On July 21, 2016, former Flyleaf singer, Lacey Sturm came to Winter Park, FL to perform at the Haven Lounge. She was joined by many great bands, such as Bridge Of Thorns, Sunshine And Bullets, Blaine The Mono and more. We were lucky enough to be granted an interview and below is that interview! Big thanks again to Lacey and her management for helping me get this interview! It was a lot of fun and she was so sweet and full of life. Be sure to watch the interview and then head on over to her official website. Over there you can see full tour dates, sign up for her newsletter, and more! Stay tuned because a recap blog is coming soon! And if you would like to see more pictures, they all can be found on our Facebook page.
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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! Keyes is a somewhat new indie, post hardcore band from San Diego, CA! They were recently brought to our attention through their record label, Tragic Hero Records, and were given the opportunity to speak with their singer, Kyle Allen. Fun fact about Kyle, he's the nephew of Mike and Vic Fuentes of Pierce The Veil, which is something that's recently drawn some attention to the band. Seeing as they are still fairly new, we thought it would be fun to get to know them a bit. So without further ado, here is what Kyle had to say. 1. What inspired the name of your band first off? It's actually a pretty funny story but when we were thinking of band names we were going through video game characters and level names and Ian (guitar) mentioned Captain Keyes from the Halo series. The rest is history. 2. How would you describe your music to those just discovering you? I normally tell people Keyes is just a lot of noise. Seriously though, Keyes is something real to all 4 of us and music we want to be playing. It's music from all of our hearts. 3. Who are some of your inspirations (in life in general, and of course musically)? My biggest influences are easily my friends and family. They are the reason Keyes exists in the first place. Musically, I've always looked up to Imogen Heap. I don't think there's ever a time that I've been writing and I don't listen through one of her records for ideas or subtle nuances to put in the back of a mix. She is truly incredible. 4. What does your dream festival look like? For my dream festival I'd love to get Des Ark, Now Now, Owen, Moving Mountains, Fences, Gatsby's American Dream and mewithoutYou all together. 5. Name something you listen to that nobody would ever expect? Melanie Martinez. I found her a little over a year ago when she released a few singles back in 2014. When she released her Cry Baby album I just fell in love with the whole concept behind it, as well as the incredible production on the entire record. That's probably something people wouldn't expect me to be listening to. 6. You're releasing a 7"" soon that's split with Wearing Thin, what inspired that EP and what was the process like? We've known Tylor from Wearing Thin for a few years now and have always wanted to tour together. Tylor sent me a text, around the same time Keyes was writing, explaining that Wearing Thin had 2 songs that they wanted to use for a split with us. After we finished writing, we drove to Seattle to record the 2 songs with Casey Bates (Pierce the Veil, Fear Before the March of Flames, Chiodos). The recording process was amazing. 7. Out of all of your songs, what ones are your favorites and why? My favorite Keyes songs that we have done so far are Cities of Fog with Nothing to Love, off our first EP, and Little Sister, from our upcoming Split. Cities of Fog was the first song we wrote as Keyes and tells the story of how my best friend, at the time, threw away our friendship for a girl. Yet in the end, how fortunate I was that he did so because it has allowed me to welcome far better people into my life. Even Keyes wouldn't be what it is today if he hadn't made those choices. Little Sister is a very personal song to me. It's about how I moved out during my parents divorce and how I regret doing so in the manner that I did. I left my sister there during a time she probably needed me more than ever. That's why those are my 2 favorite Keyes songs, more so just because they were the first and last songs that we've written so far and the stories that have happened in between. 8. Best tour story so far? To be honest, I really wish we had more tour stories to tell. I truly just enjoy seeing new parts of the world. I also enjoy meeting and having conversations with people I wouldn't otherwise have the chance to. It's not horribly exciting but it really is my favorite part of touring. Normally on tour though we play games with the other bands like Black Magic. If you don't know what Black Magic is, look it up and play it at the next party you go to. 9. Where is one place you dream of performing? I think it'd be awesome to perform in Japan. I just can't fathom what it'd be like to not be able to verbally communicate with a crowd, yet still be connected through the same love of music. Also, I think the Japanese culture is incredible and I would love to experience that first hand. 10. Is there anything you would like to add or plug before we go? I just want to say thank you for this opportunity. Come on out to a date on our west coast tour this April 7 - 15th, and Our Split with Wearing Thin comes out April 15th, 2016 on Tragic Hero Records. Thank you again, and take care. Thank you very much to Kyle for doing this interview with us! We greatly appreciated it and really enjoyed what he had to say. Especially about Japan, and the love of music. That was just wonderful. Like Kyle said, you can get their split EP on April 15 and you can pre-order it now through Merch Bucket! Be sure to look Keyes up on YouTube and Facebook, chances are you are going to be impressed. The Plot In You is a metal band from Findlay, OH and their wonderful vocalist Landon took the time to answer some questions for me over email. He actually gave me some answers I've never gotten before on questions I frequently ask, and had a lot to say about their music. We're just going to let him do the talking, as he is the focus of the entire thing. Without further adue, we will say thank you to Landon for answering our questions, and now we will get into this.
