Garrett: You talked about wanting to be able to make an impact on peoples lives because of the way others that have impacted your own. Who are these people and what were these events? What is it that you want people to take away from your music?
RYAN - I think, for me personally, a lot of the people that have impacted my life are members of my family and my close friends. When it comes to music, each person in my family has impacted me differently throughout the last 24 years. My parents introduced me to music at a very early age. My brother is a guitar player, so when I started playing drums, him and I would jam constantly, and still do to this day. My sister took me to my first DIY show, and pretty much all the shows I went to before I could drive were with her. I think without them I wouldn't be as enthusiastic, or even interested, as I am with music today. As far as other musicians impacting me, Genesis was, and continues to be, the biggest inspiration for me. I first heard them at a very early age; they were actually my first concert, for my 6th birthday. Other bands that have made me think about music the way I do today would have to be bands like Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jeff Buckley, Silverchair, Radiohead, I can really go on forever. If only one person feels the same feeling I get when listening to any of those bands while listening to our band, I'll feel like I've accomplished something. If not, it moves me and I think that's the most important thing.
PAUL - Music has just been such a source of therapy for me over the years that I feel the need to give something back. Growing up isnt the easiest thing to do, and more often than not you get the feeling certain things only happen to you. When I hear people like Daniel Johns singing about thoughts or things that directly reflect my life it lets me know im not alone and that has helped me through a lot. If I can have that impact on even one other person it will make it all worth it.

Garrett: Is Phil Collins your favorite drummer?
RYAN - Absolutely. He is by far not only my favorite drummer, but probably my favorite musician of all time. I grew up drumming along to the entire genesis catalog and his solo stuff. I really appreciate his techniques with playing in different time signatures and all the technical stuff of the early Genesis songs, as well as all the electronic drum stuff he did in the 80's. I was also influenced in a huge way by drummers like Dave Grohl, William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate, Fire Theft), Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) and any one else that hits hard.

Garrett: You guys are roommates. In the movie Fight Club the narrator compares him and his roommate Tyler Durden, to Ozzie and Harriet. Who would you guys compare yourself to? (I hope you have seen Fight Club!)
RYAN - The odd couple, mostly in a cleanliness kind of way; me being the messy one.

Garrett: What kind of recording set up do you guys have at home? And describe how different your process was this time around in a studio.
RYAN - Paul has really turned into the gear head when it comes to the studio. We run Pro Tools on a PC, have some mics, tons of guitar gear and pedals, drums, amps, and all that stuff. I do feel like it gets a little pretentious with recording gear nowadays. I started out making demos on a two tape deck karaoke machine, going back and forth with tapes to play all the instruments, which sound like some stuff that i've heard done in a studio nowadays. It all depends on how you use it. The difference with the recording of this album is that it is actually extremely laid back and we are able to really concentrate on making the songs the best they can be without rushing things, hence it taking forever.
PAUL - At home we are actually just finishing building a full recording studio. It's taught me more about sound/construction/gear/stress than I have ever wanted to know. When your recording yourself the atmosphere is completely different because your not under the gun to finish things in a certain amount of time. I feel like it really lets us explore a lot of different sounds and things you typically dont have the freedom to do when your paying to be there. To me, it really gives the music a higher sense of accomplishment and pride than anything else I have ever done.

Garrett: Do you feel like every song you write is better than the last? Is that something you strive for?
RYAN - Not necessarily. When writing a song, I don't really think about any of our other songs, I kind of just concentrate on whatever we're working on at the time and convey whatever feeling I'm having right then.
PAUL - Yeah the song writing process is very organic. 9 times out of 10 one of us will start playing something for the first time and we really just let it go where ever it feels right until it turns into a song. I never really take into consideration anything else we have written just whatever I am feeling at the time.

Garrett: What kind of bands have you been in before and how do you feel about where you are right now with your music?
RYAN - I've been in a couple of bands that have all sounded completely different. My first serious band was a math rock band called helicopterejetionseat, consisting of a drummer and two bass players. I played bass. There were no vocals. Then I was in a band called satellite lost. I played drums and sang most of the time. We were a total space rock band with really long songs. Justin, our old bass player, played bass and keys in that band. I think the difference with those bands and where I am now is that they were all very influenced by what i was listening to at the times I was in them, whereas in gracer I really draw on everything I've ever listened to and combine it with what I'm listening to now. I'm really happy that we have such a wide range of musical styles on this new album.

Garrett: When you had to cancel your last tour because of a wrecked van , how do you think that effected Gracer, do you take more positives or negatives from it?
RYAN - When it happened I was definitely bummed about canceling the tour, but at the same time, my mom was about to have open heart surgery so I was already on the fence about doing the tour. I just took it as a sign that i should be with my family. I was also really thankful that Justin didn't get hurt at all. My mom's surgery ended up getting scheduled when we would've been halfway into Canada, so I took it as a blessing in disguise that I was at home with her.

Garrett: Besides music what is another thing that you are very passionate about in your life?
RYAN - As long as I can remember, music has been the driving force in my life. I honestly don't really know what I'd do without it. Other than music though, I'm passionate about staying close with my family. Moving to buffalo for the band was one of the hardest things. My brother and sisters are my best friends and I'm really passionate about keeping our relationships as amazing as they are now for the rest of our lives. I see way too many families with siblings or parents and children that don't get along or don't even talk to each other. I can't imagine going more than a few days without talking to my brother. I also see myself getting into a field where I can work with children in underdeveloped countries, maybe down the road. I am really passionate about helping those kids. I sponsor a little boy in Rwanda. At some point in my life i want to go there and work with an organization to better the lives of the people there. Oh, and I want to be an astronaut.
PAUL - Even before music, I have loved science and technology. Whether it was dissecting my Nintendo when I was 7 or frankensteining computer parts together to build something better than what I had, I have always loved figuring out how things work. I constantly read websites like Gizmodo to be permanently amazed by all the crazy shit people invent. I think the movement in 'green' technology right now is one of the greatest things to happen to our civilization since the industrial revolution. Hopefully one day I can help develop something to cure some of the worlds problems like famine or disease, rather than just make life easier. I think were reaching a threshold where, rather than making us more productive, the convenience of life is causing things like obesity to get worse faster than ever before.

What does Gracer have in store for the world?
RYAN - That's a pretty adventurous question. I'm inclined to say the typical "take it over". I don't really know how to answer it. I mean, i guess the only thing I know for sure is that we have music that we truly believe in to give to the world. I think honesty and purity is something that is lacking in music, maybe not throughout the world, but definitely here in America. I've gotten emails from all over the world thanking us for the music we make and I guess I just hope that we're able to touch more lives throughout the world with this new album, because in the end that is the most rewarding thing to me.
PAUL - Referencing what Ryan said, just being honest with ourselves and our music. For quite some time, the trend seems to be about things like haircuts, clothes, or using the new hip word of the week in your song. Looking at what happened in the past (ex: hair metal) this doesnt really prove for longevity or quality because everyones just trying to get 15 minutes. Especially after this last election people want and are ready for a change, and thats exactly what Gracer has to offer the world.

On a more serious note...

Garrett: If your name, Gracer, were a finishing attack in a video game, what would it do or consist of?
RYAN - Hmm, I have no idea. Everything cool that I'd wanna do is something I've already seen in a video game. Maybe a bear hug to death.
PAUL - The button sequence would take weeks...maybe even years to master. When correctly executed, every pair of skinny jeans in the world would transform into JNCOs and you would be looking through the eyes of Fred Durst during MTV's Spring Break 98. While performing "Faith", you surf the crowd on plywood while moshing every kids face off into oblivion.