Interview with Mark Battles!

Recently, we were given the opportunity to interview an up-and-coming rapper named Mark Battles.

 He's one of the best rappers I've heard in while so of course I took this opportunity. Here is the interview, enjoy:


Hello and thank you for the interview. Can you introduce yourself to those who may not know you?
I'm Mark Battles a 19 year old Hiphop artist from Indianapolis, Indiana.

 What are some of your musical influences?
I have several musical influences but to name a few Tupac, Eminem, Drake, and Biggie.

Do you have a favorite musician?
My favorite musician would have to be Eminem.

A lot of people have been telling you to join a label (Taylor Gang, Young Money, etc.), if you could pick one to join, which one would it be?

I don't have any certain interest in a label currently. I'm fine with staying independent but if the right deal comes I'd always consider it.

When did you decide that you wanted to be a rapper?
I started doing rap in 2005.

How would you describe your music?
My music has a modern day Hiphop vibe with good lyrics and catchy punch lines.

 What are your goals for the future?
I'm currently about to release my debut mixtape "Good Mornin America." The near future I want to work on building a fan base and creating my buzz. The far future I want to be up with the big people in the rap game.

Thank you for the interview, as always, is there something you would like to say to our viewers?
I appreciate the time that Pure Vibe Music has given me for this interview. You can find me on twitter @markbattles317 and on facebook.com/markbattlesmusic


We just want to thank Mark Battles for the interview. Be sure to like his page and listen to his music, trust me it's well worth it.
~Matt

Interview with Best Wishes!

In one of our more interesting interviews, we got the chance to speak with the band Best Wishes. Check it out:

 

Hey, were here with Neale and Kyle from the band Best Wishes. Can you tell us a little bit about yourselves? 

 

  It consists of 4 remarkably polite/good looking dudes who always do their homework and never eat junk food after 10pm. Tom on guitar and vocals, myself on guitar and vocals, Kyle plays the drums, and Steve plays the bass. Anything else you wanna know just find Best Wishes on myspace or facebook or bandcamp where you can get a ton of free music from us.

How exactly did Best Wishes form?

Tom & Kyle used to play in a band years and years ago, probably sometime around when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Some time went by, the dinosaurs died, Jurassic Park never got off the ground, and then they met me through another band I used to play with. Together we played a few shows together and a friendship was born. Hop in the Delorean and press fast-forward and you'll see myself post-band break up and Best Wishes in need of some fresh lemonade, if you know what I'm sayin, and we wrote some jams together and I joined up with them. Our previous bass player was a great guy named TK but his work schedule was really conflicting so we brought in Steve who took over on bass and here we are today.

Can you describe you're music to our viewers?

 We've heard that we've been decribed as "fun". But you can hear a lot of different stuff from us, we go from heavy to folk and make a bunch of stops in between so we'd like to think there's something for everyone!

What are some of your personal goals for the future in regards to the band?

  I mean, it'd be great to be signed and tour and blah blah blah, anyone who tells you they don't is lying to themselves. But I guess when it all boils down we just want to continue to have a lot of fun and write music that gets us out of bed everyday and just keep ourselves on track by hanging out with fans. 

What are some of your bands musical influences?

  This Providence, Appleseed Cast, Minus The Bear, The Grateful Dead, Thursday, Saves The Day, Thrice, Maritime, & about a billion more

Are than any bands you hate?

  Do you mean personally or...? I mean, the guys in Big Time Rush stole my sisters bike a couple years ago. If you're reading this, lock your doors.

Can you tell us some fun facts about the band?

  Kyle uses a trash picked snare drum, Tom hand made one of our guitars, & we don't take showers after we practice on the day of a show. Chalk it up to superstition I guess?

Thank you for the interview, anything else you want to include? 

  I think we've said to much as it is, anything more revealing and we'd have to kill you. Thanks for having us, love what you've done with the place. Also, just a reminder, go to www.bestwishesyo.bandcamp.com and you can download 10 of our songs for FREE. Hope you enjoy!

In case you missed that last part, follow that link and YOU can get FREE MUSIC! Be sure to like them on facebook and give them a listen.
~Matt

Interview with Psychic Babble!

Here at Pure Vibe, we love getting our audience involved! That being said, we gave our friend Tom the chance to interview Colin of Circa Survive about his new and amazing new project, Psychic Babble. Check out our interview:

 
 

1. I’m a big fan of what you do in circa and was happy to hear that you were going to be coming out with some other music. What made you decide to start Psychic Babble?

It kind of started by accident. I'm always recording music but about 5 years ago I started hearing these melodies and chord progressions in my head that felt much different then what I do in Circa. They felt personally bound to me and were often a direct result of some kind of event in my life or feeling/obsession in my head that I felt compelled to express with my own voice, words, etc. It's ultimately an exercise/experiment in creative freedom and personal expression.

