This interview was with Dave Garren, the lead vocalist for the band Outlast based out of New Jersey. It done through email and sent back to me on 10/16/09.
My Therapy: So when and how did Outlast start?
Dave: Outlast started about a year ago when Shaun (bass) and I started throwing around the idea for a band. I'd wanted to be in a hardcore band for some time, but had never fronted a band or done vocals before, but after a lot of coercing from friends, I decided to give it a shot. We asked our friend Ian, who was in Petition at the time, to play guitar and then the quest for a drummer started. We wanted to be an Edge band, so finding a drummer who is Edge and available would be tough, but eventually Joe started playing for Petition so we just commandeered him for the job.
My Therapy: What was it like going from playing keyboard for The Glory Days to fronting Outlast, a hardcore band?
Dave: It was a bit of a transition, that's for sure. Both bands take totally different approaches to pretty much everything so it was definitely a change of pace. With The Glory Days, I didn't know what I was doing since most of my parts were written for me and I basically just learned enough to play the songs to be in a band with friends for fun. I wanted Outlast to have a much more serious approach and the fact that I was writing all the lyrics allowed me to talk about things that I feel strongly about and not just essentially show up and goof around. While I did have fun for the most part in The Glory Days, they're much better off without me. Listen to their new EP for proof.
My Therapy: I remembered you guys saying the demo was being re-released, who's putting it out and when?
Dave: The New Jersey Straight Edge '09 Demo is being put on a 7" by Life To Live Records who just recently put out the Alert demo (great MA band, check them out). It should be out late November/early December. We were hoping to have it in time for A Time We'll Remember Fest, but we dragged our feet a bit so it will be out a little later.
My Therapy: So you guys have a new split 7" coming out, tell me about that?
Dave: After we played Significant Fest in Florida over the summer, Derek from Dead End Records approached us about doing a 7" with them. A few days later he asked if we wanted to do a split with Reveal the Truth since they were going to do a 7" as well, but two bands pushing a record is better than one so we decided on that. We're excited about it and we like our new songs. They're a little different from the demo, but hopefully people will be into them.
My Therapy: I heard the new songs for the split and I loved them. From what I got out of the lyrics you cover topics like religion, the "9 to 5" and Straight Edge. What are the names of the songs and can you explain to me what each song is about?
Dave: The first song is called "American Dream" and is essentially about the frustration that I, and others, feel with their jobs and the stresses that come with worrying about money. It's something that, unfortunately, most people deal with constantly and it's definitely something that the band is very familiar with.
"No Gods" is a song that I wrote about my frustrations with mainstream religion (mostly Christianity, but it applies across the board) and the people that perpetuate the messages of intolerance, lies, and prejudices. In a country with some of the greatest scientists in the world, we're kept from making progress by the religious right wing with things like stem cell research that could lead to potential cures for diseases. I won't judge anyone based on their religion or lack thereof, but when personal views start to effect others, like religion so often does through wars, sexual abuse by "authority figures" and people who are meant to be trusted, and the suppression of equal rights, then I have a big problem with it. Do your own thing, but I don't need some man-made, "god of the gaps" deity (Christian or otherwise) to be my moral compass. I'll be my own moral compass.
The last song on the split is called "My Way" and is about my personal choice to lead a Straight Edge life and how it's not something that I choose to force on anyone. I'll talk about Straight Edge and how I think it's a positive way to live, but I try not to judge anyone for their choices (unless they harm themselves or others). It's a lifestyle that isn't for everyone and I understand that.
My Therapy: On stage you like to talk about serious issues in between songs, or what the message behind the songs are about, What motivates you to do this? Do you think more bands should do this?
Dave: I tend to talk a lot on stage and I've even been called "preachy" which I don't mean to do, but I just think that if I'm up there and I have something to say that I feel strongly about, I might as well say it. I think that if you're in a position to speak your mind and maybe open someone's eyes to something that they never thought about before, then you should do it. We definitely have messages in our songs and I'm always going to address them.
I wish more bands would talk about their views and try and open a dialogue with the audience about issues. Bands like Unrestrained, The Effort, and Resolve do this and I think it's great.
My Therapy: The song "Break Free" seems to be about Animal Rights. What do think about people that criticize you for talking about this topic just because you haven't been vegetarian/vegan for that long? Do you think this takes away attention from the issue?
Dave: There are always going to be people that talk shit on you no matter what you do or say, so I just chalk it up to that. There is definitely a group of kids that love to run their mouth behind computer screens and in their circle of friends, but won't say a word to anyone in person. I've heard the things that they have said about me and it doesn't bother me. People will talk shit regardless. I'm not losing any sleep over it.
