Colorado punk band Elway recently released their latest album, Leavetaking on the 25th of June. I got the chance to speak with frontman Tim Browne about the new record, his musical influences and more. Check out the interview below!
Hi there! Firstly, can I have you introduce yourself and tell us your role in the band?
My name’s Tim, and I play guitar and sing in Elway.
You guys have recently released your new full length, Leavetaking on June 25th. How do you think it differs from your previous material?
I can’t speak as to whether or not the new record will be received as more ‘mature’ or ‘focused’ than our previous efforts. I can say, however, that there is almost nothing I would change about these songs if I could go back and rewrite them, and I don’t know if I can say that about the older stuff. The record is a little more earnest heartache than drunken-punk-party-anthem-USA. It’s still got the same skeleton that Delusions had in that it’s mostly a mid-tempo punk record with moments of EpiFat skate punk and a pinch of depressing indie.
Do you have any personal favorite tracks off the new record? Can you tell us about them?
My favorite song on the record is called “One Flew West,” which is kinda the weirdest song on there. There are a lot of weird riffs and tones in that song that I think are really cool, and it goes from carrying a kind of 90s emo strut to full blown punk song to balladry without sounding overwrought somehow.
What would you say were your biggest inspirations when writing this album?
I was committed to writing songs that would read as interestingly as they would sound. I was constantly reading Sylvia Plath, Ezra Pound, and Jack London over the course of writing the songs, so there are a lot of references that take pieces of their work which I think all point toward a common theme.
Can you tell us about your songwriting process as a band?
Usually I write the lyrics and the vague structure of the song on an acoustic guitar and we workshop it in rehearsal until we’ve added all the tinsel and leads and drum fills and backup vocals. After we’ve had a song sitting around long enough that we start playing it live, we eventually figure out a few more things that we could change before we record it, so we go back to workshopping it.
What bands are your biggest musical influences growing up?
As kids, my parents raised me and my siblings on Bob Dylan. Then I was the hugest Bad Religion fan, well I still am, but I used to be like their ***biggest*** fan. I know all the words to “The Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking,” and any true BR fan knows that that shit is pretty devotional. I used to always listen to NOFX, Pulley, No Use For A Name, Lagwagon etc… I started to get a little older and discovered stuff like The Lawrence Arms, Alkaline Trio and Hot Water Music.
What’s your opinion on the modern punk scene and how do you think your band fits into it?
I love how the genre continually stretches itself out and becomes less and less orthodox. It’s never been easier to get your music out there via the internet and tour. This has flooded the scene with tons of shit bands, but also there’s a lot more palpable buzz about the scene than there was when I first started playing in bands, y’know… pre-Myspace or whatever. If you have a ton of bands just basically bouncing ideas for how to expand the genre off one another eventually you’re going to get awesome new bands. Where do we fit in all of this? Well, we keep it pretty simple, but I love trying new little things in our songs that don’t sound like they’d necessarily fit on an old Punk O’ Rama comp. A friend of mine said he thought that the punk rock zeitgeist was “growing up,” and I have to confess that I’m fine with that.
Tell us about life on tour. Do you have a favorite tour story you’d like to share?
One time on our first tour ever, we found about 50 pies still in their boxes in a Trader Joe’s trash compacter in Richmond, Virginia. We ate as much pie as we could possibly handle for days before ultimately selling them at the merch table. I believe Garrett’s first impulse upon realizing how many delicious pies we had was to smash one directly into the side of my head, mixing strawberry and rhubarb chunks in with my ahem… immaculately bleached hair. I don’t know if that’s my favorite tour story, but that’s the one that involved eating the most pie. I love being out on the road more than anything in the world, and we always manage to have a blast on tour. We’re a few days away from spending the next 4 months on the road and I am pumped.
Pick up their new album off of iTunes and catch them on tour this summer! Check out their tour dates here and for more information, try their Facebook page.
I recently got the chance to speak with London-based punk band, The Dirt Radicalsabout their upcoming release, Enter Destroyer, their tour experiences, their first musical inspirations and more. Check out the interview below!
Hey guys! First off, can you introduce yourselves and tell us your roles in the band?
Matt: Hey, I’m Matt and I play drums in The Dirt Radicals. I also do a bit of backing vox.