2. For those who don’t know you already, could you tell us a little about yourself?

I'm 29 years old, I have blue eyes and enjoy long walks on the beach. HAHA I dont really know what you need to know, but the answer to that question is inside of these songs.

3. The sound of Psychic Babble is pretty unique, what are some of the influences you have musically?

I'm inspired by so many artists. To list some... The Beach Boys, Peter Gabriel, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, The Beatles... that's like the classic stuff and then I'm just constantly searching for new music these days. There's so much good stuff that it is overwhelming! I'm very inspired by Toro Y Moi, Kurt Vile, Puro Instinct, Panda Bear and about a zillion others. The key ingredient for good music to me is honesty.

4. You just recently revealed the album cover for your album coming out this summer, what made you decide on that picture for the cover?

Well it's weird because I paint alot and I think most of my friends expected me to paint the cover art but I just felt like that picture kind of says it all. It's me as a kid and when I look at it, it transports me back to when I can remember music first taking hold of my mind. I'm obviously trying out for the Beach Boys in that picture, surfing on a sled in a baby pool. It's representative of the journey from then to now, which is how i see the album as well.

5. What made you decided on the title “My Brother’s Ears/ My Sister’s Eyes”?

Well before I had named it I was listening to the rough cuts of the songs with my brother. A lot of musicians say that when you listen to your own music with other people, you listen with their ears or you kind of project what you think they're feeling/thinking when they're listening and I just felt so awesome about my songs when I listened with him. I didn't have any of those weird shitty feelings that I often would get when listening with others. And then I was around my sister the next day and I felt like looking at the world through her eyes put this romantic glaze over everything. She is young and full of intense energy that is inspiring to be around. 

6. After releasing the album, what do you plan on doing going forward with Psychic Babble?

I think the beauty of this project is in its looseness. It can be whatever I want it to be. I think ill just keep making records and other interesting musical endeavors. Yenta is my own label and I think that's kind of half of the equation here. It's another channel for me to express myself so maybe I'll start putting out my friend's music and things like that. I really dont know. The future is wide open and unknown. 

7. As far as I can tell the album is available via only digital download or vinyl, why have you decided to leave out cds as part of the release?

I just think for this project it makes sense. It's less physical material/waste, less cost of goods and in general I think that the format is on its way out. If people want a CD that badly they will burn it from a digital copy. I'm a vinyl collector so that's where my heads at with this. It might bum a few people out but ive heard very little complaining about it.

8. When does My Brother’s Ears/ My Sister’s Eyes come out?

August 16th worldwide! 

9. Thanks for the interview, is there anything else you would like to say?

          Thank you very much for thinking of me. xoxo


And there you have it. We want to thank and congratulate Tom for helping us out and getting a great interview!

If you're interested in Psychic Babble, you can follow this link and find out everything you need to know about his upcoming album and YOU GET A FREE SONG OFF THE ALBUM. Yes, FREE. Follow the link:

http://conta.cc/kQmLMx

Interview with The Dropout Plan!

SO I got an interview with one of my favorite bands from New Jersey. They're called The Dropout Plan, definitely check this out:

I'm here with Ryan from The Dropout Plan, can you tell me a little about your band?

Well we're a 5 piece, formally a 6 piece band from South Jersey. I'd like to think that we're in the genre of alternative/pop-punk/indie. But, we really try not to limit ourselves to one thing.
Now when I first heard of you, your name was really mysterious to me, so can you explain how you guys came up with the name The Dropout Plan?

Pretty much, we got our name from us all being college dropouts and this is our plan, to play music and take names.

How did you guys form the band?

It started as an acoustic act running the Coffee Shop circut for about a year or two. Just me and our former vocalist Jake. Then after about a year we pulled in Mike and Monty on guitar and Dean on drums. Then we eventually lost our other vocalist and this is where we are now.
What's your favorite part about touring and playing your music for people?

We all really just love the energy and love we get from the people who enjoy our music. That's really what it's all about for us man, the love of it.
What would you say is your most memorable moment in the band?

For me personally, it's all the places it's taken me over the years. And all the people I've met through doing this. One specific memory would be losing our van midway on tour and having to trek across America on a shit Greyhound bus. Those people that run that bus service are miserable, but it was an awesome experience. We had to leave like 90% percent of our belongings in a random hotel because we lost that van. Crazy stuff haha.
This question you can skip if you want haha, but which band is your favorite to play/ tour with?

So far I'd have to say most of the bands from our SJ scene are pretty awesome to play with. All the bands that keep it real and do this for that reason. Specifically I'd say Suit Up!, Hold Your Own, Party Attack (R.I.P), and a couple others I might have forgotten.
What are the band's goals for the future?

