War Generation/Jon Bunch - Sound In The Signals Interview

I recently had the chance to interview Jon Bunch about his new band War Generation. Check out the full interview after the jump.

You guys have a new album coming out in September called Start Somewhere Never Surrender. Can you tell me a little about the title and what it means to you personally?

Jon Bunch: Yes, our record comes out September 3rd on Rise Records.  As far as the title goes, I hadn’t done a record in 10 years. I wanted to do music again but I really didn’t know where to start. I thought, well you’ve got to start somewhere and once you do start, don’t give up. And I’m always telling my son, who is 9 years old now, start somewhere and don’t give up on it…

You released the artwork on Facebook and it’s really interesting. Can you tell me a little about the artwork and why you chose it for the album?

The artwork for Start Somewhere Never Surrender is an old picture of a nun wearing a gas mask which I believe is from World War One.  It goes quite well with the War Generation theme.  Plus I have an affinity for gas masks that I won’t get into at this time.

The first song you released online is “Done and Gone” why did you pick that track as the first one people would hear? Is that track comparable to the overall sound of the album?

Brad and I talked to Craig from Rise Records about which song he’d want to release first, we all agreed that Done and Gone would work well as the song to introduce the band and to give anyone listening an idea as to what we sound like. We all felt it is a nice first impression. It’s as good a song as any on the album, it’s short, sweet, and to the point. When Brad and I started compiling the music, we wanted to do the opposite of what many bands are doing now, we literally decided to keep it simple, using just guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, with very minimal production. It’s a deconstructed record compared to what many bands are doing today with samples and keyboards.

Is there any song in particular you are itching to release that you are really interested to see what people think about it?

I just want everyone that hears the record to know that it’s a thank you card to all the Hardcore Punk bands that I grew up listening to when I was a kid. Those bands mean so much to me. They taught me how to be a better person and if it wasn’t for them, I don’t know what kind of person I’d be or where I’d be in life. The record is also an open letter to all the Hardcore kids that I came up with to let them know I’m still thinking of them. This record is dedicated to those Hardcore Punk bands and those Hardcore Punk kids.

The album is coming out through Rise Records. What made you guys decide want to sign with Rise Records?

Craig Ericson from Rise Records wrote to me and mentioned he’s been following the music I’ve been doing since my first Hardcore band Reason To Believe back in the 80’s. He had followed Sense Field as well. He told me the only thing he wants for me is to put out music and tour, and that’s exactly what I needed to hear. He’s the first person in the music industry that I trust in a long time, so no pressure Craig.

I noticed it will also be pressed on vinyl. Do you guys know what the variants for that will be yet or when the pre-order might go live?

There is vinyl available, colored vinyl as well. Not sure the exact numbers, but it will be available by the time anyone is reading this. The pre-orders will be available now too…

War Generation is officially just two guys. I read you had a few people come in and play on the album. One of which being Derick Cordoba (previously of Further Seems Forever). What was it like working with him in the studio again? Do you have any other guest musicians on the album? I’m sure having Derick on the album will spark a lot of interest from Further Seems Forever fans. FSF is currently back with its original incarnation now but if at any point the opportunity ever arose for a reunion show with the Hide Nothing line-up would it interest you at all?

Derick is one of our closest friends. He’s fun to hang with regardless of what we’re doing. He did play guitar on a couple of tunes and he was great as always. We also have Craig Anderson from Ignite playing drums on the record, it  was a blast recording with him too. As far as FSF goes, it took a long time for the og members to get back together and that’s the true FSF in my opinion and I hope they keep it that way. I am only interested in writing, recording and playing new music. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing music, but all my energy will be focused on new music.

You guys have both been in successful bands prior to War Generation. What makes being in this band so much different from being in some of your previous projects?

The fact that the two of us (Brad and I) made the record by ourselves makes it different because usually there are four or five band members to have to contend with. I’m not interested or have ever been interested in competing with other bands. I don’t feel I have anything to prove to anyone else. People that know my music and know me know exactly where my heart lies with the scene we came up in. I just want to continue to help in some small way to cultivate our scene. My friends and I feel that the term Hardcore or Post-Hardcore has somewhat been hijacked by bands that have no relationship to the Hardcore scene at all and have no roots in Punk or Hardcore, that is something many people I know are very unhappy about. You can’t say you’re a Hardcore band or claim you’re a post-hardcore band and at the same time say your influences are Motley Crue and Poison… The ideologies of Hardcore are polar opposites to what hair metal bands represent. Bands and the kids who listen to them need to know the history of what they are claiming to be and what they’re saying they represent. That is all.