Mas: I’m Mas, I play the guitar and sing in The Dirt Radicals.
Sam: Hi, I’m Sam I slappa’zi’bass-mahn and sing in The Dirt Radicals. And write a lot.
With Enter Destroyer set to drop on the 25th, can you tell us a bit about the writing/recording process?
Matt: We started off recording in studios around the world. From Singapore to Tokyo to London… Using gear we love and people we want to work with. Then we took more and more control over the recording process until it was completely DIY. We always wanted it mastered at Blasting Room Studios. We love the albums they do over there, so we decided to get Enter Destroyer mastered with Jason Livermore. Go and check out what he has worked on… nuts!
Do you have any personal favorites off of the new record? Can you tell us a bit about those?
Matt: My personal favourite is 25, Alive. It takes me back to my ‘skater punk’ roots. It’s also the fastest song on the album.
Mas: Each song has a different story, background and message and I love them all and it’s the kind of thing that’ll change over time depending on your mood and such, but my personal fav’ at the moment is March April Maybe.
Sam: I’m with Mas on this one. But, I’m also really digging the set of balls The One That Got Away (With Murder) has on it. Just a bit more attitude’y and I think it’ll be a good ‘Live’ song.
Is there anything you did differently? What can your long-time fans expect from the new record?
Matt: We used one of those sub-kick mics on the kick drum. We’ve never used one before and it just opened up a whole load of control when it came to mixing drums. Other than that, a nice DW kit, and a selection of snares… Fun times!
Mas: I’ve almost always been the only guitarist in this band since our older days and so I’ve always had to keep in mind not to do anything that can’t be played live, like layers and harmonies that’d need more than 1 guitar to play, but with this record the songs are a lot more dynamic sounding and structured so I focused more on letting the songs have whatever they needed to have. The guys would come to me and say “Hey I think this part needs more depth?”, if we all agree then I’d go and record some clean arpeggios to add some depth. Turned out great and the songs sound epic as hell.
Vocal-wise, there’s a lot more going on as compared to our older stuff. With Matt in the ensemble, there is a lot more going on with vocal melodies/parts. Sam and I tried different techniques like the slides in The Greatest Depression Since The Great Depression and The One That Got Away (With Murder), and experimented a lot with our throats to hit a higher range like in iHate and My Everything.
Sam: I think fans expect to walk away from the album kinda confident in The Dirt Radicals? If that makes sense? We took a really long time making Enter Destroyer and I think people will be more willing to say they’re confidently a fan of the band after listening to it.
Sonically, what bands would you say are your biggest inspirations with this release and/or past releases?
Mas: I can’t really think of one right away as there are too many, but with the death of Tony Sly, I went over a lot of his music and realized how much I was influenced by him. It might not be anything noticeable but the ideas, his messages and everything. He was an amazing musician.
Matt: Yeah I have to agree with what Masashi said. I also found that I was just trying to be a more solid musician on this album. Just doing what is necessary and playing consistently – I think that comes from some of the latest releases of my all time fav bands like MXPX and NOFX.
Sam: One night Mas and I got pretty fucked up listening to The Wallflowers in my apartment in Chancery Lane, right above a Chicken Cottage. I think that was a really pivotal point in ‘making the album’ for us. The music was good, there was the smell of friend chicken in the air, and we kinda just spaced out listening to The Wallflowers’ One Headlight about 17 times. Sonically, I think we took a lot away from that night. We were also pretty messed up for about 3 days later…
You’ve mentioned that Enter Destroyer features a darker, rock-infused edge to your signature punk sound. Care to elaborate?
Matt: We never sat down and said ‘let’s write a dark album’… I’d say it’s just very honest. In terms of what we were going through when making it. It’s not all doom and gloom though.
Mas: As we grow up and get older we go through a lot of stuff and sometimes it can get pretty overwhelming that we forget what it was like when we were kids… Enter Destroyer to me is letting it in and accepting it in order to move forward with life.
Sam: Yeah, I’d say we still have that energetic punk rock vibe going on… It’s just gone in a new direction. I think we made a record that we would want to listen to as 28 year old punk rock fans.
Anything specific that inspired that change?
