I got the chance to interview my good friend Chris Killingsworth from Shut eyes this weekend, and was super stoked on it. He mentions an EP which gets me psyched for some local guys going big by themselves. Have a gander and make sure you visit their myspace and download the demo or the split with emergency!

So Chris, how long have you and Shut Eyes been together?

I have been together for a little over 21 years, and Shut Eyes has been together for a little over a year.

So, what sparked the name change from "Get Wise" to "Shut Eyes"?

The name change sparked out of a couple different things that occured. We named the band after The First Step song "Get Wise", and for what it meant. The 3 original members (Cody, Pat, and I) had a lot of angst, and hatred for a lot of the things going on in our local scene, and "Get Wise" seemed to be a fitting name for what we wanted people to do. I guess we just wanted people to pick up the slack, and see that a lot of their bullshit was the reason that venues were getting shutdown, and people stopped caring about hardcore. After playing some shows under this name, we were told that there was a band from Kitchener/Waterloo area that was called "Get Wise" from 2001-2002. After we found that out, and saw that kids started putting their hearts back into the music- we decided to change the name to Shut Eyes, which seems to be a lot more fitting.

The band recently recorded your Demo, and its hard as hell! Are there any plans for more releases? Vinyl pressings?

Well our demo was released the summer the band started which would have been the summer of 2008. We released a split with our friends in Emergency in the summer of 2009, and we are about to release our EP "XVII" in a little while. Although we would be happy releasing our music on vinyl, it just isn't financially feasable right now. We have had some labels interested in working with us, but I guess we are afraid of label commitment right now, and still want to do the majority of things ourselves. I can say that XVII will be released on casette//digital download, in the coming month or so.

You guys have played with some pretty big bands since starting up a few years ago, what present bands do you guys take influence from? I know most of the guys are into Madball and the heavy hitters from the 90's, but I hear more of a Trapped Under Ice/ Mother Of Mercy meets Cro-Mags. Whats your opinion on my analysis? hahaha

As far as influences go, this band is all over the map. I find it really weird that no one every really compares us to anything going on in hardcore right now, and thats a plus, and a negative. Plus, in the sense that we know that we are doing something fresh, and unique, but minus in the sense that sometimes I feel like were doing something wrong, like maybe we should be compared to something else thats going in hardcore right now. As a band we are influenced by a lot of different music, and that contributes to the sound quite a bit. Pat is into bands like Ruiner, Blacklisted and the Carrier. Cody is into bands like The Wonder Years, and Lifetime. Chris is into bands like Terror, and Trapped Under Ice. Drew is into pretty much whatever Chris is listening too, and I'm into that NY sound, and 90's grunge. All of those influences (and more) mashed together- is Shut Eyes.

How many members of your band are straight edge? How much does this effect the writing process lyrically?

Drew, and I are the only members of Shut Eyes that are straight edge. Chris, and Pat are the two members that could never live this lifestyle. (Although Pat was straight edge in high school for a period of time. He claimed edge on the Sunday night, and broke by the following Friday night for 5 dollars at a party). Cody played guitar in straight edge band that I sang in, but he never claimed the title. He's kind of the "happy medium" between Drew and I, and Chris, and Pat. Straight Edge doesn't really affect the lyrics all that much. I played in an edge band when I was younger, and got all my hate out earlier in my life. That, and my best friends play in a band called Planet x Danger, so I have nothing to rant and rave about. The song Lurk, and the song World Of Lies have some straight edge undertones, but you probably won't find them.

What are you guys thinking of tour wise in the near future?

Touring is looking pretty good. We plan on doing some touring with Stay Young, and Planet Danger so be on the lookout for that. We want to make sure that the band is as active as possible over the summer because Cody, and I are going back to college come September. Not saying that the band is going to stop dead in its tracks, but we will be slowing down for a minute come September.

You guys have played basically every venue in Toronto. Whats your favorite place to play, and go to shows?

Yeah, we have played a lot of venues in Toronto, and its a bummer that some of them are getting shut down. For a bigger show, my favorite venue was definetly The Kathedral. Small ass stage, but lots of room to get down. For a smaller show, definetly Siesta Noveaux because its cozy, and theres a dog park across the street.

5 Best moshers:

Curtis Brox because of his unique technique
Bostin Gleva (because he can't see, and accidently put a girls tooth through her lip)
Polish Phil, because he's an animal, and a force to be reckoned with.
Ryan Ebony Leslie Perkins, because he's Ryan Ebony Leslie Perkins.
Sam Farrell because he's my 11 year old brother, and he pits harder than anyone in his grade.

Top 5 records currently being played:

Life & Times- Maximum Penalty
The Downward Spiral- Nine Inch Nails
Reincarnage- Born Low
The Big Picture- Big L
Master Killer- Merauder

Top 5 moshable songs:

Real Recognize Real- Icepick
Ananias- Planet X Danger
Kept Out- Backtrack
So Close To Defeat- Terror
Who's To Blame- Leeway

I got the chance to interview my friend Emmett from PXD the other day, after the release of their demo. If you haven't heard it, go check it out already!