1. First, would you like to introduce yourself and explain what you do in the band? My name is Landon and I'm the vocalist for the band. 2.. Next month you're going to be releasing Happiness Is Self Destruction, what song are you most excited for fans to hear? It's hard to pick one but one that I'm definitely interested to see how fans take it is called Better Vibes. 3. Name something you listen to that nobody would ever expect. I like pop music a lot, been jamming The Weekend really hard lately. 4. What are the best and worst parts of touring for you? It's obviously great to play your music for people that appreciate it. Making new friendships, seeing new places. It's hard to be away from people I love and my dogs. Being cooped up in a van every day gets daunting as well. 5. Speaking of touring, do you have any tour stories you would like to share? All the best ones are stories I don't think are safe to make public. We broke down in Texas once and I had to ride in the back of a U-haul from Texas to Ohio in the middle of winter and then laid in bed for a whole week after. It was awesome. 6. If you were asked to describe your music in one word, what word would you choose? Depressing. 7. Out of all your songs, which are your favorites and least favorites? I hate a lot of our old material. We're all really burnt out on playing First Born songs. I still love playing anything off CYWYCB and any new song is refreshing and exciting to play live. I love playing Troll off our last record and My Old Ways is fun and challenging live. 8. What do you like to do in your spare time, when you're not playing music? Hang out with my dogs, when I'm home I produce bands and write music. So when I'm not doing anything music related I'm usually just relaxing with my lady and the dogs. 9. How did you get into music in the first place? My dad is a very talented musician so music has always kinda been in the family. 10. Is there anything you would like to add before we go? Promotions, advice, whatever you would like. Buy our record when it comes out! Their album Happiness Is Self Destruction comes out on October 16, and you can pre-order it now through MerchNow! While you're at it, we recommend you follow them onFacebook and Twitter. Run 2 Cover is a pop rock band from Phoenix, AZ that we were highly impressed with! On September 14, the entire band took the time to do an interview over email with me. They're kind of like a mix between Blink 182 and The Summer Set, and had plenty to say. Enough with the introduction, let's just get into it.
