Interview with alternative hard rockers In Urgency

We recently brought you the sultry music video for Stitches from Los Angeles based alternative infused hard rockers, In Urgency. It is definitely a great track. We had the chance to interview In Urgency and are pleased to bring you that interview here:

Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. We are loving the video for Stitches. First off, it is a kick ass track! Can you tell us a bit more about the song?

Chris: Thanks a lot, we appreciate that! The song originally started out as an acoustic track (as many do) a few years ago. I was in college, between bands, and was really infatuated with the grandeur dream of the singer-songwriter path at the time. I’d kind-of gotten tired of the whole “band world”. The politics, responsibility, having to rely on everyone to pull their weight: It’d just burned me out and I wanted to make music my own for once. It was a pretty confusing time for me; I constantly felt very vulnerable, I was at the mercy of only myself because I had only myself to depend on. During this time I was involved with someone who was previously involved with a pretty high-profile person (who’s name I’ll leave out). That person continued to contact the person I was involved with in attempts to overthrow the relationship we’d developed on numerous occasions. I mean, it never happened because we were in a good place together, but I was pissed. I had no option but to learn about what’d happened previously between them and although I’d appreciated the honesty, It kind of surfaced the reality of my aforementioned vulnerability to myself and the position I was in, and I hated it. Before In Urgency the song was just this desperate, broken, angry, confused, poem set to music. When I decided to bring it to the table at one of our first practices, we really focused on giving the message behind the song, the sound it deserved. And we did. It’s exactly as sexy and angry as we wanted it to be.

Music Junkie Press: Another great song is For Me, very emotionally driven lyrics. What was the inspiration or back story on that song?

Sam: The inspiration for “For Me” actually came from a situation that someone very dear to me was going through a few years ago. Her mother was an alcoholic, a drug addict, in and out of jail, and just basically everything you don’t want or expect a parent to be. In turn, this mother’s kids could never really depend on her for anything when and if she was actually around. All she did was use and take advantage of them. It was really tough watching this person I cared so much about deal with that on a daily basis, and at times having to deal with it beside her. The song is meant to be a letter written from her point of view to her mother.

Music Junkie Press: Now the three of you were in The Hollowed before. Did you find at that time, that the three of you had the similar interests in creating different music?

Chris: I was actually just filling in on lead guitar for The Hollowed for just around half a year. Sam had joined the group about six months prior to my involvement. I’d come to practices to hang out, went to their shows, so I was pretty familiar with the operation of the band and it’s affiliates. When the lead-guitar player quit (apparently there’s a HUGE track record of this happening with this band), they’d asked me to come play the part until they found a permanent member. It was then, that we realized that we all just got along really well. It was always us three who would drive out to practices together, hang out after shows, go eat, party, whatever. When things started to go sour between the band and the vocalist, and I mean SOUR, I decided to resign my position as the fill-in and Sam and Javier weren’t too far behind. A few choice words, hand gestures, and legal battles later, we decided that we should make a sound that was our own instead of playing to the tune of a sketchy excuse of a dictator.

Sam: Well Chris and I had played in a band and written music together previously and knew we wanted to continue that at some point. We actually originally wrote “For Me” in that band but we split up right after doing the first demo of it. After that we decided it would be a good idea to keep it in the vault to have if we ended up playing together again in the future. Shortly after that band split, I joined The Hollowed and Chris joined another band so we both went and did our own thing for a while. I had been in The Hollowed for about 6 months when we ended up needing another guitarist and I asked Chris to jump in. That lasted a few months but eventually we felt the need to break away and make our own music again. Javier made the decision to come with us and see what we could all create together. With that, In Urgency was born.

Javier: Every rehearsal, every time. We shared a mutual discontentment toward the vocalist’s ability to…sing. Knowing Chris & Sam had the pipes gave me hope to play music worth listening to one day.

Music Junkie Press: It is very apparent that the three of you are very passionate with your music and bringing the honesty back into the music. Do you have a particular song writing process?

Chris: Not necessarily. Each song up to this point has had a different process… The only thing that remains consistent in the way we write songs is that, however the song gets to the table, everyone gets to put their touch on it. I mean, we all have different strengths and as we spend more time together (as friends and as a band) we slowly realize what those strengths are. For instance, Sam is pretty smart when it comes to adding necessary sounds to the music. I’ll come to him with a dulled-down chord progression and some lyrics and he’ll be like “oh, sick dude-bro-guy! We should add this little lead here, go to that second chord here, maybe add some cello there.” And from there we kind of just work together on bouncing ideas back and forth until we have a completed song. As of late it’s been a lot of loosely structured songs that I write, complete with lyrics, and then if it’s something we want to progress as a band, we bring it in and really fill it out together with what’s become the “In Urgency sound”.

Sam: There really isn’t any particular songwriting process we go with. Sometimes I write the lyrics and/or the music, sometimes Chris does the same thing. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we even manage to throw something together as a unit at rehearsal. We also have a third guitarist that writes with us and helps produce in the studio but doesn’t perform (although he has been filling in on bass for us as of late.)

Music Junkie Press: What is next in store for In Urgency?

