Interview with James of Times Together

This weeks interview is with James, singer of Times Together - one of my current favourite bands. I already thought about doing this interview when I was searching the field for my first interview. I thought it would be a great follow-up to have the next interview be with a member of one of Seb's new releases. Also I wanted to do this interview because even though the "question-structure" is similar to my last interview, I can relate to some of the questions personally here, being that I too live where no hardcore-scene lives! 

Times Together is more or less holding down the Youth Crew fort in the UK all by themselves, here's what James had to say when I asked him a bunch of questions... He even managed to secretly dizz my blog in one of them, haha! ;-)

James, first of all let me congratulate you and the rest of the band on the release of The Changing Of The Leaves 7" - a killer debut if you ask me.

Could you give a quick summary of how Times Together came alive and what you wanted  to do with the band?

Well, to start off with Gaz, Dave and Dex were all playing in a band called Affirmation (they were awesome, check out the CD on Courage To Care Records), but with Gaz on vocals and not an bass like in Times Together, and I was singing in a band called Marks Get Set GO! at the same time. Being that we were from the same area, ad pretty much the only bands in the country playing a "youth crew" style of hardcore, we played a few shows together. At one show both bands were playing together I arranged with the guys from Affirmation for us to do a few cover songs inbetween the sets, but with Gaz on bass, and me on vocals (this line-up later became Times Together). Not long after that MGSG! broke up, and I still wanted to do a so called "youth crew" or "traditional" style hardcore band so I asked those guys if they wanted to start something. Affirmation had always had problems finding a bass player (our good friend Hash played bass for them alot towards the end) so it only kinda made sense I suppose for Gaz to jump on bass and me on vocals, that way we had a solid line-up!

As far as what we wanted to do with the band, I suppose there were no set targets in the beginning, just to play hardcore the way we love it to be played, fast and sounding like all the bands we loved from the 80s and "97"-era, put out a demo and play some shows :-). Although I suppose we had always hoped that we would put out a 7" in the future :-).

I remember you saying that you've had these songs ready for quite some time, howcome they first saw a release now?

Yeah, the songs were recorded in July 2009, I suppose it has been a while until they saw the light of day, and some of those songs have been actually been finished a long time before that!

I suppose sometimes things just take a while to happen, I mean we really wanted to have that silver spot colour on the records which was probably the main hold up with the production of the record sleeves (the vinyl was actually ready a long time before the sleeves), but at the end of the day, it's worth it to get something you are happy with. I think Seb first asked us to do a record in October 2008 if my memory serves me right! But we didn't wanna rush anything, we wanted to let the song writing process take its own path , and then once the songs were finished we wanted to get them as tight as possible before recording them. Same goes with the artwork, we wanted to get  every aspect perfect, so that in 10 years time you don't look back and think "I'd change that bit now if I could", so yeah a few extra months is nothing to get something you are 100% happy with. 

The irony is, that because the record was finished and recorded in July, we have been working on new material since then, and are a good way into writing a follow up record, so after a long wait for our first record, the follow up might come around a lot quicker! :-)

How did you guys decide to let Just Another Day Records put it out?

Well like Seb mentioned in his interview previous, I knew him a little bit from the Thunder Lizard messageboard! The funny thing is , just as Seb asked us to do a record we were in the process of making these promo CD's to send out to different record labels that we liked, so they ended up never going out and just got given to a few select friends and people who had helped us out as a band.

But anyway, yeah Seb asked us if we wanted to do a 7" on his new record label he was starting up. At this point he hadn't released any records and bands like Overload and Debaser weren't on the label yet, but to be honest we didn't even need to think about it! I knew Seb was a huge record collector and loved all the little details in records, so I knew he would do an amazing job, and also he had told me he was going to put out the Freewill Discography, and the chance to be on the record label that put out a record by a band that we love, that influences our sound, we were never gonna up on that!

I had the great opportunity of listening to the 7" in mp3-form before it came out and I was blown away to say the least - what are your own thoughts on how the vinyl came out; from the musical aspect to the layout?

