Recently, A Wilhelm Scream endured the sudden voluntary departure of bassist Curtiss Lopez while on their current tour with Less Than Jake. Rather than going home in search of a replacement, the band played a show that night as a four piece. Just hours later a couple of fill-in bassists were found. That's how A Wilhelm Scream roll and from the sound of it, they'll keep rolling until forces greater than them put a stop to it.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Nuno Pereira, the band's powerful vocalist at The Rave in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We touched on a little bit of everything, even the 10 inch dick requirement to fill the bass void. (ed. note: LOTS OF PICTURES BELOW!)

Popular Underground Magazine: You guys were in Chicago last night, how did that go?
Nuno Pereira: It was amazing. Chicago always is. I think because we've played there with a lot of awesome local bands. It's always a highlight.

PUM: When you guys are on the road so much, what is the key to staying healthy?
Pereira: Sleep whenever you can get it [and] you've got to eat right.

PUM: You guys just got back from Europe, how was that?
Pereira: That was awesome.

PUM: How are the fans out there compared to here? Are they like totally different?
Pereira: I don't think so. All of the shows we play, all of our fans and the kids that come out to see us a lot [have] a lot of intensity. I think the amount of kids that come out to shows in Europe is a little bit more. More so than the shows in the States, maybe because they aren't oversaturated or something. There's kind of an excitement in Europe that has been lost over the years in America.

PUM: Do you think we're oversaturated in America?
Pereira: Absolutely! Think about how many terrible fucking bands there are that are just blowing up out of nowhere.

PUM: Would you rather be the next American Idol, or would you rather be in A Wilhelm Scream?
Pereira: A Wilhelm Scream of course because it's way more fun. I've never been on American Idol, but maybe the band could be the next American Idol.

PUM: Someone should do that with just bands.
Pereira: Yeah, I wouldn't trade any of this for anything like that.

PUM: Ruiner has been out for a while now. Are you happy with the overall results and feedback?
Pereira: Absolutely. All of the tours we've been getting have progressively been getting better, the crowds are getting bigger and kids really like the album. It was perfect for us because after Mute Print we kind of made a little bit of noise and tour our asses off. It's good to know that hard work can pay off.

PUM: What sorts of things do you draw from when you set out to write a song?
Pereira: I think it could be anything. It could be a line from a book. I think that happens to anybody artistically anyway. Something in everyday life, you just see something and you make a mental picture of it and then you build on that. We're always confronted with all sorts of new places, new scenarios, new problems, fun times, bad times, whatever. You can use any one of those as your muse.

PUM: What were some of your influences growing up, or bands you really looked up to or artists for that matter?
Pereira: N.W.A., Creedence... I liked a lot of metal when I was younger. A lot of rap, a lot of hip hop and a lot of metal, until I got into punk rock and then in the 90's I got into a lot of that Fat Wreck Chords sound. Discovering the bay area sound, like Jawbreaker.

PUM: Didn't someone recently say you sounded like Jawbreaker?
Pereira: We've been compared to Crimpshrine. So anyone reading this this interview, go check out Google - "Crimpshrine" and get back to me, tell me if we sound like that or not.

PUM: What was your first impression when your bass player just up an left?
Pereira: I was stupefied and then I was just really, really, really angry. I was just really mad about the way it went down. I'm not going to harbor grudges because I'm an adult. I just wish it could have been dealt with a little bit better or not have happened at all. If it could have been diffused at some point, I wish that could have happened, but you know, shit happens.

PUM: Have you talked to him since?
Pereira: No, I haven't talked to him. I think he's gotta get back into his old life and relax and do his own thing. We'll give him all the time in the world to do that and whenever he feels comfortable calling or whatever, then I'll take his call.

PUM: It sounded like you guys just immediately moved on.
Pereira: We had to man.

