We have been doing a lot of thinking here at HXCChristian.com and would like to add some folks to the staff. We use that term very loosely. By “STAFF” we mean you help and we don’t pay you. Basically, we want to grow and would love for some folks to step forward that would like to help out. If you have wanted to help out and were afraid to ask, then now is your chance. Here is where we would like help.
1. Interviewers
An interviewer is someone who hunts down and interviews bands that should be introduced to the HXCChristian.com fan base. Interviews will be published by HXCChristian.com with all credit going to the person who conducted the interview. Interviews can be conducted through email, in person, or by phone if you choose. We would like a soft copy (Microsoft Word or iWork Pages) of the interview. And we would love to add people to the “About Us” page! We are looking for folks that love the scene, and want to help us out long term (not just one or two interviews).
Requirements:
- Must be a Christian that believes in Jesus Christ and that He was sent to die for our sins so that we may have everlasting life. Yes, looking for saved folks or born again!
- Must have great verbal and written communication skills
- Must own a computer or laptop
- Must enjoy Christian hardcore, punk, ska, and Oi! (all or some is OK)
- Will understand that Metalcore is NOT hardcore.
Job Description:
- Has to be a self starter, we can give you a general direction to go in and guidelines, but can’t hold your hand
- Identify Christian bands (punk, hardcore, ska, or Oi!) that would be interesting to interview and introduce to the HXCChristian.com fan base
- Communicate with the bands to send interview questions and receive them back
- Edit interview questions for spelling errors, etc
- Use Microsoft Word or iWork Pages to send the interview to us for publishing
- Follow up with the bands to get them to post links on their website/social media pages
Pay:
- You get all the glory of working for HXCChristian.com and helping further the kingdom of God.
2. General Writers for the Website
We are looking for folks that would like to write pieces for the website that are “news” updates (for example, who is signing to labels, upcoming albums, album reviews, etc) to keep the HXCChristian.com community. Must be plugged into the Christian hardcore, ska, punk, and Oi! scenes and be in the know about what is going on. Must be self sufficient and willing to work for free. Want someone who is willing to help out long term and be a part of the team. We will also add you to the “about us” page!
Requirements:
- Must be a Christian that believes in Jesus Christ and that He was sent to die for our sins so that we may have everlasting life. Yes, looking for saved folks or born again!
- Must have great verbal and written communication skills
- Must own a computer or laptop
- Must enjoy Christian hardcore, punk, ska, and Oi! (all or some is OK)
- Will understand that Metalcore is NOT hardcore.
Job Description:
- Has to be a self starter, we can give you a general direction to go in and guidelines, but can’t hold your hand
- Write articles that are relevant to HXCChristian.com (Christian hardcore, punk, ska, or Oi!), band news, upcoming album info, who is signing to labels, on tour, etc.
- Album reviews are welcome and we can provide albums in most cases free of charge
- Create articles that are teachings from the bible (not required, but since we are all Christians, we should write about Jesus too!)
- Provide edited copy (hopefully free of spelling errors and grammatical errors – we are not English teachers and have no desire to be).
- Use Microsoft Word or iWork Pages to send copy to us for publishing
- Follow up with the bands, labels, etc. to get them to post links on their website/social media pages
Pay:
- All the air you can breathe
3. Cornerstone Festival 2011 Volunteers
At Cornerstone 2010, there were about 8 of us that really held down the tent, problem is that we fed people, coordinated meet and greets with the bands, and made a crap load of DIY Gatorade. This year, we planning on having a better presence at Cornerstone and really want to help the bands out and be a blessing to all the folks at Cornerstone. We are looking for people who would like to help us out at our generator tent. If you are going and want to volunteer some time, we would love the help. Thanks to the folks that helped out last year (Seabass aka Sebastian, QWERTY aka Alex, RJ and Katie, Doug-e-Hurt, the guys from Debtor and crew). Any help would be appreciated, cooking, cleaning, wrangling people for meet and greats, coordinating bands for meet and greets, making DIY Gatorade, etc!
If you are interested in any of these open unpaid positions, shoot me and email and we can chat. Email me at josh @ HXCChristian.com. Thanks and God bless you all!
