This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #12.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: MITCH HEDBERG Genres: Comedy / Stoner Related artists: N/A. Country: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA Years Active: 1989-2005 Track: "Long Hair Associations" Album: unknown Year: 2003 For fans of: Hannibal Burress, Lewis Black, Stephen Wright, George Carlin and Richard Pryor.
I fucking hate arrows man...Imagine being killed by a bow and arrow. That would suck if an arrow killed you. They would never solve the crime. "Look at that dead guy. Let's go that way." -Mitch
It makes sense for me to talk about MITCH HEDBERG for my first comedy post because it was none other than this long haired, awkward, bumbling genius that made me focus on searching out new comedians.
George Carlin and other comedians dissect the English language, but no one came close to picking apart the sheer absurdity of it all like MITCH HEDBERG. He was also made obvious observations as Jerry Seinfeld used to do, but then took that information and made it absolutely ridiculous. Here are but a snippet from the highlight reel that was MITCH HEDBERG:
"My belt holds up my pants, but my pants have belt loops that hold up the belt. What the fuck's really going on down there? Who is the real hero?"
"I got an oscillating fan in my house. It goes back and forth. It looks like the fan is saying no. So I like to ask it questions that a fan would say no to. "Do you keep my hair in place?" "Do you keep my documents in order?" "Do you have 3 settings? Liar! My fan fucking lied to me. Now I will pull the pin up. Now you ain't sayin' shit."
"We ordered a lot of chicken fingers, man. It was about 10 chicken hands. I want a chicken thumb. They must be accumulating. No one ever orders them."
"They say Flintstones vitamins are chewable. All vitamins are chewable - they just taste shitty."
"I play guitar. I taught myself how to play guitar but it was a bad decision because I did not know how to play it. So I was a shitty teacher. I would never have went to me."
MITCH HEDBERG was not the kind of comedian to track 10-minute long jokes. His jokes consisted of an array of one-liners and personal musings that rarely exceeded the minute-mark.
He died in 2005 of a cocaine and heroin overdose - 4 days before I was supposed to see him. Double goddamn.
Some classics that I adore are: "Koalas", "Belt", "Long Hair Associations", "Three Easy Payments", "The Dufrenes", "Arrows", "Sesame Seeds", "Sandwiches", and "Headless Horsemen", among countless others. Buy all of his stuff. Pure genius. The video below is decent, but get the dvd and the recorded albums.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #7.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: MASERATI Genres: Instrumental Space Rock / Ambient / Experimental / Psychedelic / Post-Hardcore Related artists: A Armada, Zombie, Shannon Wright and Cinemechanica. Country: Athens, Georgia, USA Years Active: 2000-present Song: "No More Sages" Album: "Passages" Year: 2009 For fans of: Pelican, Jesu, Mono, Town Portal, Tomydeepestego, Envy, Boris, King Crimson, Tron: Soundtrack and Gifts From Enola.
MASERATI chose the right band name. Sometimes while listening to this band I think of driving such a car. I'm driving after accomplishing something downright awesome in a blockbuster film.
MASERATI plays a slick and epic style of ambient instrumental rock infused with harder rock (I may even say metal). You've got slow, epic buildups, very similar to Gifts From Enola, especially with MASERATI's older material. The new material is similar to the old but has injections of electronic and psychedelic music, especially in the Daft Punk/Tron style. The new stuff makes me think of what Pelican may have sounded like if they were hired to do the original Ghostbusters soundtrack - I shit you not.
The drummer was killed in a bizarre set of events in 2009 during which he fell down an elevator shaft and his last recording was on the phenomenal 'Pyramid Of The Sun', which was released in 2010. The band has since acquired a new drummer and recently released 'Maserati VII' in 2012.
If you're looking for a fantastic instrumental rock/ambient post-metal/hardcore outfit with great, catchy and complex rhythms, check these guys out. They're due for a new record, also, as they are currently writing.
When I interviewed FOR WANT OF in August, the band mentioned that the instant they acquired their current drummer, Cory, they wanted to play faster hardcore with multiple vocalists. 'Smoke' and the band's new material on an upcoming split 7" are the end result that the band was aiming for.
