Taste Of Chaos interview with WiL Francis of Aiden
Back by popular demand! We ask the questions you wanted us to ask!
All photos by Courtney Sultan, taken in Duluth, GA
Of all the interviews we've ever done, none has recieved as big of a reaction as our first interview with Aiden singer WiL Francis. Lots of people have been emailing me over the past few months wanting me to interview him again, some even supplying me with questions, so when I went to the Taste Of Chaos show in Duluth, GA I took that opportunity to have another go at it. WiL has been a great friend to me and this web site, and despite having very little time before the show, he made sure that we had time to talk. He's a great guy, and his band deserves your support. This interview will not only give you a preview of what's to come musically for Aiden, but also an honest, in depth look into his life before the success of the band. We're proud to have him on the site again so read on...
Anarchy Music: What’s up dude?
WiL Francis: Yo
Anarchy: It’s been a few months
WiL: Yeah, it’s been a while. How are you?
Anarchy: Good, how are you?
WiL: Good.
Anarchy: How awesome is the Taste Of Chaos tour?
WiL:Yeah, it's the best. Fuckin awesome bands. Same production as The Warped Tour so it's real organized. There’s no fuckin surprises every day. There’s backstage rooms with showers
Anarchy: Yeah, it seems like it’s very well put together.
WiL: Yeah, it’s fuckin awesome. It runs like a smooth ship..
Anarchy: How you getting along with the other bands?
WiL: Oh, totally! We’ve been good friends with all of the bands for a long time. It’s been a good time. Fo' sho'!
Anarchy: You connect with audiences in such an awesome way. For a big show like this where there’s tens of thousands of people, how do you connect with the guy WAY back there?
WiL: I talk to him. You’ll see. It’ll make more sense. I yell at them for sitting down.
Anarchy: The last time I saw you, you said that you were going to take a little break and work on some new songs. How did that go?
WiL: It went good. We finished the Silverstein tour then we did the Australia dates and came back and had 5 weeks. Fuck man it was so inspirational. I didn’t come across writer’s block as easily as I have in the past. A lot of the new songs just came out, it was just the easiest thing. It was the weirdest experience, but yet the most inspirational one. It was cool. I’m excited for it.
Anarchy: What topics are we tackling this time? More about your life?
Wil: Nah, I’ve written a lot about things that I’ve done and places I’ve gone. To a certain extent all of the songs that I write are just an extension of things that I’ve gone through. But on this new record I’ve started to think outside of myself, you know. I don’t want to keep writing record after record about myself. Some of the songs on this record are about…there’s a couple of love songs. I’ve never written love songs before.
Anarchy: You said before that it was difficult to do that, but it’s gotten easier for you?
Wil: Well, I’ve never been able to write love songs before because I’ve never been inspired by love as much as I have this past year with meeting some of the people I have, touring with some of the bands I’ve toured with, going to some of the places. I’ve really fallen in love with the idea of waking up in a new place, going places I’ve never been before. So there’s that on this record and…we have a big queer fan base. A lot of kids that listen to our band is homosexual. I talk to these kids at shows and it seems like being a minority inside of a minority is the toughest out of all the genres. If you’re queer and you listen to Metallica, it would be kind of hard to go to one of their shows because it’s not really a friendly environment for that kind of lifestyle. I’ve written about that, just a bunch of shit. Some of it’s not done yet.
Anarchy: Is the direction still focused more on the melodic stuff that you had been going in?
Wil: Yeah, it’s a lot different. I’ve been a songwriter for ten years now. I’ve been playing in a band since I was thirteen. I’ve always thought that I can’t write this because it’s not ‘punk enough”. So just in the past six months I’ve realized that it’s not the sound on the record or the way your voice comes across on cd, it’s not a melody it’s a way of living. It’s an attitude. I’ve been able to break down all the barriers and the walls of the writing process for me. I’ve been able to write chord progressions and melodies over those chord progressions that I’ve never been able to do before. It’s a lot more interesting. I haven’t listened to any current music. I haven’t listened to any music that’s come out after 1990 in a year. I haven’t listened to any current music in a long time, simply because I think a lot of the bands that are coming out are just a regurgitation of what’s happening now. Like, there’s a band that’s a big fan of a band that just put a record out this year.
Anarchy: They get signed in two weeks and put a record out that sounds just like it.
