|
 |
BALLS TO THE WALLS
WALLS OF JERICHO BREAKDOWN
by Lisa Sharer
Photos by Sylvia Hagar
From the April 2007 issue of PRICK Magazine.
|
 Walls of Jericho is (L-R) Mike Hasty, Candace Kucsulain, Dustin Schoenhofer, Aaron Ruby, and Chris Rawson. |
|
|
|
"I like getting [tattoos]. I hate it when people touch me."
Simply put, Dustin Schoenhofer, drummer for Walls of
Jericho, tells PRICK that while he enjoys the body art, he
doesn't always enjoy the side effects. Singer, Candace Kucsulain,
agrees "a lot of people feel like if you didn't want people to notice
it, then why did you get it. But that's not really what I was thinking
when I was younger.Now, I'm not the person that will walk through
the crowd with my head down, I just get through. No one likes it
when people just start grabbing your shit and stare at you. But
that's what comes with it."
Seemingly semi-tattoo enthusiasts Walls of Jericho, not only wear the
art, but include a tattoo artist in the band. Aaron Ruby, bassist and ink
slinger, has done work on members of the band amongst other clients. He
confesses to being rebellious in his tastes. "I like all that stuff that's not
typical. I'm not a big fan of tattoo trends." He
has been acclaimed for some of his more
straight edge tattoos. Work done on him
includes a very realistic art form in black and
gray. It's not your traditional piece or modern
tattoo art, but it definitely screams out from his
back.
|
 Candace Kucsulain on vocals |
 Aaron Ruby on bass |
|
Walls of Jericho, formed in 1998, have busted
out of Detroit, Mich. and hit the hardcore scene
with a deafening scream. Their career seemed to
blossom quickly, when in 1999 they signed with
Trustkill Records and released their first full
length album, The Bound Feed the Gagged. The
band immediately started touring with the likes
of In Flames, and hitting other hardcore venues
around the country.They had started to receive
recognition amongst the community when they
seemed to disappear in 2001."We had a hiatus
for about a year and a half, because our drummer
went out to Seattle to go to school. Shit like
that you go through when you're growing up,"
explains Kucsulain.
It has been a growing experience for most
everyone in the band. Kucsulain confesses that
they started touring in her senior year of high
school, and now they've come to a point where
they're trying to run a business. "Keeping up with
the game; that's a big fucking challenge," she says."It's just the stupid industry
game. There's a certain way to do things in this type of business. That's just
not where we came from. We came from a lot of DIY. There were a lot of
different people who knew each other and helped each other out. It just blew
up and it became this different thing. Definitely more business, and who you
know, and what they can do for you. [This band,] we're all very genuine and
sincere people. We’re not two-faced, we don’t schmooze and do all that shit,
that’s not what we grew up being. It's just been a little bit of a challenge trying
to do our own thing and keep up."
|
 Candace Kucsulain on vocals |
 Aaron Ruby on bass |
|
They've kept up enough to put out two albums since their time away. In
2004, they brought in a new following with All Hail the Dead, and their newest
release, With Devils Amongst Us All, has been getting great reviews so far.
They've also toured with the Warped Tour, Ozzfest, headlined their own UK
tour, and they are getting ready to go to Japan soon.Their reputation is putting
them in places all over the world. Fans are demanding some of that good
old-fashioned hardcore, moshing, bloody, body-slamming fun in their hometowns,
and Walls of Jericho are happy to accommodate their needs.
"[Our best experience has been the] people we've met, and the places
we've been...that's an amazing experience in itself. We've just seen so much,
that's awesome; just the shit that I'd never be able to do if I wasn.t in this
band. Probably the best thing so far in this past year though...the Ozzfest.
Just because there was way too many brutal dudes, and it was amazing. It was
just like an insane family reunion every single day. We've just done a bunch of
stuff that we are very fortunate to be doing right now," tells Kucsulain.
|
 Candace Kucsulain |
 Mike Hasty on guitar |
|
Although it is a rarity to find a female fronted hardcore band,Walls of
Jericho has never made an issue of it. "We're not anti-girl thing, we're just
more rockin' — having a good time,” says Kucsulain. As far as her own feelings
when we tried to single her femininity out amongst the sheep she said
only this, "It's been one hell of a ride, that's all I've got to say, and I've had a
good time doing it, otherwise I wouldn't be doing it." The conviction that she
holds, as well as the rest of the band, places them above all the others. They
are not only accommodating and extraordinarily amazing people, but they are
putting it all out there for anyone to see.Their shows are always full of energy,
and their music is not for the faint at heart. Female, male, hermaphrodite,
it doesn't matter whose in it, just what they're doing, and what they're doing
is worth seeing.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