- Josh
Carrying The Fire is one of the newest hardcore bands to come out of Maryland, if you haven’t heard of Carrying The Fire you might recognize some of the members of the band. Carrying The Fire is comprised of several ex members of xLooking Forwardx. I learned about Carrying The Fire when Matt who plays in the band posted on the HXCChristian.com Forum to introduce the band. If you liked xLooking Forwardx and were bummed that they are pretty much decommissioned, then I think you will love Carrying The Fire, this band kind of picks up where xLFx leaves off, except with a bit more heavy feeling and sound. I recently caught up with Justin who sings for the band (and was the singer of xLFx) about the band (thanks Matt for the hookup), to find out what is up with Carrying The Fire. PS – you can download their songs for free from Facebook. Oh, AND, Carrying The Fire will have a new song featured on the upcoming HXCChristian.com compilation album due out in early February.
Band: Carrying The Fire
Location: Bel Air, Maryland
Musical Style: Straight Up Hardcore
Links: Myspace Facebook last.fm
Q: Carrying The Fire includes several ex members of XLooking ForwardX, how did CTF get it’s start?
A: While there are members of XLFX in the band, CTF actually wasn’t born from XLFX at all. Originally it was Matt, Auggie, Dan and another friend named Brandon in the group under a different name and they asked me to do vocals after they had already started writing. I never thought I would do another project after XLFX, but what they were playing was more melodic (think Good Riddance or Comeback Kid) and I liked the idea of doing something new vocally. Only problem is that I can’t sing so the melodic thing didn’t really stick so we started writing heavier stuff which didn’t really interest Brandon (the old bassist). That’s when we asked my cousin Kevin (who plays bass for XLFX) to join and that solidified the current lineup.
Q: I assume that the name Carrying The Fire comes from the Cormac McCarthy book “The Road,” is that the case, and if so, what is the significance of the name?
A: Yeah, I love McCarthy and “The Road” is a really cool book. Pretty much the name “Carrying The Fire” is all about a message of hope. It’s like, the “fire” is what’s good and right about humanity and while the world may be falling apart around us, we want to try to hold onto our hope, hold onto what’s good, share it with the world and pass it on to the next generation. Some people may debate me on whether or not that’s what the author is saying in the book (and if you’ve read any of his other work you can make a strong case that it isn’t), but that’s what I took away from it.
“The Road” Movie Trailer – At Least Rent the Movie!
Q: Is XLooking ForwardX officially defunct?
A: XLFX is what we like to call “inactive”. If a show comes up that’s interesting enough we’ll practice a couple of times (usually three times is enough to prevent a total disaster) and play it…but that’s really it. We have some material that we wrote after “path” [The Path We Tread] and we’ve kicked around writing some new stuff to try to put together another record, but who knows if that will ever really happen. If that ever worked out the most we would do is just play locally once and while and maybe do some fests, but our touring days and hustling days are over.
Q: So what is the purpose of Carrying The Fire? Do you consider the band a Christian hardcore band, or Christians in a hardcore band? Many of the lyrics are clearly inspired by your walk with Christ correct?
A: That’s a funny question since the song that we submitted for the compilation your site is releasing deals directly with this issue. You see, I just consider CTF and even XLFX to be straight up hardcore bands – not Christian bands or Christians in a band, just hardcore bands. What I mean is hardcore is supposed to be about real life and that’s what I like to write about – my life and the way I see the world. Now since being a Christian is the most important aspect of my life, most of what I write about deals with Christianity, but I don’t look at the band as evangelistic, necessarily. When I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, my whole life should be evangelistic, whether it be through music, being a barber, raising my family, etc. I’m hoping people see Christ in me. I hope that makes sense, I think the song actually says it better.
Q: It seems like Carrying The Fire started out as a side project, like you guys just wanted to play some hardcore, has it evolved and become more a focus for everyone?
A: Nah, it’s still really just for fun. Like I said, this project wasn’t born from any other band so it’s not a side project, but it’s a very casual setup. We practice once a week and we really only play Fridays or Saturdays and we don’t really travel much. So yeah, it’s just a fun outlet for five guys who love music and hanging out to get to do what we enjoy and hopefully, maybe say something that makes an impact on someone.
Q: Carrying The Fire has a demo out (which is fantastic), and you are writing new material, are you guys trying to get signed, or just writing and playing for fun this time?
