Interview With A2

The band, A2, who did the song, Chosen One, for the Shadow the Hedgehog game takes some time to answer some questions with us. Odyssey, A.K.A. Danny Parker is speaking for the group in this interview with Dennis Spielman.

SOAH: First of all, tell me a little bit about yourselves and how did the band get started?

A2: Well. It’s been my dream to do a project based on my favorite styles of music for a long time. to make music that I would like to listen to. I started by recording songs…and getting my friends to play on them. I entered a John Lennon song-writing contest and placed as runner up with my first song (Nothing To Loose). That gave me the confidence to peruse my future as a singer and song writer. After a one year stint as the singer for a group called pinata. I decided to start my own group later to be known as “A2”. Around that time I met DJ Avi, and found that we had the same tastes and dreams to create a new combo of old meets new style. Soon after I put up the A2 profile on MySpace and found that I wasn’t the only one into our sound. Due to an overwhelmingly positive response from thousands of listeners, I decided to make A2 more than just a virtual group. After the addition of Kyle Kiderling (on Guitar) along with our first official release “Chosen One” A2 has officially embarked on our path to the future. We are currently writing new tracks and looking for new members to complete the live group. We intend to continue recording until we either get a major label deal or release our own independent CD. Either way A2 is here to stay.

SOAH: What does A2 stand for?

A2: It stands for Apocalyptic Agency. I was in a used book store and something made me grab a book. On the first page it had 2 A’s on it. I looked it up on Google and it said it stood for Apocalyptic Agency.

SOAH: For those that haven’t listened to your music yet, can you describe it?

A2: I would describe our music as a combination of modern Industrial Rock/Electronica (NIN/Filter/Linkin Park) meets 80’s New Wave (Depeche Mode/Duran Duran/Tears For Fears).

SOAH: How did Sega find, contact, and approach you guys to do a song for the Shadow the Hedgehog video game?

A2: We got the Sega gig through Jun Hue (Sega Musical Director and the guitarist for Crush 40). He originally wanted to use a track from our other studio project (Sins of a Divine Mother) of which I was the producer/programer/mixer etc. and Kyle was the Bassist. On a side note Sins singer, Wylie B, and Drummer, John Magnus, both played and worked with Orgy on the Punk Statik CD. You can check out Sins of a Divine Mother here. Due to the fact that we were unable to track down Wylie B. to get permission to use the track, Kyle and I suggested to Jun that we create a new A2 track with a similar vibe to the Sins track. The rest is history.

SOAH: What was the name of the Sins of a Divine Mother song that Sega originally wanted to use?

A2: Song title was “Broken” available on MySpace.

SOAH: Who exactly wrote “Chosen One” and what did they have in mind during the writing?

A2: The Chosen one was written by myself (odyssey) and was written based on the story-line of the game. I was sent a description of the story line and worked from there.

SOAH: Have you played the Shadow game and if so what are your thoughts on it?

A2: I have played Shadow the Hedgehog and it brings back memories of playing the first one ever out. It’s fun when I have time to play it. It gives me time to relax from my hectic schedule.

SOAH: When playing Shadow, which side would you go with, the evil aliens planning to destroy the entire human race, or hero side to save the world?

A2: The hero side… of course!

SOAH: What are your favorite Sonic games?

A2: The original ones for Sega Genesis.

SOAH: What are your favorite songs from the Shadow game besides yours?

A2: Julien K definitely, but all of them are good!

SOAH: Has A2 been commissioned to write songs for other soundtracks, video games, TV, anything? If so, was the process with ‘Shadow’ any different?

A2: Shadow was our first in terms of doing songs for other projects.

SOAH: If Shadow left Central City running at 60 miles per hour, and Black Doom had a taco, how long would it take for Dr. Eggman to brush his teeth?

A2: That depends on if he were using a power tooth brush or not.