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| Robb Rivera Photo by Angela Villand |
With the success of the 2010 release, Miracle, it seems people have shed their nervousness because Nonpoint remains consistently faithful to the signature “sound” that their fans feel "belong"s to the band. There’s this big sigh of relief in the “Nonpoint fan community” that’s rather collective. There was a period of time when guitarist Andy Goldman left and Zach Broderick was on board when fans were not sure what was going to happen til they saw a live Nonpoint show and left knowing “It’s all good!” Having a new guitarist can make, break, improve, change….it can do so many things for a band. They’ve been very fortunate in many ways over the years, especially since the addition of Zach to the family has ultimately been a good and positive transition for your band and for the fans! Looking back, three-plus years later, after the adoption of a new guitarist and essential songwriter, I asked Nonpoint's drummer ROBB RIVERA about Zach's "adoption" to the Nonpoint family, we talked about how they're still touring on the album Miracle, and we even discussed his retired Muppet "Animal."
ANGELA:
Zach...new kid on the block at first, but after seeing him on the stage with you guys over the years, it's almost as if he's always been with you! What was the transition like for yourself, Elias and Ken when Zach joined the band?
ROBB:When Zach first came about he was the only guy we actually auditioned; we had other people in line but he kind of felt “right.” We said “This guy feels right so let’s go with this.” His songwriting is really what kind of…”caught” us; he was able to write songs and write good riffs and so that was the most important thing too, the type of songwriter. Zach’s definitely lit a fire under us. We were kind of in a dark period after Andy departed. You know, he’d been our long-time guitarist for over ten years, so we said “What do we do now?” None of us wanted to hang it up, I mean Nonpoint’s been part of our lives and we’ve sacrificed so much personally to keep this machine rolling. So we kept on going. We got Zach in, we immediately booked a tour to kind of “introduce” him to the fans. At first the fans were a little upset, because you know, you get used to something, get used to a format. When there’s something or someone new it sort of throws people off. To this day there are kids out there that don’t even know Andy’s out of the band. (Laughing) That blows me away; after three and a half years you’d think people would catch on but…they still don’t know.
ANGELA:
Miracle is soaring! it's Still a success even after months of it's release. Do you think all the "newness" surrounding the band had something to do with it this time around?ROBB:
Miracle’s success has been great! We had Greg and Chad (from Mudvayne) to produce it, we shifted managers, we have new management, new label (we formed our own label) – everything was new. I think Miracle got to number 12 on the active rock charts. It’s cool, everything up to this point – we have been touring non-stop. We’ve been over to Europe, Australia, we can’t really complain. Here we are, still touring off this record. I believe we may be taking this summer off, not gonna do any shows til August; take some time off to get ready for a new album. It’s been overwhelming; I really can’t explain it, to be honest.
UPDATE: Announced Robb via the Nonpoint Facebook page: SUMMER show dates for Nonpoint
June 5 (Sunday) - Jakestock @ Jake's Tavern, Sarasota FL
August 13 (Saturday) - "95 WIIL Rock the Ranch" Carnival of Madness - Twin Lakes, WI
ANGELA:
I've watched people, over the years, on the Nonpoint message boards & the Nonpoint Facebook page say “dude you guys have to do an acoustic album.” I’m sitting there thinking “Wow, really? Ya must not have this one?” and many other long-term fans are saying “Dude, CUT THE CORD! Go get that album!” That acoustic album, released in 2009, was five of your BEST songs in acoustic form and yet people are out there that still don’t know about it. Have you and the band discussed ANOTHER acoustic record in the near future?
ROBB:You know we’ve been asked to; there’s so much stuff out there on the net, from us going to radio stations, etc. How Cut The Cord (Acoustic digital album) came about was all this random stuff came popping up on file sharing sights, limewire, etc., so there are kids out there that have all kinds of stuff from us that even I don’t even know of. So we decided, “Hey, kids have been asking for an acoustic record,” but we wanted to it a little bit differently – we released it digitally, you know, we didn’t put it out on a CD. We’ve talked about it; we’ll do it when the time is right, but right now we’re concentrating on other stuff. When the timing is right, we will definitely do that for sure.
