Heavy metalheads Black Tide have been a band for the past 10 years, played a ton of shows, gone on countless tours, now they have signed onto a new label and have their third album under their belts, with so much more ahead of them, there is no turning back now.... The main man Gabriel Garcia, lead vocalist, lead guitarist/bassist discusses their time together and latest release "Chasing Shadows".
1. Let's talk a little about the history of the band. When did you originally form and is this the original line-up?
Gabriel: Well, I started playing guitar when I was around eight years old and started forming groups here in Miami with my older brother. This particular group came together in 2004 and from there we hit it hard just played as many shows here in Miami as possible.
2. Do you remember how the idea of forming the band first came up?
Gabriel: The idea of forming this band came about when I started listening to bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, GnR, etc. I was truly inspired to make metal music for a living.
3. How long after you formed was it until you played your first live show?
Gabriel: We played our first show after coming together as a band maybe two weeks into it. We always stayed active playing battle of the bands or local shows here in Miami.
4. What are your memories of the performance?
Gabriel: I remember winning our first battle of the bands at our local high school Felix Varela high and it was just a tremendous experience. That feeling of being rewarded for something you love to do is amazing & that was one of the first times we had felt that early on.
5. You guys were once called Radio then decided to switch out that name and instead use Black Tide, so where does the name come from and does it mean what it says, Black Tide, it sounds like a ocean reference.
Gabriel: The name black Tide came about because we were all skateboarders when we started as teenagers and so the surfers have their blue tide, the ocean & we had our black Tide, the asphalt.6. Would you mind explaining as to what happened with your relationship with Interscope Records?
Gabriel: We had a two album deal with Interscope records & towards the end of 2011 we kind of fell apart as a band, as a group the friendships were no longer there. We all started our own little side projects and lost sight of the black tide dream but now we are back and stronger than ever!
7. How did you and Pavement Entertainment come together? Are you pleased with what they have been doing for you thus far?
Gabriel: Pavement Entertainment came into the picture about a year ago & they have been amazing so far. They have nothing but faith in the band and in our vision. We really couldn't be more excited about this coming album cycle for "chasing shadows". Our whole team is incredible. Our management Rebellion Noise (escape the fate | architects) is such a key part for this journey as well. I'm feeling very excited about this go around with Black Tide!
8. What is it about this album that people should know and why should they buy it?
Gabriel: I think the reason people should be excited about this album is the fact that we're bringing back that old-school guitar solo sound of early Megadeth records & the music that really inspired us metal guitar players to pick up our instrument.
9. Tell us about your experience in the studio recording the new record?
Gabriel: Recording this album "chasing shadows" was a long and tedious process but nonetheless it was an amazing experience to be back in the studio making metal music. We recorded over at Live House Studios here in Miami, Fl with producer Mariano Aponte & we poured our blood, sweat and tears into this thing!
10. What was the recording process like compared to your past releases?
Gabriel: The recording process for this was definitely a little different than our last recordings merely based on the fact is that we hadn't played together in so long so we all kind of felt like boxers in training as far as practicing our instruments and honing our skills to make the best album possible.
11. How important do you rate the lyrical side of your albums?
Gabriel: I think the lyrical content is my favorite part of any album and so I really focused on the lyrical side of this record so much and made sure that it told stories of our history & the ups and downs that we've been through as a band but at the same time I made sure that these words could relate to anyone out there going through a number of things. All about interpretation!
12. How do you feel the band has evolved musically and personally since your formation?Gabriel: I think that we have evolved so much as people over the last couple years in the sense that we are so much more mature now, we know exactly what we want to say with our music and we know exactly what made us fall in love with making metal records & so I think that we've kind of finally found the perfect balance of what we want our sound to be and what we can execute every night on stage.
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