Interview with Waylon Fearn [We Were the Fires of Rome/The Gillingham Fire Demonstration]

This interview took about a year to finish, mainly due to my procrastination, but we finally did it! We Were the Fires of Rome‘s very own Waylon Fearn took a chance to chat with me about the band, what they’ve been up to, and what they will be up to;

TRBP: So how/when did WWTFOR begin? What inspired you guys to choose this name for your band?
WF:The band itself has been around since 2007, and I myself haven’t joined WWTFOR until late 2010, But Dave (guitar/strings) and Alex (drums) claim that they were just fascinated by roman history. Especially with the rumour that Nero watched Rome burn whilst playing his lute in the distance. It seemed fitting and a cool way to go with naming the band.

TRBP: You seem to be kind of quiet lately; what has WWTFOR been up to?
WF: After the amount of line up changes with this band, yeah we’ve definitely been playing it pretty low key, lately. We’ve been finishing up our first album, “Live Off the Forest Floor”, for the most part. We are just waiting on the first mix now and will have something to finally show everyone in the next few weeks. Also waiting on artwork and trying to get funds together for new merch, and other expenses. Just trying to get everything ready for the summer, really. But aside from that, playing local shows with the odd out-of-town weekend gigs, we just purchased ourselves a full van… things are finally starting to come together after all this time!

TRBP: What are your plans for the future?
WF: Aside from releasing this album, hopefully make some touring happening sooner or later. Another thing we need to do is keep up to date with our social networking, once we have more music to show for it, that is. Other than all that jazz, we have wicked plans and ideas for tshirts, hoodies, and possibly hats. We’ve also had a recent offer to film a music video for one of our tracks when it’s released, so that’s also something we may put into consideration in the future.

TRBP: Your music is beautifully written, but definitely not typical; what is the general reaction when you perform live?
WF: Thanks man, that’s exactly the direction we’re trying to go for. Not being typical, that is. We try to add various elements to our music with hopes that everyone can enjoy it. Every time we play live, we always seem to be compared to bands like Dance Gavin Dance, or The Fall of Troy. One of our friends compared my style of singing/performing with Adam Lazzara (Taking Back Sunday) which I found hilarious, but was personally stoked nonetheless! But yeah, the response we get after performing always seems to be positive. People often tell us that we’re the most underrated band in Ottawa. I think it may be because we’ve been travelling at our own pace with writing, recording, etc. and not rushing it so we can ensure that we’re 100% happy with our own material and whatnot.

TRBP: Do you have any plans to tour in the near future?
WF: We don’t have any solid plans with touring just yet, but once our album’s done, we’ll hopefully be able to build a fan base so people can be stoked to see us play in their home towns. As soon as we can get a chance, we’d love to get our name out around Ontario and the East Coast – that would be pretty sweet. Ideally, we’d love to hop on a tour with Like Animals, Heartless, Adrenechrome, Terror Spells, Rising City States, Kennedy, or any of our other new friends we’ve had the privilege in meeting and becoming acquainted with these past few years. Pretty much anything we can get our hands on in the future would be amazing. We were originally supposed to be added on a big east Coast tour this year, but that sort of flopped due to some complications. Soon enough though!

TRBP: Anything you’d like to tell anyone who’s reading this?
WF: We’d just like everyone to know we have been working as hard as we can to get our album done, and we’ve ran into a series of setbacks this year (hence why it has taken us as long as it has). So we also apologize for that, but hopefully the result and outcome will be worth the wait. It is really close now and we can’t wait to show it to all y’all buck nasty mothafuckas. For any of you guys reading this and are curious and have no idea who we are, check out our page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@WWTFOR) so you can all be in the loop as to what’s going on with our band. Other than that, see you this summer!

Interview with Michael Burton [Mercenaries]

I got a chance to ask Michael Burton [Mercenaries] a few questions about his band, past tour, and whats in store for the Georgetown Metalcore outfit. Take a look!

