HHM:  Can you tell me a little bit of history about War Games? How ya’ll started, where the band name originated from, etc.

 Ian: We all started playing in bands at a really young age. For some of us it was hearing bands like Blink182 and GreenDay on the radio and thinking “I wanna do that!”. For others it was growing up in a musical household and eventually picking it up on our own. Then again for some of us, music was a fluke. There hasn’t be a common, defining characteristic that we’ve found in the band, but differences are what make things great and interesting!

 Cameron: I met the guys slightly by chance. I had just got off of a tour filling in on drums for With The Punches on Just Surrenders headliner tour. I was determined to find a full time band to play in after 3 weeks of being on the road with those guys. I had given up music for good at one point between schooling, work, and a serious relationship and spontaneously brushing the dust off of my road cases, packing up and heading out on the road breathed life back into me. A friend I met in college had randomly invited me to a show that his friend was playing knowing that I was into music and it would be a cool place to catch up, being at a bar and all. Wargames was headlining the show (then playing under the name Another Option) and I remember telling them to call me if they ever needed a drummer. Two months later and my phone rang– it was singer, Kyle Therrien. I’ll never forget that show though. Before I left I had to take turns and give a few of the Wargames friends/fans I had never met before hanging out in the parking lot a hell ride in a 400 horsepower Volkswagen GTI

Kyle: Our guitar player Ian Provost came up with the name War Games after we had spent hours in a room with a chalk board writing down potential band names. I like the name ‘War Games” because to me it involves two words that are associated with two completely different things. “War” can be A reminder amongst all the life changing technologies and progression throughout human history of how primitive a species we still are. Also “War” can be an everyday battle or struggle in life, or in a relationship. “Games” something fun, something to help distract the mind from everyday qualms and responsibilities. “Games” can also pertain to someone or something toying with your heart or something thats more important to you than obviously “them”. The are some of the things that come to mind when I think of our band name. To me it means trials and tribulations, Up’s and downs life throws you.

HHM: For someone who has never heard of War Games, how would you explain your sound?

Kyle: Our music is indie rock… we get compared to a mix of bands like “Mumford and Sons, Balance and Composure, Moving Mountains, The Early November, and As Cities Burn” We have a lot of energetic songs, but also a lot of soothing slower songs. Check it out you won’t be disappointed especially if you’re into those bands!

HHM: How would you say your song writing process usually unfolds?

Ryan:  Usually one of us (mostly Ian) will bring a riff or idea to practice, and we’ll jam that part until we have a solid idea, and then take it part by part until we have a full song. Making sure everything doesn’t over power or take from the vocals is a big thing with us too.

HHM: You guys went into the studio at the beginning of this month to work on a song correct? How has that been going?

Andy: We did go into the studio at the beginning of the month, with Ace Enders of The Early November. He actually recorded our last EP Mountains, so we were very comfortable going to see him and it was a great experience once again. The process went real well and we are all stoked on how the new song came to life.

HHM: Do you go into the studio with fully written songs, or do you write a lot during the sessions?

Andy: No song we go into the studio with is ever really fully written. We like to be open to ideas and ways to improve our music, we are constantly doing pre production and recording the same song three or four times before we do a final song that we are totally happen with. Working with Ace also helps that because his input really pulls the feeling out of the song.

HHM: What do you think will be the biggest difference between the new record (when it’s done), and “Mountains”?

Ryan:  Well since Mountains there has been a few member changes, so that definitely changes up the flow a bit. The new stuff we’ve been writing is a lot more aggressive…but in a good way, not like beat your dog aggressive…but it has an edge to it. There are a lot of different timings now and the songs are a little bit more technical. It’s still got that same War Games flow to it, just with some hot sauce added in lol.

HHM: What bands would you say have been your guy’s biggest influences?

Ryan:  As Cities Burn, Transit, Saves The Day, The Dear Hunter, basically anything that’s got heart and groove…….plus a ton of awful hip hop!

HHM: I ask everyone this because some of the responses are interesting; if you had the opportunity to pick the bill for a festival, with you also on that bill, who would you want to play with you guys? Any band, past or present.

Ryan: For me, I’d have, Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def, Gangstarr, Nas, As Cities Burn, RX bandits and the Temptations, that’s a festival I’d go to.

Kyle:  John Lennon

HHM: Any upcoming tours or shows in the works?

Andy: We actually have a show in Mass on June 7th with our good friends in The Venetia Fair in Wareham at the 3065 live, we wont be touring much cause we are really focused on getting a new record written and out there for everyone to hear, and Kyle and myself will be spending a few weeks on the Vans Warped Tour, Promoting our new single and working for our clothing sponsor Self Made Co. So stop by the tent say hello.

HHM: Anything else you would like to share with the readers?

Andy: I would also like to add that we are starting a country wide street team with sectors in each state and are looking for fans who would like to help pass out fliers, stickers, and spread the word to all their friends. If you would like to help out just hit us up on twitter or Facebook and we’d be happy for you to join Team War Games

 Interview by: Harley HHM

War Games Biography Video: Check It Out!

War Games is:

Kyle Therrien- Vocals
Andy Calheta- Bass and Vocals
Ian Provost- Guitar
Cameron Raubeson- Drums
Ryan Flinn- Guitar

For More Information:

facebook.com/WARGAMESmusic

Harley interviews Pop/Rock band Patterns from Pennsylvania 

HHM: How did Patterns begin?

Justin: Patterns originally began a few years ago with Eddie, Cody and myself.

We all shared the same love for music and decided to make our own. We found two other people to make a full band and went on for about a year like that. Being young and not knowing too much it didn’t get very far but it was a great learning experience. After hiding under a rock we came back with Eddie, Cody, Squid, our old singer and myself. Recorded a 5 song demo and spent some time pushing that. Our singer ended up leaving the band putting us back under a rock for awhile but now once again we are back with our new singer Geo ready to keep pushing!

HHM: What bands influenced your Pop Rock sound?

Justin: This is always such a hard question for us! We all have similar but different taste in music and all of our ideas based on individual influences mashed together is what inspires our songs. Naming specific bands is just way too hard!

HHM: Who are some bands that you guys look up to?

Justin: We pretty much look up to any band that is passionate about their music and what they do and are out there making a name for themselves and putting in the work.

HHM: Ya’ll just released two new singles titled “The Boys” and “It’s Never Easy”, how do you feel these songs differ from the 2011 EP you guys put out?

Justin: I feel that they are more mature and structured than the songs on the ‘Self-Titled’. We’re all older and more mature in our musicianship and constantly trying to progress our music and I feel that showed through.

HHM: What is the writing process like? Is it a collaborative effort of all of you or is someone the sole lyricist?

Justin: Lyrics mostly come from our vocalist Geo and myself, but not all of them. Everyone writes stuff, we have a vault of stuff from everyone in the band hah.

HHM: For someone who has never listened to Patterns before, how would you personally describe your sound and stage show to intrigue them to check you guys out?

Justin: We have an upbeat/punchy/poppy sound and we try and really express the energy from our songs into our live set.

HHM: Every band I interview I ask them, if they were given the opportunity to put together their own festival, with them also on the bill who would they choose to share the stage with, who would that be for you guys?

Justin: Oh thats easy.. NickleBack, Lil Wayne, HateBreed, and Drake.

HHM: What would you say has been the biggest obstacle for the band? If any.

Justin: Just the constant push to get to the next level. I feel most people don’t realize just how much work, time, and money it takes be in a climbing band. It is no where near easy but every bit is worth it to us.

HHM: I saw that you guys recently worked with Alclair Audio and are working with Dead End Threads, who are some other companies that have worked with that really supported you guys?

Justin: Yes we worked with both of them and love them! Two other companies that we work with that have been a big help are SJC Drums and Self Made Clothing. Big shout out to all of these companies, some great people.

HHM: Are you currently working on any new material?

Justin: We’ve been spending a lot of time writing new material for a new album. I’m not 100% sure when we will be getting into the studio though.

HHM: Where would you like to see the band go from here?

Justin: I’d love to see the band continue to climb and have more and more people hear our music. We’d all also like to be on the road constantly.

HHM: Any tours or upcoming shows in the works?

Justin: We have some shows with Aaron Carter coming up haha, and are in the process of booking as much as possible. We will be announcing more shows soon!

Interview by: Harley HHM

Patterns is:

Geo – Vocals
Squid – Guitar
Eddie – Guitar
Justin – Bass
Cody – Drums

For More Information:

www.facebook.com/PatternsPA

Skillet Interview during Welcome To Rockville Festival

HHM: I know it is asked too often, but how did the name “Skillet” come about?
John: Yes, we are called Skillet because when we got together we were all from different bands, and different styles of music, and someone said it was like cooking, like taking a bunch of different ingredients and throwing it all into a big skillet. They said, “you should call it Skillet, that would be funny”.

HHM: Being a christian band, and being in the ministry but also being a successful “rockstar” can it get tough trying to combine the two lifestyles?
John: In some ways it is difficult because of listeners expectations, it’s not necessarily so hard for me, but say you come to the show and you’re like “i don’t that they talk about Jesus”, but then maybe some Christian people come to the show and they go, “oh they are acting like rockstars, they shouldn’t be up there doing that”. People’s expectations play a lot into it so I just find you have got to be yourself. I love being a quote “rockstar” if you will, playing rock music is the best, performing is so much fun, you do the best job that you can. I have a message in my songs that I like to sing about, and it’s from my heart, so you just be who you are and people will get it, hopefully.

HHM: When should we be expecting a new material?
John: Now! We have a new record coming out June 25th, a song just released a couple weeks ago on the radio. The song is called “Sick Of It”, and we are playing it tonight for the first time, I’m all pumped up about it. I’m not nervous, I am anxious, very exciting!

HHM: Do you ever feel like your strong old school Christian fans ever disagree with the band choices that y’all tour with?
John: Yes, sometimes. I feel like for the most part, I would say most of our fans are 100% behind us on what we do, and they get it and understand. The fact that most of the people these days don’t listen to one or the other, they don’t listen to just Christian music, or just rock,  a lot of people listen to both. Maybe a lot of rock fans don’t realize they are listening to Christian bands, like Flyleaf,  or Red. It’s becoming a little mixed, but yes there are some amount of our fans that say,” you shouldn’t be out playing with Godsmack, that’s offensive.” We just let our fans know that, that is what we want to do, that is who we are. I would love to tour with Manson, I’m a big Manson fan. Those things don’t really bother me, they have to be themselves, we have to be ourselves. It is rock n roll.

HHM: Can you share with us any stories of fans who have impacted your life?
John: It is always impactful when you meet someone that tells you a story about how your music has affected them. I have met a lot of people that have said that we helped save their lives, or they went into drug rehab after hearing one of our songs. Things like that are extremely impactful.

HHM: What advice would you give to somewhere on the fence with their faith?
John: It depends on why they are on the fence. I would say from my own life, is that I just always wanted to know that my life mattered, and that I had something to live for. As much as I love rock n roll, or politics, or movies, or video games,  I love all of that stuff; as much as I love that stuff I could never see myself actually living for it. It doesn’t actually bring peace to my life, I just enjoy it. That is what I have found in Jesus. I have found peace, something to live for, that shows that my life is bigger than just my time here on Earth, and that I mattered. I have never regretted my Christianity or my faith in God. It has always been the one thing I am ready to die for. That is why I would encourage somebody to not live for something that is “fun”, fun is great, but we all have to work. Fun is fun, but live for something that is satisfying. You want to matter, you want to be forgiven, you want to know that your life counts, that is what I have found in Jesus.

HHM: Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
John: We have a new record coming out as you mentioned, end of June. The record is called “Rise”, and I hope you like it! Go listen to our new single “Sick of It”, you can hear it on Itunes, or Youtube!

Interview by: Harley HHM

For More Information About Skillet:

www.facebook.com/skillet

Papa Roach Interview during Welcome To Rockville Festival

HHM: How did Papa Roach get started 20 years ago?

Jacoby: Highschool, we had nothing to do and we wanted to escape THAT. We wanted to do something with our lives, so we started a rock band. We started it to just get loud, make noise, make friends, chase chicks

HHM: What do you think is behind your staying power? doing this for so many years so successfully?

Jacoby: Power, passion, conviction. We don’t even think about that shit, we just do it. We are just the dopest rock band in the world, we just keep trying to prove it, nobody is listening. FUCK!

HHM: You guys have been doing this for a long time, what would you say has been the coolest i can’t believe that happened, will never forget this moment?

Jacoby: We have had tons of cool moments, I can rattle off a couple..Polish Woodstock 350,000 people in Poland on my birthday, was it my birthday? Felt like my birthday! Playing in Rio De Janeiro in front of 250,000 people with Guns-N-Roses and Oasis that was pretty epic. When the ball dropped in New York City on New Year’s Eve the year 2000, we were right in Times Square, it was just like right in the Epicenter of the whole deal, that was another pretty epic moment for us.

HHM: Being a “rockstar” is looked at by many as being all fun and games..but its not always as glamorous as its made out to be.

Jacoby: Do you want to see our shower, want to see how glitz and glamourous that is? It’s like we get to use out-houses those are always fun. Once you get into the touring lifestyle you start to see it’s not as glamourous as you think it is y’know what I’m saying? But it’s a great life, we really have fun with it, and we enjoy it. It just gets lonely out here sometimes, we miss our families, we have our “on the road” family but it’s just like our wives, and our kids and stuff, we miss them. That is the downside of touring.

HHM: The newest album “The Connection” came out last October, how do you feel the fans have taken to the new material?

Jerry: Everybody loves it. I haven’t heard anybody who has been a fan for a while say,”you need to go back to the old stuff”.
Jacoby: There is always the one old school fan like, “Bro, why don’t you play the heavy shit like Infest”, like shut the fuck up.

HHM: What inspired you the most during the writing process of this past album?
Jacoby: Well for it me it was just the music, and my chaos of my personal life. My life was in 100% shambles. Throughout the process of making the record I really was able to kind of find who I was again, and get a balance in my life, because my life was totally out of balance. I was not in a good place. I had issues with substance abuse stuff like that.

HHM: Ya’ll have said before that this is the best work that you’ve put out to date.
Jacoby: Fuck yeah, I feel like this record is on hit man. I love it!

HHM: After having to pull off of last years Uproar festival and having to undergo vocal surgery, do you feel that changed you/your sound at all?

Jacoby: As a vocalist it made my voice sound so much better. I went and got the surgery and recovered and now my voice is just reliable everyday. I live a totally different lifestyle now so my voice stays strong. I don’t smoke, drink, or take drugs anymore. Warming up everyday, just taking care of myself in that regard has really given me the longevity. I have been out now for about 4-5 months on tour and it’s just everyday, it comes through.

HHM: I was watching another interview you did where you talked about how eclectic your music styles have been, do you feel that plays a big role in the unique sound that is Papa Roach?

Jerry: Yeah, I mean within one record we have different styles and we just pull little bits here and there and just throw it all together.
Jacoby: We love everything from punk rock, reggae, electronic, metal music, to hardcore; even some of the scene bands have been tripping out some of those are good, there are a lot of shitty ones, but some are good.

HHM: What is a dream you have yet to fulfill ?
Jacoby: A headlining arena tour. PAPA ROACH HEADLINES ARENAS WORLDWIDE. That is our dream that we would like to make come true.

HHM: Favorite band you have shared the stage with?
Jacoby: I think for me, back in the day it would be Korn when we came out with our first record. He got to tour with Korn, we were one of their openers and it was just one of the bands we idolized when we were young. So to go out and open for them back in like 2001 or 2002 that was cool.
Jerry: Another one was the Chili Peppers that was pretty good.
Jacoby: Or even before we were signed opening up for the Deftones that was like back in the early 90′s, mid 90′s that was another one. We opened for them and we were like “oh my god it’s the Deftones”.
HHM: Do you like their new album?
Jacoby: I love their new record!
HHM: Me too!
Jacoby: One of my favorite records, one of our favorite bands, like collectively we are all big Deftone fans. I really love that new record though, high 5, thank god! The last two records they put out have been great.

HHM: If you could put together a dream tour who would be on the bill?
Jacoby: Faith No More, Deftones, Papa Roach, Rage Against The Machine, Prodigy, NIN.
Jerry: That would be an epic festival.

