Wes' Interview with "Burn Your Ears"

Hi. My name is Kai and im writing for the german webzine www.burnyourears.de

1. Please introduce yourself and your band to our readers.

Wes: My names Wes Fareas. I’m the singer and guitar player of the band. The others are Bobby Gibbs on drums and Jeremy Fareas on bass.


2. Whats the story behind NAME? How did you guys meet and did you know from the start, what kind of Music you wanted to play?

Wes: Our bass player, Jeremy, and I are brothers, so we’ve been playing music together for as long as we can both remember. I met Bobby freshmen year of high school. He was literally the first person I met at the school and in the town. From there, we go to talking about music, found a lot of share influences, decided to jam one day. I brought up my brother played bass, brought him out, and the rest is, as they say, history.


3. Whats the story behind your bandname? Getting tired of being asked that question?

Wes: With that band name comes the acceptance that we’re going to have to explain its origin more times then we could possibly imagine, haha… Anyways, I had the name for a long time. I was sitting on it with plans to use it at some point. After our high school bands dissipated, we formed with the original members, being us 3. We had toyed with names that would’ve made sense to our state of mind. It took a lot of trial and error, but when the name “name” was thrown into the mix, it just made to much sense to not have that be our moniker.


4. Did you ever feel the need that maybe more band members would be needed? You guys do such crazy shit as a three-piece…

Wes: We have mostly been a 4 piece throughout the bands career up until the record was recorded. We liked the aesthetic of it being a bare bones approach. But after going through more guitar players then we’d like to admit, I just took the responsibility into my own hands. I had a lot to do with the writing and arranging anyways, so it wasn’t that big of a change for me. The live aesthetic is definitely a different feel, but I enjoy it.


5. How come, you guys mix hardcore and Metal with Blues or Jazz? Does that happen organically or do you try to mix different styles on purpose?

Wes: It happens very organically. We never set out to make anything “out there”. It was never an intention to re invent the wheel, by any, means. We were very young when we started this band, mind you, so we weren’t aware of what was happening outside our realm. We just enjoyed different styles of music and thought ‘why not incorporate everything we’ve enjoyed listening to?’. Even the more straight forward bands we enjoyed always had a very wide sound. Heavy to soft and what not. It was just incredibly natural. As times went on, we kind of toned that experimentation into what you hear today.


6. You guys are on a german label and as far as myspace goes you seem to like war from a harlots mouth and the oceon. Ever been on tour here?

Wes: Not yet, we definitely plan to. We haven’t had the fortune of playing with WFAHM yet, but we did do some dates with The Ocean and they blew me away. A refreshing aggressive band for this day and age of stagnant heavy music.


7. There are some parts on the record, where its sounds, as if you guys had little problem, screaming the vocals. Did you ever think about getting a vocalist for live-gigs, that’s doesn’t have to play instruments at the same time?

Wes: I honestly don’t know which parts you’re referring to. To be honest, the screaming parts on the record were incredibly easy to track in the studio. The difficult parts were the clean vocals. We had spent a lot of time recording an organic record musically, that it slightly cut into my vocal tracking time. I felt slightly rushed in that process and definitely wish I had a bit more time. Next time we record, we’re making it a point to have sufficient amount of time to track all forms of vocals. Live though, I have managed to pull off guitars and vocals at the same time without problem.


8. Lets Play with your lyrics: Taken from “Dave Mustaine” : with Songs would you kill the world?

Wes: The central meaning behind that line is that music as an unrelenting power that people often underestimate. It truly has capabilities of destroying the world if it felt fit to. It’s just a line to show my appreciation for the art form, the language, the almost “other worldly” entity that is music.


9. Taken from “Avaler LÓcean”: In which city do you wanna die or be buried?

Wes: I don’t know what you’re talking about actually, haha. I literally don’t even use the word “city”. So, to answer your question… I don’t know, haha… The song is about someone falling in love with the ocean and eventually finding ruin in it instead of comfort. So, I guess I’d like to be swallowed by the ocean.


10. Taken from “Charmer”: What are your most “glorious failures”?

Wes: The line isn’t referring to my personal failures. Its referring to the sordid state of music and bands that have been popping up everywhere. When I say “you young cowards… you glorious failures” I’m directly and openly saying most bands are flat out fucking cowards. So many bands nowadays are afraid to do what they want musically. They fear criticism and adaptation and rely on what is “in” at the moment. It’s definitely the angriest song I’ve ever written and by far one of my favorites on the album. The lyrics are way more direct then most of the lyrics on the record. But, it’s also nothing to unique. I’m just another writer projection his disgust.


11. Can you explain the Cover to me?

Wes: The album in itself is basically a funeral for music. A tounge-in-cheek reference to the current state of the music industry. The cover just reinforces that concept. We wanted to show a somewhat obsolete instrument outside of orchestral/classical music. By adding the spine to it, we shows a more organic reference to music and it’s decay. We chose a light color scheme because we’re personally getting tired of metal records always having to be “dark and brooding”. It also shows another somewhat sarcastic trait in our personalities by showing there is a way to make an aggressive record with a dark, in nature, theme without it being straight black with fire on the cover.



12. Famous Last Words?

Wes: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about the record. Hopefully you enjoy it and hopefully so do the readers. If you haven’t purchased “Internet Killed The Audio Star” today, give something new a chance and pick it up off Itunes, Amazon or your local record store. It’s released in both North America and Europe, so there isn’t any reason as to why you can’t find it. It’s an honest record written and recorded by 3 guys who are head over heels in love with music. A record made for true music appreciators and supporters. Also, keep in touch with us through all our forms of networking. Myspace.com/name, Facebook.com/nameband, Twitter.com/name. Check back with us and find a date near you. Cheers.


