-Interview- Before The Fall 9/19/08

Before The Fall
(Twilight Records)

Genre: Metalcore akin to Unearth or Killswitch Engage.
Interviewed on: 9/19/08
From: Vienna, Austria
www.myspace.com/beforethefallorg

http://www.myspace.com/beforethefallorg


1.How you guys doin? How did the band come about and form?

Rude: Hi, thx we`re great. We had an awesome show with Heaven Shall Burn in Vienna last Friday.

Mike: Yes, it was incredible. Well, Before the Fall was founded in 2005 by Rude and me in Vienna /Austria. We made music for some years and then were searching for the right musicians so the Line up is following:

Mike – Vocals
Rude - Guitar
Bane – Guitar
Hannes – Bass
Maurizio - Drums


2. You guys are from Austria, what is the music scene like there (we've interviewed The Sorrow a little while back also)?

Rude: We got a very aspiring Metalscene here in Austria. There are many good bands like The Sorrow, Belphegor, In Slumber, Artas, Perishing Mankind, Pandora`s Dawn etc.

Mike: Earlier days we had a really famous death metal band, Pungent Stench but they split last year.


3. Any thoughts on coming over here to the US?

Mike: Of course, but it`s very difficult without a label who makes this dream come true.

Rude: Hehe, that’s right. We have to make a new album and look for a label. Our last contract was just for our debut “From Mutism to riddance”. But it`s definitely our goal to tour through the United States some day.


4. How did you guys hook up with Twilight Records?

Rude: Before we signed at Twilight Records, we had a contract with Noisehead Records, a Label in Vienna. So our debut on Twilight Records is a Re-Release. Since one year we are manged by Werner Stockinger, who helps us a lot with the business stuff. He also managed the contract with Twilight Records for us.


5. You guys played with Dew Scented and Heaven Shall Burn last week, any crazy show stories?

Mike: Yes, it was awesome. It was an opening of a new location in Vienna for about 3500 people. So the owner decided to make a big festival with Heaven Shall Burn, Maroon, Dew Scented, Anima, Before the Fall and Artas.

Rude: This experience was unpockable but the best show was last year in germany. Two girls made a run on the stage and wanted to rip down my trouser for a blow job during our show, that was really crazy. The securities came and sent them from the stage. After the show we invited them in our backstage room. We had some fun, hehe.
6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Rude: That`s a good question. I think it would be cool on tour with Unearth, they make a real inspiring show, Metallica, I ever wanted to get to know the “Gods of Metal”, and of course Samantha Fox, I love her.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Mike: I´ts a difficult situation. On one side, the internet is a big chance for young bands. On the other side, I think everyone should be payed for his work, which stands in controversy to free music downloads.

Rude: Of course it harms all involved persons but times changed. Every band I know has a myspace site and there`s a good reason for that – advertisement! So I think it`s ok to hear some tracks before buying a CD but illegal downloading destroys the music-industry.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Rude: For me it`s definitely our title track “From Mutism to Riddance”. It`s easy riffing and I love to bang my head in the end of this song after the smooth part.

Mike: For me it`s Purified. It`s my favorite song and to perform it live is every time awesome.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Mike: At the moment I really like Decapitated or Divine Heresy, they are really cool, Carcass, Pantera.

Rude: I listen to Whitechapel, Slipknot or Cavalera Conspiracy, I like the reunion. But also Gorefest, Metallica, As I Lay Dying or Unearth.


10. What's next for Before The Fall?

Mike: Well, at the moment we are really focused on writing new songs. We have to make some demo stuff and send it to a few labels and hope to get a contract for our next album.


11. Any shoutouts?

Rude: Ajde, support BTF and be prepared for the future. Our next album will kick your ass.


-Interview- Shelter With Thieves 9/14/08

Shelter With Thieves
(Unsigned)

Genre: Rock akin to Queens Of The Stone Age.
Interviewed on: 9/14/08
From: Halifax, Canada
www.myspace.com/shelterwiththieves

http://www.myspace.com/shelterwiththieves


1. How you guys doin?

If Fantastical counts as a word than sign us up for that.


2. How is the new material coming along? When can we expect a release on it? Is it titled?

Lots and lots of writing and lots and lots of new songs, no definite recording plan as of yet but likely hit the studio in the New Year to start work on the next project, nothing titled yet, but a few new songs RIFLE TOWER BLUES and WELCOME TO THE OCEAN GRAVERYARD are starting to work there way into the live set.


3. Having your own label, does that ever become troublesome trying to balance being in a band and head of a label at the same time?

It's a fine balance, but if you are an independent artist like ourselves then one really cant exist without the other, we would all rather spend all of our time just writing, playing and recording, but there is no shortage of packages to go out, phone calls and emails to make and cds to sling.


4. You guys ever think of doing a US tour at all?

We do have plans to tour the U.S. as soon as possible, hopefully over the next little while we are going to start begging the government and filling out all the terrible paperwork that goes along with it so that they will let us in. Although there is always the fear that if we aren't holding down the fort here in Canada that the U.S. may invade our homeland, which is really just a roundabout way of saying that Shelter With Thieves may be the only thing stopping a full on American Invasion of Canada at this present time. - disprove this-


5. If you could tour with three bands (broken up or active) who would they be?

THE CLASH
BUDGIE
THRICE


6. Have you guys watched the Olympics at all? If so, what sports have you been most interested in?

I only caught a couple of events this year, I did witness possibly the fastest human on the planet take home gold for Jamaica and that was impressive, but i did place 3rd in the womens free dive for the Beijing Olympics for Xbox 360, which I feel is on par with the rest of our performance as a nation at this years Olympics.


7. What's your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Home Cooking is ruining the Restaurant Industry, next they will tell us that evolution didn't happen.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Over the last little while i think Ashley has been the favorite, sort of a different groove than most of our songs but still a bunch of fun rocking moments throughout it.


9. What are you guys currently listening to?

The Gaslight Anthem
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Abbatoir Blues
Glassjaw - Tribute and Worship
Pinkfloyd - Piper At The Gates of Dawn


10. What's next for Shelter With Thieves?

Touring and Writing pretty much non stop for the next 9 months and then hopefully start to piece together a new record from the scraps!


11. Any shoutouts?

The Gideons for supplying filter Material and rolling tables for Musicians worldwide.


-Interview- Death Do Us Part 9/14/08

Death Do Us Part
(Filled With Hate Records)

Genre: Metalcore akin to old It Dies Today or Black Dahlia Murder.
Interviewed on: 9/14/08
From: Runnedmede, NJ
www.myspace.com/deathdouspart

http://www.myspace.com/deathdouspart



1. How you guys doin? How did the show the other night at the Cherrywood go?

Pretty good. The show wasn't too bad. Just the fact we played at one o'clock in the morning was rough.


2. Being from NJ and seeing all the bands come out of there, what were some of your influences from the NJ area?

No bands in particular. All of us have listened to a lot of different genres of music growing up. So all of them have influenced us.


3. What do you think of the metal/hardcore genre nowadays?

It seems like there is a lot of new fresh ideas that could bring back the metal/ hardcore scene. A lot of new talent that deserves listening to.


4. The album cover is very cool, how did the concept and inspiration for it come about?

The song was written about the book "He is Legend". Our singer had read that book when he was in school and liked the idea of it. The fact there can be one man left in the world with no reason to live because he is alone and yet still push on is a great message for people who feel as if they have nothing to live for, when in reality they have all the reason in the world to live. So we wrote the song and found an artist by the name of Chad Lenjer of discordant art to do the artwork. We told him the idea and that's what came out of it. Turned out great and exactly what we were looking for.


5. How did you guys hook up with Filled With Hate Records?

I (Tom) started to talk to Nils, one of the co owners of FWH records through myspace and became good friends with him and showed him our songs. He liked what he heard and said he would talk to Axel, the owner, about doing a release for us. Plain and simple, we ended up releasing "Legend" through FWH.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Killswitch engage, Linkin Park, and It Dies Today


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

It's gonna happen and at least it is making the artists popular enough to the point where people buy their merchandise. The real fans always end up buying the cd.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

"There Comes a Time..." because there is a lot of energy to it and everyone seems to get into it.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Killswitch Engage


10. What's next for Death Do Us Part?

Another new cd, getting back on the road and touring, and getting new merch


11. Any shoutouts?

Our boys from Give Em Hell, When These Days End, Fall of Man, Strength N Honor, Home Again, CDC, Left to Vanish, All the bands we've become close with and toured with, Our families, and our fans.


