interview with The Glasgow Affliction.

What is the name of your band? The Glasgow Affliction.

What does the name "The Glasgow Affliction" stand for? Basically it stands for pain and suffering, as cliche as that is haha.

What made you call the band "The Glasgow Affliction"? I was in a pretty rough spot in my life at the time and as you can read in the lyrics the issues dealt with are mostly pain of a personal nature. Also, it's a tribute to Chelsea Grin, the term "Glasgow" is referencing Glasgow, Ireland where the Chelsea Smile or Glasgow smile was named for.

How was the band formed? After I felt I was good enough at playing drums and doing vocals I decided to write my own material

What made you form the band? I wanted to make music that I'd like to hear and for others to enjoy.

Can you briefly introduce your band and who you are? I'm Matthew Keene and currently I'm the only member, but hopefully in the future other people will join up with me.

Where are all bandmembers from?/Who does what in the band? The great and wonderful three-stoplight town of Four Oaks, North Carolina in the U.S. As it is right now, I'm the vocalist, guitarist, bassist, drummer, and songwriter for the band

What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To make music for people to enjoy and possibly make an impression in someones life. Also to see how heavy I could get my voice and guitar to go before something broke!

Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? My musics like a mesh of every band I listen to. In my song "Smoke" you can hear some Structures and Northlane influence. In the song "Withering Away" you can hear Veil of Maya and Edge of Exile influences. So all in all my music can best be described as for people who like balls to the wall heavy Deathcore/Hardcore/Djent styled music.

Where was your first gig? I haven't been able to play due to not having other members.

Where was the latest gig? I haven't been able to play due to not having other members.

Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? I write all the songs, starting with guitar, then lyrics, then drums, and lastly studio to put them all together.

Who has the best sense of humor in the band? I have been known to make a joke or two in my time ;)

What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? The best thing about the band is that I have complete artistic control over whats written. Thats also part of the bad. One of the best things about being in a band is having people to work with and bounce ideas off of to make something better than it could be if done alone. So being alone in the band is a good and bad thing. The Genre that I feel the band is is Deathcore/Hardcore/Djent. I take elements of each of these genres and put them together to create something that I enjoy hearing and want other people to hear as well.

Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I picked that style because I enjoy playing it more or less. Most of the music I listen to is tuned to Drop A or lower with a demon screaming words to a drummer that sounds like a mini-gun being fired so it's only natural that that's what I'd like to play. Most of my songs span issues that have come up in my life in the last three to four years. From family issues that nearly caused me to leave home to disgust with how us humans treat the planet we live on, my songs cover that and everything in between.

Do you write your own material or mainly covers? Right now I write my own material but I would be open to doing covers in the future. A song I want to do a Deathcore cover of is "Make It Rain" by California band Destruction Of A King. If you haven't heard of them you should definitely check them out!

Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? The only material that's out right now is the "Dead Silence" 8 song EP. It can be found for free download on www.soundcloud.com/matthew-keene-1

Do you have any clips on YouTube? currently I only have "Smoke" and "Severed" up on youtube.

How old are you? What got you started in music? I'm 18 turning 19 in December. I got started playing music on a whim in 5th grade. I wanted to learn how to play guitar, so I ended up with an acoustic guitar and went from there.

At what age did you start playing? I think I was 10 or 11 when I started learning to play guitar.

How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? I was probably 15 when I first got on stage. The band I was with at the time was Idecay. Funny thing is we only had about three songs written, had to borrow equipment at the last second, and improvised another four songs after the ones we already had.

What year was the band started? 2012

How old were you the first time you saw a liveband play? I had to be about 8 at least.

How old were you at your first gig?/Best/worst gig you've played? I was 15. Best show I've played was the first time my old band played. The worst had to be at the Brewery in Raleigh, NC. Don't get me wrong, that venue held a lot of great memories, but we were supposed to be third from headlining on the lineup when we got switched to opening the show, our second guitarist called at the last second and told us he wasn't going to be there and was quitting the band, and the headliner Belie My Burial decided not to show up as well. All in all that show sucked.

What places will you be playing in in the immediate future? In my dorm room writing new songs.

Where have you played from then till now? Currently nowhere.

