Today, James talked to Mike of Sever Your Ties! The contents of said conversation can be found below! Be sure to check out their album Safety In The Sea as soon as you possibly can.

J: Hey Mike, how’s life on the West Coast today?

M: Nice, Beautiful, and sunny.

J: Being a new band on the national scale, most people know very little about you. Could you give us a quick history lesson on Sever Your Ties?

M: We basically started in 2005. We solidified the band later that year. From there, we released The First Sign of Light EP ourselves in 2006. That got us to generate label interest. Finally in 2007 we started to recorded our debut for Solid State which is out now.

J: So, fall is finally upon us and your album came out not too long ago. I’m guessing your heading out on the road in the near future?

M: We had a cd release tour booked that fell through. So right now we are looking for something that makes sense and works out for us. Touring is so difficult these days and everything is getting booked up and we thinking we’ll be going out later this fall/winter to really support the record.

J: Now, even though you guys are signed, many bands at your level have to keep second jobs to stay on the road. Is Sever your Ties a full time touring band, or do you have something on the side to keep you going?

M: Yes we are a full time band, but we have full time jobs when we’re home. Some of the band lives at home, but the rest of us are on our own and we live in an expensive part of America. It’s not easy, but we make it work.

J: Safety in The Sea is an interesting title for an album. Is there a story behind it?

M: I’ll probably botch this because it was Shaun’s idea. It’s his vision. I believe that it’s about how under the water everything seems so perfect, but above the water everything is going wrong. Don’t hold it against me if it’s wrong.

J: For our readers who know nothing about you. How would you sum up the record?

M: I’ll sum us up as a mix between Thrice and..I don’t know. We do our own thing and people we can categorize us as they want. It’s in the opinion of the listener. We sound like Sever your ties. Listen to it and shape your own opinion.

J: It’s no secret that your label has a religious history. Does your band witness and speak about your beliefs while on the road? ?

M: Our purpose with the band has been to do this band for ministry only. So many bands are out there that aren’t doing much for ministry. That’s awesome that they’re living a Christian lifestyle on the road, but our purpose is to share the reasons why Jesus changed our lives. I’m not call out anybody, but we’re def. not kids who grew up Christians and think there is a perfect lifestyle or anything. I have my reason for my beliefs and I think others deserve the opportunity to hear why. We don’t force it down anyone’s throats, but we like to give the opportunity.

J: It seems with the ever growing flood of bands seeking attention online that it’s becoming more and more necessary for bands to really put themselves out there and interact with their fans. How do you guys keep in touch with those who follow you?

M: All of us are super hands on with Myspace and our email. We talk to everyone and we run it. On tour we have business cards with our direct emails on it so they can talk to us all they want. We try to simplify getting ahold of us and making it accessible for everyone. we also have rock doctors video series we started.

J: To be random: What band do you wish you could embody on stage? What band’s live show do you wish you could bring to the Sever Your Ties experience?

M: Andrew WK, but we’ve already ripped off that a bit I think. Some kind of big extravagant show with pyro and lights. Michael Jackson would be a good one.

J: We don’t believe in final questions at UTG. We simply ask that you make a closing statement of your own to go out on. Talk about anything/anyone/or anyplace. It’s all up to you:

M: My final statement is a thank you to your for working with us. Don’t support us, buy our record, see us on tour or talk to us. Actually, do the opposite of that. Finally, Subway:: Eat Fresh.

*Written By: James Shotwell*

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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