TRBP: Mercenaries just did a tour with other local bands Terror Spells and Heartless. How was the tour?
MB: The tour was a lot of fun! It really wasn’t too much of an intense tour as I think we were only on the road for like a week or so. We circled around Ontario and met a bunch of new people. It was the first time we’ve really missioned to Northern Ontario and I think next time we want to go to the east coast and see what’s over in those parts. Terror Spells and Heartless are both really great bands, and all of them as people are really amazing. If anyone is looking for two great live bands you should really spend the ten bucks and go out and see them live. I had some serious problems getting to sleep on that mini-tour, so my recollection of all the events are really, really fuzzy. I drank too much, and popped my knee out in North Bay. That wasn’t fun. However I had a bunch of sweet straight edge dudes taking care of me the entire trip.

TRBP: This past year you guys have really taken off, how long has Mercenaries been in the works?
MB: Well thanks! We’ve been a band for a little over a year. I’m pretty sure we had our one year anniversary this past March. It’s been really wicked so far, and I’m really happy that we’ve been able to play so many shows and do all the things we’ve been able to do. I guess we’ve “taken off” but things have been going smoothly considering we haven’t been a band for that long. We’ve all known each other long before we’re a band. I was in my first band with shepp when I was 16, and have known him since the 2nd grade. I’ve known Jay our drummer since elementary school, and I met Kris while going to local shows in Georgetown while I was in high school.

We’re friends before we’re a band, and I think that’s really important. I know some bands that don’t jam or hang out together as people, and just pull their shit together right before they tour or record. We’re a bit different in the fact that we’ll all go out for wings together or just sit around and watch tv as friends. We’re friend you know? We’re normal dudes that watch spiderman cartoons and talk about awesome things like hockey and movies.

We haven’t had any member changes and it’s been well over a year, so for the mixture of people, I think we got it down. We all get really pissed off at each other, but we tend to let it all slide and forgive each other. We’re a family, and even family members can yell at each other without breaking up, right?

TRBP: Definitely one of the most recognizable sounds in the GTA, what inspired you guys to create such a unique sound for yourselves?
MB: Well we really appreciate that compliment! We really didn’t have a clear direction of where we wanted our sound to go until we released Darkman and Hannibal, in my own opinion. Our Ep that we never pressed called “Don’t Worry About It” was incredibly rushed and written in like two weeks. Then as we wrote we kind of figured out what we wanted our music to sound like. We enjoy a lot of different music. Not just metal, not just hardcore. I can’t speak for the rest of the band, but I personally listen to a lot of pop music and top 40 dance and electronic. That’s sort of the kick I’m on right now. Grab somebody sexy, tell em hey? Right?

For me – I am all about the live show. When we write I contribute the odd idea here or there, but it’s really the rest of the band writing the instrumentals. I’m inspired by bands that just throw out all the rules of a live show. Bands that play on the floor, bands that have throngs of kids losing their minds singing along and bands that go crazy when they play live. I love that stuff so much. Off the top of my head I really think of the Chariot as the band that has inspired me, but there are many others.

As for the rest of the band they’ve probably been inspired by bands like Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza, Norris, and a whole ton of random metal, rock, hardcore and emo bands. Shepp has a pretty unique guitar tone, and I find his fast fingers really contributes to the overall sound of the band. Jay has really stepped up and done some amazing work on the ol’ drums, and Kris has been equally awesome slappin’ da bass. We all have our own tastes in music, and our own personal influences.

But the Dillinger Escape Plan has been coming up a lot lately as something we can all really enjoy listening to as well.
Dillinger is a good mix of amazing musicianship and crazy live performances. I could go on, but there are just so many bands and performers that have influenced us.

TRBP: We had a chance to review your EP, do you guys have anything new in the works?
MB: We sure do. I’ve been shitting myself lately because we’ve been writing so much. We go into the studio at the end of August to record our first full length record. We’re actually going to press this record, and it will be the first piece of music from us that you can hold in your hands, and slide into your music collection. It’s going to be 11 songs, and much different than that first EP we recorded a while back.

