Fuel The Scene Magazine #06: June 2018 by Fuel The Scene Magazine

ISSUE #6 | JUNE 2018

IN THIS ISSUE 3

THE EDITORS’ LIST: KICK ASS BANDS THAT YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW Aboleth, Big Atlantic, High Priestess, Undrask, Echoheart, Winter’s Gate

COVER STORY: SOULSEASON INTERVIEW SOULSEASON “BEAST OF MIND” ALBUM REVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH TRIVIUM AT WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE 2018

CITY OF THE WEAK “PULLING TEETH” ALBUM REVIEW

OUT WITH AMBLER PRESENTS: WRITTEN IN GRAY INTERVIEW

KILLAKOI “PANGEA” ALBUM REVIEW

FESTIVAL PREVIEW: THE FINAL VANS WARPED TOUR

VIOLENT LIFE VIOLENT DEATH “COME, HEAVY BREATH” ALBUM REVIEW

INTERVIEW WITH TOOTHGRINDER AT WELCOME TO ROCKVILLE 2018

LOOKING FORWARD: THE FINAL VANS WARPED TOUR LINEUP

CREDITS

Thank you to all of our contributors who make this dream possible and are actively working together to breathe life into the live music scene that we all love. You are the fuel that keeps the music alive. Editors | Rei Haycraft, William Dibble, Kristy Streyle Photographers | William Dibble, Terie Shaver, Rei Haycraft, Ambler Irby, Kevin McGee, Lola Marie Writers | William Dibble, Rose Estrada, Rei Haycraft, Savanah Ruiz, Josh Foster Designer | Rei Haycraft / Revenant Images Founded by | Rei Haycraft, Jaton Blaney, and Kristy Streyle Proudly sponsored by | Crim Radio

All band promotional photos submitted to us are copyright their respective owners, please contact each band for more information.

THE EDITORS’ LIST OF KICK ASS BANDS THAT YOU SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW ABOLETH

Dirt Metal/Blues from Los Angeles, CA Self-described as “dirt metal from dusty California,” Aboleth combines sludgy riffs, Allman-esque slide solos and whisky-drenched-yet-soaring female vocals. Aboleth invokes the wonder and power of the psychedelic and doom genres and leaves you begging for more. Multitalented vocalist Brigitte Roka is also the artistic force behind all of the band’s artwork, providing them a uniquely whimsical and haunting vision that pairs perfectly with the band’s bluesy swagger.

@abolethband @abolethband abolethband.bandcamp.com

BIG ATLANTIC

Rock from Pittsburgh, PA Big Atlantic is a high energy rock band based in Pittsburgh, PA. They formed back in 2008 and ever since then they have played multiple festivals and opened for several national touring bands. The 4 albums they have available on their website is a great addition to any collection.

@BigAtlantic @BigAtlantic bigatlantic.com FUEL THE SCENE MAGAZINE

THE EDITORS’ LIST OF KICK ASS BANDS THAT YOU UNDRASK Melodic Metal from Greensboro, NC Inspired by metal of all flavors, Undrask formed in August of 2013 in the heart of the Triad of NC. Their debut self-titled EP and more recent LP, “Battle Through Time,” offers a sample of their special brew—a dash of brutal, a heap of melody, a bit of groove, and a whole lot of metal.

@undrask @undrask undrask.bandcamp.com Photography by Gary Carota

WINTER’S GATE Progressive Metalcore from Charlotte, NC Winter’s Gate is a progressive metalcore band that formed in the Spring of 2016. Residing in Charlotte, North Carolina, the band consists of five members that sought to write heavy and high intensity music that could also deliver an extremely melodic sound. The band released the “Between Lifetimes” EP on April 11th, 2018 and began playing shows throughout the NC and SC region, hoping to build a following and form connections in the Charlotte metal scene and beyond.

@WintersGateNC @winters.gate wintersgate.bandcamp.com Photography by Houston Ray.

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SHOULD ABSOLUTELY BE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW ECHOHEART Rock/Pop-Punk from Bethesda, MD Echoheart is a pop-punk and rock group comprised of Marina Heath on vocals, Jacob Ommaya on lead guitar and secondary vocals and Pablo Hannan on drums. The band’s main goal is to deliver honest, heavy, original material appealing to fans of bands such as My Chemical Romance and Paramore. The band’s second EP, “The Way We Were Made,” was released in March of 2018 and embarked on a several tour runs throughout the east coast and midwest.

@echoheartband @echoheartband echoheartmusic.com

HIGH PRIESTESS Heavy Psych Doom from Los Angeles, CA HIGH PRIESTESS is a heavy psych doom trio from Los Angeles throwing down lush harmonies and psychedelic crushing riffs and grooves. Consisting of Katie Gilchrest on guitar and vocals, Mariana Fiel on bass and vocals, and Megan Mullins on drums, they have created a sound that echoes both past and future incarnations of doom and psychedelia.

@highpriestessmusic @highpriestessmusic www.highpriestessmusic.com Photography by Danielle Spires.

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COVER STORY / INTERVIEW

SOULSEASON Rei Haycraft spoke with Greensboro, NC metal band SOULSEASON as they prepared for the release of their newest album, “Beast of Mind,” about lyrical and musical inspiration, the recording process, and what’s on the horizon. Photography by Brent Morse.

For the uninitiated, how would you describe SoulSeason? CHRIS: We pride ourselves on being true to the things that make us happy. Whether it be with our performance, or our song writing approach we first and foremost want to do the things that inspire us. ADAM: Absolutely, we coined ourselves

early on as mood metal. We like to infuse aggression, groove and mood into each song. What do you hope that fans take away from hearing your music or seeing a live performance? CHRIS: Honestly, I hope people take away our genuine love in what we do. Though we flirt around with the same basic theme with our music, we feel that we leave enough to the imagination for personal interpretation. ADAM: Yeah, we especially focus a lot of energy

into our stage show. We want everyone to get an experience with our stage show. We have our influences in that area that define what a stage show is suppose to be like, Iron Maiden, Amon Amarth, Parkway Drive etc. 6

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What would you say makes Beast of Mind stand out from your previous releases and what parts are you each the most excited about? CHRIS: For me its a lot more personal. When I wrote the lyrics this go round i focused more on what I’ve been through and tried to write and arrange in a way that come from reflection rather than being straight forward. Positivity and drive is the basis of all our songs, so I tried to tell the stories as they were a part of my life I went through and what I needed to overcome them. As for the excitement aspect, honestly its just sharing our music and a part of our lives with everyone. The relationships we’ve gained with our fans have been so many times built on how our music has touched them. As an artist its the ultimate appreciation.

