#addthisbandtoyourplaylist Getting to know Murder!

What happens when you combine Miley Cyrus + Courtney Love + an infusion of punk? Murder!

Meet a band from the East Coast that is tearing up the air waves with their sound and will most definitely be an add to your playlist. Gritty, punky, downright rawk goodness will be coming to your ear holes when you listen to Murder’s complete discography!

I had a chance to interview Murder!, to get the know the band and to learn some insight on their new (for my show) music in an unadulterated, unedited interview. Make sure to check out Murder!, their music and always #spreadtheloveformusic by sharing the music you love!

Tell us a little about the band, where are you from? How did you meet?

Gus Walters: Thank you very much for wanting to know more about the band named Murder! Not The Girl Next Door Show! We are from Western New York. About a decade ago, one of my past bands, (Dirty Smile) we played a show with Tina Williams. She had this folk punk outfit that featured Tina’s songs. I was totally blown away with her music and voice. Over the years, we have been in some smaller cover band type projects, and Tina had take a bit of a break from music to get some things in order. Fast forward a year later,  when Turnstile’s GLOW album dropped, it blew me away and I wanted to get back into writing punk rock, but with some hardcore or musical curveballs peppered throughout it. However, it needed some emotional tred, and a voice that can make the listener believe we’d been “through it”. I saw Tina was starting to book some solo gigs again, and I hit her up, asking if she wanted to be a part of it, and I got the quick response “IN!”.

Tina Williams:We met at a support group for people who have been abducted by extra terrestrials. Gus and I really hit it off as we both use music to cope with the galactic horrors we  have sustained. Con and Peter were our door dash drivers. Turns out, those cats can play.

What kind of music would you describe your sound as? Who are some of your musical influences?

Gus: It’s “Hard Rock”, but if you wanted to pin it to a genre, it’s more along the lines of skate punk / melodic hardcore. I like minor tonalities, so it doesn’t really hit the “pop” part of the punk genre. Think Pennywise, Face to Face, Strung Out, Bad Religion…but also trying to inject some NYC hardcore, like Sick of It All into the bridges or middle 8 sections. I like songs within songs, so playing with these genres, and trying to get them to work well within one another has been a real thrill.

Tina: I would describe our sound as something between a siren calling sailors to their doom and a buzzing construction site in mid July

My influence is trauma. And Dime bag Darrel.

Let’s talk about the newest single “Faith in Me”

Tell us what the song is about and what inspired the song?

Gus: Faith in Me is about having faith in yourself before anyone else really can, or should. Addicts can usually sniff out that “one bad day” tone, where you hit rock bottom, and everyone knows it. This begins your “road to redemption”, where you set out to prove to yourself, and ultimately to everyone else, that you are worth it.

Tina: It’s about finding Jesus. And then finding Satan. And then realizing they are the same person.

How does the collaboration process work as far as writing/composing music?

Gus: This band is full of songwriters! For the songs I work on, I usually flesh them out, making them into complete demo’s. I then take these demo’s to the band, and they put their spin, their mojo onto it and it becomes “our song”. My demo’s sound worlds apart than the finished Murder! product, and that’s what makes this bands sound so unique.

Tina: I come in with a gelatinous mess of an idea and Gus fixes it.

How does it feel when you put all your hard work to the test and perform live? Do you have any crazy performance band/fan stories?

Gus: I usually piece the songs together during the demo phase, kind of think outside the box and my comfort level. This I didn’t think about until a week before our 1st rehearsal – and I couldn’t play them cleanly. I had to actually learn them and get my chops up to be able to play it from start to finish without screwing up.

One of our first gigs, we played at a Weed Festival.  I don’t smoke, but they had a VIP section indoors, and the contact high actually messed me up before we went on stage. Looking out at a sea of humanity smoking doobies, eating and drinking infused cannabis was definitely one to remember.

Tina:It feels like the only thing I’m meant to do and the only thing that makes sense. It’s the only time I am in perfect flow. No crazy fans yet, but I did once invite five tinder dates to the same show just to bump up attendance. It went as you’d imagine.

Let’s shake it up a little. Tell us some strange facts about the band, that virtually no one would know.

Gus: I’m terrible with band names, so I sent a list of the Occult themed names to Tina, thinking, “hey, she wears black too, probably has some Majik books and trinkets around the place.”, but in the middle of all of these names…awful names like “Pentacle A.D.” and “Love Magik Testimony”, I snuck in the name Murder!, and  hit “send” on the text. Tina immediately wrote back, “hahahah Murder!”, and the band name was born. The even insider joke to our band name, is that when you pronounce the name, you have to pronounce it like “Murrrrrrder!, (jazz hands optional).

Tina: We all have the same dad (Gus) and a gluten intolerance

What do you have planned for the rest of 2023?

Gus: We are currently in the middle of recording our follow up EP to Faith.in.Me…and it’s tentatively going to be called “Paper Heart”.  Our lineup has changed up a bit recently.  At this time, we’d like to introduce our new drummer, Peter Myhalenko, and our new bass player Conn Sullivan! We are currently booking for 2024, and will have a follow up continuing storyline where “Faith in Me” left off.

Tina: We plan on mapping out how to take over the world in 2024!!