Interview: Subliminal Landmines
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What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
Grant - What really got me into music was whenever i got my hands on an 'American Idiot' album by Green Day, I was hooked. And the positive way the energetic music just made me feel was and still is awesome to this day. If i wasn't playing music though i would probably be playing a lot of video games and listening to even more music than i do now while still working full time.
Chris: My dad runs a stage sound and lighting company(D. Hayes &Assoc.). So I grew up around live music. That’s what started my interest. He got me started on bass in the 6th grade, fell in love with the low rumbles and stuck with it from there. I’m a tattoo artist, so in general I just like creating things. Without music, I’d still be creating art on some level, that’s all I do.
Lee: my brother was in a metal cover band in high school and played stuff like rage, Metallica and Pantera, i knew that day I wanted to play on stage!
2) What do you like to do when your not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
Grant: When I'm not playing music i'm either relaxing and meditating or doing home improvement stuff. Of course while listening to music though because thats what helps to stimulate the brain. I also love spending time with my wife and family.
Chris: I’m a tattoo artist, so in general I just like creating things. Without music, I’d still be creating art on some level, that’s all I do.
Lee: i make drum videos, and basically just listen to music all day. not much of my life is without music. i also like shooting photography, but once again its usually shooting live bands or band promos.
3) How long has your band been around?
We have been around for almost 4 years. It got started in 2017
4) Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We are based out of Lafayette, Louisiana, US and down here there's a lot of cajun and zydeco music so it might have a slight influence in our playing
5) How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.
The band name came from brainstorming all the possible names for a punk band that we want to make sure was different but not too lame. I (Grant) mainly write from personal experiences and there is always a message in the song. That is where the Subliminal part comes to play. The goal is to blow everyone's mind with our music. So that's where the word Landmines comes in.
6) Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.
Grant : My worst show that i played would have to be when we played our self-recorded demo release at The District here in Lafayette. Throughout the whole set my guitar just kept changing tune and it just would stay where it needed to be. It's because I had forgotten to stretch my strings and it was also cold. My amp kept cutting in and out that night as well so i was just not happy after the set. The best show that i would say that we played would have to be when we played with The Posts here in Lafayette in the basement of Bisbano's pizza. It was small, everyone was in your face, it was crowded and we sold a tone of merch and it was just a 10/10 type of night.
Chris: My 15x cab blowing and my pedal crapping out . Having to tune by ear and play solely off the 2/10 was pretty shitty. I’ll put that on the list of bad show moments. But I’ve puked next to the drummer and fallen off stage before...so that list can be kinda hefty.
7)Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you
haven't already?
Grant: My favorite venue to play at would have to be in the basement of Bisbano's pizza. Its always just a fun show and everyone's so close together and it's just awesome there. And we all have plenty of places that we want to play. The question is when are we gonna play there?
If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?
8) What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?
Grant: If I had any advice to give it would just have to be don't stop playing. No matter what stage in life that you are in there is never a good reason to stop playing music. Just keep pushing and doing what you love.
9) If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self to just skip college and get the band together at that point in time. All the money wasted into a degree that I didn't even get but right now I'm at where I need to be so it so I really wouldn't tell myself to do much different than that
10)Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
Grant: Out of the songs on the album, I Love You a Camel is about my wife and how we experienced people not wanting us to be together when we first started dating. After realizing how much I loved and cared about her, i just didn't care what anyone thought about us anymore.
11) Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Some of our favorite songs to play are Numbskull, Cactus in the Dishwasher, and Where's My Coke? is a really fun one to play but we have only played it a couple times live. We can't wait to tour next year because all of the songs on the album are gonna be a fun time to play.
12) What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Grant and Chris both write the lyrics and guitar, lee writes his drums to that. After that we just hash out different ideas and changes that we think would work better. Our songs are more so inspired by our own experiences and emotions that we've felt. Knowing that people will hear it and relate and interpret the songs in their own ways is what is the coolest about writing music.
13) What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
Every song usually has to deal with an emotion that was felt, whether it be anger, sadness, happiness, depression. The message always points in the direction that you will always make it through to the other side, you just need to keep pushing.
14)Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
We never really have any disagreements but more or less just change each other's idea when something doesn't work. But Lee is building us a ThunderDome in his backyard so we can fight stuff out.
15) What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming
up?
Of course our plans for the future are to keep making music people can relate and jam out to. But in 2021 we will be touring 'Gibberish' in as many cities and states as we can because its long overdue. Possibly another EP to be released in 2021 at some point (;