Angels and Airwaves Prove They Are Not Angels After All
By Alison Sikes-The Rock Star Stories
Though they haven’t accumulated the fame of Blink 182, ex-front man Tom Delonge and his new band Angels and Airwaves have amassed a fan base big enough to release their sophomore album I-Empire. Last month, they began a headlining tour with the bands Ace Enders and a Million Different People, The Color Fred, and Meg and Dia to promote the album.
For the South Florida leg of the tour, The Rock Star Stories offered a press conference with all of these bands for student journalists from all over South Florida. Sisters Meg and Dia were first to be interviewed. The two were very sociable and answered every question earnestly. By the end, Dia begged for a “juicy question” but no one gave her the satisfaction.
Next was Ace Enders, who gained notable fame from a multitude of previous bands, particularly The Early November. Enders was relaxed and gracious all throughout the interviewing. Enders had a very endearing quality in that he was honest about his past. He admitted that in the previous years, he had strayed away from his dream of changing peoples’ lives with music and instead had become greedy and pretentious. Since this realization, Enders has made a conscientious effort to find his old self and is pursuing his lifelong goal once again.
The Color Fred was the final band to come to the press conference. The Color Fred is a new band created by Fred Mascherino, ex-guitarist of Taking Back Sunday. Fred is very calm and collected, nothing fazes him and no question is out of bounds. Someone asks Fred about being a vegan on tour and from there the topic of being eco-friendly arises. In addition to be a vegan, Fred uses vegetable oil as alternative fuel source. He fuels his 1982 VW Rabbit by collecting unwanted vegetable oil from local restaurants and then pours the oil into a diesel converter, which in turn powers his car. According to Fred, this method of fueling is free and he is able to get up to 50 miles to the gallon.
Originally, all four bands of the tour had agreed to do the press conference. While the other bands are loved dearly, the majority of the student journalists came in hopes of interviewing the famous Tom Delonge. One student even drove six hours just to speak with him. Almost an hour after The Color Fred left the premises, Angels and Airwaves was no where to be found and so, the press conference ended prematurely. Despite the fact that they had confirmed their appearance, Angels and Airwaves deciding that their time would best be spent shopping. This proves that while some bands appreciate all that their fans do for them, others lose sight as to why they even have a paying job.