A: Thanks, yeah we are always in the writing process but since we only practice once a week it’s kind of slow going. Considering that we aren’t going to be a touring band and we don’t really play that much, I’m not sure how appealing we would be to a record label, but that’s a direction we could go if we found someone who is into what we do and who is cool with our limitations.
Q: So if we want to catch a Carrying The Fire show then we need to haul our butts up to Maryland? How is the scene these days up there?
A: That’s about right. We’ll play the surrounding areas, but we don’t have a van or anything so making those 5+ hour drives in multiple vehicles just isn’t in the cards for us. If I’m being honest, I’m still a little out of touch so it’s hard to access the scene up here. Seems good, although the show turnouts are maybe a bit lower than they used to be when I was really involved, but I’ve heard that’s pretty much everywhere.
Q: I saw that you guys played a show after Thanksgiving with Debtor and Killing Years. How was that show?
A: Good show. Played in a barn with no heat in late November so it was cold (first time in about 10 years that I played a show in jeans), but it was a good time and a nice turnout. I have a lot of love for the Blood and Ink Record’s guys so I’m pulling for Debtor to blow up. If I’m remembering right, I think Killing Years had a good message so hopefully they’ll have a chance to spread that around some.
Carrying The Fire Live – “Repentance”
Q: A lot you guys in the band have families and children (as do I), how has the changed your perspective on being in hardcore bands (if at all). How has being a father changed your perspective on being in the hardcore scene?
A: The main thing is this, having children completely sapped my desire to tour in any capacity. Just can’t do it. It’s not a matter of money or responsibility, I’m just a homebody now and I don’t like being away from home longer than I need to be. Sometimes I feel like a visitor in the hardcore scene these days, but I think that has more to do with being 30 than being a father, ya know? I do want my girls to grow up loving music the way that I did (and still do) so I’m sure they’ll be exposed to hardcore/punk shows here and there during their childhood. Hopefully the scene will remain a place (at least some of the time like it is now) that I can feel comfortable bringing them.
 Q: What music are you guys listening to? What hardcore bands (or other bands) should we all check out?
A: Matt and Dan are really the only guys in the group that are in the loop with what’s going on in hardcore right now. The rest of us are pretty much a few years behind, but hopefully as we play out some and get more involved in what’s going on we’ll find new bands to get excited about. Here are a few records that I think everyone should check out, though: All Out War – ‘For Those Who Were Crucified’, Downset – ‘Do We Speak a Dead Language’, Bloody Sunday ‘They Attack at Dawn’, Symphony in Peril ‘The Whores Trophy’, Bane – ‘Give Blood’, anything by The Deal, Dogwood – ‘Through Thick and Thin’, Our Corpse Destroyed – ‘Strength to Strength’ and Flatfoot 56 – ‘Knuckles Up’. This isn’t a comprehensive list of my favorites or anything, but any or all of those records will make your life better. I’m my honest opinion, I think Our Corpse Destroyed is the most underrated band in punk/hardcore on the planet right now and Dogwood may be the most underrated punk/hardcore band in history.
Q: What message to you want to give the hardcore scene as a whole?
A: If you have any musical talent at all, start a band. Once you start it, learn to tune properly and practice. Once you practice, write lyrics that mean something to you, not necessarily what you think people will be in to. After that, just play. Get involved and make friends – you’ll be amazed at the friends you can make and how much they can enrich your life.
Q: Feel free to share anything else, shout-outs, other bands, links, etc. Thanks for the interview and look forward to catching you guys live soon!
A: Thanks for the opportunity to spout off for a while. The only thing I can think to say to the kids is this – get into music. Don’t just get into what’s going on today, check out the history of hardcore and punk music – you’ll be glad you did. The records that I listed above aren’t just things that I’m into right now or bands that I know or want people to know that I like – all of them have had some sort of lasting impact on my life. Give them a listen and share them with your friends. Take it easy!
Check it, I just picked up a few new albums that you have got to order (or get someone else to get them for you for Christmas!!! Can you say stocking stuffers!)
