Joe DeAndrea
03/13/07, 02:31 PM
I recently had the chance to send a few questions over to the band Blinded Black. I'd like to thank Annette at Sidecho for making the interview possible, the band for answering the questions, and any user who submitted a question for the interview.
To start it off, what is your name and what do you do in the band?
My name is Jeff and I sing in the band Blinded Black.
How did the band form together?
Myself, Nick (guitarist) and Jake (drummer) have been playing together as Blinded Black since we were like 14 and about 2 years ago we decided to get a new bassist and another guitar player to sound more full and Mike and Tyler were already friends of ours. Then our keyboard player Chuck, who was also in a previous band, saw the new Blinded Black live and wanted to be a part of it so he asked us if we were interested. Without hesitating we gave him a shot and loved it.
What made you decide on the name Blinded Black?
We were 14 years old when we thought of that name and figured no one else in the world had the name already. There is no meaning behind it. We just stuck with it.
What's the story of the band getting signed?
Well, after we made out demo with Marc McClusky, we were really wanting to have that label to help push us and make a full length. At this point we all had worked so hard and deserved it. I contacted almost every label out there and got lots of response but Sidecho seemed to be more outgoing than the other labels. So about 2 weeks of passing emails back and forth between myself and James (owner of Sidecho) he informed me that he wouldn't be able to come see our band perform in St. Louis which we were hoping for. So, I bought a plane ticket and flew out to him. We chatted and hung out for a weekend and after that we pretty much decided we wanted to work together.
Sidecho tends to have more indie rock artists on their roster when you have more of a pop/heavy sound. Do you feel out of place?
Eh, yes we do feel a little out of place. Although, they have Tokyo Rose and Peachcake which are like our label buds. There are people who don't understand the placement. James Cho isn't looking for a bunch of indie bands for an indie label. He signs what he likes and that's it.
You guys seem to really have a solid grasp of pop-rock songwriting. Will you embrace that more than the synth-screamo sound you had on your current record?
I think as the band grows and we mature more and more we will begin to write more mature.
How did the songwriting process for the album go?
It went really well. We have been playing so much now. Practicing for hours everyday and promoting and spending so much time together that when it comes down to writing it's the easiest part about the job. We work really well together because we are all great friends.
What influenced you while you were in the early stages of making the album?
We have a ton of influences. Personally, for me it was Glassjaw, Finch, Senses Fail, Cold, and Breaking Benjamin. Just a ton of artists.
What's the meaning behind the album title?
Under The Sunrise is a song title on the album which is about a murder of the bride on a wedding day while the sun is setting the body is being put to rest.
How do you feel about the critical response to the album so far?
Well we got a lot of typical shit from people like "It's been done before", but we are not playing music to wet the panties of critical assholes. We are playing music for kids who like the genre of music and have more open minds. We got a 4/5 with our Alternative Press review which meant a lot to us and just had bunch of awesome responses but for those people who hate us because of the
clothes we wear and the way we look, maybe you should start thinking about your sexuality.
You'll be heading out on tour soon, what's your favorite part about touring?
It's amazing. It's like one big vacation with your best friends. I love meeting new people and rocking every night.
What's the craziest thing you've ever experience while out on tour?
Haha, there's tons of stories but most recently that comes to mind is pissing into a half filled slushie cup and then Tyler throwing it on the highway at a bike rider and hitting him directly in the face with it. We felt bad but if you would have seen the piss splatter on his face you would have got a laugh too.
How does it feel to have your song be a title track of a movie?
It's awesome. Steven Miller is an amazing director and is definitely going to be hitting the big time with directing so it feels good to be a part of it. Since I was a kid I've been obsessed with horror movies so when I found out I was excited as fuck.
You just recently made a music video, what was that like?
Again, Steven did a great job. We got there expecting a few people working on our set but when we got there we learned Fight Club was filmed there and there was like 10-15 people working on set for us and even building sets. It was just like the movies.
Any other songs off the album you would want to make a video for?
I'd love to shoot a video for our song "Set In Stone". It's catchy as hell and gets a lot of response from the kids so it would be cool.
