Hailing from a rusted old shed behind a trailer park on the Westside of Jacksonville, World Gone is preparing to assault your life and senses with a freak audio apocalypse like none before. That said the band has been taking over playing showcases left and right, writing and recording for their debut EP with so much more in-store! Frontman vocalist Joe discusses their unique style and the future.
1. First of all, who are you, and what do you do in the band?
Joe: I'm Joe, I sing, scream, and yell in time.
2. What type of band are you?
Joe: Metal.
3. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Joe: I had just finished mixing the debut The Killer and The Star record which was engineered by Ross Robinson (Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, etc.), was on tour playing guitar with Cold and working on my own music on the side at the same time. I played some of my original stuff for Scooter and he immediately dug it and told me he wanted to sign my side project on his new label “Sonic Star Records”. This really solidified my belief that I was doing something good because Scooter is one of the most amazing artists in the world and I respect his opinion immensely. Scooter played some of the demos for Rocky Gray (Drummer from Evanescence) who was touring with us as the drummer for TKATS and he wanted to be part of the project also.
The first demo was for a song called “River.” I continued to write new songs and Scooter actually suggested the original name “What World Is This?”. At the end of that tour my daughter was about to be born so I had to choose whether to go back out on tour or be there when she was born. This was a terrible decision to have to make because I was doing exactly what I loved and to give that up was gut-wrenching. Long story short I made the decision to stay at home, be there with my newborn daughter, and write more music. Over time I decided on the name “World Gone” and continue working towards having enough music for a live set. I moved down to West Palm Beach to get away from all the Jacksonville insanity I was involved in and concentrate on writing. I worked a lot with engineer Eddie Perez at MarkeeMusic where they have probably the best rehearsal and recording studio in Florida. This was a killer time because I stayed in this little town called Lake Worth where I could walk to everything I needed! Beach, Cuban coffee, killer food of all kinds, Diners, Bars, you name it! I loved it there and was very inspired by the night life.
I hooked up with an old friend named “Richie Surrency” who had just started a management company. He has worked with so many badass bands its ridiculous. He was head of security for Limp Bizkit as they rose to become the biggest band in the world. He was on the road with Journey and Staind when we started talking. I sent him the stuff I was working on and a management contract was signed. Richie and I really focused on what we wanted to accomplish with World Gone. I wrote a ton of stuff and finally had enough for the first WG live show. During this time I had met Matt Krug the owner of Propaganda (A very cool little club in downtown Lake Worth). We decided this would be the perfect place for the first World Gone show ever. On October 31st, Halloween night, World Gone was officially born! The show was amazing and I knew we had something special. We scared the hell out of the locals! Most of my band and people I really cared about were in Jacksonville so I moved back. We continued to land shows with killer bands like Soil, Sevendust, Butcher Babies, and then were fortunate enough to play Rockville in 2014. Thanks Danny Wimmer productions! The response was HUGE! 30 seconds into the show there was a pit and everyone was going crazy. We are constantly improving our live show which is very important to us.
From the start we wanted to kick an audiences asses with not only our music but also with a HUGE show like say Rammstein or Kiss. Sometimes our show is already to big and even national acts wont lets us use it all when we open for them. Hopefully soon we will be able to bring the people the whole thing all the time. I am already looking into getting my pyro techniques license so I can blow things up and set them on fire legally. We took it to the next level again at Rockville 2015. As soon as we hit the stage the response was huge and amazing. We signed autographs and hung out with fans for all day and night. We all are grateful for the amazing progress we have made!!! Honestly I didn’t really see things happening this fast but its definitely welcomed!
4. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Joe: It has a lot to do with letting go of what you have been conditioned to believe is reality. I was actually coming out of a horrible spot in my life right as I finalized the name, hence that world is gone! Never look back.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Joe: Ministry, Static-X, Rammstein, Fear Factory, White Zombie, Hatebreed, Sepultura, and about a hundred more...
6. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Joe: No particular message but we do like to sew a bit of hope in there every now and then. A lot of lyrics are pretty dark but if you dig deeper there is usually a way out. Confronting shit instead of letting it consume you.