Thank you for your time and your answers
Best of luck with the record

Wes: Thank you


Kai / www.burnyourears.de

Bobbys Interview with "Metal Team UK"

Name Interview questions for www.metalteamuk.net

Hey guys, cheers for the interview! First of all, introduce yourselves, and answer this burning question: why did you name yourselves Name?

What's up man, this is Bobby the drummer. You know my favourite thing about the fact that our name is simply "Name" is that it doesn't confine us to any musical limitations whatsoever. When you read it it's not gonna remind you of gore metal or pop-punk or anything. That's sort of its main purpose, to keep things less about gimmicks and more about art.

How would you describe your music, and how would you say it fits into the current metal scene?

We generally describe our music as simply "heavy music." And music doesn't have to be metal to be heavy. Obviously we incorporate a great deal of screaming and hi-gain, but that's really just one side to us. Everything we do, we do for the most part with extreme intensity, even if it's ambient or a jazz piece. That's more what we mean by "heavy". In regard to how we fit into the current metal scene, I don't really think we've even been looking at things in terms of particular "scenes." We've had the privilege of sharing the stage with a lot of awesome bands, and not all of them were metal bands. Because of the variety on our record, we've been able to adjust our set list as necessary for the type of tour it is. Now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps the metal scene may be the most welcoming of our music because they are of course more tolerant of things like screaming and more elaborate time signatures. So to answer your question, I suppose it, well, fits nicely??................?.............8=è

How did you arrive at where you are now - what sort of bands did you play in before Name, and how did they lay the ground work for Name?

The 3 of us have actually been playing music together on and off for 10 years. Jeremy and I spent a huge portion of our teenage years studying jazz and really focusing on trying to soak in as many styles as possible on our respective instruments. We've also all been in so many different types of bands growing up, including grunge, acid rock, fusion, etc. Kinda hard to take all of that and make something boring haha

What have been your biggest inspirations for what you do? The review I did picked out everything from Dillinger Escape Plan to Jaco Pastorius...

Just really everyone and everything we've ever seen and heard in our lives. DEP and Jaco were definitely big for some of us. But it's hard to list people because of course you listen to so much music in your life that it's difficult to determine which artist inspired what particular action for you. So I guess I'll just say "life" is our biggest inspiration..too cliché? Fuck...

How much of a challenge is it to write your songs? You really do seem to push yourselves as musicians and songwriters...is that something you keep in your consciousness for when you write?

I actually wasn't even in the band when many of those songs were beginning to take shape. But once we have the basic skeleton to work with (usually consisting of guitar riffs and lyrics), the 3 of us get together and really just do whatever the hell we want with it. Of course we push ourselves, but not awkwardly. We don't tell ourselves that we need to keep the bar up, because if you're a real musician, you're ALWAYS growing. You stop growing when you die. I'll probably be writing my best stuff when I'm in my 90's. You're damn right I just said that. BOOSH.

Onto to your album... There are some very interesting song titles there, but the album title "Internet Killed the Audio Star" suggests an overarching theme on the changing nature of the music business. What is your take on how the internet is changing the way bands operate?

I think the internet has made it so much easier for an artist to be heard. Many bands have been discovered and experienced great success from just internet promotion. But it's of course forcing the bigwigs to change their tactics as well. The days of signing that golden record contract and going platinum are coming to an end. This is of course due to illegal downloading, which is sorta the tounge-n-cheek meaning behind the album title. People aren't buying records anymore. It's more about the live show now than it ever has been, which is awesome for us because that's always been our bread and butter. Nowadays if you want to make music your career, you HAVE to tour. A LOT. The albums that you make are now simply promotion for your live show. But hey, just don't suck live and it won't be a problem ;)

Was it a difficult process recording "Internet Killed the Audio Star"? You had a relatively long gestation period of 4 years - was it difficult to keep focus during this time, or was it necessary for the music?

I think a little of both. One major reason it took so long was that Name went through so many members over the past 4 years, myself included. I've been in and out of this band 4 times for various reasons. In fact the musical chemistry between the 3 of us may have been a major reason for the delay of this record, because I kept leaving, ironically after each recording session I did with them. The record would've sounded awkward if it was me on a few tracks and some other drummer on some other tracks and so on. But that's just from my perspective. I can't speak for them but I know that some of the tracks were written recently, which means that they wouldn't have been on the record if it weren't for the delay, whatever the cause was.

How do you find the reaction from audiences when you're playing live?

The feedback we've been getting has been incredibly positive. People are far more open to the variety on the record than we could've ever hoped.

This'll be the last question, so thank you for your time. Now the album's out almost everywhere - and hopefully being bought by everyone - what's next for Name?

We intend to tour behind this record for a long time. We may release an EP later this year or early next year. But we wanna put the majority of our effort into promoting the hell out of this record, so see ya on the road!

http://www.myspace.com/name

Steve Jones

Jeremy breaks down 'Empathic Communicator', 'Dave Mustaine', 'My Sweetheart, The Whore' & MORE w/ "Neckbreaker" webzine

-Hey Guys, how are you doing? I am writing for the german webzine called "Neckbreaker". So, at first: Please introduce this three-piece called "NAME".

Jeremy: We're a band from San Francisco, California. Consisting of myself (Jeremy Fareas) as the bassist. My brother Wes Fareas on guitar and vocals, and Bobby Gibbs on drums. Us 3 have been playing music for 10 years together and put together "name" since 2003. We're a band that is trying to revive integrity in music and show as much conviction as 3 guys in a band could.