Matt: For me, I think we are just growing and with that our taste in music evolves. I think we are finally maturing? [Laughs]
Mas: Personal lives I guess. Moving out of Singapore and starting up new lives elsewhere has been quite a lesson.
Sam: I think the biggest inspiration for change in music style was our Live Show. I wanted to make sure we had some cool stuff to work with live.
You guys are now based in London. What’s the music scene like there? How does it compare to a place like Singapore and why did you decided to move there?
Matt: It’s pretty dog eat dog. A million bands, a million venues… It’s hard to get your head above the water.
Mas: There definitely is a wider scene there and bands are touring all the time so it motivates us a lot as a band.
Do you think growing up in a country as an expat that has shaped the way you’ve developed as a band and as musicians?
Matt: I wouldn’t know because I haven’t lived a different life to compare it to what I’ve been through. If you know what I mean? But if I had to guess – I’d say we had the same struggles (booking gigs, recording, making fans etc.). Just little things are different I guess. Like you can’t really hop in a van and tour Singapore. You know?
Mas: We got to go through lifestyles that I don’t think any international band has ever been through, and I believe it just adds to it.
On a more personal note, where would you do consider your “home country”, and why?
Matt: No clue! Haha. I’d say England is ‘home’ at the moment. I have my friends and family here. But I’ll also always consider Singapore and Australia home too. I grew up there!
Mas: I feel pretty safe being back in Nagano, my hometown in Japan although I’ve only lived there for 3 years throughout my life.
Sam: Cue the song Pop-Punk Left Me In A Pop-Funk off the new record to hear my answer in full…
[Laughs] Can’t wait to hear it. What’re some of your favorite things about being in a band?
Matt: Seeing someone in a crowd in another country sing along to one of your songs is pretty powerful. Nothing really beats it!
Mas: Being able to travel with my best friends, getting free drinks, driving in van for 15 hours and smelling like shit.
Sam: I think walking away from a real special show with Mas and Matt, and re-grouping, and being like ‘That was fucking awesome.’, and just partying together after the show. We have a few of those shows which we treasure pretty dearly.
Speaking of shows, do you have a favorite tour/show you’ve played?
Matt: A show we did with Sum 41 at the Hard Rock Cafe Singapore. It was my birthday, and the crowd was awesome. How can you top that?
Mas: Our first visit to Indonesia was pretty epic and memorable.
Sam: We did a small club show in Nagano, Japan last year which was our own headlining show. I just remember the crowd going nuts, and looking at the guys thinking how far we’d come with the most massive smile on my face.
Lastly, let’s talk about some firsts. How did your first band come together?
Matt: Going to gigs and making friends. [Laughs] Old fashioned. Didn’t have any of that ‘internet’ stuff back then!
Mas: We met at a gig when we were in different bands and found out that we lived close, hung out for drinks and jammed and bam!
What about your first musical experiences?
Matt: Playing the trumpet in a school band. I sucked and I hated it. Always wanted to be on the drums.
Mas: I think my first cry was in a key of Bb minor… Then I started learning the piano when I was 5.
Sam: I caught the drumstick at a Presidents of United States of America concert when I was 12. They were my favorite band in the world, and I remember just holding that drumstick for dear life thinking “That’s all I want to do. I want to be in a band.”.
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us guys! Any last words you’d like to share?
Matt: Come down to one of our gigs and hang out with us. We love meeting people and trying local beers.
Mas: Thank you! Check out our stuff online!
Sam: Buy our new album on iTunes – it’s good shit!
Pre-order Enter Destroyer on iTunes here! The Dirt Radicals will begin their UK tour to support the new release this July. Check out the dates here!
Harmful If Swallowed, a punk rock band based in Los Angeles, recently released their EP Allergy on May 14th. Their earlier work was spotlighted on MTV, KRQQ-FM, and other mediums at the national level. I recently got the privilege to interview the band regarding their history, their opinion on the new EP, and more.
Hey! First, let’s get formalities out of the way: could you guys introduce yourselves and your band? Sure! We are Greg Martin (Guitar/vocals) Josh Loren (percussion), Carlos Nieto III (Bass/Backing vocals), Brian Martinez (Rhythm guitar) and our band is called Harmful if Swallowed.
