10 Questions with Eating Infinity

Eating Infinity (via MySpace)

In a world where everybody has a death metal band (or at least a band they think is death metal), some people want to take things to the next level.  For lead guitarist/songwriter Mark Hawkins and vocalist Baked Blake of Floridian newcomers Eating Infinity, the challenge isn’t getting to the next level (musically, they’re already there); what’s difficult is getting other people to join them.  Hoping not to go the way of Anvil, this band is showing all the talent and promise necessary to make it big – but in a world where deathcore is king, usurping the illegitimate throne is no easy task.  Learn more about these guys now before you end up getting surprised by them in the future.

———————————–

1. I think the first question on everyone’s mind is: what does infinity taste like, and what beer/wine goes best with that kind of meal?

MH: It tastes like chicken! it goes with a nice aged Bordeaux.

BB: I say it taste like pancakes and Jager:)

2. Tell us a little bit about how the band came to be. When and why did you make the decision to take this music out of the studio and onto the stage?

MH: The band pretty much formed when I met the Baked Blake from Crypteria, a band from Jacksonville that I was already a fan of and had even worked with a prior vocalist of the same band. Currently I’m filling in for them on bass. Blake and I aren’t from the same city, so he would drive up to my makeshift studio in Tallahassee with lyrics in hand, ready to go. After we had recorded about 4 songs, we realized that this little project was something special and the next step needed to be taken…Put a real band together.

BB: Also Matt Henderson our other guitarist has really stepped up with some nasty riffs. Mark and him have jammed together for about 10 years! They’re an awesome team on stage and really bring the pain.

3. Some of your songs are pretty intricate. How hard is it to replicate these tracks live with only 4 members? Do you think that might have an influence on any music you write in the future, or is “toning it down” not an option?

MH: The songs are pretty difficult to pull off, but every member is truly an elite at what they do. So even as a four piece, we still put on a tight, crushing, brutal show and have a blast doing it. As far as toning it down…some of the songs were recorded with up to 4 guitar layers, and bass too (We are still looking for a bass player!) And how do four members play the parts of 5-7 layers of instruments? We don’t. Some layers needed to be scaled back or just cut out entirely. We try to play the most important parts that people will recognize if they happen to have heard the recordings. The technicality of the music definitely isn’t toned down, nor will it be in the future.

BB: I just scream my ass off and party! No toning it down, the party must go on!

4. Building off that last question, what are some of the responses you’ve been getting from folks in the crowd? Even though you all are experienced musicians, it must be a chore sometimes playing original songs to scores of people who have never heard them. Do you play any covers? Michael Jackson tributes?

MH: HAHAHA, No pedophile songs for us yet. We do a pretty mean cover of Master of Puppets with some kicked up drum and guitar work. We’ll also occasionally sound check with Oblivion by Mastodon, or part of Deliverance by Opeth. The response has been very strong from the people that actually showed up!

BB: MASTER!!!!!!! So I was approached by a large security guard that said “Rumor goin round u look like a young James Hetfield.” We lost it!

5. Mark, being the primary songwriter has its advantages and disadvantages. You get to be as creative as you want in exchange for input from the rest of the band. Granted, most (if not all) of the songs you’ve written so far were composed long before you had other musicians to work with, so you didn’t have much of a choice. Do you plan on getting the rest of the band involved in songwriting in the future? Moreover, will we get the chance to hear these songs with real drums instead of DFH any time soon?

MH: One of the things about this band that makes it pretty hard to collaborate is that we all live in different cities. When we are able to get together and practice, it is definitely a good time. I would really love the chance to get to write a few songs in the jam room whenever we get together, right now our time to practice is pretty limited. I’m absolutely down for it though! About the real drums, first off I want to say finding a drummer for this band was not very easy. The drums are ridiculously fast and difficult. Tons of blast beats, coordinated double pedal work and crazy fills. But then stepped in Mr. Grover Norton. The guy is an all around badass metal drummer who has already played for bands like Daath and Gigan. Getting this guy into a real studio would be killer. But that costs money which we lacking a bit right now to say the least.

6. I’ve heard there have been some bad moments on tour already, but that’s to be expected for a new band. Care to share any embarrassments/disasters?

