I sat down with Chris, Kyle and Eric of Smantx recently. We talked about the struggles they’ve had and their upcoming EP release.
Q: Who influences you?
Chris: I get a lot of inspiration from Kyle actually. Jimmy Paige is a big one. I love the way he wrote…he wrote BEAUTIFUL music. Incubus was a huge one as well. They were my Bible. Coldplay, Dave Matthews, Imagine Dragons are up there too.
Kyle: I’m inspired by the tone of a song. Sometimes you’ll hear a song with a great or different hook, and I’m in a trance. Performer wise, The Weeknd is so dope. I’m trying to stylize my voice a little like his lately. We’ll see what happens.
Q: You guys are HUGE Coldplay fans. If you could cover one of their songs, what would it be and why?
Kyle: Shit, man.
Chris: That’s SOO hard.
Kyle: “Sky Full Of Stars.” Hands down.
Eric: Great answer.
Q: What is your favorite part of performing live?
Eric: The entire experience. The anticipation of what’s about to happen. I’m sitting on my kit, everyone’s ready and in place. We’re all looking at each other waiting for our cues, and we just GO!
Chris: When we’ve just hit everything right on the head, I stand back and feel so proud. We DID that, ya know?
Kyle: I still get nervous before shows.
Chris: So do I!
Shit Chris, you were nervous just ten minutes ago for this interview.
::all laugh::
Kyle: After the first song is over, I’m fine. You’re IN. You have to buckle up at that point. The anxiety dissipates as well. I’m pretty hard on myself ::laugh::
Q: How hard is it to balance everything?
Kyle: That’s literally the hardest thing ever.
Eric: THE WORST.
Chris: When those “moments” happen, it makes every hardship worth it, ya know?
Eric: All the bullshit you go through before a show is worth it looking back. You’re like “damn, we live to fight another day!”
Kyle: We’ve been dealt some crazy cards.
Eric: Fucking crazy ::laughs:: There are NO overnight successes. Our backstory makes me proud. We’ve been together so long, and we’re still kicking.
Q: What was it like opening for Ryan Cabrera and O-Town?
Kyle: I met Ryan after the show and he’s a pretty cool. The nerd in me wanted to take a picture and send it to someone. They were all cool dudes.
Chris: A lot of my friends that came to see us had their own nostalgic connection with THEM, so it was cool being able to share that moment with them. They came to see BOTH of us.
Eric: There were a lot of people there that weren’t from Baltimore. It’s cool to see they still have fans that will follow them around.
Chris: Oh yeah, there were fans that followed them from the prior show. Hardcore fans!
Q: What has been the response to your single “Love Criminal?”
Kyle: It’s been really great. I’ve gotten a lot of emails an messages from people who I haven’t spoken to in a while, and they dig it.
Eric: People weren’t expecting that from us. They were pretty surprised and pumped.
Q: You’re releasing your EP this Saturday night. How long has that process been?
Chris: You can date some of those ideas YEARS.
Eric: 2013-ish.
Kyle: We were writing an album at the time, and we went through a tough phase..all of us. We took a step back for a bit. When we got back together, those ideas were still there, and they were able to flourish.
Chris: We missed each other.
Kyle: A rough, rough time. But we’re here.
Q: Are you excited about your EP release show this Saturday with The Henchmen and Yo No Say?
Kyle: Oh yeah! This is probably our biggest show.
Eric: I love the bands we get to share the stage with, especially Yo No Say.
Chris: Kevin Hock reached out and has been helping us grow. The show is going to be phenomenal. There will be a light show, a CD signing. I think we’re also looking forward to what’s coming down the road…
The Triple EP Release Party is this Saturday at Baltimore Soundstage!
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