PUM: I read on your website that you had a replacement bass player in a matter of a couple of hours. How did you manage that?
Pereira: We don't fuck around. We're not going to tuck tail and run back home and freak out and worry. This shit needs to get dealt with and it gets dealt with. We know enough good musicians, we have so many good friends from touring around and playing with so many amazing bands that it's just a phone call away, like, "Are you busy?" Everyone like Nick [Danger] from The Swellers and our buddy Derrick [Streibig of Affections Else / Form Follows Failure], they were ready at the drop of a hat. I'm really glad that we didn't have to go home. This is something as a band that we've never had to deal with. I'm glad it's over with, I'm glad I know that we can [find a replacement]. That first show we played as a four piece. I've never been in a four-piece band in my entire life. That was the night that Roger [from Less Than Jake] said we sounded like Jawbreaker.

PUM: People have been sending you guys a ton of E-mails wanting to audition for the band. How does that make you feel?
Pereira: Great man! This would be a great opportunity for whoever. I mean, we're most likely going to stick with someone we know just so history doesn't repeat itself. I don't think it's going to be that difficult, but it is going to be interesting.

PUM: Do you have a requirement, outside of music, to be in A Wilhelm Scream?
Pereira: A 10 inch dong. Only because I've never seen one. If your going to be in the band you better be packing.

PUM: I was looking at your touring schedule for between now and the end of the tour. You've got 17 shows to play with two nights off. To me that would be brutal. How do you deal with that?
Pereira: I think it's great that we have two days off. We normally don't have days off.

PUM: Doesn't that take like one hell of a toll on your body?
Pereira: I guess. You just get so used to it. I'm not going to compare us to athletes or anything, but to use sports as an example; when you do something a lot, you adapt.

Roger of Less Than Jake walks through the room just as Pereira is answering the question and says "jerk off." "Exactly," says Pereira, "Look at how strong Roger's right hand is, that's not from playing bass."
Pereira: Anyway, once you do it enough, your body kind of acclimates to all the shit. It's just like training kind of.

PUM: What do you do when you do have a day off?
Pereira: Relax! Eat, catch up and relax. Maybe watch TV or something, catch up on news or sports.

PUM: I bet you don't get a lot of current events.
Pereira: No, last summer we were driving through Florida when hurricane Katrina was hitting Louisiana and we just kept on our tour and all the images that everyone was seeing a day after or two days after, I had no idea. Someone was like, "You've had to see some of these photos," and I hadn't seen a television in weeks. I was like, "wow," I couldn't believe it. I did hear about the Vice President shooting someone.

PUM: Yeah, the guy had like a minor heart attack today!
Pereira: Oh, fuck off!

PUM: Yeah, I was checking my E-mails today before I came here and on the news headline it said he had a minor heart attack, he's still alive but he had a minor heart attack.
Nick Danger: Dick Cheney had a heart attack?
Pereira: No the guy he shot.
Danger: Dick Cheney shot someone?
Pereira: Dick Cheney went out hunting with his buddy or whatever and clipped him with a buckshot.
Danger: No shit?

PUM: Got him right in the face or something.
Pereira: Oh, it hit him in the face? No way!

PUM: What are some bands right now, that you guys are really into?
Pereira: Oh my God, I just got a copy of the new Lawrence Arms record and it is fucking brilliant.

PUM: You guys have been on tour with them before?
Pereira: Yeah. I'm still listening to Propagandhi a lot. Oh, The Swellers, good CD, you should check it out.

Keep in mind that one of A Wilhelm Scream's fill-in bass players, Nick Danger, is in The Swellers.
Pereira: Nick, what's your favorite songs on that CD?
Danger: Umm, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Pereira: Yeah that's right.
Danger: It's a seven song EP.
Pereira: We always listen to some crazy shit. Mostly, the new Lawrence Arms album has been in heavy rotation.

PUM: What's next for A Wilhelm Scream?
Pereira: Auditioning bass players, getting a new bass player and going back on tour. I think we're heading to Canada and then we have a couple other tours scheduled for the summer. We'll head back to Europe with Anti-flag and The Unseen. We're going to do a tour with Lawrence Arms, us, them and Lagwagon on the east coast.

PUM: If someone walks up to you and gives you $50 in cash and walks away, what would you do with it? Oh, and you can't give it back.
Pereira: Probably call up a friend, buy some weed, no because that wouldn't leave me with very much money. Call a friend, go and buy some scratch tickets, get a beer and then spend the rest on a new bag of socks. So friends, lottery, possibly drinking and socks.