Because there is so much going on, FOR WANT OF will have you convinced in the first 10 seconds that each song will come apart at the seams - but no such unraveling occurs. Instead, the band blasts through track after track of intricately focused chaos, not unlike Off Minor and Neil Perry.
3 vocalists throw their screams back and forth (and to the side?), which is a thing I love about screamo bands. Vocally, FOR WANT OF reminds me of Hugs, especially the lower end vocalist. The bass is more than solid, just listen to the opening riff in "Mentors" - it's a thing of beauty. The drums on 'Smoke' are insane (performed by the previous drummer, Ray) and the new live songs are even crazier. Cory is a beast. The guitars have a very big Yaphet Kotto meets Hot Cross thing going on, (that means lots of breakneck noodling) which is more than okay in my book. Let's recap. The band is good. Real good. Since the interview, I have immersed myself in 'Smoke', and it is a killer record.
So, here's the interview in 3 parts (each segment is about 7-9 minutes) and the final video includes 2 live songs from the show in Toronto, "Growth" and "Memories". "Memories" is probably the best FOR WANT OF song to date.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #13.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: D'AMORE Genres: Punk Rock / Screamo / Math Rock / Emo / Post-Hardcore Related artists: A Million Fucking Towers, Algernon Cadwallader, The Combine, Elder, Fall On Deaf Ears, Kick Rocks, Landlock'd, Public Towers, Peter and Craig, Towers and Zolof And The Rock & Roll Destroyer.
D'AMORE played a passionate and yearning style of screamo that was oh-so popular back in the early-to-mid 2000s. To repeat myself for what seems like the 10th time, that sound is generally dual spoken/yelled vocals with screaming tantrums laced with clean, jazzy guitars and bouncy rhythms that lead to distorted, mathy breakdowns and some extremely fast-paced hardcore. This band did shit super-DIY, especially the 'Dawntreader' split 12". You can purchase these extremely rare 12"s here. I just started listening to Algernon Cadwallader and D'AMORE is a heavier and less mathy version of that band - especially considering they are pretty much the same guys.
To be honest, the band has some mediocre vocal "harmonies", but the sheer amount of awesome screamy/noodley hardcore more than makes up for those misgivings. The band's recordings are always raw, but not in a fuzzed-out, distorted or crap-quality kind of way. This is what I would expect them to sound like live. No recording and mastering tricks were used here.
D'AMORE was a short-lived thing of beauty, and I hope you download the discography and spread the love.
Craig from D'AMORE is also the founder of Be Happy Records, which released some Alergernon Cadwallader, Towers and Dawntreader records.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #18.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: TEMPEST Genres: Punk / Grind / Hardcore / Black Metal / Screamo Related artists: N/A. Country: Vancouver, CANADA Years Active: 2009-present Song: "Death Rattle" Album: "Masakari Split" Year: 2012 For fans of: His Hero Is Gone, Union of Uranus, One-Eyed God Prophecy, Creeper, Resurrectionists, Kaospilot, Titan, Fall Of Efrafa, Old Soul, Neil Perry, and Deafheaven, aka PROPER Screamo.
I was only recently turned on to these Canadian worshippers of German-styled metallic blackened screamo. Any fan of driving and blistering bouts of epic, breakneck music will fall in love with this band.
My best shot at a description would be to take the hardest elements of Neil Perry, Joshua Fit For Battle and Tel Fyr, then smash'em together with Resurrectionists, Old Soul and Deafheaven.
The music weaves in and out of slower passages ala City Of Caterpillar, Neil Perry and June Paik. The music rarely lingers long on the softer stuff, as the band is at full-throttle about 85% of the time. The fast bits have insanely fast drums layered over epic, crust-tinged guitars and dueling vocals - one high and one low.
Grab their LP here and listen to the listen to their albums here.
Band: THE SETUP Genres: Punk / Post-Hardcore / Metalcore / Screamo Related artists: Tigershark and Sea Of Storms. Country: Somewhere, USA Years Active: 2001-2005 Song: "Flux Capacitor" Album: "Tuned To Drop Dead" Year: 2003 For fans of: Back When, Crestfallen, Llynch, Litany Of The Whale, Botch, The Minor Times, Examination Of The, Majority Rule, Neil Perry aka PROPER Screamo.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #8.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
THE SETUP played a great mixture of melodic hardcore, screamo and metalcore. 2 vocalists yelling/screaming back and forth combined with very quick palm-mutes and breakdowns is a recipe for success in my book of sexy-ass ways to get my attention.
