Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Ryan Martinie: bass Mitch Hull: drums Sir Nebo; guitar
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Soften The Glare? How long has the band been around?
Ryan played with Mudvayne and even did a tour with Korn filling in for Fieldy when he took some time off, Sir Nebo was with Gong, Gongzilla and most recently Tiny Boxes. Mitch has always been involved with 2 or 3 bands at the same time in North Carolina and is THE go to guy for sessions etc. Soften The Glare started up a few years ago as a writing experiment when Ryan and Sir Nebo first met in LA and discovered that they lived near each other and decided to get together to write. The sessions developed into getting a drummer and getting out and doing gigs and now finally an album.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
STG was Ryan's suggestion when we all threw names into the hat. It was a phrase from a book he had read. The title escapes me now but we all liked it and went with it and haven't changed our minds about it since.
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 all contribute equally to the tunes. We have writing sessions where someone will bring in an idea and then we all start to work on it. A lot of times the idea will take a new musical direction and most of our songs just kind of develop themselves. We are more interested in creating moods since the music is instrumental. We experiment with tempo, textures, and try different ideas to make the songs unique to themselves and of course things will change for sure as we write more.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
That is constantly changing as there are always new bands to discover and older bands for that matter. I just recently heard Mogwai, which from looking at videos of theirs, millions of people already know about. Most new music that I discover is totally out of accident or from checking bands that are at festivals that we are part of. Our tastes run the spectrum from pop to the avant-garde. Right now I am digging Childish Gambino's latest album. Music for me is for whatever mood I am in so it can run from the very mellow to the very heavy.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Each of us has a few bands that imprinted us in the formative years as has happened to most people. Since that happened to us in different decades, it makes the way we approach bringing musical ideas to Soften The Glare and combining them, very unique. All 3 of us approach the music in a different way because our influences are so different... but then there are a ton of bands that we are all into and respect.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
For me it's more mind set. Just getting into a zone that is relaxed and then just let it all go when we hit the stage. Then it's time to react to the music and each other. Of course sometimes there is the usual warming up on the instrument and getting the juices going to put on a good show.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Finishing our debut album "Making Faces" with producer Jamie King (Between The Buried And Me). We are almost there and it will certainly be something we are proud of.
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
There would be so many reasons to tour with so many different bands out there but for me personally, I would dig doing a tour with Prince. He was the ultimate package as a musician, entertainer, bona fide rock star... I never got a chance to see him and just to hang and learn from him and his band would be quite interesting!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
After "Making Faces" comes out this month, we will hit the road but we also plan on putting out another release before the end of this year. We hope to see you out there!