Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Interview with Adrian Manges from Cloud Rat, Old Soul, The Breath That Moves the Branches, etc.


Adrian is a dude I’ve seen play music a good bit over the past couple of years, but who I’ve never really gotten to talk to or hang out with very much. This is probably chalked up to me usually running around crazy if I booked the show, or both of us just being a touch reclusive.

At any rate, I was pretty excited when he asked me a month or two ago if I’d be interested in chatting with him for the blog. I had already talked to Rorik from Cloud Rat last year, but as you’ll read, Adrian has tons of other projects up his sleeve, and I knew it would be a great opportunity to get some new insight into a person I’d always been intrigued by.

Anyway, as a drummer, Adrian is one of my favorites to watch. He basically beats the living shit out of his drums with reckless abandon, which is the best way to do it!

At any rate, read on about Adrian’s background and his many bands and musical ventures.

Talk about your childhood a little bit and your earliest memories/experiences with music.

It's really hard for me to remember exactly when music started becoming important to me.  I was really young, 6 or 7 or something, that's just as far back as I can remember.  My dad wasn't around when I was a kid, and the first memories I have of him are seeing him leave to play shows (he was in a slew of 80's metal bands) and just seeing him play guitar the few times I saw him.  As a young child, I just wanted to be like him, do whatever he was doing, since I didn't really have him as a dad I think it was more just trying to hold on to something that I wanted/needed.  

Shortly after, (maybe 8 or 9?)  I got a shitty acoustic guitar and was basically hooked.  My mother always tells me stories of me and that guitar.  I guess I could already play from what she tells me.  I have a really hard time remembering my childhood so, I’m sorry if this is all scattered.  I got into Nirvana and Soundgarden basically as soon as I started school.  Maybe before that, I remember getting a The Offspring tape, when we still lived way out in the country, and that was before we moved into Mount Pleasant.  I would have been in kindergarten, and that shit back then was super gnarly to a little country boy, who had mostly only heard 80's schlock rock.

So I think it’s fair to say, I was one of those kids who knew what I wanted to do when I "grew up", almost from the beginning.  I only ever remember being obsessed with music.  Listening to it, and just wishing I could be making it.

Are you a lifelong Mt. Pleasant native?
I was born in Mount Pleasant, and have been trying to leave ever since.

Seeing that your father is also a musician (especially a metal musician!), is he pretty supportive of the stuff you're doing? Do you guys ever compare notes or is that stuff a lifetime away for him now?

The old man is pretty supportive; he gets all our records, and has come to a couple shows/practices.  We pretty much just trade stories from time to time. He never really showed me that much about music, even when I was just learning. He taught me a couple basics for playing guitar.  He still plays sometimes I think, up until the last couple years he was playing shows every weekend around Michigan, but I think the bar band scene kinda burnt him out.  

We don't talk all that much really, but yeah, I consider myself fortunate to have a rock n roll pops.  Most of my siblings are all into music as well, and super talented, but it’s strange, even though we have such a bonding thing between us all, we are all pretty disconnected from each other.  I think that will change at some point though, everyone is busy growing up, and doing their own thing.
 
How did you eventually get hooked into underground music; metal, grind, punk, etc.?

I was into punk and metal at a pretty young age, but I didn’t know things like local shows even existed. I pretty much had one friend growing up, and we would try to find music, and show it to each other as much as we could. 

The first time I really knew what I could, and wanted to do, the first real, small DIY show I went to, was in Midland at a shitty hotel.  I lived there for 2 years as a teenager, too many fights and stuff in Mount Pleasant, so I moved in an attempt to "find" myself, and also not get my ass kicked so much.  

This show was the first time I met Rorik Brooks and Jimmy Stellwagen; I never even began to think someday I would be traveling the world playing music with both of them.  Even though it was a long time ago, and kids were playing border-line shitty metalcore, while I was watching them play, I just knew that I wanted to be doing that, and that it wasn't so far out of my reach like I had been thinking most of my life. I met so many people that night that ended up basically changing my life.  Too many to list.  It all just went crazy after that one show, that’s all I wanted to do, learn, and be, after that night.
 
The first time I ever saw you play drums was at a basement show in Detroit, where you played double sets with both Quietus and Cloud Rat. I was completely in awe of how someone could play with such speed and intensity for essentially an hour straight. Do you have any sort of physical regiment to keep yourself in grinding shape or is just like “the adrenaline hits, let’s go”?
I play multiple sets at shows semi-often.  The first little tour I went on was Cloud Rat and Quietus.  I wouldn’t say I have much of a regiment for staying in good shape.  I've been skateboarding probably almost as long as I’ve been playing music, and I try to skate every day.  Being vegan probably helps?  But the show you’re talking about, I was probably just getting back into being vegan.  I just play as much as humanly possible, not so much anymore with so many tours and different bands, but before all the craziness, I was jamming all day, every day.  A lot of those double set times were just jumping into it though, and hoping for the best. Adrenaline helps.  

