Feature by Andrew - January, 2005
The Warriors busted into the national hardcore realm with the release of 2004's War Is Hell. Playing a mid-paced, crunchy form of metallic hardcore that brings to mind bands from the mid-1990s, the band revitalizes a traditional sound with bubbly enthusiasm and memorable riffs and breakdowns. One will be hard-pressed to find a band that pours as much energy and heart into their music as The Warriors does, and that pushes the group into the upper echelon of hardcore bands. These guys are a blast to listen to and, like I've said time and time again, almost impossible to not sing or play along to no matter what setting. Guitarist Danny Phillips answered some questions via e-mail, and you can learn a bunch more about the band by reading on.
Andrew: I haven't come across a lot of background information on The Warriors, so can you provide readers with some details on how the band formed and its progress since then?
Danny: The band started in around 2001 when we were mostly all still high school students in lonely old Tehachapi California, which is, as I’m sure most people don’t know (or care) is one of the most conservative areas of Kern County. Growing up and starting a band in our one-horse town was great in that there wasn’t the distraction of having anything better to do. So while most of our fellow Tehachapites were busy doing meth, getting pregnant and shooting their parents (you think I’m kidding), we were jamming on a daily basis. I guess you could say this band to us was just as much a means of making a contribution to the hardcore scene as it was a means of simply passing the time in our otherwise pathetically dull existence. In the beginning we played mostly local shows, and made a number of atrocious demos which I hope nobody still actually has to blackmail us with). Graeme, our original guitarist left pretty early on, but was replaced when Javi (the household name of Oxnard hardcore) agreed to join the band. We recorded a 7" EP for Straight On records, which sold out (much to our surprise). After that we were faced with the prospect of either just breaking up (which we were extremely close to doing) or going all out, despite the fact that my brother Donny and I were set to start college. We decided to stick with it, considering the surprisingly wide-spread negative reaction to the news of our possible break up, as well as the fact that we knew that as a band we still had a lot to say and a lot of creative energy to continue with new material. We recorded two new songs for a split 7", and began looking around for potential labels. We had a number of offers, but in the end decided that Eulogy was the best for us. Everything happened relatively fast, recording the full-length, doing the Eulogy tour and others.
At this point, we are all putting our lives on hold for a while (including college) to become a serious touring band. We have a lot coming up for us in the future... We don’t really know what to expect. We’re just thankful that this band has helped us escape the doldrums of small town living. What makes The Warriors stand out in the pack of hardcore bands? I’d like to think that we wrote this record with a large cross-section of music-listeners in mind. That’s not to say that we set out to please as many people as possible, but just that we bring our own personal musical tastes (which are all pretty different in many respects) to the table while writing. It has a little bit of a lot of things, and I like the fact that most people I talk to find it hard to classify our sound as a certain style. I’m hoping that those who get into our music on the basis of a specific feature that tends to conform to a style they appreciate, will in turn open up to the other aspects of our sound that they may not typically appreciate.
Andrew: I've spent a lot of time listening to War Is Hell over the past month or two. What made the band want to play this sort of groove-oriented hardcore in the first place? Why this as opposed to really fast hardcore or something more melodic?
Danny: I’ve always been a huge fan of the mid-90's, mid-tempo, post-hardcore sound and aesthetic. So many things are just done to death these days in the hardcore scene, and rather than beat a dead horse, we’d like to bring back into focus those styles and genres that today are no longer widely recognized or appreciated. Of course we went through both fast-paced and more melodic phases, but never felt anything “click” until we adopted this style, which was at about the same time that our song-writing process began to consist of long improvised jam sessions, which we would record and playback to pick out the parts we liked. Although our song-writing process has somewhat evolved and matured with time, we still love to write music that you can “groove” to.
Andrew: Your music is really spirited. It has a sense of urgency and the vocals are just furious. Where does the inspiration for screaming so loud and playing so hard come from?
Danny: I’d say its furious music for furious times. Take a good look around you and at what’s happening in the world right now, and it’s easy to see why it would be a little ridiculous to be playing upbeat feel-good songs about pink posies and love letters. Who knows though, maybe next year...
Andrew: I don't want to make assumptions here, but I hear a similarity to Rage Against The Machine at various points on War Is Hell. Do you agree? Was this a conscious effort or did it just "happen?"
