http://www.myspace.com/worldwidetakeoverzine
Gladiator interview with Brandon (singer) by Russ
Interview by Russ answered by Brandon Roth singer of Gladiator
www.myspace.com/gladiatorhc
1.) Lets start off by telling everyone who's in the band and what they do?
-Brandon Roth = vocals
-Joe Hughes = Guitar
-Eric Eversole = Guitar
-Tom "Nasty" Niese = Bass
-Dustin Dolerhai = Drums
2.) How long has Gladiator been around?
-We got together in December of 06.
3.) Is this the original line up?
-Yes
4.) How does this band differ from Dead End Path, Fuck The Kids & Blood Money?
-We try to combine all of the sounds of our previous bands; the in-your-face straight up hardcore riffs of Dead End Path, the thrashy style of Fuck the Kids, and the crunchy metal riffs of Blood Money 513.
5.) How did the band come up with the name Gladiator?
-We spent a good deal of time searching for a band name that was to the point, that people could remember, and that just sounded good. We had a couple other names in mind and upon looking on the internet found that other bands have already claimed those names. So out of the process of elimination we chose Gladiator. The name itself comes off symbolizing much of what we stand for: fighting for what is ours, for what we believe in, and what we stand for.
6.) What bands would you say you draw influences from?
-It is hard to pinpoint any certain bands as our influences. We try to be diverse as possible. Good old fashioned New York Hardcore, Beatdown style hardcore, and Metal all play a huge part in our influences. Just to name a few bands: Blood In/Blood Out, Agnostic Front, 100 Demons, Shattered Realm, Ringworm, etc.
7.) What do you lyrics deal with?
-The lyrics deal with everything from the struggle of every day life & dead end jobs to the ideals of brotherhood, friendship, & vengeance. We write the lyrics as they come, relfecting on the experiences of our every day lives
8.) For someone who has yet been able to see Gladiator what could they expect at a show?
-Excpect to see 5 dudes of different backgrounds (some straight edge, some not, some Christian, some not, etc.) together for one reason, the love of hardcore. We will play basements & we will play larger venues. But whatever the case, expect to hear genuine hardcore not influenced whatsoever by the evergrowing persona created by Victory Records, Hot Topic, & MTV. And no doubt the show will be guarenteed to be crazy will the presence of the band and the crowd.
9.) Please describe your sound?
-We try to combine the sounds of New York hardcore, with in your face beatdown, & some metal. Overall our sound comes out to be a blend of pissed off and heavy straight-up hardcore.
10.) What first got you into hardcore?
-I got into hardcore my Freshman year of high school. Long story short a friend of mine was real into punk rock and introduced me to such bands as The Dead Kennedys & Minor Threat. I started to look into these bands more and more and eventually bumped into hardcore. I soon stumbled across bands like Madball, Agnotic Front, etc. and Ohio hardcore legends Integrity, Ringworm, & One Life Crew. And that is where it all started.
11.) Most memorable show so far?
-The most memorable show that we have played thus far would have to be the Cold As Life, Ringworm, H8 INC, show that we played up in Columbus, OH at Bernies Distillery. Imagine a hole-in-wall bar, just hardly bigger than a basement, with piss-poor lighting. On top of that imagine a couple hundred drunk, rough and rowdy, hardcore kids in this bar going ape shit.
12.) What bands in your area should we be looking out for?
-Local bands are what keeps individual hardcore scenes alive. Make sure to support local hardcore. Some of the bands in our area to look out for are: Crowd Deterrent, Yesterdays Youth, For the Proud, A Death And A Promise, Taste the Steel, Never Again, & Under One Flag. Some of these bands have been around for a hell of a long time but still haven't gotten the recognition the deserve. Check them out and support!
13.) How many demos, 7in, cd, etc do you have out?
-Right now we have one 4-song demo that we recorded with Corey Blythe our friend in Suffocate Faster. In September of 2007 we will begin recording for a full length to be released on Self Core Records.
14.) Any bands you are looking forward to play with or wanna play with?
-We have several shows coming up including some with Subzero, Fight Like Hell, & Blood Stands Still, all of which are great bands. We definitely look forward to start playing more out of town shows.
15.) Any side projects you wanna tell us about?
-No side projects. There were 3 bands that ended right as Gladiator started. Check them out: Dead End Path, Blood Money513, & Fuck the Kids.
16.) Tell us about the scene in Cincy?
-The Cincinnati hardcore scene has always been good to us. Actually the entire Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana scene in general has been good to us. In Cincinnati, it seems like everyone who comes out to shows knows everyone at the show. It is a tight knit scene where everyone knows each other. Kids come out to the shows to have a good time and watch the bands, not to start drama and start fights. One problem is that there is a lack of evnues in the Cincinnati area and the other is the evergrowing problem of fake hardcore bands rising up in our area. Bands who try to fit a mold, dress a certain way, just to make a profit. You will never see these kids support any other bands or other shows, they are just out for thier own good.
17.) Where is your favorite place to play in your area?
-We haven't played in too many places just yet but all of our shows have been fun. It is always a blast to play at home in Cincinnati in front of our friends and family. Columbus is always crazy as hell and is always an amazing place to play at, especially Bernies. There are a lot of memories at that place. The shows that Dead End Path played in Northwest Indiana were crazy and we can't wait to play there in the future. Also we can't wait to play the Cleveland, Youngstown area with our friends up that way.
18.) What made you wanna start a band?
-To get out and have fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
19.) What would be your dream tour (not including your band)?
-Subzero, Madball, Blood for Blood, & Bulldoze.
20.) If Gladiator was going on a world tour who would u take with you?
-If we had enough publicity to do a world tour, I would definitely take a few of our friends' bands with us to help them spread thier names. We will never forget the people who have helped us along the way and if there is anyway to repay them we will do so.
21.) 5yrs where do u wanna see Gladiator?
-Some of us are married, have kids, go to college, have professions etc. So I can't see gladiator as a full time touring band but I do see us in the future going out on short tours and playing out on weekends, but most importantly keeping it in the underground scene until the day we die.
22.) What ways can the readers get a hold of you dudes?
-Best way to get ahold of us is via myspace. You can talk all the crap you want about myspace, but it is one hell of a promotional tool for underground bands. From our myspace you can get our e-mail addresses/numbers. www.myspace.com/gladiatorhc
23.) Is there anything else I may have left out you wanna tell the readers about?
We are not a straight edge band, we are not a Christian band, we are not political acitivists. We are just 5 guys with a sincere love of hardcore playing the music that we love.
Thanks Brandon and Gladiator.
www.myspace.com/gladiatorhc