There was a good period of time where I wasn't healthy at all, mostly drug-related stuff, and it was a real struggle to get through a lot of those demanding sets.  I would still play in band after band at a show.  I still love doing it, even if it’s harder on me now; it’s just one of the best feelings in the world, so why wouldn’t you want to do it over and over again?


What ever became of Quietus? I loved your set, but after that show I never saw you again or heard any recordings. I sort of remember hearing someone say your guitarist may have been arrested at some point and moved to the U.P.?

Quietus just kinda fell apart for no real reason.  We recorded a 5 or 6 song EP, made some merch, and lost it all at a show. You know, classic short lived screamo I guess, haha.
Casey our singer/guitar player did get arrested, but for some silly shit, and that had nothing to do with him moving, or the band breaking up.  He is still one of my favorite people. We did a reunion show once; we want to do another one.  Jimmy doesn’t really play bass anymore though, Old Soul pretty much takes up all the room in his brain these days. Either way, it will probably happen.  I really like the recordings we did, so it’s cool to have something left, after a a brief stint of something that I found to be really special.

I feel like Old Soul's stuff has become slightly more atmospheric and melodic, less heavy as the band has gone on. I know there are multiple splits on the horizon, talk a little bit about the new records and how they compare musically with your output thus far. Also, I know with the first 3 LP's there is sort of an interconnected story going on. Do the splits continue to play into that unfolding narrative or do they address altogether different subject matter?

Old Soul never really consciously tried to be more atmospheric or anything, it kind of just happened, and we tend to just roll with the times.  Most of us have always wanted to just keep expanding our sound and writing style drastically, so we leave things real open, and experiment with new stuff constantly.   We have 2 splits coming out right before we head to Europe in June, one with Lentic Waters from Germany and one with Nic from Czech Republic.  

I think the upcoming splits are some of the heaviest/craziest stuff we've done so far.  They're still attached to the original story of the first 3 records in a way, but don't necessarily follow the narrative.  It's always hard to explain that stuff, especially since Casey's writing is pretty huge with so many things tying into each other.  We've been calling the split songs “Artifacts”.

Recording-wise I believe "Nature's Arms...." was recorded with Kevin Kitchel whereas the last two LP's were done with Alex Larson. What does each of those fine gents bring to the table and how would you say their styles compare, both in terms of technique and just in terms of the vibe they bring to recording?

Both Kevin and Alex are amazing to work with.  It's always fun, chill, and both of them always have good input and are great at what they do. I've recorded with both of those beautiful beings so many times now.  Cloud Rat has only ever recorded with Kevin so far, and the only thing I can even say about Kevin is that he really is the most down, most real, nicest, funniest dude to work with, and just to hang out with. 

Once Old Soul started recording with Alex Larson, it took a bit to get the vibes going and stuff, and I imagine from an engineers perspective, Old Soul could be an intimidating band to record; regarding how many parts, time changes, and general stupid length of songs.  Alex really came through though, and he really just understood what we were trying to do after we recorded 'Who Are Willing to Draw Close”.  

I think that’s part of the reason “Tidal Lock” was so special for us, and why we worked so insanely hard on that record.  We knew Alex was on the same level as us when we went to record those four songs, and I think it shows.  Both dudes are the best dudes to have on your side, working on your records, and I consider myself lucky to get to work with both of them so often.



You guys are headed to Europe this summer and for you it will be your second trip as Cloud Rat went last year. What would you say the highlights were for you personally last time, and what are you most excited for on round two?

Man...Cloud Rat Euro tour was something.  I get asked about the best places or times….so many things, and I always feel like I don't have a good enough answer.  I can say that for me, the friends we made, is easily the best thing.  Everyone in LICH, SKY:LARK, RESURRECTIONISTS, REPUBLIC OF DREAMS, our touring mates, made that trip into one those things that can bring you to tears if you think about it too long.  All the beautiful places just made everything that much more intense.

Round two, Old Soul in Europe...I start laughing just thinking about it. We all have so much fun together, and the tour is almost twice as long this time.  Everyone is beyond stoked, and we are all best friends, so I can only see great things happening.  We've been talking about going since before we ever even played out of Michigan.

For a band like us, it feels like there's more people that get what we're doing over there, and I hate that I think that, but I believe that to be true.  Our U.S tours are always out there, of course there’s good shows, and we have friends here, but at least 40% of U.S tour dates always seem to be strange, and most people either don't know what to think when we play, or they just get bored.  Maybe if we all looked cool, or super punx or something it would be different.