Tell us a little bit about the writing and studio recording process for Beast of Mind? ADAM: We got the opportunity to record in

New York at Joe Duplantier of Gojiras studio. It was engineered by Jaime Uertz who helped engineer Magma. This was a game changer

for us, showing just how far we can actually go with our dreams. We learned so much being able to work in such a professional studio. CHRIS: It definitely did. Joe is my biggest inspiration as a guitarist and composer, to be in there using their amps and equipment was humbling to say the least. As for the writing process, I wrote the riffs and arranged the songs, sent them to Adam and the rest is what you hear. It was a true test to us going up there just myself and Adam with three days to get it done. We like to challenge ourselves in that way, as musicians to ensure we are being the best we possibly can. The producing was mostly myself and Adam with help from Brett and Zack from Exodian studios in Asheville NC, who mixed and mastered for us. By the way shoutout to those guys for all they’ve done for us, check out their band Fractured Frames! Where do you draw inspiration from for lyrical content?

INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENT MORSE

CHRIS: Exactly. I mean there are probably 20 Soulseason songs that haven’t seen the light of day yet. We say we are going to work on releasing them , but we always find a new path to go down and say maybe next time.

CHRIS: Ghost in the Flame was the first. I wrote it back in August of last year. Suffocation was the last in January this year. It was a last minute song that just kinda happened but seems to be a fan favorite.

Are there any songs in particular that are the most personal?

Is there a single song that stands out as your favorite, either to play live or that speaks to you on a personal level?

Are there any music videos from Beast of Mind in the works that we can look forward to?

CHRIS: I have to go with Beast of Mind. Those

ADAM: For me its Suffocation. Its so powerful

lyrics I wrote after a show in Fayetteville last year. There was a group of guys who were stationed there who come to our show. Watching them rage in the crowd with so much purpose. It really spoke to me. What they do for our country, what they see and have to deal with on a daily basis we could never understand. Watching them take all of that and let it out was therapy. Thats where the concept of Beast Of Mind come from. Letting that darkness out and making it work for you.

musically and creates such a unique sounding song. The lyrics also mean the most to me, reminding us not to get caught up too much what society says you should be and end up suffocating your life. Staying grounded and remind yourself you are doing what you love.

CHRIS: Life. My life personally has changed over the past few years for the better. I’ve seen hell more than once. I want people to know that no matter how bad it gets, how dark it seems, there is always hope. Let your struggles fuel your success.

Are there any songs that didn’t make the cut for the record? ADAM: Not with this cycle. We sorta knew early on this was going to be a shorter record so we focused our time on on really going all out this time around.

CHRIS: If we talking favorites i have to go

with Mirror Inside. It takes me somewhere anytime I hear it or play it. A story of loss, it could be someone passing, a relationship or even yourself. The latter is how it speaks to me. Just that reminder to look inside yourself for the answer. Only you know what can make you happy, whatever that may be. Which song was the first that was written for this album and which was the most recently completed?

ADAM: The title track Beast Of Mind is out on youtube, and we are working on one for Suffocation. So far our videos have been pretty straight forward. Us playing live or in studio, etc. This time we decided to get a little more creative. We are excited to release this one.

What are some of your favorite memories from this last year? CHRIS: Man thats tough! There is so many, but most important would have to be meeting our brother Divus Moss. His band The Sketch played with us our first show. He loved us from the start. Over the past year he has become one of my best friends, and has been Soulseason’s biggest fan from day one. The instant bond with him has only grown stronger, its truly an honor now to have him as our permanent bassist. Funny how life works that way.

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COVER STORY / INTERVIEW What’s next on the horizon for SoulSeason and what can fans look forward to? ADAM: As before we have a new video

dropping soon, and so many more shows to be announced traveling much further out. We are also working on a bunch of giveaways so make sure to keep up with us on social media! What advice would you have for other bands starting out in their own local scenes and what do you think are the most important things we can all do to keep live music thriving?

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CHRIS: Believe in yourselves. Don’t look for validation from anyone, do what makes you happy. There is so much time and money we all invest in this. So much time we miss with family, so if you’re willing to sacrifice all this for your passion, why wouldn’t you want to do it exactly how you want to. As for the future of live music, we all must be supportive. We must be the examples of what we want to see. Tearing one band down unsteadies the rest of us. We all are here for the same reason, to play the music we love. There isn’t any reason why we cant all be their for each other.

Any other words of wisdom to share or anything that you would like fans to know? CHRIS: Yes, the love and friendship we have

been shown over the past year is more than we could ever ask for. From the depths of my soul I thank each and every person who’s bought merch, came to a show or took the time to support us. If there is anything Soulseason can do to help anyone whether it be business or personal please let us know.

FUEL THE SCENE MAGAZINE

ALBUM REVIEW

WRITTEN BY WILLIAM DIBBLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENT MORSE

SOULSEASON

Beast of Mind

orth Carolina is home to a burgeoning metal scene. Metal bands form and break up with rapid speed in a variety of subgenres. Some of these bands break through barriers and cement themselves in the regional scene, and SoulSeason is one of those bands, pushing out highquality heavy metal into the metal scenes. They pair their excellent songs with fantastic stage presence and persistence, which is is especially evident in their latest album, Beast of Mind! Beast of Mind opens with the title track and a rousing electric guitar riff. It takes only moments to get heavier and louder. ”Beast of Mind” is a traditional and energetic heavy metal track that mixes melodic and screamed vocals. It is a track that is best listened to loudly and gives a promising introduction to the rest of the album. It is followed by “Ghost in the Flame,” which

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Track three, “Mask of Lies,” starts off with a softer intro than the other two songs. Mind you, that softer intro is still pretty hard. This song noticeably features more melodic vocals than the other two tracks. It does tend to feel a bit lengthy before the end, but SoulSeason ends the song before it becomes truly repetitive, transitioning smoothly from one song to the next. “Exhale Yesterday” is considerably heavier and even includes a breakdown section. It is a fantastically heavy song that swings from slower to faster parts and back again without ever losing pace. opens with an intense guitar-and-drum intro. “Ghost in the Flame” is heavy, fast, and intimidating. It wants to fill the room with its sound as it tears its way out of your speakers or headphones. This is a song that wants to be heard, and is willing to scream to do so. It also cements the strong opening SoulSeason has managed in this album.

