One More Time: An Interview With Hostage Calm
By Megan Fair, Copy Chief
Hostage Calm has been spreading its unique brand of punk rock since 2007, but the band has remained relatively quiet since its last stint of touring. Now, with a wave of songs set to come out under the title Die On Stage on Sept. 16, ACRN spoke with vocalist Chris “Cmar” Martin about new music, great haircuts and Hostage Calm’s favorite vegan eats.
Die On Stage comes out in about three weeks now. What are you most excited about, regarding it’s release?
Well, when you record an album, you kind of harbor this little secret for months and months and months, of these songs that you know are your best songs and are super relevant to your life, and you just want to show everyone. You know? And finally we no longer have to harbor that secret, so it’ll be a weight lifted off our shoulders; it’ll be like confession. We’ll just be lucky to be out there playing these songs, I know they’re going to be a lot of fun to play. They’re songs that are written by a band that’s toured a lot now, and I think that also means that the songs will be--they are the type of songs that will are applied to sound good live, applied to what feels good live. We’re just excited to unleash it. We’re definitely not releasing the record, we’re unleashing it.
That’s a great attitude to have about dropping a record. Were you surprised the FUSE listed Die On Stage as one of their 42 Most Anticipated Upcoming Fall Albums?
I mean, I definitely never envisioned that we would be getting to the point where we would, you know, be on Fuse and Vice and all these sort of publications, [Alternative Press]. It’s very flattering, and it’s the type of thing where it’s just a bigger platform for us to speak to kids about the issues we think are important and to spread our music. We’re just stoked that they’re picking it up. Props to Fuse for showcasing us, we appreciate it.
On this record, you worked with Will Yip. He’s worked on a lot of pretty noted records lately, so how was it to work with Will, and how involved is the producer in the Hostage Calm writing and recording process?
Well, historically the producer has been usually in some sort of, I don’t want to say back seat, but the band would always be in the driver’s seat. Usually myself, I do a lot of the production and arrangement, and so I would say "Alright, this is what we want," and the producer would kind of be in a role of executing it. I still think the band maintains that level involvement, but, as for Will, he’s one of the first guys I’ve ever truly been comfortable stepping out of the room with. And seeing what he’s seeing too; he’s gonna get the best take, coach everyone through to get the best sound, the best performance.
He definitely has an ear for pop music, and he has an ear for hardcore, punk, everything. He’s from that world, but he’s also been super involved with hip hop and R&B. So, he definitely has his eye on the classics and has his finger on the pulse of the new-classic records, so I can’t imagine us going to someone else who wasn’t Will. It’s the most productive and exciting recording session we’ve ever had as a band. It’s the first time we’ve ever had enough time to do the record we wanted to do. [Run For Cover] had us down there, up in a house in Philly, and the whole thing was just--we really felt like we were given the tools to succeed.
And with Will, he definitely just took us to another level. I can say for my vocals, he really just helped coach me through the best takes and really develop and form a relationship with me. Because when you’re our there in the vocal booth, you’re by yourself and you can’t see anything, you can’t hear what you actually sound like, so you really need to trust that person who’s hearing you, that they’re guiding you for the better. I really think that Will elevated our band, and he’s the best producer we’ve ever worked with.
The two songs you’ve released thus far, “Your Head / Your Heart” and “A Thousand Miles Away From Here” definitely have fairly different sounds. So does the album lean towards the poppier side of “Your Head/Your Heart” or more towards those bang-your-head anthems like “A Thousand Miles”?
I think it falls somewhere in between, and that’s why we chose those songs as some sort of mile markers for the layout of the album, but I don’t even know if they’re the extremes. It definitely has some of the most aggressive, intense Hostage Calm songs, and it has some of the poppiest songs, but I think in general there’s just a small element of big, raging pop-minded punk music. And I think punk of a bygone era, I think like late ‘70s early ‘80s radio punk, you know, is very conscious of its own pop heart. But certainly raging punk rock. So I think we fall somewhere in between there, and I hope that there’s a takeaway for people, that it’s just an enormous sounding album. I think even the name Die On Stage really harkens a sense of grandiosity, the enormity of that title. It speaks to the bigness of this record as well.
For sure, I think you scared a lot of people when you posted that picture from the “Your Head / Your Heart” shoot with the caption "One last time." I had a lot of friends text me, “Is Hostage Calm breaking up?!”
