Unsigned Spotlight: Common Choir
Common Choir is a metalcore band from Minneapolis, MN just trying to have a good time.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Zach Fulton - Vocals
Chris Dahlen - Guitar
Miles Norwood - Bass
Tony Lendt - Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to?
Zach - Dividing the Masses (Iowa) / A Wretched Betrayal (Milwaukee, WI) / Hello Ramona (Davenport, IA)
Miles - Sleep Signals (Minneapolis, MN) /
Tony - Cymothoa (Minneapolis, MN) /
Chris - Iridium Sun (Minneapolis, MN)
How long has the band been around?
Common Choir began on September 18th 2016
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Common Choir is derived from the age old colloquialism about "Preaching to the choir" as we musicians often find ourselves mirroring the thoughts and hearts of those in the crowd, hence Common Choir. We want to be able to speak to the daily struggles of life in a no frills straight forward format because at the end of the day we're all in this together.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Lyrically everything is written by Zach; and the themes thus far have generally ranged from social and societal observations / commentary and even extremely personal topics like his family life (touched on in several songs on our newest e.p. "Gravemind". Chances are just like everything else in life, the topics he / we write about will change and evolve, it's relatively easy to become complacent but that's a trap we never want to fall into as a band.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Obviously there's a very large range between us as a collective but bands like Counterparts, Norma Jean, The Acacia Strain, Silverstein, outside of local friends who are ridiculously talented like: In Seach of Solace, Coffin rites, Time Keeper, Throw the Fight, and everyone on our artist collective "ZeroBudget Records"
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Obviously that's got a different answer for everyone, but it's easy to say a common theme we have between us is we love the energy and spontaneous nature of performing for different audiences, and it seems like any time we find ourselves at a fun show we become inspired all over again.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
You'll always find Tony warming up on his snare-drum and fine tuning his kit; that's a guarantee. and you can often say the same for everyone else in the band, we kind of "zone in" on our instruments and try our best to get ready to put on the best show we can.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Playing a nearly sold out show at the cabooze with our friends in Throw the Fight was amazing especially with an all local line-up filling a venue of that magnitude is very impressive and speaks volumes about our local music scene.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Silverstein; they've been around forever and consistently improve as a band so it would be great to spend time with them and learn anything they'd be willing to share on the business. But as well touring with Counterparts would be amazing because their shows are always major ragers. Killswitch Engage would be amazing to tour with as well because we feel we could generally appeal to their audience and the scale they tour at would be an amazing opportunity for any band in metal / rock.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We just released a new E.P. called "Gravemind" on ALL streaming platforms! Look it up on Spotify and give it a spin!!!