The following bands play the Vans Warped Tour at Thunderbird Stadium on Tuesday (July 3).

Apparatus stays positive in the face of tragedy

Hailing from Florida, the members of the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have an ingrained sympathy for victims of natural disasters. But when a tornado ravaged Alabama's Enterprise High School on March 1 of this year, taking eight lives, it was more than just feelings of empathy that drew the pop-punk quintet to help out. Turns out one of the dead was a student-council member who had been instrumental in getting RJA's "Your Guardian Angel" chosen as the school's prom song. As lead vocalist and main songwriter Ronnie Winter explains from L.A., where the band is readying for its third appearance on the Warped Tour, the tragedy led to a benefit concert in May that raised nearly US$100,000 for the devastated community.

"The kids from the high school e-mailed me and told me about how this girl talked the whole student council into approving our song," recalls Winter, "so at that point we felt it was necessary to do something about it. We contacted the school and set up a show and donated 100 percent of our proceeds. Life strikes when you least expect it, and that's when the rest of us just try to be positive, I guess."

"Your Guardian Angel" is the closing track on RJA's debut full-length CD, Don't You Fake It, which has gone gold in the States, with more than 500,000 copies sold. The group melds melodic pop-punk, alt-metal, and screamo tendencies to relay 24-year-old lyricist Winter's commentaries on self-realization ("Seventeen Ain't So Sweet") and, as heard in the hit video-single "Face Down", domestic abuse. "There are instances where you just walk in a grocery store and see a lady with a black eye," he says, "and you get that awkward feeling to yourself, like, 'Man, what's goin' on?' So it's just an awareness-raising type of vehicle that we use."

Don't You Fake It was produced by David Bendeth, who has also helmed gold records by the likes of Breaking Benjamin and Hawthorne Heights. Numerous on-line critics point out the similarity between the latter emo act and RJA, and frequent visitors to absolutepunk.net/ have taken the band to task for its supposed lack of originality. Winter remains unfazed by the putdowns, though.

"Well, honestly, we sound nothing like them," he stresses. "No one I know agrees with those comments. It doesn't seem to be affecting either our radio play or fan base, so obviously it's not much of an issue. But regardless, that's why on free-forum sites everybody can say whatever they want about everything. It's freedom of speech, but I wouldn't take anything on any site like that for fact. In my opinion, if you have nothing better to do in your life than make an Internet blog about how much you hate a band–even though they're working hard doing music–then you're a pathetic individual. That's all I have to say about that."

> Steve Newton

Cute frontman channelledangst into emo-pop gold

Breaking up can be hard to do, especially if you're Shaant Hacikyan, the photogenic frontman for Buffalo-based breakout act Cute Is What We Aim For. A couple of years ago, the 20-year-old singer was unceremoniously dumped by the only girlfriend he'd ever had. As traumatized as he was by being kicked to the curb, there was an upside to the ordeal. Hacikyan channelled his heartbreak into the songs that would form Cute's debut disc, The Same Old Blood Rush With a New Touch. The result is a disc with enough melancholy moments to impress old Steven Morrissey himself.

"I had a failed attempt to get my girlfriend back right before we went into the studio," Hacikyan reveals, on the line from a Cleveland tour stop. "So the record is definitely about her. She's actually on the cover of the record; well, actually, it's her and someone else combined in an illustration."

Fuelled by enough coffee to float the Titanic, the singer wrote much of The Same Old Blood Rush in the studio, taking aim at the same demographic that propelled Fall Out Boy to platinum status. The disc swings from Dream Whip–lite soundtrack music for summer romances ("Risqué") to serrated emo ("Sweat the Battle Before the Battle Sweats You") to chiming pop ("There's a Class for This"). What stands out, though, is Hacikyan's way with words, as he seemingly gets back at his ex with lines in "The Curse of Curves" like "I want someone provocative and talkative/But it's so hard when you're shallow as a shower."

