Issue 8 by Symphonatic Magazine

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founder/ editor in chief/ photographer & designer SHANA MYERS

co-designer & photographer BRANDYNN LEIGH

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PHOTOGRAPHERS

abby gillardi, abby griffey, amanda jensen, amanda puglisi, anam merchant, brandynn leigh, brian baker, cassie deadmond, chelsea gresh, evgeniya, kait rairden, kelli coyne, kim cisneros, kylee gregg, lauren zaknoun, lindsy carr, lori gutman, maeva valbousquet, meaghan brown, melanie jacknow, mika schmeling, penelope martinez, priten vora, sami wideberg, shana myers. taylor novak, victoria george

WRITERS

branda cavanna, candace carter, caitlyn tanner, josie adnit, lu lu green, maisie king, mike martin, mila hrisimova, naomi lugo, sarah kempster, scarlett grant, victoria george

symphonaticmagazine@gmail.com

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MARCH2014 2014 4

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Album Reviews 6 foster the people

Show Reviews 10 we the kings 14 him 16 thousand foot krutch 18 demi lovato

Interviews 20 hollywood ending 24 semi precious weapons 26 the hounds below 28 cardinal 32 kittyhawk 34 stay seventeen 36 king the kid 38 this century

on the cover 38

This Century

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ALBUM REVIEWS

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artist: foster the people album: supermodel release date: march 18, 2014

Foster the People’s latest album, “Supermodel,” may come as a shock to long-time fans of their first full-length, “Torches.” Instead of hip, twisty mix of rhythmic sounds and happy vocals, “Supermodel” explores darker content and vintage styles that show remarkable progression of the band’s identity and finer sophistication of musical depth. Listeners are struck by the African influences present in opening track “Are You What You Want to Be?” The frequent choral singing and hollow, rapid drum beats combine with the typical poppy Foster the People style to create a piece familiar enough to love, but different enough to intrigue. The group sticks true to their original sounds through the first several tracks: second track, “Ask Yourself,” invents a softer, speculative, and inspiring side of FTP with a mixture of folk, pop, and alternative instrumental influences, while the album’s fourth song, “Nevermind,” exhibits powerful silvery melodies and island influences with light acoustic guitar riffs and piano tunes. With the halfway point approaching in the track listing, “Supermodel” takes a drastic turn. Experimenting with psychedelic influences and a dreaminess of lyrics, the band itself transforms into an entity darker than before, having the lost the uplifting innocence of simple melodies and narrative gems that “Torches” and opening tracks sweetly sang to listeners. The most obvious and pervasive change noted with this metamorphosis is the reveal of lead singer Mark Foster’s tremendous vocal range. “Goats in Trees” is perhaps the best representation of this; with an irresistible deepness and echoing akin to David Bowie’s husky vocals, Foster delves into the possibilities and consequences of a romantic relationship, where “Torches” may have only hinted at the extreme talent Foster possesses. Foster exercises this skill in later track “The Truth” to punctuate elements of darkness with heaviness of voice. Groovy guitar and percussion cross-rhythms and vocal elements also give listeners a sense of the psychedelic 1960s as they serve to mystify the track listing. “The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones,” the title in itself perhaps a nod to The Beatles’ trippy “For the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” consists entirely of almost dissonant voices coming together in reference of another of The Beatles’ notable drug-influenced pieces, “Because.” “Pseudologia Fantastica,” another dreamy track, brings elements of 1970s keyboard action and fuzziness of voice into play to blur the edges of an otherwise solidly rock and roll song. “A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon” rhythmically punctuates swooping vocals with twanging guitar and a short period of Hollywood Undead-esque vocals that almost mask the perfection of the constant buzzing guitar riff underneath; it sounds like what I imagine the height of a very successful acid trip would feel like. Of course, it doesn’t follow that Mark Foster and bandmates were under the influence of drugs during the conception of “Supermodel,” it implies simply that the music of The Beatles and Jim Morrison likely heavily swayed the production of this album. The album’s closing number, “Fire Escape,” is completely unique over the course of the album. The minimalistic single acoustic guitar and suave Jim Morrison voice coupled with background soprano responses. Testing out a darkness of content and a moving irregularity of melody, this track is one of the album’s best in its simple intrigue and softly depressed, wondrous tone. On first listen, it sounds like a live track in its vocal echoing and rawness of guitar, which only enhances the fantastic visionary dream that is “Supermodel.” It may not be as cohesive or melodically pleasing as “Torches,” but the overall mysterious atmosphere and experimentation of style marks “Supermodel” as an important point in time for Foster the People and their success.

review by: candace carter

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recently

other grea

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at releases upcoming symphonymagazine.net

SHOW REVIEWS

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WE THE KINGS

photos & review by: shana myers symphonymagazine.net

WE THE KINGS the art of tour I have a lot of respect for We the Kings. Out of the 4 times I’ve seen them perform, I have never had a single complaint. Their performance and energy on the stage fills up the room. They love what they doing and when they tell you that they love you, it’s easy to believe them. They like to talk to their fans and make jokes, and even make a seven year old girl’s entire day by talking to her about Finding Nemo. For me, I enjoy the bands who like to make you feel as though you’re their best friend. I like the bands that make you feel at home simply because you’re so into their performance that you are in a peaceful mindset. It’s incredibly beautiful to think about the difference they’ve made and the lives they’ve changed, for those who are standing there watching them perform. When you see everyone raise their hands and start singing along to every word, there’s no better feeling in the world. This was the first show that I had seen in a while, where there more people paying attention to the show than those who were too busy watching the show through their phone screen, and quite honestly, I loved it. We the Kings have and will always be one of my favorite bands to see live.