Kidding.

Mostly.

I think I can speak for all of Old Soul when I say we are super excited for Cry Me A River Fest, Fluff Fest, all the amazing bands, countries, people, everything.  I'm excited to skate, and hopefully film a good amount while I'm over there.

Alright let’s shift gears to Cloud Rat. I guess this is sort of a weird question to ask because I really don't know Madison very much, but I know you guys were romantically involved in the past. How (if at all) does that affect the dynamics within the band?

I don't think it's a weird question at all.  It actually gets asked semi-often.  Madison and I were young loves; I think we started seeing each other when we were 15/16.  We were also dating, and living together when Cloud Rat started like four years ago or whatever.  We split maybe 6 months into the band or something?  Honestly, I think it works both ways….on one side of it we are still really close, so we look out for each other a lot.  And I think just having such history with your band mates makes for good music, and a stronger bond.  Maybe that’s why the three of us click so well together.  It gets tense at times, sure.  Sort of a brother/sister fighting and arguing thing still happens from time to time, but I guess it would be stranger if it didn't. 

What it really comes down to for me though, as kind of fucked up as it sounds, is that all the fighting and sadness and pain that came with us splitting up, basically just when the band was starting to find its way, was fuel for a long time to make really emotional, angry stuff.  And, we are still friends, and love each other, and (mostly) get along, so all is well.


You guys leave in a couple days for a pretty massive run with Thou, a band who seems to have developed a pretty legendary reputation in terms of both the scope and volume of their output, as well as in terms of being a model of how a d.i.y. band can and should run. Talk a little bit about how your relationship with them has developed over the years.

Yeah.  Tour with Thou...what is there to even say?  They are one of my favorite bands, and I just started getting into them right when Cloud Rat started.  We did a couple shows with Wolves in the Throne room and Thou a few years ago, and it’s silly, but I definitely felt pretty rad about everything when we found out that was happening.  

The first show with Thou was in Cincinnati at this amazingly giant and epic old brewery.  One of the coolest buildings to play in, ever.  The show was really good, and packed, but Thou had blown a tire or something on the way there and no one knew if they were going to make it.  Cloud Rat ended up playing for like 50mins or some shit to fill time, it was insane. Wolves played during a thunderstorm and the night went on pretty well. 

Thou ended up getting to the venue around 2am, and the crowd went from a couple hundred people to 40 or so.  They set up anyway, and played basically everything I had heard and loved before that point.  I just had one of those moments when you see a band, I’m sure you know the feeling.  I just stood in awe, and honestly held tears back. 

Some time after that we did a few shows with False and Thou when they toured together, and the vibe between all three bands was just too good.  And I think just about everyone was stoked on the other 2 bands every single night, so that was just a really special time I think.  Special enough to do another little tour with the three of us, during which I got to know the dudes in Thou better.  So the idea of just doing a Thou/Cloud Rat tour was tossed around for a long time, and here it is finally happening, 30 shows in 20 days.  Couldn't be more stoked.

I feel like you guys have been getting tons of praise, especially after the release of "Moksha"; both from more d.i.y metal and grind publications, as well as bigger channels such as Decibel and even NPR (even though I think it must just be one person there who happens to have kick-ass taste in metal, haha). I guess I'm curious if you feel any sort of pressure with all that as well as whether or not all the acclaim changes in any way the ambitions you all have for the band.

For me personally, I don't feel any pressure, no.  It was kind of crazy for a while though.  I’m not used to that at all, and just cruising the internet to find your band on like 30 albums of the year lists; it definitely feels a little strange, to me at least.  I don't really look up a lot of that stuff though, usually its people linking me to them.  Nothing changed really, all we want to do is keep making records and explore more of the world, and all that attention has opened a lot of doors for us to do some really cool things and go play some amazing places I never thought were possible. So, that's what we plan to do, regardless of internet hype or any sort of praise. 

Both Old Soul and Cloud Rat are obviously very loud, intense, etc. How would you say playing in those two bands is both similar and different?

Being able to play in Cloud Rat and Old Soul at the same time is one of the best things ever.  I basically get to cover everything I want to do, as far as heavy music goes, and play with a good portion of my life-long friends, on a regular basis.  Really, they are completely different in almost every sense to me; the music obviously, but the vibe is way different as well, but it’s usually a good thing.

To me Cloud Rat has always just been so intense, not just the music, but all of our lives.  We all have sort of intense personalities as well, in our own ways.  So many beyond amazing things have happened to us as a band, and a lot of tragedy as well.  I think all that shows in how we write, play, and just feel when we are together.  It's what makes it what it is.