[Laughs] Well, in all honesty, every time you make a record you kind of have to have that attitude that it could be over, as far as we’ve ever known it. We grew up playing in hardcore and punk music, and you look at all those bands, you know, Youth of Today 1986-1989, it’s always like two or three years, and then it’s done. That’s the end of the band, they never reunite. The idea of doing a punk band always was fun, always was going to be this momentary explosion, and this band has been lucky to go on for as long as it has.
And every time you make a record you need to be mindful of the finite nature of making music, and really cherish the special moment that you have, where you’re able to write songs, you’re able to record them, you have the resources to do so, you have people who are ready to listen to what you have to say. Because if you look around at the world, and you look at your job or your school or whatever you do, and no one really gives a shit what you have to say. You gotta go to school, you gotta go to work, gotta show up and do what you have to do, but people don’t care what you believe, what you feel, the things you muse on when you’re lonely or longing for something.
And we’re in that rare position where we have actually been blessed with the chance to speak and have the things we say discussed and part of a grander conversation on our society and politics and the way we all feel as young people in America. I think we really cherish the rare moment we have for ourselves right now and for our band, and I think Die On Stage speaks to just put it all out there, laying it all out there while you can.
By the sounds of it, this record is as politically aware and as socially charged as your previous records?
Someone I was on the phone with, a friend of mine, she said that this record sounds like Please Remain Calm was describing a certain troubled world, this kind of modern America, and it sounded like this record was from the perspective of the character living inside that world. I think that’s a very apropos description, that it does sound like it’s definitely politically aware and socially conscious at every turn, but I think it delves into the social end of living in America and being a young person in the modern world.
This record, for me, was written on the heels of a major breakup in my life, and I think it sort of discussed the darker realities of being a lonely, single person, of all the different disillusioning factors that come into that new lifestyle, you know? Being alone, or random encounters with strangers, I think it has a real personal take on this record. It really focuses in on the personal end of folks like myself and many others out there who are living in this very troubled world.
Switching gears, the video for “Your Head / Your Heart” filmed by Max Moore was awesome, and the plot almost kind of seemed to hint at a bigger storyline or a bigger concept. Is that hunch correct, or will there be other videos coming out soon?
There will be more videos! I think for us it was fun and romantic for us to do this very old-school, original rock and roll type vibe and look. I think that it does speak to a sense of seeing ourselves in a lot of the music that inspired us, but also I think, even more so, there’s a level of retrospect, looking back at what our band has done. What would it be like to see ourselves 10 years from now? Looking back at this band that was this old band play this song, in this case 1962. But for us, on some level, it’s just a goofy video of us seeing this band and being like, "Wait, is this us?" and then arriving at "No, there’s no fucking way that’s us, screw it." I think that’s the thing that we really appreciated, the sort of campy, jocular, sort of spoof-ish nature of all of us kind of denying that it’s us on TV. But there’s a lot of things you could take away from that that are bigger commentary on the band’s growth or the band’s popularity.
Speaking of the style in that video, and just in general, all of you have great haircuts. Is that a coincidence or do you all go to the same barber?
[Laughs] We don’t all go to the same barber, but it’s probably not a coincidence. On some level it’s a coincidence, but I think that Hostage Calm is all very much on the same page on a lot of things, and we all get into a lot of the same things. It doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t have their own individual little interests, but I think we all think the same stuff is cool. We think the same stuff is legendary. That haircut, I mean, I think the origin of it--I think I saw a band when I was 17, and their singer had his hair slicked back and I thought that was really cool. It started then, I guess [laughs], I don’t know when it became a band thing or who got what haircut when, but it definitely is, in that respect, it’s certainly not deliberately copying each other, but it’s also not coincidence. We certainly feed off of each other, but I guess we all have some decent barbers. I can say for myself, my girlfriend cuts my hair, and she’s a great hairstylist. She cuts hair at Digroli Salons in West Springfield, Mass., and she’s an excellent hairstylist and has been doing my hair for awhile now.
That’s awesome!
Yeah! A lot of the guys go to Don’s Barber Shop in Wallingford too, if you’re looking for a spot more in lower Connecticut. That’s the spot where Nick and Tim would go, so there’s the tips right there.
And your style in general, there’s definitely a distinct Hostage Calm look, like the denim jacket with the Please Remain Calm patch. Is that subconscious too?
I think it again goes to the sense of it not being deliberately choreographed or thought of as "we have to be this certain thing." You’re looking at the aggregate of all of us definitely being conscious of--I mean we all look at pictures of the Clash or Springsteen whatever, and we see it and think "Wow, that looks fucking boss as fuck." But we are who we are, and I think that shines through in this big united thing because it really is.