But yes, I've been vegetarian since January and vegan since August, so in the scheme of things, that's not long at all. It doesn't change how I feel about the issues behind being vegan/veg. People are quick to criticize when someone is new to something. How often do you see kids new to the hardcore scene or straight edge made fun of and given a hard time because they weren't born with a copy of "Nervous Breakdown" in their hands?
My Therapy: You've told me before that your job has to do with the environment. What does this job entail? Do you like this job? Do you think it's having a positive effect on the environment?
Dave: I work for an environmental construction company that does mostly soil remediation and site cleanup which makes previously unusable land usable again. Oil cleanups and chemically contaminated sites are a big part of what we do, as well as creating wetlands (which is a natural habitat to thousands of species in South Jersey) in damaged areas. There are days when I love my job and there are days when I hate it, just like everyone else. At least when I hate my job, I still get to make a positive impact on the environment and help cleanup what so many people have ruined.
My Therapy: In your bands myspace info you talk about breaking down the barriers of sexism, racism, and homophobia. Are these issues that will be future topics in songs? Are these issues important to your band as a whole? Why?
Dave: Yeah, these will all be addressed in songs eventually. I constantly start writing lyrics only to get sidetracked and start writing another song, but they're all on deck to be used eventually. Racism, sexism, and homophobia are all issues that this great, "progressive" nation is still dealing with sixty years after the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Sexism and homophobia are two issues that are still very evident in the hardcore scene as well, which is bullshit. I'm not some ultra PC dude or anything, but they are definitely issues that need to be addressed and discussed otherwise nothing is going to change.
My Therapy: So how did your first tour go and where did you go? When's the next tour and where?
Dave: Our first tour was great. We did it over the summer with Resolve from St. Louis. We had never met those guys, but they are a great band and some seriously awesome guys to hang with. We had a blast playing with them and just having fun. Some shows were better than others, but the experience as a whole was great.
Right now, it's going to just be weekends while people are busy with work/school/life, but I'm looking to do something around spring break. Maybe the midwest, but nothing is definite yet.
My Therapy: So what else is in the future for Outlast?
Dave: We've just started writing new songs for a 7" of our own, so I'm sure there will be some newer jams being worked into the set in the next few months. A Time We'll Remember Fest is next month and we're stoked to be playing with so many great bands. Other than that, we're just trying to play as much as possible and keep the New Jersey Straight Edge strong.
My Therapy: Anything else?
dave: Support DIY and touring bands. Dead End and Life to Live Records 2009. Get into it. Go veg. Be kind to our world and one another. Make a change. Straight Edge.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Outlast - Demo 2009 Review
Released: 2009
Label: Self-Released/Re-Released on ?
Versions: Digital(Free)/Cassette Tape
Genre: Hardcore
Track Listing:
1. Intro/Wasted Youth
2. Seperate Ways
3. Reach Out
4. Break Free
5. Step Forward
Five songs of Straight Edge, Youth-Crew Styled, Hardcore from New Jersey. A solid demo with great recording quality. The demo covers topics like America's drinking culture, friendships, poverty, animal rights, and scene violence. My favorite track is "Seperate Ways." I think the lyrics are a good balance and arn't as generic and overdone like some bands trying to do the youth-crew style. I like the vocals, the guitars sound great, there's a lot of cool bass fills, and the drumming rules. (Praise Jah.) This is definetly a band that you have to see live, they are really tight live. For fans of: In My Eyes, Youth Of Today, The First Step, etc
Buy a cassette at their shows or download the Demo digitally for free here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bi3nmwkdmyn
And their myspace here:
http://www.myspace.com/outlastxxx
and blogspot here:
outlaststagedives.blogspot.com/
Monday, October 12, 2009
Review of Bearings "Bearings 7"/Demo"
Released: 2009
Label: Runner Up Records
Versions: 7" vinyl/CD-R
Genre: Rock/Punk/Emo
Track Listing:
1. Constrained
2. First Day Gone
3. Images
4. Ten Of Five
This is a solid 4 song demo. Each song has it's own tone and overall feeling that matches to what the songs are about. I can really connect with a lot of the lyrics, covering topics like touring, change, friendships, self-conflict, family issues, etc. They don't sound like a carbon copy of any of their influences, you can hear the influences but they've developed their on style. Even if this wasn't my friends in this band i'd still listen to it and love it. The guitar tone is amazing, the rhythms and especially the leads/octaves make the songs even better (esp the chorus in Constrained), a mix of dark and melodic melodies. The drum fills rule too. Solid raspy vocals. Been jamming this non-stop all year. My favorite track is "Images" it's such a powerful, intense song with great direction. For fans of: Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, By A Thread, Moneen, Texas Is the Reason, etc. Below I have an interview with the singer:
Order their 7" here:
Interview With Josh Laskin from Bearings
This interview was conducted through aim/facebook chat on 10/12/09. Josh Laskin is the Lead vocalist/guitarist of the band Bearings, a new up and coming rock/punk/emo band from Philadelphia, PA. They just came out with a S/T 7"/Demo this year on Runner Up Records and a Split 7" coming out soon.
