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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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Philip Carandang - Vocals, Guitar Chris Jenkins - Guitar A.J. Seacrist - Bass, Vocals Chris Profeta - Drums, Vocals |
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| Interview with Philip and A.J. June 7th, 2004 |
| E: A Cutthroat Kiss puts together songs that are incredible by anyone's standards. What sort of chemistry does it take to form a band successfully?
AJ: Guys that can obviously play their instruments well, and have the same idea of how far they want to take it. They might have different ideas of how to get there, so compromise is pretty huge. Philip: I'd say just a willingness to work and be more professional about things. As far as our fans go, they're more like friends. I think we know and talk to almost everybody who is at our shows. E: How different are the elements that each member brings to a song being written? Philip: Well, as overused as this will sound, our styles individually are really different. I think that's why our songs are so hard to write... because everybody has a different style we're going at first. In general, A.J. has a really different taste out of all of us... but in the end, coming together, our compromises turn into whatever is fun to play. A.J.: Phil will start playing a riff of sorts... I would then start playing a bass line or chord progression underneath it... and then Chris P. would set it to whatever rhythm he wants. Then we kind of just take it from there. And then Phil would write kickass melodies and lyrics and such. E: What are the most rewarding parts of songwriting for you? Philip: Definitely has to be hearing kids singing the words that we write back to us. When we played our first show, they sang louder than me, and we've never had that happen with our previous bands. It just gives you the chills. Plus all the compliments we get about kids who really make it seem like they look up to us. It's like motivation, inspiration, and cookies. A.J.: Just hearing something in practice, and knowing that people are going to like it, because I love it, and I am proud of it... and you can show it to people and be, like, "Hey! Look what I did!" *Laughs* E: Would you prefer playing a show in your hometown, or somewhere you've never been? A.J.: Oh, hometown by far. You see all the local kids that you know, and you get In-N-Out after. *Laughs* Philip: Yeah, hometown, definitely. I mean, that's where it all starts, and that's where all our friends are. Home is where the heart is. But of course we want to get exposure and would love to tour and play all over. E: How easy is it for the band to agree on a set list to play? Philip: *Laughs* Not very easy at all. Sometimes when we have problems we plan to just ask the crowd and have them take a vote. We've done it numerous times. We all have different tastes. A.J.: Phil and Chris P. outvote me every time. *Laughs* Damn democracies. E: How much time is spent together in the studio, as opposed to separately? A.J.: Chris Jenkins works with me now, so we spend about four or five hours a day together. Philip: We hang out a lot. Profeta, Jenkins and A.J. are all part of the group of friends who I would die for. I'm usually always with one of them no matter what. I love those guys to death. I think that's why Profeta had a hard time telling me he left the band, because he was really my best friend at the time. But I only wish him the best. A.J.: I still hang out with Profeta every so often. He's like the little brother I never had... and I try to get together with Phil every once in a while--I've been going crazy with school lately, though. We played basketball last week, though... I got my eyebrow split open. It was fun. E: What do you think are the most important things to accomplish through lyric writing? Philip: To be honest, I was very down on myself for the last EP we released because the lyrics were so trendy and stuff. But lately I've been trying to write with more simplicity, but at the same time have a cool twist on things. I think if you ever hear any new releases from us, the lyrics will definitely be more to the point, less cliche... but at the same time, easy to relate to. A.J.: Phil's a little lyrical stud. E: Do you think that the band will progress more and more with each release in its future? A.J.: Oh man, yeah... it will definitely be going in one direction or another. The other guys get bored with stuff really quick, and want to do this or that. I'm pretty happy playing the same old stuff, though. *Laughs* Philip: If you don't, there's no point in being a band. The way I see things is that everything should be better than the last. Like, for example, every song written should be better than the last. That's the way I look at life. E: What do you hope to advance in as a band? A.J.: Really, the only thing I want out of this whole thing is to have people hear something we've written and go, "Wow. That is amazing." That's honestly all I want. We have a long, long way to go. Philip: I want to be less trendy, more unexpected and be on a major label. That's my dream! E: Are the dreams of your bandmates the same as your own? Should this be the case? Philip: Of what's left, I think we're all on the same page. To be honest, it's been tough lately with the loss of our drummer... but once we get everything going, we're going to try to go full force. E: Do you think that the band will go throught a noticeable change both in the band and with fans with a new drummer? Philip: I'm not sure at all. He was an important part of the band and put a lot of character into us. It scares me sometimes to think what our next drummer might have to do to fill his shoes. A.J.: Chris P. is so freaking good... he added so, so, so much, so we're either going to have to find a guy that can fill his shoes--which doesn't seem likely--or really just try to beef up our songs in other ways. E: Well, thanks a bunch for talking. Philip: It was my pleasure! |