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ENERGY
Energy are currently out on tour with our favourite horror punks Creeper ! Just before the tour kicked off , we got to chat to vocalist , Jason Tankerley about all things Energy ; past , present and future .
Energy have been a band for ten years yet we ’ re only just hearing about you properly over here ! For those who don ’ t know you guys , how would you describe yourself ? This has always been somewhat of a difficult question for me to answer . When people ask “ what does your band sound like ” I always think to myself “ well , I guess it depends on what song of ours you ’ re listening to ” because our sound really varies drastically depending on what song / era of the band you ’ re referencing . However , if I had to narrow it down to a few different subgenres I would say that we ’ re an alternative rock band rooted in punk .
You ’ ve just released ‘ The Witching Hour ’, your first single since the excellent ‘ Apparition Sound ’ was released . What are the influences behind this single and is it the start of a new chapter for Energy ? When I wrote “ The Witching Hour ” I really wanted to perpetuate the idea of Energy doing a horror punk song in the way that I always thought we should . Even though we ’ ve dipped our feet into the horror genre many times before , I feel as if this song is exactly the style of horror punk music that I want to create . This song and “ Dead In Dreamland ” are both the poppy and dark sides of horror punk that I enjoy the most .
The Misfits were an obvious influence in writing “ The Witching Hour ”, but Michale Graves in particular . I feel since my voice is more similar in tone and key to Graves ’ than Danzig ’ s , plus the production of American Psycho and Famous Monsters is far more professional and slick sounding than anything from the original era of The Misfits that when I try to pull influence from The Misfits in any way , it ’ s going to come across as more Graves than Danzig .
I also like things being very cinematic too , which is where the intro comes from . With instrumental parts , I tend to write in a way that evokes some sort of subconscious imagery that I try to verbalize as if it ’ s the soundtrack to a hypothetical movie scene . There are also many subtle influences that vary throughout not only this song , but most of our songs that the average listener probably wouldn ’ t pick up on . For instance , the very end of “ The Witching Hour ” draws strongly from the song “ True Till Death ” by Chain Of Strength ”. Something about riffs revolving around that two chord pattern have always fascinated me because of the specific type of unexplainable intensity and emotion that they convey .
This is the first song recorded with the new lineup of the band , so I would definitely consider it a new chapter . It ’ s still me writing 100 %, but the song definitely marks the start of this particular new chapter .
Here at Elite we ’ ve been super excited about the Creeper tour ! How did you guys get involved with it ? Well , when we played a show with Creeper in Boston Will immediately came up to me expressing just how big of an Energy fan he was and how long he ’ d been following us . He knew pretty much everything there is to know about Energy actually . I was quite taken back . It was at this show that Will asked me if I ’ d be interested in touring with them in the U . K . He had read in my very public journal documentation that I used to publish while I was on the road between 2006-2009 that I hated touring very much . Over the years though I have grown to miss it strangely enough , and I have been struggling to get the band back in the right position to put us back on the road for a number of years now . Everything fell into place right around the time that we got the formal offer for this tour , and now things are looking better than ever for Energy ’ s future .
In your ten years as a band , what has been the most surreal musical moment you ’ ve had ? There are so many actually . I tend to give South Carolina a lot of attention when it comes to touring experiences because of how well they treat us , but I ’ m going to go with North Dakota for this one .
At some point in 2007 or 2008 , we had a show booked in Fargo , North Dakota and our van ran out of gas . We were stranded on the side of the road , and we had to have the promoter come find us with a tank of gas so that we could make it there . By the time we arrived at the venue , the show had been over for about an hour or so ... but all the kids were still there . The second we took to the stage the place went ballistic . Stage dives , sing-alongs , the whole nine yards . We had only been a band for a year or two , and I was in complete shock that there were people that far away who were this devoted to our music . I think I quoted Davey Havok to the audience by telling them “ your fire makes it all worthwhile ”
What inspires you as a band to create the music you do ? I ’ m a very emotional person , and that basically inspires me to write . My lyrics and music are all representative of the emotions that I ’ m trying to convey through the song . I feel very deeply , and that ’ s pretty much what drives me to keep creating . I hardly ever look outwardly for lyrical inspiration . It ’ s mostly introspection . What does 2017 hold for Energy ? Any plans bringing you back to the UK ? Hopefully as much as possible . I would love nothing more than to be wrapping up a new record at some point this year , as well as touring as often as possible . There aren ’ t any current plans on bringing us back to the U . K ., but there would be no hesitation if we were to be invited back .
Words by Alice Hoddinott
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