Interview With 'Vital Noise'

Firstly introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be?

We are Vital Noise a Hard Rock/Metal band from Los Angeles, CA. Our line up consists of Andrew Wilmot (lead vocals/ guitar), Preston Wilmot (bass/ backing vocals), and Reid Campbell (drums).

Andrew: Preston and I are brothers and we have been playing music together since we we both very young. From super early ages we both developed a love for music and would always jam in each other’s bedrooms. Throughout our history, we’ve played with a lot of different drummers, but we met our current drummer Reid in 2018 and it was the perfect fit.

What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?

Andrew: Before this band, I played with several other bands as a young kid. For me, I’ve felt like music was my chosen path from the time that I was 2 years old, so this is definitely where my dreams and aspirations lie.

Preston: When Andrew and I started Vital Noise, I was only 11 years old so this is really all I know. I don't really have any other dreams or aspirations, I just want to be a professional musician in whatever form that may be. Prior to Vital Noise, I just did band classes at a music school in Los Angeles, which I felt really helped me hone my craft.

Reid: Before this band, I was Playing with other artists. I’ve played in a bunch of different genres, such as Alt Rock, Blues, Pop Punk, and Metal.

Tell us about your latest release and why our readers should check it out.

Andrew: Last year we released our very first self-titled album, after many years of writing and recording it. Some of the songs on that record were written from the time were were preteens, all the way up until last year. Our readers should check it out because I think it does a really good job of merging melody and heavy, something that we feel a lot of listeners would enjoy, and I also feel that there is at least one song on the album that everyone can relate to.

Who would you say is the band’s main songwriter or is it a group effort and where do you draw you inspiration lyrically and musically from?

Andrew: I am the primary lyricist, however we usually all chip in in the music writing process. Despite being the primary lyricist, Preston has definitely contributed in the lyric writing process as well.

Lyrically, I draw my inspiration from everyday life. Whether I’d be relationship struggles I’ve had, good things that have happened to me, bad things that have happened to me, etc.. Also, there have been many times where I just get what I feel is a catchy lyric or melody in my head and I expand upon it.

Preston: Our music writing process is very fluid. Sometimes we will start jamming and come up with a song on the spot, and other times one of us will get an idea for a song and share it to the other members so we can craft the song. We draw a lot of our inspiration musically from bands such as: Bring Me The Horizon, Beartooth, Alter Bridge, Metallica, Slipknot, Korn, and even artists like Post Malone.

As a band what do you believe is your greatest achievement to date and why?

Andrew: As a band, I feel that our greatest achievement was finishing our first record. It took a really long time to complete because we wanted to make sure that we could put together the best record we possibly could.

Preston: In my opinion, our greatest achievement as a band was when we performed at NAMM JAM 2017. We were asked by the House of Blues Music Forward Foundation to be the opening band for NAMM JAM 2017, a very high profile event as part of the NAMM show that year. We were so fortunate to play the show, and we got play on the same bill as Doll Skin, Like A Storm, and Buckcherry which was amazing.

Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?

Andrew: About two years ago, we played at show at the Roxy in West Hollywood, CA. While I was hanging in the club before the show, Dave Grohl walked in and I mustered up the courage to say hi and he couldn’t have been cooler. After the show, he personally came up to me and said how awesome we were. That definitely left me awestruck.

Preston: At NAMM JAM, all of the bands performing (with the exception of Buckcherry) shared a dressing room. We were able to meet Like A Storm. I had been a fan of Like A Storm for a few years before we played with them. Seeing them in person, I was so intimidated because I saw these guys as Rock stars. They ended up being the nicest people and we hung out with them for like six hours.

Reid: I met Slipknot, when I was a teenager, a band that I thought was so intimidating growing up. They ended up being one of the friendliest encounters I’ve had.

What do you enjoy most about touring?

Reid: The freedom of being on the road and experiencing new cities every day.

If we were to head out to one of your life shows what can ourselves and others expect?

Andrew: If you come to our shows, you can expect to experience a lot of energy, band your head, mosh and to just have a really good time.

If you had one artist/ band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?

Andrew: For me it would be Bring Me The Horizon. I’ve drawn so much inspiration from them over the years and think it’s awesome that a band who started out as a Deathcore band from Sheffield has been able to capture such a huge international audience and have the ability to play areas all over the globe, and it would be awesome to open on one of those tours.

Preston: I would want to go on tour with Slipknot. Slipknot is one of my top 5 favorite bands of all time. Going on tour with them would be a dream of mine.

Reid: I would either want to tour with Metallica, because they’re legends, or Parkway Drive because they’re my favorite band that’s close to our genre.

You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why, and what would you speak about?

Andrew: I would like to sit down with Paul McCartney. The Beatles are obviously one of the most successful music groups of all time, and I’d want to hear all the stories about how they wrote some of their biggest hits and just listen to all of the different stories he would have to tell about his momentous career.

Preston: I would like to sit down with Max Martin, who has written nearly every number one single from the past 20 years. I would like to have a conversation about his writing approach, how he is still able to create new music that sells millions of copies, and what his formula is for writing a number one hit.

Reid: I’d like to sit down with Matt Garstka or Joey Jordison. We’d talk drums and I’d probably ask about their band... lol.

And Finally And most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

Yes.

Website - www.VitalNoise.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/VitalNoise/