In our first 'Introducing' feature of 2015, Tyler Sharp catches up with hardcore band, The Cambion. Head over to their Facebook to find out when they're coming to a town near you.
First off, please state your name and role in the band.
CJ: CJ, I play drums.
Tyler: I’m Tyler and I’m the vocalist.
Jake: My name is Jake and I’m the guitarist.
Brian: Brian Moore, I play guitar.
You’ve all have past experience within the music scene in Northwest Indiana and surrounding areas. How did you all come together to form The Cambion?
CJ: Originally, Jake and I had gotten together with some friends that we've been playing shows with for a while, but had just never actually played in a band together. Their band and our band, were both going downhill at the time, so we decided to join together and start from scratch. Some things didn't work out and we were forced to start looking for new members. I had never played with Brian, but I knew he has a similar mentality of playing music and being in a band as Jake and I, so he started playing a few shows with us and it just worked. I toured with Tyler a few years ago and we worked awesome together, so that was a given.
Tyler: I’ve known the members of this band anywhere from 2-4 years, depending on which member you’re talking about, and it all kind of happened by chance. I did a brief tour with CJ, I’ve known Brian for a few years now, and Jake is more-or-less a package deal with CJ.
Jake: When I played in my old band, Framed In Gold, I had become friends with CJ, who eventually partnered up with us after a while, and had ended up meeting Jake, Kyle and Ryan Anderson who were originally in the band. After a little over a year, CJ and I were asked if we wanted to form a band with the three. At first, we weren't too sure of it, but shortly after Framed In Gold was nearing its unofficial end, we just decided to start up the Cambion.
Brian: The Cambion had already been a band for a while, and when the last guitar player left, both Jake and CJ sent me texts asking if I would be interested in playing with them. I played two shows with the old vocalist, and then Tyler just sort of naturally flowed in after he left. Our bass player Roland has really fought for his role in the band, and I feel like he deserves more credit.
With all of the lineup changes, how has that affected the overall motivation behind the band?
CJ: It has definitely gotten me down at times, but eventually everything works out for the better. I'm friends with everyone who has been in the band and it was awesome working with them. I recently got a tattoo from one of them and I just filled in for the other three's band a couple weeks ago. Sometimes it just doesn't work out, people disagree and have different mindsets and ideas - it happens. You get through it, and find a way to make it a positive thing.
Tyler: I feel that the people who are in the band now, coupled with our combined desire to tour and push ourselves to the limit, have opened a new door into what this band could grow into.
Jake: It was a little stressful because we didn't know how we were going to go about getting new members, but luckily Brian picked up guitar, then Tyler took on vocals. As far as affecting the motivation, it only made us more motivated by not wanting to just give it up.
Brian: I was only ever really involved with this lineup, but from what I can tell, and what I've been told, this is the most productive, and forward thinking version of the Cambion. We focus really hard on always looking and sounding professional.
You have a handful of stand-alone singles released and also play various shows around the region. As a band, are you focusing more on the recording aspect to grow your fan-base, or the performance side of things?
CJ: Both factors play extremely important roles, but to me, a band's live performance needs to be spot on more than anything. People will remember an awesome performance that blew them away more than a cool song they heard on the Internet. I can list tons of bands who write music that I really dig, but can't play it for the life of them. It's disappointing; I would support a band with an awesome live show playing music I don't like before one of those bands any day. Just personal opinion, though. Like I said, both are crucial.
Tyler: We want the entire experience to blow people away. Everything we have recorded we can play live to the letter, so the performance aspect is something that is always important to us. As far as growing our fan base, our only hope is that we continue to put out quality material that people will enjoy and tell their friends about.
Jake: We definitely are wanting to get on writing new material and recording it so we can continue to keep and build fans, but we also strive on a solid live performance to please as well. So, from my perspective I don't see us focusing more on one or the other.
Brian: I would say the performance aspect for sure. The music world today is way more focused on whether or not you can play your songs live, and we try to put on the best show we can every time. Having a catchy song with a million views on YouTube is one thing, but if you can't play your music, you shouldn't be on stage. Seeing bands live is always how I determine if they are legit or not; I’ll give a band I don't like on recording another chance if they are awesome live - and vice versa. If I like a band on recording, and they suck live, I’ll probably stop listening to them.
When it comes to the structure behind the band’s material, how do you go about the song writing?
CJ: As far as instruments go, every song has had a different writing process thus far. One song was completely written by one member, and then presented to the rest of the band to learn. Sometimes there's a an idea, and then the whole band writes the song together, while others are half and half between two members. It just depends.
