Interviews: Letters To Part

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Alternative Rock band Letters To Part from Orlando, FL (USA). 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?

The name came after losing my cousin to cancer. I didn’t know how to express the feelings at the time and was told to “vent.” Not knowing what that meant, I began writing music. While experiencing more heart ache throughout the years I realized that grief means to express how you feel properly and move on from what haunts you. -Y’shua, Vocalist of LTP

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We’ve all been around the music scene and played in different sorts of bands from rock, folk, and pop to metal and noise, but we all come back to music like this to find personal solace and relaxation. I think, for all of us, it comes with the innate urge to give that to others. We try to jump between genres by blending dreamy and poppy instrumental parts with harder hitting rock driven resolutions which creates a kind of call and response: a rise and fall - that sort of catharsis for the listener, a build up of emotion and release, can be rejuvenating.

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

Y’shua met Scotto during the original iteration of the band (at the time consisted of just him and another guitarist). Scotto played as drummer and then bassist for some time before eventually departing when the band separated. Y’shua then resurrected the band and began playing with Dustyn on drums and Hunter on guitar which soon became the band’s debut LP “A Human Curse.” Josh eventually joined as a fill-in guitarist, who would become full-time as Y’shua moved to relinquish some of his guitar duties in favor of vocals, and Scotto eventually rejoined the band when the band’s then-bassist left for personal reasons. This has been the line-up for the last year +

4. Each band member's favourite band?

Yish - HRVRD

Josh - Tame Impala

Hunter - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Dustyn - Brand New

Scotto - Every Time I Die

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Yish: I suffer from anxiety and depression, and this helps me cope the most. A true way to express what’s going on.

Josh: I love hearing melodies in my head and bringing them to life, looping a riff and playing over it to let the creativity flow. I really enjoy listening to parts from my bandmates and coming up with something on the spot, though.

Hunter: Our other guitarist and I have a ritual where we get Thai Hot Curry delivered and the riffs just pour out of us. We’re both gearaholics and are constantly getting new pedals and sharing ideas to reach tone nirvana. On a real note, pre-production helps me record ideas and play them back and jam them/figure out new fun tones.

Dustyn: I get a lot of inspiration from the musicians and friends in the local scene. It’s encouraging to be able to share the privilege of making and listening to music with so many different people over the years and is easy to find inspiration from them.

Scotto: I write about what I experience because it feels good to play music with my friends.

6. Where was your last gig? 

Our last show was in February at Will’s Pub in Orlando.

7. Where would you like to play?

We would love to tour the west coast and get to meet a lot of our fans in CA as well as the midwest and TX. We also have a hankering to see Europe and other continents. Our main goal is to play anywhere we have listeners: anywhere someone wants to hear Letters to Part we want to be.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

We have a lot of respect for bands who are making waves in this scene. Collaborating with our friends in Hikes or Delta Sleep would be incredible, or someone we haven’t met yet like Circa Survive or Dance Gavin Dance.

9. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

When I was about 16 during my first show ever I was so nervous I threw up before we went on in the bathroom, but once the lights dropped when we went on stage it all went away. This was in my first band I’d been on stage - Best advice is just play just like you do with your band at practice and have fun with it: don’t think about judgments from the audience and instead feel the music by creating a vibe for your fans to enjoy and soak in their energy. -Josh, Guitarist of LTP

10. What bands have inspired you the most?

HRVRD, Circa Survive, Dregd, Colour Revolt, From Indian Lakes

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

I’ve had a fan ask me to sign their body before, which is just kind of weird.

12. What do you think of your fans?

Our fans are amazing and are extremely genuine. They will always tell us exactly what they think, whether it was our worst show or our best; we always know that we can trust them to tell us the truth. The all time best feeling when interacting with fans is meeting someone who says the music has truly meant something to them, helped them through a breakup or a death or something traumatic. We want to provide comfort and empathy to everyone because it is in such short supply, lately.

13. Something to add?

Please support small artists, small businesses, small commerce during this time. We are all struggling, many more than us. Also be on the lookout for our new EP “Mad’ouk” which will be out this year! Thank you for taking the time to hear what we have to say.