You probably noticed the August Burns Red in the Shout! Galleries before. Their live performance in nothing but power-packed pandemonium. I was so psyched to see them live again recently and have wanted to try and interview them since they formed in 2003. Shout! makes dreams come true…well, kind of. I was finally given the opportunity to live MY dream when they were selected to play on the Take Action 2008 tour.

If you’ve followed the band as I have since their formation, you’d want to ask them a bazillion questions too. Luckily, I got mine answered for all of us! Read on to find out more about the Take Action Tour, their cause, and much, much more from guitarist JB!

Shout!: Wikipedia defines your music as “Christian Metalcore”. Do you feel this term applies to August Burns Red? If not, what would you define your music as?

JB Brubaker: Christian is a religion and not a style of music, however, we are all Christians so I guess some people decide to tie that into our musical style. If I were to describe our genre I’d just say “metal.” I’m not big into describing our music. I’d rather just let the music speak for itself I guess.

S!: How do you feel as a band that Christian music has been overflowing into other genres of of the music industry?

JB: I feel great about that! I’ve always been a big believer of good music being good music regardless of what religion or views are tied to it. I think that people are realizing that and that is why there are more and more christian bands having success in the secular market.

S!: What happened with CI Records and why do you feel that signing to Solid State was the better choice?

JB: CI Records is actually still around and we still work with them regularly. In fact, they are releasing Messengers on LP for us in April which we’re totally excited about. CI also has helped us with hiring a sound engineer for tour and they promote all of our home shows in Lancaster, PA. They’re great people and close friends of ours. We’ll probably be working with them on one thing or another for as long as ABR is a band.

The choice to go to Solid State was fairly easy. They have more resources to fund and market the band. They also have great distribution and an established group of listeners. It was just a better fit to take ABR to the next level.

S!: Messengers has sold over 45,000 copies so far. What factors do you look at to rate its ever-growing success? 

JB: I think the fact that we’ve been able to do some bigger tours and stay on the road is a big factor in helping us to grow. We’ve been touring as much as possible and been blessed to participate with some really exciting tours, such as the Take Action Tour which we are currently on. I think that word of mouth and that website MySpace have also been instrumental in helping the band grow.

S!: What made you choose to join the Take Action Tour?

JB: Well Take Action actually chose us. We obviously were more than willing to be a part of it. Apparently ETID was planning on doing a headlining tour and offering us a slot on it, but Take Action approached them about headlining the tour this year. They were happy to do so and asked if they could still take us out, so I guess it was a combination of ETID and Take Action that we got on the tour. It’s cool to be a part of a tour that does a little more than just entertain an audience.

S!: Tell us about your involvement with their cause.

JB: All the bands on the tour have shirts for sale and a portion of the proceeds go to the not for profit organization dosomething.org. All the bands also have shirts in Hot Topic that contribute in a similar manner. Together I think that this tour is going to raise a rather large amount of money.

S!: Personally, how does the Take Action Tour cause affect you?

JB: It makes me happy to be out on the road and knowing that by playing every night I am helping to raise money for a greater cause.

S!: You’ve toured with an abundance of bands. What was your favorite tour to date and why?

JB: My favorite tour ever was the tour we did last October with Unearth. Those guys were super nice and so much fun to hang out with. That was one tour I was bummed to see come to an end. I’d love to hit the road with them again.

S!: You’re going to Europe in April. What can your fans in Europe expect from August Burns Red there?

JB: This is actually our first trip to Europe. They can expect us to give it 110% every night and play the best show we’re capable of playing. It’s going to be awesome playing in lots of places we’ve never been and in front of lots of people who have never seen us perform. It’s a great opportunity and will certainly be a blast.

S!: If you could put together your own tour with any band, living or dead, who would be on the bill?

JB: If I could tour with anyone it would be Cult of Luna, Nada Surf, and The Arcade Fire. Each band would get to play for an hour. It would be magical.

S!: Any last words you’d like to say to our readers at Shout!?

JB: Thank you so much for taking the time to read this interview and hopefully you’ll check us out if you’ve never heard us before. If you have been listening to us we appreciate the support and hope you continue to enjoy what we do!

• Official Site: http://www.augustburnsred.com
• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/augustburnsred