Dustin: Uh, no besides irresponsible nights with the alcohol. [Laughs] Which, I honestly can’t remember if anything too wild and crazy happened. Yeah, we’ve gotten a little bit out of hand I guess but still responsible enough as a rock tour can be. [Laughs]

Karma: There you go, very well put. I was reading that you are not fond of categorization…

Dustin: ...well, that’s pretty vague you mean like…

Karma: ...as far as like your genre?

Dustin: Yeah, absolutely. If you get down to calling this music, that’s what we’re all about.

Karma: Then how would one go about defining your music then?

Dustin: When people ask, it’s kind of funny and maybe sometimes it comes off a little pretentious, but it’s just rock to us; just rock and roll.  If you like it too, then go for it; but as far as placing us in any category, no. [Laughs] You can put us wherever you like actually. We're down for whatever people want to call us but we do what we like and just check it out, be eclectic.

Karma: Who does the Type A personality refer to? Does it refer to you, as in the band?

Karma: Hell, I don't think anyone does that!!

Dustin: [Laughs]

Karma: Going back a bit, of course tonight's the last night of the tour, what are your future plans past that?

Dustin: Well, the only reason that this is our last night of the tour is because we actually have some press to do in New York City in a couple days.  Then when we leave New York, and we're going home, in which home is Charlotte [smiles] for about five days.  We then on the 28th fly out to go to Europe to do Atticus tour so, we'll be in Europe for four weeks.

Karma: Awesome. That's great.  How was it working with Steven Haigler [of Fuel and Pixies fame]?

Dustin: Oh, it was absolutely wonderful. Really, it was like the first collaboration that Hopesfall really had with an outside producer. Like a guy whose sole purpose was to be there, listen to music, take it in, and show a different side of it and a different aspect. It was really wonderful to see that. Like, it was tough at first 'cause we weren't 100 percent sure how to take his criticism and what he would and what it would mean. But at the end of the day, we're like this guys on it and he made us better players and made us better understand the music that we were doing and what we were trying to accomplish.

Karma: That's awesome, even though it is radically different from what you had done previously.

Dustin: Yes.

Karma: Would you say that was pretty much attributed to his influence?

Dustin: It definitely helped, I mean a big part of that, like when you're listening to A Types, that was him helping us put it together. 

Karma: As far as you working laboriously in the studio, would you attribute that approach to Steven as well or...

Dustin: ...well, a studio is a studio like that’s what you have to do. As far as with the laborious part, that comes with the territory. Like the studio equals that for the most part. It was definitely a risk but he made it to where it was a good [thing]. I mean, like, we really came together on this. We were strapped to get that record done because we wrote the whole entire thing in under two months, which was not a good idea. [Laughs] 

Actually to be quite honest with you, we only had eight songs for A Types written and we wrote it in like seven weeks, went into the studio and wrote two songs there in like one night, pretty much. He made us like come together with it and everything was on such a set agenda, like everyday there was no looking back, like this is what we’ve got to accomplish that day and move on. So it was tough and very stressful.

Karma: Would you do that again? As far as trying to fit all of that in such a short amount of...

Dustin: ...well, of course because you love doing it but do we want to? No, but we much rather be much more prepared and have the opportunity to spend more time on it, so everything was very much rushed with A Types.

Karma: Are you guys satisfied with the way A-Types turned out?

Dustin: Oh, of course. I mean that is what we did. It’s just like there’s things to us and maybe it’s just us being over critical cause it’s our own band. Yeah, I am very pleased with it, but in the end I am very proud of what came out.  

Karma: Well, what’s your favorite off the album and why?

Dustin: Hmm, very interesting! [Pauses] Okay, I think it comes down to either "The Ones" or "Manipulate the Eclipse". I guess, mainly part of the reason of "The Ones" is because that’s one of the songs we wrote. This is really funny I dunno if you have enough tape for this.

Karma: Oh, I have enough tape. [Laughs]

Dustin: Okay, I will tell you, this is how Hopesfall works, this is really, really, really funny. Those two songs that we wrote, we got the other eight songs recorded on drugs, right?

Karma: Oh, okay!

Dustin: And we were doing with them, and we told Steve we have a little bit of material, we kind of want you to hear it, like we’re not really sure what to do. It was like the fourth or fifth day in the studio, the eight songs were done and it’s like that night we’re wrapping up and Steve goes, "Hey about those other two songs, we’ve got to get those done! So you guys are need to go ahead and write those tonight in the studio because we’re gonna record them tomorrow!!" So we kind of like laughed. [Laughs] Then [we realized] he was serious, so we were like, "Oh he’s serious!"

Dustin: We were like, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" and this is after a full day of recording, like a solid ten hours or however much we put into it. So did we go right to work? Hell no! [We all laugh hysterically] We sat down and started drinking beer like five minutes after eleven. We like this show called Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which is on Adult Swim and we’re like totally into it. So we wanted to wait till that came on before we started writing, because that's really funny. So we just kept drinking till the show comes on, sat down and watched the show. I think we started at about 3 o’clock in the morning, we wrote "The Ones" and "Breathe From Coma", both of those songs were written in one night. So "The Ones", partly because of that and it kind of came together and that’s the one we wrote first. It’s just like the night that we wrote that song we had a little bit of the chorus done and I had written it. I was like, “Guys, what do you think about this?”

Karma: That’s awesome.  Now see this is an interesting segue, I was reading a couple of interviews and it said that you guys are Christian, blah, blah, blah…You guys aren’t Christian?

Karma: I'm thinking not!

Karma: So who is your favorite band in the scene right now?

