Thursday, May 29, 2008

Killing The Dream Interview



There are very few bands that really stand out in hardcore these days. It's safe to say that Killing The Dream is one of those bands. It'd be near impossible to find a band with more raw emotion portrayed in their music. With vocalist Eli's angst driven lyrics and gut wrenching vocals over the driving tempo of the instruments, it's hard to not feel the anger behind it. Their latest and first full length attempt, "In Place, Apart" blew through the national hardcore scene, leaving an impact that will definitely influence HC acts in future years. This month (June 10th) Killing The Dream hits us with another hard hitting Full length titled "Fractures" out on Deathwish Inc. With the release of this record, they'll be hitting the East Coast, playing This Is Hardcore fest and Florida. Eli took the time to answer some questions for the blog. Check it out:



FU: Alright dude, lets start this off with some light questions. Who does what in Killing The Dream?

KTD: My name is Eli, I answer questions and lose my voice. DJ plays guitar and handles food consumption. Chris plays bass and sleeps all the days. Patches plays guitar and is only crying because of the adrenaline. Isaac plays drums and listens to an unhealthy amount of U2.

FU: You guys have a new record coming out on Deathwish. When does this thing drop?

KTD: June 10th, 2008. Check it out anywhere music is sold.

FU: Judging from the songs on the DW Audio Player, Fractures is lining up to be one of my favorite releases this year. How does the writing process for KTD usually go? Did it change at all with this record? 

KTD: It definitely changed for this record since we lost Joel and Bart right after we recorded "In Place, Apart". Joel was our primary songwriter so obviously it was going to be a new experience writing another record. For a while we just focused on playing those songs and promoting that record, but we knew eventually we were going to have to get down to writing new stuff. It took a while to get into a rhythm and figure out exactly what kind of record we were going to be making, but once we did, it just all sort of fell into place.

Overall, the record is the product of over two years of writing, rewriting, and waiting...but we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Hopefully everyone else agrees.

FU: How would you say the band has changed since the release of your previous full length, “In Place, Apart”?

KTD: Most obviously, we've had some member changes, as i alluded to in the last question. A couple months after "In Place, Apart" got recorded, Joel and Bart quit, and we recruited our old friends Phil and DJ to fill their spots. Phil left us in december of 2006, and we decided we need some more viking in our band, so we scooped up Patches O'Houlihan, the littlest viking. He's been great to have around, he works hard and has such a great attitude about everything. I'm really happy he's in the band.

Musically, I think a lot of things have changed, if nothing else just from the standpoint that we are a new band with new people writing music. In a lot of ways, "Fractures" is really a record we all wanted to write. We're all so happy with the other records and proud of the work we did with them, but I think with "Fractures" we were able to put everything together. When you start writing a record, I think you always have certain goals for it - We wanted the songs to be fluid, to transition well into one another; We wanted to try new tempos, new progressions, and to take chances without going too far out there and being something we aren't. 

FU: I take it youre a bigtime fan of The Office, from your bulletins, and show flyers. How do you feel about the finale of this last season? Any predictions for the next season?

KTD: Dude, best show ever. I was kinda late to the party on this show, because I don't really watch a lot of current TV, but I watched all three seasons last summer in like two weeks. I was pretty stoked on the finale this year. There were a couple of episodes this season that honestly weren't that funny...I feel like they were trying to set up plot lines more than be funny, which is fine as long as they don't overdo it. So it was good for them to end with a really funny one. haha Kevin..."I am TOTALLY gonna bang Holly."

Anyways, yeah. I hate Jan. What a heinous B. It will be interesting to see what they do with that story...and the Jim and Pam thing is frustrating, just because I really hope they don't make them break up for the sake of drama and stuff, when they've spent the last four years showing us how good they are together. Man, I could go on forever. I'm gonna miss Michael hating Toby, though. Seriously that was one of my favorite parts of the show.


FU: At the end of this summer, you guys will be heading to the East Coast to play some dates including This Is Hardcore fest, and Florida. After that tour, do you guys have any extensive touring plans to promote this new record?

KTD: Haha no! This is pretty ambitious on our part...We'll be gone for almost half the summer, so we are really gonna need a break from stuff. We'll obviously go out and do more shows sometime, but we don't have any definite plans for a while after this summer.


FU: What would you say is the overall theme for “Fratcures”, lyrically? What inspired you while writing for this record?