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photos & review by: brian baker

HIM The House of Blues at Downtown Disney in Orlando was nearly sold out for the HIM show on Wednesday night. The Helsinki, Finland band played in front of a crowed dressed mostly in black and crazy hairstyles, and a plenty of metal chains and spikes glistened in the sunset as fans were waiting. The bands black â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heartagramâ&#x20AC;? symbol hanging in the background and fog rolled in across the stage. The lighting was absolutely amazing through the entire show with purple and blue colors. The Finnish metal band formed in Helsinki, Finland back in 1991. HIM has released 8 albums with one certified gold. The very first Finnish band to receive a certified gold album. Five of their album have been certified platinum albums in Finland and one double platinum in Finland.

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r K t o o F d n a s

Thou

e a r c e L utch &

photos & review by: brian baker

Toronto-area Christian rockers Thousand Foot Krutch first appeared in 1997, when Trevor McNevan, Joel Bruyere, and Steve Augustine started putting a worship song spin on a rap-metal sound similar to Limp Bizkit or Korn. After building a buzz around Ontario with numerous shows, a strong demo, and thriving trade of MP3s through its website, Thousand Foot Krutch signed with Diamante and issued Set It Off, its official debut, in March 2001. The band played a lot of music from their latest album The End is Where We Begin. Lecrae: Lecrae grew up in Houston and he was neck deep in all of the world’s vices. Sex, drugs, violence, and gangs were a major part of the culture and lifestyle he pursued. God was gracious to him and saved him from his sins. Now his mission is to tell the world about our amazing Savior and to warn against pursuing this temporary world. I greatly enjoyed seeing this trophy of God’s grace stand on a platform and point all glory to God. He said “Giving God the glory means we talk more about him and less about ourselves.” His song “Background” emphasized this point of humility and servitude.

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demi lovato little mix, cher lloyd fifth harmony photos by: meaghan brown & shana myers review by: shana myers

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THE NEON LIGHTS TOUR PT.2

Demi Lovato is by far one of the best performers I have seen. With each time that I’ve seen her, you can see just how much she continues to grow. You can tell that what she’s doing, means absolutely everything to her. What I love most about Demi is that she doesn’t try to pretend like she’s perfect. She let’s people know that she’s been through hard times and she tries to use that as a message to help those who are going through the same thing she went through. To add on top of that, she is an amazing performer. All of her energy glows and radiates throughout the entire venue. Her voice, which is nearly flawless, blares through the speakers, showing everyone just truly talented she is.

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INTERVIEWS

HOLLYWOOD ENDING

Hi guys, please introduce yourselves and what you do in the band. Cameron Byrd: What’s up, I’m Cameron. I sing, play guitar and produce. Chris Bourne: He kind of does everything. I’m Chris, I play bass, and sing and I write songs. Tyler Wilson: I’m Tyler, I sing, occasionally play guitar too and I dance. Dan Geraghty: I’m Dan, I sing and play guitar… Tyler Wilson: And he rips nasty solos

So, you guys have been touring for about a month and a half now. What’s it like being on the road? Dan Geraghty: At this point it feels like we have been on tour for our whole lives. I don’t know what it would be like any other way. Cameron Byrd: This is our seventh tour together as a band, so I definitely consider us a touring band. I think more so than anything we tour. Tyler Wilson: We are seasoned tourist. Cameron Byrd: Like home is the road for us. Chris Bourne: But yeah, I feel weird at home. Ya know what I mean? Tyler Wilson: But tour has been absolutely amazing. It’s been such a fun time. All the bands have been super cool. All the shows have been really awesome and all the fans have just been going wild. Cameron Byrd: Yeah, this is the first time we actually got to headline. So it’s really cool to see all our hard work pay off. What’s your favorite song to perform live? Tyler Wilson: Our new single “Freak Like me,” out on ITunes right now. Chris Bourne: Yeah, I actually think, “Freak Like Me” is my favorite Cameron Byrd: It’s kind of like an argument in my head. Cause the new songs are our favorites to play, because we just wrote them. But the old songs are awesome, because our fans know them so well and they always go so super hard. Tyler Wilson: That’s why I think, “Freak Like Me” is my favorite because its new, it’s out now and the fans know it. Dan Geraghty: But I would agree, “Freak Like Me” is my favorite. Who is the messiest in the van?

