Sunday, December 2, 2018

MEET HIGHDIVE: THE RISING STARS OF TEXAS ALTERNATIVE ROCK

©Highdive

Could you please introduce yourselves to the readers of Summon the Roses?

We are a Houston, TX based alternative rock band called HIGHDIVE.

What is the origin of your band name HighDive? What is the meaning behind it?

HIGHDIVE came about when tossing around ideas for the band name after we'd written our first single, The Deep End. While being sort of humorously related to the song title, HIGHDIVE to us also means we’re diving in and combining our inspirations drawn form previous acts we’ve all been apart. We all grew up in the same scene, in different bands, but we feel like we've come together and found our a solid sound with these new songs.

How long have you known each other? How did the band members meet?

Three of the four of us grew up in the same area and went through school together, but playing music in other bands ultimately brought us all together. 

Can you tell us about your music genre and the composition of your music?

We describe ourselves as an alternative rock band to leave it open ended for listeners, but all of us as individuals have eclectic musical influences so it's difficult to put ourselves in a box. I think as a band we have a mentality of “If its good, Its good”.

Could you briefly describe your music-making process?

We are all songwriters so it gets interesting. If one of us has an melody or riff idea, we'll usually record it on a voice memo with our phone and send it to everyone else for feedback, and then we'll hash out the structures and arrangements when we get together in our jam room. 

You recently released your album Forget I Called, can you tell us about the composition of this album?

This album began with Kyle writing some songs in a new style and then bringing them to the rest of us to compliment them. We quickly noticed that we were onto something good so we ran with it. Forget I Called is the product of that. 
What feelings are you trying to express through this album?

Music inspires us to share life experiences and stories that involve everyday emotions and hardships that everyone can relate to in some way.
Do you have a favorite track from this album?

We're always changing our minds on this topic. Kyle's has consistently said that he is most emotionally attached  to "Watch Your Back" and the rest of the guys usually say "Nightmare". Our mutual favorite song to play live at the moment is track 8, "Hold The Door". 

What mood do you want to set when performing in front of an audience?

Playing live gives us the opportunity to add energy to the emotions of our songs. We pride ourselves on performing in a way that leaves our listeners wanting more while portraying real life emotions. There’s a certain feeling pertaining to our live shows that you can’t get just from listening to the album. Our live shows are, and will always be about energy and emotion.

What are some of your major influences? Who inspires you in your music career?

As I mentioned before, we all have drastically different musical tastes and influences. But the bands that we compare our sound to when asked to do so are Mayday Parade, Jimmy Eat World and With Confidence. If you asked us each who our musical spirit animal was, we'd say Kyle's is John Mayer, Brian's is the Misfits, Collin's is Angels & Airwaves, and Zach's is Jimi Hendrix.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome challenges you have faced?

We're still very new, and thankfully haven't faced any large challenges so far. Prior to our last tour, we had travel arrangements lined up that ended up falling through the day before we were scheduled to leave. We were able to borrow a pickup truck and rent a trailer for the first stint, and then after crunching numbers and lots of "we can do make it work" thinking, we were able to rent a van to finish out the tour. This minor setback motivated us to be extremely frugal on the road which, in turn allowed us to maximize on promotion, interaction and performing and brought us closer as people.
Do you have any memorable performances you would like to share with us?

During our last tour in August, we played acoustically in multiple Urban Outfitters locations across the country. These performances were intimate and enjoyable for us, and we got to meet a ton of cool people as well.

©HighDive

What are your future plans with HighDive? 

We have lots of plans for 2019, including new music, lots of touring and some other fun things we can't quite mention yet. Stay on the look out for another little treat before the end of this year as well!

Lastly, do you have a message for our readers? 



We just want to thank all of our family and friends for being so supportive thus far and helping us accomplish more in the last 6 months with this band than we ever could've otherwise. If you're a new listener, please help us spread the message of love, heartbreak and facing difficulty by sharing our music with someone you think might enjoy. You can find "Forget I Called" on all streaming platforms and our music videos on YouTube.




🌹Links🌹


Special thanks to HIGHDIVE and Staff for allowing us to conduct this interview