The Gentlemen Homicide is a post hardcore band based out of the big State of Texas, who are beginning to get to noticed above and beyond their hometown of Amarillo. Understanding The Words We Speak is the name of their new CD now available from the Blood & Ink label. We recently conducted an email interview with this band to learn more about their unique moniker, their intensive music, and other points of interest. Let the understanding begin…
Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in The Gentlemen Homicide, and how long the band has been together.
Matt Jameson (drummer) and Josh Barbee (vocals). This line-up has been around for a little less than a year. The name's been around for about 3 or 4 years.
Where is the band from and what is the music scene like there?
The band is from Amarillo, TX. The scene is pretty small here, but I think it's starting to grow.
Is there any story behind the band name The Gentlemen Homicide?
Yeah. The name is referring to the death of Christ. It's talking about Jesus being the ultimate Gentleman. So it's like His murder.
What is the story behind the album title Understanding The Words We Speak?
We just hope people will check out what we talk about on the album regarding faith and life and maybe understand a little about how we feel.
How was your show at Cornerstone this year, and what was the overall experience like?
We played 4 shows and they were rad. The experience is always awesome hanging out and meeting people, and this year we actually got to play some stages and sell our record.
Where do you come up with some of the ideas for your lyrics, and please cite a few song examples.
Everyone contributes to the lyric writing. If someone is going through something in their life or has feelings they want to express in a song, we'll use them. Most of the songs deal with our faith and how it relates to things kids are dealing with. Song 8 talks about anger, hatred, and insecurity and compares it to things Jesus dealt with.
With all of your songs having to do with religion and spirituality, would you consider your band a ministry at all?
We try to live a ministry at all times and we do consider the band a ministry. We love playing music too, so it works hand in hand.
Where did you get some of the vintage photos you used on the CD artwork? Are they relatives?
The photos in the CD are the grandparents of Myk, the guy that designed the layout. He's the drummer for Enlow (also on Blood and Ink Records), and has Harmonies Madness design lab. He wanted to find old pictures for our album and decided to use his own grandparents for it.
Describe a The Gentlemen Homicide show for those of us who have yet to see you play.
We like to move around a lot. People say it's crazy or intense. We just love to play and have fun doing it. It's not as fun if bands don't get into their own music.
Have you ever played in the Los Angeles or OC area, or do you plan to do so in the future?
We haven't played in that area. We've played Northern California, but would love to come down to LA. Hopefully the next good tour we're on will go out that way.
Why do you think there has been such a big resurgence of Christian hardcore and post hardcore bands as of late?
I don't know. We have been a Christian band for the 3 or 4 years we've been a band. I think the bands that are Christian bands have been around just as long as the others, but most just haven't gotten picked up until recent. I think a lot of them just happened to get signed or put out albums around the same time. Also, I think kids are getting sick of seeing bands that play music for no reason. People want to see a band that has a message, regardless if that's politics, straight edge, or Christianity.
While on tour, who in The Gentlemen Homicide listens to the worst music?
Our bass player Joshua Jackson. He makes us listen to crappy pop/country all the time...it gets really old really fast.
If there was one thing you'd like a listener to remember after hearing your CD, what would that be?
Just to enjoy our music first of all and respect us for our message. Whether or not you agree, we just ask you to listen to the music and see what you think.
Any final words of wisdom?
If you read this, thanks. Go check out our album and head to our myspace.com/tgh. God bless.
The members of The Gentlemen Homicide are Josh Barbee on vocals, Max Vinson on guitar, Adam Thron on guitar, Josh Jackson on bass, and Matt Jameson on drums. Be sure to check out their CD Understanding The Words We Speak, out now from Blood & Ink Records!
