Band: From The Eyes Of Servants
Music Style: Posi Hardcore/Punk
Hometown: Rockford, IL
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Q: Where and when did “From The Eyes of Servants” get it start? I had never even heard of you guys….are you fairly new to the scene?

A: Well actually FTEOS first started playing in 2009. They started out as a metalcore/breakdown core band along the lines of for the fallen dreams and Emmure. Eric and I didn’t join the band until April of this year. In April FTEOS lost their vocalist after having lost their bassist earlier in the year. Eric and I felt a clear calling to join the band and totally reinvent the style. From there we all wrote our self titled EP which is a style of music we all enjoy playing. So you could say that we are very new to this scene.

Q: What does everyone in the band do when they are not playing?

A: We all have our things to pass the time. Eric and I are work-aholics. He works temp jobs at factories and I work two jobs right now, one at Hot Topic and the other is for a company called the Prayer Letter Service. We send out letters for missionaries so it’s a lot of envelope stuffing. All of us enjoy hanging out with friends and family and playing video games. We try to work as much as we can while were home cause touring is not cheap! Although we have been very blessed in the past as far as making enough money for gas goes so we are very thankful for that.

Q: The whole Chicago area seems to be a hot-bed of hardcore and punk bands right now, did you guys play in any other bands that we might know about?

A: Chicago is definitely killin’ it right now! Eric and I come from a little known band called Milosny. We were a riff core band and we were actually the first band Joey from Red Cord ever signed. We were never really part of the Chicago hardcore scene though. It’s a hard scene to break in to. Having said that I don’t really consider FTEOS to be a part of that scene since we have never played Chicago and only 2 of us (Eric and I) are from Rockford IL which is an hour and a half away and not considered a suburb. I consider us a Midwest band. If we are playing anywhere in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, or South Dakota I consider that a home show. I hope to expand that territory with much more touring next year.

Q: From The Eyes of Servants is definitely a Christian band, you guys make no bones about it. What is the purpose of the band?

A: The purpose of our band is pretty simple. To bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to our generation and to everyone who needs to hear it. We are not looking to sell a ton of records or become famous. If being famous is what God has planned for us then let God’s will be done and let Him get all the Glory. If He wants us to keep playing small shows for 10 to 20 kids a night then that’s great too! I know God is gonna take care of us either way which is more than I can ask. God is so amazing and we are so blessed to be able to do what we do. The least we can do is give Him the glory!

Q: Where do you as a band get or receive most of your inspiration from in the bible?

A: One thing I love about the bible is how absolutely filled with inspiration and truth it is. You can read one passage a million times and learn something new each time. It’s incredible! It’s the Holy Spirit alive and at work in me and I love it. What I did for the songs on the EP is I Prayed for God to show me what to write about then basically opened up the bible and read through a book or so before I knew what to write about. I wrote the song Endeavor about stuff going on in my life. It’s about struggling with sin and being completely humbled by God’s grace. I knew I wanted to write a song about that so I prayed about it and opened up the Bible. I read through both Corinthians letters and afterwords I had what I needed to write the song. I am so blessed to be used by God for this.

Q: From The Eyes of Servants recently signed to Red Cord Records, what does that mean for the band?

A: Actually, believe it or not, FTEOS already released a full length record of the old style and old members on Red Cord Records. I believe they were the second band to sign to the label. That was back when Red Cord didn’t have a very big audience. Red cord has grown very much over the last year. Our self titled EP which was released in October was our first release of our reinvented sound and we are almost finished recording our first full length with this style. We are very excited to show people the record and we are glad to be part of the Red Cord Records family! The release date is still TBA right now but we will release some info soon!

Q: What style of music do you consider From The Eyes Of Servants, who has influenced you as a band. I think you guys sound a bit like early Take It Back!

A: Genres and styles of music are so relative these days I find it very hard to describe our music by style. If I had to say I would call us hardcore/punk. We definitely take a lot of influence from Take It Back as they are one of the staples of positive hardcore as I see it today. We also are very influenced by Comeback Kid because when Wake the Dead came out it was my favorite CD and it remains one of my favorites today.

Q: How does the hardcore scene accept From The Eyes of Servants? You guys seem really straight forward about your faith and the reason for the band, ever had bands or people hassle you about your beliefs?

A: We have been very accepted in every show that we have played so far. I am very surprised that we haven’t had more hecklers. I like to talk for a good part of our show and it’s cool to see the respect people have for it. We have definitely seen the Holy Spirit soften people’s heart to the gospel. It’s great to be able to do our part. If anyone reading this is in a Christian band and you are scared to talk about faith on stage I want to encourage you to speak out about it and don’t worry what people think of it. Even if they boo you off stage it doesn’t matter. If you are working for the Lord sometimes persecution will come but wouldn’t you rather be persecuted for doing the right thing than be accepted for doing the wrong thing?

Video of “Extrication” by From The Eyes Of Servants

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Q: Can we expect to From The Eyes of Servants hit the road and tour in the near future?

A: Definitely. We start touring again in January. We are doing a Midwest thing with Steady Hands. It’s going to be a lot of fun to hit up some of the places we have been over this past year. If anyone is from the Midwest you should come hang out with us for sure. Be on the lookout for tour dates to be up on Facebook very soon. we also have things in the works with Day of Vengeance and some Strike First bands. We don’t plan to stop touring any time soon after that.

