Interview: Circa Survive Celebrates Ten Years Back Home In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Before a blistering set celebrating the tenth anniversary of their debut album Juturna, singer Anthony Green sits in a bus behind the Electric Factory remembering the band's first show.
"When we first put this album out, we had never played any of these songs live" recalls Green. "My parents were at that show, I was so excited and I didn't know how to move on stage at all. I didn't know how to move to the music. I wasn't able to totally free myself. I just remember being really nervous, a lot."
The Doylestown band has gotten the hang of it over ten years as they charged through their debut once again, cut by cut to a sold out crowd Friday night in Philadelphia for a special celebration of the album. The frenzied aggressive explosion of Circa Survive is marked with exclamation of Anthony Green's tenor and it has stimulated an equally passionate group of fans in the city Green considers home.
Casually as he talks about the band's beginnings before the show - a flash of inspiration that caused him to get off a flight to Los Angeles and return to PA to start Circa Survive - one such fan peers through the window of the bus in an attempt to get Green's attention. It's a common occurrence for Green as the fervent group is wrapped around the building for another show. "Philadelphia has the greatest fans, whether it's sports or music. They're also the craziest fans" laughs Green.
It's a rabid devotion to music that Green has experienced first-hand from both sides of the stage. "That's one of the reasons why it's such a magical experience playing in this city" he explains. "You know I saw Tool play Electric Factory. I was like fifteen. I saw the Foo Fighters play here. So coming back and playing in a place where so much of my childhood was spent watching, being inspired by music and then playing for a crowd that is insatiable - you know just completely in love with music and ready to go crazy - there's nothing that feels better than that."
"I'm proud to be from here. We go all over the place and whenever anybody asks me where I'm from and I say I'm from Philadelphia" Green says with a grin. "Sometimes people will be like ooh Philly - like it's a rough place or something - but it's just beautiful here and the people take care of each other here. We definitely get a little crazy about the Eagles and the Phillies, and people get passionate, and I would way rather come from a place where people are overwhelmed with passion."
To hear more from Anthony Green of Circa Survive, listen to the full interview below or check out the video here.