Chris: Our immediate future is looking to be pretty busy. We just wrapped the recording for our next three singles, our EPK is in the editing process, we’re currently planning our first tour starting in mid-march, we’re in talks with a few companies involving sponsorships, various endorsements, it’s all a lot of “behind the scenes” action at the moment. Luckily we have an awesome team behind us that’s really going the extra mile to make 2015 the year we really push ourselves to get where we ultimately want to be: a full-time touring act.

Sam: We just finished recording another 3 songs that are in the process of being mixed right now, so those will all be released in the near future. There have also been talks of doing another video as well as a few other things that we’ve gotta wait to announce.

Music Junkie Press: If you guys could put together your dream lineup, what three bands would you like In Urgency to tour with?

Chris: Oh dear… I’m sure it’s drastically different for each of us. What I think would be a “good fit for a touring package” and who I’d just “want to tour with” are so far from close! If I had to choose a middle ground though, I’d probably go with (in no particular order of importance):

Anberlin: They’re just classic and they have a similar style to what we offer musically, I think.
Alkaline Trio: One of my favorite bands of all time. Great energy, love their sound, and I find myself agreeing with the dark-honesty that surfaces in their music. Also, I think we’d have a good time at the bar.
I think I’d pick a hard-working, unsigned, seriously dedicated and deserving, undiscovered band. If we were in a position to “choose” what/who we wanted, I’d like to see someone else succeed that really deserves it. It’s those bands that really show the passion, dedication, and excitement that music is supposed to be about.

Sam: There’s so many bands I’d love to tour with. The list is endless. Opening for Foo Fighters would definitely be incredible though.

Javier: Bring back Anberlin, bring back Underoath, and take our friends in Assuming We Survive with us. Sam probably wants Shinedown.

Music Junkie Press: With all the major changes in the music industry over the past decade or so, what is something you would like to see changed?

Chris: I don’t believe there’s enough time to fit an honest response in here… haha

In short though, I’d take the politics of it all, put it in a casket, and send it to the darkest corner of the earth.

Music Junkie Press: Are you currently working on any more videos?

Chris: Since we just wrapped the new recordings, we’ve settled on the song we’d like to shoot a new video for. And yes, it’s very much a plan for this year.

Sam: We have the song in mind that we’d like to make the next video for but we’ve gotta wait until the song is finished being mixed and mastered to really progress forward with that

Music Junkie Press: If you could go back to your 14 year old self, what advice would you give to yourself?

Chris: I would probably tell myself to take myself more seriously, much sooner. Music was always something I really enjoyed and wanted to be a part of, but I had absolutely no idea what I was up against. The more you become involved and understand the operation of the business, your mind never stops thinking “get better, work harder, get better, stay true to yourself, get better, work harder.” It’s a never ending cycle of thought that’s constantly surfacing.

Sam: Oh man. This one’s hard because I don’t know how much it would change the path that led me to where I am now. So many huge parts of my life now have come from smalls twists of fate. I guess I would just tell my 14 year old self, “Most things in your life aren’t going to turn out anything like you’re expecting and you need to be okay with that, for better or worse. Focus on the here and now instead of worrying so much about the future. You’re interests, friends, style and experiences aren’t going to be anything like you imagine them now. Just prepare for a lot of change.”

Javier: There’s always someone working harder, so practice past the blisters.

Music Junkie Press: Here at Music Junkie Press we are strong believers how music can help, heal, inspire and change us. Can you recall a specific time where music helped you through something and share the story?

Chris: Every day you draw breath should be a specific event. The human brain is so vast, so deep, so emotional, and so complicated. We experience a plethora of moods and innumerable feelings an uncountable amount of times, every day. Music is the ONLY thing in which you can find immediate solace for every single one of those feelings. It’s the ONLY thing that world agrees on as a whole. It’s the ONLY common ground large enough for all humankind to participate in. If you took music away, the world would be an awful, awful place. It helps me understand who I am as a person. Without that, I’d be a lost cause. So I guess it’d be fair to say it’s my “saving grace” of sorts.

Sam: Honestly, every bad or heartbreaking thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve always had some band or album to listen to that helped me through it or I’ve written about it in my own music. Sometimes I really don’t know what I might’ve done had music not been there to be the medicine or the outlet for whatever turmoil it was.

Music Junkie Press: If we peaked into your Ipod, what artist or song would we be most surprised at finding in there?

Chris: Surprised? Probably Chopin or Spice Girls.

Sam: I’m sure some people would be very surprised to hear Demi Lovato, Kelly Clarkson, or Taylor Swift come on in my favorite songs playlist.

Javier: Hans Zimmer. The Pirates of the Caribbean scores are on a level all on their own.

Music Junkie Press: Lastly, what is something you would like to share with our audience and your fans?

Chris: We pride ourselves on truly being who we are and expressing that through what we do. Some people listen to music, some play music, some have nothing to do with music. But whatever it is that YOU do, make sure you stay true to the person you are. Embrace whatever it is you think you are.

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We are excited for what is in store for In Urgency. They also have an upcoming show this Saturday, February 7th at Backstage Bar & Billiards in Las Vegas, NV with Assuming We Survive. For more details make sure to visit their Facebook page. Stay tuned for new music and news on an upcoming tour! Make sure to visit their social media sites so you can stay up to date on their latest news.

~ Marisol

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