Interview With Throw The Fight
Minneapolis is bringing you true talent in the rock scene with the guys in THROW THE FIGHT. Indulge yourself with this summers hot CD IN PURSUIT OF TOMMORROW. A CD filled with crisp, dynamic melodic rock sounds that keep you off balance, charged up and purely satisfied. This band molds all the attributes of a good rock band with plenty of melody, lots of powerful energy and solid songwriting. This is a record that has no reason to hit the skip button. I had a chance to throw out to the guys some questions and I got the answers of some of the ideas behind songs, being a struggling band and what the guys have in store for tour plans this year.
BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BAND’S CAREER WHAT WAS ONE INCIDENT THAT MADE YOU BELIEVE THIS BAND COULD GO ON TO DO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS?
We’ve always believed that none of this is going to happen overnight, so we’ve always tried to set a series of goals and work our way towards them. We’re not sure that we could say that there was a single defining moment. It’s always been about starting small and working our way up.
Everything from building a strong local and regional fan base, touring on our own, playing the Warped Tour, seeing our albums in stores, etc.
WHAT WERE YOUR DREAMS BEFORE BEING A MUSICIAN IF ANY?
This has always been something that we wanted to make a career out of since we were teenagers. We all went to college and have degrees to fall back on, but this in priority number one right now.
WHEN VOTED TOP 10 UNSIGNED BAND BY ALTERNATIVE PRESS BACK IN 2006, HOW DID THAT CHANGE THE BAND IN A PERSONAL LEVEL OR AS SONGWRITERS?
It definitely gave us more confidence as a band and it let us know that we were on the right track with everything. Our fans were the ones that voted us in and gave us that opportunity so we are very thankful for that.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH CORDLESS RECORDINGS AND WHAT YOU HOPE TO GET BEING WITH THEM?
We’ve been working with Cordless for the last couple of years and they have helped us open doors and get exposure that we normally wouldn’t have been able to get on our own. It’s great to find a label that believes in what we are trying to do just as much as we do. We just hope to keep expanding as a band and growing on a national level with them.
JAMES CLARK YOUR SINGER IS FROM BRITAIN HOW DID THE CULTURE DIFFERENCE EFFECT IF ANY THE BAND? AND WHAT MADE HIM THE MISSING INGREDIENT?
James has been living in the U.S. for over 10 years, so other than his accent we didn’t really notice a big cultural difference. It was great to finally find someone who fit the sound that we were going for.
WHEN YOU AUDITIONED HIM THE WRECKAGE WAS A SONG THAT CAME OUT OF THAT. DID YOU FOCUS THE REST OF THE ALBUM AROUND THAT SONG OR DID YOU HAVE STUFF ALREADY BEFORE THAT SONG HAPPENED?
When James came into the band, the whole album was already finished. So it was just a matter of taking a couple months to rewrite all the vocals and melodies, then getting back into the studio to bang out the rest of the record.
DO YOU BELIEVE AN ALBUM SHOULD HAVE A BROAD SPECTRUM OF MUSICAL ELEMENT? AND DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR ALBUM DOES THAT AND WHY?
We believe that an album should reflect a certain point in the lives of the band both musically and lyrically. We try to strike a balance between heavy riffs with good grooves, but also have melodic vocals and catchy choruses. The new record has a lot of heavy stuff and some not-so-heavy stuff. So there is definitely a balance. On the next record we will hope to expand on the sound even further.Â
ON YOUR DISC LYRICALLY WHAT SONG DO YOU BELIEVE HAS THE BEST MESSAGE AND WHY?
‘The Wreckage’ is cool because of the way the lyrics paint a picture and tell a story. But as far as the overall message, ‘Stop Yourself’ has a good message about the friend that everyone might know that is on a downward spiral and into really self destructive behavior. As much as
you try to help them out, they usually need to want to help themselves first.
WHAT SONG DO YOU FEEL BRINGS RAW ENERGY TO A LIVE SHOW AND WHY?
‘His Blood, My Hands’ is definitely a favorite live. The riffage is really fun to play.
WHAT SONG WAS THE HARDEST TO LAY DOWN IN THE STUDIO?
‘It’s For You’ was difficult because we wrote 90% of the song in the studio. It was the one track that was the least finished when we decided to put it on the record. It’s probably the simplest song on the album, but it’s very different from the other songs. It’s by far the popiest song on the record. We purposely tried to step out of the box and make sure that song was different from everything else the CD had to offer.
YOU’VE PLAYED WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT BANDS, DO YOU LIKE DIVERSITY IN A TOUR AND WHY?
Yes and no. It’s important to make sure that all the bands fit the type of bill. But you don’t want every group on the tour to sound exactly the same so that nobody stands out, either.
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING CROWD TO WIN OVER ON A SPECIFIC TOUR?
Warped Tour was a challenge because there are so many bands playing at the same time as you. But it was one of the coolest things that we’ve gotten to do at this point. We always go out and play every show like we have something to prove. If we aren’t giving it our all, then what’s the point?
HAVE YOU EVER “THROWN A FIGHT”? AND WHY PICK THAT HAS A BAND NAME?
Even though a lot of people see the band name as having a negative connotation, it’s actually a reminder for us to not have things get in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. If you have a goal, see it through till the end and don’t let anything get in the way of it.
WHAT ARE THE BAND’S SUMMER TOURING PLANS?
We will be hitting the road with Drowning Pool in July for a few weeks. After that, a month of touring down south will follow.
IF YOU COULD GIVE ADVICE TO EACH OF YOUR BAND MEMBERS BEFORE EVERY START OF A TOUR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Bring enough clean socks and underwear.
WHAT IS HIS BLOOD, MY HANDS ABOUT? (ONE OF MY FAVORITES)
In a nutshell, you find out that your girlfriend is cheating and you want to kill her and the other guy. It’s something that most people can relate to themselves or know of someone that has had that happen to them.
3 OUT OF 5 OF YOUR MEMBERS DOES SOME KIND OF SINGING, HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT OTHERS BESIDES CLARK GETTING IN FRONT TO DO A SONG?
Honestly, we haven’t at this point. But it’s something that we would consider doing on the next record. It’s always important to keep expanding your sound and stepping out of the box. That would definitely be something for us to try in the future.
IF YOU COULD COLLABORATE WITH ANY MUSICIAN PAST OR PRESENT WHO WOULD IT BE AND WHAT KIND OF SONG WOULD COME OUT OF IT?
Adam Dutkiewicz and John Feldman would be at the top of our list. We’re all big fans of Killswitch Engage and Goldfinger. Plus, both of those guys have produced some of our favorite albums.
THE BIGGEST FEAR BEING A NEW BAND?
We’ve been around for 5 and a half years, so we wouldn’t really consider us a new band. But as far as trying to break into the national scene, that is something that is new for us. Right now we are still working our day jobs on top of the band and it’s looking like we will be needing to quit to tour full time around August. Knowing that it might be hard to pay the bills for a while is a little scary. But it’s something that we’ve been setting ourselves up to do since we started and we can’t turn back now.
THE MOST EXCITING FEELING ABOUT BEING A NEW BAND?
It’s always cool when someone who has never seen us before comes up to us after a show and lets us know that they dug our set. Traveling is one of the best things about being in a band and it’s always cool to see new places we’ve never been to before, too.
DEFINE THE EMOTION THAT RUNS THROUGH YOU AS YOU HEAR A CROWD SINGING YOUR SONG?
It’s awesome!
LAST COMMENTS?
Our new album, ‘In Pursuit of Tomorrow’ is in stores now!
October 10th, 2008 at 8:38am
wow,,so great guys
keep rockkkkkk
yeah