“Mirror Inside” brings in a clean guitar intro that sets itself separate from the rest of the album. It features alternations of screams and soaring vocals and a diverse set of riffs. Clocking in at over five minutes long, it never feels repetitive or overly long. It is possibly one of Beast of Mind’s

strongest offerings, song-wise. The album closes out with “Suffocation.” Suffocation features what is, for this album, a very unusual acoustic opening. It also features chanted vocals during the intro before launching into the main song. While “Suffocation” starts slower than the rest of the album, it is no less heavy. It features blasting drums and a stop-and-go rhythm behind vicious vocals, and doesn’t let up at all. Beast of Mind remains brutally heavy right until the last second of the album.

In such a diverse and populated metal scene, it can be hard to pick new releases to listen to. This is especially true when time and money become restrictions. If you find yourself having to pick-andchoose your listens this summer, make sure one of those is SoulSeason’s Beast of Mind. The album features six distinctly different songs that are catchy and fun to listen to. Be sure to pick up this album and don’t miss out!

“It wants to fill the room with its sound as it tears its way out of your speakers or headphones.”

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INTERVIEW

TRIVIUM Rei Haycraft spoke with Paolo Gregoletto of TRIVIUM as the gates opened to Welcome to Rockville 2018 in Jacksonville, FL about their newest album, “The Sin and the Sentence,” their return to “old school” styles, inspirations, and what’s to come. Live photography credit Steve Thrasher.

Rei Haycraft here with Paolo from Trivium at Welcome to Rockville in Jacksonville Florida! So, jumping in, The Sin and the Sentence dropped last October and fans are still really excited about it. What has been the reception for you all so far? PAOLO: It’s been incredible. We’ve had to really increase how many new songs we put into the set. We just came from UK in Europe, where we were headlining, and we were doing about 100 minutes, and six, seven of the songs were new songs. Because when we played last year, we had like four new songs right when the album came out and people were like, oh you gotta play more, you gotta play more. So, it’s a great problem to have. We have eight records now, so it’s really tough to fit everything in, but when people are that stoked on a new record it’s a great feeling. We covered your show in Charlotte, North Carolina when you were playing with Arch Enemy. And the reaction from the fans was just as crazy for new stuff as when you would pull out something from one of 12

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the earlier albums—you all did a great job of playing a good range from your entire catalog. Do you find that fans are going back and rediscovering your old stuff now? PAOLO: I mean, that’s the best part about streaming and Spotify, Apple Music, it’s like discovering a show that everyone was hearing about and you get into it on the last season and you can go back and binge watch everything. I do that with bands. I discover something, and I go back and I just listen through to everything. I think it’s definitely increased our back catalog sales going up. Just because people are coming into our band from the last record and this record, and there’s all this stuff to listen to now. Yeah, absolutely. I’ve heard Trivium referred to as a gateway metal band. What do you think about that? PAOLO: Yeah, I think that’s a good ... I mean I take that as a great compliment because I feel like we’re a band that incorporates a lot of different sub genres into our sound. I mean, we mix up a lot of things, and I think

if you listen to us, and you have ever listened to us talk about music we like, it’s really easy to kind of go back and try to figure out where the family tree is of our sound. That’s how we were with bands. Like when I discovered Metallica, I discovered Megadeth, and when I discover Megadeth you discover Slayer. And you start going from there, and then you start getting into sub genres, you get into death metal, black metal, everything. I love that. That’s what I love about the genre. It’s endless discovery. And once you kinda get into one of those bands, for me it was Metallica, it opens the flood gates. And it seems like with every album you all sort of reinvent yourselves a little bit. You try new things, what do you feel are some things that maybe were brand new to Trivium for this album? PAOLO: Definitely Alex Bent on the drums. I mean, he’s a powerhouse. And I’m really excited for these shows, because if you came and saw us in the fall with Arch Enemy, you know how great he is, but a lot of people seeing us on this maybe kind of vaguely know

INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH W4CY RADIO

about us, or just discovering us, or seeing us for the first time. And they’re seeing us with such an incredible drummer. I mean, that was a big change. Then with the new record, I mean, it was sort of like we wanted the intensity of our earlier records, but we wanted to keep the melody and song orientation of our writing that we had in the last couple of records, where we really focused on melody and bringing Matt’s vocals to the forefront of the song. But now it’s surrounded by tons of riffs, crazy drumming, extreme music, twists and turns, and I feel like if anything it was really solidifying what the vision is for our band. It wasn’t as much of like, oh we’re gonna try something brand new. It’s like, we’re gonna take all the best elements of our band, and just bring it to the next level.

he really nailed it again. And so he was able to bring back screaming into the set, not have to rely on Cory to do it all. So, it was sort of like, okay we can play a lot of our old stuff again, it was kind of a tricky time for us. We weren’t really sure where we were gonna be if Matt couldn’t bring that back. It would have been really tricky to do a lot of old stuff, but since we got it back, it’s like okay, we can play the

old stuff again. And then when it was time to write the music, it’s like well we have that in our arsenal again, we can use it in new ways, we can feature it in songs where we need it. And it feels good. It feels like a returning to home in a way with our sound. I think people love hearing that, and we love hearing it as well.

