Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Andrew Isler - Vocals
Dustin Kidwell - Vocals
Brad Kaufman - Guitar
Greg Gonzales - Bass
Zak Nova - Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to (insert band/artist name here)? How long has the band been around?
Some of the bands that members of OCEAN GRID were apart of before their time with OG were bands such as Black Veil Brides, Walking Toward Eternity, 12 Year Harlot, Anchors For Eyes, Savages, Meet The Maker. We've been around for roughly two years now, but with our current line up for about a year.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
The name is a funny story actually. We had been jamming and figuring out our sound for a little while and couldn't decide on a name, nothing seemed to fit. An old roommate of a couple of the band members happened to be in town at the time, and he randomly stopped by to say what's up, and while he was there we were in the process of discussing names. Out of no where he just said "THE OCEAN GRID!" which happened to be his previous Xbox tag. It sounded great and just seemed to fit what we were looking for, we just dropped the "The" and made it OCEAN GRID, and here we are! The name has been the same since day one, so nope, we've never changed it.
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?
We have a pretty consistent writing process that has seemed to work up until this point, but basically Brad (Guitar) mocks up a song after we discuss the direction we want to go, and then I (Andrew, Vocalist) take it and try and throw some quick written lyrics to it. After a few steps of passing the song around to see what everyone thinks, we finally practice it live to see how it turns out overall, and then we hit the studio for some last final changes. So really, everyone has their place in the writing process, some more than others of course (Brad gets most of the credit), but each song has its own vibe and input from different members of OCEAN GRID.
The topics are a huge huge HUGE part of OCEAN GRID, we believe very deeply that there is so much negativity going on in this world, so we want to bring as much positivity to the world as possible. Our topics usually consist of stuff like depression and anxiety awareness and members dealing with these issues. Or self-hurt and suicide prevention because members of OCEAN GRID have all been heavily impacted by those topics as well, but they are such common things and we find that to be extremely devastating. So, we write about it because its a very serious topic and people need to know if they are dealing with stuff in their heads that we can help with, then we feel like we as artists with a positive platform have somewhat of a duty to speak up about those topics and let people know that they aren't alone.
The topics might change at some point, but the songs we have written about those powerful topics will always be there for us to spread to as many people as humanly possible.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Well, inspiration is a funny thing. I mean we have influences like anyone else, I mean we are influenced by bands such as Memphis May Fire, We Came As Romans and Crown The Empire but the inspiring aspect is a little different I think. I mean, the situations we've all been through plus our love for making music in general is more than enough inspiration to create what we've had the pleasure of creating, life can be very very hard, so music is our escape and that is our biggest inspiration, just seeing a ton of negative situations and putting a positive spin on them keeps us going.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
For me (Andrew) personally, I got into playing music by getting a bass guitar in the 8th grade and listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers constantly and now, 12 or maybe 13 years later, I may be doing vocals in OCEAN GRID but I still have much the same reasons for playing music and I still love me some RHCP!
As far as the rest of the band, we have a huge list of bands and artists that influence us and helped us get started, some started with rock, metal and hip-hop/rap, it just really depends on the member but we have tons of influences that helped us get started.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
We stretch! Lots and lots of stretching as a band, we even get in a circle with fans sometimes and stretch it out with them, everyone can benefit from a good stretch session even if they aren't about to perform, its good for the soul! Oh... and tons of vocal warm ups for myself and Dustin, that's important too!
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
I think playing on the All Stars Tour for a couple of dates, we got the pleasure of playing up in New Jersey on a short tour and apart of that tour was being apart of the All Stars Tour itself, it was an amazing experience and everyone was awesome during it, traveling is so much fun, so that definitely takes the cake.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
For me personally, I'd say Memphis May Fire, Crown The Empire and We Came As Romans and Of Mice & Men, since they are such a huge influence on OCEAN GRID, I think it would only be fitting to hit the road with them.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Well, let's see here... We recently dropped a music video for our new single "Welterweight" so everyone should check that out, it will give people a good idea of what we're all about as a band. And we are releasing The Influence Of Monsters EP on October 30th, so be on the look out for that! And other than that, just find give us a follow on all social networks! We love to talk to fans, old and new, so find us on there and hit us up and we can talk about life and stuff! Thanks!
Facebook.com/OCEANGRID
Twitter: @OceangridOH
Instagram: @OceanGrid