Awesome! First, let’s talk about your impressive history. You guys were featured in tons of MTV shows. How does it feel to have gone through such amazing experiences? It’s been surreal. To be watching an episode of Fantasy Factory or Nitro Circus and to hear our music come up in a random scene is the best feeling in the world! We have many of those episodes recorded for posterity.
You guys also toured with the likes of Green Day, Weezer, KoRn, and Bad Religion, big names in the music industry for sure. How have these unique experiences contributed to your growth as a band? It has humbled us and made us appreciative of every opportunity we get to play in front of people. It has also given us a crash course in getting along with each other and taught us to always be prepared for the unexpected…Valuable lessons for any band.
Do you guys have any additional plans to tour anywhere outside of the United States? We’ve been in talks with bands to do a mini west coast tour, maybe further down the line we might venture out of the states depending on if we hook up with the right booking agent.
Your EP, Allergy, was just recently released. It definitely sounds different than your previous work. How do you feel about the evolution of the sound of Harmful If Swallowed? Do you like the direction it’s going? We’re so stoked about this EP! It has been a long time coming and by far our best sound to date. Allergy is the next step in our musical evolution!
You guys recorded Allergy with the help of Sunset Lodge Recording’s owner Chris Rakestraw and Grammy-winning producer Matt Hyde. How was that? It was an amazing experience working with Chris and Matt. To be around that level of talent and workmanship was awe inspiring. We learned a lot from them. We had a lot of help from others in the music industry as well. Carlos’ old high school friend Oliver Charles, drummer for Gogol Bordello, lent our drummer Josh, some of his drum equipment, which upped our game immensely. Mr. Tio Banks, keyboardist from Duran Duran stopped in during our recording to lay down some sweet synth tracks!
Any favorite tracks on the EP, or just in your discography in general? Each member has their favorite song or songs but over all we feel that our strongest songs are Sabrina, Allergy and Hateful.
What hobbies do you guys have? Besides, of course, making kickass songs and rocking out in front of your fans. Greg DJs in his spare time, Carlos is a professional fine artist, Brian is a graphic designer and Josh loves astronomy.
How is the music scene in LA? Where does it thrive and where is it lacking? Like anything else, you have to put the work into it in order to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That being said, the music scene out here in LA seems to thrive when it happens organically and for the love of the music and not for the money.
Any cool stories to tell about anything you guys have went through in the past few years? We are a fiercely DIY (Do It Yourself) band so laying the groundwork for bigger and better opportunities are what we strive for. The people in the music industry that we’ve met and the connections that we’ve made with them have been amazing! Watching doors open via our own hard work is the best feeling ever!
Great! Last question. Favorite ice cream flavor? That’s a tough one, it teeters between plain vanilla and Rocky Road!
Thanks to Harmful If Swallowed for the interview! You can purchase a digital copy of Allergy via iTunes or Amazon.
The Front Bottoms recently released their highly anticipated sophomore album, Talon Of The Hawk to critical acclaim. You can read our review of the album here. I got the chance to talk to Brian Sella, vocalist/guitarist of the band, just before he and the rest of The Front Bottoms head off on their nationwide tour of the US beginning on June 1st. You can pick up the record invinyl, digital or CD form and read the full interview below!
Your highly anticipated new album Talon of the Hawk came eight days ago, how excited were you to share it with the fans? Where did the album name come from?
Extremely excited!! We are super proud and stoked for people to hear it. The name came from our imaginations.
How has the addition of two new members, Tom Warren and Ciaran O’Donnel, impacted the band’s sound compared to the self-titled? How did you choose them?
We didn’t choose them… they’re handsome friends of ours. They added a edge to Talon of the Hawk that made the sound fuller than the self-titled album.
So you chose to work with a producer and record in a studio for this album, how did that experience go?
It was a great experience, one that all of us are glad we got to be involved in. The record sounds the way it sounds because of the circumstances we recorded it in.
Where did the inspiration come from for the songwriting process?
A lot of the inspiration for this record came from the road and the experiences we have had over the past two years.