-I rated your CD "Internet Killed The Audio Star" with 8 of 10 Points. I was quite stunned of all the musical influences you assimilate in your music. I guess you listen to all this different music styles also in private? What are your favorite artists of Jazz, Blues and the other extraordinary styles?

Jeremy: Aw..this question, I could literally post 7+ pages full of noteworthy artists/bands, but I can pull out a select few that we put in constant rotation, we're very much into artists such amazing jazz guys like Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Count Basie, Jaco Pastorius, and outside of that a lot of Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny, and Stu Hamm. We listen to A LOT of Tom Waits, for he gives us so much inspiration every time we listen to him. Wes frequents a lot of female vocalists like Sade, and Scarlett Johansson, also Massive Attack, Telepopmusik, Portishead and Ceú. Then we have our abstract listens like Zu, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Sigur Ros, Zombi, and The Bird and the Bee. Right now I'm really into The Dead Weather, Atoms For Peace, Jay-Z and Old Crow Medicine Show. I had a chance to see them at the Coachella festival, and all of it was brilliant. Most of the time we really don't listen to heavy music. We like to gather our inspiration from the oddest of places.

-How long took the songwriting process for "IKTAS"?

J: We took the span of 4 years to write this record. But not all the songs took that long. We're so incredibly meticulous with our sound that sometimes it'll take months to write 15 seconds worth of material, and other times it'll take a day to write 2 songs. Everything we do has to be felt and not forced. For example we had our song "Spark of Divinity" written for 7 years, but we re-worked the song to make it have more life than ever. And the last 3 songs on our album we wrote in a matter of 2 days, and worked out beautifully. We took a chunk of time to gather a lot of material we had and the songs that have been completed to make sure that they were up to our satisfaction. Like I aforementioned, we are our worst critics, so we needed make sure we were 110% happy with what we had.

-Coming to the title of the CD. This reminds me of the BUGGLES-Classic "Video Killed The Radio Star" and I think this is not casually. On the one hand you're right because a lot of music listeners don't have the original CDs (or even Vinyl) of the interpreters on their rack but use digital media on iPod, Handy etc. But on the other hand, the distribution of music is much faster via internet and a band may reach more people. What's your opinion about this matter?

J: Well the title is a play off of the Buggles song. But for us, the title of the cd marks the end of a generation, and the start of a new, ambitious, and uncertain future. That song "Video Killed The Radio Star" at the time was describing how times were changing and how different forms of media were coming into fruition, and it left people wondering what was going to happen with their music. Well, fast forward a couple of decades and its history
repeating itself. The way we hear and receive new music is completely different now then it ever has been. Everything in media is so accessible, and so fast. Everyone is connected at once, and its both positive and negative. Positive being that some independent artists are receiving credit where they rightfully should and is helping people find new music or discover genres they wouldn't normally listen to. At the same time, especially with bands, is that they rely too much on their myspaces, or digital downloads and forget how essential it is to tour and make your art come alive.

-What's the story behind "Empathic Communicator" which is parted in four tracks?

J: I researched the concept of "The Empathic Communicator" and discovered some amazing information pertaining to the mind and how it processes its own ideas. The mind is apparently split into 4 states of consciousness and I thought it would be an incredible way to play on this theme. So I gave the idea to Wes, he loved it. I really wanted to write a 4 part song, giving 4 individual identities to one centralized theme. I had some general ideas sonically where I wanted to go. Wes helped gather a lot of transitions into play to have it make more sense. He also really ran with the concept lyrically and created this whole story, all nepotism aside, I thoroughly enjoy his lyrics and really loved what he did with this song. It definitely gave the songs more life. We split up the tracks into 4 parts because collectively its almost 23 minutes, so for the sake of the listener's attention span, it was easier to make 4 separate tracks to have the listener go to the song pertaining to the mood they were feeling at the time. It was definitely one of the most exciting and challenging pieces we've ever worked on.

-One track is entitled "My Sweetheart, The Whore". Did one of the bandmembers have bad experiences with women?

J: No. Haha, but good question. Wes's lyrics are very cryptic and never usually to be taken for face value, which is why they make for interesting and thought provoking reads. The title of the song basically shows duality, not necessarily love, or passion in any regard.

-What can you tell about the song "Dave Mustaine": Is it a homage or a malapropism for the legendary MEGADETH-Frontman?

J: I'll give the rundown on that title, it seems to create a lot of confusion. Everytime we put a song into motion, giving it a basic structure and what not, we give the songs working titles of Sigourney Weaver movies (this is no joke by the way), we do this because its easier trying to come up with a working title, and also because Sigourney Weaver is fucking brilliant. So that song had the working title "Dave"...after the song was completed and we had written this very serious metal song with this completely almost inappropriate dance part at the end of the song that made it seem a bit silly. We enjoy that kind of feeling haha. But I believe we watched the "No More Mr. Nice Guy" video from Megadeth and what we saw seemed to make sense for the song. That video is incredibly corny and seems wildly out of context and doesn't make sense for Dave Mustaine, because he's supposed to be this serious metal musician, but had this very un-serious video and you couldn't help but laugh at it. So it just stuck. We like it, and its neither an homage nor insult to him.

-Will there be a chance to see you in Europe on stage?

J: Well our album was just released in Europe on April 19th, and this year we hope to be out there very very soon. We thank all of you for the amazing responses and support and we can't wait to see all of your wonderful faces, just so we can blowtorch them off with our music. Until then, thank you for this interview and thank you to all the readers.

