Gwen Stacy: Interview
Posted by EMPIRE | Filed under INTERVIEWS
Gwen Stacy
An Interview with Gwen Stacy’s T.J. Sego
By Brandon Ridberg
When growing up what did you listen to:
TJ: When I was in middle school I was obsessed with MxPx. In high school I was really into Beloved. I’ve also always been a big fan of hip hop. Not radio rap, but good hip hop. Sage Francis for life.
What musical experience did you have before you formed Gwen Stacy:
Brent and I played in a band together before Gwen Stacy. GS is my fifth band.
When & how was Gwen Stacy formed:
We started in December ‘04. We got together to jam on the weekends and things took off from there.
How did you come about choosing the name Gwen Stacy:
Lots of coffee and boredom.
Describe your first show:
We played in my hometown of Franklin for about twenty kids. I have video from it. It’s bad.
What styles of music have influenced you:
A lot of experimental and melodic hardcore. None of us listen to very much metal at all. We have really broad tastes. For instance, my latest obsessions are new Atmosphere, Rufio, and Matisyahu.
With Christian bands emerging more & more, do you find that it influences your music to change in any way:
Not so much the music, but more so the message. I don’t care what people label us as, we’re not a metalcore band. That requires us to play metal, which we don’t. But kids are always getting pummeled with the Christian message, so we try to take our message to a more personal level. I believe you shouldn’t have to state your beliefs on your shirt for people to see it.
How did you get signed with Ferret Records & how is it working with them:
Ferret rules. They poked some interest when we did a shopping demo that had four tracks from the record, and them and management took over from there. Ferret was number one on our list, and all of the official people made it happen.
Which do you prefer to record with Macs or PCs:
I prefer PC software ran on a Mac via Crossover. I’ve been using Cool Edit Pro 2.0, which is Adobe Audition before Adobe bought out Syntrillium, since I was 16. I do all of my writing with automation programs like Reason. Reason 4.0 is my best friend.
Looking back on the creation of The Life I Know, is there anything you would have done differently:
I wish we would have had more time to write it. The album we’re writing now is the one we wanted to do then, but it just wasn’t possible. For what it is though, I love that record.
Regarding the lyric “You dont have a clue what family is all about, You liar you snake you liar you lie”, is this about someone or purely a broad message:
To be perfectly honest, that is a direct statement to someone. We had a close friend start publicly bashing us and mocking lyrics off of our EP. So we quoted the lyrics he used in reference to him.
What is the underlying message in your music video, The Fear In Your Eyes:
That video is based off of Green Street Hooligans. Watch that and you’ll get it.
How has the writing been going:
It’s been awesome. We started writing January first, and you can tell it has nine months of writing put into it. We’re exploring some ideas we hit on with the last record. We’re going a little more experimental, but nothing too crazy. We don’t want to ditch our existing fans. We want to just do a lot more of what we did on the last one. I think it’s great.
How do you feel about cover songs & would you ever cover a song:
We’ve been toying with the thought of doing a cover on the next record. In The Face Of War covered “Everlong” by the Foo Fighters. Coolest cover ever.
Of all the places you’ve toured, which stop has been your favorite:
Boston is my favorite so far. Go Red Sox. I love Portland. As much as I hate heat, the fans in Texas make it worth it. Manhattan was rad. Phoenix is beautiful. Los Angeles hates us. We’ve been robbed, stranded, and ran out of money all in that town.
Have you ever played at a church or religious event, if so what was it like & how did it feel:
We play them all the time. We’ve actually found that working with people who work for a church proves to be rather difficult. Don’t really know why.
When you’re on the road what do you like to do for fun, aside from performing:
I write a lot (I’m up to 30 instrumentals for the album), I study music theory and french, and I read a lot.
If you could choose any three bands in the world to tour with what bands would they be:
Beloved, Muse, and any band Travis Barker is playing with.
While performing or on the road, whats the strangest thing that’s happened:
Technicolor Aquahearts. Long story.
People that listen to you & similar bands have a tendency to take it very seriously. Do you believe in the terms selling out or turning crowd friendly:
I think a lot of bands make adjustments in their creative efforts with the motives of selling more records. A lot of bands just mature into new things. I think it’s really hard for a lot of people to not expect the same record over and over from bands. People latch onto one album and expect that band to do that over and over. I myself have that problem. Norma Jean are a perfect example. They’re singing a fair amount now, and I’m in the Bless the Martyr generation, so it was a little hard for me to hear it at first. I had to set that aside and listen to the album for what it is, and now I love the crap out of it. Bands grow and mature, for whatever reason, and it’s usually pretty obvious what their motives are. A lot of bands just play what they like, and when doing what I do, you have to adopt the mind set that you write what you want as best as you can, and play for who will listen.
What messages are you ultimately trying to send through your band & your music:
That the world is seriously lacking love. We’re a Christian band, and we share our beliefs with people, but it’s really important to us that people get the message of love that supersedes differences in beliefs and convictions. There’s more to life than circular arguments.
Get more Gwen Stacy @ myspace.com/gwenstacy & of course out on tour!