HHM: You have a handful of shows in the US during the month of May and then you head across the pond for a stint, do y’all have any tours in the works for when you return to the US?

Jacoby: There is a big summer tour that we were talking with some other bands about joining up on which might be a possibility. We are going to South America which is going to be freaking amazing, then we are going to go to Canada, then we are going to Europe. We are going to do another American run, then we are going to make another record.

HHM: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Jacoby: Hit us up on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, all that stuff man! Share our music videos with your friends. I think that, that is another way to kind of get the word out about the new PRoach music. Go share the new music video, go check out “Leader of the Broken Hearts”, fans I definitely stress you to go check that out! Great video, one of our greatest music videos out to date!

Interview by: Harley HHM

For More Information About Papa Roach:

www.facebook.com/paparoach

check out the photoset from Welcome To Rockville

Escape The Fate interview during Welcome To Rockville Festival

HHM: Your new singles “Ungrateful” and “You’re Insane” have dropped, how would you say your fans have reacted to the new songs?

Robert: It’s actually been really good surprisingly. We usually have quite an assortment of haters. It’s usually half good/half bad but this time it’s been a lot more good than bad, particularly with some of our older fans, love “Ungrateful”. We read some of the columns, fuck it. Some of them were, “I haven’t listened to you guys in a long time but I going to start listening to you again.”
(slight interruption by a passing forklift)

Robert: That’s Asking Alexandria’s amplifiers…I saw them take’em down over there. But yeah, especially with the new video for “Ungrateful”, it shuts a lot of people up. Just the whole message with that, bullying and just trying to stop it, end people being cruel, who live the day just trying to hate people. I think it was responded to well by a lot of people. A lot of the newer fans who are just picking up Escape The Fate are really into “You’re Insane.” It’s doing really good on radio and everything like that. I’m really excited about it continuing to play and for the rest of the album to come out.

HHM: When the album does come out, what should we be expecting?

Robert: Well, the thing with the new album  is that it’s a lot like the other albums in the way that we mix it up. We do different stuff, we try different styles, experiment but, this time it’s not so much a bunch of different bands playing on one cd. Like the other ones where it’s too different. It’d be like “This War Is Ours” mixed with “Ashley”, just like completely different bands but. It’s just us playing. This time it’s cohesive piece. It all goes together well even though all the songs are different. It’s a lot less frills, bells and whistles, a lot more attitude. It’s definitely heavier.

HHM: What’s your favorite song on the new record?

(a stage crew side by side passes at a rather high rate of speed)

Robert: Damn…I gotta get one of those.
My favorite song is actually not a heavy song. The more ballad song we have called….(more stage crew traffic) We’re like in the middle of a fucking backstage freeway right now…
But no, my favorite song is actually a song called “Picture Perfect”. It’s more of a ballad, it deals with losing someone. Monte’s friend had passed away a few months earlier and my girlfriends grandmother had passed away. I’ve been with my girlfriend for a really long time, since we were kids, we’d been friends and stuff so it was like the perfect song to get our emotions out that way. Regardless of any of the lyrics and content, it’s an amazing song regardless, it sounds good. You put on top of it, our hearts, and you have a winning combination. It’s a song I still listen to, it’s the first song I showed them even though it’s a slower song.

HHM: What drummer do you look up to the most, like who made you want to become a drummer?

Robert: I look up to tons of drummers. I love Metallica, I grew up a metal head, my family were all metal heads, Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, fucking Slayer, all that was in my house. I look up to Lars. A lot of drummers make fun of me because Lars is not exactly a technical wiz, but he makes great beats, he makes great songs. It made me want to play drums. When I was a little kid, I would look at him and go, “Damn, he’s really good” compared to a technical good drummer who’s boring. That’s what I like about him. He plays with his heart more than his head.

HHM: What’s one dream that you haven’t been able to fulfill yet?

Robert: There are so many… My dream is the play in this band for the rest of my life. Be successful at it. I’ve gone through so many ups and downs with this band that, for us to just stay alive and strive, that’s my dream, more than anything else. More than just visiting some place, playing a huge stadium, just to be able to do it.

HHM: Do you still get nervous before you go out to play shows?

Robert: Fuck yeah dude, I get more nervous now. Now I have something to live up to, now I have somewhere where people picture him being and I have to surpass that. Sometimes I don’t really like that, my confidence gets shaky, I get really nervous. We’d been off tour for a long, we started to tour a lot more so now it’s like, the butterflies are starting to wear off and being replaced by two softballs in my stomach but I do get nervous.

HHM: What’s your favorite song to play live?

Robert: Fuck….I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s like, this tour actually has been weird, it’s more of like a radio storm, so “hey, let’s play the single, now let’s play the heavy shit.” I have always really liked “This War Is Ours”, that was our anthem. I still love playing that song. It’s hard to play but it’s always fun.
HHM: What would you consider the most humbling moment of your career as of right now?
Robert: It’s a lot of things, like today we are headlining a side stage, but I then I am going to go watch my friends from Bullet For My Valentine go destroy the main stage. You see things like that, and like you said, playing with Avenged Sevenfold, a band I grew up looking up to, that my band didn’t pass up. There have been a lot of bands that my band actually got bigger than that I used to look up to. Getting to see a big ass “bat thing”, humongous flames and pry, 25,000 thousand people watching them, and I am sitting there going, “Wow I have a long way to go”. It is stuff like that, that can be very humbling, I am glad I get moments like that though.
HHM: What would you say has made you guys succeed in an industry that so many fail in?

Robert: It’s chemistry, when you got it, you got it y’know?

HHM: Where do you see ETF 5-10 years from now?

Robert: In 5-10 years hopefully all of us will still be alive, I’m putting bets down to see which one of the band members goes first. Hopefully we are all still alive, hopefully we are touring, and playing much bigger and better shows. Just doing our thing, have another big album, get a #1 rock album under our belt, that sort of thing. I just want to keep going.

HHM: What would you say has been the biggest obstacle for the band?

Robert: How much memory do you have on your camera? Dude, we go through obstacles every day. In more recent years it would have to do with Max our bass player. I love him to death, he is literally like a brother to me. I grew up with him, I slept at his mom’s apartment, he would stay the night at my house. We were little kids playing “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” on the Nintendo 64, we grew up with all the same people, he is my brother. He went down a very dark path, and in recent years that has been the toughest thing. Having to say goodbye to him, finally get to a point where it was just like dude, “you need help, you’re going to die, we’ve given you chances, we’ve done what we could, I’ve cared, I’ve not cared, I’ve tried it all, my best thing to say to you is figure it out; we have to go on without you, if we go on at all, it is going to have to be without you”.  I remember that moment we were in LA at a hotel, bus was getting ready to leave, we just said Max I’m sorry, you’re not getting on that bus. That took every ounce of my strength and courage. *interruptions of Tj Bell and Craig Mabbitt* (robert continues) here is our new bass player Tj, he always ruins a special moment, I haven’t barely talked about this at all, but yeah it was a tough moment. At that moment I thought my band was done for sure, I thought it was over, but we are here and now I have to deal with these assholes. *as Tj and Craig once again interrupt*

Craig: The hardest thing we have had to do was except Robert as a drummer, everything he has told you is a lie.

Robert: We were having a heartfelt moment.

Craig: I always come in and ruin his heartfelt moments.

Robert: I was about to cry, she was about to cry, then I hear “my ding-a-ling, my ding-a-ling”.

Craig: I just try to lighten the mood, no matter what the situation.

TJ: What else you got?

HHM: I got nothing but if you want to add anything go ahead!

TJ: Buy our album Ungrateful!

Interview by Harley Hughes

Purchase Ungrateful on iTunes Here

For More Information about ETF:

www.escapethefate.com

www.facebook.com/escapethefate

View ETF photoset from Welcome To Rockville HERE

Harley recently caught up with Motionless In White during the Welcome To Rockville Festival and had chance to interview frontman Chris Motionless, and guitarist Ricky Horror.

HHM: Who are your earliest musical influences? What bands, and which albums really inspired you guys?

Chris: I would say that one of the earlier ones would be a band called Eighteen Visions—that’s where our band name came from—”Motionless In White” is a song by that band. Definitely early on, the way that they looked, and the music that they played was huge for us. The Misfits are another really gigantic, influential band—I know for me at least.

Ricky: Yeah, Eighteen Visions was definitely a huge one, also Bleeding Through was a big one for our band, also, bands like Cradle Of Filth, HIM: stuff like that.

HHM: You guys started when you were still in high school correct? Did you ever expect to blow up and become so popular?

Chris: We didn’t really expect it, more so, just really, really wanted it. We pushed as hard as we could to get to the point where we are at today, and we keep climbing higher—it’s just a progressive thing—I guess you would call it a series of events that happened for our band over the last couple years.

HHM: The new album Infamous dropped back in November—absolutely love it by the way—jammed it on the flight here! How would you say this album differs from the past three?

Ricky: It’s different in every single way.

Chris: It doesn’t suck!

Ricky: We went in a completely different direction, just to try and break the mold of the normal, whatever music we are categorized in. All these different influences that we have in our music just kind of push the boundaries of what’s “acceptable” in the metal scene.

Infamous on iTunes

HHM: When I first heard “Hatefuck,” I got a very Marilyn Manson sort of feel. But with each track, I felt like it evolved into something else—so many different sounds—it definitely shows that your eclectic music tastes come through in your music.

Chris: Yes, I feel like our influences do have a direct impact on what we do as a band and some for different reasons, and some more than others. It’s just a matter of trying to explore all of the genres that we like and enjoy listening to. There is no reason that we should not try experimenting with ourselves—there is no “rule book” on what you can or cannot do in music and, you know, we certainly like to abuse that.

HHM: If you could put a “dream tour” together, with Motionless In White featured on the bill, what other bands would you choose?

Ricky: We’ve talked about this a lot actually. I can’t remember the big one we came up with, but it was bands like 18V, Bleeding Through, It Dies Today, HIM, Cradle Of Filth—just a lot.

Chris: If it were bands that are still around today—because some of those bands aren’t unfortunately—I would say as long as it was with Slipknot, Cradle Of Filth or HIM; that would be cool, I’d be happy with it.

HHM: What bands have you shared or are going to be sharing the stage with that you were/are just like “wow, this is really cool”?

Chris: We played at Soundwave in Australia this past year with Slipknot, Manson, System Of A Down—just some pretty huge bands that are awesome for us.

HHM: Where do you see Motionless In White going from here?

Chris: We are going to take over the fucking world! Plain and simple.

Interview by HarleyHHM

Motionless In White is:

Chris Motionless – All Vocals
Ricky Horror – Guitar
Josh Balz – Keyboards
Ryan Sitkowski – Guitar
Devin “Ghost” Sola – Bass
Brandon Richter – Drums

For More Information about Motionless In White:

Facebook

HHM: What sparked your interest in making music in your younger years?

Sumika:  I grew up in a very musical house, my mother has a beautiful voice, though she mostly sang at home, and would always encourage me to sing and dance and play instruments at a young age. And my father is a guitar player and always encouraged guitar lessons and any musical art. Music was just something that was a part of our life, just kind of naturally because it brought us joy. Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey- early 90s days were also a big influence on me as a child.

 HHM: Who were your biggest musical influences while you were developing your talent? 

Sumika:  I think early years, No Doubt was a big influence on me. The first concert I ever went to was No Doubt when I was a kid and I just felt it, I knew I had to do it. I’ve also had some great chances to work with some amazing people and I try to take something from each experience.

HHM: How big of a change was it for you leaving Hawaii to pursue music further?

Sumika: It was definitely a huge change to come from a tiny island, where we did not even have a freeway to Southern California but I love it here! It actually wasn’t a huge adjustment though because I was ready for the excitement and energy that So-Cal had to offer.

 HHM: You recently released your debut album Miracle in January, who did you record with and what was the experience like for you?

 Sumika: I recorded the album with Michael Raphael at Earthtone sounds. It was such a great experience Michael is a extremely talented producer and musician. Its like he could take something that I heard in my head and would turn it into reality. I really felt like he understood what I wanted to hear and really got me. I’m so happy with the way miracle turned out!

HHM: Did you record the entire album in one session or was it broken up over several sessions?

Sumika: We actually did it in sessions. I originally met with producer Michael Raphael about creating a single but one thing turned into another and we ended up with an 11 track album. Every song was done a little differently, sometimes I’d write it ahead of time, sometimes we’d write in the studio and record on the spot.  The whole album took about a year to create- it was a blast!

HHM: Recording an album in sessions has to be a tad bit difficult in terms of keeping a cohesive feel to a record huh? 

Sumika:  It just kind of worked. I did have a specific sound that I wanted to achieve as a whole for the album and I think we were able to keep it fairly cohesive. You may notice that #11 Moses Eyes is completely different then the rest of the album. I wrote this song a while after I had completed the album(so I thought) for my cousin Moses who passed away in a tragic car accident at at a young age leaving his pregnant wife and 2 young children behind. He was a huge supporter of me following my dreams and I wrote Moses eyes as a thank you and to honor him. 

HHM: How comfortable are you while working in the studio or is it still a little intimidating? 

Sumika: I really feel at home working in the studio, recording is especially so much fun for me. It’s when I get to see all my ideas come to life. I’m pretty comfortable in the studio, I love it.  

HHM: Are you equally as comfortable on stage performing? Have you had much of a chance to play your album out for the public? It’s funny I am way more comfortable performing for a very large audience then I am for a smaller more intimate audience. Maybe all performers are that way, I don’t know. It’s fun though, you get to transform! I do have plans to showcase my album live to a broader audience this year! 

HHM: You have a music video that’s going to drop soon…was that the first video you have worked on?

Sumika: I do have a music video ready to drop, it’s actually going to be out tomorrow 5/10/13. This is my first music video and it’s for my title track Miracle. 

HHM: Can you give us a little run down and what we can expect from  the video?

 Sumika: The song is an upbeat dance track and the video keeps up with the same playfulness. It portrays me (and dancers) in the streets down and out and then shifts into a real positive fun place. It showcases the duality between light and dark and also hints at what could happen when you decide to create your own miracles.

HHM: It has to be a pretty good feeling, striking out on your own with a solo career after being in a group and having things start to fall into place… Yes, for sure. It also feels great to be writing my own songs and be exploring that as well.  

HHM: What are some other plans you have for this year?

Sumika: I’m definitely have plans for a another album. I also look forward to preforming  and promoting my current album and many new songs this year. I’ll  always be writing songs though, sometimes they make it on the album, sometimes they don’t. I’m excited about the direction of my album Miracle, and I can’t wait to get back in to the studio and create!

For More Information about Sumika:

www.facebook.com/SumikaForbesMusic

www.reverbnation.com/SumikaForbes

http://jamsphere.com/tag/sumika-forbes

http://www.amazon.com/Miracle/dp/B00B7HHCII

Purchase Miracle on iTunes

HHM: Taiwanese mythology and Metal is definitely an interesting combination. Can you tell me a little bit about this lyrical side of your band?

Taiwan is a country with different tribes and immigrants from different places from time to time. So we carry different mythologies from different people with different backgrounds, but sometimes mix them together, and sometimes mix them with the real history. We wrote about a female ghost who fought against gods, a midium felt into hell to change the history, the war against the tyrants, the battle in the Pacific War…etc.

HHM: How is the metal scene in Taiwan? And do you take pride in being “Orient Metal”?

The metal scene in Taiwan has been developing since 2000. Now we have hundreds of metal bands in Taiwan, also the international metal acts come to Taiwan to play quite a lot. As a band from Taiwan with a special Asian flavor, I don’t really “take pride” being “Orient Metal”, but hopefully with this term, more metalheads in the world will want to know more bands from the Orient, from Asia and the Pacific!

HHM: How does it feel to have Doris considered one of the sexiest female rockers by the likes of Revolver Magazine?

We try to respect each member’s personality and individual life. So we don’t pay too much attention on the “Doris-being-sexy” issue. haha.. We don’t care how people think of that either.

Doris: I don’t think I’m that sexy. I will just keep honest to myself and moving forward.

HHM: So you guys released the Rhythm Crusher game, and it quickly became the most downloaded music app in Taiwan—how did that feel?

