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Strongville's hard rockin'
hometown boys, Switched are ready to take their powerful live show
out from the Ohio suburb and all across the U.S. as they join Ozzy
and his mighty Ozzfest 2002 on the 2nd stage this summer from August
10th through September 8th. Switched; (Chad Szeliga; Joe Schigel;
Ben Schigel; Jason French and Brad Kochmit); are riding high off their
Immortal/Virgin debut, Subject to Change and have been earning kudos
from fans and critics alike with their blend of ferocious rhythms,
fierce energy and solid lyrics. "Inside" The first single from Subject
to Change has been re-recorded and remixed by head banging super producer,
Howard Benson (P.O.D., Reveille, Cold) and it has been denting American
airwaves on Alternative/Rock radio from coast to coast. I recently
caught up with singer, Ben Schigel and we spoke candidly about their
debut album, growing up in a town called Strongville, pissed off love
songs and his anger towards stupid people.
You guys actually come from a town called Strongville?
How cool is that?
BEN: (Laughs) Yeah, you'd think we should've
been a hard core band or something..
Well, what kind of place is Strongville and what was it like growing
up there?
BEN: It's just like 15 minutes out of downtown
Cleveland and it's not too far from the city.. It's kinda like a normal
nice neighborhood and it was really cool growing up there and I have
a lot of cool friends there. A lot of bands did come out of there..
Chimaira came out of there too..
..Oh yeah? And is Chimaira from Strongville too?
BEN: Yeah, man.. They lived down the street.
I've known those guys since 4th grade.
Man, so that Strongville, Ohio metal scene is rocking..
BEN: Yeah, it's pretty good and it's starting
to pick up even more.
Tell me about your debut album, Subject to Change.
BEN: It has a lot of melody and a lot of good
tunes mixed with raw, intense energy.. Real heavy energy, ya know.
It's a real combination of the both.
 You
seem to have a ton of bottled up aggression coming out through your
music. Where does all that angst and anger stem from?
BEN: Well, I would say that I get along with
people really well, but something I just feel like I'm not really
in touch with people. I like to talk about smart things and have intelligent
conversations and stuff, and I just don't find too many people like
that in the world. I just get so pissed off because I feel like I'm
the only one out there and it just makes me look down on life sometimes.
Most people, are just so dumb, man.. I mean, sometimes I'm happy with
what's going on, but it's kinda like a mixed state..
Is it those feelings that inspired the track "Inside?"
BEN: No.. That was written about a girl who
a couple of years ago pissed me off.. I don't think I was really trying
to write about her at the time but, that was what I was dealing with
at the time and that's what ended up coming out. It's like a pissed
off love song. (Laughs)
(Laughs) We all have those.. How is your "pissed off love songs" different
from all the rest?
BEN: Well, there's only so much you can do with heavy music as far
keeping it heavy, ya know.. But, a lot of people always come up to
us and say that our harmonies are dope and we have wicked melodies.
I like to try and get peoples hair to stand up on their arms..
What has been the hardest thing to deal with since you've gotten signed
and everything?
BEN: Man, when we go on tour.. We're not too
young, we're like middle 20's and stuff, but people just look at us
likeā?¦ See, we're decent looking guys and some people think we're
a bunch of pretty boys and stuff.. I mean, it's not like we haven't
been around, I've been playing music for years and years and I think
that once they see us play they realize that and they respect us a
lot more..
So sometimes your appearance works against you?
BEN: Yeah, and it's not like we aim for that..
Lately I've been going out there live and just focusing on the music
and not really giving a shit about what I look like. I want to get
back to our roots, because what we're all about is just writing good
songs, man.
What is the main focus of the band right now?
BEN: Giving people a good time.. As long as
people have a good time then I'm happy and that's my main focus.
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