As a follow up to our full interview with Portland progressive hardcore band Bring Me Solace, we offer this encore blitz with vocalist Josh. Read the full hurdcore.com interview with Josh and Garret of Bring Me Solace from earlier this year HERE.

One of our songs that personally means a lot to me… Of Solitude because I wrote it after going through a stint of depression. To me its a song of healing. If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment I would purchase for the band is… Keyboard or synth! …maybe even a key-tar. One unforgettable experience as a performer that taught me volumes about music… Seeing how intense the pit was and the extremely positive reaction we got at the It Prevails show we played this past June. It was pretty incredible. For me music is… an extension of myself. Current trend in music/scene that bugs me… Pretty much trends in general bug me, it keeps true creativity suppressed. People should just listen to the music based on their personal music tastes. Don’t be afraid to be different.

Currently reading Anger: Wisdom for cooling the flames by Thich Nhat Hanh. Currently watching The Office season DVD’s. Favorite movie Step Brothers. Top 5 songs in my personal ipod right now… “Chrono” The Ghost Inside, “Whether to cry or Destroy” Shai Hulud, “Fever Dreams” Circa Survive, “The Walk” Periphery, and pretty much any song off of the album Diamond Eyes by Deftones. Any crazy pre-performance rituals? Blueberry Green tea and honey. everything the body needs. What are the weapons of choice for your band? A sack of oranges.

Bring Me Solace is a 5 piece Progressive Metal band from Portland, Oregon whose current roster includes: Garret/Drums, Cory/Guitar, Josh/Vocals, Brandon/Bass and Adam/Guitar. Listen to the music, keep up to date via the BMS Myspace and keep an eye out for their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge” to release soon.

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What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? - Jesus

Our introduction to Bring Me Solace came as part of the showcase of local talent at Savage Fest earlier this year. While Bring Me Solace is fairly new to launch upon the Portland area melodic/progressive metal scene, it doesn’t take long for fans to recognize the degree to which these gentlemen are dedicated to developing their sound. Blending technical savvy with dynamic metal and lyrics pregnant with philosophical pursuits, these Portland based musicians are preparing to release their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge.” Bring Me Solace provides tunes for fans who enjoy hardcore that utilizes the mids, as opposed to dwelling solely in the lowest regions of tone, a baseline that walks further in a single set than you probably did for the entire year, pace setting double bass and thought provoking lyrics.

The Bring Me Solace approach to music and lyrics comes across as very thoughtful and precise, what does the typical writing process look like for you dudes?
Josh (Vocals) & Garrett (Drums) As far as the music writing process, we write our songs starting with Cory, Brandon and Adam, combining riffs and bass lines, but always using a drum machine and laying down a foundation of how we think the drums may sound while we write. Everything comes together almost simultaneously, and Brandon and Cory have a HUGE part in the drum writing process. Garret looks over the drums, learns parts, and changes things that he may want to do differently, though usually we have a pretty good idea how they will be while we write guitars and bass. When it comes to vocals Josh and Brandon generally are the ones who write the lyrics. Some songs we literally write to the song and others we may use pre-existing lyrics and fit them to a song, fully finished or not. After lyrics have been written and we feel that they flow with the song we will revise them together and change certain vocal patterns, if needed. The writing process for us is very much “democratic” in the sense that we all have our say and encourage each other to come forth any creative ideas or concerns.

What is in a label? You are listed as progressive hardcore, how much emphasis do you place on that designation and what does it mean for your sound?
J&G Ya know, we chose those because out of the options given, they seem to fit us best. We are definitely metal, we are definitely progressive, and we always try to make things melodic and dynamic. We can get a bit technical at times, but we try not to overdo it. We don’t really care how people classify us really, we compose music we solely enjoy and hope that others will be able to feel it and enjoy it as much as we do. We don’t follow necessarily what the trend may be at the time or judge our direction or what we should do according to what is going on out there. Though, we would never want to continue writing music that may get old, or become unpopular, we feel our music is fairly well-rounded and diverse enough to hopefully be able to just be heard and appreciated no matter what direction the metal/hardcore scene takes.

A band that skates together stays together, right?! How has your friendship developed and been tested as you embark upon this journey as a band?
J&G Man, I sure would think, but I guess that’s not always the case. Four of us come from heavy skating backgrounds, and two of us love to ride motocross, so it all works out well. We are fortunate to be grouped together because we get along so incredibly well. We have all grown to be straight up best friends and basically brothers, and as hard as it can be with bands, we are pretty confident disagreement or conflict won’t be a factor if/when this group disbands. So far we haven’t done much touring at all, so I guess we could say the real fun, or testing hasn’t even taken place yet, but just from all our personalities and how well we get along in general, we don’t expect too many rough roads when it comes to that, but then again we understand being a band can be rough at times and that we are nothing close to immune those situations.