-Thank you very much for answering these questions, the last words are yours:

J: Anyone who has taken the time to listen to our music or to try and understand where we come from musically, we appreciate all of you. Your support means everything to us. Please help support independent artists all over the world, and go to shows, discover new music on your own. Gather inspiration from odd places, you'll never know what you'll find or how they will affect you. I'll get off my soap box now, thank you all.

-Take care, Brix

Wes sits down w/ "Rock Tribune Magazine" about the social networking sites, art, the comparison game w/ DEP & BTBAM, and a Korn referance

xINTERVIEW for Rock Tribune magazine - NAME

Off course it's a cliché, but it is also the most logical question for a band that is new to our ears:

Can you give us a short description of what this band stands for, the history and so on? What do we need to know about the band Name?

Wes: We're a band based out of San Francisco, CA consisting of myself on vocals and guitar, Bobby Gibbs on drums and my brother Jeremy Fareas on bass. The 3 of us have been playing music together for over 10 years and have remained steadfast in our music regarding always creating the music we enjoy hearing. The heartbeat of this band is that we are artists and truely care about what we're doing. Our music is an amalgam of everything we've ever enjoyed and respected involving music, film, literature, etc. We are trying to restore honesty in music and so far, we feel we've succeeded.

Apparently, NAME is not just the band name but also an acronym. What does it stand for and what does it mean to you?

Wes: It stands for "the new approach to
martyrs expressions". The name is self explanatory in a way, but it was meant as a statement that we believe in what we're doing and the moment that changes, we'll be dead. It seems like integrity has been replaced by a nervousness to cross boundries like bands used to. We're trying to revive that approach to music as much as possible.

Is there also a statement with the fact that you go for such a vague 'name'? Did you take inspiration from the punk rock band No Use For A Name who also seemed to kind of mock band names (or disguise a lack of inspiration)?

Wes: Actually, none of us listen to them, we're familiar with them, but in no way did our name derive from them. To be honest, we enjoy fucking with people. As serious as we take our music, there isn't much else we take too seriously, so calling ourselves "name" is kind of tounge-in-cheek. Like it or hate it, you don't forget it.

Sometimes you know what to expect musically just from a band name, but you obviously can't with your band. Was that also an aspect you considered?

Wes: Definitely. Going by "name" showcases our personality, I suppose. It sort of forces you into a position to listen for yourself, rather then assume what we sound like. Its not hard nowadays to premptively pin point a bands sound based off the name, almost as if they're trying to make that happen. Thats just incredibly dissappointing.

On to the most important thing: the music! If I have to describe the sound of 'Internet Killed The Audio Star', I can't get around the term 'math core' and I would point out The Dillinger Escape Plan and Between The Buried And Me as references. Could you agree with that, are those bands you like or are inspired by? I can imagine it being a boring question to you, but I always like to get a feel for the influences of a band.

Wes: Its not a boring question at all, it allows us to speak out about the comparison game. Both The Dillinger Escape Plan and Between The Buried and Me are amazing bands and incredible people. All of us in the band are fans of both groups, and similair groups within the "mathcore" genre. But, we are not directly influenced by them. We know some of them personally and what we've gathered is we are all influenced by the same bands, which would make sense to the similair styles. The artists of the past have created a slew of musicians these past 15 some odd years within a relating realm, including DEP and BTBAM. Actually, they do inspire in a way. They help us feel confident in the fact that honest, aggressive music can find a home. As a new band, we can only offer ourselves as the next generation.

Off course, there is more to your album than that - and I definitely consider the comparisons to those bands as a compliment because I love the fact that they always evolve and incorporate so many musical styles in their sound. Where do the diverse influences in Name come from: do you all listen to music ranging from metal and hardcore to jazz and blues and post rock and so on?

Wes: I could take up hours of every readers time going into all the bands we're inspired by. But, what I can say is that as long as any of us can remember, we have been fans of some many different styles of music it almost seems unrealistic. We never saw it as odd that we could listen to Dave Brubeck, Cannibal Corpse, Depeche Mode, Sade, Soundgarden, Tom Waits, Jean Carlos Jobim, Napalm Death, Failure, The Allman Brothers, Refused, Sinatra and Bjork all in one sitting. There are others who don't see that as weird either and we find those are the ones who appreciate what we're trying to do.

One of the tracks that surprised me most, is the second one on the album 'My Sweetheart, The Whore' because for some reason I hear some Korn and System Of A Down like elements - which evokes some nostalgic feelings J. I am especially impressed by the part where there's just some cymbals and whispering: there are not many 'heavy' bands who have the guts to go 'quiet'. Did you even think about that or does that come very naturally for Name?

Wes: That song actually came really naturally for me to write musically and lyrically. Not at all influenced by Korn and S.O.A.D though, haha. Although Korns first 2 records fucking destroyed. As far as the cymbal part, that seriously was just Bobby and I throwing out the idea and making it happen. We just felt it added to the unique personality of the song. There are parts like that throughout our album, but it all came naturally. We don't set any boundries for ourselves whatsoever, so we never look at it as crossing a line, thats just who we are.

The latest album of The Dillinger Escape Plan is a true masterpiece in my humble opinion. It shows a band that has evolved immensely and matured into a very accomplished band, the album ebbs and flows naturally. I really do LOVE 'Internet Killed The Audiostar' but it is not on the same level YET, because while the songs are good they are also very different and they do not necessarily form one cohesive unit (some songs sound like they could be from different bands). Could you agree?

Wes: I understand what you're saying. We are aware of the fact that our album has tracks that differ from each other entirely, but we wanted to portray the record almost as a soundtrack. We wanted to showcase different styles, but authentically. That's a major underlining standpoint with us: authenticity. If we're going to do something, we're going to do it right and with complete conviction.

