CITY OF GATES

PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEPHEN FRANK
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/cityofgates
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Hardcore / Metal

YOU GUYS HAVE RECENTLY BEEN INVOLVED IN THE GIVE LIFE TOUR WHICH IS ALL ABOUT SPREADING A POSITIVE MESSAGE TO AUDIENCES. WHY DO YOU THINK IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO SPREAD A MESSAGE THAT IS POSITIVE IN THIS DAY AND AGE?

Well, there are so many awesome things happening in the world every day, all around us, and not much of that is being celebrated through music in the genre that we find ourselves in. So many bands or artists in the heavier music scene focus on all the bad things in life and sing about things they hate, and have such a negative outlook on the world.

We find it way better to focus on and write music about things we love, the uplifting and positive aspects of life. As far as we are concerned, there is far more passion and raw heartfelt power in music made for a love of something, rather than for a hate of something.

WHERE DOES YOUR SHARED PASSION FOR MUSIC COME FROM AND HOW DOES IT REFLECT IN THE MUSIC THAT YOU WRITE AND PERFORM?

Our passion for music comes from the love of self expression and the feeling of stoke that it gives! It can’t get felt any other way. Nothing gets us more amped than a circle pit or a sweet breakdown.

Our music is also a reflection of our shared faith, and lyrically it is evident that we draw a lot of who we are from our faith. Without our shared faith the music would not be as sincere or honest.

I SEE YOU GUYS ARE PLAYING WITH HASTE THE DAY ON THE DURBAN LEG OF THEIR SA TOUR. YOU MUST BE EXITED TO SAY THE LEAST?

To say the least indeed! We are over the freaking moon! Haste the Day are definitely one of our biggest influences and to share the stage with them is literally a dream come true. We’ve been listening to them since we were groms and to finally see them live, let alone play with them, is going to be mind blowing!

NOW THAT INTERNATIONAL BANDS ARE SLOWLY BUT SURELY COMING TO TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA DO YOU THINK IT WILL IMPACT POSITIVELY ON THE STANDARDS OF BANDS AND VENUES ALIKE?

Without a doubt. You can see all over how venues are getting better, especially in terms of sound and organisation, and how the bands are getting more professional.The music local bands are producing now and the standards they set themselves far supersede those from back in the day.

Also the equipment the bands are using is proving to be a huge step in the calibre of music being produced. So the more international bands that pull in will get the local scene on track, it inspires the local bands to aspire to new heights, and shows them what they are capable of achieving.

TALKING ABOUT STANDARDS. HOW HIGH ARE THE STANDARDS YOU HAVE SET FOR THIS BAND AND HAVE YOU REACHED SOME OF THE GOALS YOU HAVE SET FOR YOURSELVES?

Our standards are pretty high I’d say. We try to be as professional as we can, without turning it into a business. In the end the music we make is for us, and as long as we’re happy with it, then we consider it to be good enough. We have definitely reached some goals we have set, although we aren’t a consciously goal driven band. Obviously there are certain things we would like to achieve, but it’s not like “Ok guys, we have to tour three cities in the next month or else we’re going to look like a joke”.

GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE FINISHED RECORDING AN EP. CAN YOU REVEAL YET WHEN IT WILL BE COMING OUT?

We’ve just released it, on the Cape Town leg of the Give Life Tour.We were just waiting for the best time to release it, and we felt the Cape Town leg was perfect as it would be the best place to spread our music to a place where we hadn’t played or been heard before. The EP will be available at all our shows from now on.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIGGEST HIGHS AND LOWS THAT YOU EXPERIENCED DURING THE RECORDING PROCESS MUSICALLY?

The highs were definitely getting into studio and experimenting with the songs, and just getting tighter as a band. Also to get the music to places where we can’t play live is awesome. Touring is also too much fun. The friends you make and the good times you share with your band mates are remembered forever! The lows would just be the cost of getting a good recording, haha! And to realize that you need a HUGE budget to be able to get yourself sounding like your favourite bands.