There really isn't much to explain regarding their style. Check out the embedded songs below which I had to upload because this band is so unknown - they will give you a quick and rather obvious indication of their style. I should point out that using 'metalcore' in the description was intentional, as THE SETUP definitely falls in to this category. But this in no way is meant as a disservice to the band, as they masterfully execute metallic-tinged post-hardcore songs with breakdowns amass.
The band's only full length came as their crowning achievement, 'Tuned To Drop Dead' which encapsulates many of styles propagated by Init Records in the 2000s. If you are a fan of smart, melodic-yet-heavy hardcore/screamo/punk, THE SETUP just gave you about an hour of heavyen (that's "heavy" and "heaven" together, for you slow-witted and justly confused individuals).
I was in contact with these guys after they started Tigershark, and to my knowledge one of the members passed away - which terminated any future musical endeavors from the band(s).
The discography is up for download until the link expires. Get on that shit.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #10.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: BELVEDERE Genres: Skate Punk / Hardcore / Pop Punk Related artists: This Is A Standoff. Country: Calgary, Alberta, CANADA Years Active: 1995-2005 Song: "Not My Problem" Album: "Angels Live In My Town" Year: 2000 For fans of: NOFX, Choke, Protest The Hero, Propagandhi, The Suicide Machines, Consumed, and (early) Millencolin.
BELVEDERE were pioneers in crafting extremely catchy, fast and heavy melodic skate-punk with a strong leaning towards hardcore and even a little bit of metal.
The band's strongest material are generally the songs that have the band's unmistakeable palm-muting and witty lyrics. Check out "The Bottom Line", "Not My Problem" and "Two Minutes For Looking So Good" for prime examples of these.
Tracks like "Weekend Warrior" are blistering hardcore, plain and simple. No hooks, no melodic singing - just drums on speed and a whole lot of screaming. You can find more of these on parts of "Malpractice" and the majority of "Cellophane Coffin".
Along with Choke, Propagandhi and Protest The Hero - this is the generation of bands I grew up with that embody Canadian punk music.
________________________________________________________________________
DISCOGRAPHY
1998 - Because No One Stopped Us cdLP
2000 - Angels Live In My Town cdLP
2003 - Twas Hell, Said Former Child cdLP
2003 - Downway Split cdLP
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track 9.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: YOU AND I Genres: Screamo / Punk / Rock / Emo / Post-Hardcore Related artists: Capacities, Black Kites, In First Person, This Ship Will Sink, The Assistant, Hot Cross, Neil Perry, Welcome The Plague Year, Track Of Monarchs, Sky Falls Down and Less Life. Country: New Jersey, USA Years Active: 1996-1999 Song: "I Think I Know Where Elvis Lives" Album: "The Curtain Falls" Year: 1999 For fans of: The bands listed in the related artists section, aka PROPER Screamo.
I got into YOU AND I post mortem. I perused anything associated with Level Plane and stumbled across a band that was the seed for a plethora of phenomenal bands that came out in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The band had varying styles, but the core sound always remained the same. Wailing vocals, screaming vocals, chilled out instrumental jams, mathy and noodly parts as well as full-throttle hardcore.
Thomas Schlatter gave his opinion of the time he spent in YOU AND I. (full interview will be posted at the end of the year - check back next month for another Schlatter-band, guaranteed awesomeness, every goddamned time)
"We did a reunion show for You and I a
few years ago and it went really well.We were able to play the songs much better and as people we are all much
more grounded and centered these days.Back when we were a band I was a mess.I was 18 years old and just not really the most stable person. I wasn’t
treating myself or the people around me very well. The band was my anchor for
that time and I would have been more miserable if I hadn’t pursued it.We played some great shows, wrote the music
we all needed to write at that time. People often tell me that they really love
the band’s output and it seems to have become the band that is most well known
among my projects."
Also check out the interview OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain had with Thomas and his current band Capacities here! Check out this song here from YOU AND I to see the similarities to Capacities.
Considering Level Plane Records is long gone, here's the band's complete discography in mp3 form.