Unexpectedly, The Same Old Blood Rush became a slow-building hit in the months following its release, eventually creeping over the 100,000-units-moved mark. No one was more surprised by that than Hacikyan.

"There are a lot of bands who really believe in themselves and think they are the best thing out there," he says. "The way I am is, 'I don't deserve any of this.' We're not doing anything that's spectacular."

That doesn't mean Hacikyan isn't grateful for the recognition, mostly because he staked everything on Cute Is What We Aim For.

"It's kind of a shame, but in senior year I barely passed because I decided this is what I wanted to do with my life," he says. "I didn't think about college, because everyone can go for the sure thing. I figured if I had a backup plan, that would make me go half-assed after this dream that I had."

That dream hasn't been without its dark side. Cute Is What We Aim For has found itself the subject of some nasty postings on the Net. Blogger attacks have ranged from the bizarre (speculation that Hacikyan's father invented the Pringles canister, which isn't true) to the malicious (the false accusation that the band members were given $500,000 by their parents to get themselves established). Although understandably perturbed by such sniping, Hacikyan figures he's suffered worse indignities.

For example, being dumped–which still hurts today.

"A lot of the lyrics I'd rather not get into–it's better to let the kids guess," Hacikyan says. "Let's just say that yes, the breakup was definitely a huge influence."

> Mike Usinger

Gallows rocks out with its English roots showing

Like most of us, Laurent Barnard enjoys a good meal. Reached on his cellphone while he's savouring a sizzling garlic steak at a Bristol, U.K., eatery, the guitarist for English hardcore saviours Gallows appreciates the culinary treat.

"Our manager took us out to an Italian restaurant, which was a long time coming," he explains. "You don't really get to eat good food on tour."

Unfortunately for the quintet, it looks like this summer's dinner menu will consist mostly of greasy burgers and stale fries. On the bright side, the band is going to be playing the main stage of the Vans Warped Tour. Storming stages since 2005, the Watford group's blend of barbed-wire breakdowns and vitriolic vocals has been praised by British magazines, giving the U.K. hardcore scene its biggest boost since the days of Discharge. Barnard feels the attention is due to the way his band mixes its influences, from Black Sabbath to Black Flag, with its roots.

"It's a case of bands over here trying to copy what's cool in the States, whereas we're doing our own thing," Barnard boasts. "There are no hardcore bands singing with a British accent."

"Abandon Ship", from 2006's Orchestra of Wolves, plays like Alexisonfire munching on a bag of crisps, with singer Frank Carter's distinctive English voice counterbalanced by a sound that places a premium on staccato guitar stabs. Strangely, the singer has become something of a poster boy for English punk; pinup pictures of the heavily tattooed redhead have begun popping up in music mags across the country.

"It's not because he has a great body or anything," Barnard says with a laugh. "He's just a skinny little ginger kid. We're not a boy band; there's not going to be a Gallows calendar anytime."

The band's sex-symbol status is all the more surprising given the dark nature of its latest disc. The title cut might just be the most disturbing track about sexual predation since the Stone Temple Pilots' "Sex Type Thing". Though it's an anti-date-rape tune, Carter's vicious delivery of the line "I want you to wake up and remember my name when you're washing my cum off your fucking face" is sure to confuse some. Touted as the shape of punk to come, Barnard and company aren't afraid of having to live up to the hype. They do, however, fear the heat.

"I'm not prepared for it at all," the musician says. "I'm dreading playing Phoenix, Arizona. We've got a little, pale singer; he's going to be toasted out there."

> Gregory Adams

Classical values shape Human Abstract's metal

When an L.A. rock musician answers the phone in his car, the natural assumption is that he's driving to a party at the Playboy Mansion with a bunch of bikini-clad babes in the back seat. But this proves to be false in the case of guitarist-songwriter A.J. Minette of the Human Abstract. Instead, the soft-spoken 21-year-old, who looks more like Weezer's Rivers Cuomo than a big-haired '80s metal shredder, tells the Straight: "I'm heading to the bookstore to pick up Italo Calvino's novel The Baron in the Trees, and possibly a Danny Elfman CD."

