Obey The Brave Interview
Obey The Brave are a metal/hardcore (metalcore) band hailing from Canada and they’ve recently signed to Epitaph. Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to Alex about the band, his career in the music industry and generally how things have changed.
Alex was previously in a band called Despised Icon and after eight years of touring the band came to an end. This left him at a cross point where he needed to find a way to keep himself in the music industry and doing what he loves. After some brain storming he started managing a band called Skip The Foreplay who are also on Epitaph. During this time Obey The Brave were born and there came a point where the label discovered Alex was in a band himself. Epitaph hit him up for some music and before they knew it, singed. They released “Young Blood” which is their first studio album. They announced the band around January and have been playing shows since, they’ve just come back from the All Stars Tour. They’ll be heading over to Europe next for the Never Say Die tour.
Being in a metalcore band, I wanted to know about the influences that got Alex into music, and the answer was something I didn’t expect. “Well when I was younger, I discovered the classics which were brand new back then like NOFX , Millencolin, Rancid and Pennywise. All the classic punk in the early 90s was a big influence on me and I never saw myself as a metal head, or a punk rock kid, I just enjoyed the music. During the same time I started getting into bands like Pantera, Vulgar Display of Power, Sepultura and Chaos AD. As time progressed I started getting into the more death metal scene and into bands such as Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Hate Eternal. All that good stuff. I was also into the earlier hardcore stuff like early Madball and Biohazard. So in a nut shell that’s my musical upbringing.”
Now that we have the 90s covered, are there any more recent bands that you like or have got your attention? “I feel a little bit old school right now and I’m just trying to catch up on everything that’s new. As far as up and coming bands, I hear good things coming from Northlane down in Australia. Another band is Backtrack which are a hardcore band from New York. Those two bands are worth keeping an eye out.”
At some point of the phone call, we started talking about how Alex is not a huge fan of chocolate and how he loves dogs, but his girlfriend owns cats so he has no choice but to like cats… hahaha, whipped. As we get back on topic, we started talking about scenes and how they change with familiar faces not being there any more, and how they regenerate. “I definitely feel nostalgic one in a while because I just remember growing up in the scene in the late 90s and and early 00s before I started touring full-time. It was full of familiar faces, and then the next thing I knew when we went to a show, all the familiar faces weren’t there any more. I remember a lot of the hardcore from that era was a lot more positive. I tour with bands now days that write whore, filthy or some kind of misogynistic or demeaning term on their merch. It’s like the more demeaning it is, the more popular it is and that’s something that caught me off guard. To each their own I say and everyone is entitled to their own opinion or voice, I’m just saying it’s not how it used to be as far as I’m concerned.”
These guys are still a very fresh band, so check them out as they start promoting their name across the world. The band are looking to tour to Australia sometime in 2013, but nothing confirmed as yet. You can also listen the full album here.
If you’re into punk rock, or even metal, and you don’t know the left wing Canadian band Propagandhi, then you either live under a rock or you’re new school. These guys are one of those bands that are not only loved by many, but where introduced into the wonderful world of skate punk via Mike at Fat Wreck Chords. They released the bands first album “How To Clean Everything” which included a single “How To Clean A Couple O’ Things”. Now the band has released their 6th studio album from the other label that shaped 90s Punk, Epitaph. Recently I got the chance to jump on the phone to Chris Hannah, the vocalist/guitarist from Propagandhi and asked him a few things, mainly about: their career so far, the way their sound has progressed and what book Chris is into right now.
Staying on the release of “Failed States” I asked Chris to reflect on the new album and let us know if there was something he looks back on, and would like to change. “Well, the thing that sticks out the most, is the intonation on my guitar. My guitar needed to be re-threaded but I just thought it’ll be good enough. I guess you would have to know my guitar to know the difference. I guess we need to let the record be what it is.”
Silverstein have been together for about 13 years now and when they originally started, it was pretty much a side project. I guess, all those Shel Silverstein cartoons and poetry books needed to be put down at some point. So back in the day, when Silverstein first broke into the scene, they really made their mark by smashing into a new type of sub-genre called screamo, from which a lot of people have emulated over the years and some are still around today, others are not so lucky. Silverstein are still around and I was lucky enough to have a chat with the vocalist from that band. I asked Shane about their new album “Short Songs”, their tour here in Australia and just a general what’s up.
Over the past 20 months, Dancing With Paris has been making their mark in the Canadian Metal/Hardcore scene and the people are talkin’! Either it’s about their energetic live shows, the down to earth mentality the band posses, or the dedication they have for their ever-growing fan base. DWP is a band that is always giving back to their fans. It could be with an exclusive free download to an exclusive remix track, streaming their live shows or looking for feed back from the fans. Because in the end it all comes down to what they want.
The Creepshow are what you would call Punk/Psychobilly, hailing from Toronto, Canada. These guys are signed to HELLCAT RECORDS/STOMP RECORDS/PLY RECORDS.