Band: EDHOCHULI Genres: Punk / Rock / Post-Hardcore / Screamo Related artists: N/A. Country: Pittsburgh, USA Years Active: 2010-present Song: "Totally Caveman" Album: "EdHochuli" Year: 2013 For fans of: Akimbo, Doomriders, Envy, and Off Minor aka PROPER Screamo.
Never heard of EDHOCHULI? I was in that boat 2 months ago. What a shitty boat it was. For the record, the band name is pronounced "Ed Hock-you-lee".
So, I went to interview Creeper back in July and Braeden and I were chatting it up. Some band called EDHOCHULI was added to the bill the night of the show. "Ed Hochuli, the football referee?" I inquired. I don't think many punks in Toronto made that connection. So Creeper finished their set (which was awesome and will be posted along with the interview later this month) and I had just missed the last train. I was unsure if I should stick around or make my way over to my brother's house so I could crash. I probed Braeden a little further about the band. He was like, "Duuuude, riffs." I wasn't exactly sure what that meant.
Then 4 dudes, probably the most diverse looking band I've ever seen, hit the switch and absolutely fucking owned Toronto. I have never in my life been so blown away by watching a band play live - let alone in front of about 30 people at 2am by a band I'd never heard of. Check out the video linked below (and here) that made the crowd's brains melt and then evaporate into a gaseous form. What? Well, if it helps paint a picture, during the set I watched no less than 2 members of Creeper throw their hands up in air-guitar disbelief!
I spoke with 2 of the EDHOCHULI members after the show, one of whom let me know that they almost named their band "Steelers" because the band is from Pittsburgh and loves football. Thankfully they went with EDHOCHULI instead.
I came home the next day at 10am with no shuteye - and then proceeded to have trouble sleeping because my mind was still on the previous night's show. This band is that good. I've linked up all their releases, but if you grab the physical copy of the band's newest LP, it comes with 6 tracks - not just the 3 listed on EDHOCHULI's bandcamp page.
I should probably describe their sound. Wait, maybe I'll let the guitar player I talked to explain. He said Thin Lizzy meets punk rock. I've also seen them listed as Thin Lizzy with way more bong hits. I would posit that they sound like a mixture of Akimbo, Doomriders and Envy. Pretty rad combo. Pretty goddamned rad. Massive rock riffs combine with noodley guitar playing, a killer drummer (Jackson, from American Ninja, anyone?) and a bassist who intertwines his screaming vocals with the other three members of the band.
Listen to the song off the Amaget split, which is linked below as well. That song shows that band at their most melodic and driving, and is one of the best songs I've heard all year - even if it was released 2 years ago.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #20.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: HUE Genres: Punk / Rock / Math Rock / Emo / Shoegaze / Post-Hardcore / Screamo Related artists: N/A. Country: Tokyo, JAPAN Years Active: ????-present Song: "ちゃんとする" Album: "Athelas Split" Year: 2013 For fans of: Alta, Native, Ahleuchatistas, Via Fondo, Trachimbrod, Hella, The Advantage, Dakota Dakota,Toe, and Lautrec, aka PROPER Screamo.
HUE is a Japanese band that I was introduced to by Ryan, formerly of Cease Upon The Capitol. He runs a sweet label/distro called Meat Cube and sent me the band's work on a burned disc - as he was out of stock. A truly awesome dude.
Anyways, HUE is pretty much unknown outside of Japan, but that will change soon, I'm sure. They play clean, jazzy rock not unlike Hella, Ahleuchatistas, Dakota Dakota and The Advantage. The music wavers between semi-fast indie-rock and slightly slower atmospheric plucking. A few more bands that crisscross these genres and sound similar to HUE are Toe, Alta, and Via Fondo - especially regarding the clean mathy riffing. Native also has a similar sound with their instrumentals and the gang vocals, too.
Okay, time to get to the negative part - the vocals. Man, this is tough because half of the time I dig the vocals. Unfortunately, the other half of the time I feel the need to attempt to plug my ears with long sharp knives. Simply put, sometimes they can't sing. Case in point, "ちゃんとする" has some of the most interesting and catchy instrumentals I've heard this year combined with some great vox up to and after the 2:25 mark - only to have the thing blow up in my face once the song hits 3:50.