-Interview- Your Best Friend 9/8/08

Your Best Friend
(Unsigned)

Genre: Alternative Rock akin to new Funeral For A Friend or Finch.
Interviewed on: 9/8/08
From: Saginaw, MI
www.myspace.com/yourbestfriend

http://www.myspace.com/yourbestfriend



1. How you guys doin? How did the band come together and form? IS there any meaning behind the name?

Doing great. Busy, but great.

The band started with John and Dale as founding members in 2003. They met Steve there, and though he played in a few different bands in the following years, Steve joined the group in the fall of 2006. Nick had played in previous bands, and joined the group shortyly before Steve in the summer of 2006. Before this final lineup, several friends had played and filled in; Your Best Friend is happy to still be on good terms with them all.

As for the name, it derives from the concept of how much friendship can affect and shape our lives. We all have had a lot of help from friends and relatives in life, and feel the name helps us keep that in perspective. We sometimes touch on problems with friendship in our writing.


2. You guys played Dirtfest, how did that go?

Dirtfest was a blast. We had been on the road for 5 weeks, doing 36 shows in 38 days. The road is our favorite place to be, but we do start to miss the reception that we always get from hometown crowds. We really love seeing familiar faces in the crowd, and always feel really humbled by seeing so many people come out to support us. Plus after doing that many shows in a row, we felt we played really strong and we had lots of fun doing it. The other bands were great that day too, and we couldn't have asked for a better homecoming show.


3. The album artwork is very cool and different from what you see nowadays, how did the concept for the layout come about?

We all brainstormed ideas while recording the album. We took a while to decide on self-titling the album, and we knew that we wanted to have the art relate to the album name. The art is supposed to represent trust and loyalty. It's two brothers that will do anything for each other. The front cover begins a story and the back cover finishes the story. This being our first full-length, we wanted the focus to be on the songs, with a simple yet unique packaging. The work from Marky at MidwestLove, including the sticker on the jewel case, really fit for what we wanted.


4. We heard you guys were working on a DVD, any news regarding that?

Yes, a DVD is in the making, but it's going to take a little bit. We could use any footage that might be floating around out there too, so feel free to send some to us if you have any!!! Once things come together more, we'll inform everyone.


5. What are some of your influences?

We all have pretty diverse influences, but we find some common interest in bands like Brand New, Moneen, Cursive, Minus the Bear, Small Brown Bike, Hot Water Music, and Circa Survive. We also pull a lot of influence from bands that we play with. We have the pleasure of playing with a lot of good bands around the states, and we listen to a good handful of them nonstop.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

I (Steve) have always wanted to tour with Hot Water Music. Other than them, Cursive would probably be up on top, as well as Brand New.

I (John) would love to tour with Weezer or Radiohead. But my top two would have to be Cursive or Brand New.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

For us, it seems better for people to steal our music for the fact that they will be spreading the word about us in a way. Plus, that may convince them to come to a show or buy the record after hearing it. It is tough to think that someone is just taking something that we put so much time and money into, but the bottom line is that it helps to get our music out there.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

I (Steve) love playing Close Your Eyes and Drive Away and Decmals. We usually play them together, and they both have quiet and heavy parts to them, so they are never boring. Plus there are tons of opportunities to improvise musically, and to interact with people in the crowd, which is always fun.

I (John) love playing Aboriri, Near Perfect Wrists, and The Path of an Illogical Liar. The crowd seems to react to those songs. We love sing-a-longs.


9. What are you currently listening to?

I (Steve) have been listening to The Swellers' "My Everest" almost everyday lately. They are friends of ours, and actually recorded at the same studio (Sentient in Chicago) as us. They are totally cool guys, and their album is amazing. Other than that, Polar Bear Club has been a big one, and Rancid is always on the iPod at some time.

I (John) have been listening to Damiera's "Quiet Mouth, Loud Hands" a lot lately. I've also been listening to Modest Mouse, Rilo Kiley, and The Good Life.


10. What's next for Your Best Friend?

We are concentrating on setting up our October tour, and trying to work on the DVD as our main focuses. We are really eager to write some new stuff as well, but it may be a bit before we get to it. We are also talking about doing an acoustic show at the local Hot Topic in the early winter. It will be a different experience, but we've gotten a lot of inquiries about playing acoustic, so we're pretty excited for it.


11. Any shoutouts?

Only to all our out-of state friends! Keep an eye out for us on the road in the midwest and semi-wester US this fall. We'll be out from October 10 to November 15th, and we would love to see all the friends that we miss so much.
See you guys soon!!!


-Interview- FUA 9/8/08

FUA
(Unsigned)

Genre: Hardcore akin to Hatebreed or old Throwdown.
Interviewed on: 9/8/08
From: Baltimore, MD
www.myspace.com/fua

http://www.myspace.com/fua



1. How you guys doin? What do you think of the hardcore scene nowadays?

Jason: Fickle Unfortunately.........But it really depends on the city. There is allot of really good kids out there that are really supportive.

Dan: Well from what I see its all mixed up. You have all these hardcore bands playing with metal bands and vice versa, which is a
good thing in my opinion. So I would say good.

Bryan: I think its getting better.

Dan: Yeah I would have to agree.

Eric:(asleep)


2. How's the new material coming along? Can we expect a new album soon?

Dan: Honestly I'm blown away by the stuff Jason is writing these days. The metal parts are metaler and the hardcore parts are more
hardcore, if that makes any sense.

Bryan: Its coming along well, we're in the process of scheduling recording time. It should be late fall/early winter.

Jason: you can expect to be disappointed soon.

Eric:(still asleep)


3. How did the band come about and form?

Dan: Bryan and Jason are brothers so they started a band together and met Eric at a Severed Head show and started jamming. They
played together for 5 years on and off and then I married Jason and Bryan's sister and joined the band.

Eric:Im tryin to sleep!!!!!


4. What are some of your influences?

Jason: Peer pressure, tv, drugs and alcohol and Caligula

Bryan: Hatebreed, Dying Fetus, Boston, Journey, Dire Straits, Meatloaf, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Guns N Roses, and Frankie Valli

Dan: Incubus, Queen and Mortician.

Eric:(back asleep)


5. If you guys could tour with three bands, who would they be?

Jason: MC Hammer, Motley Crue (pre-rehab), Lionel Richie

Bryan: Guns N Roses (pre-rehab, pre-chinese democracy), Covenance

Dan: Necrophagist

Eric:(snoring absurdly loud)


6. Have you guys watched the Olympics at all? If so, what sports have you been most interested in?

Jason: PHELPS PHAN!

Bryan: I didn't pay attention to a second of that stuff. Everybody is flippin out cause some guy from Maryland won a bunch of gold
medals so that's cool i guess.

Dan: Yeah I didn't watch any either.

Eric:(we have given up by now)


7. What's your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Jason: all of our music is free the way it should be. Here's a link to our album for free: FUA Album

Bryan: Do it!

Dan: Yeah I have 120 gigs of music on my iPod and I certainly didn't pay for much.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Bryan: Back To Reality cause people sing along, but at the same time its hard to sing, so its a love/hate thing.

Dan: JunBringer, cause I wrote that sh*t and I'm proud.

Jason:I Just love playing live, any song,any time, for any one.


9. What are you guys currently listening to?

Bryan: Cage and Frankie Valli

Dan: Protest The Hero, I Am Abomination, Whitechapel, Three Faces Of Eve and Zozobra

Jason: Cavalera Conspiracy, The Police, Whitechapel, In Flames, Gojira and Opeth.


10. What's next for FUA?

Jason: Tours and whores.

Bryan: I just bought a leather suit.

Dan: Practice next week.


11. Any shoutouts?

Jason: AGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Bryan: Covenance, Bloodbourne and Severed Head

Dan: Andover and Three Faces Of Eve!

Malori: Word to your mother

Eric:What Interview?


-Interview- The Rose Line 9/7/08

The Rose Line
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to Haste The Day or Hand To Hand.
Interviewed on: 9/7/08
From: Melbourne, Australia
www.myspace.com/theroseline

http://www.myspace.com/theroseline


Interview conducted with guitarist Mark.


1.How you guys doin? You guys have shows coming up with House Vs Hurricane and at FATE 08, you guys amped?

