Cranely Gardens - Interview

Hey, Breathing The Core fans, here we bring you another interview of the Metalcore band Cranely Gardens from USA, so here you can see and give a like to his 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? 

The idea for the band name was something that we stumbled across. We were searching for a band name for awhile before we settled on Cranely Gardens. I've (Chaz) always been intrigued by serial killers. I have a bunch of books on them, and I was reading about this guy from London named Dennis Andrew Nilsen. He would murder people and then keep their bodies in his house as his friends, and when people came over, he'd hide them under his floor boards. The apartment complex where he lived was called Cranley Gardens. As soon as I read it, I knew I wanted it to be our name. I loved the idea of having a name that sounded pretty, but was rooted in something dark. It didn't sound like a typical metal band name, but its origin was metal as hell! So, I pitched it to the other guys and they all liked it, we just decided to switch the spelling to Cranely to avoid any complications when searching on the internet

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

Each of us has been a metal fan since we were a kid and we all like different kinds of metal. Our tastes have grown and expanded from the music we first listened to, to what we listen to currently.  We all started out listening to the classic metal bands like Pantera and Metallica and then as we got older we got into heavier and darker stuff, but still enjoyed our roots, so the music we play is a reflection of that. The songs we play have elements of numerous genres of metal, and we think that when you add our different influences and styles, you get the music we make. So we always knew we wanted to play metal, it just took writing music with this group to know what kind of metal we actually wanted to play.

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

Alex and I (Chaz) were friends in highschool and used to play shows with each others bands but never played in a band together until Cranely Gardens. Randy and Ryan knew each other through mutual friends but also never played together but otherwise we all met through the band.

4. Each band member favourite band? 

Chaz- If I'm being honest, my all time favorite band is Third Eye Blind, but if I want people to take me seriously, I'd say 36 Crazyfists

Randy - I've always loved Through the Eyes of the Dead. I think their sound is so nasty and they're the one band that every time I hear them, I go right back to the feeling I got when I first heard their music.

Alex- For me it's The Black Dahlia Murder. I used to be a huge fan of Coal Chamber and bands like that, and then one day my brother introduced me to TBDM and I was so impressed with their musical ability that I was instantly hooked.

Joe- I don't know if they're my favorite,  but I love Pantera. I've been listening to them for so long because they're the band that got me into metal, so for that alone, I think they deserve that title.

Ryan- Honestly, I don't really have a favorite band. What I want to listen to changes based on my mood and how I'm feeling, so there isn't one band that I'd say I like to listen to all the time or that I like more than anyone else.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

I think what inspires us is the same thing that inspires all artists; our personal experiences and our observations of the world around us. Not everyone is the best at talking about how they feel or communicating their feelings and frustrations with life into words, so they translate it into something else. For us, we translate it into music. When we see something tragic on the news, or we lose a loved one, or have drastic obstacles to overcome in life, you need to vent about it. We do that through Cranely Gardens. This is the way we best know how to talk about the things we love and the things we hate, so everything we see, hear, and do are responsible for our inspiration. Basically,  we don't write music because we want to, we write music because we have to.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Our last gig was actually at a local VFW. I don't know if it's like this all around the country, but in New Jersey, VFWs are a staple in the music scene. We always used to go to local shows there as kids and even a lot of touring bands would come through and play at VFWs. The scene in South Jersey is still very strong due to these venues, so we love playing there when we can.

7. Where would you like to act? 

There's a few places I know we'd all love to play. The Electric Factory in Philly, The Whiskey in LA, and any of the other classic venues around the country. Of course we'd also love to play a big festival like Wacken Open Air in Europe, Soundwave in Australia, or a touring festival in the US like Mayhemfest. Playing a show like that would be a dream come true for us.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

I personally think it would be awesome to play with Whitechapel or Suicide Silence because they've done a lot for the genre. Both of those bands are really heavy, but they've managed to establish themselves at a higher level than bands that play music as extreme as they do are typically are able to achieve. By those bands gaining so much commercial success, it shows that people are becoming more accepting to the heavier styles of metal which is awesome and we'd love to be a part of that movement. It would also be amazing to play with Slipknot for the same reasons, They seem like the type of band that whenever you play with them, it's a one of a kind experience and you're guaranteed to walk away with a story or two.

9. Whom not? 

At this point, I wouldn't say there's anyone we wouldn't want to play with. We have no personal vendettas or bad blood with any bands and everyone that's out there doing their thing and playing music deserves some credit because it's so hard to get people to listen to you these days.

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

I think everyone has suffered from stage fright a little at some point or another, but I probably had it the worst. I used to puke before every show. I would get so nervous and just want to perform well that my body would just find a way to vent, and that was always through vomiting! I got over that with practice and Jack Daniel's. Everyone still gets nervous before big shows. Our hands will be shaking before we start playing, but as soon as that first chord rings out, it goes away and we just do our thing. A tip I could offer would be practice, practice, practice. The better you have your material down, the less likely you are to mess up, the lesser the reason to be nervous. Also, having people come to your practices for little mini shows is a good way to help. If you can play with 10 people in a small space staring at you with nowhere else to look and nothing else to entertain them, you can play with 50, 100 or 500 people, because when you're on stage, you can only see the first row anyway.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

I think all the old school guys that really put the hook in us played a big role in how we turned out as musicians. Also, any of the bands that continue to push the envelope and expand the genre. When you can innovate something that occasionally becomes over-saturated, it inspires you to want to find a way to separate yourself and do something new. It gives you hope that everything hasn't been done before and makes you want to find a way to do something different to set yourself apart, which is by no means an easy task.

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

So far we haven't gotten anything too weird asked of us. Honestly, we still think it's weird when people ask us to sign stuff.

13. What do you think of your fans? 

We love them. They're the best. On a few occasions we've asked for their help to accomplish a goal and every time they helped us to meet it. We're currently trying to raise money for a family who has two small children with Muscular Dystrophy. We're playing a benefit show for them and started a GoFundMe account in their name and our fans have been so generous and have all been contributing to help these strangers. Metal people are good people, and our fans are as metal as they come.

14. What do you think of our site? 

The site is awesome. You guys have such a huge compilation of underground and up and coming bands, so we're very excited to be a part of it. We need more sites like BTC to help keep the scene alive and well. If bands never transition from the underground to a higher level, music that everyone can share and bond over will cease to exist. It's well organized and I love that music starts playing as soon as you open the site.

15. Something to add?

Possibly a player of featured bands or songs? I saw a few things like that embedded in the site, but I don't believe any of them controlled the song that starts  when the site is open, not to mention I couldn't find out who the artist was for that song. Also, a forum section might be a great addition. Something where all the bands could connect and network with one another and even fans. Help bridge the gap between bands and bands and their fans.