7. What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
Joe: Been dropping singles as they are done and the response has been nothing short of amazing. It's really inspiring to hear so many nice things about something you created. Makes you want to work harder.
8. Are you in the process of writing or recording for an upcoming release EP or full-length?
Joe: Yes, an EP at the minimum is the plan. Its mostly a financial / logistical issue.
9. When can we expect to hear the new material?
Joe: Few months at the most.
10. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Joe: We are doing something that connects with people on a gut level. People go away from our shows all the time saying how in the fuck did I now know about these guys? They just kicked the shit out of the place! The chemistry is definitely there and we love moving people. We are building a machine that cant be stopped.
11. How did you get in touch/involved with the guy behind GWAR's mask set-up? Why did you want to turn to him out of all the other guys available? What made him stand out to you guys?
Joe: His name is Tyler Pasquale (we call him T-PAS) and found him online while looking at different mask making forums trying to find the perfect maker to possibly commission some work with. I thought his masks looked sick so I hit him up. We started messaging back and forth and in the process found out he used to work with GWAR (which instantly put a smile on my face and gave me warm fuzzys inside) and also that he happened to live 15 minutes away here in Freakville (Jacksonville, FL). Needless to say I wound up over at his shop within a few days and we started talking about making a mask design. He had never heard World Gone before so I played him a few of our songs. He kinda freaked out because he instantly bonded with the music in a big way. He said he didn't think we were going to be that good, lol. I showed him some sketches I had for the mask idea and he was like no problem. He started sending me pics as he was working and I was like fuck yes! It looked perfect. He really captured the vibe of what I was going for and he understands the vision of World Gone. After he finished the mask we were talking about the live show and he said Oderus from GWAR killed him a few times on stage and that he really missed being a part of that. I told him to get his ass on stage with us! He is now a militant zombie that gets scalped by our other zombie on stage during the middle of our song "Obey". Now if we could just get him to bang his head in time? lol. He is really one of the nicest and coolest people you will ever meet and we are stoked he is part of World Gone.
12. Can you discuss each of your masks and what each one represents for each of the band members?
Joe: We like to wear very similar masks. When you join World Gone you pretty much lose your personal identity during the process. You are influenced and brain washed into psychotic thought patterns. We lose ourselves so we can operate within the band as a whole. Everyone looks the same, so we all operate anonymously and can adopt the groups thought patterns and play as one. We operate as a unit, not individuals. When we go into a show we feel we are going to war, a sonic and visual war if you will. Our goal is to devastate the audience utterly and completely. No one is left behind.
13. How long does it take each of you to put on one of these masks?
Joe: The whole process takes around an hour to do correctly.
14. What about getting all dolled up with your clothing to match it? Do you just throw on the attire or add some touches to make it spark more?
Joe: Lol you said "Dolled up", its hard to answer that one now. We shop at military Surplus places a lot. Our "look" is definitely thought out.
15. Where did the whole idea for this whole thing come from was it based or taken from GWAR, Slipknot, Mushroomhead, etc.
Joe: Honestly we weren't influenced by masked bands much. None of the Masked bands were our favorites. It just made sense to us to become something else other than our normal selves. When you wear a mask you can become another being. It helps you go to other places in your head and soul. When you look in a mirror what do you want to see? I want to see someone who is gonna freak me out a little.
16. Do you plan to always stick to these same masks and attire or change it up as the years pass bye?
Joe: It will definitely be modified over time.
17. How have the gigs you guys been doing been?
Joe: The response has been incredible. High energy from day one. Lots of WTF? looks.
18. How do you promote your band and shows?
Joe: Mostly word of mouth and online. We have been blessed with great shows with big bands so far. Take the last 2 Rockville shows for example, there is no way we could promote that show anymore than it already is by itself. Just being on that bill is huge for any band.
19. What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Joe: Video, new songs, shows, and some sweet merch. We are thinking of doing some podcasts if people would dig that. Maybe some live stuff from the studio or band room?
20. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Joe: iTunes, Spotify, iHeart, Slacker, pretty much all the streaming online stations. Thank you!
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