I am a sucker for punk, especially good punk. Growing up I listened to bands like The Misfits, The Meatmen, The Ramones, Fear, The Descendents, The Circle Jerks, and Black Flag to name just a few of my favorites. Besides being old and particular about my music, I really enjoy the raw side of all these bands. For example the sloppy driving guitars of Black Flag, the emotion behind Ian MacKaye singing “guilty of being white,” or Lee Ving and the rest of Fear whipping up the crowd before each song they played live. So, when a band comes along that draws from influences that I count among some of the bands that hooked me into punk then it is worth noting. Let me introduce you to Unshackled. These guys are out of El Paso, Texas and are churning some serious punk out. For real, check them out, if you are a fan of any of the bands above then you will LOVE Unshackled. Plus, they bridge the gap, and dare I say, play some Oi! type songs???? Yup. Read below to learn more about these guys and you can pick up their new album NOW from Thumper Punk Records in conjunction with Caustic Fallout. Do as I say…..
Band: Unshackled
Music Style: Punk/Street Punk/Oi!
Home Town: El Paso, Texas
Facebook Myspace Bandcamp
Q: I was reading that Unshackled formed in 2006; how come in 2011 we are just now hearing of Unshackled? Give us some detail about how the band formed.
JEROME: Short answer just had not committed early on during the bands formation, I personally always wanted to move it forward but I never really had any idea how to go about it. Well everyone is probably hearing about us now because a lot of what Dusty and David have been helping us with and also a more focused core of Unshackled moving forward. The band formed after Victor’s and my first band broke up, around the same time Eddie’s band was breaking up as well, I asked Eddie if he wanted to play with us and he was all about it. We wanted to add another guitar which was Tick who was playing in a really good ska band called the Intellijents and the rest as they shall say is history.
TICK: We’ve mostly concentrated spiritual warfare here in the city of El Paso. We’ve been blessed with a great following of kids from the scenes here and they all deserve alot of love. The only reason I can think of as to why 2011 is the year the ministry has expanded beyond the borders of the Bordertown is because God is blessing the march forward.
Q: What is the significance of the name Unshackled?
JEROME: Well our drummer was listening to a Christian AM station and the radio program was called “Unshackled,” and at the time we were working on a name and that one seemed to fit. It really means a lot to me because of everything I have been through, along with some of the guys in the band our personal testimonies, victories, and what we have been delivered from. I also see it as a banner of hope that we can become liberated from the oppressor.
TICK: It’s who we are, truly. Spiritual beings having a worldly experience & not worldly beings having a spiritual one. Unbound by the enemy’s hold on this world, free. if I may say so myself, it is rather short, sweet and to the point, I enjoy simplicity.
Q: The band is definitely Christian, I can tell by the awesome lyrics and song titles, do you guys consider yourselves a Christian band or Christians in a band? What is the purpose of Unshackled?
JEROME: When I first heard that term many years ago with a band called Lugnut I really disliked the fact that it was not a Christian band but Christians in a band, and after a several years of maturing in my faith I look at it this way and I told the guys the other day, “If a Christian makes a sandwich it does not make it a Christian sandwich, it’s still a sandwich.” We All laughed after I said it. The purpose of this band since day 1 has been to preach the good news of God’s awesome saving Grace, and loving people as they are. More importantly what He does in our lives daily, share our faith, and speak about our cultures and what it means to hardcore, punk, skin etc.
Q: When I listen to the album that Dave at Thumper Punk Records gave me I can hear so much influence of early punk and Oi! I even hear a lot of modern type punk in your stuff, what bands do you compare your sound to and what bands have influenced you guys?
TICK: To be honest, and we’ve done this, we’ve talked about it, we really can’t compare our sound, it’s different when it’s yourself on the CD y’know? We had to ask other people but the consensus resulted in answers that typically looked like this: “it depends on who’s song it is” we all have our own styles that we implement in songs we write individually, then we bring it to the table and work on them together. They usually evolve into something better than our own puny individual ideas. Well, ‘better’ by our standards heh. But to answer the question the best way I can, we get alot of Minor Threat, The Havoc, and Officer Negative. Like I said, we all have a different base of influence, Connor has a lot of indie/punk 3rd-wave Ska roots, Joe is the biggest Hardcore fanboy I know, Eddie is our friendly neighborhood Brutal Metal Monster, I’m the old school snob, too cool for new school… it just goes any which way sometimes. some of my personal influences include Toydolls, Cocksparrer, The Havoc, The Adicts, & The Angelic Upstarts, I pull a lot of musical ammunition from them, I even throw props their way in some songs we write, I’m just hoping for the day that someone will catch on and call me on it 
Q: Unshackled had an EP that was released a while back called “Overcome” and I know that you recently signed to our pals at Thumper Punk Records & Caustic Fallout, when can we expect a full length?
