The Exies Take Over

By: Alison Tuck

Tuesday March 25, 2008

A Bright Future Awaits
The Exies are quickly changing from a band whose name you've probably not heard to which you have definitely tapped your toes, to a band whose new exposure already has them guesting on TRL and will undoubtedly have them headlining tours this year. They're also the band that does it all. The band members design their own concert shirts, website and videos to have a greater control over their art (with any luck, it is contagious).

After going through three labels over four albums in hopes of moving towards this greater connection with their art, let's hope A Modern Way of Looking at the Truth is the album that hits big. Although they're pretty tight-lipped about their upcoming plans and tour dates, there are two things that hopefully won't change about The Exies: their outlandish sense of humor and their devotion to their fans.


It seems as though every celebrity has had some pretty strange jobs before they make it big; Scott has said in the past that he used to be a studio runner, did everybody else in the band work "in the business" before the band became successful? What other jobs did you guys have pre-Exies?

Chris Skane: Mailroom at a major record company. Video librarian for Vivid video, the finest in adult video! Graphic designer/artist for record companies in and around Los Angeles, the last one is the most fun, though the mailroom had it's perks, a lot of free tickets and drinks... also the porn gig wasn't bad either.

How did this version of The Exies come into being? I know that Chris was an original member, then backed away a bit and helped produce and lent a hand in the creative process, but how did he start performing with you guys again? How did Hoss come into the picture?

We've always hung out together outside of the band scenario, it just evolved from that; many margaritas! Eventually becoming a creative project, to the vibe feeling right, which lead us to writing a record and really gelling as a band. Hoss came about through mutual friends after we auditioned 20 or more people from around the US, he was the only one who brought style and was capable of playing this record. He's a bad ass! Must be seen.

After watching a few of your tour videos on the MySpace site, it seems as though filming these little vignettes has become a tradition of yours (as well as the ubiquitous Corona in the background). Are the any other "musts" before you go on stage? What's on the rider?

Frosty beverages, energy drinks, goldfish crackers, Jack Daniels, Jagermeister...the usual suspects...there's no real musts before we go on, maybe to be in tune.

These Are the Days


Congratulations on being the "featured music video" on February 13 for MySpace with “These Are the Days.” Where/when did you come up with the idea of letting your fans help form the message of the video with their quotes? How did you pick the quotes that you featured in the video?

The idea had been brewing for sometime, it was matter of getting to this song, “These are the Days” has always had a "this time and moment" vibe, so we bounced ideas of how to get the friends and fans involved and this worked seamlessly. It was quite extraordinary the response we received, over 700 quotes. We love the way it has related to the fan so deeply. You can see all the quote at our website at http://www.the-exies.com/quotes.html, go check them out.

Both your website and MySpace pages are so centered on your fans and keeping an open dialogue with them. How does this connection drive your creative process? How have you maintained this connection over three albums?

Not so much the creative but the live interaction, Freddy handles all the MySpace and has built these relationships which is just incredible. The fan loyalty is amazing, at shows we hang out before and after, we'll talk with everyone, have a drink, sign some stuff at the end of the day we are still fans of "rock and roll" as well so it's not a difficult thing to be approachable.

Nikki Sixx is all over your webpage, did he play a large role in the making of A Modern Way of Looking at the Truth? Has touring with Mötley Crüe in past changed your fan base at all?

Yes he brought us to Allen Kovak, our manager. He saw something in us and wanted to pull us from our situation. That was his involvement with the record, his belief made it possible. Touring always helps your fan-base. That tour exposed us to A LOT of people.



Chris has said that A Modern Way of Looking at the Truth has been his way of "trying to make peace" with himself, yet he came up with the title while watching the evening news. Scott, are you trying to reconcile personal experiences or how you're impacting the world as a whole?

In fact, I did come up with the title while watching the news, I'm a bit of a news/political junkie, but it's not about "trying to make peace" with myself it's about observing the lack of personal responsibility in our society as a whole. We, as a society, blame the schools, our parents, the TV, etc. that we have now gotten to a point where we no longer seem to be capable to own up to our own mistakes and try to correct them. We are more willing to place the blame elsewhere to relieve us of our own culpability.

You guys have talked about bringing things back to the people in a sense and about how technology has lessened the amount that "art" is filtered. What does this mean for your fans? How has the business side of your success been shaped by this?

What it means is that we can get a point of view across without the gatekeepers monitoring it, like the video for "God We Look Good Going Down In Flames," a very socially aware commentary. The video was created, edited and released without any filtering. This just gives the opportunity to everyone to have access to make statements about the world around us. This has shaped the business by leveling the playing field, so that if you are creative and think outside the box you can get your message/opinion out to the world.

You guys have had a ton of exposure over the past few years, you've been featured songs on a couple of video games Full Auto 2 and Guitar Hero, and one of the most watched shows on Television, CSI. What's next for you guys as far as exposure and touring?

Not the best time to answer this. So many things are in the works or waiting for our attorneys to finalize them. Put it this way, we will be very busy and you'll see and hear a lot from us.