Interviews: Instilled In Me

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Progressive Metalcore band Instilled In Me from Canada. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

It’s a bit of a funny story. At one point, 4 of the 5 band members lived in the same house and we had a whiteboard in the kitchen where you could write down ideas as they came to you. Eventually, we compiled a list of roughly 40 names which we thought were solid options.

What followed was a democratic voting process through which each member chose their top 20 names, then top 10, and so on, until we were down to 5 names which we all liked. We then discussed the origins and connotations of each name, and if we felt it represented us as people and the messages in our music.

Instilled In Me was discovered by our drummer, Michael Lajoie. The idea was derived from a quote that a good childhood friend of his had dedicated to his father on the anniversary of his passing. That led Mike to consider everything that has been instilled in us throughout our lives, and how these important lessons have shaped our music, our paths, and us as individuals.

The name hit home with us and we thought it would also be a name that wouldn’t pigeonhole us into a specific genre as the band and sound evolved over time.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

We all have always enjoyed more technical musicianship and the amount of energy metal/metalcore/hardcore/rock have delivered to the world and in its best form, the purity of its message that doesn’t cater to anyone. We feel the genre is about delivering emotion through sound without putting boundaries on it.

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

While we have had member changes over the years, we formed Instilled In Me from two groups of friends from two different high schools. The two paths crossed when Adam went to The Source to replace a pair of Skullcandy headphones under warranty and Mike was working at the counter. When he saw Adam’s full name, he recognized it and when Mike told Adam his full name, Adam recognized it. It turns out that when Mike and Adam had played in bands in high school, they had played shows together and remembered being very impressed with each other’s skills. That conversation started the wheels in motion to bring Mike in as the drummer for what would become Instilled In Me. It’s funny to think that had The Source not offered warranty on those Skullcandy headphones, the band may have never existed in its current form.

After the exit of two of our best friends and band members in December 2017, we needed to source a new bass and guitar player. Mike had an existing relationship with Jason (guitar), who we also knew from shows, so we asked if he would be interested in joining. Adam knew Lee (bass) from work and Mike and Adam asked him to join the band after seeing him play a show with another local band. Thankfully, Jason and Lee both accepted the invitation, and the journey continued.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

Adam – Alexisonfire

Mike – Currents

Jason – Architects

Aaron – Novelists and Erra

Lee - Periphery

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Jason: Listening to other music and my own emotions inspires me to write songs! You know when a song makes you feel a certain way or takes you to a certain place? I write going from an idea or memory and find the notes that fit the feeling or emotion like the score of a movie.

Mike: Inspired by a feeling I am looking for. Write a lot of music around a personal feeling or a song I have heard from an artist that made me feel a certain way.

Adam: The guys come to the table with completed guitars and drums and then I add my vocals. I have a list of topics I’d like to write about at some point (always adding new ideas), so after hearing the instrumental, I listen for the mood of the song and choose a topic that speaks to me while listening to the music.

Aaron: Life events and how they affect me sets the path of how my songs sound and feel.

Lee: The songs from the other guys come to me in near-finished form, and I always try to write my bass lines in a way that I feel serves the song and lyrical theme the best.

6. Where was your last gig?

Kingston, Ontario, Canada at Overtime Sports Bar.

7. Where would you like to act?

Every city in the world. We want to play for and meet as many of our fans as possible to thank them for their support.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

ERRA, Northlane, Alexisonfire, Currents, Architects, Annisokay, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, Born of Osiris, Volumes, Invent Animate, Novelists, Parkway Drive, Slaves, and Wage War. That’s a highlight reel – there are many other influential artists we would love to play with.

9. Whom not?

We are open to sharing the stage with any artist who would allow us to share the stage with them.

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

Lee: I am, to this day, terrified of public speaking! That used to include also suffering from stage fright, but I've managed to get past it - through years of just forcing myself to get up on stage in various contexts. Eventually I learned that the audience wants you to succeed and do well, and as long as you've rehearsed the material and believe in yourself the audience will support you. Eventually the fear of being on stage was far outweighed by the anticipation of the audience showing their appreciation, and then the fear disappeared! So that would be my advice - practice your music, but also practice performing your music in front of people whenever you can.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

ERRA, Northlane, Alexisonfire, Currents, Architects, Annisokay, As I Lay Dying, August Burns Red, Born of Osiris, Volumes, Invent Animate, Novelists, Parkway Drive, Slaves, and Wage War

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

A ride home? haha

13. What do you think of your fans?

We have an incredible group of local fans who regularly come out to support us. We are always trying to increase our presence on a global scale and the feedback we have been receiving from our latest single has been incredible. So many people have reached out with positive feedback and have committed to our updates through subscribing to and following our social media pages. Many listeners have even shared our music on their preferred social platforms.

It’s not easy to reach new audiences without a large budget and every time someone shares our music to others, we get in front of people who may have never heard of us before. This is one of the most meaningful ways fans can support us, and we encourage everyone to add us to their playlists, share us on their news feeds or stories and continue to tell everyone they know… “Hey – have you heard of this band from Kingston, Ontario, Canada? Here is their single!”

14. What do you think of our site?

WE LOVE IT! The work your team does is critical to the survival of the metal and sub-metal genres. We have been following your page since the inception of Instilled In Me and we see incredible bands all the time we would have never heard of if it wasn’t for the work you do.

15. Something add?

If one person has an apple and another, an orange, and they exchange items, they each have one food item. If two people each have a different song and they share the songs with each other, each person now has two songs to listen to. The survival and success of bands like Instilled In Me hinges upon fans taking the time to promote the music they are passionate about. We encourage anyone who reads this article on your page to share this single if they love it so they can give another potential listener a chance to enjoy our music like they did.

Metal fans are always looking for new music and I know we are always excited to hear something new. SHARING IS CARING