Ill Break – The Flood

Q) How did the band come together?

A) We’re from a little town called Carrolton, Georgia, which is where we all met. That’s in West Georgia, about an hour west of Atlanta. We all met going to school there at the college in town and playing around bars. We started jamming together because we all appreciated each other’s love for music and realized that we enjoyed the same bands. We found we had a lot of stuff that we all liked. Incubus was probably one of the biggest bands that we were all sort of drawn to and we learned a few of their songs. We started playing music by learning other people’s songs and then through that process we started writing as well. We jammed in our drummer’s garage for quite a while until we mustered up enough song ideas and enough stuff.

Q) How do you describe the band’s sound?

A) I think it’s unique and different, but still mainstream rock. We get compared to Live a lot, which I don’t necessarily hear it myself, but a lot of people think we sound like that. I think they believe I sound like Ed Kowalczyk, the lead singer of Live. I don’t really like that comparison. I do think they are awesome, but being a musician you don’t ever really think you sound like somebody. You always think that it sounds unique and different. Over all, I think we’re mainstream rock and it fits in with the stuff on the radio today, as well as holds its own unique sound and defines itself to that. It’s hard to put it into words, but we try and to be real creative and come up with unique ideas instead of the same stuff you hear. At the same time, we keep the same drive and the music that people that like, but try to find something that people can connect to.

Q) Where do you get the inspiration for your lyrics? 

A) I get inspiration from experiences, people, life, day-to-day living, interacting with people and with myself. Contemplating things in my head turns out a lot of stuff sometimes. Eric, the bass player from the band, he helps write some of the lyrics at times. It comes from both of our experiences.

Q) What is the meaning behind the CD title “The Flood?”

A) When we were making the record, it was a big question what we were going to name it. We tried listening to all of the songs after we had rough ideas down and had finished most of the recording process. We tried to figure out what we felt the most from the music and what terms and ideas kept popping up in our head while we listened. One of the main ones was water-type and fluidity. Most of our music we wanted to sort of flow together and one of the songs on the album is called “The Flood” and it has a lot of references to the water. “The Mermaid Song” referenced the ocean and water and as well as our music we wanted to almost take over and flood the radio waves and flood people’s ears with our music. Hopefully, this new style of music that we were creating would flood everything and sort of take the rock world by storm. We looked at it as a good title to let people know about something we intend to do.

Q) What message is your music trying to convey?

A) I don’t know if I try to convey a certain message. I try to speak honestly and hope that people can connect to it in some way. I hope that it gives them something they need, something that they like and something that they can attach themselves to and stay a part of. That’s the main message. We’re trying to get our music out there, try to get them to listen and hope that they want to listen.

Q) What will fans like about the single “How It Feels?”

A) I think they will like it. The main reason that we chose it as the first single was because it still has that sound that we are trying to go for, but it is the perkiest song on the record. It’s the song that you can hear one time and be like, “Oh that chorus, I remember that. ‘You don’t know how it feels and it’s not going to go away,'” it’s a very strong line that people can relate to and want to sing. When we’re at shows, it’s always one of the favorite songs. That’s the one we thought it would be good to start off with and introduce ourselves to the world.

Q) Why was it important to place a notice of support up on the band’s website about Hurricane Katrina?

A) Our record label, Imprint Records, is located in Biloxi. Over the last year, since we’ve signed with them, we’ve come to meet a lot of people in the area and made a lot of friends. Before that, I had been there in my college years, but this last year we got to know a lot of people. We had heard about the devastation and saw it on TV, it was like a dagger to the heart. People you know, friends and all of the businesses (we’ve been down there numerous times to play at a lot of the businesses) are not even there anymore. People that work for our label have lost their homes and it was devastating for us. It happened a week before our record came out, so it was almost like what happened? We got to this point where we were finally releasing our record, because it took a while for it to get done, and we were excited to get on this adventure and be on tour. It just felt like it was ironic that we called our CD “The Flood” and that our record company gets flooded out. We wanted to let people know that we were working on this record for so long, how much it meant to us and what they have done and how our hearts are with them through this disaster. We’ll keep pushing with them and keep doing what we have to do to make it work!

Q) What was it like sharing the stage with such stellar bands like 3 Doors Down and Saliva?

A) It was like a childhood dream to me. It’s something that I’ve been waiting on since I was little singing along with the radio. I’ve always dreamed about getting on stage and singing a song to people everywhere you look. Having that opportunity is a once in a lifetime kind of thing where you get it or you don’t. We were lucky enough to get the break to be able to do that and now we’ve actually done it a few times. We’ve played a few shows and now it’s getting to where we almost expect being in front of a crowd because it is such an amazing feeling. Any band that is out there trying to make it, I recommend that you push as hard as you can to be able to play a show like that. It’s something that I’ll remember for as long as I’m alive.

Q) What is your favorite track on the album?

A) I can pick one, but it can change tomorrow. I think it would be “Carry the Light” because it comes from a real pure place in my heart. It’s just a song that has a real big meaning to me. It speaks about how you lost something that you love (not necessarily someone, but something). To me, it was something that I lost and needed to find. It’s the most meaningful to me and it touches me more than any other song.

Q) Your album dropped September 6th. How did you celebrate?

A) We had a little bit of alcohol and we all got together to go to the local record store in town just to check and see if they had it. They did, but that was a big point going into Tower Records here in Georgia and seeing our record on the shelves. It’s another childhood dream accomplished.

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) I would like to say, first to the supporters and everybody that’s been with us, thank you, thanks for buying the record and supporting us this whole time. We look forward to sharing all our new comings and everything that happens from now on. For all of those people who haven’t heard us, go buy the record and give us a chance. That’s all we ask is to listen to our music, that’s all we’re trying to do. I hope that you find something in it that you like.