FocusedXMinds Interview

What is FocusedXMinds and How did this band begin?

FocusedXMinds is a Straight Edge Youth Crew band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I (John Taylor) and Drew Meier 

had played in a couple other bands before and had always discussed how much we would like to play in a youth crew style hardcore band. He and I attended This is Hardcore this past summer and after seeing Mindset with their raw energy and passion I approached Drew knowing this was something that needed to happen. After that Drew found Chris our drummer and we got our friend Brian to play bass and we've been jamming since the end of August. 

I heard the news that you have been signed to 6131. How did this come about?

After hearing some fairly positive feedback about "Straight Edge Overload" the demo we released in November we decided it was something that was worth sending out to some labels to see if they were interested. We sent it to Hellfish and React Records. and Joey ended up getting his hands on it and he approached us about releasing something with them. 

What are your plans for the spring/summer?

Our spring is not going to be as busy as we had hoped, I am currently attending my last semester of college so we are trying to work around that and using whatever breaks in my classes to our full advantage. We are doing two dates with War Hound in Illinois on the 11th and 12th of February and playing Chicago on the 25th with Face Reality and Thought Crusade. In march we will be hitting up Minneapolis for the first time on the 3rd and then going to North Dakota on the fourth to play with Agress, Steppin Stone, Expire, 

Life Wont Wait. March 20-27 we will be doing dates with our buddies in Big Mouth and we're gonna go out as far west as Denver but mostly doing dates in the midwest. Once summer hits we are going to try and tour as much as possible. There has been talks of touring the month of June as well as trying to head out east in May and heading back out West in July. All of it is still getting sorted out but we have plans of becoming very active as quickly as possible.

What will FocusedXMinds release in the future on 6131?

We will be releasing a 7" called "Stay Focused" with them in early may. We hit the studio for that record in early February.

I know you have your demo out. Were you guys expecting such a positive response?

I think we'd all like to say yes, but I don't know how realistic of an answer it is. We all love hardcore music so much and it is such a big part of who we all are, we just put together a demo that we were really proud of. The fact that it has been recieved so positively is unreal and we all couldn't be more greatful. 

How have the local shows in Milwaukee been lately?

Milwaukee shows have been on the rise as far as attendence, crowd participation, and energy. For awhile it seemed like a lot of kids liked listening to hardcore but never really made an effort to come out to shows.Things seem to be changing and with a lot of younger faces anyone aspiring to play music or trying to tour Milwaukee should be very excited in the direction it's heading.

With all the fest announcements lately, will we be seeing you guys on one of those soon?

We're not really about how many fests we might be able to get on this year being that we haven't been that active because of the band being so fresh. We do have plans of being in california at the end of July so we'll see what that means, but we're trying to play every where, always.   

As of now, they have been announced to play East Coast Tsunami Fest. Here is a link to flyer: 

East Coast Tsunami Fest 

What will be your favorite releases in 2011?

Expire's new 7". War Hound, Big Mouth, and Agress are some homies of ours in the no coast that I'm excited to see what they put out. Doubledealer's new record as well as Joyce Manor and Rotting out's new records are all releases I'm looking forward to. 

 What will be playing while you guys are in the van? 

Attack Attack!, Hatebreed, Ke$ha, Lights, Man Overboard, Warzone, Hawthorne Heights, and Hybrid Theory.

Do you fully endorse the saying "MIDWEST HARDCORE ALIVE AND WELL 2011"?

Absolutely. With bands like Expire, War Hound, Harm's Way, Weekend Nachos, Rattletooth, Feeding Lies, Agress, Big Mouth, Steppin' Stone and countless others I think it would be hard to argue otherwise. 

Anything else you would like to say?

Hardcore is alive in 2011.

 FocusedXMinds Bandcamp

FocusedXMinds Facebook
FocusedXMinds Tumblr

6131 Records

 As of now there is ten days till the first announcement of the Sound and Fury Festival. A lot of people come out for this that are from all over world. It's July 22nd till July 24th in Santa Barbara once again for the third time. If you are looking to go to a fest this summer, this isn't a bad choice at all. Plus it's in California, cannot get any better than that. 

Link it below.

Here are some videos from the past years.

