I've always thought that Jim was the best part of At The Drive-In, he made a contrast, added something different than the psychedelic influence from Omar and Cedric. He is more grounded, I believe. Anyway, thanks for this interview. It is truly inspiring.
As a acquaintence/friend to Jim and one of the producers of this doc (which was made by children as part of a grant....who did amazing, IMO) I can tell you that you are 100% right. He's super down to earth. He's an avid and unabashed Billy Joel fan and pines that he could write catchy tunes like Ron Sexsmith, but his muse doesn't take him there... He's an amazing conversationalist because he doesn't think he's special, but you kinda feel he is...
Jim, You probably will never see this. But you have no idea how much your music has impacted me in my life. From being a kid in the early 00’s watching that classroom gig or the bowling alley gig blowing my mind away. Those early gigs are music history. When it was still fun. Hope everyone has a good year.
youre right; he will never see this. and even if he saw this: would anything change? are you playing the guitar? are you doing anything to turn your life around besides taking drugs? well, we all know the answer, hope you know it too... and learn from it
@@alvinhaglund5811 you're so much cooler and better than the person who wrote that to Jim. I hope what you wrote to them, makes you feel better about yourself
Jim you are such a lovely sensitive and good natured man. At the drive in isn't the same without you. Please soften things up with the members and re join. I think deep down it's upset you that you are not continue the journey with them. If you are reading this I think you are great and really hope you can rejoin them someday for at least 1 more album.
All the greatest bands had conflict. If you all agreed on what to play - you would just be a copy band of your shared favorite band. It's because of the inherent disagreement you are forced to create something new that you can all love for different reasons.
I can now feel the pain Jim had gone through when he was trying to reform the band. To him, it wasn't about the hype of the reunion or the festival spots they would land but the fact that he was playing music again with his friends.When all these ATDI spots were booked a few years ago and he wasn't even informed on the tour being booked, thats the exact thing he was so afraid of. Everyone tells him to return to ATDI but its really the rest of the band that should honestly own up to leaving Jim in the dark. You can obviously tell he wishes he was there with his friends onstage, but he knows it's not the same energy it use to have.
As someone who was present for this interview...which lasted well over 90 minutes... You can clearly see where the kids who made the doc (it was part of an educational grant to teach filmmaking to children) cut away because he asked us to. You 100% nailed it. He's not about the glamour, but rather the camraderie...
As time moves on from whenever they released that sonic turd that ruined their discography, history is only showing more and more how idiotic, petty, and ruinous the rest of atdi acted. it's one thing to kick an og member of a band out, it's another to fly the plane straight into the metaphorical ground, seemingly out of spite, cuz idk how else those dudes could have made such an awful album
I think the best part that is left out of the description is that he's being interviewed by kids. Like he's doing one of the best interviews I've seen him in and being super vulnerable to kids. That's super inspiring.
If you ever see this Jim. Just know you're a true inspiration for people like myself to getting out and playing. I do think that if you did do the new record with ATD-i it wouldn't have made you a sell out. You did exactly what you believed in and made good if not great music with your bands and yourself. You don't owe the fans or myself anything, but consider how everyone's life that you touched, or made better by your fame in ATD-i and Sparta, and how much we all learned about El paso, and learned about places like Mexico, and the concepts behind your works, what you give to them. We're all paying the price now because you didn't bite just one more bullet. I can see it that it hurts, and that is why I give that out to you. You can tell a real difference in each album you're on under that name vs the ones that you're not. You're missed and loved by your fans. Just remember, fame is one thing, but there are two ways to gain fame. Selfish and selfless. The selfish fame is paid for. We all know this. The selfless type, well, you can only have that if you're great at the things you do. Thing is, that type of fame can't be bought. That type of fame can only be earned. And there honestly isn't enough of it going around. That's why it is so important. Be careful though, With that greatness, it cannot be dispelled. It is a by product of something special. All that being said, if someone chooses to miss opportunities to make something that special, then who else will? If life is to live, then why would you let something so valuable and critical slip by? People go to amazing lengths and try their hardest only to fail at achieving something so special. Just keep it in mind. It means a lot.
oh wow I came across this interview and listened to it twice now.. I am going to archive it so I can watch it whenever I get down. This past couple weeks I have been so down and depressed. I live in Durban, South Africa and its not the greatest place to live, lots of poverty and messed up stuff, far worse than anything in America. For the last 10 years I been working as an artist and illustrator and question my existence and asking why I am doing this, why am I alive, what is my purpose, is there a future in my country for my kids etc. I really enjoyed this interview as it gave me a different perspective on this band and the thinking of going out and doing something for yourself for the right reasons has helped me lighten up. Thank you for doing the interview with him.