I assume 'Internet Killed The Audiostar' is an obvious pun on 'Video Killed The Radio star' and if that is the case, I understand what you're saying. On the other hand, I do not completely agree because I don't think internet killed audio stars at all - on the contrary, some have thrived. However, if you would have said something like 'Internet killed the music industry / album star / major labels' . What's your opinion on this? Do you want to expand on this?

Wes: We always like to shed light on this. First off, the title in itself is very tounge-in-cheek. Since 'Video Killer The Radio Star' was the beginning of a new musical era, we offer 'Internet Killed The Audio Star' as a title to the new era, which is something we're all aware of as an unevitability. True, the internet as helped an overwhelming amount of artists, more specifically new artists, but we feel you should use the resources as a tool, not a dependancy. Use the tools given to spread the word and make yourself more accessible to those who wouldn't otherwise have access to your band, but don't base all actions off how many Myspace friends you have. It seems as though integrity is a lost art.

Art in general seems to be very important to Name. Do you express yourselves in different ways than music? Are you for example very involved in things like artwork and layout for the cd, merchandising, website or profiles on social networking sites?

Wes: Of course. On top of Name, we keep ourselves incredibly busy musically. Always writting and exchanging ideas, even without a definite intent with the songs. I tend to write a lot of short stories, free writes, etc. The written word is incredibly facinating to me. As far as being involved with other aspect of the band, yes, we are incredibly involved. We worked very closely with our good friend Mike Stitches on the artwork for the album. We have worked with him in the past for many years, so it just seemed natural, being that we knew we worked well together. Every bit of merchandise or website design we have had has stemmed from a concept or scheme we already had in our heads. As a band, we are aware that anything and everything involved with us reflects on another, so we make sure we are projecting our ideals and personalities in ways other then just music.

A couple of years ago the main topic for discussion was about the whole downloading thing. These days phenomena such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and the likes are omnipresent. I guess you can't deny the fact that these are really helpful tools for any band, but what is your personal stance? I have always refused to make any profile because it all feels very artificial to me and I would feel like I'm not making genuine connections with others but a lot of people say it's exactly the opposite.

Wes: They have been incredible tools for us, but like I said before, they are tools. It allows our fans to stay connected with us. So they can stay updated with shows, new merch, new songs, or just having an open forum on whatever we found funny that day. We enjoy being able to share ourselves with our fans other then them listening to our record. We're fun guys and enjoy meeting fun people. Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter and all helped push that ideal to a bigger platform. Touring, getting out there, is the way to make it really happen, not just comments or a friend count. This just allows us to stay connected to those who truely care about what we're doing. It is incredibly upsetting to see those who base their lives off of these social networking sites. Theres an overwhelming illusion that these websites dictate real life and thats where we say things are going terribly wrong. I feel these are just good outlets for artists on any platform.

Feel free to add anything you want to get across if you feel like the questions did not cover everything you would want to talk about.

Wes: I think if anyone wants to know more, take a chance with an open mind and listen for yourself. Come to a show and strike up a conversation. It's the only way you'll know for sure. We're incredibly honest guys just trying to show this stagnant state of music that their are options in life. Check out our new record "Internet Killed The Audio Star" and there will be something for everybody on that compact disc. Stay in touch with us on your favorite social networking websites such as Facebook.com/nameband, Myspace.com/name, and Twitter.com/name. Come hang out with us at an upcoming show in your area. Pick up the album at your favorite record store or digital web store. Support honest music.

Thank you for taking time to do this!

Wes: Thank you so much for your time. I had a lot of fun and I hope I answered all your questions.

Your album is very impressive and I am very curious to where all this could lead in the future.

Wes: Sincerely, thank you so much and you'll definitely be hearing a lot more from us, I guaruntee it.

Joris Smeets

Jeremys Interview with "Stormbringer.at"

1. How did you come to the idea of mixing so many different genres by still playing mathcore?

Jeremy: I don't think we ever set out to be so eclectic with our sound, it was and has always been a natural progression for us. We just believe that we shift ideas, thoughts, moods from day to day, and that's just the way we approach our music, its always interesting to see how a song we start to cultivate together turns out completley different from the initial "intent". Of course, we love the aspect of heavy music and the endearing feeling of hearing a powerful song that moves you, whether It'd be through intense guitar work, or down tempo shifts. But sometimes you just have to yell at someone to get their attention nowadays, hence the screaming in our songs. Haha. Also with the "mathcore" term, its funny because I'm the only member in the band that's pretty decent at math. Haha.

2. Which bands do you like the most? Did these ones inspire you?

Jeremy: We've always admired and respected the work ethic of bands from the late 60's early 70's. Bands like Led Zeppelin and Yes, they were so ahead of their time for what they did. They could have a complete metamorphosis of their songs live and turn a 6 minute song into a 30 minute opus because they felt it was a natural thing to do. Also the idea of that time period was to tour until you're almost dead. Led Zeppelin never had a myspace, the accessibility to the world was only through shows, or if your friend played you the record. Definitely an admirable work ethic.

3. What do you like more? The quiet or the aggressive parts of your songs?

Jeremy: Honestly, I don't want this to be a cop out, but I'm pretty proud and love most of the material that we come up with. We rarely repeat or reprise anything in our songs, so our songs become these movements or constantly shifting parts that move so fluidly, you'd almost have to rewind a part to fully grasp what's happening. I can say though, I'm a big fan of parts of our songs that feel so powerful (not necessarily "heavy") that make you want to grab your chest as if someone punched you. For example the end of our song "Charmer" or the end of "Your Sun Machine, Your Space Embracer". Those are a couple of segments in those particular songs that I always enjoy hearing and playing.

