Interview w/ A Year In Review
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
It’s time to get low and wake up the hardcore hibernating within the borders of Eugene, Oregon. A Year In Review has taken upon themselves to blast through the encumbrances, guitars ablaze with brutal riffs dripping from sincere smiles and packaged with extreme energy. AYIR puts everything on the line in their shows, whether playing for small local crowds or preparing for an upcoming venue headlined by nationally acclaimed hardcore act Bleeding Through (August 26th, 2009 in Roseburg, Oregon). They may have been hiding under the bridges of Lane County, but Oregon residents will not want to ignore A Year In Review as they are primed to set fire to local venues and far beyond.
HC What inspired the name of your band?
AYIR Well when we came together, it was basically after the falling out of two other bands that we were all members in, and it was around the turn of the year when we started getting into the swing of things as a new band, and it just clicked. Basically, at any moment in time, if you sit back, and review an entire year, there is so much growth, so much change, so much that occurs in 365 days, that it’s really amazing to think about.
HC How would you describe your musical style?
AYIR That’s actually a question we struggle to answer. It’s sort of a-typical to say “it doesn’t sound like anything else”, but it really doesn’t. We’ve had people listen to us and call us crazy, all-over the place metal, and then we have had others compare us to early Senses Fail. If I had to peg it, I’d say it’s post-hardcore with many pop and metalcore elements.
HC You are currently based out of Eugene, Oregon, are you all natives – I know at least you drummer is from afar, Ohio right?
AYIR Yes, I know Aaron (drummer) was born in Ohio, but I’m not sure how long he actually lived there. As far as I know, we’ve all basically been raised in Eugene, and have all started out even picking up music here.
HC Eugene seems to me a bit perplexing as it is typically referred to as a “hippie town” by outsiders such as myself but there is also a strong metal presence with venues like Samurai Duck, how would you describe the local scene, especially as it relates to hardcore?
AYIR Eugene is an interesting place… the difficulty here is booking, and response from the local scene. There’s simply not many venues, and the few we have are generally 21 and over (Samurai Duck is actually fairly recent, and are off and on with actually being all ages as far as I know), and not exactly receptive to the more “hardcore” scene. There’s definitely a large metal influence here. It seems to me like the younger generations of bands coming out of high school, are all more towards hardcore or an indie-pop movement, but the bands that can book the 21 and up venues are all very metal influenced, aside from a few, probably the most notable being Aeolus. It’s an interesting place… just incredibly limited by the lack of venues. The best shows here are done in makeshift-venues.
HC I recently was able to see you play with Roseway at Treehouse Venue in Eugene (awesome!), you guys play with a lot of energy and can get remarkably low (literally), any secrets to where your energy comes from?
AYIR Haha, we do practice getting low. Probably comes easiest when you’re 5-foot-nothing like me. When we look at our energy, it all comes from putting something out that we want to play. When we write, I think we all have it keyed in as to how this will come out when it’s played live as an end result, so you see that in a lot of our songs, they’ve all got parts specifically made to evoke energy. If there was any advice, just play and write music that gives you an energy by itself, and the actual movement will come easy.
HC You mentioned in your song, Oh Lisa that people do not have to objectify themselves because we are all beautiful, that seemed to be a very personal song, is there a true story behind it?
AYIR Ah, yes, “Oh Lisa”. We’re actually quite proud of that song. I’m not sure how much Luke (vocals) would want me to give away about the details of the origins of that song.
However, yes, it is a very personal song, but it also applies to everybody. His theme with writing lyrics is about inspiring ways to improve ourselves as people, and the ways we interact not only with others, but with ourselves. That song is probably the best example of that, because the lyrics span across band and audience.
HC Where can those interested best connect with you to find out about news, releases and tours?
AYIR myspace.com/ayearinreview is probably the best resource, we generally keep it very updated. If you happen to see one of on or around MySpace, we’re all very relaxed guys that would like to chat and can also keep you up to date on what we’re doing.
HC What are your plans for the near future? Are you working on writing and/or releasing an album?
AYIR Right now we’re in the middle of just demoing some of our newest songs just to get out there, and planning on writing some more. We’re also incredibly excited to open up for Bleeding Through, Carnifex, Miss May I, and Motionless In White in Roseburg. We’ll definitely be working on stepping up our game for that show.
HC Where are you currently grabbing inspiration and/or frustration from and how has this been affecting your music?
AYIR As people, we all draw inspirations just through ordinary life as most of us do. We’re all recent graduates, or about to be recent graduates, so there’s obviously aspects that a lot of people go through with becoming adults that I think can be found in some of our music and lyrics.
HC What have been some of your greatest influences as musicians and artists?
AYIR I can’t speak for the entire band when it comes to what inspires us as far as other bands. With their personal listening, Jordan (guitarist) leans towards alternative, Dan (guitarist) is into really heavy kind of stuff, Aaron has the poppier side, Luke is all over the place, and I’m into the singing kind of post-hardcore.
HC What have been some of the most important lessons for you as aspiring artists?
AYIR We’ve all definitely learned that a lot of what you do, whether it comes to practicing, writing, is all in how you deal with each other. It all needs to be respectable, but you also have the right to hold your position until it’s heard out, no matter what it is.
HC Are there any favorite/funny/scary memories from shows/tours that you’d like to share?
AYIR There was a date in Waldport where we were given time to do a soundcheck earlier in the day, so we assumed that portion of it was done. Somebody in the venue told us it was time and to gather people up to come in (It’s an upstairs venue), and some people had gathered up, so we started into our intro track as well as our first full song, only to be stopped half-way through by the guy telling us our soundcheck was over.
HC What has been the most challenging part of taking your band public? Any words of encouragement for aspiring bands?
AYIR The most difficult part is just getting kids to shows and getting your name to different places. There’s not too many places to play in Oregon, and chances are you’ll end up coming to the same place multiple times, generally to the same kids. If there’s any advice to give, it’s just to go out and hang out with people at the venue when you’re out of town. Some of the people that come to like and follow as a band aren’t people that we’ve blown away while we’re on stage, it’s the ones that we took the time out after the show to get to know, become friends with. The job isn’t finished when you step off the stage.
*UPCOMING SHOWS*
8/26/2009 8:00 PM
@ Riversdale Grange w/ Bleeding Through, Carnifex, Miss May I, Motionless In White, A Year In Review and others! (See us for AYIR for tickets)
4856 Garden Valley Road, Roseburg, Oregon 97470
Cost: $12 Pre, $15 Door
BANDS :: VENUES :: EVENTS. Building bridges through music. Band interviews every Sunday. [MARK 1:15]
