Latest / ATX Metal Podcast / Foreword: The Band is My Gamble

Transcript

Foreword: The Band is My Gamble · ATX Metal Podcast

• ATX Metal Podcast (00:02.2) What's up everybody? Ryan, ATX Metal Podcast back again with another interview. And in this interview, I sit down with Andy, the front man of a band called Foreward from San Antonio, right here in the backyard of central Texas. this was probably, I, I, I feel like I say this a lot, but I instantly mean it when I say this, that Andy is my spirit animal and we are We are probably best friends in a soon-to-be life but but The way that the way that so I recorded this a few weeks ago, maybe a month ago And I was interviewing I was gearing up for the interview with the lead singer of crit top seed matt Because they came through on the decibel magazine tour and and like I say in the in the interview here Andy thought that his slot was at 10 o'clock. So he shows up after headlining a show at Valhalla here in Austin the night before didn't get home till 3 a.m. and then thought that he had to be on a podcast at 10 and man he was like I'm so glad I get to go back to bed as if like hey Matt from Cryptopsy I'm gonna go back to it was so it was so surreal I loved I loved every minute of it. I know. That's basically how I'm gonna set up the show. You're gonna have to stick around. They've got their new album out, Exposition, just dropped this year. They've got some shows coming up. I'm just gonna read them off here real quick. Ollie Skate Shop in Longview on May 30th. Then they got The End in Houston on June 6th. And then Studio 210 down in San Antonio on 627. ATX Metal Podcast (02:01.39) Excellent interview great guests. We talked about myspace. We talked about their writing process the album Talking to a few before talking to younger us It's such it's just a good interview so I'm gonna shut up now I'm gonna pay the bills. Thank you come and take it Productions yes words. Thank you. Come and take it live and come and take your productions for supporting the local metal scene all throughout the years and providing a place for us to be kids. I think that's the best way I can say it. It has been a blessing and no curse. It's just been nothing but good news being a part of this metal scene for over a decade. So, thank you. Thank you to the production crews, the venues, the staff, the security guards, the bartenders, literally everybody that make it safe and a fun place for us to come and hang out and to listen to great music like this. And also a place that you can listen to great music is on the Texas Takeover, Sundays, 8 p.m. Central Standard Time on 93. 0.7 HD to no control radio If you don't have an HD setting on your car, it might be somewhere in there Just look up does my car have an HD tuner built in and if it does turn it on there are so many more channels out there built inside the frequencies and If you can't do that, you can check us out on I heart radio or the tune-in app or you can just go to K lbj comm and listen live on the web on the website It is an hour-long block that's curated by me and with the help from all of the locals that I can Squeeze a song out of man and and so far we're three months in and I have only played three bands twice everything else has been a Texas band one song only and I think that's I'm I'm gonna see how far I can take it I'm gonna see how far I can take it before I start having to kind of double dip and circle back to some, you ATX Metal Podcast (04:23.616) Other fun stuff, but again, Texas Takeover nothing, Texas metal or Texas related or Texas adjacent So if you're in a band and you're watching this or you're listening to this and you have not submitted your your stuff to be played on the radio Please do send me a message at the following email Austin Tx metal at gmail.com Or you can hit me up on Instagram and we can set it all up from there. All right bills are paid time to play Have fun. Here we go. Here's my conversation with Andy from Foreword RYAN RAYLE (00:00.727) man, what's up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the ATX Metal Podcast. I am your host Ryan. Today we got Andy on the line from a little band called Foreward down in San Antonio. They got some new music out. They are on Seeking Strike. They are one of the, think, even though I don't know them per se, I am familiar with their music and I think that You guys are gonna kind of, you've already made a splash and I think that you're on the right path. So introduce yourself, what you do in the band, where you're from, and then we'll just kind of go from there, bud. Andy Alderson (00:36.93) Yes, so I am Andy Alderson. It's lovely to meet everybody. I play the skin flute as in I do vocals. And yeah, I play in a little band called Foreward. RYAN RAYLE (00:44.587) Hell yeah. RYAN RAYLE (00:51.381) So for those that don't know, Andy and I actually, we've never met until this morning on an accidental one of these exchanges. had to, you couldn't, you could write this into a script, but it's like when it just happens in real life, you're just like, man, I'm not forgetting that. So I actually, had to double book today interview because a band called Cryptopsy, Andy Alderson (01:11.66) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (01:18.607) is headlining the Decibel Magazine tour and their PR team reached out to me and said, hey man, you're the guy in Austin, get on, you know, let's get you guys together and linked up. So me and Matt were just getting ready to start the phone call. And then I see Andy pop in in lower corner says Andy's in the lobby. And I was just like, okay, let's let him in. Brother, you, when you say I crawled, just crawled out of bed, I was just like, that is not a lie. like no lies detected and yeah. So, so here I am with Matt getting ready to hit record and, and Andy jumps in and he's like, Hey, is it, did I make it? And I was like, I got you down for one o'clock man. He's like, great. I'm going back to sleep. Hey, what's up, Matt? And just, it was one of the most just like, Oh, all right. My bad. Oh, what's up, dude? All right. I'm out. And Andy Alderson (01:49.262) I just was really itching to say hi, man. RYAN RAYLE (02:18.551) Yeah, we had a good laugh about that. So I appreciate you for coming back at the regular... Andy Alderson (02:26.664) I'm appreciative. I got a couple more hours of sleep, man. RYAN RAYLE (02:30.165) Yeah, yeah, I'm definitely, I think we all, I think we all are fans of that Sunday morning sleep in, or just the morning sleep in in general. I don't like to get my day started till nine? I don't know. Andy Alderson (02:42.19) Well, we headlined last night and I didn't get home until like 3 a.m. So I was exhausted. no. We played in Austin last night actually about Valhalla Yeah, yeah. It went well, it went well. I liked that venue. I liked that venue a lot. RYAN RAYLE (02:48.139) my goodness. RYAN RAYLE (02:54.145) Valhalla, right? How'd that go? RYAN RAYLE (03:00.951) Cause it was you guys, Bridges, I want to say Ariel. Andy Alderson (03:05.354) Ariel and then Hatewaker. RYAN RAYLE (03:07.115) Hatewaker, okay, so you brought the Hatewaker boys up, okay. Andy Alderson (03:10.358) Yeah, yeah. man, those guys, those guys slay. Those guys absolutely slay. RYAN RAYLE (03:14.817) Yeah, I've been a day one fan of Hatewaker since I found the song Drug of Choice, DOC. Such a good song. And those guys have elevated and gone through transformations. But let's talk about forward, man. Let's give the people what they need to know. Just give us a brief overview of the band formation, how old you guys are. And yeah, we'll just kind of pick that apart. Andy Alderson (03:44.238) Yeah, absolutely. So the band originally formed in 2016. We did some stuff for about nine months. Had some pretty initial early success. And then due to some internal dramas, a little bit of ego, a little bit of I want this, I want that, a little bit of... everything you would expect to go into a band that maybe gets too good of an opportunity too quickly went down and we decided to go on hiatus for a while long enough for me to be able to get two degrees. RYAN RAYLE (04:14.817) Mm-hmm. RYAN RAYLE (04:23.509) Yeah, you were, may I ask in what, in what field? Andy Alderson (04:27.25) man, now that may be a touchy subject. No, I'm kidding. No, no, yeah. I have an undergrad in political science and a master's in international studies. So, yeah. RYAN RAYLE (04:29.961) Okay. Social work. RYAN RAYLE (04:38.879) No way. Wow, dude, if I had my fucking sample pad, I'd hit you with some applause from the crowd. That's, Andy Alderson (04:44.75) Oh no, no. was, if anything, was more of an addiction because, if anything, it was just a bit. I remember in high school, I had this one kid I was arguing politics with because I used to be that kid in class. And he's like, if I do care so much, you're not going to do anything about it. And I was like, That's not when we got those degrees. But I mean, full time occupation, screaming at people, you know? RYAN RAYLE (05:10.645) Yeah. Yeah. For all those, I've said this to a couple different people that have had those people that, you know, know, prove it, you know, years and years ago. I'll just say if we ever work together and you're on one of my bills, whoever that person is, I'll put them specifically on my guest list. No bat. yes. You know what? That actually, man. Andy Alderson (05:29.233) hell yeah. Definitely. I'm waiting for my next high school reunion. RYAN RAYLE (05:40.451) How does that land? Actually, since you haven't been, let's, let's, let's, guess, I don't know, theorize how that might go. Are you going to go into the high school reunion? Like I'm in a fucking band or because I'll say this and then I'll turn it over to you. I was a little salty when I got out of high school in my 10 year. I had, I had some shit that I needed to prove. I did it. And the rest is, well, the rest is history. It is history. But like, what are you looking forward? So we're talking 10 year, 15. Andy Alderson (06:09.529) Well, yeah, so this was probably going to be the 15 because I just used the 10 year a couple years ago. But I mean, it's better now because I can be like, I was in a band all through high school. So everyone knew me as the kid in a band. I was always in bands in high school. And so for that, it would be nice to be like, yeah, no, I'm still playing. Got signed to Seek and Strike, you know. RYAN RAYLE (06:12.256) Okay. RYAN RAYLE (06:16.086) Okay. RYAN RAYLE (06:25.399) okay. Andy Alderson (06:39.214) They distribute through Sony media, which is pretty cool. yeah, by the way, here's my master's degree. RYAN RAYLE (06:42.485) Yeah. Here, here. Hold on, I'll be. Andy, wow, you got a master's. When did you find time to do that? Andy Alderson (06:53.108) yeah, yeah, I used to live in DC and I would go talk to Congress on behalf of foreign entities. RYAN RAYLE (06:59.817) my, but you just played in a band back in high school. What changed? Andy Alderson (07:04.52) Yeah, and then I'd be like, ugh, yeah, guys. Andy Alderson (07:13.22) I've got time for everything if you really commit to it. RYAN RAYLE (07:15.415) Yeah, you can... RYAN RAYLE (07:21.079) god, that's... that... well... Andy Alderson (07:22.31) You know, politics and being in a band have a lot in common because it's probably the only professions you can get away with drinking a lot. RYAN RAYLE (07:27.007) Well said. Yeah, unless you're Cash Patel or Hegseth, then people are going to tell on you. Or if you put it in the signal chat, you're telling yourself. Andy Alderson (07:38.152) see, those are bureaucrats. Yeah, those guys need to keep a straight leg, it's not. But when you're the one rubbing shoulders with people, there's no better way to do it than get them drunk. RYAN RAYLE (07:41.836) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (07:46.615) Dude, I have I've got a friend in the political sphere that does mailers and sorry for everyone's mailbox that gets abused But that's just part of the game and and he's told me some some not some like over-the-top stories But the stuff that you think is happening at these conventions and these swore raise and these they fucking throw Down, I mean it is it is it is campaign money. That's going that's private donor money. It is Andy Alderson (07:56.426) Let's throw the game. Andy Alderson (08:06.121) they party. They party. yeah. RYAN RAYLE (08:15.624) It's just let's spend it all because if there's any left, what are we gonna do with it, right? So just blow it all on. I mean, look at, you know, look at Erica Kurt. Yeah. That's why DC has legalized pretty much every drug, so. Andy Alderson (08:20.27) Yeah, exactly. They're just putting it up your nose, That's all. This is seat. You should see those