Life For A Life are couple of dudes from Cali who are really pissed off at the world right now and did the best thing to do when you’re in such situation – started a hardcore band. Two demos released last year were promising, but when the band put out the Identity EP I knew this shit is serious. Tight as hell hardcore that delivers a perfect mix of groove and heaviness. This is interview I did with the singer, Jabril, just before the EP was released. Make sure you check Identity out after reading this interview!
Life For A Life are couple of dudes from Cali who are really pissed off at the world right now and did the best thing to do when you’re in such situation – started a hardcore band. Two demos released last year were promising, but when the band put out the Identity EP I knew this shit is serious. Tight as hell hardcore that delivers a perfect mix of groove and heaviness. This is interview I did with the singer, Jabril, just before the EP was released. Make sure you check Identity out after reading this interview!Tell us something about Life For A Life? Where do you come from ad how did the band originally get together?
Life For A Life is a Hardcore Punk band from Lancaster, Ca. We originally started as a 5 piece band in Jan. of 2010 with two vocalist. Christian Resendez and Jabril Ward singing, Dylan Frye playing bass, Brennen Mann on guitar, and Charlie Marotta playing the drums. Our current line-up is Jabril Ward singing, Cole Patterson on Bass, Brennen Mann on guitar, Charlie Marotta on drums, and recently we added another addition to the band, Rene Resendez who is Christian's older brother
Identity is brand new song from LFAL and it serves as a teaser for the upcoming EP. Wanna tell us something about it? How representative is this song to the rest of the material?
The single Identity was released in March of 2012 and is also the name of our EP set to be released in late May of 2012. The song on it's own is about walking forward into the unknown future. Without the knowledge of who you are, and what you stand for, the point of view on your own "identity" is altered. The past of someone does indeed define a man. The EP can be looked at as a story being told by a youthful mind. The EP "Identity" hopefully can be relatable to many listeners based off the fact that everyone does have the fear of the future. We can't wait for the EP to drop, and can't wait to hear feedback from fans.
There seem to be a lot of NYHC influences in your sound. What are some of the bands you draw your inspiration from?
The single Identity was released in March of 2012 and is also the name of our EP set to be released in late May of 2012. The song on it's own is about walking forward into the unknown future. Without the knowledge of who you are, and what you stand for, the point of view on your own "identity" is altered. The past of someone does indeed define a man. The EP can be looked at as a story being told by a youthful mind. The EP "Identity" hopefully can be relatable to many listeners based off the fact that everyone does have the fear of the future. We can't wait for the EP to drop, and can't wait to hear feedback from fans.
Do you think that the lyrics and the message in LFAL are of the same importance as the music?
We definitely do believe that the lyrics are as important as the music. Hardcore isn't just a sound, but it's a lifestyle. If you are able to preach your personally experiences with it, then your message will reach out to many kids.
I am kinda curious is there any deeper story behind the band’s name? It sounds quite serious.
Hahaha. The band name. This is a question we get a lot. The name LIFE FOR A LIFE started out as a phrase that we use to use in high school. Our vocalist Jabril is an only child and values friendship very much. He wanted the security of friendship, as well as giving out the same security. We all made a pact to stick together no matter what, and we would throw the phrase around once up against the wall. It eventually turned into the band's name, and it became known very quickly in our town.
You guys played with plenty of well established bands, from Donnybrook to Madball to Trapped Under Ice. Is there a lot of pressure opening for bands like these and how supportive are kids to up and coming bands like yours?
Opening up for major bands such as Madball and Trapped Under Ice is indeed very nerve wrecking, but pressure is everywhere in life. Sometimes you have to just brush off the thoughts of self-doubt and give it your all. We believe that you only get one chance to shine, and that chance is now. Usually the kids in our home town scene and local areas are very supportive. Sometimes it feels like the pressure slowly leans off of us the more we play shows. We start to see familiar faces each time, and it starts to feel like home wherever we are.
What bands would you like to play with in the future?
Even though we are susceptible to play with any band no matter the genre or location. We could all agree that playing a show with Terror would be a great pleasure. Just the energy that they bring to every show they play is so exciting. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that.
If you knew someone just getting into hardcore, what advice would you give them about the whole thing? What bands, records, labels, zines they should check out?
Advice that we would give to anyone new getting into hardcore is that the best thing to do is let down your guard, open your eyes, relax, and get ready to be understood by a wave of people from different places, different past, different futures, but all the same shoes.
What are your favorite current hardcore bands?
Record labels to check out would be 6131 records here in California, Reaper Records in New York, and some smaller labels such as Life to Live in Florida & Learn to Trust in Malaysia. Currently some of our favorite Hardcore bands would be Fire & Ice, Backtrack, Rotting Out, Downpresser and many more. Bands that should be checked out would have to be Down Fall from down here in Lancaster, Always Try from down here in Lancaster, Relations from Oxnard, The Black Path from Lake Elsinore, Iron Grip from Denver, and Losin' It from Florida.
What are your hopes and dreams for the future of the band?
We hope to show fans that no matter their thoughts, that they are never alone in life. We also want to spread Hardcore music and the lifestyle as far out as possible to different people no matter their ethnicity, faith, and point of views.
Check out band's Bandcamp
