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Friday, November 07, 2008
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Current mood:  awake Category: Music
 Featured Band
Download
(feature compiled and done by k@t & -Gabe- from MC7C, please do not copy and paste this interview. You may direct link to this blog, if you don't we will order the God's to make monkeys fly out of your butt)
Biography
Download is a five piece band from Virginia Beach, VA. They were established in 2002 and are showing no signs of letting up. The sound is deeply rooted in the '80's New York hardcore sound as well as thrash metal of the same era. The lyrics delve into many different subject areas like showing appreciation for fans, friends and family as well as showing disgust in the crop of fakes and back stabbers that are encountered on a daily basis. Some songs also tackle current events like the West Memphis Three and the aftermath of September 11th. The live show is quite an experience. If not the loudest, they are definitely one of the loudest bands in the Tidewater area. The band has experience in playing small bars all the way up to 20,000+ seating venues, and with their full size van and trailer, Download is tour ready. The intensity of a Download show is like no other, and this is all validated by the fact that they were voted "Best local band of 2007" by the listeners of FM99 WNOR and also won first place to play at the sold out Lunatic Luau 11 at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater.
InstrumentationKeith Chapin- VocalsKevin Newburn- Bass/VocalsJimmy McGinnis- Lead GuitarTravis Spaulding- Rhythm Guitar/VocalsJamie Smith- Drums
Interview with Travis Spaulding!
Did you grow up in Hampton Roads? If so, what cities? What high schools?
Yea, I went to Maury in Norfolk from 92-94. After that I went to Nansemond River in Suffolk from 94-96. Keith went to Nansemond River, too. I think he was there a couple years earlier than me.
Describe your music to someone who has never heard it.
It's like a really bad bar fight. There's nothing you can really do to stop it. The best thing to do is just let it run it's course.
What is your most crazy show story? (Any naked women running around? Drunk bar fights?)
Probably in Seaford, DE. We went up there with Chaos Theory, and the show was great. After the show, there were a group of guys who wanted to start some trouble. Without getting too much into detail, there ended up being a big brawl in the parking lot. After the fight, we finished packing up our equipment and hauled ass back to the campground we were staying at. The after party commenced and we had a good time. The following morning, the park ranger came out and slapped us and Chaos Theory with fines for having a bunch of alcohol bottles at the camp site. Who'd of thought that you can't have alcohol at a state park, haha.
How would you like to see the local music scene change? How do you think we can solve the problems we are having with venues doing little to NO promoting of shows, not paying the bands much, lack of good sound systems, and other issues?
It would be great if local venues would do more radio advertising. We definitely notice the difference when there has been radio spots for the show. Other than that, promotion is up to the bands. We run flyers to the venue ourselves. If we're not going to do it, we don't expect others to. The key is to be proactive. As far as payment, we just want what's fair. We were concerned with the lack of good sound systems, so we bought our own. We even run sound for other bands when we're not playing out. Jamie (drums) has a great ear for running sound, so we get asked to run sound quite often.
What's up for the band in 2008? ( a tour, album?)
We just finished our debut full length cd. It's called We Only Bleed For Family. It comes with a dvd and it is available at shows right now. After our cd release, it'll be available at Fuzion Ink, Skinnie's Records, and select FYE stores in the area. We are also working on getting our online store up and running, so people abroad can get our stuff. We'll have the cd available for download via Snocap or you can order a hard copy through the mail. I personally think the hard copy is the way to go, because of the killer dvd that comes with it. We've been getting some radio airplay in a lot of different areas like Wisconsin, Georgia, and Massachusetts, so we will be leaving the area a lot more this year. We also have a show booked with Death Angel, God Forbid, Soilent Green, and others on May 10th at Steppin Out. We're also playing with Halo Of Locusts at Budda's on May 17th. We definitely have a lot on our plate, but we're looking forward to all of it.
What local bands and artists do you recommend?
It depends on what you're into. If extreme metal is your thing, then Plague The Suffering would be a good recommendation. If your into something a bit more melodic, then Chaos Theory would be your best bet. One of my favorite sludge bands in the area is Beaten Back To Pure. There's a lot of kick ass bands around here, like Erase The Enemy and All Has Fallen, but honestly, I'd just say refer to our thank you list in our cd. That is a great representation of bad ass local music.
What are your favorite venues to play at? How would you like to see the available venues to change when booking shows?
Definitely radio promotion. Other than that, I'd just say bigger stages. Download loves a big stage. Right now, Gil's and The Half Shell are my favorite places to play. If The Half Shell would widen their stage, it'd be perfect. We don't just stand around on stage. We jump around and run all over the place. That's why we love the bigger stages.
