Page 22 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 103

BV103 pg20-23 palisades interview_BV103 pg21 22/12/2019 21:15 Page 3

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through a lot of pressure of having to change track that the song is going in the right direction.” go through a lot of things, we try our best to re-
and just, writing that next big song, you know. “Yeah, no matter what, you clash with peo- late to people so they don’t feel so alone all the
Writing the next big song and being able to con- ple,” says Matt. “Every band/artist, the best thing time and stuff like that. But yeah, that was prob-
nect with people more…” about making music is the end result of listening ably one of my craziest experiences that I’ve
Matt adds, “I just feel like there’s a lot of to your baby when it’s done. But creating that had in this band so far. It was touching though,
pressure in the sense of like, this is your career, baby, even the biggest artists, they dread having and it makes me happy that we can help peo-
right? So, when we do this and you see some- to fight with someone, saying ‘No, I hate that.’ ple.”
times another person has success doing some- That person is like, ‘I love this. This is what I
thing, you automatically think to yourself ‘Are we want to share with the world,’ and you’re like, he European tour – and U.S. tour prior
doing it wrong?’ and that’s scary to think about. ‘I’m not sharing that with the world.’ So that’s the Tto that – saw Matt, Aaron, Brandon and
How many years can you do something that hardest part, just finding the common ground. Xavier without their usual frontman Lou. Unfor-
maybe didn’t work right away, ‘cause at the end But when you do find it, and everyone’s clicking, tunately Lou had to miss the tours, but the band
of the day you need to eat, you need to provide there’s no better feeling of ‘Wow, we created regrouped with Brandon taking on lead vocals.
for yourself, your future family, if you have a fam- this.’” Matt, in turn, took care of the bass guitar. When
ily, so I think the hardest thing is trying to see we ask how it’s been performing as a 4-piece,
what works for your band, ‘cause we’re all alisades hail from the small town of Brandon says, “It’s been a transition going from
unique and we’re all creating awesome music. I PIselin in New Jersey and originally bass to this, but I was a vocalist in my older
think, a lot of times, a lot of artists struggle with formed in 2011. After signing to Rise Records, band as well, so I kind of have a little bit of ex-
their identity, and that’s the hardest part. And they released their debut EP ‘I’m Not Dying perience behind me on doing it, but it’s been
then going back to the social media thing, you’re Today’ in 2012 – and have been with them ever great, though. Everybody’s been really respon-
looking back at it and thinking to yourself, ‘Am I since. ‘Erase The Pain’ follows ‘Outcasts’, ‘Mind sive. Everybody’s loved the set and the music
good enough for this or that?’ I personally think Games’ and their 2017 self-titled album. The and I guess that’s what matters the most.”
social media has band chose Matt adds, “We’re lucky enough to have two
become an ad- the title, vocalists with great voices in our band, so...
diction… a dis- “I want Palisades to become hope... that no ‘Erase The Brandon really stepped up for us and we actu-
ease. One of the matter what you go through in life, no matter Pain’, since ally decided on our last tour to do a Linkin Park
most popular the songs cover because we love Linkin Park, we love
people or person what you deal with, you can overcome any- on the Chester Bennington, and we noticed the last
that’s followed thing. I think, a lot of times, people go through album focus couple of bands have been doing covers and we
are the Kardashi- on the strug- should just throw one in and Brandon’s done a
ans and they had that spiral, they don’t have hope. And I know gles they’ve great job just stepping up and doing that song.
to change every- hope can sound cheesy, but I think that hope in b e e n It’s a really hard song to do but he’s doing a
thing about them through with great job.”
to fit their new this world is the last thing we cling to that gets the final Black Velvet agrees. Brandon’s vocals were
profile. So that us through the day.” - Matthew Marshall song, ‘Shed spot-on for their cover of ‘One Step Closer’. We
just teaches My Skin’, bet Chester would have been impressed too.
everybody that expressing
you’re not good enough for who you are, and how the past doesn’t have to be your future. The o, what is the most important thing to
you have to fit into these ideals. Once we can album cover of an ouroboros symbolizes the Sthe band? Aaron says, “I think it’s just
break that and show people that you can be breaking of a cycle and the start of a new one – writing the right music and making sure we con-
yourself and you don’t have to be this image or a sign that no matter what you’ve been through, nect to the fans as much as we can.
what we try to say we are, then we can all move you can shed your skin, begin again and ‘erase “There’s a lot of shitty things in the world
on and grow from it.” the pain’. All in all, despite the pain, we all still right now and music is not one of them. And
have hope. Hope for the future and a better to- music can help people. And that’s what we
rack seven on the album, ‘Fragile morrow. wanna do. We wanna help people get through
TBones’, is the continuation of ‘Vendetta’. Through their career, the band have won shitty times with our music.”