The HvH show should be great fun. They are top guys and produce some killer tunes. The show is the official EP launch for Embured. I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on their CD. You have to check them out. Fate 08 should be interesting as well.


2. With your debut EP "Arrival", what was your main inspiration behind the EP?

The lyrics of "Arrival" reflect on the importance of strong relationships with family and friends. The good and bad experiences with these people have been the main inspiration behind the EP.


3. How is the music scene over there in Australia?

The underground scene here is buzzing really hard at the moment. It almost feels crowded. You have to be really good at what you do and play as many shows as you can in order to get noticed.


4. You guys just added a few members, how has it been going with them?

We tried out over 20 people for the vocalist spot, and Luke was just leagues ahead of everyone. He has the clarity, diversity and range that really makes him stand out - especially on our latest pre-production recordings. Can drink too.

Russ is just a phenomenal bass player. He plays his double bass for something like 10 hours a day religiously, so his skills are off the charts. Also, he is possibly the funniest person I have met.


5. Who came up with the name "The Rose Line"? Any meaning behind it?

In the book 'The DaVinci Code', the term 'The Rose Line' has a multi-layered definition. In relation to the band, I believe it represents our efforts to try and give our songs as many musical 'layers' as possible - incorporating different styles and views from all genres. Our original bass player came up with the name - after 12 months without a name, we took it on without hesitation.


6. Any thoughts on touring the US? If you could tour with any three US acts, who would they be?

We would love to tour the US in a year or so. Once we have recorded our album and toured with it here in Australia, our first priority will be to take it to the US.

Personally, I would love to tour with Alexisonfire, The Ghost Inside or Killswitch. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from these bands lately, and they are all up in my top 10 favorite bands ever - so any of them would be awesome.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

It's pretty much a double edged sword.
I never used to care if people downloaded TRL's music - even when the EP was up on numerous blogs for download 3 days after it's release - because I had the satisfaction that our music was getting to people, and the band was being promoted.

The down side is that bands have to invest BLENTY (yes thats a 'B') of their own personal coin into developing themselves - because these days record companies are less inclined to part with the cash for developing bands. The end results pay off well if your successful and can afford it, but the talented young bands who can't afford the money or risk of investing in their band, don't get the opportunity to really break out.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Probably 'We Close Our Eyes'. Most people who know us will know this song, and it really gets the crowd involved in so many ways. Any time we play it, there are always kids moving and/or singing along with us.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Protest the hero - Fortress still hasn't broken out of my rotation, and the new self titled A Secret Death album.


10. What's next for The Rose Line?

An album in '09. We have just finished some pre-production (that we will be posting soon) and have begun talks with several producers here in Australia and overseas.


11. Any shoutouts?

Ren Parisi from Melbourne Records - You are Da Bawmb! Thaaanks!
If anyone from Victoria, or even Australia for that matter, need to get a killer sound from a studio - see that man.


-Interview- Life On Hold 9/7/08

Life On Hold
(Unsigned)

Genre: Indie rock akin to The Morning Of or Four Year Strong.
Interviewed on: 9/7/08
From: Billerica, MA
www.myspace.com/lifeonholdmusic

http://www.myspace.com/lifeonholdmusic


Interview conducted with vocalist Ally.


1. How you guys doin? How did the battle of the bands go the other night?

We're doing great, thanks so for asking! The battle of the bands was fun, we didn't win but it was still a really good experience. It was all MA and CT bands, started with 80, went down to 16, then to 6, so even being in that top 6 meant a lot to us.


2. Having a female on lead vocals (like Eyes Set To Kill and The Morning Of), is there any obstacles the band faces at all?

That's a really awesome question. I think that there is somewhat of a stigma attached to having a band with a girl lead singer. There's no doubt about that in my mind. The problem with that is, that there are a million guys in this scene playing shows together in the same genre and it's not given a second thought but as soon as two bands with a girl are on the same bill the show suddenly is a gimmick. Trust me, I'm no femenist preaching for gender equality, I just feel that there is room for improvement.


3. How has the reaction to the "Element Of Surprise" EP been so far?

The reaction has been great thus far, we just started selling it at shows 2 weeks ago, but we have had it up for full streaming on purevolume. com for about a month now and we have received some really great response to it. There was also a little bit of a write-up on absolutepunk. net about it, which was really cool for us, that was a first for all of us in this band. We were really lucky to have been able to work with Mike Poorman on this EP, he's amazing at what he does.


4. What can people expect from the Life On Hold live show?

FUN!! We love to have a good time and we throw tons of energy into our set. We really love to play and I think that it shows. Ohh and also hugs!! We are a very huggy group of people, so if you hang out with us at a show, you can probably expect a hug.


5. What are some of your influences?

As a band: Jimmy Eat World, Fall Out Boy (Take This To Your Grave is collectively our favorite album), Brand New, Four Year Strong, Mae, and The Hush Sound.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Wow, that's a tough one. I'd say Jimmy Eat World is number one on the list, followed by Brand New or The Hush Sound. I'm going to throw our friends Lion of Ido from NY on that list too, because they are one of the most talented bands I've ever encountered and are really cool people.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

I personally am against it, I buy all my music. My bank account would probably look a lot better if I did download music haha. However, I will admit it is a great way for an artist to get music out there.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Balladeer. From a vocals standpoint, it's a really easy song to sing, but also it showcases the guys voices a lot as well as mine. Every single member of Life on Hold can sing and Balladeer give us a chance to all sing together. We have a lot of fun with that song.


9. What are you currently listening to?

I'm currently listening to a lot of Rilo Kiley (which I always am), Four Year Strong, This Providence, and The Hush Sound.


10. What's next for Life On Hold?

The next couple months we're going to being writing some new music, followed by a tour in January.


11. Any shoutouts?

Yes, I just want to take a second to acknowledge our friends in the band All Hands on Deck. They just recently decided to part ways, we played their last show the other night. They did a lot to help us out when we first started, and have been so supportive to us. Please keep an eye out for any future projects that any of them have going on, you won't be dissapointed!


-Interview- The Rorschach Tragedy 9/7/08

The Rorschach Tragedy
(Unsigned)

Genre: Screamocore akin to Blood Brothers or Norma Jean.
Interviewed on: 9/7/08
From: Tampa Bay, FL
www.myspace.com/therorschachtragedy

 http://www.myspace.com/therorschachtragedy


1. How you doin? You have any shows coming up?


Decent. Decent. I just moved to the Tampa Bay area from Seattle and as of current I don't have a permanent place to live or job yet but besides that things are good.

As of shows I'm still putting together a live band so in a way we do have some shows coming up I just don't know when they are yet!


2. Your artwork is very cool, what was the concept behind the covers?

The first album's cover goes along with the album ... so read the lyrics to figure it out! But I took the photo myself and used my incredible post-production talents to put simple text over it.

And the cover of the new demos is just something I did really quick ... I mean ... it's just text over black. That cover shows you that ALWAYS strive for excellence.


3. What is the meaning behind the name "The Rorschach Tragedy"?

I named it after the inkblot test which is the psychological evaluation involving black inkblots on white where you try to make out an image or images with the blots. The band name is sort of the idea that it's a tragedy that everything may be subjective just like different people will see different things with the same ink blots. That idea makes its way into the music but it's by no means a overruling theme of the band.


4. How is the search for other band members coming along?

The search is tough. It's tough when you don't really know anyone in the scene in a new area. It's like starting from scratch. I have been talking to some people though and some jams are going to occur in the very near future. It's a slow process but I'm trying to get to playing shows as soon as I can. I've never even heard my songs played live, it's sort of weird. I think the songs will work real well live, though. I'm excited.


5. What are your influences?

That's a big question. I could probably write forever on it. The biggest influences of The Rorschach Tragedy would probably be The Bled, The Fall of Troy, As Cities Burn, Underoath, and Converge. I say those bands because those were the bands that really changed my view on heavier music and made me really enjoy tragic, beautiful, heavy music. Years have passed since then though and there have been hundreds of more recent bands that influence me, too many to name. I listen to everything from Cartel to Dieselboy to The Locust. Everything influences me. Everything from things I like to things I dislike (country).

As an artist in general some big influences would be Ayn Rand, Hemingway, and Kubrick.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Toby Keith, The Dixie Chicks, and Kellie Pickler. I would play third.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?


It's a tough discussion. I think overall when all is said and done illegal downloading is beneficial to most indie bands. The exposure is worth the small loss of sales. People only have so much money anyways ... most of the time people download music they wouldn't have bought anyways.