Q: I think you have a new album that is due out shortly, care to share some information on that?

A: Yeah the new album is gonna be killer. We based it on the fact that we only have one guitarist now so some of the stuff is simpler. At the same time some of the stuff is a lot more complex. I think the new album is a lot more mature than the self titled EP. Its’ a lot of fun and I hope people like it. We just finished most of it. We have a few more things to record and then it will be ready to mix and master. Like I said earlier we don’t have a release date yet but keep checking our Facebook and we will keep everyone posted.

Q: What bands/music are you guys listening to currently, who should we check out?

A: If you haven’t heard it yet you should definitely check out La Disputes new CD. That is my jam right now. Also Close Your Eyes new CD is great. Check out Steady Hands too they are from my home town. They are about to release their first EP called “The Earth Will Eat Today” FOR FREE December 25th. Make sure to download that! It will be your new favorite.

Q: Tell us a funny story about the band or a show that was just plain crazy…

A: One crazy thing comes to mind that happened to us on the last tour we went on. We were in Florida with a week left on our tour. We were trying to get in touch with the venues for the rest of the tour and we realized most of the shows dropped except for one show in Kentucky the following weekend. At that point we were totally burnt out and we just wanted to go home but we didn’t have quite enough money to get there. We decided to cut our losses and just go home. We drove up to Franklin TN to stay at a friends house for the night and during that night I was really struggling with the decision to go home or to stay out for a week until our last show. I really felt like we should play the last show even though it was about 5 hours out of the way. The next morning we talked about it and decided we should try to stick around and play the last show. Our friends from TN were glad to have us for the week and they fed us and gave us our own apartment of the house. When we finally got to the show it was definitely one of the best shows of the whole tour. We made enough money to get home and had a great time. That kind of stuff just shows how faithful God is to His Word! If you are living for Him and doing His will He is gonna take care of you. Even if you don’t make enough money to get home and you have to go into your own pocket, as long as God is glorified you’ve done the right thing.

Q: What message do you want to share with the scene?

A: To the Christians in the hardcore scene: Stay in the Word! Keep praying daily and always grow in your faith. If you are sincere about your faith then Jesus will become more and more precious to you and you will want to become more and more like Him. Pray that the Holy Spirit guides you into situations where you can share your faith and trust Him to give you the words to say. I love all you guys and I will pray for you. Please pray for me and the rest of FTEOS. Pray that we might do exactly what God wants us to do and that we continue to grow in faith daily.

Q: Feel free to give shout-outs, share links, whatever! Thanks for the interview guys!

A: Check out these bands
facebook.com/steadyhandsband
facebook.com/forgerband
facebook.com/withincreasefl
facebook.com/conveyer
facebook.com/dayofvengeance
facebook.com/arkofthecovenant
all great bands and great friends of ours.

http://www.facebook.com/steadyhandsband

BAND: With Increase
MUSIC STYLE: Melodic/Post Hardcore (done right fool)
HOME TOWN: Tampa, FL
FACEBOOK BANDCAMP BIGCARTEL

Q: With Increase has been around for a while, how far does the band go back and how did it get its start?

Travis - With Increase started in 2008 as a not very good tough guy mosh band that Paul, Justin and I started while we were in high school. We’ve been through several line up changes, stylistic changes, and a name change to get to what With Increase is now.

Justin - Doug our bassist joined early 2009 and our newest addition to the band is Will, our vocalist, who joined this past spring of 2011.

Will - Hi! I actually don’t know our bands history, haaa. I’m still the new kid.

Q: So I know that With Increase had a full length out a couple of years ago, and I think you guys went through some lineup changes, now you have an EP out. How has the band changed musically between albums?

Justin - Since we’ve had a cycle of members come and go, each new member brought a different flavor to the mix. The band’s sound has definitely matured over the past 2-3 years. Our biggest goal was to play melodic hardcore, which is something we feel like we’ve not only done but have been able to grow in our writing. We actually have never had a full length out, we do have 3 EPs under our belt and a split we put out with Strengthen What Remains, which was our first release ever (good luck trying to get a hold of one!). We only have 2-3 songs from the older EPs that we still play, and our recent EP, “Signs of the Time”, is brand new material.

Travis – Without a doubt, With Increase is not the same band as we were when we started, we began as kids starting to get into the scene, but with each release we’ve kind of honed in on the sound all of us have wanted, heavy, melodic, and sincere.

Q: Where did the name With Increase come from? What is the significance behind the name?

Travis - There are several reasons for the name “With Increase” the easiest to explain is rooted in John 3:30, when John speaks of Jesus, he says that he must decrease so that Christ may increase. No one in this band is perfect, and we all fall short in many ways, but our hope is that with every passing day, people see less and less of our band, and more and more of Jesus. So that with our decrease, He may increase.

Will – It’s a freaking catchy name.

Q: What does everyone in the band do when they are not playing?

Travis - Justin’s in high school and the rest of us are full time college students. Paul records many of the bands in the Tampa scene out of his home studio, Doug mostly works on being even better looking than he already is, Justin skates and eats pizza, Will patrols ebay for Shai Hulud and Mindset merch, and I worry about my weight and if it will keep me from finding a girlfriend.

