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Local Guides
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EVERY TIME I DIE
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by Shain Shapiro
March 11 - 17, 2010 |
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While most of our focus in spent on bands from our side of the border, a fair amount of respect must be given to our counterparts across the falls in Buffalo, as it has produced a fair few bands in the past two decades. On average, those cities that are more downtrodden and industrial produce more music, because there is generally more available to gripe about, whether it is poverty, unemployment or general disillusionment. While Hamilton continues to struggle financially (and produce great bands as a result), Buffalo is in the same situation, and it has seen an influx of artists that have succeeded internationally after developing within Western New York and Southern Ontario. Both Ani DiFranco and moe are from Buffalo, for example. And remember the Goo Goo Dolls? They remain a ubiquitous reference to the glory days of mid 90s college rock.
One of the best and more fearsome acts to emerge from Buffalo is Everytime I Die, a band that, despite going through bass players at the rate of nearly one per year and not having a permanent drummer, has become one of the more successful metalcore acts ever, as their blend of no fuss punk rock and metal has taken them into both scenes, whether its headlining the Taste of Chaos tour or crossing the country with Warped. But their beginnings, in 1998 with brothers Jordan and Ryan Buckley, began in Buffalo, where their dad was a college lecturer. And the city still remains influential. "I think Buffalo is influential," replies new and now permanent bassist Josh Newton. "It's not that much anymore, because only two members of the band live there now. We did write there for the last record, so perhaps. I think the Buffalo's local fast food, like Mighty Taco and Jim's Steak Out, had more of an influence than anything."
Last September, Everytime I Die released their fifth full length and first for new label Epitaph Records, a blistering set of metal-infused punk titled New Junk Aesthetic. Despite the flux of switching labels after releasing their firt four through Ferrat Records, New Junk Aesthetic is the band's most comfortable and relaxed record to date, at least in how it was recorded. "We needed to set limits for ourselves, otherwise we'd probably still be working on it. But it went well," adds Newton. "The only real challenge is to keep improving as players and songwriters. But it was a very trustful and creative working environment. We recorded it in Orange County, CA with Steve Evetts, who did the record prior to this one as well. We trust Steve, and it shows here. He brings good ideas to the table and gets great sounds." Much like the rest of the band's canon, the usual metaphors clinging to life in a declining industrial town line the gatefold of New Junk Aesthetic, from bouts with depression to anger, alcoholism and disappointment. With the music remains fiery and upbeat, the underlying currents in the vocals, as it has been throughout their career, remain sombre and hard hitting. "It was the usual here," adds Newton. "A good mix of paranoia and self loathing, combined with a dash of pretentiousness. We tend to focus on those themes, as that is what guides what we do. But as a whole, it's not full of a ton of studio trickery or heavy production, both musically and lyrically. It's pretty much what we sound like live."
Now, over a decade into their career, the live show has become more of a greatest hits set than one to feature songs from the new album, as the band is more content in diving into their back catalogue than playing tracks off the new record verbatim. There are new songs, and they are blinders, but the goal now, according to Newton, is to provide a snapshot of the entire history of the band and its development within its current line-up, which has existed more-or-less intact since 2008. "To me, seeing us live nowadays will be a fun, sweaty, rock-n-roll party, plain and simple. We're playing songs from all of the records as well, so to me, it is a really good time to see and be in this band."
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