Jim Ward, man, you are an inspiration to us all. Keep on keeping on! Deep down inside you is a good man, a true artist. You value art. Passion before fashion or money or any thing. You don't care about the money or fame. Fuck that. You stayed TRUE to yourself and that is PUNK ROCK.
ATDI is not the same without Jim. Jim is a truly talented and awesome human being. The new ATDI album is just okay. It doesn't feel like an ATDI album. It feels like another side project from Omar and Cedric.
I always enjoy your insight and perspective, Jim. Thanks for sharing your life and your art with others. You're inspiring and it's evident you're a really great person.
Here is my two cents on what happened Jim started this band as a not so serious fun band that he could get together with his friends. However, when the album Relationship of Command came out and “One Armed Scissor” got played on MTV 2, they got noticed and it got some of band members heads/egos. Jim realized Cedric and Omar were changing due to popularity and money. Jim is over there like “stick to your roots and don’t get sucked in” and that’s what happened. The fame made it to where the band couldn’t be around each other anymore. Jim was the captain in the band and it he couldn’t keep it together.
Jim ward is such a genuinely nice dude. it was fucking sad to see him breakdown mid interview. Omar may be super talented, but he might not be a nice guy. I seen past interviews with Omar and Jim, and Omar seemed like a dick towards him. in all the interviews I've seen of Jim, his character is always the same. a nice , gentle soul. must've been hard, to be playing music with your best buds for years, reach the top and then they bail. idk. seems they could've done it another way. a way where they don't hurt their friends. one mooks opinion.
In addition to being a musical genius, he also seems like a person with deeply held good values. I think that shined through in ATDI as well and has been missing from other Omar/Cedric works.
I think its great the 4 guys are touring as ATDI. I think it would be even more awesome to see Jim Ward play some of his favourite ATDI songs - maybe just acoustically or something. All the ATDI songs have lots of ranges and levels, so different interpretations of the songs would be great to hear.
I don't get it sometimes with successful people. Okay you don't want to "sell out" or whatever but there are people who love your music and they can't do music or just like listening to yours and he is like "I don't want too many people to like our music" . I love ATDI, love Jim and I used to agree with him...when I was younger but now that I grow up and I've been to places and seen/ been through some shit I'm like "you're successful for something amazing, enjoy the ride". Again I love this guy
He obviously is still making music which is all you need if you like a musician but most keep a lot of it for himself and friends last thing I listened to of his was from 14or15 just wish he would make another sparta album but I like his thinking he doesn't want to go backwards and keep trying to please people
If it wasnt for atdi, and by extension, jim ward i never wouldve gotten into drive like jehu, sunny day real estate, Indian Summer, and rites of spring!!!
this is crazy lol i thought of questions and edited for this interview with my film class that my aunt taught (that stills goes on to this day) when i was 11. I cant believe 10k people have seen this. LIKE MY NAME IS IN THE CREDITS AHHH this is insane. And then he thought of questions to ask me for an interview when i did a video for Sparta so it came full circle haha
he talks about selflessness so i selfishly launch into that i was extremely disappointed to learn jim has no creative contribution to the new record and it shows. the record suffers for it. i don't hate the record, but when i listen it feels like omar played what would have been jim's part, and then played his own part over it or vice versa. there is less variety too like... i notice a recurring format and it is omar's guitar playing single note riffs with the overdrive and chorus on while substitute jim plays distorted chords. i get it if omar has moved on from massive pedal boards but even the guitar tones, every aspect of the output is unchanged in a disturbing percentage of parts. if ward opted out of participating i respect that and he seems to be the kind of guy who would have valid reasons. i always liked the mars volta more when at the drive in broke up, but as i've gotten older i'm always reminding myself to separate the artist from their art. jim seems like such a genuinely down-to-earth, principled, cool person in just this one interview and i can think of more than several mars volta interviews where they would just mercilessly trash talk ward, act like pompous dicks in general and it actually made me very angry, and caused a lot of cognitive dissonance for me because i was a fan. i sincerely wonder if this tour and record felt like a money grab to jim. there is a deep down part of me that feels like it is and i know it's my conscience because i don't want to believe it. either way he seems to have the way to live his life the way it feels good to him works out so. keep on keeping' on brother.