ANGELA:
Universal Music has a new "ICON" series they're doing for some of their former and current artists. How did the ICON Nonpoint CD come about? How involved were you guys in this?
ROBB:The people at Universal approached us and said they were looking through their vault and maybe (I don’t know) with the success of Miracle - they wanted to see if they could rekindle old flames with old music and stuff like that. So they approached us about doing a "best of" from (only) the first two albums, which they own, and whatever little odd things we had laying around. They did basically pick the song list; we really didn’t have much influence on the song list. The only thing we really had much influence on was rare stuff which was a couple of tracks we have in the vault that we haven’t released. So that’s how that came about. They’re going through all their old artists and I think Local H got one too. I think that’s something they (Universal) are gonna be doing with their “artists from the past.”
ANGELA:
Are you happy with the songs they chose?
ROBB:
Yeah, I think it’s a great thing too, especially for people who are just now discovering us, and don’t have the first two Nonpoint records. I was all for it; didn’t have too much to do with it, and I didn’t really suggest too much, you know, I didn’t really get involved. I let them pretty much take care of what they had to do, so it’s all good.
ANGELA:
You handle a great deal of the internet socializing for Nonpoint, as well as your other projects. Here’s a question from Aaron Manogue about this particular issue:
1) What is your Biggest PET PEEVE with social networking for the band?
ROBB:
Honestly, I think with social media there is NO mystery anymore. When I was growing up, there was no Twitter, no MySpace; there was not even a freaking internet available. There was nothing. When I was growing up and I would see a musician, I would be SO excited, and to go up and talk to that person – those 5 minutes lasted a lifetime, to me! And now, fans can just talk to you on Facebook; can talk to you on MySpace! You can chat with a fan! I had to change all my settings because it was just crazy - I can’t chat with all these people. (Laughing) Then (there’s those people) they start thinking that you’re like their best friend, and so I try and keep that balance. There’s just no mystery. Back then? You didn’t see bands in clubs – you saw them in ARENAS! Now people just go and knock on someone’s bus door. Back then, to get to the back, you had to sneak back there and just pray that nobody would catch you! (Laughing)
My biggest peeve with social media is that people have too many opinions. If you release something out on the net, all the sudden, they KNOW what’s best for your band! They haven’t written a song ever in their own life, they don’t even have a band; they’re just some kid that likes music. I respect people’s opinions, I really do. But sometimes they are a little unrealistic. Yeah you don’t like our record, I get it. You don’t have to constantly remind me how much you don’t like the album. We can’t please everybody out there.
When we first got signed, kids who loved us vocally hated Statement. Then when we released Development, those kids that loved Statement hated Development. The kids that liked Development hated Recoil, and it keeps going. There’s people whose favorite record is Statement, people whose favorite is Recoil or Vengeance or Miracle. You can’t please everyone but the thing about Nonpoint is we cannot repeat ourselves. Everyone one of our records sound different; musically I think they are different but it’s STILL Nonpoint! Now in the social media people just offer too many opinions.
ANGELA:
There are undoubtedly many singular people out there in the world that wants you to hear their opinion because you haven’t heard it before but that adds up to hundreds which builds to thousands of opinions. How do you handle it? I’ve seen people get on the Nonpoint and even on your personal Facebook page and get down right stupid hateful and it sometimes will end up being trolls, and more often than not, it’s just mean people. But you always keep calm and remain positive and stand strong.
