world war me — MUSIC — Unclear Magazine

INTRO BY TÉA VAN ACKEN

INTERVIEW BY CAMI LIBERTY

Through music, genius and empathetic Greg Holden sends his messages in the form of his songs such as “The Lost Boy”, “Boys in The Street”, and “Nothing Changes”, all in the ways of expressing much needed empowerment for listeners. Nevertheless, the music Holden creates is all regarding much vulnerable topics, with the liberating process of putting all cards on the table, acknowledging the heartlines of our society. Greg Holden’s new album World War Me highlights Holden as an artist in his whole and his intentions of purpose-driven music. The genuine empathy shines through his music and is evidently demonstrated through Greg Holden’s music, and showcases especially within the new album, World War Me.

You recently released your latest album World War Me. What was the journey like creating this album?

GREG: “Long and arduous, but educational and empowering. I recorded the album myself, which is the first time I’ve done that on this sort of scale. It was a very liberating process, and I’m proud of the results.”

How would you describe the album in three words?

GREG: “Empowered, vulnerable and curious.”

The lead single off the record was “I’m Not Your Enemy.” Can you tell us a little about this song and why you chose it to be the lead single?

GREG: “I wrote this song with my good friend Garrison Starr, the morning after the night Donald Trump was elected. We were on tour in Germany together, and myself as an immigrant in America, and Garrison a lesbian, we both felt pretty shunned by the “majority” of the US. We wrote that song as sort of a peace offering. We thought about writing the fuck you song, but thought coming at it from a less angry point of view would be more powerful, and more necessary at that time of intense contention and conflict.”

Where do you find most inspiration when creating music?

GREG: “Books, newspapers, things I notice in the world really. I tend to draw inspiration from things that upset or anger me, if you can’t tell already from my songs. I rarely write the typical singer-songwriter love songs, as they don’t inspire me.”

Of the songs on World War Me, which one would you say best represents you as an artist and why?

GREG: “Probably ‘Nothing Changes’. It’s the most vulnerable on the album, and because of that I think it’s the most genuine.”

You are also currently on tour! What are you most looking forward to on this run of shows?

GREG: “Seeing my fans again and hearing their voices.”

Catch Greg on tour now! Dates listed below and tickets available here.

5.1 // Ortlieb’s Lounge - Philadelphia, PA

5.2 // Jammin Java - Vienna, VA

5.5 // The Basement - Nashville, TN

5.10 // Freilichtbühne am Kalkberg - Bad Segeberg, Germany

5.12 // Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands

5.14 // Ponyhof - Frankfurt, Germany

5.15 // Zehner - München, Germany

5.16 // Hangar 49 - Berlin, Germany

5.17 // Altes Pfandhaus - Cologne, Germany

5.19 // Nochtspeicher - Hamburg, Germany

5.23 // St Pancras Old Church - London, United Kingdom

5.24 // The Eagle Inn - Manchester, United Kingdom

6.1 // Lost Lake Lounge - Denver, CO

6.3 // Sunset - Seattle, WA

6.4 // McMenamins White Eagle Saloon & Hotel - Portland, OR

6.6 // The Hotel Utah - San Francisco, CA

6.7 // Moroccan Lounge - Los Angeles, CA

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BY KAT H. WENTZELL

Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, alternative rock band World War Me is a force to be reckoned with. The group consists of vocalist Stephen Krypel, lead guitarist Charlie Harris, rhythm guitarist Jonny Watson, bassist Sean Daly, and drummer Joe Kus. The boys were recently signed to SharpTone records and dropped their first full-length, self-titled album on October 7th. Much more is to come from World War Me, and the boys invite you to join their revolution.

How did World War Me come to be?

Krypel: "It started with me and our producer, Nick [Mathews], from [the band] Get Scared just meeting up, recording demos, and writing non-stop. I had an idea in mind for a project and the name 'World War Me.' I wanted to find the sound that I was looking for for the project. After a few demos, Nick hit me up and was like, 'We’re good to go, let’s just start this f***er up.' So I was like, 'Alright, I need a band,' and Nick hit up some people for me. Our guitarist, Jonny, tattooed Nick on Warped Tour, and that’s how they got connected."

Daly: "Jonny worked on a song with our old guitarist, sent it to Nick, and then Nick gave it to Stephen. Stephen laid down vocals on it, and that was what I first heard. I was like, 'Holy sh*t, please tell me they need a bass player.' They did, and I was in. We’ve all been together now for a little over two years."

Krypel: "After we all linked up, Nick was like, 'I’m going to get you guys signed.' I was working at Starbucks around 9 p.m. a few days later when I got an email from Sal Torres at SharpTown records saying that he wanted to sign us. The rest is history."

What is World War Me’s writing process like?

Krypel: "For me, it’s pretty wild. When I write, I like to get into a zone that fits the feel of what I’m going for, kind of like method acting. I want to come off as honest as possible. For example, for a song like 'War Zone,' I will lock myself in a room for a week at a time eating bread and getting manic."

Daly: "The rest of the band really feeds off of that. Stephen’s got a lot of ideas with lyrics and melodies, and we’ll build riffs off of them. Sometimes we’ll build the riffs first, and then Stephen will write over top, but we all work really well together. This first album was really unique because Stephen had a lot of songs already done that he and Nick had worked on for a while that we were able to add our flair to."

Krypel: "It was beautiful; the album wouldn’t be what it is without that. Writing with Nick for a long time eventually got repetitive. To have new people in the room with different flair and influences really made the songs better than they initially were."

What can fans expect to see at a World War Me show?

Krypel: "I think when people put in headphones and listen to our songs, they’re listening to the perfection. Everything’s tuned, everything’s in sync. But when you hear us live, you’re not just hearing the album. I want kids to come to a show and have a completely different experience that’s like listening to the album again, but remixed and shown in a different light, because I feel like there’s no point in playing an album to the T. I think if I went to a show and a band played the album exactly how it was recorded, then I’d be like, 'Man, I could have sat at home, not paid money, and listened to this album on my iPod.' What we do is very live, very energetic, very rambunctious. There’s a lot of heart, and we leave everything on the stage."

Daly: "Our goal live is to create an experience. That’s our objective every night. We even hurt ourselves sometimes [in the process]. Our drummer likes to kick his drums down. He hit Stephen in the back of the neck the other night."

How does World War Me differ from other rock groups?

Krypel: "We try not to put ourselves in a box. Many bands classify themselves in subgenres like emo, pop-punk, and whatever, but we don’t."

Daly: "It all roots back to the same sh*t at the end of the day."

What’s coming up next from World War Me?

Krypel: "There are a few things that we can talk about. We’re going to be working with people that inspired us growing up, which we’re really excited about. I can’t name specifics, but I’m really f****** stoked about it. We’ve also already recorded two singles for our next album. We want to make sure that our next album definitely makes people say, 'Wow, I’ve never seen that before!' We want to find new ways to connect to our audience and people that support us."

Daly: "We want to keep evolving, and we plan on being on the road a lot next year. There are really cool things in the works. We really want to show people the energy that we bring."

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