I actually saw At The Drive In about 2 weeks ago and it was an amazing performance. But I do agree, in a lot of interviews Omar and Cedric both come across like teenage girls trash talking someone they don't like anymore, whereas this is the only interview I've seen of Jim and he comes across immensely sincere. It's a bit of a shame, but again Omar and Cedric were widely known for their drug use and I can't imagine the bad situations brought about from that, even just being around them. Their attitudes even affected the Mars Volta because there's a video where Cedric apologizes for not treating Jon Theodore fairly causing him to leave that band. Overall, like Jim said, I'm very happy that both bands existed and that everyone was lucky to have experienced their music, so I guess at this point you just have to be thankful. And I agree, the new record just didn't do it for me, and I felt it at the show as their new stuff got milder reactions compared to older songs, but that might just have been the nostalgia.
The original source of this is a short documentary series created by Femme Frontera founder Angie Tures. We put together a series of workshops where we taught documentary filmmaking to children in Segundo Barrio and the kids picked their subjects and made their films. (That's why Jim says, "Make a good documentary for your age group." He's referencing all the kids doing the interview and behind the camera/on set. ha ha ha)
I feel like some of the guys in at the drive in really treat thelis guy like shit. like remembered something bad and started crying. I guess they didn't have his back. he probably got jumped and they didn't do nothing about it or something. He got bullied in the band or what? what's the truth about it?
I'm glad ATDI broke up because it gave birth to The Mars Volta who became very significant in my life growing up and a major influence to my creativity. While I'm definitely more aligned to the TMV style of music and never got into Sparta, I feel sad that they couldn't collectively figure out a solution where they could do an album together with the original line up. It also makes me wonder who is really in the right and who is wrong. Jim is obviously very sincere in his feelings about the band, but you've got the 2 guys from TMV side of the divide willing to make it work, 2 of the 3 Sparta guys also, so it puts that spotlight on Jim. The others could let the hard feelings and the past go in the interest of the band, but it seems like he couldn't.
Why didn't ATDI do what Fugazi did? Start your own label, produce/release your own records, do as much or as little as you want; without major label contracts. That is how you survive. Why didn't they do that?...oh yeah, because some certain people are greedy and wanted to be big shots.
Vulpes Vulpes Yeah and TMV was the definition of a real band? Dictatorship: Omar and Cedric telling everyone what to play and when to play it. Sounds like a fun band to be in. No wonder they went through so many band members.
@@jgabora To be fair The Mars Volta was amazing. Some projects work well with more leading figures in the writing process. That being said though, I feel like Omar and Cedric have let their time in Volta go to their heads as it seems like the last atdi album was just them trying to dictate the sound of the music. What made atdi awesome was how all the different pieces fit together when allowed to do their own thing.
Wow, Jim Ward use to be looked at as the weakest link in the band...now everyone thinks he's the missing link? I mean, I love the guy as well...but what the hell? When did everyone do a 180? 😕
Cus through the years we seen what happened. Omar and Cedric were hyped and def appreciated but Jim wasn't the main focus. Now I can see he really did bring a lot of grounding to the band and with Omar and Cedric (mostly Omar with Cedric backing him or following his music lead) the last record showed what a Jim less Atdi would sound like. Also the other 2 members were so anxious to be back they prob just went along with Omar and Cedric again lol. Even though Omar says he wants others to take the lead the truth is back in 2,000 it was Omar and Cedric influence with Jim Paul tony as the other half and when both those halves met together the songs just jelled better even though there was a lot of conflict in getting it created. Omar needs ground to shoot off from to create the highs he does. He's not great at creating what old atdi gave him and even in Mars Volta after Jeremy ward died and Jon theo left his work suffered after Amputechture. (Amp was great but nothing close to his France's,Deloused, Tremulant.) Omar needs a Ward to side with/off from and Cedric needs that combo to get inspired from and obviously Paul and tony added in there own. Amazing what one member can do huh? Omar work was and is stellar but he burned out a lot and doesn't balance very well if he takes too much of the reigns.
