1. Hi There! Can you first tell us the meaning behind the band's name?
Well I (Johnny - Lead Guitar) was born in Brooklyn, NY and the town I grew up in is called Gravesend. Most of the band was basically from the same area. When we first started, the line up was a little different. In the begining we all lived within a few blocks of each other. Our town used to be alot bigger, years ago, but certain sections changed the name because of superstition. We just thought it would be a good band name. Not alot of people know of the town, even people who live in Brooklyn.
2. Can you give us some info about the band's bio?
We started in 2000 just jaming and playing a few shows. We recorded a demo and started getting a bigger fan base. Then we went through a few drummer changes. By a few I mean five! We are actually auditioning a new drummer right now. The line-up now is me (John Surdakowski) lead guitar/backing vocals, Joe Parrish guitar/backing vocals, Brian Kalls on bass and Igor Gordon is the lead singer. After we found the right guys we started getting serious. Which was around 2003. The shows got bigger and we started writting better songs. We’ve played some tour dates with Biohazard, The Misfits, Diecast, Shai Hulud, E-Town Concrete, Sworn Emeny and shit load more. Now we just finished a big budget video, an EP and we’re starting to get into the studio to record our full length album. Our fan base has gotten a lot bigger over the past year and a half. So we are going to finish this record and then tour the fuck out of it!
3. About your debut EP, Protrait Of A dying Dream, first, Why an EP?
We released it as an EP for a couple reasons. 1. To get more label interest and to start a little buzz again. We took a break for a while after we found a new drummer and a bassist. 2. We wanted to give our fans a preview before releasing the full length. We also wanted to see peoples reaction to the new sound. The response was great! The newer songs are even better and heavier. So the album is going to rock peoples faces off!... hahaha.
4. What does the EP's title stand for?
Igor (vocals) came up with that. So he would probably have a better answer but it’s basically about the idea of a perfect life or the way you want your life to be, and you base everything on this dream but things never seem to work out exactly as you want them to. So you spend the rest of your life thinking about how things could of been.
5. What are the ideas behind the band's lyrics?
Our lyrics range from relationships,(ofcourse) death, life, the negative aspects of drugs and one is about a porno star who goes to Cali to become an actress. HAHA. Igor writes most of the lyrics. I love his style. Every line he comes up with is great. I rarely ever tell him a line is bad. Even his vocals riffs are great. Some of the lyrics he comes up with I cant imagine where he got them from. Some of them are so dirty and artistic. I think kids will identify with most of our songs, which is always important. A lot of bands write about the same boring shit and scream so you cant understand them anyway. We make sure that everytime we scream the lyrics are heard. We also print our lyrics in the booklets and online. We want people to know what we have to say. I started writing a little bit more on the new songs, (a few lines) I also scream on almost every track. Which is going to be fun as hell! One thing we never really do is curse. Only in our music though. We all talk like truck drivers in person.
6. You have both screamed and Emo vocals on the album, who does who?
Well, on the last EP Igor did all the vocals. I’d like to keep away from the term “emo” haha. Lets call it “singing”. He sung all the soft parts and screamed all the heavy parts. When we play live I do back up screaming and Joe does some harmonies. The full length will be different this time. I am stepping up to do alot more screaming and Joe is doing alot more singing. Igor will still do most of everything else vocally.
7. The band hails from Brooklyn, NY, in what ways does that influence your music and/or lyrics?
We come from an area of NYC where alot of great bands broke out. Biohazard, Candiria, Life of Agony, Type O Negative. I’m sure we experience a lot of different things than someone in a less urban area would experience. You have to catch on kind of quickly here. Theres a certain attitude and knownlgede that people from New York have. If youre not street smart you wont get ahead. So I think that is where we get our energy and drive from.
8. One of the biggest bands to come out of Brooklyn is Biohazard, were they an influence on the band in any way?
Ahh ha...Speak of the devil. I mentioned them a couple times. We played with those guys on a shit load of shows. Everytime they played at Lamour in Brooklyn, in 2002-2003, we would open up for them. I dont think they influenced us directly, they started before I even knew what a guitar was I think. But they definitly helped put Brooklyn on the map as far as hardcore goes. I mean they are NYHC to the fullest!
9. I understand there's a DVD out as well, what does it contain?
The DVD will be out when we release the album. It going to have a live perfomence of us at Third Rail when we did our record release show. As well as the new video for “Let My Blood Be Ink.” There also might be another video we are working on for the new single. I think some clips of us in the studio and ofcourse some backstage antics and after party footage of us being drunk idiots. A DVD wouldnt be complete with out that!
10. A lot of hardcore/metalcore/emocore bands tend to be political in nature, does the band hold a certain political point of view, and does that reflect in your music?
We aren’t a political band at all. Of course, personally, we have our own various political beliefs, but we definately seperate that from our music.Right now in our career we arent a political band. But I can say we all hate Bush. I will speak for the entire band when I say that
11. What kind of live shows did the band do lately?
Last week we opened for Diecast (centry media records) and we’ve been busting our asses promoting this EP. We just had to postpone a pretty big tour so we can get into the studio. We have a lot of labels asking to hear the new stuff and our producer as well as the rest of the band felt we should start on the record as soon as possible. So we probably wont be touring untill it is done.
12. Label-wise, were is the band signed?
Right now we are unsigned. We have had offers but felt it’s better to wait it out. We are releasing a compilation with a new label from Canada called Eternal Rest Records. After the full length is out we are going to entertain some offers and see what is best for us. We just want to take things slowly so we get the right deal and not fuck it up. A lot of bands make stupid mistakes because they are despreate for a deal. We dont want to get screwed. Industry people suck, they are there to make money, so bands have to be careful.
13. What are the band's plans for the near future?
After the album is done we are going to tour for a long time. Promote the shit out of it and try to secure a good record deal. We got the video and the dvd coming out. We just want to keep playing shows and get our music out to our fans and as many new people as possible. We have a bunch of interviews and promotional events coming up as well. We have a lot of work to do for the rest of 2005 and we are going to blow the fuck up in 2006. Thats the plan. Hopefully it pans out well.
That's it, thanks for taking the time answering this interview!
Alon Miasnikov
