The Pride

Issue date: 12/5/06 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Amanda Rutherford Photos by Amanda Rutherford

Media Credit: Amanda Rutherford

Media Credit: Amanda Rutherford

November 18 was a night many Atreyu fans will never forget. Atreyu headlined their mini tour with a few other rock bands. UC Irvine was lucky enough to host them on this Saturday night. And I was lucky enough to be able to interview Atreyu's guitarist, Travis Miguel, before the show.

The night started off inside the tour bus with Travis, other band members, and family. Irvine is Atreyu's hometown, so it was a big show for family and friends. When I asked Travis what got him started in the band, he chuckled a bit at the question and told me, "I actually worked with our singer at Hot Topic. He came up to me one day and he was like, 'Yeah, my band needs a guitar player. Do you want to come by and maybe jam a few songs?' As everybody was leaving, we were like, 'Alright, I'll see you next Sunday,' and I said 'Okay, cool.' Next thing you know I'm signing a record contract. And then it all went from there."

When I asked Travis if he ever thought he'd be where he was now, he answered, "No, not in a million years. I mean we've all been fans of music and we've all been in bands. It was all just for fun to begin with. Then Victory came knocking on our door, and for us that was a huge deal. When we first recorded a demo and sent it out, we didn't even bother sending it to Victory because that was so far off the radar. We grew up listening to all the Victory bands like Snap Case, Blood Line, and stuff like that. I remember getting a call from Alex saying 'Dude, Victory Records is really interested in us.' And I was like 'are you kidding me?'"

Travis was a lot like most college students here at CSU San Marcos. He was 21 and getting ready to finish school. He was attending California State University Fullerton and had one semester left. That's when his band member informed him of Victory's interest. Travis didn't just drop school and go live the rock star life, however. He admitted that he was "really torn" and "didn't know what to do."
Travis told me how he made his decision to leave school: "Should I attempt to live this far fetched dream or should I do the more responsible thing and finish school? I actually asked my parents what to do. They were like, 'You know this opportunity is not going to present itself probably ever again. So you may as well just go with it. School is always going to be there.'"

I asked him if he'd ever want to go back to school. "My mom really wants me to," he answered. "But then again it has been so long the requirements for graduating have probably changed. But so far I haven't had to worry about that. I'm sure one day I will. We take everything in stride and we know this isn't going to last forever."
All the fans always want to know what got their band or favorite band member started in music. So, I asked Travis what got him interested in music.

"Honestly I was 11 or 12 and I saw the video 'One' by Metallica, and that was the first time I'd ever seen double bass or music that aggressive. That's what sparked my interest in music. My sisters' boyfriend at the time knew a lot about music and he passed that knowledge onto me. He taught me the bass line to 'Wild Thing.' I couldn't even hold the thing up, the bass itself. I was so small and it was so big. It kept creeping down my lap. Then I picked up the guitar and started taking lessons. Now here I am playing to a couple thousand kids each night. It's pretty damn cool."

To sum up the interview before the show started I asked Travis if there was anything he wanted to say to the students of CSUSM.
"I don't want to say live each day like it's your last; everybody says that. [But] it's true. Take advantage of the opportunities you have. Don't be afraid to take risks, but weigh your options. Don't just go into anything blindly. Have fun because we only live on this planet once."

Not only was the interview very interesting but so was the show. Before Atreyu even started playing the crowd was screaming for music. Lights of all colors flashed randomly onto the crowd. The dimly lit UCI Bren Center soon rumbled with music.

Atreyu played songs in what seemed to be no particular order but covered all the different albums they have. The main singer got the crowd to sing along, and the drummer, who also sings, got the crowd to sing parts he wouldn't. Atreyu kept the crowd going and kept moving around the stage. There was so such thing as a dull moment at this concert. But sadly, like all things, the concert had to come to an end. And it did with a song I'd never thought I'd hear a band like Atreyu play: "You give love a bad name." The singer started to sing the classic Bon Jovi song and hit each note perfectly. The crowd went wild, though it was hard to believe they could get any crazier. There was never a second where some person wasn't running back to the mosh pit because they got passed over the line and needed to go around the seats to get back to the center of the building. The way to the parking lot was full of excitement even after the concert, and for the people who attended it was a concert they would never forget.

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