Interview with "Held By The Bloodline"

YourMusicNews: How did you decide on the band name?
Held By The Bloodline: We actually pulled our name from some lyrics that we stumbled across. After some tweaking and editing, we decided on Held By The Bloodline and it stuck.

YMN: How did the band members meet?

Held By The Bloodline

HBTB: We met in high school, in a band class. I (Mike) was a senior and Tim was a freshman. One of our mutual friends wanted to start a band and had asked both of us to be in it. We ended up playing in that band for about a year and a half before it broke up. We had become really good friends during that time, and since we were both still interested in making music together, we started a two-person project which eventually became "Held By The Bloodline".

YMN: Who are some of your major influences?

HBTB: Since his childhood, Tim has always been influenced by old-school Metallica, but more recently, he's gotten into band like Born of Osiris and After The Burial. He has been writing music that is more challenging and musically technical, like odd meters and modulations. I (Mike) have always been influenced by bands like Stick To Your Guns & The Ghost Inside. The positivity of their lyrics has always been something that draws me towards them and it heavily influences the way I write.

"Live The Dream" Artwork.

YMN: How long did the process take, from writing to recording etc. did it take to create your EP "Live The Dream"?

HBTB: We had been casually writing songs for over a year before we decided to book studio time to record them. When we initially entered the studio, it was late August, but we had some unforeseen problems arise and we ended up finishing the album in early November. We're completely happy with how the album turned out, and we're excited to make more music.

YMN: From "Live The Dream", which song is your favourite and why?

HBTB: I think we can both agree on the title track, "Live The Dream", being our favourite. It was the last song we wrote before we entered the studio, so we feel that it's the most mature & best structured song on the album.

YMN: In future albums, do you see yourself sticking sticking to the same style or branching out?

HBTB: We're already in the process of writing for our next EP which we'll be recording this summer. It's going to be a little more melodic and a little more technical. We're having one of our close friends join the band in May, and we're certain that he'll help make our music even better!

YMN: What do you hope people take away from your music?

HBTB: We hope that our music is something that people can relate to, and something that people can be inspired by. Even if we only impact one person, our music is still a success in our eyes.

YMN: Any plans to tour this year?

HBTB: We'll be playing a few shows during the summer, but I imagine we'll be pretty busy recording the new album.

YMN: Who are some bands you would enjoy touring with in the future?

HBTB: We have a lot of friends in bands here in the Fresno area and we'd be more than happy to tour with any of them. They're all great guys,

YMN: Finally, is there anyone you would like to give a shout out to?

HBTB: We'd just like to thank all of the people who actually listen to us and anyone who has purchased a copy of the EP. It's totally surreal having people we've never met before give us feedback & compliments on our music. We appreciate it so much!

Connect with the band:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/hbtbl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/heldbythebloodline