Will - I just started my first year in community college, I hate it! ha it’s not that bad, but I’d rather be camping, touring, or eating Chipotle. I did the insanity 2 month workout plan in the summer that I want to get back on, need to look good for the ladies. I’ve started to take mad naps after school and am currently looking for a part time job to pay the bills.

Justin - Skate, eat pizza, chill out. I’m a senior in high school but its a complete joke, I do half online classes and the other half on campus. I get home from school every day at 11 am.

Q: With Increase played Cornerstone this year and it was awesome to see you guys play live, you also played some tour dates after Cornerstone, how was that experience for you guys?

Will - So rad! I’ve always wanted to go to C-stone, so it was a trip that my first time going was actually playing it. On top of that getting to know the dudes in cool bands like Jawbone, Ironwill, Divide the Sea, Debtor, Messengers, Gideon…just a great time overall. I just moved from Nashville and the dudes in Dependency and Friends are my best friends so it was great to hang with them too. Danny our merch guy pooped in the lake. I think. P.O.D. was spot on. The secret barn cover set was my absolute favorite of the week. Sean from B&I came out of mosh retirement for that and the Norma Jean gig, too. Wild. The all star mosh award goes to Jon Dalman from Dependency for accidentally knocking a kid out during These Hearts.

We did a few days up to C-stone and a week after on the road, and it was awesome. Each night held different scenes/different vibes. I love playing in new cities to crowds who have never heard of us, I don’t know, I just love the challenge of winning over the crowd I guess! The coolest show hands down was the house show in Brentwood, TN with Friends, motions, Dependency, and Debtor. So rad to play a gig to friends old and new. also had a tasteful slumber party with Dependency that night, too (sorry John Michael, I stole your blanket).

Justin - It was rad. Cornerstone was way too hot, not as humid as Florida which rules. The majority of what I heard at C-stone were really bad breakdowns, but a ton of awesome bands played. Messengers, Debtor, Thin Ice, Jawbone, CTP, Venia…basically the 2 Blood and Ink days ruled. P.O.D. was raaaad. Also big ups to the muddy pond/swimming hole, I hit that place up at least three times a day to cool off.

Travis - It was a great experience, Cornerstone was a lot of fun for us. We were able to meet up with bands like Debtor, who we have listened to for years, and meet a lot of new friends there as well. The tour dates were great too, lots of new faces, it’s always great to play to new scenes and new kids

Q: What bands have influenced With Increase, how do you describe the sound of the band?

Travis - All of us tend to listen to a good variety of music. I personally love old school emo bands like The Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate, Knapsack, etc. Without a doubt though, my all time favorite band is Jimmy Eat World, I can’t think of another band who has consistently put out releases that seem to capture certain points in my life

Justin - Our influences that have always been with us from the get go is all things FLHC resembles: Kids Like Us, Know the Score, Shai Hulud, Strongarm, Make or Break, Barries Now Bridges, etc. Those bands span the past 10-ish years of the Florida scene but all share a certain vibe to them.

Will - Comeback Kid, Shai Hulud, and Converge were the bands that got me hooked into hardcore, Shai Hulud changed my life as far as hardcore goes. Tell me “That Within Blood Ill Tempered” by Shai Hulud isn’t a perfect record? I think With Increase’s sound is just good fast hardcore with a melody to it.

Q: Is With Increase a Christian band, or do you guys consider yourselves “Christians in a band?” Why?

Travis – With Increase is a Christian band, every member of this band has placed their faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah, and their only hope for salvation from their sins. Though it is not the theme of every song we write, because we are called to make much of Jesus, and to pursue Him all of our days, every song is written in light of the transforming power of the Gospel.

Will – Agreed. We’ll stop doing this once the focus isn’t on Christ. With that in mind and adding to what Travis said, I definitely do not write every song about Jesus. I think there are other opinions and topics that I need to address (such as our corrupt and dark government, corporate brainwashing, homophobia/racism in the hardcore scene), but everything is from the viewpoint of a sinner redeemed by Christ.

Q: Where do you guys draw your influence or inspiration from in the bible? Any verses or books that weigh heavy on your hearts you would like share?

Travis - As a band, we’re currently studying the gospel of Luke. I’ve been blessed to teach through the book of John this summer at the student ministry I work at, and the Lord has shown me a great deal through studying the life of his Son.

Will - 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” These two verses in my opinion perfectly lay out our calling as men of God, especially in the hardcore scene. It sucks seeing other Christians in the scene feeling the need to compromise their faith in order to be a real “hardcore kid”. Having faith in hardcore has never been the popular thing to have, so we gotta be able to encourage each other and have faith that God will use us.

Also, the story of Jonas is my all time favorite bible story. God literally loves the cat so much that he does every crazy thing possible in order for Jonas to realize that taking God’s path is always the right choice. This story really applies to my life right now because I just moved down to Tampa for the band and feel called to be in school right now, which is something I literally never thought I would do. I can think of a million other things I’d rather be doing, but I just gotta have faith that God’s called me to be in school for a reason only he knows.

Q: Any other bands or people at shows given you a hard time about being Christians in the hardcore scene?

