Personalities have released a few singles off their EP "Loose Ends", the first being "A Dime A Dozen", with the follow-up being "Tiny Tim". Each of which have been quite the successor for the band. So much so in fact, that the band got together to discuss these single's, the EP itself, as well as what plans they have in-store for the rest of this year!
1. Who are you and what role do you play in the band?
Trevor: My name is Trevor, I'm the vocalist and a songwriter for the band.
Jeff: My name Jeff (sorry I had to). I play guitar, record and produce our songs, and do some songwriting here and there.
Troy: Troy and I play the bass.
Joey: Joey and I play the drums.
2. Why did you guys end up with a name like Personalities for your band's name?
Trevor: I came up with the name a few years before the project got moving actually. It seemed like a cool way to brand a band while allowing us to create a variety of different music and lyrical concepts.
Troy: Trevor actually came up with it as a side project. He wanted to talk about things he couldn't talk about in his other band.
3. What has influenced your sound and style?
Trevor: Life honestly. We definitely take influence from tons of different musicians, but the main drive of the sound is the lyrical content. We want to make sure that the words match the music.
Jeff: I’ve always been a huge fan of horror/suspense movies and games, long before I ever got into listening to heavy music and hearing some of the creepy music out there. I’ve always thought the real shit is far creepier than say paranormal stuff, and I like to try and incorporate that feeling into our songs without it being too over the top. I like for the instruments to allow the vocals to achieve that.
Troy: I'd say many different influences. As a child my dad would always play Marilyn Manson, Korn, Slipknot, & Mudvayne so that influenced me a lot. I really dig Underoath too.
Joey: I personally am influenced by tons of genres and bands. To name a couple I'd say Underoath and August Burns Red.
4. What are your songs about? What specific themes do they cover?
Trevor: They are usually about different experiences or view points of either myself, or people in my life. Addiction has been a huge concept with the most recent EP we have coming.
Joey: I'd say real life things we deal with as human beings. Such as, getting revenge, being hurt by somebody, songs about loved ones, problems we deal with personally.
5. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Trevor: Yes, we write our own songs. Our producer Joe Lewis Brown also produces. He is a super close friend that understands what direction we want to head in so it works out incredibly well. Usually I write lyrics and then Jeff and I team up for the bulk of the instrumental arrangements, while Joey and Troy throw in amazing suggestions. We are all on the same page with the progress of our sound.
Jeff: Trevor pretty much summed it up. He’ll write something and throw it at me, I’ll change it around, record it and send it to everyone, they give their input and we send our final idea to Joe, and he puts the finishing touches on the production to make our idea come to life before he mixes/masters.
6. How do you describe your music to people?
Trevor: Painfully honest, heavy music with unrepentant, raw emotion.
Jeff: I always just call it metal music. It’s hard to classify your own music in my opinion.
Troy: I tell everyone it's hard to explain honestly. We have tons of different sounds in our songs. I just tell people to check it out.
Joey: Heavy music with some ups and downs. By that I mean it's dramatic and not always in your face, super heavy all the time.
7. Can you tell us about the single, "A Dime A Dozen"? How did you get Landon Tewers of The Plot in You to come on board for this particular track?
Trevor: When we were finishing our first EP I got in contact with Landon to mix/master our EP. We were fans of his work so we asked if he would hop on one of our tracks! Really awesome guy to work with especially considering we didn't have a clue what we were doing back then!
Jeff: Yeah pretty much what he said, Landon was mixing and mastering it, we asked him if he’d be down to do guest vocals on a track and that’s the one he picked. Real cool dude, had the pleasure of hanging out with him a couple times.
8. You will soon be releasing your new EP "Loose Ends", can you tell me a little bit about it?
Trevor: "Loose Ends" is more or less a continuation of our first EP, "Burning Bridges." Burning Bridges was about cutting off ties I had to toxic situations. Loose Ends revisits those concepts from a clearer perspective. Instead of pointing blame, this EP was written about how we are not always the victim in every situation. We tackled the notion that maybe we are our own worst enemies.