Cameron Byrd: The van? Oh see it’s different in the van, but Dan and Tyler. Dan Geraghty: Our tour manager is pointing at me, but I’m going to take that point and direct it to Tyler. Cameron Byrd: But I would say though, after me and our tour manager (no one else) finished cleaning out the van yesterday we found a lot of Tyler’s stuff. So I would say Tyler. Tyler Wilson: Well yeah. I would say I have the most stuff. But I don’t feel like I make the most garbage. Dan Geraghty: We just get a lot of gifts from our fans, and I just never want them out. So I just bring them all with me. Tyler Wilson: Yeah, he just hoards all the gifts. What is the funniest thing a fan has ever done at a concert? Cameron Byrd: We got silly stringed in Montreal by a bunch of fans. Dan Geraghty: Yeah, we also got silly stringed in Allentown. Chris Bourne: Lately, we actually have been starting to get bras thrown up on stage. It’s interesting, because growing up we were a Disney band and that never happened. But now the girls have been getting a little bit wild. Dan Geraghty: Yeah, its actually been happening pretty often now. I’ll just be playing and then I’ll suddenly spot one on the floor Chris Bourne: I’m not complaining though. I’m about it Are you guys working on an album? If so how does your new music compare with the old music? Cameron Byrd: Yes, we are working on an album. Maybe even multiple albums if possible, but the music is a little bit of a change. It’s a bit more mature. Tyler Wilson: We are definitely putting out an album/EP in the next month or so I would say. We probably have at least thirty songs written. So these songs will be a good transitional period into the next stuff. But it’s still going to be really awesome. It’s way more mature and way more rock. Chris Bourne: Like “Freak Like Me” its still pop but rocks a bit harder.

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Cameron Byrd: It’s also got some cool 90’s like influence, but then the production is very modern. So it’s kind of like its own sound. A lot of rock, a lot of guitars, a lot more drums and real instruments and less of the synthesizer stuff. Tyler Wilson: We’re doing everything. We’re writing everything, producing everything and tracking everything, so its really just one hundred percent raw. Chris Bourne: This is straight up one hundred percent H-W-E. What’s one place you would like to perform at? Cameron Byrd: Um Madison Square Garden. Tyler Wilson: Yeah that would be amazing. Chris Bourne: I want to play the Coliseum Tyler Wilson: I would actually like to go to Paris; I think that would be sick. Cameron Byrd: We got to go to Japan, that was definitely on my bucket list. Dan Geraghty: I think Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles would be amazing. Chris Bourne: Yeah, but I want to play on the Moon as well. Cameron Byrd: There is really no limit on how many places we want to play. And lastly what are your goals for Hollywood Ending in 2014? Chris Bourne: World Domination Dan Geraghty: I feel like that’s really the answer. Tyler Wilson: Yeah, I think 2014 is going to be a really big year for us. We just announced that we will be on tour with McBusted in the UK. It’s going to be a bunch of arenas, so hopefully it will open up a lot of doors for us. So, I think there is a lot of places we can go this year. Cameron Byrd: Yeah, I mean our goals are always as high up as you can make them. There is no reason to limit yourself. But we are hoping that this is the year that we can break out as a band and blowup. That’s what we’re trying to do. Tyler Wilson: And there will be fire on the stage. Chris Bourne: Yes, we promise you there will be fire on the stage! Dan Geraghty: There will be.

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photos by: amanda puglisi interview by: alexa gaglia and melanie jacknow

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semi precious weapons interview by: lauren craddock

When will you guys start touring this year/who will you be touring with? This spring we are doing concerts for all the radio stations that are playing “Aviation High” across the country. As far as a tour, we can promise it will be summer / fall 2014 with someone awesome. How have fans reacted to the new EP? Our fans are a crazy mix of people, from club kids to sorority girls to rock & roll senior citizens. The response so far to the “Aviation” EP has been amazing, which means so much to us and our evolution. I know you guys opened for Lady Gaga way back when. Any plans to get back together soon? Actually 2 days ago we were reunited with Gaga at the SXSW festival in Austin. She brought us onstage and sang a little song about our old NYC days. We all danced like maniacs for her last song and then drank all her Jameson during the encore. Oopsies Are you guys playing many festivals this year? Can you tell us or hint to us which ones? As of now we are dating alternative radio all summer, but secretly hoping to have a couple one night stands with loud and muddy fields. How vague is that! What’s the craziest thing to ever happen while performing? We have played some huge stages to massive crowds with famous artists. That being said, one time were playing to 2 people in Fargo, North Dakota and I found a giant battle axe on top of a speaker. I started swinging it and then we took turns swinging that fucking battle axe during our first song. That shit was craycray. What are you most proud of as a band? I’d say we are most proud of not giving up, even when the universe was screaming at us to do so. Anything else you’d like to add? BATLLE AXE FARGO NORTH DAKOTA!!!! No really though.... We want to say thank you to all our fans past, present, and future. Our full album “AVIATION” comes out April 22nd and we hope you love it.