That's pretty much it, any final words for the readers of Absolutepunk.net?
For those who read this, thanks for your interest and check out our tour dates on our myspace. Thanks guys.
To start it off, what is your name and what do you do in the band?
My name is Jeff and I sing in the band Blinded Black.
How did the band form together?
Myself, Nick (guitarist) and Jake (drummer) have been playing together as Blinded Black since we were like 14 and about 2 years ago we decided to get a new bassist and another guitar player to sound more full and Mike and Tyler were already friends of ours. Then our keyboard player Chuck, who was also in a previous band, saw the new Blinded Black live and wanted to be a part of it so he asked us if we were interested. Without hesitating we gave him a shot and loved it.
What made you decide on the name Blinded Black?
We were 14 years old when we thought of that name and figured no one else in the world had the name already. There is no meaning behind it. We just stuck with it.
What's the story of the band getting signed?
Well, after we made out demo with Marc McClusky, we were really wanting to have that label to help push us and make a full length. At this point we all had worked so hard and deserved it. I contacted almost every label out there and got lots of response but Sidecho seemed to be more outgoing than the other labels. So about 2 weeks of passing emails back and forth between myself and James (owner of Sidecho) he informed me that he wouldn't be able to come see our band perform in St. Louis which we were hoping for. So, I bought a plane ticket and flew out to him. We chatted and hung out for a weekend and after that we pretty much decided we wanted to work together.
Sidecho tends to have more indie rock artists on their roster when you have more of a pop/heavy sound. Do you feel out of place?
Eh, yes we do feel a little out of place. Although, they have Tokyo Rose and Peachcake which are like our label buds. There are people who don't understand the placement. James Cho isn't looking for a bunch of indie bands for an indie label. He signs what he likes and that's it.
You guys seem to really have a solid grasp of pop-rock songwriting. Will you embrace that more than the synth-screamo sound you had on your current record?
I think as the band grows and we mature more and more we will begin to write more mature.
How did the songwriting process for the album go?
It went really well. We have been playing so much now. Practicing for hours everyday and promoting and spending so much time together that when it comes down to writing it's the easiest part about the job. We work really well together because we are all great friends.
What influenced you while you were in the early stages of making the album?
We have a ton of influences. Personally, for me it was Glassjaw, Finch, Senses Fail, Cold, and Breaking Benjamin. Just a ton of artists.
What's the meaning behind the album title?
Under The Sunrise is a song title on the album which is about a murder of the bride on a wedding day while the sun is setting the body is being put to rest.
How do you feel about the critical response to the album so far?
Well we got a lot of typical shit from people like "It's been done before", but we are not playing music to wet the panties of critical assholes. We are playing music for kids who like the genre of music and have more open minds. We got a 4/5 with our Alternative Press review which meant a lot to us and just had bunch of awesome responses but for those people who hate us because of the
clothes we wear and the way we look, maybe you should start thinking about your sexuality.
You'll be heading out on tour soon, what's your favorite part about touring?
It's amazing. It's like one big vacation with your best friends. I love meeting new people and rocking every night.
What's the craziest thing you've ever experience while out on tour?
Haha, there's tons of stories but most recently that comes to mind is pissing into a half filled slushie cup and then Tyler throwing it on the highway at a bike rider and hitting him directly in the face with it. We felt bad but if you would have seen the piss splatter on his face you would have got a laugh too.
How does it feel to have your song be a title track of a movie?
It's awesome. Steven Miller is an amazing director and is definitely going to be hitting the big time with directing so it feels good to be a part of it. Since I was a kid I've been obsessed with horror movies so when I found out I was excited as fuck.
You just recently made a music video, what was that like?
Again, Steven did a great job. We got there expecting a few people working on our set but when we got there we learned Fight Club was filmed there and there was like 10-15 people working on set for us and even building sets. It was just like the movies.
Any other songs off the album you would want to make a video for?
I'd love to shoot a video for our song "Set In Stone". It's catchy as hell and gets a lot of response from the kids so it would be cool.
That's pretty much it, any final words for the readers of Absolutepunk.net?
For those who read this, thanks for your interest and check out our tour dates on our myspace. Thanks guys.