I have finally interviewed a band from Chicago that is a Cubs' fan. If their incredible music wasn't enough of a reason to like The Forecast, then the fact that guitarist/singer Dustin is a fan of my beloved Cubbies should put you over the top.

PL: Introduce yourself.

TF: I'm Dustin. I play guitar in The Forecast and I sing also.

PL: What should bands look for when signing to a label?

TF: They really want to find a label that is gonna take care of you. For us, the biggest thing was where we felt comfortable and what we felt comfortable doing. Knowing that Victory would take care of us and making sure that that was going to be the case. Promotion and making sure your CDs are everywhere. Basically, the main thing is feeling like a family. Thats for us and it worked with Victory.

PL: Do you ever have trouble motivating yourself to play a show?

TF: Yeah, there's times. I wouldn't say motivating, but finding that energy. Like today, playing at 2 o'clock in the afternoon; I'm usually not even up right now. Its weird. Then you have your days when you're like: "Wow, we've been on this tour for six months." Every few weeks, you'll wish you had a day where you could just hang out and sleep. But for the most part, its pretty exciting every day.

PL: Is honesty an important part of music?

TF: I think its the most important part and I think its something thats been lost somewhere in the past decade. I think a lot of bands are doing it for the wrong reasons. I think the honesty of what rock and roll is about is gone. I want it to try and come back. One of our greatest goals is to have a lot of honesty in our band and the way we treat people. I hope that that continues to be a trend in music, and I hope it continues to grow because everything will become a lot better.

PL: Do you think you can tell if a band is honest just by listening to their music?

TF: Yeah, I think you can tell if a band is honest by listening to their music. For the most part, I think its something that can kind of come through. Meeting them and talking to them obviously helps, but I think you can usually get a good feel what the band is about by their music. I think there are a lot of bands out there that are kind of dry. Their music is really good, but there's nothing really to it. You can't really connect with it in a certain way. I think you can feel that honesty.

PL: Whats one movie everybody should see?

TF: I know one of our personal favorites in the van, and its probably really cliche, but I know everybody in the van really likes to watch "Garden State" a lot. Everybody likes that movie.

PL: I didn't really like that movie all that much.

TF: Its not really my thing, its more of their thing. Thats one. For some reason, I really liked "Friday Night Lights." Just the way it was filmed and the soundtrack with Explosion in the Sky. The soundtrack is incredible; it makes that movie what it is.

PL: Whats your favorite swear word?

TF: Man. I've got so many. I think fuck is a good one, but its only good if you really get behind it. Shannon likes cunt. I'm okay with that, but I feel kind of weird saying that sometimes, especially if there's little kids walking by (which there were when he said it). But yeah, those two, we throw those two around quite a bit.

PL: Whats a little known fact about Illinois?

TF: That there actually is a music scene there. Believe it or not, outside of Chicago, there's a lot of really good bands and there's a really big scene. There's something happening in Illinois and Iowa-I'll even give Iowa some credit and I don't even like Iowa-there's something happening there. I don't think a lot of people know that. I think a lot of people write Illinois off, but there's something happening there.

PL: Are you a Cubs fan?

TF: Yeah.

PL: That a boy.

TF: Yeah, they're up there. (We talk about the Cubs for a few minutes-Kerry Wood's injury; Derek Lee's awesomeness; why they don't seem to win)

PL: Do you like the fact that the National League Central has six teams in their division when the American League West only has four?

TF: No, I think-

PL: Especially when one of those teams is the Astros who beat out the Cubs for a Wild Card spot.

TF: Yeah, it always comes down to our division. We've got the Astros, Cardinals and Cubs, and they're always fighting for a Wild Card spot. There's six teams there. Its unbelievable. Seriously, its ridiculous.

PL: I don't understand why no one has complained about that.

TF: You would think because every other division is like...we're the biggest one. I don't know. I don't know who you would complain to.

PL: Name one album, besides your own, that you feel all kids should have in their collection.

TF: One record every kid should have. I would say Thin Lizzy Jailbreak because it has the most amazing artwork, the most amazing story to go along with the record and its a good record. I think a lot of bands spawned off that band, weirdly enough. Thats definitely one of my favorite records.

PL: Do you have any final comments?

TF: No, not really.

Interviewed by RF

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