For those of you that dont know KEH has decided to call it quites. There are a lot or reasons for this parting of ways non of which we will get into in this blog. We mainly just want to take this time to say thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years who came to a show or bought something of ours thank you all. You have been the one thing that has driven us this whole time. We will be doing a couple of farwell shows and selling all the new merch that we just got in at those shows. One of the shows is already booked for Halloween at the raven in burlington with our good friends the demonstration. we will be doing some more so keep your eyes on this page for more news and keep an eye out for new projects coming out this thank you all so much. Love K.E.H.
Justin is now offering private lessons; live on the Skype video conferencing service.
Intended for BEGINNER to ADVANCED guitar players
Cost: $50 for one hour lesson or $25 for one half hour. ($ in US or CAN)
Requirements:
Skype application (available for free on skype.com); High-speed internet connection; Web-cam & Microphone and headphones (or comp speakers); A Paypal account; Guitar
The lessons:
I'll be teaching parts of our songs or the songs in their entirety, exercises, technique, tricks, extended techniques, textures and how to incorporate all that in an original composition and answer any question regarding my guitar playing or gear, etc.
How to register:
Send me an email, with your skype info at: jjlessons@gmail.com Then, via email, we can schedule a time for the lesson. Payment must be received via Paypal one week before the lesson takes place.
Time zone:
For lesson appointments, you'll have to provide me your time zone information and I'll find out a time to make it work for both of us. My time zone is Eastern Standard Time.
Terms:
I must be informed of any cancellation at least 24 hours in advance or you'll loose the lesson. If I have to cancel, I'll contact you for another appointment. If for some reason I can't give you a prepaid lesson, I'll refund you. Sometimes the internet can be sketchy, but don't worry; you won't loose your lesson.
Registration is now open for a limited number of students.
Tipped as ones to watch in the American metal press, Knives Exchanging Hands have just issued their new album Hiatus, so Planet Loud spoke to Justin about the band to find out more about these rising deathcore kids.
Planet Loud - So how are things with Knives Exchanging Hands today? Knives Exchanging Hands - Things are going pretty well right now. The album is making its way to places we never thought it would and leaving a pretty decent mark along the way.
Planet Loud - For those people who don't know who you are could you introduce the band members and tell us who does what? Knives Exchanging Hands - Well, we're just five guys. Ricky Tarlton (Burlington, NC) on drums, Travis Haire (Miami, FL) on main vocals, Nathan Robinson (High Point, NC) on guitar, Daniel Vincent (Ontario, Canada) on bass, I'm Justin Jackson (Greensboro, NC) and I play guitar.
Planet Loud - Can you tell us a bit about the band background? How did you all meet? Knives Exchanging Hands - Well I worked with Daniel (bass) at this shitty restaurant together, and one day he told me his band needed a guitar player. I started jamming with them, and it fell apart due to dedication issues. Travis was just some kid we knew who screamed, so he came in a tried out and we pretty much shit ourselves. then we replaced our original drummer with Ricky, otherwise known as "thriving ivory". And we actually just picked up Nathan about a month ago, after our long time friend and guitarist Paul Byun left the band due to his decision to finish his education.
Planet Loud - When you formed Knives Exchanging Hands, what did you want to achieve with the band? Knives Exchanging Hands - Anything and everything we possibly could without sacrificing any of our integrity.
Planet Loud - What inspired the name of the band? Knives Exchanging Hands - It was actually just an idea of our original drummer, Kenneth Blan. We were racking our brains to come up with a name, and one day after practice he sent me a text message simply saying "knives exchanging hands". We all decided it was a fitting title for what we were trying to do.
Planet Loud - Knife culture is a big problem in the UK, is it as bad in the States? Knives Exchanging Hands - I know I don't ever want to get stabbed. That's for sure. That would be scary as shit.
Planet Loud - What about in your local area? Knives Exchanging Hands - Nah. North Carolina has a lot of gang activity, and some areas are definitely sketchy, but as long as you don't go whistling and skipping through the projects, you'll be alright.
Planet Loud - Okay, moving on then, how would you describe your sound in one sentence? Knives Exchanging Hands – I hate labelling our sound because we try to make it vary so much, but I absolutely had to I would call it technical melodic deathcore.
Planet Loud - So you've just issued your new album, Hiatus, what did you want to achieve with it? Knives Exchanging Hands - We wanted to prove that even with such a supersaturated market, it is possible with hard work and unique songwriting to leave a mark and be well-remembered.
Planet Loud - Care to plug the album? Knives Exchanging Hands - Knives Exchanging Hands' - "HIATUS" – hit stores via Tragic Hero Records on July 10th. You can find it in any Best Buy, Target, Fye, Hot Topic, and typically your local record store. Tragic Hero just signed a new deal with East/West Distrobution so that'll get even more copies in stores. For fans of Killswitch Engage, Between the Buried and Me, Misery Signals.
