Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (http://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
[Hi Pete! Thanks a lot for featuring Truth & Tragedy at Pete’s Rock News & Views, we really enjoyed answering your questions! All the best, T&T]
PD: What type of artist are you?
T&T: We are a 5-piece post-hardcore band called Truth & Tragedy, and we have a very good time making very loud music.
PD: Tell us the brief history of yourself.
T&T: Long story short, Truth & Tragedy originally formed as a duo in Bamberg (Bavaria, Germany) in September 2020, in a time during which Aaron (vocals) and Freddy (guitar) were bored out of their minds in the middle of Covid-lockdown. After getting our first EP and debut album under our belts, in 2021 it looked like the world was opening up again for live shows, so we were joined by amazing musicians Kai (guitar), Vitali (bass) and Domi (drums). And that makes Truth & Tragedy the 5-piece it is today!
PD: Who are your musical influences?
T&T: Our style is often likened to Being As An Ocean, Casey and To Kill Achilles, and these bands have definitely influenced us in our music! Having said that, we enjoy pushing the boundaries of hardcore, and dabble in other alternative genres such as metalcore, pop-punk and hardrock.
PD: What are your dreams and goals?
T&T: We’re happy to say that right now our dreams and goals are pretty much in line with our reality for 2022! In September and October this year, we will be jumping into an RV and driving across Central and Eastern Europe, playing at all sorts of weird and wonderful locations and venues! It’s something we have all dreamed of since we were young, and is something that seems so precious now, especially after the pandemic!
PD: Who writes your songs? What are they about?
T&T: Aaron is our vocalist and songwriter. He’s originally from North Carolina and served in the US Army in Afghanistan, so his lyrics deal a lot with trauma, PTSD, suicide and substance abuse, inspired by his experiences of war (especially in songs such as ‘Helmand’, ‘Cope’, and ‘My Brother’s Keeper’). Having said that, the rest of us have a say in the themes and topics of our music; for example, ‘Neo’ (on our upcoming EP ‘Blood on Blood’) is guitarist Freddy’s tribute to his newborn son. We also love instrumental tracks which set the tone of our albums, EPs and live shows. Plus, we Truth & Tragedy Press 16.05.2022 aren’t always so serious in our topics – for example, Freddy decided he wanted to hire and drive a Mustang, and the only way he could swing it with his lady was to claim it was for a music video – so we wrote ‘Kelvin’s Not A Rockstar Yet’, and Freddy got his day in a Mustang. (Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKF4zLszcl8)
PD: How do you promote your band and shows?
T&T: With a whole lot of shouting, swearing and hair loss – have you ever tried to use Facebook Ads?! Seriously
though, one thing we didn’t realise when we started getting serious with Truth & Tragedy is the sheer amount of background work that goes into making music. In fact writing, recording and performing is only a fraction of what we have to do to grow as a band. We are very active on social media (as you have to be nowadays!) and are also in constant contact with curators, magazines, bloggers, reviewers and a whole bunch of brilliant people (like you, Pete!) who help to get our music in front of listeners.
PD: What do you think about downloading/streaming music online?
T&T: It’s a tricky one, to be honest. Take Spotify – it’s a musician’s best friend and worst enemy. On the one hand, you can see it as you have this amazing platform where people all over the world can access your music, or even discover it based on their music taste with Spotify’s algorithm. At the same time, though, you’re basically handing over your music (which you have spent considerable time, energy and money on) practically for free, for Spotify to use and make a profit on. So it’s a double-edged sword really. But then again, we’d probably rather do that than stand outside a supermarket handing out demo tapes! But it’s definitely an interesting debate.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
T&T: Without a doubt, ‘Psycho’, originally released by country singer Eddie Noack in 1968. It’s dark and deranged, and is a perfect metal song in the guise of country and western.
PD: What are some of your pet peeves?
T&T: At Number #1, it’s definitely people who pay for Spotify Bots! A word of warning to anyone looking at streaming platforms – if a band usually has 35 monthly listeners and gets 10,000 overnight streams on their latest single, chances are they’re cheating! And yes we know we sound like bitter old farts, but that definitely gets us riled. Some other peeves are loud chewers, crumbs in the butter, and people who start sentences with “I’m not being racist, but…”.
PD: What is your proudest moment in music?
T&T: Truth & Tragedy Press 16.05.2022 Probably right now! We have been working full-steam for just over a year and a half, and we’re really starting to see the fruits of our labour. We are creating some of our best music, we’re really making headway in getting our music out there, and we’re chock-a-block with live shows for 2022, with more in the pipeline for 2023 – it’s a really exciting time right now for T&T!
PD: So what are you working on at the moment?
T&T: We are actually about to release our new EP ‘Blood on Blood’ on May 24th! This EP is a return to our heavier roots with our track ‘My Brother’s Keeper’, which deals with the suicide of a brother, and which will also be released with a music video. Then to lighten things back up, we have Freddy’s tribute to his newborn son in our track ‘Neo’. In fact, our EP ‘Blood on Blood’ will be released on Neo’s first birthday!
PD: What music have you available online and where can we buy it from?
T&T: Our first EP ‘Thanks For Nothing’, single ‘Helmand’, debut album ‘Innocence Abandoned’, single ‘Kelvin’s Not A Rockstar Yet’, and soon to be released EP ‘Blood on Blood’ are all available in the usual streaming spots, which we will link below. We have a bunch of music videos you can check out on Youtube, and we’d love to hear from you on social media (@truth_and_tragedy)! You can also buy our music in CD and digital download form, as well as our latest merch, directly from our website:
truthandtragedy.com – thanks a lot for your support!
Much love,
Truth & Tragedy links:
Band/Artist location – Bamberg, German
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud – Bandcamp – Merch –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer –
Check our page for Truth & Tragedy
