Interview: Another Life Spared

I would like to give a warm thank you to Dillon Tuttle, Greg Moir, Kevin Ruffo & Vaughn Downard-Mobley; the memebers of "Another Life Spared" for taking the time out of their very busy schedules to answer these questions. I Wish nothing but the best for you guys in EVERY venture and avenue you seek out!!  

1  1. A while back I contacted you (Greg Moir) When I was working on one for the Pieces of my blog (www.Metalena.blogspot.com) You didn't take it upon yourself to answer on behalf of the entire band, you spoke to the rest of the members to get their input. Which is pretty rad in my opinion. Do you guys find that you naturally or instinctively work as a collective unit or do you often compromise when trying to seek a conclusion?

Greg:  Well, we’re a cohesive unit here. We HAVE to be in order to survive let alone get anywhere professionally. We’re all in this together, and therefore, we find it easy to run business by everyone before we take a step forward with most things. If a decision has to be made on the spot then we do what we can for what’s best for the band.

Kevin: I’d say it depends on the song. We do not have 1 or 2 members who write all our songs. All 6 members help each other out and give ideas and work to build each song together from the start. With that said, that usually means not everyone will completely agree with everything. It will go around the room in discussions, we may sleep on it for a few practices, but ultimately every one reaches a compromise and we usually move forward pretty smoothly. Other times some songs seem to come together pretty quick with very little headache: “Vengeance”, “Cataclysm”, and “In My Head” are some examples of the latter.
Dillon: Depending on the subject of the matter I feel that we as a band usually are on the same page with the right decision. Though sometimes we have to compromise.
Vaughn: It varies from topic to topic. Sometimes we're all in the same boat, other times we have divided opinions. Fortunately tensions haven't really escalated high enough to cause any heated conflict over such situations

2. Which one of your songs do you feel you identify most with??

Dillon: I would say Closure because it captures many elements and is ear catching all at once.

Kevin: Identify most with….humm… Truthfully I am a big sap, so I would have to say our ballad “Never Forget”. Listening to it and even playing that song live I get a little emotional on the inside. It just brings me back to some past emotional feelings.

Greg: Vengeance. I’m a ruthless metal head at heart and that song is nothing but relentless aggression at the core. It’s so raw and unadulterated!

Vaughn: It's hard to say. Maybe Vengeance would be my best pick.

3. Closure is one of your newer songs, what was the biggest influence for the composition of the song musically not lyrically?

Kevin: Ahh “Closure”, that is one of my favorite songs of ours to play. With how diverse it is, with so many different elements in that song, if I remember correctly, it mostly came together pretty quick… That is except 2 parts. The big bridge and another part that I don’t remember, but we were stuck on those 2 parts for what seemed like months. Everything we did, we just didn't like. One day we said, you know what, if it doesn't work, lets not try to force it to make it work, just ax that trouble part completely. Suddenly we all sat back and said.. ya know what, we should have done that months ago, Because it totally works without that part. haha

Dillon: The main influence in my eyes for this song was not to write just your average metal song, but to write a song with many elements of music with a variety of sounds.

4. How has the devotion of the members of Another Life Spared change or impact your lives?

Greg: This has certainly been the most serious project I've ever been a part of so I feel a great attachment for all these guys. I honestly cant picture playing music with any other group of individuals.

Kevin: One thing they others can attest is I’m not the kind of person who will let others hold me back. I am very driven and motivated. So being in a group with like-minded individuals is very important to me. In this group we are very open with the rule of if any of us are flat out slacking, and not pulling our own weight, it is not a secret that any of us will be replaced. Which I think is a good way to have it, we can be the best of friends, but if we want to advance as a whole, we can only move as fast as our “slowest” member.

Vaughn: It's motivated me to further myself in all aspects of music, from playing to theory and recording.

Dillon: It has been a relief to find such great musicians that possess the talent and dedication that is required to be a successful band. It’s also a relief to be able to have fun while doing what we love while being serious musicians

5. (Directed at Kevin Ruffo) As a drummer do you have any mentors? Who would you say is your biggest influence?

Kevin: Well the two drummers I mainly followed growing up were Danny Carey (Tool), and Raymond Herrera (ex-Fear Factory). Although it’s hard for me to say weather or not a bit of their style comes out in my drum writing. I guess that is something the listeners would be better at telling me what influences they hear.

6. Greg,Dillon,& Vaughn same question


Greg: oh wow, that’s a really tough question for me since I actually try not to let individual musicians directly “influence” me as much as I have them “Inspire” me. I would say though, “Dimebag” Darrell Abbot with his stage presence, while still maintaining that crazy skill and solid playing is a real inspiration.

