Anchorhead

Anchorhead are a four piece punk/emo/rock band based out of Perkasie, Pennsylvania. The band recently released a split with Virginia Beach's Cardinal through Philadelphia based label Either/Or Records, which in the past has uncovered the likes of Citizen, Maker and Settle For Less. We caught up with the band's vocalist and guitarist John Schiavone to talk the new split and the band's future plans.

Start off by stating your name, and your role in Anchorhead?

My name is John Schiavone, and I play guitar and sing in the band.

Anchorhead are still relatively unknown in Australia at the moment, can you give us a quick rundown of the history of the band?

In the summer of 2010 Mike (Klophaus), Christian and Jake Clarke (Daylight, Lonely Road Studios) had been jamming some songs that I was really into. I had also been writing a few songs as well, and seeing as we all would hangout every day anyway it just kind of came together from there. In 2011 we recorded the EP “A Room to Stay” and mostly played locally to Philadelphia, Doylestown and Kutztown, PA. One year and two drummers later, we now have the newly released split with Cardinal courtesy of Either/Or Records and Loudmouth Magazine.

Your split release with Cardinal was released at the beginning of January, how are you feeling now that these tracks are out there for everyone to hear?

Excited. It had been over a year since we released anything and we feel like the split better represents our sound and the direction our newer songs are going.

What was the writing and recording process like for these songs?

When we heard about the idea for the split we had been kicking around a couple different songs we could use. It just came down to which two songs we thought would make the best pair. We recorded with Vince Ratti at the Skylight Studio which was an awesome experience. It was our first time recording somewhere other than a basement (no offense to basements). We tracked everything in a day and got the masters back a couple days later. Vince Ratti and Bill Henderson (Azimuth Mastering) work like a well-oiled machine.

What made you want to release the split with Cardinal?

Rob (Hackert) came to us with the idea in the spring of 2012. We were already discussing what we should do for the next release, and once we heard Cardinal it became an easy decision. Getting to know those guys a little has been great too.

You released the split through Either/Or Records. How did the partnership with Rob and the label fall into place?

Rob basically just hit us up through email and we went from there. We’re all from approximately the same area so we had both heard of each other, and knowing what he had done with bands like Citizen and Turnover so we just went with it.

What is the band planning on releasing next? Do you have many songs written for it so far?

We’re currently in the process of writing a full length. As a band, we have one new song that we now play live, but between mike and myself we have 3 to 4 new demos that we’re currently working on.

What has been your favourite show that you have played so far this year?

We recently played a show in Columbus Ohio with Saint Seneca, Empire Empire and The World is… and the whole thing was just a blast. The bands were incredible and all of the people in Columbus were a blast to be around. Thanks again Scott Neimet!

Do you have any goals that you would like to achieve with this band?

Travel. I think the most important thing for us at this point is to play more shows in areas of the country we’ve never visited. As of right now we’ve actually only played a handful of shows out of state, and that’s something we really want to change. With the release of this split though we’re trying to play any show we can get our hands on.

Who are some bands that have impressed you lately that we should be checking out?

Modern Baseball, Saint Seneca, and as always Balance and Composure and Daylight. It’s amazing what those guys have been doing in the past couple years.

What are the band’s plans for the rest of the year now that the split has been released?

To write and play shows like mad men. Now that we have the split released and a solid lineup behind us we’re ready to fill in the calendar and play some new songs. We’re hoping to have enough songs written by the end of summer to start recording again as well.

Thanks for doing the interview, any last words or shout outs?

I would like to thank Rob for hooking us with Kill Your Stereo and you guys for all of your great questions. Shout out to Balance and Daylight who are currently on tour with the Jealous Sound (and probably killing it). I also want to give a shout out to Joe Bues and Loudmouth Magazine for helping make the release of the split possible. Hope to hear from you guys again soon.

http://www.facebook.com/anchorheadpa

http://anchorhead.bandcamp.com

http://anchorheadpa.bigcartel.com