MetalHeadRadio Interview with 286

MetalHeadRadio:
Whats the origin of your band name?

286 - Adam Joad:
286 is actually the number of our rehearsal space. ‘We’re meeting in room 286’ eventually
became ‘the name of the band is 286.’ People usually say it’s a really good idea or a really
bad one – I’m happy that it causes any reaction.

MetalHeadRadio:
How long have you all known each other?
How did you meet?

286 - Adam Joad:
I met Martin and Nikee through Craigslist a few years back before I moved to LA. My
old band had just fizzled out and I had my sights on something new and these guys placed
and add looking for a vocalist that was somewhere between Anselmo and Bonn Scott.
I didn’t necessarily think I fit the bill but I was captivated about what kind of band that
would sound like so I hit them up. We played for awhile and even toured with the early
lineup that was the Verry Brothers, myself and our old drummer. After getting tired of
drama with the old drummer we called up our friend Eric to join the band and he accepted.
I call this era the new 286, we are a lot heavier than in the early days and I think a lot better.

MetalHeadRadio:
When did you form your band?
What inspired you to make music together? ......
..........

286 - Adam Joad:
The project is a few years old now, The View
Inside and the new stuff came together in the
fall of 2007, only a few months ago. We
recorded it, did some dates in the Midwest and
unleashed it to LA in December at the Key Club.
The Video for The View Inside was actually our
first show in LA with Eric on drums.

MetalHeadRadio:
What is your music background?

286 - Adam Joad:
Martin and Nikee are both from Buenos Aires and a lot of folks know them from their
Classical Flamenco project ‘Seis Cuerdas.’ Eric has played in several bands in the LA
area and he also just did a stint with Pearl, which is Meatloaf’s Daughter and Scott Ian’s
band and they did a few dates in the UK with Velvet Revolver last month. As for me, I
spent my pre 286 years DYI touring in a political punk band that I played guitar and split
singing duties in.

MetalHeadRadio:
Who are your musical influences?

286 - Adam Joad:
We all have different musical influences and many similar ones. As a common theme, we
all like real rock music and metal, we grew up on it and we are happy to play it. I’m also
a big southern rock fan, I need my Skynyrd with a side order of outlaw country. Basically
if music is done well we can appreciate it. You probably won’t see me at a Kanye West
show though …(laughs) Who knows though, that would be funny, 286 and Kanye West
on TRL (laughs)

MetalHeadRadio:
What are your immediate music career goals?

286 - Adam Joad:
We’d like to get the full length together and got on the road with it. We’ve toured before
and are currently doing real well in LA but we want to get out with the new lineup, the
new material and the new 286 in general.

MetalHeadRadio:
Who handles your daily business activities? (Bookings, promotions etc.)

286 - Adam Joad:
It depends, we split it up, we have an amazing street team that runs our myspace and we
also work with different promoters and managers on a project-to-project basis.

MetalHeadRadio:
Do you have a record label?
Are you a member of any music organizations?

286 - Adam Joad:
At the moment we don’t. We are looking for the right home for our full length, but it has
to be right. We’d rather independently release it if the conditions aren’t right. The View
Inside EP has gotten us a lot of attention we hope to widen the 286 business part of the
family fairly soon. Our stuff is all protected by ASCAP too.

MetalHeadRadio:
Do you think Internet radio is a viable means to get your music "out there"?

286 - Adam Joad:
I like Internet radio, it has spirit. I actually used to work at an Internet Radio station in LA
called Kill Radio. Internet Radio is a forum where DJ’s can play what they like, be creative,
discover new bands ect.. You don’t get that with Clearchannel, those DJ’s are told what to
play and when to play it. I also like satellite radio now too. Videos are also great and a lost art,
I remember when MTV used to play videos and didn’t have stupid ass sweet 16 parties for
spoiled kids rotating 24-7. I have a reality show idea, it’s called sweet 16 with Adam Joad.
They send me to one of these kids houses and I tell them to shut they hell up and be grateful
for what you have then I take the keys to their SUV and drive it into the swimming pool to
usher in a full on 286 barbecue. I think people would watch it (laughs)

MetalHeadRadio:
Where have you performed?
What are your favorite and least favorite venues?
Do you have any upcoming shows?
286 - Adam Joad:
Collectively, we’ve all performed all over the
place, as 286 we’ve played everywhere from
The House of Blues to Anaheim Stadium at a
tattoo festival. We’ve also done classic places

like the Roxy and the Whisky. I actually got to play CBGB pre 286, which I’m proud
of and I think it’s dorms or something lame now.

MetalHeadRadio:
Where would the "ultimate" venue for you to play be?