Vaughn:  I have no mentors or teachers. I've learned everything I know on my own. My biggest influence without question would be Steve Harris of Iron Maiden.

Dillon: I am all self-taught when it comes to guitar.  I have a variety of influences ranging from Periphery to Metallica.

7. Being that Another Life Spared is slightly larger when it comes to band member population, in your opinion has the size been detrimental? What are some perks to having a larger band?

Dillon: For smaller stages it can be very difficult but we make it work, but in my opinion there are more pros than cons to being a larger band. For instance in the writing process more ideas are brought to the table and an obvious pro is more people for loading and unloading equipment.

Vaughn: In my opinion it can be a bit tough when trying to make a smaller stage work with constant close calls to running into each other or sharing space. But all in all it's not too bad. I think more people helps with interacting with more people and the loading/unloading process.

Kevin: Oh man sometimes it is so hard fitting all the equipment and all the members on stage. We have 6 members and not a small amount of equipment either. We have played a show or two that a member couldn't fit at all, and they had to play the show off the stage, there was just no room for everything. Granted I don’t have the same issues of running into each other the front 5 do. But it’s also not fun when one of them trip up on, or bumps a drum mic stand and knocks it all out of placement on my kit (which happens quite a bit actually, unbeknownst to them). Then in the middle of the song I have to keep trying to play, and attempt to find quick moments I can try to fix the problem.

Greg: The size of our band is both good and bad. It’s bad for small stages and bad for ideas and opinions that disagree.  But it’s good for creativity with song ideas, good for equipment loading/unloading, and good for companionship. We’re a big family here with very unique personalities that makes every step of the way interesting on so many levels.

8. There for a bit Vaughn Downward-Mobley (bassist of ALS) was indecisive about disbanding. Care to give your fans some insight? & had he left, did ALS has another bassist lined up or in mind?

Yes a few months ago Vaughn made a decision to step aside, but ultimately decided to return and remain an active member of “Another Life Spared”. This was a decision he made and there was no bad blood before, during, or after his decision. We all love him as a brother but as a group none of us can force anyone to be apart of it. We have a policy that no one is a “hired gun”, if someone is unhappy or wants to move on, they are free to walk if they so choose with no hard feelings. I see it as a positive outlook when we have only had 1 member change in the last 2 years. Tells me this current long time lineup is happy with where they are at.

9. Are you guys still working on the recording process?

We know MANY people have been growing impatient waiting for it, and asking us to explain what is going on. The recording for our forthcoming EP has been done for some time now. It’s just been a post production issue getting it to a point that we are happy with it. It shouldn't be too much longer. We are so excited for the day that we can get this thing out to you guys.


10. What is your absolute favorite thing about being a musician? & more importantly a musician of Another Life Spared?

Vaughn: The enjoyment of sharing the stage with a group of motivated and talented brethren.

Dillon: Writing awesome music and playing shows with great friends and accomplishing things I never thought I would.

Greg: I love playing music in a live setting. The rush of seeing a crowd go nuts after we finish a song is the ultimate natural high for me! I've spent many years trying to get where I’m at today and it’s been one hell of a trip full of memories that I’ll never forget. I've been very fortunate to have the support of so many people just to continue doing what I do, and to share this experience with 5 of my closest friends. My only hope is that we can continue to grow together as a single unit the farther we go down this path!

Kevin: Honestly playing music is my drug. I love it, I am addicted to it, it is all I need. I am relentlessly dedicated to it and everything involved that goes into it. It can be very hard work and very stressful at times, but getting on stage to play a show, looking out and seeing a crowd, and even more so seeing friends and people you know, make all the work completely worth it. Those are some of my happiest moments in life. To do all this with 5 people I don’t just call band mates, but friends, means the world to me.

I have said this before, but I feel more people need to understand how a musician feels. It’s not a secret at all..  If you want to know how to make a musician smile, to boost him up when he is feeling down, to have an great night, and at that moment feel amazing about life.... Just show up. That is all you have to do. When we see your face in the crowd at a show, it makes every ounce of "pain" go away for the night.

So I wanted to say thank you to each and every fan, friend, family member, promoter, venue owner, photographer, artist, etc.. Who has had a hand in helping push ALS. It is so hard to thank each and every one of you personally at time, but don’t think we don’t take your support close to heart. We remember and appreciate everything you all have done for us. Thank you!