interns, man. Those kids, gotta work long hours. RYAN RAYLE (08:37.12) Man, well, you know what I know besides Adderall, Coke, meth and other drugs that keeps people up. Not that I do them, but what I do do is I listen to music. So when I'm some pills, let me take that back. That sounds really bad. This is still we're in the theory phase. So if I were to be an intern in DC on a prescribed medication from a doctor, I would be listening. Andy Alderson (08:48.118) Ha! Ha! Ha! Andy Alderson (08:55.967) If I were to. RYAN RAYLE (09:06.496) to forward, trying to hammer out the next press briefing or the next, are we doing on this environmental package over here? But yeah, let's reel it back in. Andy Alderson (09:15.118) Yeah, exactly. No, but I was like, damn, man, I really took that one way out there. No, so the band went on hiatus for a good long time. We reformed back in like 2022, 2023. And then we dropped our first single when we came back called Going Under. And then we dropped another single called Sandman. and then another single called Glass Castles. And we were just kind of doing the grind, mainly social media and really trying to put a big emphasis on our internet promotion, our internet base, trying to get a wide base so that way we don't... end up accidentally confining ourselves into like a more localized status. We wanted to always from the get-go be seen as like not just a local band, but that we had like a, you know, a wider following. And, you know, we were used to sending out, you know, electronic press kits and stuff to labels and publicists and. RYAN RAYLE (10:14.401) Okay. Andy Alderson (10:30.602) You know, we did that whole gambit to try to attract some third party assistants and things like that. But funny enough, we never sent one to Seek and Strike and they had just said that they had heard about us and they really liked that one of our single Sandman. And they asked if we would be interested in partnering with them. And we definitely were because we liked their roster. They had a pot of Burning Body, which is a hometown band for us. They just signed Immortal Disfigurement. RYAN RAYLE (10:56.661) Mm-hmm. RYAN RAYLE (11:00.563) Andy Alderson (11:00.782) Yeah, so we were really happy with like where that label was and how much attention we thought they could give us because we were a little worried that if we went with some labels with you know a roster that has you know a hundred established bands that have you know been around for decades that you know it would be hard for us to cut through that noise but they've been really good to us and they've been able to support us a lot. RYAN RAYLE (11:28.503) so you feel like having that label support is actually one of the things that is helping you guys get to the next level. Andy Alderson (11:37.982) definitely. mean, not just logistically on their distribution and some of the other benefits we get from them, but even just the experience that these guys have. mean, these guys used to work for Samarian and also I think it was New Century Media as well, if I'm not mistaken. RYAN RAYLE (11:56.567) Samarian. Andy Alderson (12:04.043) And you know, they were the guys that brought like asking over from like, you know, the UK and stuff. you know, that was like, that's a big, that was a big influence in my, my vocals when I was younger. So like to hear like these stories and like the experience these guys have, they're able to give us a lot of great advice on like, this is where you guys are at now. This is where you should be prioritizing your efforts, you know, and stuff like that. And you know, they've just been like a lot of, they've been very helpful. That's for sure. RYAN RAYLE (12:16.409) yeah. RYAN RAYLE (12:33.632) Dude, that's awesome. Speaking of asking, you know, your knife my back, that was my fucking anthem for a while. Andy Alderson (12:40.142) Oh yeah, I've devolved into the current Danny Worsnop as well, as you can tell. You know, big old beard. Fuck, why would I say it? I'll show you, I'll show you. RYAN RAYLE (12:56.918) I'm... You can't unsee this guys. For everybody watching, you can't... It's fucking... It's Danny Wars. Oh God. It's a full package. Andy Alderson (13:00.086) yeah, now you know. Andy Alderson (13:05.887) I got the beard gut. I'll show you what I looked like in high school to show you how much then I also used to look like him and stand up and scream too. RYAN RAYLE (13:14.518) man, that's great. That's great. Andy Alderson (13:17.504) Now yeah, sorry for that. You guys are never gonna be able to see that as well. RYAN RAYLE (13:20.534) No, I'm gonna send this clip to Danny personally like, hey dude, check this out. What the? Oh, bring it back. My God, that Lord Lord, that is never ever delete that photo. Andy Alderson (13:26.06) Yeah, see that was me in high school. And wearing the Ask Alexandria shirt. Andy Alderson (13:38.51) gold man, just straight gold mine. Oh, I was one of those scene kids, man. I used to do the peacock hair. RYAN RAYLE (13:45.994) Man. up in the, like, up in the back style? my goodness. Man, you were committed. Andy Alderson (13:53.257) yeah, yeah. no, no, yeah. I'll give you, so like, do you guys remember abandoning all ships back in the day? Abandon all ships. RYAN RAYLE (14:03.953) Yes, yeah. Andy Alderson (14:05.356) So do remember the guitarist who would have that like faux hawk that was really spiky? RYAN RAYLE (14:09.142) Yeah, it was like super tall, very... Andy Alderson (14:13.166) Dude, I would just get all my influence from these bands, man. I was just like, I wanna look like that. RYAN RAYLE (14:15.798) hahahaha I mean at this point we might as well just ask the question like when are we gonna see some crabcore out of forward? Andy Alderson (14:30.894) Our knees can't do it anymore, man. It just can't. RYAN RAYLE (14:32.938) You know, that is true. I happened to go down the, not down the rabbit hole, just, you know, doom scrolling as we do and landed on one of the classic metalcore, crabcore scenes where you build the tripod in the middle and, you know, it's just dudes are just fucking getting it and the vocalist is up there, mind you, that's like a fucking cheerleading TP going on behind him. So good, so good. I miss those days. I miss those days. Andy Alderson (14:57.88) Man, I have a theory that Crabcore was just an effort to show people that you could actually bend your knees