Name: Down To This
Location: 252 North Carolina
Active since: Sept. 08
How do you define your overall style?
Bare bones hardcore ha ha !
What’s your goal with this band?
Keep it real and inspire kids to be real
What do you have recorded so far?
A 6 song e.p. On Faction Zero out this October
You guys are in the process of putting out your first ep or it might even be out already. What’s the deal with that and what people should expect from this stuff?
It's pretty much the top 6 songs from our early setlist. It's kinda diverse from rocking 2 step shit to brutal mosh without being metal.
How would you describe the ep when it comes to the lyrics? What was your main inspiration for them?
It's kind of a mix of us venting about stuff that's happened to us and the state of the fucked up "underground scene" and also there are some anthems about brotherhood and how important sincerity is in a time of trendiness and passing phases in hardcore.
How did you guys meet in the first place?
Me and the drummer and bassist were in a shitty death metal band with nothing going for it and we all kinda looked at each other and knew we wanted to do something more sincere and honest. Our bassist had been jamming with Alan in another project and they wanted to do stripped down, beatdown hardcore and since me, John and Josh wanted out of the band we were in we kinda began writing with Alan and it came together super quick.
Who or what do you feel has motivated you to start this band?
Being sick of all the flavor of the month shit going on in our scene and wanting to take it back to basics.
Is getting your music released by a record label something you'd try to achieve with down to this or you plan stick with the diy approach in the future?
We definitely want to work with a legit label that understands hardcore and also understands that we want to get rewarded for what we put into this. There is nothing wrong with taking this shit as far as possible while staying true to where it all came from. We want to expose all the kids to the way we rock ha ha. But seriously we want to go as far as possible or until we kill each other.
What do you feel the biggest events for hardcore scene were in 2009 so far and which albums do you think really stood out from the rest?
I think the $10 for $10 tour was a huge success in getting real bands out there on tour together and reppin' the real shit to a bunch of kids that may not have ever witnessed anything like that. The new Trapped Under Ice album is very unique and brutal in its own way. The new Death Before Dishonor shows a real sense of individuality and trueness to self in that it mixes punk with oi and metal in a seamless way that just keeps moving forward.
How do you feel about the hardcore music coming from the North Carolina? What are other bands from this area everybody should check out?
The hardcore scene still a very tight knit, underground kinda network that seems to refuse to let the mainstream infiltrate it. There is a huge metal legacy in this state that has reluctantly embraced hardcore so it exists but is still not getting the love it needs. Bitter peace, struck out and conquer me are a few NC bands keepin hardcore alive.
What's your opinion on the European and Asian hardcore scene?
Oh my god I fucking love the London scene! Knuckledust, TRC, and No Turning Back are sick! Any European BFL band owns! Also my boy Hiro's band Loyal To The Grave rep hardcore so hard in Japan. I feel that Europe and Asia support it way better than the states ever will. Also those dudes don't fuck around. They are very protective of the culture form what I've seen.
Thank you for the interview! Any last words?
You are very welcome. It's very flattering that you guys are even interested in a shitty band like down to this ha ha. On a final note I wanna say that this thuggish violence has got to stop at the shows. We should be fighting the bouncers, cops, drug dealers and asshole thugs and not each other. Hardcore kids need to team up to keep it going not kill it by making people afraid to go to shows.
Down To This at Myspace