Dustin: In the scene?

Karma: Mhmm.

Dustin: [Pauses] That’s really tough, I like a lot of bands right now. If you’d be more genre specific, that would help me.

Dustin: That’s the question you asked me...

Karma: ...yeah, I know! We already had this conversation!

Dustin: What am I spinning...

Karma: Okay Dustin, what’s in your CD Player?

Dustin: [Smiles] Yeah, yeah, there's this band called Mew is pretty amazing, a band called Ocean Size. I've been listening to Keg lately, the Muse, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, and Always for sure. In the scene, I’m really a big fan of Engine Down, that’s a little bit of a different genre but still, definitely Every Time I Die, those guys are ALWAYS rockin'. Misery Signals, I can go on and on. I love, love music and I can definitely name a million bands I like.

Karma: Now, if you could collaborate with anyone, whom would you choose, producer wise?

Dustin: I don’t even know if I could give you a fair answer on that because of A Types, it’s the reason that made me look at producers and who does that and even what they did. Cause I was gonna say like I’m ignorant of that, just get it done.  Guys are like, oh yeah producers, yeah cool whatever; but when you work with one you get it. You’re like okay, oh now I know what’s going on over here. [Laughs] If I was able to work with anyone, like who I would have help us on our record, I would definitely have Billy Corgan help us. I’m sure he’s done punk producing stuff... [pauses] and Guns N' Roses just because I know they know how to party! [Laughs]

Karma: That’s great. So, what mark would you like to leave on your fans?

Dustin: Hopesfall tattoos on all of them. No…[Laughs] A very vague and sincere thank you for even checking it out and listening to it and for keeping this kind of thing going on. That’s about it; it’s because of them, but at the end of the day, they are the ones that keep us where we’re at, a big sincere thank you.

Karma: That’s awesome. Here’s a quick Speed Round of Questions for you.

Dustin: Okay.

Karma: Do you have a mantra?

Dustin: What’s that?

Karma: It’s like a phrase that you go by, like your creed.

Dustin: Oh. Nothing in life is free.

Karma: Have you ever read the dictionary like a book?

Dustin: No!

Karma: Okay, if not music then what?

Dustin: Women. [Laughs]

Karma: What the hell would your bandmates do if it weren't for Hopesfall?

Dustin: Mikey would move out into the woods and grow his hair really long and build a house out of trees and leaves (our bass player). [Laughs] Jay would sell everything he owned, save up his money, and drive around the U.S., to try to attend a baseball game in every major league stadium across the [country]. Josh, would deliver pizza and hang out. Adam, would invent time travel and me...I said women as a stupid joke! If not music then... I don’t even want to think about it. [Everyone laughs] Like, I really don't! That sucks, next question! [Smiles]

Karma: What has been your most defining Hopesfall moment?

Dustin: I would say the first tour that I did with them. I mean it wasn’t a single moment, but it was all the time and effort put in and like the whole going around and making it happen. I joined Hopesfall like two years ago but I lived in Kansas City before so it was like Josh and I were friends. We had played guitar together a few times and it’s like me moving and making the whole thing happen so the first tour was like the culmination and patience of all that. I was like, "Oh this is really happening! I’m going to go with it! This is really great!!" So I think that was the moment that was like, "Woah!"

Karma: [Smiles] Guilty pleasure song/CD/artist.

Dustin: Oh no, guilty pleasure! Kelly Clarkson and Vanessa Carlton.

Dave Marion: I don’t think so!

Dustin: You don’t think so? Dude! You know what, I’m gonna turn that around!

Dustin: I was going to say that, there’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure, that’s what I wanted to say. Like, music is music and if you like it, then listen to it. Guilty pleasures are what make scenes and what make people not be open minded or eclectic. So 86 the guilty pleasures all together.

Karma: There you go. Things you cannot live without?

Dustin: Music, burritos, touring, ESPN, and my mom.

Karma: Ahhh! My best friend’s a _________?

Dustin: [Laughs] Transvestite. No. [Laughs] My best friend is my mom.

Karma: That's sweet!! First job?

Dustin: Working for my dad's construction company, honestly! I swear to God, and then Hardee's.

Karma: How many candles did you blow out on your last birthday and on which date?

Dustin: God, these questions! [Laughs] I think my 18^th birthday is the last time I had a cake with candles. I’m about to turn 24 and my birthday is on May 1^st, so that was a long time ago!

Karma: Well, Happy Birthday. [Smiles]

Dustin: Thank you! Thank you very much!!

Karma: If you could commission a band to cover a Hopesfall song, which song would you chose and who would cover it?

Dustin: Oh man! That’s really good!! I have to pick someone that’s not that great of a musician cause they could make fun of us. [Laughs] I would say the Smashing Pumpkins and it would be a song of their choice, only under the conditions that they would then play a whole show, so I could watch them play.

Karma: What is the first thing you think of when of when you awake in the morning?

Dustin: Oh come on!

Dave: Like I said, Appetite For Destruction, man!

Dustin: Okay, I’ll go with that. [Laughs]

Karma: Ok and who would you ask these Speed Round Questions of? Someone that you'd like to get to know a little more about.

Dustin: Oh, ask these questions of?

Dustin: No, they don't answer these questions! They wouldn’t know what half these words were. [Laughs] I’m proud of myself for even knowing half of this shit. [Laughs] I would want to ask our tour sound guy, Chris Grady.

Karma: Any last comments? 

Dustin: No, thank you very much! [Smiles widely and raises cup]

Karma: Well thank you so much!

Dustin: Thanks again!