IE: The new album is called “Life On The James” which for those who haven’t checked it out yet is the James River which runs right through the bands hometown of Richmond. When you guys were kicking ideas around for the title and the cover for the new album who came up with this idea?

David: I guess I'd have to give credit to some of our friends who got "L.O.T.J." tattooed on them a few years ago. The name of this album is taken from a line in one of our old songs called “Home Sweet Home”. - "Chased by bums and ghosts on Belle Isle, Just a day in the life on the James."

IE: When did you start writing the songs that are on this new album? Is the bands style one where you work fast when you get together and bang out song after song or is it a more slow process with exchanging music via email and writing new tracks that way?

David: A lot of these songs are very old, and there was a lot of exchanging songs back and forth by email the past 2-3 years. We've been working on songs since 2008, we just never get the time to record ‘em all. That's why we only put out that 7", a few years ago, and why it's taken us so long to finally get a new LP out.

IE: I initially thought that this new one was a total concept album where everything would tie in somehow to the James but not the case. You actually have some interesting titles and I wanted to pick your brain on how they came about lyrically. The first track being “Sheffield” which is basically about being in a band and life on the road and wanting to get back to your home. Why the name “Sheffiled” though for the title?

David: The song originally had vocals starting right at the very beginning. We ended up cutting them out because we thought the intro sounded cooler, but when I first started writing these lyrics, I was thinking about this one night at our good friends Max Mitchell and Alan Dargan's apartment in Sheffield, England. That apartment was kind of our home base when we would tour the UK. Those guys made us feel at home, and one night just thinking to myself, I couldn’t believe I was in England with some of my best friends having the best time, but also upset that it couldn't last forever. "It can't be so easy." 

IE: Who is “Brothers Turned Strangers” written about and can you talk about what the song is about a little?

David: There have been a few people in my life that have been very close to me, shared the same beliefs and ideas, and completely 180'd. Some burned me, some just changed. I think most people can relate to this song, having someone you consider a brother turn into someone you don't even say hello to anymore.

IE: The insert photos to the new album show band members in various areas on the river just having fun etc. How much of a part of your life was chilling on or near this area growing up and do you still hold those same feelings today?

David: I've been swimming and fishing in that river since I was a little kid. My dad and his brothers grew up on it, and so did their kids. Daniel and I would swim in it everyday after school. And it's the same to this day. When bands come through on tour, we hit the river. Bored at home, hit the river. Oh, somebody came down to visit? River time!  It's just what we and all of our friends do down here.

IE: Got any favorite memories from your life on the James that you would like to share?

David: When I was about 8 years old I caught my first striped bass out on a rock by a dam with my dad. They run up the river from the ocean in the spring to spawn, and we were pretty far up the river. It's pretty rare to catch one where we were and I caught my first monster. There are so many others like when David Foster and Dan Mills came down from PA to visit and we went jumping off trees and dams into the river, we all got the craziest poison ivy ever. Or when a bunch of New Jersey boys (who are now in a band called Born Annoying) stopped by for a few hours on their way down to their friends triathlon in Florida. We hit the river hard and walked through tons of stinging nettle bushes, very painful. Foundation, Have Heart, every band we've taken…or just simply hanging out. I have too many good ones. 

IE: Did Avail’s “Over The James” album title ever come into the conversation when deciding your new album’s title and if so was there ever a plan to call this new one something else?

David: Yeah it came up a little. That band pretty much got most of us in to punk and hardcore. They are definitely one of my all-time favorite bands. Our album title came from one of our own songs, no Avail influence at all, but we love them and welcome that interpretation.

IE: It has been 3 years since your last release and the band admittedly doesn’t play out as much as in previous years. Because of these things was there a lot of anticipation amongst the members to just get this release out there into the public’s hands and show you “still got it” sorta speak?

David: No. We may have slowed down as a band, but we continued to play shows, and stayed relevant in the hardcore scene. Bands that try to prove that they "still got it," are wash up loser fake hardcore bands that didn't show their faces at shows for 5 years, got bored with their new lifestyles, and then tried to make a comeback. We just want to keep being a hardcore band.

IE: You are also in Terror and I have read where you said they are your #1 priority musically. Terror seems to play one tour after another. With that said what are the current plans for Down To Nothing going forward in regards to touring?

David: No plans in stone yet, but we are definitely going to do some east coast gigs, some west coast, Europe and Australia when we can.

IE: Do you see any potential upcoming tours with both Terror AND Down To Nothing going out together?

David: Nah. 

IE: I think you are the first band I have interviewed that had a doctor in the band and that is your drummer Daniel. What kind of doctor is he and can he get enough time away from his work to do a full blown tour if that is the bands plan?

David: Daniel is a doctor in the E.R. He ain't no scrub nurse. That fool is sewing up gunshot wounds, stab wounds, putting people's heads back together after car accidents straight Humpty Dumpty style. He's at MCV, which is Richmond's downtown and biggest hospital. His schedule is insane…he will probably never get more than 2 weeks off at a time for the next few years. We try to work around his schedule as much as possible.

IE: Nick Jett who drums alongside you in Terror produced the new DTN and has been producing many current hardcore releases. How is it working with him with Down To Nothing in a studio sense as compared to say playing in Terror together?

David: Yeah he kicks ass. Give that dude an ice coffee, or a yellow Rockstar with some chicken wings and you'll get a good record. He's been familiar with Down to Nothing for a looong time now, so he knew what we wanted. Working with him was so easy…it felt like he had been a member of DTN for the past 6 years. 

IE: There is a video for “No Leash”. Any good hardcore video starts and ends with live footage of the band but you guys kinda took it to another level with this one. Can you tell us how this video was made and what you think makes it stand out so much?

David: We did 2 shows in England last winter. The UK goes hard for DTN. We knew we had to film it. Jared had a friend over there that hooked it up for us, and it just popped off. Sick show, sick video, we're stoked.

IE: That is all I got. Is there anything else that you would like to add that we may have missed? Thanks for the interview.

David: Check out Fire & Ice, PaperTrail, Break Away, Naysayer, Upperhand, and Tough Luck.

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