KTD: "Fractures" is just about breaking away, moving on, growing up...in a lot of different aspects. Basically, I'm just not as young as I used to be, and I'm at a point where I'm having to face decisions that I've been putting off for years under the guise of being young, you know? At some point, you can't just keep gliding through everything and doing everything exactly the same way, and that's what a lot of the songs are about. There's a lot of looking back, looking forward, trying to come to terms with letting certain things go, that sort of stuff.


FU: The Song “Thirty Four Seconds” seems to have a pretty interesting meaning. Care to clarify this songs message?

KTD: Not really. It's a pretty personal song, even though I think a lot of it is pretty obvious. You should know that when I say "You are who you fuck.", I'm not talking so much about sex as I am other stuff.


FU: You guys have a tour in Japan with Ruiner coming up in July. I know you have already been through there before. What is the hardcore scene like there, and how does it differ from the states? Any more info on that tour?

KTD: It's funny, as different as things are, they really are the same everywhere. I think that's one of the really awesome things about hardcore. There might be a few cultural differences. Obviously language is a barrier, but for the most part, hardcore shows are hardcore shows. I don't think there's a lot of things in life you could say that about.

The people in Japan are great...They are so gracious and so stoked to be at shows, and just are very giving, unselfish people. The food takes a while to get used to, but other than that, it's pretty awesome, haha.

Here is the list of shows for that tour-


July 4th (Fri) Fly in ~ Chiba Shinmatsudo @FIREBIRD
July 5th (Sat) Day off
July 6th (Sun) Tochigi Ashikaga @NORTH BBC
July 7th (Mon) Yokohama @LIZARD
July 8th (Tue) Tokyo Kichijoji @WARP
July 9th (Wed) Shizuoka Shimada @CLUB CANDLE
July 10th (Thu) Nagoya @ZION
July 11th (Fri) Osaka Namba @BEARS
July 12th (Sat) Fukui @CHOP
July 13th (Sun) Tokyo Shinjuku @NINE SPICES
July 14th (Mon) Fly out


FU: With two EP’s and two LP’s under KTD’s belt, what’s next for the band? Any talks of writing anymore music or are you guys just going with the flow?

KTD: Definitely just going with the flow. Right now we're just focusing on playing shows for "Fractures" and having as much fun as we possibly can. I guess we'll just let everything else fall into place after that.

FU: That’s it man. Leave us with some inspiring words or a good plug.

KTD: Do something nice for someone today! Seriously, whether it's big or small...you won't be sorry you did.

Thanks for the interview man...See you this summer! Egg House! Haha I forget what that place was called, bummer it closed.

"FRACTURES" June 10th everywhere that has music!

Killing The Dream MySpace
Killing The Dream Website
Deathwish Inc.

Although KTD are one of the most powerful bands in HC today, it's a rare occasion for them to venture outside of California. With KTD delivering an unmatched live show, it would be extremely foolish to pass up an opportunity to catch them while you can. They're hitting Tampa on August 27th, I'll see you there. Be on the lookout for another update this week or next including full sets from the Blacklisted/Paint It Black show along with a video interview with Dan Yemin.

-JP

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Ceremony Interview






Ceremony is a band that needs no introduction.  Since their debut EP "Ruined" dropped on Malfunction Records in '05, Ceremony have been a household name for modern day hardcore. With their release the "Violence Violence" LP, also on Malfunction, and their most recent effort, the "Scared People" 7" on Bridge Nine, they have only solidified their spot on the top. With an unmatched war-like energy on stage, Ceremony have left quite an impression on the hardcore scene today. They have a new record coming out August 5th on Bridge Nine called "Still Nothing Moves You". Be on the lookout for that. What follows is a quick interview with guitarist, Ryan Mattos. 



FU: Alright, who are you, what do you play, and what food best describes you as a whole?
CY: I am Toast, I play guitar, sometimes bass, never drums. I am a cyberdog.

FU: Ceremony is hitting the road with Life Long Tragedy and Sabertooth Zombie for a full US, I know that one of the dudes in your band has toured with LLT before, are you guys good friends? Any revealing stories between the two bands?
CY: Yeah, pretty much all of those dudes went to the same schools together growing up in Rohnert Park. I'm a little older and from a different town, I originally met them when I had been briefly working as a janitor at Rancho Cotati High School in RP. I wouldnt be one to reveal any revealing stories, theyve all known each other so long that I can barely keep up with the jokes.

FU: California is delivering some pretty solid bands as of late. What up and comers should we keep our eyes on?
CY: Crucified,Skin LIke Iron, Wolves & Thieves, Cinnamon, Foreign Nature. 5 is enough for now, look into those and you'll find more.

