hard work really does pay off

Hello Kyle!! Please tell us something about yourself and a brief introduction about your band mates?

Hello. My name is Kyle Simpson. I’m 30 years old. I have been playing guitar since I was 13 years old. Metallica got me into playing guitar and playing metal. I’ve been playing music with the guys in Ensilenced since 2005 in one form or another. We originally started out playing together in a band called Cynical. Brian Lenard has always been the drummer and Douglas Hunter has always been one of the guitarists. Garin Hatch joined up as bass player about a year ago.
 
How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

I actually met Douglas Hunter at a Drowning Pool concert in 2005. He was in the band Cynical with Brian Lenard and they were looking for a lead vocalist. They recruited me that night and we’ve been making music together on and off for the past 11 years.
 
What would be the main reasons behind forming a band? Fame or passion for music?

In all honesty, there was a time that I played music because I wanted to be cool. But now, I play music because it makes me happy. Writing and playing music sometimes feels like the reason I was born. I would play a show every night of the week if it was up to me, as long as I had enough money to eat, pay my bills, and get to the next gig.
 
What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

This question is always the most difficult question for me. I am majorly influenced by old school thrash metal from the 80’s and 90’s but also a lot of metalcore that came out in the early 2000’s. We come out sounding like a mix between Metallica, Machine Head, Testament, and Killswitch Engage from what I’ve heard, all of which are great bands to me. My biggest influences of late are probably Metallica, the Devin Townsend Project, Alter Bridge, and Parkway Drive.
 
Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

We are currently unsigned and operating without management. We do all of our booking, graphic design, merchandise purchasing, promotion, writing, recording, producing, mixing, and mastering. It’s a lot of work but it works for us. It’s really nice working at your own pace with no deadlines to meet. 
 
Can you briefly describe the music making process?

For us, it all starts with the riff. One of us will bring a riff to the table. Then we starting playing the riff together and see where the song naturally evolves to from there. We try our best not to force anything. We feel like our best material is the material we don’t have to force. If we don’t like the way something is going, we take a time out and change it. It’s definitely a democracy with us where everyone has an equal say.
 
What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous? 

We always have a plan when we start rehearsing. We run through the setlist at least once and hammer out the songs that need the most work. Sometimes we will play a song over and over until it feels good. A lot of times some of our best songs are written in between songs during practice while tuning or adjusting sounds.
 
What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

We’re all in our late 20’s/early 30’s. We have families and full-time jobs. The biggest challenge for all of us is coordinating schedules. With us, family comes first and we all treat each other like family, a band of brothers. For this reason we play when we can play. Here in our hometown, there’s not much of a following for metal. A good night for us in town is when 20-40 people show up for a gig. But we have gotten really lucky and played with some awesome bands. We opened for Gemini Syndrome and Trivium. Just goes to show that hard work really does pay off.
 
Future plannings in regards to the band?

As of right now, we are currently working on a full-length album. We are finishing polishing up a few of the songs, some of which have never been released. We hope to finish up by early fall of this year. From there, we will start playing and promoting the album as much as we can when we can. We’d also like to film a music video to coincide with the release of our album as well.
 
How people worldwide can gain access to your music?

Our music is available on few different websites at the moment. You can listen or download the music from the following links:
http://www.reverbnation.com/ensilenced
http://ensilenced.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/ensilenced

and if you like our Facebook page, you will be able to keep up with all of the new releases as well.
 
Few words for those who wants to form a band..

Before you dive right in, remember that a band is a lot of work. If you want to be any good at all, you have to constantly practice and challenge yourself. Never get complacent with where you are. There is always room for improvement. Our motto is “Get it right! Get it tight!” We are always trying to get things tighter and better sounding.
 
Few words for our readers..

The metal community is the greatest community in the world. We care about each other and we support each other. There’s a lot of love out there with all the metalheads. I could not ask for a better community to be a part of. The only thing I can say is Support the artists! That doesn’t necessarily mean us. I just mean support the artists that you love. The only way to keep the scene alive is to support the artists. Go to concerts. Buy T-shirts and CD’s and posters. If you want your favorite bands to keep making music, they need your help and your support. And most importantly, don’t forget about the local guys. Every big band started out as a local band somewhere. They started out playing for their girlfriends and the other bands and they would have never made it without support from their local friends and family.