You’re hitting the road on September 12, so what does Hostage Calm pack to ensure survival on the road, and how do you prepare to make sure tour goes smoothly?
I mean, I honestly for the first time in my life, before the Saves the Day tour, made a list of things I should bring that now I just reference. [Laughs] It’s kind of crazy that like, for the prior thousand shows I never thought to do that. You have to bring the things that make you comfortable on the road, that’s something I’ve definitely started to put a real priority on is just being comfortable on the road and having those crucial things that you can’t replace with you. You can always go out and buy a toothbrush or a pillow or something like that, but obviously I always have my computer and my guitar, things that I can write with. You know, a couple books, we bring the old weights in the back for some fun to have behind the show, I guess it’s whatever you want for recreation. Sometimes we bring baseball gloves [laughs], and it can get silly for sure.
I was actually going to ask how you keep up with your work out regiment while on the road like that.
Well some of us like to lift weights and all that stuff, so we bring the weights and lift backstage, or if we have time we’ll go to a gym during the day. I try to just do upkeep when I’m on tour, really not gonna have enough time to lift five or six times a week, but between screwing around backstage and also getting in an actual gym two or three times we can definitely have some fun. And I know on this tour, the Citizen tour, a bunch of them lift, and some of the guys in Praise lift, so we’ll have a good crew of guys backstage. I feel like sometimes it’s almost like, minus the responsibility, like being a firefighter or in the service, being in various “bro” hang out professions where there’s an element of down time and you can’t really go anywhere. So lifting time satisfies that.
Last time I saw you, you were being followed by a camera crew. What ever happened to that footage? Are you planning on releasing some footage or a documentary?
I don’t know the current state of that. We’ve definitely had lots of documentary footage taken over the years, you know, this one was pretty extensive, and I hope it’s going to become a part of some greater release later, but the gentlemen at AltarTV were riding with us, and they were super kind enough to take all this footage of us just hanging out at gas stations or diners or whatever, so I have no idea what that’s gonna come out on or if it’ll ever see the light of day, but it would be very cool for us to able to look back on it.
You guys definitely didn’t have a music video presence up until recently, so I think it would be interesting to see more visual media accompanying your art.
I think so! There are going to be more music videos as well. I do think that I like the idea of folks getting to take a little peek into what life is like out here and kind of connect with this band’s intelligence. I think that’s a big thing I hope we can communicate through the visuals and content like that, that this band is super thoughtful about what we do, super thoughtful in the way that we assess the world around us. I’m surrounded by four of the most capable and talented musicians I could ever hope to meet, and I hope that that’s something that more people could get a glimpse of that I’m lucky to see everyday.
I probably should have asked you this earlier, but, as sort of a fun take on describing your new album, because I’m sure you get asked that question all the time, if you had to describe Die On Stage’s sound by comparing it to a food, what dish would it be?
Wow. The Last Supper.
The Last Supper?! That’s intense.
[Laughs] I don’t know what was served at The Last Supper, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t vegan, so maybe it’d be like a vegan last supper. We would all be sitting on the same side of the table, for sure.
Are you all vegan?
No, vegetarian and vegan. Two of us are vegetarian and three of us are vegan.
So it’s nice, on tour you have a community of similar eaters!
Yeah, and it really rules out the true garbage life that can be lived via touring, which is like, we tour with bands all the time that fucking go to McDonald’s every day, and it just blows our minds how they’re living [laughs]. Everyone can do their own thing, but I feel like us being vegetarian and vegan is crucial from a standpoint of like, it just rules a big part of the true shit life we’d fall victim to constantly being on the road, you know?
Are there any special food spots you look forward to going to while you’re on tour?
Ah, yes! It’s like every city we go to we have a spot.
Do you have any in Cleveland? [Ed. note: That's the closest date to Athens.]
Is Melt in Cleveland?
Yes, it is!
Okay, yes, Melt. Also, in Cleveland Heights by the venue there, the Grog Shop, there’s a place, I want to say it’s like Tommy’s? Or something like that, it had a bunch of vegan options. We’ve done that or Melt, there’s another place too, but definitely Melt, that’s like one of those meals that you look forward to for days, because it’s going to be the shittiest thing as far as true fat, grease, whatever; it’s like the single shittiest thing you could eat if you don’t eat meat, so you look forward to it for days beforehand and pay for it days after.
When Modern Baseball played in Cleveland, their manager brought Melt for them but wouldn’t let them eat it before they played.
[Laughs] Exactly! If they would have done that, it could have been the performance that ended their band, you know? You never know! Melt weighs very heavily on you.
