Haste the Day Interview

The Gauntlet: How's the band doing?

Mike: Great, we just played Denver and now we are in Omaha. We got a little sleep, feeling pretty good. We had to drive all through the night. I think I'm getting better, but my voice hurts a little.

The Gauntlet: I hear there was a big announcement last night.

Mike: Yeah, it was a big night for Haste the Day. We finally made Stephen Keech the permanent singer. We decided to wait to do it in his home town to make it special for him. All his friends and family were at the show. It's exciting. Recovering from losing a singer is hard to do and Stephen is doing a great job. I think Haste the Day is sounding better than ever live.

The Gauntlet: I caught you guys at The Avalon in Hollywood. Stephen sounded great. I was wondering what was wrong with you guys for not making him a permanent member of the band.

Mike: We knew after the first couple shows he was the one. We decided to wait to make sure personality wise we could work together. Just the focus and that. We did Europe, a couple weeks of that and figured it would be fun to tell him in Denver.

The Gauntlet: So on the European tour you guys already knew?

Mike: Pretty much, pretty much.

The Gauntlet: Was there any type of interview?

Mike: We had a couple of other dudes in mind that just didn't really work out. We played with Stephens' band in Denver and watched him. Each of us got his phone number independently because we thought he was so awesome. That night was funny because we were all saying 'I got his number'. He was just the only one that really made sense to try out for Europe. He had experience with his local band, he had tour locally and had the vocal capabilities to sing and scream. He also has something different we want to explore on the new record. He can do Jimmy's vocals and also branch out and do some more solid stuff. To answer your question, there was no real interview process, it just made sense.

The Gauntlet: Nothing against Jimmy, but Stephens' screams seemed a bit more controlled, more in key.

Mike: He has a very unique voice. He is awesome. Nothing against Jimmy's vocals, he took us to a new level we thought we'd get to. It was just time for him to move on. Stephen is a great match and we are excited to see where that takes the band.

The Gauntlet: What type of energy does Stephen bring to the band?

Mike: The biggest thing is a renewed freshness and excitement to play shows. When we first started touring, everything was exciting and new. It didn't matter what was going on, we were just excited to be on tour. After 3.5 years you get a little tired of it. Bringing Stephen into the mix, he just brought this new excitement and appreciation to be on tour. It gave us a fresh perspective to who we are. That's the biggest thing Stephens brought to the group.

The Gauntlet: When you first heard Jimmy was out, did you have any doubts the band was done?

Mike: We were definitely a bit nervous. We didn't have any solid options til a month and a half before Jimmy's last show. We were nervous about the band not having a future. We had thoughts of splitting up and going our separate ways. God definitely provided us with Stephen.

The Gauntlet: What is Stephens' background?

Mike: He was in a band in Denver called 'New Day Awakening'. They are really popular in Denver. They have done a few small tours to the west coast. I think they got an offer from some label. Anyways, they were a serious local band trying to make it happen. We saw that in Stephen. He had a lot to do with the writing, he plays guitar very well, and plays drums. It's exciting and I can't wait to throw his musical talent into the mix. Yesterday, he was sitting in his bedroom playing the acoustic guitar and it sounded so Haste the Day. It sounded like something we'd want to explore on the next record. A darker melody, still catchy, but on the darker side. It was exciting because he's going to be able to bring something new to the table.

The Gauntlet: Is there any sort of initiation for him?

Mike: Not yet, but he'll get the worst prank of his life in the shower. I can't go into details, but he'll be initiated very soon.

The Gauntlet: Send him down 'the gauntlet' on Every Time I Die's tour bus.

Mike: What's that?

The Gauntlet: When you walk passed the bunks with your shirt off, they flick your nipples til they start chaffing.

Mike: That's awesome! He deserves it.

The Gauntlet: Is new material in the works?
Mike: We haven't really technically started. We have a couple parts and one song written. I thing after this Bleeding Through / Every Time I Die tour we'll take a couple months off and continue the writing process for maybe two months. The tone of the new stuff is a little more epic with darker melodies. It is still heavy and catchy. I think its definitely rocking. It will still be Haste the Day but with a new face. It's exciting to explore new directions with a new singer. We want to get the new record out as soon as we can. We want to keep kids interested and keep the new music coming out to them.

The Gauntlet: Right now you seem to have a decent release schedule with 15 months between releases.

Mike: We are hoping to do it again with 15 or 16 months. It depends, it depends on what tours get booked, when we can get into the studio, and the writing process. We are hoping to put it out sooner than later.

The Gauntlet: I hear there will be a DVD out soon of Jimmy's final show?

Mike: There will be footage of Jimmy's last show on the DVD, but that won't be the focus of it. It's not the focus of Haste the Day right now. We will have footage of us hanging out and goofing off.

The Gauntlet: Maybe I got the press release from Jimmy.

Mike: [laughs] We have no idea when this will come out. We have stuff in the making and are trying to figure out what stuff to put on there.

The Gauntlet: Will you be bringing back GGGarth or Ben Kaplan back to produce?

Mike: That is something we are talking about. We definitely like their work ethic and the way they made out vocals sound very polished. We are definitely talking about it though.

The Gauntlet: What does Haste the Day have to offer fans that is unique with all these hardcore/metalcore bands out there?

Mike: Well, the thing that is not so different but something we do well is the singing and melody. We also bring heavy and melodic music together. I think that's one of our strong points. Other than that, I think the biggest thing that sets us apart is the message of our music and the vibe behind it. We are a positive band. We are a group of Christian men who God called upon to translate a message into our lyrics. That is something that sets us apart from a lot of the other bands.


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Tags:  Haste The Day  , Mike - bass, interviews

Jason Fisher    February 23, 2006