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Q & A WITH KNOW YOURE ENEMY


The New Jersey band talk to us about their new single and influences




HI THERE THANKS FOR ANSWERING SOME QUESTIONS FOR US.


Hi! Thank you for having us!


PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.


Fonz Rodriguez does the singing and vocals. Jason Kent is the guitarist and does some vocals also. Steven Bishop is our bassist and Bryon Lapola is our drummer. We’re a Heavy Rock band with a hip-hop groove based out of Somerville, New Jersey. Know Your Enemy has been writing and performing since 2014. We’ve had a couple of lineup changes since but this is us now. We’re a tight group of friends and we’re all lucky to have such group.


TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?


Our new single “Same” was release on July 17th. You can find it on all streaming services. The song is about understanding that we’re all in or have been in similar situations and for the most part want the same things. If we could just set aside our differences and those who divide us, we could all have a great future.


WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE? The song was inspired by the division that we see slowly


increasing. Noticing that everyone is frustrated about the same things but express them differently. The similarity is in forgetting ourselves. Forgetting the things that are truly important and the fact that we got to this point of civilization together.


CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS? Stop listening to everyone else.


WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY? Byron: Appetite for Destruction by Guns N Roses because it was the first time I’ve ever heard anything like that.


Steve: Wish You Here by Pink Floyd because the buildup, atmosphere, creativity and mix of the genre was like nothing I had heard before.


Jason: And Justice for All by Metallica. The sheer driving power of the album got me hooked immediately. Alfonso: The first Sevendust album. It’s self-titled. When I heard Lajon sing over that heavy, aggressive music It change the way I understood music and removed all barriers of genre.


DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?


Jason: I’d have to say that our video for “Sway” is my favorite video but if I had to pick a different artist, Sober by Tool.


Byron: Sway is a great video even though I’m not in it. But if I had to pick another artist, I’d say Wires by Red Fang.


Alfonso: I love our video for “Sway” but my all-time favorite video is Perfect Drug by Nine Inch Nails.


Steve: Clint Eastwood by The Gorillas.


WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?


Practising, listening to or talking about music. It’s inescapable.


DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?


Not nervous but anxious. It’s exciting and we want to do well but we’ve done it so many times that there’s a familiarity.


HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?


The band was formed by Jason, Fonz and two former members. We all played in different local bands and found each other through friends and family members. Since then we’ve recruited Steven who was a long time friend of the band and Byron who was in the local scene and stolen from his previous band.


HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?


We all work together. It’s a collaborative effort all of the time.


WHAT INSPIRES YOU?


The world around us and the music that we love.


WHAT IS NEXT?


We have more music on the way, a couple of singles, a live album and a music video. We’ll do some touring when this Pandemic is behind us. In the meantime we write and create.


PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.











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