I've never heard of this. Jim was the leading songwriter since the beginning of the band and Omar was just a late added piece. He brought his style of course but it was always obvious Jim was the main contributor. And it's even more obvious with the last record being just another Omar/Cedric samba punk rock or whatever side project.
I've literally never heard anyone say Jim was the weakest link in the group. I've always seen him as another figurehead of the band in the way he was outspoken and his presence live and in the music. He's obviously a huge part of what made the original atdi work and now that he's not there it's just an average band.
My ATDI includes Jim Ward
Same here
I've always thought that Jim was the best part of At The Drive-In, he made a contrast, added something different than the psychedelic influence from Omar and Cedric. He is more grounded, I believe.
Anyway, thanks for this interview. It is truly inspiring.
Camilo Arias well said.
totally agree man...he was the element that kept it a punk band.
As a acquaintence/friend to Jim and one of the producers of this doc (which was made by children as part of a grant....who did amazing, IMO) I can tell you that you are 100% right. He's super down to earth. He's an avid and unabashed Billy Joel fan and pines that he could write catchy tunes like Ron Sexsmith, but his muse doesn't take him there...
He's an amazing conversationalist because he doesn't think he's special, but you kinda feel he is...
he souldve been a writer ...fuck "punk rock"
@@alvinhaglund5811He is a writer lol
Jim,
You probably will never see this. But you have no idea how much your music has impacted me in my life. From being a kid in the early 00’s watching that classroom gig or the bowling alley gig blowing my mind away. Those early gigs are music history. When it was still fun. Hope everyone has a good year.
youre right; he will never see this. and even if he saw this: would anything change? are you playing the guitar? are you doing anything to turn your life around besides taking drugs? well, we all know the answer, hope you know it too... and learn from it
@@alvinhaglund5811 you're so much cooler and better than the person who wrote that to Jim. I hope what you wrote to them, makes you feel better about yourself
@@nogrecords take your meds
Jim you are such a lovely sensitive and good natured man. At the drive in isn't the same without you. Please soften things up with the members and re join. I think deep down it's upset you that you are not continue the journey with them. If you are reading this I think you are great and really hope you can rejoin them someday for at least 1 more album.
All the greatest bands had conflict. If you all agreed on what to play - you would just be a copy band of your shared favorite band. It's because of the inherent disagreement you are forced to create something new that you can all love for different reasons.
Its just like with a romantic relationship. Opposites will attract, but unfortunately if you cant meet in the middle...it wont last
I can now feel the pain Jim had gone through when he was trying to reform the band. To him, it wasn't about the hype of the reunion or the festival spots they would land but the fact that he was playing music again with his friends.When all these ATDI spots were booked a few years ago and he wasn't even informed on the tour being booked, thats the exact thing he was so afraid of. Everyone tells him to return to ATDI but its really the rest of the band that should honestly own up to leaving Jim in the dark. You can obviously tell he wishes he was there with his friends onstage, but he knows it's not the same energy it use to have.
As someone who was present for this interview...which lasted well over 90 minutes...
You can clearly see where the kids who made the doc (it was part of an educational grant to teach filmmaking to children) cut away because he asked us to. You 100% nailed it. He's not about the glamour, but rather the camraderie...
As time moves on from whenever they released that sonic turd that ruined their discography, history is only showing more and more how idiotic, petty, and ruinous the rest of atdi acted. it's one thing to kick an og member of a band out, it's another to fly the plane straight into the metaphorical ground, seemingly out of spite, cuz idk how else those dudes could have made such an awful album
The best guy in ATDI and a true artist!
Life is to live, Jim! It really is!
I agree 100% with you.
ehhh...
I think the best part that is left out of the description is that he's being interviewed by kids. Like he's doing one of the best interviews I've seen him in and being super vulnerable to kids. That's super inspiring.
how did you know this?
