Sound4sound - Interview

Hey, Breathing The Core fans, here we bring you another interview of the Hardcore Punk band Sound4Sound from USA. 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 band name, sound4sound, was Mike’s idea. It comes from track six (“S.F.S.”) of Dag Nasty’s 1992 LP, Four On the Floor. He loved that song, and wanted it as the basic template for all our songs, though we stray a bit from it.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?  

Everyone in the band is over 40, and we all grew up in the Miami, Florida hardcore and punk scene. While we’ve all been involved in a few other acts of differing genres throughout the years, including metalcore and sludge, early hardcore has always had a huge place in our hearts.

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

Indeed. We met Roach a bit later, but Bry, Mike and I have known one another since a little after high school in the late 80s.

4. Each band member favourite band?  

Roach: The Damned

Mike: Fear

Bry: Bad Brains

Me:  Flipper

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?  

Lyrically, the state of the word. I like to jam, but also make people think.  Musically, the desire to go nuts on stage, as well as make the crowd do the same.

6. Where was your last gig?  

A small club not too far from home base, where the crowd was so riled up, people started throwing beer bottles in every direction. We didn’t mean to start that insanity, but those instances tends to follow us. When confronted, quite a number of the bottle throwers apologized, and said the music just got to them. We’re still not sure whether to take that positively or not.

7. Where would you like to act?  

Anywhere that would have us, and - believe me - it’ll be worth their time. It’s been said we "play as if we have health insurance", which we do not.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?  

All our favorites: The Damned, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, X, Adolescents, M.D.C., Dag Nasty, Fear, the original Dead Kennedys.

9. Whom not?  

The newer Dead Kennedys.

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

This is a great question, and I’m thrilled to be answering it, as I have terrible stage fright. Not sure when it began to develop, as I’ve been in bands since the late 80s, but it seemed to have started to affect me sometime around 2003. Strangely, it now helps me act out on stage. I tend to close my eyes, and just writhe around, or find things to do besides looking directly at the audience, such as climb the equipment. I have to pretend the crowd isn’t there, which lets me lose myself in the moment, and I just go nuts. Admittedly, it tends to stop me from banter in between songs, as I clam up thinking of things to say, but that’s a minor issue, as the music speaks for itself. It's best to just think everyone there is your friend, during a large gathering at your practice space.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?  

Bands who - like us as individuals - have kept it going well enough over the years. Bad Brains are a great example - close to 40 years on, and they’re still jamming.

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

We play on South Beach a bit, which is a hedonist’s paradise, so “weird” is a bit relative. Though we feel we’re a bunch of nobodies, we have had beautiful ladies asking for the good ol’ rock-n-roll autograph on the cleavage. About five years ago, at one of our first shows, a girl asked me for my shoes, and not because she needed a pair.

13. What do you think of your fans?  

Our fans are great! True party people, who know how to have a good time.

14. What do you think of our site?  

Most sites are visited for a minute or two, as people scroll on by, and leave. Breathing the Core is a great place to drop in, and be immersed in all types of amazing heavy music for a good while. The sampler compilations you do are a great place to listen to bands most people may not be familiar with, and that alone is worth the visit. Plus, big kudos to Core of Metal for being in English, and Spanish.

15. Something to add?  

If you like your hardcore old school, check us out at sound4sound.bandcamp.com, and look out for a free digital LP coming up in a few months.   Many thanks for the time, and keep up the wonderful work, Breathing the Core!