Fall Fest bands talk music

For Josh Head, screaming is a science.

And luckily, as the keyboardist and vocalist for… For Josh Head, screaming is a science.

And luckily, as the keyboardist and vocalist for the Seattle post-hardcore outfit Emery, he’s got it all worked out.

“You push out as much air as possible from your stomach and vibrate your face. It’s kind of like humming, really,” he explained in a recent interview with The Pitt News. “I could scream pretty much all day and not lose my voice.”

Though he might not have to howl for quite that long, Pitt students will have the chance to experience Head in all his growling glory. Emery will take the stage as part of the 4th Nintendo Fusion Tour, which will be making a pit stop on Bigelow Boulevard as part of Pitt Program Council’s annual Fall Fest.

Starting at noon, students will also hear power rock from The Sleeping, danceable pop-punk from Plain White T’s, Simple Plan-esque pop-punk from Relient K and the perpetually heartbroken emo thunder of headliner Hawthorne Heights. Needless to say, both guys and gals in girl pants will be getting down on Bigelow.

And no one is more excited than Josh Head. “This is twice as big as any tour we’ve ever done. I’ve talked to other opening bands on giant tours, and sometimes they don’t even get to talk to the headliners – you feel like you get crapped on. But Hawthorne Heights has been really great.”

But who are the men behind the Nintendo? I spoke to Eron Buccierelli of Hawthorne Heights and Emery’s Josh Head to find out.

Ohio’s Hawthorne Heights, originally called A Day in the Life, has skyrocketed from relative obscurity to being arguably the most widely known band in the huge, amorphous genre of emo in a mere two years.

2004 saw the release of the band’s debut, The Silence in Black and White, on popular independent label Victory Records. The album featured catchy, sung choruses paired with screamed lines over simple, punchy guitar lines spread among the band’s trio of guitarists.

On the strength of two minor hits, “Ohio is for Lovers” and “Niki FM” (complete with lyrical references to ’80s teen movie “Say Anything”), the album went on to become Victory Records’ best selling debut – surpassing discs from emo giants Thursday and Taking Back Sunday.

“We were just hoping we could sell 20,000 copies so we’d be able to stay out on the road. We had no idea we’d created something that would propel us like [the album] has,” Buccierelli said.

While misunderstood suburban teens all over the country soaked up the band’s self-deprecating hybrid of metal, punk and classic emo like sponges, critics quickly took aim at vocalist JT Woodruff’s