Yeah I'm really happy with how it came out :-). The print job, especially on the colour photo on the cover, is outstanding! I mean really something special! Everything looks amazing, the thick card for the sleeve, the labels on the record, everything. I think Seb did an amazing job, I also have to big up Chris who designed the record, and just did an overall awesomejob with every little detail, be it specifying the thickness of the card, or the layout! The whole idea was for it to look like a record that could have been on Wishingwell Records, and in my own personal opinion, I think we succeeded. As for the vinyl, it sounds really good. The thing is, the amount of music on each side is on the limit of what you can fit on a record, and if you take that into consideration, not to much quality has been lost really, although it will obviously not sound exactly the same as when you hear it on CD. But yeah the whole thing exceeded my expectations! 

Your record release show is right around the corner, can we Europeans expect a tour anytime soon?... And what about the US?

Yeah, well, if we ever sort out the record release! ha ha. Nah, but seriously I will have to sort that out soon! As for tours, yeah you can expect to see us in Europe for sure. We've been saying it for a long time, but we will definitely come over! We plan to play some shows with our buddies in Birds Of A Feather, I think the initial plan was to play Belgium, Holland and Germany, but that got put on hold for a while, but hopefully it will get sorted out for this year. I know I wanna play Europe and see those guys again soon!

As for the US, I can't see that ever happening if I'm honest. It sucks, but that's just the way things are :-(. I'd love to do it, and would be there in a second, but I don't have as many responsibilities and commitments as the rest of the band do. So realistically, I can't see it happening, but never say never I suppose! (For instance if Uniform Choice did a reunion show and we all came over for a few days, we could play a show in there somewhere! ha ha).

My knowledge on UK-based Youth Crew bands doesn't reach far. I know that the UK doesn't have a well-breathing scene, right? Why do you think that is?

Yeah there is nothing to have knowledge on to be honest. There is a band called XcurraheeX from Manchester, they have just had a record come out on Commitment Records, and are really cool, so check them out.

Other than those guys and us, I can't really think of another band playing this style. There has been a few bands in the past, In The Clear, The Last Chance, Touchdown and then bands that the other guys in Times Together have been in, Step Back, Approach, Affirmation (yeah those guys are old! ha ha ha) and a few other bands I'm not thinking of, but not much. I think the UK has a scene, but just not the kind of hardcore I personally can relate to, bands that wanna sounds like No Warning, or Integrity or whatever other stuff people like in that vain seem to be everywhere, but "youth crew" hardcore just never took on here. I mean, you go to a show, and you don't see people wearing Bold shirts, that shit ain't right!

How do you see the hardcore scene in general today? In your time here, what has changed in a good way and what has changed in a less positive way?

I think it's hard to comment on really, as you can talk about so many different things. In a way things seem to be slowing down a bit, a lot of messageboards that used to be really active seem to be pretty dead nowadays (Thunderlizard RIP), and I think a lot of poeple seem to be losing interest in one way or another that I used to see around a lot. But then there are always a new wave of people coming through at the same time. I think it's great that there seems to be a new line of younger kids getting into good hardcore through things like React! Records and the React! Messageboard, and there a lot of cool new/newish record labels keep things alive like Just Another Day Records, Salad Days Records, Amendment Records etc, as well as the great lebsl still going strong like Crucial Response. I think in the UK there used to be a lot more people into the kind of hardcore that I can relate to than there is nowadays. I mean, you used to go to a show and see people in Bold or Chain Of Strength shirts, I'm not saying all the time, but it would happen, and that just doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I think a lot less "decent" bands tour over here as well, I mean, a lot more bands tour over here from The States, but they are mostly average, and that being polite in my opinion. Before when a band used to tour, at least they used to be a decent band, with more than a demo out. 

I actually have a bit of a different opinion to a lot of people when you read interviews with people wbout these kind of topics, most people seem to say, start a band, do something to contribute to the scene. I actually think (well in the UK anyways) there are way too many mediocre bandsout there already, I mean, there are just so many bands that sound the same and don't wanna try something different, it's ridiculous. And when, on the very odd occasion, a band that you would love to play with like The First Step, the support is usually laughable. We would have loved to play with bands we love and respect like TFS. What the answer is to stuff like this I don't know though :-(, but that's just my opinion. There seems to be a lot less zines floating around now as well, which is a shame, but I suppose with the internet, and particularly "blogs" that was always going to be the case :-(, which is a bit of a shame, although The Effort Fanzine is making up for the lack of other quality zines at the moment.