The new material that we’ve been writing is incredibly fast, and just plain dirty. It’s supposed to be wicked fast, and incredibly heavy. I’m really focusing on writing songs that have meaning, because if you read into the lyrics of our first EP, well, they are kind of terrible. These songs will be better, more angry and much more crisp. In my opinion, I want the record to just induce pure chaos at shows. I want massive pile ups and crazy sing a longs. I want Kris to be able to stage dive off of monitors onto a mass of stoked kids, and I want kids tackling shepp and doing metal fingers because they are so stoked.

We want a record that we are proud to play, and everyone really enjoys. That’s about it!

TRBP: What does the future hold for Mercenaries?
MB: Well who knows. We put on the brakes for the summer since we set out the goal to release our first full length record. We want to get that record out of the way, and never ever write ever again.

Ok, well maybe that’s a stretch. I want to be able to hand someone a full length record, a physical copy of music, and let them interpret the music on their own. I also want to get back to playing lots of shows, and supporting bigger bands on their adventures. A record deal would be really cool from Distort, and a tour supporting some bands that we really like would also be amazing.

But yeah, we have no idea where we are going, but we’re just going to keep going.

Cheers!

Interview with James Telep [Carmine]

TRBP: You guys have recently lost a drummer, how has your search been going?
JT: We found a drummer in Uxbridge recently so the search hasn’t been difficult at all. His name is Mitch and he’s been friends with us for a while. We’re excited to see what he can bring to our sound with the new material which is already in the works

TRBP: What happened between Carmine and Quinn exactly?
JT: Quinn found that he lost motivation with Carmine, and needed to focus on more life goals with himself. With life being as crazy as it can be, it’s needed to step up and do what has to be done; in carmine we strongly believe in that. We all love and respect Quinn and wish him the best in whatever comes in his life

TRBP: You guys have been recording at Newcomb studios correct? How has it been going?
JT: Newcomb Studios has been incredible from day 1. Everyone there is exceptionally good at what they do, and they’re making this one of the best experiences we’ve ever had as a band. A couple more sessions and the EP will be finished! We love going to studio and can’t wait to go back

TRBP: Alot of the local talent was able to play the All Stars tour, was Carmine asked? How did you feel about the amount of Durham bands getting on a massive show like that?
JT: Unfortunately, Carmine wasn’t asked to play the All Stars tour but we were more then stoked that some Durham bands got on the bill, like Heartless, This is Death Valley, and Sleep When You’re Dead. They all played incredible! I love watching locals bands play, and believe that there should be locals on every tour that comes through.

TRBP: Any shows lined up for you guys?
JT: Right now we don’t have any shows lined up, as we are finishing in the studio and focusing on teaching our new drummer everything, plus writing some new material. We will be aching for shows after so asap we’ll be playing again! Also theres a tour in the works for the fall so we’re looking forward to that as well

TRBP: Any last words?
JT: I’m excited to release our new EP, because its a step up from our last EP Trophies which was released last year. We tried different things and matured in our sound as a band and you’ll for sure hear it on the EP. Keep posted to our facebook page for updates!

Interview with Stephen [Pacifist]

I got an awesome opportunity to chat with Stephen from the New Orleans based Grindcore band Pacifist! Known for their insane music, hilarious music videos, and….dildoes! I have been following these guys since I first saw their music video for the song “Happiness” and since then they have seemed to been making quite alot of progress! Check out the interview;

TRBP: For those of us who may not know, please introduce yourself and your band!
SP: WE ARE PACIFIST FROM NEW ORLEANS, LA! We are a grind/metal/experimental or whatever band and we pretty much suck! 😉

TRBP: So, how did Pacifist begin as a band?
SP: We all were in several bands before we were PACIFIST and we finally clicked on writing and we starting playing the EXACT style we always wanted to.

