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Heads Held High
Heads Held High are a great band hailing from Cleveland, OH who are playing hardcore in its most traditional and truest form: fun, energetic and full of heart. Recently, Chris had a chance to correspond with Heads Held High vocalist Elliot and get the lowdown on recent band happenings and upcoming tours and recording projects.
Diatribe: First off, can you give us a little band history? How did Heads Held High get started?
Elliott: Dave, Rob and I were in a band called Stray Bullet a few years back, it was pretty short lived. Bullet sort of folded while we were in the studio recording and still had quite a few hours of studio time left, so we decided to write a few new tunes and bring on another guitarist. Those recordings ended up becoming the Building up to the Breakdown EP. About a year later we lost a guitarist and brought Jack Holmes on board. We released Do or Do Not… There is No Try shortly after.
Diatribe: Cleveland has a long history of great hardcore bands, what is it about Cleveland that inspires so many great bands?
Elliott: Honestly, with the exception of The Spudmonsters, we are not influenced by what most people would consider the "iconic" Cleveland hardcore bands. You are right, there are tons of sweet bands from Cleveland, but we never really thought we had much in common with bands like Ringworm, Integrity, or One Life Crew. All of those bands have or had a very tough guy metal edge to them. I'm not saying that makes them bad bands, I'm just saying that has never been something we aspired to emulate. We also try to steer clear of the signature Clevo breakdowns.
However, if you are looking for some sweet Northeastern Ohio bands, I would check out: Run Riot, The Facials, My Rules, Two Hand Fools, Above This Fire, Sink or Swim, or Friends Back East. There's a ton more I could mention if need be. Things have been really exciting around here as of late.
Diatribe: Did you guys have any definitive influences in the beginning…any particular bands that made you want to play music in general?
Elliott: As whole we are all influenced pretty heavily by bands like Ignite, Gorilla Biscuits, Spudmonsters, Strike Anywhere, With Honor, Good Riddance, Black Flag, and Minor Threat.
Personally, I take a lot away from bands like Bane, Ruiner, 88 Fingers Louie, Refused, No Trigger, A Wilhelm Scream, H2O, and Bad Religion.
Diatribe: Heads Held High has a couple of tracks on the upcoming Ohio Hardcore Vol. 1 compilation; how did you guys get hooked up with that project?
Elliott: Josh sent me an email when the compilation was in a pretty embryonic phase, and asked us if we would be interested in contributing some material. We said sure. The end.
Diatribe: Simple enough. You actually just signed with Crossface Records. Other than the compilation, do you have any plans for recording in the immediate future?
Elliott: Yeah, we are actually working on a bunch of new songs right now you may see them as a full length tentatively titled So Say We All, or as a split with an awesome band by the name of Through Trials. It's really up to fine folks at Crossface how this next batch of songs is released. So look for a new full length or split in late October or early November.
Diatribe: You have a summer tour that covers some of the Midwest and the east coast…hitting any new cities this time around?
Elliott: We've played a lot of the cities we're hitting on previous little excursions. I'm really amped to play New Jersey this time around; since will be playing the shed with our friends One Win Choice (Jumpstart Records).
Diatribe: What can these crowds expect from a Heads Held High show?
Elliott: We pride ourselves on just sort of losing our shit on stage. Our shows are pretty high energy, but I'm sure every band says that. I've been told we're pretty entertaining… I don't really know what else to say.
Diatribe: What are some tour essentials? Any crucial items that you absolutely have to have to stay sane on the road?
Elliott: Lots and lots of books help to pass the time during the longer drives. I rely pretty heavily on my laptop for directions and other necessary information. We also tend to bring a bunch of non-hardcore CDs with us; we listened to a lot of Air Supply the last time we were out.
Diatribe: I ask a lot of bands this question: How would you describe your music to someone who's never heard it?
Elliott: Really intense energetic punk, with way too many gang vocals!
Diatribe: Cool. Thanks for doing this with us…anything in closing? Shout outs? Shit talk?
Elliott: Thanks for getting the word out, and if you're reading this please come say hey next time you see us at a show.
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