You are hard are work recording your debut EP, how is this going and who are you working with?
J&G We are in the process of writing and recording our first official release. This release is going to be a six-song EP titled “Nomadic Refuge” and if things go smoothly we plan to have this released by late October. We are self-recording this EP with our guitarist Cory Smith. All of our recordings have been self-recorded by Cory.

Your song “Of Solitude” seems to touch on Pantheistic-esque perspectives, do you identify with a specific belief in this regard?
J&G I’m really glad you caught that underlining theme within the lyrics. The song is basically realizing that nothing is external to you and finding peace in that concept. I cant speak for the rest of the guys but as far believing in a higher power, the pantheistic view of God makes more sense to me, personally, than the Judeo-christian or any other incarnation.

Christian bands often have the battle whether they are a Christian band or Christian in a band – are you a Buddhist band? Are you reppin’ Buddha-core?
J&G Haha, great question. Were definitely not a “Buddhist band”, nor are we a “Christian band” or anything of that sort. A few of us are quite interested and practice Buddhism, and a couple of us are technically not engaged in any religion whatsoever, though we all are very much interested in religion and science, and all that good stuff. Many of us read about that kind of stuff, and really just like to think of the “wonders” of the world, culture, and all the crazy mysteries and whatnot that lie “out there”. …And on that note, we tend to end up discussing those topics quite frequently amongst ourselves, and quite often ha ha. …I wouldn’t say were reppin’ Buddha-core, but dang if you know anyone that is, hook us up with a show with them!

The chorus for Nomadic Refuge declares, “Our salvation is in the bare essentials. They can’t hold me down. I won’t ever submit. I will always prevail.” Salvation has become a broad term, for the purposes of this song what do you mean by “salvation” (from what)?
J&G Basically Nomadic Refuge is about the purest form of freedom which is without government and authority. Living outside of the lines of society and the cookie-cutter way of life. In the song, salvation means to live as a nomad, which means to migrate from place to place and live off the land. In this way we could create an equilibrium for all living beings which in turn leads to our ultimate salvation of peace amongst this universe. Of course I use the term nomadic as an artistic term rather than literal. Its basically a metaphor for living life the way life was meant to be lived, in harmony.

Bring Me Solace is a 5 piece Progressive Metal band from Portland, Oregon whose current roster includes: Garret/Drums, Cory/Guitar, Josh/Vocals, Brandon/Bass and Adam/Guitar. Listen to the music and keep up to date via the BMS Myspace. See them live at The Satyricon 10/8/10 w/ Across The Sun, Regiment 26 and Chin Up Rocky and keep an eye out for their debut EP “Nomadic Refuge” to release soon. Read our review of the BMS performance @ Savage Fest from earlier in 2010.

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I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – Jesus

Through hurdcore we have met artists, bands, promoters, fans, supporters…individuals who are teaming together to support local music. Its always inspiring to meet people who are actively chasing their dreams and using the tools they have to make a difference in their community. Of this caliber, there are few people working harder at the ground level for local music than Kit Day and Daniel Langenberg, whom hurdcore readers may recognize from their work with getting TreeHouse Venue up and running in Eugene, Oregon. So, we take pleasure in sharing our recent interview with Kit Day, of The Great Exploration, as he shares a bit of the story of how these man-students stepped out to add writing and playing music to their already robust efforts in promoting and hosting it at the local level.

The Great Exploration is fairly new as a band, how would you describe your sound?
TGE mixes progressive/experimental/and alternative all under the same roof.

You’ve played a few select shows and had some great turnouts, what is one of the coolest things a fan has ever said to/about your band? TGE Wow, that’s a tough question! We recently read an article in the paper where we were compared to Coldplay, Seabird, and Danyew. We thought that was pretty cool.

What was your favorite memory as a band from 2009?
TGE Honestly, our favorite memory was recording! We work with a close friend who is a recording engineer and had a blast with him.

TGE has a polished sound and you all play well together, as a band you’ve said, “Musically we strive to grow in the creativity God has given us and to give it back to Him through worship.” Is The Great Exploration a worship band, as in you play regularly for a church on Sunday mornings?
TGE I hope I don’t confuse you with my answer! Is TGE a worship band? Yes and No. When I say no, I mean we don’t “sound” like a typical worship band. We are beginning to progress more towards a experimental/progressive sound. When we create music, we try to be unique. When I say yes, our lyrics are completely geared towards worship.

Alright, so for those who still have trouble understanding the distinction, what’s the difference between a worship song and worshiping God?
TGE Music in general is worship. When you come to the realization that God is the one who has given you the talent and creativity to play music, you in turn give it back to Him. This is worship. Giving yourself in complete surrender. This is the difference between a worship song and worshiping God. It’s funny, we all go to different churches. Some of us play on worship teams, others don’t.

TGE had a strong upstart in 2009, what are you all looking forward to most in 2010?
TGE As for 2010, we were looking forward to playing at Tom Fest. Unfortunately we just read that the owner is revamping some things and will be postponing Tom Fest until next year. Oh well.