1. Hello! Would you care to introduce yourself and explain what you do in the band? Hello, my name is Christian and I play the bass and sing lead vocals. My name is Colin, I play guitar and sing backup vocals. I'm Brandon and I play the drums and sing backup vocals. 2. What (or who) inspired you to get into music? Brandon: My stepdad is a drummer and he had a kit setup in our house. So at about 10 or 11 years old I started playing around on it and really liked it. Christian (my older brother) decided to start playing bass guitar and we entered our school's talent show. Colin, who had already been our friend for years prior, watched us play the talent show. After that, we all wanted to form a band together and so that's when Colin decided to start playing guitar. 3. Name something you listen to nobody would ever expect? Colin: We all pretty much listen to the same music, which is just about everything like metal, rap, rock, pop, etc. Brandon: Yeah I mean pop music is definitely our favorite genre but that doesn't mean we're against heavier types of music. I love stuff from Bring Me the Horizon all the way to John Mayer. 4. What would be your dream concert lineup be? (To take part in or see, that's up to you) Brandon: My dream lineup would be Thirty Seconds to Mars, One Direction, Walk the Moon, The 1975 and so many more. And I would definitely want to take part in it. Christian: I'd want to take part in a lineup featuring MGMT, Passion Pit, One Direction and way too many more to choose from. Colin: One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, Walk the Moon, Maroon 5 would all be really cool. 5. How would you describe your music to those who have never heard it before? Christian: Feel good, catchy pop songs! Besides I'm the One, that's our ballad/sad song and we get messages all the time from girls that say that song made them cry. So if you don't feel like crying, avoid that one haha. 6. Your album, Lovesick was produced by Matt Good of DRUGS, what was it like working with him on your record? Colin: Being in the studio with Matt is one of our favorite things as a band. We all get each other and Matt always understands where we want the direction of a song to go. We also have a lot of fun together so I think that definitely helps our song writing process. We owe a lot to him. Brandon: Matt is honestly one of the most talented people you will ever meet. 7. You're about to embark on a tour that's going to take you through the end of October, what songs are you most excited to play live? Christian: It's always a blast playing any of our original songs live but we all really enjoy playing Back to Basics. 8. As a band you have made some YouTube videos just for fun, such as the Bean Boozled challenge. Are you big fans of YouTube? If so, are there any YouTubers you happen to be a fan of? Brandon: YouTube is one of our favorite things. We would definitely upload a lot more it's just hard sometimes to find the time and getting ideas for videos. My favorite YouTuber is definitely PewDiePie. I've been watching his videos for a very long time now. 9. When you're not playing music, what do you do? Christian: We pretty much all do the same things haha. We like to sleep, watch YouTube videos, play video games, or find other things to do for the band. 10. Is there anything you would like to add before we go? Colin: Our debut album Lovesick is available for purchase now on iTunes! Also, please feel free to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Hope to see you at a show sometime soon! Well, I don't even have to plug any of the social media because Colin was on top of that! If you want to catch them at a show, they will be on tour with One Eyed Doll and Stitched Up Heart September 18 through October 30! For more information, please see their official website. Also be on the look out for a review of their debut album, Lovesick here on Immortal Music very soon. Speaking The Kings is a post hardcore rock band from Orange County, California. We recently heard from Mike Entin, the band's guitarist. See what he had to say about the band's name, Taylor Swift, their music and more. 1. How did you get your band name?
Speaking The King’s is actually taken from the movie Inglourious Basterds. One night a few of us were watching the movie and there was a scene when a British soldier is in an underground bar in Germany and impersonating a German soldier. The dialogue throughout the whole scene is in German with and there is a moment that the British soldier slips up and gives away his true identity. Knowing his certain fate, he switches to english and says, “Well if this is it ol’ boy, you don’t mind if I go out speaking the king’s?” In the movie, he was referring to the king’s english but it struck a chord in all of us. It was a moment of clarity that he realized that whatever happened he didn’t care about failing or death. He accepted his fate and puled out all the stops. That’s how we feel as a band, if we are going to do this, it’s going to be with every ounce of blood and give it everything from start to finish. 