Matt and I are brothers so I met him when I was about 3 & 1/2 years old, haha. So we go way back. Matt and Tyler went to grade school together so he’s been around a long time also, but just started playing with us in 2017.  I met Jewell when he was singing for a band in our local area called Habit of Force back in 2006ish. So we have been aware of one another for a long time. 

 

TRR:  Do you think that all of you (the band members) knowing each other for a long time before forming the band makes the band that much stronger?

 

Jesse: I think so; we have a great vibe between the 4 of us. 

​

TRR:  Has this become a full-time job for all of you at this point? 

​

Jesse:  Not yet.  We all work full time day jobs. Matt and I are in transportation management, Tyler is an industrial electrician and Jewell is a Chef. 

​

TRR:  Does Jewell bring some cool meals for all of you to your rehearsals? 

 

Jesse: every time he comes in for rehearsal or recording sessions we do a huge band/family meal. It’s become something of a tradition. 

​

TRR:  Your sound is pretty heavy.  Have all of you always been in to metal?

​

Jesse: as far back as I can remember. It started with classic hard rock and some of the heavier stuff our Dad listened to, but we were hooked. Constantly on the hunt for heavier. Eventually grew out of that and went back to just hunting for something that would strike that cord and give you the chills the first time you heard it. 

​

TRR:  What do you listen to when you are relaxing?  Anything that may surprise some of your fans?

 

Jesse:  I’m a big fan of more mellow stuff like Murder By Death, White Buffalo singer/songwriter stuff. I’ll listen to just about anything that’s got some soul to it. 

 

TRR:  As a band, who would you say has influenced your development?

 

BTH:  Pantera, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden. Death metal. Generally anything in the metal/hard rock realm. Also Jewell is real into the industrial stuff.

​

TRR:  What do you think makes your music attract your fans?  

 

Jesse: We are very open about incorporating all of our influences. There’s a no rules/ open to anything attitude in our writing session. That creative freedom seems to be disappearing. 

 

TRR:  I can't disagree with that.  Every few years there seems to be a grouping of music and too many bands try to jump on that bandwagon and lose their identity.  A few years ago it was the group chorus thing that you hear with bands like Imagine Dragons and Coldplay. 

​

BTH:  Right.  I see a lot of bands out there that have records that just sound like 10 tracks of the same thing. 

 

TRR:  When you guys sit down to write your songs, does everyone have a particular responsibility or is it very collaborative?

 

Jesse: I usually present a rough demo and to the guys and we put it through it’s paces. Arrange, re arrange, adjust it until everyone’s happy. Jewell usually starts getting vocal ideas together when we are about 80% through the process. Then we put the finial structure together around the vocal. 

 

TRR:  Tell me about a show you did that you think about a lot.  What comes to mind? 

​

Jesse:  Hmm.  That's a hard pick, but we had an amazing show in Cleveland this past September supporting Polkadot Cadaver. Great venue called The Phantasty Concert club. 

​

TRR:  What made that show so amazing, the one with Polkadot Cadaver?  What stands out?

 

Jesse: We’re huge fans of the band first and foremost. They’ve become great friends over the years. A huge treat for us to have our first Cleveland OH show be supporting them. The venue was terrific, the audience was fantastic and we just had an all around blast. 

 

TRR:  Tell me a bit about "Spellbound."  

 

Jesse: This was actually the first song written with new vocalist Jewell Yocum.  This was one of the demos I sent him when we first discussed him joining us. He came in the first day rehearsed with us for a few hours. We took a break, he went off with his headphones and wrote the lyrics and melody on the spot. We tracked 2-3 single take passes and that’s what you hear on the final cut. It was that quick. 

​

TRR:  What about the lyric video for it.  Who produced that?

​

Jesse: the lyric video was done by a fella named Jacob Glover. Super easy to work with and he did a great job. 

The track itself was self-produced. I do all the engineering, mix and master in our small project studio

 

TRR:  The year is almost over, if you can believe that.  What’s planned for the next couple of months for the band?

 

Jesse: We are wrapping up a new EP And we have a great 3 day residency set of shows supporting Dog Fashion Disco November 8,9,10 in Bradley IL.

 

TRR:  Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to or thank you to?

 

Jesse: Huge thanks to Todd Smith and Jasan Stepp from Dog Fashion Disco for bringing us out on a bunch of shows this year, and a super huge thank you to anyone who takes the time to come see us play or even just check out our music.

​

TRR:  Thanks Jesse.  Good luck with the rest of the shows this year and keep us in the loop when the record is finished.

​

Jesse:  Will do.  Thank you.

​

​

For further information about Beneath the Hollow, visit their Facebook page or their Website