Thanks to Mark for taking the time to sit down and do this interview.
Haley: Name and what you do.
Haley: How's the tour going so far?
Haley: How's the new CD doing for you?
Haley: When you write your songs, do you ever stop and think how someone might be affected by it, and then change it because of that, or do you just write them and basically not think of that?
Haley: Who are your biggest influences?
Haley: Why did you start making music?
Haley: Did you ever think it would get this far?
Haley: Do you have any hidden talents?
Haley: How did the band get started?
Haley: What something people would be surprised to find out about you?
Haley: What's your biggest accomplishment with the band so far?
Haley: How'd the people in Japan like the Unseen?
Haley: When did you realize that you thought different then a lot of other kids?
Haley: What's something that sets your band apart from the masses, like, why should people who have never heard your band before, come to your shows and check you out? (Credit for the question goes to Overated Magazine!)
Haley: What's the last CD you bought?
Haley: If you were a super hero, what would your name and power be?
Haley: If you weren't in a band, what do you think you'd be doing instead?
Haley: Who and when was your first show, and what's something that stands out about it?
Haley: What can we expect from The Unseen in the next year?
Haley: Whats your opinion on the new wave of "punk rock" like the stuff on MTV and stuff like that?
Haley: What advice can you give to future musicians?
Haley: Do you have any last words?
For More Information:
Mark: I'm Mark and I sing for the Unseen.
Mark: We've been on tour for about 6 weeks, the first leg, the shows weren't that great, we were like in the middle of nowhere, all the shows were like Columbia, Missouri, like, Lawrence, Kansas, so, the turn outs weren't that great, but the second leg of the tour, the past like 5 shows have been awesome!
Mark: The new CD is doing really good for us, definitely our best selling CD, because we've been on the road promoting it since it came out. We've basically been on tour for like seven months, pretty much non-stop. We don't go home for another like month and a half, so, um, it's doing really well. We did the Warped Tour this summer, toured with Hatebreed, and the Dropkick Murphys, so, we've done a lot.
Mark: I just write, like, whatever I feel like, and like, sometimes, somebody comes up to us and says that a song helped them through something, or a song like, I've had people tell me weird things like, a song has gotten them through a really hard times, and helped them do things, and it's weird cause we're not like roll models or anything, we just write music, so when somebody says that, it's really weird.
Mark: Umm...My biggest influences are probably, The Misfits, Glen Danzig, G.B.H., The Exploited, like, basically punk bands.
Mark: Just was something to do, basically, like, I just got into music at an early age, like, I met Tripp, me, Tripp and Scott all went to school together, so we were like the only punks in our town, so we just started playing, you know, we just started playing music.
Mark: No, not really, when we put out our first full length, I was like, I was psyched, and that was like probably 7 years ago now, and I was just like, "Holy shit, I can't believe we just made a full length record, like, that's crazy!" You know? So, that was like, my only real goal ever was to do that, anything after that was just kind of stuff that happened, so.. I didn't think I'd be this far [Laughs].
Mark: ....umm....Hidden talents........
Haley: They don't have to be musical either.
Mark: Yeah...ummm....probably not, no, I don't think so [Laughs].
Mark: Just like I said, me, Tripp, and Scott all went to school together. Me and Tripp were in another band before the Unseen, and then we just wanted to start another band, so, just like I said, being the only punks in the town where we grew up, we did it, we just practiced all the time, cause there was nothing else to do, so we would just get together, hang out, and practice.
Mark: About me?
Haley: Well, it was suppose to be the whole band..but...
Mark: Yeah, [Laughs] I don't know where the hell they all are! Um... Something someone would be suprised to find out about me... I like other music besides punk! I don't know. Maybe? I'm a nerd! [Laughs] I just like to sit at home and play video games, and watch the Twilight Zone and stuff like that!
Mark: Biggest accomplishment? I'd say..... I'd say, probably playing Warped Tour. Or, no, actually I take that back, I'd say going to Japan. Like, going to Japan like 3 years ago, that was like just crazy, like, just thinking that I was going to Japan just because I was in a band. You know? We went there for like, four weeks, so I'd say that was my biggest accomplishment.
Mark: They liked us! It was cool, they're really into punk over there, there's a really big punk scene, so, we were on tour with this other band um... uhhh.. What the hell is that band we toured with? I can't think right now... Shitfaced! And they were pretty big over there, so, and, it was really weird, I was surprised to find out that people there actually knew who we were! It was, it was cool.
