Q&A: American Fangs on Survival & Rocking the Boat

The emergence of Houston, TX-based rockers American Fangs was a slow burn to say the least. After forming in 2008 – and many obstacles thrown into their path – it took until 2013 for American Fangs to release their debut, Self-Titled album

Since then, it’s been a steady dose of touring for Gabriel Cavazos (vocals), Micah Miller (drums), Kyle Shimek (bass, vocals), Kenyon Puntenney (guitar), and Chris Goodwin (guitar). Riffyou.com caught up with the band fresh off of them gigging upon the seas as part of the ShipRocked cruise.

RY: You’ve had to endure quite the hectic schedule since your debut album came out. How’s the band managed to handle it?

Micah: “It’s absolutely been a rollercoaster and I always try to think of a better term for a band in our position – sleeping in a 15-passenger van with seven guys more often than getting hotels; switching shifts driving overnight. People always think that when you’re in a full-time rock n’ roll band, it’s just this glamorous thing…that there are girls everywhere and alcohol for free. For us, it’s very different. We’re all trying to catch a nap. It’s a wonderful opportunity that we’re being afforded, and a dream come true.”

RY: Now, you guys just finished ShipRocked. How was that for you? I’d imagine it’s the first time that you’ve played on a boat?

Micah: “Yeah, it was. When we saw that it was four days, we said: ‘oh man, it’s only four days?’ But, I don’t think anyone from any band, to the people attending, could’ve lasted a fifth day. It was definitely a marathon. Fortunately, I didn’t come into it as a sprint, but I know a lot of people did, and halfway through they thought: ‘oh God, there’s still two days left.’ But it was cool. We got to meet Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch – his new band Love and Death was there. All the guys in this band grew up idolizing Korn, so having him stand side-stage filming our set on his iPhone was fucking crazy! [Some of] the guys from Papa Roach – who we did some dates in the UK with in December – were running around the boat with our shirt on. The love that we’re getting from people who we grew up idolizing is crazy.”

RY: What’s the living situation like on a rock cruise?

Micah: “They’re really not that bad. The rooms are half the size of a standard hotel room, with maybe the bathroom being a quarter of the size. You can’t feel the boat moving unless a storm comes through, which of course came while we were travelling back from the Bahamas to Miami. That was pretty intense. Papa Roach was probably halfway through their set – the last one of the entire cruise – and you could just feel the boat going back and forth.”

RY: I couldn’t imagine performing on a boat that’s shifting back and forth.

Micah: “Oh man, I couldn’t imagine. With playing drums in the band, if my kit was moving around I’d wonder what was going on. It’s already a drummer’s worst nightmare when your kick drum starts moving away from you in a song and you can’t grab it.”

RY: What’s the best story you have from the trip?

Micah: “A guitar tech of ours came on the boat. We had travelled so long in the van from Houston, straight to Miami, and he didn’t sleep or eat much. He went straight for the booze after our first set and we were all trying to corral him to get to his room – it was night-night time for him. He went to the bar, ordered one more shot, went to put it back, and instantly spewed it out across the entire bar. About 20 people got sprayed. He just had that look of ‘nobody’s home’ in his face, then turned around and walked away. We apologized to everyone and bought them drinks.”

RY: Going back to Pirate Radio, it’s been out for a year, but based on how busy you’ve been, it must feel like a million. How does it sound to you now?

Micah: “It took this band a really long time to get a record deal. We eventually signed one in 2009; recorded and turned in a record; and about two weeks later, the label went under. Then we toured for the better part of the next year and a half, and couldn’t get another deal. We were at our wit’s end, and said ‘we gave it our best shot.’ Just before we made that decision, Red (a division of Sony) popped up. We ended up having the better part of four years to write tons of songs and pick the ones that stuck around for us – whether brand new or songs we’d written early on. The record still feels pretty relevant to us as a band because of that.”

­-Adam Grant

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