Josh: Well it doesn't have a name yet - the lyrics aren't even set in stone. Still being worked on. But basically I just got out of my first serious relationship, and I got screwed over worse than I ever have before by people that I least expected. I swore to myself that I'd never write a song about a girl or relationship, but it happened in the midst of us writing, and I couldn't really get it off my mind. So I wrote a song about it.
My Therapy: So when did Bearings Start?
Josh: Fuck, I thought you said these were easy questions. Let me call John K real quick. We started like Jan or Feb of 09.
My Therapy: What was it like going from playing guitar in a hardcore band, to singing and fronting in Bearings?
Josh: Well, it's definitely two different experiences. Like in petition I got to be more energetic and jump around and solo over whole songs haha. With Bearings I actually have to think about what I'm playing, and I can't move around as much since I have a mic in my face, and plus now it's like I can't just mess around before shows and then go up and play, I have to actually take some time to warm up my voice. It's fun though, different.
My Therapy: Let’s talk about the Self-titled 7”/Demo. I loved it. Each song has it’s own tone and overall feeling. From what I got out of the lyrics they seemed to be about touring, self-conflict, friendships, change, family issues, etc. What is each song on the demo about?
Josh: Fuck, I hate my lyrics. You had to ask this question didnt you, hold on, let me listen to them real quick.
"Constrained" is about overnight drives - whether it be on tour or just going on roadtrips with friends - as you obviously know I love driving, and one of my favorite things is driving at 5 AM after a whole night of driving, everyone asleep but me, listening to farside, watching the sun come up haha.
"First Day Gone" - it's about my old neighbors I grew up with. I used to be friends with the two kids, and their mom was always real nice to me. Then their dad left, and basically the whole family got all fucked up. She became an alcoholic, her kids started doing coke and whatnot. Shitty to watch
"Images" is pretty straightforward - just about how fast time goes by. I'm about to be graduating college, and it seems like I just started. Everything just seems to happen really fast. Don't take shit for granted. It’ll be gone before you know it.
My Therapy: So you guys have a split 7” coming out soon, tell me about that?
Josh: It's with this band pswingset from Ohio (the p is silent - it's a reference to something, I forget what). I think we're only gonna have one song on it because we're most likely putting something else out in the spring and we gotta save up some songs for that. but yea, pswingset is pretty good, they're friends of friends and sound like 90's (Braid and stuff) so why not? Shit kurn’s calling me.
My Therapy: The song on the split is called “Tenement,” What is this song about and what is the significance of the word “Tenement?”
Josh: Alright, this is gonna be long. Basically I called Brian and told him what I wanted this song to be about, and he wrote most of the lyrics. I'm just gonna tell the story that caused me to write this song:
Back when I lived in Jersey, I used to go to this Italian owned sandwich shop that was amazing. They had all these great Italian sandwiches and stuff, I went in there for lunch a lot and it was always packed. Line out the door. Then the place got sold to an Indian family. Ownership changed, food did not. It was still amazing. However, the line wasn't out the door anymore. I went back with my mom, and it was deserted. got my usual lunch, tasted the same as always. Went back a few months later with my dad, same deal. He was real nice to them, just talking, real nice people. Few months later they went out of business, real unfortunate. I see people all the time doing this kind of stuff - not supporting something because the owners weren't born here, or making dumb jokes about them. It's just really close minded and ignorant, and a tenement is basically like a low income rental apartment or community. They were used for immigrant housing. We used that word to describe the situation - like putting up a wall around yourself. Brian is helping me with this one. you should've just asked him.My Therapy: Being that everyone in the band now lives in South or West Philly, how do you feel about the racial separation/segregation that also goes on in the city, and what do you think can be done to solve the prejudice/superiority?