JEROME: Really soon, August 3rd, 2011 BABY! OH YEAH! CD release party is on August 6th with FBS!
Q: So I know that there are certain spots in Texas that have pretty decent hardcore and punk scenes, although I am not sure about El Paso, how are things down there? What is the scene like?
JEROME: The scene is amazing here for a smaller scene compared to others across Texas it’s amazing, we get a lot of compliments that El Paso is really friendly. The different scenes in el Paso know it’s not huge so you get a lot of Punk kids going to the hxc shows and Hxc kids going to punk shows so we all work together and support all the bands and help out as much as we can, now of course you have those guys that think that they are better than everyone, they hardly come around which is ok by me. I’d rather see two kids moshing their heart’s out than have 100 egotists standing doing nothing haha.
TICK: Come down n’ visit sometime! this really isn’t the best city for musicians, if you’re in a band and you’re local, you will usually play for free so if you wanna be a rockstar outta here…heheh… good luck. This sure isn’t Denton. But oh my gosh, these kids are so supportive of their scene despite the shakey local music industry. The scene here is friendly, a bit small, we all mostly know each other, if not personally then by association but we’ve all run into each other at least a couple times. It’s laid back and doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is a bit of a refreshing turn from the overbearingly politically-driven grievance-fest I’m so used to. Perfect recipe for real fun shows, even when they’re small, scratch that… tiny…
Q: I saw that you guys have shared the stage with some decent bands like FBS and Fight To Die, what other bands have you played with, what shows have been the most memorable and why?
JEROME: Man we have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many awesome bands, some of my all time favorites as well. Bands like For Today, xLooking Forwardx, OCD, Rotting Out, Lionheart, and Call to Preserve. I have two shows that I want to share the first being this band Useless Kids last show, just so many things went awesome that night spiritually. Seeing kids sing along to “Awesome God” piling on with tears in their eyes singing along to the other songs with kids standing in front singing Overcome…such an awesome moment. The second show was we were playing inside a house we called the gym and we were playing “Overcome” and I had just gave my testimony and I saw this kid kicking back against the wall, and I went and grabbed him and I gave him the mic to sing. As soon as he was about to sing he burst into tears I hugged him and he prayed with me to accept Christ as the band and kids were still singing, such a sick moment for him.
TICK: We’ve also played with The Remnants, The Last Hope, The Krum Bumbs, Flatfoot 56, The Great Commission, The Independents so so so many, I can’t remember them all the time but honestly, every show seems to get better.
Q: Does the band have plans to tour at all? Will we see you guys at Cornerstone next year?
TICK: Goodness, we get asked this so much, we have procrastination problems it would seem. We always try to but circumstances never turn out the right way for one reason or another: Money, work, personal/family needs, but we are planning realistically, for once, for a Cornerstone romp for next year. The only thing that would solidify that for me is if Ballydowse shared the stage w/ us. Hands down, my favourite band… RIP…for now 
Q: Tell us some good inside dirt about the band. I am sure you guys have a funny story to share about a show that went wrong….
JEROME: You know we run a pretty tight ship when it comes to shows and composure and mishaps. I’m really trying to think and the only thing I can think of is when I broke the stage and this venue called No Man’s Land haha. I was jumping getting rowdy, and I slammed my foot down and my ankle went through the stage I quickly recovered and went on with the show. I also Chipped my tooth with the microphone. I had fallen of the stage as the pit was coming my way I tried to jump out of the way as I did that my knee met my elbow because the pit came crashing into me chipping my tooth. I even held the piece in my hand hahah PUNK ROCK haha!
TICK: Dude, happens to everybody, Poppin’ strings, cables going out, kids slam dancing into our equipment, stolen equipment right out of the back of Eddie’s truck on our way to a show in Anthony during a 10 minute pit stop for drum heads at Guitar Center, speakers blowing up, it just happens, none of us have fallen off the stage yet so at least we have yet to embarrass ourselves that way. *knocks on wood*
Q: So being a band that preaches the gospel, where does everyone get their inspiration from in the bible, what verses do you want to share with anyone 
reading this?
JEROME: What really got me going again and again is 2 Timothy 6-8; “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” I read the word quite often and I fall in love all the time, everything that I read always confirms what I am going through daily it’s awesome.
