Music with a message. Mark talks to Chicago’s own True Witness.
Mark: Hi guys thank you for taking the time to speak to The Rockpit. For those who haven’t heard of you before tell us a little about the history of the band. How did you get together? What got you to where you are today?
TW: Well Randy Gonet (Guitar) and Tom Miller (Drums) met in sixth grade and have been playing together ever since. The two placed an ad in a local entertainment magazine searching for a singer, and Allen James (Vocals) responded within eight hours of that particular issue’s release. The three met soon after and things seemed to click for them right away which led to the initial ten songs being written. At the time, Allen was in another local band with bassist Brian Gordon whom he had asked to join True Witness and Brian accepted. After Brian joined, the songs really came together and True Witness inked a deal with major independent record label (Dark Star Records).
Mark: And how would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard you?
TW: Heavy metal/ Hard Rock with huge choruses and driving guitars.
Mark: Your website says that True Witness is ‘making music with a positive influence or message’ tell us a little about your philosophy?
TW: True Witness isn’t trying to convey any kind of message or political beliefs to any of their listeners. The band simply writes music that isn’t the same old boring bullshit we’ve all heard before.
Mark: We’ve heard a few tracks from your ‘Human Condition’ album and love the groove you’ve got going on songs like ‘Face of Evil’ it’s definitely what we’d like to call metal with soul and groove (and we don’t mean James Brown). What tracks on the album do you feel worked best?
TW: From an artist’s view, all the songs worked the way there are supposed to. The choruses were a must for the band…
Mark: One of our favourites was the heavier ‘Fade With the Night’ but we also loved ‘Walking With the Dead’ and ‘High Time’ tell us a little about those songs?
TW: Perfect example of the choruses at work in (Fade) and the ending having the soul feeling vocal at the end, just a heavy powerful song.
TW: (Walking) is a sort of ballad that isn’t about a girl or suicide or the typical shit you will hear on other albums. This song will let you determine what it means to you. (High Time) is kinda bizarre, the chords used are in no way typical and the song has an amazing chorus.
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Mark: The New album ‘Human Condition’ came out on Dark Star Records in April, what has the response been so far?
TW: It’s doing well, getting some great reviews in a lot of well known publications and radio.
Mark: What is the local scene in Chicago like for rock at the moment?
TW: The local scene is awesome, some really great bands in Chi Town!
Mark: You’ve all been playing for some years now: who would you say your main influences are as a band and individually?
TW: As a band it’s difficult to say because all four have such different influences. Randy and Tom grew up with bands like Ozzy, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Testament, as did Brian and Allen but Brian is really into Rush and played stand up Bass in an orchestra for many years. Allen’s favs include Judas Priest, Queensryche, Dio, etc…
Mark: What are you listening to at the moment?
TW: Ha! Watchin the Cubbies lose!!
Mark: How would you describe the True Witness Live show?
TW: It’s full of energy and as loud as we can get it, when you see this band live expect no less than what the album sounds like.
Mark: We heard talk of a US tour in the summer too?
TW: Still working on that….
Mark: What is the next step for the band? Getting that CD out there to a wider audience and getting more exposure at a National level?
TW: Yes, the goal for the band right now is to keep pushing as much as we can and reach the national level…
Mark: Where are you setting your sights for 2013?
TW: Looking to get back in the studio for the second album.
Mark: How hard are you finding it in today’s climate to get heard?
TW: Uh… Let’s just say it’s a whole different world than it was ten years ago…
Mark: What are the best and worst aspects of being in a young band trying to break through?
TW: You’re doing what you love to do is the best part. The worst is not having the budget that the big boys have to make shit happen…
Mark: Where can people check out your music and keep in touch with the band?
TW: They can check us out at:
www.facebook.com/TrueWitness
www.reverbnation.com/truewitnesstheband
Mark: If you could have been involved in the making of any single piece of music at any point in time what would it have been?
TW: Master of Puppets
Mark: Ok then, easy one to close up: what is the meaning of life?
TW: Treat people the same way you want to be treated.
Mark: Thanks for taking the time to talk to The Rockpit