Will - Eh…not at all recently. We try to just chill out with everyone and meet dudes where they are and because of that there hasn’t been too much commotion about our beliefs. One of the best shows on summer tour was this gig in Clarksville, TN where it was a bunch of skinheads and punks drinking miller high life’s and circle pitting. everyone went off during our set! no one cared about what we believed, which was a cool thing to be a part of. Also the Tampa scene is one of the most open minded scenes to be a part of. It’s rad that we can play shows and be best friends with bands that stand completely against our beliefs, but yet respect everyone. That type of unity is not everywhere and because of that we are so thankful.

Travis – Tampa has an incredible scene, so many of our best friends in and outside of the scene have beliefs that are nothing like ours, but all of us support each other, and play shows together. Our convictions have never really been an issue at shows, we try our best to respect everyone’s beliefs and have always been shown that respect in return.

Q: Seems like Florida is a hot-bed for hardcore music right now, with Call To Preserve calling it quits, there are some spots in the scene to be filled, what other bands do you guys recommend in and around Florida for us to check out?

Travis - I can’t even begin to explain my level of excitement for the Florida hardcore scene right now. As far as bands go, Traitors, Losin It, Suitcase City, Axis, Rescuer, Weight of the World, A Hope For Tomorrow, Von Wolfe, Vices, Cold Hearted, Hivemind, Truth Inside, Direct Effect, In Reference To A Sinking Ship, Gator Bait, Brain Bust, Headless Dogs, Hollow Leg, Super Mutant, Strengthen What Remains.

Will - I also gotta give a nod to the Nashville, TN hardcore scene since I just moved from there. Worker, Dependency, Friends, Motions, Veritas, Empathy, In Fidelity, Cove, Enough, Hysteria. So much good stuff is poppin’ up right and left. It’s also beyond cool to see Plea for Purging still going hard, I got into the local scene through that band back in the day. I remember my friends 9th grade birthday party was going to their “quick is the word” EP release show at the old Rocketown. We played a show with them in July and it was rad as crap to talk to Andy from a band-to-band standpoint, instead of a 8th grade fanboy with girl pants wanting to buy 5 tees and get them to autograph my CD. oof.

Q: From hanging with you guys at Cornerstone and watching the awesome videos you guys took of Cornerstone and post Cornerstone, I know you guys love to have fun and don’t take yourselves to seriously, you guys have some good tour stories to share?

Travis – Gosh…being trapped in a van with 5 other dudes for hours on end no doubt gives you plenty of time to think of something stupid to do. On our way home from our last GA date this last tour, we were lighting fireworks in the van…which was dumb, it was even worse when we put them in a glass jar on the arm rest…which fell over and spilled. There was at least 20 seconds of people diving over seats, screaming, and looking for cover while we waited for the firework to go off. What sucked was that I was driving, so I couldn’t hide, I just had to hope it didn’t kill me.

Will – Peeing in bottles always sucks, and I always pee on the floor of the van (sorry Sam!). The day we left Cornerstone we had an off day, so we decided to drive to Evansville, IN to stay the night at Clint and Heather Vaught’s house (Jawbone HQ). On the way there, we decided to go to a Starbucks to use some wifi and to chill out. This ended up being a 3 hour detour and turned into a day trip to the St. Louis Arch. We get there and a free Maroon 5 concert is going on, too.

Also, Luke from Friends/Worker bought a thirty dollar slab of fish and put it under our tent at Cornerstone, thinking that we’d notice after like one day. Welp we didn’t notice at all! Travis actually used the fish as a pillow one night on accident without knowing. The day we packed up we smelled this horrific scent, which turned out to be the fish. So in rebellion we sliced a bit off and put it under Divide The Sea’s tent, and the rest we left for the Cornerstone crew to clean up.

With Increase at Cornerstone 2011 – Part 1

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With Increase at Cornerstone 2011 – Part 2

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Q: Will we see With Increase on tour any time in the near future?

Will – Right now we can only hit the road hard during school breaks. We’re about to start booking our winter East Coast tour which is gonna be a blast, we’re rolling with our friends in Losin’ It. If your a fan of stop and think, lockin out records bands, etc, definitelly check them out. Also spring and summer tour will for sure commence. Our goal is to get to California!

Q: Are their any record label deals in the future for With Increase? How can folks get a hold of your newest EP “Signs of the Time?”

Will – You’ll just have to wait and see…. and you can get a hold of the new EP at withincreasefl.bandcamp.com or snag a limited cassette at withincreasefl.bigcartel.com.

Q: What are some of the most embarrassing albums we would find on the band members iPods/MP3 players?

Travis – Life House was my favorite band until I found Jimmy Eat World, and that band still rules. I don’t care if that all but destroys my hardcore credibility.

Will - I jam out to He Is We really hard when I’m in my car. It’s a chick singer and a dude jammin’ on the acoustics. I get so much crap from everyone when I play it but they’re so catchy! I dare you to listen to “blame it on the rain” and not dig that chorus. I like Waka Flocka Flame. Some other honorable mentions are lmfao, Relient k, Plus One, and From First to Last. Doug listens to As I Lay Dying, but we all jammed the heck out of them at some point or another. Justin listens to Rick Ross. Paul likes obscure grind which I think for the most part sucks, but Magrudergrind and Despise You played Tampa last week and they brought the house down.

Q: Feel free to give shout-outs, parting message to the hardcore scene, names of bands we should check out, etc. Thanks for the interview guys, hope to see you live again in the near future!

