Fleshgod Apocalypse at Welcome to Rockville 2026 - PipemanRadio Interview

0:04 Hi, you love dont here CENSU for Wow for you yours. To pipe Man here on the Adventures pipe Man W four c Y Radio and I'm here. With Francisco from Flesh Got Apocalypse. And Veronica from fle Apocalypse. Nice here, welcome to Rockville.

0:44 Thank you man, you feel welcome? Right? Yeah? Indeed, what you think of first of all, this venue to play a festival, That's what. She was saying right now. She said, it's probably the best. The coolest thing I've ever exausted in my life. Yes, like you know, I do a lot of these festivals all over the US UK, and you're but I come here and I kind of fanboy out because it's like I can drive on the speedway. Thanks. Yeah, like this is insane for real, Like yes, the next level of you know, it's really really insane. And and the show was great as well, you know, like it's super hot definitely, But but yeah, it's it's like, uh, it's a lifetime experience to be here because I since we were a kid, you know, like I was watching Oscar and this kind of ship and it was like wow, and I if I if somebody back in the days was telling me one day you're gonna be there and play a show.

1:44 It will be like, oh, come on man, right, yeah joking. And in the end, something happened, you know, like, uh, star aligned and we are here. So how did it happen? How did you end up here? That's a good line. Probably the stars aligned. Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah. I mean, like we've been around for long and it's uh, it's very very. Cool that we got this opportunity. But we don't give or take anything from grant for granted, so it's definitely. Yeah, many things aligned to to for this to happen, you know, like it's amazing. We toured at United States so much, and I invested a lot of time, you know, trying to you know, push the van here and now we have get this opportunity. So many European bands can do it. So we are very very proud of what we achieved.

2:38 That's true. And is this the first Danny Wimmer festival you've done in America? Yes, it's like we we we did. A bunch of festivals, like you know, in the past decade and in whatever in the world. Actually, I mean like. The Danny Wimmer, Like Danny Wimmer runs these US festivals. So that's what I was being. Like, Yeah, this is the first and it's also the first American festival we play. Wow, that's rat it is like yeah, as I said, like I was telling that girl over there right now, like we did heavy Montreal and every Toronto back in the days. Yeah, and that's it.

3:19 And then uh yeah, and then all the we did festivals in Indonesia, festivals in Australia, festivals in South America, festival everywhere in the world of course Europe, but this is the first time we do it in the United States, and it's amazing. It's a great start. Deadly, what's your favorite festival you've done in Europe? Probably between Vaking and hell Fest, but even grasp but we have so many good festivals. Health Fest is, uh, probably. That's my favorite. That's my favorite. Like I do media coverage of festivals all over the US, Europe, UK health Fest.

4:01 I remember the first time I went to the one right after COVID with the three hundred and sixty bands two weekends, and I was like, now this is a festival that it was a wild. Like Woodstock style, you know, right right. And I've done grasp Pop too, which I really like a lot. Yeah, it's just a different vibe at health Fest. You know, it's like grasp Pops. Like most other festivals, Healthfest and Voking like are set apart. Yeah yeah, yeah, they are stunning out because well, first of all for the size and the organization and everything, but it's also probably the you know, everybody like older bands and everybody that there's something magic there, you know.

4:44 Yeah, so yeah, in in the air, you know. So it's uh, every time you go there and you perform there, it's like. You people blow like blows you away, you know, like. And the organization is insane, Like they are super huge festivals and really there's a lot, a lot of work behind and it's amazing to see those kind of you know, especially with for extreme music and rock metal and and you know, let's say alternative music to to do such big events, you know, like. Yeah, and you know, interesting for you to know Danny Wimmer that runs all these big US festivals. Before he did these festivals, United States festivals were considered like crap compared to Europe. You know, it was like more like a carnival than a festival. Okay, he went over and attended Hellfest to decide how to This is what I was told, decide how to do the festivals here.

5:47 Yeah, but yeah, it's great that he got inspiration. But you know this is really really amazing and style. I love it, American style. This is how you as an artist. I always like to ask that because right amazing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, because that's important. You couldn't ask for a better treatment. You need to be stress free to be able to put on great performance and have fun. I mean it's impossible to be stress free, in no doubt. No, but I have to say that these kind of festivals, especially like today, we've been treated so well. Everything was so on point that they took away ninety five percent of the stress that we have.