It’s cool to see that so many people like the game and learn our old songs through new platforms.

HHM: Can you tell me a little about the game and why our readers should join in?

You can enjoy an exciting game with intense music! Especially, when you play “Vs.Mode” against us, it’s a very unique feeling! We are doing the same thing with the same music at the exact same time together! Vs Mode is not that common in this kind of rhythm game.

HHM: How did you guys hook up with the developer Chun-Mu Mediatek? Can you tell me about the experience working with them?

Chun-Mu wanted to develop a game for the global market. So, they came to us as their partner, hopefully to reach to our fan bases in different countries. The most important thing is that some of the staff in the company were our fans for quite a long time. And Jesse and Dani have been their “testers” to play the game since the beginning. It was quite lot of fun especially when you play the game with lots of bugs in the early stages! [Laughs].

HHM: So fans can actually verse you guys in the game, how has that experience been so far?

It’s really great! We feel closer with our fans. And after the fight, we always share the techniques and experiences on social networks to improve each other.

HHM: Honestly, how often are you guys online and excepting challenges?

We have been online almost every day till middle of April, since after mid-April, we have to shoot music videos for new album. But we are still online now and then.

HHM: Do you prefer to play it on the iPad or iPhone?

Definitely iPad!

HHM: How was the experience battling fans in Tokyo? With all the expert fans, were you surprised that you actually won the final match?

That was a great event. We never had this kind of experience with our fans. It makes them been more like our friends rather than fans. Before that day, I have failed to fight with those experts almost every time. But that day I won, I think I was just lucky really. The fan was too nervous and couldn’t move his fingers well.. [Laughs].

HHM: What is in the future for Chthonic?

Our new album will be released in June, and then, the new journey kicks off!

Interview by @MattCrane

You can grab Rhythm Crusher on iTunes today, and be sure to check out the trailer for the band’s upcoming music video below.

Interview with Senses Fail Drummer Dan Trapp

HHM: How much fun has this tour been for you guys? (Such Gold, Real Friends & Major League)

Dan: It’s been really cool. We haven’t been on tour since the summer. With the new record being out, it’s been really cool to get to play a lot of new stuff. For the most part people seem to be really into it. It’s a nice feeling for people to get to hear it, then actually get to play it for them to get their reaction to it. It’s been really good.

HHM: What’s the set list like tonight?

Dan: It’s a good blend of everything. There’s a lot of new stuff cause, ya know, we’ve got a new record out and it’s time to play new stuff.

HHM: “The Path” better be on it…

Dan: It will. It will be on it.

HHM: That song is so fucking good.

Dan: Thanks Man. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The record as a whole. We’re all really thrilled with it. There’s a few songs that really stand out for us. “The Path” being one of them.

HHM: Bands spend a lot of time on the road in general but, do you feel like there’s a difference when you’re supporting a new record?

Dan: Yeah, we try to always tour with a purpose. Especially a band like us, we’ve been around a long time, we’ve done a lot of touring. It’s kind of hard for us to say “Let’s just tour.” When we did Warped Tour, we had the “Best Of” record come out with a couple new songs on it. (Follow Your Bliss). We always like to have something new out there, some sort of release going on to support because it gives us more of a purpose. With this it makes it that much more special, having something new being able to really push that. This is why we’re here, to play these songs for you live from this record that we’re really proud of.

HHM: Every record you guys put out, the vibe seems to change just a little, but with Renacer, it was a big step, a little different direction.

Dan: It’s a whole different deal now. We’ve got a whole lot of different people in the band now. I say a lot like we’re a 30 piece band…*laughs. It’s just a different animal nowadays and that’s good. In a lot of ways I felt like that best of record coming out on the 10 year anniversary of the band was a good book end to that and now we’re on  to something different. Without abandoning anything that we have done previously though. We worked with a different producer, we recorded at a different studio in a different state than we usually do. We had different people writing the songs with us. Every component added up to it ending up being something totally different than the last couple records.

HHM: Is this one of those records that you guys are most proud of?

Dan: Yeah, I think so. Ya know, it’s hard to explain, it’s like a parent picking your favorite kid or something. There’s definitely records that we’re less proud of, songs that have been on records that we feel like they could have been done better, we could have spent more time with that or whatever. This was the one that we’re like “This is what we want to be playing, these are the songs that we want to be writing.” These are the kinds of songs we’ve been wanting to do and now we’ve been able to sorta bring them to light. Like I said before, it had a lot of new components to it and it took a lot of work to get it done, make it happen and pull it together. When you’re able to pull it off, it’s done, it’s in your hands and you get to listen to it. It’s definitely something that we are really proud of. We worked really hard on it.

HHM: Did you purposely approach the writing process on this record differently?

Dan: For sure, it was going to be different regardless, just because of the different people in the band now. It would be unfair to us and the fans if we had set out to just recreate something we’ve already done. We wanted to push it even further by working with a different producer for the first time in a while. Recording a different studio to take us outside of that comfort zone. It’s very easy when you have a process and a good working relationship with someone to fall into a pattern. We wanted to avoid that repetition and try something different.

HHM: What was it that made you want to work with Shaun Lopez?

Dan: Just other stuff that he’s done, we’re all big fans of Far and Crosses…the thing he does with Chino from Deftones. We had mutual friends, the last Far record came out on Vagrant, well former label I guess. We just reached out to him to see if he was interested. It was great working with him.

HHM: As far as Renacer goes, it is definitely more Hardcore than Post Hardcore as you guys normally are…who you say it’s more of a throwback to your earlier influences or a look forward?

Dan: I’d say it more of a forward thing. I’d think we’ve ever been able to achieve the level of heavy that we have with this record. We’ve always tried to and wanted to but it never really translated the way wanted it to. It’s definitely a forward thinking kind of record. There’s a lot of stuff that is indicative to the direction that we are heading.

HHM: It’s gotta kill Buddy live though doesn’t it?

Dan: Ya know, actually, he does really well with the more screamy stuff. It’s in his wheelhouse so to speak. The other thing is that when you’re writing songs with the live performance in mind, you’re able to pace yourself and work on stuff that will translate live.

HHM: What would you say is the key thing that has kept you guys going this long?

Dan: I guess just…the want to keep doing it. We just love making music. We are very fortunate to have the opportunity being able to come to a place like this and have people show up and want to see us. That goes hand in hand. Doing it for us and doing it for them. There’s struggles and shit that happens. There’s being away from your family, being away from whatever. It’s in your DNA. I don’t think there is anything else I could ever do besides play music and this kind of stuff. I don’t know anything else. It’s almost survival instinct, it keeps you going.

HHM: So…there’s still fight left in Senses Fail and the drive the keep going?

Dan: Absolutely, I don’t ever want to stop.

HHM: There’s been a few scares here and there, oh Senses Fail is gonna breaking up etc…

Dan: What’s funny though is there was never a time when we even considered it. I think that anytime someone comes and goes in a band that comes up. That was probably kind of a big thing when Garrett left the band. It was like, Oh Shit, he wrote all the songs and that was definitely something for us. It just made us approach this thing totally different now. It was kinda exciting in a way…exciting and scary. To have to kind of figure it out on the fly and figure out how to make this work.

HHM: It’s been pretty much You and Buddy from the beginning, how much of impact does people coming and/or leaving have on your writing process?

Dan: It’s cool in a way. I like getting fresh perspective whether it be form somebody else playing and instrument, writing with the band or recording with the band. There’s stuff that you learn from everyone you come in contact with along the way during the creative process. Everyone sorta comes from different ends of the same musical bubble so to speak and it just adds up to something really cool. Just working with different people is exciting.

HHM: I’m sure it does suck when someone you’ve been next to for so long leaves, but I can understand the “fresh perspective” aspect of it.

Dan: I think especially now, 10 years in, it was something that needed to happen to keep the spark of something fresh and exciting.

HHM: I think you guys should go out with Story Of The Year…

Dan: The Throwback Tour

HHM: Yeah, there’s just something about you guys and SOTY,

Dan: Ya know, we’ve never toured with them. That would be cool.

HHM: Really!? you’re not totally similar bands… it’s that solid Post Hardcore feel.

Dan: We came up at around the same time.

HHM: To me it’s the epitome of what Post Hardcore was and is…. Now instead of being great musicians bands would rather sample shit and have back tracks, making it this big theatrical thing rather than it just being music with a message.

Dan: There’s a lot of different stuff….but for us, we want to play and put on the best live performance we can for people. That goes back to the way you approach writing. You know that when you write something that is gonna crush live, it’s gonna be great. As long as people like that song and want to hear it, it will be unstoppable. There’s a few that really stand out.

HHM: You guys are definitely worthy of an opinion, being very DIY now….what is it that you loathe about the industry? What makes you want to do it yourself rather than relying on the industry?

Dan: Just the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself and feeling like you’ve earned it. I think there is a lot of entitlement, whether it be people that work inside the industry or bands that come and go. There’s something about really sticking it ou, digging through the trenches and coming out on the other side like I feel like we’ve done. We’ve been through enough crap, it feels good. You’re humbled by it and it means a lot more to you when you come out on the other end of struggles.

HHM: Are you playing anything off of Let It Enfold You tonight?

Dan: Oh yeah, totally. You’ll see.

HHM: My all-time favorite song is the “Irony of Dying On Your Birthday” that is by far my most favorite song in the entire world.

Dan: Really? Well, thank you man.

HHM: I love that song, it is so raw…yeah, could there have been a few more vocal tracks on Buddy…but that’s what I love about it. It’s the simplicity and rawness of it. You could tell Buddy was about to crack.

Dan: Sometimes less is more. That all goes back to the backing track thing. I feel like you can do more with less.

HHM: There’s a difference between talent and production.

Dan: You need to know restraint, you need to know when to hold’em and when to fold’em.

 Photo Credit: Karen Skerk

HHM: You have worked quite a bit with Brian McTernan, I’m friends with Paul and I know they have worked together on your stuff quite a bit.

Dan: Paul Leavitt, yeah right on. Yeah, he’s worked on a lot of mixing, editing, protools work etc.

HHM: I’ve worked with him a few times myself. He’s an awesome guy.

Dan: He’s extremely talented and he’s the nicest dude. He’s helped us with some stuff, the Live DVD a couple years ago, he and Brian kinda tagged teamed that. He’s just one of those guys that has always been a good friend of the band, he’s worked on a bunch of stuff and we know that we can always count on him. If we need help, he’ll always make time for us which is really nice.

HHM: The record is out….getting a really good response from the public in general, what’s up next for you guys?

Dan: We have the rest of this tour, goes through Mid-May. Then we are going to the UK, have a couple shows in Europe for a few weeks. May-June. We’ve got some other stuff that we’re working on for the rest of the year that hasn’t been released or finalized. Now’s the time, records out, time to go make the donuts, ya know.

HHM: To go another 11 years?

Dan: Ya know, yeah, I mean, as long as people wanna come see us and it makes sense to do, yeah.

HHM: I think they do. You guys are definitely not a fly by night band to me.

Dan: I think we’ve proven not to be.

HHM: I would hate to see you guys go.

Dan: Shit, me too….we’ve been doing this so long, this is all I know. As long as it still makes sense to do.

HHM: As long as the senses don’t fail

Dan: *laugh, yeah exactly. As long as all the factors make sense to do it, we’ll keep doing it. We love doing it.

Interview by @DaveHHM

 GO BUY THE RECORD, SERIOUSLY

For More About Senses Fail:

sensesfail.com

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HHM: A lot of hard rock singers (and I mean a lot) try to hit the same sort of raspy alternative range, and some of the time; I notice it comes off as kind of flat—but especially on your new album, you seem to hit it perfectly in tune and with enough edge. What’s your secret? Work ethic?

Man I’ll tell you what, I gotta keep my voice in shape, vocal exercises everyday. With hard rock and metal you have to be able to create that sound of chaos without shredding the actual instrument (your vocal chords). You’re body has to remain calm, and it’s all about breathing and diaphragmatic support. Also staying away from cigarettes—I just quit smoking—I was a heavy smoker but this new album required such a fine tuning of my body so I take care of myself, I workout a lot and I run. It’s all about keeping the air going, shooting it through the chords and creating that throaty sound. You know, I grew up with a lot of singers that had that sound whether it was Chris Cornell or Axl Rose, so I’ve always been drawn to that aesthetic—I’ve always really loved that throat attack, like Dave Grohl, he has a really great growl too.

It’s an anomaly because you have to create that growl without actually shredding your chords so I keep my studying up—anytime I’m in the city I still take lessons because at the end of the day so much goes into this every night: beyond just the band and the crew, you’ve got your audience and your hardcore fans and you don’t know how far they’ve come for the show. A lot of effort goes into not just the band playing the show but the fans coming to the show so as a singer, it’s great to have the limelight but the reality of it is you’re responsible for putting on the best show possible for those people and a lot of that entails you (the singer) not fucking up—not over drinking and not doing drugs. It’s a constant constant battle being a manic personality in rock ‘n’ roll, you wanna push it to the eleven and take it to the extreme so it’s tough—you gotta keep yourself in check and also know that you will pay for your sins the next day—and as a singer you can’t hide it, you know, a guitar player can down a fifth of vodka and they might be hungover the next day but (with a little bit of dexterity issues) they can still pretty much pull it off but with a singer, fans will know—If I ragged it the night before, you’re gonna know.

So I try to pour it into the performance and get off on that. You’ve gotta get off on hitting the notes, sounding good, and doing the best job for your fans because there are so many other bands out there, there’s so much competition—it requires discipline—you know, I worked so hard on this record, I really busted my ass—I was proud of Banquet for a Starving Dog but this record is on a totally different level. A lot of people didn’t even know that I could hit certain notes because I had never really been pushed there, and Elvis Baskette was really instrumental in getting the most out of my vocals. He gave me a real sense of calm and confidence to go and do things vocally that I had never pulled off—things I knew inside I could do, I just needed the help of a good coach.

HHM: For Locked & Loaded you guys had a chance to work with Eric Bass of Shinedown, and Elvis Baskette (as you mentioned): who’s worked with a lot of alternative rock bands but he’s also pretty big in the more post-hardcore/metal scene. How did you guys decide to work with Elvis? And can you tell me about the experience?

We were on tour with Creed last year and we became pretty good friends with Mark Tremonti, and [Elvis] had just done the Tremonti solo album: kind of like a thrash/metal project—I heard that album towards the second leg of the Creed tour and I was blown away by the production, and I was blown away with how he was able to push Mark: getting the most vocally and with songwriting—I was like “wow, I really wanna work with this guy” and at the point we were already thinking about guys on that “list” that you’ve always wanted to work with but once I heard that album, I was like “fuck, this is the guy.” So Mark was very instrumental in getting us in with Elvis because his schedule was packed—he was in between doing some Falling in Reverse stuff but he had about six weeks where he was available and that was our first session in for this record (we ended up doing two sessions with him). It was kind of a life changing experience because not only is he wicked behind the board and responsible for like twenty million in sales but he has a passion for hard rock and metal—it comes out in working with him: he’s a phenomenal guitar player, he’s great melodically, he’s really fun to work with and it’s just like having another guy in the band who comes with an arsenal of talent. And he’s got great energy so it was the most fun I’ve ever had making an album—all the guys were phenomenal: Eric Bass and Dave Bassett out in Malibu (he’s a great songwriter).

HHM: Now, did Luis or Adam record any guitar and bass on this album or was it all you and Gaurav?

Luis [Espaillat] is on the record—we’re all big fans of his playing, he brings a lot to this band and he plays really well with my brother so we were all really adamant about having him on the album—so he did perform all of the bass duties on Locked & Loaded. Adam [Latiff] just joined the touring band, we’ve done maybe five or six shows with him—he brings a lot of energy, great backing vocals to the live show and he’s a lot of fun to hangout with. To the core, he’s a strait rock ‘n’ roll guy. He has so much touring experience playing with Puddle of Mud, he’s been around the world and he’s been to Download so he brings a really experienced mind to the setup. I mean, the album’s called locked and loaded but really, the band is locked and loaded. Eve to Adam’s been around for eleven years and this is by far the best lineup we’ve ever had—as close to an unknown super group as you’ll get.

