BEING

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ICARUS PHOTOGRAPHY
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/musicforbeing
COUNTRY: United States STYLE: Metal / Progressive / Ambient

YOUR MUSIC SEEMS TO HAVE SORT OF A “SPIRITUAL” FEELING TO IT. I GUESS YOU GUYS AIM TO GIVE YOUR MUSIC AS MUCH EMOTION AS POSSIBLE?

Cas / Vocals: Absolutely. Music is a very emotional experience for both the creator and the listener. It shapes our memories, society, lifestyles, and perspectives. Spirituality is the very same, and many if not all spiritual pursuits involve or incorporate music on one level or another. The aim with our music is to reach a universality, one that can transcend any one category or genre and gather eclectically from all sources of inspiration. The hope is that our music will be appreciated by any ear that hears it on whatever level they see fit. We put a lot into our songs, but it is up to the listener to decide how much they take from it, and how it applies to their own lives and realities.

Josh / Drums: Emotion, I would say is what carries the band inspirationally. Without emotion, there would be no reason to be doing what we are doing.

Eddy / Bass: Definitely. Combining the group's points of views and expressing a wide range of emotion is part of our music's purpose and allure.

THE BAND’S SONGS HAVE THAT AMBIENT SOUND ALL THROUGH WITHOUT ANY INSTRUMENT “DOMINATING” THE OTHER. WHAT INSTRUMENT IS USED TO DO THE MAJORITY OF THE WRITING AND HOW DOES EVERYTHING GET ADDED THEN AFTERWARDS?

Cas / Vocals: I think its safe to say we take pride in being a band where ever member contributes equally to the writing and creative process. While there may be rough drafts recorded or programmed by a few individuals in different ways, mostly because of the geographical distance between us, as a song develops it really blossoms into a nice synchronicity between the whole band. What starts out as something very basic is elaborated upon and hashed out together. There is a synergistic feeding of ideas and suggestions, and everyone is more than capable of voicing what it is they like, and don't like; or, if they think they have a better idea all-together. We have many influences from all corners of the music industry both past and present, it would almost be counter-productive to limit ourselves to the ideas of just one. The chemistry is almost unbelievable, and we never find ourselves short of material.

Eddy / Bass: It all depends on who comes in with an initial idea. A lot of times when we get together for rehearsal one or more of us will have an idea in our minds, play it for the rest of the group, and start building off that idea. From there the concepts and ideas about the song are born.

YOUR VOCALIST HAS A VERY CLEAN AND CLEAR SINGING STYLE WHICH IS A BIT RARE THESE DAYS. WAS IT A CHALLENGE TO FIND THE RIGHT TYPE OF VOCALIST IN THE BEGINNING?

Josh / Drums: It wasn’t a matter of what type of vocalist we wanted; we had always known what we were looking for to compliment our sound. It was more a matter of finding someone who could fill the shoes, which turned out to be a much more difficult process than imagined.

Eddy / Bass: Yes! We had auditioned many vocalists claiming to be things they weren't, and were almost at a point of settling for someone mediocre, but after searching for 2 years, we finally got our break!

DOES THE BAND’S LIVE SOUND DIFFER MUCH FROM WHAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IN A RECORDING ENVIRONMENT AND HOW DO YOU GUYS PLAY YOUR “SOUNDSCAPING” EFFECTS LIVE?

Cas / Vocals: Our live sound is in the long term aimed to sound like the record, yes, but, the process of getting there has been a bumpy one. Hasty house sound employees and unfamiliar venues have made it difficult at times to reproduce all aspects of our songs with the level of accuracy we'd like, but we'd be fools to expect it to be perfect from the get-go. It does improve with every show, and we only see every error as an opportunity to better ourselves and make the next live just THAT much more worthwhile to those who come.

Josh / Drums: Our live sound offers a good balance between ambient effects, and djenty fullness. We are still in the process of finding the perfect balance to achieve our most effective live sound. Realizing that our “soundscaping” effects play such a large role in our uniqueness, we try to bring as much as it into the live shows as possible.

LIKE MANY OTHER BANDS THESE DAYS YOUR MUSIC DOES NOT FOLLOW “CONVENTIONAL” SONG STRUCTURES. DOES IT TAKE A LOT OF REHEARSAL TIME TO EVENTUALLY GET A NEW SONG RIGHT BEFORE RECORDING AND LATER ON FOR LIVE SHOWS AS WELL?

Cas / Vocals: Every member is very familiar with theory and the progressive music scene so, to us its not all that much different from rehearsing 4-chord blues or and power-chord pop or rock. Its just how we enjoy playing, so, when its something you enjoy and immerse yourself in on a daily basis it doesn't seem much different or any more difficult to do oneself. While we know most of the world finds comfort in what they are familiar with in music, there is a growing appreciation for complexity and innovation. We hope to help provide this for our listeners because its what we love to play most. Its exciting to grow up and watch the music scene mature over the years. We just hope to be a link in the chain to the right direction.

Eddy / Bass: Not necessarily. To me what takes up the most time is putting a song together and making sure all the parts fit per the specs of the band. Once we decide that a song is “complete”, we all get the hang of it fairly quickly.

Josh / Drums: Most of our rehearsal comes from the actual writing process. By the time a song has been “completed”, there isn’t much rehearsal needed.

YOU GUYS HAVE A COUPLE OF SONGS POSTED ON MYSPACE. DO YOU RECORD EVERYTHING YOURSELVES AND WHERE CAN PEOPLE GET THEIR HANDS ON YOUR MUSIC?

