{"id":277,"date":"2015-02-06T05:28:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T05:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=277"},"modified":"2024-03-24T05:29:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T05:29:27","slug":"a-strong-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/?p=277","title":{"rendered":"A STRONG FOUNDATION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo by Jen Cash<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Map may be a new band on the hard rock scene, but its members aren\u2019t lacking in experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Music fans don\u2019t realize the immense amount of preparation it takes to successfully launch a new band. Schedules have to be arranged, songs need to be constructed and, most importantly, the members need to get along and work together. The countless, sweaty and long rehearsals held regardless of bad weather alongside the immense pressure each member puts upon his\/her self can be daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although point of origin shouldn\u2019t be an issue, hard rock band Black Map, which features drummer Chris Robyn (Far), guitarist Mark Engles (Dredg) and bassist\/vocalist Ben Flanagan (Trophy Fire), have got all three potential problems working in their favor. Once more, they\u2019ve garnered a strong buzz overseas by getting in front of people well before the release of their first full-length album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band hit it off immediately after playing together for the first time and were recording within a month, eventually touring behind the end product, the magnificent Driver<\/em> EP. And while the band hasn\u2019t really embarked on a proper tour to promote their new album\u2014\u2026And We Explode<\/em> on Minus Head Records\u2014let\u2019s just say it\u2019s in the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans of Sparta, Dredg, Far and the like will appreciate the new album for the ebbs and flows of the songs all the way through to the ambient outro \u201cAnd We Explode Part 2.\u201d \u201cCode,\u201d the opening track, kicks off the album after a nice atmospheric swell and showcases the band\u2019s attention to both staccato rhythms and its open-ended chorus. \u201cChinaski\u201d also finds the band expanding into emo-rock territory with great effect and rivals any of the members\u2019 work with their previous bands. Also of worthy mention is \u201cHead to the Hills,\u201d which finds Flanagan and Robyn locking in perfectly amongst Engles\u2019 handy fretwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submerge caught up with Flanagan in San Francisco as he was preparing for two shows at Bottom of the Hill and Sacramento\u2019s Blue Lamp, the latter of which would be canceled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has Black Map played out much thus far?<\/strong>
We\u2019ve only played about 45 shows at this point and eight local shows. We also did a two-week tour with Chevelle in the states on the West Coast in July 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You previously played in a band called The Actual. What was your experience like being signed to Scott Weiland\u2019s Softdrive Records?<\/strong>
I joined the band after they already existed. There was a lot of pressure from Scott and others to add a second guitarist\/singer. Before I even played a note, I was in their music video. Scott is one of the most talented performers and is quite esoteric. We also were fortunate enough to do a couple weeks touring with Velvet Revolver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also played with another well-known band, Dredg. Do you have plans to go out as a backing vocalist\/guitarist?<\/strong>
Dredg is very much a band and, yes, they\u2019re still active. They recently toured in Europe without me. Me playing with them is just a matter of scheduling and need and depends on the material they\u2019re playing since they have done album anniversary shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your last record with The Trophy Fire was released in 2013. What\u2019s happening with that band?<\/strong>
The band is dormant but not dead. The guys are close friends and we don\u2019t have anybody yelling over our shoulder to keep busy. Right now I\u2019m concentrating on Black Map and promoting this record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where do your bass lines come from?<\/strong>
I pretty much write all my bass lines. The skeletons of the songs come from either Mark or myself. Of course, when it comes to the songs I wrote, I write everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd We Explode Part 2\u201d has an early M83 vibe. Are you into electronic music?<\/strong>
I love ambient electronic music, Depeche Mode and ethereal Brit-pop. We recorded this over much time and decided that we would end the album and cleanse the listener\u2019s musical palate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was it like working with Aaron Hellam and his Hellam Sound studio?<\/strong>
Aaron is a really great friend and we have great history with him. He knows how to talk to us but he is definitely helpful with adding little extras and 90 percent of the time he\u2019s right when giving input. It\u2019s cool, though, because his studio is in a building connected to our rehearsal space. It\u2019s called Jack London rehearsals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where did you end up meeting Chris Robyn [drummer of Far<\/em>] and how did this collaboration with Mark Engles come about?<\/strong>