wearing skinny jeans. RYAN RAYLE (15:06.998) Like it actually it's kind of like it's kind of like the dockers commercial. It's not about the dockers They're just in the commercial right everything else is happening. You're like, why are we at the lake or why are we getting coffee with grandma? It's like, look, there's dad and his nice top cotton dockers This is just a you know, a subliminal promotion for skinny jeans like you can in fact bend over and pick up your car keys if they fell, right? Hold on. Hold on. Okay, okay Andy Alderson (15:14.402) Yeah. Andy Alderson (15:30.666) Exactly. All right, you ready for your thumbnail? Andy Alderson (15:36.76) Alright, you ready? This is gonna be a good one. RYAN RAYLE (15:37.482) I'm ready. I hope. Andy Alderson (15:42.993) yeah, man. That was me. I did the whole gambit, It was never a phase, mom. It was never a phase. RYAN RAYLE (15:49.143) it was. my that you you have reminded me of a band and this is not a Ian and Jesse like and Steve, this is not a slide of you guys. Minds of Machines out of. I hold on, I probably still got some of that. I probably still got some. I'd not. I probably I know I do because there it is right there. There it is right there. Minds of Machines. Andy Alderson (16:05.928) I went on tour with minds and machines. Andy Alderson (16:13.577) We went on tour. I went on, we supported that tour with them. I was in another band called Legacy at Dawn. RYAN RAYLE (16:20.094) Yeah, let's see what else we got. RYAN RAYLE (16:24.982) All there it is. That's the that's the one most people know. Come on, camera. There we go. So, yeah. Andy Alderson (16:29.27) Yeah, yeah, no, I know those guys, yeah. Ian, Ian, know why you mention Ian for sure, man. I mean, you know, he always had the really dope ass hair, like really dark makeup. Yeah, big old gauges. RYAN RAYLE (16:35.381) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (16:39.547) yeah. That's it. And Jesse was like the charismatic rock star just up there swooning us. then Steve on guitar. Or maybe he was on bass. can't remember. God, he's going to help me. Anyway, doesn't matter. That was one of the first bands that we ever interviewed. And just a little small lore here. Whenever we went to go interview them, my best friend who helped me, who helped Andy Alderson (16:56.054) No, know those guys. Yeah, I know those guys pretty well. RYAN RAYLE (17:09.726) or who's who original idea was the podcast and I joined but we co-founded together. He ordered a Focusrite I8 because we needed more. He only had like a I2 so we didn't have enough microphones or enough plugins. So he ordered one, had it shipped to the FedEx I guess warehouse, went out there to pick it up. It somehow was sitting on some truck. It's six hours. I don't know. It was this whole fucking thing and we went all the way down to Ian's Andy Alderson (17:23.853) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (17:37.911) mom's house or something to interview the band with all this new gear and all we really needed. mean, back, you know, 10 years ago, you needed way more equipment than just, you know, your phone and a fucking GoPro. But but no, it's cool to see like where you come from, you know, just as, you know, a, you know, a youngster, right? Like that's you then. But now look at you now. Like what are what would you what would you tell younger you? Andy Alderson (17:48.585) yeah. Andy Alderson (18:03.626) There was back then it was, yeah, mean, well back, well, I would tell my younger you, don't do drugs and don't drink. Yeah, exactly. Then you have to get colonoscopy. And then, and then I would tell them, I would tell them like, look, dude, like, it's gonna be a long, it's gonna be a hard road, but you're gonna get there. RYAN RAYLE (18:13.728) Cause it'll lead to colonoscopies in the, in your thirties. RYAN RAYLE (18:33.268) Yeah. Andy Alderson (18:33.518) Cause like, it's funny even as a kid, like I knew, just like there's just something I just always knew that I'd get the chance to be in like a sign band. Cause I just, I just, I just told myself like, I'm not gonna stop until it happens. RYAN RAYLE (18:51.89) so this was a, the dream of making it big was from high school and still going forward. Andy Alderson (18:59.342) Oh yeah, I mean like I said earlier, I've been playing in bands since I was in high school. And you know, that's always the dream. Though when you're younger, you're like ignorant to it. You think you're like in a signed band and it's like, oh, like that's so huge. And you get to this point in your career and you're like, all right, you know, I have a label because I need, you know, financial support, I need help with distribution, you know. It becomes, you see it more as a job. RYAN RAYLE (19:27.189) Right. Andy Alderson (19:27.744) and more as how the profession works itself. Back then it was like, my gosh, you're on a label. you know, that's like. RYAN RAYLE (19:36.576) it was massive. Andy Alderson (19:37.908) Yeah, and now it's, I see this like, no, like if we want to elevate our exposure, we need third party, you know, support. So like, that's why like a label makes sense now. Before it was like, that was like, you got that contract and you were like, we're in, we did it, you know. Now, which is funny, cause like, man, being in a band when you're on a label is like so much, in my opinion, harder. RYAN RAYLE (19:57.855) Yeah, woo, we're free. Andy Alderson (20:07.306) Right? Because they have that extra support, but you've broken past the ceiling that now the next ceiling is so much higher. You know, it's like you now have people that are relying on you to not only produce, but also to maintain and to also grow and... RYAN RAYLE (20:07.86) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (20:27.53) Mm-hmm. Andy Alderson (20:29.75) you know, it's they're financially invested in you and you need to make sure that those investments, you know, have returns on them. And so now there's even more pressure and, you know, it's just like a, and, know, before like it was always a grind, but now it's like a daily, you know, this is my job. This is like my day to day grind. So. RYAN RAYLE (20:37.076) Right. RYAN RAYLE (20:51.648) I could not have written this better. I was actually gonna ask you, what is the least glamorous part about The Grind, like just being a local band? Andy Alderson (21:01.422) Oh, oh, oh, social