4. How important is a good performance to you during a concert?

Jeremy: We're very proud of the music we create, but our live show is our bread and butter, our tour de force. It's a natural setting for our songs to translate to our audience and let them get the full "experience". I'm starting to sound like pretentious hippy haha, but really, we never hold back at our shows, and we expect our audience to do the same.

5. Name means "New Approach To Martyr's Expressions". What does this band name exactly mean and how did you get this idea?

Jeremy: Wes had the "new approach" title for years, I think he had it written on his notebook for grade school and it was floating around for a while. It wasn't until our childhood band had dissolved (which still consisted of me, Wes and Bobby) about 7 years ago. We reformed with a more aggressive work ethic and we came back to "the new approach to martyr's expressions" title. In hindsight it is a bit self explanatory, but overall it was meant for us to be a representation of our ideals and how we would constantly challenge ourselves and have this band as an amorphous group that always needs to look ahead and grow and change so our ideas as a band would never grow stagnant. We wanted to show that with enough conviction, and honesty you can make something work. Also going by "name", it leaves the title with a bit of anonymity that intrigues someone. With band names like Cannibal Corpse, or Dying Fetus, you'll pretty much assume it'll be a death metal band. "Name" is a bit more shapeless, blurring the lines of titles and genres. We understand its a bit harder to find online or for curious people to investigate us, but we know if they do find us, it was because they REALLY wanted to haha.

6.  How do you spend your time apart from making music? What are your favorite activities?

Jeremy: Most of us like to stay pretty healthy while not on tour, working out, getting outdoors, eating decently. But honestly besides not constantly writing music, we usually go to shows all the time, to not only support the music scene, but to be inspired to find new ideas, hear new sounds. Wes works at a couple of venues in San Francisco when not on the road, so he's always hearing new music. San Francisco has such an amazing array of music, so much to choose from, so much to discover, its easy to find inspiration in the city. We apply a lot of these different ideals into our music. Besides that, I know Wes writes screenplays, free writings, lyrics, and is always trying to plan ahead.

7. Which bands do you like to have on tour with you?

Jeremy: We always like to be on the road with diverse bands. It keeps the show interesting and special, also lets the fan base crossover and connect to other genres, and creates dynamic. We've toured with death metal bands, punk bands, jazz groups, alternative bands, hardcore bands, and even noise artists. I really enjoy going to shows with eclectic line ups, so we like to give that same feeling to our fans.

8. What meaning has the saxophone due to your artwork? Why did you choose that?

Jeremy: The instrument is actually a French Horn and we thought of it as an interesting representation to the album as a complete entity. It shows a slightly unconventional instrument with a vertebrae which plays on the theme of "Internet Killed The Audio Star".  Its kind of an obsolete instrument outside of the realm of classical music, and its a symbol for an end of an era and the start of a new. Just like the music industry and the way we hear it is completely different now then it was 10 years ago. Its a bit tongue-in-cheek.

9. Where do you take all that creativity according to your complex songs from? Who is doing what while you write songs?

Jeremy: Well our writing process is interesting. My brother, Wes (the singer/guitarist of name) and I are constantly writing, and we usually send each other files of some riffs we have, and it gives me time to put my thoughts and ideas into fruition and challenge myself to add my take on it. Eventually we'll get together and play our parts and share our ideas with each other. Its been that way since we were kids. But as far as the complexity of the songs go, we never purposely go out of our way to try and make a song complex for the sake of just doing it. I grew up playing jazz, and retained some general ideas and core movements and applied them to my style of writing. I've always enjoyed interpreting my influences from movies, literature and life to creating my parts. Also, I love odd meters like Dave Brubeck used to do in his songs, and had these constantly shifting parts that never really repeated themselves. Most people don't know that I played guitar on half the album, but if you listen carefully, you can depict a lot of changing styles. My brother and I write all of the music so we combine our different backgrounds of influence and create something, in my opinion, that is unique. Wes is more of the dark, polyrhythmic, ethereal, bluesy, "just-got-out-of-the-70's" style writing. Where as I'm more of the mechanical, riffy, jazzy, "does-this-time-signature-even-exist?" type player. That's why we sound a bit all over the place.

10. Are there any other things you wish to tell your fans out there?

Jeremy: Our album was just released in Europe on April 19th so please go and listen to it, we put a lot of hard work into it. Thank all of you for your support, a lot of bands say this type of shit, but really, we thank you so much. Its so amazing when other people actually enjoy and understand what we're doing. Your support only keeps us going. We hope to see all of you this year in the States as well as all of you in Europe, we'll be touring for the rest of our days and coming to a town near you to melt your faces off. Till then, thank all of you guys, and thank you for this interview.

Interviewer: Gruￜ, Philipp

Conducted with Jeremy Fareas (bass)

"Internet Killed The Audio Star" NOW IN EUROPE!

Our album comes out today in Europe, so if you live across the pond, get into it!!!

Also, it's almost Earth Day. Or, as you know it, the day Google somehow works a tree into its logo. Anyway, remember not to change your behavior or the Earth wins.
 
To truly celebrate Earth, buy our new album (America: http://www.alexamachine.com. Europe: http://www.lifeforcerecords.com Or for you Itunes fanatics: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/browserRedirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStore.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fid%253D351470902%2526cc%253Dbe.)

Proceeds go to me, then my neighborhood liqour store, then some guys I don't know, and ultimately end up in the hands of a Mexican drug lord. If that's not eco-friendly, I don't care what is.

So, check it out! Roughly 10 bucks for 13 tracks and a fucking soundtrack of music. Give it a clicky clicky.