Jeff: I think it’s got a familiar sound that people have associated with us, but like Trevor said, we’ve grown up a bit. The sound is more mature, as is the subject matter of the songs. I think a lot of people can relate to what these songs are about.
Troy: It's super in your face most of the time but we talk about personal situations and events of people we know or ourselves.
Joey: For me I'd say it was a product of what we all went through in the last year that it was being written. As I mentioned before it is a very dramatic piece of work in my opinion, which is a good way to describe our lives in the last year or so. So many ups and downs in our personal lives, and we were able to turn those experiences into a sound.
9. Where did the EP's artwork design come from and how does the title represent the music off this EP?
Trevor: Our good friend, Brandon Carroll, teamed up with us on the art! We wanted the art to be reminiscent of our previous work while portraying a more insidious vibe. Loose Ends is a title that definitely holds home for all of the tracks. They are all situations needed to be dealt with. The title track of this EP summarizes what will happen in the stories that make Loose Ends what it is.
Jeff: To me it’s kinda a representation of self struggle and ties into our first release. The imagery is similar, however, different in the fact that it’s not someone else causing suffering, but the person themself.
Troy: Our buddy Brandon Carroll was super interested in helping us out and gave us a general idea & worked from there.
10. What is your favorite and least favorite song off "Loose Ends"?
Trevor: A Letter of Departure and Tiny Tim are my favorites for sure. I couldn't pick between them honestly the both hit home with me. My least favorite is probably Stay Clean. That song is a roller coaster ride of different sounds that I don't regret but, wished we had more time to spend on it. By far the weirdest song I've ever written but, I have a feeling people will enjoy for that very reason.Jeff: I’d say my favorite is Tiny Tim or A Letter of Departure, with You Were Right as a close second (or 3rd). However, Grave for Two has some awesome heavy hitting riffs, and so does Stay Clean and every song is fun to play.
Troy: My personal favorite would be Stay Clean. Least favorite...none, I love them all.
Joey: I'd say my favorite would be one of the currently unreleased song titled "You Were Right". The final mix of that song is chilling, I love it. As far as least favorite, maybe "Grave For Two" but it's hard to say cause they're all pretty awesome.
11. What can the fans expect from the new Personalities EP?
Trevor: Our fans will notice a step in a darker direction. We were able to accomplish some things we wish we could of done with our first release. It's just the next step for us!
Jeff: I’d say to expect a more mature version of what they expect from us. Dark, heavy, and bouncy riffs with some curveballs thrown into the mix.
Joey: A sound that is easier to listen to. Our older material is awesome, that's for sure, but I feel like the new stuff has a little bit of something for everybody.
12. What does the rest of this year have in-store for you?
Trevor: We will be hitting the road whenever we get the chance! As soon as we finished "Loose Ends" we started writing for the next release so any time we aren't touring we will be writing!
Jeff: More shows, and we’re slated to finish writing another release by the year’s end.
Troy: Releasing this new CD and getting on the road to get our name out.
Joey: Releasing "Loose Ends" and putting it on the road hopefully.
13. How would you say you differ from other bands and artists on the scene?
Trevor: I think there are a few things. One being our lyrics are as raw and honest as possible, even when it comes to uncomfortable topics. I think people are tired of hearing "there is still hope" or "don't give up". I believe those are great things to say but they have been used so much that those terms lack any substance. We tell stories about lives. Sometimes it's a great feeling to just hear a song that is pissed off without a hopeful resolution.
Jeff: I think we’re one of those bands that can perform well live. We all work hard at our roles in the band, and I think it shows both live and in the studio.
Troy: Our live performance is super tight & we do things most bands around here don't.
Joey: I'd have to say our live performances are what make us so different, between the samples, choreographed lights, and crisp sound. It makes our live sets intense. I've gotten those compliments more than anything I'd say.
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