FU: Ceremony has a new LP coming out at the beginning of August called “Still Nothing Moves You”, Ross posted a bulletin about this record,calling it “the record” for you guys, are you all as confident in this release as he is? What can we expect to hear coming out of the “Scared People” EP?
CY: That was me. I think a lot of people confuse us because our names are Ryan and Ross, and I'm kinda a mouthpiece for the band, and most people assume that's going to be the singer. I mean my REAL name is Ryan, but everyone calls me toast at this point.

FU: I know you guys have a two song 7” with you on this tour, whats the info on this release?
CY: I have no idea. B9's helicopter crashed while they were taking it to the plant, so it got delayed and we don't have it yet. eventually we will and it'll have 2 songs, one's on the LP, one's not.


FU: I heard talks of this record being self-titled before the name was picked. Am I an idiot basing a question off of false information, or is this true? If so, why the name change?
CY: You're not an idiot, don't beat yourself up. We were going to have it be self-titled, but then we decided we didn't want people to confuse it with The Cult's record called "Ceremony."


FU: What would you say are your favorite things about living in the Bay area?
CY: Lake Merritt, good vegan food, weather, people, the Rose Garden, shows, Sabertooth Zombie.

FU: I recently stumbled across a number on the net for the Ceremony Info-line( Call [510]350-7360 and check it out for yourself). I called it up and it hit me with some upcoming tour dates, record info, and other Ceremony related news. This is definitely a pretty different way of promoting, whats the deal with this for those not in the know, and whose idea was it to get this thing started up?
CY: Well information is power, and with so much stuff on the information superhighway, it's pretty much the power superhighway. We're trying to get that power back from the hands of the upper class, internet-enabled techno poseurs, and back to the payphone punx where it belongs.

FU: Since the “Ruined” EP, Ceremony has kept a pretty hectic touring schedule, are there any memorable oddball dates that stick out in your mind? What’s the story behind it?
CY: Oh man, uh, there was this one that happened forever ago. We were staying at a hotel and there was a door on either end, right. And one opened up to the hallway and the other opened up onto the beach. And if you opened both of them it created like this crazy wind tunnel. So, like first of all we experimented by opening both doors and just like throwing shit into the path of the wind as it rushed through. So it would all like fly out into the hallway. Then, apparently there were a bunch of seagulls outside and next thing we know there is a bunch of seagulls flying at the open door. So we slammed the door closed and all we hear for like the next half hour is just seagulls like slamming into the door. (laughs) It was really kind of scary.


FU: Alright, thanks for the interview dude, it’s time for the ever-so-awkward last words portion of the interview. Leave us with some words to live by, a plug for the new record, or some shout outs.
CY: Dan, I know you're super bored and hot right now, just hang in there.



Ceremony will be stopping in Tampa with Life Long Tragedy and Sabertooth Zombie in a few weeks. Don't be a dummy and miss this gig.

-JP

Saturday, May 17, 2008

LEARN NOTHING - Tallahassee Trip



For those that aren't familiar, I sing in a disorganized, cluster fuck of a band called Learn Nothing. We've been around for almost a year and have been consistently playing shows mainly in the Tampa/Orlando area. This past Friday we made a trip up to Tallahassee to play a show with 1984, No Excuses and DEA. We all met up at my house around 11:30 and from there we headed out to pick up Gil Sayfan of Think Right/Triple B/Ill Mosher fame. Gil is taking a little break from the streets of Boston to come visit us all in Florida. This trip wouldn’t have been the same without him and anyone that knows Gil knows the truth to this. From Gil’s place we embarked on our journey, which started out with me giving the wrong directions and Nick getting pissed off like he always does. What a guy. We got back on track and Nick’s nerves slowly started to boil down. We jammed some classic NYHC for awhile, most notably Warzone, Breakdown and Straight Ahead. Gil, Matt and I car moshed hard as nails for the duration of these songs. Sing alongs were of course included with invisible mics. Eventually we made a stop and I was thrown out of the “navigator” position and was replaced by the poser navigator, Danny. The car ride was long, long and long so I’ll skip ahead to when we were closer to our destination. About 50 miles out from Tallahassee we hit some hard rain. Unluckily for us, Nick’s windshield wipers fucking suck and barely work. We had to pull over at a gas station until it died down. When it finally did we piled back in the car and continued on.