8. What are you currently listening to?

Right now I'm listening to a lot of Death Cab, Devil Wears Prada, Legion of Doom, North, Danger Radio, Our Last Night, Sky Eats Airplane, August Burns Red, Eisley. Those are just the cds I have in my car because my mp3 input broke in the glove compartment. I hate it. So I listen to those bands over and over. I should burn some more.


9. What's next for The Rorschach Tragedy?

Shows, new record, lather, repeat.


10. Any shoutouts?

Heath Ledger and B-Mac, WE MISS YOU!


-Review- The Crosstown Rivalry - Pull Down The Sky EP

The Crosstown Rivalry

Label: Unsigned
From: Voorhees, NJ
Pull Down The Sky EP
Release Date: 2008
Sounds like: New Found Glory, old Fall Out Boy

http://www.myspace.com/crosstownrivalry


Track Listing:

1. Greetings From The Garden State
2. You Wish You Were Here
3. Look Up Look Out
4. Who I Am And What I've Done (To Keep You Listening)
5. Everything Down
6. With All The Right Intentions
7. I Came To ___, NJ, And All I Left With Was A Gambling Problem
8. Falling For You (Hidden Track)

Pop punk bands for the most part have always been influenced by likes of Blink 182, Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. The Crosstown Rivalry bit the styles of the latter two. That's not a bad thing due to the part that they do it good enough to get some attention coming their way.

This album kicks off with “Greetings From The Garden State” which is nothing more than a prelude instrumental to get you hooked into the album. Then starts “You Wish You Were Here” which sounds like a New Found Glory b-side straight down to the pop-punkish breakdowns near the end of the song.

“Who I Am And What I've Done (To Keep You Listening)” is very reminiscent to Fall Out Boy's “Sugar We're Going Down”. The album is more of the same as the pop punk catchiness of the choruses and breaks are something that's definatly going to keep the attention of the listener for all 8 tracks (including the acoustic end track “Falling For You”).

Verdict:
This album is extremely catchy if you're into pop/punk. If you listen to old Fall Out Boy or New Found Glory defiantly check this out. This band is going places soon, they're unsigned but not for too much longer. Check them out.

Standout Tracks-
"You Wish You Were Here"
"Who I Am And What I've Done (To Keep You Listening)"


-Interview- Searching For Network 9/5/08

Searching For Network
(Unsigned)

Genre: Alternative rock akin to Incubus or Modest Mouse.
Interviewed on: 9/5/08
From: New York, NJ
www.myspace.com/searching4network

http://www.myspace.com/searching4network


1. How you guys doin? How's the new material coming along?

Hey we're all doing pretty good, a bit busy with work and school. The new material is coming out pretty good, we wanted to change our songs up a bit, so far so good.


2. Any shows coming up?

We had a show for this weekend, but unfortunately we had to cancel it :-/. We'll probably have stuff popping up sparingly starting late September/Early October.


3. What can people expect from your new material?

A lot more "dance-able," and just all around fun! We like to have fun with our music/lyrics, so hopefully people will get that. (tolerate the crappy recordings on our myspace, just a bit more! sorry)


4. What are some of your influences?

Oh man! We're all, all over the place. We range from The Beatles to As blood runs black! haha. but for this band, we all look up to our favorite indie/alt bands. Radiohead, Interpol, muse, bloc party, the klaxons, a bunch of 80's and 90's bands.


5. Any crazy show stories?

Hmmmmm, crazy or crappy!? haha
The only craziest thing that's happened was...at a house party/basement show, some drunk/tripping on whatever dude started beating up on my drum set after our set, and our lead singer wanted to fight him outside. But we didn't let him.
pretty boring so far :-(


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

only three? Bloc Party, radiohead, and interpol/muse maybe?
If test icles were still around, that would be fun.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

50/50. the big picture: A lot of musicians just want to express themselves, and just want the music heard and enjoyed, but people do have to understand that to some musicians MUSIC is their livelihood.
for us: If someone wanted to download our music, go for it! It doesnt have to be illegal, you can just ask us and we'll probably give it to ya! We just want to have fun and be heard.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Everyone loves break point, and, to me, it feels like a get STOKED ON BEING PUMPED! kind of song. We also like to play "evil dance" (song name will be changed) its just fun and booogey-full.
and of course ladies love the "lubby dubby song" ;-)


9. What are you currently listening to?

Right now I'm "doin' the cockroach" with modest mouse.
and now I'm an anarchist with Against me!


10. What's next for Searching For Network?

Edit our current songs/lyrics and try and make 'em as sexy as possible. We want to get pedals/fancy stuff for the guitars and a keyboardist too (anyone?!) and maybe do a couple of radiohead-esque songs.


11. Any shoutouts?

To the other dudes in SFN for making me fill this out alone!
frank's 'rents for letting us make noise any/everyday till 9pm. Mario our kickass friend/pro bono manger (check out his solo project http://www. myspace. com/mariojam) the girlfriends/ex's that have helped us out, and pissed us off!(haha)
oh and these cool dudes from PA, From The Depths Entertainment!!


-Interview- We Are Fiction 9/4/08

We Are Fiction
(Rising Records)

Genre: Melodic Metalcore akin to Bury Tomorrow or old Atreyu.
Interviewed on: 9/4/08
From: Peterborough, UK
www.myspace.com/wearefictionmusic

http://www.myspace.com/wearefictionmusic


1. How you guys doin? You guys are going on tour soon with Lavondyss, you guys excited to head out?

We’re good thanks! Yea, we’re all super excited to go out on tour! The Lavondyss guys are awesome! Its just gonna be a whole week of partying, shitting in gobs, pranks, playing shows and drinking until we puke on each other! Can’t get much better really! Its gonna be cool to see some new places and faces as well. Hopefully we can get people to have a good time.


2. You guys just got signed to Rising Records (Open The Skies, Many Things Untold), how did you guys hook up with them?

Well we basically sent a press pack with a CD of all our recorded tracks on it, along with a biography of the band and our general story and ambitions etc. Then a few days later we got an email from Mark Daghorn (owner or Rising Records) saying he really liked what he heard and would like to come see us play. So we arranged a show in Norwich for him to come and meet us and see us play. Again he liked what he saw and wanted us to come down the HQ the following weekend to talk about a possible future with the company… and here we are now!


3. How did the band come about and form?

Well, 4 out of 5 of us used to be in a long running band called “Between Broken Ashes”, who had moderate success but after about 2 years together our singer and front man decided it wasn’t for him anymore; so we decided to call it a day. The other 4 of us didn’t want to stop making and playing music, so we decided to continue on together. We couldn’t stay as BBA as we had lost the main voice of the band, so we decided to start again with a new name, new front man, new songs… new band effectively! We managed to get hold of a very dashing and talented young man by the name of Phillip Barker to fill the position of front man. We started writing together as “We Are Fiction” in July 2007.


4. What can people expect from your live show?

A lot of energy, guitar spins and us jumping around like mad men. Since we started We Are Fiction we made sure that we are known in a positive respect for our stage presence. Personally, it seems that if a band is lifeless on stage, it doesn’t matter what kind of music they are playing, the crowd will lose interest. But this works the other way around too. If a band is lively and has great stage presence then it doesn’t matter if the music isn’t really their thing, the crowd will show their support! I know its said way too many times by bands, but it IS really important to us that everyone has a good night out at a show!


5. How has the response been to the new material? Any thoughts on coming over to the US to possible tour?

Responses have been good so far. We’re writing a lot of new material from now till the album recording in January so hopefully we will get some good feedback from them also. As for touring in the US, we’d love to! We all love the states and to tour there would be a dream come true! Maybe we can get our new label to fork out some money for a VIP tour bus or something…. maybe not haha.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Tom: For me it would have to be Alexisonfire, Underoath and Every Time I Die

Ryan: Paramore (I’ll rock the boat baby!), Alexisonfire (shock) and Blink 182

Adam: Steps, Boyzone & Michael Jackson…obviously not

Phil: Nirvana, Alexisonfire, Every time I die

Andi: The Used, The Used and probably The Used.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Its not a good thing… but ultimately its unstoppable! I don’t think there will ever be a reasonable way of controlling illegal downloads. It sucks because its pretty much stealing someone’s work and trade! Personally, we think the only thing we can do is leave it up to the choice of the individual. If we all heard a song and we liked it, we would want to pay that person for their effort… to kinda say thank you. Unfortunately music is expensive, but it would be nice for people to realise that smaller bands have such a hard time to move to the next level. So ripping them kind of bands off is pretty grim!


