Borderline Natives
By: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
We caught up with Nashville punk band, Borderline Natives, to talk about their latest release, favorite gear, and musical influences. Check out our exclusive interview!
Borderline Natives is:
Kevin Barry (vocals/rhythm guitar)
Colton Walker (lead guitar)
Jeremy Scott Thomas (bass guitar/backing vocals)
For someone that has never heard of you before, tell us about Borderline Natives. How did you get started as a band, and how would you describe your sound?
KB: We are an experimental punk band from the Nashville area, we started about a year ago when I moved down here from our hometown in Michigan. Colton and I went to high school together, and we both wanted to start a band. Five years later, and here we are. We met Jeremey about 8 months ago and got the whole band started up.
You released your EP in October, Indecisive, Indecision. What’s the overall theme/message behind this album?
KB: With that EP being our first, we really wanted to go for it and figure what we are and what we wanted to say as a band. We recorded whole thing in five months and wrote the songs as we went on and we learned a lot along the way.
JS: When I think about the EP, I always assumed that the theme was that there was no theme. Every song is from a different place and tells a different story.
CW: When we started, it was an EP to find ourselves. Each time we made something, it felt more like “us.” Looking back, each song has something different. Now we have a more clear direction.
What’s your go-to gear (as far as recording or playing live)?
KB: I use a vox valvetronix amp, a fender telecaster deluxe, and a epiphone es-333. The tones go well together, along with my ocd pedal, and few other basic effect pedals.
JS: I use an acoustic 136 amp with a squire bronco bass for standard tuning and drop D, also use a squire jaguar for half step. I originally only used the jaguar for all tuning, but I started using the bronco because of the light weight and for its full sound.
CW: Of the group, I have more gear being used that I have obtained over the years.
I have an epiphone les Paul traditional pro-II that I use for standard and drop tuning. It has lower end compared to my fender pawn shop super sonic. Guitars go through a vox AC30.
I like to have a variety of pedals, ones that can have the basic sound, but extra functions that can be manipulated. My pedals that I used the most are the earthquaker Acapulco gold, boss DD-6, and Caroline kilobyte lo-fi delay. While using two loopers, one being which a line-6 DL4. On the first EP I used an Arturia microbrute for some looping parts. I recently bought a korg minilogue, which is going to have a good part in the next EP. Both synths use a boss RC-30 for interludes and samples that goes through the PA.
If you could have any band cover a Borderline Natives song, who would it be? I could see Tigers Jaw doing a pretty sick cover!
KB: That’s good to hear, since Tigers Jaw is one of my favorites haha. Foo Fighters covering "Find Me Anyway" would be crazy, or Moose Blood covering "Coming home."
CW: I can see The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die doing a great rendition of "Coming Home," or the Black Angels covering "Untitled Letter."
JS: It would be cool to hear Nine Inch Nails do something with "Untitled Letter," or Pale Waves covering "Sweetie."
What has been your favorite song that you’ve written as a band so far?
All: "Coming Home." That’s our best song, hands down.
KB: It was the song that I wanted to write to go along with "Sweetie," since they both are about two different parts of one bad relationship.
What does 2018 have in store for Borderline Natives?
All: 2018 is looking to be a big year for the band, we are focusing on planning tours out of our local music scene, and we are currently writing our second EP. which contrast to the first one, is more cohesive and thought out. We are discovering what the band truly sounds like.
Indecisive, Indecision is available on all music services now. Check it out!
Connect with Borderline Natives:
Facebook . Instagram . Spotify . YouTube