Interview with Jack Bergin from FRONTLINE!

Eastern 'burbs' proggy metalcore to make your mouth water, SLAAAYERR. Interests include family barbeques, smooth jazz and diddley doos. Inspired by heavy weights such as August Burns Red, The Devil Wears Prada, Northlane and While She Sleeps; they aim to take on the local scene by converting one Blood on the Dancefloor fan at a time and therefore saving the entire music scene. We caught up their guitarist/backing vocalist Jack Bergin.

How’s it going?
Jack Bergin: Yeah not too bad man, busy as usual!

Do you want to start the interview now?
JB: Sure do!

For those who don’t know, how did Frontline start?
JB: Well; myself, Kieren, Phil and Godwin; we were jamming for quite a while (I think we started in like 2010?) and yeah, it took us a while to find our feet and a sound that we all really wanted and agreed on. We took our mate Cronin aboard about halfway through last year and then we got straight into it from there really.

What style do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
JB: I guess we fall under the metalcore category (laughs), although we try to mix in some stuff to make it more interesting and different! We all listen to a broad range of music, and draw influences from too many bands to note.

Any bands/artists outside metalcore genre which people wouldn't expect?
JB: Not anything nobody wouldn't expect [sic]. Cronin and myself love bands like Counterparts, Heights and Defeater, but yeah. Nothing surprising (laughs)

Do you have any comments on the current local scene? Do you think it will change much in the next few years?
JB: To be brutally honest, the local hardcore scene is nothing like it used to be. Kids don't go to many shows anymore and it's really hitting hard on people that run local shows. Some people (coughAshHullcough) are still doing a great job, keeping it alive and pulling the numbers, but if more people started co-operating, then you never know! The scene is always changing and it's usually based around the current trend. It's almost impossible to predict trends in music, although you know it's going to happen, but not when it'll happen. Maybe in a few months, or maybe in a few years!

How long have you all known each other?
JB: Kieren, Phil, Godwin and Cronin attended the same school and they've been mates for ages. I met the boys through Kieren (who I worked with) and now we're all getting along great!

What has your experience been like performing gigs, what has been the best and worst thing about as a whole?
JB: We've played a range of gigs, shows ran by mates, shows ran by local councils and shows ran by booking companies like Gunn Music and Melbourne Fresh (which are great for bands just starting out). We've had hits and misses haha. We've gone from playing with international metal giants Texas In July, to playing in a tiny bar to about 8 people, but every show we still manage to have a great time, nothing beats playing live.

8 string guitars, good, bad?
JB: (laughs glriously) they're pretty nifty, but we'd never use any.
Our buddies in Levels do very well however, check them out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI7MSmueqeg

Which songs do you perform the most? Do you ever play any covers?
JB: We probably perform that piece of shit 'Searching' the most, you'll find it on on our YouTube channel somewhere (laughs), but otherwise, we just play all the tracks from the demo! We've considered playing covers, never have though. Would be cool!

What animal would you say is the most hardcore, and why?
JB: Boxer dogs (R.I.P Scooter, the most hardcore dog we knew)

I have heard from your Facebook page (facebook.com/wearethefrontline) that you have a demo in the works which was originally supposed to be out around Christmas 2012, are you able to share with us anything on how that has been shaping up?
Jack: You heard correct! We set a pretty unrealistic goal to have it out by Christmas (laughs), we ended up putting in a lot more work to it than thought (adding an extra track etc.) so we hope that the small delay was worth it! Finishing touches are being added now, so expect it sooner than you think.

In terms of music and lyrics, who writes the songs and what themes are they centered around?
JB: I write most of the guitars, then Phil writes all drums while we all tend to pitch in with lyrics, writing mostly about stuff that pisses us off.

Do you have any before show rituals or things you do before performing to get pumped up?
JB: We don't really have any rituals, except Godwin, who always takes massive shits beforehand and they stink.

What is band practice like, any funny stories to share?
JB: Band practice is fucking great. We have far to many funny stories to share in just ONE interview. I think there should be a separate interview for them.

Yes, we should catch up again later to talk more about when the demo is out, anyway great chatting with you guys. What does the future hold for Frontline?
JB: Who knows! We have a few shows to announce, one of them I guess we can announce now! We're lucky enough to be playing the Melbourne Fresh Artist Showcase Grand Final at Revolver Upstairs on April 16th! Hit us up if you'd like a ticket!

We'll wrap it up there.JB: See ya.