HHM: Most hard rock bands work on striking that balance between “hard” and melodic—Shinedown actually is one of the bands that I think does it quite well, and I noticed on Locked & Loaded you guys are right in that tempo (so to speak). How do you guys approach maintaining that balance?

At the core, what moves me is more of an aggressive nature. For instance: a song like “Bender” in the demo I sound a lot like Motörhead because I really like Motörhead—some of my vocals had a bit of a “Lemmy” aesthetic to them [laughs]. Going through the production process, things kind of get sculpted and rounded out to a more melodic sound so what I like to do is go a little bit to the right of the needle—as far as I can stretch it because I know going through production it’s going to shoot back a little bit. Obviously you wanna have some of that commercial appeal but Eve to Adam’s signature has always been rough around the edges with a melodic core so it was fun to stretch it out a bit on this album: the riffs, the tempo is a bit more aggressive, the guitar work is more intricate and I had a chance to bring a little more of my screaming to it—something I’ve never really had a chance to do. It’s a fine line, it’s not easy to do and you don’t wanna sound to slick.

HHM: You said once that “it’s the difference between learning material and owning it” which is a great point—so while maintaining that melodic balance, how do you guys make sure that you still own it?

Owning it really comes from performing the material in front of an audience. For this band, if we’re out for like a four week tour, you’re gonna really start seeing Eve to Adam spark up—half way through the second week things will really start to gel. Owning it is when it’s just in your bones, you’re living in the moment, you’re not thinking ahead, you’re not thinking behind… you’re in it. That’s when I believe you own it—being comfortable in what you’re doing—it all comes from confidence, and confidence comes from the more time you’ve had cohesively as a band and the more hours you’ve logged on tour in front of an audience. That’s the cool think about rock bands, touring is what brings out the best in them and that’s what really weeds out warriors from hobbyists—after four or five shows in a row, you know that a band’s either going to crack or you’re going to see some fucking magic. Not all bands do that; sometimes when the pressure is added they implode where other bands excel—that’s the kind of band we’ve always been, we rise to the occasion, we need to have that stimulus, we need some pressure—if you’re not slightly nervous, with adrenaline and butterflies, before you hit the stage then I think maybe your head’s not in it the right way. You need to be on that edge because on the edge is where everything interesting and magical happens.

HHM: You guys do a great job sort of mixing it up with your sound—I’m listening to the new album, and I’ve already heard the lead single, I just heard track 1, and I’m thinking (as an evil critic) “okay, I’ve got this record figured out.” Then I hear track 2 “Immortal” and that dark riff hits me out of know where. Can you tell me a little about how you guys keep it creative with new ideas and unique sounds like that?

We co-wrote “Immortal” with Dave Bassett, and when we went out to his studio we had just finished the Halestorm/In This Moment tour and we were able to get some time with Dave in December, right before the holidays—so we got to the studio at Chateau Relaxo: a really great place, a beautiful property in Malibu on this mountain overlooking the pacific. I mean, it was a trek to get there everyday—you gotta drive up the mountain and there are no lights at night—you really gotta know where you’re driving or you will end up going off the mountain. Dave’s put his studio in a really geographic local that puts you in the right frame of mind—you’re earning it when you’re up there so you’re going to make the most of your time. We had “Lets Burn” done and then we finished “Shut Out The World” with Dave but for the third song we were all wondering what we were gonna do—I had an idea for this concept: a song called “Immortal” I had a melody for the chorus and Dave had some riff ideas—I wanted to write a tune about what it’s like to have invincibility and what it’s like to have legacy.

The song is inspired by people who transcend time with their accomplishments. There are people who are great and then there are people who are legends—Every human being on the planet knows the difference—between an Allen Iverson and a Michael Jordan or Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali. I wanted to write a song about what it’s like to achieve that level of greatness and leave that kind of mark behind. The enthusiasm I had for the content fed into what Dave already had in his bank of riffs and then Gaurav just took the ideas and ran—it culminated really quickly, that song wrote itself in about 45 minutes.

HHM: Have you guys finished shooting the video for “Straitjacket Supermodel”?

We have, we shot it a couple weeks ago, we’re actually just about to get the first cut this weekend. [Shooting it] was awesome, videos can be either the greatest experience of your life or the most taxing one. Everything’s already been done and there are so many opportunities for you to make mistakes as far as doing things that are just cheesy. We have Mistress juliya from Fuse in the video and she has a fantastic following—she’s kind of like the high metal priestess. She did the video kind of playing in character, she had great energy and really came off awesome on the screen. Our idea for the video was kind of taking a little bit of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and the TV show Dexter: with the kill room and the plastic on the walls—and with Mistress Julia being the straitjacket supermodel in a sense, working out her behavioral and aggression issues. We had a Playboy Playmate in the video—I don’t wanna give too much away but there’s going to be two versions of the video, I can guarantee it—the explicit version and the version out for the release.

It’s very edgy. We wanted to make a video that was empowering to women because we have a lot of female fans obviously, but at the same time we wanted to have a woman that was strong and sexy so guys will be like “this is fucking great, I love this song… this chick is hot.” So I figured if we pick up on the cross section of those two things it would make an entertaining video. And the band looks great, we had some great performance shots—we shot four and a half hours of band performance, we ended up doing 35 takes with the whole band and then everyone did their individual takes. It’s ridiculous, there’s a lot of energy—we wanted to make sure that when you watch this video you get an idea of the intensity ETA would have live.

HHM: I would ask you “what’s your favorite song off the new album” but I’ve pissed off enough singers with that question—putting them in that sort of “choose your favorite child” position. So instead, I’ll ask which song from Locked & Loaded are you most excited for people to hear?

I think the album’s a great trip because there are so many different flavors on it but I really love “Bender.” Trying to write a rock ‘n’ roll party anthem is not easy because there’s already been some legendary ones, and there’s a few now that have just been telling the lines of cliche so it’s very difficult to write something that kind of has a different sentiment but still gets you off like “it’s Friday night, lets tear things up.” I think the lyric in the song “I love this feeling, god damnit” is a little bit of reflection into the vision of the character—he really has a bad habit that he loves so fucking much but he knows that at some point, this can’t go on forever so I’ve really gotta live it up. It’s that kind of live fast and die hard ethos where it’s like “fuck it, you only live once and you either choose to walk on that side of the line or choose to be safe in your time and not live or experience anything.” You can’t insult the crowd, the crowd knows, the kids today know what’s up and they’ve lived a lot more life than I think they’re given credit for so I think a song like “Bender” is one they will totally fucking understand.

The last song “Forgive” kills it live and could end up being the biggest sleeper on the album. I think there’s something on this record for everyone. Like if you’re into the more metalcore stuff a song like “Forgive” is a surprise, you’ll be like “whoa, where did that come from.” We’ve got something for the older crowd too with the ballad and a little more classic rock stuff with an edge—and again there’s some heavier stuff.

HHM: Before we wrap things up, I just wanted to clarify, what is the label situation for the band right now?

The label that actually owns the masters for this release is 3 for 5 Entertainment: they’ve been with us from the very beginning—they’re an indie label out of Manhattan run by the same people who manage us. They are no longer through Universal Music. They are currently in the process of closing a deal and linking up with another label. I can’t tell you what label it is right now but it’s a big label and they’re gonna be doing a joint venture with them—they will be assisting with the marketing on this record and it’s going to be a different level. Our deal with Universal expired and we just weren’t satisfied so we decided to change strategy and change teams. We found a place that really gets the band, understands the album and have come up with some really great ideas.

Interview by Matt Crane – HHM

Check out the first single from Locked & Loaded “Straitjacket Supermodel” below—available for purchase on iTunes today.

HHM: When did you first realize that a career in Hip Hop is what you wanted to do in life?

NOVA: When I was younger, it was the only place I could be completely honest and say exactly what I felt, unapologetically and just be 1000% real with my feelings and thoughts. Music is the only real honest place we can run to on earth and hip hop just happens to be my resting spot.

HHM: Where did the NOVA moniker come from?

NOVA: My friend Zach Kumer, and I were making music as kids, and he came up with this name for me and him as a group from this little map he had on his wall. He said “NOVA” is a star and “TRIBE” is a family, and so we ran with “NOVATRIBE” as to mean “a family of stars”. I used to go by the name MSR, but my brother told me that sh*t was stupid and I needed something shorter. So, in homage to the first person who ever believed in my music….Zach….I decided I would go by the name NOVA.

HHM: What do you think are some of the biggest stumbling blocks coming up in the “rap game”?

NOVA: Stupid f*cking people man. People that can’t think for themselves and decide for themselves. People stuck on ‘being cool’ and being followers man. I came up in the era of Spike Lee, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Run DMC, LL Cool J, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, PIONEERS MAN….Legends….people that LED….and said f*ck what you guys are talkin….THIS is what the people need man. Rap ain’t goin nowhere and we gotta get back to why the f*ck we started this in the first place. RELEASE. Freedom of a trapped spirit. Derived from the ghettos and hoods. The only thing we could do was release. Gotta get that back in this.

HHM: What were some of your biggest influences musically?

NOVA: LL COOL J, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, and I always always say my friend Zach Kumer. Were it not for him, would I have recorded this long in my life? Would I have the same passion and desire? Would I be so ‘open’ to different cultures and sounds?….probably not.

HHM: Did you have any sort of mentor that show you the ropes or helped you along the way?

NOVA: I’d say my sister Felicia was really dope and important to me in being somebody that guided me out to perform live and get me out in front of the people. From a mentor standpoint, I can’t say anybody has really guided me musically or shown me any ropes….it’s been all fly by the seat of my pants. GOD man……GOD guides like a beast. I follow that.

HHM: Was there any key advice that you received while you were coming up that really stuck with you?

NOVA: I’d say not advice given to me, but watching Wiz Khalifa blow up after performing with him for a while and seeing how that happened has provided me with mad useful info you know what I’m sayin? Like….easily I figured out 90% of what I need to know just by watching THAT happen. What a storyline that was….and I can’t lie….it was absolutely AMAZING to watch. Heartwarming coming from the city we come from.

HHM: You have been putting out records since like 2006….all which have done pretty well. Does the writing process just seem to come natural to you?

NOVA: It does come natural. There are times I hit writers block, but I’m f*cking talented man. I think the sad part is guys like myself and a lot of other guys I know NEVER get heard and that sucks man. Very talented and very hard workers get lost in the muck of all these ‘i woke up yesterday and decided to make music’ motherf*cks that get in the way man. I’m of the soul. I’m from this. I DO THIS. Have since I was 10 years old. I’m tired sometimes from putting in all this work….but it just comes naturally. I can’t help but spend 12 hours a day in a studio to make ONE song. I can’t help but make all these records. I’m naturally gifted and guided. I just wish sometimes it was appreciated more.

HHM: How much do you think you have progressed as an artist since those earlier years?

NOVA: I’ve learned how to reach deep and write from a place that is so many layers inside of me…peel the onion. Speak on that stuff that its hard to look in the mirror and say some of what I’m feeling. When I get on a record….THAT is the place i can say EXACTLY what i’m feeling or thinking….regardless of how it’s taken…or thought. That’s a real place for me. I’ve learned how to endure and ENJOY that real place. No matter how dark, no matter how shallow, no matter how deep….just go to that place and let it out. Release…..what hip hop IS to a lot of black youth. How it started man.

HHM: Do you look forward to being in the studio more or playing live in front of a crowd?

NOVA: Hell yeah man I LIKE BEING THE STUDIO WAY MORE! I look forward to the GENUINE honesty of being in the studio more than I do the entertainment aspect of being on the stage. Though I’ve loved both here and there………right now the biggest gripe I have with being on stage…..at this point in my career…is that it’s 99% OF THE TIME just a “impress me now” fest…….i don’t do music to ‘impress’ nobody. I do it because it’s f*ckin real man…its from a real ass place, inside of me. Unfortunately when you are in a room of strangers that’s all it is dude…..gotta impress somebody…….i don’t wanna impress you. I don’t. Listen and love it or not. I can’t stand that aspect right now. I pray for the day I can translate what it feels like in the studio, on a stage.

HHM: You’re currently working on a new record…how are things coming along and when do you think you’ll be releasing the first single?

NOVA:  I’m working on my new album called “ME” right now. The first single is out called “So What” you can download it free audiomack.com/novatribe! The second single is called “Eye On The Prize” should be out by the time anybody reads this, and my final single will be released on June 3^rd! The album is really dope and just primal. Primal emotion. Primal spirit. Primal vibe. I wanted a bottom line theory to this album. What do you want? To be a better person…….do you want a car….do you want women….do you want to excel??? That’s ME….i just want what I want….desire what I want. Translating that to album form has been real dope. Trying new vibes and emotions on this project from a real place. The album releases on June 11^th, 2013.

HHM: What was it like getting to rap for Big Sean? Was it a bit intimidating at first?

 NOVA: Naw not really, I kind of was nervous, but I think that’s because in my head I wanted to not seem like an as*hole that does this all the time, and I also didn’t know what it could ACTUALLY mean to my career. I saw him come in and he wasn’t talking to anybody so I walk up to him and I’m like “Hey, what’s up man, how ya been” because I actually met him a few months before that. He was real cool and just down to earth. I told him his project is dope and everything and I was like “Hey man, can I ask you a favor” and I was thinking he wouldn’t do it, but he’s like “yeah, what’s up”….and I said “man, give me 15 seconds to rap for you yo”. Right there on the spot, he was like ‘aiight, go ahead, right now’…and I was like…aw man….i can’t right now you gotta do the interview and all that. He was like “aight, we can do it after”. He was ALL ABOUT IT. So the time comes and I walk with em, and he tells me to come with em downstairs cause their going to the elevator. I almost chickened out, but my friend was like “what the f*ck are you doin’ man…get over there”! So I did it man. Rest is on youtube now! Lol! Could be good, could be nothing….and that was running through my mind at the time. That chapter in my story isn’t closed though. Who knows….maybe he’ll remember one day. Maybe….he already has.

HHM: Besides working on your latest record, what else can you share with the readers that they can look forward to?

 NOVA: People can look forward to the new album “ME” dropping on June 11^th, 2013 and working on some other cool things on the low…but that’s all that matters. THAT NEW ALBUM…”ME”….June 11^th, 2013….FREE to download! Follow me on twitter @iamnovatribe and facebook.com/novatribe and stay posted wit the latest! Ya dig me!?

Interview by DaveHHM

BIO:

The guy is a 6’4″, 135 pound, rail-thin rapper soaking wet. Has the sex appeal of a giraffe, and the adams apple of an anorexic teenager who swallowed a tic tac…..but by golly….he makes one HELL of a good rapper!

Often his rap style is described as “bouncy”, “explosive” and “colorful”. GO Magazine calls him “One of those all-too-rare musicians who understands the difference between playing a gig and delivering a show”. His sharp delivery, smooth wordplay and amiable stage presence is what makes him a vibrant experience to see and hear. “NOVA molds catchy, commercial hip-hop with intricate lyrics to produce an appealing sound” says essentialpop.com

The self-proclaimed “Tall Slimmy” has rocked the stage with some of the best having opened for artist such as Wiz Khalifa, Flo-Rida, Lil Jon, Roscoe Dash, Travis Porter, Ryan Leslie, Marcus Houston, D-12, and The Artifacts. He is a Pittsburgh Hip Hop Award winner, MySpace Music Feature Artist, and sort of a viral sensation with his “Periodic Table Rap” reaching over 250,000 views. A man of the people; he lovingly refers to his supporters and fans as the “Novatribe”.

NOVA is currently staying in Atlanta, GA working on his next project for 2013 called “ME”. Free to download on June 11th.

Discography

Detemination of an Underground Rapper LP – 2006
Ambition of an Underground Rapper LP – 2007
Dreams of an Underground Rapper LP – 2008
The Atlanta Projekt LP – 2009
No Map To Kansas LP – 2010
The Tall Slimmy LP – 2011
Supernova LP – 2012

For More Information on NOVA:

Follow him online at facebook.com/novatribe

 http://www.sonicbids.com/novatribe

HHM: So, what’s been going on since the last time we talked?

Well we’ve played a handful of great events and we’re almost finished writing our first full length album.

HHM: If you had to explain to people who Split The D is and what they stand for in one word…..what would it be?