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Tom: Remedy for the Incurables - Because it’s usually first and has loads of energy.

Ryan: Desire Lines - Because it’s got a lot of energy, and I just go insane really.

Adam: You wanna dance - fun to sing!

Phil: Desire Lines - because we usually play it at the end and its one of our fastest. Leaves a nice end to the show!

Andi: Desire Lines - Because I get to drop my guitar, go nuts and kick Ryan in the balls at the end of the set. J


9. What are you currently listening to?

Tom: A lot of things. The stuff I mostly listen to is stuff like, Alexisonfire, The Bled, Underoath, He Is Legend, Every Time I Die, Paramore, Dillinger Escape Plan. I also like to listen stuff like Dizzy Rascal and DJ Hype. I’ll listen to any music that I like. I don’t tend to just go specifically for one genre of music and block everything else out.

Ryan: At the minute, mostly Frank Turner, City & Colour and Black Lungs, all so amazing. Then other stuff I’m really into at the minute is like All Idols Fall, Cancer Bats, Set Your Goals; then the all time favourites of Alexisonfire, Brand New and all the usual stuff!

Adam: Ryan whispering naughty things in my ear…

Phil: I’ve just bought Many Things Untold’s album, so giving that a good seeing to. Other than that, just old classics such as Nirvana!

Andi: Biffy Clyro, The Used, Angels & Airwaves, Darude, DJ Hixxy, Dre, City and Colour, 2 Many DJ’s, The Nextmen, Diego Bertelli, my flatmate trying to get me to clean up.


10. What's next for We Are Fiction?

We’re looking forward to getting the tour started and playing as many shows as we can for the rest of the year. Also, writing and trying to make the best music we possibly can, ready for the album and music video next year. We can’t wait to show people what we’ve been making and we hope that we can really turn some heads with this new material. We just don’t wanna stop!


11. Any shoutouts?

Everyone who has ever supported us. All the bands in our home town of Peterborough who have kept the music scene going.

Stevo - He Say a Ci!

Chris DOWNSS, our personal roadie and cameraman


-Interview- When Girls Kiss Girls 9/4/08

When Girls Kiss Girls
(Red Rover Records)

Genre: Pop-mosh akin to A Day To Remember or Paddock Park.
Interviewed on: 9/4/08
From: Boston, MA
www.myspace.com/whengirlskissgirls

http://www.myspace.com/whengirlskissgirls


1. How you guys doin? How did the band come about and form?

We're doing pretty well!
the band was started by our guitarist rob when he and Kevin got together to start a new band after their former projects. They added a drummer and another guitarist then after sometime, added me (Jim) to vocals. Since then we've added Mark who does synth&vocals and we've a hard a couple of small line-up changes this year.


2. You guys are heading into the studio soon, you guys excited to lay down some tracks?

Definitely!
We've been trying to get in the studio for months, but so many things have put us behind schedule. We're excited to put out a new CD that reflects how our band has developed since we last recorded our first demo CD last year.


3. What can we expect from the new record?

We try to pull in a lot of our influences into our music.
The new record will definitely keep you dancing, moshing, singing and screaming. Lots of catchy vocals, punchy guitar lines, and brutal breakdowns.


4. How did you hook up with Red Rover Records?

Red Rover Records was formally a label and is more of a free-agent management company. so technically, we're unsigned and looking for a new label!


5. You guys just got finished touring not too long ago, how did that go?

We had the time of our lives! we got to meet a lot of new people and bands and made a lot of friends. we really can't wait to get on the road again when we finish our new EP.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

That's a tough choice because we all love so man bands and we all have a variety of tastes. but I think we can all agree that we'd love to tour with A Day To Remember, The Devil Wears Prada and


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

We don't particularly mind downloading. If anything, it's helping us.
I've downloaded Albums before that I would have never bought just because I was unsure if I'd like it. After downloading it and loving it, I've often gone out and bought the actual CD or at least purchased there next CD.
I personally don't download music illegal much anymore because I'd rather support an artist by purchasing their music.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

It may just be a tie between "Hollywood Is Just New Jersey With Celebrities" and "Oh, Brutus!"
Hollywood is catchy, brutal, & epic. it's kind of a showing of most of the band's character.
Brutus is a catchy song interrupted by breakdowns. it's fun to play live because kids tend to get most involved with that song. whether it be moshing or chanting the line "this town ain't big enough for the both of us"


9. What are you currently listening to?

August Burns Red, Lets Get It, A Day To Remember, Circa Survive, Underoath, Four Year Strong, The Devil Wears Prada.


10. What's next for When Girls Kiss Girls?

You can expect A LOT more touring and hopefully working with a great record label!


11. Any shoutouts?

We'd like to give a shout out to Kris and everyone in NCOR from Newport, KY. Everyone who helped us out on tour and gave us a place to stay. And of course, all of of our Family, Friends, & Fans who have and continue to support us in our musical endeavors.
Stay Positive!


-Interview- Torn From The Roots 9/4/08

Torn From The Roots
(Unsigned)

Genre: Progressive metal akin to new Underoath or Everytime I Die.
Interviewed on: 9/4/08
From: Bensalem, PA
www.myspace.com/tornfromtherootsband

http://www.myspace.com/tornfromtherootsband


1. How you guys doin? Any shows coming up?
We're doing great, we have a show at The Trocadero in Philadelphia PA, on September 27th.


2. How's the new material coming along? Will it still be along the same lines of "Rip Out"?

The new material is cranking out amazingly. We never try to do the same song twice, so to answer that, no not along the lines of Rip-Out. Not to mention that song has been around for a very long time with us.


3. How did the band come about and form?

Well the band started well over 3 years ago. After the break up of a couple other local bands. Dan and Tony started jamming together and decided to make a new band. After multiple non-permanent vocalists, Jim decided to try out, and has the spot ever since. Pete came into the picture after the departure of our long time guitarist, Pat. Pete was a friend, wanted to be our session guy, but soon decided he wanted in full time.


4. You guys made a pretty bold statement on your blog about the PA music scene, what's your guys take on the scene now and the metal/hardcore genre in general?

Well we've been to all parts of Pennsylvania to play or go to shows. It does really fluctuate depending on where you are. The scene in our local area can be absolutely amazing, but sometimes other bands or the fans will go to one local show in a long period of time and it makes it hard to play out sometimes. But for the metal/hardcore scene itself, we all agree that it's still the strongest scene out there, and we're completely grateful to be a part of it.


5. Any crazy show stories?

Wow, well we have way too many... but the 2nd show we ever played was pretty nuts. The show was great but, we had a, well we basically had a 60 year old prostitute ask the whole band if we wanted a good time. We'll leave it at that. More recently our vocalist Jim thought it would be a great idea to strip down to a neon orange thong while playing a show. Needless to say that show was awesome.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

This is a total mix but if we went on tour with local bands they'd have to be, In Wake of The Plague, Sex With Rollercoasters, and our friends in Parental Advisory. Check them all out! But as for bigger well known bands, bands along the lines of Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, and Abigal Williams.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Well we all pretty much do it too, but as long as the music is getting out there to be heard, that's all we care about.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Our song called, "Arson Doesn't Kill." There's a bunch of reasons why, but it was a song that means a lot to us, and has a very personal message. When we play that song, it just lights the fire for us, and makes us go absolutely crazy and off the wall.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Well we all have our mix but as for Tony, bands like, Every Time I Die, Limb Bizkit, and See You Next Tuesday. As for Dan bands like, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, Abigal Williams, and Soilwork. For Pete, bands like Opeth, Behemoth, and Children of Bodom. And as for Jim, bands like, Whitechapel, Bon Jovi, and Job For a Cowboy.


10. What's next for Torn From The Roots?

We're in our writing stage right now, we're trying to get our album out by mid to late December. On top of that, getting our merchandise ready, and possibly adding a new addition to the TFTR family.


11. Any shoutouts?

To everyone who has supported us over the years! Any band we have ever played with! Without fans and other acts out there to support us, we'd be nothing, we appreciate everything you do.


