VISTA – Henchmen

By starrymag | January 5, 2017

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

Matt: If I had to categorize our sound it would probably be rock. There’s so many different interpretations of what music genres are nowadays. But, yeah, I feel it’s just straight rock with ambience.

 

Hope: We call it “anthem rock” to try and categorize and define those ambient elements a bit more specifically. Big arena feel. Chants. Heavy drums. Guitars. That kinda pulse through you.

 

Greg: Our sound can vary, but most of all I would say it revolves around rock and all its avenues. So, we like to say anthem rock because that is something we can all resonate with and like to hear.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

Matt: For me, I’d say Angels and Airwaves is my biggest influence. No matter how many bands/musicians I listen to I always come back to them. They have bombastic anthemic choruses & cinematic music. I love soundtracks and space and time and I get all of that with AVA. Another band that is influential is 30 Seconds to Mars because Jared Leto.

 

Hope: I have like…. three totally different sectors of influences. 90’s pop, that’s what I grew up in. 60’s/70’s classic rock. And then the modern day Warped-esque bands.

 

Greg: They are like all over the place and come from many different areas. Basically, if something is original and cool I usually vibe with it.

 

Q) How was the band formed?

 

Matt: There’s two stories to answer that. The first being Greg and I messaged Hope around the same time. I learned she lost her drummer and followed VISTA for some time prior. My band at the time wasn’t going in a direction I was happy with. So, I messaged her, she gave me an audition date, I went and we got Chipotle after. And I was in. The other story is that we met on Tinder and all that swiping right does wonders! I’ll let you decide which story you want to believe.

 

Hope: Chipotle was 100000% the deciding factor.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your upcoming song “Henchmen.”

 

Greg: Basically, we started writing a song to a couple little ideas and ended up making an anthem for people who feel oppressed in today’s world and we wanted to give those people a voice.

 

Q) Where did the inspiration for the song come from?

 

Greg: Current world events.

 

Hope: “Henchmen” kinda revolves around all of the events this past year. The world went through a lot. We all felt affected by it. But the cool thing is that it wasn’t necessarily written about one specific event; it can be tied to a bunch of different ones.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

 

Matt: We all struggle with some sort of oppression whether that is through work, relationships, etc. It’s just part of life, unfortunately. We’ve all been through it and that’s what the song’s about. I think people will find some truth in the lyrics while the music backs up that kind of story in an appropriate manner.

 

Hope: For sure. I think the fact that is wasn’t written about one specific thing opens the door up to a wider audience. It’s specific lyrically, but doesn’t highlight a single event in particular. It can be interpreted in many shapes and forms.

 

Q) How do you write your songs? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

Matt: Normally, someone has an idea whether it’s a few notes Greg plays and I improv on drums at practice or it is a lyric or an idea. We all stem from whatever that is and start organically forming a song.

 

Greg: Pretty much either the music or the lyrics can come first. Usually what happens to me with this is the strongest part of the song comes to mind first. It doesn’t have to be that though.

 

Hope: My brain just kinda runs all over the place normally so I don’t have one way of writing. Sometimes I’ll think of a title first or a whole verse at one time or just one lyric. It’s a huge mess, like a 1,000 piece puzzle that I try and put together.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

Matt: It’s 100% VISTA. All three of us.

 

Hope: For sure. Everyone is equal here.

 

Greg: Slash writes all my leads.

 

Q) You’ll be performing in New York opening for Against The Current in January. What can fans expect from a live VISTA performance?

 

Matt: A loud, hard and heavy performance. For some reason NYC gives this vibe of energy that sparks us up. But also because it’s ATC! I love them.

 

Hope: Hell yeah! We’re super energetic on stage and I love that. We can feed off of each other’s adrenaline and use that fuel to keep the energy going throughout the set.

 

Q) Will there be an EP or album coming out soon?

 

Matt: Hope said VERSUS was a rushed process. So, while we have “Henchmen” coming out we are actively writing, but not struggling to rush like before. An EP is the next logical step. I’ve personally found kids to enjoy having new music come out frequently. So, focusing on an EP and then possibly another one or full length after would be the best steps to take at this point.

 

Hope: Yeah, VERSUS was definitely rushed. Some of the tracks weren’t developed completely so we’re not in a huge rush to put another one out. We’re for sure going to have an EP out around May/June, I think that’s the goal right now. But VERSUS only came out seven to eight months ago. It feels like a completely different lifetime, but it’s still a pretty fresh record. We’re going to make sure that the next EP this year is really developed production-wise!

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

Matt: My dream (in no order): Valerie Poxleitner aka LIGHTS, Chrissy from Against the Current and Jared Leto.

 

Hope: Cody from Set It Off. Definitely LIGHTS, I love that girl. She’s rad. Maybe Derek from State Champs?? That might be super cool.

 

Greg: Carly Rae Jepsen. Hayley Williams (sorry Hope). Thomas Erak. Mike Shinoda. Owl City.

 

Hope: MIKE SHINODA. YES.

 

Q) What can fans do to help promote your music?

 

Matt: Listen and share with your friends! A retweet goes a long way. Everything and anything really. And come to a show and say hi, too! [smiles]

 

Hope: A share goes a loooong way in this tech-savvy world nowadays. That’s a huge help on its own. Whenever I like something, whether it be a song, an artist or a product of some kind, I usually always tell someone about it habitually. So, that’s definitely the best way our listeners can help out!

 

Greg: I always say that world word-of-mouth is the best nowadays. Technology works, but people are surrounded by it all day so sometimes if they hear it out of your mouth and it actually means more.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

Matt: The internet is a wonderful and dark place. It’s a great tool connecting with fans that you wouldn’t normally be able to in person, whether that’s because they live in a diff. state or even a diff. country. However, separating personal and professional life is sometimes hard to do – especially around the presidential campaigns. [laughs] But sometimes in a strange way, social media helps kids who are shy and normally wouldn’t come up to you at a show. It gives them the opportunity to get to know us before or after meeting us in person and that kind of comfort is a great thing.

 

Hope: I like that it opens us up to any potential listener in the world and we stay open to them for that reason. Maybe someone can see that Matt loves Blink-182 and they connect on that level. Or another user notices that Greg is an engineer and they’re looking to get into recording. Those little similarities can form a much larger, impactful connection.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

Matt: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I can’t emphasize enough that without fans there is no VISTA. We love each and every one of you. So, please, PLEASE don’t hesitate to come up to us at a show or talk to us on social media. We are always trying our hardest to bring you guys the best whether that’s music or a new shirt design. Much love to you all! [smile]

 

Hope: What Matt said! And also thank you for opening up your ears and opinions to VISTA. It’s much appreciated + we love you. [smile]

 

Greg: You have a friend in VISTA. Thank you for being with us on this journey. Listen to “Henchmen” if you can. Browse some good memes. And I want to give all of you a big hug.