Also, I know you folks have them. Add us on Facebook. If thats where its at, then ADD us.

Http://www.facebook.com/nameband

And if you have a Twitter, dont be a fuckin' prude, add us there too!

http://www.twitter.com/name

We've been shooting out clues as to how and get free shit via our Twitter, and not enough of you are listening up!!

So do it up.

Also, if you want a FREE autographed copy of Outburn, send your info to namebooking@gmail.com


Yep!


Thats all I got.


Europe! GET INTO IT!!!

Song by song review of IKTAS by "Exception Factory"

Band: Name
Title: Internet Killed The Audio Star
Label: Lifeforce Records
Written by: Chris Egger

The Bay Area has not necessarily only provided Thrash Metal, established in 2003, California band NAME present their new album "Internet Killed The Audio Star". Therefore, what a surprise. Lifeforce Records offers the next album on the market.

"Killer Whales, Man" offers an equal mix of grindcore, hardcore and some thrash. Instrumental wise the guys are quite on it, but somehow it all sounds as you would not know what we want.

"My Sweetheart, The Whore" is basically at the point where you started before. Grindcore, somewhat progressive death metal, then again something hardcore to you then even floats in Porcupine Tree like spheres. However, it remains in spite of the instrumental masterpiece just a tough mix.

"The Spark of Divinity" start again as a Hardcore song increases, but in the course of the song through the use of clean vocals and its powerful piece of modern metal before it again turns to the very progressive sound from the start.

"Empathic Communicator: Part I: Homage To The Hunter (Unconscious Incompetence), Empathic Communicator: Part II: Bee Bee (Conscious Incompetence), Empathic Communicator: Part III: Your Sun Machine, Your Space Embracer (Conscious Competence) and Empathic Communicator: Part IV: How To Murder The Earth (Unconscious Competence)" provide a relatively diverse, but still quite busy sound that is best in the Mathcore direction to plug end. Instrumentally good, somehow just vocally demanding, as this cry was heard in some way to ever better quality. It also drifts into something jazzy and progessive rock parts, where again the clear singing provides some cheer.

"Mare" has actually gone where they have already started where the other pieces were. Partial Mathcore then jazzy sounds. Musically, certainly a great challenge for the listener.

"The Sycophant, The Saint & The Gamefox" offers some quiet guitar sounds but then again harder. With 10 minutes clear the longest piece of the album.

Why the next piece is probably only "Dave Mustaine". NAMEs brand of grindcore / hardcore mixed with synth-pop song and cruel at the end. On to the next song.

"Avaler l'Océan" again shows the versatility of the Americans, from hardcore to progressive rock is again much about it.

"You'll Never Die in This Town Again" is very quiet, very close to Porcupine Tree.

This style is continued at the beginning of "Charmer", before being bludgeoned properly.

Conclusion: can be exhausting for the listener, but musically very first cream (top notch). The guys showcase a lot on it, but maybe a little work on the mix.

01. Killer Whales, Man 03:45
02. My Sweetheart, The Whore 05:40
03. The Spark Of Divinity 06:22
04th Empathic Communicator, Part I: Homage To The Hunter (Unconscious Incompetence) 02:32
05th Empathic Communicator, Part II: Beebee (Conscious Incompetence) 03:56
06th Empathic Communicator, Part III: Your Sun Machine, Your Space Embracer (Conscious Competence) 06:26
07th Empathic Communicator, Part IV: How To Murder The Earth (Unconscious Competence) 07:00
08th Mare 09:00
09th The Sycophant, The Saint And The Gamefox 10:13
10th Dave Mustaine 07:00
11th Avaler l'Ocean 05:02
12th You'll Never Die in This Town Again 05:24
13th Charmer 05:15

MySpace

www.myspace.com / name

Line Up

Wes Fareas (vocals & guitar)
Jeremy Fareas (bass)
Bobby Gibbs (drums)

http://www.exception-factory.net/underground/name_-_internet_killed_the_audio_star_.html

A review from the European "Aristocrazia Webzine"

NAME is one of those formations which the adjective is the only test that can define a sound that defined everything except monotonous or static.
They live on bluster and finishes, and funky jazz, grindcore and moments of death, in practice they do not really miss anything.
Lifeforce Records debut in "Internet Killed The Audio Star" album out by conventional, seventy-seven minutes of madness unleashed swinging that always manages to surprise, but unfortunately not only in a positive way.
We are facing a band that technically is nothing short of excellent cooking of mixing genres and with a view that aims high but ends up looking over at times stuck with their solutions in the long run tend to weaken the real value of the pieces.

Diversifying is the key word, it begins with Mathcore "Killer Whales, Man" to then find themselves thrown into the world of funk / jazz of "My Sweetheart The Whore" combines shares of a violent alternating soft like souls possessed by much contrasting yet need each other.

The combination of "The Spark of Divinity" / "Mare" is torn by aggression, breaks clean when the sudden voice in clean takes off, becoming noted for the blues that flows in the veins of riffmaker. Strange that the quartet of "Empathic Communicator" almost smell the epic highlights in full compositional skills and extensive development of NAME but sometimes limps for passages that tend to involve imploding on themselves on the potential of the route.

The second part of the disc does not have big drops, relegating the task of raising your head to the final trio, coupled with the closing on their shields.

