First off i would like to thank Eddie and all of Tiefighter for taking the time out to do this interview with Worldwidetakeoverzine
how long has the band been together?
tiefighter officially turned 2 this past november J
tiefighter officially turned 2 this past november J
how did the band come to be known as Tiefighter?
i think rob or jesse had mentioned using tiefighter as a name for one of our old bands, but we never used it. eventually we got this band going and just decided on using that name. a lot of people ask us if there's any connection to star wars, but seriously there's not.
i think rob or jesse had mentioned using tiefighter as a name for one of our old bands, but we never used it. eventually we got this band going and just decided on using that name. a lot of people ask us if there's any connection to star wars, but seriously there's not.
are any of the members in side projects other than Tiefighter?
all of us jam out with other friends but tiefighter is main focus.
is this the original lineup and if not what is the current lineup?
4/5th's of us are original members. we started out with me (eddie) on vocals and our current singer (rob) on drums, and our friend kevin on guitar, with jesse & mike where they're at now. kevin left and we got chad in the band to fill the spot on guitar. after tour, i left the band and rob replaced me on vocals and danny came into the band on drums. then in early 2007, chad left the band, and i re-joined, this time on guitar, and we've been going strong since. Confusing, I know, but hey.
4/5th's of us are original members. we started out with me (eddie) on vocals and our current singer (rob) on drums, and our friend kevin on guitar, with jesse & mike where they're at now. kevin left and we got chad in the band to fill the spot on guitar. after tour, i left the band and rob replaced me on vocals and danny came into the band on drums. then in early 2007, chad left the band, and i re-joined, this time on guitar, and we've been going strong since. Confusing, I know, but hey.
is there a large and thriving scene in the Los Angeles County area as well as California?
actually, a lot of bands are breaking up in the LA area, i guess maybe it's the cool thing to do. california is a huge state and there are a lot of great bands playing around at any given time.
in only one sentence describe your bands sound to someone who has never heard you before?
fun, fast, melodic, and exciting…we hope!
fun, fast, melodic, and exciting…we hope!
when the band is on tour in the van what is usually playing in the cd player?
probably 80's tunes, old school rap, kanye west, nofx, maybe some emo jams like dashboard.
probably 80's tunes, old school rap, kanye west, nofx, maybe some emo jams like dashboard.
what do you base your lyrics on when writing new material?
pretty much whatever is on our minds at the moment. maybe something that we're going through, or that we see happening in our lives or around us.
pretty much whatever is on our minds at the moment. maybe something that we're going through, or that we see happening in our lives or around us.
how were you first exposed to the scene and what made you say i want to be in an band?
it might be a different story for everyone else but when i first saw green day play, that was it. i knew i wanted to play in a band from then on.
it might be a different story for everyone else but when i first saw green day play, that was it. i knew i wanted to play in a band from then on.
when on tour and driving from city to city and country to country what is some of the weirdest shit you have seen happen or pass by?
hamilton, Ontario (canada) is obsessed with neon signs. There was this road that we went down, and literally every single business had one. it was pretty intense. another time coming home from northern california, we saw a big rig tipped over with hundreds of dead sheep thrown all over the road! it was hands-down, the most random thing ever. total mess! we also saw the batmobile (from the batman movie) one time.
hamilton, Ontario (canada) is obsessed with neon signs. There was this road that we went down, and literally every single business had one. it was pretty intense. another time coming home from northern california, we saw a big rig tipped over with hundreds of dead sheep thrown all over the road! it was hands-down, the most random thing ever. total mess! we also saw the batmobile (from the batman movie) one time.
who are some of the bands main musical influences?
we all listen to so many different types of music that it'd be impossible to nail it down to only a few. i'd say our main influences would be maybe older stretch armstrong, nofx, blink 182, propagandhi.
we all listen to so many different types of music that it'd be impossible to nail it down to only a few. i'd say our main influences would be maybe older stretch armstrong, nofx, blink 182, propagandhi.