6:29 You can't get much better than that. No, No, because you're right, there's never going to be a stressful, but it should be as easy as it possibly could be on the artists. Yeah. Absolutely, But I mean, like everything is working very smoothly here. So so I always pick new festivals to check out. Are there any cool ones in your opinion in Italy of new festivals? No, not new, but new for me, Like there are many things that are you know, up and coming, some underground festivals that are becoming more and more, you know in the South like Frontic Fest or we played the South Amerfest last year in Enables and yeah they're cool.

7:14 It's way smaller than anything like you it's very very you know. It's I always say they are starting. They are starting the festivals, even if they did it for many years, they kept they kept the same dimensioned for a long time, and now they see that they can grow. And so it's a couple of additions. That are growing bigger and bigger. And in the North we have like festivals like yah, it's like big events like the m Festival where they were like a couple of days which are mostly metal. So those kind of festivals are super big. Back in the days we had the Goss of Metal which was one of the biggest in Europe and Evolution Festival. Yeah, those festivals, like maybe they changed the name and they are they've been restyled in a way.

8:08 But yeah, yeah we have stuff. We have stuff can jump in festival we used to have. Yeah, that was great. It was mostly that was more like uh mo rock. Yeah, but I think sleep Nod or even Slayer played there. Valentine, I remember Airborne, so I mean, yeah, so what was that moment in life for both of you that you knew this was what you needed to do and like not just doing this. But doing the type of music that you do, because that is a definite choice for sure. Yeah, and we you know, we metal heads are into the extreme, whether it be death metal, black metal, flash metal.

8:50 We're a different breed. Yeah, definitely. Well, well, I knew when I was a kid, you know, like when I was fourteen, I already started listening to this to this music at high school and like and I felt like, Okay, this is something that I really love that makes me feel, you know better in a way. And then after a couple of years, I started the first bands, and we were trying out different genres and everything, but you know, we we were aiming to do something like this, but we didn't have the skills to do that, and. So all the like all the.

9:33 Yeah, like fourteen fifteen sixteen, when we you know, you form your own, you know, a musical. So let's say, you know, yeah, we we we kind of you know, we've been permitted by these influences, and so when we were eighteen, we were like, okay, we want to do it. And coming from Italy, it wasn't easy, you know, because it's not it's very erypheric from from even from Europe, and so it wasn't that easy to you know, make it like like a regular a regular thing that was going on, and uh, making a band something that was worth you know, going around and touring and everything. It took us years to do it, but I've never been more happy. You know, I'm super happy of what we achieved so far. And we have like a bright future ahead.

10:29 So we feel like, you know, we're doing what we are best at, you know, and. Things are going well. So even if we struggled at the very beginning and when it took about beginning and it's years not just months. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, we it was definitely to to to keep up going even when we felt like, you know, things were very very tough and uh, and now we are kind of harvesting, you know, what we've done so far. I think that's key too, by the way, because I always say it takes twenty years to be an overnight success, you know, right. Well, you appreciate it even more because I mean, you worked so hard to achieve it. As it was saying and the fact that we still we're still together, most of us are still together after you know, we've had hard times in the beginning, obviously, because I mean that's what it's part of it. It's part of I mean every family, as you know, it's you know, dark times.

11:27 But we managed to you know, survive the struggles to you know, keep on going. And and I mean we ad to say we are harvesting what we what we saw, and we I'm personally happy that they found me and that I found them. So yeah, it's like you see, it's a artwork and starts aligning absolutely with both things. Both things. Yeah, yeah, I mean some luck is we're not in the eighties where you know, you just play a random garage show and like someone basement and the guy with thousand billion dollars comes to you. Oh my god, you're you're gonna be super startling. I'm thankful for that in a way because I come from that time. I was on the Sunset Strip in the eighties and listen, a lot of the bands I was friends with, they got thrown shit tons of money and shit tons of drugs and they're broke now because the record labels did that. So that they can make all the money and all that. So I think it's almost in a way, even though it doesn't seem easier today as then it's better because you guys have control over your music.

12:38 It's more so. Yeah, it's more end made than before. Definitely, yes, exactly. And you know, it is interesting what you said about, you know, Italy, because I've been doing these festivals at Danny Wimmer Festivals since twenty eleven and there's only one band that I can think of before this year was from Ewie and that's Lacuna Coil that would play here. Yeah, so that says something like of what you're saying, because otherwise there might be a lot of it's stuff. It's touff. But at the same time, you know, we have to keep it. You know, you have to be confident that sooner or later things happen.