Hardcore sure is taking advantage of "modern day technology", that be messageboards, Myspace, Bigcartel, etc. etc. Do you think this "digital-unity" helps keep the scene alive more now than ever, given that in the UK and in Denmark the scene is... well subtle?

I think those can definitely be a good thing. I mean, as an example, from our perspective as a band, without Myspace and messageboards, we probably wouldn't have sold half the amount of records, demos, shirts etc. that we have, and people from places like Australia wouldn't have picked up our record, I know that for sure. I would imagine about 70-80% of the stuff we sell gets sent outside the UK if I'm being honest. While playing for people locally is really great, and people picking up your record at a show who might not necessarily be into the bands who influenced you is really awesome also, for me, I love it when people get the chance to hear us and like what we do, who also love the bands that influence us, people who actually see the little references and nod's to other bands in songs and fully get the sound you are going for. That's what I like the most anyway :-). I have joked before when we write a song, that if our friend "Will" likes it, than it's all good! (Especially if he plays "air-bass" at a show) :-). 

I think also people can find out more about shows happening etc. which is good, but I'm really not into downloading. I mean, I don't want just the songs, the artwork/package is just as important to me. I remember waiting for that last Damage Control 7" to come out for what seemed like years! I must have passed on downloading those songs so many times, even though I wanted to hear them so bad, I knew it would be worth waiting for. I suppose it's how you get into things though. I think I got into hardcore just before stuff like the internet took off (or it was there and I didn't know about it!), so I bought most of my records because a bands' name was in another bands' thanks-list, or because the record had College font on the front, a picture of a guy X'ed up or wearing a Bold shirt. And I mean, some of the best records were discovered that way! That's probably why we wanted to make sure there was a bit of a Chain Of Strength shirt on the front of our record! ha ha.

Are you collecting records yourself? If so, what is the thrill of it to you? What is your most charished piece of vinyl?

Yeah I collect records. I don't really know what the thrill is to be honest, ha ha. It's just something you do. I think when it's a record you wanted for ages, and it turns up in the post, it's so exciting opening that package, and looking through it all and listening to it. I'm also really big on my shirts as well, there is something about an awesome shirt, that is just so special. Although it sucks the amount that don't fit me anymore. 

Sadly though, I haven't picked up many shirts or records in the last year. It used to be the case I'd get one or two things a week, now it's probably once a month. I think while I've been waiting for our record to come out, my mind has really been on that, so hopefully I'll pick up where I left off now, although the more you get the things you want, the less there is left to get :-). 

My most charished piece of vinyl? That's hard. I love my Insted - Bonds Of Friendship on red vinyl and on white vinyl. I mean, that's one of the greatest albums ever, no doubt, and it's Wishingwell coloured vinyl, which is always something special! I also love my Chain Of Strength records, again just a classic record. Another record I love, which I suppose isn't really that rare, or worth that much money in the scheme of things, is Uniform Choice - Staring Into The Sun gatefold-LP on red vinyl. I don't know why that one comes to mind, but I just love everything about it, the artwork, and the record is just amazing musically. 

I suppose I should stop here, but there is so much stuff I could list, my Fastbreak collection, my Tiebreak test, Damage Control tests, Envy test, Eyeball test, those are all things that I was so happy to get.

To be fair, Gaz and Dave from Times Together both have records I think would blow all this stuff away, and would probably blow most other peoples best record away. Gaz has a really amazing shirt collection too, ha ha.

I've also asked Seb of Just Another Day Records the following question, I think it's great fun:

(Hardcore only)

Pick 1 band from the 80s era - I'd be tempted to say Uniform Choice or Unity, but since Seb has gone UC, I'll go Youth Of Today to keep it interesting.

