Feature by Drew Walton - May, 2006
Where It Ends is a great band and personal friends of mine. Not only are these guys awesome dudes, they pour their hearts into this thing we call hardcore. The result: some of the best music in heavy hardcore and honest, passionate lyrics. Where It Ends has been around for a while now and will continue to leave their mark on straight edge hardcore; mark my word.
Drew: Well, first things first. State your name and position in the band.
Paul: I'm Paul and I happen to do the vocals.
Drew: I know you guys have had a few member changes. Are you the only vocalist the band has had?
Paul: Yeah, me and Anthony (drums!) are the only "original" members left.
Drew: How long has the band as a whole been together?
Paul: We've been around for three years now. But we've only been good for, like, 2 or 1 1/2.
Drew: In three years you've had to have played countless shows. Are there any specific shows that stand out in your memory for good or bad reasons?
Paul: Well, I'm glad to say that we've had more good shows than bad ones, thank god. I remember our second show ever was in Augusta, Georgia, with In Full Effect. We sucked shit back then. There was nobody at the show but some other show got out right before we played (we played last) and they let all the kids in and everyone came inside went off like morons to our horrible music and threw chairs around and shit. Pretty sweet.
As for shows that stand out in my memory for bad reasons, there's a good bit. In February, 2005, we did a little Midwest romp. We played a town called Herrin, Illinois. Real small town. We are to play at a venue called Teen Town. So we show up, hang out in the town and eat some bad pizza. We go to the show and like 200 kids (and I do mean KIDS) show up, from ages like eight to fifteen. And maybe like two dudes that knew about hardcore. All these 14 year old girls are hitting on us and getting our autographs. Eventually we take the stage and all these little girls are standing up front screaming like we're their rock n' roll sex gods, which we are. They keep grabbing our asses and saying stuff like "do you guys rock that hard in bed?" I felt like I was in some horrible prepubescent twilight zone and I could not face the crowd. Great night!
Drew: Holy shit, that last story is amazing.
Paul: There's a video of that show. I cant even watch it. Makes me cringe.
Drew: I need to see this video.
Paul: No one does.
Drew: I will... One day. Anyway, what are a few of the covers you guys do?
Paul: Well, as of more recently we've tried to get away from covers. we're just tired of 'em... Somewhat. Every now and then we like to turn out a Judge song or something. We've done a lot of covers in our history though. Judge, Chain of Strength, Black Flag, Youth Of Today, Project X, even busted out a little Madball.
Drew: It's understandable. Well, about your own songs, how does it feel to see people yelling the words you wrote back to you?
Paul: I usually get a hard-on from that. Nah. For real, that's the best feeling ever. Before Where It Ends we had a band that no one really cared about, we only played around these areas. No one ever sang along, except when they came out of the woodworks for the last show! I love it when kids aren't afraid to come up and beat the fuck out of me and sing along to my words; hopefully they get what I'm trying to convey with these words.
Drew: I have been atop several a pile-on screaming some Where It Ends lyrics.
Paul: Yeah, singing along is way better than moshing.
Drew: Definitely. Pile-ons and stage dives. What are the band's usual antics while on tour and in the van?
Paul: Plenty of things that couldn't be shown on the Superstation. A good amount of nudity and talks about the paranormal is the vibe we like to take on in the van. Outside of the van, we like to mess with the locals, steal shit and take dumps in weird places.
Drew: I have witnessed the nudity and the dump-taking (you smelly bastard!)
Paul: At least that was in a toilet.
Drew: True. You guys have played with a countless number of today's popular hardcore bands. Did you ever think that one day you'd be in a band that consistently played with some of today's biggest names in hardcore?
Paul: Nope. Like I said, before this we were in another band that no one really cared about at all. So it's good that people from all over the world are into our little band, and that we get the chance to play with bands that destroy us musically.
Drew: I can only imagine what it's like. What does Where It Ends have in mind for the near future?
Paul: Well we'd like to get on a nice solid label (harder than it sounds!) and finally release an EP or even an LP. We have so many musical ideas and it's been so long that we are ready to let out the most epic thing you've ever heard.
Drew: That sounds pretty promising. Have you guys talked with any labels at all?
Paul: We've talked a little to a couple of them that showed interest for a little while but they usually just sort of fade away. Hopefully with word of mouth from other bands and just the fact that we're doing everything we can and are willing to tour like crazy bastards will attract some label attention.
Drew: Definitely doing what you're doing will get you some attention. If you had to listen to only one record for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Paul: Ahh man. I seriously can't answer this question with just one. But I can name like three.
Drew: Go for three.
Paul: For hardcore it would have to be either Youth of Today's "We're Not In This Alone" or Bane's "It All Comes Down to This." For non-hardcore it would be Van Halen, since they are the greatest band of all time, I'd probably go with a best-of so I could have a little Dave and a little Sammy.
Drew: Interesting... If you had to compare Where It Ends to another current band, who would it be?
Paul: I'm never good at that! Not saying we're original or anything, but I can never compare us. I dont know who I'd compare it to currently either. I've heard a good amount of people compare us to Strife, which is cool with me. We definitely like the music to give a little nod to the early and mid 90s.
Drew: I know it's hard, I just wanted to make you uncomfortable. Any last shout-outs or shameless self-promotions or thanks you's?
Paul: Not any real shout-outs. Shameless promotions? Go to www.myspace.com/whereitends and thanks for the interview. Keep it real.
Drew: Definitely, thank you as well. See you with Outbreak in a few weeks.
Paul: Indeed.
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