I'm a little tardy on typing this interview up. I actually interview Vinnie of I am the Avalanche back in August during the Warped Tour. I was waiting to interview another band, and he was around, so I made up some quick questions and the interview went down. It turned out to be pretty informative, and answers the question of the origin of Jeen.

PL: State something interesting about yourself.
VC: I am borderline obsessive compulsive ever since my apartment burned down. I can't leave my house without making sure I didn't leave the toaster on four time, making sure that I didn't leave the heat on four times, that I didn't leave a joint burning four times, and its starting to really be a problem.
PL: Have you ever had to go back to your house?
VC: I've locked my door, walked down the block and then walk back.
PL: How'd your house burn down?
VC: A douche bag roommate left a candle burning. Needless to say, he's an ex roommate.
PL: Are you living somewhere new now?
VC: I'm living in the same area in Brooklyn about two blocks away from the place that burned down.

PL: Can outside influences have a negative impact on a band?
VC: Yes. I can't speak for all bands except for me. I hate it, but I pay attention sometimes. Most bands do pay attention a little bit to what is being said about them. When there's an overwhelming amount of negative criticism against a band, it does fuck with them. When its to the point when they can't escape it and they're reading about it all the time. But, when there's that much criticism and its that overwhelming, it probably means that you suck anyway.

PL: People compare Warped Tour to a punk rock summer camp. Do you agree with that?
VC: I agree with that. Summer camp is one of those things where you only see those people those two months out of the year, and this is where we see our friends. We make friends on tour and then we don't see them until Warped Tour. We make friends and then we all go our separate way. One goes to Japan, one goes to Europe and this and that. Its definitely summer camp in that way, and we all barbique after the show.
PL: I work at a summer camp, which is why I asked that.
VC: Its like summer camp, but with no counselors. Its like an adult summer camp.
PL: And there's trash all over the ground.
VC: Everybody leaves trash everywhere. There's really no rules. Well, there are kind of rules. Warped Tour runs a tight ship, but they let us have our fun.
PL: I'm so used to picking up trash at work that I started doing it here. I was picking up papers and bottles.
VC: People throw bottles. Thats the worst, right there. People think its funny. No one's really trying to throw them at the band. Some people just want to throw them, but the bands get pissed off and wonder why kids are throwing shit at them, but the kids don't even know. They just think that they're gonna get noticed somehow. But, there are trash cans all around and people just throw their trash everywhere, which is somehting that I can't get used to. When I see my friends throw something on the ground, I'm the one who picks it up. I'm the daddy.

PL: Being from New York, does New Jersey count as a hometown show?
VC: For I am the Avalanche it does because the way it is and the way things go in New York is that Long Island is one suburb on the East Side, and on the South and the West side, New Jersey is the suburb. So, New Jersey reminds me a lot of where I grew up. The scene reminds me a lot of it and there's tons of kids. I've always said that Jersey and Long Island shows always go off. Jersey's the shit, Long Island's the shit, New York's the shit. We're lucky that we grew up in this area because we kind of had a head start as far as millions of kids are around these areas and they all go to shows.
PL: I live in Providence, and no one goes to shows.
VC: I like playing Providence. Those kids rage pretty hard. I don't see many bands come out of Providence, though.

PL: What does Jeen mean?
VC: This is really stupid, but it really infectious. So Kellen, our bass player, took lots of acid when he was younger. Our band is not a drug band. We smoke weed, but we stay away from that other shit. A lot of bands mess with coke and mess with pills. I just think that if a band is gonna be on tour, they need to be 100% when they're on stage. We don't smoke weed before we play. We drink a few beers, but nothing crazy. Wait a minute...what was the question? I lost my train of thought.
PL: What does Jeen mean?
VC: So John took lots of acid, and his brain is warped. We saw that South Park episode where Mr. Slave is there, and he always says "Jesus Christ" when they put the gerbil up his ass. Somehow, in the few months of Kellen and Mike in our band saying "Jesus Christ," somehow it turned into "Oh, Jeen." Don't ask me why, but now its spread. The Sleeping get on stage and say it. Its one of those things. Our bass player is an amazing guy, but when he's on tour, all he says is "Jeen." You'll walk by him and he'll tell you to scream Jeen, and he won't answer you until you scream Jeen. So, when us and The Sleeping tour together, which will be a lot because we're brothers and we're really tight, there'll be a lot of Jeen going around, and people will get it. Its not one of those things that you can really wrap your brain around because its completely mindless.

PL: Name one album, besides your own, that you think all kids should have in their collection.
VC: Head Automatica Popaganda.

PL: Is there anything else you want to say?
VC: We're on tour, and in New Jersey, so come check us out. iamtheavalanche.com, or check out out on Myspace. We're always around, so come and chill. There's always a positive vibe.

Interview by: RF

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