TICK: God’s not dead, His word is alive, His entire word is an inspiration. There’s a verse in Luke I really like though “ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you” God knows our hearts, our desires, our needs. We seek Him, we find our joy and freedom we asked for; we knock on the doors of truth, the pearly gates open up to us.
Q: Being a Christian punk band in a punk scene that is normally pretty anti-everything must be tough at times, how is Unshackled received in general in the scene? Anyone ever really given the band a hard time a show?
TICK: We normally have a pretty laid back atmosphere in this scene and are received fairly well, like I said, these kids are great! However, there will always be people who try to make us lose sight of what we are doing and why. We, however, just keep in mind we are not just playing music for the simple fact of playing. We are trying to open people’s hearts to the Father and when doing that you will always face opposition. this is a rebellion, a war we’re conducting in spirit, we’re gonna get a few bloody noses… It just isn’t those peoples’ time yet to receive faith, but we won’t stop trying to reach out, even if it’s just one person at a show. (which it sometimes has been…at many a show) There was one instance where a Skinhead brother of ours, Abel, was attacked by a group of thugs for a reason I’m still not clear on, but this gentleman has been the target of many a cast stone for his rough-and-tumble aggressive faith. Hell, he ushered me in to the kingdom, I trust him with my life. I only wish I were there to share the beating, he didn’t deserve it.
JEROME: By God’s grace we are received really well, people are really receptive we have been blessed to impact a lot youth’s lives and churches that we have the privilege of playing and praying for. Off course we have a lot of ankle biters and vipers, but it’s to be expected. I had one guy make fun of me because I was wearing an “I still believe in God” shirt, but that’s about all I can remember. Everyone is willing to listen because they want to know Jesus, it’s just coming to terms with accepting and letting their guard down and letting Him love them.
Q: Fun time: What are the most embarrassing albums we would find on your iPods/MP3 players or album collections?
TICK: Tegan & Sarah: “The Con: and Alanis Morissette: “Jagged Little Pill”
JEROME: I don’t know about this one hahah…Um…I would have to say Two Door Cinema Club, The Sounds, Yellowcard. I say these because people don’t see me as the indie or pop music listener.
McDonalds or Burger King which is better for relieving tour gut?
JEROME: Neither, I would say Whataburger which is a Texas national treasure but if i had to pick i would say Burger King.
TICK: Neither, they’ll both give me bubbleguts even more.There’s something unnatural about a single food item from certain places that accounts for the total caloric intake a fully-matured human being should consume per week…
Who would win in a fight, Chuck Norris, a Ninja, or Nancy Pelosi?
JEROME: I would say Nancy Pelosi, she fights dirty hahaha!
TICK: I’m pretty sure everyone else in the band would say this: Chuck Norris. Seriously man, the guy grinds coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage… Our practice shed has a big poster of Chuck Norris facts…
Q: What message do you want to send to the punk scene?
TICK: Acta Non Verba…
JEROME: It has not and will not be about religion, Christ has had a horrible image painted by many people who say that they live for Christ, but don’t base your faith on a human, not even us, because we will all fail from time to time. Really seek out God ask Him to reveal His love for you and get to know your Creator seek out His heart and know that the God of Elijah and Noah and all of our fore fathers is not dead. He is very real and He speaks all the time. If He can love a chump like me, He is capable of loving any one of you awesome people out there, don’t settle for less than what you are worth,
Q: What bands should we check out? Who are you guys listening to or playing shows with we should know about?
JEROME: Right now I would Say Media Blitz is really awesome band from Cali, DEBTOR (BLOOD AND INK RECORDS) , Kingdom Front is another local band (I drum in Cheap Plug hahah).
TICK: Ballydowse, Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, The Pogues, The Jesus Skins, and The Levellers. Been listening to Symarip and Bomb! the Music Industry a lot lately. I love Symarip, you should too!
Q: Feel free to give some shout-outs, etc, share whatever you want! Thanks for the interview guys!
TICK: A shout-out to whoever reads this. especially to those who got something out of it. Bless.
JEROME: If anyone wants to get in touch with us hit us up on facebook, twitter, Bandcamp
Facebook.com/UnshackledTX
@Unshackled915
UnshackledTx.Bandcamp.com
xkingdompridex.webs.com
MUCH LOVE TO THUMPER PUNK, CAUSTIC FALLOUT, FBS, THE HOAX, FALSE IDLE, THE WAY, AND ALL THE BANDS THAT CAME BEFORE THANK YOU FOR BEING THE WATCHERS…
BRING THE MOSH.
Thank you Josh! YOU RULE!
