Interviews: This Gun For Hire

In this new occassion we have had the opportunity to interview the Post-Hardcore/Metal band This Gun For Hire, from Canada. Check out this band and give them a like on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?   

Idea for the band name was actually derived from when I (Tyler Burns) was watching a James Bond movie. Casino Royale, They mention “Gun for Hire” and that hit my ear really nice. I wanted to alter the name to be heard in the context that this band is sort of a sure shot. Something to be depended on as a reliable sounding band. We wanted our name to sound good. A sure thing. Like a hired gun we almost sound professional... almost haha. It’s also a little unconventional, sort of hits me more as a rock band name. Which is good in our eyes if we ever want to expand our musical territories in the future. At first glance you don’t really know what to expect when you read our name.   

2. Why did you want to play this genre?  

Post-Hardcore and Metal combined allow for A LOT of terrain for us to cover. Many different emotions are at play when we write. Ultimately isn’t that what writing music is about? Being able to express oneself. If we wanna write an absolute barn burner of a song we can. If we wanna write a soundscape piece thats really heartfelt we can too. This genre allows us to cover everything we want in music at this point in our lives. We have a fantastic pallet to play with. Our new record “Something a Little More Sinister” sure proves that.   

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?  

Shelby, Jake and I had previously been involved in a band that fell apart as it was getting started. Jake and I have been friends since High School. Other than that we met the other two through Craigslist adds and have been fantastic friends since. Writing music with your friends is way different than writing with “Coworkers”.   

4. Each band member favourite band?  

Tyler: Alexisonfire 

Shelby: Every Time I Die 

Mitch: Underoath  

Axel: Finch Jake- Tool       

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?  

There’s a lot lyrical content about personal experiences. As a whole and as individuals we have all been through a lot in our lives. Not all of it has been nice. But not all of it has been so terrible either. We write about everything that we experience. Just helps to get certain things off our chest and channel it into music that sounds like how we feel. We also write about politics, civil rights, destruction, chaos and disorder. There’s an interview with Maynard James Keenan from back in the day and basically he went along the lines of how Tool writes songs that cater to their own musical climaxes, rather than relying on other bands to do it for them. This is a perfect description of how we look at writing. Basically we write for ourselves. If we like it somebody else has to somewhere.    

6. Where was your last gig?  

The Red Room, Vancouver B.C. Canada. The Red Room is an incredible local venue in Vancouver. If you wanna feel like a rockstar for a night its always awesome to play that stage. Pro lights and sound make for a fun show.   

7. Where would you like to act?  

Being on the Warped Tour bill would be a bit of a surreal moment for us I believe. Being part of that festival would be such a sincere experience for us as its where all of our favorite bands have left their foot print.   

8. Whom would you like to feature with?  

If we were to feature a guest musician on anything I think it would be really cool to bring out Michael Froh from The Holly Springs Disaster. That guy is an absolute character and writing a song with him would be such a good time. I think it would be a killer collaboration, we really look up to those guys. If we were to play with any band, without a doubt opening for Alexisonfire would be monumental.      

9. Whom not?  

Axl Rose, we can’t afford the studio time to wait for his sorry ass to not show up.     

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?  

I had stage freight when I was in high school, I’ll never forget it, Jake was actually in my band at the time and we were set to play in the cafeteria at lunch break. I couldn’t sleep a wink the night before. Was absolutely terrified to play in front of everyone I knew. On display like that was difficult. But like anything a couple shots of Jack will loosen you right up. Just gotta take the plunge and roll with the punches. The reward is so great for playing an awesome show and its worth every second of being afraid of the stage.   

11. What bands have inspired you the most?  

As a collective group, bands like Alexisonfire, Underoath, Thrice, Misery Signals, Dead and Divine, The Holly Springs Disaster, Every Time I Die, Avenged Sevenfold. Those are the heavy hitters that we always seem to come back to when we write and try to emulate in our own way.   

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?  

This one time a fan brought us a really creepily drawn portrait of the band and asked for us to sign it before the show. We of course did in fear of the declined outcome. Slightly obsessive for the level that we’re at, but hey we’ll take what we can get.   

13. What do you think of your fans?  

Our moms have been extremely supportive thus far.       

14. What do you think of our site?  

Breathing the Core is an awesome site to discover new bands. The metal community is such an experience. Feels like a huge family and Breathing the Core delivers the goods on every level. Extending every bit one can get on the newest releases and coverage of bands. Hats off to them.    

15. Something to add?

Be sure to check out our First Single “Good Evening Deacon”, and our music video for the song”Infection”. Our debut album will be released on March 31st 2017. Thanks for checking us out. Don’t be scared to throw us a like on facebook ;)   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYS8izHD9hg&t=13s   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yzmajgdyTk