Clear Convictions - “The Mystery of Iniquity”
 This is Clear Convictions sophomore album (for those in Rio Lindon, that means their second album). I do not have their first album, so I can’t compare it to their first album. Here is what is cool about the this album. There are two tracks on the album that are dissertations on the bible. Cool stuff, the background music on the tracks is a little out of place, but the biblical teachings on those tracks is really cool and reaffirms our beliefs as Christians. What I like about the album. The musical style is somewhere between hardcore and metal. With strong hardcore riffs and a bit of metal mixed in between, the album is heavy, so heavy in fact that the bass drum seems to drown out the rest of the instruments at time, but I love drums, so I don’t mind. The vocals are pretty guttural as well and lend a primal sound to the album. In all their are 10 musical tracks, and the songs roll into one another, I could imagine going to a Clear Convictions show and hear them play all 10 tracks off this album, one after another with no breaks. The album is a great album overall, if you like Clear Convictions, then pick it up. You can go and buy the album from On The Attack Records for $8. Well worth it and would make a great stocking stuffer.
Messengers - “Anthems”
 I was able to get a hold of some older Messenger material, before they were signed to Strike First records. I love their old stuff, and their new stuff is equally as good. Hailing from Texas, which seems to be a growing area for Hardcore, particularly Christian hardcore, these guys are keeping the hardcore tradition alive. If you like Thin Ice and Dependency, then I think you will like Messengers. They mix a solid hardcore sound with a little bit of metal edge (I think it is a Texas thing) with driving hardcore style chug riffs. The best song with the most awesome lyrics on the album is “Judge” with the chorus that rings out “Who are you to judge what I put my hope in? Who are you to judge? Who died and made you judge? You’ll never get the best of me, because you can’t take, what’s left of me.” Gets me so fired up in their particular brand of breakdown. I highly recommend this album and it can picked up from Strike First records for $6.99, and, check out the cool Messengers T-shirt done up with the “Not Man” from Anthrax style!
Destroy Nate Allen – “Until My Ankle’s Better”
 I did a review of Destroy Nate Allen’s last album “Perfect Recipe for a Smile” featuring the dynamic duo Nate and Tessa. I LOVE Destroy Nate Allen. If you like folk punk, you will love Destroy Nate Allen. This album is a little bit different than the last, seems like Nate does a lot of the vocals on this album. It is also a bit cleaner in production value, but you still don’t lose any of the campiness of DNA. What I love about DNA is the self deprecating humor of Nate. With songs like “Math, I Will Defeat You.” I can totally relate. You can go download “Until My Ankle’s Better” from the Destroy Nate Allen Download page. You can name your price for the album. I suggest giving something $5, $10, whatever you can for the album, it is worth it, promise. Also, you can catch DNA on tour still, they still have some shows while they are making their way back to Oregon, check out tour dates on the DNA website, and go and see them live, they put on a heck of a live show! (and yes, Tessa does steal the show Nate!!!).
Fleas Naughty Dog Vol. 1 – Christmas Compilation
 Beside having some really awesome covers of Christmas tunes done by some of our favorite artists, this download is also FREE! That’s right….FREE. So just go and download it already! The good: True Liberty’s punk cover of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” True Liberty is amazing, they just keep getting better and better and their cover is just incredible. Grave Robber does another great cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” crap, it is a Grave Robber, you know exactly what to expect. Desiring Dead Flesh contributes with “Holidays Suck” and original punk song, DDF is really a band to check out, pure punk, everything about these guys is punk! Sef gives us a tease of more False Idle with a cover of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” which might be one of the best songs on the album. If you still have not gotten the False Idle album full of punk rock hymns, then you need to crawl out from under the rock you are living under. You can go to Rottweiler Records and download the album for FREE. The album contains rock, metal, death metal, and some other styles too, overall, it is a pretty cool album.
Have a Merry Christmas everyone. I hope that God blesses each and every one of you!
Here is a great band to check out. With all the classic style of Social D mixed with a classic punk sound. The Way from California delivers in a big way. These guys have been pumping some solid punk rock for the past two years. They were recently picked up by our friends at Thumper Punk Records (who recently released “Hymns of Punk Rock Praise” by False Idle). So look for big things from The Way. We hope to see them at Cornerstone 2011. Be sure to keep your eyes and ears open for their first full length release on Thumper Punk.
Band: The Way
Music Style: Punk
Location: Oxnard & Santa Paula, CA
Facebook Myspace Reverbnation
Q: Where and when did The Way get there start?
A: The WAY started around January of ’09. Tank, Harry, and Ryan were in a band called “R.I.P. The old Me” and had just lost their singer. That’s when I joined the group. A couple of weeks later Manny came to a practice to try out on lead guitar and we never looked back!