Nontheless, this is a band worth checking out. If they can work out the key issues (ha!) regarding the vocals, the band will blow up in a big way. Or, at least, they should.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #14.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: DESPISTADO Genres: Punk / Rock / Math Rock / Emo / Shoegaze / Related artists: Sylvie, The War Doves, Geronimo and Anatta. Country: Regina, Saskatchewan, CANADA Years Active: 2001-2004 (2012 reunion) Song: "Plants" Album: "The People And Their Verses" Year: 2005 For fans of: Q And Not You, At The Drive In, Desiderata, Encrypt Manuscript, North Of America, The Holy Shroud, Bear Vs. Shark, Big Dick and Franz Ferdinand.
DESPISTADO was a Canadian band stranded in the middle nowhere. The band was short-lived but very influential - and those passionate about the band are really passionate.
I would describe the band and their sound as the following. Efficiency, my friends.
-the vocalist doesn't sing out of tune, but he can't exactly hold a note, either, and the vocals on the EP can end up sounding like Billy Werner of Hot Cross and Franz Ferdinand on the final LP
-the instrumental section produces awkward jangly rhythms that compliment/drive the vocals
-the most accurate comparisons would be North of America/The Holy Shroud meets At The Drive In/Encrypt Manuscript
I would strongly this to any fan of catchy, jangly rock music with half sung/shouted vocals. Super chill. Extra bounce.
Good luck finding this stuff - even physical copies on ebay for cheap. I personally hate shelling out $7 for a digital release when a cd would usually cost me $3 more - but I found no other way. Regardless, both digital albums were worth the money I paid.
________________________________________________________________________
DISCOGRAPHY
2002 - The Emergency Response cdEP
2005 - The People And Their Verses cdEP
________________________________________________________________________
(2002) DESPISTADO - "Can I Please Have an Order of Girl with a Side of Confused" (from 'The Emergency Response' cd)
(2005) DESPISTADO - "Burning House" (from 'The People And Their Verses' cd) VIDEO
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #19.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: YAGE Genres: Punk / Rock / Emo / Post-Hardcore / Screamo Related artists: N/A. Country: Cologne, Germany Years Active: 1998-2004 Song: "Mitglied Im Club" Album: "Some Things Take A Long Time..." Year: 2002 For fans of: Wolves, Daitro, Raein, Amanda Woodward, Hot Cross, D'Amore, Mara'akate, Gillian Carter, Francis Brady aka PROPER Screamo.
YAGE was one of the bands that got me into screamo music. In the early 2000s Level-Plane Records was pushing this German band hard - mostly because their last few releases were stellar.
In the beginning, YAGE was more about speed and spasms. The 'Some Things... 7" and '13-17-October 84' cd showcase the band at their most controlled yet chaotic on the tracks "Mitglied Im Club", "I Have Gun You Too" and "One Way Ticket Des Lebens".
By the end, the band was a frontrunner for most innovative screamo band. The sheer amount of space and dynamics the band works with and weaves so well - I mean, goddamn - take a listen to "Lange Leugenbeine" and "We Lost Beauty" from their 'Anders Leben' record. This release took a new and very expansive approach to balancing atmospheric/indie rock with screamo and punk/hardcore.
The band's other output is decent, but doesn't stand out like the songs I have listed above. YAGE's complete discography (or, at least, the closest thing I've ever seen posted as such) is located below. Check this band out if you like broken English and Level-Plane styled European screamo. I sure as hell do.
This post's artist is from the August 2013 Mix. This is track #1.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: LOFTUS Genres: Grind / Post-Hardcore / Noise Rock / Metalcore / Screamo / Punk Related artists: N/A. Country: Seal Beach, California, USA Years Active: 2002-2007 Song: "Next Step, New Boundary" Album: "Hugs and Drugs" Year: 2005 For fans of: Ruptures, Orchid, Bucket Full Of Teeth, Graf Orlock, Totem Skin, Isodora Crane, Norma Jean, Botch, Converge, Loma Prieta, Mercy Ties, Neil Perry, Ampere, Beneath The Ashes, Jeromes Dream, Deaderaphim, The Bled, Caitlyn Bailey, Capacities, Cassilis, Phoenix Bodies ...aka PROPER Screamo.
LOFTUS is a band that I keep in my back pocket to show people that know their shit. You've kind of got to be deserving. You, my loyal readers, are now deserving.
