Hillcrest Reviews:

Interview with Central’s Hillcrest
By Edward Gaug
Entertainment Editor/CCSU The Recorder

Earlier last week, I had time to sit down with local rockers Hillcrest as they put on their radio show here at CCSU. While they might not consider themselves lifetime musicians, they defi nitely don’t take music lightly. They just want to make good music and have people enjoy it. Who could ask for more?
Edward Gaug: A lot of people here at Central might not know who Hillcrest is, so if you can, just give us a quick idea what you guys are all about.
Nate Ferrance: I guess you can say were an up and coming post-alternative rock band. We’re just into having a good time and making music we think is good and other people think is good too. We just want to have fun and play some good music, hopefully people can dig it.

Gaug: That’s really all you can ask from musicians, to have fun and play some music.

Ferrance: Hey, we’re not looking to become famous because we all have careers upcoming in our lives, but we all have a passion for music, so we’re just following it.

Gaug: You guys go to school here at Central, how do you feel being a student and a musician at the same time works out?

Ferrance: Its different investments of time, you know, like I’m in the Elementary School program so I actually have to go teach in Hartford, so that takes up a big chunk of time. But, it’s good being on campus surrounded by students.

Gaug: You can’t ask for more than that, it’s a large group of people in the right age group. I was just scanning through your MySpace [myspace.com/hillcrestbandct] and I saw all your infl uences, great bands like Hot Water Music, Hot Rod Circuit and At the Drive-In, what do you think you pull in from them when you’re making your music?

Ferrance: Just that late 90s, turn of the century...I want to say emo, but before it became cool to be emo [laughs]. Back when emo in the late 90s meant you weren’t crying and slitting your wrist, it was back when you made good music without being a whiney bitch about it. That’s pretty much it.

Gaug: It sucks to see the bands like this moving out and not making music like that anymore. Mars Volta is still making their psychrock and I had the chance to do an interview with Hot Rod Circuit about their last album, but I’m pretty sure they are done and moving on, growing up.

Ferrance: We are actually trying to get on that last Hot Rod show [Hot Rod Circuit announced their breakup on 10/8 and are playing a farewell tour this fall]. We’ve been to like all the Hot Rod Circuit shows in the past five years. It’s bands like these that are so fucking good on stage, they just rock out, getting drunk and I think, “That’s what I want to do.”

Gaug: Those are the types of bands who make you want to make music and be in a band and play live shows. Was there an album or artist that you heard when you were younger that really made you want to be in a band?

Ferrance: I’d probably say Offspring back when I was in 3rd or 4th grade or something. Beyond that, my dad plays music so I was already surrounded by it. I started out playing piano when I was younger cause I taught myself. Just fuckin’ punk rock I guess. In high school I was all about Rancid and NOFX.

Gaug: Same here, I’ll still throw in ...and Out Come the Wolves every couple of weeks and think to myself “This is music.”

Ferrance: It’s defi nitely an essential album. Lately, I’ve been getting into With Honor, some hardcore stuff. Hardcore is music for us, kids that used to listen to a bunch of punk.

Gaug: I think that a lot of people go through similar music progressions.
Ferrance: [agrees]

Gaug: Like middle school and high school there was punk rock and then you get into hardcore and some indie rock and fi nally just end up falling back into whatever’s comfortable.

Ferrance: Absolutely, everyone in our band, there’s four of us in the band and everyone likes different kinds of music, he [Matt Rockwell] and I have the most similar taste in music. Then there are the two other guys in the band, Dan [Allegue] who does most of the vocals is into stuff like At the Drive-In, Mars Volta and Fall of Troy, stuff like that. We’re into Hot Water Music, just general rock I’d say.

Gaug: You guys have recently signed to Sling Slang Records who does some promotion for the band, have they brought you anything big that you didn’t really have before hand?

Ferrance: [simultaneously] Band photos! The guy who runs it, George [Engel] is really a cool guy. It’s not like we make any money, but we also don’t put in any money. He basically keeps everything we do in track and if you want to get somewhere, he’ll help you out.

Gaug: Do you think he helps you figure stuff out that otherwise would kind of unnoticed?

Ferrance: Pretty much, like I don’t know anything about booking and I just started doing it right now. I can go to George and say, “Hey, who should I talk to?” and he’ll respond with “Call up The Space and see if they have any openings and talk to them.” So now we have a show there on the first of November at The Space in Hamden.

Gaug: The Space is a really good spot for local bands to play a show that people will show up to. There is usually a decent 20 or 30 person crowd. It’s defi nitely a cool atmosphere. Last thing, since I spend so much time listening to new music, I like to see what other people are finding for cool new stuff. Have you found anything new that has been big for you?

Ferrance: The new Minus the Bear CD; it’s pretty good if you like that style that music. It’s like electronic indie-rock. I try to play some of their guitar styles when I’m on stage because it’s totally chill. Outside of that, we went to the Coliseum and Robots and Empire show in Wallingford last night. Loud as hell!

Gaug: Is there anything else you want to throw out there before we finish up?

Ferrance: Check out our band. What have you got to lose? We are all pretty feel good guys, we’re not looking to become famous or sell out, we just want to make some rock music and hang out with people at shows and enjoy what we do.