If you ever see this Jim. Just know you're a true inspiration for people like myself to getting out and playing. I do think that if you did do the new record with ATD-i it wouldn't have made you a sell out. You did exactly what you believed in and made good if not great music with your bands and yourself. You don't owe the fans or myself anything, but consider how everyone's life that you touched, or made better by your fame in ATD-i and Sparta, and how much we all learned about El paso, and learned about places like Mexico, and the concepts behind your works, what you give to them. We're all paying the price now because you didn't bite just one more bullet. I can see it that it hurts, and that is why I give that out to you. You can tell a real difference in each album you're on under that name vs the ones that you're not. You're missed and loved by your fans. Just remember, fame is one thing, but there are two ways to gain fame. Selfish and selfless. The selfish fame is paid for. We all know this. The selfless type, well, you can only have that if you're great at the things you do. Thing is, that type of fame can't be bought. That type of fame can only be earned. And there honestly isn't enough of it going around. That's why it is so important. Be careful though, With that greatness, it cannot be dispelled. It is a by product of something special. All that being said, if someone chooses to miss opportunities to make something that special, then who else will? If life is to live, then why would you let something so valuable and critical slip by? People go to amazing lengths and try their hardest only to fail at achieving something so special. Just keep it in mind. It means a lot.
quit the drugs, buddy
oh wow I came across this interview and listened to it twice now.. I am going to archive it so I can watch it whenever I get down. This past couple weeks I have been so down and depressed. I live in Durban, South Africa and its not the greatest place to live, lots of poverty and messed up stuff, far worse than anything in America. For the last 10 years I been working as an artist and illustrator and question my existence and asking why I am doing this, why am I alive, what is my purpose, is there a future in my country for my kids etc. I really enjoyed this interview as it gave me a different perspective on this band and the thinking of going out and doing something for yourself for the right reasons has helped me lighten up. Thank you for doing the interview with him.
Jim Ward, man, you are an inspiration to us all. Keep on keeping on! Deep down inside you is a good man, a true artist. You value art. Passion before fashion or money or any thing. You don't care about the money or fame. Fuck that. You stayed TRUE to yourself and that is PUNK ROCK.
Thank you so much for living and sharing.
Listened to ATDI and still do to this day, but I’ll always be a Sparta fanatic
pppppplllllleeeeeeaaaaaasssssseeeee Jim bring back your genius.... I dig you so hard... my best for you from Phnx, Az
Thank you Jim! Life has ups and downs and right now I am in a turning point in my life. Very cool.
A true inspiration for an individual's art and expression. Jim is truly a hero; respect always my friend!
ATDI is not the same without Jim. Jim is a truly talented and awesome human being. The new ATDI album is just okay. It doesn't feel like an ATDI album. It feels like another side project from Omar and Cedric.
love these kind of interviews. Thanks
I always enjoy your insight and perspective, Jim. Thanks for sharing your life and your art with others. You're inspiring and it's evident you're a really great person.
Absolutely well said! I love it.
Seems like a genuine guy
He's the best. I can personally attest to that. He's as sweet and supportive and kind....
Just a really, really cool guy.
Jim is the man
Jim Ward is a legend
Blasphemous that at the drive-in continued without Jim.
I agree
Here is my two cents on what happened
Jim started this band as a not so serious fun band that he could get together with his friends. However, when the album Relationship of Command came out and “One Armed Scissor” got played on MTV 2, they got noticed and it got some of band members heads/egos. Jim realized Cedric and Omar were changing due to popularity and money. Jim is over there like “stick to your roots and don’t get sucked in” and that’s what happened. The fame made it to where the band couldn’t be around each other anymore. Jim was the captain in the band and it he couldn’t keep it together.
Jim ward is such a genuinely nice dude. it was fucking sad to see him breakdown mid interview. Omar may be super talented, but he might not be a nice guy. I seen past interviews with Omar and Jim, and Omar seemed like a dick towards him. in all the interviews I've seen of Jim, his character is always the same. a nice , gentle soul. must've been hard, to be playing music with your best buds for years, reach the top and then they bail. idk. seems they could've done it another way. a way where they don't hurt their friends. one mooks opinion.
In addition to being a musical genius, he also seems like a person with deeply held good values. I think that shined through in ATDI as well and has been missing from other Omar/Cedric works.
