Renaissance Kids - Interview

In this new occasion we have the great opportunity to interview the Metalcore band Renaissance Kids from USA, here we will let you their FACEBOOK PAGE to give them a like and follow them. 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 it just came out like that?  

Nikko Vincent: As much as I would love to take credit for this one, the name Renaissance Kids was all Christian’s idea. Right before the falling out of our previous project, I moved up to Northern Colorado and was just like “Oh, damn. What do I do now?” Then out of the blue, this guy calls me. All of this started with a phone call. Like, that was it. He just calls and says “This is taking too long. Let’s start our own band. You in?” As a musician, you really can’t say no when it comes to that kind of thing! So before I could even respond, the guy just goes “Renaissance Kids.” I was hit with so many emotions at once, that all I could do is say yes. Who wouldn’t? The funny thing is that the name never changed. We had no alternatives. It just felt right

2. Why did you want to play this genre?  

Christian Blakeli: If you have the ability to make killer songs that hit hard and have unique meanings to not only you, but the listeners too… Why in your right mind would you not? The endearing thing about metal (or any genre in general) is being able to create that energy and share it; it’s a phenomenal and intoxicating experience in itself, especially when you’re playing face to face with your fans and bouncing that energy off each other like an unspoken exotic dance.

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

Nikko Vincent: We met in our previous band, in which we played together in for about two years. At the time, we were the bassist and drummer of a grindcore project. From day one, the dude and I have always clicked. –laughs- He’s always been a really early morning guy. When I was working overnights, I would always come home to him being at my house working on music, homework, whatever it was. When our previous band would pack up and get ready to leave after practice, we always happened to be the stragglers that would hang back and spend the last 10-15 minutes of our time jamming randomness. We’ve had some really good times together.

4. Each band member favorite band?  

Christian Blakeli: Karnivool from Perth, Australia. Their music is a notch above every modern band I've heard. I love how they say f*** song length and just do what feels right. 10 minute song, why not?

Nikko Vincent: Ghost from Sweden. Hands down, Ghost totally kills it. Papa and the Nameless Ghouls are just straight up organic rock n’ roll.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?  

Us. Humans are strange, beautiful creatures. We use the truth and lies to further our own human experience by trying to help fix the problems in others. In that, no story is the same. We all share comedies, tragedies, affectionate encounters… While each experience is unique, we have different visions of the same things. Yet we become more and more distant from each other and have a habit of living in the past or the idea of the future. We are thieves, and we are essentially stealing time from ourselves. We live in the eternal present. Time is a man-made construct, and dude, unless we have some kind of particle accelerator on hand… We’re stuck here, so we have to make the most of it because this is our life. Not the past, not the future, now. Love what you see and believe in it, because it’s real.  Oh, and Shia LaBeouf. Definitely Shia LaBeouf.

6. Where was your last gig?  

Nikko Vincent: Does Lake Detroit, OR count? –laughs-

7. Where would you like to act?  

Everywhere, we never want to stop experiencing new places and meeting new people. We'd be really psyched to play the West Coast and do a few shows in California! Internationally, we would love to perform in the UK, China, and Australia!

8. Whom would you like to feature with?  

Joel and Ahren from The Amity Affliction have been totally killing it, it would be really rad to collaborate with them. Briton Bond from Wage War for sure. They're  doing some really sick things with the scene right now.

9. Whom not?  

Anyone who mistreats their fans. We can't stand that sort of stuff.

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

Nikko Vincent: Live bands are clockwork. If one or two of the components stops working, things get really awkward really fast. You just have to go with the flow. Back in the 70’s, Sean Connery did a scifi film called Zardoz. Google it. If Sean Connery could star in Zardoz, you can play that show.

Christian Blakeli: Playing live is all about owning what you're doing. It's almost like dancing to your own music, it's awkward if you're only half into it. Just remember most people don't know your songs as well as you do. Include them in the dance.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?  

Nikko Vincent: Maximum the Hormone Bauhaus, The Smiths, The Cure, A Fire Inside, The Pillows, The Amity Affliction, Ice Cube, Dance Gavin Dance, La Dispute, Ghost, It Dies Today, Neon Indian, and Death Cab for Cutie. Between J.T. Woodruff and the late Casey Calvert of Hawthorne Heights, they’ve paved the way for me to be a singing/screaming guitarist since I was a kid. It’s about experiencing new bands and what they have to offer, what they want to show and share with you. It’s more than just “Support.” This is about art and discovering those sounds that find their way into your heart and place themselves in the soundtrack of your life.

Christian Blakeli: Forget the bands, where's the love for Tchaikovsky? -laughs-

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

Nikko: Dude. A gal asked me to take a picture of her with a band… My band! I was like, uh, well… Uh, okay. Then I did what any other right minded person would do. I took the picture.

13. What do you think of your fans?  

We love them so much. The family card is so overplayed when it comes to bands. Everyone does it. But I treat all my friends like family, and every fan of our music is a friend of mine.

14.  What do you think of our site?  

Nikko Vincent: Really enjoy the page and how your team tackles the hardcore scene! The sponsored bands page has already shown me a ton of killer bands I’m really looking forward to getting into. Navigation is simple and effective, the tabs are informational and to the point. I already know I’m going to be stalking that nintendocore page for a long while.

15. Something to add?  

We have a music video coming out soon. We've been really stoked to work with some amazing people on this EP from music producer Cameron Mizell (Issues, Crown The Empire, Dream on, Dreamer) to Director Ryan Sheehy (Chelsea Grin, Attila, Vicetone). We're extremely excited to be in the middle of writing the material for our next release. It's going to be heavy.