how many cds eps 7 inches split cds and demos has the band currently released?
at our first show, i made 50 hand numbered & spray painted demos, and those all went. a few months later in 2006, the original demo got re-mixed & re-mastered and was released by twelve gauge records on a split with countdown. since then we've recorded a ton of demos & did lots of pre-production, but haven't officially released anything up until we posted a few songs from our first full length, "I could tell the world…", which will be out in march of this year.
at our first show, i made 50 hand numbered & spray painted demos, and those all went. a few months later in 2006, the original demo got re-mixed & re-mastered and was released by twelve gauge records on a split with countdown. since then we've recorded a ton of demos & did lots of pre-production, but haven't officially released anything up until we posted a few songs from our first full length, "I could tell the world…", which will be out in march of this year.
who are some of the up and coming bands from the LA County area as well throughout California that we should be on the lookout for?
our friends dear life just signed to uprising, be on the lookout for them. the dares recently signed to jive, too. fight fair from san diego are rad dudes, the ghost inside have been tearing it up lately. though not in california, our buddies anthems are killing it in las vegas! check them out!
how did you come to sign with Forward Looking records and how have they treated you so far especially with touring booking shows and merchandise?
Forward looking had approached us early last year about releasing something, but due to member changes in the band we weren't yet ready to record or anything. We gave ourselves a few months to get back on track and they still really wanted to do our CD. Forward Looking is a new company & we had a few other offers from "bigger" labels, but Chris (forward looking co-owner) really believed in us and the music we made, and really wanted to put his all into Tiefighter, and that's more than we could say for other labels who just wanted to make a quick buck and forget about us. We have a great relationship with Forward Looking. It's all teamwork, we help each other out.
Forward looking had approached us early last year about releasing something, but due to member changes in the band we weren't yet ready to record or anything. We gave ourselves a few months to get back on track and they still really wanted to do our CD. Forward Looking is a new company & we had a few other offers from "bigger" labels, but Chris (forward looking co-owner) really believed in us and the music we made, and really wanted to put his all into Tiefighter, and that's more than we could say for other labels who just wanted to make a quick buck and forget about us. We have a great relationship with Forward Looking. It's all teamwork, we help each other out.
the term hardcore has become so overused that any band putting a breakdown into a song is considered hardcore but explain to the readers what hardcore means to you?
the shows, the singalongs, the faces, the friendships. i've made so many friendships throughout the years. you just don't get the same "community" feeling at a metal show, or indie show or whatever. i can go to almost any show in so cal and have at least a few friends & people there that I know, and that just doesn't happen within other genres.
how does tiefighter differ from more to pride and your last breath in your opinion?
It's a completely different style from our previous bands. If you listen to TF and expect to hear even a glimpse of YLB or More To Pride, I'm sorry but you're going to be disappointed. In the beginning, it was cool to use our old bands to promote Tiefighter, but now its our turn. We are our own band. Musically, I'd say we're somewhere in between those bands.
It's a completely different style from our previous bands. If you listen to TF and expect to hear even a glimpse of YLB or More To Pride, I'm sorry but you're going to be disappointed. In the beginning, it was cool to use our old bands to promote Tiefighter, but now its our turn. We are our own band. Musically, I'd say we're somewhere in between those bands.
where do you see this band in 3 years from now?
If we're still having fun, we'll still be playing together. I know a lot of bands think they'll be together forever and whatnot, but we're only doing this because we have fun. If it stops becoming fun, then we'll stop, but hopefully that won't be anytime soon. Some of us have been friends for almost 10 years, even before we were in a band together, and I'm sure we'll all still be friends beyond it.
If we're still having fun, we'll still be playing together. I know a lot of bands think they'll be together forever and whatnot, but we're only doing this because we have fun. If it stops becoming fun, then we'll stop, but hopefully that won't be anytime soon. Some of us have been friends for almost 10 years, even before we were in a band together, and I'm sure we'll all still be friends beyond it.
