I thought we would try something a little different on the blog (actually a friend suggested I give this a shot). When I first got into Christian hardcore, ska, punk, and Oi! I had no great reference to help me find bands that were in line with my beliefs. So……as my friend suggested, why not use your blog to spotlight artists and ask them questions about their band, their influences, how Christ works through them, and to have a little a fun with it. I hope that other folks out there like me can use this blog as a reference to find music that is in-line with their Christian beliefs also. I plan on interviewing a new band each week.
This week I am focusing on a band called Don’t Look Back out of Huntington/Hurricane, West Virginia. They are a classic Hardcore Punk outfit consisting of 5 members. I really like the sound of these guys. Back before hardcore became huge in the early eighties/and nineties, there was a really raw sound and energy that came from the heart and streets of New York. Not a lot of people know the bands that were pre Gorilla Biscuits, etc, so I am going to give you a little intro to a couple of bands that these guys sound like. The first that comes to mind is Major Conflict, these guys were just awesome, and if you can pick up their CD you will not be disappointed. They had a raw unpolished hardcore punk sound that Don’t Look Back has seemed to do a good job of capturing. Some other bands that they sound a bit like are The High & Mighty, and Trip 6 (all great classic hardcore bands). You can go to their myspace page and listen to a few of their songs, the link is at the bottom of the page. Keep it up guys, keep spreading the word through hardcore!
Band Name: Don’t Look Back
Music Style: Hardcore Punk
Location (Home Base): Huntington/Hurricane WV
Q: When did you get started as a band?
A: It all started when Derek and Katie were in high school. They got together and got some stuff going. The original line-up played under the name “Hollow Graves.” Hollow Graves was more of a slower melodic band. Dwayne Joined up after leaving the band Most Ill. Eventually we decided to ditch all the Hollow Graves songs, move Dwayne from bass to drums and adding Dorsey on bass. Soon thereafter Dorsey moved to guitar and Ethan joined on bass.
Q: How did your band name come about?
A: Dwayne and Derek were kicking around ideas for cool band names and Dwayne said “Don’t Look Back.” Derek responded with “there is a dinosaur behind you” It stuck and you can look for the “There’s a Dinosaur Behind You” by the fall.
Q: Is the band straightedge?
A: Negative. Katie and Derek are straightedge. Dorsey and Katie are also
Vegetarians.
Q. Do you consider yourselves a Christian band? Do you let Christ influence
your message?
A: Yes. We are a Christian band. Christ strongly influences the lyrics. There
are lines like If you didn’t know he’s the only way.” and “Save
yourself from going to hell.” We all have our different opinions about the
specifics but at the end of the day, We are in fact a Christian band.
Q: .Have you ever had anyone approach you negatively because you are
Christian? How did you handle that?
A: It’s happened a few times actually. being a hardcore band we obviously have
musical influences that are not religious and in some cases anti-religious. At
one point someone brought up that because I listened to the Unseen that we can’t
be Christian band. I very strongly disagree. I explained why I am influenced by
secular bands. How do you expect your message to be heard by those who need to
hear it if all your music sounds like what is associated with religion? (Ex.
Contemporary and Traditional Gospel) You narrow your audience to those who
already know the message before hearing the music.
Q: If you could tour with any band who would it be?
A: I’m going to break this down into 2 answers, current bands and broken up bands. I would like to tour with Signs of Hope or xLooking Forwardx. If we had been around I would have love
to have toured with Champion.
Q: Who are your main influences?
A: This list would be huge. Our sound is mainly influenced by very early AFI, Holden Caulfield, Bracewar, Casey Jones, Minor Threat, Youth Of Today, and Gorilla Biscuits.
Q: .Where do you draw your inspiration?
A: I draw my inspiration from seeing how desperate the hardcore community is for
hope. There are less and less things to believe in. In the beginning it was
about racial and political equality and now it’s about beating people up. Every
time we play, no matter how few people are there or how small the venue, I give
my all. You never know if you are exactly what that one kid is looking for.
Q: What’s the Craziest thing that has happened at one of your shows?
A: Well, when Dwayne was in Most Ill a kid got his leg broken at a show. As to Don’t Look Back, we played at a high school once. We hit the first note of the first song and Derek dived into the crowd. Some kid up front had a drink and it flew everywhere. The woman in charge came up and threatened to pull the plug and throw us out. Not too crazy but really funny at the time.
Q: Any releases or label plans?
A: We recently joined up with 14A records from Belgium. It’s a good label with bands like All My Strength and Through Trials. We’re planning on recording an EP titled “There’s a Dinosaur Behind You” before the fall.
Q: What message would you like to send to the hardcore community?
A: There is hope. Don’t give up on it.
Q: How would someone book you guys?
A: Check out Don’t Look Back or drop us an E-Mail at hinkle35@marshall.edu.