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the hounds below The Hounds Below aren’t your typical rock band. Incorporating different genres in their music, they are able to create a hard edge,1950s post-punk sound unlike many other artists in the scene right now. The band consists of Will Shattuck (drums/vocals), Adam Michael Lee Padden (bass/vocals) and Jason Stollsteimer (vocals/guitar).

Adam and Will had played together for years before joining The Hounds Below, and afterwards came together by Jason hearing them play; it actually started as a solo project after the demise of Stollsteimer’s old band and turned into what is now known as The Hounds Below. Recently releasing their first song as a band and having finished their Pizza Tour, the band plans on taking a few months off to write what will be their first EP. When it comes to writing, everyone in the group adds their own sound. Starting off with a riff and followed by lyrics and melodies, “I mumble out fake words over it until it solidifies into something real,” explains Jason and Adam. Later Will and Adam add their own sound and ideas. In order to continue to support their music, most of the guys have jobs. Will, for example, is a striper. “He’s always covered in grease and smells like food when he comes over to practice,” explains Jason - “Yeah I usually take like 7 showers and use sandpaper to wash it all off,” adds Will. Adam worked in advertising for a while and now decided he doesn’t want to return to a 9-5 job. “I just write and play music. I’d rather do this and travel than be rich and invisible.” says Jason. The guys love the

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photos & interview by: penelope martinez

idea of traveling to new places and meeting new people all over the place. They say that they’ve been to places to they never imagined, or planned, on visiting. But not everything is as it always seems. Some of the hardest parts about touring consist of trying to keep the energy going while playing after not getting enough rest and keeping inspiration and the motivation going. “Keeping the momentum and artistry going is hard. Sometimes you don’t see any tangible progress, or any proof that what you’re doing is going anywhere. You question whether what you’re doing is going to get you anywhere or if you’re just treading water,” explains Will. While this is true, Jason believes that even if music doesn’t bring him any material riches, he would never trade this life for any other, “At the end of the day, if how much is in your bank account is the most important thing when you die, then I don’t want to live that long.” Another difficult thing about being a musician is how you miss important events. “You miss weddings and funerals, you miss normal life and your life becomes the band,” explains Jason, “if things go well, your time is eating out,” he adds. The band stays positive through it all though, they know that they’re incredibly lucky to be able to do what they love and they hope to be able to continue to do so. Seeing as how Will and Adam began to play at a young age, they knew that music was definitely something they wanted to pursue. Will was encouraged by his family to continue to play because no one in his family was as passionate about it like him. Jason

They’ve been able to stay grounded while touring thanks to their families back home and the fact that they’ve never had a reason to act any other way, “we live the reality where we only have x amount of dollars and x amount of time.” They admire the fact that Johnny Marr from The Smiths used to also play in a band called The Cribs, and even though he had a lot more money than the rest of the band and could afford to fly to another show while touring, he decided to stay with the band and experience everything with them. That’s the kind of attitude and mentality that THB aim to have. This year, they hope be able to release new music and open for a bigger band if the opportunity comes around. Make sure to keep an eye out for these and check out their single, “Xx” on their website.

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Hey, guys! Can you let us know your name, your position in the band, and a random, fun fact about yourself: Tanner: My name is Tanner Forbes, I am the vocalist of the band, I am also a level 90 night elf druid. Matt: My name is Matt. I’m the guitarist of the band. I’m a video game addict and I record/produce bands in my spare time. Morgan: My name is Morgan, I play the bass guitar. A fun fact about myself is that I grew up in a small town and I am also the youngest member in this band. Cody: I go by many names but my mortal name is Cody. I play guitar and roar up a fierce backup vocal. Fun fact is I was once featured with a band on a Muchmusic show called Discovered. Austin: My name is not Austin Warren, and I do not play drums in Cardinal. A fun fact about me is that I have an extremely embarrassing YouTube channel that dates back to 2006, which somehow managed to accumulate 1.4M views. The fact that that many people watched my videos is completely beyond me…but it may explain why the Cardinal YouTube account is called www. YouTube.com/Mo0mix for those of you who have been wondering. 28

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Within a couple of days, if not within the day, of releasing “Psychosis” you guys really seemed to hook people in. How did it feel to have the numbers go up so fast? Matt: We couldn’t have been happier with the turn out. We planned the release day for almost a year and it came out perfect. We keep track of all interaction on our Facebook page and the feedback we’ve gotten is amazing. Tanner: It was crazy, any of the past bands I have ever been in never got attention like this did. After the break up of my past band, Matt and I kind of fell under the radar. I thought everyone had forgotten about us but the release proved otherwise, it was really surprising. Austin: When the tracks were being mastered, we hired a world-class hypnotist to insert a combination of amplitude and frequency modulated carriers for generating signals located in non-aural portions of the audio and in the lower portion of the ultrasonic frequency spectrum. These signals modulated with information are to be perceived by a listener’s brain, where information could be inputted into the subject’s subconscious mind- causing them to enjoy the sound of our music. Kidding. It’s