Was there any specific influences or vision that you went into the studio with for this album? PAOLO: It was really just having the vision of, we had this kind of saying going in to kind of sum up what we were gonna try to do. We wanted to be more melodic than the heaviest bands, and heavier than all of the melodic bands. It was sort of like, I don’t know, that just kind of helped us gauge where we were at when we were writing. And whenever it felt like a song was super heavy, but didn’t have the kind of melody it needed, we would inject that into it, and vice versa. If something felt very melodic, and didn’t feel like it had the power, we would inject that into it. And it sort of helped us balance all the songs. And there wasn’t any specific types of bands, but I mean, we’re always listening to tons of new music. I mean, listening to new bands, in my opinion that still gives me that energy of discovering new music and wanting to have that fire in our own sound. Now tell me a little bit about the return to Matt’s “old school vocals”—that’s the only way I can describe it. PAOLO: Yeah, the screams. Well the big challenge for us on the last record was that we didn’t know if Matt would be able to scream again. And he was relearning a technique all through the last tour cycle, and about half way through Silence in the Snow,

FUEL THE SCENE MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW Oh I was so excited to start hearing that, and a lot of old fans felt like this is what they had been waiting for. PAOLO: Yeah. Yeah, and we didn’t want it to feel like it was a nostalgia thing. We wanted the screaming on the record to be like okay, we’ve grown as a band, we’ve grown as musicians and writers. This is in our arsenal, and we’re gonna bring it in when we need to take the song to that level. And it felt like the screaming is not there just for the sake of it, it’s there for good reasons. And it doesn’t feel overdone, but just the right amount, and playing the new stuff live has been super fun. It feels really good to play, I’m excited to play it today. What song are you most excited to play today? PAOLO: It’s kinda tough. I mean, we’re not

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playing a super long set. But I feel like every song on the set is kind of a key tune. But we open up with Sin in the Sentence. We’re playing Betrayer. I’m really excited to play that one. That’s my favorite. PAOLO: Yeah, it’s gonna be fun. The first three songs are pretty heavy, so it’s gonna kinda kick the gates open for us. Have there been any songs that have been fan favorites that you maybe weren’t expecting, or? PAOLO: From the new record? Honestly just how well it’s been received across the board. Every song. Like The Heart rom Your Hate even. It’s definitely a more melodic song, but live it’s just so perfect. And people love it, it’s just got the right tempo where people can jump, and sing, and scream, and it’s I think really great for a festival like this.

And the lyrical content is really raw and emotive. Can you tell us anything about some of the lyrical inspiration? PAOLO: Yeah, Matt and I kinda did primarily all the records lyrics, but when it came to a song like Betrayer, when Matt had brought in some of the lyrics, I was kind of trying to push it to be more ... Make it feel more personal. Cause when it first came in I felt like the lyrics were, you’re kind of describing this thing that happened, but you sound detached. Make it more personal. Put people in the room with you while you’re telling the person this fan. So we really work shopped the lyrics. But we thought really hard about it, I felt like that was one area that we could take it to another level than we had previously done. And so, when you pair it with really aggressive music, with lyrics that feel very real, and are descriptive, I think it’s exciting. And that’s why I love metal, and that’s why I love writing music, you can

INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH W4CY RADIO

put as much effort as you want into it. And we really tried to leave no stone unturned. And you can definitely tell. The lyrical content paints a visual picture. In a very vivid way. As in the music videos. Can you talk to us about the Sin in the Sentence music video? PAOLO: Yeah, we worked with our great friend Jean Paul Douglas, who’s done a lot of our visuals, a lot of our artwork, a lot of photos. And he came in and heard the record while we were making it, and so he was kind of painting this picture in his mind what he felt like Sin in the Sentence looked like. And we didn’t really give him any specific cues that we needed. And that’s not something we do with people. We don’t tell them specifically, okay, the song means this, it’s gotta look like this, it’s gotta be literally a translation of what we’re talking about. And what was really great was to see the Sin in the Sentence back, and sort of see the visuals and ideas he got from our words and what he thought it meant. And it just kind of gives it a lot more color and depth. And I don’t feel like we own the meaning of a song. Sometimes I’ll hear a fans interpretation of a song, and I kind of almost like that more. It’s like, oh that’s cool the way you took what we were talking about and spun it into something even more creative. That was a fun one to make. What else can we tell fans to look forward to coming up? PAOLO: We have a little bit of touring we’ll be announcing very soon. A little bit in the summer, a little bit in the fall. So stay tuned, if we haven’t hit your city yet, probably gonna do that. And if we have hit your city, expect some more headline shows soon. Do you have any other words of wisdom for our fans back home? PAOLO: Just thanks for supporting us. Hope you guys enjoyed our set at Rockville. If you didn’t we’ll see you sometime later this year. All right, thank you so much for taking time with us. PAOLO: Thank you. Thank you very much.

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ALBUM REVIEW

REVIEW WRITTEN BY SAVANAH RUIZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY GLAM TIE MEDIA

CITY OF THE WEAK Pulling Teeth C

ity of the Weak is putting everything on the table with their latest release, Pulling Teeth. This album is explosive, addictive, and full of attitude. This Minneapolis, MN band has been around since 2012, and have put nothing but hard work and dedication into their project, touring the United States endlessly, and even reaching their 400th show this year. Pulling Teeth encompasses the bands essence with every song, and shows that their hard work was worth it.

USA should be no shock to listeners since this band’s presence can be felt in every note, their attitude stands out and pulls listeners in.

Songs like “Trust Nobody” invoke the emotions that the band felt while making them due to the emotive power of City of the Weak. Each song puts listeners in the shoes of the band and leaves them craving more. Though they have been around for a while, this album definitely puts City of the Weak on

While City of the Weak is a rock band, they have used elements of both pop and rock to create a sound that sticks out as unique. Vocalist Stef “with an F” Huschka also adds to this unique sound with her skillful vocal work. Pulling Teeth was produced by Craig Owens (badXchannels, Chiodos), and his experience

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City of the Weak has already gained some attention, receiving over 1.3 million views on their first six music videos, but Pulling Teeth is sure to solidify their spot in this industry. There is so much potential in this band and their success so far only further proves that they belong in this scene.

the map as a rock band. Pulling Teeth is catchy, passionate, and well put together. Finding out they have played the main stages at music festivals such as Rock Fest and Rock

in the music scene can also be felt through the excellence that is shown throughout this LP. Pulling Teeth was also engineered, mixed and mastered by Jordan Disorbo, who owns Glass Arrow Audio and is the guitarist of rock/ post-hardcore band Glasslands. This band is known for their intense and fearless stage presence, a power transcends their live performances and shows through each song. “Drag Us Under,” in particular, embodies the band’s motivation to fight their way to the top of the rock charts, a goal that seems close at hand for this talented up and coming band. Preorder bundles for Pulling Teeth can be found at www.cityoftheweakofficial.com and you can digitally preorder the album through iTunes.

“Pulling Teeth is explosive, addictive, and full of attitude.”

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OUT WITH AMBLER PRESENTS

INTERVIEW WITH WRITTEN IN GRAY Out With Ambler got a chance to chat with “Camel City Dadcore” band, Written In Gray, as they played The Ramkat in their hometown of Winston-Salem, NC.

