Interviews: The Hiding Place

In this new occassion we have had the opportunity to interview the Post-Hardcore band The Hiding Place, from UK. Check out this band and give them a like on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

I love poet and artist William Blake, particularly his 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' - and what I love about that piece of work is the way there are contrasting poems from both sides that relate to each other and reflect the feelings of both innocence and experience. That's where the idea for the name 'The Hiding Place' came from, something that could be interpreted as childlike and innocent, or as something more sinister.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

Funnily enough a lot of people struggle to define our genre which is something we enjoy. We don't like to pigeon ourselves when making music, and people regularly call us post-hardcore or punk but we really try to subvert those genre as much as we can in terms of what people expect bands like that to sound like.

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

I used to be next door neighbours with the drummer Joe when we were little - then he went to school with Phil. We met Jonny and Ant when we got a bit older and had worked alongside each other in the local music scene.

4.Each band members favourite band?

Dom: AFI

Jonny: He Is Legend

Phil: Metallica

Ant: Stray From The Path

Joe: Deftones

5.Who or what inspires you to write songs?

Lyrically it usually depends on what's happening in my life at that time. The new single 'Are You Even There? for example started as a poem I wrote at a pretty shitty time in my life due to things happening to people i love, but as it developed into a song and things moved and changed with the situation the song has become less depressing for me and now kind of stands a symbol of hope to me.

6.Where was your last gig?

Our last gig was the final date of our tour with Dream State last month and was at the Alma in Bolton. Great venue who always make us feel welcome when we play! It was a fun night, made lots of new friends and probably drank a few too many beers after we played!

7.Where else would you like to play?

We're lucky to have toured the UK a number of times but we definitely are eager to spread our wings a bit more! There's always the dream to one day play America, but at the moment our sites are definitely set on trying to tour Europe!

8.Who would you like to pay with?

When we started this band there were two bands who we took big influence from and who we said it would be amazing if we ever got to play with them. One was He Is Legend and the other Circa Survive - and we ended up being lucky enough to support He Is Legend 2 years ago! It was an amazing night getting to play with someone who you respect musically so much, and the guys were really nice and have stayed in contact since. So i guess that leaves Circa Survive for who we'd like to play with! Maybe one day!

9.Who not?

Ha, well we don't really want to throw shade at any bands in particular but i guess there seems to be a bit of an epidemic of bands being in the news for disrespecting women at the moment - taking advantage of young fans etc. We hate that shit so I guess if you're one of those scumbag bands then we don't want to play with you - and you certainly don't want to play with us as we'll put you in your place!

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

Not really - we once played with letlive and the show was sold out, at the time was definitely the biggest crowd we'd played to and I remember thinking 'better not mess this up!' but not really stage fright as such. I think the key is having confidence in the music you're creating and playing - if you've put the time in getting the songs just right, taking to the stage should be easy.

11.What bands have inspired you the most?

We have a lot of diverse influences as a band, but one thing i think we all agree on is we really like it when a band create a vibe or atmosphere with their music, and this is something we try to do with THP. We don't feel the need to follow trends or to try to pander etc, we just hope that people appreciate our music for what it is - heartfelt songs played with passion. So in terms of what bands have inspired us- i guess i would say we're drawn to bands like Underoath and He Is Legend, and also bands such as Circa Survive, Thrice and AFI because these bands don't sound just like 'everybody else' but what they do is done with complete conviction and honesty.

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

Well we have a t-shirt design that was inspired by our last single 'Guts' that has the lyric 'I'll carve my name in the foreheads of everyone' with a picture of a woman with 'THP' carved into her forehead. On the last tour there were these kids at the show who wanted us to sign stuff for them and one of them bought that t-shirt and asked us to 'carve' THP into his forehead in black sharpie! It was pretty surreal - we took a photo of the guy and put it on our Instagram.

13.What do you think of your fans?

It's hard to not just throw clichés out here, but we honestly love our fans. You can travel to the opposite end of the country, your tired and grouchy from sleeping in the van the night before, and know you've got a show to play and you're just hoping some people will watch you play - but then when people show up wearing your t-shirts, and already know all the words to your songs, its just the best feeling ever and it makes it all worthwhile.

14.What do you think of our site?

Your site looks great! Easy to navigate, and a good mix of up and coming acts getting coverage!

15.Something to add?

Our new single 'Are You Even There?' drops on September 15th - if you're reading this, please check it out when it drops, share the video if you like it and add it to your playlists on Spotify etc!