Enervate is one of my favorite bands to come out of the Midwest in a while representing the exploding DIY scene in Milwaukee. All I have to say about this band is if you don’t know them you’re going to be stoked on them by the end of this article.
I found Enervate initially because they were opening up for one of my favorite bands at the time, Buggin, at Schubas in Chicago. Like most hardcore lineups this one had five to six openers with Enervate’s set in the middle. I try to listen to all the openers before a show to hype myself up and get a sense for how the night is going to go.
The band had just released their EP “All Said and Done” and Don’t Need You was the first in their Top Songs section. I was chilling in my friends basement and we put the song on and immediately had an “OH SHIT these guys are sick” moment. The songs on the EP are heavily emotion driven with super heavy breakdowns and you’ve gotta keep your head on a swivel in the pit.
“My Own Piece of Mind” picks right up where their previous projects left off. Their hard nosed sound is driven by lyrics that exude anger and frustration coming from state of the community and the haters that pretend to be a part of it, and the feeling of being stuck in life with no way out. While the EP airs a lot out its also combined with a sense of optimism that through it all you can change your situation through determination. This sense of hopefulness comes through in a more subtle way as songs like Pass Me By and Keep My Flame show the band’s sense of self exploration both personally and musically.
I had a chance to catch up with bassist, Tom Hively, about the new EP and here is what he had to say about inspiration and behind the scenes process of recording the project.
Milwaukee has a really cool hardcore scene, but I feel like it’s not as well known outside of the Midwest. What was it like coming up in that scene and how do you feel like it helped to shape your identity and sound?
“Milwaukee has always been a scene where you have to work hard for what you want and nothing is handed to you. Whether it’s getting bands to come play here, finding venues to even book shows at, or to get people to come to your shows. I feel like Enervate has always kept that DIY mindset in the approach to the band. We started the band to play local shows and to have fun with our friends. Nothing more. And we are very thankful for anything that we get to do besides that.”
How did you guys get started?
Adam (guitar) and Sean (drums) had been jamming together a little bit in 2019 in between tours of their previous band Low End. I had always wanted to do a band with Adam so the 3 of us started jamming together. We had met Lan (vocals) the previous year and thought he would be the perfect person to front it. We recorded the first demo in Feb 2020 with plans to play the first show in March 2020 and well, we all know what happened there. By the time we were able to play our first show in September of 2021, Marcus (guitar) had joined us to solidify the lineup.
What is/was your song writing process? Where were you guys pulling inspiration from for the EP? What are your inspirations in general as a band?
“Typically, someone will have a song written (or at least an idea) and bring it to practice and we’ll all provide feedback / input. It’s a collaborative process for sure. A Lot of the times what we start out with is not at all how the song actually ends up.
I personally don’t write any of the music but for inspiration, we always pull from the NYHC sound but try to insert our own flair to it. We want our songs to be simple and groovy and get stuck in your head. We’re not a dance hard band but if you want, that’s cool; if you want to just bob your head and have a good time, that’s cool too.”
What was the recording process like? Who was the EP recorded with? Are there any good stories you have from the studio?
“We recorded the EP with Collin St Mary at 19 Stars Recording in Northwest Indiana. He has recorded everything we have put out thus far besides the first demo. I believe we were able to get everything done besides vocals in 2 days. Collin always offers advice / input but isn’t pushy or anything and just lets us do our thing. No crazy studio stories or anything but I did make Adam record the bass parts because I wanted them to sound better than if I did it.”
Songs like Pass Me By and Keep My Flame tease a little bit of a new direction for the sound. What was the intention there? What’s the vision for the sound going forward?
“We wanted to try something new without totally changing the sound up. Don’t worry, we won’t ever write a pop punk record or anything. But every now and again, Lan would throw in some melodic vocals live and we knew we could do something cool with it. We didn’t have a goal to do more melodic parts really, it just kind of happened. We want it to feel organic and not forced and I think we captured that feeling.”
Overarching themes are pretty strong and seems to be a fear of getting stuck, both literally and metaphorically, and a determination to not let people or circumstances get in your way. What’s the story behind this or if there are a bunch of things where are they coming from?
“Lan writes all of our lyrics but he actually provided some insight in our interview with Tyler from LDB Records and I will provide that here.
“I tried to write on topics that occupied my mind a lot in the time leading up to recording. No Turning Back was a song of frustration – people that love to critique things from the outside but claim to be in it. Never actually contributing to a solution and eventually moving on to the next thing to critique. Whether it’s hardcore, real-life shit, whatever. Pass Me By was a reflection of how I felt in my own life experience at the time, feeling stagnant. I wish there were cooler stories behind some of it, but that’s how this record developed lyrically. Felt a lot like venting”.”
It’s really cool you teamed up with Hold My Own for the title track. How did you guys get linked up with them/what was it like working with them? Any good stories there?
“We’ve known Anchit for a long time, I want to say like 2011 or 2012. I met Greg in 2021 when I booked Hold My Own in Milwaukee. We’ve played a bunch of shows with them and love their band and them as people. We wanted someone to feature on My Own Peace Of Mind and Greg was one of the first people we thought of. We asked and he immediately said yes.”
*All photos are from their first show in Chicago post relase.
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