-Interview- Porcelain Smile 9/4/08

Porcelain Smile
(Unsigned)

Genre: Southern metalcore akin to He Is Legend Or Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster.
Interviewed on: 9/4/08
From: Christiansburg, VA
www.myspace.com/porcelainsmileband

http://www.myspace.com/porcelainsmileband


1. How did the band get together and form?

We just started playing together during school, and figured it sounded good, so we kept doing it.


2. How did the theme of the album come about? What's the inspiration behind it?

It's hard to say if we meant for the album to be themed while we werre writing it, but the first few songs we wrote had a very sailor/pirate theme to them, so we decided to keep the theme through the rest of the album.


3. You guys hooked up with Brock Berryhill (Hand to Hand, VersaEmerge) to produce the album, how did you guys hook up with him?

We were looking for a good studio to record our songs, and Brock ended up on the list. We did a lot of research before making a choice, and we made the right one. Brock did us an amazing job recording, and both him and our engineer Evan Coffman, were real cool dudes and kept the sessions fun.


4. You guys played with acts such as Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster and Walls Of Jericho, what is the craziest show you guys ever played and what happened?

The craziest show...would probably be Warped Tour, just because of the experience. That's something not a lot of bands get to do, and we were lucky enough to get a spot. The Maylene show would be close too, because that show was at Virginia Tech which is right near our hometown. so all of our friends were there to see us.


5. What are some of your influences?

As a band, it would be bands like Every Time I Die, and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. All of our members have very diverse influences that all add something different to the music


6. What's your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

We're 50/50 on it. On one side, the music's being listened by people and getting out there. On the other hand, the artist doesn't make anything off of their music; it is a business, and a tough one at that


7. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

We realy don't have a "favorite"...it changes every night really. If we had to pick one, it would be either "Withing Hour", "Hold Fast", or "Lovers LIars Jailors, and Sailors"


8. What are you guys currently listening to?

We're listening to a lot of different stuff right now and trying to pull what we can from the different styles. It's ranging from metal, punk, blues, classical...it's a little bit of everything


9. What's next for Porcelain Smile?

We're trying to set up a winter tour right now, and shop ourselves to labels. We'll probably start writing new songs later in the year, and we just want to continue to get better as a band and get our music out to more people.


10. You guys recently played the VA Beach stop of the Warped Tour, how did that go? Catch any other bands that blew you away?

Warped Tour is one of those shows that we'll remember for a long time. It was a great experience that we enjoyed fully. We had a pretty big crowd when we played, and we got to go and watch some of our favorite bands....as far as bands went, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Maylene, As I Lay Dying, Say Anything, and Protest the Hero were all very good, and for some of the guys in the band, it was the first time they had seen any of them live.


11. Any shoutouts?

There's a lot, but we'll try and keep it short. Brock and Evan and Starlight Studios, all the bands that we have looked up to and have played with, all those who have helped us get shows in the past and in the future, and Mike at From the Depths for letting us do this interview. We would like to give a big shout out to our families because without their help, we wouldn't be the band that we are today.


-Interview- Yeah What The Captain Said 9/3/08

Yeah What The Captain Said
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to August Burns Red or Crash My Deville.
Interviewed on: 9/3/08
From: Munchen, Germany
www.myspace.com/yeahwhatthecaptainsaid

http://www.myspace.com/yeahwhatthecaptainsaid


1. How you guys doin? How did the band come about and form?

We are doing great
Orion: One day I went to the zoo and i saw a monkey drumming on empty trees and stones and stuff. And I asked him if he wants to form a band with me. Then I found out that he wasn't a monkey, just a black dude who was hiding from police. So I married him and we formed Yeah What The Captain Said. The rest of the band we bought in many different countries. George is from Kazakhstan and Paul (the retarded bassist) is from the DDR (the people behind the big wall), Chris I knew from my old Band.


2. What is the music scene like over there in Germany?

Not as big as in America but very oriented and everybody wants to be American.
But we still love sauerkraut and weißwurst
come to Oktoberfest and drink with us.


3. How did the concept for "How Do You Sing When You Drown" come about?

Ever tried to sing under water?


4. Any new material being worked on at all?

AAron: Yeah we just came from the studio, working on our new EP which will come out maybe October. Its written under the concept of We Are The Captains. We tried to put many different types of music in our new songs. The songs are way more progressive now and have jazz parts and stuff.
People who like the old EP will love the new one.


5. Any crazy show stories?

Orion: Oh yeah, I hate thinking about that night, it was the worst gig ever. We played as second band and not so many people around. I spinned my guitar around and i made it. After that song a photographer said to me I should do it again he wants to make a shot while I'm spinning so i did..
and my belt just ripped and the guitar flew over the whole stage. i got freaking mad and i went off the stage and the show was over. Our old bassist Marco laughed at me and made me even more angry. WORST NIGHT EVER.
And Stuff like Aaron starting our intro wrong or we are taking our clothes off.

And once the ex from our second guitar player Georg jumped on stage and started making out with him, that was funny.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

We dont care with which band we play at least we can play and have fun with other bands no matter who.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Its great.
Buy more t-shirts babies


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

For the moment its "Jack The Legendary Hustler"
because the people know the song now and they make crazy hip hop moves. Peace
But when the new songs are well known by the people this will change.


9. What are you currently listening to?

I'm just hearing a train which is driving next to my window and Paul who is talking shit.


10. What's next for Yeah What The Captain Said?

If they don't get a label we want one


11. Any shoutouts?

YEAH WHAT THE CAPTAIN SAID


-Interview- Alert The Sky 9/3/08

Alert The Sky
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster or It Prevails.
Interviewed on: 9/3/08
From: Murfressboro, TN
www.myspace.com/alertthesky

http://www.myspace.com/alertthesky


1. How you guys doin? You have a show coming up with Guard Your Steps at Rocketown, you looking forward to it?

We are doing great man. 3/5ths of are in college and our lives are consumed by class and work. This show at Rocketown is going to rule. Almost every good Nashville band is playing this show. And we love Guard Your Steps.


2. How has the reaction to the "Burger King" album been?

The reaction has been incredible. We got a lot of great feedback.


3. What was the inspiration behind the album? Why Burger King and not Mcdonalds or Wendys?

Burger King was the name we picked out. It is not a cliche title that would be like everything else. The whole idea behind "Burger King" is to stop taking yourself so serious and look around you. We are going to have to find our own way to succeed as a generation that is being thrown to the curb. The future is up to us to advance and we must start by taking care of one another.


4. How did the band come about and form? Is there any meaning behind the name "Alert The Sky"?

The band came around during the fall of 2005. Josh and Pete got together and started writing some songs. The name Alert The Sky has no meaning. It was just a name. I have only been in the band for about a year.


5. What are some of your influences?

Our influences are very wide as individuals. We could not fit them all in this interview. As a band we shoot to be heavy but with a traditional hardcore influence.


6. What is the local music scene like in Tennessee?

The music scene is very diverse. Two of our goods friends, A Plea For Purging and The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza are from Murfreesboro. There are a lot of good things going on in Nashville.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

We are not pumped on the idea but if a kid comes to a show and sings along then it is worth it.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

We love playing Rick James and The Giant Peach live. It has a lot of cool parts and a huge sing along at the end. It is a lot of fun.


9. What are you currently listening to?

I am currently jamming The Dear Hunter Acts I and II. Also the new Verse cd is very good.


10. What's next for Alert The Sky?

We are going to be hanging out at home for a while and try to write some new songs. We have a mini tour this Oct and then hopefully a bigger tour this winter.


11. Any shoutouts?

All of our fans around the world and to NASHVILLE! You guys rule!! And a big shout out to our MOMS!! We love them. DONT VOTE!


-Interview- Angel To Enslave 9/3/08

Angel To Enslave
(Unsigned)

Genre: Death metal/hardcore akin to Job For A Cowboy or The Black Dahlia Murder.
Interviewed on: 9/3/08
From: Newport, UK
www.myspace.com/angeltoenslave

http://www.myspace.com/angeltoenslave


1. How you guys doin? Were pretty good cheers

How's the drummer search coming along? Its going pretty well at the moment we have had lots of interest from many awesome guys, we are going to try out another guy Sunday and he seems pretty promising at the moment.


2. How did the album cover design concept for "The Darkest Dawn" come about?

Well The Darkest Dawn is pretty much when every thing has gone to shit people from friends to family pas away and you have nothing left to do but sit out whilst the dawn happens but because every thing is shit the dawn is dark its kind of confusing, but the angel in our art work is trapped down and dying because she has taken all of the bad from the world and it has taken her ability to be free.