What has been your favorite show to date?
TGE Our favorite show was last Saturday night (Feb 6th)! We played with some fun bands and had a HUGE turnout of 500 people!

Have you had the chance to tour yet?
TGE Ha, no tour. We’re all in school full time, so a tour is kinda out of the question. Maybe someday!

At the time of writing this interview, your TGE MySpace profile quote reads, “Compassion will cure more sins than condemnation.” What do you mean by this?
TGE As a band, we believe God has sent us to love, not condemn people. You will find this mindset deeply rooted in both our hearts and our music.

Your song “Comforter” is obviously a spiritual tune, is this a general song about God or is there a specific circumstance that inspired the writing?
TGE “Comforter” actually was inspired from scripture:

Ecclesiastes 4:1 (NIV) Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors—and they have no comforter.

John 14:16 (ASV) And I will pray (to) the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever.

It’s a song to remind us that we have a comforter who is watching over us no matter what situation we may be in.

How is He [God] a comforter? Is He only a comforter to those who believe/obey Him?
TGE He is our Comforter in this crazy world. Not only is He a comforter to those who believe in Him, but he can be a comforter to those who choose to let Him in. It all starts with a personal choice.

A lot of people say that they believe in God or some kind of higher power. Saying that you believe in God, and maybe even being a Christian, doesn’t necessarily tell a complete story, what specifically do you believe about God?
TGE We believe God is love. Absolute, complete, pure and perfect love. God is truth. He created us. He inspired creation. He is in us and around us. He chose to love us so much that He gave his son Jesus Christ to die a gruesome death so we might live forever with Him.

You’ve stated, “As a band, we don’t want to be surface Christians. We want to continue to grow deeper in our relationship with Christ and spread his love in every way possible. Every day we aim to discover more of this incredible God who has shown us so much love and grace.” When did you become a Christian?
TGE This is a hard question! Only because there are 6 of us and we all came to Christ at different points in our life. I personally (Kit Day) grew up in a Christian household. I will admit, when I moved away to college I slipped a little. It’s funny how when you have absolute “freedom” to do whatever you want you tend to give into the pressures of society. I can tell you I hit a point where I asked myself, “Is this really how you want to live?” My answer, of course, was no. I sensed I was distant from God and it felt horrendous. Once I made a point to turn back, God swooped me right back into His arms. It felt, for a lack of a better word, monumental.

What are the origins of TGE? Can you pinpoint the moment when you knew you wanted to get serious about being in a band?
TGE When TGE was formed, it wasn’t meant with the intentions to last. Dan and I needed a 3rd band to play at Treehouse, so we thought why not put some songs together? We collaborated with some of our music buddies and put some songs together in a month’s time. After that, we realized we loved playing together and it took off from there.

We thought we recognized some of your faces from The Treehouse Venue (see hurdcore article from 2009 on THV) how is this effort going?
TGE Daniel Langenberg and myself (Kit Day) operate a local music venue called Treehouse Venue. It’s been open for about a year now and slowly getting its feet off the ground. We’re in the middle of a transition phase (new building, new sponsors, and lots of other new stuff!). I can’t really go into details because nothing has been finalized, but we’re exhilarated with anticipation!

So, you have become a two-headed monster with your efforts in TreeHouse Venue and now The Great Exploration, are you all native Eugeneians? What makes Eugene special?
TGE I think I am the only one who is not a Eugene native. I come from different places in Oregon, California, and Washington. I finally ended up in Oregon after moving away to college. Our favorite feature in Oregon is how beautiful and green everything is! The summer’s here are also amazing!

Who has been the greatest influence and/or support in getting you to where you are now?
TGE My greatest support would definitely be my wife! She has been amazing during this process and I thank God for her every day. Our close friends also supported us tremendously.

What are the weapons of choice for TGE?
TGE Uh-oh, now you’re asking for a LONG list! Where do I start? We love having as many instruments on stage as possible. I won’t post everything we use because the list will tire your eyes. Here are the important brands we enjoy:
Fender! (Fender guitars, fender tube amps); Taylor Acoustic Guitars; Boss, MXR, Fulltone, Vox, and Ernie ball Pedals; Furman Pedal board; Schecter Bass; Ampeg Bass Amps; Pixiphone; Xylophone/glockenspiel;
Lots and Lots of percussion

As a fan of music, who are you digging right now? What would be the top 5 on your ipod playlist?
TGE Here are our the 5 that inspire our music the most: Future of Forestry, Deas Vail, Glorious Unseen, Mutemath, Danyew.

…A few quick questions: If I had an extra $1000, the first piece of equipment that I would purchase for the band is a massive glockenspiel!? Currently reading Come Thirsty by Max Ludado, listening to This Will Destroy You and watching Ice Age (yes, all at the same time!)?

Our thanks/kudos to Will Foster Photography for the pics of TGE.
Follow Treehouse Venue to keep current with local concerts in Eugene, Oregon.

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