Pick 1 band from the 90s era - Hands Tied

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era Desperate Measures (Our Turn and Damage Control rockin' up a close second)

Pick 1 currently playing - Remission

Pick 1 reunion show you'd kill to attend if it were to happen - Uniform Choice/Unity

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own - Unity - You Are One on blue vinyl (and the obviously Youth Of Today - Break Down The Walls on red and on blue vinyl!)

Any last comments?

Thanks for doing this interview Rune, sorry it took me a while to get back to you! 

If anyone wants, you can get our stuff here timestogether.bigcartel.com

We should hopefully have some new 4-sided shirts coming in the next few weeks.

Also, check out Remission, Birds Of A Feather, Alert, Resolve, and Right Idea and the record labels / bands I've mentioned above. Last but not least, thanks to Seb for putting out the record and believing in us :-).

One Love!

Pressing info for Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7":

Black vinyl Test Press /22

White mix vinyl /11

Record release version /??

Red vinyl /90

Purple vinyl /110

Green vinyl /120

White vinyl /180

Get Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7" here!

Next up is my interview with Timm MacIntosh of Panic Records, and I've started to plan the next one as well. Stay tuned!

Yours truely,

Rune.

Interview with Seb of Just Another Day Records.

This is the first post on my new (or improved) blog. I got bored with just posting pictures of stuff I get in the mail and didn't really see a point in the long run as it got more and more trivial. Therefore I decided to turn this into an interview-blog - focussing on new releases I find interesting and news in general from bands and labels. 

My goal is to post interviews that are actually interesting to read. Not all of them will have the vinyl collectors aspect included, but that's something I myself can live with as long as I get an interesting interview done. 

This interview is with a good friend, who's currently running one of the best labels around in my opinion. Here's Seb of the Belgic Just Another Day Records. He has recently released Resolve - Won't Stand By LP and Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7".

Here we go...

1. First I want to ask you a few questions about hardcore in general. I reckon that you've been in the scene for quite some time. How have you seen the scene change in the time you've been around?

That's a good question. Well I think the major change for me is that most of my friends don't go to shows anymore and started having other interests, I think they wanted a life rather than being surrounded with sweaty dudes. I guess now I must say I don't go to shows much myself anymore, as I don't want to travel 4 hours to see a show anymore, unless the band is really good...

Another change is that the whole hardcore scene has pretty much died in my opinion. There used to be shows everywhere, at some point I went to 3 shows a week, seeing the same bands over and over again. Some people may say otherwise, but to me it's just not the same seeing Liar again as it was 10 years ago. 

Also I try to listen to a alot of Belgian bands in hopes that I can do a record with one someday. 

Other than that the internet has changed a lot, not only for hardcore, but for the world in general. Let's say about 12 years ago I'd never surfed on the internet before - you actually had to buy records/tapes/CDs to hear the band you wanted hear. Compilations were still interesting to buy since you could check out a lot of bands at once. These days you can find whatever record you want to hear online in a matter of minutes, no matter how obscure they are, and that isn't always a good thing since there are idiots around who think that music should be for free and that is complete bullshit.

I'll just end here, I could name a few more, but these are the major changes I experienced when I first got into hardcore. 

2. How do you see the future for hardcore with labels such as your own, React!, B9, Panic Records etc. etc. ?

I hope that every label will still be around and hopefully I can do the label full time in 10 years (fingers crossed this actually happens, haha). Basically I don't think we should compare Just Another Day Records with Bridge 9 or Panic, there are people working fulltime for the label there, they are both some of the biggest labels and do this with a lot of passion. 

Maybe we'll celebrate JAD50 in a few years ;-) 

3. Maybe you could mention some of your own favourite current labels and current favourite bands?

There are so many good bands and labels around these days. Anything Salad Days Records has put out is amazing, Hearts In Hands Records is doing a good job, Life To Live Records does some good stuff, React! is on top of their shit. I guess I would only name bands on those labels haha. At least I try to support as many labels as possible these days, which is something I haven't always done sadly. 

4. What got you into starting a label in the first place, and why do you think it got off to such a good start (at least that's how I see it) ?

