Band 2 Band interview with Sean Stepp of Civil War Rust and Johnathan Marshall of Advocate

Sean Stepp (Left – Civil War Rust) Johnathan Marshall (Right – Advocate)

Johnathan (Vocals / Guitar – ADVOCATE) interviews Sean (Vocals / Bass – CIVIL WAR RUST)
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Before we get into the fun stuff, give me a bit of a backstory on CIVIL WAR RUST: how long ago was the band officially formed, were the members always the same?
CIVIL WAR RUST has been around in some form or another for about a decade now. Ryan is the only original member. Our current line up has been together for almost three years now.

I feel like asking what kind of genre you’d classify yourselves as would be a little too obvious, so let’s go a bit deeper. As a band, what is CIVIL WAR RUST all about? From the name alone it would seem that you’re a handful of combat history buffs, but I know there’s more to it than that. What kind of things do you hold important as a collective group, what are your goals and main ideas when writing content?
I myself am a bit of a history buff. I think we all realize how important history is to the future. I wouldn’t say we specialize in combat history [chuckles and head shakes are happening right now.] Humans are a very violent species and that is very apparent through out our history. None of this has any bearing on our name, I hope. I think with CIVIL WAR RUST you’ll find that we are four individuals who have found a common ground to express ourselves. Sometimes it isn’t the prettiest of arrangements but it does work. It’s real. I think a lot our lyrical content comes from us wanting to live life on our terms and the struggles that comes with those aspirations.

I know you guys are working on some new content, a full length actually, so let’s get into that. What exactly is it you’re working toward right now with this release? Is there anyone in particular you’re working with? I’m going to attempt to get a hot lead on a developing story here… Have you decided on a name for the album?
Yup! We have been working on the full-length since the beginning of June of 2011. That includes the beginning of pre-production of course. Our great friend Robbie Kimzey has been working closely with us on pre-production since day one. We are recording the actual record with Willie Samuels out at Nu-Tone. All of the music is finished and we are taking our time with vocals. We hope to have it out by January of 2012. We are really excited about the individuals we’ve had the luxury of surrounding ourselves with. They keep us grounded. We have had some ups and downs through out the process and we’ve been lucky enough to have a great support system. We have decided on a name! The record is going to be called “The Fun And The Lonely.” We are currently preparing for a 7” release before the year-ends. I’ll keep you posted.

In an ideal situation, where you’re able to hand pick a record label signing, what would you see as the best fit for CIVIL WAR RUST, and why?
Gosh… the knee-jerk answers are obvious. Fat, Epitaph or Side One would be great. Before we ever sign anything there will be a ton of research and talks. We’ve put so much into this record we want someone who will do the same. I would hate to end up being one of those bands that was picked up and thrown at a wall to see if we stick. It seems to me labels are in position where they need to adapt to the internet or become even more detached from the underground. When all is said and done the right answer could be a dude or dudes using their apartment as a warehouse. We don’t know yet, and we aren’t letting that be our main focus… yet.

Two-part question: If you could build a dream band to go on tour with, who would it be? What other 3 bands would you take on tour with you, and why?
We would be the opener on our dream tour for sure. I’d get to play and then watch…
PINHEAD GUNPOWDER, PEGBOY, and ANDREW WK would headline… cause that dude gets the party started.

Knowing that you guys have been around for a while, is there any information, or maybe tips that you’d want to give to younger bands, maybe some things that you found out the hard way that they could benefit from knowing early?
First and foremost communicate with each other. Secondly learn to accept negative feedback in a positive way. Knowing when and how to tell someone to fuck off helps sometimes but be ready to back that play.

Alright… The fun questions- you guys are on tour who is the first to:

Get blackout drunk: Drew
Get left behind on accident: That could be any of us. It would be more of the intentional kind of mishap though.
Go broke: Rudy
Lose the keys to the van: That would be me
If you had to write a song about one of four topics, which would it be, and why?
1.  The current direction of pop music
2.  Political Climates
3.  Personal experiences, close to home stuff
4.  Global Warming

Every thing we write about is marinated in personal, close to home stuff. It has to be or it feels fake to me. Politics are a great thing to talk about. I don’t see myself writing obvious political songs though.  We as individuals have our politics but we don’t put a main focus on them. They find their way into the music eventually but it’s wrapped up in personal experience and mishaps.

