By: Chris | Published: August 23rd, 2009

Rock-Access: This is the final night of your latest tour with Saliva, how have the shows been so far?

Rick DeJesus: The shows with Saliva have been great! The guys have been great and the crowds have been responding well to us! There have been a couple places that we showed that have been kind of crazy. We did a show in Daytona Beach, FL and walked into our dressing room and there were strippers and chiropractors. Who doesn’t love that? Getting your back cracked while staring at a naked girl! [laugh]

RA: Despite less than great album sales, Saliva has managed to remain on a major label. Have they revealed their secret to making it on a major label to you guys?

Chris Iorio: Just hard work! We were talking to Josey and earlier in their career they were sleeping in cattle trucks. Just crazy stuff! The thing they talked to us about is just keep working and striving hard. We’re still van-and-tralier’n it!

RD: I think everybody starts with nothing you know? The bands that come out and sell a million records in a month go away fast. You need to start from the ground up and build a base. You need to play the clubs, meet the people and slowly have a single at radio that has legs that really hangs around. We want to be musicians for a long time not ones that come and go. I think that’s the key – hard work and a solid fan base.

RA: Just about every record label out there was after Adelitas Way … What made you decide on Virgin Records?

RD: Just about every label turned us down first too!

CI: Virgin was the first label to believe in us. Our A&R guy came and saw us when we were sleeping in a van in LA. They were the first label that you know, didn’t want to change us and believed in what we were trying to do. In the end we thought that Virgin was the best one.

RD: Everyone else comes around after the fact. We played acoustic for every major label and turned down by everyone. One kicked us out of their offices!

CI: Once Virgin got interested then they all came back!

RD: Yeah, they all came back and we had nine contracts offered to us.

RA: If I remember right you originally had a deal with Interscope, what happened with that?

RD: F**k Interscope! They tried to ruin us!

CI: They shelved us for six months!

RD: They didn’t have our best interests in tact. I’m glad we didn’t sign with them.

RA: The album has been in stores for about a month now. How has the response been so far?

RD: The response has been great! We worked really hard on the record and our personal experiences are on it. We worked long hours and lived like shit in the studio. The records selling and we’re going to hit double digits in a couple weeks.

RA: How has the partnership with WWE helped you out?

RD: They’ve been great to us!

CI: They’re awesome! We started out with the Superstars theme, “Invincible”, and every since they’ve had us recording theme songs. Right now we have theme song for Legacy. They bring us to events… they’re awesome!

RA: How did working with Johnny K differ from Brian Howes or Skidd Mills?

RD: Johnny just let us do what we wanted. Brian and Skidd were great, but Johnny let us make a rock record and do our thing. We didn’t make a Johnny K record, we made an Adelitas Way record with Johnny K.

RA: How did those guys influence the band’s sound?

RD: Brian taught me a lot about song writing. How to really pour your emotion into a song and how to get the performance out of it. I learned a lot from Brian.

CI: The cool thing about Johnny is that he works with the artist. He heard some of our demo’s and took what we were going for and put it on the CD. It was awesome working with him.

Keith and Derek weren’t around for the writing process, what do they bring to Adelitas Way that maybe wasn’t there before?

RD: I really feel like we’re going to have a strong second record as well. Unfortunately we met these guys after the long writing process. We’ve had a chance to hang out and jam a little bit, and that just makes for the next record to be even better. Chris and I learned a lot with writing on this record and we’re growing and obviously with the addition of Keith who is a phenomenal song writer. He’s going to take me to different places vocally and lyrically. It really excites me.

RA: Which track from the album do you feel best describes Adelitas Way and which one usually gets the best response?

RD: I think we all have different answers for this. I want to first and foremost establish us as a rock band so I like tracks like “Scream” and “Invincible”, but I also think we could have some mainstream appeal with “Last Stand” and “Closer to You”. The most personal song for me is “Brother”. It’s really really heart felt and it’s a true song. I can’t turn away from songs like “Closer to You” that I feel will break us.

CI: We just wanted to make a well rounded record with songs that appeal to everyone.

RD: Keith loves “Scream”.

Keith Wallen: Yeah, just because we open with it so we come out of the gate with it!

CI: Another one is “Dirty Little Thing”.

RD: That’s for all the girls out there.

RA: Of the tours you have done in the past and the ones with Hurt and Shinedown coming up which have you anticipated the most?

RD: Chevelle

CI: Chevelle was awesome!

RD: By far anticipated the most and the best tour. Obviously 10 Years. We’re such good friends with those guys. They took us in and treated us great.

CI: They were the first band that brought us out. They’re like brothers to us.

RD: We learned a lot from them. We learned how to be a touring band from them.

RA: Which city has been the best so far?

CI: Depends on the tour!

RD: I love so many cities!

CI: Knoxville and Texas. Knoxville, TN has been consistent. Every time we’ve played there has been great.

KW: Knoxville and Vegas!

CI: There are a couple cities that would surprise you though, like Augusta, GA.

RA: Which band would you want to tour with the most?

CI: We’re going out with them for me, Shinedown!

KW: Metallica

RD: Alice in Chains. We’re actually trying to get on that one!

RA: You have the whole label-mate thing going there!

RD: Exactly!

RA: That’s all I have, anything you’d like to throw in?

RD: Yeah, we’re just looking forward to going out and meeting all the fans and making a name for ourselves!

KW: Adelitas Way – Coming to a city near you!

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Adelitas Way’s self-titled debut album is available in stores and at digital outlets now. For more information and upcoming tour dates visit MySpace.