Sound and Fury Festival

Terror and Trapped Under Ice - Minneapolis, April 22nd

@ The Triple Rock Social Club
April 22nd
$13
Go.

Title Fight "Shed" Preorders

Title Fight and Side One Dummy has put up preorders for Title Fight debut full length entitled "Shed". There is a lot of preorder packages, including a VHS of them in studio recording. If you are into that kind of stuff and have an old VHS player laying around, pick this up. There is also a zine that could be order which comes along with a 7'' which contains two songs. One from the full length and an acoustic song by one of their friends. I would put this up if you have any extra money to spend. Links below.

Title Fight Tumblr
Side One Dummy

Tigers Jaw Interview

First of all, thank you for doing this. 

What is your name and what do you do in the band?

Thanks for asking us! My name is Patrick and I play the drums.

How did you get into Punk Rock and what was your first show that you attended if you can remember?

I got into punk rock thanks to friends, and the area that I grew up in. My first show was third eye blind when I was nine years old. I was about two hundred yards from the stage, however, and didn't get to stay for "God of Wine". Lots of weed smoke. 

How did Tigers Jaw come about?

Adam started the band in around 2005, with Ben joining very shortly after. We all eventually came together after becoming friends. Dennis and I are brothers, so we joined at the same time. We have all been together since around 2007. 

What are some influences that support Tigers Jaw material?

I guess there are a lot of influences. Different bands/recording artists, television, and the area that we area all from. Our friends...Our friends play a big part in our lives, and are constantly shaping the way we live. So, I guess I would say more than anything, music and friends shape who we are, and therefore, the band that we are all in.

Did you guys, as a band, think that you would get this much support/following?

I don't think any of us anticipated anything, really. We are all just pretty thrilled that people enjoy what we do. But no, everything and everyone that we have been introduced to because of Tigers Jaw has been unanticipated, I would say. We've made some great friends through being a band. One, in fact, is sitting in the room above me. His name is Russell Edling. Look him up!

You guys recently went on a tour with End Of A Year in Europe. What were the high and lows of that tour?

I wouldn't say that there were any lows, at all. Some of the highs for me were meeting new, friendly and interesting people, drinking different types of beer, spending lots of time with my friends, and getting to play nearly every night. It was a really great time. Just the fact that we were in the UK was crazy enough. I would like to go back as soon as we can...

Recently, you guys released "Two Worlds" off of Run For Cover Records. How is it working with everyone at RFC?

Run For Cover is run by one of our best friends, Jeff. We're happy with all that we've done with him. He really just puts out our records, and lets us do whatever we want, in terms of creative control, etc. So, I don't think it could get any better than that...He has us stay over at his place every time that we are in the Boston area, as well. I had a nice birthday there recently, and then Jeff sat on my cake and fucked everything up. 

There is a lot of positive lyrics through "Two Worlds", but there also seem to be some struggles that someone had to deal with. What influenced the lyrics on this record?

Adam, Ben and Dennis wrote the words for this album, so I can't speak for them right now. "chumbawumb" is definitely one of Dennis' major influences. 

What are the touring plans for Tigers Jaw in the spring/summer?

As of now, we will be playing as often as we can on weekends, and over school breaks. We are all in school, and find that finding time to tour is pretty difficult. Check our website, tigersjaw.tumblr.com, for updates on shows that we will be playing, and things that we feel are worth posting. Not that things that we do not post are unimportant. (whet)

Any new releases that you guys will be releasing this spring/summer?

We just did a weekend with O, Pioneers!!! and talked a lot about putting out a split with them. I really love Eric and his band, so to do a split with him would be an honor. So, I believe that the split may be our next release. Keep an ear to the ground for that, however...it is a work in progress at the moment. 

Thanks for your time. Anything else you would like to say? 

Nope, I think that is it. Thanks again for asking us to do this! 

Band links:

Tigers Jaw Tumblr

Run For Cover Records

Tigers Jaw Facebook

Tigers Jaw Myspace

Ill Cause Webzine is done by a collective of friends that wants to do something other than wait around until it's done for them.

This blog will be updated regularly with new releases coming out, interviews, flyers of shows in the surrounding area (midwest mostly) and anything else we find interesting. 

Swag