Danny: The assumptions have been made for a while now, but not yet addressed in an interview setting. I will say that the similarities were somewhat anecdotal before they were ever the product of an intentional or conscious effort. Basically how it “happened” was that we were sitting in the studio with our friend Vic Dicara (of Beyond, Burn, Inside Out, 108) going over vocal patterns and lyrics to the track “Red Black And Blue.” The song was still in its demo stage and needed a lot of work, especially a vocal track to fill the otherwise empty and boring intro. Marshall left the room for a couple minutes and came back with this quasi-rap that he seemed to have pulled out of nowhere. We all laughed at first, but realized that there was a certain catchiness to its absurdity, not to mention that it was potentially very reminiscent of the vocal delivery of Zack de la Rocha. Even Vic was growing more and more excited at this point and kind of took charge. Of course we highly respected Vic and trusted that he knew what he was doing, because for those who don’t know, Vic did most (if not all) of the lyric writing for Inside Out, and actually helped out and collaborated with Zack D. during his transition from a hardcore singer into the vocal styles he used in Rage. So after some revision and collaborative brainstorming, everything came together very nicely. In fact, we were so satisfied with how the demo tracks with Vic turned out that they sort of set the tone for the rest of the writing process for the record. So I guess you could say that the reason we may have a similar sound to that of Rage’s is that we had the same mentor. I’d also be lying if I said I didn’t draw a lot of inspiration from Tom Morello’s guitar playing when writing our own songs. But, yes, it did sort of just “happen”, and I’m very glad now that it did. However, although Rage comparisons are very flattering, and I don’t think it’s fair to even put us in the same category, as they were obviously on a level all their own; but I think every band could stand to benefit from a little Rage influence... That’s just me.
Andrew: Your songs touch on numerous topics as far as lyrics go. A lot of bands rant about hardcore, selling out, broken friendships and other typical subjects. Why did you guys decide to branch out and touch on social issues and some broad political ideas?
Danny: For bands to take a political position or to shed light on timely issues or injustice is definitely not anything new, but unfortunately for the most part long forgotten in this genre. I think its essential, especially now, to recognize that there is a world outside the “scene.” And although we wouldn’t necessarily consider ourselves an overtly political band, there is certainly an attempt lyrically to set our music to a theme of real world social and political issues in this realm of hardcore/punk that has somehow lost many of its founding characteristics–including its genuine sense of outrage.
Andrew: The song "Scene Celebrity" tells me you guys have some qualms with certain aspects of the hardcore scene. Where do you think problems lie?
Danny: That song was written with the aim of putting pretentious, big-headed assholes in their place. There’s no room for the notion of stardom or celebrity (or “scene points” for that matter) in a scene founded on the idea of unity. A hierarchical structure will only serve to divide us.
Andrew: What does hardcore music mean to you and, if you can speak on behalf of the band, The Warriors?
Danny: I’m sure my band would agree that hardcore to an extent serves as the voice of otherwise voiceless in society. Anyone, regardless of technical ability (alright, I guess you need just a little), is capable of starting a band in this genre and being heard. I enjoy the fact that hardcore music also still tends to imply a certain incompatibility with the profit-based mainstream and corporate influence of the “industry,” which so often tends to exploit and homogenize music into sellable formulas. One of its fundamental differences to the impersonal, commercialized world it opposes is the level of intimacy involved. There’s nothing quite like a hardcore show, in which the crowd and band are often so close and interdependent on one another that they become one in the same. I love going to shows with people who have never seen this genre in action, because they are always amazed with the amount of energy expelled dancing and singing along–all aspects of hardcore which I view as not only the positive release of negative energy, but also the democratic experience of music.
Andrew: When you play strings of tour dates and every day have to put so much energy into playing this brand of music, what keeps you going? What keeps you motivated?
Danny: I’d have to say the simple fact that playing the half hour set everyday is really inconsequential compared to the new friends we meet, the interesting places we get to see, and the life experience we gain from being on tour. Shows and tours come and go, but the memories last.
Andrew: What's the best part of playing with The Warriors?
Danny: I get into all their shows for free.
Andrew: This is my every-interview question. It never fails. When you guys are out on the road, what is your favorite place to stop and grab some food at?
Danny: For a long time we ate entirely too much Taco fucking Bell –- it all tastes the same to me now. Another place we like to go to when we’re out of California is Waffle House... Good grits and southern tea.
Andrew: And lastly, what can fans expect out of The Warriors in 2005?
Danny: We are due to start writing a new LP and will be touring extensively. My hope is for a European tour sometime soon...
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