Hailing from Baltimore, MD...Give brings forth a refreshing style of rock driven hardcore punk. Their sound resembles that of late 80's early 90's bands like Dag Nasty, Farside and Into Another but clearly not imitating them either. I've been really into what this band has been doing lately so here is an interview I did with their singer John, enjoy the read!
Who are you and what do you do in Give as well as everyone else?
My name is John, I am a 27 year old male and I sing for Give. Ian and Ben play guitar, Pat plays bass, and Gene plays Drums.
Give us a brief history on the band, why did you guys decide do this and how did it all come together? Give originally started in early 2006 as a loose idea between my friend Aaron and I. We gave the band a real go and eventually found people to round out the line-up. We met up with Gene and our friends Andy and Ahron in late 2006 and started jamming loosely. We had known all of them for a long time and everyone seemed to be on the same page. They all had other projects going on, and I was enlisted in the US Air Force stationed in Mississippi at the time. I figured it would be best to not try and do anything but practice together and write songs until I had a chance to finish my military service and move up. So we only practiced every so often until about the end of 2008. Aaron was busy with his other band, The First Step, and was just about to go away on a three year buddhist retreat, so we had to part ways. Andy became busy with other bands and now fronts the band Praise. We recruited Ian, Ben, and Pat to replace them, played our first show in Nov of 2008 and have been doing it ever since.
Why the name Give? Any significance with the name?
I originally chose the name because of it's potential I was really into the band name "Gone" and liked the way the word looked on layouts, specifically the letter "G". Besides that, there are tons of obvious parallels that can be made in regard to the name and music, life, ideas, beliefs, etc. It's always interesting to hear what someone else thinks about us from the name. I think in the beginning, the band name can maybe define the band, but then eventually, it switches and the band starts to define the name. That type of thing always interested me.
You played the Radio Silence show this past december with Walter Schreifels and Birds of Paradise, what was that show like? That show was a lot of fun and Anthony was really easy to work with. New York City is so huge and varied and feels like a hard scene to really make your way into, so it was nice to have some help.I think the Radio silence book came out really well, so it's cool being associated with that. I gave Walter a 12" after our show, I wonder if he was into it?
What bands has everyone been involved with prior to doing Give?
I sang for a band called Breakthrough, we only released a demo in 2003 and played about 11 shows total. React Records are in the process of releasing the demo plus an extra track onto vinyl. Gene has been in No Justice, Desperate Measures, Savage Boys and Girls Club, and has filled in for countless bands over the years. He is also the drummer for Lion of Judah right now. Lion of Judah just released a stellar EP on youngbllod records. Ian and Ben also play in Lion of Judah and Ian plays with War Hungry. They are in the process of recording a record for six feet under records. Ben was in a band called Turn into Ghosts a few years ago, and Pat was in a band called Queen Ann's Revenge.
You recently did a 12" on Moonflower Records, where was that recorded and how long did it take to write the LP? We recorded that at Inner Ear studios with Don Zientara. Writing for the LP didn't really take that long. We changed line-ups right when I got here in Maryland and scheduled our first show opening for Rival Schools at the otto bar here in Baltimore. We had about a month to prepare so we rented time at a local space and practiced almost every day for a month prior to the show. We wrote about 9 or 10 brand new songs during that period and picked out our 6 favorite songs for the 12". Our first show was in november 2008 and we recorded in March 2009, so we got them ready pretty quickly. We always have a pretty big pool of songs to choose from.
Did you do any releases or a demo prior to the Self Titled LP?
We practiced for a few years writing together and feeling out exactly what we were going to do before the 12". So there is a ton of practice recordings and demos we made for ourselves to fine tune the songs and make adjustments. The 12" is essentially our demo in my opinion. I think it showcases what we are, but also shows there is a lot of room for growth. I think the 12" really shows our influences like any band and I'm really interested in where we will go after this.
What was it like working with Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios?
Gene, Ian, and Ben had recorded with Don a few other times with Lion of Judah releases and they always spoke highly of the experience. I had a great time and Don is very encouraging without being too hands on. Inner Ear is a very comfortable studio and Don has went out of his way to make recording there a pleasant experience. During our recent recording, he took us out to a local restaurant for dinner and took care of the whole bill. There is a lot of old photo's, records, posters, and interesting DC music paraphernalia that line the lounge and hallways at inner ear that always make me smile.
How long did it take to track the LP?
We completed all of the recording for the 12" in one day, and had to go back later to mix it. It was a total of 6 songs, and the first song was a practice recording from an earlier line-up of the band that we tacked on during the mixing process. We just did 4 new songs for two new EP's and it took us a day to record all of those also. Since finances are always tight and we put the 12" out ourselves, we really try to make the recording process as quick as possible. I think it serves us well. It will be interesting to see what happens if we ever get a little flexibility in the studio and if that is a help or hindrance. A lot of overanalyzing can go on in the studio during recording.
What releases do you have planned for the future?Any Touring? Etc...
We just finished up recording 4 new songs that are going to be released as two separate 2 song singles on two different labels that we are going to announce shortly. We have been playing a lot of shows lately and are touring down to Chaos in Tejas this summer with Lion of judah and War hungry. Besides that, we are always looking for shows to play and will usually find a way to play anywhere people would like to see us. I hope to make it out to california this summer, and to more places in the midwest that we haven't been.
How would you describe your bands sound? What are your main influences musically and how would you want other people to describe Give's overall sound? I have no idea how to describe give. I would like someone to just take the LP and figure out what makes sense in their own head. I think describing a band is the listener's job. They decide to love it or hate it or ignore it. A few of my favorite descriptions that I have read/heard are "A mix of Embrace and AC/DC….EMBRACEEDEE", "Bootleg Glen Danzig singing for a third rate grunge band", and "Revolution era Dischord and SST with their own thing mixed in". I think it's pretty easy to pinpoint a few influences on our first record and that's the usual. Figure out a common jumping off point and see where we can push it. Being in the band, I myself am really interested to see what happens on the next releases. I feel like it's totally impossible to completely direct how your band is going to come across to another person, and even to totally have the finished product match the initial vision. It was frustrating at first, but now I find it to be a lot of fun. "Once the music leaves your head, it's already compromised".
Where do you see the band going in the future? How far would you like it to go?
We are just going to write tunes and play out as much as we can. Who knows where it will take us. I want to be completely swallowed up though. I want to tour as much as possible and write music that I can be happy and proud to have other people hear. Write albums that I would be burned at the stake in defense of.
What is one major aspect that you would like to accomplish with doing this band if you have yet to already? It would be cool to really help our hometown scene (Washington DC/Baltimore/Maryland/Northern Virginia) become a known spot for creativity, great shows, and good times. Unite the whole place and keep building. I want bands and people to go to a show in our area and walk away salivating to come back. Seems like there is a lot of bands and people around here lately, a lot of energy and excitement getting stirred up. We have good promoters, supportive people, and a pretty diverse musical trough to drink from.
Some bands that people should not be sleeping on in 2010?
The Rival Mob is a current fav, but I don't really think anyone is sleeping on them. I think most people know the deal already. Same goes for my dudes in Mindset. New Hostage Calm record is going to be cool. I'm always interested in what Fucked Up is going to do next, and I really hope Blacklisted keep pushing it. I liked their recent album. A few new bands from our area worth a listen are Rations, Praise, and Sacred Love. And a few bands everyone should be acquainted with already are Coke Bust and Police and Thieves.
