Band Interview : Full Measures
Addison Smith | Vocals
As the voice of the band, what inspires your lyrics or the "bulk" of what Full Measures speaks on and represents?
"Well, there are many different things that pushes me to write lyrics. For instance "Sick of It II" was written after constantly seeing and hearing about citizens being harassed and taken advantage of by law enforcement which is still ever-present. I would say so far we are still representing the same attitude and aggression towards the world that we had started with."
Josh Novak | Guitar
The guitarist and his riffs are very much like the spine of the band. How would you describe the changes in your sound from Full Measures' Demo 2014 to the current state of the band with FM Jams and beyond?
"We have definitely matured our sound in the last few years. I wouldn't necessarily say our sound has changed drastically over time, but I'd rather state that our structuring has helped us build more energy surrounding our music as a whole (which I think the rest of the band could admit that we were lacking in the beginning). The whole idea from the start was to create something fast, something heavy, shit you just jam to. All I can say is that FM will be forever familiar to anyone who has listened to us before, but best believe that our next release is just the beginning of something more, and I couldn't be more satisfied with the direction we're going."
Zach Davis | Bass
Similar to the guitarist, your bass-lines act like the backbone of all the songs. How would you compare or contrast the rhythm of Full Measures from pre-Heavyweight era to now?
"I think we've come a long way since the Heavyweight Full Measures. We've found our sound and just keep working to push it forward. I like playing our new stuff a lot more because it's more groovy that anything else we've done. This next release will be better than FM Jams. I'm really looking forward to it."
Kamen Sale | Drums
You are like the limbs of the band, keeping the "step" to each song. What songs do you find challenging to play and why?
"Honestly, it depends on my stamina that night. I'd say most of the time it's "Severed Ties" and "Sleep Tight". For Severed Ties, it's because of how fast it is, which wears me out as I can't use my wrist all too well like a true drummer can (Haha). For Sleep Tight, the middle of the song also wears me out and the song itself is usually towards the end of our set. Honestly, those two songs are in my top favorites because the lyrics come from Addison's creativity. We're all like brothers and often discuss things and later on we see those topics on paper so the music has a very personal meaning behind all the exhausting efforts on my part. Its one thing to connect to an artist's lyrics but something about them coming from your best friend is a whole new level of energy that gets me through the end of each set."