Old Soul, for me, is just such a huge thing.  Everyone is so crazy talented, and the ideas flow too fast most of the time.  But the vibe is sort of opposite to Cloud Rat, for me.  Old Soul has always been so laid back, it’s all about fun with us, and I also think that shows through in the music, with it being all over the place and covering so many different sounds.  With that being said, there are times where Old Soul will not get things done, or getting everyone together is usually a cluster fuck.  So with each distinct feeling and process to both of those bands, comes what makes them work, makes them strong, and is what makes them difficult.

For me, it’s perfect.  The two extremes.

I know besides those two bands, you have a number of other musical ventures (forgive me for not being as knowledgeable about those). What would you say those projects provide for you that Old Soul and Cloud Rat don't?

I do always have a lot of other projects going, all of which are way different.  I don't know what it is, but for a long time now I just haven't been able to stop, or even really just take it slow. It’s a  blessing and a curse sort of thing. I’ve been getting a little crazy these days.  I do a good amount of hip hop, electronic, chillwave stuff under the name SaWTOoTh.  I have 5 albums of raw, all vinyl sampled instrumentals, and a few splits coming out soon with some really cool peeps.  I also recently started a net label/art collective called Phantom Drip Collective.  So that’s been cool, finding new artists and building a little crew of weirdos from all over the world.
I do some solo stuff, mostly piano and weird samples, sad sorta ambient long songs called Sola Vulpes.  But I’ve been too busy, and haven’t been playing piano that much.  I also have a couple noise/drone/ambient projects that I have done a few records with, but haven’t done anything in a long time. The main one being a band called Found Letters.  It looks like we are going to try to put out a new release sometime this summer though. 

My main focus right now, outside of Old Soul and Cloud Rat, is for my band 'The Breath That Moves The Branches'.  It’s sad, woodsy, folk kinda stuff but has a lot of really dreamy or almost droned out stuff in between.  It's just myself, and my good friend Eyra Lucas. TBTMTB allows me to do everything I always felt I couldn’t really get, being in heavy bands.  It's really nice to be able to sing, and write lyrics.  And I play a lot of instruments that aren’t drums, so I get to play all sorts of stuff.  I just ended up getting stuck playing drums for bands when I got in to punk, I never even wanted to be a drummer. 

TBTMTB plays a lot of different acoustics, 12 strings, cello, piano, mandolins and other instruments.  We record in interesting places; the woods, run down farm houses, things like that.  Which you obviously can't do that, easily, with a 5 member band with enough amps to fill a cruise ship.  It’s just a different feeling, you know?  And it’s something that I really love, and have been getting way more inspired and motivated to do.  

We just got done filming a 4 part video series out in the woods.  Clearing out tons of invasive species that took over this beautiful hilltop, building fires, recording, and filming performances lit by the brush fires.  So that’s been really fun, as it’s finally not freezing fucking cold out every day, and we can actually get back to doing things like that.  The videos are almost all out and TBTMTB has a new full length that we spent the last 6 months working on called "Dire Winter".  Its over an hour long, and it’s quite a different approach from our last release, which we recorded in two days.  The record also has several guest recordings from Mikey (Old Soul) and Brandon Fernweh (Theyeattheirowngod).  “Dire Winter” I believe, will be out late April.


Man you seriously have so much going on, damn! What would you say is the engine that drives all this creativity?

I'm not sure really, I think part of it is that I left school when I was 15 and just started making music as much as possible.  It never really slowed down, just turned into more and more.  Sometimes I think it's all I can really do, I seem to be pretty bad at social things, being responsible, working a normal job.  But I like to think that's not really the case. 

I like to think that I owe my life to music.  It basically raised me, helped me find out who I am, and who I wanted to strive to become.  Most of the long term friends I have are because of music. I used to have no confidence at all, and the little I have, I'm sure is from playing so much all these years.  My first long tour, Cloud Rat/Xtra Vomit, was basically what got me clean, after several years of drug abuse.  I've had slip ups since then, but I've always had something to look forward to, to keep me from falling back into old ways, of not giving a fuck about anything, and just destroying myself.  Heroin is a fucked up drug, and it takes you so far down, no matter what.  Everyone I knew from back then, doing that stuff, almost none of them made it out.  Certainly all of them gave up on dreams that we all shared.  Most of them are just gone; dead or in prison.

Music, punk, and touring, quite literally saved my life. 
And I just have so much more to give, it almost seems endless.
So I don't plan on slowing down anytime soon.