What songs are in your live set's? The songs that would be in the life set would be Intro, Severed, Withering Away, Smoke, and Disillusionist, in that order

Is it always the same set's live? Most likely it'd be changed up here and there

What has been the best/most promising gig so far? None as of yet.

Have you had any bigger tours from start till now? No

How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from a handful of people to a packed room with pro level sound equipment and a bar.

What are the plans for the rest of the year? Hopefully write another EP to release next year and get some other members together and go on a small tour.

Where do you usually play? Nowhere currently. 

How do you get psyched up for a gig? Just listen to some of my favorite bands and act crazy with my friends.

What are your goals with your music? To have a lasting impression on someones life. When I quit music I want people to react to it with the same emotion that they did when Underoath broke up. If that ever happens then I'll have reached my goal with music.

When did you decide to go all in for the music? Ever since I was up on stage for the first time.

Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I listen to bands old and new and find I can get inspiration from both.

What are your sources of inspiration? Listening to new music, sleep deprivation, weed, candy, all sorts of things. Mostly though I get it from things that happen in life that are either beyond control or have a profound effect on the future.

What's the first step when making a new song? Usually it's sitting there, staring at my hands on my guitar and making myself angry because my  hands won't move fast enough haha. Then after that it's just jamming around until I play something I like, after that I run with it.

How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? It doesn't matter to me either way. If someones downloaded music instead of buying it that means they are still listening to the music and letting other people know about it. When that band they downloaded comes around on tour, they're still going to go pay to go to the show, pay for merch, buy the band a round of beer. On top of that, that persons going to bring there friends who like the band and want to buy merch and pay to get into the show. All in all I think it's a ploy by record labels to get more money out of the artists that they themselves bleed dry of money.

What would be your dreams for the band? Playing on tour with musicians and bands I've looked up to my whole life.

Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Anything from Bluegrass to Lil' Wayne (Don't judge me)

What do you hold most dear? Probably my family and friends... but mainly my guitar haha

What would be your greatest fears for the future? Not having the opportunity to make an impact on people.

When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Messing up so badly that it's easily noticeable. 

What songs and what years were they released? All the songs were released a few months ago at the same time.

Have you been part of any other projects? Yes I have.

Have you been in any other bands? I've been in two other bands, one called Idecay and the other one was Above The Tides.

What do you work with outside of the band and the music? Skateboarding and University.

What would you do if there was no music? Probably keel over and die from boredom.

How important are your fans? Very important. Without them I'd feel like Kanye West listening to my own music alone hahaha.

What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I'm not quite sure to be honest.

How often do you rehearse? Everyday.

Where do you rehearse? At home or in my dorm room.

Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Smoke and Constantine, those were the ones that have had the most work put into them. Some new material thats in the works blows those two away by far though.

What do you feel is the best liveband you've seen? Has to be a local band called Take Heart. Those guys play their music with a passion that makes everyone feel like family and like their welcomed.

What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Just the satisfaction that someone somewhere likes to listen to the music and that it makes an impression on them in some form.

Do you have any webpages? www.facebook.com/glasgowafflictionband www.soundcloud.com/matthew-keene-1

Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? If you play music for the money you're in it for all the wrong reasons.

Would you like to add anything else? Not that I can think of.

Describe your show, visually and musically. Haven't played anywhere yet.

How do you view the music industry of today? It's pretty messed up as of late but it's making it' comeback slowly and surely.

What advice would you like to give other bands? Just keep doing what you love, as long as you feel some satisfaction in doing it it's worth doing.

What are the biggest obstacles for a band? typically money and equipment.

What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Short, angry, bald sound guys.

Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? I wish I had an upcoming gig.

How would you describe your sound in one sentence? Metal with the ferocity of a thousand tigers.

What is your favorite crappy instrument? Gotta be a kazoo, who doesn't love those things?

What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Finding members for the band.

Whats your Pre-show ritual? Jam to some music and act crazy with the band/friends.

What Won't you spend money on? Merch for now.

What do you feel a band/muscian should spend their money on? Good equipment so that their audience gets the best possible experience from the band when they play live. Having bad amps and cheap equipment won't give the audience a good show. Get equipment that will make you sound as good as if you're recording an album on stage.

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