So Emmett, what do you do in PlanetxDanger?
I play guitar!


What sparked the name for you guys, I heard some of the other possibilities but why did you guys end up picking PxD?
Hahaha ughh, we started as a joke band. The name is from that ad from back in the day with that robot being like "I'm Astar from Planet Danger, I cant put my arm back on, you can't" and then we decided to be a real band and we played too many shows to change our name. So now we're stuck with it haha


How long have you guys been straight edge for?
Umm I'm not sure for all the other dudes, but I myself have been edge almost 3 years now. Actually I know Craig has been for 4 years.


What bands have inspired the band the most, other than Bob and his gods in Madball?
As far as musically? Man its hard to pin it on one band, especially because I listen to so many different kinds. I just try and write evil sounding shit.


I heard some shit going on that someone said Bob was being an idiot when he was playing on of your first shows. What's the story behind that?
Haha I dunno. You'd have to ask Bob. Unless its about a bit of a tussle that went down once in St Kitts. That was all resolved but yeah some people were talkin on messageboards and stuff.



The new demo sounds heavy, where did you guys go to record? How was the process, and are you happy with the sound?
Thanks, We recorded with our boy Kent Sheehey of BOSS Studios. The process was awesome, and really quick and easy! Kent is the man and I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound and he helped achieve that tremendously. You're gonna see a LOT of Ontario bands with recordings done by him in the next little while.

How would you describe the Barrie hardcore scene compared to the hardcore scene in Toronto? What about the straight edge population?
Umm, as far as actual hardcore goes in Barrie, its us and Shut Eyes, and our close group of friends. But kids are starting to come out more and more which rules. I find Toronto to be mainly only interested in the 80's revival stuff. Most of the kids at the outta town band Toronto shows aren't even from Toronto. As far as straight edge in Barrie? Umm its basically our band, Chris Killingsworth and Drew from Shut Eyes and maybe a couple younger kids I don't know of!

What was the first band that got you into hardcore and the surrounding music scene?
Well I was going to punk shows and stuff first so it kinda naturally progressed. The first show I ever went to was Sum 41 and H20 in grade 7 haha. But my first hardcore show was A Day and A Deathwish in grade 9. My friend Carly told me I'd dig it so I went out, and I did.


Best story about the band people haven't heard.
One time we had a hotdog eating competition and had a whole bunch of leftover hotdogs (street meat size ones) and we went around Craig's neighborhood and put them all on the antennas of cars. The next day Craig saw a dude driving around with a hotdog on his antenna haha


Top 5 Records being played.
Agitator - Demo 2009
Entombed - Wolverine Blues
Shut Eyes - XVII (This rules, get stoked on this release!)
Piece by Piece - Piece by Piece
Owen - At home with (always)


Top 5 Songs making you mosh in your house.
Pantera - Domination (Hardest mosh part)
Bad Seed - Harsh Reality
Converge - Axe To Fall
Foundation - Evaporate
Terror - Not This Time


Oprah Winfrey, Hilary Clinton, and Paris Hilton. You have to marry one, kill one, and screw one. Go.
Kill 'Em All.

Justice from Trapped Under ice

I got the opportunity to have a super quick interview with Justice from TUI before they head out on tour with Polar Bear Club, Four Year Strong and Every Time I Die.

So many different bands, different Genres and problems getting along with those guys? [Four Year Strong, Polar Bear Club, Every Time I Die]


We've toured with polar bear club before and we really get along with and really like those guys. A few weeks ago we got stuck in Detroit for a few days because of snow. We went to a four year strong show and got to meet those guys. They seem great. I think all bands on the bill look forward to playing with different kinds of bands.


You guys have come and developed a lot from The demo? Any single thing or person you credit your success to?


You can't credit one person or thing for the success of a band. It's a lot of work from everyone in our band, Reaper records, and lots of other bands who help us out.



Where do you find the inspiration to write your lyrics?


My life and surroundings




How did you get introduced into the hardcore scene? And how did TUI come about?


I got introduced to hardcore very young. I liked punk rock music and went to some bigger punk shows with friends. My first hardcore show was hatebreed and death threat. I started jamming around with different groups of people around the area. Sam and me had a straight edge band called nick fury. After that, we started trapped under ice.


Favorite band that you have toured with?


We all really get along with terror, rise and fall, and cruel hand. Musically, we were lucky enough to do a bunch of dates with madball on the 10 for 10 tour last summer.



Favorite up and coming band that you are listening to or think people should get into?


Naysayer and backtrack both are making great music and touring relentlessly. Also product of waste is one of my favorites. They're going to be hitting the road strong this summer. From the Baltimore area there is mindset and a much newer band called sacred love that i would keep an eye out for.



Best story that you can think of that happened on tour?


When we stayed with Tim from foundation and played with his bull terrier. They're my favorite kind of dog in the world!!



Any closing words or shout outs?


Reaper records