Breaking into the music business is not an easy thing. Sometimes, it takes years to prove yourself and get the recognition among other musicians and your fans. For Cane Hill, a five piece metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana, things seem to have taken the up road in just a few years after they formed. And they deserve it! Elijah Witt (Vocals), Bemo Barnett (Guitar), James Barnett (Guitar), Ryan Henriquez (Bass) and Devin Clark (Drums) have worked hard, with passion and faith, ready to succeed in what they love.
They have been working together since 2011 and on October 23rd they will proudly release their self-titled EP by Drew Fulk via Rise Records. For support they will hit the road with blessthefall and Stick To Your Guns on the “To Those Left Behind Tour.”
Until then, we speak with Elijah Witt, who explains to us everything we need to know about one of the most promising new metal bands, as we name them INDIE BAND OF THE WEEK.
The band is named after an abandoned asylum based in UK. What made you choose it for the band’s name?
We all felt like the asylum really resonated with the music. A feeling of psychosis and abandonment without being able to escape. We’re heavy and aggressive. It worked.
How did the five of you meet and formed the band?
We were all from the same scene in different bands off and on and kind of fell together when New Orleans’ heavy music scene was going through a pit fall. We somehow landed a group of the most dedicated musicians in the market.
Where do you draw the inspiration for the songs you write?
We draw inspiration from a myriad of things. Obviously we have a long list of musical influences from the 80’s and 90’s. But there’s also a lot of pent-up aggression about how we see things unraveling nowadays and I think we channel a lot of our pissed off energy through the music.
On October 23rd you release your brand new self-titled EP via Rise Records. We have already heard two tracks from the EP, “Time Bomb” and “Sunday School”. What else should we expect?
The next few songs on our EP are much more retrospective. They go through more of a social theme than these two personal songs. I tried to subtly tackle some issues we see like misogyny and homophobia. I’m not sure how much I should divulge into our next single, but I’ll tell you this much: it’s aggressive and it’s honest and it puts a gun to the head of gentrifying idealists.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4xUUr1EwsQ]
The newly released video of “Time Bomb” is a sensation! Minimal, atmospheric, raw. I love it! Why did you choose “Time Bomb” to be the first song to put on video?
We didn’t. Our first single was “Sunday School”. But I understand the confusion because “Time Bomb” is proving to be a much bigger hit. That’s actually why we chose to do it second. We wanted to get kids interested and then hook them in with a more aggressive banger.
That is so true. Actually, in just one month it reached more than one thousand views on YouTube! You are also currently preparing to join blessthefall for “To Those Left Behind Tour”. Tell us about it.
Yeah it’s a really solid tour. We’re incredibly excited and grateful we landed it. Right now we’re working through our set and getting it ready for some new markets and a different demographic than we’ve ever really hit so there a few pieces to the puzzle were still polishing up.
The band is formed in 2013, only two years ago, but you are already making big steps in the music industry. Did you find it hard to break into the business?
We’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where we are at this point since 2011 actually. It’s a fucking miracle we’ve made it this far. But recently things have been going smoother than ever before so we’re just stoked it’s finally all coming together.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEvn0hI3II]
What are your personal musical influences?
We all have so many. From Pantera, Megadeth, Slipknot, to hip hop, indie, and more. We try not to limit ourselves to one influence because that would get pretty fucking boring.
Which would be a dream collaboration for you?
Any talented, aggressive as hell, honest musician or group.
Besides the band, what else each of you do in your everyday life?
We work odd jobs here and there and in our downtime just work on this band to make sure everything we do is as exceptional as possible.
You have a new EP ready for release, an amazing new video clip and a tour on the making. Any other plans we should know about?
There’s no fun in giving that away. Just keep your eyes open.
By Demetrios Ioannou