When we first got into Tallahassee I wasn’t impressed. The downtown area and University area are pretty nice but mostly everything else is a giant shit hole. We finally arrived at Jack’s house sometime after 5. Jack was the one putting on this show and he plays bass in DEA. We were introduced to his drummer who’s name I forgot but he was a really cool kid. Immediately we left Jack’s house and headed to a local Chinese buffet. It should be noted that we are huge Chinese buffet fans. We hit the buffet hard and I instantly knew that later on I would regret eating here. From there we swung back by Jack’s house so he could pick up DEA’s merch and then headed to the show. The show was at a place called The Shed and when we pulled up it looked pretty interesting. There were already about 20 people there and it was looking to be a good turnout. We headed inside, met the people that ran the place and checked out the space. It’s a perfect place for small hardcore shows.

1984 are from Tallahassee and were the first band to play. Apparently their drummer was in some old hardcore bands back in that era. They were good but his talking cut into their performance. Kids were standing around and not much was going on. Midway through their set I had to leave because the Chinese buffet was starting to haunt me. I had to run across the street to a Popeye’s to properly dispose of my buffet waste. By the time I got back, the second band, No Excuses, were starting to play. They too are from Tallahasse and kids were going off for every song. By this time the place was fucking packed, 50-60 kids. I missed the last few songs they played to help get everything ready since we were on next. They finished their set and we started loading our shit in. Speaking of shit, I had to make a second run to Popeye’s right before we went on to dispose of more buffet waste. By the time I ran back the rest of the band was checking gutairs/drums. Kids started coming inside and the place was packing up. We had a special intro planned with the help of our fellow coreman, Gil Sayfan. We brought Matt’s boombox and started to blast “Born In The USA” by Bruce Springsteen. We got everyone in the room clapping along while Gil cleverly introduced each member of Learn Nothing. I really wish someone would have got that on film, it was ridiculous. We cut Springsteen and I took the mic from Gil. There was a good vibe in the room and kids were moving around instantly. We got through half our songs when this drunk idiot stumbled in. I could tell it would be a problem. We played a couple more jams and kids were still moving around for us, it was fucking awesome. During the last song the drunk idiot decided it would be a good idea to throw beer all over me. I responded by spitting in his dirty face twice. Kids pulled him back to prevent anything else. We finished the song and kids demanded covers. People were shouting "INFEST!" and I really wish we could have delivered. Next time guys, I promise. I thanked everyone and the kids were really nice to us all. Everyone had a lot of good things to say to us after our set and it was much appreciated. It was probably the best show that we have played and I can’t wait to play there again. DEA played after and kids were still going off. They played a good set and busted out a Cro-Mags, Floorpunch, and In My Eyes cover. All good in my book. It should be noted that Gil’s mosh was harder than nails during this set. King of the pit.


After DEA’s set we sold some shirts and started to pack everything up. Jack hooked us up with a very generous amount of money to make it back home and it was greatly appreciated. Soon after we headed out, made a stop at the gas station and got back on the road home. The car ride home was out of control for the first hour or so. We recited lyrics from some classic songs. Bare Naked Ladies, Coolio and Will Smith to name a few. After this choir session we all started to fade in and out of sleep, minus Danny who was driving aka swerving. 4 hours later we were back in Orlando, safe and sound. It was a great time and was one of those shows that really makes you want to keep playing. Big thanks to Jack and DEA, No Excuses and all the kids that came out to the show, it means a lot. We’ll be back soon. Punx.


-Nick V

Friday, May 9, 2008

Can't Stand It Spotlight

I decided to start a blog to chart the path of Tampa Bay HC. I'll throw up some spotlight bands, some interviews, and some show footage if I can from time to time. I'll probably have other dudes post here to get the upkeep going. This first post goes out to my dudes in Can't Stand It




Comprised of members of the late Now Soldiers, Evasion, and the Chicaboom Room heads, Cant Stand it plays hardcore in the vein of whining and Black Flag worship. They had a band going called Endurance which was more a of a side project with influences like Carry On and Chain of Strength. It seems to me that they are taking Cant Stand It to a new level, playing a ridiculous amount of gigs, and writing music at a steady pace. Their vocalist, Vince, seems to have a glass body, getting hurt at every gig he plays, so please my friends, be gentle. 





Anyways, they just released a Free EP this year( or FREE. P. as they so lamely call it). so if you want a copy of that, message them and I'm sure they'll get one to you somehow. The songs on it are hard hitting, short, and angry. Definitely a band worth keeping your eye on. (be sure to check out Vince's knee brace in this video)







So thats that, be on the lookout for more posts in the next few days from the Face Up Crew.


-JP