8/8/2019 Thinking Cap FOUR

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8/8/2019 Thinking Cap FOUR

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The new EP, Dividing Lines, begins with a haunting sound clip before kickinginto “What’s Left of This World”, setting the tone for the record. What exactly is

the message behind the sound clip and how does it relate to the lyrical con-

tent of the record?It’s a newsclip from an incident that happened in Athens, Greece, when

protesters burned a bank down, killing four people. It’s just an example of the

fact that rioting without a sense of intelligence makes you no better than thecorrupt politicians you are rising against. How are you going to protest high

taxes and go on to destroy private property, which you will later be taxed

for in order to repair? I t just doesn’t make sense. I was pretty adamant abouthaving it in because it sets the first two songs off very well. The idea of destroy-

ing just to destroy, with no real thought out purpose, really bothers me, andhaving it come from my people - from my culture that did so much for the

better of man and government - just really brought to my attention of how

much in trouble we are as a people. It’s just one example in a list of manybotches that the Greek riots have caused. Last year, when a cop killed a 15

year old boy, the citizens went to r iot and protest because of it. Normally, I

would agree with this action; however, the went on to destory much of thecity, including the felled boy’s family’s restaurant. What the fuck is that? It’s

 rioting for the sake of rioting - suburban families having the golden spoon

 ripped from their mouth and destroys the entire dinner table because of it.Having that happen, and living in a country and culture where it’s the com-

plete opposite, yet leaves the familiar feeling of shame - where the majorityof people accept what the government tells them without challenging it in

fear of the knowledge that the person you think you voted in really doesn’t

give a shit about you - really inspired me to make my own voice heard on the subject.

 

Your parents are Greek immigrants and you yourself have lived in Greeceand speak the language. As someone who can potentially define themselves

as both and observer and a participant in Greek history, how has the recent

turmoil in Greece affected you? How do you define your role in Greek historyand culture?

It fucking kills me. It seriously hurts me to see this part of me, because it is partof me no matter how much I try to distance myself from it, that was respon-

 sible for so much good has now spiraled into this: a joke. Greece, right now,

is a joke. When I look at 5th Century BC Greece, and see all the good litera-ture, great political ideas, and great minds that came out, I am only left with

a great sense of shame and a nagging bat of irony hitting me over the head.

In fact, the only people the irony seems to be lost on are the Greek peoplethemselves. Just on a personal level, it r eally hurts me. I’m not going to be a

factor in Greek history or culture. I am an American. I live here. I don’t plan

on moving to Greece. I can’t even see myself visiting there because I’m sodisgusted with it. I only hope that the pendulum swings the other way and the

Greek people and government better themselves sometime in my life time.

Explain the ideas presented in the song Dividing Lines. What inspired you to

name the record after this track?I wrote Dividing Lines on a small local issue, and wrote in broader terms so

that more people could possibly relate. I wrote it on how lame I think it is that

the Baltimore and DC scene don’t help each other out, and just talk shitabout each other. There was definitely a time where I considered myself on a

 side in this particular argument; however, I grew out of that, looked around,

and saw that everyone else is still drink ing from a sippy cup. Bottom line, if you judge someone solely on where they’re from, without even getting to know

them, you are a fucking idiot. It’s a real shame that in the hardcore scene

there has to be elitism and i gnorance that divides us up. It’s a real shame ...

... someone “can’t learn to see me a brotha instead of two distto quote 2Pac. No one is better than anyone else. Doesn’t mat

the hardest motherfucker from Baltimore or you’re from DC and

 remind people that it’s where it all began, you are still a sweatybasement at the end of the day. I took this local issue, and just

 relative terms. I feel this is a world issue. The idea that no one is

ter person than another is an idea I feel strongly about. I hate sand elitism in any form, whether it is in the hardcore scene or th

I wanted to go with Dividing Lines for the name of the record af

 scribed the album art he was trying to do for it. It just seemed v 

On the Sacred Love demo your lyrics had a much less urgent toargue that they were less aware, both socially and personally,

of the EP which deal with broader and deeper issues. Where the

explored personal relationships, the EP seems to deal with yourwith the greater good and questions about your role in society

in general. What would you consider the general theme of eac

what prompted this shift? How would you describe your growthThe demo lyrics were j ust a starting point. I never sang in a ban

that was my first try at writing lyrics. Luckily I have two members

are frontmen, so they offered me good advice. Really, I alwayswrite about broader issues; however, the time I wrote the demo

in my own little world. I was struggling with school, relationships,personal stuff, so that’s what I wrote about. I’m going to write a

feeling regardless of expectation. That might mean I write some

it might mean I write something cultured and worldly, but I’m gtrue to myself first and foremost. How can I yell these words on s

 really believe every word? I shifted focus on the EP because I

pissed off about what was happening in Greece, as wel l as thecovered, but I also was a bit more confident in my writing abilit

confident in myself to write about a broader topic or something

personal. I’m use to writing. I write a lot for school, so with the DEP, I stopped pulling punches and just did what I wanted to do

lyrics, I write them very quickly and try not to work on the too lomy own pessimism about my writing would take over, and we w

finish another song. I write the lyrics usually when the band is wr

fit it in, make a few changes, and just trust in the emotion and mthat I was in at the time.

WH2 deals with the idea of the equality of love. How do you thition will be remembered in regards to homophobia and gay rig

I think our generation will be the one that makes gay rights a re

look at any poll or any study, the overwhelming majority of peogroup are for gay marriage. It’s pretty much a waiting game at

The string pullers now have their hee ls dug in on this issue, and t

nothing to be done but wait for them to step aside. It’s a genecan’t imagine what it’s going to be like for that older generatio

How will they deal with my children asking them, “What were yHow did it feel to prevent basic human r ights.” It’s the same qu

ask adults who were against civil rights for blacks. I’m really inte

they will fit in the world when their service is done and they areuse to anyone. I think homophobia is something that will never

going to be like racism; there will always be a small undertone.

time, I think we should focus now more on gay rights then the igguage we say sometimes. I study language on the regular, and

the day, words are words - people put the meaning behind the