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This is my current dilemma with the band Endure The Exile:
How do you write about a band you really know nothing about?
I know none of the guys in the band. I don’t know what they sound like and I have no idea what they look like onstage.
And then I remember, everything’s on the Internet now.
To be honest, I was gonna try and skip out for a day and post something band-related instead of Endure The Exile, but… This is an exercise of taking myself out of my comfort zone and pushing my boundaries as a writer and a fan of great music.
I haven’t heard them and yet I keep hearing good things about this quartet. I was supposed to watch them when we shared a bill at Gio’s Crib but they played way too early and we got in way too late. Talk about missed opportunities.
So, I reached out to them through their band page and asked for some time to get to know them and they agreed.
I was surprised to find out that this band is composed of shy guys. A metal band composed of shy guys? What more, a metalcore band and all of them without the bravado I was expecting to meet? Tsk… well, it’s not really a bad thing because that just means these guys still have their heads screwed on tightly atop their necks and haven’t swelled to unmanageable proportions. Still, I had to spend a good portion of the “interview” sharing tips on how to be “rockstars” onstage.
After establishing that this was going to be a safe place where everyone was free to just say anything without being judged, I finally got a better flow in the conversation.
Before I chatted them up, I did go through a few of their videos and they didn’t lie when they said they weren’t that exciting to watch onstage. Got to be honest, these guys barely move onstage. But, I didn’t close the videos because I was enjoying the music. Yeah, they’re musicians. Really good musicians technically speaking. But they’re not entertainers. Not yet.
Their songs, surprisingly are about love. Love, relationships, frustrations and the troubles an average person goes through on a daily basis. In a metalcore context, that’s new to me. Fresh. They’re just like you and me, except they’re heavier, noisier and much more precise with blistering runs up and down the fretboard.
Now, they’re not yet the best band to watch onstage but you have to applaud their level of commitment right? This type of music doesn’t come easy to most people. You need to be technically precise to pull it off. That takes a lot of practice. I believe they have that down already.
And outside the band, they’re just about or even more so, passionate. Imagine being a drummer that has to perform this type of music and you don’t have your own kit. Most drummers would be ok not having one if the type of music they play isn’t as challenging as Endure The Exile‘s. Finding out that drummer has to contend with practicing runs with just sticks and hard surfaces just makes me realize how lucky some drummers are and how most bands fail to appreciate that. That is next level commitment right there. That deserves a round of applause and more reason for you to watch out for a band as totally committed to their art form as this.
The guitarist, Liam Espers has a business fixing and/or modifying guitars. I had talked to him about making a signature guitar for me. Maybe we’ll have that done in the near future.
The pics they have of them onstage look good. So there’s potential there for this band.
Take a look.
For young bands like Endure The Exile, support from family and friends is very important. Are you a friend of the band? Are you a real friend of the band? Then make sure you support them. Are you a family member of the band? Support them as well. What these guys lack for in marketing themselves they more than make up with their musical proficiency, I’m making it a mission to push these guys to become a bigger, better, badder band. You should too. Suporta Lokal, DOn’t Just Say it, DO IT!
Oh and they’re planning on releasing their songs soon so watch out for that. They’re slowly transitioning from metalcore to deathcore. …Now I wonder how they’ll still be able to fit in their average guy stories into such an awesome artform?
Alright, that’s it. Endure The Exile, Like, Share, Invite and Follow.