I alwats wanted to do a label, but I was way too busy with collecting records, so most of my money went to that. At some point I kind of lost fun in collecting and it became more of an obsession. For example when I would spend 300 euros on one record, I just looked at it a few times and stored it away and maybe took it out once or twice a year. 

There were 2 reasons to start Just Another Day Records: mainly for the love of vinyl and hardcore in general, and to do something for the scene that gave me so much all these years.

I'd never thought it would go this good, so I started taking things a little more serious - I think you can reflect this on our 2 latest releases. To anyone reading this, I can't thank you enough for your support, without you guys I would be nowhere!!

It will be cool when I can show these records I put out to my own children/grand children to prove that their old man wasn't always a lame ass haha.

5. Just Another Day Records' first release was the supreme Debaser debut 7". After such a good start from a new label, it might have been hard to follow up, but that surely wasn't the case. You've recently released Resolve's first full-length LP and the debut 7" by Times Together. How do you see these releases in the line of JAD releases?

It was a great move to contact Debaser. For some reason I felt that this band had something special before anyone else realised. In theory the Out To Sea 7" was going to come first, but when we announced the news about Debaser, about 25 people were emailing saying they couldn't wait for the record, so I took JAD04. When I received the test presses my hands were shaking and I was like "Oh my god the first JAD test is a fact!" I smiled the whole week like a little child, in fact I still do that when new releases arrive - so stoked to check them out; if there are any variants, how they've come out etc. etc. I guess record collectors can understand the feeling. With the Debaser record, there was like 12 red copies that made my day even better haha. Also when people email/tell me (good) things about the label releases I always get so excited haha. 

Back to your question: Just Another Day has a more youth crew approach (90% of the upcoming are at least), Resolve and Times Together fit in perfectly. I don't really see a line in future releases, the logic is to put out awesome records. Who knows, our next record might be by a German grindcore band that has been around for 20 years!!

6. Given that JAD has gotten a core of die-hard supporters pretty much from the start, and top quality bands, how do you see JAD grow in order to achieve bigger things in the future, in terms of being an attractive label to the bands you want to release stuff by?

Well actually I think I need to keep giving smaller bands a change and that's what I'm going to. For example the upcoming Half The Battle LP came out of nowhere. I normally don't "sign" bands when they ask me to put out their record, but the least I can do is take a listen. This one blew me away. Even though they are from Asia, this one needs to be heard and I'm sure a lot of people will agree with me that this is a musical gem by a fairly small band. I've also noticed that Eastern Europe has a lot to offer these days, so who knows what will happen. 

Also, my intention is to build a solid home to bands, if they want to stick with me because they are happy, I realise I'm doing well. Happy bands usually means awesome records. 

7. When you first gave me the privilege of listening to both records in mp3-form in advance, you literally told me that the Resolve record perhaps would be the hardcore release of the year in your own opinion. It took me about 3 or 4 "mp3-spins" to be convinced about just that (Times Together caught on faster). Why did you want to release these two records? What do you find interesting about Resolve and Times Together musically?

Resolve was on my "I-want-to-put-out-a-record-by-them-list" haha, no just kidding. Their 7" on Commitment Records was one of the best in the past years. They had already made a name for themselves and are somewhat underrated in my opinion, I hope the LP changes that. I first got in touch with them when I had plans to do a compilation LP (it's still going to happen by the way). I told Mike (singer) that whenever they were in need of a label, I'd always be down to do the LP. I never thought Mike would email me back asking if I still wanted to put out their LP. I didn't listen to the whole record, only the first 2 songs. I somehow felt the same as I did with Debaser; this could be a very special record. Mike's vocal is a little more aggressive than most singers in youth crew bands, with that you'll recognize immediately that it's a Resolve record. 

Times Together was about to record the 7", I had listened to the demo and was greatly impressed. I knew James (singer) from the old Thunder Lizard board. So I just asked if they would be interested in doing a record. This was even before Debaser and Overload came along. The whole 7" took about a year to get out, but both music-wise and artwork-wise it's a gem. As many people say; they could be on Wishingwell Records if they'd existed 20 years ago. Music-wise I can find myself a lot in the Wishingwell catalog, and basically we shared the same love for Freewill so that also helped!! When I heard the entire 7" for the first time, I knew this one was going to be awesome.