On the 4th of June, Arizonian rock and roll outfit The Maine will drop their highly anticipated fourth studio album, Forever Halloween. In light of the upcoming release, I recently got the chance to speak with drummer and founding member Pat Kirch about the album, their songwriting and recording process, and growing up with their fans. Pat also shared a pretty crazy tour story with us, check out the interview below!
Hi there! First off, can you introduce yourself and tell us your role in the band? Hi, my name is Pat and I play drums in The Maine.
So, Forever Halloween is set to drop on the 4th. Is there anything on the record that you think will surprise fans? How do you think Forever Halloween compares to your previous releases?
I think the album has more of a human feel than any other album we have done in the past. You can feel the energy and the connection between five people playing in a room together. I would say that is the biggest difference between our past albums; this time we learned about a different way of recording that will change the way we do things from now on.
What’re some of the lyrical themes behind the album?
That is probably a better questions for John [O’Callaghan, singer], and I do not want to speak on his behalf. But to me, what I love most about John’s writing on this album is that it comes from a very personal place. Some songs are written in a more straight-forward way, where you can really tell that it is a story that happened, which I really enjoy.
Regarding the music, what are some things you guys experimented with?
We experimented with a bunch of different sounds on this album as far as guitar/drums/ and bass tones go. I think sonically there is more of a mood than anything we have ever recorded and I think that is because of some of the tones we used. We ended up making a pretty straight forward rock album and just did what we do best, which is drums, bass, two guitars, vocals, and maybe a little bit of piano here and there. I think we made a recorded that is pretty rounded, which I am really proud of.
What was the songwriting process like for this album? Has it differed from how you’ve written previous albums?
It was kind of the same way we have gone about the past albums besides maybe Black and White but John usually comes in with an idea for a song, we get in a room and work it out as The Maine. It is pretty simple and we just do what works for us, we all add in our own flavor on top of what is really John’s vision for a song.
What would you say were your biggest inspirations when writing this album?
Our musical tastes are always growing and changing so I do not think we could really pin point any specific artists but just rock music in general was an inspiration. Listening to albums that are not recorded to be perfect but to have a feel and a vibe, that is what we took inspiration from.
You recorded Forever Halloween on analog tape instead of digitally, what was that experience like and what brought about that decision?
It was an amazing experience, it brought us back to how it felt to record the first album in the sense that we didn’t know how the recording process worked and did not understand how things were go to go down. That is a really scary thing but it is exciting and brings something different out of you. You just kind of have to let go a little which lets you make more on the spot decisions. For me I have become so comfortable with how modern digital recording works that there isn’t any fear or worry about how the process will unfold. With recording this album live it was like starting over and learning a whole new craft which is really exciting and thats when the best stuff happens.
Do you have any personal favorites off of the new record? Can you tell us a bit about them?
I change my mind on this question each time I am asked it but right now I am going to go with a song called Blood Red this song goes from being a mess to all coming together and then does that all over again. It has tons of ups and downs and a lot of what we used on the song was kind of done in anger/a joke after a late night and it captured a mood that we could not have forced. I am very excited for people to hear thats song!
You guys has come a long way from Stay Up, Get Down, how do you feel your band has progressed and evolved since your formation?
The word I would use would consistent, we have continued to evolve with each year and each release. It has just been slow and steady and it all just goes along with we are getting older along with our fans.
On separate note, what are some bands/artists that you’re currently listening to?
I have been listening to a lot of Weatherbox, Pavement, The Replacements.
You’re set to embark on tour with Brighten, A Rocket To The Moon and This Century this summer. What’re somethings you’re excited for about it?
Everything!! We will be with our best friends and playing some new music along with old music. It is going to be a great time.
Since we’re on the topic of tours, can you share a tour story with us?
A few months ago we were driving through Texas and a car coming the other way on the freeway flipped over into our lane and kid flew out of the back of the car. The kid landed on his feet and didn’t have a scratch on his body. We were able to stop in time and did not hit the car but we all got out of the van to help the people in the car and John was kind of shaken up by seeing the car flip over and the kid fly out that he passed out. It was a pretty crazy day to say the least.
That is insane. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us! Any last words?
Thank you!! Very excited for people to hear Forever Halloween on June 4th.
You can pre-order Forever Halloween from The Maine’swebsite, and download their new track Love and Drugs by clicking here.