2. Outside of music, what do you like to do? I like to mess around with graphic arts, which I actually have done the artwork for both our EP and Carousel. It’s a fun way to get the creativity flowing and depicting what I see/feel when I listen to our music. Other than that I love going to shows and checking out new music in the local scene. I am a massive sports fan as well. One of my favorite pastimes is going to sporting events as much as i can. 3. Name something you listen to that nobody would ever expect. I listen to almost every genre there is. If I shuffled my whole iPod, it’s very possible that it could go from Bob Marley, to Dimmu Borgir, to The Police, to Slayer. If you want me to be COMPLETELY honest and confess, I do enjoy listening to Taylor Swift. I think any musician can appreciate what she has built and the music she puts out. You can’t deny a catchy song when you hear one, just embrace it! 4. How would you describe your music to those who have never heard it before? This is one of the toughest questions we get as a band. It’s tough because we have a little something for everyone. If you want some heavy breakdowns, we have that. If you want a catchy chorus, we have that. We wrote this music with a post hardcore/pop punk influence but we really wanted to exploit Bobby’s amazing voice. That being said, every song has the potential to get stuck in your head and next thing you know, you’ll be humming it all week. It still has that post hardcore undertones to the music but with a mixture of rock influence. 5. What would your dream concert be? (To be part of or see, that is up to you.) Growing up I listened to everything, from Slayer to Otis Redding. That being said one festival that I would love to play is Reading/Leeds. It was be such an honor to play that festival because the lineup is so diverse but still relevant to all of your fans. You could be watching Pierce The Veil, then Panic! At The Disco, then Parkway Drive, then Mumford & Sons. It’s such a diverse lineup every year and it’s always a massive turnout so playing that would be nothing short of a dream come true. 6. Out of all your music, what songs are your favorites and why? One of my personal favorites is “Choke” on Carousel. It will be the second single from the upcoming full length. The reason I love that song so music is that it’s different from anything we have written. Musically it’s a more rock based song that is just so much fun to play. I can’t help from singing along while on stage and strumming away to each massive chorus. Lyrically that song really hits home because it’s about overcoming negativity and people telling you that you can’t do something. Being in the music industry is a tough one and there are so many people that try to stop you and chop you down for following your dreams. The song is about using that negativity as fuel to push you to that next level to achieve your dreams. 7. What's one of your favorite memories so far as a musician. One of my favorite memories as a musician was playing Self Help fest two years ago. The lineup was BEYOND stacked that year and included A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Memphis May Fire, Beartooth and more. We were lucky enough to earn the opening spot on the main stage, as well as being the only local act on the bill. We got to sound check to an open parking lot that could hold about 15,000 people on a stage that ADTR was going to be closing the night with. The feeling was surreal but felt very comfortable. We played to about 2,000 since we were the first on the bill but it was amazing to meet and talk to so many new fans. The compliments and stories they would share with us were so amazing. It’s definitely a goal to play the upcoming Self Help so keep your eyes out for that! 8. How did you get into music in the first place? I have always grew up on music. We would always listen to music in the car or wherever we were at, ranging from oldies to pop like Ace of Base (yes, I just referenced Ace of Base). Once I hit middle school I made a life long friend, Mike Hammer, and would always go over to his house to hang. His older brother listened to a lot of death metal and black metal so I picked up on that and expanded from there. I remember amazing nights just eating pizza and watching the Dimmu Borgir DVD, now we are label mates with them which always trips me out. His brother was in drumline in high school and convinced us that we should join, I had never played an instrument prior to trying out. Ever since then I couldn’t put an instrument down. While in drumline, another friend showed me how to play Slayer’s “Raining Blood” on an acoustic guitar and that was the moment I committed to playing guitar. 9. Anything you would like to add before we go? We just want to thank you for taking the time and reaching out to us! Not only would we like to thank you but we also want to thank everyone who gives CAROUSEL a chance. The album is an emotional rollercoaster and has something for everyone so please give it a listen! Keep an eye out for Speaking The King’s hitting the road early 2016, nothing is confirmed but we have some awesome things in the works. Be sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Myspace, and their official website. Bad Seed Rising is the youngest band to ever be signed to Roadrunner Records and is definitely trying to take the world by storm.
