It was only a few months ago that our very own Jacki Spencer had the privilege of interviewing Jason from Bullet for My Valentine. Since their extensive U.S. tour, which is currently ongoing,  it was my turn to ask the guys from Bullet a few questions.

After a short break from writing for SHOUT! I was contacted  by the editors and asked if I had any interest in doing a phone interview with the guitarist, Micheal Padget. Although I’d never listened to more than one song from the band, I had heard so much from friends about them that I jumped on the opportunity to find out a little more about these Wales rockers. 

SHOUT!: We should start with a little bit of background. The sites I’ve read have a couple different histories for you guys, so what’s the real story?

Padge: We started out when we were 16 or 17 and still in high school. We played local shows for about 7 years, and then our bass player left. After he left we decided to write a bunch of new songs that  had a new vibe, and eventually we got signed.

S!: I read that you’re touring the U.S. Where are you today?

P: We’re in Murtle Beach, which is a really nice place.

S!: Do you find that there is a difference between touring the US and touring at home in Wales?

P: Not really. The only difference is the amount of time we have to spend here, because the place is so big, it’s not like we can do it in a week — it takes a good month or two. As for the shows, they’re pretty much the same. We have great fans everywhere we go, and they just go nuts at our shows. 

S!: You guys have toured all over the place, but where is your favourite place to play a show?

P: Anywhere where there’s people, really. For me, it doesn’t matter where I am, as long as everyone is having a good time, and rocking out to our music.

S!: Most bands have some pretty crazy stories about things that’ve happened at their shows– do you have any?

P: Well, last night I fell over on stage. I mean, during the second song I fell right off stage and onto my ass! 

S!: I’ve talked to a couple of bands who’ve told me that playing new material live for the first time is really nerve wracking. What was it like for you playing the new material off of Scream Aim Fire for the first time?

P: We had toured so long with our last album that we were just glad to be playing new stuff for a change.

S!: Did you have a positive reaction from fans?

P: Yeah, it was mostly positive. When we first started they weren’t too familiar with the songs, but now they’re singing along every single night. 

S!: According to Wikipedia, you guys started out playing Nirvana and Metallica, how did you go from covers to getting signed and being where you are now?

P: We were a band during the night. We all worked really tough jobs while we were in the band, trying to support ourselves and still play music. But we just worked as hard as we could until we finally got signed.

S!: You’ve come all that way already, and you’re still going. What would be absolute success for the band?

P: Right now we’re just stoked about how well we’re doing. Maybe in the future we’d like to take it to another level,  like maybe playing bigger shows in arenas or something, just being a bigger band than we are now. 

S!: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about or say to SHOUT! readers?

P: Thank you all for the support. If we’re in your area, try and come out and see our live show — you won’t be disappointed! 

• Official Site: http://www.bulletformyvalentine1.com
• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/bulletformyvalentine