Courtesy

Buckley, whose band hails from Buffalo, N.Y., describes ETID in print as “the calcified remains of a winged, pony-tailed, drunk, hilarious yet sincere, musically inclined and mind-blowingly awesome creature.”

Though perhaps not quite that distinct, ETID's metalcore sound has gained a following in certain rock circles, so much so that the band was tapped to headline the 2008 Take Action! Tour. That nationwide tour includes a stop at the White Rabbit on Saturday, March 8, and before ETID makes its way to San Antonio, Buckley — the band's lead singer — talked to 210SA about his band's rather interesting bio, his hometown of Buffalo and a rather interesting Texas-based tour story.
 

So what's up with the bio?

The label said we needed a new one for the band, and I thought it was a good idea. Most of the bands have stale, aggrandizing, verbose crap about who likes them and thinks they're cool. We wanted to write something else, because I don't really want to quote other people saying how awesome I am. That's a little too pompous for my blood.

Buffalo gets sort of a bad rap. Is it deserved?

The rap you hear is pretty accurate, and it takes a certain kind of person to be able to live there. But I've come to appreciate that. When I was younger, I couldn't wait to leave, but once I did, I realized it was a small town with a lot of culture. Everybody knew each other. Being on the road for 10 years, meeting and forgetting people instantaneously, you're introduced to people with agendas and ulterior motives. (Buffalo) is a place where I trust people.

You mentioned it taking a certain type of person to live there. What type of person is that?

Out-of-work alcoholics (laughs).

How special does it feel to headline a tour like this, one that's involved in charity work?

It's very charitable, and honestly, it's cool because the lineup isn't really going to separate us from a tour we might be on under a different name. Take Action could be any tour, but it's nice to know we're keeping with that feel of having kids come out, see bands, but it's not just about record sales. It's for a cause.

Every Time I Die has played both Ozzfest and Warped Tour. Are there any similarities between those two crowds?

There are no similarities. The Ozzfest crowd is much older and much more unaccepting of new bands. They wanted to see Ozzy, and that's it, so they spend the whole day drinking and getting impatient because they're not seeing Ozzy yet. They're not really open to new stuff, whereas the Warped Tour kids come out wanting to hear new music and devour everything they can.

Would you mind retelling the tour story about the drunken mom who hooked up with the roadie?

That was definitely the most memorable story I've had. Some girl came to our show, and her mom went out partying while she was at the show. This was in Austin, and she went out on (Sixth Street), then she came back and got her daughter. ..... We were sitting there and she was talking to us, and she asked if we wanted to come back to her place to shower up. ..... It was an absolute mansion, but the daughter was humiliated because the mom is trashed and she's cooking all this food and smoking weed and getting super hammered. The daughter goes to sleep, and it turns out her husband is also asleep upstairs. She ended up hooking up with a roadie. We told the story online, the daughter read it, showed it to her dad and the dad divorced the mom. He found out through the Web site and got a divorce. You can't make that stuff up.

As a Buffalo Bills fan, how would you feel if the rumors are true, and the team one day relocates to Toronto?

I couldn't even imagine. I'd have to go to Toronto with them. ..... I don't know what I'd do if they leave. I like Toronto, so maybe I'll move there.

CLINT HALE | 210SA