Their singer, Francheska, sat down to do an interview with us and here is what she had to say. 1. Hi, Francheska! First and foremost, how would you describe yourself and your band? Hey! This is always a tough question to answer, there’s so many subgenres we’re not quite sure where we fit in! right now i just refer us to rock. We’re not too interested in defining ourselves, because the moment we define ourselves people will pressure us to be the same thing over and over again and they’ll get pissy that we’ve “changed” when in reality we’re just evolving… Like all bands do. 2. I was told you had a song ("Bad Seed Rising") featured at the end of the movie Spy. How did that end up happening and how did you react when you found out it was happening? Paul Feig, the director, found us when he was figuring out what songs he wanted in the movie! He actually was going to have someone write a song specifically for the end credits, but instead when he was walking by some desk playing our song, he fell in love with our song! Dude, I was so stoked. I cried. I don’t know why, just tears of joy. He flew us out to Caesar’s Palace in Vegas to play the premiere. it was surreal. 3. Name something you listen to that nobody would ever expect. Joey Bada$$ 4. What would be your dream tour be (to be part of)? Ummmmm… I don’t know a tour specifically, but it would consist of Dance Gavin Dance, Issues, Bring me the Horizon. and I know this is a weird one (they’re all not fitting) but J. Cole, because I love him and he goes hard as fuck. 5. When is your EP, A Place Called Home being released and where can fans pre-order it? APCH is already released! But you can keep your eyes and ears peeled for the full length of APCH soon! You can buy it on iTunes, and Google Play! Or you can also come out to a show and buy it off of us! We’ll be more than happy to sign it and snap a few quick flicks. 6. How did your band get its name? Mason like “Bad Seed” but that was already taken. So he added rising. 7. When you're not opening for great bands like Saint Asonia, what do you like to do? Write more music, road trip with friends, spend time with family, do a lot of photography. A lot of movement and traveling… I can’t stay in one place for too long or i go insane. My ADD won’t let me. 8. Anything you would like to plug before we go? (Social media, tour info, anything?) Oh yeah! If you all wanna know more about us, follow us on the internets! @badseedrising is pretty much all you gotta look up! You can also find our personals through the band account! We have one show in Baltimore on August 30th, which I’m really excited about because we haven’t played a home show in forever. To make things more exciting we also have a show with Issues, Pvris, and The Funeral Portrait in Atlanta on September 30th! I’m also stoked to hang out with my buddy, Tyler Carter!We also have a tour in the works for fall! Can’t say anything about it but just keep an eye out for dates! Be sure to check out Bad Seed Rising on all their social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reverbnation, and their official website. Also, if you read this before August 30 and live in Maryland, you can catch Bad Seed Rising opening up for Saint Asonia at the Baltimore Soundstage. Tickets are available now and are only $20, only $25 the day of! Get tickets while you still can. Walk off Hits is made up of some very interesting people. They taught us a lot about them as musicians and people! They also taught us some baseball terms and stated that two of the members are actually therapists. So when you listen to them, you could say you do listen to a therapist! Two, as a matter of fact! Read on to learn more. 1.How did you decide on your band name? It sounds more like a radio station, or TV channel that actually plays music videos? The band was named by myself and Will back in 2010 with the help of my dad and brother. Baseball was my first love, and I wanted to try and connect it with my music in someway. Naming the band “Walk Off Hits” was a tribute to my baseball career, and it also held meaning to the type of music Will and I enjoy writing. A Walk Off Hit is the most exciting play in baseball, and we like to carry that “exciting” aura into the studio, on the stage, or wherever we are. 2.How do you personally feel like your music should be described? We always have a hard time with this question. We call ourselves a pop/rock band because we feel like it leaves the door open to be whatever type of band we want to be. The guys and I have so many different influences, that our songs end up hopping around genres. We tell people that we are a “pop/rock/soul/funk/punk/blues” band haha. We really don't want to be tied down to a specific style. 3.It sounds like you listen to a lot of different styles of music, but what would you say is your favorite? Everyone in the band has their own “favorite” genre. Will loves classic rock(The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd), Spencer digs alternative music, Ross is a closet pop/punk fan, and Rion is all about the funk/soul. 4.On that same note, name something you listen to that nobody would expect? -My favorite pop/punk bands are Motion City Soundtrack, and New Found Glory, but with that said, my favorite band of all time is Tower Of Power. I don't think a lot of people our age really know who TOP is haha. 5.Can you explain what inspired the Miss Jones video? The video was easily adaptable from the song and the character we created during the writing process. We wanted to bring Miss Jones to life, and we had a great time doing it. Our biggest inspiration was to just go all out in making Miss Jones as crazy as she was portrayed in the songs lyrics. 