INTERVIEW: Words in Haste

Interview by: Summer Hartley

Words In Haste is a hardcore/metal band making their way through the KY scene from Pikeville, KY, consisting of 6 members. The band is known around town for their raging sound and enthusiastic live show, which is filled with emotion while also being fun for everyone in the crowd. I had the privilege of asking two members of Words In Haste some questions for this interview, those members being Ethan Wolford and Josh Pugh.

Members and their roles in band, plus one fact each.

            Ethan Wolford / bass & clean vocals / "A fact about me that people may not know is that I'm a nursing major."

            Josh Pugh / vocals "and fill in on guitar" / "My senior year of high school, I won mock homecoming queen."

Where did you band name derive from?

            Ethan - "Uhm, I'm not really sure who came up with it, but a Mark Twain quote kinda just stuck with. 'Words in haste, do friendships waste.'”

            Josh - "Yeah, it came from that quote, but my brother and our drummer Zack came up to us and was like, 'Words In Haste…that’s it.'"

Give a brief history of Words In Haste and how you guys formed.

            Ethan - "Well, I'm the new one in the band. I joined July of last year. The guys had asked if I wanted to jam with them to see how it went and I guess they liked me, haha."

            Josh - "We've been together for about 3 years now. It all started after I left my first serious band. I was down about that band ending, and I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to play anymore. It was that August, my brother Zack just started writing and jamming for fun. Before we knew it our vocalist, Austin Cochran, started jamming with us and helping me with the lyrics. Like, it wasn’t planned to happen that way, but it did, haha. After Warped Tour that year, Dylan Morris came in on guitar. We've had A LOT of lineup changes since then but that’s kinda how it all got started. I think this lineup we have now works for us."

Sum up your band's sound in just 3 words without using a genre.

            Ethan - "Gosh. I'm not for sure, really. I'd say massive, blunt, and real."

            Josh - "Deep, personal, and, yeah, real."

Are any of you involved in other bands/projects?

            Ethan - "Yeah, I have some solo stuff that I made before I joined this band. You can find it at examinethevictim.bandcamp.com ."

            Josh - "Not at the moment, no. BUT I am starting going to be opening a studio, and offer management."

What is a common writing process for a song from WIH?

            Ethan - "Like, since I've been in the band our guitar player, Ethan Williams, comes up with just ideas for songs, shows them to us and we write our own parts. Like with me, I like to write my bass parts to be a bit different than the guitar part and not just follow it so it brings out my songwriting talents and it makes it more of a group art."

            Josh - "For me, it’s a little weird I guess. Like, when I'm writing lyrics, I don’t really think about it. I don’t wanna think about a certain message. It all just comes to me. And it's always at random times. Our song “Live and Let Live” I wrote sitting on the toilet at 3 AM, sooooo..."

How do you pay for things like travelling to shows, studio time (if needed), etc.?

            Ethan - "Hahaha, we fund ourselves. It's hard man. But we all love it. It makes me who I am. We don’t care to pump money into ourselves."

            Josh - "That’s a tough one kinda, haha. Most of us in the band have jobs and we all contribute to this band. I know my brother and drummer (Zack) spent his entire tax return for the EP 2 years ago. Now it's kinda hard to pay for anything. Especially since we hardly get paid for what we play. It's not why we do it, but you know, we gotta treat this like a business."

Favorite show you've ever done as a band? Favorite song to perform live?

            Ethan - "Me personally, the one we played in Cumberlands a while back. So fucking cool. Met some cool ass people and fans. But as for the song. I think Shepherds of Men or A New Beginning is my favorite. I go ape shit on the stage, hahahahaha."

            Josh - "YEAH! Cumberland at the Crawdad Festival. SOOOOOO many kids showed up and really got into our set. Very awesome feeling to look into the crowd and see everyone having a blast. My favorite song is “A New Beginning”. It's very personal to me and I get chills when we play it."

Why should someone who may be new to this genre or new to your band come see WIH live? What makes you an individual band from the rest?

            Ethan - "I mean, I hate to say cliché stuff but it's true, like Josh said. We are real, and I think we put on a hell of a show. I know I go crazy. I jump off stages and shit. We interact with everyone too. That’s the most fun thing about this."

