K: How was your 2010, sir?
It's been a very emotional year. We learned that you can't have it all - we had a very successful record and a very successful run out on the road, but we lost our best friend [drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan passes away on December 28], and that kind of trumped everything. We definitely learned a lot about living every day to the fullest and loving the one you have becuase you never know when you;re going to leave this place. No matter what you do in life that's the most important thing because it could end just like that.
K: How have you been coping with the loss of Jimmy?
It;s a daily struggle. There are good days and bad days - days where you don't think about it so much, and then there's days where you sit there and just can't believe it. We're just trying to move forward and live our lives as best we can, and we're just happy to be here right now. We're going to celebrate his birthday [February 9] and not neccessarily his death, but I think I'll want to get together and watch his tribute video and talk about him. We do that every day anyway, but I just want to keep it chill and remember the guy for how fucking awesome he was.
K: What's been the highlight of your year?
Opening up the band internationally to a larger level has been huge for us. We headlined in Europe and sold out arenas all over. We also just got back from Iraq, and that was one of the msot eye-opening experiences of my life. Also the record [Nightmare] went to Number One in the states, so that was a very big thing for us. We had a lot of really, really special things happen to us this year.
K: Where was your favourite place you visited?
Iraq was unbelievable. The troops are out in the middle of this shithole and they were so grateful and so excited to have us there. They're on these bases living in tents and getting mortars shot at them every night, and then they're like "Avenged Sevenfold's here playing a show for us!". It's one of those things where if it makes them excited for one night at least and gives them something that they can talk about as friends and brothers and sisters out there, then, we've totally done out job. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life.
K: When did you most feel like a rock star?
We like to keep things pretty chill, but going to Brazil - which is a country we never go to - to play some festivals and having like, 200,000 people there who know you and are digging you is a pretty surreal experience! And that happened other places too. Walking out onstage and hearing kids go crazy for every record we've put out over the last 11 years is reall special. That's when you really feel on top of your game and most excited.
K: What was the most expensive thing you bought?
I bought some pens that Saddam Hussein owned for $5,000. They were 24 carat gold pens that he actually used, and I wanted to get something from my Iraq trip to take back with me. I also bought a Mortal Kombat video game from an arcade, and that was a couple of thousand dollars, but totally worth it.
K: What will you be doing for Christmas?
It's going to be a family Christmas. We're so happy to be going home and decompressing after 16 weeks on the road, and I just want to do the little things like buying a Christmas tree and decorating the house, and just be normal for a little bit. We missed Thanksgiving and Halloween because we were away, so you've gotta take advantage of the holidays you're home for.
K: How does 2011 look for Avenged Sevenfold?
It's going to be interesting. We're going to have to figure out our drummer situation, and we're going to be smart but strategic with out touring because we came close to overworking outselves on the 16 straight weeks we were out. We just want to get through the year with a really successful run.
So there you have it...thoughts? comments?
It's been a very emotional year. We learned that you can't have it all - we had a very successful record and a very successful run out on the road, but we lost our best friend [drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan passes away on December 28], and that kind of trumped everything. We definitely learned a lot about living every day to the fullest and loving the one you have becuase you never know when you;re going to leave this place. No matter what you do in life that's the most important thing because it could end just like that.
K: How have you been coping with the loss of Jimmy?
It;s a daily struggle. There are good days and bad days - days where you don't think about it so much, and then there's days where you sit there and just can't believe it. We're just trying to move forward and live our lives as best we can, and we're just happy to be here right now. We're going to celebrate his birthday [February 9] and not neccessarily his death, but I think I'll want to get together and watch his tribute video and talk about him. We do that every day anyway, but I just want to keep it chill and remember the guy for how fucking awesome he was.
K: What's been the highlight of your year?
Opening up the band internationally to a larger level has been huge for us. We headlined in Europe and sold out arenas all over. We also just got back from Iraq, and that was one of the msot eye-opening experiences of my life. Also the record [Nightmare] went to Number One in the states, so that was a very big thing for us. We had a lot of really, really special things happen to us this year.
K: Where was your favourite place you visited?
Iraq was unbelievable. The troops are out in the middle of this shithole and they were so grateful and so excited to have us there. They're on these bases living in tents and getting mortars shot at them every night, and then they're like "Avenged Sevenfold's here playing a show for us!". It's one of those things where if it makes them excited for one night at least and gives them something that they can talk about as friends and brothers and sisters out there, then, we've totally done out job. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had in my life.
K: When did you most feel like a rock star?
We like to keep things pretty chill, but going to Brazil - which is a country we never go to - to play some festivals and having like, 200,000 people there who know you and are digging you is a pretty surreal experience! And that happened other places too. Walking out onstage and hearing kids go crazy for every record we've put out over the last 11 years is reall special. That's when you really feel on top of your game and most excited.
K: What was the most expensive thing you bought?
I bought some pens that Saddam Hussein owned for $5,000. They were 24 carat gold pens that he actually used, and I wanted to get something from my Iraq trip to take back with me. I also bought a Mortal Kombat video game from an arcade, and that was a couple of thousand dollars, but totally worth it.
K: What will you be doing for Christmas?
It's going to be a family Christmas. We're so happy to be going home and decompressing after 16 weeks on the road, and I just want to do the little things like buying a Christmas tree and decorating the house, and just be normal for a little bit. We missed Thanksgiving and Halloween because we were away, so you've gotta take advantage of the holidays you're home for.
K: How does 2011 look for Avenged Sevenfold?
It's going to be interesting. We're going to have to figure out our drummer situation, and we're going to be smart but strategic with out touring because we came close to overworking outselves on the 16 straight weeks we were out. We just want to get through the year with a really successful run.
So there you have it...thoughts? comments?
