As the first of many interviews you'll read here, I have decided to turn your attention to two young, but promising bands tearing up halls and stages in the northeast U.S. that just so happen to be releasing a split later this week. Aviator and A Breath Beyond Broken both hail from what has been called by some "Moshachusetts", and today you'll get to read some words from the guys in Aviator. Be sure to check in tomorrow where we'll talk to A Breath Beyond Broken, and then Friday to check out my review of their split before it drops on Saturday.
Aviv Marotz plays drums and records/produces Aviator (old EP and new split)
Mat Morin plays guitar.
Tommy Regan plays bass and does backup vocals.
T.J. Copello does vocals.
Mike Russo plays guitar and does backup vocals.
MUSICVERSUSNOISE: Please tell me the history of your band, including when it started, who started it and how it came to form.
AVIATOR: Mat and Aviv started the band back in the fall of 2009 when they met each other at college. Loud music, no parents, Mountain Dew at 9 am and my mommy can’t tell me I can’t. We had an old bassist named Justin who went to school with T.J. and so he brought him to a practice to see how we sounded and if maybe he’d be down to do vocals for us. He was down. Around the same time we brought Mike into the band to see if he was digging some of the material we were writing. He was digging it. Justin left the band for personal reasons and so Tommy (Guns) took his position. But really, it was a pretty long process to officially form the complete band, and Mat and Aviv actually wrote most of the music for our old EP before half the band was even in the band yet.
MVN: Where did you get your band name from?
AVIATOR: After a practice one night Mat and Aviv were driving around and Aviv pitched the idea of Aviator – with hopes of having a simple name that stood out at the same time. They were also pretty stoned. Somehow it just stuck. Haha.
MVN: When you first started out, what were some of the bands you were attempting to sound like, and how does that compare to what you are making right now?
AVIATOR: When we first started, Mat was really into bands like Have Heart and The Carrier, and Aviv and Tommy were talking about starting a band with the similar styles as Defeater, Hot Cross and Touche Amore. In the beginning we started playing music that sounded like a mix of Defeater and Converge, but once Mike joined we added influences like Dead Hearts, Sinking Ships, and Thrice. Once T.J. joined, we developed a pretty solid melodic hardcore/progressive/punk sound. Right now, with this new split, we definitely take influence from bands like Modern Life is War, Defeater, Touche Amore, Dead Swans, La Dispute, Pianos Become the Teeth and Sinking Ships, but we really don’t try to sound like any of them in general. We’ve really gained influence from a lot of older screamo bands, older bands in general and even more melodic hardcore as well.
MVN: What would you consider to be the mission of your band?
Mike Russo: The mission of our band is to express ourselves through our music, and capture the attention and appreciation of others. We may not be the most perfect people, but when we put our heads together, we create something of great value - and we strive for perfection. We write songs with meaning and heart, with hopes that people can relate and get into our music with the same emotion and intensity as us.
MVN: How did Aviator and A Breath Beyond Broken first start the idea of doing a split?
AVIATOR: We’re best buddies and with the way the local scene is at a low, we knew they were just as dedicated a band, if not more, as us. We both wanted to release new material with hopes of reviving a local hardcore scene that wasn’t all about looks and catchy breakdowns, and to be honest we’ve already seen some progress.
MVN: How long ago did the idea come about?
AVIATOR: The idea came in August of 2010. We already had started writing new material and this was the perfect time for us to get something new back out there.
MVN: How do you feel about the idea of a split being two bands of similar genres doing a song or two together (see Touche Amore/La Dispute split) as compared to two bands of totally different genres branching out their fanbase by doing a split together?
Aviv Marotz: There are positives to both of these ideas. Make Do and Mend just put out a split with Touche Amore as well, and though they’re very different bands they still have a similar fanbase. I think a lot of it has to do with the whole underground hardcore/punk/screamo scene and how it has developed into a sort of community of bands. As awesome as the Make Do and Mend/Touche Amore split was, the La Dispute/Touche Amore split seemed like more of a communal effort to me, especially with how they did guest vocals on each other’s sides. It’s always good to branch out a fanbase, and it’s always good to continue releasing new music to the fanbase you already have. In my opinion they’re both great ideas.
MVN: Considering where your bands are from geographically, do you think it might be easier to start a band on the heavier side of the musical spectrum considering what bands have come out of the Northeast?
AVIATOR: Yeah, we think so. There are many influential hardcore bands from this area, and with that there are more kids that listen to hardcore around here. The active hardcore/punk scene in the northeast has definitely influenced us in the creation of this band in one-way or another.
MVN: Who recorded the songs for your side of the split?
AVIATOR: We tracked the drums at our school with the help of our friend Mario Valdez, and with our own gear tracked the rest of the instruments at Triumph Studios, which is Tyler from A Breath Beyond Broken’s studio. They were generous enough to let us use some of their equipment and guitars for the recordings. Aviv then mixed both of our songs on his own and we mastered the songs at Nada Recording.
MVN: Who designed the artwork?
AVIATOR: Adam Vass of La Dispute created the artwork from start to finish.
MVN: Who is releasing it, or are you guys self-releasing it?
AVIATOR: We’re self-releasing the split with A Breath Beyond Broken.
MVN: What are some bands you guys would compare yourselves to now?
AVIATOR: We definitely derived influence from the bands we described above, but with how we’ve progressed we could compare ourselves to bands like Touche Amore, Defeater and The Carrier.
MVN: What were some of the musical/lyrical/personal influences on the songs on this split? What sets them apart from other songs you’ve written?
AVIATOR: Melodically we wanted a more minor/diminished dark sound with more melodic tones than our old EP, and rhythmically we wanted a much tighter sound that was still just as heavy. Lyrically, T.J. brought in personal influence that came from a lot going on in his life during that time that he felt he needed to vent, and with this being his escape, he wrote what he felt. Lyrically, the split is much more passionate and personal than the EP.
MVN: What are you planning to do, besides the release show, to get the word out about the split, ie touring/shows, etc.
AVIATOR: We plan on playing more shows locally as well as regionally. We’re all in school at the moment so we can’t do more than a small tour until this summer. Spreading the word through word of mouth as much as we can, and promoting the split via the Internet as much as possible. We’re really open to any interviews or anything where people can hear us/read about us, the more the better.
MVN: What does it mean to be able to release this split?
AVIATOR: It means everything to us, and that we’ve grown and we’re able to show everyone how we’ve grown as people and musicians. The fact that other people get to hear it is just an added bonus, and we’re more than happy to release it with some of our best friends.
MVN: What does it mean to you to be in a band and releasing music, aka the ‘why do you do this’ question?
AVIATOR: We do what we love. Music is what we love to do more than anything else, and that’s the one thing we all agree on in this band. To be in this band means so much to us, and releasing our music and giving other people the opportunity to listen to what we love to do is all we could ever ask for.
All photos courtesy of Franko Kosic and Aviator
Prior to a month ago, it had been quite some time since I had seen or heard The Acacia Strain. After seeing them twice live around the time they released The Dead Walk, my mind kind of forgot about them (and their album Continent) until I heard they had put out a new album back in July called Wormwood. Needless to say, I was curious to see where the band had gone since penning tracks like "Whoa! Shut It Down" and "Angry Mob Justice", and to be quite honest, not too much has changed for Vincent Bennett and company. The dissonant breakdowns, anger-filled lyricism and thundering rhythm section are all still intact, yet Wormwood is a lesson in blunt-force musical brutality that proves to be the band's most successful and most accessible offering yet. In its twelve tracks, Wormwood hits like a sledgehammer over and over, leaving a mark that is sure to be tough to get rid of.
