The Ongoing Concept brought DIY to a whole new level, going so far as to build all of the instruments from chopping lumber, sculpting and installing the electrics, keeping true to the album's title, Handmade! In addition the band self-produced Handmade in their home studio, did their own artwork and self-shot/directed video for the first single "Unwanted" which can been seen below along with our interview with the band.
Who are some of your current favorite underground or local acts?
Two bands:
1. This Love. They are from Dayton Ohio. They are broken up now but their music is so good!
2. A band from our area that is awesome is this band called The Static Tones. They are just dirty rocknroll. I got to produce and record their album and it was super fun. Awesome jams!
-Dawson
What was the recording process like for Handmade?
Really tough! It took like 3 times longer than a typical record because on top of building, we had to write. We didn't want the idea of handmade to be the only good thing about the record. We wanted the music to actually be good too.
-Dawson
What were some of your lyrical inspirations on this album?
Most of our songs are just about stuff that pisses us off. We find that those things spark us emotionally much more then something we aren't angry about.
-Kyle
What is your favorite song off of the album and why?
Probably Melody. I wrote that song during my lowest point of writing the record where no creativity was happening. I didn't know if I could write any more material and out came that song. It's awesome to hear such a catchy song come out of that low point of the writing process.
-Dawson
One of the most notable was the fact you handmade all of your instruments for the album, hence the album title. How did this add to the creative process going into this album?
It made us have to approach the album with a much more organic perspective. We had to actually play our instruments well because we wanted to keep everything as real as possible. We wanted as little samples as possible for drums and as little editing for guitars. It made us have to learn the songs more , which In turn, made us become more connected with album itself.
-Dawson
What sets your band apart from other bands in the scene?
This question is tough because no matter what we say, we come off as pretentious. We try to be ourselves and not conform to what everyone else is doing. I think that separates us. When it comes down to it though. We aren't the people who should be answering that question.
-Kyle
What are some milestones you hope to achieve on this record cycle?
We hope we can tour with some of the bands that influenced us growing up. Also to actually start making money. That would be sweet! Ha
-Dawson
Did you watch E3? If yes, what upcoming games are you excited about? Current favorites?
We don't watch E3. But Dawson and I love Starcraft a lot. We have watched plenty of tournaments online. Does that count?
-Kyle
Why haven't you blown up yet?
We are just really good at throwing the grenade back to the other guy.
-Dawson
What message do you want people to take away from your music?
I think if anything, we want people to listen to this album and take away that this album will still be listenable 10 years from now and still be awesome.
-Kyle