How did Written In Gray come together as a band? WIG: I’ll keep this as short as possible. Written In Gray started in 2014 in Westfield, North Carolina. With Lawrence and his brother, Corey. For a while they couldn’t solidify a lineup and Corey eventually left soon after I joined in 2015. Shortly after Jonus and Angus Joined. We’ve all been best friends since middle school, so we’re not going anywhere for now. You guys have opened for some really heavy hitters in the Rock and Metal world. Drop some names!

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WIG: Of course, we’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Goatwhore, John 5 and the Creatures, Born of Osiris, Arch Enemy, and Veil of Maya.

WIG: We’re inspired by a lot. Some of our biggest influences include, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium, and Bullet For My Valentine. The list could go on for eternity.

artists or things that I experience when I write. But Lawrence is the biggest contributor to the writing process. Most of the time he has a full song in is head and we help him piece it together. But we’ve all played a part in songwriting. Sometimes I’ll write a riff, or lyrics for a song. Sometimes Jonus has a full song in his head. When it’s all said and done, everyone in the band has contributed something to song when it’s finished.

Where do you get your inspiration for writing songs and what role would you say each member plays in that process?

I understand Written In Gray is about to go into the studio to record a debut album. Tell us all about it!

WIG: Usually inspiration comes from other

WIG: Yes, we have our first full-length written

Who are some of your biggest influences?

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMBLER IRBY

as we speak... in gray of course. [laugh] We’ve been working on it for longer than Tool has been working on new material it seems like. So we’re super stoked to finally get in the studio and let it be heard by the world. We’re recording with the one and only Jamie King at The Basement studios in Winston-Salem. We’re aiming to have it out by the end of the year. Which we did say that this time last year, and the year before that. But I think we mean it this time.

Where can fans go to keep up with all things Written In Gray? WIG: We’re almost everywhere online. But our most reliable source is Facebook. If we do something, you’ll know about from there first. We’re also on Instagram, Bandcamp, YouTube, etc. Once the record drops it’ll be on all music platforms. www.writteningray.bandcamp.com facebook.com/writteningray

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ALBUM REVIEW

REVIEW BY SAVANAH RUIZ LIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY TERIE SHAVER

KILLAKOI K

“Down” is a reflective track that relates to feelings of not being good enough. Lyrics like “try hard or just don’t try at all” really allow listeners to look inside the minds of Killakoi’s members and show how they got to be the driven and committed band that they are today.

illakoi has unleashed a beast with their debut release, Pangea. This EP is fiery, rhythmic, and real. Killakoi consists of four musicians who have been working and writing together for six years. But, after working with other local bands and side projects on top of Killakoi, the members of the band decided to focus on Killakoi and give their all to mastering their sound. After quitting all their other musical projects in 2017, they have made it their priority to bring listeners a hard rock masterpiece, which is exactly what they have done with Pangea. Title track “Pangea” opens this EP with flare and some sick guitar work that gets listeners excited for the amazing songs Pangea has to offer. Through the use of new technology and

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Pangea

their personal influences, Pangea offers insight into the true nature of Killakoi, and shows they are a rising force within the music industry.

“Government Plastic” is another reflective track, only instead of focusing on themselves the band decided to use their voice to make a statement on the world. This song is dark, heavy, and definitely worth checking out. Lyrics like “watching as the devil gets paid” and “if life was once a paradise how did we all let this happen?” show a frustration with the current state of the United States that many listeners can relate to.

For Pangea, Killakoi worked with writer/ producer Sahaj Ticotin (Ra), as well as producer Bob Marlette. This pairing seems to be a match made in Heaven, since all six tracks work together cohesively to create a unique sound. A particularly poignant track is “Hollow Eyes.” This song features a vulnerable side of Killakoi as they voice struggles of finding direction and making sense of life and death. This song is the last song on Pangea and closes the EP in a way that leaves listeners craving more. Through Pangea, Killakoi shows skill, experience, and a drive that can be heard in every song. After listening to this EP it is clear that this band has what it takes to make a name for themselves. Pangea was released on June 2, and can be found on Spotify, iTunes, and more. You can also find the music videos for “Down” and “Government Plastic” on their Youtube channel.

“Through Pangea, Killakoi shows skill, experience, and a drive that can be heard in every song.”

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FESTIVAL T

he music industry’s last remaining major traveling festival is saying goodbye in spectacular fashion. The entire lineup for 2018’s Vans Warped Tour, presented by Journeys, was revealed via a special announcement video, which can be viewed now at VansWarpedTour.com. This will be the final cross-country run for the tour, now in its 24th year. On the upcoming shows, founder Kevin Lyman has shared: “I truly am happy to get the chance to travel around the country one more time to thank you for your support, and bring you another best day ever.” For its final run, the tour is thrilled to welcome back countless bands who have rocked Vans Warped Tour over the last 24 years including Reel Big Fish, Simple Plan, All Time Low, Four Year Strong, 3OH!3, Less Than Jake, Underoath, We The Kings, The Used, Tonight Alive and more. Adding to this year’s lineup are up-and-coming acts such as State Champs, Trash Boat, Don Broco, Grayscale, Waterparks, Real Friends, and Movements.

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Also returning this summer are the newly named Mutant Red Dawn and Mutant White Lightning stages, showcasing the best in heavy and hardcore music: Chelsea Grin, MYCHILDREN MY BRIDE, Every Time I Die, Knocked Loose, The Amity Affliction, Ice Nine Kills, and more. The Vans Warped Tour is the largest traveling music festival in the United States, and the longest-running touring music festival in North America. Originally conceived by founder Kevin Lyman in 1995 as an eclectic alternative rock festival, with a focus on punk rock, over the years the tour has grown to include a multitude of genres, including metal, hip hop, reggae, pop and more. It remains one of the best tours to attend to discover emerging acts, to learn more about wonderful non-profits and companies who are working to make a positive impact on the world that surround them, and to meet like-minded friends.

