Interview with Murtaza from Until Your Heart Stops

William: Please give your name and the name of your band?

Murtaza: Murtaza and the name of our band is Until Your Heart Stops.

W: What’s your role in the band?

M: I sing.

W: Can you give us the name’s of the people in your band and what they do?

M: Mike plays guitar, Tony plays bass, and Matt plays drums.

W: How did the band come to be?

M: Well I always wanted to sing for a punk band. Mike, Tony, and I were involved in another band. We then added Matt after recording some demos and the rest just fell into place.

W: So what’s your home town and hows the scene there?

M: We are from a town called Concord. It's located in the East bay of Northern California. I guess the closest major city is Berkeley. Our scene is one of the best. Its not a coincidence that some of the most well known bands today are from Northern California. Its a tight scene, everyone knows each other in some form or another and we have the best venue on earth in Gilman St.

W: What are your thought on the California hardcore scene right now?

M: California as a whole, is pretty awesome. Just look at all the awesome fests that we have each year. Also the diversity of the different cities to play in. Lots of kids come out to shows especially in the Los Angeles area and a lot of new younger kids are coming out to shows. Hardcore is definitely growing and I think it has benefited California as a whole because when more kids get involved it means more venues in cities, which means more shows.

W: You just had a two week tour how did that go?

M: It was a lot of fun. It was UYHS first tour and overall it was really successful. We met a lot of awesome people as well as old friends. Are friends in New Mexico are the best. They always treat us so well when we are out there. Dead Hours and Excruciation are amazing.

W: Any plans for upcoming touring?

M: We are doing some short weekend trips but I think our next big tour will be in the summer. We still need to finalize what dates everyone can do and what not. We will announce it in the next couple months.

W: You are having your “We Are Not Coming Down” 7 inch released by Heart In Hand records, hows your relationship with them?

M: Will is an awesome guy. He has been so helpful and is really on top of getting things done. We are stoked to have Heart In Hand release our record. I hope to see his label grow and hopefully we can help that happen.

W: What’s your favorite song on your 7” and why?

M: Honestly, my favorite song is "Digging Holes". We definitely were thinking outside the box when we recorded that. Its hard to hear in the mix but at the end of the song there is a plethora of percussion going on which gives the song a really groovy feel at the end. If you listen to the song its just not your typical hardcore song and that is what this band is trying to do. You might hear this from a lot of bands but we are not just trying to make music that has a formula to it. We just want to people to know that punk doesn't come in just certain styles.

W: What are your plans for the near future?

M: As of right now, we are waiting for our EP to come out. Then we are planning to tour on it for awhile. We have a couple of new songs written and we are actually going to demo them soon. We also have a surprise we are working on with our friends in Hear the Sirens. That band rules and hopefully our plans become reality.

W: And are you planning any other releases?

M: Yeah there will be future releases. Again, we are taking it slow. There is no need to rush things at this point especially with this record coming out. I think our plan is to release another 7" maybe in the summer. We are not sure, get back to us.

W: What would you say are your biggest hardcore/non-hardcore influences?

M: Personally my biggest influence in writing lyrics is just from my own experiences that I have gone through in my life. If you are familiar with our band then you are probably familiar with my lyrics I suppose. I was thinking about it, there are a lot of bands that preach messages or telling people how they should live there lives. Or they sing about how fucked up our country is right now. While I think all of those are excellent messages and I feel like I do not have authority to tell people how to conduct there lives. Instead I know how it is growing up and there are a lot of personal problems people are individually going through. If I can provide an outlet for those kids to feel better even if its for the 15 minutes we play, then I feel like that means much more than any message. Sorry I went into a tangent.

W: What other bands have you or your band mates been involved in before or currently?

M: We have all been in bands before. Tony, Mike, and I use to play in a band called First To Leave. Tony played in band called Lost Again, Mike has done a couple local bands, same with Matt. I have also played drums in some other bands as a fill in.

W: How did you start getting involved with the hardcore/punk scene?

M: We all basically got into hardcore when we were in high school. My friend Nick Dunn changed my life when he introduced me to bands that I just fell in love with. When I was in high school the East Bay scene was huge. We also had a lot of local venues such as the Danville Grange and it also helped that Rival Records is based in my hometown. One of my first shows ever was at the Danville Grange when For the Crown played. I was all about them. Check them out. Oh and check out those guys other band Gunsmoke which is also amazing.

W: Is there anything that you would like to add?

M: Please pick up our record! Support local hardworking labels and venues. If money is thin download our record. Im sure you can find it somewhere. Also if you are not in a band start one! Its always awesome to see what type of music people are making up. Also listen to all types of music. Do not just limit yourself there are so many awesome bands/artists out there. Oh, and big ups to Murder Practice. There newest record is fucking awesome.

Thanks again to William for getting shit done, check out his label here
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