I have to admit, I was a little nervous about doing my first phone interview. Although I didn’t know too much about As I Lay Dying, I have several friends who are huge fans of the band, and added a little pressure to an already nerve-wracking situation.

As nervous as I was, I was completely grateful to have the wonderful opportunity to interview As I Lay Dying guitarist Nick Hipa over the phone. After speed-walking home from school, and nearly missing the call, I was relieved when Nick proved wrong all of the (and I hate to admit this) stereotypical ideas I had about guitarists in metal bands.

After a couple “hellos”, our interview was off to a start. I guess the first time is always a little awkward, but Nick’s cooperation and patience was extremely helpful and welcomed to a person such as myself, who had seen multiple students wearing As I Lay Dying shirts at school that day, further increasing my awareness of exactly who it was I was going to be talking to.

Shout!: Let’s start with the basics - how did you guys meet, and how did you decide a career in the music industry was right for you?

Nick: Tim and Jordan knew each other randomly from being in different bands, and the knowing the same people in the San Diego hardcore scene, and started the band in 2001. After they first made the band, they went through tons of line-up changes because they couldn’t find people who wanted to commit to the music like they did. In 2002 or 2003, the band I was in toured a bit with As I Lay Dying, and that’s when I met the guys. We ended up playing together, and realized we were all passionate about the music we made. As for choosing music as our career, I don’t think it was really a conscious choice. We really just wanted to see how far we could go with it, out of curiosity, and the ball just got rolling.

S!: Were there bands that initially influenced your sound? Are there bands today currently influencing you?

Nick:When the band started, I think they were really influenced by Christian hardcore bands like Living Sacrifice. I don’t think our influences necessarily come from what we listen to as much as from other things, but right now I’ve really been listening to bands like Arch Enemy, and I think the new Radiohead album is pretty rad.

S!: The new album has a different sound than previous music you guys have released, what made you decide to switch it up?

Nick: It was definitely a decision we made. We wanted to try something new, and we knew that we couldn’t just make something like Shadows Are Security Part 2, because that isn’t what we’re about. We want to mix it up a little, but still keep it really energetic and intense.

S!: Do you plan to change your sound again for the next album?

Nick: For sure. All of our albums have been different from each other, and that keeps things interesting. We do have key elements to our albums though, and those things will never change.

S!: Your bassist - Josh Gilbert plays live and records lyrics for you guys. I noticed that he wasn’t in the list of official band members on the latest album. Was there a specific reason for this?

Nick: Josh didn’t write the album with us, he basically came in and recorded his parts. We were also a little weary about putting him down as an official band member when we’ve already had so many people come and go. We gave him credit where credit was due, but we felt that because he didn’t write the album with us, it wouldn’t really be fair to list him as an official band member.

S!: Some of your lyrics are really poetic. Is there something that specifically influences this?

Nick: I don’t really know if Tim’s lyrical style comes from the type of music he listens to, but he’s a smart dude and he really has interesting things to say. I think it’s really cool that he doesn’t feel that his lyrics necessarily have to be as gnarly and hardcore as the music the rest of us make. And that works for us as a band.

S!: Does the band have a favourite song? What is it and why?

Nick: There’s not one specific song that I consider to be my favourite. I like a lot of As I Lay Dying songs for different reasons.

S!: Okay, I’ll make the question a little more specific. What song is your favourite song to play live?

Nick: “Meaning and Tragedy”. It’s a cool song, and it’s easy. When the song is easy to play, it’s better for me when I’m on stage, because I can focus on the whole experience, rather than just what I’m playing.

S!: What to you would be absolute success as a band?

Nick: To be honest, we’ve already exceeded all of my expectations. Doing what we’re doing now - being on tour, putting out albums, and playing music for a living is really a dream come true. Meeting kids at shows and having them tell us that our music has helped them in a positive way is really the best thing I could ask for. And I don’t mean to sound big-headed, but that to me is success, and it makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.

S!: Is there anything else you’d like to say to the readers of Shout! ?

Nick: If you guys are ever at a show, and it seems like it’s taking us forever to get onstage, we’re not just chillin in the back, we actually can’t come out on stage yet. What’s happening is that our crew is trying to make sure everything works properly before we go on. So just be patient guys, we want to be onstage as much as you want us out there!

• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/asilaydying