E-mail interview conducted with Anthony (bass player) by Armand
You guys are from Miami, which most people wouldn't assume as a hotbed of punk music. Was it a struggle when you began to get shows and recognition in South Florida?
* nah it wasnt. back when we started out there was a strong hardcore scene and thats where we started playing shows. we were all hardcore kids going to shows and just started up a band. people liked it a lot down here and that helped a lot in fueling us to take it further and tour.
Where did the band name come from?
* the name glasseater came from a simpsons episode called "the springfield connection" and during this episode theres a scene where it zooms in on a newspaper stand and theres a magazine called "glasseater magazine" and we thought it was a cool name so it stuck.
How has the band's sound progesssed from your debut in 1998 to now?
* we ve grown up as musicians and mentally.. lots of maturing. the music is more melodic and more mature and you can clearly hear it when listening to our latest album with our other previous albums
Tell me about your first release, and how it differs from your newest.
* our first release was called "miles ahead of where we left off" and it came out in 1999. it was very noisy and had a lot of hardcore influence. it also had our old singer on that album. the new album is more melodic and more hard edged with julio on vocals and nate on drums. the screaming is done by me when in the self titled album julio did it
You are known as a touring band. How have your shows differed from 1998 to now as far as energy and musicianship?
* yea of course. you learn a lot about how your performance can be better by meeting people that critique you, seeing other bands, and how kids react. we re a lot more energetic now.. we always have been but we are at our strongest now and itll only improve down the line with all the touring we have.
Best places for Glasseater to play?
* fl, nj, ny, ca, montreal, quebec city, detroit, ga.. all those places are like 2nd homes to us and we love playing there
The band is multi-ethnic. How does that affect songwriting and ideas when its time to put together ideas?
* it doesnt really.. at least i dont think so.. i think its more of what we grew up listening to and how we all learned how to play our instruments and our influences that sculpted the way we write our music and play.
Is it tougher getting songs together now than in your inception, with touring commitments?
* not really.. were usually home on tour for 2 weeks before we go out again so when we write songs sometimes they might be incomplete but we finish them eventually..we put a lot of time into our songs
Where do you see the state of punk/hardcore being in five years?
* hopefully stronger, more open-minded, and less trendy.
What are your views on home recording piracy?
* if anyone wants to download our music online for free, then be my guest...i would just hope if they like it, theyd come out and support us on the road or pick up the album itself. as what most people do.
thanx man take care!
anthony
Email Interview with Jesse of All Out War by Armand
1. With so many people trying to classify the All Out War sound and coming up
with so many different answers, how would YOU describe your sound?
All Out War is a metal band. There are no two ways about it. There is nothing
hardcore about our sound. We are classified as a hardcore band because we play
metal and have short hair as are most of today's "hardcore" bands. It's all
just 80's metal with breakdowns played by people with short hair and baggy
pants. And what is metal-core? My favorite is HATE-CORE!
2. Are you most comfortable playing live with metal bands or hardcore bands,
and is there a difference to you?
What do you mean?
3. All Out War has survived for a decade. Why do you think that is, with so
many other bands coming and going?
Because we play music for the right reason, because we love it. We don't play
to try to get famous or to try to get rich. Bands that play the kind of music
that we do and expect to get rich and famous off of it always fail. It just
doesn't happen. The music is too ugly to be accepted by a wide enough audience.
4. Tell me about your latest release.
We explored a lot of new things on this record. We experimented with some jazz
stuff in a few songs. Not like Candiria, it's different, and we did some black
metal stuff on a lot of songs. Mike does a lot of actual singing rather than
screaming on this one. We got a different bass player for this one and he does
a lot of cool slap bass kind of stuff.
5. How does it differ from 1988's "For Those Who Where Crucified"?
It's a lot different. We have a different bass player and a different guitar
player, so of course we can't write songs the same way we used to. We
experimented with some stuff that we have never done before, but it's still
metal most of the time and it's still really aggressive. It's just not the same
suff All Out War is known for.
6. If you could only be known as either a great recording band or a great live
band, which would it be and why?
It wouldn't make a difference to me. I don't care what anyone thinks of my
music, my live shows or my records. I like it and that's all that matters to
me. I will be playing metal in my basement for years after this music is dead
and gone. I don't do it for anyone else.
7. Is it easier today to have crossover appeal than when you started?
I think crossover is a bunch of crap. What am I crossing over to and where am I
crossing from? Crossover is a word that was used years before All Out War was
even a band to describe bands that mixed metal and hardcore back when there was
a difference between the two. Now it's a word that Victory Records uses to sell
All Out War records.
8. How has it been working with Victory Records?
We don't work with them. We work for them. They are our boss and I'm sure they
would fire us if they could because we don't do what they tell us to do and
we're not a gay emo band.
9. Where does the band's inspiration come from?
Most of the band's inspiration comes from the devil worshiping that we have
before every band practice. We sacrifice a lot of animals and we pray to Satan.
We feel that his supreme power gives us the strength to function as a band.
Without him, we would be nothing.
10. What does the future hold for All Out War?
The future of All Out War probably hold a few more breakups, a few more lineup
changes and maybe another record or two. We'll probably break up again soon
because we just got back from Europe and we all hate each other again. And in a
year we will get back together and play again, but only for a few months because
after that we are going to hate each other.
Thanks to Jesse for taking time out for our interview.
Look for CONDEMNED TO SUFFER in stores Oct. 21st!
or...
Checkout the 1998 release
FOR THOSE WHO WHERE CRUCIFIED
