Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Chris Anderson - Vocals & Guitar
Sam Mountain - Vocals & Guitar
Javier Caudillo - Drums & Percussion
Michael Capuano - Bass & Sound Design
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to In Urgency? How long has the band been around?
Sam - We’ve all been playing in bands for a while now so there’s plenty of names we could mention, but the most recent ones prior to starting In Urgency would be The Hollowed (Chris, Sam, Javier) and As You Were (Chris & Sam). Chris, Javier and I formed what would become In Urgency in the middle of 2013 with Michael joining at the beginning of 2015, so it’s been a little over 3 years now.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Javier - We were feeling very hindered in the previous band we all came from and were clawing to get out by the end. While writing our very first single “Stitches”, we felt the fleeting need to get out and do what we really wanted with ourselves. We felt the urgency and it led us to the name. It reflects the way each of us felt and how we treat this project in the moment.
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?
Sam - Chris and I are the primary songwriters. We’ve got an interesting dynamic trading off lead vocals so it allows for a variety of sounds. Sometimes we’ll split lead vocals on a song and other times we’ll each take lead for a whole song. Same thing goes for lead or rhythm guitar. It just depends on what it calls for.
Chris - Most artists when given freedom of expression, tend to create something representative of a mood or a feeling that encompasses a current state of mind relevant to him or her at that time. Whether a painter, a dancer, a designer, or in our case, musicians, it’s no different. I go back and listen to my favorite records and think to myself “Why is this important to me? How did these artists and these songs flip the trigger inside of me without me even knowing it happened?” And when I step back and look at the common denominator of it all, it’s simple. It’s really just honesty. But a kind of honesty so honest, it’s rare. It’s scary, it’s vulnerable. But it’s fascinating and intriguing. That in itself, especially today moreso than ever, is very inspiring to me as a songwriter. Trying to piece together what happened behind the scenes in someone’s life purely through listening to a piece of art they’ve created is becoming a lost art. We, as songwriters, do our best to give anyone who’s ever listened to a song we’ve written a chance to know us on a very intimate level. And as time goes by, our lives evolve. Pay attention to the music and you’ll hear the story unfold.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Chris - When I know my mind is on the hook for writing a song, I tend to shut out any outside musical influence. Not by choice, but I’ve noticed the pattern. I think it’s my way of withdrawing my attention from someone else’s story in order to really make room for what is to come my own. I guess it helps with true introspection.
Sam - Lately I’ve been really inspired by bands like Thrice, Moving Mountains, I the Mighty, and Hands Like Houses but I’ve always taken inspiration from bands like Foo Fighters & Incubus as well as Smile Empty Soul, Shinedown, COLD and others.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Chris - It was actually a girl I liked in middle school. We ended up hanging out in a tree-house my friends and I built behind an old church back home. We’d lie to our parents and say we were going to youth group, but instead we’d just hang out, smoke cigarettes and skateboard in the parking lot. When they found out I liked her, they dared us to “make out”. I remember hearing a Nirvana record playing in the background and was like “this is the coolest moment ever, I have to learn Nirvana songs to impress her”. So I went home, grabbed my dads guitar and started pounding away. A couple weeks later she came out as a lesbian so I was like “Well shit, at least I know all these cool Nirvana songs now.” Since then I’ve found other inspiration, believe it or not.
Sam - For me it wasn’t really any concert or band as much as it was just seeing friends start playing as we got into high school.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
Chris - On the day of a show I minimize caffeine as to not dehydrate myself, avoid crunchy foods and dairy (keeps clean vocal chords), eat a banana (potassium helps cramping), drink plenty of water, stretch, and of course vocal warm-ups.
Sam - For the last year I’ve really made a bigger point of doing vocal warmups before shows. It wasn’t really something I got in the habit of doing for the first ten years of performing, but it finally caught up to me around this time last year when I lost my voice for almost 3 months. Having a vocal coach and doing warmups everyday helped strengthen and bring my voice back so now I’m much more serious about it.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Chris - For me, it’s been watching people’s growing interest in what we have to talk about. Having people relate to our songs on a personal level while finding relevance and application to their own lives is a pretty uplifting experience for our band. Those moments mean the most.
Sam - Wow. For me its kind of a hard decision because we’ve already had a number of cool experiences but I’d have to go with writing and recording our new album “Painting Parallels”. The task of writing your first full length album can seem a bit daunting in the beginning but I’m happy to say that we created something we’re really proud of. It was also great having the opportunity to work with an awesome production team in Daniel Wonacott, Kyle Black, and Kris Crummett. All those guys have been around for a while and done it all so they really know their craft. We’re were very fortunate to have them on board.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Chris - Not that I am even a huge Beatles fan, but it’d have to be them. Just to experience the utter chaos of what it would be like to see four guys take over the world.
Sam - I’d love to tour with Foo Fighters and Shinedown. Both of those bands just really know how to bring it live. Each one always puts on an amazing show and I think it would really push us to live up to those standards.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We’re excited to announce that we will be having our album release show at Slidebar in Fullerton, CA on June 2nd.