With Full Force. Remember that name because you are definitely going to be hearing a lot more from them very soon! They are ready to take you on an epic ride of in-your-face, headbanging, fist-in-the-aire metalcore. It is great to see the new energy that this band brings to the scene. We had the chance to interview them last month and are pleased to bring that interview to you here:
With Full Force members:
- Andy Twigg – Vocals
- Zakk Cash – Vocals
- Andrew Gula-Walker – Guitar
- Tom Jepson – Guitar
- Landon Bray – Bass
- Damien Allen – Drums
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Music Junkie Press: Thank you guys for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. We are very excited to introduce everyone to With Full Force and we know they will be hooked after the first listen. You guys are fairly new, right? Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and how you formed?
Andy Twigg: The in’s and outs of how we formed are probably best for Zakk and Andrew to explain as they have been here since the very beginning and set the whole WFF ball rolling. but I can explain how I became part of the band. Me and Andrew had done gigs around the same area and crossed paths paths previously with different bands. We had discussed working together before but it never materialised because of one thing or another. But when he contacted me about doing some vocals and writing some lyrics for our first single “The Rehabilitation” and I played it back for the first time I knew I had to get involved with this project. So I went round and laid my parts down and we sent it back to Zakk to hear. Everyone seemed to think I fit the part so boom, I was in With Full Force.
The bands a mixture of 3 English dudes from Yorkshire and 3 American dudes from the south who all share the same passion and what to achieve the same goals.
Zakk Cash: Andrew messaged me on twitter about helping him find a band. I told him I was looking for a band myself and asked him to send me some stuff. He sent me the rehabilitation & i loved it. I wrote some lyrics & sent it back to him. He ended up loving it & from there we searched for other members. Andrew got andy involved first and when i heard what he wrote for the rehabilitation I was on board. I got Landon involved because we’ve been friends for years and i knew he was super talented. Damien and I had been in separate local bands & I knew he was a great drummer. Tom was the last member to join, he & andrew were in a band together and Andrew knew Tom would come in and kill it! It’s crazy how we all met on social media & were able to write music like this!
Landon Bray: We are indeed fairly new. I myself have been playing in local bands for years. It all started on good ol’ twitter with our vocalist Zakk and guitarist Andrew reaching out and collaborating on a track. After that the rest of the members, including myself, just sort of fell into place.
Tom Jepson: As the last of the current members to join the band, I’m a little hazy re its specific foundation! However, I know it was something along the lines of Andrew stalking his favourite metalcore artists on Twitter and then happened to bump into Zakk on there. Zakk and Andrew sent each other some tracks in progress and they both liked what the other was doing / into, and I believe it escalated from there!!
As for a little bit about myself – there’s not too much to tell I guess! I’ve (properly) been playing guitar since I was 14 and always loved metal, metalcore, and just generally heavier music ever since I began playing. If I’m honest, my 7 years as a string twiddler don’t really show for as much as I’d like them to, hah! I studied Music at theUniversity of Leeds and am currently working at a call centre in the UK, which makes me even more desperate to become a full time rock star…
Andrew Gula-Walker: We only went public about 3 weeks ago! We have been quietly working at this since Summer 2014. I personally have been writing and preparing for this band for over a year but never expected this to be the end result. At the end of 2013 I had split with the band I had started and been in for the previous 2 years. I had no real idea of what I was going to do with regards to music. I went to France to live in a ski resort and took all of my recording equipment to keep writing. In the Summer I met Zakk online and we got to talking about music and transferring files back and forth to have something to release. That concept stuck around until approximately December when we suddenly decided ”let’s do this properly”. Then we started booking a trip to USA to record.
Music Junkie Press: You guys have garnered a lot of great attention and catching the eyes of Max Green. Max is a great musician/producer/manager, can you tell us how you hooked up with him?
Andy Twigg: Zakk and Max got in contact through twitter.
Zakk Cash: Max is a great musician/producer/manager, can you tell us how you hooked up with him? Again, Social media! haha. I sent him some stuff on twitter & he messaged me back wanting me to send him more. I kept in contact with him & eventually he asked how we’d feel about having him as a manager. We talked it over and agreed that Max would be a great manager!
Landon Bray: Once again id have to credit catching the interest of Max to Zakk. Max is an amazing manager and musician and I am really lucky to have made such good friends with him over this last few weeks.
Tom Jepson: Tell me about it! Having Max as our manager is unreal, like a dream come true, and has helped us out on so many levels already. He’s not only a great musician, producer and manager but is also one of the coolest guys I’ve met – and he has all the banter as well!
