Vendetta Red is taking the rock world by storm, creating a whirlwind of press with their brand of screaming emo rock, infused with chaotic lyrics and song structure that switches from moody melody to roaring hardcore. Their video for “Shatterday” is on MTV, and their latest record Between The Never And The Now” is shredding the college rock charts. Life In A Bungalo caught up with lead singer Zack Davidson as he was roaming around backstage at the Warped Tour sporting nothing but boxer shorts and a pair of flip-flops. Nevertheless, he reeked of rock n’ roll.

A few months ago you guys opened up for AC/DC at their free Roseland Ballroom show in NYC. How did you land that gig?
They had just recently signed to Epic, and the label decided to do a label showcase show to celebrate. The president of the label asked us to open. When that happens, you don’t say no. We also got the chance to meet AC/DC on the plane back, and they were really cool.

The crowd at the show wasn’t quite as pleasant to you guys. But you never let it get to you, and you heckled right back. How was that?
When you are the opening band for AC/DC they hate you. Before we even played a note, before I even got on stage, they were screaming “faggots.” We had a blast though. We just gayed it up, and pissed them off even more.

Can you give a little info on the band?
This is our third album. We’ve been together for five years. We’re from Seattle. We have two albums that are out of print, but hopefully we’ll be able to remedy that in the next year. They’re locked up right now. The guy who put out the first one is suing us. It’s stupid.

How did you get signed to Epic?
We were just touring the West Coast, attracting a lot of people, and labels just started showing interest.

You guys blend so many styles into one genre. Is it something you try to do, or is it something that just comes out of jamming and playing together?
We have multifaceted personalities as people, and as musicians. We have a lot of different influences that are from different parts of our souls. I’m really into old pop and Motown. I don’t make any distinctions between music other then if it’s good or bad, and I always wanted my band to be that kind of band. If a band wrote a song that was amazing but it wasn’t “their style” and they wouldn’t play it. That’s bullshit. That’s selling yourself short, and we’re not going to cut our own nuts off. If somebody in the band writes a song that is a certain way and it’s awesome—we are going to play it. And if I write a song and it goes a completely different way—we are going to play it, because all we care about is good music.

But there is a soundscape to your music that ties everything together. How do you write something like that?
Sometimes, it’s very important to pay attention to tempos and the keys that your songs are in. For example, I’ll have a whole song, Erik [Chapman, guitar] will have what he thinks is a whole song, and we will just put them together, even if it is filled with strange chords. Sometimes it just works.

Your new single “Shatterday” is getting a lot of play. It’s on all the time. The song is fantastic, but it ends too quickly… after only like two short verses and three repeating choruses. Why did you choose to make your catchiest song so short when all your other tunes are pretty long and involved?
Anything more would have been self-indulgent. It gets the job done in two minutes and forty seconds. Some songs don’t get the job done for six minutes, and that’s just the way it is. You can’t stretch it or cut it. It’s just there. Leave it alone man… let it breathe.

You have a few songs on the new album where you just scream your head off. I had a friend comment to me the other day that you sound really angry. Are you angry?
I’m not angry. Sometimes I just feel that there are things I need to spit out that should be spat in a very volatile manner. I don’t believe that saying fuck you to someone in a passive manner has any affect. But if you say “Fuck You!” that has an affect. Some words need to be screamed, especially since we play around with words a whole lot, and try to fully utilize the intriguing and endearing English language. I try to fuck with huge words and make them flow, and sometimes the impact just gets across when I scream it.

Did the album come out while you were on the Warped Tour, and have you seen a change in reaction from the crowd as the album continues to grow?
Yeah, it came out while were on the tour, and the crowd has definitely started to show more support. We’ve been a band for so long that this is the first time I’ve noticed a significant jump in the growth of our fan-base and it’s really exciting. I really want to nurture these kids and make them proud.

Vendetta Red will be heading back on the road with Dashboard Confessional, Brand New and MXPX on Sept 2. What’s it going to be like playing out with bands that have such a different style than yours?
I love it. No problem. All those kids like all those bands. Some people who like music figure that everyone is one-dimensional. If you are fan of new metal, you don’t only have to like new metal. You can like hardcore and punk and weird bands like us. It’s all good music. That’s all it is—just good music.