Hanna Tsepesh: Hello Adam! Thanks so much for accepting this interview and Welcome to THE GATES OF METAL! First of all: how are you and how are the things doing with your concerts?Adam: Thanks Hanna, happy to talk with you. We're doing great and have been having an awesome summer. Over the past few months we have played some amazing regional shows with a ton of great national and local acts, but we're starting to wind down and really focus on writing for our first full-length album.
Hanna Tsepesh: For those who do not know Widow Sunday could tell us a little how it all started?
Adam: We started this band in December of 2007 as more of a gathering of friend than anything else. Our bassist Pat and myself were playing in another band at the time, and a couple guys from a band we were friends with that had since broken up wanted to jam. We all got together along with our drummer Darin, who I've played off and on with ever since we were in high school together. Things were pretty casual for a while, just writing music we enjoyed and playing a few shows. After a few months, the band Pat and I were playing with full-time ended up splitting. Shortly after that our singer left, and our current vocalist Jacob joined. Things got a lot more serious after that, and we have really been going full steam this year since the addition of our new guitarist Sean, the release of our debut EP, and our signing to Rat Pak Records.
Hanna Tsepesh: What inspired you the most to create the lyrics? The band writes the lyrics first or first the band creates the riffs to comply with the lyrics?
Adam: The lyrics are entirely Jacob's department (laughs). He writes based on many different topics, some really person, some more analytical of various aspects of the human condition. We certainly don't stray into political or the typical "woe-is-me" territory though, we write aggressive music and the lyrics follow suit. As far as the songwriting process, we typically write the music first and then present it to Jake for him to work his magic with. That formula may change down the road as we grow as artists, but for the time being it's proven to be a very effective formula.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are your favorite bands? You have any musician that you admire the most?
Adam: That's a tough question, as we all draw inspiration from an extremely wide range of bands. I think that works strongly in our favor though. While we are all influenced by a myriad of bands, at no point have we ever tried to copy any group or style. We know what we like, and simply write music that is honest to ourselves. As far as some specific bands we love though, definitely classics like Pantera, Meshuggah, and Cannibal Corpse. We all lov
e a lot of newer bands too such as Whitechapel, Devildriver, Despised Icon, etc. But again, we all love a ton of different stuff, and while it certainly comes into play influentially, we certainly don't try to copy our favorite bands to sound popular.Hanna Tsepesh: You have another band or some future project? Or your time is only for Window Sunday?
Adam: We've all been in various projects over the years, but at this point in time we all focus our time and energy solely on Widow Sunday. We all strongly believe in this band and the music we create, plus I know that I personally have never had so much in a band with such talented people before. This group isn't going anywhere for quite a while, and we're going to keep working as hard as we can because this is absolutely what all five of us love more than anything else in the world.
Hanna Tsepesh: I would like to know when you start to play guitar? When you start to learn it was a difficult process for you?
Adam: I suppose in the grand scheme of things I haven't been playing terribly long seeing as I'm only in my early twenties. I started playing guitar in my early teens, and picked it up relatively quickly. I was never terribly interested in shredding, so spent most of my time learning about theory and composition, which ended up helping me tremendously as a songwriter. I love having Sean in this band, because he's not only an amazing songwriter as well but is a great lead player, so our different styles and educations mesh together extremely well.
Hanna Tsepesh: Let’s talk about your debut EP “Embracing the Beast Within”. For people who don’t listen yet can you tell to us what we can expect from this EP?
Adam: We are extremely proud of this EP, but it is only an introduction to the band. It has everything we set out to convey in our music: lots of hooks, solid grooves, enough technicality to keep things interesting, enough melody to give it some diversity, and constant brutality. We have grown immensely since recording it, however, and absolutely can't wait to unveil all of the material we have compiled for our first full-length record.
Hanna Tsepesh: Everything went well at recording studio? The band feels pride with the final result or in your opinion is something that you like to change?
Adam: The recording experience was a blast, Jim Foster is a great produced and a super cool guy. Spending time in the studio can be tough on any new band, but we found it to be really pleasant and incredibly helpful to our initial development as a unit. If we could go back would we change anything about the record? Probably. But we don't see much point in concerning ourselves with something like that. In music, there's only sense in continually moving forward. We are proud of everything we've done, and use it all as a learning experience to grow as artists and continue to write better and better songs.
Hanna Tsepesh: How has the response been to the EP by the fans and media?
Adam: The response has been overwhelmingly positive! Sales have been great, our fans at shows know and love the songs when we perform them, and we've gotten some stellar reviews. Really, you can't ask for anything for when you release something you've put so much heart and hard work into. Ultimately, we make music because we enjoy it ourselves, but having it appreciated by our fans is the most rewarding thing we could ever ask for. Someone you've never met in your life coming up and expressing their love for your art is one of the most incredible feelings in the world.
Hanna Tsepesh: If one of our readers wants to buy your EP, what they can do?
Adam: Our label and Century Media Distribution have done a phenomenal job in making our music available to virtually anyone who wants to check it out. The best places to go are www.ratpakrecordsamerica.com or www.cmdistro.com, but it's also available on sites like Amazon and iTunes as well.
Hanna Tsepesh: what is your favorite music in this EP and why?
Adam: That's always the hardest question to answer (laughs). If I don't absolutely love a song and believe in it completely, I wouldn't play it and certainly wouldn't record it. Though I suppose if I had to pick one song off the EP, it would have to be "The Strings of Clarity". While it is the lead single, I also feel it really sums up everything we are about as a band.
Hanna Tsepesh: What are the future plains for the band? You guys are thinking about an album or something?
Adam: We have nearly completed the writing process for our first full length album, and plan on buckling down and working on pre-production for the month of October. After that's squared away and we are absolutely confident with the material, we will hit the studio and hopefully be able to release something by early next year.
Hanna Tsepesh: Do you want to send any message for the people who going to read this interview?
Adam: Thanks for your interest in what we're doing! We're not out to be the next Metallica, we just want to get out there and do what we love and have fun. Our growing fan base consistently amazes us, and we are eternally thankful to all of them for giving us more and more opportunities to take our careers further and keep playing music for all of you.
Hanna Tsepesh: Thanks o much for your answers and time. THE GATES OF METAL wishes the entire band a big success! Hope to see you guys very soon in here…
Adam: Thanks for having me Hanna, hopefully speak with you again soon.
Hanna Tsepesh: You are very welcome Adam, thanks a lot too!
By: Hanna Tsepesh
To listen to some WIDOW SUNDAY music’s and for future information’s go at:
www.myspace.com/widowsunday
www.widowsunday.com/