6.Your debut EP is called The Love of The Game -what game is it you speak up and what do you love about it? The Game can be different things for different people. There is nothing more pure than doing something for the pure love of it. It's the reason I played baseball, and it's the reason all of us formed Walk Off Hits. We love and respect the music game more than anything, and that's why we decided on the name for the EP. 7.What does your dream tour lineup look like? Geeze that's a tough question haha. Here is my best shot: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Blink 182, Tower Of Power, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown. Need to have a good mix of rock, funk, and soul. 8.Other than music, what do you do? We each have our own hobbies/jobs outside of music. Will and I Ross are therapists for children with autism, Spencer has his masters in Mathematics, and Rion went to the Art Institute for audio production. 9.What are your favorite songs? (Name one you wrote, and one you did not that you enjoy) Ross: Favorite Cover: “Only So Much Oil In The Ground” by Tower Of Power | Favorite Original: “Hey! Lady” Rion: Favorite Cover: “Cold Sweat” by James Brown | Favorite Original: “Give It To Ya” Spencer: Favorite Cover: “Sugar We're Goin' Down” by Fall Out Boy | Favorite Original: “All They Gave Me Was You” Will: Favorite Cover: “I Wish”-Stevie Wonder | Favorite Original: “Lonely Heart” 10.Anything you would like to add? Promos, advice, random comments, whatever you want. Just want to say thank you to all of the people that made this album and video a reality for us. We were so fortunate to work with Jonas Apuya of ColoredRoom, and Ron Cabildo of Definitive Talents Inc. Without these guys the video wouldn't have happened. Also, huge thanks to you guys for giving us the opportunity to do this interview with you! Thank YOU for doing the interview with us, we appreciated it a lot! As for everyone else out there, feel encouraged to check them out on all their social medias linked below. You can get their EP, The Love Of The Game now on iTunes. Website /Facebook/ Twitter / Instagram We sat down with Dugan Cruz, Madus' lead vocalist, pianist, and guitarist to talk about a ton of things. From the magic in life, to name changes, sports and anime, and so much more! Dugan seems to be Immortal Music's type of person, and maybe he will be yours too! Read on to learn a ton more about the singer of a band you may have only just discovered. 1. You said they could never feel any other way -so how do you feel about it all? I feel life is inherently magical. The more I learn, the more I stand in shock, awe, and wonder at all the beautiful things around me. I can't always feel this way, but it's what I know to be true and keep as a reference point for when I am really down. That being said, I think there's a lot of people too afraid from their own emotional scars to participate in moments of appreciation of all the cool stuff around them. I dunno... Hah. Sorry for rambling on that one. I just felt it was kind of an open-ended question. 2. You went from Tangent Transmission to Madus, what inspired the name change and what does it mean? The name HAD to change. From the time Sam and I started playing up to the point of changing the name we had become completely different people. We acquired different tastes in music, we learned new things about the industry, we made new friends... All around we just felt... different. When we knew we wanted to change the name we had drafted up a page of almost 50 different ones. Just as a rough. We continued narrowing it down until we came down to MotherBox, Woodman, and Madus. I liked Madus the most not just because of it's personal relevance to me, but just aesthetically it felt the most balanced. You got five letters with one in the middle and two on either side. That part just felt right. As for the story behind it... I was in a pretty dark place before changing the name. For the record, it's true, NOBODY likes you when you're 23. Especially not yourself. Anyway, Sam's mom had noticed me being all introverted and low and lent me this book "The Wheel of Time" by Carlos Castaneda. In the book there's this Yoda-esque character named "Don Juan Matus". We changed the T to a D and boom. There you have it. 3. What would your dream concert lineup be? Ah man... DREAM? Like ANYTHING is possible? It'd have to be a huge festival like Coachella for me to fit even an inkling of everyone I wanted on a bill, but I'll take that format and give you just three for each day. I know I am kinda cheating here, but you DID say dream! Friday: I figure we gotta get a dance party goin' to blow off a week of work-steam in a fun way. Stevie Wonder, Prince, Michael Jackson. Saturday: We've had a night of dance and a bit of a day to rest, so now it's time rock! Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Led Zeppelin. Sunday: Now we're all feeling a little bummed looking at the death of our weekend in the face, so we want a couple groups that'll help us lean into love and accept it's about to be over. Jeff Buckley, Queen, The Beatles Yeah... then I'd wake up and realize I just had the best lucid dream of all time. That'd be a dream! 