LOFTUS sound like Botch and Norma Jean on speed with Orchid/Tentacles-styled screaming. It's unrelenting, intense, violent, overwhelming - and somehow melodic. Like Neil Perry, LOFTUS could slam together 5 insanely different parts and make them work as a cohesive whole.
Need I say more? Oh, the singer died of a drug overdose. What a fucking waste. Listen to the 3 embedded songs, have a mild stroke/orgasm and then download the discography. Okay, now I'm done.
This post's artist is from the July 2013 Mix. This is track #17.
You can download the August 2013 Mix right here.
Band: RVPTVRS Genres: Rock / Screamo / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore Related artists: Left Astray(Leftastrayhc.bandcamp.com). Country: San Gabriel, Los Angeles USA Years Active: 2008-present Song: "Arm Grafting" Album: "Milkbled" Year: 2010 For fans of: Voyage In Coma, Hot Cross, Ruhaeda, Fear Before The March Of Flames, The Bled, Norma Jean, Loftus, Akimbo, Ed Hochuli and Old Man Gloom, aka aProper SCREAMO.
RUPTURES (known as RVPTVRS) put out releases that are consistent - but part of that consistency lies in the variety of sounds captured on each album. There will be heavy songs - oh, there will be heavy songs. You will find noisy songs. Atmospheric tracks. Rock ditties and who knows what the fuck else. One thing is for certain, though, you are going to get knocked the fuck out.
In general, I would that RVPTVRS play a dirty, bass-driven style of screamo/hardcore. Songs tend to be melodic yet extremely hard, but don't take my word for it - while reading the interview stream the songs on this page, go to the RVPTVRS bandcamp here and check out the band's new song titled L'adydream - which is pretty dark, thunderous, epic and very different from the majority of their other songs - here.
David from RVPTVRS answered some questions. His answers were short and to the point, much like the band's music. And like the RVPTVRS lyrics, littered with wit and self-doubt.
Considering promoting new bands is what my blog is all about,
what unknown/obscure band(s) would you like people to know about? They As In Them |
theyasinthem.bandcamp.com
Where do you find out about new music?
Mainly the internet; 'Youtube',
music blogs, 'Facebook', etc. Sometimes visiting record stores and seeing cool
LP covers and whatnot.
How would you describe your music?
A bag full of hash-tagged
unorthodox tunes.
I read that RVPTVRS initially formed in 2008, but didn't become a "band" until 2010. Why the 2-year gap?
Because we sucked - and we still suck.
Can you describe your most recent recording experience?
We decided to go back to the same
engineer that recorded our previous releases. He’s a nice guy and gets the job
done at a reasonable price. We attempted to record it ourselves but it just
didn’t work out as planned. Everything this time around was fluid and felt
natural, which lessened personal thoughts about setting our own bodies on fire
What formats would you like to release it on and why?
Everything from cassettes to
digital downloads. Vinyl being our favorite format because I guess we still
live in the early 1900's, plus compacts discs just aren't cool anymore. We’re
shooting to release all of our music on floppy discs sometime next year.
What would you like to say about your band’s artwork?
We got friends that feel what we
say, we give them a theme (#depressionpunx) and it gets done.
Will you have a record release show?
We're actually waiting for Dave
Grohl to get back to us.
Talk about your massive US tour schedule.
57 days of throbbing headaches
and suicidal thoughts. Why be pissed off for one month when it can be two? (*editor's note: click on the pic below for a legible tour schedule)
Why the name, RUPTURES?
It sounds obnoxious, we
vicariously live through the act.
Can you reveal anything interesting about the band members?
- Alex is a stay at home mom - Ivan owns his own medical
marijuana clinic - Raziel is a professional salsa
dancer on the weekends - David is an animorph - Jesus is the co-founder of
Audacity
How did you guys meet? How did you get involved in the band
together?
Misery loves company.
What is the primary reason that you create music? Habit.
What would you like to say about your lyrics.
I talk about really dark
experiences in my life that no one will ever know about because it's no one's
business. Make your own conclusions, get lost with me.
I’m sure each band member has one quality that, although
positive and character defining, also creates friction and tension in the band.
What conflicts do you have?
We really hate each other and
only get through because of a pact we made for world domination. Or spreading
the word of jesus. Not too sure at this point.
