During this week’s installment of Indie Band of the Week, RockRevolt Intern, Clarice Owen, got to pick the minds of Danny, Rob, Kevin and Brandon; the members of Vanity Strikes, a four piece Metalcore band hailing from Rochester, NY. Their music is heavy hitting, with strong bass lines and great rifts. They have become one of the driving forces of the alternative music scene in Upstate New York. These guys are a must when adding new bands to your playlist. Check out the interview and the links below to see exactly what makes vanity so striking!
Hi guys, It’s nice to meet you. I want to thank you for meeting with me before your show! If you could introduce yourselves for the readers, that’d be great.
D: Hi, I’m Danny, and I’m the vocalist for the band.
R: I’m Rob, and I play bass.
B: I’m Brandon; I play drums.
K: And I’m Kevin; I play guitar.
One thing I’ve been wondering since I met you guys is where does the inspiration for your band’s name come from?
K: I was about 13 or 14, and I was very spiteful towards popular girls back then, I guess, and that’s where the name sort of derived from was when “Vanity Strikes”.
Ok, that makes a lot of sense, but as far as musical backgrounds go, what got you all interested in a love for music and led you to this genre of music?
D: For me, I remember I was about 12 years old, and I saw one of my best friends perform at our talent show. He wasn’t just any regular kid drummer; he was ridiculously good. He was in the Empire State marching band as a front line snare, and I saw that, and I just HAD to do that. So I started playing drums and never stopped; eventually, I picked up bass and guitar. Then I met Kevin, and he needed a singer, and I could keep a note. I was terrible at the time, and slowly, I worked and worked, and that’s how I got to singing
K: My sister got me into heavier music at a young age, so at 9 and 10 I was listening to Agent Orange and Bleeding Through — heavier bands like that. I also have two uncles who play guitar, so they both got me into playing. There was also this kid from summer school when I was really young that always brought his guitar, and it made me want to do it even more.
R: Well for me, personally, there was this kid on my hockey team; he was like 12 or 13, and he wore skinny jeans and was always listening to heavy music. He would always tell me bands to start listening to like Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet for My Valentine, like the old school metalcore bands, and I just started loving it. First show was Shadows Fall and GWAR, and seeing that live made me want to play an instrument — I didn’t know much until I joined the band, and it’s history since then.
B: I have to say my brother started playing percussion, and I wanted to follow that, and that’s how I got interested in it. But MTV is how I really got into it — bands like Hawthorne Heights, System of a Down — are how I got into heavier music.
That’s actually really interesting. We all know Rochester is known for Jazz and our orchestra, not so much the alternative genres. If you could list the pros and cons of starting locally, what would they be?
D: Hmm, there are a lot of cons. *laughs* You have to really love it in order to get anywhere, really. For us, this is all we’ve ever wanted to do, thousands of dollars in debt, doing shows and not getting paid. Putting music together is in the middle, making sure being true to what you want to do musically while also appealing to an audience.
R: I think one of the pros is that Rochester, you’re right is known for other things, but Western NY as a whole, Buffalo and Syracuse, they have a huge metal scene. Bands like Sirens and Sailors — there’s a lot of talent coming out of here.
D: I think anther pro is that if you work hard, you do get to do what you love. We are by no means super succesful, but we do get to tour and see different parts of the country and play in front of people. Especially when people love our set, that’s a pretty great feeling; not many jobs will allow you to do this sort of thing.
As far as touring and writing music, what are the parts that worry you the most?
D: Well, especially on the road, it would be things going wrong. For example, the Ghost Inside accident, that’s terrifying. I’m not sure if you heard about it.
R: Well about a year ago, there was a bus crash in El Paso, Texas, and some of the crew of the band lost their lives; some people were seriously injured. It’s the reason why it’s so important for a pilot and a co-pilot. I’ve personally been in a really bad accident; back in the day we were hit by a semi.
D: That’s whats so scary, a head breaking or some strings is no big deal, but when it comes to traveling — a tire blowing out or someone breaking into our trailer, which happens to a lot of bands — that’s one of the bigger worries as far as touring.
