Epidemic – Interview

Three southerners and a singer from Holland to create the foundation for Epidemic. Get inside the group with singer Boris.

Were you surprised at how easy it was to connect with these Americans when you formed Epidemic?

We connected totally. We get along really well. It was one of those things that were fortunate to happen. After all the bands we’ve been in it was great to have this.

What inspires you to write?

I don’t really know. You just write. We inspire each other. We take everything we see and bring that into our music. I write lyrics and they have to be about something. It usually starts with Bruce working on chord progressions and then everyone starts to work on their parts. Everyone has to be happy. Our decisions are always unanimous.

How do you feel when a song comes together?

Sometimes great, sometimes no so great. (Laughs) But it’s really a good, natural process. It’s something we’ve done our whole lives and now we are making a living doing it. It feels good, it feels right. We like to keep a good sense of humor like the Beatles. So we’ll get behind each other’s instruments and try not to have egos about it.

So you want it to be fun.

Yeah, fun always. Writing is fun, but it can be brutal. It does suck when your ideas get rejected, but they push you to get better and grow.

Are there songs that you didn’t think were great, but someone else thought it was good?

We do throw away a lot of songs and some that are sitting there and we never thought of doing anything with. But for instance track 12, that just had a little guitar part to it and more on a four track and we played it for our producer and he loved it. We added an orchestra and it became this huge song. It was great.

Did you always want to be a singer?

I was playing guitar for a while. I thought that was my thing, but really I was too lazy to practice and get better. I just ended up getting bored with it. Singing is just easier for me. I’m better at it and I don’t have to learn it since it comes natural.

Did being a frontman on stage come natural?

It was natural. I just try and am a real person and sing. I don’t walk around and make noise, but I don’t hide either.

How long had you been working on the track before you went into the studio?

Some we had for two years and some we were working on in the hotel room in Seattle while we were recording the album.

Was that stressful or exciting? Exciting.

The new stuff is still fresh and our favorite tracks.

Was this studio experience a different experience than those in the past?

Bruce, our guitarist, had his own studio and he really knew what he was doing, but when we were doing demos we had to do all that work and it ended up being distracting. So we chose not to get involved in engineering or producing and decided to focus on the music instead. The fact that we could focus on the music was great.

Was getting signed everything you thought it would be? Everyone dreams of it, was it that great?

It was the most defining moment of our lives. We knew we wouldn’t get another opportunity like this so we had to work at it. Of course we did party when we got signed but we got serious right away.

Are you excited about the prospect of going home?

I can’t wait to go back and play there. I just went back for the first time in years for a wedding. I was the best man.

So you don’t have the whole ‘I want to prove myself’ to anyone back home?

Actually no, more our producer Rick Parashar. I want to prove to him that we will stick around because he’s worked with everyone. He worked with Shannon Hoon, Layne Staley, Kurt Cobain, all these great artists who aren’t here anymore. He saw them all go from drugs. I want to show him we’re here to stay and we aren’t going to die.

+ charlie craine