Those choices aren't surprising when you know Minette majored in English and minored in classical music at Loyola Marymount University. There's no questioning the savvy behind the technical, progressive metalcore his band delivers on its debut album, 2006's Nocturne. "Mea Culpa" features neoclassical fretboard wizardry from Minette and fellow axeman Dean Herrera, with Gregorian keyboards bolstering the riffage. The throat-destroying scream from vocalist Nathan Ells and blast beats from drummer Brett Powell that kick off "Self Portraits of the Instincts" should get Shadows Fall fans moshing during this summer's Warped Tour. Elsewhere, the Human Abstract's classical underpinnings are most clearly displayed in two instrumentals: "Harbinger" has a Led Zeppelin III–meets–Bach feel thanks to the fluid contrapuntal work of bassist Mike Nordeen, and "Desiderata" offers a lovely web of arpeggiated chord progressions.

Minette says his interest in classical greats has deepened in recent years: "There are the really big composers that everybody knows, like Beethoven and Mozart. But I also like some Russian composers, like Rachmaninoff and Mussorgsky. That Russian gloom is what I've been into lately."

For the Human Abstract, the focus right now is on making an impact in North America. On the Warped Tour, the quintet will be limited to half-hour sets, and will need to crank up the intensity to engage the crowd with epic numbers like "Crossing the Rubicon".

"I think it'll strengthen us as a band," Minette says. "We're doing it in a van, not a bus, so it'll take a lot of cooperation and patience. Hopefully we'll turn some heads and have some new listeners by the end."

> Lucas Aykroyd

Matches set fire with far too many knob-twiddlers

Preening in front of the brick wall, the Matches braced themselves for their place in The Hall of Douchebags at www.rockandrollconfidential.com/.

They're a strange bunch, the Matches. When Epitaph signed the California four-piece in 2004, the label thought it was getting a self-made pop-punk act. But when it came to following up their bright if conventional debut, E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals, the Matches started thinking outside the box.

"We forgot you're supposed to consult with the label when you start an album," explains drummer Matt Whalen, calling from his Oakland home. And when they eventually got in touch with the label, "They weren't keen on the whole multiple-producer thing," he says.

The "multiple-producer thing" was a harebrained scheme conceived when Goldfinger's John Feldmann, Mark Hoppus from Blink-182, and 311's Nick Hexum simultaneously made overtures to the young band about producing record number two. Perversely, the Matches decided to use all three of them, plus Matt Radosevich and Mike Green from E. Von Dahl. And with no label support.

"It was flat-out recklessness," states Whalen. "It was a huge puzzle in terms of juggling schedules. Paperwork galore."

Incredibly, label head Brett Gurewitz finally cracked after hearing some demos, and decided to join in the studio fun. "He went to totally being onboard," explains Whalen. "Then [Rancid's] Tim Armstrong heard some mixes, and he was like, 'I gotta get in on this!' We were like kids in a candy shop."

In the end, nine heavyweight producers collaborated on the project, which was released to much acclaim as Decomposer in 2006. Predictably, the album crosses genres with abandon, opening with strings and carnival organ on "Salty Eyes"–a sort of Panic! At the Weimar Cabaret. "Drive" ties drum 'n' bass to industrial-size dancehall and pop-punk, "Papercut Skin" is exuberant new wave like Hot Hot Heat in its Sub Pop days, and "Sunburn Versus the Rhinovirus" beats Billy Talent at its own game. Throughout, vocalist Shawn Harris tosses off deliciously twisted epithets like the one in "Little Maggots" that goes "May your organs fail before your dreams fail you!"