TRBP: Your music is fairly [to say the least] aggressive, yet your band is called Pacifist; What is the connection between the bands name and the sound? If any?
SP: YES! We are all very BI POLAR. We are really happy guys. We aren’t some “tough” guys or whatever. But when we play we just let every single emotion we have into our live performance. There is no point of us going up there and playing if we aren’t going to put 110% into it. So basically it’s just irony i guess? Happy go lucky guys and then we go on stage and we are punching each other in the face and hitting each other with instruments.

TRBP: There seems to be a really strong influence of Grindcore in your music, let alone many other extreme forms of music. What really inspired the use of kind of controlled chaos with jazzy interludes in your music?
SP: Well we are from New Orleans, LA and we love Jazz we don’t have as much Jazz influence as we originally wanted. We were probably listening to to much Converge or Dillinger Escape Plan. lol We just really wanted to make the listener jump from certain emotions. And jumping from Jazz to Grindcore?

TRBP: The music videos you guys have posted so far have been pretty hilarious! You guys seem like you have a very comfortable sense of humor if that makes any sense hahaha Where did the ideas for these videos come from? And do they in any way shape or form represent any of the co-responding songs?
SP: Thank you, Like I said before we are not a “tough” band by any means. So we wanted our music videos to be really funny and what not. No real other connection there is some. But if you read the lyrics they are in there! 🙂

TRBP: You guys are on tour right now correct? How is it going so far? Is it your first time on the road?
SP: yes we are on THE MANBEARPIG IS REAL TOUR w/ Triumph Over Shipwreck from El Paso, TX. It is going great now! We had a tough time the first week thanks to the winter storm that kicked our asses. No This is not our first time on tour. We try to play as much shows as possible so we can hang out with friends and make new ones!

TRBP: Any ridiculous stories so far? hahaha
SP: Um none really just us breaking tons of our equipment from throwing it around. God knows how many wireless systems, bassists, microphones,guitars and etc we have broke. that’s about it

TRBP: Your EP Everybody Loves Fun is a pretty nice start for you guys, whats the reception been like so far for it?
SP: Well it is our 2nd EP and I think everyone likes this one a lot more. compared to the other one this one is way more “mathcore” influenced I suppose?

TRBP: Any future plans for recording?
SP: We are recording a new EP in the summer called “MONSTERS” and it will even have a cover song on it!

TRBP: Last question! When the fuck are you guys gonna come play in Canada?!
SP: WE ARE COMING TO FUCKING CANADA IN THE SUMMER ON THE PACIFIST SUCKS TOUR
05/27 Kitchener/Cambridge, Canada (Ane Production)
05/28 Toronto, Canada (Wicked Music Promotions)
05/29 Belleville, Canada (J.C Bookings)

Thanks again to Stephen for the interview, and be sure to check out Pacifist when they come to our neck of the woods! Or if you’re from the states, go fucking see Pacifist!

Interview with Simple Works Printing

Thought we would take a little breather from the band interviews and focus on some other things that help the music scene out. Simple Works Printing is a Toronto based merch company that is just starting out, but has already produced some amazing merch for local bands. Here is the interview I had with them about their company!

TRBP: If you don’t mind, please introduce yourself and give us alittle info about your business!
SWP: Simple Works Printing is more then a printing company, we are a printing solution. We offer printing services to local bands and companies, as well as designs and project designing. We are a small operation, which allows us to keep our hands in every aspect of what we create and put out, so we can make sure that the quality of our products stays true at all levels of design and distribution. Doesn’t matter if you have a full design concept ready or just an idea of what you want, we’ll get it done.

TRBP: What gave you the drive and ambition to start SWP?
SWP: We both (Dan Chaulk, Timothy Visentin) had been talking about creating Simple Works for a long time. Part of it was almost a joke, like “it’ would be awesome if we did this”. Then one day the pieces just fell into place. We were both at a point in our lives that we wanted to make something of our lives. Create something for ourselves, something of our own.

We’ve only just just begun.

TRBP: Who have you worked with so far?
SWP: We have worked with a few bands so far, including DESTAIN, EVER AND A DAY, FALLING FORWARD. On top of the great bands we’ve already worked with, we’ve got a ton more coming. Keep you eye on us, things are moving fast.

