Shot in the Dark Interview

Shot in the dark Promo 5Many bands may have started when their members were under the age of 18, but few of them pull it off as well as Shot in the Dark. These kids put an end to the hipster and raver stereotypes with their aggressive and energetic sound. The band honed their craft through West Coast Rock School and quickly developed a large and dedicated following. Shot in the Dark started their musical journey covering songs from bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Falling In Reverse, but with the help of Asylus drummer Mel Torres have finally released an E.P. full of original material titled Memories.

Shot in the Dark have opened for acts like Alien Ant Farm, Secrets, and Dead Rabbits, featuring members of Escape the Fate further expanding their fan base. Even Kevin Lyman, creator of The Vans Warped Tour, enjoyed this class act and let Shot in the Dark play two dates of this year’s Warped Tour.

Their album may have just been released, but there is plenty for Shot in the Dark fans to look forward to including several local shows and a spot on this years All Stars Tour headlined by I See Stars. By the Barricade interviewed the band to find out exactly what they had in store for the upcoming months. The full transcripts are available below.

SITD LogoJacob Chabot: Lead Vocals

Jarod DeShong Drums

Austin Schmidt: Lead guitar

Taylor Martino: Rhythm Guitar

“Spike” Snyder: Bass

By the Barricade: What can you tell us about your new E.P. Memories?

Jacob Chabot: The writing process was very cool but a little confusing writing originals instead of covers. At first It was kind of stressful to make sure we got a catchy chorus or a good rhythm. We thought, why don’t we do stuff that we like such as breakdowns, more screaming, and just have more fun with the song.

Austin Schmidt: We wrote all of the songs together in a group and recorded them with Mel Torres at Rare Catalyst Studios. Everyone brought in ideas so we used some of them and changed some of them to fit the song better.

Jacob Chabot: Finding time to write was crazy! If we had free time, we had to practice for a show. After our E.P. we wrote a song with Mel Torres and got to experiment with  the writing on technology. [The song] turned out to be the best sounding in our opinion. So all in all it was very fun.

Austin Schmidt: It’s now available on iTunes and we will be selling them at all of our upcoming shows. We perform the new song now at our shows, but it will be released as a bonus track in a couple of months

By the Barricade: Mel Torres, Drummer of Asylus worked with you to produce Memories. Is there a producer you would like to work with for your next release?

Austin Schmidt, and Jarod DeShong: Mel was an amazing producer. I would love to just work with him again.

Taylor Martino: Mel is an amazing producer and he will be the one we work with on our next album. I honestly have no other producer in mind.

Jacob Chabot: Mel is a great producer and we will soon be working with him soon

Band Photo 2By the Barricade: Now that you have gotten a chance to play the new material live what song do you enjoy the most?

Austin Schmidt: I really like playing “Where We Go” because it has a good breakdown and a fun guitar solo.

Taylor Martino: I enjoy playing Moving Forward the most.

Jacob Chabot: The song I love the most when we play live is “Where We Go” or “Better Place” which is a single we we’ll release soon.

 

Austin Schmidt: I like playing “Better Place” also because it is the heaviest song that we have written.

By the Barricade: Shot in the Dark has played two dates at The 2014 Vans Warped Tour and is scheduled to play the 2014 All Stars tour. What is the next milestone you are shooting for?

Austin Schmidt: We are in a Battle of the Band to play Knotfest in October and that would be awesome to play. Hopefully we can play more days of the Vans Warped Tour next year.

Taylor Martino: Hopefully our next milestone will be for Shot In The Dark to play all the Warped dates. Lots of bands start out playing one or two dates, and before you know, they are doing the whole tour.

By the Barricade: Shot in the Dark played an awesome set at Assuming We Survive’s Get Busy Living Fest. What does the phrase “get busy living” mean to you?

Austin Schmidt: Live life to its fullest.

Taylor Martino: Follow your dreams.

SITD IG Takeover Draft 3By the Barricade: During Wild Wild Fest Shot in the Dark took over our Instagram. If you could take over any network or publication what would it be, and what would be your message?

Austin Schmidt: I would take over Justin Bieber’s Instagram account and promote Shot In the Dark.

Jacob & Jarod: Alternative Press Magazine

By the Barricade: Spike and Jacob, you were previously in a band called The Kids Aren’t Alright and now you both in Shot in the Dark. What led to these changes?

Jacob Chabot: Shot In The Dark was formed first. The Kids Aren’t Alright was actually a side project.  We just picked a different instrument to play for fun because sometimes doing the same thing gets boring.

By the Barricade: Anything else you want to say to the readers of By the Barricade?

Austin Schmidt: Make sure you come and see us at one of our upcoming shows.

Taylor Martino: We want to thank everyone for their continued support of Shot In The Dark. We have met some amazing fans over this past year or so and love every one of them!

You can catch Shot in the Dark at one of their upcoming shows:

7/25 – Nick’s Taste of Texas

8/3-All Stars Tour at The Observatory in Santa Ana

8/16-Hydra in Long Beach

8/24-Battle of the Bands for Knotfest at Malone’s in Santa

Keep it on Bythebarricade.com for tons of punk rock interviews, reviews, articles, and photos! Also, “Like” By the Barricade on Facebook to never miss a post. If you liked this article check out:

Asylus Interview

Amusing We Survive Interview

Get Busy Living Fest Review

Rock The Arts Review

Is Warped Tour the Best Tour On Earth?

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