Phone
interview with
The Showdown
October 29, 2004
Metal. The one and only true word that best describes The Showdown. Emerging from Elizabethton, TN this crushing five-piece have crafted an epic heavy metal sound for listeners who enjoy hard music that spans styles ranging from American southern rock to European death. Lyrically their melodies sing of heroism, sojourns and battles of life. The result is a brutal and honest anthem for the youth of today. They have shared the stage with As I Lay Dying, Underoath, and Haste The Day. Their debut album titled "A Chorus Of Obliteration" was produced by Bruce Fitzhugh (lead singer of Living Sacrifice) and showcases a sound that will appeal to fans of Shadows Fall and Lamb Of God. "A Chorus Of Obliteration" will be in stores November 16 on Mono Vs Stereo. Git snake bit!
We caught up with The Showdown while they were on their way
through New Mexico to Phoenix, AZ. Not always 100% clear, we all did the
best while chatting on the phone during the drive through the desert on the Rise
of the Robots Tour.
Dennis: Hey, is the phone working yet?
Eric: Yeah, yeah. We're good now. Can you hear me?
Dennis: Yeah.
Eric: Killer
Dennis: Yeah when I called earlier it was hit and miss. Well lets jump
into this. The Showdown, a brand new true metal band that many have no clue
about. Give us a quick run down of
how the band came together.
Eric (bass): Uh, we, the four of us, everyone except for
our drummer Andrew, are all from the same town in Tennessee. So we have
all known each other and all been playing in bands together the last 4 years
maybe. Then about a year ago our drummer quit and uh that's when we got
our new drummer Andrew. His family is about an our from where we are from
and he was living in Nashville at the time. He called last summer actually
that's when he started playing. He called and asked if he could do show
shows as a fill in for some shows we had booked right after our drummer quit.
Everything just worked out really great. He has stuck with us and stayed
in the band so we've had this line up for a little over a year now.
Dennis: How you came up with the name the
Showdown?
New voice: Hello.
Dennis: Who's this?
New Voice: This is Josh, guitar and vocals..
Dennis: Oh, cool. How did you guys come up
with the name The Showdown.
Josh: Well, before we were, well we really changed
style suddenly. At one point we were called 2540. It was a reference
to Matthew 25:40 and it was really a pop punk name. We weren't really interested
in that anymore. We just brainstormed for a month or so and this name was the
only thing that really stuck that nobody really hated basically. The band
especially lyrically, we are really interested in spiritual warfare and that
intrigues us so it links into that as well.
Dennis: Wait a minute, you guys were originally a
pop punk band?
Josh: Yeah, like nobody in this band are original
members. Really when it started it was two other original members and they
were a big bad religious band. Once things changed we turned into a metal
core band and now we got our new drummer and we are able to get where we are
now.
Dennis: In about 2 weeks Mono Vs Stereo will be releasing your debut cd
called A Chorus of Obliteration. How
did you guys team with the label and was it having a Bruce Fitzhugh of Living
Sacrifice producing?
Josh: Well, uh, as far as Mono vs Stereo, Brad actually
found us by looking on mp3.com, the label head Brad. He tried getting a hold of
us for a few weeks and couldn't find any contact info. It was not really an
updated page. He eventually found the web page of a band that we are friends
with, Rapture of the Meek, and he called them and got Dave's number. We
stayed in contact with them for about a year or so and eventually things worked
out. And as far as Bruce goes, that was a Brad hook up and he knew Bruce but I
forget how. It was neat to work with him and he is an interesting guy. He kept
the atmosphere in the studio really chilled and really relaxed. That was
the best experience we have had for sure.
Dennis: We gave your cd an excellent and review and are
also placing it as album of the month.
Josh: Yeah I read it and we appreciate that.
Dennis: What inspired you guys musically to go to such an extreme and
true metal form of style? I mean there is so much radio metal where everything
is sounding the same. You put in one band and you cant tell the difference
from the next. With you guys it is a very distinct style of metal.
Josh: I do a lot of the song writing and I
have always been a metal head.
Dennis: You guys are currently on tour with Mortal
Treason, Staple and Chasing Victory, how has the tour been going and what has
been your most memorable moment so far?
Josh: It's been going really really well. It's really
shocked us actually. The turn outs been really great and the bands are
really good friends now. They are really good dudes. Um, most
memorable moment, it's hard to tell. We just had a really good show in Albany,
GA that we didn't expect. There was about 300-400 kids that didn't know who we
were but they were going nuts and that was really fun. We did have an
interesting time at an I Hop in Ft Worth, TX. We were driving with the trailer
and the van so we couldn't park in the parking lot. We parked across these train
tracks back in some woods and we came across there over the curb. There was this
woman, her car was facing the curb so we got out of her way. She gunned it and
hoped the curb. Went through a 5 ft ditch and jumped her car onto
the train tracks and got it stuck there. We had no clue why so we all
walked up there and asked if she needed any help or anything. She just
pretended like we didn't even exist.
