Q. and A. with "Guilt by Association"

“Guilt by Association” is an up and coming hard rock band out of Chatsworth California. The band brings a moody, emotional style with an underlying sense of artistic expression that will remind listeners of bands such as Alice in Chains, Tool and Deftones. I had a chance recently to talk with them and find out more about what is going on in the Guilt by Association picture. They did not disappoint.

Q: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, tell us what we
need to know about the band.

A: Britt: Guilt by Association is a 4 piece rock band from Los Angeles, CA. I ( Britt ) play bass and sing backups, my brother JD sings and plays guitar, Sean plays guitar and sings backups and Jake is our Drummer! We've been together with various members for 10 years and have toured nationally and down into Mexico.

Q: Your website says that you, “write style-clashing hard rock with a
distinct voice.” Talk a little about what this means to you.

A: Jake: We try and put as many different elements into our music as a quartet can. With every song, we work carefully and tirelessly to make sure each part has it's own identity within the body of the song. For CHAPTER 1: END OF STORY, the songs seemed to fall into their
structures effortlessly. Right now we are working on writing another EP with a totally different approach to the music as well as writing and structure. Our goal really is to make everything we do a different voice, within the sound we have been working so hard to create.

Q: Your list of influences includes bands such as Pink Floyd, Alice in Chains, Deftones, Tool and Dredg. How did some of these effect you in developing your sound and style?

A: Jake: All of those bands fuel our love for music, as well as many other bands and artists do. Specifically, the handful of bands we list on our site are a good representation of places we draw our senses too. Sometimes if you can't figure out why a certain part does not mesh
with another part, it helps to see how bands you respect may have done a similar transition, etc. In the case of influence, we really pull from our own minds first and foremost, then we use the other bands to 'bounce' ideas off of so to speak.

Q: How much has your lineup changed over the last 10 years and which
original members are still with you?

A: Britt: Well we have definitely been through our fair share of members. JD and I started the band 10 years ago with Sean. After a few years Sean decided to take a break and pursue other interests but he came back to the band in 2008. Jake was also a member in the early years and took a break and now he's back as well. We have all put a lot of effort into Guilt by Association and these current members make a great team!

Q: The website talks a lot about the theme of “evolution” of your
music, art, people, etc. Talk about this a bit.

A: Britt: Like I explained above we have members that have left, grown, changed, evolved and come back Guilt by Association with new things to offer and new skills to explore. Every time we start writing it's a different process and we just roll with it. We're always learning new things and constantly striving to be better version of ourselves.

Jake: Without evolution, we wouldn't be here. Without the growth we have experienced as friends, foes and band mates, we would not be able to get the songs that we create to work.

Q: Where do you see yourselves in the scope of metal today?

A: Jake: I don't think we really fall into a strict 'metal' category. I
think in the 'scope of metal' we are exploring new avenues of our
sound everyday. We have called ourselves 'Indie-Metal' in some
circuits, but who knows what we really are.

Q: Your EP: CHAPTER 1: END OF STORY came out in June. Talk about the
album and what it's all about.

A: Britt: We had been writing and working on new songs for a long time. We'd even started recording twice and felt that we could do better. We scrapped some songs, rearranged a few, wrote some new ones and finally came up with a cohesive sound that we felt really represented the direction we wanna go! We decided to break up the the songs into EPs. That's why our newest album is called Chapter One: End of Story. We are currently working on Chapter Two!!!! Our last two albums have been recorded and produced by Guilt by Association and Greg Hayes. We fund our own recording and do a lot of it ourselves. Chapter One: End of Story was recording in an office building in Chatsworth, CA! It's a very guerilla style process but I think it works for us!


Q: “Before Goodbye” is a smooth, guitar driven song (with sounds of
the Deftones and Tool all over it). It's very artistic and moody. Talk
a bit about this song and how it came about.

A: Britt: Before Goodbye is a song that defined itself. One day in practice Sean started messing around with the lead line and I just instantly felt a connection. The bass line of the verse came together really quickly with the open hollow sound of the drums and I like the contrast that the chorus offers with the full chord syncopation and the lead guitar line really shining through. We felt we were really on to something. We love the groove of that song and space it leaves for the melody. It's a blend of the commercial sound we think is important and the driving rhythms and aggression that we feel keeps our music interesting!

Q: “Living in Silence” starts with some distorted guitars and moves
into some vocal melodies, transitioning in and out of screaming. Would
you say these elements are characteristic of the band's music?

A: Britt: I think so. We are always blending those elements in different ways to keep it interesting but I think that is a good observation of what makes a Guilt by Association song.

Q: It looks like right now you're only playing about one show a month,
is that right? Are you looking to be playing more, any tours in sight?

A: Jake: We are always looking to play as many shows as possible. We want to
get out there as much as we can this fall and winter, hopefully out of
LA for a while. No tours planned just yet, but always willing to play!

Q: What are your goals for the future as a band and personally?

A: Britt: . We want to make music our full time careers and tour the world having a blast and we work hard to try to make that happen but there's no guarantee. We love what we do and that's the most important thing to us. If we aren't having fun and enjoying ourselves right here right now then what's the point?!?!

Q: What do you think about the state of metal and hard rock, both in
California and in general?

A: Britt: It's always been a smaller market than mainstream rock and pop and especially in the crashed music biz and down economy it's a pretty tough genre to break in to! We personally think the music scene in and around Los Angeles kinda sucks. Bands are a dime a dozen and shitty bands pay you to listen to them so it's hard to really catch anyone's ear. But I think if we've survived here as long as we have than hopefully we can pretty much rock anywhere!

Q: Ok, here's your free chance. Plug your website(s), album(s), shows,
other bands, whatever ya want!

A: Britt: If you want more information on us than check us out at myspace.com/gba or www.guiltbyassociation.com. If you're in the Los Angeles area we have a huge show on Oct. 24th. You can find more info for that on our myspace page! If you would like to purchase our music you can find us on Amazon.com and Virgin.com. Keep a look out for our next album Chapter 2... and thanks for supporting indie music!!!!

Guilt by Association is another up and coming band we'll be watching with close eyes in the future... here as always, in the Continuum.