MH: hehe well, we have played a few shows for 10-15 people. We’ve broken strings, gone into debt, got a knife pulled on us in Texas by a psychopath ex-con, had awful PA systems. Even played on a Semi truck bed in the desert in Del Rio, TX by the Mexican border. That was actually a pretty cool show, shit got SANDY!

BB: Actually I thought it went pretty well. besides the lack of shows set up. Of course we were informed there would be more!

7. How about this chance meeting with Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse? How did that happen?

MH: We are all huge fans of his of course, Arguably the best metal bass player of all time. I started talking to him through the myspace asking about a Blotted Science tour and told him we would be hitting up Tampa twice with with Eating Infinity. And holy shit, he actually came out! Of course I threw out the “Hey, so we are still looking for a bass player (wink wink)” But seriously, that guy is one of the most humble, talented, down to earth dudes you’ll ever come across. He was a really good sport and actually waited around for a few hours for us to headline this shitty festival in Largo. This was one of the shows with 10-15 people. It was a massive privilege to jam for Alex. I was honestly starstruck.

BB: Alex….a great guy. It was really awesome having him there.

8. It’s hard to find fun being a new band in the post-Napster era, especially a new metal band. Add to that the fact that there’s a good bit of experimentation to your songs and things get even tougher. It’s true that not much has changed about grueling introductory tours traveled in minivans, but the chances of financial success after the fact are lower than ever. Being on the outside of the dumbass metalcore/deathcore movement, where do you guys see Eating Infinity going in the future? Furthermore, what are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?

MH: Well, we definitely feel like we are doing something original and worthwhile to expose to people…otherwise why not just stay home! But as a completely underground band…it’s definitely rough. Everything costs money, for us it even costs a good deal of money and time just to get to practice and back. We seldom get paid at gigs. I really hope to grab a few of those fans of more mainstream acts that are looking for something a little more extreme. I think the music industry is definitely hurting right now. It seems to me kind of like the stock market…”Ohh Deathcore is huge…BUY BUY BUY!!” But this is all driven by the retarded fans that are willing to follow any trend to be a part of their “scene”. Those bands that actually make money can invest in more advertising to cram themselves even further down your throat. With such a saturated market of bands trying to sound like other bands, it gets confusing. It’s just a shame the underground is largely ignored, there is some really cool shit down there.

BB: I get on myspace and think fuck how many bands are there really! It’s crazy can’t they just play guitar hero or something??

9. I feel like right as metal is having this resurgence of pop culture interest, it’s only a matter of time before things go too far and people start laughing at it. It happened with glam, then it happened with nu, and it could happen again with whatever the kids are into right now; to be honest, I don’t even understand the appeal of most of it. Do you think metal can be saved from another embarrassing demise, or is it all just inevitable once the music breaks into the mainstream? You guys have the privilege (and burden) of not being part of that mainstream in a genre where credibility is a huge, constantly changing gray area. What do you think needs to change about pop metal in order to make it…for lack of better words, less retarded?

MH: Well first off…I think we should kill Nickelback. If you are a Nickelback fan, then fuck you. I’m not apologizing for that. Even if you are bigger than I am. But, seriously I really want to see the power of the badass riff come back. Most of the newer mainstream kind of “metal” I hear sounds more like a never ending chorus. Just stuff that has really simple catchy melodies and no experimentation. Or just an amalgamation of stuff that is popular…like breakdowns mixed with auto-tune…sounds silly, I know. But, the reason pop metal is popular is because people are listening to it. So basically, people need to wise up a bit and realize there are much better bands out there if they look past all the garbage.

BB: I think its impossible to get rid of shit like that…when their parents raised them on Flock of Seagulls. But you’ll always have these labels, that produce these fake bands.  Why, people listen I have no idea???

10. The final question is one I ask everybody: if you could go on tour with any band from another country, who would it be and why?

MH: Opeth because they are the best fucking band in the world.

BB: Meshuggah cause I dig the vokills and the music is insane.

http://www.myspace.com/eatinginfinitymusic

DISCLAIMER:  ALL INTERVIEWS ARE PRE-APPROVED BY THE ARTISTS INVOLVED. NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO SAID INTERVIEWS BY THE INTERVIEWER WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE ARTISTS. NO INTERVIEWS ARE TO BE RE-SOLD FOR PROFIT.