We had a chance to catch Guitarist, Adam Ruppel, of Systematic while he was taking a break in his in-house studio. We heard that he was in the studio writing material for their follow-up to 'Somewhere in Between.' so we decided to give him a call. We chatted about the new material, Lars, Ozzfest, and tried to clear up the drummer situation. Here's the scoop!

Adam Ruppel: Hello?
Noize Pollution: Adam?
Adam: Yeah
NP: Hey man what's up? This is T-Bone and Suzy of Noize Pollution.
Adam: Hey how's it going man?
NP: Very good, just wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing. Thanks for taking the time to do this with us. We know that you guys are hard at work in the studio and all.
Adam: Oh no, it's fine.

NP: So how's everything going in the studio right now and what process are you in?
Adam: We're not actually in the studio yet. I think we are going to be going to the studio sometime in February. Right now we're in the mode as writing as many songs as we can so we have a lot of choices to choose from you know. So now we're at my house and I can do studio stuff here. We just come here and work on songs and arrange them and see what we can add and see what we like and stuff like that.

NP: What route is the new album heading so far? Is it more like your older stuff, harder? More melodic?
Adam: There's a couple of songs so far within the same vein, but I got to say the majority of the new stuff is a lot more heavier and darker. When I say heavy, I don't mean faster or anything like speed metal, but there is more meat to it and more of a backbone behind the music and it's just a lot more heavy.
NP: Is it because of something you are listening to now?
Adam: No, it's always been in the band that we've always been heavy but on the first album a lot of the songs were like 6 years old. So we grew and never captured how the band is right now. So it's the first time that we are actually getting to really tap into the stuff right now and seriously honestly, this stuff is amazing! I've heard a lot of people always talk about their new album and were like "This album is way better than our first," I can't speak of our album yet, cause we haven't done that, but as far as songs wise, what's coming out of us is amazing and were really being more experimental and at the same time being more organic. We're still not going to mess around with samples and try rapping or anything like that, we are asking ourselves what is our forte and we've always believed that we are a heavy, melodic band and let's capitalize on both and take it another step forward. And that's all were doing and it's coming out really good.

NP: Are you guys eyeing anyone to produce the next record? Do you have someone in mind?
Adam: There has been one producer talking to us but I can't throw out names yet since we are still in the baby stages.
NP: All right, no problem. Do you have a possible title for the new album or a release date yet?
Adam: Nope nothing yet.
NP: Still in the baby stages?
Adam: Yeah

NP: Okay, so what can we expect next from you guys? Are you guys just going to take it easy for awhile here and write some new songs or going to hit the road anytime soon?
Adam: Were really just trying to complete the second album as fast as we can. We want to get back out on the road and capitalize on our first album. Really this band is a bunch of hard workers and were already going insane that we've been home for two weeks already so we're like "gosh we have to do something," so I think we are playing one new year show and then besides that we are just working on this album as hard as we can.

NP: Do you guys see any future tours with Metallica or Megadeth? We see you guys as a perfect fit for those tours.
Adam: We got offered a Megadeth tour and I think that was the same time we got offered the Disturbed tour and we went out with Disturbed. All I can say is that if the offer was there and the timing was right, I think we might tour with Megadeth, but being a heavy band we have an old school mentality and kind of a sound to us at some points, but we are trying to really branch out with some of the new bands though too. If we go out touring with a lot of older bands, we might get stuck in that genre. We're really trying to stay with a lot of the newer bands like the Disturbed's and Drowning Pool's of the world.
NP: Do you ever think there will be a collaboration with you guys and Lars?
Adam: To be very honest with you, I don't know. Lars is always around and we kind of talk to him once in awhile as far as a collaboration goes, I don't know. I know on our last album, the last day of our recording, Lars came in and we recorded a really old AC/DC song. We just all decided to get in a room and play the song 3 times and record it 3 times and pick which one was the best. It came out amazing.
NP: Do you think that will be on your next album or pop its head up on a B-side
Adam: It could be a B-side someday

NP: Wow, you guys have been on the road touring since July of 2000 with a constant touring schedule, does it seem like it was just yesterday or has it all flown by in a blur?
Adam: Yeah, there have been a lot of traveling but I can say that yes, it's flown by pretty fast. We were in our RV for 7 months of a year and a half touring. Looking back on it was really hard and it really went by fairly fast. You know, but we made it so it's all good.
NP: Throughout all the touring, what do you think was your best experience so far?
Adam: I just like the fact that I have some video of our first few shows and looking at us now. You can see how much the band has come along and how much we've matured and learned. That's the thing I really like. I got to say a year and a half ago, we were horrible, but now I just watch videos of where we are now and it's night and day to see how far we've come and progressed.

