ACL Music Fest Friday Interview

The Sword

5pm, Zync Card stage

Sent from Trivett Wingo via BlackBerry from T-Mobile: "I would love to do an interview, but am in Australia at about $2 a minute right now."

Including its 2006 debut, Age of Winters, the Sword has penned a Tolkien-worthy trilogy of Zeppelin-esque metallurgy. The local quartet's new, third album, Warp Riders (Kemado), swings that old-school mojo like an iron mace. Here's the e-mail exchange that ultimately transpired with Wingo, Sword drummer and bottom-line man.

Austin Chronicle: What defines contemporary from classic metal, and how does the Sword fit between the two?

Trivett Wingo: I think contemporary metal has lost touch with the idea of heavy metal being a type of rock and roll. The Sword is a metal band and also a rock band. That's what I think is truly classic.

AC: Is Austin a tough market for metal?

TW: I think Austin is an easy market for metal. Anything goes here and a lot of classic bands that only play four or five markets in the whole U.S. manage to fit Austin in there.

AC: What are you looking forward to about playing the Austin City Limits Festival?

TW: A) being in Austin, B) getting to go home after the show and take a shower at my own house, C) getting to play a lot of Warp Riders tracks for a monster audience.

AC: What's happening on your current tour down under?

TW: It's your typical Metallica concert. I was in it the other night and couldn't remember where I was for a second, but that's just me.

AC: What's most different about being there?

TW: Sushi is cheap.