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

Daniel Shields (Vocals), Ben Rockwood (Bass), Ryan DeOliveira (guitar), Colin Fraser (Guitar), Kevin Petley (Drums)

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

Ben: I tried to start a few bands but never did much more than jam at a few practices till I started EDP with Shields and found these dudes we have now.

Kevin: no real bands besides playing in basements when i was little, EDP has been around for 5 years with the same guys!

Ryan: Prior to EastDear Park I played in this punkish cover band and we'd play shows here and there but I mostly jammed with myself for a long time. The band has been around for about 6 years now.

Shields: Well eastdear park is my first band.

Ben and I wanted to start a band so we started looking for babdmates and the rest is history

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

We all started practicing at my parents house which is located off of East Deer Park road. We’d just skip school to practice, and then after would get into all sorts of trouble in that neighborhood growing up. Before EastDear Park i tried to be in a band called I Don’t Curtsy and Haunting Harriet but we never did much.

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?

It’s a pretty collective effort. Ryan or Colin will put together a bunch of riffs and loosely structure it into a song, then Kevin will add his drums and I’ll add my bass. Then once the instrumental part of the song is all done Shields and I write lyrics and put em on top! The first EP we released we just kind of wrote lines that we thought sounded cool.

Once wrote Reflections the lyrics became more mature and about everything we experienced ourselves or vicariously through others. This past EP was very personal and basically narrates our ups and downs over the last year or so since we released our last album in 2012. I”m sure our lyrics will change because we’re still growing as people and I never know how my mindset will change. Shit, we might even start singing.

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

Ben: August Burns Red, The Contortionist, Snarky Puppy, Architects, Between the Buried and Me, Miss May I, etc.

Kevin: i've actually been listening to a lot of older stuff from the early 2000's. sum 41, blink, taking back sunday, etc..lots of old nostalgic middle school angst relived :)

Ryan: A lot of Slowdive, Beach House, Hammock, TTNG, This Will Destroy You

Shields: To name a few... lamb of god, the ghost inside, rage against the machine. There's too many bands for to many reasons.

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

Ben: I’ve always had the need to express myself. Teachers would always be getting mad at me for never being able to sit still or because i was always drawing or writing in my journal instead of doing my work. Being an entertainer was always what i wanted to be because i couldn't get over how one person or a band could unite the energy of an entire room full of people and make them forget everything else in the world besides the music for however long they play.

I remember i went to go see The Devil Wears Prada at The Ottobar and was blown away by the energy in that room. It was so raw and so pure. I wanted to be that. I wanted to give my everything on a stage every night to help whoever might be in that crowd escape their life for a brief moment the we way i get to whenever i perform. What better way to broaden my perception on what this world really has to offer than to see the entire world with my best friends performing music that means the world to us? We couldn’t care less about the money, we just want the memories.

Kevin: my first warped tour in 2005 really got me into the heavier side of music. i've been doing music since elementary school and i've always loved it and wanted to do something with it later in life

Ryan: As cliche as it is, Metallica. They were who got me into guitar and really pushed me to pursue music and the whole band thing.

Shields: Music in general made me want to start a band, but the band that got into wanting to play metal i think was the devil wears prada. Ben and i used to air band to danger wildman all the time and thats when i said "i could do that, that'd be dope."

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

Ben: Gangster Rap and lots of alcohol. We love to bring the party!

Kevin: definitely stretch. drink water. get my mind right. crank to some danny brown. stretch some more.

Ryan: I like to pace and drink water, the way to go.

Shields: I mostly just make weird noises and yell peoples names at them to get my voice warmed up they think its weird butthat usually does the trick

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

The fact that we’ve been able to release three albums on our own. Playing with The Contortionist was pretty crazy to me too.

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

Ben: Holy shit this is a hard question. I would love to tour with Pantera or Metallica back in the day. Touring with Slipknot or System of a Down back in the day would have been insane too! Current bands I would love to tour with would be August Burns Red, Erra, Crown The Empire, The Contortionist, Citizen, Architects, Lamb of God, Fire From The God’s, Stray From The Path, etc.

Kevin: Architects, Letlive., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lamb of God. I love all those bands and look up to them very much, would be an amazing experience to play shows with them and get to know them outside of seeing them play

Ryan: Russian Circles, Circa Survive, and TTNG. Dream tour, make it happen. Nothing else needs to be said.

Shields: I’d have to say lamb of god, their music has gotten me through alot and i hope that just a little bit of randy blythe's badassness would rub off on me. Id also tour with attila cuz they know how to get down.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Words can’t explain how much the support we’ve been recieving means to us. This is our dream. We want nothing more than to travel the world sharing our music and helping those around the world the way our favorite bands did for us. Make sure to check out our youtube channel EastDearParkOfficial and our facebook facebook.com/edpmd