Sean (Vocals / Bass – CIVIL WAR RUST) interviews Johnathan (Vocals / Guitar – ADVOCATE)
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Ok… let’s get all of introductions out of the way in the guise of one long question. How long has ADVOCATE been a band? Where are you guys from? Any interesting stories behind the name?
We’ve been a band for close to a year, we’re still pretty young. We’re from all over the east bay area, but for the sake of brevity let’s call it Oakland, we practice there. I guess the most interesting story behind the name would be: We were stuck, couldn’t decide on anything at all, and a friend came up with the name “Advocate.” It’s a powerful word, and everyone agreed for once, so we went with it.

You are obviously not afraid to let some politics shine through. What are some of the things that motivate you as a songwriter? Have you noticed kids more active politically and do you think that has to do with bands themselves becoming more active?
Things that motivate me as a songwriter I guess are the same things that probably motivate others, just the stuff that’s on my mind. I guess it can be somewhat political but I try to base it more off of what I get when I watch the news, or hear about what’s going on this country. I know things are broken, and I’m just very eagerly anticipating the new generation of people to step up and run things, a generation that is hopefully much more forward thinking.  As far as kids being more political I think that’s fair to say. I’m not sure it has to do with bands altogether though, most music these days doesn’t have much of a message. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of people out there talking about some really rad stuff, it’s just unfortunate it’s not the majority. If anything, I would say that if kids were getting motivated politically it’s because 1. Shit sucks, and 2. People can find out a lot more these days with what we have available. The more you know, the more you get pissed / active, most of the time.

Is the release on Death To False Hope Records your only release? Do you have plans to get back into the studio any time soon?
Yes, the EP is our only release so far, and yes we are currently writing and have hopes to record a full length as soon as we’ve got the content.

What is your process for working up a new song? Do you rely on your band to finish a song or is it completely done before they hear it?
Depends. If I wrote something, and it was really solid and worked really well, I’m not sure anyone would argue with it. Although, with that said the songs I write are REALLY boring, simple approaches, melodies are a bit more the focus. Just chord progressions I can sing to, without the band doing what they do I would probably sound pretty lame.  I think I’ve written one lead in my whole life, and it was for this band. It may be safe to assume, as much time will pass until I get around to writing another.  Honestly, a majority of the time I just have a mess of structure, and we all help tighten it up, part by part.

Who is the member that should worry fathers everywhere?
Josh, every time and it’s not close. Unless we got Phil Garrido on keyboards, it’s going to be Josh… Even then it’s a close one.

Is there a particular record that you can’t stop listening to at the moment? What is it about the record that keeps you coming back for more?
Everything by GOOD RIDDANCE, ever written, all the time, preferably on vinyl; I think I’m 2 vinyl’s away from having their entire collection. I can’t even begin to try and describe what it is that keeps me coming back, that band was amazing. Everyone did their job, and did it really fucking good. The band always had something to say, and were always class acts. GR songs never get old for me.

What was the best show you have been to or played this year? What was so memorable about it?
Oddly enough, it was a show we played at the Red Hat, I think there were ten people there that weren’t in bands that were playing, but the bands that WERE playing, were some of my best friends and favorite bands. ABOLITIONIST came from Portland, We opened I’m pretty sure, and then WHY I HATE killed it (as they tend to do) and then YOU and CIVIL WAR RUST played a surprise set. Perfect night.

Any bands that you have to without a doubt see when they play near you?
I’ve never seen PROPAGANDHI live, and they’re one of my favorite bands ever, I’m pretty excited to see that.  Other than that, I have to get off my lazy fucking ass and go see SHAI HULUD, I’ve never seen them and I’m pretty obsessed.

Anything you’d like to share with the masses?
Don’t drink the Kool Aid assholes. You still have a brain, and don’t ignore it just because the news says it’s better to do so. News sources are wonderful for gathering information, and taking in different opinions, but it should in no way shape or form be the end-all-be-all of what your opinions and standpoints should turn to. Get on the Internet, and get some other points of view before you start talking shit, educate yourself. Also, go to death to false hope records (deathtofalsehoperecords.com) and seriously check that shit out. There’s a lot of really good music, at a really good price. FREE!

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