The hooking up happened through Zakk, who – according to Max – wouldn’t stop bothering Max to listen to our music in its early stages. Max had a listen and was seemingly (and thankfully) impressed and now here we are!
Music Junkie Press: We understand you guys have been quite busy, can you tell us about what you are currently working on?
Andy Twigg: 3 of us have just arrived back in England after a two weeks in Georgia with the band and max. We recorded our 5 track EP, shot the video for our first single on the EP and did a few photo shoots. So we have a lot of interesting things coming out soon! We can’t really say two much about it as it’s all top secret at the moment, but bit by bit we will be putting previews and more information on social media.
Zakk Cash: We just recorded an EP and shot a music video for the single from the EP! Also, We will be releasing a cover of “She looks so perfect” by 5 seconds of summer with a guest spot from my homie Trevor from Outline In Color!
Landon Bray: Well the boys from the UK (Andy, Tom, and Andrew) flew over to the states for 2 weeks and we have been SUPER busy. We have an EP in the works, we got promotional pictures done, shot a music video for a newer track, and played our first ever show right here in Georgia.
Tom Jepson: Quite busy is definitely an understatement! We three UK members (myself, Andrew & Andy) flew out to Georgia and I think it’s safe to say we all had the most packed and hectic, but amazing, two weeks ever. Whilst over on your side of the pond, we managed to record a 5-track EP, do a few photoshoots, record a music video, fit in as much practice as possible and then played our first ever show! Not to mention stuffing our faces with fried chicken the entire time too (highly recommended).
I’m not sure whether I should let off any information about the EP or the video itself, but just know that by the time all the editing and finalising process is through I think that we have some stuff that a fair few people are hopefully going to enjoy. The lyric video for our debut single The Rehabilitation has been extremely well-received so far, and that was just recorded in Andrew’s bedroom at home! So hopefully Lee Rouse’s epic production skills will have brought us to another level.
Andrew Gula-Walker: I’ve been busy for the last year learning as much as I can about production and recording to allow me to release songs and covers at a good standard. ‘The Rehabilitation’ went through a long process over several months with tiny changes and tweaks being made to get it to where it is today. After that, I worked on a cover which will be released very soon. During all that I was writing/recording demos most days and thinking of ways to finish certain sections etc. It ended up with me having approximately 7 demo songs in various stages of completion. When Tom joined this year I started working on restructuring some of the songs he had started writing which gives us another 4. He has even more ideas but I pick all my favourites and we start on them first. So the short answer is that we are trying to get our first album finished and I’d like to have it finished before we even tour. I’m actually working on an acoustic version of The Rehabilitation right now, and then will be starting another cover pretty soon after. We want to have plenty of material to release!
Music Junkie Press: Are there any tours currently in the works?
Andy Twigg: We are working on setting up a tour possibly for the summer or towards the back end of the year. It’s not set when or who with yet but it’s in the works. Again, we’ll be announcing as soon as it’s all finalised.
Zakk Cash: We have a few possibilities we’re currently looking into! Nothing 100% but there will be a tour in 2015.
Landon Bray: As for tours, we for sure have a little something planned for this upcoming summer. Cant say who we will tour with quite yet.
Tom Jepson: Tours! Yes please!! I believe that any future tours are all currently dependent on what happens next with the label shopping process that Max has been briefing us on a little. There has been chat between the band, Max and others about getting us on with certain artists, and at certain shows…but I couldn’t possibly mention anything ℅ reet just yet.
Andrew Gula-Walker: There are several bands we keep mentioning going with but nothing is actually booked or more than just suggested by members of the other bands for now.
Music Junkie Press: We heard that you guys were incredible at your show when you were here in GA infusing the crowd with intense energy. Do you guys have a pre-show ritual or what do you do before you hit that stage?
Zakk Cash: Personally, I do my warm ups, Listen to some music to get pumped (Recently it’s been Lifer- Outline In Color, Through The Fire And The Flames – Dragonforce, & Cuntcrusher- Infant Annihilator). Also, I try to meditate before. I feel it’s good to go into a performance with an open mind.
Landon Bray: Well for me, I always have to get my stretching in, eat a good meal, and smoke a cigarette. Nothing crazy. Its a pretty simple ritual, but its what I do and probably always will. haha
Tom Jepson: The crowd that turned up to our first ever show in GA couldn’t have been a better bunch of people. Everybody seemed to have such a good time, and we were all just so grateful that these people had turned up to watch us play, never mind actually enjoying our show!! Absolutely loved the whole experience of our first time gigging together. I can’t say that I do have any pre-show rituals that I partake in personally, other than (excuse the vulgarity, but not gonna lie) taking a LOT of dumps. Gotta be empty to be able to jump about on that stage!! I know that Andy likes to make bird noises before singing at his full level.