Our main goal is to just keep doing this for as long as humanly possible. If we can get by just surviving and being able to continue, I'd say that would be the greatest thing of all. Oh, and to be on Warped, but who doesn't have that as a goal.
Can you share any fun facts about the band?

We are extremley good at hacky sack haha, who would have thought that being in a band mean't many, many hours of perfecting the art of hack. That passed a lot of time when we we're recording waiting for our turn to get in the studio.
Thank you for giving me some of your time! And as usual, is there anything you would like to tell our viewers?

Stay true! I'd have to say be on the lookout for us because this is just the beginning for TDOP. And you can grab our album "Get Educated" on bandcamp so go pick that up. We busted our asses for that, and really want people to enjoy it!

Listen to some of there music below:

There you have it! A bunch of funloving guys with some crazy stories. Be sure to check them out.
Matt

Interview with Count to Four!

So I got the chance to interview one of my favorite bands, Count to Four. What a great experience and these guys definitely provided us with a good view of their band, check it out:

 

Can you guys tell us a little bit about your band?
We are a pop punk band that really just loves playing music and wouldn't want to do anything else. We all grew up listening to similar bands and Pop Punk is really where all of our roots lie. Lyrically, our music deals a lot with growing up and losing your childhood. The genre helps to convey that message because it is something that all of us relate our childhood to. All in all, music is just something that defines every member of Count To Four. It is all we think about, talk about, and work towards.

 

When did you all start playing your instruments?
We all started playing our instruments when we were around 13. Mike really wanted to be a singer so his dad taught him how to play guitar in order to further himself musically. Pete started playing guitar in middle school and messed with a little bit of everything and eventually found his "true calling" on drums in high school,. Jay grew up in a house of vocalists, so he started in choirs at a young age. He then took up playing guitar and piano around the same time and kept with it.

 

What would you say was your favorite place to play at?
Without out a doubt there's a really good music scene down in Sea Isle and in the Southern Jersey Shore area. All the kids down there are really great and get involved and go to shows. We loved playing Harvest Fest in our hometown Barrington, it's free and a lot of kids always come out, although me may not do it next year because kids were arrested last year for moshing. Shows at the Trocadero  in Philadelphia  are always a good time too.

 

What kind of bands do you all listen to?
Pete grew up listening to a lot of New Found Glory, Less than Jake, Fall Out Boy, a lot of things in that, his favorite CD ever has been and still is Fall out Boy's "Take this to your grave" album since the 6th grade. Jay's influences mainly came from Blink-182 all the way to Bruce Springsteen, although he's really into metal bands as well(unfortunately, haha), such as Devil Wears Prada, Mastodon and Porcupine Tree. Mike main influence musically is Jimmy Eat World. He also takes a large amount of influence from older pop punk bands such as Rufio, Fall Out Boy, Mest, Relient K, Good Charlotte, and New Found Glory.

 

We were looking at your bio and it said you started Count to Four in high school. What was it like starting your own band in high school?
When you're in high-school, everyone and their mothers have a band. Most do it to have fun and fit in. But as everyone gets older, they develop different priorities and responsibilities and start to drift away from being musicians. Only the one's who want it badly enough prevail and keep going. When we started this band, we just clicked together and started making music, we didn't know much about what touring was like, or much about the industry at all. It's been a huge learning experience both business-wise and with our relationships as friends and bandmates. We're all in college now and we're still pushing hard for this. We all want this more than anything. I don't think any of us thought it'd come as far as it did with college being  in the way, or that we'd have an album on iTunes or have kids singing our songs back to us. We were just four kids playing music for fun, and when it comes down to it that's what we still are, we play music that we love and love it even more when we meet other people that love it.

 

Thank you for the interview! Is there anything else you'd like to tell people?
You can find all of our links to our music and tour info at Facebook.com/counttofour.  We will be going back to 37 Studios in Michigan to record our first full length with Matt Dalton this October, we'll be recording probably Seven new songs and keeping two or three from the E.p. We are going to try to make this album different from what we've done before and take more time with the songs; we're pushing ourselves harder as musicians and hopefully we give our fans something new but familiar. We'll be trailing Warped Tour for a lot of the east coast stops to promote our band as well, so make sure to look for us at the gates handing out samplers! Also we share a strong passion for Pokemon, facial hair, and rest stops and believe that everyone else should too. and one day Jay might just cut his hair...one day.

And there you have it. A bunch of funloving guys with a lot of talent and an interest in "Pokemon, facial hair and rest stops." Be sure to check them out and show some love! Stay Frosty.

 

Interview with No Such Noise!

Listen here haters. While you were hatin' we were interviewing some bros. Check out our interview with Joe Fuscia, the bassist and vocalist for No Such Noise!

Hello and thank you for the interview, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?

We are No Such Noise! a ska/poppunk bands from the South Jersey area.
Now, when I was looking around your facebook fan page for stuff to ask you about the quote "Ska is dead, but its okay to be horny." Can you shed some light on that gem of a quote for everyone?