I’m can already see everyone expecting a specific answer to this one. It’s easy for us, Bros. We’re all about just having a good time playing music with each other, writing and performing. We’re all brothers here.

HHM: You guys are working on a  new full-length,  how much different is it for you compared to your EP?

We’re just finishing writing and recording it. Although it definitely was a lot different this time around. It was the first time the new line up was in the studio all together and it definitely made a difference.

HHM: Do you feel like you’ve found your groove now as a band? That you take this band a lot more serious?

Yeah I’d say we’re pretty comfortable right now. We all work together very well together and all take it very seriously.

HHM: When it comes to writing, how do you guys like to best go about the process?

The guitars and bass happen first. Then its introduced to Kevin to write the drum parts. The very last thing we do is lyrics and vocals.

HHM: Pop Punk really seems to be making a big surge…How much of a Pop Punk scene support system is there in Pittsburgh?

There’s a lot of great promoters in our area. A few members of Split The D work for a promotional company called Good Rat Promotion. It’s not very hard to find shows to play around here. The scene is growing rapidly every day.

HHM: How often do you guys like to play live? Who are some of the bands in PA you have the most fun playing with?

There is so many but right off the bat i’d say A Breathless September, Blaring For The Desolate, Before You, and The SpacePimps.

HHM: Have you guys been able to get out on the road and play for some new fans outside of Pittsburgh?

We’ve played numerous places all around Western Pennsylvania but we just haven’t really gone to far yet. We’ve been tossing around the idea of visiting a few places this summer for a short weekend tour.

HHM: You are getting ready to release your second video, What song is the video for? Since you already had one under your belt, did you have a better idea this time when working out the video treatment?

The concept of the video is definitely the key factor for this one. We just finished shooting it this weekend, it’s for our song Legacies. 
This time around it was a bigger production with extras and multiple locations. It was a exciting experience and I can’t wait to share it with everyone.

HHM: What are some things up to this point that you are most proud of as the front man of the band?

I’m just flat out honored to be given the opportunity to play with these amazing musicians. I’m proud to be considered part of this band.

HHM: Any plans for the coming months you are really looking forward to? 
Music video, full length, and a lot more performing.

For More Information about Split The D:

www.facebook.com/legaciesmusic

HHM: You’ve been playing music since a pretty young age, what was it that drove you to learn to play?
Rob: I started being fascinated by poetry when I was around 9, and also wrote some myself, I loved the rhyme of the words and the spontaneous melody that would spring out when reciting them. Later on I decided to learn to play the guitar as a result of hearing songs like Alice Cooper’s “Steven” or Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ “I could have lied”. I had this urge to play and sing these songs myself.

HHM: How long before it turned into something that you wanted to do with your life rather than just a hobby?
Rob:Well it took a long time, giving up a secure source of income for a speculation of succeeding in the music industry is a risky decision, but I gradually went that path.

HHM: How big of an impact on your life has that decision made?
Rob:A very big impact, I am more spiritual now and take my music much more serious.

HHM: Are you originally from New York? How tough is it being an upcoming musician in NY?
Rob: I’m Austrian and grew up in Vienna and lived in Marbella, Spain before moving to New York. It was a decision I didn’t regret, as I love the City’s incredible vibe and creative energy. There are so many talented musicians here and its very rewarding to work with them and inspiring to be around them.

HHM: What would you say are some of your proudest accomplishments thus far as a musician?
Rob: I would say simply believing in myself and going ahead with a plan I made to bring my music and poetry to the world., releasing my first single and performing in some notable venues in NYC.

HHM: You definitely have a classic style, what are some of your biggest influences musically?
Rob: Well as a teenager I had my Beatles phase , and then Alice Cooper, The Doors and later on Alice In Chains. But I was also always hypnotized by classical music and opera.

HHM: What’s your writing process like?
Rob: Most of my songs are not carrying a clear straight forward message, but rather creating surreal impression through poetic verses and obscure imagery, like David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” or Alice Cooper’s song “Generation Landslide”. Or most of Jim Morrisons poetry/lyrics.
I was always fascinated by surrealism and poets with dreamy imagery and words that dont necessarily make sense but create a general sentiment or evoke something deep in our sub-conscious. Arthur Rimbaud, William Blake are my favorites, and i guess this has been reflected in my lyrics.
But with “Burn me to the Ground ” for example there is also an underlying political message of rebellion and that in the long-run true discontent of people cant be completely ignored or suppressed by the ruling elite.

HHM: Are you working on new material currently?
Rob: We just finished the production of a 4 song EP entitled “Pain” produced by Stuart Epps, who has worked with Led Zeppelin and Elton John.

HHM: When are you hoping to be able to release that to your fans?
Rob: It will be released in the next 3-4 months supported by an international tour.

HHM: Are there any updates, any other news you would like to share with readers/fans?
Rob: I would like to thank everyone for their support at my last show at Brooklyn Bowl, I was pretty sick with cold flu and fever and honestly thought i would collapse on stage, but when the music started and my drummer hit it off I was struck with lighting and temporarily healed. After the show I did collapse though.

Highlights from a Live performance at Brooklyn Bowl

For Information About Rob Decoup:

www.robdecoup.com

Photo by Chad Elder

Interview with One-Eyed Doll

I caught up with OED while they were on the road with Otep and Picture Me Broken in Virginia. We were having such a good time talking that I literally almost forgot to even turn on the camera! Once we got through discussing zombie apocalypses, world war and how much Kimberly liked the venue (The NorVa) we got down to the brass tacks….

*disclaimer – It was a whole lot of fun chatting with OED so this interview is pretty long. This isn’t even the entire interview. I did not want to get hate mail from their fans eyes going crossed.

HHM: Did you guys play SXSW this year?

Junior: We played the day after, in Austin.

Kimberly: So close…

Junior: We played that Monday, the day after SXSW.

Kimberly: It’s officially the worst day of the whole year to play in Austin.

HHM: I would imagine…I figure everyone would be like “I am so fucking tired of music” at that point.

Kimberly: It was packed. It might have been sold out.

Junior: It was a really good show.

Kimberly: It was the most people I have ever seen at that place.

Junior: Our fans probably skip SXSW anyway. It’s such a circus, it’s impossible to get anywhere. Parking is crazy. The actual Austin locals probably don’t even go to SXSW, for the most part.

Kimberly: We actually had some people stay, change their flights out of town because they found out that we were playing that Monday. Everybody flies back on Sunday and we had some people change their flights to stay for that show.

Junior: We had actually booked a show at SXSW prior to confirming this tour. But of course we had to cancel it. This one guy from Germany was coming to see us.

Kimberly: This was his yearly One-Eyed Doll show

Junior: We got an email from him about us cancelling the show and that he had already gotten his tickets..we let him know we were playing that Monday so he was able to change his flight so he could see us.

HHM: You guys are kind of SXSW royalty.

Kimberly: Awww, I don’t know about all that but thank you.

HHM: I mean, you have gotten a lot of “Best Of” awards at SXSW. That says a lot to me because there are a shit ton of bands that play there.

Kimberly: We’ve never even really played an official SXSW showcase. We do the underground stuff. We play RockFest, we usually headline that.

Mike: Yeah, you usually have to be on a label to play the official kind of stuff. I had asked one of the venues that we had played at and they said that some European company came over and rented the place out for like a million dollars for the week.

Kimberly: Yeah, you pay to have your sponsored spots and then you bring your bands in. Being locals in Austin we can kind of work the underground scene and play these big shows all week. It’s so fun, it’s free, no wrist bands. Fans love it.

Junior: Since we know everyone in the scene, all the promoters, they’ll sneak us in on the good shows.

Kimberly: We don’t get to play in Austin that much anymore since we tour so much. It’s really special when we do. That Monday I was so relieved that people came out for us and Otep. We were just hoping Austin represented since we hadn’t played there in such a long time. They did, it was good.

HHM: You guys have toured with Otep before right?

Kimberly: This is our 3^rd time. We’ve played like a 100 shows together.

HHM: So it has to be a little bittersweet with the rumors that Otep may be calling it quits…

Junior: I don’t believe it. I don’t think she’s quitting. I stand next to her every night when comes come up to her “ahhh this is your last tour…” and she’s like “Who told you that…that’s not true” so….

Kimberly: Who knows, we don’t know anything. We’ve hear a lot of different things.

HHM: Well, yeah I guess the way it has been put out there is that is the last record, so who knows.

Junior: Well, check this out, you remember back in like 1991 Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tours tour?

HHM: Right

Junior: Then Ozzfest happened, so that’s about all I have to say on that topic. (Haha)

Kimberly: Ya know, it’s hard. I think artists try to quit but they feel that pull and they need to go back and start performing again. It’s something you love to do, it’s hard to stay away from it. There’ve been all these different rumors, I’ve read all these different articles whether this is the last album, this is the last tour yada yada but I don’t what’s going on. To me, you just have to play every show like it could be the last, go on every tour like it’s your last one and enjoy it. Savor it.

HHM: Could be an apocalypse right around the corner…

Junior: That’s right

Kimberly: A Bomb, have goggle ready….chainsaw (haha)

HHM: You guys have put out a lot of material….how much time do you spend writing, do you take time off to write or do you write as you go?

Kimberly: It just comes out when it’s gonna come out. Ya know. Sometimes driving from one show to the next. Sometimes at home when have a break from tour. We don’t really sit down and plan it out, the songs just tend to vomit out when they’re gonna vomit out.

HHM: Vomit out, yes, that’s great!

Kimberly: When we get a break from touring, which isn’t all that often, we sit down and record the stuff. There’s such a massive amount of stuff that we haven’t even recorded yet.

HHM: So you record all your own stuff?

Junior: She’s the main songwriter, she writes the music and lyrics and all that stuff. We started out working together when I was a studio own, producer. She would come over and record her albums with me. So that’s what our relationship was from the beginning. As a producer I prefer to work with one singer/songwriter because I can play everything. I’m not bothered by some lame bass player, or all these other people that can’t play that well in a band.

HHM: You’re just going to have to track his shit for him anyway.

Kimberly: Yeah exactly. (Haha)

Junior: With Kim and I it’s the perfect relationship. She can write whatever song she wants and I can finish it in any way that we come up with together. It’s a really fast process with us. We can put out tons of music.

Kimberly: It’s really effortless it just kind of flows.

Junior: Several times, she’s written a song and it’s done that night, ready to be sent off to get mastered. We went over and recorded with Sylvia Massy who is one of my heroes. She made the first Tool albums, fist System of a Down album, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the last Johnny Cash record…she’s legendary. One of my goals for my whole life is to record with one of my heroes. A producer that I can really learn something from. I figured that we probably needed to have a major label deal for that to happen. Sylvia emailed us…it’s a funny story because she (Kimberly) would get emails from producers all the time, “ahh I’ve already got my producer” and just delete it.

Kimberly: I’ve very loyal. I don’t know who anybody is, I don’t know names. I don’t know rockstar names, producer names. One day this one came in and I read it, it was short, just basically saying she loved our music and would love to do a project with you. It was signed Sylvia Massy and I was like “oh, a girl!” I forwarded it to Jason.

Junior: Of course my jaw hit the floor and I was like “Do you know how this is?!”

Kimberly: Don’t worry, you’re my guy. I’m not working with anyone else. (haha)

Junior: So I immediately called her up and said let’s set something up. About 6 months later we were in the studio and the plan initially was to do 6 songs, but the chemistry between us and Sylvia was amazing she basically just let us stay there and do what we wanted for like 6 months. We made like…at least 4 albums worth of music. She literally has everything.

Kimberly: We just sorta lived there between tours and recorded. We had access to her cool engineers, mixer and interns. Her Mom sang on one of our songs. “Plumes of Death” on Dirty, the opera singer, that’s her mom. I dressed her up in one of costumes, put boas on her, put a hat on her and had her hold my bumblebee pillow. She sang the part all epic, in the dark. She’s so cool.

Junior: Sylvia has the NEVE console form the 60’s. She had a Fairchild compressor that was made for The Beatles, handmade ya know? She’s got everything. She’s got this old ARP 2600 synthesizer that’s all over the music we recorded there. She’s got a real Hammond organ with a Leslie that’s in this art deco theater with the mics all the way back so it’s this huge epic sound. A grand piano, everything.  We just stayed as long as we could and made as much music as we possibly could there. We’ve got so much stuff we don’t know what to do with it. She still has a 100 songs we haven’t even recorded yet.

Kimberly: That place was so inspiring that I wrote so much more after our sessions I’d sneak into the studio A and theater at 4 in the morning to play that grand piano in the dark with the ghosts. There’s so much more music that came from being there that didn’t even get recorded.

Photo by: Brandon Delano

HHM: What are your plans for the new material? You trying to shop it to get a deal or continue doing thing on your own?

Junior: The music business is not the way it used to be. We’re gonna do what we can, we’re shopping the main album we did with Sylvia, that should come out this summer, tentatively. We’d like to put it out on a label, if not we’ll put it out ourselves like we always do.

Kimberly: We’re not able to put out the volume that we need to nowadays. It’s great problems to have but our demand far exceeds our supply. Any small business goes through this. You have to figure it out or you die at that point as a small business. We’re figuring out if we can get some sort of funding behind it. Release it bigger so we can get it out to all our fans before it sells out agan.

Junior: We have a lot of friends that trying to help us get something done with it.

HHM: I understand, I’ve managed bands so I understand what you mean.

Junior: For us to sign to record deal, it would have to be a really good deal because we’re actually doing pretty well for ourselves right now. Most of the deals you hear about are 360 deals where the labels takes all your money and then give you back something you can live on daily. That’s not anything we’re interested in.

Kimberly: A lot of our friends on labels have jobs when they’re not touring. We have been living on our music for years now. To have to take a step back just to be on a label doesn’t interest us.

Junior: It’s almost like they offer you the fame instead of the potential money you could make.

Kimberly: And they may or may not shelve you.

Jason: I feel like we’ll know if a label comes along that’s excited about us and gets what we’re about. So many people think they have an idea how they can take what we have and make it more marketable. You either like what we do or you don’t.

Kimberly: I’ve been told my whole career that I wasn’t marketable. That I had to change this and that. I can only do what I feel. I’m just expressing myself. I’m not trying to be a product, I’m trying to express my thoughts and feel good about what I’m doing and say what I mean. If people want to join in on that and support, that’s awesome. If not…then get out of my way.

Junior: As a producer, a lot of the big time producers know what the people want to hear and they craft the music to be just that. I don’t have any clue what the people want to hear. I only know what I like. If we make something and we’re happy with it, that’s success. I think it is kind of dangerous for us to get on a path making music we think other people will like. For me, if we don’t like it first, then we know other people aren’t going to like it.

Kimberly: I think we have already proven by the fan base we have literally built from scratch that people do get behind us. If not then we will continue to do what we love, do it like this, grow bit by bit the way that we have been.

HHM: You’re doing quite well all on your own, that’s pretty commendable.

Kimberly: Thank You, we even have a roadie now (looking at Mike). We have a crew.

Jason: We have a merch girl, Melinda, this new sweet van.

Kimberly: First time ever having a merch girl.

HHM: I saw that, that’s awesome. The van is super sweet too.

Junior: We’re renting it of course.

HHM: What’s that thing run you a month.

Junior: okay, I’ll break it down for you because I think it’s important for people to know. Our old van, Ford Econoline, we paid $2600 for it used. We got something like 7 mpg. Our last tour with Otep and Butcher Babies, which was similar mileage to this tour. It cost us 10k in gas. With the rental it’s basically 4k a month. So, for the 2 month tour it’ll be 8k. We get 3 times the gas mileage. With the savings in fuel it’s already paying for itself. Plus we don’t have to stay in a motel, we can just sleep in it. In the van, we’d have to stop for tires, tuneups etc 3 or 4 times.

Kimberly: Break downs, missing shows…

Junior: It looks all luxurious but in fact it’s saving us money.

Kimberly: We’ve got this cool merch hustling, helping us pay it off.

Junior: She’s selling twice as much merch as we normally would be. She’s paying for herself and Mike. (haha)

Mike: I just sit here and drink tea. (haha)as

Junior: I feel for Mike, I’ve been him for most of the tours and played the shows.

Kimberly: And I’ve been Melinda for most of our tours.