Planet Loud - Could you tell us about some of your favourite songs on the album and what inspired them lyrically? Knives Exchanging Hands - We definitely have soft spots in our hearts for songs like "The Monuments They Built For You Will Be Mountains", which was inspired by the death of Travis's grandmother. She was a large part of his life, and he thought of no better way to celebrate her life. But then we've got tracks like "I Aim To Misbehave" which is loosely inspired by our hatred for cocky, pretentious "rock star" types. We are five of the most humble dudes you could ever meet, and it really gets under our skin when we see this type of behaviour, because its not going to do ANYONE any good. And my personal favourite, "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World", which is about general consistencies and inconsistencies of your everyday life.
Planet Loud - What about musically, there is more to the sound than just your standard death/metalcore sound – what sort of bands inspire you? Knives Exchanging Hands - Man, its so different from person to person. Collectively I'd have to say we all agree on bands like Ion Dissonance, Seven Angels Seven Plagues/Misery Signals, The Red Chord, Between The Buried And Me, Converge and Hopesfall but we dig softer stuff too. Like Minus The Bear, Team Sleep, American Football, Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab For Cutie.
Planet Loud - What is your live show like? Knives Exchanging Hands - It's furious, my friend. Furious.
Planet Loud - For a band at your level, how important is something like Myspace. Is it the ultimate tool for promoting and up and coming band? Knives Exchanging Hands - Absolutely. I mean it's the biggest, most widely used communication device since the telephone. Free promotion and advertising, as well as the best word-of-mouth system ever.
Planet Loud - What are your plans to promote the album now it has been released? Knives Exchanging Hands - Touring, touring, and more touring.
Planet Loud - Who would your ideal tour be with? Knives Exchanging Hands - Ooh. Everyone would say something different, but mine would be the Red Chord and Misery Signals.
Planet Loud - What about your local scene, what's that like in terms of venues and promoters? Knives Exchanging Hands - The people here are great. Even when we first started playing shows, they had no problem on taking a chance with a band that they had never heard of. The people here, while they are doing what they're doing to make money, really are focused more on getting you heard and helping you lay down your stepping stones for further endeavors.
Planet Loud - Are there any good local bands you think we should check out? Knives Exchanging Hands - Of course. Check these guys out. They're all different genres of metal, but all rock out in their own way. Bloodjinn, The Demonstration, My Hero is Me, From Graves of Valor, The Hottness.
Planet Loud - Do kids come out to see local bands? Knives Exchanging Hands - You have no idea. We have some of the most loyal and awesome kids in the Carolinas. We know we wouldn't have gotten half as far as we have so far if not for the help of all of our fans. These kids are amazing and they genuinely love the music. What more can you ask for?
Planet Loud - Okay, now the album is out, what are your plans for the future? Knives Exchanging Hands - Well, right now we're focused on touring more than anything. We've got a couple weeks coming up with our bros and labelmates, the Hottness and Yosemite Mudflap. After that, we're hopping on a month with Arsonists Get All The Girls (Century Media Records), then an additional month with It Prevails and Burden Of A Day (both on Rise Records). Additionally to that, we're in the process of setting up our online store (so you guys can get merch before we play there), and we're actually in talks with a couple high profile booking agencies right now. We're just weighing out their offers to find which agency is willing to do the most for us at this point in time.
Planet Loud - When are we going to see Knives Exchanging Hands in Europe? Knives Exchanging Hands - We were actually supposed to be there already, but the dates that the promoter laid out ended up conflicting with our CD release, so it was decided that we should promote and tour here more before we try to jump the pond. I can't tell you exactly when it will happen, but I can say "soon".
Planet Loud - Thanks for your time, anything else to say? Knives Exchanging Hands - Please come to see us when we come to your city, and bring snacks.
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10 of 107MoreMakes me so sad
wow... i didnt even know man... you guys stay the night at my house twice, and im just now finding out you guys split? not kewl man...thats prolly some of the worst news ive heard in a while, well good luck take care of yourselves... oh i dont live in ohio anymore im in mississippi but like i said before if you guys ever need anything just let me know...
That's gay, amongst the flooded scene of post hardcorish music, you had a unique sound, you played incredible music and were certainly not imitations of other bands. Best of luck to you.
FUCK!!!!! nooooooo!!!
Good luck guys. Start making Electronic music... :)
well. you guys were honestly a great band. i never got to see you guys which sucks. but you guys seriously made some great music, and had your own unique sound. im gonna miss you guys.
I hate that you guys are splitting, but can I steal the band name?
damn -.-
Where are the new projects?
I honestly want to cry