DOWN TO NOTHING

Kevin Sellers: So, for all the poor readers out there unfamiliar, what and who is Down To Nothing? And who plays what? Down To Nothing: Down To Nothing is a hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia. Daniel Spector plays drums, Ryan Groat guitar, Jared Carman bass, and I, David Wood sings. KS: What's the origin of your name? DtN: Ha, I wish I could tell you. KS: You guys have been together (with various line-ups) since 2000, and you've hammered out 3 albums to date and have toured all across the globe. Where did you all meet, and what caused the idea of a band to sprout up? DtN: Daniel and I grew up together, Groater went to our middle school and high school, we became friends my freshman year. Daniel and I were in a band called Detonation, we started at the beginning of my 8th grade year. We sucked. We were 14. Groater always chilled with us. We started Down To Nothing the end of my Junior year, and Groater Joined in fall of 2001, which is when I guess you could say we really started. We just loved the core, needed to play in a band. I had met Jared in Daytona, Florida from playing down there. I asked him to fill in for a tour in March of 2005, and he's been in the band ever since. KS: Previous to your newest release ("The Most", Revelation Records) you had two albums on Thorp Records...why the change? And how has the transition been for you? DtN: We left Thorp because our contract was up with them. We actually did "Splitting Headache," so we could get out of our contract. That record is two split seven inches put on one cd so we could be out of our 2 cd contract deal and sign to Revelation. The transition has been great. Everything has been going so smoothly ever since we signed to Rev. KS: Already I've seen plenty of positive feed back for "The Most", and it's only been out for about a month. Have you been impressed with the initial reactions? DtN: Yeah, we've all been really impressed with the reactions since it came out. So much positive feedback coming from kids, all the new songs have been going over awesome live, we're all stoked. I'm so happy to finally have a record that I'm actually proud of. I love every song, and I'm really excited with how the recording sounds. Definitely the best thing we've ever done. I guess it shows, ha, things have been really good for us this summer with the new record. KS: Where would you say you draw inspiration from? Your sound does remind of some of the more "classic" hardcore bands, so I would guess there, but maybe you get some energy from a band or bands no one would think to connect to you? DtN: Judge. I love Judge so much, probably my all time favorite "classic" hardcore band. We all love Judge, and Inside Out. We all love Rage Against the Machine too. Madball gets all of us amped real hard. I think we get some influence from them. We listen to so much stuff religiously it's retarded. Sublime, Incubus, Madball, 311, The Killers, Terror, Avail, Hatebreed, Pennywise, Everclear, all on constant rotation..always. KS: For the gearheads out there, do you have any brand loyalties within your group? What do you use to get that sharp guitar tonality, for instance? DtN: Red Bull. KS: You're currently in the middle of a gigantic touring schedule, which from what I know has been running since June and has seen you across the US, Europe, and now a big Australian jaunt throughout August. How's the reaction been, specifically down under? Is this your first time playing there? DtN: Europe in June was our third time over there, and we were with our good friends Internal Affairs, so that tour was just wild. The US was with Verse, Allegiance, and I Rise and every show was really good. Probably one of our best US tours. We're in Australia right now, tonight we played our 5th show. This is our first time playing here, so we didn't really know what to expect, but we've been blown away. The shows have been killer, good energy every night, kids are siked. We're on tour with 50 Lions, a newer band on Resist Records, they're so good. KS: Would you say fans know you better for your studio work or your live performances? I'll admit I've only heard your most recent album, but to my ears it sounds like it would make for a memorable concert experience... DtN: Definitely our live performance. Our past recordings were never too hot, but we've been known to get buck live. Good times at down to nothing shows. KS: How has Down To Nothing evolved as a unit over the years? Would you say your sound has matured album to album, or are you locked steady in the same direction you've always been? DtN: We've matured a lot. We've done a lot of touring the past few years, so we're all really tight with each other when we play..I think each record has progressively gotten heavier, I like that. I wonder what our next record will be like. KS: Your new album is filled to the brim with quick-shots of some of the better hardcore I've had the pleasure of hearing recently. It's hard to pick a favorite cut, since they all offer plenty to enjoy. What went into creating this behemoth of an album, and what were you guys feeling/going through during the writing and recording? DtN: We didn't really try to go for a sound or anything, we just practiced a lot, wrote a lot, and what came out is what came out. Just did our usual thing this time, but went at it a lot harder. KS: Seven years of experience as a band has to bring with it a healthy dose of knowledge. That being said, do you have any advice for all these aspiring acts sprouting up nowadays? DtN: Yeah, just play because you want to play. Down To Nothing has never had any expectations. My friend Jay showed me an interview we did about 4 years ago, and we were saying how we thought we were going to do a new seven inch, do our first west coast tour, and then call it quits probably. And that was in 2003. We never thought we would ever play out of the country. And now we're f*cking Australia! A lot of bands start up thinking they're gonna be the next Hatebreed, and after a year when they are still playing to 50 kids, they get frustrated and give up. So just play because you want to have fun, and good things will come from it. KS: What will be next for the band after the Australian tour? DtN: We're planning on going back to Puerto Rico in the fall, hopefully that works out. And in November, we should be doing a tour in the states with No Turning Back and Bracewar. KS: For everyone who doesn't know; how would one go about picking up your new album, or other DTN merchandise? DtN: Come see us live! You can find our dates on our myspace page. Or check out the Revelation Records website. You can get our new cd and some merch from them, they're also re-releasing all of our Thorp stuff in the fall. Merchnow.com has some merch from us too, KS: Thanks so much for your time. I know I'll be watching for you the next time you're playing back home in the states. Any last words for the 'Music Emissions' readers? DtN: "Don't forget the struggle, don't forget the streets, don't forget your roots, and don't sell out!"