interview in november
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SS boganThis interview was directly following a .hopesfall., Facedown. as.the.ruin.falls, dead to fall, Casting Shadows show. It was in a small warehouse in Lima. Ohio. It was a little bit of a drive for my associates and I (and a boring one as well) but it was worth it. It was my second time seeing .hopesfall. and it was totally worth it. As my experience was with the first, it was an extremely emotional show. For those of you who have only heard them on CD, you are missing one of the greatest live bands around. It is impossible to make a clear judgment on .hopesfall. without seeing them live first. For those of you who have never heard .hopesfall. in any format, you need to make it a priority.
SS: I am going to start with the most general questions possible. When and why did you start?
HF: March of 98. At that time the Charlotte area had a lot of bands coming out of it and we were like, "we could do this." We got together and were just messing around for fun. Probably the first goal was to just play one show. We all grew up together and live real close, so we started practicing. We played a few shows and people started liking it. So we were like, "all right, let's do this."
SS: Tell me about your influences.
HF: Musically, it covers a wide spectrum. Lyrically? It's not any one person in particular. We don't try to fabricate a song for a certain feeling but all of our songs tell a story about what we have gone through. In fact, three or four songs might be about the same thing if we feel that strongly about it. But, musically? It comes from a lot of years of listening to Smashing Pumpkins, Hum, Cave In, Converge, Shai Hulud, and Radiohead. Those are just our favorite bands.
SS: Tell me about your label situation with DTS Records.
HF: Really small. We are no longer with DTS Records. We exited that label about 2 months ago. We are presently searching for a label. Well, not searching, but just hanging out… waiting to see what happens.
SS: Any particular reason?
HF: No distro. I mean, they did a lot to help us get started, but we felt kind of held back. It's not their fault; it's just we didn't feel like we fitted there.
SS: I have noticed a shift in the Spirit-Filled Hardcore movement. It's almost waning or dying out. Would you consider yourself a part of that movement?
HF: That's a catchy a question because at one time I did. But, there was a time in the band where it seemed like everyone was just trying to live up to that. It was hard. We'd go on message boards and websites and see these things that say, "oh yeah, .hopesfall. are really great Christian guys." They don't know us; they haven't met us. They are making an assumption. At one time that was something I wanted to be but now we just want to play what comes out of our hearts.
SS: Where did you get your name?
HF: Our guitarist came in one day while we were trying to think of a name and just said ".hopesfall." Not too many bands had the word fall in their names.
SS: Unlike tonight?
HF: (laughs) Yeah, unlike the fall-fest tonight. So, anyway, we were like, "what's it mean?" And he said, "Well, I don't have any hopes right now. They have to fall from God."
SS: There are factions in every social scene that devote themselves to politics and issues. My personal observation of you guys is that you don't really align yourselves with that, but you play from your heart instead. Do you try to shy away from politics and social issues?
HF: It's like this. I went to a web page the other day and it said, "Punk rock is not about the music… blah blah blah…." And, they are right. But also, 90% of that music is not good. It's about the message. If we have a message, it's not a fabricated message. It's what came out of our heart. We are fans of good music. We want to make music that inspires us and other people. So, I would say that we do shy away from all the political stuff. If there is one escape I want it is being up there. I deal with all that other stuff 24/7. When I'm up there, I like to have some time away from it.
SS: Do you have any observations from your travels/shows that you have been to? They can be negative or positive.
HF: It depends on where you go. If you go to down to one town in the south, there are tons of kids and they come to our shows. Then you go to other towns and they are cool as everything. There are Christian kids, God Free Youth kids, or whatever there and they all come together. It's kind of like here. There are all kinds of kids here and they all look like they are having a good time. It's usually the same story in smaller and bigger circles everywhere you go. I don't think it changes, but they just have bigger and smaller problems.
SS: Random question: Are you voting Tuesday?
HF: Yes I am.
SS: Do you feel strongly about that?
HF: No. But, it's just the age-old thing where you can't complain unless you vote. I'll tell you right now that I don't trust either of the candidates. But, I am just going to go with whom I think is smarter and that's Governor Bush. However, I don't have the political stamina to back that up.
SS: I didn't mean to have you share your political convictions. But, lastly, as we talked about before, I saw you at Cornerstone and thought you were the best act there. Have you experience much momentum from that?
HF: Yeah, it's flattering to have so kid come up to and say, "I drove six hours to see you." Or, "that was the best show I have ever seen." To me, it's too surreal. I can't believe you can take us five idiots from Charlotte, and some kid would drive five or six hours to come see us. I am all out shocked and flattered that they do. I think the day that I start expecting it is the day that I quit. I am more than thankful for it right now. And, I will continue to be thankful for whatever else we get.
SS: Tonight was amazing. I drove four hours myself and it was worth it. Thank you.
HF: That's awesome. Thank you.
Photos by Jon Nolte.
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