quick interview w/ PASSION

July 10, 2006, 02:48 AM

1.)What is your name, and what do you do in the band? AND how long ya been around?
My name is Kenny and I am the "singer" of the band. I have been apart of Passion since the very begining.


2.)Do you have a job outside of the band?
I work part time at a WaWa (convenience store) near my house. I'm starting to hate it there more and more with each day that passes but it really is a great job to have while being in a band that's trying to "make it". They are very flexible and understanding of my band's schedule.


3.) Goodfellow eh? how did that come about?
Yup! Goodfellow Records! It really hasn't sunk in just yet. Perhaps once the record is out and in stores we'll finally realize that we're on Goodfellow? We're extremely excited about working with Chris and everyone else at the label. They have been incredible to us thus far and their support makes us strive that much harder to make this work. Our good friend Tim (of the band One Dead Three Wounded) was talkin' to Chris for a while and eventually put the good word in for us. I began talking to Chris after we had mailed him a presskit of some older stuff we'd done and he was into it and interested in seeing what we had left up our sleeves. We continued to talk and really hit it off and Passion decided to demo a few of the newer songs for Chris to hear in hopes of landing a deal. We came home from the studio with the demos, got them to chris and I'd say by the end of that day there was already a commitment to working with one another. It was surreal. It was so exciting to know that all of our hard work was going going to pay off, and that the pay off was releasing records with Goodfellow Records!



4.) What are YOUR influences musically?
That may be the toughest of all the questions to answer. Honestly, there are a few core bands that we're all into and we draw alot of inspiration from to help create what Passion puts out. But at the sametime we all have very different and unique tastes in music. In a way we're influenced from just about everything that we listen to. Good or bad, music influences the 5 of us and either urges us to have a similar effect or it can make us want to show the world that better music can exist. Most "music" out today sucks. But alot of the time it makes us want to plug in and top it and just prove (if only to ourselves) it can be so much better. Our biggest influences to our music would have to be Catharsis, Tragedy, Botch and Coalesce. We like to play as fast as possible but love slowing it down and going into a groove and throwing things off a bit with some off time signatures whenever we get a chance. Whatever it takes to keep our music interesting.


5.) How did Passion get together, and where did the name come from?
A little over 3 years ago my previous band was breaking up. One of Passion's guitarists (Sheerin) was playing bass along side me in the band that was breaking up and we both knew it was too soon. That band certainly needed to break up and call it a day, but Sheerin and I weren't ready to live a life without music in it. I decided I was going to start from scratch. The previous band's lyrical content (which I was responsible for) was largely comprised of songs about girls breaking your heart (such a cliche' at this point) and I realized how much more there is to be pissed about. I realized that a band can change someone's outlook on life as so many band's had done for me. I decided the band would be named Passion and it was a homage to one of my all time favorites Catharsis.

Their album "Passion" changed my life. If you have never heard of this band or in particular this record I strongly suggest you get your hands on it immediately. Read along with it and prepare to see the world in a different light. I had never heard music be capable of sounding so desperate and yet so strong at the sametime. The moral of each song would be "things are ****ed, but we can make it better. together anything can be accomplished". I got so much out of that as did Sheerin and once he was on board we set out in hopes of our new band Passion having a similar effect on a couple of kids out there.


6.) Being from Philly and having a lot of good bands come out of there, what makes a band stand out there the most ya think?
I would say their work ethic. A few bands in the area made it out of here based on who they had known with next to no effort put behind their band. If there isn't any dues payed people will hold it against your band. I know we certainly do. It shouldn't be easy. It needs to feel impossible, in my opinion. Without that feeling of hopelessness would the reward of succeding feel as good? I don't think so.


7.) The Internet, good or bad for bands? your thoughts?
No matter how much drama may arise through the internet, it is just about impossible to say it hasn't revolutionized the way we all do business. It is so much easier to book shows, to promote your band, to find a new member or buy equipment. It has made everything a click of a button away for a band and makes it that much easier to get ahead which in a way could really spoil us but most of us are at an age where we have all grown up with a computer with internet service and it's all we know. I can't imagine 15 years ago when bands and promoters were hand writing letters back and forth to negotiate a show. I'd lose it!


8.) What are some of the lyrical focuses for this new record?
More than anything Passion deals with the preservation of our children's innocence and potential in this world. We'll touch on any number of things but what it really comes down to is our concious effort at reaching out to a kid that feels he has no where else to go, and assuring him that the sky is the limit. Also, nothing angers me more than stories of the abuse of a child. It destroys a kid and most turn a blind eye to it and in the end we hope to bring more attention to the molestation and physical abuse of our youth. I feel we have no place in other countries trying to sort out their shit and take down their dictators when we have parents in this country raping away the innocence of our future. My personal goal is to remind kids out there struggling with these problems that they should not blame themselves, and that it doesn't have to continue. You can get help. Even if there is no one around you that seems to care I hope that they know that we do and I'd personally do anything in my power to help them through it.


9.) Whats the new record gonna sound like, AND are there any old tracks being rerecorded, covers, etc?
This album is a collection of 12 songs written over the last 2 years. More than half of the album is made up of more recent material but we wanted to take this opprutunity to put a proper spotlight on a few of our older songs that we feel need to be heard. The older songs have only been recorded in a demo format and several hundred people have heard them that way but not on such a large scale as having them released on Goodfellow. All of the songs are originals and we're beyond excited to get it out there to the people!


10.) What is the name of the new record and release date?
"The Fierce Urgency of Now" and it is slated for an October 10th street date.


11.) Who played your first show and where was it?
Passion's first show was A Life Once Lost's record release show for the album "A Great Artist". I was doing the show at the Northstar Bar in philly and was told that my new band could open the show since I was doing so much work in organizing the show and whatnot. It was a great way to start things off and really helped to create a buzz for the band.

12.) Describe your sound to somone who never heard you before (you remind me of a mix of Battery and newer, uptempo MPB personally)
We like to think that all of our songs sound slightly different than the next so it is really tough to sum it all up. In the end we're 5 dudes that are bitter as hell and pissed about all the shit in this world. I guess you can say Passion is may have written the soundtrack to your summer. If you or someone you know has been molested or tried to commit suicide or has lost a loved one, or if you feel our government is a joke and in no way shape or form can be trusted and see that the FCC is slowly but surely taking away our right to freedom of speech and find yourself dealing with the fact that your last 2 girlfriends ended up selling their bodies for coke and rent money, Passion's "The Fierce Urgency of Now" may just be the record for you.

We would really like to thank you for this exposure, Adam. Hopefully this interview doesn't bore anyone to tears.

Go to www.thisispassion.net and www.myspace.com/passion for show information, mp3's, lyrics etc.