"You'll Never Die in This Town Again" is an instrumental inspired and intriguing and "Charmer" leads straight to the setting of the work with its psychedelic sound expressions.
Regarding enforcement, there is little you can complain about kids, though its very risky to go ahead and blows up, the more styles and influences combine in a single frame carrier still has some edge to polish: especially the aspect of voice prompts when scratching and screaming is a real gun, but when it shows as clean and yes sussurante can even move all the obsessive variety of songs.
"Internet Killed Star Audio", as the first album is more than enough. It has laid a solid foundation on which to define and elaborate the riffing and vocal lines in the future.
We could call it premature, such as living by instinct and instinct I suggest you do not miss the pleasure of listening to and understanding Name: we'll hear more about them for sure.

http://aristocraziawebzine.blogspot.com/2010/04/name-internet-killed-radio-star.html

Review by Austrian metal mag "Stormbringer"

NAME, which also stands for "New Approach to Martyrs Expressions" make their name with this album credit. The California Chaos-core trio delivers a concoction onto a high standard. Whoever here thinks this is another frequently reported, unspectacular Mathcore group, that is totally wrong.

NAME are very chaotic, very varied and catchy. Sometimes they recall bands such as War From A Harlots Mouth and The Dillinger Escape Plan, but have their own distinctive, sophisticated style. "Internet Killed The Audio Star" has become an experimental album that offers both harmonious and disharmonious parts and sent these alternates.

Besides jazzy parts and blues components, there are, on one side, very quiet songs like tracks "Empathic Communicator: Part III and IV" that are reminiscent at times very strong in the post-hardcore, and brutal, energetic tracks like the opener "Killer Whales, Man''. Even the subsequent song "My Sweetheart, The Whore" is provided with a lot of energy and bustle. Overall, the 13 tracks are mostly quite long, so the album has a running time of almost 78 minutes. Overall, it is to say that this album offers much more variety and would thus provide longer lasting listening pleasure. It is certainly not something for everyone, but there are certainly many are found who like the album.

Rating: 4.0 of 5.0
Author: Philip (07 April 2010)

http://www.stormbringer.at/reviews.php?id=5001

Review by French Mag "Addictif Zine"

(I translated this directly, made only a few edits to have it make a bit more sense.)


"Internet Killed The Audio Star"
(Lifeforce)

Besides the title track, nice nod to the old tube of 80s Buggles, this group from the Bay Area of California is not in irony and lightness. Quite the contrary. Its metal has more to do with mathematics or music schools. You know the type?

After the math rock, mathcore, the math metal? Why not. It is not a label closely. Especially since it corresponds to NAME. Its metal has nothing in common. Instead, it is almost everything but metal. Pop, thrash, jazz, blues, free-rock, death metal, hardcore, emo, screamo, progressive... NAME is mixed into a menu with exotic flavors and sometimes innovative. Inevitably, during this gargantuan meal, savor the food balanced, subtly flavored, while others, too fat or too spicy, we will return the flop. Thus, we like the NAME foutraque, which casts a grindcore athletic like The Locust, Death or stuffed jazz elements recalling Painkiller... We also appreciated the progressive NAME during his "Empathic Communicator" piece in 4 movements turn spicy or sweet when he borrows the ways of Neurosis, Coheed And Cambria or Dillinger Escape Plan. In other experiments, the grub is hard to pass, but it remains a matter of taste. Generally, NAME is doing well behind their stove. Their eccentricity is an advantage (they leave the ground) as a disadvantage (it becomes a group for musicians), but it is undeniable that it distracts as much fun. And that's not bad.

- Jose Maria


http://www.addictif-zine.com/accueil/item/1605-name-internet-killed-the-audio-star-chronique

Very kind review by German Metal Zine "Neakbreaker"

Why now do you bother to think up a possible original band name, if afterwards you all sound the same somehow? The NAME of the Californians make it easy as can be seen obviously.
Yet behind the subtle, at first, name stands for the "New Approach To Martyrs Expressions," makes the whole thing again look more complex - could be what we would have already reached through the musical aspect: So extravagant are all the band songs, so is the Music this in every way. Intermediate mathcore, jazz and blues have set up their tents and are camping in NAME, then in your heart.

Since 2003, the team of the Fareas-brothers, after having a few EPs and a full-length disc, the renowned LIFEFORCE Records has fished these chaotic delicacies - with success I think!
For in these almost 80 minutes so much happened that the listener needs some time to be able to grasp and understand the complete spectrum. To be honest, this is not even succeeded, although "Internet Killed The Audio Star" (a more than true title, "The Buggles revisited" one might think, but a discussion would inform certainly beyond the scope) is now already the number two-rotation in the player behind him!

An extravagant four-part called "Empathic Communicator" has its place, as well as a ten-minute opus called "The Sycophant, The Saint & The Gamefox" attracts chill lounge atmosphere with which the listener could think he was only on the wrong track, then surrounds him with the chaotic, unpredictable, but however always comprehensible structures. Puff! A really heavy lump, that!
Nevertheless, the catchiness dominates NAMEs: Alone at the End-Riff Opener "Killer Whales, Man" grooves into fat DOWN-manner, the same thing happened to part two of the above-mentioned four-part, "Bee Bee (Conscious Incompetence)". They are joined by many a clean-sung part, ambient-offsets, blues excursions ("Mare") and everything in between... I would still make tame, tagged "Internet Killed The Audio Star" has already done it anyway - I dare to even approach this more as an exceptional piece of music! What does it but with the track "Dave Mustaine" is all about, I can hardly understand because of the song does not understand now - the strange humor of the trio after a corruption rather than an homage ... whatever!

Be Thankful that there are bands that are able to break the boundaries of the genre, clever and courageous, this one big "Chapeau!". With a lot of patience, a sense of extraordinary ideas and the necessary openness, NAME will be able to inspire you.


8 out of 10

(Brix)


http://www.neckbreaker.de/CD-Reviews/NAME-Internet-Killed-The-Audiostar/

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