Unearth - Q&A Interview with Trevor
 

Altsounds: You've got quite a few albumsunder your belt now, how did you approach writing your latest one?
Unearth [Trevor]: Our intention from the inception of this band was to write music we wanted to hear and play. We don't care what people want us to sound like or what they think would be a good "career move" sound. We have our influences old and new and they show from one record to the next.

Altsounds: Who or what were your main influences when writing The March?
Unearth [Trevor]: We have our influences from when we grew up listening to music and they are embedded in our writing style forever. We will draw from the current vibe of metal, hardcore and hard rock and allow that to influence some of our energy and direction, but Unearth will always sound like Unearth as our early day influences have impacted our personal styles so deeply.

Altsounds: Many of your fans have Unearth tattoos, do any of you guys have any ink and what does it represent?
Unearth [Trevor]: Slo and Derek have some ink. Slo has a lot of gambling tattoos, because he is a gambling man. He might even tell you he is a blackjack player before he is a bass player. I have seen him walk away with more money in one night at a table than we can pay him for an entire month being on tour. Derek has some artsy tattoos, but I have no idea what they represent. I enjoy seeing tattoos on people, but I have never felt so strongly about something that I wanted to put it on my body for all too see. If I feel that strongly about something I will write about it or keep it to myself, family and closest friends. Everyone is different I guess.

Altsounds: You've got some tour dates around Europe and in the UK planned over the next month, what's your favourite country to play in and why?
Unearth [Trevor]: This is a tough question as it can vary from tour to tour. Each country has its own unique characteristics causing you to like that country. I enjoy German beer, the language, their love for metal and their no bullshit attitudes. I like the UK for the history we share with them and the many friends we have made over there. I love Holland for the freedoms that not many countries are good enough to give their citizens. The scenery in Switzerland and Austria is something I always look forward to. Like I said, there is something different in each country and it would be a long answer to go through all the European countries we played, but the thing that is always a bonus for us is that we can usually look forward to a fun and energetic show from a very knowledgeable crowd, no matter where we play [in the UK or Europe].

Altsounds: Have any of you discovered anyweird habits about each other after spending a lot of time together on tour?
Unearth [Trevor]: Everyone of us has our quirks. The challenging thing is learning to deal with them and not get frustrated with each other. Playing in this band is something we all want to do for a long time to come and dealing with each others bullshit is just something we have grown into over the years.

You've got a live DVD Alive from the Apocalypse available in stores at the moment, what can we expect from that?
Unearth [Trevor]: It is a two disc DVD. The first is a complete live show filmed in the fall of 2007 of us in Pomona, California to a sold out show at the Glasshouse. The second disc is a 90 minute
documentary of our entire career. We have footage and pictures spanning our entire 10 years as a band as well as interviews with us and our peers in bands young and old. There is additional live footage on there from With Full Force in Germany and Loud Park in Japan. The entire two disc package is something we are proud of and want people to see. It represents who we are, where we came from and where we are headed in a very complete and well put
together package.

Altsounds: Have any of you ever acquired any injuries from playing live?
Unearth [Trevor]: We have all been beat up pretty bad from our live show. We run around like a bunch of monkeys injected with cocaine. I have been knocked out, bloodied, bruised,
sprained back, bone contusion on my foot, broken toes, broken fingers, black eyes, etc... I know the other guys have endured a lot of those injuries as well. We are always bumping into each other and staging while on stage as well as jumping in the crowd and down to the barricade. If I don't come home from tour with bruises and scars then I know I didn't give it my all every
day, which will never happen.

Altsounds: Who's the biggest metal-head out of all of you?
Unearth [Trevor]: I would say it is a tie between myself, Buz and Derek. Derek might know more "metal" trivia, but I would be right there with him. I would take the cake with the 90's heavy
hardcore and Buz knows more punk than all five of us combined.

Altsounds: What inspires your lyrics?
Unearth [Trevor]: I get inspired by personal life experiences, personal views, politics, current and historical events as well as books, poems and movies. If something strikes a chord in me and the music in one of our songs brings that emotion out of me, it will likely end up as the main focus of the lyrics in that tune.

Altsounds: Your vocals are pretty brutal, are there any vocal warm ups or exercises that you do to avoid damaging it?
Unearth [Trevor]: I have plenty of vocal warm ups. I took vocal lessons in high school and have continued lessons off and on ever since. I mainly go up and down the scales with humming while also concentrating on breathing properly. this will usually get the pipes ready
to rip each night. There is wear and tear and I will have good nights and not so sweet nights, but with the warms ups I have I rarely ever completely lose my voice anymore.

Altsounds: Who were your metal idols when you were growing up?
Unearth [Trevor]: My first record was Kiss "Dynasty" when I was a toddler. My Dad got me into hardcore pretty much out of the womb and it went from there. The first band I fell in love with was Anthrax, then Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. Once I hit junior high school Pantera put out Cowboys from Hell and they have remained my favorite
band till this day.

Altsounds: Please use this space to plug or promote anything you want.
Unearth [Trevor]: Check out our new record and latest DVD. For more info hit up CATCH UNEARTH ON THE ALTAMONT NEVER SAY DIE! CLUB TOUR 2008 11.07.2008 - 11.29.2008 and http://www.myspace.com/unearth
Thanks!

And thank you Trevor. Now everyone go do as he says and go check out their latest CD and DVD to truly appreciate the awesomeness that is Unearth.