Still Alive are holding it down for the Inland Empire of Southern California. They admit to being fifluenced by a lot of East Coast Hardcore and I can agree you can hear some of that NYHC flavor in their sound. Here's a short interview with the guys to let you know who they are and what they're about!
Still Alive are holding it down for the Inland Empire of Southern California. They admit to being fifluenced by a lot of East Coast Hardcore and I can agree you can hear some of that NYHC flavor in their sound. Here's a short interview with the guys to let you know who they are and what they're about!
I know you guys are busy preparing the new full length. Could you give us some details about it – how far are you with writing and recording this stuff and when will it see the light of day?
Were about half way done with it. Two of the songs are on our myspace now, were going to write about six more songs and throw in two old ones that will be redone. It should be out mid 2010 hopefully.
How do you feel the band has evolved or improved from your last album to this upcoming release? What's your favorite song from the upcoming record?
We feel that we’ve improved a lot since our last cd, the songs are more exciting and have a better mix of hardcore/metal/hip hop. The last album had songs on it that we first started writing as a band and they were good for the time being, but now we have a more solid sound that puts our old stuff to shame, it has a better flow to it and we’ve really tried to incorporate hip hop this time around. My favorite song so far is called “we were down” which is about shady friends. The song is really important to me because I’ve lost a lot of friends this year.
Talking about Inland Empire, how well has it been doing for you guys? What has the response been like?
Great… kids seem to be catching onto it more and more, I always see new faces in the crowd singing with me and fucking it up in the pit, it’s a trip cause I never thought kids would like us let alone know the songs word for word. As far as the cd goes, Its done well for being a small time release and just to put it out there, once were out of cd’s we wont be reprinting them so get one before there gone.
Is there a theme that runs throughout your lyrics? Where do you draw your influences?
There isn’t a theme really, I just write about stuff that I see or feel needs to be talked about. Friendships, Addiction, America, Fakes, Religion, etc… I don’t want to write the same song over and over because I see too many bands do it and it gets old fast. I like to listen to shit that’s real with lyrics that have no boundaries. One singer that I admire is Mean Pete “Remembering Never/Bishop/Until the End” because he always talks about a wide range of topics that affect everyone in a way, whether is the war were in, the religion we follow or shit we eat he speaks his mind and shares an idea and to me that’s what hardcore’s about.
What song feels the most important to you lyrically of the upcoming album?
“Plant a Flag” which is about America’s need to fix the worlds problems without fixing the problems in our country.
What drives you keep wanting to make music- like what's your biggest desire with this band?
This band never wanted to be the next big thing, we just want to make music that we like and if we could help one person out through our music then it’s worth it. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have music in my life. Honestly when kids come up to me and tell me they listen to us everyday or tell me their favorite song it makes me want to pay them but since I’m fuckin broke I guess the only way I can repay them is to keep doing what I love. The fans are what keeps us motivated.
Who are some of the bands that have influenced you musically?
My band is influenced by (Death Threat, Madball, Terror, Vietnom, Sworn Enemy, Biohazard) a lot of East Coast Shit.
What are some of the touring plans for the band?
We need to get a Van number one, We are so broke as a band. Once we get a van we plan on hitting up some West Coast spots (Norcal, TJ, Vegas, Texas, Arizona, and Reno again) we plan on hitting the road way more.
What band, current, or already broken up, would you really like to tour with, or just play one show with?
Fuck, that’s a hard one. Probably Madball. We would be too down to tour with them.
How are things in Inland Empire when it comes to hardcore? How would you describe your local scene?
It’s not the greatest, we have our share of drama here, but there is a good handful of kids that support the few bands out here. To be honest though, there isn’t really a scene out here… the Inland Empire isn’t known for Hardcore, But were trying our best to change that. Our Goal is to have a united and functioning scene out here, but don’t get me wrong shows still go off out here just not as often as we would like.
What are your thoughts on Internet and hardcore, especially when it comes to talking shit on message boards?
Go to our Myspace www.myspace.com/stillalivehxc and listen to “all for show”. A long time ago some fucks were trying to get brave with us on the computer but had nothing to say face to face so that’s why we wrote that song, FUCK INTERNET “TUFF” GUYS! For real. Aside from that the Internet can be a good thing for bands. It helps put your music out to the world but I hate when people hide behind keyboards.
What are the best and worst aspects of life in Inland Empire? Is there much gang and drug violence? I’ve heard the region is considered as a capital of methamphetamine production?
It all depends where you live you know? Places like San Bernardino, Rialto, Ontario, and parts of Riverside all have Gang Violence and high drug activity. But for the most part it’s a chill place to grow up. Everywhere you look there is violence it just depends on the neighborhood really. I see meth everywhere it is a growing problem here.
Before we wrap it up, would you like to give some basic info about the band to the readers who may not have heard of you? How did you all meet? How did Still Alive come about?
As far as Nick, Ricky, and Myself (Paul) we started Still Alive in 2006. We were really influenced by a lot of East Coast hardcore bands and we thought it would be a new style for where were from. The IE didn’t have many hardcore bands, and the ones that were around broke up or sold out. All of us in the band met at shows and have been friends for a long time. Music is something that connected us and always will connect us to each other. To people that haven’t heard of us we play East Coast Hardcore with a West Coast feel. Think Madball, and Terror, meets Vietnom.
When it’s all said and done what do you want to be remembered for the most?
Playing sincere music that didn’t go along with the trend, and holding it down for where were from.