Travis - Shout out to Tampa Hardcore, The Straight Edge, Real Dude Nation, GVC 2011, Urban Turban Wrecking Crew, Stoop Crew, Dependency, Friends, Traitors, Losin It, Rescuer, Of Heroes, Hollow Leg, Jim Adkins for writing to the soundtrack to last august, and all of my stickam friends

Will - Everyone needs to listen to Shai Hulud, Losin’ It, and Mindset. Drink Cheerwine and Ale8 soda. Go cliff diving. Pray for local, national, and international missionaries! The Straight Edge. Seahaven is the best band out right now. Taco Bell’s chicken bacon ranch flatbreads are the jam. Shoutout to the Nashville hardcore, youth with a mission Los Angeles, gvc/tsg/real dude nation. Danny Edge, Real Dude Luke, and Evan “hard” Miller.

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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!

There were so many great bands playing this year, in particular, Blood & Ink records did a B&I family and friends day at the Solace Stage (which spanned two different days).  What was cool about this show is that it included such great B&I bands as Venia, Jawbone, Friends, Dependency, Thin Ice, Ironwill, Thirtyseven, Divide The Sea, and Debtor, but also bands including Cool Cough (side project of the guys from Call To Preserve), Strengthen What Remains, Beggars, Call to Preserve, Messengers, Dynasty, and Gideon (whom are not on the B&I label).  What makes the fact that this was going on extra cool is the fact that our tent was wedged in between Solace Stage and Legacy Stage where all of these great shows were taking place.

Some of the highlights of the week were the following:

1.  Meeting so many of you that visit our site and post on the forum, and finally meeting many of the bands we interview in person and getting to know everyone better.

2.  Catching a few Dynasty sets.  I (Josh) really like this band and I think they are solid, their testimony is also very moving.  I think I almost broke my hand and wrist when I was dancing and clobbered some poor kid right over the head.  Turns out my hand is OK, if the kid I hit is reading this, sorry, hope you are OK!

3.  Getting Officer Negative to play the Legacy Stage on Thursday may have been a highlight of the week as well.  I knew of the band, but have never really listened to many of their songs.  Hanging with Chad (the singer) and Justin, Casey, and Rick (who was filling in on drums) was great, awesome bunch of guys, strong in the Lord.  It was awesome to watch everyone getting into their set, singing along, and dancing like a bunch of maniacs.  Plus, I am sporting my new Officer Negative shirt today!

Officer Negative – “JCHC” on Legacy Stage

Click here to view the embedded video.

4.  Final Call To Preserve sets at Cornerstone, while everyone is bummed that these guys are breaking up, it was cool to catch their last shows at Cornerstone.  I picked up their 7″ “Validation” as well, which I highly recommend everyone go and pick up.  These guys have grown musically over the years.  It was also fun to see Cool Cough, their side band with Harbor singing, and John playing guitar.  Good stuff.

5.  Debtor’s new material is awesome, nuff said.  The guys in the band are super cool, easy to talk with, and they blew up every set with their new songs.  Go and buy their new album Bloodseeds and Blood & Ink Records.

6.  Catching a full Graverobber set.  If you have not seen these guys live, then you are missing out.  They are like the Misfits of the Christian punk world, their music is tight, and their stage show is extremely entertaining.  Just a word of advice, if they are singing any song that includes the word “blood” in the title, run for cover.  Catch their midnight shows, way more fun then their daytime shows.

7.  True Liberty and FBS – again, both of these bands just keep getting better, and they are both tons of fun to hang with.  Make sure to catch them live if they happen to be coming through your town.

8.  Branching out – I checked out A Hill To Die Upon, I am not normally a metal fan, but these guys are actually really really decent, and when I listen to their stuff, there is a heavy undertone of hardcore in it.  Go and check them out.

9.  Strengthen What Remains and Clear Convictions – their split set was probably one of the most fun sets at Cornerstone.  Strengthen What Remains is out of Florida and the guys in the band are among some of the coolest you will meet.  Their music just keeps getting better and better.  Clear Convictions came all the way from Puerto Rico to play Cornerstone.  I was pissed that so many people slept on the this band during their set on Texas Stage, but I was glad that I was able to tape the set (check out video page).  Both of these bands are signed to On The Attack Records run by our friend Sammy.  Love you guys!  Make sure that you pick up both of their albums from On The Attack, worth every penny, and how often do you see the record label owner in the pit???  Now that is support for your bands!

Clear Convictions Set from Texas Stage

Click here to view the embedded video.

10.  Discovering new bands that everyone needs to check out.  Beggars, With Increase, Blackhole.

And number 11.  The super secret show at the barn.  WOW, Debtor and Beggars both played a set, and then there were three cover sets including songs by Minor Threat, Advent, Seventh Star, and Shockwave.  This was by far THE best show, held in the storage shed by the skate park.  There where probably two hundred people that showed up and only enough room for 50 in the venue.  I was lucky enough to get up in the storage rafters to tape some of the show.  It was insane.  And as one of the guys from Debtor told me, “I just had a huge smile on face the whole time cause it was so awesome.”  I agree that it was awesome and I think there should be more intimate shows at Cornerstone like this.  Check the video page for coverage of the event.  Sorry you missed it!
Over all, the event was great, seemed fewer people were there this year, actually seemed kind of empty this year.  Rumors are floating around that they may not have Cornerstone next year because they did not sell enough tickets this year.  I say, don’t listen to rumors and sit tight, they may change the look and feel of Cornerstone next year, but I find it hard to believe they will altogether cancel the event, it touches so many people’s lives.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks for all your support and for everyone that stopped in to say hello, your kind words and blessing edify what we do and why we do it. Until next year, God bless and be safe!