Who primarily writes the songs? Is there a certain process or does it come out during practice?
We all take part. It starts off as a riff, and we all work it out. Sometimes, one of us will have an entire song. We'll be like, " I have this song, it's completely written, all I have to do is teach it to you." It always ends up totally different, haha. It's cool though, because no matter how much of a departure it is from what we've done before, it'll always sound like Download. It takes all five of us to write a song. That's how it should be.
How do you market your music to the public? What seems to work best for you for letting people know about your shows?
All of the above. The key to getting noticed is having a strong internet presence. I'll post our news and info on any website willing to put it up there. We also maintain a strong public presence. How many bars have you been to where you see our flyers, or stickers? We don't sell stickers, we give them away. It's well worth it because people put them everywhere.
Finish these statements:
"You know you've made it when..."
...you can quit your job, haha. I don't care about fame and fortune. I just want to be able to pay my bills.
"It'll be time to pack up the gear for good when..."
...I'm dead. Actually, my loved ones will probably end up packing up my gear for me. I always see myself playing music. I've been a musician since I was a kid. I don't ever see myself not playing.
"I'll never forget the first time I..."
...played a show. It was amazing. The band was 454. It was at Connie's (now Gil's) and the place was packed. I still remember it like it was yesterday.
Let's have some fun with word association. Give me your immediate feelings on the following:
Pembroke Area aka Downtown Virginia Beach-
Home. I've been living in this area for about 10 months. I'm pretty happy with it.
The Oceanfront-
Too many rules. The fun police have really ruined that area. The only time I go down that way is if it's worth my while. Needless to say, I don't go to the oceanfront very often.
Granby Street-
Camp Zama Records, Riverview Theater. I miss the Riverview. I remember seeing Tree there, and I've played there a couple times. It had so much potential. Also Fuzion Ink is there. I've been to Fuzion a few times, and to me that seems like the best place to get ink around here.
Portfolio Weekly-
A very well rounded publication. They cover just about everything. I'd like to see a little more heavy music in there. I sent them a cd for review not too long ago, but I haven't heard anything back yet. Hopefully they'll do one for us.
Independent Music Stores / Businesses / Restaurants-
I mentioned Camp Zama earlier. Skinnie's Records has been my favorite record store since 1992. I remember going to Maury, I'd cut class to go to Skinnie's because they always had the extreme metal bands and punk bands I listened to. I'm so glad to see that Steve still has the place going strong, and I'm honored to have our cd as part of his inventory.
Mount Trashmore-
I haven't been there in a long time. I have some fond memories though. I remember when I was skating a lot, I went to a killer skate show there. I think it was 1988 or 1989, when Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, and a bunch of other skaters put on a show at Mount Trashmore. It was a good time.
Best Venue-
Either Gil's or The Half Shell. They both have good and not so good qualities. I have a great time playing at either place, though.
Worst Venue-
The ones that won't book us, haha.
Best Kept Secret-
The whole local scene. No one seems to know about this area. It is music's untapped resource.
Pungo-
Strawberries.
Favorite Dive Bar-
Probably CC-22 in Delaware. The place is a total dive, but damn, the people there are crazy. They were the ones that got us to start the chicken fighting in the mosh pit. They also like to hang from the rafters and land in the pit.
What's the most played song on your iPod (or an equivalent music playing device) in the past week?
Probably "Mistress Of Pain" by Death Angel. We just booked a show with them God Forbid and Soilent Green. "Mistress Of Pain" was my favorite Death Angel song when I was growing up, so I've been listening to their Ultra Violence album a lot.
Who would be in your ultimate music supergroup, your all-star Olympic team of rock?
If I can raise the dead, it would be Chuck Schuldiner (Death) on guitar/vocals, Bill Steer (Carcass) on the other guitar, Cliff Burton (Metallica) on bass, and Gene Hoglan (Death, Strapping Young Lad, Dethklok) on drums. If I'm not allowed to raise the dead, then put Jeff Walker (Carcass) on bass and vocals, and I'll play the other guitar, haha.
What came first, the music or the misery? Explain.
Probably the music. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that music originated as a method of story telling. Later on it seems like it became more widely used as self expression or even as a therapeutic form of art. Then again, I think I've also heard that primitive humans used music to affect the weather, so I guess months without rain would be pretty miserable, haha. I guess it could go either way.
Linkswww.DownloadVA.com
www.myspace.com/downloadva
4:05 AM
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