Interview with Stand Your Ground guitarist Daniel Taylor

I was able to catch up with guitarist Daniel Taylor of the melodic hardcore band Stand Your Ground to speak with him about the group’s new disc, Despondenseas. Since 2007 Stand Your Ground has been constantly touring, crushing all those in their path! Now they are once again back out on the road in support of the aforementioned new release. Here is how the conversation with Taylor went.

Now that your new record Despondenseas is complete how do you feel about it and are you satisfied with the outcome?
Daniel: We are pretty stoked about it. We are glad that it is out now and we hope that when people get their hands on it, it will get the ball rolling.

What is the writing process like for you guys?
Daniel: I don’t usually sit down with the intention of writing, but when I get a chance to sit down and play I will just riff around and put some things together then show them to the guys. Sometimes I have a really specific finished song before I show it to them and sometime I just have some riffs and I will show it to them and we will work them out. It really just varies from song to song. There is not really a set way of writing. Whatever happens kind of happens.

Check out the song “Castaway”

What is the meaning behind the title Despondenseas? Especially with the interesting spelling.
Daniel: Well Despondenseas is just kind of existing without a purpose and not really having a drive. In the last couple of years we have had some relationships with people, friends and family, that kind of wallow in their self-pity. It is more of a message that you should not let yourself drown in self-pity or self-despair. It is up to you to make your life what you want it to be, set goals and achieve them; not just sit around feeling sorry for yourself. We have kind of seen people do that and say they are dissatisfied with their life and just go nowhere and drown in self-pity.

Are there any tracks on Desponsednseas that are personal favorites or that have good stories behind them?
Daniel: We took a long time to write this record and some of the songs from the EP are on this one as well. So they all are pretty cohesive. They are not all about the same thing, but they are very personal and about experiences of friends and family. Personally I like the song “Nautilus.” I come at things in a more musical way and this song was played in a different tuning and we had never written a song this way so it was fun playing something I had never done before.

When you write do you do so with the live setting in mind?
Daniel: We have in the past, but generally we don’t write that way.

What kind of touring plans do you have in support of the record?
Daniel: We actually had to take the last couple of months off because we were hit by a drunk driver. Everyone was okay, but it just kind of screwed everything up being without transportation. We will be doing a Southeast tour coming up soon and then we will be doing fifteen dates at the end of September and November. In December we will be doing a small tour. We are gonna chill over the holidays and then go back out in Spring.

What would fans be surprised to find on your iPod?
Daniel: I listen to a lot of Copeland and Explosions In The Sky. I don’t listen to heavy stuff because we play that on a regular basis. Although I still listen to Korn and P.O.D.

If you had not become a musician what other career path would you have liked to attempt?
Daniel: Audio Engineer

What 3 words best describe your band?
Daniel: Good, Melodic, hardcore

If you were a superhero, who would it be and why?
Daniel: That is a good question, probably Wolverine because he has claws coming out of his hands.

Any closing words at all?
Daniel: Get the record anyway you can. Just get into our music.

Check out the song “Nautilus”