Junior: Yeah, usually Kim handles all the merch stuff. I handle all the roadie and driving stuff.

Kimberly: Most of those things are a full time job, they are really tiring.

Junior: I think we could still use a light guy and a driver.

Kimberly: and a personal masseuse.

HHM: and a personal coffee maker because you suck….haha

(when I first met Kim that evening, she was drinking a cup of coffee that was apparently not made correctly due to the high amount of visible ground in her cup)

Kimberly: haha I know…I did something wrong. *cries

Junior: and a sushi chef

Kimberly: and then someone to basically follow me around cleaning up my messes and when I screw up coffee machines. 

Lafayette Photography

HHM: Are you guys self-managed as well?

Junior: We have a manager, Phillip Kovac who is the brother of Allan Kovac who is the manager of Motley Crue, Buckcherry and many other bands. We do most of the stuff on our own but we’ve been working with Sylvia Massy and have a super cool manager.

Kimberly: We’re building our family

Junior: We have a booking agent who gets us on super cool tours with Otep, Orgy, Mushroomhead and Static X. We’ve got everything but a label and at this point I don’t even think we need a label.

Kimberly: We are the label right now. We’re hiring all these people to work for us like a label would I guess.

Junior: At this point the label would just be a bank that would just loan us large chunks of money that I guess we could just get from a bank at this point. (Haha) Their excuse for these 360 deals is that there’s no money in the industry these days. What I have found is that it’s not true, itunes and all the digital services, even spotify, Pandora etc, are generating more money. It’s increasing over the years. We’re seeing it too. Stuff like spotify even pays our phone bill now. Little things like that all add up.

Kimberly: It takes a lot of work to tend to all that stuff. We’re never in an office, we’re always on the road.

Junior: (holding up his phone) I manage all those things from this.

HHM: How often do you guys get home?

Junior: We usually get to be home for about 2 weeks between tours.

Kimberly: This last time was the biggest break in 2 years.

Junior: We put our foot down and decided we needed to take some time off.

Kimberly: We decided to take the winter off. We took some time to record and stuff. It’s a little treacherous to be cargo vanning it through the US in the winter. Blizzards and all that stuff are kind of scary.

HHM: This past winter was pretty rough, there were several pretty bad accidents some bands got into due to inclement weather.

Kimberly: I figure if we can, unless there’s some big opportunity we just can’t turn down that I would rather take the winters to catch up on recordings and business.  Running our record label. No matter, you can get sick, get into accidents, miss show because you’re snowblocked.

Junior: On the Mushroomhead tour we had to go from Denver to Chicago for some strange reason.

Kimberly: All of us singers had lung infections, it was pretty nasty.

Junior: Oh, it was Vegas to Denver then to Chicago, we had to drive up through Nebraska and it was literally hours of just following a snowplow going 5 mph through the entire state.

Kimberly: You have to load in at a certain time….ya know

Junior: We had a day off between those 2 shows but it was literally 20 hours sitting behind this snowplow to get there.

Kimberly: Spring, Summer and Fall are awesome, we can be on the road all time.

HHM: Well eventually you can just be like Iron Maiden and take your private jet to shows.

Junior: Yes!

Kimberly: We’ll just get lots of jets and fly all of our fans in to see us! We want even have to get out of our pajamas.

Junior: We’ll have Bruce Dickinson be our pilot too.

HHM: You should get him to sing the entire time.

Junior: He can do all the harmonies. Wow, that would be awesome. I’m sure he’d be done.

Kimberly: Yeah, let’s call up Bruce. Good ole Bruce.

HHM: You guys are definitely different than a lot of bands you tour with…

Junior: We’re different than all bands.

HHM: I wasn’t going to say that. You can definitely tell you’re doing your own thing. Do you find that you pick up a lot of fans who are like “wow, this shit is pretty rad”?

Junior: Yeah, every show. The only way we build fans, well, now that we have Ashley (their Publicist, who I vouch for as a rad human being) we get a lot of interviews, but the only way we build our fanbase is just one fan at a time a shows. Them coming up the merch booth, giving them a hug, interacting, then all of a sudden they are hooked for life. There’s so much music out there. It’s impossible to penetrate the scene from stuff like youtube videos. You have to really get them at the live shows. Build that one on one fanbase. As far as mixing goes with the other bands we play with. We have a lot of different styles of music, we have like what, 8 albums now…For bands like Otep, we play our heavier stuff.

HHM: You tailor your set list to accommodate whatever kind of show you’re playing.

Junior: Yeah, exactly. We played a tour with a really cool Japanese Punk band called Peelander-Z.

Kimberly: They’re super funny so we played all of our punky silly stuff the whole tour, it was so much fun. We get put on a lot of metal tours, it’s a lot of really upbeat stuff. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten to play some pretty ballad stuff.

Junior: I really hope we start to get enough draw to do headline tours.

Kimberly: Have a little bit more time on stage to do a more dynamic set. What we used to do when we were “headlining”..

Junior: Ya know, headlining for 10 people at a sports bar.

Kimberly: We got to play for an hour/ hour and half if we wanted to. We would play this dynamic thing where it would go up and down. We played this soft thing, then pick it back up again. These kinds of tours it’s just bam bam bam bam goodnight! You gotta keep it moving cause you don’t have that much time up on stage. You have audience that is not 100% YOUR audience, ya know what I mean.

HHM: Yeah, totally, I’m following you.

Kimberly: It is an interesting dynamic, it’s been a real challenge and a lot of fun to feel that out every night. I’m almost like, when we get back to headlining again..

Junior: We’re gonna have to rework our show again.

Kimberly: Get 30 minutes into the set and think we’re done. Forget how to play all of our pretty songs.

Junior: We did play a 3 hour set in Austin in June for our DIRTY cd release party.

Kimberly: Yeah, I threw up.

Junior: We played almost every song we had, it was pretty crazy.

Kimberly: That one really made me sick.

HHM: I haven’t had a chance to see you play live as of yet and the whole dynamic “minimalist” band thing is quite intriguing to me. I’m curious to see the set.

Junior: People ask us about that all the time. If you listen to any song you hear on the radio, the only things that really stand out are drums, guitar and vocals. You don’t really hear the bass a lot, I mean, there’s some solos here and there, keyboards etc but for the most part that’s all that really stands out. We’ve got that.

Kimberly: It really just started as a “The show must go on” I’d always have people flake out on me and I’d have to play the show anyway. I wrote music that I could pull off by myself. I wrote music that I could pull off with just a drummer so the show would go on no matter what the situation was. That’s kind of how it started and it sort of stuck. I’ve had different line ups here and there but the classic line up has always been what we have here. Just me and Jason. It’s been really cool. Some of the songs I’ve written and recorded for a 3 pc band, once in a while we’ll bring a buddy out and tour that.

HHM: When you’re writing, do you ever have to remind yourself it is just the two of you? I mean, you could be like everyone else and loop shit….back tracks.

Junior: No way, we would never use backing track.

Kimberly: I can’t deal with that in my life. I wanna play the music, it is what it is. I might sing off key, I might forget the words, I might miss a part. We might change the tempo…but that’s what  live show is all about. If it’s sloppy, it’s sloppy. We do different things to make it work.

Junior: I like to think the audience is the third member, singing along. I think a lot of times if a band is locked into a click track, a certain set length, it’s difficult to have any interaction with the audience that changes what you do.

Kimberly: There’s no room at all for improvisation.

Junior: As a drummer, I will play with the crowd. If crowd is listening are bobbing there heads a little bit, I’ll play a little more groovy. If they just seem like they want to mosh, then I set it up a little bit and we’ll play the songs a little too fast (haha)

Kimberly: We love to play off the crowd, they give us our energy. It would feel lame to me if I didn’t have that kind of interaction. It would just feel like being in the studio or some Karaoke bar. If I want to stop in the middle of a song, start playing another song, say something or trip on my guitar cord and have to start over, so be it. We don’t have to hit a button to that.

Junior: Now for the albums, for the most part we put bass on everything..

Kimberly: and lots of other instruments. (Haha)

Junior: Kim will record 64 backup vocals and a choir. We’ll put banjo, violin whatever

Kimberly: Glockenspiel

Junior: Yeah, we’ll go all for the record. That’s a totally different thing. There isn’t that third element of the audience on a cd. We craft the music on cds for that medium.

Kimberly: It helps give the enegery.

Junior: I kind of expect people to complain sometimes, “wow, where’s that piano part that’s on the cd?” Nobody really cares. They just want to hear the vocals, see the show.

Kimberly: If we’re enjoying ourselves, having fun, most people tend to really join us in that.

Junior: Hopefully they fill in the blanks with their minds.

Kimberly: Once in a while, we’ll get someone walk up to us and say “hey, what you really need is bass and I’m a bassist”

Junior: “here’s my card”

Kimberly: It always ends with that, “I’m a bassist.”

HHM: After this tour, what do you have going on?

Junior: We don’t know, we only know two weeks in advance.

HHM: Wow, you guys are planners huh? (haha)

Kimberly: By the seat of our pants.

Junior: That’s how we live our lives. We just keep it open for whatever comes along. Ya know

Interview by DaveHHM

Now that I have had a chance to see them live, I can honestly say that was the biggest spectacles I think that I have ever witnessed. The amount of crowd interaction and captivation these two command is staggering. You don’t want to turn away for even in a second for fear that you might miss something. OED has more stage presence that half the bands in the scene…combined. All you bands out there could learn a thing or ten from these two. You paid money to see a show and that’s what you’re going to see. If all you care about is the music, buy a record. If you want to be entertained, then carry your ass to the next OED show in your town. I promise you that you will be smiling ear to ear by the end of the set and possibly pissed off because thy couldn’t continue to play. If they bottled and sold this kind of enthusiasm and sold it at guitar center, maybe this industry wouldn’t be in such disarray. 

For More Information on One-Eyed Doll:

http://www.oneeyeddoll.com

Interview with Pop Rock Singer/Songwriter April Kry

HHM: Where did you grow up and what was childhood like for you? 

April: I grew up all around Fairfield County, in Connecticut. My family moved around a lot. My childhood pretty much consisted of church and music. My dad was the worship leader at my church, so I was surrounded by music constantly growing up.

HHM: What do you think it was that sparked your love for music at such a young age?

April: My dad. He would play the guitar almost every night when my sister and I were little. I just remember loving the feeling I got when I sang for people. My parents and I used to be out to dinner somewhere, and I’d literally get up from my table and serenade everyone at the restaurant. 

HHM: Are there any particular artists that influenced you more than others musically?

April: Yes, absolutely. When I was around 12 or 13 years old, my best friend got me a Celine Dion cassette tape. (Gosh, I feel old saying cassette tape.) I listened to that tape until it wore out. So Celine definitely had a huge influence on my vocal style. There are so many other artists that influence me, ranging from- Mariah Carey, Billie Holiday, and Adele, to John Mayer, Colbie Caillat, and Kelly Clarkson. I still have so many more in my head right now, but I’ll stop there.

HHM: When and why did you decide that Nashville was the place you needed to be? 

April: It was actually just recently I had met with someone who said, “Why the hell do you live in Connecticut?” and it kind of hit me…like, why DO I live here? I need to be where the action is. I have such a huge support group in Nashville, so I figured the right step was to just take the plunge and move down there.

HHM: How was it at first, did you instantly feel comfortable or was it a little intimidating at first?

April: You know, I wasn’t nervous at all just because of the people I work with down here. They are all just so supportive.

HHM: Being from the Zodlounge camp with such a massive talent pool, do you find that you all inspire each other to be better?

April: Oh, totally. I’m really close with the artists that work with the Zodlounge crew, and I feel like we all inspire and encourage each other whenever we’re together. Just a couple weeks ago I performed at SXSW in Austin and I watched Shannon LaBrie and Kree Woods perform, and they just blow me away every time.

HHM: Had you been recording music seriously prior to moving to Nashville?

April: I was. I recorded a 6-song EP called Music Speaks with Zodlounge about a year ago that I’m really proud of. It was basically my life for those past 3 years, mashed up into 6 songs.

HHM: You seem to have matured musically and vocally from Up from Under to your latest release Music Speaks, what do you think the main reason is for that growth?

April: That is quite a loaded question for me. I feel like every artist, or person for that matter, goes through something in their life that forces them to start over, and that’s where I was. I was done being what everyone else wanted me to be, and that’s where Music Speaks came from. So it’s very close to my heart.

HHM: Every artist has a particular comfort zone for their writing, what would you say is that “happy” place is for you?  

April: This is weird to say, but my “happy place” for my writing is whenever I have a huge decision to make, or if something traumatic happens in my life. It’s just my release and I write the best songs when I’m under pressure. Other than that, I write all the time and I find that little things inspire me every day.

HHM: As a singer and a songwriter, I know you spend a lot of time writing but would do you like to do outside of music to unwind?

April: I’m a pretty low-key girl. My ideal Friday night would consist of me on the couch with my cat, watching Friends and eating Cherry Garcia.

HHM: What have been some of your proudest moments as an artist up until now?

April: I feel so incredibly blessed to have done so many things thus far in my career. I’d have to say one of the coolest moments I’ve had was performing at the Apollo Theater in NY. It was the most nervous I had ever been. Just imagine this little white girl walking onto the stage where Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday’s careers were launched from. And thank God I nailed it. People get booed off that stage and never sing again. I felt on top of the world that night.

HHM: Are there any projects you are currently working on? Any music releases coming up in the near future?

April: Yes, and yes. I have a bunch of new music I’m recording right now. I’d love to get a full-length album out soon. No release dates yet.

HHM: In a perfect world and you could have it go anyway you desired, how would you like to best impact the world with your music?

April: Music is amazing. I say this all the time, but it’s a universal language. If someone can relate to my music even just a little bit, I’ve done my job. I want people to be able to listen to one of my songs and say, “this is exactly what I’m going through right now. It’s like she knows my life.” I like to write music with deep meaning, and sing it with passion because that’s what makes an impact on people’s lives. 

Interview by: DaveHHM

For More Information and to Hear More Music from April Kry:

http://www.aprilkry.com

HHM: In being widely recognized for NBC’s The Voice, what a lot of people may overlook: is that you had already released (correct me if I’m wrong) 3 professional album’s prior that 2011 season?

I’ve released a lot of eps, and albums, and even some projects with different names. My first album was a self titled, the second was No Disguise, and the third Deja Vu. I put out an ep of music that didn’t go out on an album called Chilly Allston. Before this, I released things in high school alone, and with my band Adore.

HHM: Can you briefly tell me a little bit about those releases and your musical evolution over their extent?

I believe my writing style has always been very similar, and that the surrounding instruments are what have evolved. Taking it upon my self to learn protools, and accumulating enough instruments to start my own studio opened many doors. I spend hours a day writing, and producing on my own. I’ve always been afraid to restrict myself in one style, so I let the inspiration sort of direct me to whatever feels natural. Sometimes I want to write on a ukulele, and other times, a moog synthesizer.

HHM: How was it coming up in the Boston Music scene? And was/is there a lot of electronic/pop influence present?

I grew up with music. My parents are both musicians and producers, and my father owns the biggest and oldest rehearsal facility in the country the Sound Museum. Instead of being raised on popular radio, I drew inspiration from my exposure to local music. Real, hard working artists surrounded me, and it was an incredible start for a budding artist. My family have been incredibly supportive for my entire career. At a very young age I was in the studio, and luckily the lifestyle stuck with me. Soon it became my own craft, and I’ve been living in a hoard of keyboards, and guitars since. I listen to everything, and I think its evident in my music, but my writing style is primarily pop. Pop has a happy home in Boston, there’s plenty to go around. As for electronic, there are a few good electronic bands, but mostly the electronic fans go out to dance nights. I like to play these nights with primarily DJs, or said local electronic bands.

HHM: What is it that sets Déjà Vu apart from your previous work?

Deja Vu is my favorite, and probably the most consistent from song to song. It’s very electro pop dance, while the older ones are genre hopping, and more acoustic.

HHM: What did you bring back with you, creatively,  from your trip to The Voice? And did any of this influence/change your musical direction that would ultimately be taken with Déjà Vu?

I wrote a lot in my hotel room, and wrote my title track “Deja Vu” on the plane ride home from the voice. It had no effect of my style, as most of the album was written already previous to being invited to LA.

