P.O.D. – Noah “Wuv” Bernardo, Drummer
So your newest album Testify is set to release on Jan. 24th. Are you guys excited about the record?
Yessir, very excited, we’re really looking forward to seein how the fans enjoy the songs as much as we love writing the songs.
You guys decided to use the one-word title Testify for the new album. Does this title have any significant meaning to the band? And further, is there a theme to this album?
The cool thing is that testify is such a powerful word and I think it sums up the story of P.O.D. and what people know us as, a spiritual type of rock and roll band. We’ve been doin it for 15 years and we think we’ve always had somethin to say. Testify is the story because we know where we come from and we know what we believe in. You know like to testify about the struggle of a human being. It sums up what we are about.
Describe the sound on Testify. Has your music changed from the last album?
Well, I mean the fans are gonna hear P.O.D. obviously, but they’re gonna hear a more mature P.O.D. sound especially with Jason Truby bein with us now. Fans are gonna hear a more shocking P.O.D. not disregarding the last record because we really like that album too. Testify will show fans a more sharpened and focused P.O.D.
Are you happy with what producer Glen Ballard did with the album?
Oh yea, totally happy. We couldn’t have asked for more and it was right what we were looking for. It really is amazing and he is a great guy. We learned a lot from him and we loved the atmosphere, his opinions, his style, and his producing. We would really like to work with him again.
How come the release date got pushed back a few months?
Yea man, dude it’s really for just a number of different reasons. That was one of the reasons we put out the EP for music for the fans. Were only a couple weeks away and we got here. It took longer but sometimes that the way it goes. You know, this might be the right thing too for the band.
Speaking of the EP, what was the idea behind the release of the The Warriors Vol. 2 EP? Was this a re-release or is there new material on the record?
Yea there are four new songs, one cover, and three live songs. We wanted to put out new music and wanted to give this to the kids. It was really for the more hardcore type of fans that have been waiting for stuff from us.
How come you made the EP a limited edition? Will there be more copies available upon the release of Testify?
No, four thousand copies, that’s it. They’re hard to come by. We did no promoting or anything, we kinda just threw it out there.
Does this EP give a clue in to the sound of Testify?
Yea there are some songs on Testify that made it from the EP, but they’ve been changed a bit lyrically and musically. But you can feel the flavor and the vocals changed a lot, but you can see what direction we’re goin in.
What is the concept behind the new video for “Goodbye For Now?”
W just shot it, there’s not really a concept for the video. It’s mostly a live performance and what’s cool is that we had real fans out there and they spent the whole night with us. We just captured that kind of moment. We had to fly out and do it in a day and we made it more about the live performance so we could make it more interactive with the fans with a simpler idea on the video.
When does it debut?
Well we’ll be showin our ugly heads on MTV playin some songs live on Jan. 20th.
You guys just played a New Years Show on top of a building at Times Square. How did that go?
Yea man that was tight, real dope
You guys refer to your fans as the warriors. What is the idea behind this?
Its an idea they took on themselves, more of a mentality. It’s so easy to beer steered from the left and right when you’re tryin to go the straight path. It takes the mentality of a warrior to stand up for what you believe in. We always try to have that integrity and all the fans, when they see when we play live, we just try to represent to the fullest. The fans took that on themselves. It really became a movement over the last fourteen, fifteen years.
How has the band adapted to guitarist Marcos Curiel leaving the band?
I’m not gonna lie it was really hard and we just busted off cause we all had been homies for so many years since high school. Any time that fame, fortune, and the music business get in between that is a bad thing. It just kinda happened to us. It was hard for him and it was festering in him. But getting Truby was a breath of fresh air because we’re starting to feel those vibes. It was the best thing we could do and we are still P.O.D. We have no doubt that he’s the fourth member of P.O.D.
You guys adopted Jason Truby as your new guitarist for P.O.D., how did that arrangement come about?
He was a dude that we had known since the early 90’s in a band that we were touring with. We respected him as a person and as a musician. We always considered that if we had another member to P.O.D., we had him in mind and we had connected with him. He comes from the same school and he was the obvious choice. He took his time to think about it and talk to his wife and pray about it before he joined.
Is there a different sound with Truby for P.O.D. on the new album?
Well, the thing is with us, everyone has there say and so they put their part in. Everyone is in the room writing and we work on every song together. You know when we look at this, we don’t put any publishing for the lyrics or the songwriting at all. Everyone works together, everyone has a point and its always just a P.O.D. sound.
Do you guys have any plans for touring this year and who you’ll be touring with?
Yea, we just got off a tour, we did a month and half in Spain, took a break and did the New Years thing. We are going to tour march sometime but we don’t know what acts are going to be playing and we’re thinking about that right now.
Is there anything else you wanted to tell fans before the release of Testify?
Hopefully you catch the vibe that we were feelin and that people will really connect with this next record. I hope everyone enjoys it
Thanks man, those are all the questions I have for you and we’re looking forward to Testify.
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