www.facebook.com/myownwillofficial
From: Detroit, MI
Sounds like: Metalcore
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “My Own Will” and is there any meaning behind it?
Danny and Kyle have been involved in the Michigan music scene for just over ten years now. They played in numerous bands together and toured the country multiple times, with moderately successful acts like All Hail the Yeti and Allura in their previous band Laid in Stone. I (Dave) joined up with the twins after trying out for LIS when their original vocalist quit the band in 2013. After numerous lineup shifts, LIS called it quits in 2015, and My Own Will was formed in November of that year, with Danny, Kyle, and I as the core members. The MOW sound was honed over the course of 2015 and 2016, as we wanted to play honest heavy music like the many bands we are fans of. The sound comes from our desire to make original yet aggressive metal/hardcore and spread as much truth as we can about the sorry state our world is in. The name was thought up by Danny, our drummer. It based on the ideal that we as individuals have the willpower to make decisions and follow through for the sake of our personal happiness and the path we choose to walk.
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
We want people to simply enjoy the music. We make music that we enjoy, so it means the world to us when people can enjoy it as much as we do. We want to be an outlet for the outcasts of the world, those that feel unwanted or that they don’t belong or don’t fit in. We touch on many controversial and dark topics with our lyrics, including the detrimental effects technology has on our lives each day, watching a friend succumb to drug abuse, the sorry state our world is in, and much more.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
We would describe our sound as aggressively and honestly heavy.
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
The main band we would love to tour with would definitely be The Acacia Strain. They were the biggest influence on our sound when we first started this project. Other bands we would love to tour with would be Fit For An Autopsy, Impending Doom, and Killswitch Engage.
5. What are your three desert island albums that you'd never get tired of listening to?
I can’t speak for the twins, but for me the three albums I would absolutely need on a desert island would be Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels, The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage, and Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty. RTJ 2 because it is the best hip hop record I have ever experienced, and KSE because that band was crucial to my metal fandom that began in high school. Matchbox Twenty would be my guilty pleasure record, as I think Rob Thomas has the most powerful voice in modern pop music today. I don’t care how unmetal it is to like MT. Fight me.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metalcore?
I’m my personal opinion, it is very hit or miss. Metalcore is a rather large umbrella genre label, very similar to nu metal in the late 90s/early 2000s. There are bands like Varials and Kublai Khan who are bringing back the old school Bury Your Dead sound that kicked ass back in the 2000s. I love that sound. But there is an over saturation of heavy verse/clean chorus formula bands, and I think they are starting to fizzle out.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Michigan both locally and state wide?
The music scene is also very hit or miss. We have played shows in small rooms where 50 people feels like 500, which are always awesome shows. But then they are also shows where a room that can hold 500 people only draws 10 people. Promoters around us have adopted the “you sell tickets and I do absolutely no promotion” mentality, which is unfortunate. A couple of promotion companies we work with, MRB Inc. and On the Way Booking to name a few, have started to disregard this mentality and are handling actual promotional work the way it is supposed to be handled. It’s refreshing, and that’s why we love working with those guys.
8. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
Quite frankly, I was stoked to see our music being shared on direct download sites and torrent websites because we are being noticed across the globe. It was very flattering for me, as I spent half of a decade downloading music this way myself. The way I see it, if you like our music, I don’t care how you get it. Legal or illegal, it doesn’t matter to me so long as the people have access to it. It would be nice if the pirates purchased the record if they enjoy it, but I’m not sweating the 30 cent loss. We make our money at shows, so if you really wanna support MOW as a unit, come throw down at a show!!!
9. What’s next for My Own Will?
My Own Will is going to continue to write and release the most honest and heaviest music from the south east part of Michigan. Heretic is still gaining traction, and we have been getting really awesome opportunities because of it, so who knows what the future has in store for us. But expect at least another single before the end of the year, and a few tours here and there throughout 2017.
10. Any shoutouts?
We would like to thank our friends and families for the constant support. We have an amazing support system that really drives us to take this band as far as it could possibly go. Most importantly, we want to thank our fans. You guys continue to amaze us with your unrelenting support of our dreams, and we can’t express enough how much we appreciate each and every one of you. See you all on the road!!!