 Adrian’s Personal Blog
Cloud Rat
Old Soul
The Breath That Moves the Branches

Sola Vulpes

Interview with Charles Chaussinand from Test of Time

I remember back in the Fall briefly reading that Bridge Nine had signed this new straight edge hardcore band Test of Time. I made a little mental note, assumed they’d probably start touring like crazy like most B9 bands do, and figured I’d see them at some point pretty soon. Then the other day I was on the B9 board posting about my band's new project and happened to see something on the site about them and wondered hmmmmm, “Why hasn’t that band blown up yet?”

I proceeded to head to their bandcamp and checked out their debut B9 7” “The Price” and was pleasantly surprised to hear some classic sounding, fast melodic hardcore. I then hopped over to the blog to see that these dudes were also pretty clever and had a good sense of humor. After that I did a little research and learned they their members have done time in The Effort, No Harm Done, Offsides, Daytrader and have shot photos of all sorts of bands over the years. Finally I ordered a physical copy of that 7” I mentioned earlier and when it arrived I was blown away to see the coolest layout I’ve seen on a hardcore record in years.

Okay that did it, I had to talk to these guys and learn more. I reached out and was warmly greeted by guitarist Charles Chaussinand who immediately agreed to do the interview.

Read on, these guys have a lot of awesome stuff coming up.  

Alright Charles, so talk a little but about your childhood growing up in Florida and how you eventually got into hardcore and punk. When did you start playing guitar, and at what point did you feel the confidence to go from someone attending shows to someone who would be creating and performing music?

While I spent most of my formative years in Florida, I was actually born in San Francisco, CA. I moved when I was pretty young and lived in Naples. I was six, and initially, had wanted to strike out on my own, but I caved and let my parents tag along. I lived from 6 - 18 in Naples, FL. There was basically nothing happening aside from retirement checks being cashed and a mall. I petitioned the city when I was 12 or 13 for them to build a skatepark. It was like two ramps, but they did it. I started booking small shows that year and booked shows until I moved. It was really difficult to get any bands to venture that far south in Florida, but I was able to get Trial, Reach the Sky, Fast Times and some other gems and there were some great local bands like Esteem (who I would later join). 

I got into punk via the radio. I loved "Dookie" and "Smash" when those records came out and I remember going to a Camelot Music and looking through the cheapest CDs, which were a new format, that they had. It was a bunch of punk samplers and I saw some from Lookout! and Nitro with Green Day and The Offspring, so I picked those up and started getting into some punk bands. Soon after, I was at the two-ramp skatepark and was handed a flyer for a show that Esteem was playing. 

I begged my parents to let me go and they gave me a lecture about how I could, but I had to "stay strong" and not drink. All of the bands but one were straight edge, and I actually claimed edge that night. I had never been curious about drinking and still just don't care about it, so I finally had a term for that and went with it. Punk bands really made me feel like "hey, I can do that too" because I would see the kids that were in these bands working around town and just hanging out and the division between band and fan was not there, so I started learning how to play guitar and would play along to Pennywise and Green Day records all the time. Eventually, I started a terrible band and I sleep soundly every night knowing we never recorded any of our terrible music to subject the world to. It just kind of snowballed from there to where I am now.

13 and convincing the city council to build skate ramps!?!? You need to come talk to my apathetic 15 year old Civics students, haha! On a serious level though, what possessed you at that young of an age to even attempt that?

The punk culture of DIY was engrained in me at an early age. It was a town with nothing to do, some kids skated, and they didn't want us on rails and stairs in town, so I thought I would ask and see what happened. It was actually really easy. I have long been a fan of "want something done? Do it yourself." I started a record label when I was 14 and just put out a couple tapes. I think all of that goes hand in hand. Just get out there and do whatever it is that you want to do. You should see the skatepark now. It is enormous.

Talk a little bit about the formation of No Harm Done. I know you guys had the Offsides split and the LP on Think Fast....what were some of your best experiences with that band and what lessons do you feel you learned that inform what you're doing now with Test of Time?

I joined No Harm Done after they had been rolling for a while. I was asked to "produce" an EP called "The Start of Something New" by my good buddy Neil that runs Anchorless Records, the label that put that out. While in the studio, they asked me to join. I was the oldest member of the band by a few years. That band was a lot of fun. I had been in a bunch of bands before, but that band was a lot of serious touring, my first time in a "real" studio, The Outpost, and getting to have that tight-knit brotherhood that a touring band can have. 

My other bands before had toured, but only like two weeks at a time. NHD toured for months and it was great. Offsides was a similar situation. I knew Danielle, was asked to fill in on a tour on bass, and then ended up flying to CT and writing the "It's a Struggle to Communicate" EP after the guitarist quit. Anytime I am in a band, it shows me what doesn't work. I don't know that I really know what does work, but I know volumes about what can stop a band immediately. It is always a growing and learning experience.

