A VACANT SOUL comes to the world in a whirlwind of rock and roll. Their Industrial edge sets the tone for their self titled debut album, giving other bands in their genre something to look out for. Their fan base is INCREDIBLE and this band deserves to be noticed as one of the finest from the southeast. With their single, "Save Yourself", now available to hear on the A VACANT SOUL profile on XRVOLUME.COM , new fans and long-time fans won't be disappointed with this AWESOME new song!

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XR VOLUME EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

A VACANT SOUL

 

How was A Vacant Soul formed and who brought together the core members?

 

Andy- Some of the guys have been playing in bands over the last 6-7 years together. We at least knew each other locally in some way. In 2004, Robbie, Kevin, and myself added Brandon to come in and play bass for us. Nothing really stuck right off, and there were a lot of different things going on so we took an extended break. In November 2005, the band became serious and we started writing for our upcoming E.P. The connection is great and we all get along well. Each person brings something different to the band. 

 

You're scheduled to release your self-titled debut album on June 29, 2007. What was the experience you had while recording it and what are your hopes for this cd?

 

Kevin-This E.P. that's due to release on 6-29 was a long process for the group. We started tracking for the project a year ago and decided to pick five of the strongest songs from the material and work hard for making it the best we could. When this project started, we wanted to have our hand in every possible aspect in order to get what we felt would be the best product. We hope people are turned on by the music and that we can gain respect as artists. 

 

 

This being a newer feature on xrvolume.com, how do you feel about being the XR Volume "Spotlight of the Month?"

 

Kevin-The exposure we receive is great. I like what XR Volume is doing for unsigned artists, and it would be nice for artists, such as ourselves to be able to stand on their own and make a living doing what we enjoy. 

 

Robbie-It is a great honor and we appreciate you guys promoting and supporting unsigned artist. There needs to be a lot more of this kind of support in our industry. 

 

 

One of the songs off of your new album is called, "Save Yourself." Can you tell us more about this song and the story behind it?

 

Andy- Save Yourself is about a childhood experience I had at church. The preacher was a major hypocrite as well as the congregation. He preached about how such thing as lying, adultery, alcohol and drug abuse was so very wrong. Still, the whole church knew that he was very involved in all these things in his life. He held his position at the church for 2 years while everyone knew these things were going on, and did nothing about it. How many people do you know like that? It makes you think… 

 

 

How would you describe your style of music?

 

Brandon- Hopefully people see us as doing something really different. We are trying to combine sounds that we've never used before to create something new and exciting for our fans. Instead of your normal two guitars, bass, and drums combo, we've included keyboards and samples into our music. We use these to really inspire our creativity. So far, the feedback has been great. 

Robbie- Yeah, we work really hard on creating music people will like, but at the same time, something different. There have been many songs that have not made the cut because we didn't think they were good enough in the end. If it doesn't stand up, we get rid of it. 
 

Bands that are writing and recording new songs have different styles on what they like to write. Do you draw on your own experiences when writing a new song?

 

Kevin-I think lyrical content has to come from your own experiences. The things that you write about must be real and you as an artist must care about what you are saying, or no one else will. We try to find different textures in sounds to play with and from there things seem to come together. 

 

 

How would you describe your live shows?

 

Andy- Our shows are like a fireball from hell. 

 

Brandon- Our shows are exciting enough to keep people's attention, and leave them wondering what we might do next. We always try to do something different and new at every show we play so that it never gets boring. Our live show is a way to listen to our music at its best. 
 

 

Does a particular song in your set list hold special meaning for you?

 

Brandon- For me it would have to be Something Beautiful. This is a new song that fans have only been able to hear at a couple of our live shows. It is just a really great song and possibly our best work to date. I love what I've contributed on my end, and it is just a great live song. It will be included on our next album that we are already working on now. 

 

If you weren't playing music, what would you have chosen as your career?

 

Kevin-If I were not playing music, I would try to be involved in the industry in some way shape or form. There is something about the music business that I have always been attracted to. 

Brandon- I am actually already in the music business outside of the band. I just love music and it is such a big part of my life. It's what makes me tick. 

 

If you had the power to change the music industry, how would you change it?

 

Kevin-For me I would like to see artists treated fairly and become more of an asset to a company rather than a disposable commodity that has a five-year shelf life. 

 

 

What are your individual goals and ambitions? What are your likes and dislikes?

 

 

Kevin-I would like to see the band grow as songwriters. I would also like for us to continue pushing our boundaries when it comes to sounds and the things we write about. 

Robbie- I would like to take this band as far as we can and have a great time doing it. If we can do that, and make a decent living at it, that would be great. 

 

Tell us about your next concerts and why we should come out to hear A Vacant Soul…

 

Kevin-Our live show is something we are always trying to improve on. We always try to impress people with how we sound and by our performance. For me, there is nothing worse than going to a show and seeing a band put on a half ass show, so we try to make sure no one goes home disappointed. 

Andy- The next big shows are a couple in Tampa and Orlando Florida with Noon Blue on June 14^th and 15^th, and our cd release in Spartanburg SC on June 29^th.   

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XR Volume would like to thank A VACANT SOUL for answering our questions and giving such an awesome interview!

To find out more about A VACANT SOUL please visit!

http://www.myspace.com/avacantsoul

Or check them out in the Spotlight section of the XR VOLUME website!

http://www.xrvolume.com/spotlight

 

 

This interview is Copyright 2007 XR VOLUME and its respective owners.