TRBP: Would you say that you are offering local bands a fairly inexpensive way to get their name out there via merch?
SWP: As far as we have heard we are offering the lowest prices, and that helps us really stand out. Every stage of the process we can do ourselves we do. That helps us not only control the quality of our products but also helps us keep our prices as low as we can get them.

A lot of the bands and people we started off working with were friends, and that close friendship with the people we sell to is something we like to carry over to all our new customers. By building friendships with our customers we can better understand their needs and help them achieve what they are looking for. The quality absolutely outweighs the price because we make sure it does. The feedback so far has been great, and it’s great to know people are liking what we do. Makes the long hours worth it.

TRBP: How does the printing process work for SWP?
SWP: We have a Basement located studio right now, With 3 stations and lots of storage and room.
Everything is hands on, done by us, nothing is contracted out. We create the design (if the customer doesn’t have one already), we hand build the screen, print and pack. If at all possible we also meet up with the customer in person to make sure they get the order and that everything is in order.

It is usually quite a fast turn over, we treat everyone’s designs as if they were our own. We are both perfectionist and take a lot of pride in all our work so if something does not meet the standards we will replace it. Quality is always key in everything we do.

TRBP: Whats in store for SWP for 2011?
SWP: This year is going to be big. On top of the already solid customer base we have, we are excited to be working with a few more bands and companies to start off the new year.

We are also looking at the start of our own line of designs through the launch of our online store, which is coming very soon. There are a few more things coming that I can’t really talk about yet, but there will be a lot of really cool things coming out of Simple Works in the coming year.

Things are growing fast, so make sure to get in with us on the ground level. We treat friends well.

TRBP: Anything else you would like to throw out there?
SWP: As you are aware we are still a growing company, we are still learning and always advancing. Finding new ways and options for our customers. Feel free to contact us with any ideas or requests and we can see what we can get done for you. Drop a message by our Facebook page or contact either of us personally if you’d rather. Once the store is up and running it will be easy to get a hold of us for quotes and such through there. We always want to hear ideas, question and comments, that’s how we grow.

Simple Works Printing ©
Dan Chaulk – CEO/Co-Founder
Tim Visentin – CEO/Co-Founder

Check them out on Facebook! Just type their name in.

Interview with Like Animals

Like Animals is a band from Orillia, Ontario that I have had the personal pleasure of reviewing before in the past, and also seeing perform live. I am a very big supporter of this band, and the immaculate musicianship that they bring to the music scene. I got a chance to interview them via Facebook! Check it out;

TRBP: How has band life been post-Sweet Whispers, Plagued Ears?

Jesse: It has been great! We got a lot of really good reaction/reviews from that album and I feel like it has pushed us in the right direction. The new tunes we have been working on feel like they flow quite a bit better than SWPE so it will be interesting to see the reaction from the newer tunes. Not that I don’t love everything off of SW but I feel like we’ve really hit our niche on this one.

TRBP: When I saw you guys perform with my own band The Blind Surgeons Operation, I noticed that your live act was probably among the tightest sounding I have ever seen. How have you guys accomplished this?

Will: Well first off, we know that our music is very challenging to play, let alone hear. If we aren’t playing at the top of our game, then it will come across as “just noise”. Basically in order to play music that has many changes and time swings, we have to play it tight. Lots of practice and attention to detail is key. We practice a few times a week as a band, then we each practice on our own time away from band. There is no room for error with our stuff. 

TRBP: You guys have recently signed to a label is that correct? Congratulations btw
Jesse: Yes, and thank you! We’ve been signed to Soda Records which happens to be run by our manager/producer. We recorded Sweet Whispers with him (Shane Heath) and our new album will also be done in his studio (One Star)

TRBP: How has the label helped you guys as a band?
Will: Being a part of Soda Records has been great! Shane Heath (founder) has been like a mentor to us and having that extra set of ears has been wonderful. He is there to help us with anything we may need, and he has been in touring bands as well, so he knows what needs to be done in terms of getting out there. Its nice to have someone we trust to provide insight and constructive criticism. The bands and the label are like a family with the same goals in mind.