Whalen accepts that the kind of industry largess that floated Decomposer is unlikely to be repeated–"We ruined it for everybody else," he laughs–but he's happy with the memories he racked up thanks to the Matches' magnificent obsession. Having tracked "My Soft and Deep" at L.A.'s legendary Sunset Studios, he says, "I recorded in the same spot that Dave Grohl recorded his drums for Nevermind. Who knows if I'll ever get to do anything like that again?"

> Adrian Mack

Unseen singer shows signs of human empathy

Right around the time of 2005's State of Discontent, the Unseen's Mark Civitarese told the Straight he was of the opinion that, with ultra ­rare exceptions, the only good human being was a dead human being. It was hard to blame the Mohawked frontman for his misanthropy. During his early teens, his stepfather went AWOL on his mother, leaving her to raise three young kids on sub-poverty-level wages. Beyond that, all you need to know is that Civitarese watches the news, which these days is scarier than the collected films of Wes Craven.

Given that the world has never been in a bigger mess, it will come as no shock that, two years later, Civitarese is still nobody's nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. Still, there are moments on the Unseen's new album, Internal Salvation, when he seemingly has at least a bit of empathy for his fellow humans. Check out "At Point Break", where he starts out wondering what it's like to be homeless before paying tribute to his mom with the line "She works her fingers to the bone."

"The way you are raised can definitely desensitize you to certain things," Civitarese suggests, on the line from Beantown. "I had a fairly tough upbringing, and that's maybe why I see things the way I do."

Thanks partly to an uncompromising back catalogue, not to mention its association with Epitaph, the Unseen has slowly established itself as a punk-rock powerhouse, its brand of anthemic, nuke-'em-all hardcore hitting home with fans of the Dropkick Murphys and the Casualties. Civitarese admits he's nowhere near being able to buy a home for himself in Boston, but compensating for that is the fact that he's been able to see the world. During those travels he has, of course, met a lot of people. And as much as Civitarese still thinks most of the planet's inhabitants are wasting valuable air, even he has to admit that some of them are making the world a better place.

"I don't want to be completely negative," he says. "I have some people in my life who are truly amazing and will do anything for me. There are good people out there. They are just hard to find."

> Mike Usinger

San Diego's Pistolita takes aim at universal appeal

No one can accuse Pistolita singer-guitarist Justin Shannon of aiming low.

"I want to kind of pretty much appeal to the whole world," says the sleepy-sounding San Diego musician, on the line from his hometown. "I'd like to be a band that sticks around for a while, one which isn't stuck in one genre. I think you could say that I want to make global music."

While that makes Pistolita sound like it's gunning for a main-stage spot at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, it shouldn't. And although the quartet tours with the likes of Saves the Day and Say Anything, the emo label doesn't quite work either. Shannon repeatedly uses the term piano band to describe Pistolita. Keyboards are indeed a major part of Oliver Under the Moon, the group's debut, but it's not the third coming of Ben Folds Five; instead, it seems like the group's dream gig would be opening for Tripping Daisy and Pinkerton-era Weezer at Al's Diner. For every screamo-tinted antiballad like "Fadawhite", there's an angst-ridden, off-key rager like the title track.

"I don't want to be a verse-chorus-verse-chorus band," Shannon says. "I wanna have substance to what we're doing. I'd really like to do something like Brand New's new record [The Devil and God Are Raging Inside of Me]. There's a simplicity, but also so many layers that they obviously put a lot of thought into the songs."

Pistolita is putting no shortage of thought into its follow-up to Oliver, which remains a work in progress. Shannon suggests that fans will be getting a more mature second effort that will reflect his respect for Coldplay, a band he figures does as good a job as anyone of mixing keyboards and guitars. The singer admits he's also awed by the way Queen built some of its biggest songs around the piano. Still, he figures that trying to match the classic-rock titans is shooting just a little too high.

"Queen inspires me, and at the same time depresses me," Shannon confesses. "Realistically, the idea of matching what they did is totally far-fetched–they were definitely the Beatles of their time. Still, it's a goal to reach."

> Mike Usinger