MILES APART is a melodic/progressive/creative band from South Carolina that has a distinct sound and a heart filled brand of hardcore that i dont feel is being done at all in modern hardcore and punk. below is a inside look about what are they are all about and a in depth interview with Lukas of MILES APART.
ATW: who am i speaking with? what do you do musically?
Lukas: My name is Lukas and I sing in Miles Apart
ATW: alright so right off the bat, when i first got the demo, I was pulled into it so quickly because of the transitions and melody perfectly matched with just enough ammount of heaviness. what are some influences you guys share and describe a little better than i can why you guys sound so distinct.
Lukas: Well, honestly, the mixture of "heaviness" with the melodies and such is a pretty simple answer. Justin(originally on guitar, now plays drums), Matt (bass) and I started playing together about two years ago with some other guys and we were basically just playing really dumbed down hardcore with "pretty parts" over it. Eventually, after member changes we learned how to mesh the two ideas together, and to have impact in our music, and to be "heavy" without having to play chugs and riffs and shit like that. For the past year we've also had one guitarist (Mike, who's now no longer with us) that only listened to American Football, and 90's emo that wrote songs next to Randall (guitar), who has an undying love for Metallica and all that is "riff". So it's really a very natural thing for us, and hopefully our separate influences are different enough to not define us.
As far as sounding "distinct", that's not really for us to decide, I don't think. haha. We just write what we want to, and if people like it then that's just an added plus.
ATW: thats seriously awesome. most bands cant really mesh so many backgrounds together like that and make them work. haha, well its distinct to me because i hear influences from at least 5 different genres and styles and it blends perfectly. i meant to say EP earlier actually but, tell us about Transitions and some important key points you'd like to share. i just want to also mention that i dont think paying attention to lyrics and ideas was really huge in the last few years in hardcore/punk, i hope that changes in 2011.
Lukas: We wrote the first EP (Valueless) in about a month in the fall of 09, and then recorded it that winter. It took several really frustrating months of going back and forth with the people responsible for mastering it, before we finally got back the material, which, we ended up not even being happy with. During that time, we had already become sick of those songs and began planning out the next release. The song "Mattachine" on Transitions was originally on the Enough is Enough comp, so we had that song, which was already going in a new direction, to build on. By the time we had a couple of those songs written, we started moving in another direction completely, but decided that it'd be better to finish writing and recording those songs that to scrap them. So obviously it was a transitional period for us, musically and personally.
We were writing new music, because were already sick of the stuff we had written not even six months ago, and while writing this new music, we had began brainstorming what we could do next. This, i think, will become the standard for us, which could get confusing, and frustrating for people that try to keep up, but it's our process, and it's how we do things.
ATW: nice, and it fits well. one thing i've noticed being in a band is that its never good enough haha, sometimes you have to accept that it wont be perfect. at least thats how i am, i'll end up fixating on shit thats not even there and ruining something decent haha.
Lukas: It's obvious that, in hardcore, lyrically, things change all the time. In the 90's bands were "message driven" and played music to communicate more than just playing for fun, or as an outlet for personal aggression. Then bands like MLIW made it cool to be heartfelt underneath catchy, heavy music. It does bum me out when I hear a really cool band that ends up having somewhat stale, and uninteresting lyrics. I can't sit here and say that what I write is "good", because honestly that's not what something that I feel is important. I write what I feel and fortunately I have an outlet to which those feelings can be poured into.
Now, with bands like Touche Amore, or Pianos Become The Teeth, there are bands that are doing really cool things lyrically. You see wordplay and alliteration and imagery and everything else that I love about literature all mixed in with beautiful, really striking music.
ATW: i get really pysched on that stuff, it helps paints a picture and when paying close attention adds so much to the music, unfortunatly it isnt happening a lot. what are some future plans for Miles Apart?
Lukas: We've got about a month to write and fine-tune 5 new songs before we drive up to Baltimore and record them. We're going to be up there with our friend Michael York (of Pianos Become The Teeth) in his studio for a few days recording, hanging out and maybe playing a show. We just played our first show with a new guitarist also, so on top of being pressed for time to get our stuff ready, we have to teach our songs to a pair of brand new ears, so we've got our work cut out for us over the next month. Which is why we're not really planning any shows until after we get back home from the studio. Also, we have tapes coming out on Heart in Hand sometime in the near future
ATW: thats awesome, staying busy is always good. what are some bands you guys, or you personally have been jamming as of late?
Lukas: I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I've been jamming Seahaven so much lately. I've also been getting my mind blown by "The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die"'s demo and ep from this past year. Besides that I've been sticking to my usual prescription of Converge haha.
ALSO, I willfully take a late pass on this but The Motorcycle Industry has been playing in my car non stop this week. I've been kicking myself for never listening to them sooner.
ATW: nice! Seahaven has been a favorite of my mine for the last few months. well i think thats going to do it man, any last words? bands you think kids should be listening to?
Lukas: Last words? Hmm. Do everything by and for yourself. Practice sustainability. Start a band for no other reason than the fact that you want to write music that you want to hear. Play what you want to play, and if it's not fun, or if you're bored by it, then quit, and start over. Write a zine, or open up a venue. Let bands sleep on your floor. Quit being cool.
People need to be listening to and paying attention to South Carolina. Blacklines, Beggars, Loather, Rubrics, Numb Luck, Overlooked, False Light, EVA, Clever Words, Fountainhead, Is The Anchor, Kids in Masses, Hundredth, Everything is on Fire, and our best friends who are currently on tour, In Regret. Go see them on the east coast and help them out.
thanks Lukas!
for everything related to MILES APART you can find them here:
and feel free to grab Transitions from MILES APART:
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