Chicomak's Hardcore Kingdom's Interview with David Soloway

Saves The Day

Contact: Saves The Day - 117 Viburnum Drive - Skillman, New Jersey - 08558 USA Web: http://www.savestheday.com

A great melodic youngster band outta New Jersey but don't dismiss these boys due to their age cause with their second full length (~Through Being Cool~), they sound musically mature and experienced in song-writing as compared to their debut full length Can't Slow Down, which was very well written but not as wonderful as its successor. Some may categorize them in the genre of emo, but regardless of the term, they play super melodic rock which'll keep ya busy humming these tunes for the new year. Check them out, their newest release is out on Equal Vision Records (http://www.equalvision.com ) . Also, sorry about the wrong date that was set on my camera. The date on pictures were actually Aug 99.

Me: Hey, first I time I ever saw you guys was when you played the SkyCameFalling, Fastbreak, last Barrit show here in Montreal, how did you like that one?

Dave: Yeah that was a good show! We were really surprised cause we never played in Canada before.

Me: What was your reaction towards that?

Dave: We were really pleased with that response. It was also a lot of fun to see Barrit because Zach (Barrit's guitarist) is also in Bane and we're really good friends with those guys. It was nice to see them.

Me: I actually found it kinda sad

Dave: I guess I didn't really see Barrit too many times but I always kinda liked them. But a lot of people around here don't like them too much but I'm a fan of technical music similar to that.

Me: In my opinion, I thought it was such an honour for Montreal to have such a good band play their last show here considering this is not even their hometown, so that deserves much respect. Back to Saves The Day when you guys tour other countries (for instance Canada), do you see any difference in the cultures and people?

Dave: For instance when we went to Quebec City, that was a total surprise to us cause there were only like 30 people there and it was just like only these little punk rock kids and none of them spoke any english. It was a show just like in a rec hall, and we were playing on the floor with all the lights on. When we're playing, all the kids were just kinda standing there, sorta justa watching politely and then all of a sudden in the middle of our last song of the set, they all started this weird huge circle pit thing running and making all these weird moves. They were all running in a circle and then started slam-dancing! And it lasted for like 10 seconds and then it stopped immediately and they continued to stand there and watched us again. That was really weird I don't know if that is part of the Quebec culture or not (~laughs~) but that was once of the weirdest things I've ever seen at a show of ours.

Me: I know what you mean cause I've been to Quebec and other cities to watch shows, and it's really cool to see other cities have their own style. Cause even when I went to Quebec to see Hatebreed and Candiria all the kids there were dancing differently but that was just it! In that these kids have their own communities and are able to do whatever they want and not care what the outside world thinks about them. But as you were crossing the border, did you have any trouble cause there are tons of bands that just don't make it into the country due to customs harassment. (ie: Sick Of It All, Teen Idols, Candiria, All Out War )

Dave: Nah we just made up some fake story. We told them we were a band from New Jersey and we just finished a tour of the East Coast and we made a lot of money and were going to Montreal to gamble. That's what we told them cause we heard from a lot of bands that if you say that you're going to spend a lot of money they're going to let you through. But Fastbreak whom we were on the same tour with had a lot of trouble. They actually had to leave all their t-shirts at the border otherwise they would've had to pay a lot of taxes on them.

Me: I think that's why a lot of bands cross the border and tell them they're going to record or something as opposed to do shows.

Dave: We actually have a trailer and we had all our merchandise in that trailer so they couldn't really see it. But Fastbreak have a van so you could kinda see that they have all this merchandise in there and I guess that's why they didn't walk out of there as we did. And also, we're kinda inconspicuous where we don't have any stickers on our van so we don't really look like a band and just like little kids driving a van with a trailer. Who else could it be? But for people who don't know, we don??t have anything that really identifies us as a band.

Me: But going back to music in my opinion, I found that the hardcore community is a more tight scene as compared to other genres, cause when I go to hardcore shows there are all these kids whom I don't know just come up to me and say hey I saw your zine, or your video and just introduce themselves. What's your take on that?

Dave: I don't know I've never really considered myself part of the hardcore scene. Well, by our label and by the shows we play we're considered part of the scene but I think that scenes are different things to different people. I think probably a lot of people in the punk scene would disagree with you and say that the punk scene is more tight in the family than the hardcore scene but I think everyone sort of has their own opinion about that sort of thing.

Me: Not only about the hardcore scene, but it also has a lot to do with the music cause when a form of music is so intense in conveying personal messages of anger, depression, or even sad emotional feelings, then that has the ability to really unite a crowd and I feel that hardcore is more generally so. So if a crowd can really witness that a band is truly sincere about their messages and issues then it creates more of a family on an intimate level.