How can the readers from around the world contact you about ordering merchandise?
You can check out our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/tiefighter. The store will be up shortly! You can also check out Forward Looking's page at www.myspace.com/forwardlooking for some designs that are only available on the internet.
You can check out our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/tiefighter. The store will be up shortly! You can also check out Forward Looking's page at www.myspace.com/forwardlooking for some designs that are only available on the internet.
What is your most memorable show and why?
i think i'm going to speak for the entire band here and say that some of our most memorable shows were in canada with lions. to be 3,000+ miles away from home and have kids sing along to your songs is just amazing. we always look forward to playing at the red cross in whittier, those shows are always ones to remember.
i think i'm going to speak for the entire band here and say that some of our most memorable shows were in canada with lions. to be 3,000+ miles away from home and have kids sing along to your songs is just amazing. we always look forward to playing at the red cross in whittier, those shows are always ones to remember.
what is your favorite city and country to play shows in and also your least favorite and why?
Much love to the 562! Pretty much everywhere we have ever played was awesome. I'm just glad kids everywhere have been cool enough to check us out, even if they hadn't heard of us.
Much love to the 562! Pretty much everywhere we have ever played was awesome. I'm just glad kids everywhere have been cool enough to check us out, even if they hadn't heard of us.
What advice can you give to some of the newer bands starting out that maybe having a tough time and thinking about giving up?
Keep playing shows! If you're running out of places to play locally, go play in another area, maybe another state or something. Every band has been at that same place at least once in their careers. It also helps a lot when you actually have band members that you can get along with!
Keep playing shows! If you're running out of places to play locally, go play in another area, maybe another state or something. Every band has been at that same place at least once in their careers. It also helps a lot when you actually have band members that you can get along with!
Who are some of the bands that you enjoy touring with?
All of our tours have been rad, so pretty much all of the same bands we've done anything with: Dear Life, Lions, Anthems, Ion Dissonance, E-Town.
All of our tours have been rad, so pretty much all of the same bands we've done anything with: Dear Life, Lions, Anthems, Ion Dissonance, E-Town.
where do you think you would be right now had you not been exposed to the hxc metal scene?
I have noooooo clue.
I have noooooo clue.
Where else other than myspace can the readers go to find out about upcoming shows and other band related information?
http://www.tfonline.org/
http://www.tfonline.org/
who do you think will win the 2008 world series?
Hopefully the dodgers will step it up this year! I don't see it happening though hahaha.
Hopefully the dodgers will step it up this year! I don't see it happening though hahaha.
what is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to the band when playing a set?
I think Jessie fell once in Norcal.
I think Jessie fell once in Norcal.
if the band could have anyone do guest vocals on the next cd with you who would it be and why?
maybe kanye will do a remix with us like he did with fallout boy, haha.
maybe kanye will do a remix with us like he did with fallout boy, haha.
what is the worst injury that any of the band has had happen when playing show?
When Rob was on drums he used to get baaaaad blisters on his hands. I split my mouth open on the mic once.
When Rob was on drums he used to get baaaaad blisters on his hands. I split my mouth open on the mic once.
why do you think that people always associate violence with hardcore shows and it always gives hxc scenes and shows a bad reputation?
There's bad apples in every genre of music, there's always someone looking to be stupid at any event you go to whether it's a dance club, concert, house show, whatever. it sucks that hardcore seems to be the only genre where its noticed.
There's bad apples in every genre of music, there's always someone looking to be stupid at any event you go to whether it's a dance club, concert, house show, whatever. it sucks that hardcore seems to be the only genre where its noticed.
Do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to tell the readers about?
yeah! we're doing our first european tour in april of this year. Come check us out if you live in Europe!
yeah! we're doing our first european tour in april of this year. Come check us out if you live in Europe!
Is there anything else that you would like to add that i may have forgotten to ask that the readers should know about?
thanks to everyone who has supported us in every and any way. word!
thanks to everyone who has supported us in every and any way. word!