13:19 You know. Well, I like, I'm also on my ovational speakers. So when you're talking about the being persistent and going on, that's why I said what I did. Like, take Metallica, I was at their first show ever. They didn't become an overnight success. They they starved for ten years, all of them sleeping on floor in some room eating baloney sandwiches with no bread. But nobody knows that. They just think, oh, the Black album came out and they became rich and famous, but there was a lot of work and there's still Look, they're really hard working. You know. Anybody can say what they can about, but they are freaking tour dogs big time. Yeah, they are, like you can inspired by this people or every day you know, like so but especially now, everything is if you want to have like a consistent and solid career, like in long term, so you if your goal is longevity, you know, and which is our goal way more than success totally.

14:20 It's uh, it's based. On you know, day day by day touring schedule, the album after album you know, routine. I will call it, you know, like. It's a routine where you shape your own thing, you know, like and uh and you kind of just wait for somebody else to do it for you, you know, like you have to do it. So one and I also want to talk about for a second, and you touched on a little bit, but death metal. What a misconception that people that don't understand death metal, they're it Number one, It's so influenced by you know, a lot of times classical music. Yeah, and people think, oh, it's just a bunch of noise. Death metal musicians are probably some of the best metal musicians.

15:15 Thanks. Well, you know, we are a proof that these two souls can coexist. It took us years to balance the things, you know, because they are it's very tricky. But yeah, what you said is so true. I mean, like it's it's definitely, it's definitely you know, the same route, you know, and they like classical music, and especially in the nineteenth century, became so extreme, you know, like and then in the twentieth century it became even more you know, like it was almost noise and a lot of people just don't know that. They just they're tied to the Baroque era, you know. Like, so it's it's a very very different kind of of music. You know, it's still classical, but it developed in something else. And uh, I think that what is death level here or extreme music here, it's just evolution of what the rock was. And and it's the same thing, you know, like you try to to to touch the horizon, you know, and and and uh, in the end, those horizons are the same one, you know, So you can gather at the end. You know, it's very hard to to figure out how to make it work on an album, uh, to to find a good way to show it on a stage, you know, but

16:47 there is a way, and it's just tough to make it work, and it took us years to to find about. We're still looking for it, you know, like probably will never reach the perfect one, but we will, you know, try to do our best to make it, you know, as special and unique as possible. You know, well, and isn't that what musicians all about. Is you're growing, you're experimenting, you're evolving, like you're not going to be the same as you were when you're sixteen because. You're a beginner. Yeah, you know, you got to learn your craft, especially in what you do because to me, death metal is very technical, so you better know what you're doing playing.

17:27 You can't just pick up a guitar and just start making sounds. You can't just pound on drums, you know, and you. Can't singing the thing. I learned that when I was a teenager because I sang thrash metal and I had zero technique. Okay, my voice wouldn't last because of it. You know, you have to learn you have to learn the technique. Like people think you're just screaming. No, No, there are such serious technique. Like I look at Courtney from Spirritbox sometimes while I'm watching I'm like in awe of watching her mouth because I'm watching the technique and it's like, yeah, yeah.

18:07 Different position, the palette, the lips, the tongue, like even the tiny car like the tiny joints. Yeah, like in between your jaw and your ears. They just they do a lot exactly. But yeah, and that's how you can call well like her, I was saying just this morning, her mouth opens up like it's a snake about to eat a rat. You know, it's like this exactly. I know, I know, yeah, you know, And I think that's important for people to know that how much work goes involved.

18:48 Yeah, but I think I think people are realizing it because you know that the scene is growing stronger and stronger. So exactly exactly. Today, Like there's a lot of support. So is there any talk now of doing other Danny Wimmer festivals here in the States? Oh yeah we are. No, Well then Exemple. Yeah you're there next week. Yeah, we did it next next week. Yeah, and then we'll. See we'll see what the future brings. That's a cool vibe too, because it's like a stadium, you know, it's a little different than this, but it's a stadium. It's amazing. Yeah, yeah, you'll have a lot of fun. I have a trivia question from this venue.

19:28 By the way. You see how all the seats up there are colored? Yeah? Do you know why that is? No? I don't. So it looks like the seats are filled, you know. It does they are, right, because they're nobody was attending. Nobody showed up right. Yeah. Well, I interviewed a NASCAR driver yesterday and he explained it perfectly. Said, you know, you go to a basketball game twenty thousand people. Yeah, this place holds an thousand people. If you put twenty thousand people, and it would look empty as well. And that's so true. Yeah, and then it looks it looks so there's a lot of people at the moment.