Dave: That's true, that when a band is sincere about it that's the most important thing. That's actually one of the problems that I have in the hardcore scene that there are a lot of bands out there that don't have anything to say. They kinda just fall in the formula and I feel that a lot of the bands that really have something to say really get caught up with those bands. Bands like Bane really have something to say they??re a really good hardcore band and I really personally don't listen to hardcore all that much but I love them. I'll listen to anything to seems to be honest.

Me: So do you think that by playing music you have to convey a message rather than just play for fun?

Dave: No cause music serves many purposes. I think there's emotions in all music even if it's just for fun and it's some pop-punk band and all their lyrics are about getting drunk and getting silly. Even that has emotion in it you know but I do think it's important for a band to have some sort of message and does not have to be a political message but just something to say. And sometimes you don't have to say it through the words and you can say it through the music.

Me: And do you think bands actually get their messages out by standing on stages and describing their lyrics or other points of view, or do you think it's more effective to stand on a podium or take a more direct stance through protest lines and whatnot.

Dave: I think that's one of the great things about music is that it can disguise itself as so many things. Cause anybody can really like a band but not know really what they're saying and it's the music that draws you in so that's one of great things about music in general. And I think a political band can be much more effective than a political speech or a rally take Rage Against The Machine as a popular example. They're as much as a protest than as a band and it works for them and they do it really well.

Me: Straying away from politics, a lot of people categorize yourselves as emocore? What do you think that is? if it even exists at all?

Dave: You know what I think it is? there's straight punk, and then there's straight hardcore. But then there's all this new stuff that's coming out for the last couple of years and it hasn't really defined itself yet. And I think we're part of this new thing that's happening and if people want to call us emo cause it's a word that people can understand and say "oh yeah that thing", then fine. But as long as people aren't dismissing us because we're emo that's fine with me. Personally, I would never use that word to describe any band and I definitely don't use that to describe us. I would just say we're a rock band and we play music and I think that's the best way to describe us. But if people want to use that term to describe us because it helps others who don't know who we are, to get a better sense of what we're doing and it's a positive thing, then that's fine.

Me: And being that you guys play very melodic emotional rock were there any conflicts for Saves The Day to sort of fit with any particular scene?

Dave: Actually I feel that we've been pretty fortunate in terms that over the last 2 months or so we've played with a week and a half shows with Snapcase and we did fine with that you know. We're not anything like Snapcase but people still liked us. I feel that our music has touched upon so many different styles that we can play a straight up punk show, or a really heavy hardcore show. You know, we've played with One King Down and it was fine cause it works both ways for us.

Me: You know, I think 90% of people can enjoy many different types of music and not just having a one-directional mentality towards a certain genre.

Dave: Exactly, I think that's one of the most important aspects of being in a scene that you're opened to other things. You know, that's the worse thing is when people who are really into the hardcore scene and say "we don't like Saves The Day because they're not hardcore", and that's just stupid to me.

Me: And considering you guys are fairly young, do you think writing music is the direction you want to follow, or you guys have other plans for the future?

Dave: Oh definitely! I mean we're 2 full lengths and 1 ep into our career now and I'm 21 the oldest in the band, and we've all dropped out of college and everything. This is what we want to do until it's done. And I feel that when Saves The Day is pretty much done we'll all start new bands.

Me: And with the new album what's the title/song Through Being Cool about?

Dave: That song's about a bunch of different things that happened to Chris (~vocalist~). There was one point last year where people were criticizing him a lot on the internet concerning the way he looks; the way he dresses; and just really stupid shit. And he had this college roommate named Nick whom he didn't get along with so he sort of took Nick and turned him into a character and this guy was sort of like the object of all his feelings and bad energy he was experiencing. So Through Being Cool is just saying I don't care what you think and I'm going to do whatever I want.

Me: Basically not trying to fit in and being your own person. And considering Chris writes all the lyrics, was there ever a point where you guys didn't agree with what he wrote? Any conflicts?

Dave: No, we don't tell him what to write. We just trust him and the lyrics is something that he does and we don't judge him on that. If there was a part where a melody sounded weird with words then maybe we'll say change the wording a little bit, but even the that has never really happened. Lyrics and melodies he pretty much comes up with on his own.

Me: And lastly, what are the upcoming plans for Saves The Day?

Dave: Starting January 7th 2000 we're going to start touring the East Coast for three weeks with Piebald, and beginning February we got about a week with Snapcase and the mid-Feb we got a week with Hot Water Music. But basically we plan to be on tour as much as we can for the next year cause we want to get as many people to hear us as possible. Great talking to you bye.

Credit goes to

Chicomak's Hardcore Kingdom for that one. Go check it out!