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Here's my interview with new up and coming emocore rockstars, Rise Above. I interviewed Jon Von, the guitarist of RA, and here's what he had to say...
SS = Adam from Shattered Silence
RA = Jon from Rise Above
SS: Hey there, glad to have you here Jon.
RA: Word.
SS: Alrighty, now down to the first question, how did the band itself form?
RA: Good lord.... I'm the wrong person to ask about this, but I'll try (I'm sure Eli and Sam will correct me later.) From what I can gather, Rise Above started as No Solution some inconcievable number of years ago with Eli, Sam, Dean, and Jarret. Eli, Sam, and Dean are all cousins and Jarret is Eli's brother... Well I THINK Eli played guitar, Sam did Vocals, Dean played bass, and Jarret played drums to all of those old school punk songs that we all hate to admit that we listened to. The lineup changed too much for me to remember after that. Eventually, years later, Eli progressed to vocals, Sam to drums, Danny Mozacco to bass (runner extroidinaire), and Rex on guitar -- this was the start of 'hardcore' for the band, and that's what it really was, just simple old school hardcore. Then differences were had with Rex and I came on board with the guitar, and for once everyone else stayed the same. After a while, we changed our name to the more positive Rise Above.
SS: What were your major influences growing up?
RA: Musically, I have and still do listen to a lot of different stuff and I think everyone in the band has as well... so it's kind of hard to come up with a clear influence. Eli, who does most of the writing, listens to a variety of music, which really shows in his songs... especially the new ones we have coming up. So I guess you can just pencil us down as 'everything'.
SS: Who does your band often get compared to and why?
RA: Actually, the one I've heard the most is DC's 'Rites of Spring', but it's almost always some type of oldshcool DC hardcore. I think a lot of people will have to reconsider that though once they hear our new material. At times, I'd also like to somewhat agree with Art E. from Punk Planet who compared us to Avail... but I've always had a hard time comparing us to one band.
SS: Do you feel Rise Above fits to a standard archetype genre, or do you feel that your sound is quite dynamic?
RA: Not at all. We have hardcore songs, like you'll hear on Genesis, some more melodic hardcore, some just plain rock out songs, and (for lack of a better word) some more 'emo' songs that just carry a lot of passion. We've never restricted ourselves on what we play... if it feels good and we enjoy playing it, then it's us.
SS: Who else does the band consist of, and what are their duties?
RA: Sam kills drum heads, Eli belts out passion while playing guitar, Sean rocks the bass like a madman, and I play guitar while screaming my loud ass pseudo-harmonic backups.
SS: I also hear you have a website design business, can you expand on that?
RA: Basically, I enjoy designing websites so much that I've decided to kind of "expand my portfolio" by designing cheap, but professional quality websites. I got sick of seing kids charges $100 or more for a one page website that basically looks like third grade work... and it bothers me because people who don't know any better pay $1000 or more for something I wouldn't mind doing for $20. Well, anyway, it's called Chrysalis Development and Designs and we can do HTML pages ("regular pages"), ASP, some cgi, JavaScript and also Graphic Design -- like logo's and graphics (Eli helps with that, because he's bad ass at it). Honestly, the site isn't ready yet, but a link will be posted at www.rise-above.com as soon as it is. Honestly, if you have a band or small business and not a lot of money, you should really check it out.
SS: Do you have any other interests than the band?
RA: Web design is actually a hobby of mine (I know, I'm kind of a computer nerd), and I also like playing acoustic guitar and piano. Hopefully I'll be able to record some of my acoustic stuff someday.
SS: Is your band your #1 priority, or do you feel that you find other things more important? (Job, girlfriend, school, etc.)
RA: Actually, I have a beautiful and loving girlfriend that is and always has been the most important thing to me. I've been with her for well over three and a half years and have loved every minute of it. She is definitely my best friend and I would love to spend the rest of my life with her.... but the band comes in a close second.
SS: What is your most memorable show?
RA: A show we played at Eli's bar in the South Side (of Pittsburgh). We played with our favorite local bands 'The Logan Wish', 'Tabula Rasa', and 'Hooray! for Everything' who all rocked the house. It was a little cramped, but bad ass being so close to the crowd, and the energy just kind of surged through the place. Oh, but I forgot about the time when we played with "Planes Mistaken for Stars" who were just amazing...
SS: What do you feel is your favorite song to play live?
RA: 'The Past Pretense' which has a bad ass break that I love rockin out to, but also 'Candlelit Confessions' because I get to do a lot of vocals, and I love to sing... I think the voice is the most passionate musical instrument, and for me it's definitely the most expressive. (no matter how bad it sounds.)
SS: Do you have any other favorite local bands, or bands that you'd like to play with someday?
RA: My favorite local bands are probably the ones I've listed above that played with us at Eli's bar. I'd actually love to play with Avail, but I don't really have any good reason for wanting to... maybe because I've never seen them live and I've been listening to them for years. They would also seem to really compliment us as well. I'd also like to play with "Planes Mistaken for Stars" again though, because when we played with them the first time they just completely rocked my world and were really nice guys to top it off.
SS: If you could only have 5 CD's with you, which would they be?
RA: Bob Marley: (There's a really good Greatest Hits CD, but I can't remember the name), Boy Sets Fire: In Chrysalis, Grade: Under the Radar, Jimmy Eat World: Clarity, Sublime: S/T.
SS: Boxers or briefs?
RA: I prefer none at all...
SS: As a member of a prestigious band in the Pittsburgh area, you've probably been to a good deal of shows, do you have any unforgettable shows that you've seen?
RA: To be honest, I really only go to shows when I play (I'm not sure exactly why though) but the most memorable is definitely when we played with "Planes Mistaken for Stars."
SS: How do you feel about the underground scene at this point and time?
RA: Oh really, that thing is still alive? Someone poke it with a stick...(laughs)Actually, I've kind of lost touch with the 'scene' over the past couple of years. Now I just do want I want and don't worry about everyone else.
SS: Do you see a tremendous future with this, perhaps reaching the status of reaching stardom a little easier within the next few years?
RA: Anything could happen I guess, but I think we're all pretty content with just having a good time and being in the presence of really good friends.
SS: What do you feel about MP3 technology and music piracy?
RA: I think MP3's promote music more than they hurt it. You'll always have people who try to pirate it, but there will also always be people who burn CD's, just as everyone used to copy tapes. I'm really not concerned about it.
SS: Alright, switching gears, here in college (At the University of Pittsburgh), what are you currently studying?
RA: I'm working on two majors: one in Computer Science and one in Business Administration.
SS: Do you know the endeavors of the rest of the band at the moment, or are they undecided?
RA: Eli does Graphic Design at Robert Morris downtown (I can't remember the actual terminology for the major but that's basically what it is), Sam I'm not really sure about but if I had to guess I'd say Theology, and Sean is still a Junior at Baldwin High School -- so whatever they have him doing now.
SS: Any shows or albums coming up?
RA: We are working to record some of our new songs for a split CD and after that we'll start working on our first full length album. There aren't really any shows lined up for right now so that we can take a break and concentrate on some of this stuff.
SS: Would you like to make any closing words or give some "props" to anyone?
RA: Stay strong and positive...
SS: Thank you very much Jon, it has been a pleasure interviewing you.
RA: Word.
Okay folks, there you have it, a little taste of rock stardom. Check out Rise Above and see for yourself why these guys know how to really rock out.
- Adam Rauf |