really quite humbling to see such a great response from a song that we were eagerly waiting to release. We’ve been living and breathing this band for a lot longer than it’s been available to the public, and it’s just a great reminder for all of us to keep doing what we love. It’s been an uphill battle for a lot of us- and the fact that somebody loves what we do is enough to keep us delivering what you want to hear. The support has been outstanding. When and how did you guys come together? Matt: It started between Tanner and I to create this band about a year ago. We immediately started planning the next year and the steps we would have to take to do this properly. We knew finding permanent members was one of the first steps we had to take. Austin and I used to play in a band together previous to this, and Morgan saw Tanner and I perform a few times in our old band and actually messaged us if we were looking for members. We sat both of them down, told them our plan, and they were both on board from that point forward. We still needed a second guitarist at this point. We held a few auditions and found Cody at the end of it.

Cody: Each of us have a need to fulfill the passion we all share. We’ve learned from both the accomplishments and hardship throughout our musical careers and it has brought us to this. Austin: Some time ago there was a place- a place called hope. And in this place, there was a time- a time called desire. And in this place at this time someone decided that pieces of chocolate were delicious and decided to put them inside of sugar dough. Cookies are great. This is how we felt coming together as a banddelicious. But then you, vindictive raisin, got jealous and lonely and decided to be inside of my cookies sometimes too. Chocolate chips are delicious. You are a punk. But this isn’t about you, raisin. This is about the blood of my forefathers, spilt on the land that you defile with your miniaturized mediocrity. This is about liberty, justice, and other various things that are really awesome, like shark week. If any of my bandmates were raisins, I probably wouldn’t have been very cool with that. What was the question again? Are there any reason why you chose to have the theatrical aspect?

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Matt: I’ve personally been a huge fan of the style. We all wanted to break away from the typical style of music most bands follow and do something different. I want Cardinal to burst through because we’re different. I never wanted to break though because we sound like every other band. Cody: It’s a thrilling way to experience music. It gives opportunity to involve different instruments and musical techniques that may not present themselves in other genres. As a song writer it challenges my creativity in a way that really welcomes me to incorporate outside of the box ideas to the writing process. Morgan: Its mainly just to set ourselves apart from other bands. There are so many bands out there that all look the same and it was definitely a big goal of ours to switch it up and just do something that people aren’t always used to. Tanner: It’s not so much “theatrics” than it is a dramatic/dark tone that I want to set with our music. I always found it easier to write something somber or ominous, and I am better at writing a story rather about issues or any other type of topic. It’s easier to capture people in a song if they can draw a story from it. What bands did you all listen to growing up? Cody: I listened to bands like Sum 41, Story of The Year, Senses Fail and Silverstein when I first started playing guitar. Apparently I had a thing for bands that start with ‘S’. Matt: Matt: I listened to a ton of Panic at the Disco as well as Sum 41 and My Chemical Romance. Tanner: Well, like most people my age, the first band I really listened to was Sum 41. Anytime we would play Super Smash Bros or Pokemon Stadium we had Half an Hour of Power on. Other than that, it was a good mix of Our Lady Peace, Gob, Sugarcult and My Chemical Romance. Morgan: I grew up listening to a lot of different stuff but I think Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold and Queen were three bands that really stuck with me. Austin: I can shamelessly say that the first two CD’s that I owned were the Pokemon sound track, and something by “O-Town”. I spent a good portion of my childhood rocking out to those musical jackpots on my Sony Walkman. The 90’s were great. The bands that really got me interested in playing music were Green Day, Sum41, Blink-182, Simple Plan, All Time Low, and Yellowcard. I still remember posing next to my first Westbury drum kit with a bleach blonde mushroom cut and an “American Idiot” T-shirt in the 5th grade. How was the writing process for you? Tanner: Very long and very stressful. I have never been a song writer. I can write stories left and right but putting turning those into songs was extremely difficult for me, in fact I still struggle with it. That being said, all the positive feedback I have received on our first song made it all worth it. Matt: Very interesting, actually. Whenever I hear most people talk about writing I usually hear “We want to sound like this band” or “I want to play this type of music”. I strayed from music as an influence. I didn’t want to recreate something. I would literally sit down and watch horror movies and try to create the feeling I got from the movie into our songs. American Horror Story played a huge influence on my writing style for Cardinal. Is there anyone that you would want to go on tour with? Cody: I am going to cheat and say I would love to play on Warped Tour. It would be a dream come true since the majority of my favorite bands play on it. Matt: It’s always been a huge dream of mine to tour or even play a single show with My Chemical Romance. Too bad they aren’t around anymore. Bring me the Horizon, Panic at the Disco, and Pierce the Veil would be amazing to tour with. 30