media content, 1,000 fucking percent, man. RYAN RAYLE (21:05.334) I thank you. Thank you that that is to date. We're like, I don't know ten for ten now Everybody's like we're so tired of being social media content creators that you know, what's your what's your engagement? How many followers? What's your download strength? And I understand that it's the business side of it. But Jesus Christ like Andy Alderson (21:08.59) I Andy Alderson (21:25.198) It's like, there's just some days I wanna lay down and do nothing and like, I know that people are expecting me to go on my computer, go on CapCut, edit a quick 30 second video of something. I gotta have an idea of what to post that day. If I don't post every day, we lose engagement. so that is... RYAN RAYLE (21:30.378) Yes. RYAN RAYLE (21:41.493) Right. Andy Alderson (21:51.95) I came from the MySpace era days and like, I wish that I had started a band just a little bit earlier. Just a little bit earlier. Um, cause... RYAN RAYLE (21:54.538) Here we go. Andy Alderson (22:04.942) When I first was in my first band, MySpace is still the thing, but it was dying. And that's when Facebook was starting. And Facebook, which notoriously was never very friendly to exposure and promotion. Whereas MySpace, they had MySpace trains. I'm aging myself like crazy here. But I don't know if you remember MySpace trains. Yeah, okay. Well, let me explain it for the younger. Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (22:08.991) Yep. RYAN RAYLE (22:20.359) Mm-hmm. Come on. I'm 42. I created my space trains. Me and Tom were bros. Andy Alderson (22:32.76) Let me explain it for the younger generations. So back in my space, you didn't have a restrictions on your friends list. And when you were a band, it wasn't a page, you were like a person. And so you could have 30 million friends. And the way you got 30 million friends is there was websites where people would be like, hey, follow me. And they're all seen kids. It was all like seeing kids and stuff. Yeah. And RYAN RAYLE (22:34.205) Yeah, lock it lock in kids RYAN RAYLE (22:55.765) Bing, bing, bing, bing. Andy Alderson (23:00.11) What you would do is you'd go on those websites and you just start friend requesting every single person. then, dude, and yeah, and then you would get abused every day. You were like, hey, you've overused the friend request button. We gotta reset you now for 24 hours. And then. RYAN RAYLE (23:04.693) Just abusing the friend request button. RYAN RAYLE (23:15.421) Yeah, you I forgot about you got put that was like what the it was Facebook jail is my space jail before Facebook jail man Andy Alderson (23:22.934) Yeah, yeah, exactly. so, man, there are so many bands. Bring Me the Horizon, Tulsi Grin, Asking Alexandria, Blackville Brides. I remember Blackville Brides when they had a MySpace. And I remember Andy, like I had like Andy Six on my friend's group, right? Because that's how you just did it back then. But now... RYAN RAYLE (23:43.091) So amazing. Andy Alderson (23:49.376) It's so much more complicated. gotta run a Facebook and Instagram and TikTok. I gotta make videos every single day. Back then, I could have just 30 million friends, say I was in a band, have my music on my page. And people were like, holy shit, I'm fucking friends with this guy in this band. It was just... RYAN RAYLE (24:05.769) Ha ha ha ha. It was... Go ahead. Yes. Andy Alderson (24:11.668) It was just easier. And now it is, is probable. mean, my label is probably gonna call me later and be like, you know, you shouldn't talk so much about how shitty the social media is, but you know, it is true. It's hard and like, it's exhausting. And that's probably the, that's the worst part of the grind these days. I'd rather go on tour for, you know, 40 days straight in a smelly ass van with all of my like, know, douchebag bandmates. RYAN RAYLE (24:23.253) They get it RYAN RAYLE (24:41.907) You just... Andy Alderson (24:41.998) and eat Taco Bell every day, feed the beat rather than post every single day, but you do what you have to, so. RYAN RAYLE (24:48.051) Yes, yeah, feed the beat, you know what saying? RYAN RAYLE (24:54.835) Yeah. Yeah, it's all, it's all, it's all a part of just doing what you love. And if you do, if you want to keep doing it, you'll, you'll just, you'll find a way, right? You'll Andy Alderson (25:06.86) No, exactly. you do it. It's being in a band's labor of love. Like if anyone thinks I'm making crazy money off of this, they're insane because I got three credit cards open because of this band. Yeah, I mean, I'm worse than broke. I'm in the red, baby. RYAN RAYLE (25:10.997) Mm-hmm. RYAN RAYLE (25:15.219) We're all... We're all broke. Yeah, yeah, we're we're not going to Vegas anytime soon, so Andy Alderson (25:27.948) No, yeah, the band is my gamble. Thank you. But I swear I write the lyrics, RYAN RAYLE (25:30.833) Exactly. good call. The band is my gamble. I like that. OK, yeah. well, hey, yeah, I was I yeah, good segue. Speaking of lyrics. So what's the yeah, we'll shift gears a little bit. We'll get back into the music. So we got the new we got the new album out. been out for a little bit. Walk us through a forward songwriting process, whether it's the newest one or from the very beginning. Andy Alderson (25:57.828) man, that's a process. That'd be a weird way to say it. Man, I don't really know what our process is. mean, the guy, so I'm kind of the idea guy. I'll have like an idea for a song, but I'm by no means like a traditional musician. Like I play like a chord on a guitar maybe. RYAN RAYLE (26:02.013) Okay. RYAN RAYLE (26:26.626) yeah, that's Andy Alderson (26:27.298) There's things in my head going on that I like, I know could be songs, but like I have no functionality of these. RYAN RAYLE (26:35.357) also you can't play but you can obviously sing scream Andy Alderson (26:38.7) Well, I can't, I'm not a very good singer either. I would consider myself, I'm a compositionalist. Like I kind of have an idea of like what I want to happen in the songs. But so a lot of the times we'll start with that. It'll be like, hey guys, like, cause. RYAN RAYLE (26:41.219) Okay. RYAN RAYLE (26:48.34) Okay. Andy Alderson (26:59.19) Like I write a lot of song structures. Like this is like this kind of part I'm thinking of, this kind of part. And that's how we did it for the album, for Anthologies. But for the EP exposition