Check out our video page for more videos, you can find our youtube channel here, and make sure to “like” us on Facebook!

Josh and the HXCChristian.com crew (John, RJ, Katie, Seann, Doug and special helpers like Mike!)

And one more fun video of the “best of” Cornerstone!

Click here to view the embedded video.

BAND: Dynasty
MUSIC STYLE: Straight Up Hardcore
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles
FACEBOOK MYSPACE TWITTER

Q: So can you tell me a little about the history of Dynasty? I see from press materials that you’ve been together for 6 years. How did you all come together? Were any of you in other bands? Are any of you in other bands at the moment? I’m guessing here but it looks like there may be some brothers/relatives in the band?

A: Well we started practicing and writing in 2004 but actually started gigging in 2005. My brother Marcel (guitar) was in the band in the early years but was actually the one who quit the band because of the drugs and alcohol issues going down in the band. He actually said “I won’t play until everyone gets saved.” (Haha). At the time I was super pissed off that he would say that and we had no relationship at all for awhile. God straight up restored that bond between us. Years later, down the line when I actually decided to follow Jesus, it made sense to me.

Ivan & Mike are new to band. We’ve had dudes play for us from Like It or Not (Lion) and Jerez which was an awesome local band. Ivan (guitarist) was in a band called Take Vengeance which he sang for. His vocals are all over the record! Marcel also sings for another band Loud N Rowdy, which is my favorite band as of now. They’ll be playing our record release shows.

Q: The first thing that stood out to me was that musically, Dynasty sounds a lot like you should be from NYC or at least the East Coast , which to me is very cool thing as I grew up listening to a lot of those bands. So how do 5 guys from LA end up in a hardcore band sounding like you could be from NYC? How is the scene in LA and how have they responded? Not to be stereotypical, but is there some expectation that you’ll sound like downset or Suicidal (Tendencies)? I mention Suicidal as I see some similarities in some merch designs.

A: Well we pretty much were influenced by NY and NY style bands such as Madball, Leeway, & No Warning. It seemed like Cro-Mags, Outburst etc. were our favorite bands and we wanted to sound exactly like them. (Haha) The LA scene is rad but we’ve been under the radar for a while. Little by little as the record drops we’ll be active a lot more. We love Suicidal! And their merch designs are too dope. We’re ’80s kids and we love all the style that came from that time. I’ve always wanted to do a remake of the Suicidal music video “Possessed to Skate” but with a Dynasty twist to it.

Q: How did you end up on Strike First? And how do you see your fit with the rest of their band roster?

A: Well I really prayed about it and I sent a package to 1 label and sent an email to Strike First. I prayed for the will of God and here we are now. Too rad! I definitely think we stick out from the roster. Both Messengers and us are the only ones actually doing hardcore. I love how we’re set apart. I love how we can be on a label that has bands like A Plea for Purging, For Today and bands like us. It shows the diversity of the label.

Q: What do you see as the mission of Dynasty? In the endless debate, would you side with the statement of “Dynasty is a Christian band” or with “Dynasty is Christians in a band” or do you feel it’s even relevant?

A: I feel like it’s relevant but you’ll know us by our fruits. We really just want to proclaim salvation, righteousness & love!

Q: Tell me about the new CD (coming out May 24th, Truer Living with a Youthful Vengeance). Is there a lyrical theme? What are the thoughts behind the title? Was there anything special about the recording? Any special guests? How does this release compare to your older material that I’ve only seen cryptic messages about? From what I read, there was some older stuff posted, but no longer?

A: Truer Living with a Youthful Vengeance stems from the hip hop side of us. I could say it’s influenced by Gangstarr and the Wu! I wish we could’ve gotten some guest vocals on the album but we had a short time to complete it all. The next album is definitely something that everyone should look forward too. (Word is Born) Our old songs have disappeared; I wish I can get them back. Those songs are real funny.

Q: How does the songwriting process work in Dynasty? Lyrics first, music first? Anyone take the lead in the process?

A: We practice only once a week and within a few weeks before the studio I’ll write the lyrics. Some call it lazy but I work a little better under pressure. (Haha) Usually everyone gets a say in what they want in a song. And sometime that takes a while. (Haha)

Q: So, looking at the pre-order, some lucky winner will be getting some sweet – looking Nikes. How did that all come about?

A: A few of us in the band are sneaker heads. We custom made them thinking what would we wear. Hopefully some people dig em.

Q: I see mention of a tour with Call to Preserve, so how are those plans shaping up? Any dates yet or parts of the country you’ll be hitting? Will you be hitting any festivals other than Cornerstone this summer? Have any members been to Cornerstone before? Has Dynasty done any touring before?

