Interview With 'Elisium'
Firstly, introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be?
Hello! We are Elisium, a 3 piece Rock Band from Fredericksburg,Virginia, USA! We are a full time, independent band, supporting ourselves through music alone. It's tough! We have been a full time band for over 3 years now, and intend to continue!
What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?
For the 3 of us, it's always been our primary aspiration to play music. We had various jobs and things before going full time, but everything felt like something we were doing temporarily until the music gig became possible. It's still hard, we miss the paychecks, insurance, and stability of working life. But chasing your dreams has a price, and we are prepared to pay it.
Tell us about your latest Album and why our readers should check it out.
Our latest album "Shoreline" was released in the summer of 2015. It was recorded by Brett Hestla (former bassist of Creed) in Florida, and we are super proud of it! There are heavy tracks, mid-tempo tracks, acoustic tracks, lots of dynamic and atmosphere.
Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?
Good question! We had a chance to do an acoustic tour with Zach Myers, guitarist for the mega rock band Shinedown. He was the coolest dude, super approachable, lots of awesome stories to tell, and even invited me up on stage one night to sing with him. Really a great tour, and inspiring to see someone who ordinarily plays huge stages with massive production, doing stripped-down acoustic shows and being humble and extremely talented.
If we were to head out to one of your live shows what can ourselves and others expect?
Real music! And lots of energy! We pride ourselves in not tracking any of our performance, so the guitars, vocals, and drums you'll hear are being created live, right in front of you. Flaws and all. Today with computers on every stage, it's impossible to tell who's playing what. And many bands ARE faking it. We are just 3 guys, but we make a huge sound and play every show at 100%. Youtube us! We've been touring for 3+ years, there is lots of evidence online!
If you had one artist/band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?
Tool, for sure. Their live show has had such a profound effect on my overall opinion of live concerts, and the type of buzz that they have created without doing any of the typical mainstream band techniques. It would be the ultimate touring experience. For me, anyway.
You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why and what would you speak about?
Tough one. As much as it would be great to talk to one of the dead legends in music, I'd like to get some real, accurate, and relevant information about the industry right now. So, I'd pick Dave Grohl. If anyone knows about the story of Rock Music since the early 90's, it's him. And we need to understand how to get that kind of spirit to come back.
And finally and most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Possibly my 2nd favorite Christmas movie, Bad Santa is up there too. As well as the Muppet Christmas Carol.
We just want to say thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.
Website - http://www.elisiumrockshard.com