What prompted you to eventually relocate to Boston and how did you get together with the dudes in Test of Time?

I moved up to Boston after No Harm Done split up because I was offered a job working at The Outpost. I moved up and it ended up not working out because the owner has an immune system issue. I ended up getting work at MIT in the audio visual department because I went to school for audio engineering and have been working on records and live sound for years. Todd and I have known each other for a long time and I propositioned him with the idea of fronting a band. I will forever remember his response "Sure, I have stuff to say". We started getting together with Jeff soon after and really didn't expect to do all the stuff we've done. I thought that we would record a demo in my basement, play some shows, go slow. It ended up being very different. Not that we are big or anything, but we try and do as much as our time allows.

I wanted to ask about engineering because I read you guys have self recorded everything you’ve done up to this point. Going forward do you intend to keep things “in house” so to speak or do you think the outside perspective of another set of ears would be beneficial?

Well, the "Inclusion" demo 7" was done completely in my basement and I did all of the mixing with that. I wanted the next recordings to be stepped up sonically, since as I mentioned, I hadn't expected a lot of people to listen to what we were doing. I am sure there still aren't many, but for those that are listening, I wanted to make the subsequent recordings really stand on their own. 

For this, we tracked drums at Q Division here in Boston. We got to use the A Room, which is just a beautiful and incredible space. My friend Matt Russell helped us through all the drum tracking because I had never been in this space before and didn't know the sound or anything. Matt is a phenomenal engineer with a great working knowledge of the space. He helped achieve the sounds that I had in my head. From there, I tracked all the guitars, vocals and bass. I then went back to him and we mixed the record together. 

We did this for “The Price”, ”A Place Beyond” and “By Design”. He doesn't come from the world of hardcore, though he was asked to play drums for Shelter some years back, which is what I wanted. I didn't want a record that sounded like what everyone is doing. I wanted a fast, aggressive record that had the tonality of almost like a Foo Fighters or Third Eye Blind type album with big, organic drums and everything sounding smooth instead of punching you in the face. 

Talk about the pace of writing. In less than two years you guys have banged out over 30 songs (most of which are forthcoming). Does one of you guys just have an arsenal of riffs sitting around or is the chemistry within the band already just that strong?

As for the writing, I write a lot of music. It is just always something I have done. I think of songs in complete terms as I am writing, so I already have plans for all the instruments in my head and a loose vocal melody as I am playing out the guitar part. This doesn't mean it will stay that way, but in my head, I am seeing the drum parts that I am starting with in addition to whatever instrument I am playing at that time. Actually, a bunch of the songs I wrote toward the end of this were written on drums because there was a part I would think was fun to play and I would hear the other instruments on top of that. All of these songs were written before our new bassist, Robert Cheeseman (also a riff master), had joined, so it was just me coming up with ideas and showing everyone and then hearing how it worked together with everyone and changing stuff here and there. 

In less than two years as a band, we will have released 39 songs and we still have more recorded that are going to be coming out on splits we already have planned for later in the year. I wanted us to have a huge cache of music that we could release so nothing was rushed and no one had to wait. I never like when you see a band playing the same songs for a year because they haven't written another record. We already have enough to play tons of set lists. 

We also did six covers that are slowly trickling out. Each of us picked a song and we re-wrote them and turned them into our own thing. I have always loved doing that. Covering a song exactly has never appealed to me, on a recording. Live, you just want to achieve, as best you can, the feeling you get when you hear a particular song, but expanded to encompass an entire room of people. On a recording, I feel like you need to take that feeling, filter it, and put out something that still invokes the sentiment and maybe something else as well.

So sound-wise, you guys seem to fit primarily within the late 80's/youth crew mold, but with an expanded sense of melody and a couple of twists here and there (I'm thinking "Riptide" as well as some of your cover choices). In terms of the upcoming 7" and then the LP, how would you say the sound compares, and how important is it to you to pay homage to what seem like your core influences and at the same time put your own stamp on things?

Hmm... that is kind of tough to say. Since the records weren't written with gaps of time between them and it is more just that we are picking out songs that we want to go on each release from a pool that we already have together, there isn't really a difference in that I started listening to a lot of CIV one day and then wrote an EP that sounded like CIV songs. 

All of us listen to a lot of 80's, 90's and early 00's hardcore and punk, especially a lot of the catchy stuff, so I think we're writing what we want to be hearing, and that follows those trends, but I like to think that we are trying to write something a little different. I don't think that we're re-inventing the wheel, by any means, but I try and take from a lot of different things I listen to. I love stuff ranging from Osker to Faith No More and, this might be me fooling myself, but I think we give little nods to all of those bands. 