Wil: Yeah, I just really want to go back and listen to what my influences listened to and what their influences listened to. I really think that that’s the only way you’re going to keep churning out the same thing. We get a lot of comparisons to AFI and My Chemical Romance simply based on the fact that we wear make-up.
Anarchy: And you don’t sound like either band at all.
Wil: I know, it doesn’t make any sense. So, really on this new record, what my goal is for people to listen to it and they’re not going to go “oh they sound like My Chemical Romance or AFI” It’s not gonna happen.
Anarchy: This is the record that says “We are Aiden”
Wil: Exactly, it’s not like we’re doing some completely different shit and you’re gonna think “what the fuck are they doing”. It’s gonna sound like Aiden, but it’s gonna sound a lot different.
Anarchy: I got a lot of emails after that first interview wanting me to ask questions for them the next time I saw you, so lets tear through some…People see the Star of David tattoo and want to know about your religion, if you feel comfortable talking about it.
Wil: Yeah, well I grew up in a pretty religious home. My mom was Jewish, so that makes me Jewish. My step dad was a pretty fuckin hardcore Baptist Christian. We went to church Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Sunday nights, Wednesdays, and read the bible every night. By the time I was old enough to say “hey, this is fucking stupid” I kind of shunned that away and kind of denounced God and religion and all that bullshit that comes along with saying “this is right and this is wrong and you’re going to to go to Heaven or Hell based on this”. the older I get and the more I travel and the more religions I learn about and people I meet I realize that you’ve got a guy in Jerusalem that believes that this is the fuckin way. Jews don’t even believe that Jesus has come to earth yet. They believe that the guy who said he was Jesus was insane and it was all bullshit. Christians believe that Jesus came and he died for our sins and you accept him in your heart and you go to heaven. A hundred other different faiths believe a hundred different things. I think it’s all a bunch of fuckin bullshit, really. On the other hand, who am I to say? I’m not one to say that this religion that’s given direction to so many millions and millions of people for centuries is wrong. I have a tattoo of the Star of David to remind me of my past and where I’ve been and what I want to become. But no, I don’t follow any secular religious beliefs and I don’t pray to any particular god and I actually don’t even believe in the idea of a god who’s omnipresent and the Alpha and Omega and all that other fuckin hoo-ha. I believe that there may be some kind of power greater than myself. It’s kind of selfish to think that when we die we just get buried in the earth and that’s it. That sucks.
Anarchy: Do you ever deal with teens who are fans of yours who have drug issues, and if so do you council them or how do you handle that?
Wil: You know, I’m not a counselor. I’m not someone who can give advice. The only thing I’ve been shown is that I can tell people my story and maybe they’ll be able to get something from that and learn from it. I’m no expert, believe me. I’m just trying to get by. Kids come up to me and say they’re on drugs or have gotten off drugs. It’s different for every single person on earth. What’s worked for me won’t necessarily work for someone else. I have to really step back and not play any kind of advocate and let people learn from their experiences. For me it took going to hell. It took me going through a living hell to get sober. For some people it just takes getting in trouble and their eyes and they think “I better cool off”. For me it took losing everything. And literally living in hell to get where I’m at.
Anarchy: Speaking of where you’re at, the last time we talked you said some of your friends in the past had not been true friends when you really needed them. Now that you’re on magazine covers and on tv, do those people call you up and want to act like best friends all of a sudden?
Wil: Yeah, it’s just like, fucking get over yourself. I’ve been shown who my real friends are, and I know what the real deal is. At this point I don’t have time for people who stab you in the back and want to pull the knife out and want to rekindle that friendship. It’s like fuck off! Get a life bud. It’s kind of a weird thing. I’m not the type of person who’s an outright asshole to people. I’ll always give someone the time of day. I don’t know it’s kind of weird.
Anarchy: When you were down and out and homeless. Why didn’t you go to a relatives house? Was there an issue there?
Wil: Yeah, my family is kind of weird. We’re kind of scattered all over the country. When I was doing drugs and that whole thing there wasn’t really any family to go to. The only people that lived in Seattle were my mom and step dad and my aunt on my step dads side who I don’t really have too much of a relationship with. The rest of my family is scattered around the country. I wasn’t interested in trying to get help. I wasn’t interested in “shit, my mom kicked me out, so can I go live with you”. I was like “fuck, my mom kicked me out, so I’m going to shoot smack and go over to this crack house”. I just wanted to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. I didn’t want to follow any rules. Thinking back to that, I see these kids who are coming to our shows that are like 16 and 17 years old and it’s fucking insane to think what was going on at that particular time in my life, when I was that age. Then looking at these kids it’s like, fuck. How could a kid that young do that kind of shit? It’s fucking insane to me.
