Formed in 2003, August Burns Red is a Christian metalcore band from Pennsylvania. The group was on hand at the recent FUN FUN FUN Fest this past month and we had a chance to catch up with them to talk about music, gear and creative collaborations.
SeagateCreative: How has your choice of gear evolved since you first started in music?
August Burns Red: When I first started playing in the band I stuck solely to a Peavey 5150 as my amp. However, I grew very tired of showing up to international shows and not getting the exact tone from the amps they would provide me — whether it was a subpar 5150 or another brand of amp I just wasn’t used to.
After a lot of research I ended up picking up a Kemper amp, which allows me to just copy my amp tone from home and take it all over the world. The Kemper fits into a small pelican case and easily travels with me. It has definitely made my life much easier on tour.
SeagateCreative: What’s something you look for in a person when collaborating on a project?
August Burns Red: On this last record we recorded with our friends Carson and Grant and it turned out to be our best project to date. It is very important for us to feel comfortable with our producer, and have someone who has the same work ethic as us.
Also, we need someone who is as willing to experiment and try new things as we are. We love using all natural sounds when we can, so having a person who is very well versed in all areas of music is a huge must for us.
SeagateCreative: Do you have a particular process for songwriting?
August Burns Red: Usually, a song is written and then the overall gist of the song is sent around to the rest of the band in a program called Tabit. It’s a way for us to all learn our parts and make changes before we come to practice. Lyrically, we all write lyrics and then we bring them together as a band and pick all the ones we like the best.
SeagateCreative: Speaking of songwriting, what role do hard drives play in this process?
August Burns Red: We use hard drives all over the studio. Everything is backed up and stored on hard drives, and the masters are all shipped on hard drives. While on tour, we use hard drives to store our ideas and make sure we don’t forget what we created. Hard drives are becoming more and more integral in the writing and recording process each and every day.
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