286 - Adam Joad:
It’s not so much about the venue for me, it’s about the audience and who’s on the bill. Here’s
the Joad festival proposition, give me credit for this one (laughs) I would like to do a club tour
with us opening for Clutch, Hell Yeah and Black Label Society – that would be a show. I’d
want it at mid size places though so people could really get into the show.

MetalHeadRadio:
Which songs do you perform most frequently?
Do you ever play any covers?

286 - Adam Joad:
Most of the songs we are playing live now haven’t been recorded yet. They will be on the
new album. The Single EP with The View Inside and Vow is basically an appetizer for what
we intend to do with the album. It’s basically written now. From the old era we still play
“Sands” which is a personal and fan favorite. We’ve been known to pull out a cover or two,
we’ve done, Eye of the Tiger, Symphony of Destruction, Hot For Teacher and others. No
one will let me live this down but on 6/06/2006 we had a cover of Number of the Beast ready
to go as our last song. We’ll, the day before I drank way too much and was dehydrated as
fuck by the time I got to the show and I literally lost my voice about midway through the set.
I limped through but when it came time for a Dickinson impersonation, my “C” game wasn’t
going to cut it (laughs). I’m the asshole for that one and I take full responsibility.

MetalHeadRadio:
Who writes your songs?
What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
Who comes up with the most song ideas?

286 - Adam Joad:
It depends, usually Martin has a structure in his head and he makes demos on his computer with
logic pro or something and sends them to us. Then when we all get it, we talk about it, mess with
it and they start doing the musical part. After that I put lyrics to the melodies that we agreed on
for the tracks. The themes and subjects are pretty much my creative outlet. A lot of our stuff is
autobiographical like The View Inside but people really inspire me. Good people, bad people,
the whole duality of human nature. We have songs in our set about old band members, these
backwoods folks that grow weed near the Mason Dixon line I know, Bobby Sands, D.B.
Cooper ect. For D.B. Cooper, fuck, this dude hijacked and airplane, got the cash ransom and
parachuted out into the pacific northwest. That’s crazy, he did it before I was born and it’s still
an unsolved mystery. That deserves a song or two! I like songs like that, no lame ass love songs,
that’s not metal, that’s emo. I didn’t like songs like that when I was a kid and I still don’t like
self-loathing music.

MetalHeadRadio:
What are your rehearsals generally like?
Do you have a set time each week in which you practice
or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

286 - Adam Joad:
We have a schedule, it’s like any other job…Ok not exactly like any other job because of the
fun factor but we have deadlines, schedules ect. Sometimes you just know that it will be a bust
for whatever reason and the next thing you Nikee starts playing the bass line to Rime of the
Ancient Mariner and pretty soon it’s a cover song free for all. Our old drummer took his
refrigerator with him so there’s less drinking now at rehearsal, which is good and bad
depending on how you look at it.

MetalHeadRadio:
Has your music evolved since first playing together?

286 - Adam Joad:
Absolutely, these guys have really helped me develop my vocal range, which in turn gives us
more options. We also used to be more AC/D “ish” and now we are more groove metal
oriented with some Southern Rock style attitude. It’s the same but different. Not a radical
change but a turn of the dial in a different direction.

MetalHeadRadio:
What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

286 - Adam Joad:
Yeah, it’s harder than a relationship with your boy or girl friend! Pick the right cast and if
something feels wrong don’t overlook it because it will eat you up in the long run or it will
make sure you don’t have a “long run.” Also make sure everyone has the same goal in mind.
If you’ve got your eye on a stadium and your bandmate has his eyes set on winning over some
girl at the Vegan collective, chances are you are going in different direction. Neither is wrong,
just different. Stay away from negative people, they never get anything done and have a
thousand excuses why they didn’t.

MetalHeadRadio:
What is the name of your most current CD?
Where can it be purchased?

286 - Adam Joad:
The View Inside EP is our newest. The physical CD can be bought on our web page. It has the
View Inside, Vow and the Video for the View Inside on it. You can also get it through iTunes.
Just follow our link or search 286 The View Inside.

MetalHeadRadio:
Do you maintain a webpage or myspace page? If so what is the URL?

286 - Adam Joad:
Our official website it totally run by the band. Martin edits and designs all the video and content
there. It’s truly our world. We did our myspace too but recently we turned over the myspace
duties to our loyal street team ladies. These girls made an unofficial 286 page and it was doing as
well as the official one – We did the logical thing and gave them our password. It’s great now
and they are big part of the 286 family’s success now. We still read all the messages but we
don’t always have time to answer each one personally.

286music.com