PREVIEW Over the past two decades, Vans Warped Tour has built a legacy as the must attend summer festival for rock and music lovers alike. Since its start in 1995 it has provided a platform for established as well as upand-coming artists, with past performers including blink182, No Doubt, Sublime, Beck, Katy Perry, NOFX, Limp Bizkit, Black Eyed Peas, Green Day, Eminem, Yellowcard, Bad Religion, and countless others. In addition, the tour continues to host a wide array of amazing non-profits and educational workshops for attendees and 2018 will be launching the FEND Movement (Full Energy, No Drugs) in partnership with thePreventum Initiative. The FEND Movement empowers youth to make a stand against opioids. The FEND Movement aims to engage 50,000 young people between March and August 2018, giving them the chance to earn rewards and prizes as they increase their knowledge and change their attitudes and

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FESTIVAL PREVIEW

behaviors in relation to opioids. Youth can participate by downloading the Preventum app and on-boarding to the FEND campaign. A Voice For The Innocent, American Red Cross, Hope For The Day, Feed Our Children Now!, Living The Dream Foundation, To Write Love on Her Arms, and truth will all be involved this summer, just to name a few. Fans can see their favorite bands as well as become educated on these causes and how they can help. “I am very excited about the upcoming year. With it being the last tour, the non-profit presence will be as big as ever. Groups who have been out in the past will be coming

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COVERAGE BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CRIM RADIO

out in more markets, and hopefully we will attract new non-profits,” comments Sierra Lyman. “With more non-profits coming out there will be more options for our audience to hopefully get involved before, during, and after the tour. I am hoping that this last year encourages non-profits to partner with bands and for bands to partner with nonprofits on their own events and tours once this summer is over.” The Entertainment Institute will return to the 2018 tour as well, hosting educational workshops and Q+A’s hosted by the industry’s most successful writers, artists, and photographers. More information

regarding the artists conducting workshops will be available at www.thinktei.com Also joining the tour this year as sponsors are dailyKARMA, Ernie Ball, Equal Vision Records, Full Sail University, Peta2, MusiCares, PRS Guitars, Hopeless Records, Viceland, Violent Gentlemen, Hope For The Day, and more. “Kevin and the tour have touched so many lives through their commitment to giving back to the community,” shares dailyKARMA CEO Patricia Dao. “They’ve been doing it long before it was the cool thing to do. Our team is thrilled that dailyKARMA will be powering Warped Tour’s online fundraising efforts this year.”

Tickets as well as Super Fan Bundles, for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tour on are sale now and can be purchased at www.vanswarpedtour.com. As a bonus for early ticket buyers, the first 500 tickets sold for each show will be at the lowest price available and will include a digital download of the Official Vans Warped Tour 50-song compilation. The cover features Tonight Aliveâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jenna McDougall. The 38-date tour will commence June 21st in Pomona, CA and end on August 5th in West Palm, FL.

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ALBUM REVIEW

REVIEW WRITTEN BY JOSH FOSTER PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF VLVD

VIOLENT LIFE VIOLENT DEATH Come, Heavy Breath ome, Heavy Breath is the sophomore effort

song is a great mechanic to avoid monotony

by Violent Life Violent Death and will give

while maintaining the heaviness. “Lovers-

hardcore fans plenty of what they love about

Deceivers” is the shortest song on the EP at

the genre. Solid straightforward thrashing

a mere 2:10, but takes you through an almost

grooves drive the EP throughout with sparse

classic rock riff to open through a dark bass

moments of clean or gang vocals to make the

groove and exiting on a super thrashy note.

heavy bits stand out even more. The strength of the EP are the head bang

The title track “Come, Heavy Breath” opens

inducing grooves. Violent Life Violent Death

dark and somber before kicking into high

doesn’t spend a lot of time with extended

gear. The chorus is very open with clean

solo’s or trying to straddle a more commercial

vocals placed at the end, which does a great

melodic approach. They display a sense of

job of setting up the higher tempo verses.

self awareness that is admirable. The vocals

Make no mistake, this album is heavy

each track is varied enough to give each

grab you by the collar, the drums kick you in

and driving from top to bottom. However,

breakdown and riff some space to stand on

the teeth and the songs don’t let go until you

both the arrangement of the album and

its own. The use of tempo changes on each

start moving. Don’t expect a weak moment.

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One thing many bands try to do is capture the energy from their live shows. These songs do a remarkable job of transferring that energy to the listener, which is a significant accomplishment. Violent Life Violent Death deliver a very well produced effort. The sound is big, and despite the gritty and crunchy style, the EP doesn’t become muddy or undiscernible, a problem that so many hardcore and metal recordings suffer from. Come, Heavy Breath

“The vocals grab you by the collar, the drums kick you in the teeth, and the songs don’t let go until you start moving.”

is something the band should be proud of making and something you should be happy to add to your collection. It is available now at violentlifeviolentdeath.bandcamp.com

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INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH W4CY RADIO

TOOTHGRINDER Rei Haycraft got a chance to chat with Asbury Park, NJ ‘s own“keepers of the shred” TOOTHGRINDER before their set at Welcome to Rockville 2018 in jacksonville, FL about their newest release, “Phantom Amour,” writing and recording, life on the road, and what city has the best ramen noodles.

Rei Haycraft here at Welcome to Rockville with Toothgrinder! Can you all introduce yourselves for those at home who are unaware? MATT: Hi, I’m Matt. I play guitar with the least amount of strings on it. JUSTIN: I’m Justin, I yell into a microphone. WILLS: I’m Wills, I sit in the back and kind of just flail around like this with some wooden things in my hand. Yeah I’m lucky if I actually make contact. My eyes are usually closed. [laughs]

we’ve done so we’re walking around like, “This is sick, I can get used to this.” We’re still the newbies on the roster. WILLS: Yeah, we’re the small font, so we’re happy to be here. JUSTIN: Should have been in Comic Sans. WILLS: Yeah yeah yeah. Times New Roman, I told them Times New Roman. MATT: Wingdings 6.

How has your festival been thus far?

So you guys just got off tour with BTBAM, Polyphia, Contortionist, Meshuggah. How insane was that and can you share just a little glimpse into what that was like?