 

Everyone says ska is a dead genre. We are kind of iffy about the statement. It's definitly not as popular as it was in the 90's, but there is still bands making music that is in the ska genre. We are one of those bands. We have a strong ska influence, but not as strong as our pop-punk influence. We try and make an enjoyable hybrid of poppunk and ska. The quote is to poke fun about the genre being dead, but it's okay to listen to it still.

How exactly did you guys form the band?

Taking a different direction in our musical lifestyles, me and Vince (Trumpet, Vocals) decided we would take a beginner band class our freshman year in highschool. I learned trombone and he learned trumpet. We decided to use our new talent and try and play some ska. Me and Mitch (Vocals, Guitar) have already been playing music together for years, so naturally I went to him and we started writing tunes and recruiting members.

You guys have a very different sound from most modern bands, how did you develope this sound?

As i explained earlier, our poppunk roots come out a lot in our writing. Also when writing music, we try and make music we all enjoy. Our philosophy is that we're making this music to have fun, so if we aren't into it, then why do it? I think thats how we found a sound we agree on. We're all having fun, and we made a few fans along the way! 

What are some of your favorite bands?

We are honestly all over the place with our music taste. All of us listen to your usual ska bands, Catch 22, Big D and the Kids Table, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Rx Bandits, etc. But then we all have our wildcards.

 

Can you tell us some fun facts about yourselves?

 

We all LOVE to play n64. Our favorite games our Wave Race, Mario Kart, and Super Smash Brothers. We always have tournaments when we hang out. I guess you can call us old school video game nerds.
Thank you again for the interview! Is there anything else you might want to tell our viewers?

 

You can pick up our EP "Worst Birthday Ever!" for $5 on www.nosuchnoisenj.bandcamp.com

And all our upcoming shows are on www.reverbnation.com/nosuchnoise

We are currently in the studio in between playing shows recording 4 songs for an upcoming split EP with close friends Exit 34.

Also currenty planning out East Coast tour in August with close friends Roots In Stereo

 

Check out the rest of our interviews throughout the week and keep up with our stuff. Remember to tell your friends and commnet below or on facebook and twitter. Stay Frosty, Yomp.

Interview with Anthony Masington of "The Flatline Symphony"!

If you haven't heard the band The Flatline Symphony, you better start listening! They are great band and we got the unique experience of interviewing their singer Anthony Masington.



I'm here with Anthony Masington from the band The Flatline Symphony. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

The Flatline Symphony began in 2009, started by drummer Bryan Mills, bassist Estil Holliday and guitarist Myk Londino. At the time, I lived in Kingston, New York pursuing a musical career as a supporting live guitar player for the band Weerd Science. I met Bryan as a fan of WS, and he was insistent that I give his music a listen. I was immediately interested in being the singer of the band. We later earned the nickname "The Flatline Symphony" from an old project Bryan was involved in, the name originally created by our friend Vince Torres.

That's very interesting! Do you consider music a hobby or a possible career in the future?

A lifelong passionate hobby, and a career as well.

I see, so what do you think inspired you to join the band?

At the time, I had stopped supporting Weerd Science and moved to Trevose, PA. By luck, I had found Flatline and felt like it was a risk to take being as everyone in the band lives in Dover Delaware. Not to mention I had the desire for a challenge.

What was it like taking a risk like that? Do you think it has worked out well?

For one thing, distance has put a strain on the band, but that doesn't mean that we are weak as a unit. If anything, we are stronger and tighter than ever. Taking in stride every single opportunity that inches its' way towards us. Just like anything, a lot of work has to be put into it, if there is to be any sort of fulfillment or success.

It's incredible that you guys can pull that off. But on a different note, what are some bands you've been listening to lately?

Lately, I've been listening to Envy on the Coast, Depeche Mode and Elvis Costello. I know Bryan has been listening to Dillinger Escape Plan. We as a band have been listening to Circa Survive, Box Car Racer and some pop music as well as our good friends Life on Repeat.

Mike and I are huge fans of Box Car Racer and I personally love Circa Survive! Can you tell us some fun facts about yourself and/ or the band?

Myk and I have asthma and use inhalers. Bryan is a vegetarian. Estil has toured Warped Tour. Chris was in the band Life on Repeat for a short while. Everyone has tattoos except for Bryan.

You guys seem like really chill people haha. Well thank you for the interview! Is there anything you would like to say to the people who read this?

Our debut self-release concept CD "This Is What They Call Surgery" is available through iTunes, Amazon, bandcamp, etc... just about ever other digital retailer. Thank you! Peace Mates.



It was definitely a great experience to interview such a talented artist! Check out this video from the band and be sure to look at Anthony's other band Session 606:

Stay Frosty.
~Matt