Animals as Leaders were recently on tour supporting Veil of Maya, along with Circle of Contempt, and Periphery.  I got a chance to talk with the great Tosin Abasi, and you might be surprised on what he was to say.

Tanner Fisher: I’m here with Tosin Abasi, the mastermind behind Animals as Leaders.  Tosin, your guitarwork is phenomenal.  How long have you been playing for?

TA: I’ve been playing for fifteen years.

TF: Have you thought about giving guitar lessons?

TA: Yeah actually, after I attended school, I was professionally giving guitar lessons.  It’s kind of taxing, but I enjoy teaching. 

TF: Now Prosthetic Records approached you to do a project like this before, but you turned it down.  What made you change your mind and start Animals as Leaders?

TA: I changed my mind, because my old band, Reflux, broke up.  I went to school for music, and after we split up, I didn’t really have an outlet for the new musical ideas I had, so this project made a lot more sense now that I wasn’t in a band. 

TF: I know a little ways back, you were a touring guitarist for the band Born of Osiris.  Was there ever a point where you thought you were going to become a permanent member?

TA: Yeah, that became the intention.  I was initially asked to do Summer Slaughter with them, and then everyone wanted me to join.  They’re all really cool guys.  I guess why I didn’t join the band is because they already have great songwriters already, and their sound is really determined by Cameron [Losch, drums] and Lee [McKinney, guitar], so I didn’t feel like they needed me.

TF: Speaking of your time with Born of Osiris, you were caught showcasing fashion choices.  Could you explain to me what you think your style would be?

TA: Swagger on a hundred thousand million.

TF: Yeah, so your album was one of my favorites of the year.  Do you have any immediate plans for a follow up?

TA: Well, the album hasn’t been out that long, so we have to do a few more tours on it.  But we do have a lot of new ideas, and there will be another album. 

TF: Are the guys that you play with live now permanent members of the band?

TA: Yes.

TF: How was it like working with Misha [Mansoor, guitarist for Periphery] on your album? Stray from the Path called him a musical genius. Would you go that far?

TA: I would say he is a mild musical genius.

TF: Well very interesting. That’s it.  Good luck tonight, and keep it up. Thanks.