band - Knotted Fear 12.20.06 interview w/Dustin Smithey

BP: Hey, you guys are one of my favorite bands in the area. Thanks for doing the interview. DS: No problem Randy, we are happy to do the interview with you. BP: Please introduce yourself, and tell us about the other members of the band. DS: My name is Dustin, I am the drummer. We are now a five piece, and the other members are Brad on lead vocals, Brandon on bass, James on rhythm guitar, and Zach on lead guitar. BP: I know the band has listed Slipknot as an influence. Is that where the name "Knotted Fear" came from? DS: Actually, I am sure a lot of people would put those 2 names together but that's actually not where the name came from. When we first started the group there was only 3 of us- me, Brad, and James, what we did to determine the name is we all thought of names that sounded cool and just took a vote, and in the end, Knotted Fear, had the most votes. BP: I know you guys hate putting labels on your band. Why is that? DS: We just feel that we are ourselves and we do our own thing, so putting a label on us makes it seem like we are just like all other bands, and we really aren't. BP: I read that the band was soliciting votes for an online contest with Aristpr.com. Can you tell us more about that? DS: That's just something that I came across on the internet. Another band in the area, Bare the Betrayal had actually signed up before us. The voting goes by every month, at the end of each month, the band with the most votes gets to talk to an A&R rep from a record label. So far we haven't gotten the most votes, but we hope that people will keep voting for us. BP: I also heard that you guys have a new guitarist. Is that right? DS: Yes, that is right, his name is Zach and he fits the band perfect. He has been a good friend of mine for a long time, I had jammed with him a few times before we even tried him out and I knew that he would be able to do what we need him to do. We, as a band were wanting to mature from the style of metal that we had been playing, but not stray away from what we like, and with the addition of Zach, we have been able to do so without hurting our reputation. BP: Knotted Fear plays Pop's fairly often. Seeing as though it's somewhat of a larger venue, has it helped the band mature over the years? DS: Yes, Pop's has helped us. Usually when we play Pop's it is for their local show contests and each time we play we get a better response, and we realize that after every show, even though we don't win, we still did our best and we know what to do the next time. BP: Tell us about some of your latest recordings, and are you currently selling cd's? DS: When we record, we do it ourselves. Our inventory in our studio keeps getting bigger and better, and each time we record a new demo the sound is so much better. Right now we are selling our album, "Death Before Disarment", at every show and it is only $3.00 so if you want our cd you will have to come to a show. In the near future we hope to record a really good full length album and have it for sale at some music stores. BP: I've heard nearly all your stuff, and I can tell you guys keep getting better and better - though the quality of the recording falls short due to the home recording sometimes (which, in my opinion, it still rocks). Does the band ever plan to visit a real studio and spend lots of time and money on an album? DS: I'm not sure what our plans are for recording our next album. We would all love to be able to go and get it professionally done, but our budget always falls short. We are in the works right now of having shirts and other merchandise made. Once we get some merchandise and money flow going, we will try to get into a studio. BP: Any plans for a new Knotted Fear cd in the near future? DS: Yes, right now we are steadily writing new songs with Zach, and each one is better and better. I have a feeling that pretty soon we will be cutting a demo and not long after that we will try for an album. BP: What are the bands goals for 2007? DS: Just to keep playing shows and writing the bad ass songs that we always have been. BP: Shameless plug time! Any shows coming up? DS: Our next show is on January 6, 2007 at The Well in Poplar Bluff. BP: Thanks again for the interview bro. Best of luck to Knotted Fear, and have a rockin' Christmas and a drunken New Year! DS: Thanks to you Randy. Always a pleasure chatting with you, and have an awesome Christmas, and try not to get too drunk on New Year! BP: Haha, fat chance! Check out Knotted Fear at www.KNOTTEDFEAR1.com Check out Knotted Fear on MySpace at www.myspace.com/KNOTTEDFEAR ( www.BANNEDPROMOTIONS.COM/KNOTTEDFEARinterview )

"We just feel that we are ourselves and we do our own thing." -Dustin S.

(Dustin)

(James)