we just did, to make it easier on the guys, because they asked me to write all the lyrics first this time. Because before we would write the music and then we would then put the lyrics to the music. Like I would write lyrics for the music. That was a really tedious process. And I think the guys, like they didn't, like my guys really like direction. They really like to know what like the concepts are, like what are we trying to say? What's the vibes and stuff? And so for the EP, they had asked me to write all the lyrics first for all the songs. So I wrote all the lyrics first. And that kind of... RYAN RAYLE (27:30.782) Okay. Andy Alderson (27:57.838) gave everybody a general idea of like, this is like kind of the emotional direction. These are the kind of like vibes we're looking for, the hits, like the one-liners, things like that. And so that's how we kind of did it this time. And then when we went to the studio, we always kind of had this philosophy where it's like, okay, now we're starting from scratch, kind of. Like we'll go in with songs, but we're like, okay, now we're gonna rewrite them. RYAN RAYLE (28:09.145) yeah. Andy Alderson (28:22.126) But at that point we already have the music and the lyrics and so from there it's like we kind of have an idea of what we want to do from both sides but let's just like treat it as if like we were doing it for the first time just with now those two influences in mind. Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (28:36.917) Gotcha. That sounds that I mean, yeah, I mean, every band. Oh, hold on. What child? I knew it. We have a child in the room. Yes, you can. OK. All right. Being a dad in twenty twenty six. Yeah, Dude, I take I take little one to show. She just turned 13, so she is starting. She's breaking into her emo phase So I'll just I'll show her. I'll show her the. Andy Alderson (28:42.86) We have a child in the room. Andy Alderson (28:50.561) that's so sweet. a family man. A family man. RYAN RAYLE (29:06.151) It's not a fail. Hey, I still got my inner emo here, dude. Elder emo, I should say. Actually, there's a thing that goes on at Come and Take It every now and again. It's a little group called Emotion Avenue. So it's all the emo throwbacks, live sets. There's other things that happen around in Austin. I'm not sure what goes down in San Antonio, but they also have... perfect, we're at. Nice, nice. It's always... Andy Alderson (29:09.15) Yeah. Yeah. Andy Alderson (29:27.334) every Wednesday is emo night at Press Monkey. Yeah, every... RYAN RAYLE (29:34.07) I feel like, I feel like that, I feel like emo night is today's generation of like classic rock night, you know? 70, yeah, exactly. Like, yeah, let's do some hair metal on Tuesdays. Let's do emo night on Wednesdays. Let's do thr, you know what I mean? Like, but it's just, it's, it's such a, it's such a, what's the word I'm looking for? It's a broad umbrella. Like for example, Andy Alderson (29:43.958) Like 70s night, you know? Andy Alderson (29:54.609) yeah. RYAN RAYLE (30:02.997) I don't know if Silverstein would qualify for Emo, maybe? Okay. Andy Alderson (30:07.638) I think, I think nowadays it would, cause you're going to get those, you're going to get that segment of emo where it's like, what's a great example of like a super emo band. like Mike and her own ass. Yes. Yeah, exactly. But then you'll get like asking Alexandria, like they're not an emo band, but when I was an emo kid, I definitely listened to asking Alexandria. RYAN RAYLE (30:18.197) Yeah, it's like, like my chemical romance. Yeah, MCR all day. RYAN RAYLE (30:33.205) Yeah, so it's like the song may not fit the genre, but the people listening to that music are gravitated towards this. yeah, I just feel like just, you know, nostalgia is cyclical. So, you know, the world is in pain right now and we need to get that emotional connection to something. And so. Yeah, this is this just. I'm just I'm just a cool I'm just a chill guy. Andy Alderson (30:54.082) That's me, emo man. mean, the world is suffering and I'm just existing in it. RYAN RAYLE (31:02.101) But no, man, I really do feel like nights like that are fun and being able to take my kid to something like that. I'll take her, dude, take her to shows that come and take it all the time. Everything from hardcore to female-fronted bands. think when Rivals came through, she was there. So that's my little road dog, man. When she shows up, she's like her own little person. And just being able to let her be. Andy Alderson (31:22.454) Night. RYAN RAYLE (31:31.965) run around the venue to support the staff and everybody know her so I don't feel like my kid is gonna get fucking kidnapped out the back door because I've got literally everybody eyes on and so I don't know if this is just me doing a PSA to get kids to come to more shows with their parents. Andy Alderson (31:48.706) I was gonna say, man, I mean, I remember there was a venue called the White Rabbit in San Antonio. And it was on St. Mary's. And nowadays St. Mary's is a really safe, know, well-updated, gentrified place, dare I say. Well, I wouldn't say gentrified, because it's still the same people, but things. RYAN RAYLE (31:53.961) Yes, rest in peace, think, yes. RYAN RAYLE (32:06.261) . Just updated. Andy Alderson (32:11.84) Yeah, it's just updated and it's nicer. But man, when I was 14 and I would go to shows at the Rabbit, we were told like, don't leave the venue. St. Mary's was not a safe place to be, regardless of what age you were. so nowadays I tell parents, I'm like, trust me, your kids are gonna be fine. Because if I survived that era, RYAN RAYLE (32:21.905) ha ha ha ha ha ha! RYAN RAYLE (32:37.927) Yes. Andy Alderson (32:41.278) of like people's knives getting confiscated at the door. You had to bring a knife to a show, cause you you didn't know what was gonna happen. And you saw me, you guys saw me in high school. That little kid had to carry a knife when he went to shows and stuff. RYAN RAYLE (32:46.675) Yes. RYAN RAYLE (32:56.509) Not only a can of hairspray, we also are packing a switchblade. Andy Alderson (32:59.788) Dude, no bullshit in my backpack. I would have a knife in the very back. I would have hairspray and a straightener. Like the big thing. Now, yeah, so I am big advocate. So long as kids bring ear protection now. That's the one thing I wish I would have done as a kid is wear ear protection, because