Interview: A Breath Beyond Broken

In part two of three, let us sit down with the foursome known as A Breath Beyond Broken and talk about this upcoming split and what drives them as a band.

Photo by Dakota Sumpter

Tyler Bradley - guitar/vocals
Ryan Boone - guitar/vocals
Bryan Carifio - bass/vocals
Seamus Menihane - drums

MUSICVERSUSNOISE: Please tell me the history of your band, including when it started, who started it, how it came to form.
Tyler Bradley: Well, we came together in November of 2006 as a 5 piece. Ryan, Bryan and I, along with our former guitarist, originally formed AB3 from the wreckage of two defunct bands. At the time, I was in a band with our other original member, Tom, and we were unhappy with how things were going with that. Ryan and Bryan were in the same situation in another band. I had known Ryan since first grade, so it was easy to talk to him about starting something together. We talked about things for a while and eventually decided to start this project. We recruited a drummer I knew from a very old band and got ourselves going pretty quickly. We went through some member and sound changes in late 2007/early 2008 through which we found our current drummer, Seamus, who we’ve been with since February of 2008.

MVN: Where did you get your band name from?
TB: We came up with the name ourselves. We tossed around a few ideas and decided on this. I think the alliteration aspect helped attract us to it. I’m happy that it isn’t just a group of meaningless words. It means hopeless; to be “beyond broken”.

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?
TB:I’d have to say that when we were just getting started I was very influenced by The Fall of Troy, As Cities Burn, At The Drive-In, He Is Legend and Underoath’s Define the Great Line. At this point, I’d say it would be hard to draw any connection to those bands except for acb. I guess you could see a little fall of troy and atdi in us, but it definitely isn’t obvious or intentional.

MVN: What would you consider to be the mission of your band?
TB: To create music that we truly love and feel passionate about. We definitely value and promote creativity and originality and we really hope that shines through. It’s a tough era for hardcore and everything related to it, so we’re trying to defy that in our own way. I guess we try to play music for the right reasons.

MVN: Who recorded the songs for your side of the split?
TB: I recorded and mixed everything myself and we had everything mastered by John Naclerio at Nada Studios in New York. I think it’s actually really cool that both bands did their own recording. It ended up giving each side of the split an even more personal and unique voicing.

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?
Seamus Menihane: This is actually our first split, so we approached Aviator because we're very friendly with them and because they share a very similar ethic. I think that sharing a similar ethic and passion for the music being played is much more important than the genre. Since this is our first split we can't really speak from experience, but I think the concept of a split naturally allows for each band to have the others fan base be exposed to their music. The great thing about hardcore is that there really are many different sounding artists who come together and appreciate each other because they share a similar passion and ethic.

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?
SM: I'd say that it's easier to start a heavier band with a generic sound, but it seems hard for musicians around here to do something different. People in general, but especially around here, are not very open to new things. Although, there are many bands from this area such as Converge and Have Heart who have proved that hardcore doesn't have to be one dimensional.

MVN:How did Aviator and A Breath Beyond Broken first start the idea of doing a split? How long ago did the idea come about?
SM: We started tossing around the idea of doing a split in May of this year. We were looking to put out a split in between Canvas of Seasons and our next bigger release for some time. We started playing some shows with Aviator in the spring and things just fell into place. Things really got going in late summer/early fall.

MVN: Who designed the artwork?
Ryan Boone: Adam Vass (http://adamxvass.com/). We worked with Adam for Canvas of Seasons and we were really happy with how things turned out, so we asked him if he'd take on this project.

MVN: Who is releasing it, or are you guys self-releasing it?
RB: We will be releasing the split ourselves. It will be available physically at shows and on our online merch store. It will also be available for digital download on our bandcamp page.

MVN: What are some bands you guys would compare yourselves to now?
RB: This is a hard question to answer. We have always advocated diversity and originality, which is why I think we have such a unique sound. But if I had to pick judging by some of our influences I would say Pianos Become the Teeth, mewithoutYou, Touche Amore, and Fear before the March of Flames. Those are all comparisons we have heard from fans as well.

MVN: What does it mean to be able to release this split?
RB: It means the world to be able to share a release with such a talented group of musicians. We are lucky enough to call those guys our best friends. Our mutual respect and appreciation for one another’s art made this such a great experience.

MVN: What does it mean to you to be in a band and releasing music, aka the ‘why do you do this’ RB: question? Being in this band means absolutely everything to all of us. For the past 4-5 years we have all poured our hearts and souls into this. We dedicate all the time we possibly can to the band and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We do this because it’s our true passion in life. Nothing beats getting up in front of people and playing what we have worked so hard on.

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?
Bryan Carifio: I read a book on tour one day called "Franny and Zooey" by JD Salinger, and I played with the idea of writing songs about it and though this split isn’t a direct interpretation there are certainly some of the book’s themes at play. The titles and the general themes of the songs are about the toll that being too concerned with yourself takes on your relationship with the world. If you spend all of your time in your own head concerned with how you appear or what you’re doing with your life or what you’ll become, you’ll eventually begin to forget about the people you love and that will just continue to negatively affect you. They’re expressions over anxiety about living life in isolation or feeling apart from others.

One major difference from our full-length album is that this split is much more personal, where Canvas of Seasons was a concept album. They share some similar ideas. Canvas of Seasons is about rejecting the norms of society and how it impacts the thought process and relationships in the frame of typical symbols of the four seasons and this split is a more personal reflection on the problems of over thinking. I felt limited in the scope of my lyrics on Canvas of Seasons when I wasn’t the main voice of the band, but since I’ve taken over vocals primarily I feel much more comfortable expressing things closer to me and I think that’s made the songs more cohesive and relatable.

MVN: What are you planning to do, besides the release show, to get the word out about the split, ie touring/shows, etc.
BC: After the release show, the split will be at all of our shows and will also be available online at our bandcamp page (www.abreathbeyondbroken.bandcamp.com). If we do happen to run out, I think we’ll either restock or make it available exclusively online. Also, we’re in the early stages of booking a tour for late December, which is pretty exciting because we’ve only been able to tour in the summer due to the fact that some of the nerds in the band, like me, go to school. That will be a cool opportunity to promote our new music in some of the places we visited on tour a few months ago.