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

Dillon Schiel (Vocalist)
Jonluc Lowdermilk (Guitarist)
Josh Smith (Guitarist)
Cory Lanza (Bassist)
Nick Huff (Percussionist)

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

Our guitar player, Josh, was in an interesting band called "Addressee Deceased" before he was in The Grandfather. That's where we get our experimental side from. Our vocalist, Dillon, was in a band called "We Stood Motionless" prior to starting The Grandfather. Also, our drummer Nick was in a band called "Between Two Thieves" before he started playing in The Grandfather. "We Stood Motionless" and "Between Two Thieves" are both North Carolina based bands.

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

The Grandfather originated from the idea of being the 'grandfathers' of our generation. We want to be the ones people can go to for advice on whatever they may be struggling with. We always make ourselves available for others and we do whatever we can to help them in their times of need. We have never changed our name.

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?

One of our guitarists usually sit down with an idea and starts writing. Trading back and forth with the other guitar player, it then starts to progress on its own. Some songs have gone through a 'death and rebirth' process where we almost didn't use them, but after we restructured them, they became some of our favorites. The releases we're putting out this year all carry the same theme. It follows the story of a man who is completely lost in his depression and hate for the world and ends up breaking down and finding out there's more to life than that. When we write songs, we always go in with the idea of making meaningful (and hopefully timeless) pieces, something we can all relate to in one way or another.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that youíre making?

The music that we currently listen to includes bands like Norma Jean, The Chariot and Silent Planet. As far as inspiration and creation though, we looked inward. We weren't too concerned with sounding like any band in particular. Instead, we spent a year in the backwoods secluded to form our own sound and personality.

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

I wouldn't say there was a particular artist or event that inspired us to start a band, we're all just very passionate about music and we love making music together. Our hopes are to bring people together and create a community people feel like they belong to.

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

We try to remember to stretch before we play but sometimes we forget. Water is also very important. We get dehydrated very easily from our over-energetic performance.

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

Our biggest highlight so far is the release we just put out. We've spent the past 2 years creating the content we're releasing throughout this year and it's so exciting to see it come to fruition. We can't wait to see what the rest of this year holds.

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

This is a tough one. If we could, we would tour with Coheed and Cambria, The Chariot, Silent Planet, The Dear Hunter and Oh Sleeper.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We really appreciate the opportunity to be put on this Spotlight and we would like to thank anyone who has ever taken the time to listened to our music, come to one of our shows, or shared our stuff on social media. We greatly appreciate it and we love you all.