Interview: Caleb Shomo of Beartooth

Beartooth, the band fronted by Caleb Shomo (ex-Attack Attack! vocalist!), headlined their first show but are still getting their name out there the old-fashioned way without a label; house shows. The band is currently doing a run of them and I had a chance to chat with Caleb about CLASS, his old band, and his studio.

You can follow the band on Facebook, as well as Twitter. You can follow Caleb on Twitter as well.

For the record, what’s your name and what do you do in the band?

Caleb Shomo and I sing.

Let’s talk about your roots. I’ve never been to Westerville, Ohio before. What’s it like there?

Westerville is amazing. Very chill neighborhoods, great friends, and good times.

You’re headlined your first show with Beartooth; do you feel like you’re starting out at the very bottom, or that you’ve already started working from an established base?

Well, I guess I have some sort of foundation from my past experience in Attack Attack!. I’ve been touring since I was 15 and fronting a band since 17. Definitely makes the stage a lot more comfortable for this new project.

You said in your statement you’re on good terms with Phil Druyor; any chance of you guys touring together in the future?

 I’d love nothing more!

Do you currently have a working album title for the record?

Not really; possibly Fear the Tooth? Just been making songs for fun and it’s all been coming together quite nicely.

Did you have any guest vocalists or was it all you behind the mic?

So far, just me. I’d love to get some other singers on the record though!

You said in your AltPress interview that you’ve been doing electronic music since before you joined Attack Attack!, what inspired you to make an EP?

Honestly, I’ve just always love synthesizers. That and I like loud music and having a good time. I want to bring the vibe of a hardcore show to dance music, NOT at all musically, just in the sense of the energy of the show and the vibe. I love energy and just going nuts. I generally treat a CLASS set like I’d treat a show I was fronting for a hardcore band in many ways.

Will we ever hear an extended version of that dubstep outro from Lonely made into a CLASS song?

Haha, probably not. I was very young and not too good at making EDM back then; all about the new stuff for me.

Any chance you’ll do some solo acoustic material? You had a song (Apathy) that was pretty good.

I actually have written songs since then. about 3 or 4. i just have kinda kept those to myself so far. very personal songs.

How will you balance your recording studio and being on tour with Beartooth?

A lot of working. haha.

What’s the most interesting thing about you that has never been revealed in an interview before?

Not sure; I feel like I’m pretty open in interviews. I’m left handed? haha

At this point in your career, is there any uncharted territory that you haven’t been able to get to yet?

I want to play in japan more than anything. I’d love to go to Indonesia as well; seems like shows there would be amazing.

Review: The Dead Rabbitts - Edge of Reality

Craig Mabbitt is back and he’s better than ever. This born and raised Arizona vocalist never fails to impress, especially with this new EP he put out. From being in blessthefall, The Word Alive, and currently in Escape the Fate, this may be Mabbitt’s best work yet. He proves that he can hold his own and does not need his band to put out an album that satisfies his fans. Craig shows us that he can reach new heights, lyrically. The sound is amazing; you won’t be disappointed when you hear these solid screams that Mabbitt provides for his supporting fans.

Caleb Shomo is on this act as well, providing guest vocals on the track, “Make Me Believe It”, and producing this outstanding album. Some could say it’s like This Means War Part 2 but to me, it’s so much more than that. Shomo has always had the talent for producing and I can guarantee you he’s doing his job right. I would like to give so much credit to these guys and I couldn’t thank them enough for doing what they did on this project. All I can say is keep up the good work guys and I would love to possible see another album with this much potential. There’s no doubt in my mind that this record gets a 9.5 out of 10.

- AJ Gordy

Attack Attack! part ways with Rise Records

Attack Attack has announced they are no longer with Rise Records.  Check out the band’s statement below!

We never really plan anything out a whole lot. Although, we did make one exception to that rule. As soon as we finished This Means War, we flew out to LA and sat down with the producer John Feldmann and wrote like 22 more songs, 10 of which we tracked. So we already have another record sort of in the tubes right now; and we’re going to sort of tinker with it throughout the year. I think the only thing that is totally certain is that you can expect us to absolutely follow this release up with something very, very explosive. I think you are going to see a lot from us in the future.

The cool thing about it was writing in that timeframe, already having a record finished and preparing to be released and waiting to go in the stores. We just sort of wrote whatever the hell we wanted, no consequences, reached as far as we wanted because at the end of the day, were not obligated to release any of that stuff by a certain time. You know obviously we need to follow up this record with that record release eventually, but for this one, it’s like: if we write all this stuff, sit on it, and then in June, circle back and listen to it again and start writing some more on it. And if we hate everything, we just throw it away. We’ve got the time to do that. More importantly, This Means War was our last record with Rise Records. We don’t have another record label or anything lined up and probably not planning on going to another one. So it’s like we’ve got this sitting around that we can do whatever the hell we want with whenever we want.