A: Yeah Boy! The final Call To Preserve tour is gonna be ILL!! We’re pumped about it. And we do have all the tour dates up now. I wish we could get on a few more festivals but at this point everything is booked up. Maybe next year we could get on more. So all you promoters out there, holla at your boys! Oh man, not one member of this band has been to Cornerstone yet (haha). Dynasty did a mini tour a few years back with HOODS.

Q: There seem to be a lot of guest appearances lately on albums. If you could pick a band to either do a guest appearance on a cd or have someone be a guest on your cd, who would it be? Who would be your ultimate band to tour with? Would others in the band think the same way?

A: It would be a blessing to have Scot Vogel, Martin from Terror/Lion. Jasta, Jon Joseph (Cro Mags), Joey C (Righteous Jams), DFJ (Mental, Mind Eraser), Justice (Tui), Morgado (The Wrongside) Thom Green, Freddy Cricien and plenty more. I’d love to go back in the ’70s and tour with Electric Light Orchestra. I’d cry. Currently I would love to tour with Trapped Under Ice, Messengers, Loud ‘n’ Rowdy, For Today, Terror, Converge, Sleeping Giant, Madball, Obituary, Bitter End, there are too many to list LOL

Q: What is the most embarrassing music people would find on your iPod/MP3 player or in your music collection? Anyone else in the band you’d like to call out for their weird music?

A: Haha, great question! I listen to a lot of stuff like Doris Day, Connie Francis & Nancy Sinatra. Maybe most embarrassing might be Ace of Base. Haha Ruben our bassist is a freak with his music.

You can support Dynasty on their upcoming tour with Call To Preserve (which happens to be their final tour) and Dead Icons.  Tour dates below.  Also, Dynasty is having a CD release part at The Stronghold in Chino, CA on May 21st for $5.  Support your local hardcore bands (or else).

6/15 Fayetteville GA @ 11th Hour Venue ** NO DEAD ICONS
6/16 Columbia SC @ Unit One Art Space
6/17 Whitesburg KY @ Letcher County Tourism
6/18 Cookeville TN @ Westside Station
…6/19 Southhaven MS @ Cafe 549
6/20 Little Rock AR @ Downtown Music Hall
6/21 Tyler TX @ The Attic
6/22 Houston TX @ Cain’s Ashes
6/23 McAllen TX @ VFW Hall
6/24 San Antonio TX @ The White Rabbit
6/25 Fort Worth TX @ TBA
6/26 Tulsa OK @ The Reverb w/ Onward To Olympus
6/27 Springfield MO @ Salad Days w/ Onward To Olympus
6/28 Springfield IL @ Black Sheep Cafe
(Break in here for Cornerstone Festival – Bushnell IL)
7/05 Evansville IN @ The Rev ** NO DEAD ICONS
7/06 Chattanooga @ The Warehouse ** NO DEAD ICONS

For those of you who have not heard, HXCChristian.com will have a comp album due out around March 16th.  Special thanks to our pals at Thumper Punk Records who helped with all the heavy lifting on the comp.  “We at HXCChristian.com are really excited for this comp album to be released,” says Josh of HXCChristian.com, “not only did a ton of great bands step forward to contribute to the album, but the proceeds will help HXCChristian.com to continue to have a great presence at music festivals such as Cornerstone.”  While HXCChristian.com keeps it overhead low by a pure DIY ethic, we really like to do it up at Cornerstone.  Last year, we had an official generator tent where we were able to have bands do “meet-and-greets” with all the folks who attend Cornerstone.  Leroy – lead singer for War of Ages, Andy – lead singer of A Plea For Purging, and the guys from Debtor, all came out to answer questions about the band, life on the road, and how God has used them to reach out to people at shows.  We also had a pancake breakfast with Call to Preserve, and a free spaghetti dinner where we must have fed 200 people.  We look forward to doing it bigger and better at Cornerstone this year.  So, by purchasing a download of this comp, or buying the disc will help support our efforts.

Enough about us…..Who is on the comp?  Well, we had 25 bands volunteer to put a song on the comp.  It is just short of a full disc of music.  There are two sides of the comp, hardcore vs. punk.  Here is the track listing:

Side A (Hardcore Side)
1.   Welcome to Hardcore Christian Radio
2.   “Familyhood,” In Shepherds Arms, Armor of God
3.   “Nineteen Eleven,” Braveheart, Speak to These Bones, 1981 Records
4.   “Pale Rose,” Messengers, Anthems, Facedown Records
5.   “Keep On Smiling,” Gorilla Warfare, Keep On Smiling
6.   “Big Question,” Carrying The Fire, Demo (2011)
7.   “Lazy Sunday,” Those Who Fear, S.O.T.S. Demo (2009)
8.   “The Seed,” Killing Years, Demo (2010)
9.   “Control Freaks Who’ve Lost Control,” Divinity Theory
10.  “Bare Heights,” Debtor
11.  “Voids,” Strengthen What Remains, Humanity, On The Attack Records
12.  “Season of the Starved Wolf,” A Hill To Die Upon, Infinite Titanic Immortal, Bombworks Records