Q: What is the significance of the name The Way?
A: I guess you could say that the Bible verse that drives this band most is John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” That verse is so powerful in its claim of absolute truth. It also fits with anything in life. It is the solution to any problem we face, any discouraging situation, any question about who we are. It is so simply put but it, (along with John 3:16), sums up the entire gospel message of the New Testament.
Q: What does everyone in the band do when they are not playing?
A: Ryan works for a concrete coloring company, Manny works for a body shop, Tank and Harry are currently unemployed and I work grounds maintenance for Pacifica High School out here in Oxnard CA.
 Q: What bands have influenced the sound of The Way. I kind of get a Social D, early punk feel when I listen to you guys. Who do you compare your sound to?
A: Well You nailed it with that one! Social D is one of our favorite bands. As a matter of fact we cover a couple of their songs. Bad Religion is another big influence along with Pennywise, Rise against, and Good Riddance. We also dig on The Crucified.
Q: I understand that the band just signed with Thumper Punk Records, congrats! What does this mean for the band, when can we expect a full length?
A: We are very excited to be added to the Thumper Punk roster. Thumper Punk has been busy promoting us online and we are happy to get some exposure outside of our local scene. We look forward to meeting some new friends and hopefully hooking up some gigs outside our area.
Q: The Way is a Christian band, has the band always been a Christian band?
A: From the get go we have put ourselves out as a Christian band, first and foremost. We don’t go around looking down our noses at people or anything but we are unashamed of Jesus. We are more than willing to evangelize at a bar gig in the opportunity arises!
Q: What is the purpose of The Way?
A: The WAY has a passion for expressing our lives, thoughts, and even shortcomings through music. Jesus Christ has been the biggest influence on how we see the world and that comes through in our songs.
Q: From where in the bible does The Way draw most of its inspiration?
A: Like I said before, the fact that Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father is what our biblical inspiration hinges on. Jesus stands at the apex of history. He was and is the most influential, most important, most beautiful person who ever walked the face of the earth.
Q: The song “Walking Dead” is a pretty powerful song with incredible lyrics, sounds like someone has quite a testimony in the band. Care to share the personal story behind the lyrics?
A: “Walking Dead” was influenced by a very low point in my marriage. I lost my desire for my wife and was starting to give into temptation. When the Lord pulled me out of that situation it was clear to me how far I had strayed and dead I was inside. He restored my love for my wife and presented her to me in a whole new way. I have never looked back.
Q: When you guys play shows, do you share the gospel on stage? If so, how is is accepted by the crowd? Do you have shows where there is a mixed crowd of Christians and non-Christians?
A: The majority of our shows lately have been a mix of believers and non-believers at Christian venues. When we play places at those we are more open on the mic about Jesus. When we play the clubs and bars we save it for the one-on-one conversations throughout the night.
Q: Has The Way had anyone approach them after a show and given their life to Christ?
A: Nobody has approached us as of yet to receive the Lord after a show. We do however love it when people come up and ask questions about us at shows. It gives us the opportunity to share the good word.
Q: What bands has The Way shared the stage with?
A: The WAY has played with tons of great local bands. Some of the more well known ones are House of Heroes, Abandon Kansas, The Classic Crime, and most notable, Seventh Day Slumber. Maybe one day we will get that call to open up for Social D!!
Q: What shows have been the most memorable and why?
A: I would say the most memorable show to date would be the night we won the battle of the bands for a local bar. We were not officially signed up for it but were called last minute to fill a dropped slot. Long story short we won the top prize and used the money to record our new CD!
The Way – Live – “Never Enough”
The Way – Live – “You Don’t Know Me”
Q: Can we expect to see The Way tour soon? Will you guys be heading to Cornerstone Festival?
A: Touring is something we would really love to do. I don’t think that we are quit ready at the moment but look forward to planning something in the near future. As for Cornerstone, it has been on our mind and want to do it, badly
Q: Any message you want to convey to the punk/hardcore scene, shout-outs, etc?
A: To all our christian brothers and sisters who love punk rock we say to keep strong in your faith in Jesus! Never forget what He did for you on the cross, always remembering to live your life according to His will and not anyone elses. Please Check us our @ reverbnation.com/theway805, facebook.com/theway805, and myspace.com/theway805! God bless!!