I think its great the 4 guys are touring as ATDI. I think it would be even more awesome to see Jim Ward play some of his favourite ATDI songs - maybe just acoustically or something. All the ATDI songs have lots of ranges and levels, so different interpretations of the songs would be great to hear.
we love you jim
Possibly the most beautiful interview I’ve ever heard of any artist. That title is godawful tho I’m sorry. This video should have millions of views.
I don't get it sometimes with successful people. Okay you don't want to "sell out" or whatever but there are people who love your music and they can't do music or just like listening to yours and he is like "I don't want too many people to like our music" . I love ATDI, love Jim and I used to agree with him...when I was younger but now that I grow up and I've been to places and seen/ been through some shit I'm like "you're successful for something amazing, enjoy the ride". Again I love this guy
He obviously is still making music which is all you need if you like a musician but most keep a lot of it for himself and friends last thing I listened to of his was from 14or15 just wish he would make another sparta album but I like his thinking he doesn't want to go backwards and keep trying to please people
I think he might be working on a new Sparta album. Sparta just released a new single last month called “cat scream”. Awesome song! Check it out
you're great jim:)!
omg Jim crying
this guy is smart
wow
Jim Ward is the man. Thanks for this cool interview, is it part of a bigger piece or something?
Does anyone have the full story on why they didn't move forward with Jim this time?
If it wasnt for atdi, and by extension, jim ward i never wouldve gotten into drive like jehu, sunny day real estate, Indian Summer, and rites of spring!!!
Seems like a good dude. Seen some Cedric and Omar interviews... yeeep hahah
this is crazy lol i thought of questions and edited for this interview with my film class that my aunt taught (that stills goes on to this day) when i was 11. I cant believe 10k people have seen this. LIKE MY NAME IS IN THE CREDITS AHHH this is insane. And then he thought of questions to ask me for an interview when i did a video for Sparta so it came full circle haha
i also miss tricky falls gahhh daaamm
Heyo!!!!!!!
This was a fun thing to work on!!!! Glad you can still feel proud of it.
he talks about selflessness so i selfishly launch into that i was extremely disappointed to learn jim has no creative contribution to the new record and it shows. the record suffers for it. i don't hate the record, but when i listen it feels like omar played what would have been jim's part, and then played his own part over it or vice versa. there is less variety too like... i notice a recurring format and it is omar's guitar playing single note riffs with the overdrive and chorus on while substitute jim plays distorted chords. i get it if omar has moved on from massive pedal boards but even the guitar tones, every aspect of the output is unchanged in a disturbing percentage of parts. if ward opted out of participating i respect that and he seems to be the kind of guy who would have valid reasons. i always liked the mars volta more when at the drive in broke up, but as i've gotten older i'm always reminding myself to separate the artist from their art. jim seems like such a genuinely down-to-earth, principled, cool person in just this one interview and i can think of more than several mars volta interviews where they would just mercilessly trash talk ward, act like pompous dicks in general and it actually made me very angry, and caused a lot of cognitive dissonance for me because i was a fan. i sincerely wonder if this tour and record felt like a money grab to jim. there is a deep down part of me that feels like it is and i know it's my conscience because i don't want to believe it. either way he seems to have the way to live his life the way it feels good to him works out so. keep on keeping' on brother.
I actually saw At The Drive In about 2 weeks ago and it was an amazing performance. But I do agree, in a lot of interviews Omar and Cedric both come across like teenage girls trash talking someone they don't like anymore, whereas this is the only interview I've seen of Jim and he comes across immensely sincere. It's a bit of a shame, but again Omar and Cedric were widely known for their drug use and I can't imagine the bad situations brought about from that, even just being around them. Their attitudes even affected the Mars Volta because there's a video where Cedric apologizes for not treating Jon Theodore fairly causing him to leave that band. Overall, like Jim said, I'm very happy that both bands existed and that everyone was lucky to have experienced their music, so I guess at this point you just have to be thankful. And I agree, the new record just didn't do it for me, and I felt it at the show as their new stuff got milder reactions compared to older songs, but that might just have been the nostalgia.
Jim brought the most emotion to the music, which clearly shows from how Sparta differs from Mars Volta and the new ATDI songs.
