It started off as a side project The Convalescence was a thing for various musicians until they took things seriously and made this project a full time gig, it becoming a project no more. They then went on to write and record for their debut EP and full-length and other releases as well as touring. Now they have more shows coming up with another all new album underway! Frontman vocalist Keith Wampler discusses the new album and future activity these guys have in-store for this year.
1. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Keith: Well The Convalescence started as more of a side project than anything originally but after releasing music and seeing very quick success we decided to turn it into something more serious. We got signed to an independent label called Enthral Entertainment and released our first EP "Memories" with them, We did some support tours and a handful of festivals in support of the release before hitting the studio at Metro 37 Studios in Rochester Hills,MI with Producer Kevin Sharpe to work on our first full length "Unmasking The
Betrayer". We released the album on our own and continued with relentless touring all the way into July 2013. For the last few months after getting a solid lineup of people we were really happy with were working on a new album and signed to Ferocious Records. We all just got home about two weeks ago from recording with Producer Johnny Burke (Forever In Terror) at Vibe Studios in Bedford Heights,OH and I must say we are more than happy with how this new record turned out and we can't wait to release it.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Keith: Well the band name "The Convalescence" means The Healing Process and since we were mostly broke and homeless and everyone had a long list of personal problems and habits at the time it just seemed fitting.
3. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Keith: Honestly everyone in the band has pretty different tastes in music as well as well as different musical backgrounds, we've never really sat down and said "Hey, let's write something like this band" We've always just kind of starting writing and let whatever was on our minds decide what came out on the records.
4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Keith: Well....That varies from song to song, and album to album. I write the lyrics from the heart and from personal experiences and hopefully if anyone else is feeling the same way I do when I'm writing these songs maybe it can help them.
5. How did you guys come to get signed to Ferocious Records? Are you satisfied with what they have to offer?
Keith: For getting signed to Ferocious Records we just have to thank Tedy Butte from Sykosis for that one, I was helping them out by booking their "Reap What You Sow Tour" and had Tedy check out our music and he liked it so he took it back to Dylann at the label and I got a phone call with the offer from Ferocious Records a few days later, We can't thank Tedy enough for helping us out there. As far as the deal we got I can't really say as of now since the upcoming release is the first we've done with this label, But so far it's been good working with them.
6. What can you tell me about your new single and lyrical video for that single, why did you want to create a lyrical video instead of an official video?
Keith: The new single has a lot of elements that we have never really used before and we are curious to see the reaction that it gets since it is very different than anything we've done before. We elected to do a lyric video instead of an official video for now because we have band members from all over the United States and it is very expensive for us to all get together for something like a video shoot, So financially it makes a lot more sense to do a lyric video, although we do plan to release an official video for another song at a later date.
7. Where are you in the recording process of the new album?
Keith: We are finished actually, everything is mixed, mastered and ready to go.
8. Who is producing the album? How has the producer aided the recording process?
Keith: Johnny Burke was our producer for this album, He really made us a better band overall I think. He pushed us to try things on this album that were a little bit out of our comfort zone but ended up sounding way better than the original idea. There was also no "OK, that take was good enough" he made sure that every take of everything was as perfect as it could be, Johnny is a great producer and I recommend Vibe Studios to anyone.
9. Where are you recording the album?
Keith: We just finished recording at Vibe Studios in Bedford Heights,OH.
10. How would you describe the overall sound of the new album? How does it compare to "Unmasking The Betrayer"?
Keith: I would say it doesn't compare to "Unmasking The Betrayer" I think this new album completely blows it away.
11. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Keith: Our only goal with this album was to make a kickass metal album and I feel that we accomplished that for sure.
12. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Keith: Not that we've never used before but it is more of a factor than it ever has been on a previous record. Luke does some clean vocals on the new album which we did not do any of on Unmasking The Betrayer and we also brought Katie in on keyboards and she was a big factor in this new album.
13. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous The Convalescence releases?
Keith: The writing process was totally different than anything we've ever done before, For "Memories" and "Unmasking The Betrayer" the whole band was from Toledo,OH and we were able to all sit down in the same room and write the album but for this album after all the member changes we have members in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas we were not able to get together and write so it was a lot of emailing tracks back and forth to each other and a lot of phone calls to get pre production done, and actually on 4 of the songs on the new album they were written on the spot in the studio and ended up coming out as some of the best songs on the album.
14. Do you feel any pressure to do this follow-up?
Keith: Initially there was a little pressure for the follow up but after hearing the way the tracks came out we are just very excited to release it.
15. How was the vibe in the studio?Keith: It was awesome, even though some of us had just met everyone got along, there was a lot of goofing around during down time and everyone seemed to be extremely dedicated to making the best album possible.
16. How’s was the mixing?
Keith: Mixing is all done and it sounds great!
17. Are there any surprises or any collaborations on the album?
Keith: We had a few people that we wanted to get on the album for some guest vocals but there was a few big snow storms that prevented them from making it into the studio, so this album is all us.
18. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Keith: All I can say is that it will be out this Spring.
19. Can you go into one or two tracks on the new album? If so, can you give us the track title and brief description of how the track sounds and how it came about?
Keith: We're keeping track titles and details secrets for now.
20. What are your plans for 2014?
Keith: We have a lot of touring scheduled following the release and will be making a lot of announcements over the next couple of months.
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