HHM: Which song off of the album are you most proud of and why?

This is a very hard question, as my favorite changes all the time. Probably “Deja Vu” for it’s personal message, and “Talking To God” for it’s production and pop quality. “Heartbeat” is my top single pick after those two. See? I can’t choose [laughs].

HHM: Your latest video for “Bad Habit” turned out stellar, great contrast – can you tell me a little about the concept and your experience shooting it?

My sister Mary Lee Desmond was directing it with her partner Zack Schaefer (Red Hot Box Studios), and they both know me very well. I trust them, and we all have compatible tastes. They are so talented, and have an organic approach to filming. Jean Renard directed a lot of the glamour shots, and is an exceptional photographer. He´s worked with the best, and really knows how to light a shot. I felt like I had a lot of amazing support. The costumes were designed by myself for my line OHDEERGOD, and additional costuming by my best friend Jessie Ammons-Carswell who is also my make up and hair artist. I don´t know where I would be without Mary and Jessie honestly, those women are muses, and hard working in the name of art. The video is supposed to tease the audience, much like a bad habit teases your senses. I´m mostly silhouetted, and the bright and colorful shots are flashing in and out until the climax. There´s actually a story line that follows the theme, and the extra footage is being edited for my live visuals, and a remix video. More to come!

HHM: How did it feel to have MTV feature your video; seeing your music as Buzzworthy?

Very excited. I felt proud, and very motivated to keep going!

HHM: “NBC” and “MTV” aren’t exactly the worst acronyms to have attached to your name as a musician are they?

Thank you. It’s an honor to have them attached actually. I have been working very hard for a long time to get where I am. Hopefully more opportunities like that will present themselves as I continue onward!

HHM: Can you tell me a little bit about your experience on the production side of the industry?

I sort of grew up in a studio. It has always intrigued me, and collecting instruments is in my blood. There were always musical things to play with in my house, and at my fathers work (The Sound Museum) where I grew. After many years of recording with other producers, and experimenting with computer recording programs, I decided to take it further and record my own albums. I still work with other people in the studio like Anthony Resta, Taylor Barefoot, Karyadi Sutedja, and Eric Hart. My studio is a room with a hoarder like collection of synthesizers, and silly noise making toys. Music is my life, and the production of my songs is half of the songwriting process. Most of the time I start by recording melodies and synth loops, and write lyrics over a basic track. Other times I´ll come up with a hook or phrase while I´m doing normal things. I immediately record a memo on my iphone and save it for later. Sampling vocals and looping them to create drone like melodies is one of my favorite techniques. My go to toys are my Teenage Engineering OP1, my Suzuki Omnichord, my Korg Kaossilator, and my faithful Critter and Guitari Pocket Piano.

HHM: You seem to have quite the “passion for fashion” tell me about Casey Desmond the designer?

I was invited to play a fashion show years ago, and decided it’d be fun to make my own outfit for the occasion. I’ve never wanted to wear anything that wasn’t hand made by myself since. Eventually I started sewing my creations for special events, music videos, and promotional photos. I’ve since created under the name OHDEERGOD, and collaborated with my best friend/make up artist Jessie Ammons-Carswell. Now fashion, and art are a huge part of my direction, and style. This is great because it’s what I went to school for when I was younger, and sort of had to put on the back burner to focus on music.

HHM: Who are some of your favorite designers? And  from where do you draw most of your inspiration with respect to design?

Pam Hogg, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Betsey Johnson, David Bowie and many many others. Most of my inspiration comes from life experiences, psychedelia, and my true feelings. Color, nature, and sexuality are big influences on me.

HHM: Final question before we wrap up: how the hell was it sharing the stage with The B52s?

It was a night I will never forget. I have loved them since I was a little girl. I feel lucky to have played with them.

HHM: And before we go, what is in the future for Casey Desmond?

Stay tuned for my upcoming single-music video release for Heartbeat, for a few remix videos, more crazy fashion, and a show with Andrew WK on April 18th!

Interview by Matt Crane – HHM

 GRAB YOUR COPY OF DEJA VU ON ITUNES TODAY

FOR MORE INFORMATION: VISIT CASEY’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

HHM: Most songwriters claim to have been doing this their whole life, you literally have been. What do you think sparked this kind of dedication to music at such a young age?

Khalid Quesada: In a lot of ways, I think it was a desire to imitate what I was listening to and wanting to create something that might possibly affect someone the way music affected me.

HHM: You have stated that you admit you weren’t very good at it at first, where did you find the drive to keep at it?

KQ: Well, honestly, once imitation runs its course, it kinda becomes obvious you have two choices on how you want to proceed.  You either play a bunch of covers or start writing your own original stuff.  Eventually, I realized that in order to actually write songs of my own, I needed to at least be competent at one or more instruments.  I tend to work better on my own, so the thought of collaborating with a musician just didn’t occur to me.  I’ve since worked with some people on songs where I write the music or lyrics only, but it’s rarely as rewarding for me.

HHM: At what point do you feel like it turned around for you and your writing fell into place?

KQ: I’m fairly embarrassed of the majority of writing from my teenage years.  It was a learning process.  I get that.  But I spent way too much energy tailoring my stuff to the band I was in and our common influences.  So it was kind of at the tail-end of that experience where I really started to find my own voice.  It still took a good five or so years to really fine-tune my songwriting, but even after years and years of writing songs, I’m constantly trying to challenge myself and write as much outside my comfort zone as humanly possible.

HHM: Most of your influences are songwriting purists, substance over sound, do you think that is harder than writing songs that just sound good?

KQ: Absolutely. I mean, as much as I love the birth era of rock and roll, there are countless songs, particularly from one hit wonders, that tend to lack in the lyric department.  Not that every song needs to be serious or poetry for poetry sake.  But it gets stale real fast if every song is about boy meets girl, boy loses girl, etc.  Don’t get me wrong.  I think love is definitely the most universal topic and let’s continue to write about it, but I’ve always tried to find new ways to do that.  Emotions permeate my lyrics like a smoker’s cough.  And that’s the hardest part when putting stuff out there.  When people criticize your work, it’s almost like a teacher casting red marks all over your journal entries.

HHM: Besides the help of some others during recording and playing live, you pretty much have complete control over all your music huh?

KQ: Yes, for the most part.  I’ll work with other musicians when it feels right, absolutely.  But like I said, I tend to write alone and generally have a specific idea of what I want something to sound like when it’s finished, especially when recording it with the intention of releasing it.

HHM: Does that make it more difficult during the writing process or easier for you to express yourself?

KQ: I think it’s easier in the sense that I don’t have to please anyone but me.  I know what I like and I generally try to write the type of stuff I’d actually listen to.  Of course, the flipside is that it all falls on me.  It could be the difference between a song taking 30 minutes to write with a co-songwriter and a song taking a month or more to finish because I’m too stubborn to bring someone else in.  I am entertaining the idea of collaborating more often though.  So we’ll see.

HHM: You have written a lot of songs, how much time does writing consume your life?

KQ: Lately, not nearly as much as it used to.  Once I started marketing and self-promoting my stuff, in addition to the full-time job, a lot of the free time I used to have to write has unfortunately been lost.  But I don’t put as much pressure on myself to write nowadays.  Of the nearly 300 songs I’ve written, I’d probably be comfortable releasing about 25% of them.  That still puts me at approximately 75 songs, which means I have roughly 6 or so albums ready to go.  And obviously I’ll try to keep writing as frequently as possible.

HHM: Do you feel like as a songwriter, you see world differently than most other people?

KQ: Not necessarily.  I mean, I tend to think it’s because I already see the world differently than most people that I am a songwriter.  Hopefully it benefits how I write in a positive way.  I’m still on the fence about that though.

HHM: Do you find that your mood at that moment affects your perspective and the outcome of a finished song?

KQ: Absolutely.  I’ve used songwriting as a way to vent things I’m dealing with on, well, almost all occasions.

HHM: What have you been working on as of late?

KQ: Just working on promoting and playing shows.  I’ve kinda gotten sick of the songs I usually play at shows, so I’m also trying to find time to re-learn some older stuff as well as some of the more recent songs that I haven’t really had a chance to bring to the set lists.

HHM: Are you planning on releasing any new material in the coming months?

KQ: I wish.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time or money to go back into the studio.  I’m a bit of a perfectionist about the stuff I’m self-releasing.  I’ve found an engineer that I like working with and I’d rather wait until I can finish the album with him than try to find another way to get it done.

HHM: What are some of your major goals and plans for 2013?

KQ: Well, in addition to more promotion and touring on my own, I’d really like to get the band I started working with last year back in action.  The biggest goal is to finish the first album, and that’s going to take some time and budgeting.  I’d love to actually find a way to put the album out this summer and then try to start work on the next one as soon as possible.  Like I said, I’ve got about 6 albums almost ready to go.  But obviously the focus right now is on finishing the first.

For More Information on Khalid Quesada:

http://www.khalidquesada.com

Interview with Beau from The Heavy Heavy Hearts

HHM: Your story is kind of cool, can you explain a little bit about how it is that you guys started playing together?

 HHH: Well it was a long road to actually playing together. I (Beau) moved to California in 2010, and had been playing as a solo act the first two years.  I met Matt Trivigno at the ASCAP I Create Music EXPO, and he told me about Killingsworth Recording Company and asked me to stop by the studio to talk about doing a project. I was sold when I saw the studio, it is drop dead beautiful.  So I knew that a solo EP was what I wanted to do.  I met Anthony Mancini one night when I ran sound for a show he was playing with his previous band Night on Fire. I was obsessed with his playing and went to every show I could from then on.  Ralph Alexander entered the picture when I was asked to audition for a new band that was just a guitarist and drummer (Ralph) who wanted to start a blues rock/classic rock sounding band. I auditioned and was blown away by Ralph, but I didn’t end up making the cut for the band. I asked Ralph and the guitarist if they would like to record on the Dirty Lies EP with me, which they both agreed. During the first day of preproduction the guitarist didn’t show so we went on without him.  That’s when I remembered that I had Anthony’s number from way back when, so I called him and asked if he would come lay down some lead parts which can be heard on “Dirty Lies” and “Your Man.”  Clark Singleton played bass on the EP.  I had known him back in North Carolina and I knew I wanted him to be the bassist on the EP.  He was still attending music school back in NC so I actually flew him in to record for me.  Clark then left to go back to school after recording.  

I was booked as a solo act at The Whiskey A Go Go the week following the studio sessions and asked Ralph and Anthony if they would play with me, along with my good friend Austin James Williams (Austitron) on bass.  The Whisky really liked the way we sounded and asked us back for a second show.  It was after that show that Anthony, Ralph and I had realized that we had some serious chemistry and decided to go forward as a band instead of as my solo project.  Austin was and still is very active as an artist so we only had him as a fill in player until we could find a permanent bassist.  We had gone through a couple of players trying to capture the sound that Clark recorded and never quite found it.  I always had a gut feeling that Clark was our guy, but with him being all the way across country there was obviously no way for him to be a part of the band.  Luckily for us he recently graduated and agreed to move to LA to join the group, so now the original guys I had on the EP are together as the band.   

HHM: So you guys are relatively new as a “band” then huh?

 HHH: As a band yes. We officially announced our name and released Dirty Lies EP in October of 2012 at Molly Malone’s.

HHM: What happened to your solo career once you decided to form The Heavy Heavy Hearts?

 HHH: It is on hold for sure at the moment. We have adapted many of my solo acoustic songs into rockin’ full band songs, but as for the solo career I still plan to play shows acoustically with songs that don’t fit into the mold of The Heavy Heavy Hearts.

HHM: Since you’ve been on both sides now…which is tougher, solo or in a full band when it comes to writing music?

 HHH: Writing as a solo artist was a lot harder I think, only because it is hard to stay motivated to keep writing constantly. Since the band has formed I have been on a writing rampage. It is easy to keep writing with the band because I am always learning things from Anthony guitar wise.

HHM: Where did you come up with the name for the band?

 HHH:  We had actually spent almost 3 weeks coming up with names.  We had lists of possible names but using Facebook and google searches and other resources found just about every possible name has been taken in some way.  So coming up with the name was an adventure.  I think it was Anthony who one day blurted out “The Heavy Heavy Hearts” and it kind of captured what are songs are mostly about and we all dug the sound of it.  We looked it up and sure enough it wasn’t taken so we went with it!  

HHM: The music style is a throwback yet still pretty timeless, was that the stuff you listened to growing up?

 HHH: I was raised on a steady diet of Lynyrd Skynyrd during road trips growing up. I didn’t really grow to appreciate my Dad’s musical taste until I reached my 20’s, but when I went back and listened to bands like ZZ Top, Eric Clapton (Cream), Aerosmith, BB King, Big Head Todd, Little Feet, Stevie Ray Vaughan, I just saw and heard the magic in the simplicity and honesty of their music. Anthony learned guitar by sitting in his basement watching VHS tapes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, starting and stopping the tape to see what his fingers were doing. That blows me away. I also have been completely obsessed with the story of Robert Johnson and his style of delta blues is a huge part of how I approach writing.

HHM: There aren’t a whole hell of a lot of bands playing that style of music. Do you find that the meld of genres brings in unsuspecting fans? 

 HHH: Well I think at least in Los Angeles we have a refreshing sound. There are a lot of great rock bands out here but we kinda stick out a bit with our mix of heavy blues and country rock.  Lets just say it doesn’t take long at shows to get people’s attention.  We kick it off loud and hard and we don’t quit.  We pride ourselves on being something a little different in this town.   

HHM: You guys seem to a band destined for Nashville, is that what keeps you in L.A., not wanting to sound like everyone else?

 HHH: Yea, I mean I have no doubt that we could find success in an incredible music city like Nashville, but being here in LA has its advantages.  We have such strong musicianship in the band and it grabs people’s attention right away.  With the group of guys we have in this band being so good at what they do individually and in the kind of genre that we play, add the fact that there isn’t a huge presence of Blues/Rock bands in the music scene here in LA, we almost feel like we can be a big fish in a small pond so to speak.  It can’t hurt to be a big fish of any kind in the entertainment capital of the world…

HHM: Ya know, It isn’t something I listen to on the regular but, I did grow up on a little bit of Southern Rock so I instantly connected with your ep. It sorta has a way of changing your mood. Do you get that same feeling when you’re playing or even just jamming with the guys?

 HHH: There are so many terrible experiences wrapped up in these songs, and playing them with the band is the biggest release ever. It is great to just be able to scream out about love done wrong! Dirty Lies and Pair of Broken Hearts are both about ex girlfriends that decided that they wanted to try new things during our relationships. Being able to just sing out all the terrible feelings is like a shot of adrenalin each time, and feeling the raw power of everyone together puts me on a different planet so to say. I look around the stage every show just blown away by the talent on stage with me.

HHM: You released your EP in October of last year, how are you guys feeling about it now that you’ve been playing it out for a while?

    HHH:  Ha, well October of last year sounds like it was so long ago but really its only been what, 5 months?  We are all still getting comfortable with the songs, especially now that we have the bass position filled and set.  Really, with Clark only coming into the picture in early March, we are a whole new band.  We will be playing these songs throughout the summer to hone in on the sounds but we actually have a good list of new songs that we are starting to get on.  We are looking forward to recording and releasing a couple singles this summer and performing new stuff that the band as a whole has had the opportunity to help create.  You have to remember that Dirty Lies was my project; my writing.  Even though the other guys were recorded on it, it was my solo stuff.  Knowing the insane talent I have to work with now, writing has taken on a whole new thing because these guys can play stuff I’ve never even considered, so the overall sound is evolving.  We are just as excited to get new stuff out as we are about playing the songs from Dirty Lies.      

HHM: Have you guys started writing anticipating another release this year?

    HHH:  Its up in the air as of right now.  Obviously its mostly financial.  As I said we have a good amount of new songs that we are already starting to incorporate into our sets that we could easily go in and make into a new EP.  But that takes money.  A lot of it.  So I think we will want to at least record a single or two, get those out.  Keep pushing the EP we already have because it and people really do seem to dig it so we will see how it goes.  I think we will still work on getting more songs from Dirty Lies licensed out for TV and Movie stuff too.  If we find ourselves signing with a label and/or people start requesting recordings of the new songs we play at shows then maybe we will consider raising the funds and recording another EP.  There have been some talks of maybe doing a live DVD/Album combo too, so we will see… 

HHM: How do you approach writing, is it an ongoing thing for you or do you set time aside to concentrate on just writing?

