Interviewed by Brian Rademacher
Date: February 2011

Brian Rademacher: Rich, our last interview was back in June 2008, how would you say the band has changed?

Rich Luzzi: I personally don’t think we changed at all. Musically we got a lot of touring under our belts so we matured as a band. We just got to write an honest record; a record that we wanted to write. I don’t think we changed individually or personally at that matter at all.

Brian Rademacher: But do you feel the band grew at all?

Rich Luzzi: Absolutely, we all did some pretty crazy things in our lives personally with family and relationships, but with us spending that much time together we definitely grew as a band. I still think we are grounded and down-to-earth individuals.

Brian Rademacher: You started to write "Justice" back in Feb 2010 is that normal for writing to take almost a year to complete?

Rich Luzzi: No, but for some people it can. We were fortunate enough to have time and the label gave us the time to write a good record and the best record we can write. It was a great experience to have that amount of time and it will prove to be (a good thing) once the fans get to hear it. It was well worth the wait.

Brian Rademacher: You stayed with Interscope Records for the new release, I guess they have been treating you well?

Rich Luzzi: Yes, absolutely. If you look at the climate today most bands are getting dropped but we got another release and we are very fortunate to be on that label. They see a bigger picture; more of career band instead of that quick pay off. It’s been great to be with them.

Brian Rademacher: You’re going out on tour this month right after the new release hits the street and you will be headlining. What are some of the things you asked for on your tour rider this time around?

Rich Luzzi: It’s pretty basic; we don’t ask for crazy stuff. If we ask for crazy stuff we won’t get it anyway (laughing ).

Brian Rademacher: Last year you did a special VIP concert package for fans, will that happen again?

Rich Luzzi: Not on this run but we have done that in the past. We will be doing meet and greets after the shows.

Brian Rademacher: In past tours when you opened shows or even co-headlined, what band sticks out in your mind that treated Rev Theory the best and why?

Rich Luzzi: Pretty much every band that we toured with treated us pretty graciously from HINDER to BUCKCHERRY to AVENGE SEVENFOLD and even LYNYRD SKYNYRD. We never really had a bad experience with any of the bands. Everybody is trying to do the same thing and we all have mutual respect for everyone.

Brian Rademacher: Some tracks I really liked on the new disc are "Dead in a Grave", "Justice", "Fire", "Say Goodbye" and "Hollow Man". Can you tell me anything some of those tracks?

Rich Luzzi: "Dead in a Grave" is our anthem. Once someone says you can’t do it, you’re going to press forward. I’m still breathing, fuck your sympathy, I’ll keep trying until I’m dead in the grave. (It) basically (says) you’re not going to keep me down until you nail the coffin shut.
"Justice" is a song we wrote a few years ago with some good friends of ours. At the time it was called "Society" and after we got off the last tour we were filled with all kinds of emotions; pretty angry. After we revisited the track we feel it stayed true to the word and we felt it served the injustices in our careers because of certain people holding us down for whatever reason. We shook a lot of hands over the past two years and we knew that many of them were served many injustices in their lives between family, jobs or relationships so we wanted something for people to rally behind to get what is rightfully theirs.

Brian Rademacher: So that just proves that songs are never shelved, they can live years later.

Rich Luzzi: Absolutely your catalog never closes. Sometimes it takes walking away from something and later having a different perspective on it as it comes to life.
"The Fire" is a really emotional song. For me it’s that undying love of never wanting to give up. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow so you gotta live right now.
"Say Goodbye" is a really personal song that was written right off the news of a really good friend of ours, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan from AVENGE SEVENFOLD, passing away. We got together after that and we all had mixed emotions and it spawned the idea for that song; it’s pretty personal.
"Hollow Man", that is a track that Matty was working on and featured him as a vocalist and it was the right time and he did a great job delivering it. It’s the age-old tale of what you have inside of you.

Brian Rademacher: Were there any songs that were challenging for you to record as a vocalist?

Rich Luzzi: The whole record was challenging as the way we recorded it was a little different. We pretty much tracked the bass and drums as an entire band so every single take we recorded as a full band over the course of a week. The whole record was pretty challenging for me to put forward all the emotions and raw feelings; it was pretty tough. It worked out well and I’m pretty proud of it.

Brian Rademacher: I see there are two different covers for "Justice" is there a reason for that?

Rich Luzzi: Yeah, the one with the upside-down Axe is the symbol for Anti-Justice, that’s the single. The other is the art-work for the full length release. It has a picture of Hiroshima with the soldiers putting up the flag but we took the flag out and put the axe up in there.

Brian Rademacher: Tell me three things that people might not know about you?

Rich Luzzi: That’s tough. I have a guilty pleasure for the golden oldies because of my Dad. I never ever wear underwear. I’m sure not many people know about that (both laughing). The last one is I have to beware of the amount of dairy intake because it could be a bad experience for a lot of people around me (laughing).

Brian Rademacher: Since you’ve been on tour so much what is the craziest thing that happened out on the road?

Rich Luzzi: Early on when we had an RV we would drive ourselves. It was a forty-footer. Well we were on our way to Spokane, WA and it was in a snow storm. We got caught at the end of a mountain because we took a wrong turn and there weren’t even any roads left. We almost died coming down because of the rough terrain. Another thing whenever you are on tour with the HINDER guys and Blower you never know what will happen. We witnessed Blower get his ball tattooed! He also lit his ass on fire… and my Mom actually saw that! He funneled a beer in his ass that was pretty gross. That’s pretty wild stuff!

Brian Rademacher: Seems like you’re in pretty good shape. How do you keep in such great shape while out on tour?

Rich Luzzi: I just watch what I take in. We are a live band and want to perform the best we can so you gotta keep in shape. I want to be the best we can so I try to stay in shape. I have a constant routine and a good diet.

Brian Rademacher: When you tour what is the thing you miss the most about being away from home?

Rich Luzzi: My Fiancé and my Dad.

Brian Rademacher: So what makes you the happiest?

Rich Luzzi: I like to perform and I like to spend time with my family.

Brian Rademacher: Well Rich congratulations on the new release would you like to say anything in closing?

Rich Luzzi: Get out on February 15th and buy the record and support the band. See you on tour. Thanks Brian.