TRBP: What i’ve seen through lurking on your fb pages haha is that you’re recording a NEW CD? is that correct?
Will: That is correct! We have been working really hard at writing new tunes for this cd. We are aiming for around 6-7 songs. We will be entering One Star Studio in Barrie to record tentatively at the end of Feb. If all goes to plan, it should be released at the end of march.

TRBP: How will this CD differ from SWPE, soundwise and whateverelsewise

Will: Well the length of the songs hasn’t gotten any shorter lol (almost all of the new ones clock in at over 7 mins). One thing people will notice is the smoothness and cleanliness of these songs. They are a lot more organic sounding….not forced. Another thing that will differ is the all around timing and feel of the songs. We have all been working really hard outside of band to get better at our crafts. I have been taking a lot of drum lessons and Jesse has been working hard at becoming an all around better bass player. I think our hard work is really gonna shine on this record. A lot of people will be surprised. 

TRBP: You guys are clearly one of the most talented bands I have ever met and reviewed, have you found it difficult to break into the various music scenes around Ontario?
Will: It has been very difficult. Thankfully almost all of the promoters we have dealt with have been great. A lot of these bigger promoters won’t give bands a chance unfortunately. All bands want is to be acknowledged and every band has to start somewhere. There has been a lot of shows where we would have fit in well and KILLED it, yet we get overlooked. But honestly, we take anything we can get. We believe that as long as we stay true to ourselves and our music, eventually people will be forced to take notice.

TRBP: There has definitely been a decline in substance over the years musically, but you guys are still chock full of that. What has prevented you guys from just breaking down and writing some more commercial friendly tunes?

Jesse: I myself am very very picky when it comes to music. If it’s not interesting or lacking substance I usually won’t give it a second chance. I also think having diversity in your listening habits as well helps quite a bit. I listen to a bit of everything – anything from Rick James, Earth wind and Fire, Cee lo Green to Between the Buried and Me, Dillinger Escape Plan and such. Listening to other local acts really inspires me to paint outside the borders. Bands such as – The Isosceles Project, Adrenechrome, Ninjaspy, We the undersigned and We Were The Fires of Rome. All great acts that make me want to push myself and to get better at perfecting my craft. 

TRBP: What can we expect from Like Animals in 2011?

Jesse: A brand new album and lots of tour dates! This will be one helluva year. We are gonna push ourselves harder than ever this year. I’m expecting a full east coast tour and we have been talking over a west coast tour as well. Keep checking back with us for dates and don’t forget “Sweet Whispers, Plagued Ears” is still available at www.reverbnation.com/likeanimals for download for FREE!!!

We look forward to seeing everyone this year! Get ready!!!

Interview with Tyler Kameda and Matt Dale [This is Death Valley]

Photo cred to Anthony Crittz

This is Death Valley is a local Deathcore band that I have had alittle bit of a run in with in the past, but the past is behind us and I am big supporter for these guys, and the effort they put into their band. From when I first saw them perform, to the last time, they have accomplished alot and made some amazing changes to their sound. I got a chance to interview Tyler and Matt from the band, enjoy!

TRBP: I saw you guys perform last year in Lindsay, and then once again in Ajax and the improvement to your sound and band had become REALLY noticeable. What changes did you guys make?
TK&MD: Aside from the band finally coming together as a finalized group of musicians, we also made some adjustments to our equiptment and instruments, such as adding another 7-string guitar and tuning to drop-A. We now have a line-up consisting of two 7-string guitars, one 6-string bass, and a (im just guessing :P) 14-piece drumset topped off with two vocalists and some bassdrops and other fx on ryan’s new sample pad to boot. I might also add that in lindsey we weren’t tuning to the same key, due to our little intrumental transition and mass teenage disorginization we didnt have our shit… as together as we would have liked.

