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