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Austin: If I could pick a band off of the top of my head, it would probably be A Day To Remember. I had the most fun I probably ever have at a concert seeing them in 2010. They always have such an entertaining and interactive live show. I can’t even count on my fingers how many bands I would love to tour with, but my most vivid memory of a really fun concert would still be the inflatable crowd surfing rafts and toilet paper fights at ADTR. If I had to choose another band, it would probably be The Wiggles because of the talking furniture. Morgan: I would love to go on tour with letlive. The amount of energy those guys bring out every night is incredible. Bring Me The Horizon and Heartist are a couple of other bands that I would love to tour with. Are there any specific moments in your life that remind you of why you continue to make music? Tanner: Music was never something I thought I would end up pursuing. It had just started out as something I had fun doing out side of school. How ever our recent trip to Kansas City to record our first full length, made me realize how much I actually enjoy doing it. Cody: Whenever I listen to a record I really enjoy, it makes me to want to create something that can give someone else the same feeling. Whenever I can connect with someone through my music in this way it reminds me why I make music. Do you have any hidden talents? Cody: I love drawing and I spend a lot of time designing graphics and logos in photoshop. I specifically enjoy making Tee shirt designs. Tanner: Well I don’t know if you could consider this a talent but I have a large knowledge base for birds and other animals. If for whatever reason you wanted to know what species of bird is what, I’d be able to tell you just by the sound it makes. Morgan: I wouldn’t say that I have any “hidden” talents but I am huge into photography, which is something that not everyone knows about me. Austin: Not really, but I have a passion for design. I love creating new things with my own personal spin on them. If my career in music allows for some leeway in my free time, I would definitely like to pursue architecture, interior design, or perhaps film school. Making movies has been a hobby of mine since the age of 11 or 12. I also really enjoy all types of extreme sports because I would definitely consider myself to be an adrenaline junkie. I’m huge into downhill biking and snowboarding. What else should we expect for the year 2014? Cody: Expect the unexpected. We have a lot of great things planned that should get everyone excited. Matt: There is a lot to come. Unfortunately I can’t spill the beans at this moment. But we have been planning 2014 for a long time. Austin: Probably some new music, unless the raisins get me.

photos & interview by: brandynn leigh

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kittyhawk Hi! So first of all, could you tell us a bit about your band and yourselves? Hello! We are an Indie / Emo quartet from Chicago. We have an EP and a couple splits under our belt, as well as a full length record that will be released sometime this spring or summer. We’re just a bunch of post-college kids looking for stuff to do and rock n’ roll seemed like a good way to spend our time. You’re currently speaking with Mark (hi mom) and I work part time at the Shedd Aquarium selling expensive souvenirs. It (mostly) pays the bills. You released your ep a couple of years ago now, how do you feel about its success? Ha! I’m pretty glad that people seem to like it well enough. It’s been really crazy seeing people sing along to some of those songs. I remember seeing a bunch of kids I’ve never met singing along with us at Bled Fest last year when we were one of the first bands of the day. It was insane. Who are your musical inspirations? Personally, I look up to Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins probably more than any other musician. The quality of the Pumpkins’ body of work (‘91-’00) is something 32

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I will always be in awe by. Also, putting some 70-odd guitar tracks on “Thru the Eyes of Ruby” just to show up your bandmates is one of the ballsiest and pompous things any musician could do, and I will always love him for that. For the rest of the group, I will give you an approximate top five artists we are inspired by: - Superchunk - Rainer Maria - Anathallo - Seam - Mates of State You are going on a tour very soon, how excited are you to be able to play live to your fans? Man, that’s probably our collective favorite thing to do that isn’t eating mexican food together. We should definitely play a show where we are forced to eat one taco in between songs... Last one to puke is the winner! What song are you most looking forward to playing live? I think right now we are all really excited to play our newer songs. We’ve played a few of them in Chicago so far, but we’re especially excited to play them for everyone else.

photos by: anam merchant interview by: teigan bond

There’s a song called “Welcome Home” that I, personally, am excited to play for our fans. We’ve also cooked up a cover of a Jackson Browne song that should be a fun breather from Kate’s tears. If you could play in any arena/ stadium in the world, where would it be and why? This one is easy. Wembley Stadium, because that is where Queen played Live Aid and proved themselves forever as one of rock’s greatest bands. If you could do a collaboration with any artist in the world right now, who would it be and why? In a fantastical, whimsy-world, I think a lot of us are crushing hard on St. Vincent and her new self-titled record. The synths on that album are out of this world. She’d make our emo music waaay more interesting than we ever could. There’s also an artist that uses the moniker small wonder that I would kill to work with, even if that means just playing a show together. He put out an album called “Wendy” that Erik and I cannot stop listening to.

Well, right now, we have our March tour that’ll take us to Pittsburgh and back. At some point, we’ll be releasing our full length, entitled “Hello, Again”. We might even have another split or EP out by the end of the year, who knows. Additionally, Erik will spend a lot of time on our Tumblr and moderating my posts on our Facebook page. Do you have a message for your fans that have been there since the start, and any new ones? Hi guys, you’re all really cute and we’ll see all of you very soon.

