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Andy Lefton (War//Plague)

SPB; Minneapolis seems very engrained in your sound. How much of that is conscious? Is it purposeful, or does is just sort of happen through osmosis? Do you find the TC scene to be fairly supportive and/or conducive? Are their limitations or frustrations that come with being labeled a Minneapolis band?

Andy: It's completely organic. We don't wear the “Minneapolis sound” on our sleeve and we definitely don't strive for anything specific in that nature. I suppose we've been conditioned to our musical environment, so yes...that element has rubbed off on us.

The majority of us aren't from Minneapolis, but came here to do exactly what we're doing musically. Prior to War//Plague, we all came from other projects (Provoked, Calloused, Pontius Pilate, etc) and played a lot of the same shows together in the past: from the late ‘90s up until now and have always worked closely with the DIY punk community here. At this point, it's in our blood.

It's not frustrating to be labeled as a Minneapolis band, it's where we're from. Our music does tie into some sounds that are familiar, but our individual history also has a back story of playing music that was more similar to what's been cloned over that last couple decades. We wanted to make a statement through our music. Yes, that's cliché, but true. We can bust out any old D-beat riff and move onto the next one without a thought. But we want to dig deeper than that and create something that will have its own unique signature. 15 years ago was an amazing time to just rage and not look back. Our intentions are still the same...more than ever, but want to focus on why the angst is there and not simply write a record for the sake of writing a record. 

Big Dick

SPB: What do your parents think of your band name?

Johnny: My parents believe I haven't left my basement since 1997. I really have them going.

Dave: I tell my parents the band is called Big Richard…they have a very uncertain and vague idea of my hobbies anyway.

Itai (Sweatshop Boys)

SPB: If you had your choice, which band would you love to tour with? 

Itai: Touring with another band is a complex matter, which makes this question a bit difficult to answer. Should we choose a band that we really love or people that we know that we'll surely get along with? Our problem is we're pretty isolated from most of the action/attention, in every aspect. most of the my favorite bands are located thousands of miles away and we never met personally.

Having that said, Sonic Avenues is a no brainer as an answer: a perfect combination between a band that we really love and appreciate and a bunch of awesome individuals. It has been an absolute pleasure to host these guys in Israel--people here are still talking about how much fun we had together. I personally really miss hanging out with them, so I would definitely love to go on tour with them one of these days.

Steven Rathbone (Lair of the Minotaur)

SPB: Since your lyrical themes are also rooted in Greek mythology, what was it that attracted you on the subject? 

Steven: I have always been into mythology, also horror and science fiction. The Greek myths were once passed on through storytelling around the campfire. Now the campfire has been replaced with the television. And even though there are movies and TV programs about Greek myths, there is something lost in the human memory. The natural connection to these mythological and astrological archetypes seems to be nearly severed. 

The story of how there was a long period of peace on this planet. And then an evil influence took over. And that's the world we live in today. I thought metal music would be a good conduit for passing on these stories. The attraction also came from the original idea for the band...which was to make something pure. No bullshit, meat and potatoes, METAL! And the subject matter of monstrous beasts, war, and sorcery are perfect for metal lyrics.