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Interview
by SashaS
7-6-2005
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| Still Remains on love, lunacy & rockin'! |
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Love and lunacy along motivation
Toward Download 05: Still Remains
A day before the release of Still Remains’ debut album ‘Of Love And Lunacy’ they appeared at the opening RoadRage 05 date in the UK, alongside 3 Inches Of Blood and Trivium. The response was mass capitulation because their music - spreading from the heaviest Metal to the more melodic noise Foo Fighters prefer - taps into the instinctive, more basic and primal components of human psyches.
Before Still Remains, frontman T.J. Miller, guitarist Jordan Whelan and keyboardist Zach Roth played in a Metalcore-oriented band called Shades of Amber, while bassist Evan Willey was part of Unition. Both groups eventually broke up, and when Miller and Whelan asked Willey to join their new band, with Roth following soon after, the core of Still Remains was born. Drummer A.J. Barrette was brought into the fold shortly thereafter, solidifying the band's line-up.
Still Remains - hailing from Grand Rapids, a bijou town standing in the shadows of Detroit Rock City and the Motor Town’s hallowed Rock’n’Roll heritage - issued homemade EPs and its first album, 2004's independently released ‘If Love Was Born to Die’, sold a respectable 5,000 copies. The fledgling group earned its fans mainly from the stages…
"This band is the thing we're really passionate about," Miller explains in the press release. "This is our chance. I think everything we've done before this was to be Still Remains. We want to really take it out there and show it to everyone."
The Michigan outfit have made an album that is not a concept per se but there is a thematic fibre uniting songs, artwork and the inlay-cum-booklet. We caught up with Whelan to discuss RoadRaging, Download Festi, as well as beyond Donington.
“Man, the reception was incredible on our first night! [Wulfrun, Wolverhampton, on 01 May - Fact. Ed] And that was before the album was available in the stores?! We couldn’t believe that things like this really happen, that music can communicate so instantly. It’s been amazing and better than we could have dreamt!”
“I think these have been the most energetic shows we’ve ever played and being our first time in Europe, we were very impressed that kids knew and sang our songs along! They obviously heard the songs over the Internet and it is encouraging to see more and more people getting into our band!”
Knowing how tight schedules are, do you get any time to yourselves to do a bit of touristy things?
“Well, we had a day off in London but TJ and I had to do promotion. The rest of the band went out and did tourist spots, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, everything, which made us really mad. So, TJ and I have to come back and do it privately. Not together, probably. You know, it is so different here and we played a venue that was a former church with cemetery in the back. Some of the gravestones were older than our country!?”
Your music seems to have a history without actually jumping on bandwagons…
“Well, thank you; we are proud to make music that is not easily labelled and our influences are far and varied, from straight HM bands to Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle… But we feel that our sound is more European, Swedish metal… Then, playing Download Festival - it is unbelievable we are on the bill!”
A couple of songs on the album are politically tainted; do you feel it matters to the fans?
“I think it does matter and positive lyrics are necessary because even if 99 out of 100 kids don’t care, that one can influence changes. If people take a political or musical or positive vibe from our music, our job is done. As far as live work is concerned but things are getting much more complicated on the record level.”
“It’s all to do with downloading and the way I view it is that you better use it than try to stop it. I did originally think what was the point of it but then I realised that people don’t care about running order, artwork, quality of sound… It certainly hurts music sales and makes you wonder what you can do? As soon as promotional copies are sent out, it ends up on the Internet. I have mixed feelings about it but it looks it is out of control.”
Some doubt there but it sounds like optimism is preferred outlook for this outfit?
“Strive for your goals and you’ll get there. It’s not like it can’t be achieved, it is not far fetched. Ambition is a strange thing and all of ours have come true: when we started out all we wanted to do is play local gigs and show off to the hardcore fans and other bands; then you want to tour the US and have a record out and then visit Europe. It’s been great ride and everybody who wishes to try it - should do so.”
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Still Remains appear on Download's Napster Stage on Sunday, 12 June
SashaS
7-6-2005
Still Remains’ album ‘Of Love And Lunacy’ is available now via Roadrunner
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