            Josh - "We bring a raw and active energy to our shows. We like to bring out good vibes. But if you are like us, come see us. If you stay trapped in dark places and you never feel like you're good enough, if you feel that way, come hang with us. We've all got demons, and no one is in this alone. It's hard trying to find acceptance in this fucked up world, dude. But we are all a family, and we wanna show you that."

What are some of the pros and cons of being where you are in the local KY scene?

            Ethan - "I mean, shit. It's so bad here. There's really no pros I guess besides the fact that we are the only metal band around here, so it's easier for people to know who we are in this area. Just playing around here sucks. It's frowned upon, basically."

            Josh - "HAHA, WELLLLLLL, if you're talking about the scene in Pikeville, it doesn’t exist. Unless you're a bluegrass or country act, that is."

Favorite local venue?

            Ethan - "Hmmm, I'm not really sure. There's nothing here locally really, but if I had to pick it would be the PAC in Salyersville. That is as about as local as you get here."

            Josh - "Community Center in Chesapeake, Ohio."

Anything you wished you had learned about being in a band before actually joining a band?

            Ethan - "Ahh, no, not really. I mean I know it takes work and stuff but I guess nothing really surprises me about it all."

            Josh - "How to save money! HAHA!"

Any bands you'd love to collaborate with/perform with? (local and more famous)

            Ethan - "Oh hell yeah! I'd love to play a show or 2 with The Color Morale, Storm The Sky, Volumes, and Fit For a King. Maybe Secrets, too. I'd like to work with Goodbye, Utah too on a tour. They're a local band, check 'em out!"

            Josh - "I wanna play with For The Fallen Dreams, Sworn In, Barrier, Gideon... There's so many, it's hard to choose."

What's coming up for you guys in the future? (Working on music? Touring? Working on getting a management team together? Etc.)

            Ethan - "I think I'll go ahead and let the cat out of the bag. We are going to finish the EP, then immediately start on the album. Like, we've pretty much got the album already written, so there shouldn’t be much of a time gap between the 2 releases. We plan on doing a summer tour, too, with other local bands, so that should be hella fun."

            Josh - "Yeah, what Ethan said about the EP and album, and an August tour."

If you could have one unorthodox piece of Words In Haste merch to sell, what would that be?

            Ethan - "Hahahaha, fucking lingerie. I think that would be cool. I've always wanted to have a bobblehead type thing, too. But like, a lot of people I know ask, 'Dude, do you guys have bandanas? Make some and I'll get one.' So I think bandanas would be cool, too."

            Josh - "Onesies, because why not?"

Favorite part of local shows?

            Ethan - "I love just letting loose and expressing every emotion I feel on stage, and going out into the crowd and moshing with everyone while I play. I just wanna have the best time of my life and especially meet some new people/fans and give people a good time. That’s what it's about, and I just want to leave a positive impression on people. They come to see you, not hear you. If they wanted to hear you, they'd listen to your songs on Bandcamp, or whatever. So much to love, really."

            Josh - "Making friends with the bands, hearing new music, and just being in the atmosphere in general."

What is your spirit animal?

            Ethan - "A wookie, of course. Look at my face."

            Josh - "Shia LaBeouf."

Any final words?

            Ethan - "Um, yeah, I feel this is suitable: if the world is turning its back on you and life is not the best for you at the moment, don’t give up. Fight back. I mean, you don’t have a choice when your only choice is to be strong. Each of us in this band can tell you that giving up will get you nowhere. You want a change? Be the change. Because at the end of the day, YOU are the one that has to be happy. Fuck everyone else. That’s why I do this. I play music as a getaway for me, and to bring out a side in others that no one sees, and maybe, sides that they didn’t know they had. Its an amazing thing. Don’t back down. Be fearless. Be you."

And to close, give me one pet peeve each.

            Ethan - "Seeing people getting mistreated. It's sad and it's bullshit. Alot of things really get me, but seeing this pointless belittlement is just insane."

            Josh - "People that spell 'you' like 'u'."

FIND WORDS IN HASTE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/WordsInHaste/

Bandcamp - http://wordsinhaste.bandcamp.com/album/cold-hearts