I have always found your releases to be quite varied – and no
2 songs ever sound the same. Is this deliberate? Does your new material follow
this trend?
I've never woke up and lived the
same day, I don't think music should be bound to those limitations either.
Is there anything that you try to avoid when writing a new
song?
Using metalcore breakdowns.
Are there primary songwriters in the band? Is it a collective
effort when creating new ideas?
Collaborative.
I would contend that your material has gotten noticeably more
aggressive, what were the reasons for this?
One time at a show we were called
Chiodos. It was very funny, but I didn't want it to ever happen again.
I would also contend that your overall style of music is
pretty popular – but I feel like your band is pretty obscure still. What’s the
deal?
I still have no idea. Hopefully
this question can be answered sometime in the near future.
Do you think that your musical direction may take an
unexpected and major shift in the near future?
Possibly. Most likely.
Can everyone in the band read music? If not, how do you
communicate when writing a song?
No. We use one-syllable semi-word
rhythms, such as "ta-ta-ta-ta". This usually means that we want a
'blast-beat' somewhere in that measure of the song.
Can you talk about layering of the vocals in some of your
songs?
We all free style in the studio. Some
people call it talent, we call it tentativeness and luvvv.
How in hell do you do vocals and instrumentals at the same
time?
Practice. I grew up listening to
a lot of artists that sang and played an instrument simultaneously, which
inspired me to do the same thing, except with mediocrity.
How has your hometown/upbringing influenced your music?
The world is a ghetto.
What is the most positive and negative influence in music?
Your local scene?
We love music, especially punk
and other extreme/underground styles. Most of the artists we relate to came
from similar situations and voice feelings we relate to; hate, anger,
insecurity. You can take a wild guess at what that also does to a scene or
community.
Who were your primary influences when you started playing
music and who are they now?
Too many. It’s something that we
don't even really talk to each other about.
If RVPTVRS chose to do a cover, of which band would it be of?
Interpol; this was decided just
now.
If you had to slap a genre label on RVPTVRS so potential new
listeners could get a good idea of your sound without hearing you, what would
you label yourselves as?
Punk, anything else adds to
futile arguments that aid the empowerment of idiots. (*editor’s note, he’s talking about me)
How would you describe the scene that birthed RVPTVRS?
The love-hate relationship with everyone, everywhere.
What is your favourite song to play live? Any particular
reason?
'Meca', it's the least shittiest
song off that album. 'Deca' being our 2nd choice.
What things have happened in 2013 thus far that you would like
the readers to know about?
People are still racist, sexist,
and homophobic and it sucks.
Do you find it hard to balance objectivity with emotion when
listening to/playing/talking about music?
We leave emotion for live and
recorded performances. We're clueless and apathetic about all else.
What music that you used to love do you look back on and shake
your head at, now?
I don't really shake my head at
any of the music I used to love, I just either don't listen to it anymore or
listen to it occasionally. They definitely shaped me as a person and created
endless paths for me both musically and emotionally. (*editor’s note – regretting wording of question)
Besides music, what do you spend your time doing? What are
your hobbies?
I spend a lot of my time alone in
my room, or playing with my dogs.
Are you doing anything to make sure that you are not sucked
down the technology vortex?
Not at all, technology rules. How
else would I be able to play Super Nintendo games on my computer?
What are your thoughts on the young generation? Your
generation? The older generation?
The young generation should stay
in school. I have nothing to say about my generation. The older generation
should stop trying to be 'tolerant' of everything that's currently going on
with the current generation. Be proud of being stubborn and closed-minded, I
think it's funny, plus you won't have many years to live regardless.
Is there anything of political nature that you would like to
share?
Not really, maybe. No.
What thing in your life at the current moment is bringing you
the most joy?
Black metal, seriously. Drudkh,
Windir, Taake, stuff like that.
movies?
2001: A Space Odyssey.
books?
Ramona and Beezus. And everything
by Vonnegut.
Is there anything else that you would like to recommend or
say?
India Pale Ales were named after
adding hops to pale ales that would expire when being shipped overseas to the
eastern countries, specifically India. The hops not only increased the
longevity of pale ales, but also gave the beer a new distinct taste, a very
comforting taste, similar to eating pinecones and grass. Grass for the mass.
