Vesuvius is a very unique band with a sound all their own. They mix in synthetics with a more metalcore sound, and are out right now on their first ever US tour! Today, we got to sit down and speak with the band's lead vocalist, Ben Cooligan! Come read all about what he has to say about the tour, their music, inspirations, and more! 1. You're about to go on your first US tour, where are you most excited to play? I would say that we are unanimously most excited to play Los Angeles. LA is a city that we've been planning to pool money together to go visit for awhile now, and being given the opportunity to go there to perform is an absolute dream. 2. Where internationally would you absolutely love to play one day? For myself personally, I was granted the blessing of travel throughout my adolescence, and my favourite city in the world to date is Berlin, Germany. The city is so historically cultured, the architecture is breathtaking, the people are heartwarming and interesting, and the beer is unlike any other. Being able to return there for the purpose of playing music would be fantastic. 3. How would you describe your music to someone who's never heard you before? I like to write with a template we call the "Vesuvius sound". This entails long songs, large choruses, minimal but present repetition, and a large emotional centerpiece that divides each individual song. Genre-wise, we are a metal band with alternative, spoken word, and nu-metal influences, but we strive to be sonically different at the same time. I also base a lot of my writing for this project on influences I had growing up, giving our first record an early to late 2000's reminiscent feel at times. 4. Where did your band name come from? We settled on the name Vesuvius because it grants us a certain degree of musical ambiguity. Vesuvius could be a rock band, Vesuvius could be a death metal band, Vesuvius could be an electronica outfit, etcetera. This allows us to work inside a singular name but also maintain a variety of influences. 5. Who inspires you? (Musically, and just in your life in general?) I would say that right now being on the road, I am most inspired by people I meet every day. I am most inspired by the idea that a message I am trying to convey can be interpreted so many ways by so many people in so many different places. I am also inspired by the other musicians we head out on the road with; being able to share and build upon the same dream with someone who lives across the world is unreal. 6. Name something that you listen to that nobody would ever expect. Those who know me know that they should never predict what I like and dislike musically, haha. I am all over the place. However, I am particularly fond of the new Jon Bellion record, "The Human Condition". The whole album is enjoyable from the perspective of both a listener and a songwriter. Although it is technically an indie/electronica record, I recommend it for literally anybody. 7. Out of all your songs, which are your favorites? I would say that I have different songs for different reasons. My favourite one to play live is "Semea" because I have an incredibly long spoken word segment that always intrigues audiences. It's also a very heavy song, so I get to go wild and absolutely destroy my stage drum, haha. The song I am most proud of on the record is the closing track, "Dear Death,". It was a song that I dug out of my past and was able to finish up two years later in the studio. It's also a song that I wrote in a very dark place and I think that translated well on the record. 8. What does your writing process look like? Our writing process for the first record mostly involved Billy and I sending each other midi files back and forth. Usually one of us writes until we've run out of ideas and the other picks up to re-inspire said ideas. Most of the first record consists of songs that we share equal writing credits for, some of the songs we wrote completely on our own. Now that we've established a solidified lineup, we couldn't be more excited to have a much more inclusive process for upcoming material. 9.What does your dream concert look like? We've never been given the opportunity to play an outdoor festival yet, so that's something we all dream of doing. Something huge like Warped Tour or Rockfest would be absolutely surreal. The simple stage antics of being on a massive outdoor stage is a place that we sincerely hope to take this band in the near future. 10. Anything you would like to add before we go? We're on tour right now in the US, check where we're going on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and come out to a show! We're proud of the performance we've been able to throw together for this album cycle, so come give us a hug if you happen to be nearby! Our debut record "My Place of Solace and Rest" is available on iTunes and any other streaming or purchasing service, and our music video for "Hibernate" is on YouTube if you just want a quick introduction to what Vesuvius is all about. Cheers! - Ben Thank you very much Ben, for speaking with us and to Tragic Hero Records for setting it up in the first place! Be sure to go watch "Hibernate" and then head on over to iTunes to pick up their debut album, My Place Of Solace And Rest! A review of it will be coming later in the week here on Immortal Music, and we hope you guys enjoy what you hear. Have fun on your tour, Vesuvius!
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InformationThese are interview that I myself have done. They have not been found anywhere, they have not been done for me. They are my work. Archives
July 2016
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