I hate to say this and I am sure I will seem like a dummy for even saying it, but I don't hear a lot these days that I am really impressed by. I don't mean to say that anyone should be impressing me, but when I hear a band I really like, it grabs me, and I haven't had that feeling in a while. I am trying to write those types of songs for myself and doing what I am able to within the parameters that each member brings to the table. This is something that everyone says now, and I know it is so cliché and lame. I want to hear songs that are played because people are passionate about what they are doing. There is a lot of transparency in music and people's intentions shine through what is being presented. No one wants to see a band performing what they think people will like. That might pass for a while, but those bands never stick around. Everyone wants to watch a band that is doing what they want because they are just having fun and enjoy listening to their own songs. Sorry that I went on a bit of a tangent there.

Lyrically it's often hard for me to take a lot of youth crew-ish stuff seriously because it often seems pretty cookie cutter and quite frankly just half baked. As I read the lyrics to "The Price" I feel a different sense of honesty and maybe that’s just because I know you guys are all a little older and it’s not your first dance so to speak. I guess I find the perspective there particularly appealing especially since so much of what seems to be gaining traction in hardcore nowadays is undeniably bleak and nihilistic. I was hoping you could speak a little bit to the lyrical approach you guys take and why that emphasis on positivity and critical thinking is important to the band.

This is the first band I have had any involvement with lyrics before, and I am really enjoying it. Todd or I, but mostly Todd, comes up with an idea and we just work on crafting that into lyrics. This is Todd's first band, which is awesome for both of us. He has a lot of things to talk about over the nearly 20 years he has been going to shows and hasn't gotten it out before. 

When we started, it was encouraged to write personally. We have a song on the new LP about a friend he had as a child and how through the years they have remained friends. "Timeline", the single that just went up, deals with someone getting into the hardcore scene, being into it for a while, and then how they feel years later after they are looking back. Lyrics should be something that the listener can internalize and even if they are turning the message into something other than originally intended, they personalize it and make it their own. I think that is all we can really hope for.

Yeah I read the little press statement that accompanied the stream of that song (“Timeline”) and it mentioned something about the place of hardcore as you get into adulthood. For you personally, what would you say the role of hardcore is in your life and how does it shape both your outlook and the way you interact with others?

Aside from the work-ethic that hardcore instilled in me, I think that ties together a lot of interpersonal relationship skills. Asking for help and collaborating with others is a large part of getting done what you want to accomplish. I think it also shows you the ways people can judge you based solely on appearance. It really made me overtly kind to show people that just because I am wearing a shirt with a skeleton skateboarding or says the word "fuck" on it, I am still nice and deserve to be treated kindly.

Jumping off on that piece about relationships, talk about your collaboration with B9. I imagine there was already a connection since Todd's photography has been featured on a lot of their releases, but how did the partnership between the label and band specifically come to fruition?

Todd and Chris are pretty good friends. Todd had shown Chris "Inclusion" not as a presentation to a label, but just showing his friend what he was involved in now. As Chris told me, he was interested, but wanted to make sure the band was going to actually do something. 

Later, Todd had casually mentioned to Chris that we just got done recording 26 new originals and 6 covers. Chris wanted to talk to us, so Todd and I went in and met with him and Seth. Having been in other bands and gotten into sticky situations with labels, I knew what I wanted out of a label, and I think Todd was on the same page without even talking about it much. We met with B9 and didn't want any money from them for the recording and told them we had plenty of ideas for promotion and whatnot so they didn't really need to devote a ton of resources to us. It seemed like a good fit for us both, so they took a chance on us. They have been great to work with and I hope to do a bunch more records with them.

So I've got to admit when I heard the songs off "The Price" on bandcamp I was definitely sold, but when I physically got the record in the mail and saw the layout that’s what really sealed the deal. I’ve always been a sucker for intricate layouts, anything involving die cuts especially, and it seems like you see less and less of that these days. I'm curious to hear more in detail how the concepts for the packaging came together.

That was a concept Todd and I put together. As much as we want to write music we would listen to, we want things to look the way we would love to see them. Our friend Justin Gonyea put our ideas into an incredible art project, really. Since it was the first release we were doing for B9, they weren't initially sold on the design. Once we showed them a mock-up of what Justin was doing, they were on board. I hope all of our layouts have this feel to them; not necessarily so intricate, but just different concepts. We have some cool ideas for the upcoming stuff.

I'd also love to hear more about how the execution of the new song "Timeline" came together. It seems more ambitious than what most bands would do in that you not only have this song with a cool concept, but you then found people whose place (for lack of a better word) in hardcore sort of matches what's going on lyrically.

