Congratulations to “The secrets of life”. Listening to your debut album, I have the feeling that your music is inspired by many actual Metalcore bands, but also by older Metal. What are your main influences?
Shawn, one of our guitarists, has a lot of influence when it comes to black metal, and metal core. He’s always been a fan, growing up, of Fredrik’s work.
You have so many possibilities in America to record songs. How did the idea grow to travel to Sweden and visit Fredrik Nordström?
Working with Fredrik was a dream come true, as well as an awesome experience for all of us whom most hadn’t traveled to europe yet!
How was the working with Fredrik Nordström? Did he leave everything up to you, or did he take much influence on the song ideas?
Working with Nordstrom was awesome. He made sure every take, from instruments to vocals, was perfect. He did a great job of giving us the sound we were looking for, while making it his own.
Now let´s go ahead for the CROSSFIRE section:
At home:
01.)
In which way do you write your songs? Does anyone of you have kind of an initial idea, or do you just play on and on until something sounds interesting to you, or another way?
When it comes to writing songs we use a very balanced structure. We make sure, going into a song, that we know what we’re writing about. We always have a story to tell, through lyrics and musicianship. The instrumentals reflect emotions of certain parts in our lives in which the story a certain song is coming from. When it comes to lyrics and melodies, I like to express the same means. In a loving part of a certain story I might reflect that through more melodic parts where as a part of distress from which the story is derived from we may use more screaming.
02.)
Except playing music, what do you do in your free time?
In my free time, personally, I am in love with graphic design. I design merchandise for a big retailer out here, as well as freelance art. I spend time at home with my girlfriend and dog, and enjoy time at home near the beach.
03.)
Is AT THE SKYLINES job, vacation or hobby?
At the skylines is our lives. We devote every day to making sure we’re doing something to further our careers as musicians, as well as the band as a whole. When we’re home from our we’re constantly on social network sites keeping in touch with friends and fans making sure everyone is up to date with whats going on inside and outside the band.
On the road:
04.)
Vegan, straight edge, or rather sex drugs and rock´n´roll? What does a perfect catering look like?
A perfect catering for most of us would definitely be a vegan meal. Our tour manager is straight edge which gives him a chance to keep us out of trouble more so than often. The rest of us don’t mind a good time!
05.)
If you could choose, who would be your favourite support band on a headlining tour / who would be your favourite headliner you would support?
Personally, the perfect support band right now on a headliner would be Like Moths To Flames. They are all extremely good friends of ours, and touring together previously has proved to be an awesome experience. As far as supporting a headliner, I would say any where between The Used, Linkin Park, or Slipknot. Three of my favorite, most influential bans, and still extremely relevant to today’s music scene.
06.)
What was your greatest event live or on tour by now?
By now, our greatest event was probably going to sweden to record our debut album. Prior to flying to Sweden we spent 5 weeks in North Carolina to finish up the writing and production, from there we spent an entire month over seas with Fredrik experiencing his professionalism, as well as making awesome friends to make for one of the best experiences of our lives.
Curious:
07.)
Imagine you are stranded on a secluded island and your I-Pod has a defect. It only will play one song (which is none of your own ones). Which one?
If I was stranded on an island, my ipod had a defect, and could only play one song my entire life.. more than likely it would be The Used’s ‘Empty With You’ off their album ‘Artwork’
08.)
If you could start again at the beginning of your band, would you do anything different than you did?
I wouldn’t change a damn thing. We’ve gone through member changes, gone through growing experiences, and all to get to where we are today. Sure, we have plenty more time and options to mature with ourselves and the music scene, which is a good thing. As for the current state of the band, we couldn’t be happier where we are at.
09.)
How much does the music you are doing mean to you? Are there limits in what you would invest (time / emotions / finances)?
Music means everything to me, and I speak on behalf of the entire band. We invest our time and emotions constantly on a daily basis. If we weren’t in this to devote our everything, there would be no point to succeed.
The very last question:
10.)
If there was a question you always wanted to be asked, but never were asked yet, what would it be and what would be your answer?
A question we have not been asked yet? I suppose a good question I’ve always waited to answer would be “Everyone is focused on your career now, or prior the past couple years, however lets dig a little deeper. Growing up, since you can remember, were there musical influences at a young age, and if so, what were they?” My answer would go something like this. Growing up, since I can remember (even as young as three years young) My father had a nack for making sure my brother and I saw every band that my father grew up listening to. Ac/Dc , Pink Floyd, Styx, Eddie Money, Chicago, Michael Shanker, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent, Blue Oyster Cult, Scorpions, The Eagles, Kiss, etc. and that he did. My first concert was Eddie Money, and Joe Walsh when I was just 3 years old. I can even recall some of it. My dad was majorly influenced with the 60’s , 70’s , and 80’s music. He brought that onto my brother and I , and we loved it. Ever since then it has been my passion to make sure I make my dad happy in what he would like to call the “real deal”. Now, being 21, it makes me the happiest kid in the world to have my dad at our shows, and for him to even bullshit me by telling me we are his favorite band. Haha