WILLS: Awesome. It’s great, this is our first one so this is pretty exciting. It’s just cool to be here, it’s cool to play with all these bands, see some friends that we haven’t seen in awhile, so that’s always fun. Do some awesome interviews with some really great people. JUSTIN: Eat some good food. WILLS: Yeah, food’s incredible. Sorry if you haven’t been yet, but you got to go. JUSTIN: This is probably the biggest festival

WILLS: It was incredible, it was the coolest thing. JUSTIN: Yeah, I mean it was a record we all grew up listening to, the Colors record so getting to see that live every night was awesome, dream come true. WILLS: Yeah, it was. Not to get all mushy, but it was a band I seriously look up to and I’m really inspired by and to then have them be that band that inspired me to then now be my peers, is one of the craziest things you

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can imagine honestly, to just not watch from afar and be the weirdo. To then be like, “You want to get some coffee?” It’s like, “Whoa, this is crazy.” Yeah, it’s just really cool. It was incredible and being on tour with Meshuggah too. I think if you like music you probably like Meshuggah so getting to share the stage with them, travel with them, was incredible. Every night. The show’s were ridiculous, yeah. JUSTIN: And I didn’t think Lawrence, Kansas had dope ramen, but they do. I found that out, it was awesome. WILLS: On a serious note, yeah. Lawrence, Kansas has got some good ramen. So Phantom Amour, still relatively new, fans are still getting to hear some of it live for the first time, what has the reception been like, especially when you’re coming out the gates with ones you haven’t been able to play live before? MATT: It’s been sick. WILLS: Yeah it’s been awesome. MATT: It’s funny because we still... kind of

INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY BUNKER HILL RECORDS

pepper in some really heavy obnoxious ones that we all love from our last record, but we always make this pun out of one of the songs, not to just let it ride—but we’ve kind of just been hanging back, grooving with everything. WILLS: It’s been awesome. MATT: It’s been great, everybody loves it and it’s cool that we can build a set around putting balls to the wall and then dialing it back and kind of just groove and rock for a hot minute. WILLS: Yeah, prime example, I’ll bounce off that. When we went on tour with Meshuggah, we catered the set to be super heavy and just all the craziness with a couple cool singalongs in there, but then we just went on tour with Norma Jean and we didn’t write, we catered to a rock-and-roll set, you know what I mean, and that’s been super fun and like we said before, I mean the first show, the first time we played Let it Ride, I remember you looked at me after we played it and you just go, “Holy shit there was people pitting to Let it Ride, this is crazy” and it was just so funny because that was the first time we ever played that last tour and it was so cool to see people A, know the words which is probably ridiculous for him because I couldn’t imagine

seeing people air-drum— JUSTIN: Well I can’t really sing so it’s good to have some help. WILLS: We need the help, but it’s just been incredible. The response, I mean we’re at these festivals, we’re playing a couple of amazing festivals. I feel like the album has to do with that, obviously the team that surrounds us has been incredible. It’s just so awesome. Yeah, it’s been really great. What songs do you feel like are resonating with fans the most off this album? WILLS: Stairway to Heaven. JUSTIN: Yeah that one. WILLS: I don’t know. JUSTIN: I think the Shadow. MATT: Do you want the human answer or do you want a Spotify count answer? JUSTIN: It’s Shadow and Phantom Amour. WILLS: Yeah Phantom Amour’s awesome. MATT: It’s got a big chorus in it, it’s got a good breakdown– WILLS: It’s a very cool roller coaster kind of thing. JUSTIN: We’re releasing a video soon for our song Vagabond, so we’re going to be playing that for the first time ever live today,

so I think that’s going to go over pretty well, too, because it’s a little bit towards the back of the album so people haven’t really ... if you’re not really digging into the album, or a big fan, you’re not going to listen to it, so I think it’s going to put that one on the map which is going to be cool. WILLS: Definitely. Now you mentioned Shadow, the music video for that is stunning. Can you talk to us a little bit about the inspiration for that and for how you decided to well, do what you did? WILLS: Yeah, that’s a question for him. JUSTIN: Yeah, well the lyrics are based off the early 1900’s philosopher Carl Jung. Pretty much, I explained it a few times, it was based off a couple books that were written, The Gulag Archipelago and this other book that was about these German police officers who got transferred to Poland during the Nazi invasion and how they went from being pretty good, for all purposes at the time, good family men without really any psychopathic tendencies, and then through time and indoctrination they became monsters, and

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INTERVIEW the song’s kind of about how there’s a thing that people kind of assume that there’s a ... you’re either born good or born evil or there’s good and evil in the world, but really the line between good and evil is in everyone and it’s up to you and it’s up to the people around you and the circumstances to keep you on the right side of things and that’s what it’s about. WILLS: Yeah, you can create both. JUSTIN: That’s really what that’s about, the Jungian shadow. Well it’s visually stunning as well. How was it making the video? WILLS: So this guy Joey Durango made it and it was kind of crazy. It was the first ever music video that we were not present for. What was that like? WILLS: Which was kind of awesome because, I don’t know, we kind of wanted a more cinematic approach to it because everyone has a music video where everyone’s bouncing around playing a song, this and that. That’s cool, but it’s kind of also cool to make a

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INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH W4CY RADIO

little movie, you know what I mean? So that’s what we made and I think Vagabond is going to be a nice little addition to The Shadow which is going to be fun for a music video. JUSTIN: Yeah, I think you’re really going to enjoy the Vagabond video. WILLS: Yeah you’re definitely going to enjoy the Vagabond. JUSTIN: It’s like a Reservoir Dogs theme. I sense some secrets happening. MATT: There’s also some key elements that tie in the video thing. WILLS: Yeah exactly. Yeah, just being like “Oh shit, see how that worked out? That was crazy. Weird, right?” Now comparing Phantom Amour to your past record, how do you feel like you’ve evolved as a band? What has changed and what influences have changed? MATT: It made me cut my hair. I had hair down to here and last week I was like “You know what, this album’s going to make me cut it.” JUSTIN: He looks human now.