The two songs were originally just one, but were more and more fans, not least on their most re- Matt adds, “The best thing is sharing with
split into two. ‘Fragile Bones’ is more related to cent tour with Sleeping With Sirens in Europe. the world our music. And then it becomes theirs,
the sadness of someone wanting to change you. As a band, they love hearing fans’ stories and and you hear their stories. They interpret our
The band has said ‘Always be proud of who you say they’re a huge source of inspiration for the lyrics the way they want to interpret them and
are’. We ask them what they are proud of. band in so many ways. that’s amazing to me too. I love the fact that we
Matt replies, “I’m most proud of everybody. Aaron tells us the moments they’ve shared don’t have to be so literal with everything. We
I’m proud of you guys,” he says to his band- with fans can go very deep. “We have this one can create something and maybe we sang that
mates, “as we’re brothers. Going through the fan of ours from Pennsylvania who, he was con- about our family, but they look at it and say, ‘I
things we went through to get this far. ‘Vendetta’ templating suicide and he said that it wasn’t until sang this when my dog died,’ or ‘My car didn’t
started as one giant song where it was split up one of our songs came on that he decided to start and I couldn’t get to work.’ There could be
in two ‘cause it was the same ideas of just really take the noose off around his neck and stepped any reason, but that’s why we do it.”
trying to create something that we were just down from the chair and said, ‘OK, I’m going to But the one thing the band really want to
stoked and happy with and trying to find who we completely look at my life in a new way and a provide is hope.
are at the same time, and sometimes we were different way, and try to be better’ – and I think “I want Palisades to become hope,” says
battling each other through that. So I’m really that’s super-inspiring in the fact that our music Matt, “that no matter what you go through in life,
proud of us being together and sticking through was able to do that, and being able to help no matter what you deal with, you can overcome
those hard times. Sometimes you’re yelling and someone to ultimately do something absolutely anything. I think, a lot of times, people go
screaming at each other, you know. It gets rough insane. No matter what I’m going through, if I through that spiral, they don’t have hope. And I
sometimes.” think it’s bad, there are so many other people know hope can sound cheesy, but I think that
As Matt said, sometimes you can end up that are going through so much worse and the hope in this world is the last thing we cling to that
questioning yourself. While Brandon says he’s fact that our music was able to help that person, gets us through the day. And I want to say,
confident with what the band write and what it inspires me to keep going ‘You know what? through our band, we’ve had a lot of hope when
they’re doing, Aaron agrees with Matt. “When Our fans can inspire us and we can learn from a lot of people had doubts and hope is what kept
you’re writing music, it’s really easy to second them’.” us going. The one thing I want you to remember,
guess yourself. When you write something, Brandon adds, “I’ll never forget there was there is hope for anything that you need to get
you’re spending hours on it and you’re like ‘OK, somebody I met outside of a show in Hartford, through that day. There’s hope for a tomorrow.”
this is really good,’ and the next day you’re like, CT. He met me outside after the show. He liter-
‘Oh man, is this actually really good?’ and you ally came up to me and was ‘I was thinking Visit www.wearepalisades.com for more
start to show the other bandmates and you’re about killing myself here in a little bit’ and I was info, play ‘Erase The Pain’, turn the volume up
like, ‘Am I crazy? Is this bad? Is this good?’ so like ‘You don’t need to do that,’ and I hugged him loud, and hope. Always hope.
when you’re writing music, you’re second for a good five minutes and we kind of cried to-
guessing yourself constantly, but that’s also a gether and stuff and he was saying how grateful Words by Shari Black Velvet
great thing because you want to make sure you he was for us and our music. That was very in- Photos By Lauren Schorr
are in the same mindset and you are on the right spiring to me. What we do, we help people. We
PALISADES