Tyler: It’s pretty cut and dry. The guys will crank out an instrumental or two, record a rough cut of the song, keep jamming it and work out the kinks, and then once we’re satisfied with that product, we take it to the studio to finalize it.
Jake: Basically, I just sit down and start playing. As soon as I come up with a part that I like, I’ll start up a song. Eventually I start coming up with more parts that I like and if they sound good together, then I've made progress. Honestly, it's all about flow. If it doesn't sound good together to me then I won't even bother.
Brian: I am entirely removed. [Laughs]. I just let Jake and CJ do their thing, and it turns out awesome every time.
Where do you find inspiration from for the band? What are some artists that influence you?
CJ: Good question. [Laughs]. I can't really think of anyone that I specifically pull inspiration from, but the heavy bands I've been listening to nonstop lately are Gideon, King 810, the Ghost Inside, Volumes, and In The Midst Of Lions. You could probably hear a little bit of those bands in our music, but I'm not too sure.
Tyler: Personally, vocalists like Daryl Palumbo from Glassjaw, Phil Bozeman, Claudio Sanchez, and Nick Arthur have inspired my live performance, my lyrical content and style, my vocal patterns, and how I manipulate my voice to produce the sound I want.
Jake: I like most of what we play to be on the "heavy" side of things, so basically anything mean sounding. I don't like having an artist influence me because then I feel like I'm just rewriting their music, but some bands you can catch me listening to a lot are Volumes, Gideon, Thy Art Is Murder, Those Who Fear and those who are similar.
Brian: As I said, I don't play a part on the writing, but as far as bands that I take influence from, definitely Every Time I Die, No Bragging Rights, Whitechapel, Volumes… I could go on forever.
Are there any plans for an EP or full-length in the near future?
CJ: Nothing set in stone, but definitely one or the other sometime this year. Probably an EP.
Tyler: Hopefully a new EP; possibly a full-length album will be a reality within the next year, but anything can happen in regards to that.
Jake: There are no actual "plans" yet, but we have talked about knocking a few more songs down and going out to get them recorded. So we'll just have to see how things go.
Brian: We definitely want to record something, but there are no immediate plans to hit the studio.
If there was one thing you could change about the music scene in Northwest Indiana (and the surrounding areas) what would it be?
CJ: Support. It's weak. Band's show up for their set, play, and leave. So lame. We try to travel more than we play locally, but yesterday we played a local show with a couple touring bands from Texas and West Virginia. Members of the bands that were from far away were up front watching during our set, while almost all of our friends and fellow local bands stood far away, or were nowhere to be found. I'm not trying to complain about our show not being ideal, it's not just about us, but I run sound at just about every Northwest Indiana show and I see how everyone is. No one supports each other like people do in other places. Shout out to the Fort Wayne, IN scene. There isn't a huge variety of people who attend shows out there, but it's a tight group who love, respect, and support each other and every band on each bill.
Tyler: More support. It’s a pretty sour feeling to see a once flourishing scene begin to degrade slowly over time. Favoritism is pretty prevalent in our area when it comes to a few bands, but regardless, we work to stand out and not just exist within our local sphere.
Jake: People need to stop having their little cults. Come to shows when they start, give bands the attention they deserve. Too many people come for one or two bands and are no where to be found until those bands play.
Brian: I just wish everyone stopped being too cool. Everything is really trendy, and people won't support you if you aren't a part of the "in crowd.” Everyone loves Terror now, and can't admit that they loved Oceano and Whitechapel three years ago. Everyone talks about how heavy music is about acceptance, and inclusion, but if you don't have the right merch on, no one will even talk to you, and everyone acts like they are doing you a solid by getting into your band, or moshing at a show.
Thanks for taking out the time to chat. Anything else you would like to add?
CJ: Thank you for showing interest. Thanks to anyone who has given us the time of day to stand and watch a song, or listen to one on youtube. Thanks to our previous members. And to our future ones once we all inevitably get sick of each other. Thanks to Region Shows for not pulling the plug on NWI's breathing machine yet. Thanks to Taylor Voeltz and Chris Foster for being awesome producers. And thanks to my parents, because I'm not ashamed to admit that they bought my van and trailer.
Tyler: Tell your friends about us, buy a shirt, listen to our music subjectively.
Jake: Thank you for the questions! Other than that, if you're reading this and find your dudes in the Cambion near you, come watch us headbang.
Brian: Come out to a show, come say hey (shout out to the dude who punched jake at a Taco Bell), come see what the Cambion is all about.
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