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Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Brandon Saller awoke with a new point
of view. Hell or High Water was a product of that breath of fresh air, birthing
the album Begin Again with partners in crime Matt Pauling (guitar), Neal
Tiemann (guitar), Joey Bradford (bass) and Captain Carl (drums). Formed in a
matter of months, this mega band was created from some of the best acts you
never heard culminating in a sound you’ll never forget.
NS: The way that Hell or Highwater form is reminesant of Stone Sour…Cory
Taylor switching from one band to the other. If Brandon should choose to head
back to Atreyu, do you think that it would be difficult balancing the two?
Joey: I don’t think any of us see this as a juggling act. I think we’re all on the
same page at this point. We just put a record out and we’re super super excited
about it. We have a lot of plans in staying busy. At the very least for this entire
record cycle. I think people can look forward to us staying on the road and
keep writing for the next couple of years.
NS: Do you find that it helps or hinders the process being such a DIY band?
Neal: It helps us at this level just because we can do anything we want. We
can sell a record to a kid- hand him a record and be fine with it without the
trappings of a label of anything like that. The approach that we’ve been taking
has been helping us a lot.
of view. Hell or High Water was a product of that breath of fresh air, birthing
the album Begin Again with partners in crime Matt Pauling (guitar), Neal
Tiemann (guitar), Joey Bradford (bass) and Captain Carl (drums). Formed in a
matter of months, this mega band was created from some of the best acts you
never heard culminating in a sound you’ll never forget.
NS: The way that Hell or Highwater form is reminesant of Stone Sour…Cory
Taylor switching from one band to the other. If Brandon should choose to head
back to Atreyu, do you think that it would be difficult balancing the two?
Joey: I don’t think any of us see this as a juggling act. I think we’re all on the
same page at this point. We just put a record out and we’re super super excited
about it. We have a lot of plans in staying busy. At the very least for this entire
record cycle. I think people can look forward to us staying on the road and
keep writing for the next couple of years.
NS: Do you find that it helps or hinders the process being such a DIY band?
Neal: It helps us at this level just because we can do anything we want. We
can sell a record to a kid- hand him a record and be fine with it without the
trappings of a label of anything like that. The approach that we’ve been taking
has been helping us a lot.
NS: From everything I’ve read or watched, Brandon keeps
bringing up the reoccurring them of positivity and new
beginnings. Was this a conscious theme when writing the
songs?
Joey: The way the band came together, none of us had a big
history or a past together. Things were just thrown into the
mix really quickly and we called ourselves a band. It was
pretty apparent within the first month or two of being together
that we were on the same page and a lot of similarities had
started to come out. Brandon had definitely had the basic
theme of trying something new and giving it a hundred
percent. The lyrics that Brandon had written before finding us
was about starting fresh and finding something new and
following what you wanted to do while finding something
important in life. Coincidentally, or almost by fate, we were all
in that same boat and that’s why we decided to name the
record Begin Again. We all found ourselves in a place where
some of us were coming from projects that were fizzling out
or didn’t work out… something that wasn’t clicking. Here we
are, eight months later as a band, not really knowing one
another but becoming best friends. We all get it. This next step
in our lives is one we’re taking together.
NS: How many songs were written before the track list that
we see? If I can remember correctly, all but three songs were
written before everyone came into the fold.
Neal: Only two didn’t make the record. The record had a clear
path. There were only about fifteen songs written. And even
the two that didn’t make it was hard because they were good
enough to make the album. We plan on using those possibly on
the next record. I can’t imagine us putting those songs out
alone without an album
NS: There is a rumor floating around that you guys were going
to be teaming up with Avenged Sevenfold for a USO show at
the beginning of next year.
Joey: I haven’t heard a rumor about that but I would love to.
That would be great for us as a band because we have a super
American theme.
Neal: We’re all country men. [End]
bringing up the reoccurring them of positivity and new
beginnings. Was this a conscious theme when writing the
songs?
Joey: The way the band came together, none of us had a big
history or a past together. Things were just thrown into the
mix really quickly and we called ourselves a band. It was
pretty apparent within the first month or two of being together
that we were on the same page and a lot of similarities had
started to come out. Brandon had definitely had the basic
theme of trying something new and giving it a hundred
percent. The lyrics that Brandon had written before finding us
was about starting fresh and finding something new and
following what you wanted to do while finding something
important in life. Coincidentally, or almost by fate, we were all
in that same boat and that’s why we decided to name the
record Begin Again. We all found ourselves in a place where
some of us were coming from projects that were fizzling out
or didn’t work out… something that wasn’t clicking. Here we
are, eight months later as a band, not really knowing one
another but becoming best friends. We all get it. This next step
in our lives is one we’re taking together.
NS: How many songs were written before the track list that
we see? If I can remember correctly, all but three songs were
written before everyone came into the fold.
Neal: Only two didn’t make the record. The record had a clear
path. There were only about fifteen songs written. And even
the two that didn’t make it was hard because they were good
enough to make the album. We plan on using those possibly on
the next record. I can’t imagine us putting those songs out
alone without an album
NS: There is a rumor floating around that you guys were going
to be teaming up with Avenged Sevenfold for a USO show at
the beginning of next year.
Joey: I haven’t heard a rumor about that but I would love to.
That would be great for us as a band because we have a super
American theme.
Neal: We’re all country men. [End]
