We had a chance to make an interview with Avril Lavigne's guitarist Evan Taubenfeld and ask him a few questions on various subjects - starting from basic questions about personal feelings of beeing a "rock star" and ending with the band's future plans. Of course, the most controversy question on the suject of playing punk with the ever large presence of 'elitists' in music these days has been asked as well. Go on and read!
General Questions:
Ultimate-Guitar: So, a big rock star at 20. How does that make you feel?
Evan Taubenfeld: Actually as of yesterday, it's 21. You know, I don't consider myself a rock star, the whole concept to me is very weird. I'm just some guy playing guitar in a band, thats how I see it.
Has playing in a successful band been a long ambition of yours? Or has it been a somewhat recent endeavor?
All of my life I've wanted to be in a band, even when I was a kid all I wanted was to join a huge rock band.
With Alice in Chains being one of you biggest influences, what made you decide to audition for punk / rock band like Avril Lavigne's?
I got a call to audition for her from a good friend of mine who was her A&R guy at the label, my band had just broken up and it looked like a great opportunity. The first song I heard was "Losing Grip" so I didn't really know it was going to end up being so "Punk". I thought that I had nothing at the time and it would be a great experience, I was right.
Playing in a band like Avril Lavigne you must be well aware of the Controversy of playing 'punk,' with the ever large presence of 'elitists' in music today. Does this at all have an impact on yourself or the band?
The whole "Punk" thing doesn't really effect me at all. I'm the one in the band who's not really tapped into that scene at all. Its a very touchy subject to a lot of people, but the point is that Avril isn't punk, but she never really pretended to claim to come from that scene. She had pop punk music and the media ended up doing the rest. Me, I could care less if people are mad at her/us for being labeled something, I'm just trying to make some music.
How long have you been playing guitar?
I've been playing since I was thirteen, so about 7 or 8 years now.
Who did you want to be like during your child hood years first starting as a muso?
I started as a drummer, so I wanted to be Tre Cool and Dave Grohl. Then I moved onto singing and guitar and was totally into STP and Alice in Chains and many more. It's weird, I never really wanted to be exactly like any of my influences, I just wanted to be in a band they would play with.
If you weren't playing in Avril Lavigne what else would you be doing?
I'd have my own band and be making music with them. There are so many awesome things to do with music so if I wasn't with her, I'd find something.
True or false: Drummers like to hang around with musicians. :)
Hey now, I started as a drummer, infact, I actually played drums on one of the tracks on the record, it's called "Freak Out". So my answer has gotta be no, but they're usually the slow ones, haha.
Guitar Questions:
Has PRS been good to you? Tell me all about your rig.
PRS has been wonderful to me, I couldn't have asked for better treatment. I'm from MD so I (drop) by the factory a lot and hang with everyone, its really a great company that makes the best guitars in my opinion. I play singlecut's. I love the way they sound and play. My rig just consists of a bunch of singlecuts, a couple hollowbodies and some other PRS stuff for backup. I've got a few SE's in my rig as well. For amp's I'm using Mesa Boogie dual rectifier's and 4X12 cabs. I also use Line 6 stuff for effects.
Do you use the same gear in the studio as live?
I use a lot of the same gear but in the studio I really bring in all sorts of different things. It's important to try everything you can get you hands on.
Tours Questions:
How is playing a large venue different from a small one, like say a local bar?
Well first off, you sacrifice intimacy in a large venue. Its a whole different vibe. I can't say I prefer either one, it depends on the crowd. Huge shows are cool because there are thousands and thousands of people and the stage is massive, but you really have to step it up to entertain them all and it's harder to directly connect with all of them. The small shows are great because the energy is so intense and the shows are usually really rockin, but the downside is that you're usually crammed on stage and it's only a thousand people or so.
So which is you favorite type to play at?
Both.
Have a really bad and/or memorable live concert experience?
I have thousands of concert memories but I was playing in australia and my head went down, then my backup head, then my wireless, then my effects. It got to the point that I was playing my guitar plugged directly into someone elses amp with no effects or distortion, I was so pissed. Then in the same song, I popped a string, then another, then another, and my guitar tech wasn't around so with only three strings left on my guitar I took it off my neck and threw it as high in the air that I could and walked off stage. I was pissed. It took my guitar tech like three months to repair the guitar and it still isn't right. oh well... I'm sure it looked awesome.
Current CD Questions:
How well have the crowds accepted the band in the most recent tours?
I think the reception has been awesome. They're really reacting to "Don't Tell Me" Obviously everyone goes crazy when we play old hits like "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi" but the fans are singing along with every new song, its really amazing.
Are you satisfied with "Under My Skin" sounding or now that the job is done, do you think it could have had come out another way?
I'm pretty happy with it, I mean the songs are great and the recordings are very well done. I don't think I would change anything about it.
Did anything at all get under YOUR skin during the production of 'Under My Skin'?
Haha, no, not really, it was stressful trying to write a follow up to "Let Go" but really, it was all good times.
Future Plans / Misc Questions:
Being in such a high profiled band and playing in different places almost every night, how does the current world situation effect the band's plans? (e.g touring, security, etc)
It really hasn't effected out plans in terms of touring. We've had to be aware of it while traveling overseas (which is where we spend a majority of our time) but we've always felt safe and had no problems.
You are going to collaborate with other EMI songwriters, as well as writing and producing some outside projects. Who might these be with, if you are allowed to disclose such information?
Songwriting has been my main focus for years now, even before Avril. Joining the EMI team has been exiting for me because they've really been great about finding me the right projects to work on etc. I'm going to be writing a lot of outside material over the next couple years for all sorts of artists (no one in particular yet). And I'm definatly going to be starting the producing more and more as my time opens up.
Any words for youngsters wanting to play in a band?
First off, no matter what, do not give up. You really just have to find out what you want to do, and just go do it, don't listen to anyone who tells you to give up, they're wrong. Start practicing and writing every day, find some bad ass muscians who you get a long with and just make some good music, the rest will fall in place, well either that or you'll be homeless... Ahh, the life of musicians.
bastard! 
wha is that a smily
