by Kenneth Morton
Based out of the much revered Boston area, Have Heart has been on tour in support of their latest Bridge 9 effort entitled The Things We Carry. One of their shows was a particularly rambunctious night at the Chain Reaction is Orange County. Here is a recent interview we conducted with guitarist Kei Yasui...

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Have Heart, and how long the band has been together.
I'm Kei, I play guitar, and I've only been in the band since summer '05 so pardon if I don't know the specifics of the band history.

Boston has an impressive history of hardcore bands. What is the current hardcore scene like and how does Have Heart fit into the scheme of things?
Currently Boston the city itself is suffering from a lack of venues although the Elks Lodge in Cambridge has started up again. The real stuff is happening outside the city, on the north and south shores. Much like older bands like Cave In, Ten Yard Fight, Piebald etc, the bands that claim Boston are not actually from the city. The same deal with Have Heart, we, for the most part live/go to school in Boston but none of us are from here, Sean is from Rhode Island, I'm from Maine, and Ryan, Briggs and Pat are from the New Bedford area. All in all Massachusetts is going strong with bands like Shipwreck, Guns Up!, Energy and Harder The Fight keeping things fresh.

Is there any story behind the CD title The Things We Carry?
The title of the record comes from Tim O'Brien's book "The Things They Carried". The book is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War and the soldiers that the author served with. It basically paints a very human picture of soldiers that otherwise might be considered just that, faceless soldiers. The record relates to the stories in the book in that the lyrics deal with very real and very personal subject matter that sort of paint a human face onto a genre often described as generic and voiceless.

What is a live Have Heart show like for those of us who have yet to see you play?
Well you can expect a lot of guitar equipment exploding, us getting knocked out of tune, Pat being shocked with the mic, long flowing hair, a giant lumberjack with a wireless bass system and utter mayhem from start to finish.

What do you think has set Have Heart apart from other hardcore bands?
Have Heart is different from other hardcore bands because the influences we site are not currently being used by a lot of other bands. The music that influenced our new record is from a sort of forgotten era of hardcore, the 90's where hardcore didn't have to sound a certain way to retain its classification. Bands like 108 and Unbroken, while being very heavy and metallic were still considered hardcore bands while at the opposite end of the spectrum there were bands like Ashes and Damnation AD, who if they came out today, would most definitely not be considered hardcore. We try to mix up the traditional style hardcore with the more creative aspects of writing. We're not breaking new ground, but we are down for experimenting within the confines. Some of our collective favorite bands are Small Brown Bike and Hot Water Music and we can always turn to them if we are in a rut for ideas. Some specific hardcore bands that influenced our sound are Outspoken, Unbroken, 108, Harvest, Strife/Judge, and Turning Point.

How many pogs does Briggs have in his collection, and when did he become interested in collecting these?
This was a joke that went too far and I'm sorry to anyone who came up to Briggs on the last tour and caught the death stare.

Tell me about your sneaker collection?
That’s also a joke that no one really understands.

Is Myspace the great Satan of the 21st Century?
Myspace is the opposite of that. It lets your band be heard instantly, you can connect with other bands and people more easily than in the past. Personally, any time I see that someone deletes their Myspace account I laugh because it means they are getting too worked up over nothing. Who cares if you have a Myspace account? Its practical and wastes a lot of time at work. Fuck it.

How has the tour with Verse and Shipwreck going?
The tour with Verse and Shipwreck was incredible. Verse killed it every night and Sean has great things to say. Shipwreck also destroyed every night and I think they turned a lot of heads. JD's voice got lower, harsher and more brutal as the tour went along and towards the end he was a man possessed. Their new stuff is going in a much heavier, much darker direction and I am psyched.

Any road horror stories you have to tell?
Our bassist Briggs flew out to join up with the tour at Sound and Fury in Ventura. He did one stage dive during Guns Up!'s set and fractured his ankle. On top of that he developed some sort of infected foot fungus that made his feet look like they had caught on fire. So between his infected feet that burned every second and the freak stage diving ankle injury he was living in a living hell but somehow he managed to make it out on top.

How was your recent show at Chain Reaction? Was this your first time in Southern California?
Chain Reaction was one of the best shows of tour. Personally it was my first time in California but the band has been there before on tour with Verse and Guns Up! The chain show was insane, every band killed it and kids went crazy.

What's up next for the band?
Next up, we are doing a weekend in California with Go It Alone and Sinking Ships, and then we are doing a two-week European tour with Ritual. After that who knows? Most of us are in school so it’s hard to tour, but we still manage to get out there every once in a while.

Any final words of wisdom?
We will never cut our hair, never.

The current Have Heart lineup is Ryan Hudon: Guitar, Patrick Flynn: Vocals, Shawn Brownies: Drums, Kei Yasui: Guitar, and Briggs: Bass. The Things We Carry by Have Heart is now available from Bridge 9 Records!

Have Heart Links

Bridge 9 Records: The Record Label for Have Heart!
Have Heart on Myspace: Their Official Myspace Page!
The Highwire Daze Home Page: Return to the Main Page!

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