Nonpoint
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Getting to the Point with Nonpoint
Interview by Kelly Ladd
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| HardRock.com: Point out something that makes your band different from all others. |
| Elias Soriano: I think we take our music writing in a different direction than other people do. We're about letting each other's personal influences influence pretty much the way we build the song or put together music. We make sure it's a four-way compromise when a song comes out. I think there are some bands where some of the members write most of the music. I think our band is a band. It's not just about one person making a particular part of our band and that if you were to pull that person out, it wouldn't be a band anymore. |
| HardRock.com: So one of you comes in with an idea and the rest of you expand on it? |
| Elias Soriano: Yeah, that's pretty much how it is. If someone has an idea and maybe it doesn't translate to maybe someone else in the band, we try, like I said, to compromise and twist and turn it to a spot where we all feel comfortable and make sure we all love it. |
| HardRock.com: Describe what soon-to-be-recruited fans could expect from your stage performances. |
| Elias Soriano: A lot of sweat. We're normally drenched by the end of the set. It's a non-stop ball of energy. We try to make sure that it translates exactly what we were trying to do musically, visually. I feel like being in the band is not just playing the music, it's being able to do it live, ya know. It sound like it's supposed to be—heavy, hard, energetic. |
| HardRock.com: There is a lot of hype about how crazy it is on the road. And then there is that saying, "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll." Do you find this to be true or is it just a myth? |
| Elias Soriano: I think it's a cliché by now. There are still bands that party like rock stars and there are bands that are here trying to build careers. Luckily for us, we've come up with a management group and label that kept us right minded as far as where our heads go when we gain a little bit of success, we realize that it is just a little success. In the 100 steps that it takes to becoming a successful rock band you're only on step 25 and normally people don't get to step 20. We know we have a lot more steps to go, so we try to keep the "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" down to a moderate. You've got to moderate yourself. |
| HardRock.com: And out of the three "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll," what consumes most of your band's time? |
| Elias Soriano: Rock 'n' Roll. Definitely. I don't really think our band really likes groupies all that much. We're up there just trying to write music and be a rock band. We want more fans, whether they be female or male. The drugs. Being apart of this culture, it gets put in our face a lot but it's not really what our band goes nuts over. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I've smoked pot before and I do smoke pot, but it's not to the point where it's going to hurt my band. If it ever felt like it was, the person in the band would take the responsibility to put personal life behind livelihood. |
| HardRock.com: Tell us about your experience with Ozzfest. Did you meet Ozzy? |
| Elias Soriano: I didn't get to meet Ozzy, but I did meet Sharon [Ozzy's wife]. Our experience at Ozzfest was really good. It was a showcase of bands of our genre and we had a good slot and we gained a lot of respect from a lot of bands and made a lot of new friends and a lot of new contacts and we were even invited back already. It was a great step for our band. It pushed us into a respect platform that we couldn't have got without Ozzfest. We flew a banner over the Ft. Lauderdale Ozzfest for four hours that read "Thank You Ozzy and Sharon from Nonpoint" from a plane because it's hard to get on Ozzfest. They took a chance on us and we appreciated it. |
| HardRock.com: The first track on your album is "Mindtrip." Tell us about your most recent mindtrip. |
| Elias Soriano: (laughs) My most recent mindtrip…well let me explain first. I played when I was a little younger and I dwelled and dealt in certain, ah, festivities. It influenced me in some ways. But I grew up. And I pick and choose my battles when I do decide to take that battle. I did take that battle a little while ago. But I went to Islands of Adventure and I took that battle. Au naturel. Had a great time with some friends. It's something that I do once in a little while. But be careful. |
| HardRock.com: When not on tour, what do you guys do? Where do you hang in South Florida? |
| Elias Soriano: Yeah, I hang at home with my parents and my cat and when I have an opportunity with my friends. We've been on and off on the road since last September. So we've been out for longer than a year and all together I think we've been home for 24-25 days in a year and a half. It's a long time to be away from home. So normally when we go home, we go home to decompress and shut off the cell phones and just like I said decompress. We're coming out of the depths and we don't want to get the bends. |
| HardRock.com: Of all the different music festivals that come to South Florida, which are the ones you religiously check out? Which ones have been your favorites? |
| Elias Soriano: I've always caught Ozzfest from when I started becoming a fan of rock music. I was really not a big rock music fan. I listened to old skool pop and the old Motown sound. I'm a student of the new skool. I didn't grow up on Sabbath. I didn't grow up on Slayer. I didn't grow up on Pantera. I got into all that stuff in my early 20's. When I was 20-21. I'm 26 now. Now it's the new bands coming out is what influences me. I don't know. It's a touchy subject for me. 'Cause I don't want to seem like I'm out of my element being where I am. But I think we are trying to do what we do and I don't want to make my band look any less because they're a lot more educated with the rock world than I am. |
| HardRock.com: There is really no point to this question, but how do you think they built the pyramids? |
| Elias Soriano: I think man can do a lot with a little bit of inspiration and I think the pyramids were an idea and I think it's proof that if you don't give up you are going to get what you want. And I think they were built by will, perseverance. |
| HardRock.com: In light of your album's title, make a Statement to the world right now. |
| Elias Soriano: Be proud of what you love and sometimes it's not what you say, it's what you don't say. |