Andrew Gula-Walker: Not specifically a ritual. I rush round triple checking all my cables are connected properly and setting up the laptop for backing tracks. I try to stretch a bit and I probably tune then retune my guitar too much. It’s just to keep distracted so that I can focus when we start.
Music Junkie Press: The Rehabilitation is a kick ass track, can you tell us more about that song?
Andy Twigg: Yeh we all really love The Rehabilitation and think it’s a great track to introduce ourselves with. The music was written, recorded and produced by Andrew and then as the band formed we all added our parts to it. Zakk had written and recorded his parts before I had even joined the band so when I got the track I wrote my parts and jumped in the studio with Andrew and laid them down. The song is about addiction and the effects it has on you and the people around you. It’s also about coming back from a dark period of time in your life.
Zakk Cash: So happy you like it man! That song is actually really close to me. I wrote those lyrics at a dark point in my life. I was doing drugs & I was extremely depressed. I felt like I was hopeless, lost & a waste. I made it through though. I wrote that song as if i was talking to someone going through the same problems. Just because things are hard now, It will get better. You’re never alone because you have loved ones. Friends, Family, Ect. No matter how far you’ve fallen, You can always climb again.
Landon Bray: The Rehabilitation is actually one of the first tracks With Full Force worked on. I know its a really personal song for our lyricists. They wrote from their hearts about things that they truly care about. Personally, its one of my favorite ones that we have.
Tom Jepson: Thank you so much, even though that had been written entirely by Andrew before I even joined the band! (Hats off to you, Andrew)! I personally find it one of my favourite songs to play of ours, perhaps because I know it best out of all the songs we have. I believe the song is about overcoming addiction and becoming the best you that you can be, which I think is a really cool message.
Andrew Gula-Walker: Thank you. It took a lot of structure changes and rewriting to get to that point because I could never decide how to make it flow. I must have been through 3 or 4 different chorus ideas before settling on that with the prechorus the way it is. I am only speaking about the music and recording rather than the vocals.
Music Junkie Press: Will you be treating your fans to more Younow streams/chats?
Andy Twigg: Haha yeh we all had a good time on the live stream! We’ll all be together again soon enough to start working on the set for the tour. I’m sure we have plenty of you now stream then! Maybe even some separate ones before then! Who knows!
Zakk Cash: That’s the plan! We love talking to our fans!
Landon Bray: Oh yes! We always have a great time talking with our fans and we are very thankful for all of the support we have gotten so early on.
Tom Jepson: Hell yeah we will! Not sure exactly when, but the whole live stream night we did was really lots of fun. Our Twitter following seemed to grow a lot more in that night alone too, which leads me to believe that perhaps live streaming could be a good way to build the fan base a little.
Andrew Gula-Walker: Definitely! I expected about 3 people to be bothered but in the end there were lots more. It wouldn’t be many for an established band, but at the time I think we had just released our first single 2 days before so it really blew me away to see how many people wanted to speak to us! People who missed it were coming home and watching the recording of it! Since then multiple people are asking us to do it again soon.
Music Junkie Press: Who would you say are your biggest influences that brought you to where you are in music?
Andy Twigg: The influences are that far spread in the band it’s hard to say from a With Full Force point of view. But my biggest influences in terms of bands and artists are issues, linkin park, Memphis May fire and hands like houses. Also my parents are super supportive so without that influence I probably wouldn’t have picked up a guitar or kept singing in the first place.
Zakk Cash: Cradle of filth is what got me into metal. I guess if I had to pick an artist that made me want to be a vocalist in this style of music it would have to be Bring Me The Horizon. Oli Sykes really influenced me to want to be able to preform so intensely & put so much passion into what I do.
Landon Bray: For me, i would have to say my biggest influence would be Rage Against the Machine or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have both been two of my favorite bands for as long as I can remember.
Tom Jepson: Biggest influences? Hmm. To be honest, I’d have to say my dad and my friends from high school! As for specific bands, probably Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon and Metallica influenced my guitar playing and current musical taste the most. I still listen t the same bands I did when I was 14…
Andrew Gula-Walker: Blink 182… I only ever wanted to write and listen to pop punk music, and hated bands with any screaming. Eventually I got into A Day To Remember but for ages they were the only heavier band I’d accept. I remember listening to The Final Episode by Asking Alexandria when I first started my old band and thinking ”This is THE worst song I have ever heard. How does anyone think this is good?” 5 months later it was my favourite song. From there I just got heavier and heavier through Parkway Drive and eventually to Northlane.
Music Junkie Press: If we could peak into your Ipod, what artist or song might be most surprising to find in there?