Dennis: So what did you guys end up doing?
Josh: We kept asking if there was anything we could
do and they honestly acted like we weren't there. So we went in and ate at
I Hop. It was crazy.
Dennis: On our website we have been asked by Christians
and non Christians how hard core music can be Christian or how death metal can
be Christian. Many say it is an oxy
moron that does not fit together. Looking
at your lyrics it is very clear you have a solid Christian message.
What are your comments on people that feel that way about musical styles?
Josh: Well, music is music. I mean music can't be
sinful, it cant be. It is a messenger for a message. A style is a style
and personal taste is personal taste. As far as for making your personal taste
the basis for whether or not music can carry a certain message is pretty
ridiculous. The vibe that people take from music is gonna be different
from person to person. I dont think that is our responsibility. I
mean we play what we enjoy and we try to get it out there. I mean it is
just that, music.
Dennis: Looking at your lyrical approach, it is almost
like reading portions of revelations or a Lord of the Rings book.
What influenced your lyrical style and what are some of your more
personal tracks on the upcoming cd?
Josh: Well, um, I was trying really hard honestly for one
thing and that was not to sway into that metal core style of song writing.
I mean the broken hearted, bleeding wings, love and this and that. It is
so over played right now.
Dennis: Speaking of spiritual warfare, now that it
is Halloween, what are your thoughts on Hell Houses, Judgment Houses, etc?
Josh: Personally, now I can't speak for the whole
band, but personally I think they are ridiculous. If you try to scare
someone into Christianity, it never works. It may for awhile but the
conversions I have seen from that have never been long lasting. When you
become a Christian it ought to be out of gratitude and love, not because you are
scared of just going to hell.
Dennis: Looking at most bands in your genre, the lyrics
are usually very dark, negative and often filled with expletives.
How do you feel lyrical content affects those listening?
Josh: What was that again, I missed that.
Dennis: Looking at most bands in your genre, the
lyrics are usually very dark, negative and often filled with expletives.
How do you feel lyrical content affects those listening?
Josh: I heard all of that, I'm sorry but what was
that again?
Dennis: How do the lyrics effect listeners?
Josh: Effect the listeners?
Dennis: Yeah
Josh: Um, well, I mean it is one of the most
important things we do as a band. It is something we fell that cause we
carry a message. With this type of music, unless you read the lyrics sheet
you probably aren't gonna get a whole lot of it. But within this style of music
there are more kids that read the lyrics than lets say a Britney Spear lyrics
sheet or something like that. The way we want it to effect them, we want
it to open their eyes to know this stuff is real and we want it to inspire them.
There are some bands I can listen to and come away feeling like I could conquer
the world cause of what I just hear and what they just said. That's what I want
kids to feel like that.
Dennis: That is a great response but I think the
phone was still cutting out. The actual question was how do you feel
bands, unlike yourselves, that are full of negative messages filled with
darkness and tons of expletives effect listeners? Say bands like Korn, Slipknot,
Devildriver, etc.
Josh: Oh ok. I know that a lot of those bands
label themselves as therapy or just venting. If some kids can identify
with that, that's fine but I think it is kind of dangerous cause it harbors an
attitude of feeling sorry for yourself. It's being ok with that instead of
doing something about it. I used to listen to that type of music and know what
attitude it fostered with me. I just whined about it, I was an outcast and you
should love me for what I am and I should be able...I dont know man. It's
just really dangerous.
Dennis: Sometimes when talking to people they get
offended when we say Jesus clearly says He is the ONLY way to Heaven but often
people find this a very unpopular and exclusive statement.
Even with my personal experiences talking to some college students with in my
own church. What are your feeling about Jesus and what brought you to a
salvation experience?
Josh: Well, I mean that is the absolute truth and that is
what we believe as a band and that is what I believe personally. It's kind of a
difficult subject when talking about Christianity because it isn't an easy thing
to hear. Not a lot of people want to hear but I feel most everything in life is
kind of that way. I mean you cant sugar coat everything for them and
people have to take it for what it is. I dont believe in not telling them
the whole truth but some may not feel it is the fairest thing in the world. But,
skirting around it and being deceitful is dangerous. On the one hand you
dont want to preach hell, fire and brimstone and scare them into it but you need
to let people know the consequences and that is our responsibility.