K: As far as music, it’s making sure it’s not only true to yourself but something that other people are going to like. When you first write something you may think it’s perfect in your head, but you’re going to want to do a lot of re-writing and making sure it’s the bet that it can be.
D: Since we have the minds of musicians, we think about things differently than someone who just listens to music. From a listener’s view, they may want something with a drop or a fast beat, and it something you have to take into consideration. We have to remember that we are also music listeners and try to keep in mind what we would want to hear when we are writing.
Vanity Strikes – N.A.S. Official Music Video
Going off of the worries, what are the best parts about touring and writing?
R: Touring, one of my favorite things is hanging out with these guys all day; we’re literally best friends, so it’s just a giant road trip.
D: Getting to play music everyday is awesome, in front of people who come out and support us, want us to come back. Also the food, we’ve seen a lot of different spots that we look forward to seeing every time we go on tour.
B: For some reason they are all gas stations! *laughs*
D: Yea, like Sheetz, WaWa…
I am a full believer in both those places; they are great places for unexpected foods.
D: As far as writing goes, that’s just getting to take your ideas and make them reality. That’s like your painting, your audio painting. It’s where your work gets to shine. The reason we do this is so that our music can be heard. Just writing is one of the best parts of being in a band.
Coming off of the food aspects of traveling, whats the first thing you guys do when you get to a new city? Do you find the closest dive to chow down?
B: Chipotle, Panda Express, only the best dives we can find… *laughs*
R: Wait, no, let’s be fair. The first thing we do — because we are actually lame and responsible — is get to the venue find a place to park that’s close and then figure out a game plan. Because we like to be on time, there’ve been bands we’ve toured with, and sometimes they’re late to load in, VIP, and that’s not us. We get there, 2-3 hours in advance, meet with the promoter, and then we go pig out. And not really as many dives, because when you’re on tour, you’re trying to save as much money as possible, and dives can be $10-$12 a plate sometimes.
That, struggling artist and broke student life, I get it. Now we’ve talked about the moments before the show, what about the moments when you’re on stage. What has been one of your favorite on stage moments so far?
D: Warped Tour.
R: Warped Tour.
K: Warped Tour.
B: Warped Tour.
D: We got to play main stage at the Buffalo date this past summer, and it was amazing. Just to be on that stage in front of that many people was amazing.
R: We had an awesome crowd! They were very responsive, and it was really great to have that kind of feedback, to play that large of a stage. It was a short set, but regardless, definitely best moment.
K: I agree.
B: Same.
If you could use any five-word sentence, to describe how you guys feel when you see your fans coming out to support you and just showing love, what would the sentence be?
B: Oh s*** this is nice.
R: I’m surprised we have fans. Like when we have people coming out from other places — of course we have a fan base in Rochester — but when we are in Florida, Georgia, the people who met us at Warped Tour. It’s an amazing feeling.
K: Thankfully this is paying off.
D: A feeling like no other.
We’ve talked about the highs, but what do you think are the downsides to the music industry?
R: There are shady people out there.
D: There’s not a lot of people you can trust. It’s very hard to find people who truly care about you and your music.
R: …and want to see you succeed.
D: It’s very much about the money aspect which, of course, but it also takes the humanity out of it and the whole point that it’s about enjoying the music and feeling the music and not always about the dollar signs.
Ok, here’s a light-hearted question to wrap up our meeting. I am a huge sports fan, and you guys are, too, so if you were able to get season tickets to any sports team, which team would that be?
B: The Cubs, I just love that arena.
R: I’d do Buffalo Sabres.
K: Probably the Buffalo Bills
R: I think the tailgating is the best part of a Bills game. We really gotta go to a Bills game next year.
You guys might have a better shot next year; they may get better! Being a Bills fan is sad because they do well, and then they don’t.
R: Danny is gonna do Giants
D: I hate the Giants! *laughs* Well not the team, just the quarterback; he’s an inconsistent turd. I would have to go with Golden State Warriors. I’ve been watching them and seeing Stephen Curry, just what he does is inhuman. So many people have tried to shut him down after this year, so he’s struggling, but he’s great.
Thank you so much for chatting with me tonight; I’ll see you guys out on stage!
D: Thanks for wanting to get to know us!