    HHH:  Well we definitely try to make the music writing process a group effort, but the lyrics come from experiences I have had.  I use songwriting as a medicine so to say, because truth be told I am a super emotional guy and getting them out in the form of music is the greatest medicine money can buy. I’ve had a lot of random things go down in my life, failed relationships, addiction, close calls with death the list goes on.   I have many songs in the vault that I’ve always wanted to do full band and songs that I never intended to be full-band songs that the guys really like and they want to adapt them.  We basically start with my lyrics and song ideas and the guys put their spin on them.  I have plenty of past experiences to keep us busy for a while and I still get inspired by random things that happen to me now so, it’s all over the place I guess.

 HHM: What are some of the plans you have for the immediate and long term for this year? (Shows, Touring, Video, Releases)

    HHH:  Well, we are booking like crazy right now.  We have about 5 shows a month in and around Southern California.  We are definitely looking to get out on a tour or two, even if it’s just a week here and there.  We have a couple videos in the works that we should have out this summer, and we will be recording a single or two to release this year as well.  

HHM: Anything you’d like to add, plug, promote or even bitch about in closing?

    HHH:  Ha, well I guess we can plug some stuff.  Our song “Bottom of the Bottle” will be used during a montage scene in the MTV movie “MADE 2: Ladies Man” so look for that coming up.  Other than that, look for us to be playing all around LA.  We are going to really pound the pavement out here and try to play out as much as possible.  We hope to keep building up a good buzz and book bigger and better shows and just see what happens!  

Interview by DaveHHM

About The Heavy Heavy Hearts:

The Heavy Heavy Hearts began as the brainchild of founding member Beau James Wigington as he embarked on the writing and recording of his first solo EP “Whiskey is my Warm-up.” After a long recording process involving multiple session musicians, Beau found undeniable chemistry with session players Ralph Alexander and Anthony Mancini (Night On Fire, Chris Allen Band) and soon decided that a band was the necessary next step. 

In October of 2012, The Heavy Heavy Hearts held their debut performance at Molly Malone’s in Hollywood CA and released their first EP entitled “Dirty Lies” to great adulation. This up and coming band is quickly developing a buzz in Los Angeles as a heavy, soulful, highly-talented band, hell bent on fusing Blues/Rock with Country Soul, creating a unique yet worn in sound that calls back to Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf while maintaining the modern blues feel of bands like The Black Keys and Old Crow Medicine Show.

For More Information:

facebook.com/TheHeavyHeavyHearts

twitter.com/TheHeavyHeavy_

HHM: So how has the tour with Drowning Pool been going so far for you guys?

Hartmann: It’s been great, you know it’s the first tour we’ve done in two years – we’re just excited to be back out and see all our fans again.

HHM: How did you guys end up hooking up with Drowning Pool?

Hartmann: You know, we’re not really sure – we keep asking each other but I think it was our booking that hooked it up. The tour’s been great though, we love Drowning Pool: they’re a lot of fun to hang out with.

HHM: Have you guys been winning over some Drowning Pool fans? How has the experience been playing to a mixed group of fans like this?

Hartmann: I think it’s been good, I’ve seen some shows where some Drowning Pool fans leave after their set but most people have been sticking around and enjoying the show – I think our fans can kind of connect on some levels as well; there are some similarities in the music.

HHM: How did you guys decide on the set list for this tour, now that you have 3 full-lengths released?

Hartmann: It was kind of nice having a lot of material to pick from – I think we wanted to keep a high energy set so we picked some high energy songs from each record and of course we have to play the singles as well as the new material.

HHM: As a guitarist, which track have you had the most fun playing live on this tour?

Hartmann: I really like playing “Swept Away” very fun to play.

HHM: On a different note, despite announcing the departure of your former singer right before its release – New Horizons cracked the top 20: debuting at number 16 of the billboard 200.

HHM: Were you surprised by this? Any personal vindication?

Hartmann: Well I know Memento Mori debuted higher on billboard but we were just really excited to get the record out – we’re all very proud of New Horizons and looking forward to more people hearing it.

HHM: did you guys expect it to chart that well [top 20]?

Hartmann: Yeah for the most part it was pretty smooth – the transition was different but we were happy it did so well; we have great fans.

HHM: Do you think the strong debut was a showcase of your fans’ unyielding support?

Hartmann: Oh yeah, definitely

HHM: You guys decided to stick with longtime producer: the Grammy nominated Howard Benson, who has worked with such notable acts as Bon Jovi, Papa Roach, and Saosin. How was the experience working with him again? And what aspects of the Flyleaf-Benson relationship produce such great records?

Hartmann: Well, Howard’s big focus is on the lyrics and the message of the songs – we came into this record with just the songs we had already recorded and we were like “This is it, this is going to be the record” He was like “I love these songs” he kind of helped us flush out some ideas in them but it was a really fast process – I think we were only there about a month doing all of the instrumentals, then Lacey came in and did vocals for a week or so and the record was finished.

HHM: Has working with him kind of become like home?

Hartmann: Yeah it is – because every couple of years we’ll go see him, it’s still the same theme, and it’s like family.

HHM: Your single “New Horizons” had a pretty impressive radio stint and reached number 1 on the Christian Rock Chart – How did you guys decide on that track for the first single?

Hartmann: Well the label was really excited about that song and it was kind of upbeat – we were all just really excited about that song and there was something kind of special about it so we thought it would make a good single.

HHM: This past December: you put out a video for the album’s second single “Call You Out” it was a pretty interesting graphic display, can you tell me a little about the concept?

Hartmann: You know we were kind of at a crossroads at that point because Lacey was gone and we didn’t really have a lot of options for videos – we were getting treatments in and this animated treatment came up; we thought it sounded cool and just kind of went with it.

HHM: How have you evolved, as a guitarist, coming out of New Horizons?

Hartmann: Just playing guitar I got different influences and learned new things; I like to play a lot of metal so that’s been an influence and then I love Pop-Rock like Third Eye Blind: an influence you can kind of hear on New Horizons.

HHM: Seeing as this is Kristen’s first tour with Flyleaf what are some differences you’ve noticed in your live show?

Hartmann: No one really knows who she is so it’s kind of like fans are seeing us for the first time again – it’s like they’re examining us and analyzing it in their head “Do I like this? Do I hate this?” but by the end of the night people are really excited and into the show by the time we start playing songs like “All Around Me” and “I’m So Sick” I think that’s been the biggest difference: they’re our fans but it’s kind of like they’re becoming our fans over again.

HHM: Were there any challenges getting in sync with the new lineup?

Hartmann: Well we didn’t practice very much before this tour and prior to it we had only played one show. It was like becoming a band again; trying to meld together – I think touring is going to be the best thing for that and it’s just getting better and better.

HHM: How did you guys decide on Kristen as your new singer? Can you tell me a little about the process?

Hartmann: Once Lacey told us she was going to step down we kind of secretly reached out to potential singers that we liked and auditioned a couple; Kristen ended up being a really great fit.

HHM: How did you guys know of Kristen, was it from her previous band?

Hartmann: No, actually we had reached out to another singer but she was busy and recommended Kristen to us.

HHM: On an ancient history note, RCA passed on signing you guys after a showcase but Octone quickly shopped you following that – in the long run, how has the experience been working with A&M/Octone?

Hartmann: You know, they’re a great label and they’ve been very supportive; especially in this time of transition. They really believe in us and support us – we’re fortunate because we’ve heard horror stories from other bands where their labels were just like “If your single doesn’t do well in two months, you’re done.”

HHM: Are you guys still under contract with A&M/Octone? I guess what I’m asking is it probable you will be with them for your next release?

Hartmann: Yeah, I mean they have the option though.

HHM: So you recently told me you guys have tracked two new demos [featuring Kristen] with Benson – how is this material coming so far? Any hints to the sound and musical direction.

Hartmann: It’s still going to have that “Flyleaf” sound – kind of where we left off in New Horizons; it’s still in that vein of music, it’s real melodic. I love my rig right now though!

HHM: What rig are you using right now?

Hartmann: I play through a Diezel Einstein and I have a modded Marshall JCM 800, and for effects only I’ve been using the POD HD pro – man it’s got everything, the best I’ve ever used: hundreds of delays, re-verbs, mods, filters…

HHM: Is there any chance of fans catching one of the new demos live later on in the tour?

Hartmann: Probably not this tour because we literally wrote those songs a week before this tour – we’ve only heard rough mixes so far but we’re really excited about it.

HHM: I know you guys have had a busy schedule but are there any “official” plans in place for a new flyleaf album featuring Kristen yet, or is it too soon to speculate?

Hartmann: It’s a little too soon, nothings official yet but we do want to get new music out this year.

HHM: You guys just announced you’re playing the XL102 Festival with Three Days Grave and Eve 6 – pretty excited?

Hartmann: Oh yeah! It will be great playing with Three Days Grace again and I use to listen to Eve 6 when I was young – I don’t think I’ve ever seen them live.

HHM: What else is in the future for Flyleaf after this tour?

Hartmann: We just confirmed we’re going to South America – we’re going to go to Brazil for the first time; I know our Brazil fans are going to be really excited because they’ve been begging us to get over there.

Interview by Matt Crane – HHM

Grab your copy of New Horizons on iTunes today and be sure to catch Flyleaf on their current tour with Drowning Pool. For more information visit the band’s official website.

HHM: So how has the tour with Flyleaf and Drowning pool been going for you guys so far?

McGraw: It’s awesome! It’s a lot of fun – one of our favorite tours we’ve done so far. It’s just easy in all the best ways: the crowds are good and the other bands are awesome.

HHM: Do you think you guys are winning over a lot of new fans from the crowd?

Hollcraft: Yeah, Definitely!
McGraw: Yeah, this is the first we’ve been able to actually let people hear the album, and so far it’s been going great.

HHM: You guys were at 10,000 Facebook fans in 2012, entering 2013 you’ve quadrupled to 40,000 – your fan base is literally blowing up in front of your eyes – can you guys tell me a little about this? Explain this black magic! [Laughs]

Langan: Correction, that’s brown magic [laughs]
Band: [Laughs]
McGraw: Yeah, I use to keep track in my phone but I stopped because it got too tedious – I started at my birthday and we were at like 2,500 and now we’re at almost 40,000.
Siegel: Yeah the way that we’re building this is: we have an indie label, but it’s ours – so we’re supporting ourselves with a team and as we build to the album release that team is growing; they’re helping us focus our attention on how to build the band, get fans, and use these tours & tools to our advantage to grow.
Hollcraft: Actually we just sold our souls to the devil so I don’t know what these guys are Taking about.
Band: [Laughs]

HHM: [Laughs] Yeah, I believe that – I’m going to have to set you guys up with an advice blog for new bands.

Hollcraft: [Laughs] Yeah, Meet Satan: step 1!
Siegel: We just became a lot more active on social media, and when we did that; it just spread!
Hollcraft: Yeah it’s really important for us to connect with our fans – on the internet we keep in touch, respond to their comments and it’s awesome having that connection because when we meet fans at shows they’ll be like “Oh, we were talking to you on Facebook and we’re finally meeting you!”

HHM: I caught your video for “The Broken” the vibe was spot on and it has great visual contrast – can you tell me about your experience shooting the video and its concept?

McGraw: The visuals have always been one of our favorite parts of writing our music so a lot of times we’ll even think of the concept before the song. We always treated “The Broken” as the baseline of our story for the album so we wanted to set something up that was representative of the mood and the story without giving too much away. One interesting thing – It was all shot in one parking so we moved stuff around and really changed it up a lot.

HHM: So big news, “Every Last Thing” your first “official” single from your upcoming album debuted on AOL’s Noise creep yesterday. Can you tell me a about the track and how you guys decided on it as the first single?

Hollcraft: Well, it’s the first song we ever wrote together as a band and it just never lost its magic for us. It means a lot to us – it’s about love & loss: something that we all really relate to.
McCormick: Yeah, the song survived from the beginning; like Bec said, it was the first song, and it survived the earliest demos, recording the album – it’s always been a standout track.

HHM: I understand you guys are planning a video for the track? Can you spill any details about it?

McGraw: No you’re gonna have to wait and see [laughs]. We’ve kind of had this general story line in our head for all the videos on this album, and this concept is the one that we’ve been excited to do for the longest. We get to do some pretty cool “stuff” to ourselves for the video.

HHM: I know you guys are selling copies on this tour – but for the rest of the world your self-titled album drops April 9th correct?

McGraw: Yeah, and you can pre-order it now if you go to our website.

HHM: What can fans expect from the release musically? Is the album leaning more towards the faster melodic sounds of “Violence” and “The Broken” or more like “Every Last Thing?” Good mix maybe?

Hollcraft: I think it’s a pretty good mixture – it’s definitely a high energy album but there’s definitely a few slower songs, some more mid-tempo stuff…
Siegel: Yeah, I don’t think we could have struck a better balance of all 3 levels.

HHM: You brought up your label, so you guys are doing this all independent – you’re a “DIY” band and you own your own label?

McGraw: Yeah we’re doing it by ourselves but we’re by no means taking credit for the stuff that the people around us are helping with.

HHM: Can you tell me about your experience running your band in this way, and how it has worked out for you so far?

McGraw: Every choice has been ours so far which is pretty cool – no one is forcing decisions down our throat; I’ve never been on a band on a label, but with having friends on bands in that position and seeing the options when we were making that decision, I’m definitely glad that we get to call the shots – It’s a good feeling to be definitely confident & happy in the choices you’re making.
Hollcraft: Yeah, I think you have to adapt; there’s no platform anymore for “this is how you do it” it’s just not that way anymore – you have to get creative.
Siegel: You see over the last two years that independent artists have been breaking those records; like Macklemore and The Lumineers.

HHM: Have you guys been shopped by any labels?

McGraw: Really, we sat down together and talked about whether that was a direction we wanted to go or whether we wanted to just go full speed ahead on our own – we decided that this is how we wanted to do it and we don’t even really consider [signing] an option; so we don’t even pay attention if somebody wants to get on board.

HHM: That makes my next question very interesting – What would it take to get you guys to sign? Tell me what a label needs to offer you as a band for you to ink a deal.

Siegel: I don’t think that there’s anything a label could offer us that we’re not already doing for ourselves; the big checks aren’t big anymore and with the promo & the things the label use to offer: they don’t really have the power anymore – you know, the internet has opened it up and now with all these firings & the labels collapsing: everyone’s gone and just formed their own independent shops outside of the labels. It’s like one stop shopping for every department, and it’s as good, if not better than a label.

HHM: So next you guys head out with Bullet For My Valentine and Halestorm? I mean, holy shit [Laughs] how excited are you?

McCormick: [laughs] Yeah, we’re stoked.
McGraw: Yeah it’s definitely the largest tour we’ve ever done.
Langan: It’s exciting to go back to some of the venues we’ve already played: like at The Rave in Milwaukee we went snooping around & checked out the big ballroom upstairs and now we’re gonna go back and actually play that room.

HHM: Tell me how you guys ended up connecting for that tour? How did you set it up?

Hollcraft: Satan.
McGraw: Satan again, yeah.
Langan: Brown magic [laughs].
Hollcraft: We just have an awesome team around us.
Siegel: It’s nice to see some upward momentum – we’ve been touring our asses off for the last year, we’ve seen a lot of growth in every aspect, and touring is one of them. It’s nice that we continue to reach next levels and milestones – that tour is definitely going to be one of them for us.

HHM: Releasing an album, two major tours, after that – what is in the future for Stars In Stereo?

Hollcraft: We really want to stay on the road as much as possible and just get the album out there as much as we can.
McGraw: For me at least, playing shows; we had a month & a half off between the last tour & this one, and I was just pulling my hair out because it’s just so much fun to put our music in front of people and actually see the reaction.
Langan: Yeah, we’re starting to see significant growth in the people that are coming back just to see us so it’s really important to maintain that base foundation of fans that will be there with us throughout our career.

Interview by Matt Crane – HHM

Visit the band’s official website for more information.