So I was at the beach here in North Carolina over Labor Day Weekend, and the guys from In Shepherds Arms were nice enough to take some time sit down with me at The Java Post in Swansboro, NC for a video interview (well actually I bribed them with free coffee). You may have heard these guys on HXC Christian Radio, they have been around for a while, but they have had some recent additions to the band that have completely changed the sound of the band. In my opinion, these guys are putting out some SOLID hardcore. Their new material is tight, and we are going to load two of their new songs onto the station in conjunction with the interview here. So go over and take a listen when you get done watching the interview. Sorry for the bad lighting and shoddy camera work (it’s DIY)!
Band: In Shepherds Arms
Music Style: Hardcore
Location: Crystal Coast, NC
Links: Myspace Facebook
Part 1 of the interview with In Shepherds Arms
Part 2 of the interview with In Shepherds Arms
It was bound to happen sooner or later, someone taking all the classic hymnals we know and love and turning them into classic punk rock anthems. Well, I would like to introduce you to False Idle. Some of you may know the brain child behind the project. Our pal Sef, formerly of the band uniSEF, Christian punk rock staple of Idaho. Sef’s new project False Idle is releasing an album jam packed with punk rock hymnals on newly formed record label Thumper Punk Records. I was able to catch up with Sef and David of Thumper Punk to learn more about False Idle, the upcoming release “Hymns of Punk Rock Praise,” and Thumper Punk Records. The new album will be available the last week of August. Go, get it, and praise God! Also, scoot over the the HXCChristian.com radio station, we are playing 3 songs from the upcoming album in the rotation!
Band: False Idle
Music Style: Hymnals in a Punk Rock Style
Location: Idaho
www.FalseIdlePunk.com Myspace Facebook
Q: Can you give us an introduction to Thumper Punk Records? The label is fairly new to the scene, but from what we understand at HXCChristian.com you have some things in the works. Why did you start Thumper Punk Records? What can we expect from the label in the future?
A: (David) Thumper Punk Records was formed to help artists record, produce and distribute music that reflects a positive, Christ-centered message. I started writing a music blog (www.thumperpunk.com) several years ago to share information about Christian punk and ska bands, and recently decided that it was time to get-off-the-couch and take the next step. My initial discussion with Sef began as result of a discussion in the HXCChristian.com forum about worship hymns played in a punk rock style. Sef and I were on the same page with the music, and have the sole purpose of bringing glory to Christ. So, here we are.
Q: The first release for Thumper Punk Records will be a new recording artist called False Idle, with a familiar person to HXCChristian.com as the mastermind, Sef, fill in the people on who you are and your background….
A: (Sef) Who am I… hmmm… well some of the folks reading this might recognize the name uniSEF, which was a project that I started like 5 or 6 years ago that eventually turned into the band that some of you may know. We went our separate ways about a year ago now and I, not being able to sit around for very long, started up the new project False Idle.
Q: We understand that False Idle is not your typical run of the mill hardcore punk band, can you fill us in what makes False Idle different than other bands?
A: (Sef) Well, False Idle it isn’t actually a band. It’s what we in the music industry like to call a solo project. I’m not big on having the focus be on me, so I had to come up with a ‘band name’ so I could fool everyone. Tricky… eh? The funny thing is, uniSEF started the exact same way… but don’t get your hopes up!
Q: So False Idle is covering traditional Church Hymns in a punk style, what famous Hymns can we expect a punk twist on? What songs are the most interesting and why?
A: The list is as follows:
Old Rugged Cross
It is Well with My Soul
Great is Thy Faithfulness
He Lives
To God be the Gory
He’s Alive
(Sef) Initially I was partial to “It is Well,” because I really tried to make that one into a technical punk style of song, “He Lives,” because I went a little more hXc with that one, and “He’s Alive,” because, A. It is an amazing song B. It was the song that kicked off the project and C. I really challenged myself to develop it well… But now that the whole CD is done, I honestly like them all a lot for all different reasons. I’m super stoked on how they all turned out.
Q: Sef, who has collaborated on this album with you, did you record all the different instruments?