4. Other than music, what do you do? I know the other guys are each into their respective sports. Sam's a tennis nerd, Kirby's a Hockey buff, and Lenny... I wanna say he's mostly into soccer, but I remember him arguing with Kirby that the hardest sport available is Nascar because of the suits people have to wear and other technical stuff like that. Hah, he's gonna kill me if he ever sees that. But anyway, that's not really my scene. I like playing sports from time to time, and it's sometimes fun to stroke the left brain with the stats and systems of it all, but for the most part I find it pretty drab in comparison to movies, comic books, motorcycles, and even just going for a hike. 5. Name something you listen to that nobody would ever expect? I don't really know what people expect of me, but I can tell you what music I listen to but rarely talk about! Enya, Sarah Mclachlan, Rammstein, Chromeo and a buncha random music from soundtracks of movies, anime, and video games. Nobuo Uematsu's music for Final Fantasy 7 holds a VERY special place in my heart. Aside from the depth that game had in talking about sucking life out of a planet, death, and eternity, the music was so mind-blowingly emotional. Tifa's theme on piano can still make my hairs stand on end. 6. How does the writing process go for you personally? It's a lot like gardening. There has to be a seed. Sometimes the seed is a riff, a beat, a lyric, a tone, an effect, a dream, a response to some incident or person. It's all really circumstantial. Once you've got that seed though, you plant it in the soil of your brain and you let it sit. You give it water, you let it grow into different parts of yourself. Certain parts of it grow more through emotion, other parts grow more through intellect. No matter what though, you have to give it attention and time and nurture it until you feel like you've created a new plant you've never really seen before. It may seem similar to some of the other plants you've created, but it'll never be identical. Then you start selling the idea of that plant to the rest of the band and they'll have ideas, and then maybe the engineer will have ideas on how to present that plant to the rest of the world, but it's really very internal and personal. Unless you're just singing about your ass or how much money you have. I don't really know how to write songs like that. 7. What's one of your biggest goals (Musically, or in general) To try and explain to people what's going on in my head and gut in a way that makes sense. I have a lot of weird intense shit flying through my head and emotions and I always feel like I fumble in attempts to explain it. I think that's why I like music so much. There's so many times you'll hear a song in another language or something and you're like "yeah... holy fuck I feel that." Then someone explains the lyrics and it hits even harder. Aside from reaching out as an individual to the rest of the world, I'd say one of my biggest goals is to raise a family with a steady socioeconomic situation for the kids. Obviously I'd love to fall in love and meet my soulmate or whatever, but even if that doesn't happen, I really don't care. I am still on the fence about the morality of adoption taking precedence over breeding your own children because of our planet's insane over population; But the magic of continuing the genetic code is still there. Hah, I mean the irony of creating another life. You could spend your whole life amazing the world through your achievements in whatever field, and NONE of that will ever amount to the miracle of creating another human being! It's such a mind-fuck! The dumbest, easiest, most pleasurable thing in life is ironically the most miraculous. Just to clear up any assumptions for the record though, I am Pro-Choice. If anyone reads this and gets all giddy about the possibility of me enforcing some archaic dogmatic law... Nope. 8. What are three things you simply cannot live without? (The obvious things, such as food, water and air do not count.) Information, depth, and curiosity. 9. What has been the coolest experience you have had so far as a musician? Headlining our own show at the House of Blues Sunset on the main stage. We were lucky enough to do that twice as Madus, and both times literally felt like a dream. The sound there is second to NONE and we really pulled all the stops out to promote for a HUGE draw. The addiction to the drug of that inebriating feeling is so harsh that even after being clean from it for over a year now, I will work endlessly until I experience it again. I know I was going on and on about sex in that question earlier, but I think that feeling may actually trump that. At least for now... 10. Is there anything you would like to add? (Promotions, advice, random comments, ect. Whatever you want really.) More than any plug I could throw on at the end here, I want to personally thank YOU Ariel. I took the time to read the "About the Creator" section, and I have to tell you, you're fucking awesome! From the reviews of albums, to the personalized questions, to the uniquely casual yet intelligent writing style you have, I am impressed. That thing you put in where you talk about being in a room with 10,000 people all singing the same song. You get it, and you appreciate it, and it's because of people like you that artists want to keep getting up every morning to try and find a way to do something bigger and better. So again thank you! If anybody reads this far down, we've got a big EP release show at the Viper Room on Sunset June 5th. It's only $8 pre and $12 at the door. If not for us, there's gonna be some other really talented acts like Kiven, In Urgency, Good Deeds, a rad Nirvana cover band called Dive, and our friend DJ Frawsty. Would love to see you all there. Cheers! Dugan, you sir, or the rest of Madus are encouraged to stay in touch with Immortal Music. We look forward to hearing from you again soon! If you ever find yourselves in Florida, hit us up -we would love to come out to a show. As for the rest of you, for more information on Madus, be sure to check them out on Facebook, Twitter, their official website, Reverbnation, and Instagram. Their EP, All The Way is out now! It will be available on May 19 on iTunes! Up The Chain is a indy rock trio, and the three of them sat down to speak with us! They told us a lot of things, including venue stories, dream tours, sexual escapades they unfortunately get to hear, and more!