ROBB:
I love connecting with fans, but sometimes I just gotta block some of these people. They say some hateful stuff. They say things like “I love your band, I’m your number one fan, you’re my favorite band but your new record sucks.” What is that? (Laughing) Are you kidding me? How do people say that? Here’s how it is for me; one of my favorite bands is Deftones. They changed, but I still love them, ‘cause I’m a true fan. Rush is another one; my favorite band in the whole world is Rush. They changed; from the first record to their last record, but I still love em. That’s one of the things about social media. People offer too many opinions. Sometimes I don’t even wanna go on there or go on the websites where they allow comments because some of these kids write some hateful stuff. I call it the “internet-keyboard tough guy.” They won’t say it to your face. I would actually respect someone that told me to my face that my record sucks, but not behind the keyboard. I’m sorry I rambled about the pet peeves, but I’ve always wanted someone to ask me that question. (Laughing)
ANGELA:
Things definitely have changed over the last decade with the internet being the key tool in connecting with fans, publicists, venues, other bands etc. It’s brought a great deal of positive outreach to our fingertips but there’s always the down side of too much of a good thing. How has social networking/media helped Nonpoint? Are there teensy catch-22’s here and there that speckle the deal for you guys?
ROBB:
Social media has been amazing for Nonpoint. It’s one way to connect; you put up a link and thousands of people can hear it. Before, (the internet) you had to literally mail stuff out, now people can just click a link. But on the other hand, I think it can take away from the grass roots of what bands used to do. When Nonpoint first started, the internet was kinda starting to tier in, I mean you had Web TV and AOL and a few more things, but I thought back then it was more exciting when somebody handed me a flyer….and I would look at it, or if they gave you a CD at a show, I’d get excited. Back then, I used to do Post Cards, and I’d get that hard paper and do four copies of a flyer, cut em up into 4 postcards and mail them out. Kids would be excited that they would get stuff at their house in the mail. The internet is good or bad, like when I do the Nonpoint updates & I update a lot– kids get mad because I’m “flooding their news-feed.” But I’m saying Ok so if you’re gonna get mad at me, check this out as an example. Last nite we played Houston. The very next day, ‘When are you gonna play in Houston?’ and I’m saying ‘We just played that last nite, Dude!’ If you had been paying attention to your damn feed and not of blocking us, you would have known we were playin Houston! That’s another thing; it’s good. Facebook is Amazing, I love it and I think it’s the best social media site that has ever existed. But at the same time, that’s the downfall too because people have the ability to “LIKE” so much stuff, and let’s say you like over 50, 60 bands, that’s a lot of bands with different stuff on your feed…which one do you follow? I mean if you block us from your feed with “hide all” then what’s the point of liking us in the first place? You’re never gonna know, are you gonna visit the Nonpoint Facebook page every day?
ANGELA:
Do you think people visit the official website for Nonpoint less now that there is Facebook and you’re updating it constantly?
ROBB:
I did a poll a while back about that and said “Honestly where do you get a lot of the information about Nonpoint shows?” and people said Nonpoint.com and Facebook so it's both.
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| www.sonorusa.com |
My fave part of every interview, Gear Talk! Our friend Don Cadman (nuERA drummer) submitted a question about your kit. “Could you tell us about your drums, your cymbals, hats, snares, etc…did you get a new Seven Drumworks kit? Or are you still with Sonor?”
ROBB:
I was going to go with Seven Drumworks Company, but unfortunately things didn’t work out. I have recently revamped everything with Sonor and they are one of the best companies out there, so I’m gonna stick with them! I actually have a brand new kit from them!. I do have a Seven Drumworks snare, but yeah I’m sticking with Sonor. I use Vater night sticks, Sabian cymbals, Iron Cobra pedals and high hats. *Click HERE for Robb's official Sonor Profile page!
ANGELA:
Something you don’t leave home without: when you hit the road with the band is there anything you can’t go without, and has that changed now that you’re a married man?
ROBB:
Well I don’t leave without my computer, definitely, don’t leave without it, or my Iphone or Ipad or Ipod. (laughing) I used to not leave home without my XBox, brought it all the time, but I play less and less video games these days so I don’t bring that anymore. Honestly the stuff I leave with is what enables me to connect with my loved ones and wife, so that’s basically it. My father passed away a couple of weeks ago, so now…I have his dog tags, his military dog tags, so I’m bringing that with me. That’s my passion so that’s one thing I’m gonna start bringin with me on every tour.
ANGELA:
You used to hang a stuffed animal from the Muppets, Animal, on your kit, do you still?
