New Interview: Focused Minds

Check out this interview we did with our friend Rory from Soul Control about music, touring and life on the road!


http://focusedminds.blogspot.com/


"Sometimes things just fall through the cracks unfortunately, this blog kind of did that. Not because I wanted it to, I jut got side tracked with a bunch of other things and I haven't been on tour as much or hardly so it hasn't been a staple thought in my head. I have sent out some interviews though and this is one that I got back and just fell by the way side after I received. For no particular reason, I just didn't update the blog. Bummer I know. All of my loyal readers. I have fun with the questions and I think it's an interesting take on life on the road, so that's why I keep at it.

With that said, This is an update from Drew, he handles vocal duties for Run With The Hunted. They put out a record last year on Panic records. You should go check it out. I met Drew on tour when we got to play with RWTH in Arizona, very nice fellow and we instantly started trading back emails about various nerd type things, comics, fantasy/sci fi, and of course the every lasting conversation of how do you not lose your voice on tour. Enjoy!

1)How do you keep your sanity on tour? Do you find time for yourself or do you cope by just being around people?

Careful planning and preparation haha. As long as I get a solid 8 hours of sleep every night and eat adequately I can handle any tour. When I book our tours, I purposely route them to have the shortest drives possible so we can all stay rested and not get sick. Alone time is crucial as well and I try to make time for myself when I can. One person usually sleeps alone in the van; it’s kind of like having your own personal apartment for a night. I find that reading helps a lot too because for the few hours a day I can do it, it allows me to escape the reality of the tour – I’m stuck in a metal box on wheels for weeks or months at a time away from most of the people and things I love. Immersing myself in a good book is a nice break.

2) Has there ever been a situation when you've been on tour and you question why your even involved with what you surround yourself with? How do you deal with that?

Those moments do happen every once in a while. Usually they are the low points of tour when things are continuously going wrong and morale is low. Those moments are important in their own ways though, they really test your conviction and intentions. They bring everything into focus and purify the experience by boiling it down to its simplest elements. There have been times when I feel like the hardcore community has moved so far away from what it was (and what I would like it to be) that I feel disheartened and frustrated. I meet plenty of apathetic and ignorant kids at shows on the road. I guess I deal with it by doing my best to inform and inspire kids like that to look beyond the surface of things and try to extract a deeper sense of what’s going on in the world. I want to give people a different perspective and get them to question their own beliefs and create their own sense of reality instead of relying on other people to do it for them.

3) Tour magic, explain it's wonders and amazing results, or just one result. What I mean by magic is something happening that you weren't expecting, like someone getting you on a last minute show or showing up at a place to stay and someone made you food, or someone did something extraordinary for you.

We’ve been really fortunate as a band in this sense; more people than I ever would have imagined have taken us into their homes (as complete strangers), cooked us food, and just gone above and beyond to make us feel welcome in places that couldn’t be farther from home. We had a really bad show in Bremerton, WA last summer and we were on tour with a band from Sweden called Anchor, so money was tight. Our friend Brian put us up at his house and made us shit tons of amazing food the night before and then the show just tanked. I was starting to get sick and morale was really low, I think we got like $20 between the two bands. After the show, Brian just walked up to me in the van and handed me an envelope with some money in it and just said “Take this.” I protested and protested but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. It brought me to tears that someone would be willing to give us their hard earned money to help us chase our dream; that kind of thing just doesn’t happen every day you know? There have been a lot of people who have done extraordinary things for us on the road and we’re eternally grateful to all of them.

4) Do you see yourself touring five years down the road? Why or why not? Do you think touring is an essential part of being in a band?

Honestly no, I don’t see myself touring in five years, at least not full time. There are other things I want to do with my life most of which can’t start until the band ends. Right now I love touring and it makes sense for what I’m trying to do but I don’t know if that will be the same in five years. Who knows though, I guess it really depends on what happens with the band. If the opportunities are there, why not? Most of that is out of my control though. I think for certain genres of music touring is essential; punk and hardcore is definitely one of them. But I never want to be that band who keeps putting out music and touring long after their prime; I don’t want to outwear our welcome and beat a dead horse.

5) Do you ever stumble across things while on the road and try to implement them into your own life and or try to bring those great aspects back home with you and spread it around?

Occasionally yah. We meet and stay with a lot of really creative and progressive people and often times, they inspire us take some of their ideas home with us. We’ve stayed in some really awesome collectives and squats and that lifestyle is really interesting to me. Anchor loved to play Frisbee and now we never go on tour without one. As a vegan, I get to try a lot of new and interesting food on the road too, and I definitely implement new recipes into my life after tour. Some of the promoters and venues we play in are really inspirational too; oftentimes they exist completely outside of the control of any single person or corporation. The most inspiring thing about punk and hardcore to me is that it is (still) a community of young people who are creating and controlling something themselves. The goal isn’t profit or making a smart move for your future - it’s based purely on passion, on doing something you love for the simple fact that you love it. People who take that kind of control of their lives and make things happen for themselves really inspire me, and I try to take that attitude home and implement into my own life. DIY is a lifestyle - not just a way to book shows."