TRBP: You guys have 2 vocalists in your band. How do you benefit from that?
TK&MD: Well i guess the most evident advantage is the sweet variety of vocal tones and style. Because we have two vocalists, we can be very diverse in our sound ie. matt can do highs over tylers lows and vice versa, plus the use of inward/outward high/low dry/gutteral articulated/sludgy screams gives our music a unique vocal signature. Not to mention that having a buddy up there on stage with you screaming about the same disgustingly perverted homicidal actions is always nice.

TRBP: Once again, having 2 vocalists, does that make the lyric writing process easier or much more difficult? Or is there alot of common ground between you guys?
TK&MD: DEFINATLY ALOT OF COMMON GROUND!!!! lol tyler and matt get along better then family!!! When the lyric writing begins, look out! tyler and matt with be brainstorming ideas that will make your stomach turn and mind run to dark places you didn’t even know you were capable conceiving. Even though the music is so “angry” there’s definatly no hostility between these two fucks!!

TRBP: There seems to be alot more genre experimentation present in your sound from when I very first saw you dudes. Is there a common influence in TIDV or do you guys all dig the same bands?
TK&MD: Well alot of the band enjoy’s a wide selection of classic 90’s nu-metal!! KORN!!

MD: KORN SUCKS!!

TK&MD: But i wouldn’t say that we are directly influenced by any one band in a large way, the whole group of us listens to such a laaarge variety of tunes it would be near impossible to track down the influences as im sure everyone plays a part. Sometimes you hear local bands starting up and they talk about what band they would like to sound like or what bands sound they’re trying for or asking you if they sound like this band or that band right? Well TIDV isn’t one of those bands at all, we’ve had our sound compared to a few big bands in the past but continually strive to set ourselves apart from those comparisons and develope a sound that is unique to our name.

TRBP: You guys have been recording an EP for some time now, how is that coming?
TK&MD: It’s actually coming along great, GREAT!!! We have been at it for a while now but hopefully that says something about the work thats going into it. We are proud to announce that there will be a few guest vocalists featured on this EP and they are: James Telep from Carmine, Tristan Rickaby from XXX, and Fat Bob Shaw from CUFF. Also we are re-recording our first two songs: Off With Her Head and As Harlots Die with a bit of a different sound including different guitars, different tuning and we’ve added mattdale to vocals!! So pretty much one more song to finish recording vocals on and then the editing and mastering can begin so wipe your sweaty palms our music will grace them soon.

TRBP: How many tracks can we expect to be on the EP?
TK&MD: SIX SONG EP MUTHA FUCKAS!!!!!

MD: I would like to point out that the answer to question 6…is indeed 6. lol

TRBP: Does the EP have a definite title yet?
TK&MD: It definatly does!!!!! and that name is……….WE ARE THE DESTROYER!!!!

TRBP: Anything you’d like to say to anyone who’s reading this interview?
TK&MD: Just be yourself, and dont label yourself because of some shit trend your friends got hooked on…it’s not worth changing your whole lifestyle…and quite frankly the uprising is a scene killer. PEACE AND LOVE YOU FUCKS!!!! STAY FUCKING BRUTAL!!!!

Thanks alot to Tyler and Matt for doing the interview! You can check out TIDV @

myspace.com/thisisdeathvalley

Interview with Aaron Swain [In the Act of Violence]

Photo cred to Jordy Clarke

We at The Running Board Press got a chance to talk to Aaron Swain [vocals] of the Bowmanville Metalcore band In the Act of Violence. ITAOV has been in the music scene for a long time now, and is currently recording a brand new album.

TRBP: You have recently had a lineup change before the new year, what happened there?
AS: We had a lineup change because it wasn’t working out with the member, but we do have a new bass player.

TRBP: Alot of the older material has been replaced by brand new songs, have you guys thought about throwing in some oldies for the die hard fans or is it strictly new material from here on out?
AS: As of right now we are strictly new material, but im sure later on down the road we will slip in some oldies for the fans.

