VISTA – Eat (I Must)

By starrymag | May 7, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) Talk about the message behind your new single “Eat (I Must).”

 

Hope: This song speaks of the feelings of guilt and regret I’ve had through the years about an eating disorder I developed in high school. I needed to explore those feelings in order to continue moving forward in the healing process, but I also wanted to open up a safe forum for healthy conversation. That’s something I didn’t have at age seventeen, when I wasn’t eating for days on end, and it’s something I think I needed. Thinking back to those days of feeling alone in my eating disorder, we wanted to paint an honest visual that hopefully kick starts a conversation about the dangers of this topic.

 

Greg: We definitely want listeners to take away that they don’t have to suffer alone and that we know what is like. Just looking at the lyrics, they deal with a lot of guilt and paint the picture of what it’s like to live with an eating disorder.

 

Q) Hope, what made now the right time to share your journey?

 

Hope: I had to. I’ve been stuck in this cycle of guilt about what I put my body through, the different ways I lied and manipulated people I cared about and how I still struggle with the dysmorphic side to this. I’ve never sat down and confronted those particular feelings before and it was starting to eat away at me. I needed to express that through the outlet I’ve always ran to – music.

 

Q) Are you looking forward to the dialogue you’ll be opening with fans and the feedback you’ll receive?

 

Greg: We have already begun receiving it and we are very excited about it. People have been so brave sharing their stories with us and over social media with their followers because of the song. I hope when we go to play live the song resonates with people as well and that we can have even better conversations in person!

 

Hope: It’s been really incredible, some of the messages I’ve gotten or the band accounts have gotten. We want to open up conversation, have these talks with people. Personally, I want the reality of the dangers to resonate through listeners. This is not glamorous, or trendy, or cool. It’s lonely, it’s unhealthy. I want to start more dialogue, help listeners build up the courage to feel comfortable discussing what they’re feeling in regards to this topic. It scared me a bit before we released the track, but I also wanted to embrace the knowledge and unfortunate experience I have and use that to help others.

 

Q) Hope, what advice would you give to those suffering from body dysmorphia and/or eating disorders?

 

Hope: Tell someone. It’s not easy, but you need to; that’s the first thing I’d tell my 16/17-year-old self. I was very sneaky and manipulative towards my mom about my eating habits. If I’d told her what was really going on I would’ve been able to get help a lot sooner and prevented some dangerous patterns from developing. I was afraid of her reaction, afraid to admit it out loud, afraid of the doctor. Fear got in the way of getting healthy. Know that fear will not win or guide you to a path of recovery. Conquering the fear is what will prevail.

 

Q) VISTA is an indie band. What makes this the most comfortable way for you to release your music?

 

Greg: Attention spans are shorter than ever, so sometimes we feel that it is best to only give fans a song at a time until we feel that we have a collection of songs that would BEST be put out as a whole at once. It’s a tricky thing. We try to let the art itself dictate how we put it out.

 

Hope: As an unsigned band we feel it’s best right now in the current digital market to release one song at a time. For us at our size we think one single at a time is the easiest to digest and we can put all of our attention onto each song individually. I don’t think we need to release another EP right now. When the timing is right we will, but I like being able to give each song we put out our undivided attention in terms of marketing, branding and promoting.

 

Q) You recently finished The Bloodlust Tour. Can fans expect a US or world tour for your upcoming music as well?

 

Greg: We will definitely be touring the US more this year. No formal announcements yet, but we’re always working on playing in new places we haven’t before.

 

Hope: No world tour any time soon, unfortunately. We just don’t have a big enough base outside the US yet. But like Greg said, more US shows this year!

 

Q) If you could lend your music to a film or TV series, which of your songs do you think would be a good fit and for what show/movie?

 

Greg: We would be open to pretty much anything. However, we love dramas and think our music would fit well there.

 

Hope: I always thought our last two singles “Witch Hunt” and “Born For Blood” would fit well with the NFL, but that’s such a hard feat to accomplish. Genre-wise, I think our music would definitely fit well with teen dramas, series that are “One Tree Hill”-esque, but I also could see our music on reality dramas. We got involved with licensing a little bit in 2018, but I’d personally really love to delve into that world even more.

 

Q) What’s next on the horizon for VISTA?

 

Greg: More touring and just always constantly working on more music. Always scheming!

 

Hope: Yeah, just writing and touring! We’re never sitting still – always working, just don’t have anything concrete to announce just yet.

 

 

 

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