Ben Murray (Heartsounds – Epitaph Records)
Ben Murray from the Bay Area punk band Heartsounds and drummer for the former Death-Metal band Light This City (Prosthetic Records) joined me at NO WORRIES in Oakland for some dinner. Checkout the reviews page for more info on the restaurant and what we ordered.
Q: How are things at Epitaph and how did they approach you?
A: Things are great. Basically they heard our record. Somebody at the office was playing the record behind Brett (Gurewtiz)… behind Brett’s desk… and he heard it and I guess he liked it and he emailed us like that day. He emailed me, I got the email on my phone and I freaked out. A week later we were on a plane going down there to meet with him. I guess they liked us and we like them a lot… obviously. How could you not? In all honesty they really are rad people. They treat their bands really well and are genuinely caring. So…you know… the rest is kind of history.
Q: Tell me about Light This City (RIP) and how the musical process has changed since converting over to the punk genre.
A: Well the musical process is exactly the same. Towards the last couple Light This City records I didn’t write the whole thing I just wrote some of it but starting a band… a lot of it I did myself. As a fan [of punk] it was a seamless transition. It didn’t feel like I had to consciously say “ok write punk stuff “ or was writing metal riffs went “No, no no! You have to write punk!”. It was easy. I’ve been listening to punk all my life. Before I started listening to metal I was listening to punk so it was very easy and refreshing. A nice change of pace. I feel like I had a lot of ideas right away.
Q: It seems like you came up with everything pretty quick.
A: Ya it took like a year to write the entire record and record it. It was definitely easy… it wasn’t stressful.
Q: As well as the band you are a student at UC Berkeley. Are you ready for finals?
A: No. Not at all. I never am and I never will be… and I hate it. They always sucks. I get through them somehow but It ruins my life for a couple weeks everytime.
Q:In your experience with Light This City and Heartsounds, have you had any issues finding food on the road? Are you pretty easy to please?
A: Issues for me are issues that people don’t have. Like… I’ll want a burrito for four days in a row and if were in a town without a taqueria I’ll be upset. But in some towns in the Midwest and certain places the only option is Dairy Queen or some shit and I don’t feel like driving all around. It would probably be a better decision to drive around. But no we never have really huge problems. We’ve found a lot of awesome places which has been pretty cool. I enjoy food adventures on the road. I usually don’t dread going on tour because of the food.
Q: What’s an example of comfort food from your childhood and what kind of food have you gotten into more recently?
A: My family was never into traditional “comfort food”. We were never a chicken and mashed potatoes kind of family. [Thinking] I don’t know. This is my ultimate comfort food… its lunch! Like an amazing deli sandwich with good chips and a good drink. THAT makes me feel comfy and warm inside.
Q: And something more recently?
A: Indian food is probably the most recent obsession of mine. I can’t seem to get enough of it.
Q: You released Heartsounds first EP on your label Creator Destructor. What other artist should we be listening to that have releases on C.D.?
A: All of them! Haha. Recently…the band Seahaven is incredible. They’re going to do awesome things I have no doubt about that. Their EP that I released called “Ghost” is really good. The Gypsyhawk LP is incredible. For any fan of metal or rock in general… its undeniable. The At Our Heels record just came out and it’s really good. For fans of Converge and American Nightmare. What I’m about to release…in February…is a new record from Voyager from Massachusetts who are like ambient space-doom and they’re amazing. If you like Isis or Neurosis it will be your new favorite record. So all of it. All of it’s good.
Q: You’ve recently played shows with Alkaline Trio, Bouncing Souls, Bad Religion, Strung Out, and others…any big plans we should know about?
A: No. Non. We are taking the next few months to write the new record before we go into the studio in February.
Q: Are you going to be recording with Zach Ohren at Castle Ultimate again?
A: Yea. We love going back to him. We never have any problems. If it ain’t broke…
Q: How was your dinner?
A: It was good! It was wonderful. Good company. I’m not the most knowledgeable critic on vegetarian food , vegan food especially, but… that was quite tasty.
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