ready and Curl Up and Die right in the middle of it all. Did you plan it like that on purpose to only play a few shows on SOTU, or were you limited to a few spots because of your availability due to the other tour?
Mike Madruga: When we heard about the SOTU tour, we couldn’t believe the insane lineup that it had and wanted to have some kind of participation in it. We knew it was fairly long in duration so we opted to just play a leg of the tour rather than do the whole thing. We wanted to do a headline tour after Underoath, so it worked out alright for us to go straight from the SOTU dates to our headline tour.
KB: How does it feel to be playing the last SOTU date here in your hometown?
MM: We are all really looking forward to that show. It is the very last date of SOTU and it’s in our hometown. Plus it will be our last show for two months, so we will go all out with the good times.
KB: What made you guys decide not to be a part of The Warped Tour this year? Are you disappointed not to be on it/ happier to be on SOTU?
MM: Last year on Warped Tour we had a really good time because it was our first traveling festival experience. This year, the bands on SOTU were more appealing to us because we had already become friends with several of the bands previously.
KB: I’m not too familiar with the Sounds of the Underground tour… Is this the first year? If not, why have I never heard of it before?
MM: This is the first year for SOTU. It is something our booking agency wanted to try out. To have a fest that had an alternative to Warped and Ozzfest feel to it. I think it worked out nicely.
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KB: I read on your website that you’ve written new songs. Any plans in the works for recording soon?
MM: It all depends on how smoothly writing goes. So far we have been putting together a handful of songs. We are planning on recording this winter if we have enough material.
KB: How has the response from fans/overall experience been so far on this tour?
MM: It has been much better than we anticipated. Great crowds and everyone that is turning out seem to be staying around the whole time to see us. The diversity of the bands on this tour is very appealing and I think the whole package works really well together.
KB: What bands on the tour did you most look forward to playing with? Who have you toured with before that is on SOTU?
MM: I loved seeing GWAR everyday. They are extremely nice guys as well. We already knew Norma Jean, Throwdown and A Life Once Lost. We hung out with them all the time.
KB: What else can you tell me about SOTU?
MM: I was really entertained by how many different groups of people came out to those shows. I also loved how it was just one stage and it had really quick turnovers between bands, so it felt very constant. All the staff and bands worked great together. If there is a date in your town, you have to check it out.
Check out Fear Before the March of Flames on the Sounds of the Underground tour July 31, at Universal Lending Pavilion.