3. What do you think about the hardcore/metal genre nowadays?

These days the genre has grown a stupid amount not just in the youth population but for adults to. The genre isn't just something you listen to, its something that you realize your feelings to and its something that you and your mates can just rock out all day and all night with out being bored its a new era of our life style.


4. Being from the UK, what do you think of the bands from there getting exposure over here in the US? Any thoughts in touring in the US?

I think it is a hard thing for bands to do, because you have to get big here before you can get big else were. yes we would tour over the states but only with a pretty huge headlining band that every one loves in the USA, we have a fair few fans in the USA which ask us all the time when were going to come over there, and we will. We have total respect for the UK bands which make it but personally any one can do it as long as they put there soul into it, like we say its not luck that does it, its the effort you put into it. Like many bands from the UK that have made it over to the USA they have dedicated their lives to it as we have to.


5. Any crazy show stories?

aha a few yeah, We went to England to play a show, Birmingham it was. We traveled a 5 hour drive in two cars, one car got lost and me an the former drummer Alex arrived at the venue and it was a little pub with about 10 people in. The microphones were running through a hi-fi system. any way the rest of the band arrived about 2 hours late with about 100 sweet rappers all over the fucking car haha and all over them. So we watched the 6 bands play realizing there were all grindcore kids, then it was time for us to play and of course we didn't realize that we were headlining the show and basically we got shown up like a bitch in a gay bar ahah the only way i can put it. We got spat on and kicked in the head ahah it was pretty nuts, it was all because we were white and we played Death Metal and for some reason grind core people hate death metal! but we thought fuck it were not going to stop playing for them.The thing i was most pissed of about it when out set was done, i went to the bar to get a pint of fosters, and the bastard comes back with a coke.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Easy man easy.

All Shall Perish
Parkway Drive
The Black Dahlia Murder


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

Every one does it, but when your an artist your self it is pretty anoying because its all your time, money and feeling recorded.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

The Darkest Dawn, Because it means a lot to me and it is mad to play i feel like its just me and the boys going mad and doing what we do best!


9. What are you currently listening to?

Never Ending War- All Shall Perish


10. What's next for Angel To Enslave?

Well were going to get 2 videos done go on Channel red sky TV 186 then were hopefully going to get every thing sorted with a contract deal and tour like mad!


11. Any shoutouts?

Yeah man!
Dont play music for other people play it for yourselves!
Peace out everyone hope you like our music.
Cheers From The Depths Entertainment, You Guys are awesome.


-Interview- Poison My Blood 9/3/08

Poison My Blood
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to Parkway Drive or Twelve Tribes.
Interviewed on: 9/3/08
From: Lande, Belgium
www.myspace.com/poisonmyblood

http://www.myspace.com/poisonmyblood



1. How you guys doin? How's the recording process been so far?

We're doing great. We've had a very exciting month with all the touring and recording. To be honest it feels good to be home again.
The recording has been really good. We've heard the first mix and it's already sounding amazing. We'll probably be able to let you hear something in a week or so!


2. What can people expect from the new record?

A much more mature sound than we had before. In our last shows we often got compared to Misery Signals, Shai Hulud and Twelve Tribes. But it's hard to say, buy the record and judge it yourselves ;)


3. What's the music scene like in Belgium?

I think it's pretty good. With the touring we've done this summer I think we can compare a both with different countries. Belgium promoters take pretty good care of bands and most of the time kids care about the bands that are playing. But I think it's like this in most of Europe. We really enjoyed Germany, kids are great there!


4. You guys recently had some lineup changes, how has the new members adjusted to the band so far?

Very good! We couldn't be more happy to be honest. We spent a month together touring and recording and we've had such a good time so it was almost like they have been in the band forever.


5. Any crazy show stories?

Show stories not really, I think. We do have some stories from on the road and from the after parties.
We were on the road to the studio and on the highway in Germany we hit traffic. Next to our van was a Mobile home with some 10 year old dude sitting on the window being an idiot. So we hunk the horn and suddenly his sister (we suppose) comes to sit by the window. So we hunk the horn again. She must have been flattered because she instantly pulled up her shirt and showed us her goodies, which was nice.
We've also had a girl showing her boobs at an after party. No idea how that happened.
There are probably more stories but this is all I can come up with right now!


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Very hard question. I think it's different for all of us but let's just say Deftones, Misery Signals and Pantera.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

It sucks because it destroys independent labels and bands. But the temptation to click on a link to get a record is very high so I guess you can't blame anyone for doing it. As long as kids will still support bands in other ways or buy the record after downloading it, I guess it's fine. Nothing you can do about it anyways.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Everyone in the band has a different favorite song. Wouter's favorite song is Black Water. Tim's favorite song is The Dead. I think Koen's, Tom's and mine is The Arsonist. No reason why though.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Tephra - A Modicum of Truth


10. What's next for Poison My Blood?

Playing some local shows, making some money cause we're all broke now, partying, hopefully getting signed, hopefully touring a lot, hopefully getting laid a lot,


11. Any shoutouts?

Buy stuff with our name on it cause we don't have any money haha. No shit though.


-Interview- In Debt To The Catalyst 9/2/08

In Debt To The Catalyst
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to Jesus Wept or old War Of Ages.
Interviewed on: 9/2/08
From: Erie, PA
www.myspace.com/indebttothecatalyst

http://www.myspace.com/indebttothecatalyst


1. How you guys doin? You have any shows coming up?

Well currently we are taking a break to write but in the next month or so we plan to be back on stage and hopefully have a new album out.


2. What's your thoughts on the Christian hardcore scene nowadays getting more exposure than ever?

well personally we think it's a good and bad thing, the good part is that all these bands are using music to show their faith and spread their beliefs. On the other hand you get bands that take advantage of it and just use it to gain the exposure.


3. Being from a hardcore outlet like Erie which spawned bands like War Of Ages and Jesus Wept, for people that don't know, what is the music scene like there in Erie?

Well it is a great scene, I mean we grew up with these bands and I mean we were watching them when they were just starting, I remember watching War Of Ages when they were still Point Zero. The support that the local bands get here is amazing. However if you can't hold your own here stay out of the pit, it's not as laid back as most places are people really love their music haha.


4. When can we expect new material? Will it sound similar to "Muscles The Goldfish"?

Well probably not we changed back to our original tuning of c and thats in the more brutal form of a but yea new music will be posted soon and its more along the metal side of things.


5. How's the search for a second guitarist coming along?

Well we have a bunch of people interested it's just a matter of finding who fits with us as a musician and as a person.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

Probably War Of Ages since they are like our hometown heroes, Winds Of Plague, and Darkest Hour.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

We don't think it should be illegal I mean we're in this for the music and if people are hearing it and liking it then we don't care how they get it.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

We have a song called Beaver Duck: the ballad of the platypus and I think that's the general favorite by us and the fans. It goes through the most changes of all our songs, and people can sing along to it.


9. What are you currently listening to?

I've been listening to Thrice a lot lately but the old stuff, Artist in the Ambulance. That's the best cd in my opinion.


10. What's next for In Debt To The Catalyst?

Hopefully we can get signed and start touring soon, we had a tour schedule but then we lost our guitarists so we had to cancle, but hopefully we hit the road soon.


11. Any shoutouts?

We'd like to say hey to our friends She's in Pain they have helped us out a lot, they're all really cool guys and the make some great music.


-Interview- Eve Of Shadows 9/2/08

Eve Of Shadows
(Unsigned)

Genre: Metalcore akin to or As I Lay Dying or 7 Angels 7 Plagues.
Interviewed on: 9/2/08
From: Cookeville, TN
www.myspace.com/eveofshadows

http://www.myspace.com/eveofshadows


1. How you guys doin? You guys are playing with A Plea For Purging in a little while, you guys excited?

We are good man. Yeah, The A Plea For Purging Show, Honestly. I with the rest of the guys have been waiting for this show to happen for a long time. I have listened to them since the band was beginning to do anything back in late 2006. Now I get to play with them. I'm pretty excited you could say.


2. How did the band come about and form?

Well, my brother(Jared) and I wanted to play music. So we picked up a few guys in 2006 and some didn't work out. Line ups were changed and different bands were formed. but ultimately in my opinion, E.O.S. was an idea in 2006 until Brian and Andrew joined in 2008.