Mark: I'd say probably like fourth or fifth grade, I started being different then most people at school or whatever, I was into like heavy metal when I was in the third and fourth grade, and stuff, so, before I was into punk, I was always going to school with Metallica shirts on, or like Slayer or Guns n' Roses and stuff like that, nobody else in my grade at that time was into that, so, I kind of always have been different then most people that I was surrounded by.
Mark: I don't know, I think we're a decent band, like a lot of times we just get labeled a punk band, you know? A street punk band or something, but I think there's a little more to us then just an image. We're not ground breaking, by any means, but I don't know, I think we put on a good show, [Laughs] otherwise I would stop doing it, you know? If I thought we sucked, I would stop doing it.
Mark: Last CD I bought? I don't really buy many CDs because I usually get them free somehow, but, I'd say, the last CD I bought was AFI, Sing the Sorrow, actually.
Haley: That's a good CD.
Mark: Yeah, I was never into AFI at all, until their new album, my girlfriend likes AFI, so we went out and bought it, like, I think its a fucking awesome record! I think thats probably the last record I bought.
Mark: Um, a super hero? I don't know, Pizza Man?
Everyone: [Laughs]
Haley: What's your power?
Marl: Umm... I don't know.. A lot of super hero's have useless powers, like Flash just runs. Like, what the hell is, what good is that? The guy can run fast, you know? I don't know, I'd have Pizza Power! [Laughs] I'd throw pizza at people.
Mark: If I wasn't in a band I'd probably be landscaping, that’s what I usually do when I'm not in a band, which sucks, doing that, just mowing lawns and stuff like that. If I wasn't in a band I'd probably be just like running a record label, trying to do something where I didn't have to work a 9 to 5 job. Like, running a record label, or booking shows for other bands, or something like that.
Mark: My first show I think was the local towns rec. center, it was just like, I think it was just a battle of the bands, actually, yeah, I just remember it because it was just my first show, I mean it sucked, it was just like, you know, us, a couple of bands that weren't punk, you know, just like, an alternative band, a metal band, um, I was probably like 16 or something. Thats it. I'd say my first real show that stand out in my mind would be like the first show we played in Boston, at The Rat, which was like a nightclub in Boston for years and we got, some band cancelled and we got to play, us, and The Bruisers, who's the singer, he's now in The Dropkick Murphys, he used to sing for The Bruisers, we got to play a show with them, and I think we were only like 17 or 18 so we were psyched you know, it was like, playing a show in front of like, a lot of punks and skinheads, that was like my first real show that stands out in my mind.
Mark: I don't know, we've done a lot this year, and nothing really drastic has happened [Laughs] so, we've basically been on tour for like... a long time, like 8 or 9 months or you know, even before that, we were only home for a month. The next year, I'd say, probably have another record out by next year, I'd say, we're going to start trying to write in the next few months, just try and put out another record, and keep touring and see what happens. We just made a video, so we're trying to see what happens with that. Maybe somebody will play it or something, I don't know.
Mark: I honestly haven't seen MTV in a really long time, so I really don't even know like much, I mean I think punk rock, there are so many types of punk rock now, it's like anybody can be like, "Oh, I'm in a punk band," because it's so acceptable to like mainstream society now, you can go into any mall and..
Haley: Get the Punk Princess stuff.
Mark: Yeah, you can go into Hot Topic and buy anything from like The Unseen to like Crass; to like The Exploited, to Good Charlotte, you know? So I mean it's, there's so many bands, like you play at Warped Tour, you go to Warped Tour, see this band, and they're like, "Oh, we're a punk band," it's like, "Okay, I guess..." [Laughs] I don't know, like, to me, punks about just like being an individual, I guess, to me, it's fast, angry music, I mean, that's what I think, of punk rock, you know? There are so many bands out there that say they're punk that don't sound like that, so, [Laughs] so, I don't know.
Mark: I think anybody that tries hard enough can make it, or whatever your determine "making it" is, we weren't any special when we first started, we were no better then any other band, you know? It just takes a lot of dedication and time like, we've been touring for like, 7 years now, you know? So, basically, just get ready to get in a van and go, and make no money, and lose a lot of money, and lose a lot of friends, you know, not see your family much, stuff like that, but if you like to do it, then you should do it, you know, I wouldn't change it for anything, so...
Mark: Check out our album, explode, it's out on B.Y.O., go to our website, it's unseen punks dot com, it's up sometimes, [Laughs] sometimes its down, but, that's it! Thank you!
• The Unseen Official Site: www.unseenpunks.com
• BYO Records Official Site: www.byorecords.com