Ashes Remain Interview – Gaffney, SC

AYA: I was able to see you guys last year with Kutless and just loved your music.  What was it like to tour with a band like Kutless?

Ben:  I think it was good, very good.  They have a lot of nice people in their band.  I enjoyed the ease of travelling with them because we did 10,500 miles in 30 days.  It could have been really stressful, but we had a really good tour manager and everything was really smooth and enjoyable.

AYA: What are some of your biggest influences, especially as a drummer?

Ben:   Tool is my favorite band. Circa Survive is another heavy influence.  Drumming, mewithoutyou I love, I just saw them in Philladelphia, they are really good.

AYA: What is you favorite Bible Verse?

Ben: Isiah 40:31(but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.)  That was always my favorite growing up and to this day.

AYA: What made you decide to become a Christian band instead of going into secular music?

Ben: It was a natural fit.  Three of us, Josh, John, and myself,  met each other at church leading worship together.  One of the guys we met at Guitar Center said that he wanted to be in a band, but it had to be a Christian band, so that worked out really well.  The other guitar player we knew from a Christian camp locally that three of us worked at.  It just seemed like a logical move. It was really natural for us to go in that direction.

AYA:  How do you prep before you go on stage?

Ben: Well, I’m pretty quiet.  I listen to hip hop and drink tons of coffee. I often pace a lot, back and forth.  Otherwise, pretty calm.

AYA: Anything you can tell me about new music coming out?

Ben:  There is a new single coming out in April.  We are working right now to build a pile of songs that we can start playing live.

AYA:  What’s your favorite song to perform live?

Ben:  “Timber Wolf,” which is code name for “Inside of Me.”

AYA:  What’s the biggest problem you think teens face today is?

Ben:  I think they pay so much attention to outside influence. They look around and compare other people’s lifestyles, the way they look and dress, things that are trivial and unimportant.  They compare it to themselves and break themselves down to a point where they don’t know who they are. I think it puts up a huge barrier where they can’t naturally find themselves and who they are, so you end up with a bunch of people closely related through school and youth group and this and that that all look alike and act alike.  I think that outside influence is such a tough thing, whether it’s social media, or television, or friend and family.  It took me a long time to get out of that and find who I really was  and how I could live my life being me and not what someone told me to be and was pressured to be.

AYA:  Who was your favorite band to share the stage with?

Ben:  Needtobreathe in Texas at Rock the Desert.  That was how I got into their music.  I was talking to them and then they played.  Afterward, I was like, “Well, I’m going to buy that record!”

AYA: What is the meaning of the name Ashes Remain?

Ben: It has a different meaning to everybody in the band.  Originally, our bass player wrote a poem using the phrase.  It was in that awkward time of trying to come up with a name and that sounded cool!  It sounds heavy and totally metal!

Please check them out: Ashes Remain is awesome!  Their website is  http://www.ashesremain.com/