PunkTV.ca exclusive interview by Dixon Christie with Mike D'Antonio of Killswitch Engage in support of As Daylight Dies.

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Dixon: Alright I am Dixon Christie here from PunkTv.ca. We are here with Mike D'Antonio, bassist for Killswitch Engage. How's it going?

Mike: It's good.

Good so you guys are about a week into the tour. You have been pretty much touring non-stop since the release of As Daylight Dies.

Yeah we have been out since September of last year. It's been a fun filled almost year now at this point and we will probably go until about April of next year.

So tell us about the preparation for As Daylight Dies and what the writing process for the band is like?

Well, As Daylight Dies was a much different record (than our other records). We were able to take a whole year off in between writing and touring, it felt great; everyone's head was in the right place. We literally didn't talk to each other for like 9 months and when we got together there was a lot of magic in the room. Everyone had a lot of ideas and was really focused rather than just staring at each other with nothing to say and nothing to play. It made a lot of sense and I hope with the next record we do we will be able to do the exact same thing but time restraints are always kind of tough with these record industry things.

So do you guys live in the same city, or do you guys find that you get just enough of each other on the road those 9 months a year. Is what you really need to get those creative juices really going?

We have almost been on tour straight for about 5 years. I mean there was definitely breaks here and there but not enough to say, "Wow! We have been home for a significant amount of time." So we definitely needed a full fledged get-away type break. But all families need that sort of thing anyways. As far as where we practice 2 of the guys, Adam and Joel both guitarists, live in the Western part of the States. I live in the Eastern parts so its about an hour and a half for me to drive. Howard lives in Connecticut and now our drummer lives in Missouri but we are all based out of Massachusetts. So its kind of a far flight for him to practice.

Do you guys all have families and wives and stuff at home?

We do, yes.

So that must be hard to be away from them and be away from home for so long?

It is brutal. I just got married last year and I have seen my wife probably a month since we've gotten married. I miss my cats terribly and everyone misses all their loved ones for sure. It's one of the sacrifices of being a rock and roller I guess.

Especially when you get to the level that you guys are at, it's kind of like here today gone later today as David Lee Roth said and you got so fuel the fire or its going to come to an end.

Do it while you can and reap the benefits later I suppose. You just got to keep going strong until it fizzles out.

Well you know you guys have been to Alberta I think 3 or 4 times. I have seen you guys quite a few times across Alberta.

Absolutely love it here. Usually in the winter time though, we have been here in negative 4 below weather sometimes.

That just reminds me of Henry Rollins Get On The Bus. He is touring all across North American and especially in Canada in the back of a U-hail trailer in like 40 below weather. You certainly know you are alive in that weather. So speaking of touring, tell us about some of the most freaky stuff that has happened for you on the road?

Nothing real freaky has happened yet on this tour, we haven't gotten drunk enough. But that is happening very soon I promise. In Germany at the Fury Fest there was cut outs in the stage I'm not really sure why, most stages are just flat boards and you don't have to worry about cut outs but I was standing back of Adam just kind of posing while we were playing and a camera came swinging down on one of those cranes and I was kind of trying to avoid it and fell in this hole that actually went down about 20 feet. I laid there with my bass stuck in the ground and right on the back of my neck so I figured I was paralyzed for the rest of my life but luckily I got up and just the neck was snapped on my bass. I walked back up, this was the second song of the set, walked back up like a big spiral staircase, got back on the stage and continued to play the rest of the set. Everyone was like oh my God we thought you were dead.

They thought it was part of the show.

It was surreal for sure.

Well I'm glad that you didn't break your back or your neck in that fall.

Yeah it was nuts.

So we have been asking people if they are in a bus or a van, obviously you are busing?

Bus.

We have 2 questions that we ask everybody and the first is which of the following experiences have you had: have you seen the face of God, have you had an alien encounter or have you seen a ghost?

I want to see a ghost real bad but it hasn't happened yet. No face of God, I'm sorry. No aliens yet either.

Ok the last question is what would surprise people most to learn about Mike D'Antonio from Killswitch Engage?

My favorite band is the Cure.

I used to have hair like Robert Smith, identical.

Bring it back.

You think we should?

Why not?

Would you do the same thing?

No.

Alright well I'm not going to ask you where kids can learn more about you because everyone knows where they can find you. I wanted to say thank you for the great music and thanks for the interview, it has been a pleasure.

Well thank you very much, we appreciate it.

Interview by: Dixon Christie, PunkTV.ca
Visit Dixon on Nexopia!

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Killswitch Engage - "My Curse"