SHADOWS FALL Drummer Hopes ATLANTIC Deal Will Push Band To 'Next Level'

Roger Lotring of Metal Edge magazine (web site) recently conducted an interview with SHADOWS FALL drummer Jason Bittner. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Edge: The band is kind of between what it did and where it's going. Was it always the intent to jump to a larger label [from Century Media to Atlantic]?

Bittner: "Century Media has done extremely well for us. But it got to a point where if we wanted to go further, we felt that we needed to be with a label that could push us more. I don't want to say toward the mainstream, [but] let's be honest; of course we want to sell as many records as we possibly can. A quarter of a million records on an independent label is quite an accomplishment, and we're proud of that. But would I like to see a gold record on my wall? Of course I would."

Metal Edge: Anybody in this business who says they wouldn't is a liar.

Bittner: "When you look at bands like MUDVAYNE and SLIPKNOT — our peers that I hear on the radio constantly — they're not commercial bands by any extreme. But they've got sales in excess of ours because of major label push. With a little extra oomph, we could have one of those songs that you hear on the radio all the time that pushes us to the next level as far as record sales."

Metal Edge: When the last record made a mark, major labels were surely starting to come around. What criteria did the band have as far as deciding which to go with?

Bittner: "Everybody knew our contract was going to be up, and we talked to some people. We talked to Century Media as well. They had a nice offer on the table, but it wasn't something we were looking at in any kind of financial way. It was just like, 'How can we expand the band? How can we get to the next level?' Everybody wants to do better, and if you say you don't, you're lying, like you said. What we chose in the end was based on a lot of personal relationships. We just really dug the vibe with the new people. There were people that dangled a lot more cash at us, but ultimately, we didn't let that make a decision for us."

Metal Edge: Is it a little weird to look at it from the point of being a business, considering none of you probably got into music as kids as a business venture?

Bittner: "No, totally not at all. But the point is, I'm not a kid anymore. I have to think about my future. And the band has to think about our future. If you don't have your business head about you, you'll get screwed in this business."

Metal Edge: That responsibility just pounces on you out of nowhere, so how do you balance the two, music and business?

Bittner: "It's tough, because I never started playing drums when I was eight to make money. I mean, I just wanted to be in KISS. I wanted to be in a rock band. I thought that when you were in a rock band, you just automatically had money. [Laughs]"

Metal Edge's entire interview with Jason Bittner can be found in the magazine's May 2006 issue, available on the newsstands now.