Side B (Punk, Oi! and Ska Side)
13.  Welcome to Hardcore Christian Radio
14.  “Old Rugged Cross,” False Idle, Hymns of Punk Rock Praise, Thumper Punk Records
15.  “Revolution,” True Liberty, City of the One, Wounded Records
16.  “Walking Dead,” The WAY, The Fight Is Ours, Thumper Punk Records
17.   “Lost Cause,” The Kings Kids, Thumper Punk Records
18.  “Take Me Away,” The Rekoning, The Road Less Traveled, Facedown Records
19.  “They Hate You” (originally performed by FBS), Grave Robber, Exhumed, Rottweiler Records
20.  “Standoff,” FBS, Live Grenade
21.  “Mad At The Girls,” Lust Control, This is a Condom Nation, Captive Thought Publishing
22.  “You Forgot Something,” Unshackled, Overcoming Years, Thumper Punk Records and Caustic Fallout
23.  “Another Day Gone,” The Hoax, Stumbling Through, Thumper Punk Records and Caustic Fallout
24.  “Boxcutter,” Skamikaze!
25.  “10,000 Ladders,” Send Out Scuds, High Score
26.  “I Wanna Let You Out of the Box,” Destroy Nate Allen, Until My Ankle’s Better
27.  “Hope, UniSEF,” Can These Bones Live?

AND….for the big reveal, we have been teasing folks with what the album cover would be.  I am big fan of the punk DIY style and lifting an existing design or album cover.  SO…we were huge fans of the Christian Aerobics album that was released many years ago.  And we thought, what a better way to honor such an interesting piece of Christian art/Americana than to update it to “Hardcore Aerobics?”  After all, anyone who has ever been in a pit knows that it is a real work out!  Folks that buy the physical album will also get some cool info on the insert including an exclusive on the how and why the site was started.

How much? Digital downloads will be available and will be priced at $5, physical copies of the CDs will be $10 plus shipping ($2.50).  Also, we should be able to take orders on this site or from Thumper Punk Records.  So check back often before the 16th for more details.

Thanks for your support, thanks to the great folks at Thumper Punk Records, Caustic Fallout, Seth from False Idle, and all the fantastic bands that have contributed to the album!  See you at Cornerstone 2011 and God bless!

Soundtrack: “Grounded” from Chase the Sun – OC Supertones

So, many of you likely have seen the ad on the HXCChristian.com site looking for unpaid workers.  Music, specifically HXC, punk, and (gasp) metal, has been a large part of my life and God has literally used it to reach me and, more often than not, slap me across the face to get me back on the narrow path.  I’d written some things for a buddy’s metal newsletter and thought it was about time I gave something back to the other scene so influential in my life.  Calling up Josh and chatting about it and making a commitment to write something was the easy part.

Then the hard part I knew was coming arrived – what was I even going to write about?  I had some rather grandiose, overly complicated dissertations I was thinking about, but put those in the “just in case” file and set about praying for direction.  I even asked one of my colleagues at work to pray for me as well, and that email exchange is below:

Me: I need some prayers for inspiration and then clarity.  A burning bush would be nice as well, since I tend to get easily confused/distracted…  Then again, I might miss the burning bush so some stone tablets, perhaps?

Coworker Ryan: Lol. Let’s just believe that God will cause you to have a “trance like” experience much like he did for Peter on the roof of Simon the tanner. Then there will be no distractions at all.  I am looking forward to reading your blogs. I am sure they will be insightful and helpful.

Me: Now I’m hungry…

At the time, I just thought that whole exchange was somewhat comical as in Acts 10 Peter goes up to pray, is hungry and then enters a trance like state where he has a vision that involves food.  Of course, there’s a deeper meaning to the vision as well which we learn later in the chapter.  As I thought about what I was going to write, this email exchange suddenly seemed more important than some random banter.

My point to all of this is how critical it is for us as Christians to read and know the Bible.  We need to know it well enough to be able to work it into everyday conversation.  What better to come from our mouths than the word of God?  I know that it is much better than what often comes out of my mouth.

Being able to quote scripture, chapter and verse, is really cool, but that takes a while and in all honesty, some people’s brains really aren’t wired for this (trust me, I’m a scientist).  So, here’s my suggestion -  Get in the Word every day!  Find a reading plan and set aside some time every day.  There are a ton of reading plans out there.  Being an Anglican (stop snickering), we have a daily reading schedule where we have an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel passage.  There are even websites that list these and have links directly to the scriptures.  So even if you are Bible-less, in this day and age there is no excuse.

Most of all, don’t be embarrassed if you’re not reading everyday.  It’s a discipline you have to work at initially, and I guarantee the evil one will throw all sorts of things at you to keep you from the Word.  I’ve been there and still have to fight some days to get it done.  Today, while thinking about what to write, I stumbled on the name Matt Morginsky in Facebook, which reminded me of how an OC Supertones song really spoke to me and pushed me into regular Scripture reading.

“War rages on through generations.
All of these Christians abandoned their stations.
A whole world around us, that we’ve ceased to reach.
An army of soldiers, we’ve neglected to teach…
How will you stand if you don’t understand,
Fight like a man Scriptures in hand”

From “Grounded” – OC Supertones.

The word of God is powerful and we need to have it in our arsenal.  The more often you read it, the more available it will be in your everyday life.  Soon enough, it will start coming out in everyday conversation with believers and non-believers.

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!

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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”

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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!

Band: In Shepherds Arms
Music Style: Hardcore
Location: Crystal Coast, NC
Links: Myspace Facebook

Part 1 of the interview with In Shepherds Arms

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Part 2 of the interview with In Shepherds Arms

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