It\u2019s pretty random. Dear Kerosene was my previous band. We needed a lawyer to do a trademark on our band name and Eddie Meehan from ground(ctrl) recommended our music. There\u2019s a song we had called \u201cTrust\u201d that he liked and we developed a mutual admiration for each other\u2019s music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are you going to promote the new record in 2015? Touring?<\/strong>
Definitely. We\u2019re in the midst of booking more shows in the West Coast and then hope to head back to Europe early in the year. At present, we don\u2019t have a booking agent but we are looking hard for one now for national and international tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any festival plans for 2015? SXSW?<\/strong>
It\u2019s definitely possible that we will play. We got asked last year to play two parties, but it wasn\u2019t worth it financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How was the tour of the United Kingdom?<\/strong>
It couldn\u2019t have been better. The Driver<\/em> EP came out long before the European tour. We purposely had the four-song EP so we could have something to sell. We also have vinyl coming out soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any Bay Area bands that you\u2019re currently into?<\/strong>
My two favorite bands are called Picture Atlantic [Brit-pop trio<\/em>] and Eyes on the Shore, who play earthy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What bands would you like to support or open for next year?<\/strong>
That\u2019s a loaded question. There are so many bands we\u2019d love to share the stage with. Obviously, Queens of the Stone Age, Baroness, Failure and Deftones are high on the list. There are many others that I can\u2019t think of but there are definitely many more. We\u2019ve talked to Abe Cunningham from Deftones and have our fingers crossed that they\u2019ll have a slot on one of their tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco is expensive. How can you afford it and still tour?<\/strong>
I am a bartender at a place called Leopold\u2019s in San Francisco. It\u2019s Austrian and German fare. Minus Head paid for a lot of things like transportation costs and have been awesome thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can fans expect from your upcoming show other than, obviously, songs from the new record?<\/strong>
We\u2019re going to play the record in its entirety since we haven\u2019t played \u201cStranger\u201d and \u201cAnd We Explode Part 2\u201d in Sacramento yet. We\u2019ll also try to do a cover song or two to break things up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you been getting good feedback from social media?<\/strong>
Yes. I think we all are responsible for that. All of the band members outside of Black Map support us and you will find information about us on their Facebook pages and websites as well. There\u2019s no reason it all can\u2019t be shared since we all have the common goal to be seen and heard by as many as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where is your biggest fan base outside of the Northwest and California?<\/strong>
I think in all the markets we\u2019ve played with Chevelle have helped us gain some new fans. We still haven\u2019t played the East Coast or Midwest yet but hope to play all over this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any plans to return and play Sacramento proper in 2015?<\/strong>
Since we had to cancel our show for personal reasons, I\u2019m going to rebook this early in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard any rumblings from the other members of Dredg or the other guys\u2019 bands about Black Map?<\/strong>
They all seem to like the band, and I\u2019ve heard nothing but positive feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any extra songs in the can for the next record even though yours was just released in late October?<\/strong>
We\u2019re just starting the process of writing. We\u2019re not a band that wants to put out something every two years. We plan to write well throughout 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel like Black Map is getting more response than any of your projects?<\/strong>
Yeah, definitely. My previous band, The Actual, had some pretty big legs under it since we were signed to an imprint through the majors. It\u2019s just nice to see the reaction, and we\u2019ve all put in a lot of time in this industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To order \u2026And We Explode and to keep up on their calendar, go to Blackmapmusic.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Submerge)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo by Jen Cash Black Map may be a new band on the hard rock scene, but its members aren\u2019t lacking in experience Music fans don\u2019t realize the immense amount of preparation it takes to successfully launch a new band. Schedules have to be arranged, songs need to be constructed and, most importantly, the members […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277\/revisions\/278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acloserlookmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}