Hit the switch (US)
Time for a new interview. This time we’ve had the luck to have a little interview with Hit The Switch. They are currently touring Europe with Fast Motion from France. Hit The Switch is the ideal combination of political 90’s punk rock with some great hardcore influences. If you’ve never heard them before we insist you listen to the band asap.
Could you please introduce yourself and the band?
Well my name is Matthew Hawks and I play guitar while trying to sing:) original bassist Ray Rameriz now plays guitar too, new kid on the block Aj condosta rippin on the drums, and my best friend Azary Sturk plays bass!
You write songs with a meaning to it, what is the overall message you’re trying to convey?
We just want people to be aware of the world around them and how it came to be this way, the world is filled with inequality and tragedies caused by humanes, we believe this is not something that should be accepted in this world.
For us it seems America gets split up even more, kind of like Holland. Left wing politicians seem to move more to the left. Even clearer, the right wing politicians seem to move more to the right because the Tea Party has quite a strong influence now in some fields. What is your view on the political situation in America today? What do you hope will change soon?
I view America as a neglagant force in world politics and economy, I hope one day we take more pride in humanity than we do in country.
You’ve toured Europe last year, how are shows different to the ones you play in the US? What made you come back over within about a year?
Shows in Europe seem to have better appreciation for punk rock, there are too many bands fllooding the American market, very competitive. We hope to play Europe more than America:)
Your first release was on Nitro Records (The Offspring), how did you get to that and how was being on that label? On the other hand, what made you decide to release the next record yourselves?
We got lucky getting signed to Nitro because nobody knew who we were and we just sent them and they called us a month later. Unfortunately not long after we signed to that label they started doing less and less for their bands. So we learned as much as we could from them and released our second record ourselves.
Matt; you’re in Pour Habit now as well. How come you joined them? How do you divide time between the bands? Any other HTS related bands we have to check out?
Yes Pour Habit is awesome, we have been good friends for a while, we play shows together alot. they asked me to join in January and I was very excited to jam with them, it’s been an awesome time touring with them! It’s no problem being in both bands, it keeps me busy and I love doing it. Also our drummer AJ is in Jugheads revenge, old school punk rock, please check them out!
Can we expect a new HTS release any time soon?
Yes we release Ep in febuary 2012!
Any places you haven’t played yet but would love to play?
We would love to play Japan!
Anything you’d like to add?
thank you to Sweet Empire for bringing us to Netherlands! See you all next yea
And we say thanks to Hit The Switch. We’ll keep you posted on their new release, as well as touring plans for next year.