1) What inspired the lyrics for The Hardest Stone? Reed: Every moment is something new and there are no certainties for the future. In many ways this idea can be scary, but I believe it's possible to find comfort in it. 2) If you could tour with any band in the world, who would you like to tour with and why? Kirby: The gorillas, because their style is out there and they seem like they'd be fun to hang out with off stage, just kickin it. Reed: I've been a big fan of Conor Oberst's songwriting for many years, so I'd want to be on board with anything he was up to. Noah: I hear that the Rolling Stones draw really well, so it'd be cool to get them on some shows. 3) Name something you listen to that nobody would expect. Kirby: Katy Perry Reed: My neighbors having sex Noah: Flying Lotus 4) Where did your band name come from? 'Up The Chain', people tend to get driven up walls, not chains, so now we are curious. Kirby: It's from an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast that has an interview with Willie Nelson, check it out, you'll hear it. Reed: Coming up with band names is one of our favorite time killers in the van, yet somehow we manage to have a pretty lousy name. We are thinking of changing it to "The Very Idea of Macaulay Culkin" or "Natalie Portman & The Courtesy Flush." Noah: I'm a big fan of "lmnop" "hype retention" "Jean and the jackets", and "band name I call it". 5) What inspired you guys to include the demo version of "The Hardest Stone" on your EP? Reed: The song has 2 completely different lives and we love them both. On stage it's fun to play it loud and make a bunch of noise, but the song was written on an acoustic guitar with a mellow finger-picking style. We have good feelings about both, so why not? That's Kirby and me playing guitar on the demo version. Kirby: We felt really strongly about the performance and recorded it at our beach house recording studio. Every time we hear it we are transported back to that fall night in Avalon. It just felt right to close the EP with it. 6) What is your favorite song on the Window Into Worlds EP and why? Reed: I like the title track. It's a love song. I also really like the production on "At the Door." The version we play live is different from this one, but Karl Petersen really made this recording his own and for that reason I'm into it. 7) What world would you most like to have a window into? (Such as another universe, or a fictional land like Hogwarts, Narnia, Middle Earth, ect) Kirby: Probably the backboard of the 1997 NBA playoff championship game. 4th quarter, 6:54 left. Reed: Nicolas Cage's manager. Noah: I think of it in more of a global sense, like trying to see our world from different perspectives. Empathy is our greatest asset as humans. 8) What has been your best fan experience as a band so far? Kirby: We had a gig get rained out and ended up playing an impromptu show in a cigar box guitar store. We played for hours with the owners and all their friends. We told stories, heard stories, drank till our hearts were content. It was the best night of tour and one our favorite shows so far. Noah: We returned to a venue we had played at once before, and the manager came to see us even though it was his day off. For somebody who works in a restaurant to spend their day off at their job means a lot to me. He also told us that he bought a record player just to listen to our vinyl. 9) Other than music, what do you do you? Kirby: I work in film in NYC on shows like Elementary, The Blacklist, and Beat Bobby Flay. Reed: I make records for people at Weird Candle Studios and scrape by playing 4-hour cover gigs at your local outlet mall. Noah: I work at a restaurant and I assist a forensic psychologist in preparing court testimony. 10) Anything you would like to add? Social media plugs, advice, random comments, whatever you would like. Reed: Hi! Thank you very much to Up The Chain for doing this interview with us! We enjoyed it a lot! Also -hi, Reed! They may not have wanted to plug anything, but we will. Be sure to check out their EP, Windows Into Worlds and know you can follow them on Facebook, their official website, and iTunes! |
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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