1. you embody the old school sound and influence, but not so much of the message. where do you feel you stand as a band lyrically?

first of all, thanks a lot for taking the time to talk to us...we really appreciate it. in regards to the question, that's a good one. i don't think we have a tangible 'message' lyrically. we don't have a core group of values or political ideals as a band. we are 5 individuals who love to play music and hang out with each other. as such, our songs don't really convey any type of moral or social message. we all feel differently about different issues in society, so i wouldn't feel right writing lyrics about an issue that i know we all don't see eye to eye on. more than that though, i'm just not a political person. the songs i've written are basically just the thoughts or feelings i've had during different times of my life. sometimes they might have a bit of a moral or social content to them, but it's nothing that is overt or preachy. i guess when i'm listening to music, i just relate to songs about personal stuff better than other things, so that has a big effect on what i write about.

2. why did you start killing the dream? were any of you in other bands of notable status?

well i'm not sure how 'notable' you had in mind haha...but there are about 384574 other bands that we share members with. isaac is in ALLEGIANCE and OUR TURN (both awesome bands from the bay area) and joel and bart both play with the metal gods that are EMBRACE THE END (our good friends from sacramento). basically, me, isaac (our drummer), and chris (bass), have been friends forever, and we'd always talked about starting a band together some day. a friend introduced us to joel (guitar) and we started practicing. we didn't have a real concrete idea of what we wanted to do, just that we wanted it to be fast, melodic and intense. a couple months after we started practicing, joel got bart to play second guitar for us and it's been all downhill from there...

3. you're pushing the self titled record a lot, obviously. are there any plans for a large scale u.s. tour? what are your next couple of ideas as far as the band goes?

yeah, we've been out on tour as much as we can while still holding jobs and going to school and stuff...we went out for a week and half with COMEBACK KID, WITH HONOR, AND SCARS OF TOMORROW last march and it was amazing. since then we've been able to go up and down the west coast a couple of times. we would LOVE to be able to get out east and play, but we want to make sure we're doing it at the right time and in the right situation. it's easy to rent a car or van or whatever for a weekend and drive up to seattle for us, but planning a huge nationwide tour would be a lot tougher. hopefully once we get a van we will be all over the place. as far as plans for the band go, we are currently taking a break for a month or two while we try to write new songs and just chill for a while. we'll be going out for another trip up and down the west coast with our labelmates VERSE from rhode island starting august 14th at sink with cali fest.

4. why do you think we're seeing such a comeback in traditional influenced hardcore?

i don't know, i guess it's all just cyclical like anything else. personally, i love it because i've always loved fast, melodic hardcore. right now, we're seeing a lot of faster, more melodic bands with tough mosh come out...a year or two ago it was bands trying to sound like terror and before that american nightmare and before that it was youth crew bands like floorpunch and stuff...it all just goes in circles. i think what's going on right now is the result of bands like stay gold, champion, the comeback kid, and carry on (a couple of years ago) putting out amazing records and kids being influenced by it. next year i'm sure it will be something else but it doesn't matter if a band continues to mature and make music that THEY are into.

5. how do you feel about kyle and rival records? are you happy wiht his contributions to the band?

straight up, kyle, zach, and rival records has been the best thing that could have happened to our band. i can't even begin to tell you how happy we are that we get to work with them. i have been friends with them for a long time, and it is good to work with someone who you can trust and respects you just as much as you do them. both kyle and zach have been in bands (and freaking awesome bands at that) in the past and i think that really helps. they've already been through all the stuff that we're going through and it is amazing to have someone who understands what's going on. above that though, they realize that hardcore is NOT everything...that there are so many more things that are more important in the world. their view on the label is really similar to how we look at our band. it's an amazing escape and something that can be very positive in one's life, but it is by no means the end-all/be-all of the world. at the same time, they work ridiculously hard and take pride in their work, which is something i'd like to think we do too. sorry if i've offended any old-school hardcore purists with that answer haha.

6. aside from the self titled release, are there any other recordings floating around? how could fans get their hands on them?

our self-titled record was basically 5 new songs that we had recorded in december of 2003 added to our original 5 song demo that we had recorded in april of the same year. so that's pretty much it. we recently recorded a song for a compilation on TKO RECORDS that will have a ton of other bands from sacramento on it- the song is called 'spoken in clocks' and you can find it in the media section of the rival records website (www.rivalrecords.net) or, obviously, check out the comp when it's out late this summer (www.tkorecords.com).

7. with all the possible names out there, why did you choose killing the dream? is there any story behind it?

haha well unfortunately, there isn't really any clever story behind the name. we had been practicing on and off for about six months and we still couldn't think of a name that we all didn't hate. one night joel came up with killing the dream and that was about it. i think it fits us though, lyrically and otherwise...after our demo came out we discovered that there is a gerald posner book by the same title that deals with the assasination of mlk jr.- which is kind of unfortunate because we definitely don't want that to be associated with our band in any way.

8. what do you like most about playing with this band? what do you like the least?

like i said earlier, hardcore is an amazing escape. whether you're playing a show or just moshing and singing along, it seriously can help you forget about a lot of the shit that's going on in your life. there's been times when i've been totally drained because of things that were going on in my life at the time, and i just really didn't feel like playing or going to a show. but as soon as you get there and everything gets going, you just kind of forget about all that and have fun with your friends. i don't know if there's too much i DON'T like about the band...i mean, that's the reason we all do it, you know?

9. tying in to the previous question, what would you change about the band if you could, or do you take the "no regrets" stance on this subject?

i don't think we've been around long enough to have made any choices that we can regret. like i said, i mean, it's all just for fun, and so far that's all it's been. we've been able to go up and down the west coast and play shows and make new friends, have amazing experiences, and i don't think any of us could ask for more than that.

10. with as large as the "old school" sound is getting, what do you think you offer to the masses that any other band doesn't? what sets you apart?

honestly, i don't know. i would hope that we are looked upon as a band who is a little bit differently musically, creatively, etc. but then again it's all just hardcore and that's why we love it. if anything, i hope that we come across as a sincere bunch of dudes who love playing music and mean what they say, because it comes from our hearts. it sounds cheesy, but that's pretty much all you can hope for. there are so many bands that are amazing out right now, we are just glad if we are even mentioned with them.

11. do you have any last comments?

everyone check out the new CHAMPION, VERSE, and PHYSICAL CHALLENGE lps!!! keep checking our website (www.killingthedream.com) and rival hq (www.rivalrecords.net) for updates on shows, records, and everything else. thanks again for taking the time to talk to us!!!