everyone in my band has tinnitus. So, you know, we... RYAN RAYLE (33:10.133) man, good times man, good times. RYAN RAYLE (33:18.196) Yes. RYAN RAYLE (33:21.877) . RYAN RAYLE (33:25.779) Yep. Yep. Just that constant ring or the occasional high pitch. Andy Alderson (33:30.56) Everything goes out and you just, eeee RYAN RAYLE (33:32.691) Mm-hmm. RYAN RAYLE (33:36.84) Mm-hmm. RYAN RAYLE (33:50.1) You know, there's a message here about protection. I just, can't put the pieces together. Kids, earplugs. yeah, if you want to go to the show by yourself, wear protection. But if you want to go with your kids, protect them. Maybe? I don't know. Whatever. Andy Alderson (34:04.514) Boo! Now we're getting some great one-liners out of this. RYAN RAYLE (34:09.781) Oh man, well Andy, I've had such a great time. I don't want to take up too much more of your time. Plus I need to go rally that one up. I promised a father-daughter day today, so. Andy Alderson (34:20.359) yeah, no problem, man. Being in a band, you're always just taking away people's kids away from them. RYAN RAYLE (34:27.606) I will say that, and this goes for everybody, from fans to artists to the content creators to the label, everybody in this scene, I was reading something today about how to build a community and you have to have members and then those members will then go out and, no, I'm not starting a cult, no, I'm not starting a new religion. What I think I've been on my soapbox about over the past few years basically on this road to recovery through COVID, even though that's three to five years in the past, it still takes time for stuff to evolve and get back to normal like inflation. what I... Andy Alderson (35:21.142) I'm still drinking like it's COVID. RYAN RAYLE (35:25.494) I kid I dude I sidebar I went through way too many bottles of TX whiskey when I was strapped to my computer at ACC doing real estate class. I mean I think that's just a normal statement in Texas in general. But but for me it was my I remember I had this idea like for every bottle I drank I'd turn it into this cool little like candle thing and I bought this thing called a kinkajou and as a glass cutter so I could circle off the box anyway. Andy Alderson (35:39.67) Hehehehe Andy Alderson (35:55.704) You just realize how much of an alcoholic you are at that point. I used to have espalone bottles that like literally went through my whole entire kitchen, like all over during COVID. RYAN RAYLE (35:57.918) Yeah, exactly. And then I quit drinking the hard stuff. RYAN RAYLE (36:07.167) Yeah. Like as you're like as you're pounding the liquor and you're like, this is going to look so great. And then, know, what what did I do with all those are all bad decisions right there. That's just memories. But but no, the the the community, I think, is is is healthier. There are there's a lot more room than there used to be for. Andy Alderson (36:15.694) And then you get to your 30s and you're like, oh my god, what's wrong with you? Andy Alderson (36:24.396) Exactly. RYAN RAYLE (36:38.516) a lot of acts. it's not. And also, I like the fact that every city and I still think that every major metropolitan in Texas still has like their their vibe. Like for me, Austin is punk and metalcore. San Antonio is metalcore, deathcore, splash. Yeah, just some knuckle dragon stuff. Dallas, Dallas is kind of a jack of all trades. And then Houston has like hardcore doom gloom and thrash. Andy Alderson (36:56.098) Be dead. RYAN RAYLE (37:07.156) some Corpus Christi splashed in there. I could be wrong, but that's just the vibe that I get. But I really do think that bands like yourself out there just crushing it are kind of, you guys are kind of leaders, right? You're not at the bottom, you're not at the top, you're in the middle working your way up. And I just, wish you guys nothing but the best. Is there anything else that you wanna kind of get out there before we go? Tours, music, merch? Andy Alderson (37:07.478) Yeah. Yeah. Andy Alderson (37:25.902) Great way to say it, yeah. Andy Alderson (37:35.598) We are looking to get back on the road here in the next couple of months. So be look out for that announcement and then, you know, just for everyone, you know, check out our recent EP exposition on Spotify. That'd be awesome. RYAN RAYLE (37:52.982) Bing. Finished. that's it. That's all. Anythi- Andy Alderson (37:58.414) I don't think, yeah, I mean, we're traveling and keep playing our music. much. Oh, yeah, so on Instagram, it's gonna be at forward band on Facebook, just forward. Special caveat, will say, forward spelled F-O-R-E-W-O-R-D. RYAN RAYLE (38:04.416) Tell you what, what's the socials? Where can people find you guys at? RYAN RAYLE (38:25.002) Wait, D. Nope, that's B. B, B, B, D. There we go. Sorry, was trying to sign language. I failed. Ha! I should get my little ASL guy over here. my god. Andy Alderson (38:29.324) Yeah, that was impressive actually. was like, man, Homeboy's signing it. Dude, that'd be so great. No, I love that inclusivity, People in the deaf community can still enjoy, if anything, I feel like heavy music is probably something really attractive for the deaf community. RYAN RAYLE (38:39.51) I'll work on it. RYAN RAYLE (38:50.378) Yeah, I, man, sorry, I just had a memory of sixth grade. was in library and our librarian was deaf. And when we would do beats on the table, she would come over and say, Ryan, please stop. And I could, I couldn't figure it out. And I mean, years later I did, you know, it's vibrations. can... Andy Alderson (39:09.1) Yeah, because you just man and there's nothing that vibrates your chest more than like a heavy show, man. RYAN RAYLE (39:16.032) fucking 808 drop just right through your chest. Miss Walker if you're actually her name is not Miss Walker. What was her name? You know I'm gonna look that up. She deserves better than me not knowing her name. She was she was really cool. She was I actually the interview I just got done with Cryptopsy he was he was like yeah pick up a book every now and again. So it's funny that we've that we've ended on the librarian note but Andy Alderson (39:29.837) Hehehehe RYAN RAYLE (39:45.427) Anywho, again, Andy, sorry to peel you out of bed from a headliner in Austin, but I really, think this shows what it takes to be, honestly, I think this is one of the things that it takes to be a musician today, even at the lower local level. You gotta put in that work. You gotta... Andy Alderson (40:04.494) Daily grind. No, no, was excited honestly, dude. I was excited. Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (40:08.65) Well, cool, man. I was too, and I've been jamming your music all day. album covers? Who's doing the artwork? Because it looks like Mario's castle floating in the sky. Or not Mario's castle. Is it Princess's castle? Is that you? No way, man. That shit looks great, man. Andy Alderson (40:26.476) This guy, that's me. Yeah, I made all the album artwork. We've tried to hire people, because I just don't want to do it. I actually, before I went to school for political science, was originally going to go to school for graphic design. Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (40:37.342) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (40:45.055) Hey. Andy Alderson (40:47.596) And which kind of sucks too, because everyone in the band knows that like, I'll just do all the design stuff. like, the workload doesn't get shared around a lot. Like I'm doing the promotion, I'm doing the graphic design, you know, I'm doing a lot of stuff. But thank you. RYAN RAYLE (40:56.916) Yeah. RYAN RAYLE (41:04.616) Next time, next time whenever, yeah, next time when it's time to interview, just be like, all right, whoever's got the nicest hair is doing the next interview. Andy Alderson (41:11.82) See, and normally I try to bring on one other guy that like, cause the other guys, look good. You know, they're the pretty ones. RYAN RAYLE (41:17.364) Yes, yes, you got some, you got some sec, I mean you're, you're handsome, you're a hansy dandem Danny 2.0 yourself, man. Default Danny. Andy Alderson (41:21.44) Well, thank you. Again, I'm having the default Danny Worstop era right now. I hope he doesn't see this because he does live in Canyon Lake. Yeah, he has a place in Canyon Lake. Yeah. Or at least he did. I don't know if he still does. But, RYAN RAYLE (41:31.702) really? I didn't know that. All right, I am I am. I'm departing my AI robot now and fly away. Andy Alderson (41:43.924) Yeah, no, but thank you. Now, I'd love to bring the guys on. They're goofy and they're fun and you'd enjoy their presence. RYAN RAYLE (41:49.227) Yeah. We love it. RYAN RAYLE (41:55.553) Well, I would imagine you guys are gonna be around for a little while. I like to close out the interviews with one question. You can speak for yourself or as the band as a whole, what is forwards, what is the long-term goal? Like let's just say Metallica Stadium Tours is the top and Garage Band Forever is the bottom. Where do you feel like... Andy Alderson (42:17.774) Ha. RYAN RAYLE (42:23.71) yourself as a musician or forward is going to be or would like to be. Andy Alderson (42:26.663) I think our goal is we want to be able to make this our full-time profession. Yeah, I think. RYAN RAYLE (42:32.948) Okay. So even if that means just touring Texas and outside the states every now and again. Andy Alderson (42:38.924) I mean, if we can go on the road, if our music is doing well and we can make a living, I think that's what we want. You know, it's funny, like the idea of doing like a Metallica level thing, yeah, that's cool and everything, but considering where we're at and we're like, you know, we're. RYAN RAYLE (42:53.749) Right. Andy Alderson (42:59.746) We're barely breaking even basically on going on tour and like producing music and stuff. I think honestly, we just all wanna quit our day jobs. We just, yeah. Yeah, there's a labor of love for us. I mean, we do this because we want to not because it makes us money or... RYAN RAYLE (43:10.454) I feel that. God. Andy Alderson (43:21.486) You know, idea that like bands are like those eighties metal bands, like it's all about the money and the women. I'm like, I get no chicks from this. I get no money from this. anything, dude, straight the fuck up. had to mute my phone just because they're like, hey, your credit card's overdue. And I was like, no shit, dog. had to just pay for some advertisement. No, yeah. And honestly, if you tell, RYAN RAYLE (43:27.646) you RYAN RAYLE (43:31.978) All I get is debt collectors. RYAN RAYLE (43:44.64) Yeah. Andy Alderson (43:50.638) like a woman that in your 30s that you play in a band. It's a lot different than when you were 17 and you were like, oh yeah, I played a band. Oh my God, you're in a band. And they're like, I play in a band. like, you play in a band? Yeah, it was like, they're like, all right, that's a red flag. And honest to God, it is a red flag. RYAN RAYLE (44:02.359) I'm in a pad. RYAN RAYLE (44:08.449) Get a life, loser. Yeah. You know what? You know what? Well, it's low on the itemized threshold of red flags. Andy Alderson (44:21.42) Like you think I'm gonna be spending money on a lot of dates and like, you know, doing nice things. Unfortunately, I have four other girlfriends technically that I gotta keep happy. RYAN RAYLE (44:27.72) No. RYAN RAYLE (44:33.515) To include their parents, you know, you could say the label is the parents. we've got, or, Mom and Dad happy, we've got four girlfriends. Yeah. man. Well, I think if we keep, if we keep doing stuff like this and you guys keep kicking out great songs like that, I think Mom and Dad and the girlfriends are all going to be happy. So we're trying, man. That's all we can do. That's all we can do. But. Andy Alderson (44:38.502) yeah, I gotta keep, I gotta keep mom and dad happy, man. I gotta keep George and Randy happy. George and Randy, you gotta get theirs. Andy Alderson (44:57.88) We're trying. RYAN RAYLE (45:02.399) Andy thank you very much man. I really appreciate it for those that may have Changed the channel or come back Wow what the fuck just flew in my mouth. Sorry Andy Alderson (45:15.934) my god, let me get that for you. RYAN RAYLE (45:23.211) What I was trying to say before I was assaulted is that Foreward is going to be around for a little while. They're on Seek and Strike. They've got the new album out. They've got tours coming up, shows coming up. I would assume new music down the road. And we'll be here in the podcast studio ready to discuss them new tracks. But until then, I'm Ryan. That's Andy. This is Foreward and ATX Metal Podcast. Andy, stick around for a little bit. Andy Alderson (45:39.064) Hopefully, always. RYAN RAYLE (45:52.447) Everybody else, we'll see you later. Andy Alderson (45:54.498) Thanks man.