NP: During Ozzfest, you guys went on pretty early on the second stage. What did you guys usually do with the rest of the day?
Adam: (laughs) Some guys would drink and some guys would chase girls and you know you'd watch Marilyn Manson and Black Sabbath every night and that's pretty much it, we just kind of hung out and tried to have as much fun as we could.
NP: I heard a lot of stories about the Jaeger bus.
Adam: The Jaeger bus? I don't know anything about the Jaeger bus?
NP: You know the Jaeger bus.
Adam: (laughs) Yeah that might've been somebody in my group yeah. (laughs again)

NP: What was the main difference between the off-shows on Ozzfest and Ozzfest itself? How did you manage to play very late nights during the off-dates and then wake up early next morning to play Ozzfest?
Adam: Well, it was more of a club atmosphere. It was more normal you know, you play a club with two or three other bands and your playing at night. It was really cool for us cause it was like being back home. In other words, it was cool cause you could see your girlfriend that night and then go back home the next morning and go to work again. It reminded us of what regular shows were like instead of waking up at 10am everyday and playing at 11am. It kind of kept us going.
NP: How hard was it playing one of those shows, staying up late and waking up early the next morning to play again?
Adam: I got to say this, and I'll say this now, and I might shoot myself years from now. I don't care who complains but all I do is play guitar, someone plays drums, someone plays bass and someone sings. Tim our singer is the only one I can feel for about singing at night and getting up the next morning and doing it again. That's a job. As far as playing guitar, you know what playing one night and playing the next morning, I'll do it any day and I'll play five shows in a row. I don't care, we all have that rock-n-roll mentality. Give us our instruments, tell us where to play and we'll be there and we'll be ready to give a show to the crowd.
NP: Right on!
Adam: We've always had the mentality of when and where and we'll do it no matter what.

NP: Can you tell us how Lars of Metallica came across you guys. You've probably told it a million times but can you give it to us in a brief synopsis? Did he immediately contact you guys and come out to see you play?
Adam: Basically we did our first demo and I was going for an internship at a recording studio called the Plant. We had no clue that Metallica was there or anything but I guess they were mixing S&M.; I guess in someone in one of the rooms was blasting our demo and Lars was outside the hallway and he heard it and walked in and took it. I think it was no later than three days that he called us.
NP: Wow! That was some demo tape!
Adam: And then after that, he called us on a Wednesday or Tuesday and we had a show that Friday or Saturday in San Francisco, which was where he lived and where we lived. So he came out to that show and hung out with us that night. I think a month later we had an offer and it took a little negotiating and then we signed the deal.

NP: What was it like to realize that you had Metallica backing you up as well as Elektra Records?
Adam: I got to say, you know. I don't think we ever had Metallica backing us up. We've always had Lars and Lars made it pretty clear that he can be the voice of Metallica. Very honestly, it was good and bad. We never had any Metallica favors. We've had a few favors from Lars calling people he's known, but we've never had Lars going into MTV and handling our video saying if you play this, then Metallica will do this for you. It was never like that.
NP: Yeah, he let you guys do everything on your own and earn it the hard way.
Adam: Yeah, which he made clear in the beginning, he told us, I will do certain things but I will not help you guys out to where you don't have your own two legs to stand on. We're really out here trying to make it on our own and it's cool having him in our corner.

NP: Okay, A lot of people would agree that you were at the right place at the right time, do you agree or disagree with that?
Adam: Yeah, I guess we got signed, so you can say that. I mean our management didn't get us signed even though they were working and shopping around with labels, sending them our CD's and stuff. The way we did get signed was a coincidence so yeah, it was definitely the right time at the right place.

NP: On a side note, I've been to San Francisco, CA a few times, and it's really an indie music scene. How did you build a fan base being a rock/metal band? What was a few of your first gigs like?
Adam: Very honestly, our scene wasn't the greatest. Back in the 80's there was a huge scene which everyone else in the group knows more about than I do since I'm the youngest, but I guess there was a huge metal scene when Metallica and Forbidden Violence came out. When we got signed, there wasn't much of a scene. The only other band to come out of the Bay area that was metal was Machine Head. Which is a great band, but after they came out a lot of bands copied them. Then you had a lot of screaming and then a lot of rapping. And then we came out and Tim said, "this is real." We just did what we felt, which was Tim singing. He can't rap and do the blown out vocals, it's not his thing so we just did what was natural for us. So when we played shows, it took a long time for us to build a following. It took a long time before people realized that we were a different kind of band doing something, which the scene at that time wasn't doing. Every show we'd gain like 4 or 5 fans and then the next time we'd play those people would come back but with more friends and so on and that's how you build your true following.

