Interview w/ 66 Love Letters
Hard at work in the studio to get a full release ready for the public, the online release of their latest track You Had Me @ Hello and fresh off their first local show, 66 Love Letters is declaring their intent to dominate the Portland (Oregon) hardcore scene. 66LL should be ready to impress the chicks, they’ve been practicing in a barn from day one! (ha ha…see notes below) If you like energetic, brutal licks and live in the Northwest, you are going to want to keep an eye on 66 Love Letters. Our thanks to Mike of 66LL for taking the time to interact with hurdcore.com via Myspace.
HC What inspired the name of your band? How did your band come together?
66LL Our band name came to be from the 66 Books of the Bible which are commonly know as Love letters.
HC How would you describe your musical style?
66LL Our musical style is definitely on the heavier side of rock, but we stay in the Hardcore/Alternative genre.
HC What is unique about your band? What makes your band/sound different from other offerings?
66LL We feel that our faith and our commitment to the reason for our band sets us apart from other bands that are similar to us. We strive to put our all into our musical sound, but also believe that the overall few of us as a band is important as well.
HC You are currently based out of Portland, Oregon, are you all natives? What do you enjoy most about the local scene?
66LL We are all from the Portland area, yet some of us have spent years of our lives out of Oregon, such as Indiana and Montana. Portland’s music scene is like a roller-coaster, but we really enjoy what Portland has to offer through its venues and fans.
HC Being a Christian hardcore band, have you found local churches to be supportive of your efforts? Do you view yourselves as missionaries? What has been the overall response to the relationship between your talents and the sharing of your message?
66LL We have been accepted as a Christian / Hardcore band by many churches and have been given the oppurtunity to perform, and then some churches are the opposite and don’t want anything to do with what we are about. We believe that what we are doing is to glorify God and not ourselves, and it means a lot to us when people realize that instead of just listening to our sound and assuming we are like everyone else.
HC On your recent video, it appears that you are practicing in an incredibly clean barn, or more specifically in the haymow, is this where you typically practice?
66LL Our barn has been our permanent practice pad for awhile now, and we try to keep it as clean as possible.
HC Your posts from this spring mention recording and a drummer change. Are you working towards a release for this year? Have you found a new drummer, how is that working out?
66LL We have been working with a drummer for a couple months now, and he is working out great. As far as a release for more music, we are really hopeing by the end of the year to have a good EP recorded for our fans.
HC Where can those interested best connect with you to find out about news, releases and tours?
66LL Our myspace is a great place to interact with us and to find out the latest news and info about our band. There are also sites like twitter.com/66loveletters and purevolume.com/66loveletters where you can find updates about us as well.
HC Where are you currently grabbing inspiration and/or frustration from and how has this been affecting your music?
66LL We all struggle with daily struggles and glorifying moments as well and we try to put those moments into every song. But when it comes down to it, we are all in this to glorify God and not ourselves, so we give Him all the credit.
HC What have been some of the most important lessons for you as aspiring-artists?
66LL Important lessons…well we know that recording without a drummer is harder than it sounds, and costs a lot more too. But we are a new band and have a lot more to learn and a lot more room to grow, but we feel we are all in this for the right reason and this band is going to take us very far.
HC Are there any favorite/funny/scary memories from recent tours that you’d like to share?
66LL Actually no, because we have not even had our first show.
HC Any words of encouragement for aspiring bands?
66LL Encouraging words… Don’t give up on your dreams, realize what you are doing and why you are doing it, and put your band in the hands of someone who can mold it and make it everything it’s supposed to be.
*All pictures courtesy of 66 Love Letters via Myspace profile