Andy Twigg: Probably Devlin? Can’t beat of decent English grime haha
Zakk Cash: The little mermaid soundtrack…
Landon Bray: Justin Timberlake. JT is the man and always will be.
Tom Jepson: Most surprising? Probably Avicii. But he’s only on the because I downloaded it for free from iTunes once.
Andrew Gula-Walker: You Me At Six maybe? I have every song they have released including B-sides up until the 2nd to last album.
Music Junkie Press: If With Full Force could take a country or pop song and turn it into your own style, which would it be?
Andy Twigg: I bet we could do a killer Version of billie jean by micheal Jackson! That would be cool!
Zakk Cash: I’d love to do a cover of under the sea… That’s not pop or country… This is how we roll- Florida Georgia line. I love that song.
Landon Bray: Oh man. I would like to do talk dirty to me by Jason Derulo. Ever since I first heard that song I thought it would make a perfect metal cover.
Tom Jepson: We do already have a pop song cover that’s pretty much ready for release (again recorded in Andrew’s bedroom), but I’m not too sure whether I’m allowed to say what it is yet! Personally I’d love to try and tackle Beyoncé’s “Halo” because of how huge I know we could make the chorus sound.
Andrew Gula-Walker: Elastic Heart by Sia has impressed me compared to the usual level of pop music.
Music Junkie Press: If you guys could put together your dream tour, what three bands would like to have on your lineup?
Andy Twigg: Linkin park, issues, hands like houses!
Zakk Cash: Linkin Park, Cradle Of Filth, Outline In Color,
Landon Bray: My 3 would be Fall Out Boy, August Burns Red, and Rage against the Machine.
Tom Jepson: Slipknot, Memphis May Fire, and Violent New Breed (shameless plug)…
Andrew Gula-Walker: In Hearts Wake, Northlane, Fit For A King.
Music Junkie Press: We at Music Junkie Press are strong believers in the power of music and how it can heal, help and inspire. Can you recall a particular time where a certain song or music helped you through something and can you share that story.
Andy Twigg: Music’s taken me through pretty much every low and every high I’ve had but there isn’t one that stands out or I’m willing to discuss here, sorry. But it’s music, that’s what it does and there’s a song for every mood I’m in. That’s why I love it so much!
Zakk Cash: I agree completely man! I went through a hard time in my life when I wrote the rehabilitation. Music has the power to show someone that they aren’t alone… We all have our problems but it’s nothing that we can’t conquer. You’re not alone- Saosin is always a good one to listen to when i’m feeling down. That song will always have a place in my heart. It’s gotten me through some hard times. haha.
Landon Bray: I Wont go into detail about it, but the band Cake has always brightened my day. No matter whats going on, Cake always seems to make me feel better. Dont know what it is, but I love it.
Tom Jepson: I’m sure I felt that a lot of songs/artists spoke to me back in my early teenage years but my memory is a little hazy right now unfortunately. The most recent scenario of this that I can remember is Memphis May Fire’s song “Legacy”. I absolutely love how Matty Mullin’s lyrics are all so positive and uplifting in an inspirational kind of way – “when they say it can’t be done, show them they’re wrong”. Hell yeah.
Music Junkie Press: Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our audience and your fans?
Andy Twigg: Yeh! A massive thank you to everyone that’s show us support so far and helped us since we started out! Everyone from the people in Georgia letting us stay with them and feeding us. The guys lending us equipment so we could practice for our show, the guys give us space to practice for our show and everyone that came to the show! Everyone on social media that helping spread the word and a massive thanks to Max green for his input and guidance through it all!
Zakk Cash: Expect cool announcements and releases in the near future! We love everyone who’s supported us this far and we can’t wait to see you on the road!
Landon Bray: We love you guys! Keep your eyes peeled because there is tons more to come from With Full Force in the future!
Tom Jepson: #Goatlife #Pattlyfe #MichaelApplejuice and last but not least, #DREW. Also, I’d like to thank your audience so much for reading this and being interested to find out about us, and I’d like to thank our current fans for being so awesome, supportive and keen. It really is appreciated so much by each and every one of us in and involved with the band!
Andrew Gula-Walker: Thank you for the incredible support so far! I can’t wait to show you the next few releases! Please keep in touch and hopefully we can keep this momentum going.dd his responses. Thanks Ryan!!
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We will see if we can bring you an interview with drummer, Damien Allen soon. For now, make sure to visit their social media sites and stay up to date on all their latest news. You will also be able to check out their music first hand by following their sites. We look forward to their new music and can’t wait for a tour!
~ Rockin Ryan
Information & Links:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WithfullforceGa
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WithFullForceGA
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/withfullforce/
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