ROBB:
No, I don’t anymore. My Animal I have – I officially had to retire him. He’s a little beat up from the road. A fan in North Carolina gave me a three & a half foot Animal. I’m not gonna bring that one because I really don’t want that broken or anything so I’m just gonna have that hanging somewhere at my house.
ANGELA:
There’s this thing you do on stage: now people that have never seen you live may not get this, but it’s something you do at your kit. You’re playin the shit out of a song, it’s obvious you are putting every ounce of emotion into it, and you just smash the crap out of your drums, and JUMP UP. It happens so fast, almost so that if we aren’t expecting it, we’d miss it. We refer to it as your “jump-move,” for lack of a better term.
ROBB:
I do it less now. I still do it at every show, but I do it less and less because my back is just, I need a new back – it is completely shattered from doing that stuff. But I still do it, I did it just last night. People will compliment me on that, they say things like “Oh we love to see you jump and we love to see you get up and you scream and you go nuts, we love it.” People pay to see the show and Nonpoint has always been a band that delivers live. Anybody that’s seen us knows, especially the people in Wisconsin, they know that LIVE that’s where Nonpoint’s bread and butter is. That’s what we do, and I want to be part of the show. If I have to jump, whatever I need to do to make those people walk away completely entertained, – then that’s what I’m gonna do. But I definitely do it a lot less, because my body just doesn’t allow me to do it a whole lot.
ANGELA:
Your drum kit is always SIDEWAYS. First time I saw it, I thought, “Shit, must be a small stage set up.” But no. you do it every show, every time, and it blows people away, because you’re the drummer we can see!
ROBB:
That has been the question that’s been asked since my career started. If I had a dollar for every time…(Laughing) I’d love to get a dollar every time someone asks…
ANGELA:
Ok I owe you a dollar; we’ll throw it at a charity.
ROBB:
You owe me a dollar. (Laughing) OK well, I saw this band called Stryper, way back in the day. I was, I don’t know, maybe 17 or 18 years old and I lived in Puerto Rico. Their drummer played sideways and that’s where I got that. The coolest thing about the show was not only did he have one kit facing one way and another kit facing the other way, he would just turn around and there was another kit. He’d be with the audience to his left, and he’d turn around and the audience is to his right. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to do that. You know I get a lot of compliments and bands we tour with say “Man, I love how you set up, nobody really does that.” I enjoy it and when I don’t do it, (because of space or something) people say “How come you didn’t set up sideways?” I guess that’s my thing; people know me as that. And I like to be known, I like getting out of the kit, I like walking around, I like pointing to people. I like getting involved; I can’t be that drummer that’s out there just playing and lookin like I’m not part of the show. There are drummers that can pull it off, that can play “forward,” like Morgan from Sevendust and Shannon from Godsmack. These people are drummers that can actually pull that off where they don’t need to set up sideways, they do their own playin and very noticeably. But I try to do it a little bit differently and it’s worked out for me. At one point, I was actually gonna retire it, but the kids were….I put up a poll and those kids voted against it. (Laughing)
ANGELA:
Side projects, holy crap, you’re a busy bee! Give me a quick rundown of what the heck is going on with your projects!
ROBB:
I’ve started a marketing company, StandStrong For Music, with my friend, Heather Koenig, from Florida. I’m starting this side project band with this cool girl from Chicago, with her singing. There’s just multiple things I’m doing but Nonpoint takes priority over everything. This is basically gonna be when I have some free time but there’s a lot of things I want to do, you know. I have a book on the horizon, I’m starting a clothing company, many different things, I wanna keep busy bringing stuff out there in the world besides playing music. With this, I pretty much want to make the marketing company my career since promoting is one of the biggest things that I do. I want to teach people about touring, how to save money, make things more cost effective. I want to help young bands, tell em how it is out here. It seems like we’ve been out on tour forever, sometimes it seems like it’s been since 2000. I’m trying to give back, trying to help out young people that maybe have been misguided. I know that we were misguided at one point in our career, and we paid for it, but we stood strong and continued to survive. Our story has always been an amazing story; we’ve survived every single obstacle. I just want to try to help bands make the right decisions; I’ve always helped out people as much as I can when it comes to touring. I’m gonna try to make a career out of it, and I love getting music out there, I loved telling people something and they got excited about it, so might as well make it a career.