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STAY SEVENTEEN photos by: meaghan brown interview by: shana myers

First, can you introduce yourself and state what it is you do in the band? Hey! My name is Jayk Watson, and I play the bass in Stay Seventeen!

being on stage in NYC on our bands 1 year anniversary, playing for the biggest crowd we’d ever been in front of. It was a very proud day for me and a moment I will absolutely never forget!

For people who have never heard of you, how would you describe your band? If I had to describe Stay Seventeen in one word it would be ‘dymanic’. We consider ourselves a pop band first and foremost, but we try not to repeat the same idea more than once or twice. When we release new music, or go on a new tour we always try to change it up and try something different to keep things interesting!

Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process? Our songwriting process varies song by song, but what remains the same is that we’re always inspired by the music we’re listening to at the time. Our #1 goal in our career is to make music that we love, and our fans love. We don’t always have to stick to a specific formula as long as everyone enjoys it and we’re making our fans and ourselves happy!

You’ve recently toured with Hollywood Ending. What was your favorite moment? Touring with Hollywood Ending was really awesome since the tour package also consisted of some of our best friends in Late Nite Reading, 7 Minutes in Heaven, and This Is All Now! My personal favorite moment was

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Do you think that online presence is important for fans to find you and critics to find your music to write about? Online presence is extremely important in spreading your music across the world. We have fans in so many countries that we never would’ve been able to reach

without social media. We find ourselves playing in areas for the first time ever, but yet we still have kids there who know us and our music and it’s a really awesome feeling! Unfortunately Facebook is making some big changes that will severely hurt the bands that rely on it, that’s why we do most of our social networking on Twitter! Follow us! www.twitter.com/stay17official In your opinion, why do you feel music is so important? Music is important because of the way it makes you feel when you listen to it. It means something different to everyone, whether it be lyrics that you can relate to, a good beat that brings you up and makes you want to dance, or just a catchy melody that makes you smile when you hear it. But I’ve never met anyone in my life who doesn’t love some sort of music. What song do you remember most from your childhood? My mom and my nana used to always sing me to sleep with the song “You Are My Sunshine”, I think that’s the first time I was ever exposed to music and I still remember it to this day! What is the most difficult situation you have had to face and how did you tackle it? I’ve faced a lot of really difficult situations, especially being in a band. One of the hardest I’ve faced personally would definitely have to be when I left my old band

to put this one together. I was in a band that I’d been in since high school with my 3 best friends, and things just weren’t working out because we weren’t all on the same page with things. I felt bad leaving my friends for a different band, but I knew this was what I wanted for my career and I had to do what I had to do. They weren’t very happy when I left, but we’re all okay now and they’re still making music so it worked out for the best! What do you love and hate about this industry? I love how everyone you meet is working toward the same goal, but I hate the sense of competition that I feel from others all too often. A lot of times I feel like some of the bands around me feel like this is a competition, when it’s not. I want them to succeed the same way I want my own band to succeed. If another band fails that doesn’t make mine any more significant. We should all be working together and helping each other to grow and be more relevant!

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king the kid

interview by: branda cavanna

Last year you created a Kickstarter campaign to fund your album and tour, what does it mean to have so much support from your fans? It’s unbelievable. We were kind of scared making a kickstarter this early in our career, because we didn’t know what the response would be like, but it was something we needed to do. However, our fans stepped up and helped us reach our goal and then some. It was incredible seeing them rally and support us in this way, and for that we can’t thank them enough. Your band only formed a few years ago, but you have gained a huge following, what was it like growing so much so fast? We couldn’t be happier with the way the band has progressed in such a short amount of time. Fans are the reason bands can do anything, and we always try to make sure to talk to them as much as possible, whether it’s through social media or at shows. Every single fan is special and we want to make sure that they know that too. You are going on tour with Against the Current, what are you most excited for on this tour? We’re playing cities that we missed on our last tour so we’re excited to go there. Also, Against The Current are friends of ours so we’re stoked to hang out with them again both during and outside of the shows. You have a lot of covers on YouTube, some reaching over four million views, what was your favorite song to cover so far? Which do you enjoy more, wrting songs or covering songs?Which music video was the most fun to record? 36

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Writing original songs is definitely our main objective. We want to be a band that stands on it’s own with their own music, which is why we’re constantly writing; so far we have an album, an EP and few singles with more to come. As far as covers go, they’re fun to do from time to time and we make sure we put our own spin on them. We’ve been asked this before and we all have different favorites. The videos also vary, from the crazy cold snow-trap landscape in Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know...” to the quite naked Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball.” What was it like winning the Hot Topic Battle of the Bands? Winning Hot Topic’s Battle of the Bands is another example of our fans showing why they’re the best. They brought the contest to our attention and once we signed up they pushed it really hard. Also, the people at Hot Topic are great. They made us feel really welcome at their HQ and the whole experience was awesome. We got to perform there, got free clothes, and made some good relationships. What has been the greatest and most memorable moment to date? We each have our own. However, this past summer alone included winning the Hot Topic Battle of the Bands, achieving our Kickstarter goal, and going on a 32-city tour, so it was definitely quite memorable! Why did you decide to re release your EP, “Start Something?” What was the inspiration behind this album? Our first tour consisted of self-booked acoustic shows where we fan-sourced the venues. This led us to rearrange our songs into acoustic pieces, and by the time we got back from