20:10 Yeah, they were all here for your show. Yeah. I mean I sent a picture to my mother, so I look at that. You know, it's like we're selling out Indianapolis. No it's not. But yeah, yeah that's amazing. And what what do your parents think? They're happy now? Like they were, that's the key word. They were. They were very concerned back in the days, but now they are like yo, yo, you can see you have a family and you make a living out of it. That's grated, especially that you it's a very very it's a big luck to do what you like and when you love for a living, it's very very We are, yeah, very fortunate people.

20:51 We are. I love hearing that because there's some some bands that aren't happy. They're not having fun and then. Business for that. If you're not having fun doing the music part, the rest of it sucks. Yeah, I mean like it's, uh, we have one life, that's it, So why do we waste the only one opportunity that we have, you know, complaining or whatever. You know. Everybody like, yeah, there is a lot of jealousy, a lot of these kind of things. But those kind of things don't belong to us. You know. As I said, we're coming from a country where if you make it in the music business, you are an exception, and you are just like you know, you are super super lucky.

21:44 So you're the exception. I'm saying it. Oh what thanks, But we feel like we feel like we are we are very very lucky and what we and what we do is very unique. So we are also very rightful. Because people love us for who we are and we don't have to enter any trend or anything, you know, We just we are this and they take it for what it is. I always amazing and that's super amazing. Is so there's no compromise, there's no it's. Like only positive sides. But if you start overthinking that, you can get depressed because a lot of things don't work in the industry of course exactly, but who cares. I mean, like there is no industry where everything.

22:33 Works, you know, no note at all. So yeah, so see and that attitude. And also I think it's very important I talk about all the time you have to do you when you're playing music, because if you start catering to the audience, you're not going to be authentic and not very good. That we just we do what we love and I think that people understand that they feel it, so we don't have to you know, pursue any as you said, any trend or anything that belongs to other genres, just you know, just to just to make it. We want to make it with what we love, what we love the most. And I'm pretty sure that we are doing it and people know it. And so people just come to the show because they they see us loving what we do and they love, you know, they have fun because it's i mean, we're natural on stage.

23:34 We just Yeah. And also you can do it like unless you are at the biggest actor. You know, you can do it for two shows. When it comes to when it comes to be like playing one one shows a year, you know, we're fifty shows a year. You know, it's starts to be very complicated to pretend, you know. And you can always tell at somebody that's viewing it, I can tell if they're having fun or if they're just dialing it in. Yeah. And you know, the fact is I've been saying a lot too, is if you're having fun and you're doing you, then you're being authentic. You're doing you, and you will attract your people. You don't have to convert anybody to be a fan.

24:18 They are a fan because you're being you and they feel the same way. They like you. They like what you are and not what you want to be or what you're pretending to be, which is the key to me. Yeah, to be myself on stage and seeing freely. Yeah. So any final words you want to give the listeners. Yeah, thank you for helping us to making this happen, you know, like, and thank you for the interview. You know, it's well we always appreciate, you know, the superpart and you know people that spread the word. Yeah, so thank you very much. And yes you're around in the United States for there. We still have like fourteen shows and then nice yeah, and then we take a little bit, a little bit of a break for maybe some new stuff and then we'll probably be back in twenty seven or twenty eight.

25:07 So I can't wait. In the meantime, I don't know, let's please book us for other NASCAR themed festivals. Stop putting fucking pineapple and pizzas. Yes, oh wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait. This is fucking wrong. We should have started here because okay, I'm Italian, I'm from New York and New Jersey. That is fucking. Sacrilegious to put pineapple and pizza. I don't care who you are. Wrong, it's simply, you know, it's so simple. Just don't do it, you know, like exactly. There's a lot of other ingredients you can put on you know, like you just don't do that. No need for pineapple period.

25:48 I mean, bacon is like on the edge, is okay, but come on, no pineapple please. Yeah, thank you, thank you for saying that that was the best party ere. Okay, okay, just to got everything else and just put that yeah yeah, that five seconds interview. If I go with somebody to a pizza place and they are pineapple on the menu, I'm throwing the pineapple in the garbage. Thanks a lot for being on the Adventures of pipe Man. Thank you, thank you for listening to the Adventures of pipe Man on w for CUI Radio.