Todd had the idea for the different singers, which I wouldn't have thought of and I really love. He and I really sat down and crafted lyrics he had already written into a "timeline" and it was so fitting for him to have talked to those people about singing on it. The music was actually written for an Offsides LP that never got finished.

In terms of touring I know you guys did some dates in Mexico/Central America last year and that in addition to TIHC this summer you've got a trip to Europe planned. Why the international focus out of the gates instead of concentrating more on the U.S.?

I get asked about why we haven't toured the US more quite a bit. Basically, my answer is that touring costs a lot any way you want to do it. We aren't able to tour too much because we have jobs that don't allow us a lot of time off. I work at MIT, Todd is an architect and Jeff works in the CVS corporate division. If we are going to pay money to get the name of the band out, why not go to places we would love to be going anyway? 

I have toured the US dozens of times, and to be honest, kids aren't as excited as in other places. There are too many bands all touring often and there is an over-saturation. Going to a place like Guatemala, kids are appreciative that you're there, they want to talk to you, and the shows are a lot of fun. There isn't really money to be made in a lot of these areas, so most bands don't look at going to them. We are fine with not recouping, so that is why we go there.

I've been really stoked on Atomic Action since booking Fucking Invincible this past summer. How did you get hooked up with them for the upcoming edge comp and when is that slated to see the light of day?

Brian from Atomic Action Records has long been a fixture in the New England hardcore scene. Since I haven't lived here long, he and I hadn't met before, but he, Jeff and Todd are all friends, so Brian asked Jeff if we would be interested. It was extremely nice of him to include us on such an awesome record. We wrote a song just for the comp and recorded it in our practice space. It really came out great. 

I mastered the comp and I was so blown away by the diversity of the bands and how good this record is. I think a lot of people will be looking back on this comp as a defining piece of the genre for this time. All of the bands are awesome, and I am not just saying that because we're included.

This is a question I always ask people who have been around a while because I think it’s interesting to hear different perspectives on it so how would you say hardcore and punk have changed over the course of your involvement in the scene and would you say those changes are for the better or for the worse?

I think I went to my first show about 17 years ago. In that time, the big change is the Internet. It was around when I started going, but obviously, not like it is now. I think while that has made things more accessible, that isn't a good thing, because now, people don't go to as many shows and they really go just to see particular bands. I might be remembering things wrong, but I remember that the band that traveled the furthest played last and everyone stayed. Everyone would pick up merch and really wanted to buy records and CDs. 

I feel like that is really not the case anymore. So many bands are touring now, which is awesome because they are getting out there, but at the same time, shows aren't something that kids have to seek out and make a point to go to because it was the only one coming through for a while. There are like five shows a night in big cities and people know there will be another five the next day, so they stay home and wait to go to just a few. It was awesome when all the shows were mixed bills because you couldn't find bands that sounded similar to play with whoever was on tour and coming through the area. 

One of the best shows I saw was Snapcase, Saves the Day, H2O, Buried Alive and Death By Stereo. This is a single show that was absolutely packed and everyone was excited about it. I want more of that to happen. There are too many fests, too many tours that have four bands on them, too many bands that sound the same and play together. While this all sounds like complaining, there are a lot of things that I love about the hardcore scene now that wasn't available when I started going. The ease of grabbing new music is astounding. I can sit in my house and check out ten new bands from around the world in a half hour. That sort of stuff blows my mind, still.

Alright man I think that's all I have. Any parting words or other things people should be aware of with the band?

A quick word on the band and then a quick rant:

Test of Time has a bunch of stuff planned for this year; three splits, the European tour, two releases coming out on Bridge 9 and as many shows as we can play. Please follow us online to get updates on all this stuff. If you live somewhere that you'd like us to play, just ask us. We want to play anywhere, especially if someone would actually like to see us. We can figure something out. If you want to just chat with any of us or talk about a song, tell us you don't like what we're doing and why, or try to have us play your kid's birthday, just shoot us a message in some way and we will be in touch.

My rant; if you don't like our band, start your own. If you don't like the shows happening in your area; book your own. The punk and hardcore scene is as much yours as it is anyone's. Take charge of that and really make it your own. There is nothing worse than a complainer that doesn't take any actions to make things better. Be kind to kids just getting into it, or really anyone for that matter. Positivity breeds positivity. Consider a vegetarian lifestyle. Really look into it and see if you think it seems for you. Your kindness can start in your own kitchen. Support what is happening today and don't worry about reunion merch from bands that stopped caring about hardcore 20 years ago. And finally, Sick of it All rules.

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