What's the original source of this?
The original source of this is a short documentary series created by Femme Frontera founder Angie Tures. We put together a series of workshops where we taught documentary filmmaking to children in Segundo Barrio and the kids picked their subjects and made their films.
(That's why Jim says, "Make a good documentary for your age group."
He's referencing all the kids doing the interview and behind the camera/on set. ha ha ha)
I feel like some of the guys in at the drive in really treat thelis guy like shit. like remembered something bad and started crying. I guess they didn't have his back. he probably got jumped and they didn't do nothing about it or something. He got bullied in the band or what? what's the truth about it?
Well, Cedric and Omar were real dickheads about Jim during TMV era.
I'm glad ATDI broke up because it gave birth to The Mars Volta who became very significant in my life growing up and a major influence to my creativity. While I'm definitely more aligned to the TMV style of music and never got into Sparta, I feel sad that they couldn't collectively figure out a solution where they could do an album together with the original line up. It also makes me wonder who is really in the right and who is wrong. Jim is obviously very sincere in his feelings about the band, but you've got the 2 guys from TMV side of the divide willing to make it work, 2 of the 3 Sparta guys also, so it puts that spotlight on Jim. The others could let the hard feelings and the past go in the interest of the band, but it seems like he couldn't.
Why didn't ATDI do what Fugazi did? Start your own label, produce/release your own records, do as much or as little as you want; without major label contracts. That is how you survive. Why didn't they do that?...oh yeah, because some certain people are greedy and wanted to be big shots.
Or want it to do a different and kick ass project like The Mars Volta for a lot of people to enjoy.
Vulpes Vulpes
Yeah and TMV was the definition of a real band? Dictatorship: Omar and Cedric telling everyone what to play and when to play it. Sounds like a fun band to be in. No wonder they went through so many band members.
@@jgabora It was obvious the real dictator was Omar. And he did the same in ATDI with the new album.
@@jgabora To be fair The Mars Volta was amazing. Some projects work well with more leading figures in the writing process. That being said though, I feel like Omar and Cedric have let their time in Volta go to their heads as it seems like the last atdi album was just them trying to dictate the sound of the music. What made atdi awesome was how all the different pieces fit together when allowed to do their own thing.
Wow, Jim Ward use to be looked at as the weakest link in the band...now everyone thinks he's the missing link?
I mean, I love the guy as well...but what the hell? When did everyone do a 180? 😕
Oliver Kalamata probably because the new album didn't meet people's expectations, though who knows if he would be made the difference.
Cus through the years we seen what happened. Omar and Cedric were hyped and def appreciated but Jim wasn't the main focus. Now I can see he really did bring a lot of grounding to the band and with Omar and Cedric (mostly Omar with Cedric backing him or following his music lead) the last record showed what a Jim less Atdi would sound like. Also the other 2 members were so anxious to be back they prob just went along with Omar and Cedric again lol. Even though Omar says he wants others to take the lead the truth is back in 2,000 it was Omar and Cedric influence with Jim Paul tony as the other half and when both those halves met together the songs just jelled better even though there was a lot of conflict in getting it created. Omar needs ground to shoot off from to create the highs he does. He's not great at creating what old atdi gave him and even in Mars Volta after Jeremy ward died and Jon theo left his work suffered after Amputechture. (Amp was great but nothing close to his France's,Deloused, Tremulant.) Omar needs a Ward to side with/off from and Cedric needs that combo to get inspired from and obviously Paul and tony added in there own. Amazing what one member can do huh? Omar work was and is stellar but he burned out a lot and doesn't balance very well if he takes too much of the reigns.
Oh Okay ultimately though, it'll just never sound the same again. Too much time has passed. But that's okay,
I've never heard of this. Jim was the leading songwriter since the beginning of the band and Omar was just a late added piece. He brought his style of course but it was always obvious Jim was the main contributor. And it's even more obvious with the last record being just another Omar/Cedric samba punk rock or whatever side project.
I've literally never heard anyone say Jim was the weakest link in the group. I've always seen him as another figurehead of the band in the way he was outspoken and his presence live and in the music. He's obviously a huge part of what made the original atdi work and now that he's not there it's just an average band.