Since late 2010, Here Lies the Hero has become a single cohesive force driven towards their aspirations. The band has teamed up with friends in the industry such as Ex-In Fear and Faith Guitarist and Revolt Music MGMT owner, Davey Owens, as well as, Producers Bryan David and Joel Casey Jones to reach these goals. Currently, Here Lies the Hero have dedicated their time to songwriting and performance, playing shows in familiar areas of the southern United States. The band just recently relocated to Los Angeles, California and have confidently rebuilt themselves into something new. With a new powerful line up the band plans to be performing in no time. Bassist James Tuppen and guitarist Jaxon Moore talk about their debut EP and future plans.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Here Lies The Hero, and how long the band has been together.
My name is James and I play bass/scream in the band. The band has been together for about 4 years. Three including me.
2. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
The band including me came together after the previous drummer found me in music school at Midland College in Midland, Texas. I hadn't been in a band for three years since my last one in Singapore, South-east Asia. I wanted in right away when I heard their first EP, "Tide to Sky" and fell in love with the talent and direction of the band. I applied all my knowledge and experience to the band to try and build it with Jaxon and Chaney into what we all knew it could be. We started playing several local shows around Midland/Odessa, Texas and then all over Texas, and then the South-west. After catching the attention of our current endorsers, management, and other industry professionals, I think we felt that we had outgrown West Texas. We recorded "Carpathia" and felt the energy of the very music we poured our broken hearts into (personal difficulties that we faced simultaneously), which pushed us further and further into our careers. With all of that behind us, we felt that we owed it to ourselves to venture into the heart of the music scene in the United States. A ballsy move, but so far we feel it's perfectly justified.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
The band is based out of Los Angeles now. We have yet to encounter our music scene, but we hear that there's a lot of "standing around" at shows. That's fine. As for local bands, we haven't come across any just yet!
4. How did you guys come up with your band name?
I believe it was a previous band member that had come up with it when the band started. I honestly have no idea. We believe in making a difference with our music, or saving a life. So, maybe it had something to do with that. The "hero" lies within the music, as Chaney puts it.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
There are a lot of bands that influence us individually that then influence the band's sound. Overall I'd say it's be Saosin, The Devil Wears Prada, My Chemical Romance, Underoath, The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Periphery, Of Mice & Men, August Burns Red, etc. It's a massive mix.
6. Are you guys signed to a label or unsigned? Which way do you prefer your band to be? Do you hope to eventually get signed?
We're unsigned. I think if a band is smart, and have a reliable manager, that they can benefit from a label. When starting out, I think it's best to gain the experience on your own and learn from others' mistakes. If you have a good and honest manager that has been through the ropes to help council the band, it helps tremendously. Labels DO have a lot of marketing, networking, and distribution resources that independent bands don't have to back themselves, such as funding or pull in the industry. Towards the plateau of a great music career a band could perhaps stand on its feet after the contracts are up if they choose, but hey, building and maintaining good standing relationships are a must. In all honesty, I hope to be signed because I have the confidence in Here Lies the Hero to be something great in this industry.
7. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
So far the band has really connected with the story of a metaphorical ship in a storm at sea. This nautical theme is a perfect way for us to tie in what we experience in our lives that fuel the emotion in our music. Really we'll just stay true to raw emotion and what we are experiencing at the time. This is an escape for us and we go through the exact same shit that everyone else does. We want people to know that. We want people to know that shit gets fucked up sometimes, but that there is always a way through it. There are always five guys that are just as fucked up as they are.
8. Who produced Carpathia and what was it like working with them?
Bryan David! I love that guy. He pretty much read what was all over our faces when we walked into his studio. He just understood what we wanted to do. I really liked working with him and he helped make "Carpathia" what it is. We're proud of it.
9. Is there any story or concept behind the Carpathia title?
There is a MAJOR story behind "Carpathia". The RMS Carpathia was the ship that answered the Titanic's S.O.S. calls. It all has to do with the fact that we were ALL going through a very rough time in that we were being left by someone we loved that we had invested so much into. We needed to be saved. Our story of "Carpathia" follows a couples dying relationship in the midst of a shipwreck and the relentless heart break of the man in the relationship. That EP literally mirrors everything we went through. Some of the lyrics are even dialogue between band members and the one they loved. The lyrics tell the whole story.
10. Who did the cover art for Carpathia and how much input did you have on it?
Corey Martin! He has a company called Naaos Design. We obviously approved everything, but we let him listen to the EP and determine what would be the best fit. The EP artwork is actually the direct result of what Corey felt when he heard "Carpathia". He nailed it.
11. Select two songs from Carpathia and what inspired the lyrics.
I would pick Sense of Direction and Carpathia. In Sense of Direction there's the line, 'It's like you said, "You just don't understand. I'm doing what I can, but you wont trust me or love me."' That was something I said in a panic to someone that I thought I wanted to keep in my life. Sense of Direction came out of that night with Chaney and our ex-guitarist watching me fall apart. Carpathia came out of the anger that we all felt in our individual struggles of being lied to and taken advantage of, but still wanting to mend what we had lost regardless of the toll it was taking on us individually.
12. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
They should know that what Here Lies the Hero is about is what we experience in the moment. Nothing is ever planned with our music. We never map it out, or confine it to a structure. What comes out is something pure and raw. The music you hear is something that would literally bleed out of us if we were cut. It's honest.
13. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Luckily all of our music is available pretty much ANYWHERE online. Facebook, Amazon, iTunes, Spotify, Google, Napster, etc. Wherever you get your music from, or want to hear it; it's there.14. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
They can expect a whole new wave of music and an understanding of our journey thus far. They can also expect to see us live. We want to attack this planet with full force of what we are.
15. What is it you'd like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
That when we recorded it, we were feeling the exact emotion we just put in them. That we are always closer to them than they think.
16. Any final words of wisdom?
Sure. It's never the end of the world. We hit roadblocks every single fucking day. However, those roadblocks detour us in the directions we were meant to take. As long as you hear us, you'll know that the saying, "you can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it" is true. Don't ever give up on yourself. If the thought crosses your mind, know that it has crossed ours several times.
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