* Stop by the Official Facebook page for Robb & Heather's company StandStrong For Music HERE!
ANGELA:
New Years last year, in Madison WI at the 94.1 WJJO show, you did a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Now we had no clue that our video was going to get over 9,372 hits in 2 month’s time, but damn. You made the right choice when you picked that song, Nonpoint fans LOVED that cover. But it’s a cover of a cover...of a...cover…whose idea?
ROBB:
I was driving; we were on our way back from our honeymoon, actually and we were driving to Madison, WI. I get to the hotel and my guitar player (Zach) pulls me aside and says “Hey, Elias had this idea about this cover.” It’s funny; it’s actually a cover of a cover. (Laughing) Chris Cornell did it first, then David Cook covered his, but we covered David Cook’s Cornell version. Honestly, it was something just out of the blue. That’s one thing that Nonpoint has been known to do. When you play in football, they call an “audible,” where they change the play right then and there. We’ve been known to do that at a show; we’ll stop playing and Elias will run and he’ll call an audible. “Let’s play a song that’s maybe not in the set,” kind of like - we just feel out the vibes. That’s what we did when we got there (NYE), we said “Let’s try this.” You know, I listened to it and said “Man, this will probably come out pretty cool.” It was so dark, so dark-sounding, so we did it. And then we actually recorded a version of it in Florida and we encouraged our fans and said “Hey, promote our Facebook page and once you get us to 100,000 hits, we’ll give you a free download of Billie Jean.” So far it’s been downloaded about 8,000 times or so, and that’s really cool. It was nothing that was planned; it was something that just happened right then and there.
ANGELA:
How the hell, after 14 years, has this group of guys stayed so relevant in the rock n roll scene and made such an impact? ROBB:
I don’t know how it came about, it just did, and I am very happy for it. I’m certainly not gonna complain. (Laughing) There’s no reason to complain; to be able to do this after 10 yrs….You know we released Statement back in 2000…if you had asked me back then if we’d still be here, doing this in 2011, I probably would have told you that you’re crazy.
ANGELA:
Funny you should say that. (Laughing) Just over a decade ago, I saw Nonpoint at a very small club here in WI. You were playing for a room packed with bodies, people knew every word to every song, even though I’d consider the band what we called “Underground” at that point. The stage was not even one foot off the ground, and I’m pretty sure I lost a decibel and a half of my hearing that evening; the stage was the size of a small compact CAR! I left with a smile, a new hoodie, an autographed Statement CD, 2 tank tops and some awesome memories. I remember, I had this sudden urge to ask you, “What do you want to be doing 10 years from now?” Now, I’m not shy, so I asked and you said “This right here, making music! What else is there?” and we laughed. That’s one of my favorite Nonpoint stories in my head, out of all of them…We high-fived or something and at the end of the evening I yelled “See you in ten years!” That was the first of many, many Nonpoint concerts that I’ve attended and I knew that night it would not be my last.
ROBB:
(Laughing) One of the bands we toured with, Surrender the Fall, they have a Nonpoint story and we’re hearing that more and more now. When we first started touring, we went out with Machine Head and I had a Machine Head story. Now people have Nonpoint stories. It kinda makes us look …kinda old I guess. (Laughing) We’ve been around for a while but it’s pretty fun to see all these young cats come up to us and say how much we’ve influenced them. They talk about our early records when they were 14, 15 years old, how they listened to us when they went to school or at school, when they were working out. We had someone say that one of our songs was their high school football team’s theme song back then. It’s so big to hear stuff like that, it’s overwhelming and it’s cool. To still have the success that we’ve had all this time is pretty overwhelming. We're very grateful.
Don't miss our interview with Nonpoint singer, songwriter Elias Soriano HERE!
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