WILLS: Yeah he looks healthy. MATT: I don’t wake up at a truck stop and look like an absolute hobo. WILLS: Like he woke up in the dumpster. MATT: Like I walked out of the dumpster and was like, “Hey man you got some meth or something?” I actually look like a functioning member of society. Well depending, my mom would say otherwise,“You got that stupid stuff on your arms.” WILLS: Yeah, “That better come off in the shower.” MATT: “Sorry mom, it was fourth period, I had a couple Sharpies.” WILLS: “It’s not a phase mom, this is me.” No, geez, we get so off topic. I love it. JUSTIN: Vocals are different. WILLS: Yeah, vocals are different. Drums are way different. Drum tone is different, I think the guitar tone is different. I think we took all the rules and everything we thought about, the first album to the next album we just balled it up in this little ball and just punted it away and just kind of did whatever we wanted, whatever felt right. I think this

album, to me when I play it, when I play the songs, they feel really good. Even more so than our past songs, although they were calculated and they’re crazy, these are just a little more calculated. They’re more based on groove, they’re more based on feeling and I feel like that translates to someone who maybe doesn’t play an instrument or to someone who’s just a fan, or this, or does play an instrument. That translates very well I believe to a variety of audiences so, I don’t know, it’s been great. JUSTIN: It’s tougher too, I mean you think playing a lot of technical fast stuff is hard, but when you consolidate everything and try to write groovy songs with a lot of hooks and melodies, especially as a vocalist, I wasn’t really like a crazy singer or anything for the first album so I took lessons and gave it a shot and really developed myself. So that’s fun. WILLS: I’m loving the direction. The change that we made I think is really positive and it keeps it fun for yourself. As the artist, as the guy in the band, you got to make sure it’s fun when you get up there to play, you don’t want to be doing the same shit every day, I don’t know. When you’re bored then the audience is going to be bored. WILLS: Exactly and it’s going to show. It’s going to come out in the sound, the performance, the everything. So, I agree. Did you all use all of the material that you wrote for this album or are there ones that didn’t make the record? WILLS: No, no. MATT: No for real, when we went into the studio, we went in with 22 either completed, half-completed, or very very solid ideas. Not just open-ended trailed off stuff. WILLS: Yeah, solid. MATT: We had 22 solid ideas. JUSTIN: And didn’t use any of them. WILLS: Yeah pretty much used none of it, which is great. MATT: I think we used two and a half? We wrote the rest in the studio and it wasWILLS: Just cool. It was weird at first because we’ve never done that before.

MATT: Well it was great. Well the process, especially for you, is we left everything set up so when you would track you would sit down and track and if you were getting stuck on a song or we couldn’t work through it we just moved on to another one. You move on to another on, you can always go back. WILLS: Yeah you didn’t have pressure ... and it was cool, being the drummer as well as the bass player and everything, everyone’s used to kind of just gunning out their parts as quickly as possible. Time is money. But we set it up to where we were in the studio, like he said, having everything set up every day. So I mean, there would be times where we’d write a song, I would do the drums, and there would be one part just empty because I was just ... I didn’t know what to do there. I needed to sit on it, I needed to sleep on it, I needed to play a couple days ... my drums were set up so I would go in the morning and play and then I would be like “Got an idea” and there was a part where I must have redid it three times and the very last day, the last thing I did was go back and fix a fill that I’ve been thinking about for like a month, but it was so cool to have the opportunity. So now when I listen back, I’ll remember forever like, “Yes, I got to fix that.” MATT: No regerts!

WILLS: Yeah, no rag-rats or however you say it. How long were you in the studio? Wills: Six weeks, yeah. MATT: We got an extra in there, I’d say about eight weeks. Wills: Oh yeah because we went back down. It was actually kind of interesting, we went back down and we did two more songs, one being the Shadow which is kind of crazy. So that wasn’t even a thing. Which is like “Whoa thank God we went back down.” Geez Louise. MATT: Thank God I called that guy. JUSTIN: It’s kind of interesting too because when we were down there that song came together. MATT: I had something to say. JUSTIN: That song came together in like a day, when a lot of there other album we worked on for a whole six weeks but the Shadow kind of just like ... that was it. WILLS: Just happened, yeah. JUSTIN: I remember I was in the parking lot smoking a cigarette and I remember writing the two versus within five minutes. I was like “Well that’s it” and then it worked. WILLS: Yeah, sometimes it’s the best stuff. JUSTIN: You know what it was, it was nice because you had this break during the

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INTERVIEW

summer, your mind cleared... because it gets draining and we all get cranky by the end and we’re just “All right, I don’t want to see you until another month.” So when we went down there it was nice and fresh and we were like “We only got to do two songs” and it was easy, it was fun. WILLS: Yeah it was good to get that song too. It’s a good one. So beyond Vagabond coming out soon, what else soon-ish, what else can fans look forward too coming up? WILLS: This tour we’re about to embark on. We’re doing four festivals including this one. We’re doing Carolina Rebellion, Rock on the Range, and Fort Rock on Sunday and as well, during that we’re also on tour with Trivium and Bullet for my Valentine, so yeah it’s ridiculous, so we’re so psyched. We’re happy to be one the road, happy to be playing with some incredible bands. The opportunities have just been awesome so we just hope it keeps going till at least I’m 50, 60, I don’t know. Until I literally can’t play the drums anymore. Until your arms fall off. WILLS: Yeah, which is coming soon, yeah.

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INTERVIEW BY REI HAYCRAFT AND KRISTY STREYLE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH W4CY RADIO

MATT: The bets on me to croak first. I just have the most health issues. It’s okay. WILLS: Yeah, he’s definitely first. Any other words of wisdom for the fans watching back home? MATT: Don’t get diabetes. WILLS: I just want to say thank you to everybody that has been supporting us the whole time through this crazy little journey that we’ve been on. Look forward to seeing you at a show, look forward to say “hi”, talk for a couple minutes, this and that, I don’t know, just happy to be here for sure. JUSTIN: What he said. MATT: I watched him literally just double jack the plug and I was like “Just have it”, when you walk on stage you’re like—“please be connected.” WILLS: “Please hear me.” MATT: No, seriously, it’s, all the support from the new record has been outstanding. Our team is second to none. I love everybody and it’s ... there’s people who have horrible relationships with their label or whoever, it’s just... I love everybody. I love everybody as a team and we all reach out to each other as humans, not just as business associates. I

mean, when it comes down to business shit gets done. WILLS: Yeah you got to be respectful. MATT: But it really is, I love everybody and we wouldn’t be where we are without them. JUSTIN: And a really grateful shout-out to Danny Wimmer and Clay because they helped us out a lot and— WILLS: Big time. The whole Danny Wimmer team is just incredible. Big time appreciate it. Well, thank you all so much for taking time with us today and we will try not to make you late for your next things. WILLS: Oh, whatever. MATT: It doesn’t matter, thank you guys. WILLS: Being late is the theme for today. Just roll with it, it’s festival time. WILLS: Totally is.

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JUNE 2018