Cas / Vocals: We do in fact record all of what is currently available ourselves. We have slaved away to save up for two central in-home studios, alongside working countless hours to learn complex software and hardware in order to produce the sound and final product we wanted. We've just released our first EP, "Premonition", soon to be available on CDbaby, our upcoming website, and myspace itself. We hope to list on Itunes by the end of the year, and are saving and planning a trip up to Baltimore to record with one of our most respected musician friends, Mischa / Bulb from Periphery. We have a huge amount of respect for his recording insight and abilities and hope he will be the one to take the EP to completion.

WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND HAS FOUND ITS “SOUND” AND ARE THERE MORE THINGS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO ATTEMPT MUSICALLY IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT YOU ARE EXCITED ABOUT?

Cas / Vocals: Our main focus now is fine tuning the EP we have now, solidifying our live show, and getting up to Baltimore to give the songs the true professional sound we think they require and deserve to be taken seriously in this industry. We all work very hard, and don't get any handouts or help. I'd like to think we've found our sound, but each of us is also aware that there is no roof in music. We will continue to develop, refine, and innovate our sound to our own artistic needs, and to the desires of that of our fans. We like to deliver something that is always fresh, dynamic, and enjoyable by both the listener and maker. Just as we'd get bored playing the same style, the listeners would get bored hearing it. In the long term, we hope our fans can know they can always come back to us for something new, instead of the same 'ole same 'ole.

Josh / Drums: We definitely have found a “niche” or two that we would like to maintain throughout our writing processes, but are always excited and aspiring to create something even more worthwhile.

Eddy / Bass: I definitely feel we have a certain “sound” to the music, but would never limit ourselves to only one thing. As a group we will travel thru all kinds of music while still keeping “real” to our core foundation, being progressive/metal. That is the great thing about progressive music, it incorporates all genres!

MAKING THE TYPE OF MUSIC THE BAND DOES MUST TAKE A LOT OF GEAR TO GET THE RIGHT RESULTS?

Cas / Vocals: I'm a lead singer, I've used cheap house microphones before. Haha, that's a question for the rest of the guys! At least for live sound, that is. In the studio, I couldn't live without my M-Audio weighted 88-key midi keyboard, or the M-Audio external firewire audiobox. Also, Steinberg's Nuendo and Propellerhead's Reason are fantastic programs that have made our music what it is today.

DO YOU HAVE A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT YOU KIND OF CONSIDER IRREPLACEABLE?

David / Guitars: Anything to do with our recording software or guitar sounds are irreplaceable. Years have been put into learning mixing techniques, and working with a variety of tones.

Cas / Vocals: Again, a question for the rest of the guys. Give me a house PA and mic and I'm set for live shows! As for in the studio, I really prefer an Audiotechnica condenser mic as opposed to a dynamic mic, and, a midi keyboard, at the very least for me, is irreplaceable.

WITH THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY YOU GUYS CAN MAKE THE MUSIC YOU DO VERY EASILY AND WITH MANUFACTURERS BRINGING OUT PRODUCTS EACH YEAR THAT MAKE IT EVEN EASIER FOR ANYONE TO RECORD THEMSELVES; DO YOU THINK RECORDING STUDIOS WILL DISAPPEAR EVENTUALLY?

Cas / Vocals: Well while music is easier to make now than ever, it is still a rigorous process, out of reach to many of people all over the world. We had to work for several years to even afford the hardware and software to record ourselves, and then by the time we could afford it, it almost immediately becomes obsolete. It doesn't help the common recording artist, and huge profits are reaped by the makers. Music programs are being cut, or replaced in schools, and the price of records discourage some from making music all-together. There is a lot of social stigma against those who pursue it as a "hopeless dream", but that is because those who stigmatize think we all are trying to be Michael Jackson, or Madonna; that we crave fame, or money.

If we find that much success, so be it, it would be a life worth living, but, if what we do positively impacts someone somewhere, and we enjoy playing it for them along the way, that to me is just as much a live worth living as the fame and glamour. In fact, by that line of logic, we've already won. Music shouldn't be used to get famous, or perhaps not even to make money, it should be separated from fame entirely. Music comes from the heart of the common man and woman. It comes during times of fear and happiness, strife and success. It tells stories, little, or complex, and changes lives, both in big ways, and in small.

Music is both the voice of the people, of the sounds we hear from our fellow man. I would love to see huge elitist recording studios disappear, not because what they do is bad or wrong, but because it prevents total creative sharing, and freedom. What the internet, and these programs, and even sites like Myspace and Youtube have started doing, is putting the spotlight on anyone with enough courage and talent to show it. Not everything is worth its weight in gold in these modern means of media distribution, but, there are definitely gemstones that, prior to this technological revolution, would very easily, and most likely, been lost to us, never to be known.

Eddy / Bass: I don’t think so. Even as things become more available to the average musician, I feel that studio’s will always have the advantage of experienced individuals who know the in and outs of recording. No matter how many programs are out there, you need knowledgeable seasoned people that know their stuff in order to get a quality professional recording.

David / Guitars: With all the options and software out there, if anything it’s made it harder. As more and more new software comes out, you are forced to relearn new tricks.We could easily steal easy templates on software, but everything we do with the band demands a lot of custom created tones and samples.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Cas / Vocals: I would like to thank you for the interview, it really means a lot to us. We'd also like to thank all our family, friends, and fans who support us and make all we do possible, and worthwhile. We hope these are the first steps to something wonderful and beautiful for everyone involved; either way, it will definitely be a journey worth remembering, regardless of the destination!

[b]Heath Hughes, God, K80 (Behind every great man is a greater woman), My band members and my family.

David / Guitars: My mother, all my close relatives, friends, and the fans who demand more!