Interview with Illustrations!

-So who is Illustrations? How did you come up with the name? Where are you from and how did you guys form? Previous bands?

I: Illustrations is Matt King (myself), Carlos Lopez, Cody Mauser, Raymond Linares and Matt Gonzalez. An old friend of mine from a band I was in a year back referenced me to the name not too long after he moved away. A big thank you to him for that. We're all from San Antonio, TX, the home of nothing. I formed this band alone months ago, after being sick of people slacking in the bands we used to be in. Eventually, I scooped up Cody and Matt after parting ways with the people I was jamming with before. Carlos and I were previously in a band called Hope Of Divine Mercy, and Raymond is also in a band called Delorean Recall. Check them out if you get a chance. It's good jams.

-What does Illustrations have under their belt?

I: Thus far, I'm proud to say that we're working with The Ghost Is Clear Records, a DIY label from Missouri. At this point in time, it's all promotion, but in time, good things are going to take place. We can feel this. We're also in talks with another label, who shall remain nameless until we sign, that is going to financially help us get to where we need to be, seeing as we're all broke losers. We've played a few shows in San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi, TX. Fun times, so far. I'm working on booking a summer tour with Sorrows (CA) right now, which is only about ten or so days long. I'm trying to stretch that out as far as Washington, IF possible. As far as releases go, we've released a DIY split with Bottle Rocket (MO), as well as an exclusive song on a The Ghost Is Clear Records compilation record. If anyone reads this, buy our split. I'm hungry. We're currently working on some insane music to release in the future, and I assure you it will blow your mind.

-Since you're hungry. What do you guys love to eat? Any particular places you remember from being on tour that you'll never forget?

I: Jesus, what do we love to eat? Well, whatever we can get our hands on. If you could eat beer and weed, it'd be that. By places, you mean food places, or places? I'll answer both. Best place I've eaten on tour in the past has to be the Whataburger in Corpus Christi, TX. It's the first one built, ever. I mean shit, it's two fucking stories high. Now, if I had to pick an actual place, or places, I'd say some house parties in Austin, TX that we went to after some shows. Good times. I just want to let everyone know that these answers are from my personal past experiences from being on tour. This band has yet to tour.

-What have you learned from bring in the music scene?

I: Well, brother. It takes a lot of time and effort to get anywhere in the scene. You just have to have that mentality, that you're not going to quit, no matter how shitty it gets. Every band should have some kind of uniqueness, ya dig?

-What are some best and worst memories connected with the band?

I: The only memorable moment at this point, was the time we played in Austin, TX. We were allowed a couple of free drinks, so by the time we played, we were all piss drunk, except our drummer. The place was packed. The show went great, except for the fact that our bassist kept hitting people in the crowd with his bass. I got hit in the face with the guitars that night pretty good, as well. Loved it. Love you, Austin.

-If you guys could have a 'DREAM' tour who would you play with and where would you tour?

I: Fuck, if we could play with anyone, I'd say Converge. I like a lot of bands, but Converge definitely sticks out to me, both live and on record. That, or The Dillinger Escape Plan. It would probably have to go through Europe, or some shit. I'm not sure exactly where, but it would be at the hot spot venues. I think I just came thinking about it.

-HA. What do you want listeners to experience while listening to your songs?

I: Well, I'm really into detoxing the mind, as well as other lame things like that. When I wrote these songs, I was probably in a weird state of mind. All of us are. We're not really trying to sound like anyone, but some of the stuff we add into our music is something that will hopefully give the listener a really good vibe. The new stuff we're working on is mellow in the right ways, and heavier in even better ways. It's really going to trip some people out. All in all, I want the people that listen to it to enjoy every second of it. Hopefully most of these listeners will be super hot women. Fuck it, I hope everyone listens to us.

-What does Illustrations stand for? What central theme do the lyrics revolve around?

I: I'm not entirely sure, since I didn't come up with the name myself, but I take it as the literal definition. One being, a comparison or an example intended for explanation or corroboration. The first release we came out with, was around the time my life was basically a shit hole, so I revolved my lyrics around how I was feeling at that time. Since that portion of my life is over, I write more about reality. Cool shit like that.

-For people that never listened or heard of you guys out there. Give us a few reasons they should.

I: Shit, I can't really give anyone a real reason to listen to us. If I was held at gunpoint, I'd probably say we're an actual "hard-working" band, and every thing that we've done as a band so far has been a struggle for us. It's not easy being broke, or being in a scene where our style of music isn't very big. You have to take a lot of time to spread the word about yourself, talk to people and get them to take you seriously. That's what we've done, and what we're working on. That's the only reason I have for anyone to at least listen to one of our songs. If they dig it, keep listening. Spread the word. Hopefully our name will get out there and it will get a little bit easier to make it out here.

-How many shows have you played so far? What was the most memorable one and is there any you consider to be a total wreck?

I: I think we've played around five or six shows, so far. The first few were just to see what we sounded like live, but it was worth it. The most memorable would definitely have to be Austin, TX. That, because we got free fucking alcohol and a huge crowd of stoked kids. That usually means we're about to have a great show.

-Where do you want to see this band in the near future, say 1 year.

I: Since we've accomplished so much in the past five months, I'd say in one year, we'll have a few tours, a couple more releases, merch and other shit under our belt. I'm hoping by then, we'll have a decent label and continue to grow, at a rapid rate. People would at least know who we are by then.

-Whats already planned for the next few months?

I: The next few months have a lot planned. We are going to be recording the three songs for our upcoming split release with Doubt. We're also looking for one other band to take part in this split, so if any bands read this and are interested, please let us know. We're going to have some new shirt designs made, as well as printed. Some miscellaneous merch will also be made, such as patches, pins, stickers, etc. The label we're starting to work with looks really legit. Definitely stoked out on everything that's coming to us, especially the shows we have. Tour is just around the corner, so we're preparing for that bitch, too.

-When you're writing new songs, where do you get your inspiration from?

I: When I write, I'm just looking for the most unknown kind of tone and chord. I like to keep it fast and heavy, but I want it to be heavy in a lighter kind of way. As if it could sound heavy acoustically. The inspiration is all in the mind. I like for the music to tell a story, before the lyrics.

-Thanks for the interview! Any last words?

I: No problem, man. Thank YOU. Hmm, last words? Listen to Sorrows, Canyons, Former Thieves, Doubt, Xerxes, Capsize, Sohns and support your local scene. Check us out on tour this summer, if we're in your area. AND, it's about fucking, not getting fucked up. Love you, dude.

Check them out: myspace