TRBP: So you guys are currently in the studio recording a brand new album, how has the studio been so far?
AS: The Studio has been going sick! everything is sounding amazing. We have gotten quite abit done so far but we still have so much more to do.

TRBP: When can we expect a release date for the album?
AS: We aren’t quite sure the exact date, but we are aiming for either in the spring or summer.

TRBP: Album title in mind yet?
AS: We have alot of album titles in mind, we just haven’t picked one out yet. once we do it will be announced on our facebook page.

TRBP: There seems to be a fairly strong political message emerging from the band, especially recently, could you give us alittle insight on that?
AS: We decided to go political with this album and write it about the illuminati, Fema Camps and others, only cause its real and it is happening out there in the world and we are trying to open people’s eyes to see this.

TRBP: What can we expect from ITAOV in 2011?
AS: You can expect: New album, lots of tours, lots of shows, music videos, new sound.

TRBP: Anything you’d like to say to anyone who’s reading this interview?
AS: Be sure to check us out, on our myspace or our facebook page, and be sure to pick up the new album when it drops.

Thanks again to Mr. Swain for the interview, and we’ll be sure to get stoked on ITAOV’s upcoming record once it hits the stores!

myspace/intheactofviolence

Interview with Jordan Salmon [Message Through Motion, ex-Amnesia Amnesia]

TRBP: We are here with Jordan Salmon [ex-Amnesia Amnesia] to talk about his newest musical endeavor Message Through Motion; Hows it going Jordan?

JS: It’s going great man! Second interview in two days, happy about that!

TRBP: How did you go about joining MTM?

JS: I was just hanging out and I got a text from Derek their singer and guitarist that their bassist Matt had quit. He asked if I was interested in being there new bassist and I said yes because I’ve always really liked their stuff.

TRBP: Correct me if i’m wrong, but it seems like there might be some meaning behind the name Message Through Motion? Is that right?

JS: To be honest I couldn’t tell you. I wasn’t involved in the band at all when they formed so I have no idea why they choice that name. I like it though haha

TRBP: As of the late the amount of Hardcore/Metal acts arising from the local scenes has basically dominated any other type of music; what sets MTM apart from said acts? It seems like there is a greater emphasis on progression and experimentation in this project.

JS: We’re definitely different. I’ve always wanted to be in bands that were different, even AA didn’t sound the same as all of these cookie cutter hardcore bands. I don’t want to give too much information away on the new stuff we’re writing, but there is no screaming and it is more focused on nice melodies and catchy guitar parts.

TRBP: Do you plan on taking this band to the road? Gigging around Ontario, and getting your name out there? Or is this more of a creative outlet?

JS: We are all putting a lot of time into this. We will definitely be playing as many shows as possible, touring, and writing an album shortly.

TRBP: Any plans to record?

JS: We are recording an ep at the end of the summer, but so people can hear the new stuff much sooner than that we will be recording two of the songs that will be on the ep mid june and we will release them as soon as they’re done. We are recording with newcomb studios who I’m pretty tight with and they’ve got a pretty good reputation for recording some sweet bands and getting them signed for it.

TRBP: It’s nice to see that you’re still making music post-Amnesia Amnesia! Have any other members started up any projects?

JS: I believe they are all working on things.

TRBP: Do you have any interest in endorsements through promos4awareness like your previous band?

JS: Totally. AA and promos4awareness were tight and I plan on nothing less than that kind of relationship with MTM and promos4awareness.

TRBP: What would you say the biggest difference between playing bass in MTM and playing bass in AA is?

JS: MTM is a four piece, which is pretty cool. It’s also a lot less angry and in your face. It’s more like being hit in the face with a flower as opposed to a baseball bat haha

TRBP: Anything you’d like to say to anyone reading this interview?

JS: Join Message Through Motions fan page on facebook. Search it!

Interview with Structures

We were lucky enough to interview the amazing Structures after their set in Oshawa for the Misery Signals tour! check it out 🙂

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C0J-dbdaLA

You can check out Structures @
http://www.myspace.com/wearestructures

-Andy