Monday, November 11, 2013

King of Amarillo

            The band Issues is a relatively new group to the post hardcore rock scene. They formed in the summer of 2012 by Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn, former vocalists of the band Woe, Is Me. Issues music blends elements of rhythm & blues and rap beats with the heavy chugging of metal core guitar riffs. They burst onto the scene with their leadoff single “King of Amarillo”, from their EP, “Black Diamonds”. They created this band to use their fame and talents to try to be a positive influence on this generation. The name Issues is in homage to all the problems that they and this generation face.
            Because of the messy break up situation that occurred between vocalists Carter and Bohn and their previous band Woe, Is Me, they (Carter and Bohn) felt as though they were looked at by fans of Woe, Is Me as traitors. They felt that fans would look down on them for leaving, as if the band wasn’t good enough for them. They also assumed that some people didn’t think that they were likely to achieve the same success that they had gained by being in Woe, Is Me. Essentially, they had their backs against the wall. In the first Issues song “King of Amarillo”, they made sure that they remind fans that they are indeed very much alive, and still doing well at what they do.
The song title “King of Amarillo” doesn’t make sense to most people who just look at it. But using strange and peculiar names as song titles is a common practice for most rock bands in this day in age. By just listening to the lyrics, many words jump out at you. The lyrics contain many words that are not exactly the nicest ever. Words like “wrath, broken, demise, fear” make the song sound very sad. But the overall message portrayed throughout the song is a sense of moving on and becoming who you want to be, without being held back by others that may try to bring you down. This is something that can definitely apply to all people. No one wants to be help back from doing what they want and love, and Issues has gone through this exact problem, and they want to let the world know that they you can come back from something like this.
From the first lyric that Michael Bohn screams out, “Wrath to the Industry!” you know that the song is about to have a very hard to swallow message. “Get over yourself, we can see right through you. We are the future like no one ever knew you.” As guitarist AJ Rebello pounds away with the heavy chugging of his electric guitar, Bohn starts with the fact that the members of his old band have become too confident because of the fame that they have gained from touring the world. Bohn continues to explain that the fame that was achieved was partly because of Carter and Bohn as well as the others in that band. “If you don’t like these lyrics then go listen to Genesi[s]. He then turns his attention to the audience and tells them plainly that if they don’t like what Issues has to say, they can simply go and listen to Woe, Is Me’s new album, Genesi[s]. The last lyric is the most interesting however. “… if you took demise we’ll take your fame.” This is a play on words to the song, “Fame over Demise” that was written by Bohn and Carter while they were still with Woe, Is Me. This is quite a diss to their former band, taking a song that carries their name and using it against them. This is somewhat strange however because they were the two vocalists in that song as well, and even thought they try to put Woe, Is Me down with it, they almost bash themselves in the process.
This is where Carter comes in with his high, melodic vocals. With the lyric “I can’t wait to say whatever… and get on with my life”, He belts out to Woe, Is Me that he has grown tired of being controlled by them. With their new band Issues, they can talk about the things they want to talk about, and are free to speak their minds. Carter and Bohn feel refreshed now that they can start over and do what they want.
Bohn then starts to put the hurt on with the next lyrics. “I’ve heard from your stricken with fear, desperate for press on your pathetic career.” This is where he points out that since he and Tyler left, Woe, Is Me is losing the fame that was brought because of the two vocalists. “Can’t get out of debt since your sales took a dive…” They are now struggling to stay afloat and produce a good record that is well received by fans. While the new Issues EP had generated a lot of hype because of the household names of Michael Bohn and Tyler Carter, Woe, Is Me lost a huge chunk of their fan base. This was because there were many people that came over with Tyler and Michael when they left Woe, Is Me. On top of this, Woe, Is Me has two new vocalists who were relatively unknown to the rock and roll world, which didn’t exactly help with their success.
            It is at this time that the tempo of the song calms down from its heavy guitars and screaming into a calm and simple R&B beat. “You think you’re buying your way to the top with all that bull s*** that you sell.” This is where Tyler states that the members of Woe, Is Me have been struggling so badly that they have even gone as low as to bash Tyler and Michael simply because of their differences musically (Tyler Carter had gone solo to do R&B music for himself shortly after he left the band.) Tyler makes the statement that Woe, Is Me is now fiercely trying to one-up Issues and will go as far as to deceive fans about the true reasons why they separated from one another. “God’s not naïve like those fans you deceive.” Carter finishes with the fact that he doesn’t judge them, but that God does.

            




           The feud between Issues and Woe, Is Me is still on today, but Issues has tried to steer away from bashing them and try to focus on their own future. They only needed their first song to put themselves out there and show where they stand in this issue. Issues other songs talk about other real life problems, such as a father abandoning his wife and children, relationships with others, and misunderstood kids. Tyler Carter and Michael Bohn have branched out and shown their true musicality more through Issues than they had through Woe, Is Me. They created this band because they wanted to talk about things that would apply more to fans, having explained through multiple interviews that they do what they do because they want to make a difference in someone’s life. Because they have witnessed first hand for so many years how music has an effect on people, they believe the best way to influence someone is indeed through music.

 You can listen to the official lyric video for "King of Amarillo" here:

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