WHAT ARE YOU GUYS PACKING IN THE EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENT AND WHAT TYPE OF GUITAR TUNINGS DO YOU USE TO CREATE YOUR “SOUND”?

Keagan plays a five string Ibanez through an Ashdown Mag 300 (soon to be the matching 4 X 10 Cab) and a in a bit of a weird tuning. It’s tuned to C-E-A-D-G.

Nick plays an LTD EC-1000 in Drop C through an Ibanez 100W Toneblaster stack.

Alan uses an Epiphone SG Standard in Drop C with a Hiwatt Maxwatt G100

Andy uses Zildjian A Custom crashes, Paiste hi-hats, Zildjian ZXT 10 inch splash, Zildjian ZXT 16 inch china, Zildjian K custom mini 14 inch china, Tama Powerglide double bass pedal and a Tama Swingstar steel shell 14x5 inch snare.

WITH SO MANY BANDS PLAYING SO MANY DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF HARDCORE THESE DAYS, IN WHAT WAY SHOULD SOMEONE BE ABLE TO DISTINGUISH A TRUE HARDCORE BAND FROM ONE WHICH I GUESS ISN’T REALLY HARDCORE ( I HOPE MY QUESTION MAKES SENSE)?

Haha, I hope the answer makes sense then too! Well as we said before, hardcore is about passion and being true to yourself, and having a genuine love for the music you make. Instead of being in a hardcore band to be seen on stage, and be “cool”. H2O say it best “What happened to the passion? (passion!)What happened to the reason for screaming?What happened to the music and the message that I love?”

I SEE YOU GUYS HAVE REALLY TAKEN THE INITIATIVE ON THE MERCH SIDE OF THINGS. DO YOU THINK A BIT OF “BUSINESS SENSE” GOES A LONG WAY IN HELPING ANY INDEPENDENT BAND?

Undoubtedly! To cover costs and not have the band cost you loads of money, some business sense goes a long, long way. For us, to have the band cover all its expenses is ideal, and to make a bit of a profit is pretty cool too. Merch is a really good way to make a little extra cash, and it will help the band to do stuff that they’d like to do, whether it be recording time or a tour, a little extra cash makes it all possible.

I SEE ON YOUR MYSPACE PAGE THAT THERE ARE FIVE BAND MEMBERS LISTED ON THE LEFT BUT ON ALL THE OTHER BAND PHOTOS THERE ARE ONLY FOUR BAND MEMBERS. DID I MISS SOMETHING?

Haha, no you didn’t. That was a good observation, haha. Alan, our second guitarist is taking a little break from the band to focus on his studies at the moment, but he is still a huge part of the band and he’ll be back gigging with us again soon.

WHEN I READ THIS QUOTE IN YOUR BAND BIO I FOUND IT TO BE VERY TRUE: “ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE. FOR WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD IS THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION, AND MANY ENTER THROUGH IT. BUT SMALL IS THE GATE AND NARROW THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO LIFE, AND ONLY A FEW FIND IT." - MATTHEW 7:13-14 –“HOW BIG OF A ROLE DOES YOUR FAITH PLAY IN GUIDING WHAT YOU DO AS A BAND?

Like we said earlier, our faith is the foundation of this band. The music we make is all about our faith, and it shapes us not only as a band, but as individuals too. It is the absolute root of the passion of City of Gates!

ANY LAST COMMENTS / ADVICE OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

We’d just like to thank all the guys who go to shows with genuine appreciation for the music, and not just to hang out. Thanks to Ash from Truth and its Burden and Bryan from Ghosthunter Bookings for organizing the Give Life Tour ’09 and for inviting us, they’re both huge legends. Also some of the bands in Durban that make things happen, Facefirst, Crossingpoint and a couple others. Thanks too to our sponsors, K-Swiss and Eastpak. Love