December 2, 2006 - Before the start of their show at Amyway Arena in Orlando, we sat down and chatted with Nonpoint's engaging frontman Elias Soriano. Below is what he had to say to us.

Elias Soriano of Nonpoint

FES: What went through your mind the fist time you heard one of Nonpoint's songs on the radio?

Elias: Oh, that's a good question! What went through my mind? I think I was thinking did I leave the dishwasher on or maybe I should go get a puppy?
No, No. [Laughs]. I was thinking that's when it started feeling for real, I think.
When you’re on the radio they make it so public. When you’re just a kid listening to the radio and you hear other bands on there you get excited about it. In the same sense when you put yourself on the other side of it when your the artist you have people getting excited about you being there because it took you so much to get there.

FES: On a previous album Nonpoint covered the Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight" Any particular reason the band chose to record that song?

Elias: That style of song was because we didn't want to cover a rock song. We didn't want to cover anything that had assorted guitars and already had those elements in them because they always end up sounding as they did. That was our first goal [was] to find a song that didn't have rock elements in it. The next step was to find something that was Iconical in the sense if you sat down and asked anyone "hey have you ever heard this song before?" nine times out of ten they're not going to go,"Oh, that songs sucks!" They'd normally go, "I know that song that's a great song." That was the next step and then after that was to find a song we all could connect with. The band came up in South Florida and Miami Vice was huge thing down there and that was a real big song that got played a whole bunch. It was one of those songs that surprisingly was on a lot of different radio stations. It wasn't just on a rock station it was also on the contemporary [station] it was also on the lite [station] and at the time some of the R & B stations just because of the soul that song had. Like I said that was the next step.

FES: Live and Kickin' is Nonpoint's latest album. How much planning went into recording the live album and how did the band decide which material would end up on the CD and which material would end on the DVD?

Elias: First it was show that we were doing in South Florida. We decided to record it later. When the label came to us asking for another record we hadn't released a live record yet and we're on record number four now so we figured a lot of kids love that live show so much and say that they miss a lot of that in a lot of our recordings, so we decided to put out a live record. We had been working with this director Darren Doane, who is amazing! He directed our last three videos and said he'd love to capture us live. He got this cameraman a gentleman named Mario, who is also amazing and he rode with us on the bus and videotaped. At the very end we all edited it all together for the fans.

FES: What do you think is the reason Nonpoint's music translates so well onto a live stage?

Elias: I think because we feel it. Something we're proud of. When your proud of something and you want everyone to see it when we do get the opportunity to be up on stage we take it as the chance and each opportunity is that chance and we give it one hundred fifty-thousand percent, because it's our life.

FES: Do you feel Nonpoint does not get the respect that a band of your stature should get?

Elias: I think every band feels their band could always get a little more respect. I'm proud of our band. I've learned to live with that more so than anything else.

FES: Do you have any favorite songs to perform live and why?

Elias: I like 'The Wreckoning,' it’s a lot of fun to play live. It's off our new record. I like Victim Victim that gets good reaction. Bullet lately has just been insane.

FES: What advice would you give a young up and coming band preparing to go on their first national tour?

Elias: Buy baby wipes [Laughs]. That's best advice I can give you.

FES: It seems as if some bands have decided to skip playing shows in Florida this year. How important does Nonpoint feel it is to play shows in Orlando and Tampa as well as other cities in Florida?

Elias: Playing every city is the goal of every band. Florida is a little tougher because it's harder to drive in and out of Florida because of the distance and gas prices, the cost of traveling and touring. So I could see why a lot of bands don't travel very far south. Thankfully Orlando is in the middle so we can kind of get a little relief that way. But as far south as Miami and Fort Lauderdale the scene suffers because of the distance south Florida is from a lot of the real prominent rock areas around the rest of the country. As far as us we play Florida whenever we can we always hit every single city when we tour.

FES: When Nonpoint starts to plan their tours do you ever look at gas prices and say we can't play in this city because gas costs three something a gallon?

Elias: Surprisingly, yeah. You have to be careful. Everything is budgeted and things are expensive and you’re on borrowed money. Thankfully for us we make a decent amount live when we tour we don't really have to borrow money from the label. For tours like this [Music As A Weapon] where it's a high profile tour you don't get paid as much so you have to make up for it in other ways and that's where the label normally helps out. It's definitely something you have to consider.

FES: What are your thoughts on playing at tonight's Real Rock Mistletoe Jam as well as other Real Rock events such as Earthday Birthday and Real Rock Hurricane Relief?

Elias: I'm excited. I always love playing Orlando. We always have good shows here. They make us feel at home and they definitely do their homework so it's always good.

FES: How excited were you when you found out Nonpoint was going to be playing on the Music As a Weapon tour?

Elias: I was real excited. Like I said this is a big tour and this is definitely the biggest tour for us this year. We've had a lot of big opportunities this year this is the icing on the cake.

FES: If you could pick a place to perform anywhere in the world with any bands you desire where would your dream concert be and what bands would be performing with Nonpoint?

Elias: In concert? Of all places, it would probably be Madison, Wisconsin and it would be us, The Deftones, Thrice and Slipknot or somebody crazy like that. A bunch of just outrageously heavy elite bands in a place that really appreciates rock music.

FES: And that's the reason why it would be in Madison, WI?

Elias: Yeah, for some reason Madison, it was in Playboy as the number one party school in the country. The people up there they're thirsty for some rock love. It’s pretty amazing. You'd be surprised of all the places the community there is very supportive, very supportive. Madison is off the hook.

FES: Where do you see Nonpoint Five years from now?

Elias: Whoa, I have no idea; I couldn't tell you I don't even want to try to predict the future that's jinxing us. [Laughs].

FES: How helpful do you feel online publications such as Florida Entertainment Scene are in helping to get the word out about bands such as Nonpoint?

Elias: Especially lately you can't live without the Internet. We're definitely in the information age that's how everybody is living and the fastest way to get it is online and it's key.

FES: Do you have anything to say to your fans who read this interview?

Elias: Hey, I miss you guys all. Come to the show quick.

FES: Elias thank you for your time I wish Nonpoint much success.

Elias: Thank you, thank you.

Nonpoint’s latest album, “Live and Kickin,” is now available at the usual outlets. Florida Entertainment Scene recommends you buy this album.

Nonpoint is:

Nonpoint is from Fort Lauderdale, FL and tour on a regular basis. For more Nonpoint Information or to sample music log onto: myspace.com/Nonpoint.

Check out our Nonpoint Real Rock Hurricane Relief concert photo gallery.
Musician Interview by Michael Montes - Copyright © 2006 Florida Entertainment Scene - All Rights Reserved.