tour we really enjoyed how some of the songs had taken different spins. We had fun changing them up a bit, from acoustic guitars, to strings, to tempo changes the songs stand on their own in a different light. Hence the name Start Something: Reinvented. You released the song “Last Train” earlier this month, what is this song about? This song encompasses the long distance aspect of our relationships with our loved ones. It’s not easy being away from home, or away from them, but at the end of the day the love for each other makes it work. What is your recording process like? We’re lucky in the sense that we can write, record, and produce songs on our own. Usually one of us will bring an idea, whether it’s a melody or instrument part and if we like it, we’ll build around it. We’ll write a song through the first chorus with instruments and vocal melodies, and if it makes the cut out of the other demos in the mix, we’ll finish it throughout. What was it like working with Alex Goot? Alex is a fun person to work with. He’s really driven and we really like that even though he’s made his name from YouTube, he writes original music and tours internationally. What do you have planned for 2014? So much to do! We are finishing 11 to 12 songs in the studio right now, so new music this year is pretty much guaranteed. We’re also going on our second tour this May, with a few offshows prior to that. We plan to keep touring for the rest of the year, so look out for that as well.

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ON THE COVER

This Century

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photos and interview by: penelope martinez

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Arizona is home to many great things; the landscape, scenery, Grand Canyon, Jimmy Eat World, and now, This Century. Composed of Sean Silverman (guitar), Ryan Gose (drums) and Joel Kanitz (vocals), the band began with Sean and Ryan in 2007 after leaving an old band. After some time, they decided to recruit Sean’s brother, Alex, and his friend Joel, to fill in the missing positions. After solidifying the lineup, the guys had to come up with a name of course, “Sean had said something like, ‘Hopefully we find a name sometime this century’ and we said, ‘sure, why not,’” and so it began. Having 4 EPs and 2 albums out already - and working on a third at the moment- the guys admit that they still have some difficulties when it comes to writing, “I have no particular writing process. Sometimes I will have a melody idea and build around it. At other times it’ll just be a rhythm or a chord progression. I like to mix it up.” “I’ve been in writing blocks that were, at times, more just a block on appreciating with what it was that I was doing. I tend to take a few hours, or however much time I need, to regain inspiration. At times, I’ll come back to the same idea and have an entirely different outlook on it,” explains Ryan. Yet they look at many things for inspiration, some being other artists such as The Killers, The Strokes, St. Vincent and more. With their last album, Biography of Heartbreak, gaining a lot of attention from fans, the guys were also able to headline their own tour last winter. This album contains a lot of great, catchy songs such as Tip Toe, Skeletons, and a personal favorite, Footsteps. The guys have toured with great artists such as The Maine, Good Charlotte, Nick Santino, and currently are out with We The Kings. Getting here wasn’t easy though, they had to learn how to tour and work together, “Starting out was pretty difficult. We didn’t know where we wanted to take the music and didn’t have a ton of experience collaborating. We also had zero experience touring. We had quite a bit to figure out!” says Ryan. They didn’t just immediately start touring of course, but with the time, the guys got the hang of things and decided it was time to take their music to the next level. Although they enjoy making music and touring, they admit that it can be difficult at times. “The worst part, for myself, is being away from my bed and struggling through some pretty insane drives,” says Ryan, “The best would be playing for all of our amazing fans and meeting new ones.” They’ve learned many lessons in decision making and overall effectiveness though, and continue to learn new things every day. A lot of exciting things are happening for the band this year. “We’ve hit a lot of roadblocks but This Century is better than ever and I have faith that we will only continue to build positive momentum,” comments Ryan. They are hoping to release their new album this year, and they are excited to tour on it as well. In the meantime, make sure to learn all the lyrics off of their latest album and catch them on tour with We the Kings and Crash the Party.

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Joel Kanitz Role: Vocals From: Phoenix, Arizona Random Fact: Afraid of Marshmallows

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Sean Silverman Role: Guitar From: Phoenix, Arizona Random Fact: Terrified of birds

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Ryan Gose Role: Drums From: Mesa, Arizona Random Fact: Recently got waned to soup

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GALLERY 48

symphonymagazine.net photos by: shana myers and lindsy carr

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BRING ME THE HORIZON

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ISSUES

NORTHLANE

OF MICE & MEN

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7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN

LATE NITE READING

52 symphonymagazine.net photos by: amanda puglisi

ONCE UPON A TIME

THIS IS ALL NOW

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CANDY HEARTS

STATE CHAMPS

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SET IT OFF

EO WE ARE THE IN CROWD symphonymagazine.net

photos by: shana myers

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THE NEON LIGHTS

S TOUR

THE FINAL NIGHT

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THIS CENTURY photo by: shana myers

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