Sighlo has amassed a tremendous following in its modest four year tenure. The Columbus, Ohio five piece has dominated the land of the buckeyes with its tightly wound hard rock that occasionally dips its toe in the waters of metal. The band has set its sights on the big brass ring of national recognition, hoping the business glances its way sooner rather then later. Having played over 400 live shows spanning from North Dakota to New Jersey and been featured on MTV2’s “On the Rise,” the gentlemen have a resume worthy of the call. We tracked down drummer Will Finnegan and guitarist Chris Grim to talk about the bands business bond, working on new material with producer Ben Schigel, and the guys preferred action star from their youth.
S*KM: Your song, “Areilla” happens to be my personal favorite, however it was only included on a b-sides release. Why did you guys feel that song wasn’t strong enough to make the cut for an official album?
Grim: That isn’t exactly how it happened, let me explain! When we sold out of our original release, ‘This Used to Hurt’, we decided to add a few tunes to it and re-release it as ‘The Start’ in order to provide our fans with some of our newer material and increase the amount of songs that record labels would receive from us when sending out press kits.
S*KM: You guys opened for Sevendust and Nonpoint about a month ago at the Newport Music Hall, did either of these bands serve as big influences on your music?
Will: I have always listened to both bands. I posed to Nonpoint’s cover of Busta Rhymes “WooHa” in 2002 at the Midwestern Bodybuilding championships. Both drummers are very inspiring and I look forward to learning what I can from them by watching their live shows.
Grim: Nonpoint has been one of my favorite bands since I first saw them live in 2000 and was absolutely blown away! I’m always striving to achieve a guitar tone as clean and cutting as their former guitarist, Andy. They really have been a big influence on how I envision putting on a live show.
S*KM: You guys have said you are not just in a band together, you are also business partners. Do the fiscal and marketing responsibilities that accompany the music ever become tiresome or destructive within the band?
Will: Not really, we feel like we’ve just begun to scratch the surface of what the band faces in terms of business decisions. Tyler and Grim, having degrees in business from OSU, are in an especially good position to analyze our situation and determine what needs to be done in terms of marketing, promotion, and expansion but we know there is a lot more in store for us!
S*KM: Do you ever feel the music takes a backseat to the hoops you are required to jump through to gain attention in the music business?
Will: Absolutely. We are growing both musically and as a business entity dealing with all the “hoops” that we face. It can get frustrating at times but we hope that ultimately we can create a product that people truly enjoy and that we ourselves can be proud of. Getting labels to notice that product is the hard part.
S*KM: With “The Start” EP being released back in 2007, what is in the works for a follow up?
Grim: Right now we are fine tuning a bunch of new song ideas we have here in our project studio that we will then take up to Spider Studios in Cleveland, OH to record with our producer, Ben Schigel, this December. So be on the lookout for a new release from us in early 2009!
S*KM: What kind of writing process does the band go through when assembling new material?
Will: It happens differently for every song. Our bass player, Trevor, is the main song writer and often times he comes in with a song idea which we lay down on our pro-tools rig. Then we all work with him to lay drum, guitar and bass tracks to create a basic structure for our vocalist, Tyler. He then comes up with vocal ideas and we go back and make a ton of changes and come up with a somewhat final version. Other times, Tyler may bring in a vocal line, and we’ll write an entire tune based on that or we’ll just start jamming something when we practice and work it into a song, it really does vary! We do like to begin performing the song live to see how our fan base reacts to it and eventually take it up to Ben at Spider Studios to work on and record a final version.
S*KM: With all the success you have already achieved, where does it chart on your overall goals for the band?
Will: We are very happy with and appreciate everything that we have achieved thus far, but we are not where we ultimately want to be in this business. We will continue to work hard until we are distributed on a national scale. We all share a passion for music and would love to share ours with the world.
S*KM: What song in the Sighlo catalog are you proud of most for writing?
Will: Personally, I think “My Calvary” is my favorite. It is the most wide reaching song we have created.
S*KM: Which tune do you guys enjoy playing live, and what are some tactics you use to get the crowd going?
Will: I love playing “The Start” live due to the different parts for me to play that range from technical to easy. I can really rock out to it. As for crowd, on my side, I just try and show them how much fun I’m having!
Grim: For me, “X2″ is the most fun to play live. We usually use it as our opening song and it really gets me energized for the rest of the set. I think the crowd enjoys the guitar tricks that we have choreographed during a few songs but mostly, like Will said, we’re just trying to have fun and hopefully the crowd is too!
S*KM: Who are a few bands you guys really enjoy listening too that people might be surprised to hear?
Will: I listen to a lot of 311, Life of Agony, Type o Negative, Haji’s Kitchen, The Killers…..this could go on for a while!
Grim: Some of my favorites are As I Lay Dying, Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey. I think we all like a good variety of music in our lives!
S*KM: With a few Sighlo members holding degrees from THE Ohio State University and the band calling Columbus home, how excited are you for the Buckeyes in 2009 and what are some of your predictions? (Question written and answered before Saturdays loss)
Will: I just hope they don’t choke!
Grim: They have been playing better with Pryor and Beanie in the backfield, they make a pretty exciting combo to watch. I’m predicting a good stomping of Michigan at the least!
S*KM: Take a band vote who was the best action star from the late eighties and early nineties, Arnold Swarchenegger or Jean-Claude Van Damme?
Will: Is that even a question? Arny by far. If anyone hasn’t seen it, rent and watch Pumping Iron!
S*KM: Alright that just about does it, is there any need to know Sighlo news or events to inform the fine people of Saw*Kick about before we go our separate ways?
Will: Keep an eye on our Myspace for new tunes and design changes, also “The Start” is now available on Itunes, Rhapsody, Napster and Amazon so check those out if you don’t have it yet! Thank you Joey and Saw*Kick for the time and this interview!
You can learn more about Sighlo at www.myspace.com/sighlo and catch them live on Friday, November 7 in Columbus, Ohio at the New Port Music Hall.
Sighlo is amazing. I started listning to them back in may 2007, and ever since they have truly amazed me. The new songs are great and thier older stuff is great too. More people should listen to them. Im proud of how far they have come:D. I hope they do great for the musical world. much love
I have listened to Sighlo for a while now and they keep amazing me. Recently I have gotten to know the guys and they are a great bunch of guys. I don’t know any other unsigned band that deserves to get signed more than they do. They keep growing as guys and as a band and only great things are in store for them.