August 3, 2007 - St. Petersburg, FL - It's a few hours before the start of The Buckethead Show's First Anniversary Party at Jannus Landing which Saliva headlined. We sat down and chatted with Saliva drummer Paul Crobsy. Below is what he had to say to us.

Paul Crosby of Saliva at 98 Rockfest

FES: How do you feel "Blood Stained Love Story" is different from previous Saliva albums?

Paul: It’s definitely not as hip hop or heavy metal originated, it’s obviously more straight up Rock N’ Roll; as apposed to the genre of the other three records. It’s more of a real record because every song on the entire record is pretty much written about things that different people in the band we’re going through at that time instead of writing a song about superficial relationships or this or that.

FES: Do you have any particular favorite songs from "Blood Stained Love Story," if so why?

Paul: Honestly man, I like the whole thing front to back. I really dig it all. We pride ourselves on being the type of band that will put out a CD that you can hit play and listen to it front to back. Not a lot of bands do that anymore.

FES: Going into the studio how many songs did the band have written and how did Saliva decide which songs would make it and which ones would not?

Paul: Believe it or not, when we went go to L.A. to do this record with our producer Bob Marlette, we had probably 18 songs ready to go, we started pre-production with Bob we played him everything we had and he whacked that 18 down to about four. So we found ourselves with a week and a half before we we’re going into the studio to record this record and we have four songs. So we spent a week and a half with Bob basically every single day from morning to midnight [in] writing sessions non stop. There’s 10 songs on the album we did the rest of the songs in a week and half basically.

FES: Once you went into the studio how long did it take the band to record the album?

Paul: The whole process took right at two months. I did the drums in a day and a half. Everybody does stuff separately. The whole process was about two months.

FES: Do you think online sites that sell music will make the CD obsolete?

Paul: Honestly, I really do. I hate to see that go, but that’s just the way it’s looking, that’s the reality of it.

FES: Pretty soon everyone is going to have to have some kind of mp3 player if you want to listen to music.

Paul: Everybody has an iPod you know what I mean? It’s just the new wave.

FES: What can we expect from Saliva for the remainder of 2007 and beyond?

Paul: Well, we’re definitely going to be touring pretty much nonstop the rest of ’07 and probably a little bit of ’08. We’ll do our usual go home for a three or four months then start writing and try to do the whole thing all over again.

FES: Any idea when the next Saliva album will come out?

Paul: Man, I couldn’t even speculate, it hasn’t been even been written and we haven’t started writing, we’re still in the middle of this cycle.

FES: Earlier this year Saliva played at 98 Rockfest [in Tampa, FL] what are your thoughts on playing that show?

Paul: That was awesome, basically an ocean of people it was incredible. We actually headlined the last Livestock as well. 98 Rock always totally takes care of us.

FES: Do you know what the first and last song will be for tonight's concert and how does Saliva decide this?

Paul: The first song will be from our new record and it’s called “Black Sheep,” the last song will be “Always” from our second record.

FES: That’s pretty much standard isn’t it?

Paul: Yeah it’s pretty much standard. Even if we’re playing a festival and we’re only playing 30 or 45 minutes instead of a full set. We’ll still start with that song and end with that song. We just feel that’s our strongest opener and strongest closer.

FES: How important do you think online publications such as Florida Entertainment Scene are in helping to get the word out about bands such as Saliva?

Paul: Very important, especially nowadays everybody does everything online. People probably even read the paper online now I’m sure. Anything you can do to promote bands is a good thing for all the bands.

FES: Most newspapers and magazines now have websites.

Paul: Yeah, you probably can literally read the newspaper online.

FES: I think print is going the way of the dinosaur.

Paul: Save the trees!

FES: Yes, save the trees!

FES: Do you have any favorite venues to play in the state of Florida?

Paul: I’m trying to remember everywhere in the state of Florida we have played. Obviously Rockfest, any of the festivals is great [they’re] outside huge gigantic crowds. We haven’t done a whole bunch of club dates [in Florida], we’ve done a handful, I don’t know which one would be my favorite probably all of them.

FES: Do you prefer to play shows indoors or outdoors?

Paul: I like them both about the same. I like to mix it up. We’ve been playing outdoors at least the last three weeks every night. So now I’d like to do some indoor shows to mix it up.

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

Paul: Just keep rocking man, go buy that CD, quite downloading and come to the show.

FES : Paul thank you for your time I wish you and Saliva much success.

Paul: Thank you.

Saliva

Saliva’s latest album “Blood Stained Love Story” is now available at the usual outlets.

Saliva is from Memphis, TN and tour on a regular basis.

Saliva Is:
Josey Scott – Vocals
Paul Crosby – Drums
Wayne Swinny – Guitar
Dave Novotny – Bass
Jonathan Montoya - Guitar

For more band information log onto the official Saliva Website.

To sample music visit the Saliva page at myspace.com.

Musician Interview by Michael Montes – Copyright © 2007 Florida Entertainment Scene – All Rights Reserved.