A Kiss For Jersey Interview
Vocalist Zach Dawson and bassist/vocalist Tyler Lucas sat down with HM and answered our questions.
Questions about a band's name are always lame, but let's face it -- people/readers want to sometimes know the basic questions like this. So, without further ado, please comment on your name, aligning yourself with a state (what are the pro's and con's of aligning yourself with a location/state?), and any other intelligent, thoughtful, opinionated or angry comments regarding that question. Have fun.
Well, first of all, The way we came about our name was basically let an online fan from New Jersey name our band before we really had name, because all of the names we tried to come up with were pretty lame. I don't know. Maybe our name still is lame (laughs).
We really haven’t seen any pros or cons from the basis of our name. The only thing that we can really say is that people from New jersey are alot more apt to check out our band because their state is within our name.
The voice in "A Tree And Its Fruit" sounds like JFK. Cool tune. I really like the whole album. What are your favorites? Why? Tell me any stories of songwriting/recording/production, if there are any...
The man speaking is pastor Paul Washer, actually. The idea of those passages is a reacurring theme throughout the album. Our personal favorites have to be "Devices" and "Oh Infamous City," as well as "The Evidence." Overall, we are very pleased with the whole album. Those three are our favorites being that the messages that they are trying to bring; and they are very much uptempo and straight-foward, which we really wanted to press on this new album. Recording was pretty awesome. We recorded with Andreas Magnusson in Richmond, VA. All we can really say about that is sleeping, eating and then working all day in the studio I would not recommend to anyone (laughs). It was rough, but a very awesome experience. We played a little putt putt and headed over to Richmond International Speedway to go to the Bass Fishing Expo on our free time, which wasn't that much. Also, Andreas is a master chef.
When writing a song together, how do you think when composing or adding a guitar line? What factors go into the counter-harmonies (either vocally, guitar-wise, or even drum fills) and other "additives" ??
Well, our writting style is kinda unorthodox, I guess, compared to most bands. We take some time in prayer and meditation before we write and then just jam till we find something we like then work off of that. After that we then try and work on the structure.
How did you hook up with Tragic Hero Records and what are they like and how is it working with them?
The owner of Tragic Hero, Tommy Lacombe, is an amazing guy. We could not ask to work with a greater, more harworking person than Tommy. He has really done everything he can to get us to the point we are at now and we know he will continue to route us towards sucsess. The way we hooked with Tragic was pretty simple: a friend of the label told them about us and they ended up coming to a show, I guess they liked what they saw and we were fortunate enough to end up signing with them.
What are your plans for the next year or so?
We will be touring alot in the next year, trying to support our new album Victims, that was just released. And basically trying to spread the word of Jesus Christ. We have some very exciting tours in the next year; for example the Scream the Prayer Tour starting in mid June, which should be amazing!
What is the dumbest/goofiest/funniest thing you've seen another band (or even another band member of A Kiss For Jersey) do while on the road?
We tend to fly around on stage alot ... someone always ends up on the ground, that's always pretty funny! (much laughter)
As a believer, what are some of the unique challenges (if any) of pursuing a career/band in the entertainment industry, where not everyone you come into contact with may or may not share your faith in God?
Being a "Christian Band" in the music industry is hard. It's really awesome to see that most people will respect what you stand for. Then again, there is always people that will watch everything you do just to see you fall and point out your flaws. We are in the hands of God. We all battle and struggle with sin. We are in a daily struggle to find out God's plan for this band. We sin like everyone else and we are working out our salvation. There are many that will put a standard on you, but we are still young in Christ. God is preparing us for something special He is about to do. Above all, our eyes and our hearts are focused on Him. We just really want people to have the opportunity to hear what we are saying.
The rest is between themselves and God.
John 17:15
Romans 12:2
If you were super high-tech robot/humanoid music producers and you could craft a band out of spare parts, record, produce them, craft their image, etc, what would be some of the characteristics of this band? What clothes would they wear? How would they stand out from the crowded music scene?
That’s the weirdest question I've ever heard and I love it! As far as musical style is concerned, I would definitely have to combine the albums of Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest by As Cities Burn. Every single Blindside album. A little old school indie (Hot Rod Circuit, Piebald, etc.) and some musical stylings of Journey. As far as clothes go, we are not super concerned about a certain image. If you're comfortable wearing it, it's all good ... whatever's clever. Definitely, have to have a high energy live show. I might bring on Howard Benson to help out, too!
Anything else you'd like to share?
The last thing we would like to share is just to take a minute to let everyone know that there is no way possible we could ever do this without the grace of God. We definitely feel very blessed to be playing music. Our new album, Victims, has alot to say and we really did not hold back in trying to bring a message. We would love for everyone to go out if at all possible and pick up the new album. Thanks so much.
God bless...
Jeremiah 29:11
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