Spotlight: Hollow Core

Edward Burnett chats to Hamilton rock and roll band, Hollow Core about their inspirations, symbolism and Kidz Bop!


RnRR: Hi Hollow Core, would you mind introducing the band’s members and what genre the band covers?

HC: Hollow Core is a 5 piece consisting of  Austin Kennah , Collin Sheehan, Andrew Sabev, Brad Moulaison and Dan Scime. We are a metal band who tends not to stick to one subgenre, we just write things that sound epic!

RnRR: Nice to meet you guys! How did you get into music then? Was it always an aspiration from a young age?

HC: We all have very different stories and histories with music but it's clear that each of us still has an almost childish passion. You can kind of see the excitement of our younger selves when we are writing or playing.

RnRR: So continuing in that vein, what were your musical inspirations? What bands and artists did you listen to which truly inspired you to go out there and do it yourself?

HC: As a band we grab from all over the place but I find the similarities really cool. We have these inspirations from when we were growing up, bands like Tool, Protest The Hero and Alexisonfire. But then there's this kind of classic appreciation where we pay homage to bands like Sabbath, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. With 5 members its definitely hard to reach an absolute consensus but it seems, even just from those examples, that we have been inspired by the hardcore movement of our childhoods as well as the band's that helped shaped music as we know it today.

RnRR: That’s great to know that you had inspirations such as Pink Floyd. Also, it’s useful that you are able to come to a consensus with five members, so that no one is left feeling “Comfortably Numb”. So tell us a little more about where you’re from?

HC: That's amazing haha! We are all from Hamilton Ontario, it was at one point the steel city of Canada, but now I think everyone is more focused on the arts and culture. Its having this like boom in musicians and it makes for some real fun hometown shows.

RnRR: Ah sounds like a real breeding place for musicians! So for new listeners, what song would you recommend to give a good representation of the band?

HC: We have a couple self recorded singles on Soundcloud and Bandcamp. A good first listen would be a track called "Pure Life".

RnRR: Tell us a little more about “Pure Life” then? What’s the story behind the lyrics? When did you write the song?

HC: It's a fairly new song, wrote it only a couple months ago. Pure Life was originally just the working title. Dan, Collin and Brad looked down at a water bottle and said "let's call it Pure Life". I (Austin) ended up using that working title as the basis for the lyrics.  It's pretty much a song about trying to create a pure way of living without the tainted religions of the world. There's a lot of symbolism I'm proud of such as "Baptize me in Fire, Kill my desires." But during the breakdown of the song I chant "We're all disposable you'll see"  which some people would say is very thought provoking. But your readers will know is inspired by a water bottle!

RnRR: Very revealing! Especially about the water bottle. So would you say that you often aim for your songs to contain symbolism or political issues such as religion. If so, how important do you believe such topics to be when songwriting?

HC: I think we do like to have some sort of message in all of our songs. However we like to cover the symbolism in fantasy so the escapism of art is still there. It's a bummer to constantly be hearing about politics, but if it's the politics of like demons and elves it's less of a buzzkill, even if that story mirrors our own world. I don't think it's necessarily important to songwriting though, music moves people in different ways for different reasons. Sometimes the only meaning a song needs is let's all have a good time.

RnRR: That’s a very good attitude to have. So let’s talk about the close future. What do you have in store for us in the coming months? Gigs? Songs? What’s happening on the Hollow Core front?

HC: We are currently finishing a short tour and we are working hard on our first official EP in studio! We have 5 songs that are for sure going to be on it. Any others could be an option for singles in the future!

RnRR: Exciting times ahead! So finally, the most important question of all. You’re going to a desert island for the rest of your days and you’re only allowed to take one album to listen to, what are you picking and why?

HC: Knowing us, probably something like Kidz Bop Greatest Hits. To torture each other on the island and then slowly develop an ironic love for it. Then the irony is gone and we genuinely love it.

RnRR: Haha! Great choice, well thanks guys it’s been a pleasure and all the best for the future! We will be sure to update the page with any news from your side of things.

If you would like to listen to some of Hollow Core's music, you can check them out at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCedA6JVgT9fi4gvSFiUpjew