Interview with The Saving Pointe 2013
-Who are all of the band members? And what do they do in the band?
Hunter: I, Hunter Smith, play guitar and sing. Troy Sanchez plays guitar and sings as well. JJ Pruitt plays bass and Nate Logan plays drums and sings some backup vocals.
-What's the origin of your band name, The Saving Pointe? Have you changed the band's name before?
Troy: My old friend and I from high school were hanging out one day and we both had a mutual want to be in a band and make music so we were just talking about what we would name our band. I have had an idea of a name I came up with earlier that related to what I was going through and how music was going to help me. At the time I was rather depressed and I needed to find something to help me (or save me rather) get out of this constant depression I was in. So The Saving Pointe means, at least to me, a positive way to express my feelings and an outlet to spread my new found outlook on life and to help people who are going through what I went through. We have not changed the band name before and never plan to.
-What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Nate: We like to consider ourselves Alternative rock with a lot of pop-punk influences. We are inspired by bands like Go Radio, Yellowcard, The Killers, Weezer and Fall Out Boy.
-How old were you when you started this band?
JJ: We were all around 17-18.
-How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
Hunter: Troy and JJ met in high school their freshman year, JJ and Nate met while working together, Nate met both Troy and Hunter once the band formed, same with JJ and Hunter.
-When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Troy: We formed in the summer of 2010 right after we graduated high school. We all just had the need in our hearts to make music.
-Do you have a record label? If so, what is it?
Nate- We currently are not signed to any record label.
-What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever's available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?)
JJ- If it has 4 strings, I’ll play it.
Nate- I chose my drum set based off of style and online reviews.
Troy- I chose my guitar because I love the look of semi-hollow guitars. I’m a big guy, so I like having a big guitar. It also sounded incredible.
Hunter- I like having unique guitars and I found one in a local shop and I liked the way it played.
-Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
Troy- We’ve played a lot of different venues around the area. We really love all of the venues we’ve played at but our favorite would probably be Martini Ranch in Scottsdale. We have some upcoming shows in the works right now but nothing confirmed.
-Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list for your shows?
Nate- The song we play the most is probably our single called “Walls.” We have played covers of “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World and “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. We try to change up the set list for every show we play.
-Who writes your songs? Is it a group effort?
JJ- We all have a hand in the song writing process but the main lyric writers in our band are Hunter and Nate.
-What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
Hunter- The themes change from record to record. With our new record, I personally focused a lot on interpersonal conflict and with coming to terms with yourself and the fears that we face in everyday life. With each record comes a new period in life and new experiences and things to write about.
-Could you briefly describe your music-making process?
Troy- Usually one person will pitch a portion of a song and we’ll jam out to it and hash out parts. Other times we’ll just start playing something random and if we like it, we keep working on it.
-What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
Nate- We have a set time once a week that we practice for several hours. We usually run through songs first, discuss the logistics of the band, and just have fun hanging out.
-How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
JJ- We’ve matured a lot as musicians and we’ve become a lot more well rounded. We’ve become better lyric writers and are able to think of more creative and original music now.
-What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
Hunter- Balancing time and money has been a difficult challenge for us. Making music is expensive so we’ve all struggled with money at some point. We’ve been able to overcome this by supporting each other with money when we can.
-What's your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
Troy- I think anyone who’s in music to “seek fame and fortune” is doing it for the wrong reason. We want to make a difference with our music whether it’s 1 person or 100,000. We want to help change people’s lives the way music has changed our lives.
-What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
Nate- Pursue your passion and just have fun. If you aren’t having fun, you’re doing it wrong.
-How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard your music before?
JJ- Our record, “Here. Now. Alive. “ was very atmospheric, poppy, and positive while our upcoming record is much more down to earth and has a little bit of an edge to it while staying true to ourselves.
-How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Hunter- We have all of our songs posted on our facebook, reverbnation, and youtube pages. All of them are linked in the question below!
-Website links in which other people can find your music, or more information for your band?
Troy- http://www.facebook.com/TheSavingPointe
http://www.twitter.com/TheSavingPointe
http://www.youtube.com/TheSavingPointe
http://www.reverbnation.com/TheSavingPointe
-Would you ever do an interview like this with us again?
Nate- Absolutely! We’d love to.
-Would you like to do more fun/funny questions in another interview?
JJ- Please! We’re a bunch of goof balls. It was hard enough for us to keep things serious in this interview.
-Any last words?
Thank you for interviewing us. We appreciate all of the support. We’re releasing a new record this summer/fall and we can’t for you all to hear it!