Past Haunts - Interview

Hey, Breathing The Core fans, here we bring you another interview of the Post-Hardcore band Past Haunts from South Africa, so here you can see and give a like their FACEBOOK PAGE. We have nothing more to say, so enjoy this interview!

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

Our old singer came up with it. I think he wanted to reflect some of the nostalgia we feel for the older underground scene here and it sounded good so it stuck. We had a sort of code name that we practiced under before choosing the name but it's a band secret. Maybe one day we'll do a show under that name for fun.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?  

This is the most honest music we know and that's something that's important to us. Guess that's how we got into it in the first place. Scott and I have been in punk rock and hardcore bands since our teens and it's just a big part of who we are.   The others are the same, although Mitch comes from the death metal and black metal scenes and Kristian also loves his progressive metal and progressive rock. It's important to listen to other genres. I love hip hop. You won't catch me driving without A Tribe Called Quest on the playlist.

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

We all knew each other from going to shows and parties in the suburbs but we're closer friends now that we're a band. I think we would've ended up good friends regardless, Cape Town isn't a huge place.

4. Each band member's favourite band?  

We listen to a lot of bands and can't choose a favourite. It's impossible. We draw influence from a lot of different bands in different genres, some would probably surprise people but we'll leave that list for later.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

We write about our experiences with ourselves and other people. We all sit somewhere between introvert and extrovert at our best so sometimes we're introspective, other times we have something to get off our chests.

6. Where was your last gig?  

We performed at a new club in town with our friends Among The Clouds and Crossfire Collision. The venue is called Ragazzi, which is Italian for "dudes" or something. I haven't done my research, clearly.

7. Where would you like to act?  

We're quite keen on doing a national tour, so that would cover a bunch of venues, although The Winston in Durban is on our bucket list and we want to jam in Soweto when we make it up to Gauteng (it's a province).

8. Whom would you like to feature with?  

Supporting Touche Amore on a South African tour would just blow our minds.   Otherwise just making it overseas to do a tour would also be fantastic. People will get mixed up about our accents and think we're Australian or from New Zealand.

9. Whom not?  

Steve Hofmeyr, I guess? We're keen to jam with bands from different genres, don't care if it's grindcore, indie rock, ska or electronic glitch hip hop. Good music is good music. Shit music is shit music.

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

I think in our first bands, sure, but we've all been around for a while and now I think the biggest concern we have is having a good set and getting the people at the show excited about our music.  The best advice would be don't drink too much before getting on stage and remember you're there for the music at the end of the day. If people dig it, that's an added bonus. Just play your heart out and have fun. Throw yourself around. Dance. Climb on top of something. Roll around on the floor. Be that person.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?  

Our biggest influences in this band as a group are Touche Amore, Frameworks, Thrice, Gatherer and Moving Mountains, but we're into a lot of different bands. I'm obsessed with Descendents. Scott is big into his grindcore and crust. Kris loves Muse. Mitch writes a lot of cinematic scores and listens to classical music too. A recent review referred to us as a "post-punk approach to Touche Amore and Fucked Up", which is a massive compliment. I'm paraphrasing but that was huge for us.

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

We'll let you know when someone who likes the band asks us for something weird. We're a weird enough bunch as it is.

13. What do you think of your fans?  

We're really just grateful for everyone who supports us. Bands need to know there's a difference between listeners and a "target audience". Appreciate your music community.

14. What do you think of our site?  

It's a great place to discover new bands from around the world, just read about a progressive metalcore band from Argentina, that's awesome. Touring Argentina would be so rad.

15. Something to add?

You can get our first EP and our new single for free off our Bandcamp page, just hit up http://pasthaunts.bandcamp.com and it's all there. Otherwise just a big shout out to Breathing The Core, thanks for the interview!  Otherwise, support South African punk, hardcore, metal and alternative music. There's so much good music coming out of our country and the world needs to hear it!