8. The quality of these two releases, not just musically, has received a lot of praise. What were your thoughts about the layout and quality when these  releases were merely "blueprints" ? (please elaborate on the Trooper-cover)...

The Times Together layout was completely James' own idea, I didn't have any input in. To my knowledge I wouldn't have changed anything on it, it's a fresh idea which James did good on. The silver spot colouring came out exactly like it needed to be. So all credit to him and the band for this one.

The Trooper cover (Resolve) was done by my friend Mike (singer for Make Or Break). The guy has amazing skills and he was the perfect man to have my ideas worked out. It took me a while to convince the band to let me do this one though haha. The basic idea as you may know or not know is a tribute to the almight Iron Maiden. We used The Trooper-cover of theirs as inspiration and Mike designed a hardcore version of the sleeve!! I was, needless to say, pretty stoked to say the least, even the folks at the pressing plant commented that it was done top notch.

I think both gatefolds differ from each other as well as the vinyl colours to go with. It wasn't cheap to make it, but it sure as hell was worth it.

When I look back at it now I would sort of have made a back for the silkscreened cover!

Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7" (all variants shown, except for the Record Release version)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (silkscreened cover /80)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (The Trooper-cover /400)

9. Your thoughts on the vinyl colours? There weren't a lot of "colour-mistakes" This time.

Apart from the Overload 7"s which was a complete disaster. All my 7"s are pressed at a small plant in Germany, run by 2 nice folks. They are the nicest people, they only do 7"s, if they would do LPs I would press them there too! I think the vinyl quality is very good and you can order small quantities of colours which is cool. As far as I know I've never heard anybody complaining about the vinyl colours and/or the quality. That there are colours mistakes is understandable, I can understand that they don't clean out their machines if I order 4 colors for a 500 press, but even big plants doesn't clean out their plates, so mispresses are are part of the game, not everybody is happy with this. I will continue to press my 7"s there, why change something if you're happy, right ;-)

Resolve - Won't Stand By LP (regular cover)

10. What does JAD hold for us next time? Can you tell us something about the future releases? I know some are already to be released next month.

What is about to be released is the Half The Battle LP, a Beartrap 5", Sanity's Dawn/Wadge split 7" and a new Resolve 7" with 3 songs they recorded last fall. There are a good amount of projects in the works, but I'll announce that when the time is right!

11. And the question I want to ask just because it's fun:

Pick 1 band from the 80s era: Uniform Choice

Pick 1 band from the 90s era: Floorpunch

Pick 1 band from the 2000s era: Drug X Test

Pick 1 current band: Too much to mention

Pick 1 reunion show you would attend if it happened: Rain On The Parade

Pick 1 record you'd kill to own: Floorpunch - Division One Champs 7" Test Press

Any last comments?

Thanks to every band that had enough faith in me to let me do a record, everybody who bought from me and supported JAD in any way, Andreas and the MY45 pressing plant, Dave and Ed from AGRM, Bieber and Christian from Flight13, DrukkerijVan Damme and you, Rune, for doing this interview it was a lot of fun to fill in, good luck with your blog and your collections!

That was it. My first serious interview is done and I am satisfied with the outcome. If you liked it, follow this blog, comment, do anything! :)

Pressing info for Times Together - The Changing Of The Leaves 7":

Black vinyl Test Press /22

White mix vinyl /11

Record Release version /??

Red vinyl /90

Purple vinyl /110

Green vinyl /120

White vinyl /180

Pressing info for Resolve - Won't Stand By LP:

Black vinyl Test Press /20

Record Release version /30

Burgundy vinyl (silkscreened sleeve version) /80

Burgundy vinyl (regular sleeve) /220

Green vinyl /300

Red w/ splatter vinyl (The Trooper version) /400

Next up is interviews with James from Times Together and Timm MacIntosh who runs Panic Records! So be sure to check back soon! 

I'll try to have one new interview up every week at least.

Yours truely, 

Rune.