Anarchy: You separate yourself from the situation in that way?
Wil: Yeah, it’s bizarre. Fourteen years old and I was shooting smack. FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. These kids are coming to the shows and at fourteen years old, they’re like little children. It’s crazy!
Anarchy: Do you ever feel any temptation, being on the road and what have you?
Wil: The obsession to get loaded for me has been taken away. I know what happens when I start drinking beer, and ten days later I’m in a stolen car with three toothless crack heads with the cops chasing us or we’ve got a bunch of dope on us. I know where that road goes. I always end up in jail with nothing, and no one. I’ve already done that. A million times. I don’t know where the road goes where I see the world, have fun, make friends and live.
Anarchy: Look at what happened, dude! This road is taking you all over the world, every dream you’ve ever had is coming true. It’s incredible.
Wil: Yeah, I’m not willing to sacrifice what else can happen for what I know is a dead end. I’m just not willing to. It’s a losers deal. For me, my drug is standing on stage at the allotted time, fucking rocking. That’s my fucking drug. That’s what I get high off of, and I’m a fucking junkie. When we come off stage I’m like “fuck, I have to wait another whole day for this shit”. I’m just not willing to trade what I have now for what I know I’ll get.
Anarchy: Someone in line asked me how many tattoos you have…
Wil: Fuck if I know, a lot! A fuckin lot. Twenty-five maybe?
Anarchy: Oh boy, here’s a can of worms…your views on politics and the war…
Wil: Next question…
Anarchy: There you go.
Wil: No, I don’t want to get into any of that because I’m against government and against war and I’m against things that the powers that be put out there as what’s “best” for the country. I’m just against all that shit. But on the other hand, we’re at war, and I support our troops and I support the people who would give their lives for this country, even if it’s for a fuckin silly reason. I support those people because that’s fuckin love, that’s conviction. You’ve got to be a certain kind of person to want to die…
Anarchy: For me!
Wil: Yeah exactly, because you don't even fucking know me. People come to the shows and they’re like “my brother’s getting shipped out to shipped out to Iraq” or “I’m getting shipped out to Iraq” or “I’ve got a brother over there who loves your band, can you sign this?”. It’s really heartwarming to know that there’s still people who believe in this country so much that they’d die for it.
Anarchy: I didn’t even know this happened, but how did your parents divorce affect you?
Wil: Well, my parents never got divorced. They never got married to begin with. When my dad left my mom I was like a year old, so I didn’t even really remember him. My first memories of my life were just my mom, my brother and myself. I guess it probably hurt me later on when I told my stepfather “fuck you, you’re not my dad”. I probably have some deep seeded emotional issues with that whole deal, but who’s parents don’t get divorced?
Anarchy: Yeah, my dad’s been married 5 times.
Wil: Yeah, it’s like…
Anarchy: What a whore!
Wil: (laughs) I don’t know man, marriage pppppttt! That’s all I have to say about that.
Anarchy: I don’t think I know how to type that.
Wil: Just look at Calvin And Hobbes.
Anarchy: Even at big shows like Taste Of Chaos you’re still able to meet fans and stuff, right?
Wil: We do signings every day. We hang out at our merch table.
Anarchy: I know how much you guys like hanging with fans so I’m glad you still get to do that.
Wil: It’s the same as if we played the House Of Blues or a smaller venue.
Anarchy: When’s that new album coming out?
Wil: August
Anarchy: Oh, I’m stoked to hear it!
Wil: I’ve never been more excited about music in my whole life than I am at this point. I’m so fucking excited.
Anarchy: I told you before that the day Aiden breaks free of the “oh, they’re metal-core” stigma then it’s going to blow the roof off the joint.
Wil: Oh, it’s going to be a good day indeed.
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I want to say THANKS to our friend WiL for taking the time out to answer your questions, and for making us feel at home during the show. As always, Aiden fucking OWNED the stage. If you haven't seen them then you are missing out on one hell of a concert. Check out Aiden.org for tour dates and more info.
Also, I want to thank our new friend Courtney Sultan, a very talented photographer in the Atanta area who took these great pictures for us. She's pretty awesome, and she's available for hire to take YOUR pictures as well. If you're in a band or a model in Atlanta and need some good photos, contact me and I'll put you in touch with Courtney.