3. How's the new material coming along? We heard the demos but will they be pressed onto an EP at all?

Yes, the demo is actually being sold at every one of our shows. We sold out at rocketown so we are getting more but like I said. We have cd's and they are out for purchase. As for new stuff, We are in the process of writing our full length yet to be titled. Probably out next year.


4. The design work for your merch is really cool, how did the concept come about?

Well the guys and I all wanted something really colorful and something catchy. Tyler(from the fight between frames) did our work and had a similar idea as well. What resulted of the ideas was the shirt.


5. Any crazy show stories?

Well girls were hanging upside down from the ceiling.. hah nah. The coolest stories... we packed out Level 1 @ Rocketown the first time we played there and I forgot my guitar a time or two. But that's about it. haha.


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

A Day To Remember, August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

As long as the music is being heard and liked, I don't see the problem.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

Heart Of Lions i'd say , probably because i can act like I'm tough and at the same time make the pretty girls cry. =]


9. What are you currently listening to?

A Day To Remember, Mychildren Mybride, For Today,Four Year Strong, and Motionless in White


10. What's next for Eve Of Shadows?

Touring finally, A Full Length, Cornerstone '09, Melting Faces. Haha you know.


11. Any shoutouts?

My mom and Dad, Tyler from The Fight Between Frames! He did our shirts. Check him out. Our boys in Motionless In White, Guard Your Steps , His Name Is Love, and In Truth Be Valor.
and Youmost of all for checking us out.
haha.


-Interview- All Or Nothing 9/2/08

All Or Nothing
(Zone 6 Records)

Genre: Punk/Hardcore akin to Set Your Goals or Four Year Strong .
Interviewed on: 9/2/08
From: Birmingham, UK
www.myspace.com/allornothingpunk

http://www.myspace.com/allornothingpunk


1. How you guys doin? How's the new material coming along?

We're doing good! Thanks for asking man! The new stuff is coming along nicely, we've written 6 songs and we're choosing the 3 we like the most to record in october with our good friends at Outhouse Studios in reading.


2. What can people expect from the new record?

We've spent quite a bit of time going back over songs and demo-ing songs and taking bits out/ re-working songs this time around so the new songs are put together a lot better than our old songs, we don't want to rush the songwriting process at all but i think last time we maybe did. It's defintitely still similar to our old material but expect it to be faster/heavier/catchier.. and loads more words that end in "er".


3. How did you hook up with Zone 6 Records in the UK?

I think it started through Saggs at Zone 6 just emailing us and telling us he liked our shit, then we sent him the whole old album and he was into it and was interested in helping us out with our next release. We already knew about Zone 6 from being into bands such as Living With Lions, Bangarang, Chaos Days, they had an awesome roster of bands so we thought it would be cool to work with them!


4. What are some of your influences?

We're mainly influenced by 90's skate punk i'd say, we all grew up loving bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, Early Blink and NFG, then there was the 90's drive-thru era where New Found Glory became huge and there was a bunch of sweet pop punk bands around like midtown, saves the day etc. I think you can definitely hear from our music that we mix influences from skate punk bands such as Strike Anywhere with simple catchy pop punk hooks. It's all good!


5. Any crazy show stories?

On our most recent tour we played Ipswich, we'd never been there before so didn't really know what to expect but it ended up being the best date of tour, they all go fucking nuts there! and everyone there was really kind to us. But it was probably the hottest show i've played in my life, we all had to play in boxers and the venue was small but rammed, the best part of the night was when i looked up and saw some dudes legs hanging from the ceiling! He'd somehow managed to climb up and get his whole upper body in the roof of the venue so there were just some legs dangling from the ceiling! Also during our tour buddies Save Your Breath's set, their guitarist Parslow somehow got electrocuted and nearly passed out against the wall! That was fun, but crazy!


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

That's a hard one, Personally i'd like to tour with Strike Anywhere, i've been a big fan for ages and i think doing somewhere like Japan with those guys would be intense!
Then i think Tim would love to tour with NOFX, it would be cool to go out with such a legendary band and play to that many people each night. And i think Joe would want to tour with Justin Timberlake, he has a thing for him.


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

I think it's a hard subject because the majority of people do it, it's different when you look at it from the perspective of being in a band and having your music downloaded when you've worked hard and spent a lot of money to get that music out there. But at the same time it's cool that kids actually want to download your stuff in a way, i wouldn't have a problem say if a kid came up to me at a show and told me they'd downloaded our music, because they would have still come to the show and supported us and maybe even bought a t-shirt, as long as people are hearing it and getting into it and supporting your band then you've still done what you hoped to acheive when you wrote and recorded those songs!


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

At the moment it's gotta be "One Night..." just because it's the song everyone knows the most and we always get a good reception and get people singing along to that song! There's a couple of new ones that i can't wait to add to the set though!


9. What are you currently listening to?

At the moment i cant get enough of a band called Deaf Havana, you should check them out in our top friends if you like Everytime I Die/ Gallows type stuff. I've also been jamming Say Anything in my car for a while, i think "...is a real boy" is an amazing album.


10. What's next for All Or Nothing?

Well there's recording in October.. Then a tour with US Sing-along punks Fake Problems, we've got an awesome show lined up with Set Your Goals and Four Year Strong in Leeds, then hopefully next year we can branch out of the UK and hit mainland europe, possibly even the states if we're lucky!


11. Any shoutouts?

Ahh too many! Firstly thank you for the interview it was a pleasure! And then to our bro's in The Wonder Years, Chaos Days, Save Your Breath, Me Vs Hero, In This For Fun, Kiss The Sharks,The Swellers if you haven't heard any of those bands then please check them out! And then to everyone reading this, everyone who listen's to our music and appreciates what we do, everyone at our shows/buying merch/singing a long. It's awesome and we love it!


-Interview- A Greater Hope 9/2/08

A Greater Hope
(Unsigned)

Genre: Pop/rock akin to Automatic Loveletter or Promise Of Redemption.
Interviewed on: 9/2/08
From: Warrington, PA
www.myspace.com/agreaterhopepa

http://www.myspace.com/agreaterhopepa


1. How you guys doin? You guys have any shows lined up in the near future?

We've been working on a lot of new material so our shows have been to a minimum. So much that we don't know when to release all of it. When we do record it there are a lot of options, we can keep a lot of this secret and hopefully gain some fans with the "new" stuff that we actually wrote a while ago. A lot is going to come together once we get into the studio, and we all agree that our options are endless, and true sound still hasn't been grasped, but we hope it gets stuck in everyone's head.


2. What are some of your influences?

I don't know specifically everyone elses influences in the band musically because we all, for the most part, are into different bands and sounds. Everyone enjoys music as a whole. We are all influenced by everything in our lives, especially the night life.


3. How did the band come about and form?

Mike and I had written some acoustic songs, recorded demos and put them on a myspace. Our friend Kevin from another band that we were friends with previously told us he really wanted to play drums for us. At first we turned him down because we didn't want to get in the way of his current project. Then we got myspace messages from Nick who was at college in CT saying he really wanted to jam with us and play with this band. We turned him down at first too because he was in the same band as Kevin. Eventually we ended up jamming with Kevin, and started trading songs with Nick over the internet, we all knew that we were onto something and had to make this band happen.


4. How has the response to the "In The Closet" EP been thus far?

We are happy with the response so far. Each song has over a thousand plays and once our new material is released you'll be able to see the transition from that demo to what this band is right now.


5. Is there a song that people have latched on to as their favorite since the EP came out?

The EP was simply a raw demo that we took a couple hours to make in a closet, hence the title. But more people have leaned towards "These Sandy Streets" The feel of that song reminds me of the shore and I think that's why people liked it. Before that though everyone loved "Time"


6. If you could tour with three bands who would they be?

June (RIP), Death Cab For Cutie and Hit The Lights


7. What are your thoughts on illegal music downloading?

I used to download illegally all the time. I'm totally okay with people illegally passing our songs around. As long as the music gets out there it doesn't bother me at all.


8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?

I'd say our favorite song to play is "Time" just because of the reaction we see from everyone when we play it. But of our new material a song called "Goodbye, Goodnight" We think everyone will see why once we start playing it.


9. What are you currently listening to?

Race the Sun.


10. What's next for A Greater Hope?

We hope to get into a studio to record some amount of our new material during winter. Sometime around then we'll be playing out a lot more. We're also going to get some merch. Oh and some friends that we can blow up mailboxes with.


11. Any shoutouts?

Everyone whose supported us from day one!