Josh: Well, I feel like it's moreso seperated by class than by race, but there's a class separation because of racial prejudice. Like for instance, if an African American goes into a realtor's office looking for a house, that realtor isn't going to take them to a predominately white neighborhood. In my neighborhood, it's all Italians. A black person isn't going to move into a neighborhood surrounded by Italians and the mob. They just won't feel comfortable. Same reason that a white family isn't going to move into a predominately black neighborhood - fear and stereotypes. Honestly, there's realistically no direct way to resolve this. The way families raise their kids is going to be a big factor in how things pan out in the future - If families raise their kids to be more accepting, and remove the stereotypes, the segregation will kind of dissipate. This isn't that realistic though - there are way too many old fashioned families raising their kids to be racist and hate others. That'll just be passed down from generation to generation. There's really no clean cut answer.
My Therapy: You guys have an even newer song not recorded yet, it’s a lot darker and heavier than the other songs, what’s the songs name and what is it about?
My Therapy: I hear that the band sometimes collectively writes the lyrics, how does that process go about and what do you like/dislike about it?
Josh: I kind of hate writing lyrics because I'm not that good at it, so sometimes I ask Brian to help me. We'll discuss the topic, and then we'll both just think up lines and use whatever's better. Then if someone comes up with something even better than that, we'll change it. Brian wrote almost all of the lyrics in Tenement, I came up with a few ideas, and then in the newest song, I wrote all the lyrics, and then Brian came up with some better ideas and we changed some stuff. I think it's really cool though. I'm not sure how bands really write lyrics - I guess a lot of times just the singer writes them - but I really like this process. It's cool getting into conversations about certain topics, and then collaborating on the lyrics.
My Therapy: How did the first tour go, where did you go? And when is the next tour?
Josh: The first tour was awesome, much better than Petition's first tour haha. Well Petition's first tour was fun and all, but Bearings really did well for it being our first tour. We went down the east coast to Miami, then looped up through TN and KY, and went into Michigan and Canada. We had a decent turn out for the whole first week (40+ kids at every show), and only a few shitty turn outs the second week.
We played this house show in Miami with over 100 kids there, and the cops showed up right before we played and shut the show down. We ended up playing without drums and amps turned way down. I was so nervous to sing loud with no loud instruments. It ended up being a ton of fun though, and we made enough money for the 14 hour drive the next day. We came like 1 record and a few shirts away from selling out of merch on that tour. Oh, and we also ate a ton of free chipotle. It was a really fun tour. We're going out again from Jan 1st - 16th. I'm trying to play some places I've never been before this time - heading out to chicago, then down through the midwest to texas, then into south florida and back up. Stoked.
My Therapy: What Are some of the musical influences for the band’s sound?
JJosh: Haha dude, you can answer this yourself i'm sure. Basically the only thing i listen to - 90's, haha nah but when we first started the band, John K. was like "wanna start a band that sounds like Hot Water Music?", and i was just like "YES". So basically that's what we were going for from day one. but I'd say our main influences now are Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, Texas is the Reason, Casket Lottery, and By a Thread. i could go on forever though.
My Therapy: What’s else is in the future or Bearings and when do you record next?
Josh: Well there's hopefully some pretty awesome/big stuff coming up for us in the near future, but nothing's set in stone yet so I can't really say. But our friend Jimmy, who plays in Shook Ones is doing a ton to help us out with stuff, which is awesome. We're planning on getting into the studio in the spring. Just keep your ears and eyes open.
My Therapy: Anything else?
Josh: Yea. You provided me with a reason for skipping my homework tonight and I got class mad early and I'm trying to be seeing the inside of my eyelids right now. Oh also, huge Bearings news - we are actually practicing tomorrow. THANKS DUDE (myers voice)
Why An Online Zine?
Hi, my name is Matthew Myers and this is gonig to be my online zine. It's going to consist of interviews, reviews, rants and mostly focused on local and up and coming bands. I've been wanting to do a zine for a while, but I realized that instead of making the excuse "I don't have the resources, I don't know how, etc" that I would do an online one in a blog that would make it a lot easier for me, and also would save paper (better for the environment) etc.
My goal is to a lot of interviews and get more into depth with what issues bands are talking about, create dialogue, etc. Also to talk about some bands that I really like and think others would also enjoy. I love music and I love writing so why not incorporate both? Music and writing are "My Therapy" and are for a lot of other people, so I believe more people should be educated on these positive ways of channeling your energy and get more in depth on the social, political, personal issues/messages that go along with music/writing, etc.
Coming Soon:
Volume 1: interviews, reviews, and more!
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