Under The Bed - Interview

Hey, Breathing The Core fans, here we bring you another interview of the Mathcore band Under The Bed from Italy, so here you can see and give a like their FACEBOOK PAGE.  We have nothing more to say, enjoy this excellent interview of this more excellent band. 

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

The whole idea of playing in a band came to me (Armando) and my cousin (Federico) when we were kids, so the scariest thing we could think about at that time was the eponymous “monster under the bed”. I guess the opening song of Tim Burton’s “Nightmare Before Christmas” had something to do with it. When we started fantasizing less and practicing more, the band name was initially shortened in UTB. Then a friend of mine made me notice “Under The Bed” was cooler, plus the acronym seemed like the name of a douche rapper. And that was it, the name got stuck, and we never thought about changing it, like it was a part of who we were as kids. One could probably say we never grew up, since we like to play with genres, but we’re okay with that. Who’d want to stay serious while making music?

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

When we first put hands on our instruments, years ago, we didn’t know exactly what we wanted to play. We were young and raw, and of course each one of us had his punk-rock-covers-in-the-garage period; the only thing we knew was that we liked every music genre: we were rock/metal oriented, sure, but we enjoyed any song or artist we’d discover. We grew up with crossover so one day we casually tried to blend different styles, just for fun, and we ended up morphing a standard song structure we made. We had so much fun we said: “this is our style: mixing stuff is what we enjoy doing”, and not in a random way. From that day, we spent a lot of time improving our production skills, trying to avoid copy-and-paste structures, and to obtain the smoothest genre changes possible. This way, we managed to create music with no restrictions and no rules, with weird time signatures but also catchy parts, a complex (but not too brainy) non-genre, in a certain way.

3.Did you know each other before the band was formed?

Nope: the actual line-up is the results of gradual changes and improvements. We did found each other through common friends in the music scene, though (Gianmarco was our friend’s pupil, Joshua was a fan of our music during our first steps on stage, Michele recorded our debut album), and when we finally were together rehearsing songs, the chemistry (and the fun) was undeniable.

4.Each band member favourite band?

Since we listen to a lot of different stuff, and the range of our music preferences is so wide, it’s quite difficult to choose a single artist or band. A bunch of crossover acts surely helped us shape our taste (Deftones, Mudvayne, Limp Bizkit, and such), but we blended those influences with all kind of experimental, heavy, math and -core derived genres, not forgetting neither our easy listening punk-rock past, nor the most recent hybrid projects like Enter Shikari, perhaps one of the best examples of a new breed of crossover, bringing electronic layers to enrich their performance. We enjoy a large variety of music, which we choose depending on our mood; that’s exactly why our songs are so multi-faceted: they change both genre and tone, like a sort-of stream of consciousness. So, let’s say, if we’re in a happy mood, we listen to Blink 182, if we’re upset or excited we put a Letlive record on, if we’re sad or simply relaxed, you can find Aphex Twin in our playlists, and so on.

5.Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Though personal stuff is always an inspiration for lyrics and themes, the main engine of composition for us is often a simple idea, a rhythm, a cool riff, a bassline, a sound. We start from that and we expand the track together. So, even the words of the song are treated like notes, and voices become instruments as well as guitars, bass, drums or synthesizer: in this way, even the most personal lyrics are transformed and warped to get a more abstract vibe. We know what we wrote, and why we wrote it (lyrically and musically), but it’s way more interesting if it’s not explained, and we like when people have their vision, interpreting moods, sounds and words, and making a song their own.

6.Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was mental: we were the opening act in a Destrage show, in Italy: those guys are really talented, and they have a crazy hybrid style as well. That’s why we were flattered to hear them say they had a lot of fun listening to us play: it was like meeting our mentors! We performed at our best, and at the end of our concert, people were sitting on the floor, listening to our slow drone/post-rock finale… it was great!

7.Where would you like to act?

All over Italy, of course, to get noticed in our country… but our dream would be travelling across Europe and abroad. We would really love to see how people around the world would react to our music, to meet new bands, measure up against them, and improve ourselves.

8.Whom would you like to feature with?

Given our broad music taste, that’s a hard question! There’s a lot of musicians we would like to play or record a track with. Seriously, it’s difficult for us to choose one: both heavy-related artists or pop idols would be great! Mike Patton as guest vocalist? Awesome! Under The Bed featuring Lana Del Rey? Perfect. Chino Moreno, Trent Reznor, Katy Perry, Eminem… anyone!

9.Whom not?

Everyone is invited to party with us, from Sigur Ròs to Crazytown: no discrimination whatsoever!

10.Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Stage fright is typical the first times you perform in front of somebody, even if it’s your brother: you’re afraid of messing up when all eyes are on you. But you don’t have to worry about the audience. Seeing people standing still, instead of moving and dancing to your songs, may be upsetting, but it’s your job to make them enjoy your music: if they see you at ease on stage, they will respond the right way, even if you play doom combined with jazz. We started bottling up and controlling stage fright when we started being confident with our project, with our songs, and mostly with ourselves. That’s the key, especially if you’re playing weird experimental stuff. People didn’t get our music at first, but gig after gig they saw us having fun playing, so they started getting along with our unusual style, and having fun themselves!

11.What bands have inspired you the most?

Apart from all the random bands quoted before, we wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for all the underground bands we met and played with. Even as teenagers, we were in a complete awe of all the high school bands performing at parties and such: that’s when we decided we wanted to do it as well. We always liked listening to music; seeing kids our age playing gave us another perspective: it was time for us to create our own. It was a challenge, but it looked fun as hell. And in time, we discovered it really is.

12.What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

Signing autographs at the end of our last gig was the most startling thing that happened to us: we are simply not used to this kind of enthusiasm. When we gave them signed copies of our record, and they thanked us, we were like: «You’re thanking us? Thank you, are you crazy?»

13.What do you think of your fans?

Fans are like fuel for a band. We’re not big at all, but our small fanbase is so devoted, empathic, and willing to get stupid with us, that it’s one of the reasons why we have a killer time performing at every show!

14.What do you think of our site?

We think it’s really cool that you give space to underground bands to share their thoughts and music on such a well-finished website: we’re honored to be a part of it, and we thank you for contacting us!

15.Something to add?

We simply say hi to everyone reading: if you’re new to our music, we hope you’ll like our record (you can find it here: http://underthebed.bandcamp.com/), and if you do, our first video and a brand new version of our track “Mosh To This At My Funeral” will be online on june 9th on BeheadingTheTraitor, so stay tuned, and thanks again!