A: (Sef) I did all of the song choosing and concept writing myself. My initial plan was to play all of the instruments myself on the recording, but as my relationship with Thumper Punk Records grew, I really started striving to put out as high quality of a CD as I could. That being the case I called in the big guns for drums. My good friend Matt L. (Death and Revolution) was kind enough to once again lend his skills to one of my projects, and he tore it up for sure. My friend Jess H. was also kind enough to record some piano and organ parts for the project. Then of course had the fellas over to lay down some gang vocals, just to give it that good ‘ol punk rock feel! Aside from that, I played all of the other instruments
 Q: I read somewhere that you had some great guest vocals, care to share who might be making guest vocal appearances on the album?
A: (Sef) Haha… those rumors… you can never trust em… But yes, my pal Nate Rising from FBS laid down some gang vocals and backup parts throughout the CD. Josh from FBS begged and begged me to let him have some parts on the CD but I told him “no way dude”… haha… Actually he was going to do some too, but the window of opportunity was pretty tight… so it, unfortunately, didn’t happen. But if you listen real close you’ll also hear another familiar voice, Tyler from uniSEF came back into the studio too hook it up with some of his signature backup vocs…
Q: How challenging was it to come up with different music to come up with for these traditional hymns? Did you try to stay true to the traditional sounds of the songs or did you reinvent them completely?
A: (Sef) At first it was pretty easy, I had been coming up with ideas in my head for the first couple of songs for some time, but as the project progressed it got a little more difficult. There is actually one song on the CD that I completely re-wrote about halfway through the process because I just didn’t like the feel it had at all. Luckily a song by Flatfoot 56 totally inspired me for that specific song, and now I love how it turned out. I’ll let you try to figure out which one…
My goal throughout the project was to keep as close to the traditional feel of each song as I could, but also to make it a full on punk rock CD. Thinking back now, that was quite a challenge… haha… My hopes were to bring these amazing songs from the past into today so that this generation could have a chance to hear, and appreciate them.
So to make sure I stayed true to the original feel of each song this is what I did. Once I had all of the concept recordings finished, I sent them to my mom… yup, you can always count on mom… So when she came back and said that they were good, not really her style, but she recognized them all and could sing along with them, I knew that I pulled it off.
Q: Where and when can we get our hands on the new False Idle album?
A: (David) False Idle’s Hymns of Punk Rock Praise will be available through the Thumper Punk Records website (www.thumperpunkrecords.com), and digital downloads will be available from iTunes, Amazon an d the usual suspects.
Q: What else do you have in the works for Thumper Punk Records? Any chance you will try to release some hard to find records on your label?
A: (David) Regarding my future plans for the label, I have been discussing projects with a number of bands and hope to announce the next project soon. While I wouldn’t be against re-releasing hard to find music, my primary focus will be to support new projects. If I had a shout-out, it would be to the entire HXCChristian.com team for supporting a Christian ministry to the punk and hardcore community.
Q: So after False Idle, what are you plans, do you think you might do a follow up album?
A: (Sef) Well, it’s pretty funny. I had so many song ideas thrown at me when I started this project; the joke going around is “what songs are you going to put on Hymns, “Volume II…” So let’s just say there is a pretty good chance that False Idle isn’t gonna be a one trick pony…
Q: Anything else you guys would like to add, websites, facebook pages, myspace pages, shout-outs, etc, feel free to add, and thanks for the interview!
A: (Sef) I just have to say, I have been doing the punk rock thing for quite some time, and up until this project I have done it 100% DIY all the way. So when David @ Thumper Punk Records approached me with the idea of putting this out on a label, I was a little hesitant. But after talking to friends and family and giving it some serious prayer, I decided to give it a shot. And all I can say is David has been awesome! I can’t say enough about what he has done for this project and where his heart wants to take his new label. He has my full support from here on out.
For all of you musicians out there reading this, you will not find a more musician friendly and supportive label than Thumper Punk Records. If you are looking for a label, start there… and if you are a fan of great music, keep an eye out for Thumper Punk Records… you will not be disappointed…
Thanx to you guys at HXCChristian.com for playing the snot out of these new songs too! I am listening right now and have heard all 3 songs we sent to you… You guys are rad!
I’m always up for an email so hit me up anytime… God bless
- Sef Idle
www.falseidlepunk.com
False Idle Myspace
False Idle Facebook
sef AT falseidlepunk.com
http://thumperpunk.blogspot.com
www.thumperpunk.com
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