(Unsigned)
Genre: Hard rock akin to Killswitch Engage or Last Winter.
Interviewed on: 8/29/08
From: Union County, NJ
www.myspace.com/summerkill
1.How did Summerkill get together?
Well Nick and James used to play in a band called Sublevel 7 back in 1999 to 2003 , throughout the years of playing, Nick crossed paths with Ryan , now the bass player of Summerkill. He was in a band called Lowklas . When Sublevel 7 split up, James decided to start up a new project , with two guitar players and a drummer. He then call Nick to see what his plans were. Ryan of Lowcklas had just left his band so Nick and him decided to work together . It was perfect: James needed Vocals and a bassist and we need guitars and drums, so we thought, “Hey lets try it!” Now, two original members are gone , guitarist was replaced by Ryan Stibz and our drums by Nick Zac. Ryan Stibz has been with us for about two years now and Nick Zac for about one year. Four years later after the start of the five band members that we put together, we have a strong band and have done some amazing shows with some sick acts for a local to be on , such as Lost Prophets, Kittie, Taproot, A day to Remember ect...
2. You guys a few weeks back played a sold out show opening for A Day To Remember (Victory Records), how did that go?
It couldn't have gone any better for us , their fans really gave us such a great response it was insane , most of them not knowing who we were screaming and pitting like we were the main act, it was sick. A Day To Remember is a pretty similar sound to our's , maybe the most similar to us then any other band so we knew the crowed was going to go for it , thank god they did it made the 900 degree show alot easier to play. It was so hot in the venue two girls passed out in the bathroom, but the energy and adrenaline kept us going and we played a great set. Just for the record, A Day to Remember is a pretty awesome group of guys besides being an awesome band , very chill and gave everyone the time of day with autographs and pitures. They were really cool with us as well. We had a blast and cant wait to do again.
3. The band has a very unique sound to it that's comparable from everything from Breaking Benjamin's melodies to Killswitch Engage's vocals, what are your influences?
We all have very similar influences. They range from Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for my Valentine, Story of the Year to stuff right out of the 80's like Skid Row, Motley Crue, and all the other awesome hair metal bands.
4. The song "City Lights" is a fan favorite and a very personal song to singer (Nick), you guys shot a video for it a little while back, what made you choose a video for that song in particular and where is all the concert footage from that is featured in the video?
Well , the video turned out nothing like we had envisioned it , we had talked about making a video for City Lights for a few months but never took the ideas past paper. We did a show at Gramercy Thearter in NYC and we had such great footage from the show. James decided that he was going to do a test run with some of the footage before attempting to shoot the real video we had originally planned on. Well he did such a good job we were like “Umm , wow dude thats awesome lets just keep this!” Once we get the label we’ve been searching for , were going to definately re-make the video and it’s going to be a pretty sad one at that. Nick had some pretty dark, but very good ideas, so we pray that a label picks us up so we can make the video happen ...
5. You guys are from New Jersey which is a traditionally known state for talented rock bands, is there any bands that you guys were hooked to when you were younger from NJ?
Oh yeah , we were big fans of 40 Below Summer and Ill Nino , in fact, we all use to play together before they were signed , so long ago Christian (vocals of Ill Niño) was on guitar back then, and they were called el Niño .We’re also were fans of Thursday and My Chemical Romance . Sucks that we’re not out there like them but that’s just how the cookie crumbles , but we’ll get there , the key is to keep on playing and making noise in the scene and someone will hear you . We hope!!!!
6. We saw that there are a few newer songs up on your Myspace, when can we expect a release date for the new album? Is it titled?
Well, the new album isn’t done yet, yes we did title it. It’s going to be called "New Breed Soldiers”, we would like to record five more new tracks before we release the album. We should be in the studio recording the five tracks sometime in October, due to a change in style, we really want to make the next few songs alot heavier but still have a “City Lights” and “Goodbye” type of sound , so were really working on that. We don’t want the new music to sound to far off of what we have now, but we definitely want it heavier. So what’s in the works right it totally awesome and different from what we have been doing and were diggin’ it ALOT!!!
7. You logo is very unique, who thought of the design and how did it come about?
Well this one could start with an argument between Nick and James, but the logo's idea stemmed from Nick, with James creating it. Nick will think of the design and James will create it on the computer. The Superman SK logo was the most recent one; we always wanted a logo that people would remember, even if they never heard of us before and we wanted a logo that people would wear whether or not they even like the music. The shirts sell everywhere to every one, we totally pulled off what we wanted which was a logo that everyone would know and recognize, now so people don’t get confused. On the back of the shirt, there is the little superman symbol but instead of saying superman going up the side of it, in the SAME font it says SummerKill. We really hope we get sued so from DC COMICS so maybe get a labels attention!!!
8. What is your favorite song to play live and why?
Hmmmm , I think “New Breed Soldiers” is a band favorite. It’s so easy to play and so freakin’ catchy, it’s a song we could just shred…on it’s awesome!!!!!!!!
9. What are you guys currently listening to?
Ryan bass like's alot of more melow stuff, he's a huge fan of Anberlin and Angels & Airwaves. Nick Zac is a fan of Carnivol and As I Lay Dying. James is a little more old school and listens to alot of Sevendust and Non Point. Ryan Stibz is a huge fan of Story of The Year and Bullet for My Valentine as well as Nick is a huge fan of Bullet. Nick is currently listing to alot of All that remains , Bullet 4 my Vallentine , In This Moment and everything in that genre .
10. What's next for Summerkill?
WE NEED A RECORD LABEL, as many shows as we can play and go to really, more promoting and some sick new music for your ears......
11. Any shoutouts?
Dude, we wanna shout out Wsou 89.5FM and That Guy the DJ there , thank you guys for all your help and support through the year's , Eric @ Axis lounge in NJ great people and venue , Campout of NJ for hooking us up with tour trailers all the time , Off Axis Studio's in Aberdeen NJ , All our friends who continue to show up at EVERY show thank you all so much our families for all their support . Hollywood Kills , Halogen , Croc Rock Cafe PA Tom Taylor , DAA promtions , Joey Jackie Mac , Keith always throwing it down , Shadows Lie , Thank you Lauren for reviewing this interview befor we sent it back and thank you Abilitees Unlimited for the awesome T-shirts we thank you all , NOW LETS ALL TAKE THIS TO THE NEXT LEVEL!!!!!
