Interview with Grave Maker drummer Wayne Kong

Drummer Wayne Kong for the hardcore band Grave Maker answered some questions for me about the band’s newest release Ghosts Among Men. If it is hardcore you crave then look no further! This disc is a scorcher that pummels the listener with a vicious attack of killer hardcore. Thirty seconds into this disc I was sold hook, line and sinker. I absolutely love the energy and the intensity of these songs; they really get the blood flowing. Here is what Kong had to say about Ghosts Among Men.

Now that your brand new CD, Ghosts Among Men is complete how do you feel about it? Are you satisfied with the outcome?
Wayne: We are stoked on it. It’s our favorite release so far.

What is the story behind the title, Ghosts Among Men?
Wayne: After dropping everything in our lives to do this band and touring as much as we have, we feel like we have lost any connection to what we knew as “normal life.” Now we feel like we are sort of drifting through the background, going from city to city as this band, not individuals, we feel more like ghosts weaving through everyone’s normal, established lives.

Ghosts Among Men comes to us by way of Victory Records. Are you happy the way they handled the record, regarding distribution, marketing and promotion? How has the label been accommodating the band’s needs?
Wayne: Yeah, it’s rad. We see promotion for our record all over the place, and that’s all we want, is for people to hear the record.

Did you notice a difference from other labels you’ve worked with over the years?
Wayne: Every label is different. Victory has an awesome staff of people that help us. We have fought tooth and nail on our own to do this band since the beginning. It’s nice that a label has seen potential in us, respected the hard work we’ve put in the past, and is stoked to work with us on getting our record heard.

According to your bio you guys have played in over 30 countries in the past two years. That is a pretty rigorous touring schedule. How do you keep up with a schedule like that?
Wayne: Touring is literally the only thing we do. We took one two month break in the past two years, and that seemed like forever for us. We don’t have jobs back home to return to, hell, we don’t even have homes to go back to if we wanted, we have to keep touring. We don’t have lives.

Ever have problems coming across the border to play?
Wayne: In the early days of this band, we were sneaking in and out across boarders; we would send half our band across on Greyhound buses with two way tickets. It was a shit show. But we’re legit now, it’s not a walk in the park now by any means, but at least we aren’t sneaking across on buses now.

What have been the best countries to play in so far?
Wayne: Canada and definitely Mexico!

Are there any places that you have not played yet that you would like to play in?
Wayne: We’ve got a pretty good list going. We want to play everywhere, and will play anywhere.

When you are on the road for a while I am sure you see and experience many different things you might not even have known existed. Are there any stories that stand out in your mind as being exceptionally strange or odd?
Wayne: Honestly, touring as much as we have has changed my perspective on everything I knew. Seeing so many different cultures and ways of life has opened my mind and helped me gain a new perspective on the things I value.

When you are out on the road anything can happen and often does. Can you think of any disastrous events that happened while out on tour? How did you solve the problem?
Wayne: We have broken down dozens of times, popped tires, been robbed by cops in Mexico, bribed boarder guards in Ukraine, driven through Russia, survived a 4 roll over van flip, been so broke we’ve sold drum gear half way through a tour to keep going, a guitar player had a complete breakdown, quit and flew home in the middle of a tour on us. The three of us have survived it all; we love this band and won’t let anything hold us back. We’re just good at rolling with the punches I guess.

Any closing words?
Wayne: Go skateboarding.  [ END ]