Interviews: To Kill A Monster

We have had the opportunity to interview the Punk Rock band To Kill A Monster from the 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? 

Honestly, some band from California tried to sue us over our old name "Last Night In Town" around 2007, and we had already changed a few members by that point and felt like changing it anyway. We then put names together that we liked and "To Kill A Monster" was the only one that everyone agreed on. "Bears Fight Bears" had 4 out 5 votes so it became the name of our 1st CD. One day we'll make up a much more entertaining story, but we'll stick with the boring truth for now.

2. Why did you want to play this genre? 

Joey: We never really set out to play a specific genre and have had a lot of different styles come together through different members over the years. Our music has always just come out to fit somewhere in the rock/punk/alternative genres. We always enjoy hearing what genre other people think we are, and can't wait to see how people react to the new music that's on the way.

James: I usually write a much more straightforward style, so when Joey reached out to me about playing with To Kill A Monster, I was excited to expand my writing horizons and write in a style that is different than what I am used to. 

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

Joey: Josh used to book our shows back when we put out our 1st CD. He joined as our bassist about 3 years ago. I met Corey at a random show a few years back and he joined as our drummer 2 years ago. We needed a drummer so he learned drums to join us, as he's a bassist for his other band "Paper Lung" from Columbus Ohio. I met James at one of Coreys parties as my beer pong partner. We kept winning so we kept talking about music all night and has been playing guitar with us since last year because of it. Scott is our newest member who we've known through the local scene, and joined us this year. It helped that I worked with his fiance at Red Robin though and she talked him up a bunch.

4. Each band member favourite band?

Joey: The Offspring

Josh: Silverstein

Scott: Revocation

Corey: Foo Fighters,

James: Soilwork.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

Josh: Inspiration comes to me in so many different forms so the easy answer would be everything. From friends and family to life and death emotions spill out in every song I work on.

James: My brain has a desire to listen to melodies that don't exist yet. When I get that feeling, I head down to my basement and start recording.

Joey: Music is the only thing that ever made sense. The 1st time I ever touched a piano as a kid I figured out how to play part of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from the Lion King. Fell in love with music after that. Bands like The Offspring, Eve 6, Aqua, and Smash Mouths first album "Fush Yu Mang" shaped my whole introduction to what music could be. Somewhere between all that is where this all started for better or worse.

6. Where was your last gig? 

June 26th at Flannagans in Dublin Ohio, with Dread Engine, More Than Never, Titans In Time, The Dead Don't Sleep, and Project Rewind, as part of an incredible group effort from Columbus called New Age Connect. That was our first show back since the shut down and with the new lineup it was a phenomenal success.

7. Where would you like to act? 

The goal used to be to get on full Warped Tour runs. Thankfully we were able to at least play it at one stop two different years before it ended. Now we'll settle for any tour anywhere. Always thought we'd be received well over in Germany, or Japan.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

Story of the Year, A Day To Remember, My Chemical Romance, Silverstein, The Offspring. The list could go on forever.

9. Whom not? 

I don't think we'd be against featuring with anyone but I'm sure we wouldn't quite fit with everyone. 

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

Joey: Yes, every single show. I'm a mental wreck up until the first song starts. After that first note, the music takes over and I'm a whole new person. As for advice? Just enjoy what you do, try not to overthink it and just go have fun. Everything gets easier with practice.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

A Day To Remember, The Offspring, Tenacious D, Rise Against, Story Of The Year, Revocation, Killswitch Engage, Counterparts, Foo Fighters, Green Day, and Blink 182. We all like the same kind of music, but still love to take inspiration from all over the place. 

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

Josh: Definitely autographs. its a pretty surreal feeling. I have been to so many concerts and met so many artists who were nice enough to hang out and talk and sign some things. Never thought someone would ever want me to sign something for them. Always catches me off guard and still makes me appreciate our fans more every time.

Joey: Not that weird I suppose but an awesome experience. I filled in as The Bear for "The Bunny The Bear" on 3 tours and even though it was an honor to fill those shoes, signing my name in his place for their fans was weird to get used to.

13. What do you think of your fans? 

Josh: We absolutely love our fans. We ourselves are fans of music and we still feel like little kids trying to imitate our favorite artists. So the fact that people connect with our music in such a way is truly inspiring and humbling. 

Joey: The fans make all of this possible and will always more important than us. I write music in the hopes it can save anyone the way music saved me. 

14. What do you think of our site? 

Josh: Your site is great! Seeing so many artists from so many genres being featured and shown love is fantastic. We appreciate any opportunity given to share our music with the world and are more than thankful to be part of it.

15. Something to add?

Joey: It's been a really long road to get this far so being able to still write new music means the world to us. Last year was one of the hardest years ever and to chase after a dream for so long and then be told that shows are cancelled across the board was impossible to deal with. To anyone struggling with anything, my only hope is that our music can help if even just for a night. Never give up.  We have a ton of new music in the works and I can't wait to see what people think of what's coming next!