[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/bsf-interview-edit.mp3|titles= WDDE's Karl Malgiero's interview with Nathan Gray and Chad Istvan of Delaware hardcore band Boy Sets Fire.]
Newark, Delaware hardcore band Boy Sets Fire recently released While a Nation Sleeps…, their first full album of new material since 2006.
In 2007, after playing hundreds of shows around the world, the band called it quits. Missing the enjoyment of writing and playing music, they reformed four years later.
The band picked up where it left off with its brand of hardcore rock 'n' roll: heavy guitar riffs, punishing tension-then-release, fiery political lyrics and lead singer Gray's singular, anthemic voice.
Boy Sets Fire's contentious relationship with its previous label, Wind-Up Records, is no secret to their fans, and guitarist Chad Istvan says he believes their new material reflects a band creating a record on its own time and terms.
"We didn't even necessarily have to do it," said Istvan. "We just decided to do it and we didn't have any label influence so we decided to go and do what we wanted to do. Exactly. And I think even internally it was much easier."
"Not having a label telling you that they want to hear a certain style of music," said Gray, "or they want to hear a hit or this that and the other thing, whatever dumb thing labels say to you, it's just nice not to have to hear it."
[caption width="250" align="alignleft" caption="Boy Sets fire perform "The Misery Index" live in studio at WDDE 91.1"][/caption]
The band had several options to choose from when deciding on a label to release the new album, ultimately turning to Boston's Bridge 9 records, a label with a history of releasing records by other notable hardcore bands like Terror, Sick of it All and Agnostic Front. Gray feels it was the label's history with like-minded bands that helped in the decision.
"We definitely had a couple labels to pick from in that situation," he said. "[Bridge 9] is a stable hardcore label that obviously cares more about that genre and that type of style than everything else. Obviously those are the bands they go after, that's what they do. It was cool to be a part of that."
"And they were super nice," Istvan added. "They said to us 'We absolutely support what you guys want to do, but maybe could we hear a song or two? We back it either way, but maybe could we hear a song or two?' Which is absolutely acceptable."
Boy Sets Fire is touring again worldwide. The band just completed a month-long stretch of European dates in June, and is planning to return there with dates in Germany, where they feel a special relationship with fans.
“Music does very well in Germany. Especially heavy music,” said Gray. “Their free time is music. It works out really well when you’re in a band and you go to an area where the way they entertain themselves is completely about music.
[caption width="250" align="alignright" caption="Boy Sets fire perform "My Life in the Knife Trade" live in studio at WDDE 91.1"][/caption]
“Our music, for some reason, connects with people. There, here, wherever. I do believe we have a connection to quote-unquote fans, to the point where I hate saying the word fans. We play shows, I get down and I go talk to people. I hang out, and I think that makes a difference.”
The comfort that the band feels from not having any pressure to perform is just as valuable on stage as it's been in the studio. Where they decide to play live is just as much on their terms as what they write and record.
“You go where people want you to be,” Gray says. “And we still do play in the U.S. and it’s the same sort-of function. We’re going to go places where people want to see us and where we want to be and its going to be fun and it’s how we’re going to do it.”
A small tour of China and Australia is planned for the near future, and they will also be featured at this year’s four-day This is Hardcore festival at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia on August 8th.
Boy Sets Fire’s new record, While a Nation Sleeps…, released on Bridge 9 records, can be found in record stores and online. For more about the band you can visit www.boysetsfire.org or find them on Facebook.
Download an mp3 of WDDE's full interview with Boy Sets Fire here
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.