Local Gravy #4

 These are without a doubt my favorite podcasts to do because it's all about supporting local music. Tonight's featured artist hails from the St. Louis and they love to drink beer, Inimical Drive!!! These guys have been putting in work for quite some time now and it finally paid off a few months back when they were approached and signed by Authentik Artists out of Los Angeles. The lead singer Joel was nice enough to sit down and do some Gravy Q&A for us and even gave me a few tracks to preview before the big EP release. I've had the privilege to hang out with these guys a handful of times and chug lots of beer. I can't think of too many bands that deserve a shot at rock star status than these dudes. Turn it up to 11, crack a cold one, and enjoy Inimical Drive on Local Gravy!!!

  Intro
"Say We'll Be Fine"
"Signal the Sirens"
"Remind Me"
"Hollow Ground"
"The Call"
Q&A w/ Joel

Who was the first band that made you want to become a musician? 1) The hair bands, and the ridiculous productions, the big ballads, that stuff all blew my mind when I was growing up. Though I didn't think it was reality, I was diggin it. Stryper, Motley Crüe, Poison, Warrant etc. I also grew up on gangsta rap, Dre, Cube, Too Short. Kris Kross was cool in junior high, but i had to knock that off. Atreyu, The Used, Killswitch Engage, Flaw, etc. had a huge impact on me because it was so new to me. Throaty screams and melodic vocals. Also seeing some of these bands live. Truthfully when I started seeing local bands that were from my city, my age, doing shows I was really intrigued at the idea of putting something together myself. Hahaha OR... My friends and I just wanted another reason to party. This looked like a good idea, and has proven to be a ten year party. So, I win.

How long has Inimical Drive been around? 2) Inimical Drive has been around now for just at ten years. We are officially old schoolers! Call us the BFB. "Before Facebook". Every bio we have ever written has ended with "A strong belief in longevity and perseverance". We have obviously held to that. Seen a lot of ups and downs. Nonetheless, all worth it.

  Describe your sound 3) I've always said when asked to describe our sound, that its heavy, and it's metal, but non offensive, and parts play to the mainstream. Not the heaviest bands we've played with, but by far not the softest. Growing a metal band in the St. Louis scene can be tough. Somehow, we've been able to stay in the mainstream. Some say its that we are catchy enough, some say its the good looks and tight pants. We'll take either, Hahahaha! Now that we've grabbed some feedback nationally, we've been compared to Killswitch Engage, A Day To Remember, and Bullet For My Valentine. We'd like to think we will grind our own groove for people to grab on to.

Is the Winnebago still alive and running? 4) Haha this ones funny! Hellz yes the Heat-wave is still kicking! Of course, when you've broken down every 9 out of 10 shows, eventually you replace every old part! She runs stronger today than ever! As I recall, you were a part of one of the most memorable break downs/recoveries ever! Haha good times!

  What's your favorite song that you've written? 5) Really can't say I have any favorites in particular. It comes and goes over the years. I'm always most excited about what we are currently working on. Other songs then become the favorites to play live, or favorite because of crowd reactions, or favorites because of nostalgia. I can say that the"Signal the Sirens" EP was the most we've put into anything to date. We finally feel like this one is all the way right.

What was your worst show ever? 6) Our first show ever was pretty rough. We played a college party/event and not one person watched the set. Literally, they were talking with backs turned. They stopped our set to do a jello wrestling contest, everyone left, and then we finished our set... for the janitors. We loved it so much... we immediately started booking everywhere! Hahaha

  What kind of music are you listening to right now? 7) Truth is I listen to a ton of stuff. Lately in the iPod: Refused, Finch, Fake Figures, Incubus (If Not Now When is amazing), Yelawolf, Red, The best of Cutting Crew, Counting Crows, Lamb of God, Pennywise, and Swedish House Mafia when I need to dance.

Now that you've guys have signed on to a label where do you see the band heading? 8) Signing with Authentik Artists was the perfect move. Gaining attention, reviews, fans etc, that we couldn't reach on our own, while seeing some revenue and not having to sell the Inimical Drive name. From here, we will do as we've always done. Look for every opportunity to put out our latest material, and advance the live shows. We are currently writing new material while supporting the "Signal the Sirens" EP. Longevity.

Do you guys have 9 to 5 jobs or is music a full time gig? 9) We all work, though we spend all of our free time on the band.  It's definitely a job. Unfortunately the bottom fell out of the music industry while we were figuring out how to write, and who we were. Many musicians in the industry barely afford to live. For ten years we have dumped everything into bar tabs. The more we party, the better we think we are doing. Hahaha

  Favorite/Worst stories from the road 10) Every kind of scenario. Iced in, snowed out, rained on, overheated, injured, broke down, played for thousands, played for no one, paid well, not paid, hot chicks, and.. not so much, super fans, super crazy, super excited, completely over it, new members, new sounds, etc etc... The bottom line is the horror stories have been some of the best stories because we are still around to talk about them, and all the amazing things we've done. Or, we are just too stupid to know when to quit.

Download This Episode HERE
Facebook.com/inimicaldrive
www.inimicaldrive.com
http://www.authentikartists.com/inimical-drive/