Divide The Fall is a rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota formed in Fall of 2017.

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

Ethan Weinaug- Vocals
Jake Hankel- Guitar
Matthew DeMar- Bass/ Vocals
Jack Mckoskey- Drums

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Divide The Fall? How long has the band been around?

Jake and I grew up in the same small town in Wisconsin and in high school we formed a band together called Forever Waiting, which I was the lead singer for. That band eventually went on hiatus in 2013 after a few years of being active. Around late 2016 the idea of what became Divide The Fall started coming about and I decided to make the switch to playing bass. We found Ethan (vocals) and Jack (drums) through putting out ads on Craigslist and by Spring of 2017 had a solid line-up formed and started writing music.

Earlier this year on February 16th, 2018 we headlined our first show at Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul, Minnesota for the release of our debut “Divide The Fall”- EP.

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

Around the time of the band forming there were, and continue to be, a lot issues that we as a society are facing on a daily basis. From racial and gender inequality to political divisiveness to stigmas surrounding mental health, it seemed as though we as people were turning against one another and that as a human race we were in a really divided state.

The idea behind the band name was our way of saying that if we don’t change the course of our own history, ultimately we will fall back into repeating the same mistakes we’ve made before. Our band loves people from every walk of life and we want to use our platform to spread an idea of inclusiveness and hope for a better future.

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?

The music is collectively written by all four of us. Ethan and I share lyric writing duties, but we all give input on instrumental ideas. A lot of our music is written about experiences that either we’ve gone through, are going through, or that someone we know has gone through. In the video for our latest single, “The Storm” we touched on darker topics like struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts as well as drug addiction, which is what that song was written about. We’ve lost too many close friends of ours as well as people we really look up to due to both of those things.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Our music tastes are all a little different, yet somewhat similar. Albums that I know we all love are the new releases by Hands Like Houses, Beartooth, and Normandie. Shout out to those bands. Overall I would say our sound stems from mixing the hard rock style that bands like Breaking Benjamin are known for with influences from heavier bands like We Came As Romans and Bring Me The Horizon.

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

For all of us it was a collection of different artists/ bands but the biggest one that we all share in common is Linkin Park. That band was extremely influential to all of us at a young age and still is to this day.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

At this point in the game there isn’t much downtime before going on stage. We don’t have a crew or anything yet, so we usually are setting up the stage, putting together and working the merch table, or chatting with friends and fans that come out to the shows.

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

That’s a tough one, but it would either have to be that we were nominated as finalists in a contest called Next2Rock, which was sponsored by Cumulus Media and a couple of local radio stations in Minneapolis.

OR

The other highlight would be that our songs “The Storm” and “Alone” from our EP were selected by producers Joey Sturgis (Asking Alexandria, Of Mice & Men, We Came As Romans) and Tyler Smyth (Bless The Fall, Falling In Reverse, Dangerkids) to be a part of a Spotify playlist for Last Band Standing, which is a creative venture that they recently launched to help upcoming bands and artists learn the in’s and out’s of the music industry.

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

There are just so many but a few current bands that it would be awesome to tour with would be Breaking Benjamin, Nothing More, We Came As Romans, and Bring Me The Horizon to name a few. Past bands to tour with- Linkin Park hands down. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We recently released a Punk Goes Pop style rock version of the song “Stay” (originally by Zedd feat. Alessia Cara). Check that out on YouTube or stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, etc.

Thank you so much for your time and this interview.