NP: Where do you see your music fitting in? Or how would you categorize your sound?
Adam: We call ourselves hard rock you know or metal. When people ask us to describe what we sound like we tell them, this is what we are not. We're not a rap/metal band, We're not an Emo/Core band, We're not a screaming hateful band, and we are just a hard rock band with meaning.
NP: Is that why you named the album "Somewhere in Between?"
Adam: Yeah that has some part to do with it. A lot of the bands are really trendy and kind of following each other and we really hate that about the scene. Do your best and do what comes natural. You know we are going to do what we do and if people like then cool and if they don't, oh well.

NP: With the name Systematic, which comes from one of your song titles, how come we don't see a song on the CD titled Systematic?
Adam: (laughs) Actually it was a song that we did record but it didn't make the album, but it was called "Systematic" and we were searching for a name for so long and we just threw that out there and it just stuck. I approached Tim and said, "Well, if the band is called Systematic then we can't have a song called "Systematic." Too rock starish, so we changed the name of the song "The Company We Keep." And it might come out some day, it's a really cool hard rock song, so we'll see.

NP: During your live show, it looks like you guys are all business and focusing on the music to portray you? Was that a group decision?
Adam: No, it's really natural for us. As a band, we just thought we should do what's natural. We sat around and looked at bands with images and thought do we need to do that and we were like, "let's just do what comes natural." I've always loved bands like Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains and just real bands. I've always loved that. As far as the live show, me personally, I just try to feel the music every night and tap into it. I can go home and listen to Tori Amos and hearing a piano, it really does something for me. So when I hear my own music, even though you've heard it so much and you play it so much, I really try to give it my all every night. As for the rest of the band, I can speak highly tries to do the same thing.
NP: What's your take on other bands who jump around, jump off speakers, dive into the crowd, beat each other up, use gimmicks to sell their music?
Adam: Oh, wow, well Tim has smashed guitars before and I've jumped off a PA two stories high, as far as that goes. Nothing is synchronized, nothing is staged or planned like some groups, but if we feel something, then we'll do it. I've destroyed drum sets before many of times. We did a live TV shows in New York and I took out one of the toms. But as far as costumes�
NP: and masks and pyrotechnics, etc�
Adam: Hey hopefully we'll have some flames one day, I wouldn't mind some pyrotechnics down the road. You know, I just don't know, we believe in rock and roll. We're not going to dress up to sell a couple more albums. We're spontaneous and if someone wants to go crazy on stage, more power to you.

NP: Let's try to get the drummer situation all cleared up. We know you had some problems with your original drummer. Can you fill us in since then with everything that has happened?
Adam: Well, we had an original drummer and we fired him just because of personal differences and then we had Dave Mclain of Machine Head come out and join us. He quit Machine Head and joined us and it came out that he used us to better himself with Machine Head, so we think he's a dick for that. He left us during the middle of a tour and went back to Machine Head. After that we found a guy named Shaun, who was an amazing drummer and great friend where we actually thought 'cool, this is it.' And it came out that he hurt his arm in making our video, he hurt his shoulder, so basically he had to go home and we had to hire a drummer.
NP: Was that American Head Charge's drum tech that you hired?
Adam: Yeah, that's who we hired there for awhile. I think the next time we go into the studio or next time we go out on tour, we'll have a Systematic drummer by then. We've been auditioning while we've been home.

NP: A few days ago, I e-mailed all our street teamers that listed Systematic in their top ten and I had them send me a question they would like to ask you. I have a few fan questions for you. This question is from
Adam: Can I say right now that the answer to all the questions is that I never did it. (laughs) I don't know her! I swear! (laughs)
Ryan of Bay Village, OH asks: You have been touring with some great bands this year. Who's live show has impressed you the most?
Adam: Let's see, I think Sully from Godsmack is amazing frontman. I think the whole band is great. Watching Godsmack every night was really cool. I got to say, Marilyn Manson's show is unbelievable. That's entertainment! The guys and the band are entertainers. I think they do it to a T. They got it down, sound wise and image wise. And even go into� we toured with bands like Slayer on Tattoo the Earth last year and just watching a band like that, compared to Marilyn Manson they are so stripped down. They just come out and mean business and that was a great thing to witness each night. I got to say those three bands impressed me the most.

Jeremy of Huntington, WV: What does the lyrics mean to "Beginning of the End?" I really like that song.
Adam: I can't go too in depth with it since my singer does a lot of lyric writing but I can give one clue about it, it has to do with child abuse. From there it has some kind of 20 related stories and one other meaning to it, but for the most part it has to do with child abuse.

Interview by: Suzy & T-Bone