Serianna
An Interview with metalcore band Serianna
by Aaron Manogue
December 2010
Serianna
Maximum Ink: Describe your music to me as if I’m someone who has never seen or heard you perform before.
Chris Ferraro (Drums): I would say it’s honest, intense, hard-hitting metal-core.
Kris Meyer-Ruef (Guitar): Riffs, breakdowns, Sing-alongs, everything we love about metal!
MI: Is there a message that you’re trying to portray with your music?
Chris Ferraro: Our lyrics strive to push people to challenge themselves and their surroundings. From our experiences in life, nothing comes easy, and that’s what makes life worth it.
James Milbrandt (Guitar): Everything we write is as a whole, each of us constantly challenging each other to play/write to the best of our abilities.
Kris Meyer-Ruef: There’s so much negativity in the music scene these days, I guess we hope to set an example with our music to stay positive, and look at live critically; spread tolerance and awareness.
MI: Who are some of the national bands you’ve shared the stage with?
Serianna: August Burns Red, Chiodos, Miss May I, Attack Attack, Bless The Fall, Bury your dead, Misery Signals, Emarosa, Suicide Silence, and we played side-stage for Disturbed/Killswitch Engage Music As A Weapon Tour.
MI: Who would you say are some of your influences are? Are these influences evident in any of your albums/songs? (Examples)
Serianna: Bands like August Burns Red, As I Lay Dying, Misery Signals, and After The Burial, Veil of Maya, Our Last Night, Killswitch Engage, Parkway Drive, Thrice, and For The Fallen Dreams are huge to us, they are all very intense bands
James Milbrandt: Basically bands that can keep their heavy parts heavy yet their pretty parts pretty, play a huge impact on me.
MI: With thousands of local bands out there, what sets you apart from the others?
Chris Ferraro: Our passion and belief in the music scene, I know that sounds cheesy, but music has played such a big role in all five of our lives. We want to reach people the same way we were reached when we were younger. Shows were my escape when I was younger, I didn’t see bands because they were “famous” I went because music spoke to me.
James Milbrandt: We put everything we have into writing each and every song. We rack our brains down to every last note. I think our determination and work ethic to make every song better then the last sets us apart.
Kris Meyer-Ruef: I see kids at shows less and less, and the ones that still do come out don’t seem to care. I think a big part of this is that the bar has been lowered on new music out there. I like to think that with as much time as we put into our songs, that we are raising that bar again. I think we have the spark to get kids pumped about good metal again.
MI: Why did you guys choose to play metal?
Chris Ferraro: It’s musically the most intense, and lyrically the most honest. Nothing gets your blood moving like a good metal song!
Chris Nutting: I like the emotion behind it, as well as the intensity of metal. No other genre can compare.
James Milbrandt: When I listen to music, the thing that always catches my ear is guitar riffs. I’m a huge fan of riffs and breakdowns and no other music out there grabs my attention like metal does. That…and I’m rebelling against my parents! (I’m just) kidding!
Lee Milbrandt: It’s super intense! Who goes to a concert to just stand. That’s what CD’s and DVD’s are for. We strive to make the live show fun and exciting for anyone that comes out. Even if you don’t like our kind of music, you’ll appreciate our live show.
Kris Meyer-Ruef: You know…I never really bothered with guitar lessons and I grew up listening to metal. Riffing just made the most sense to me when I started playing. To be honest, I don’t think I could play other genres at this point if I wanted to.
MI: Anything you’d like to say to your fans?
Chris Nutting: We want to say thanks to the fans for all of your support so far. The music scene in Wisconsin seems to be down, so it’s awesome to still see kids coming to see us play. Without their support, we would be stuck playing in one of our garages for the rest of our lives.
Lee Milbrandt: It’s a hard genre to become successful with. We have had lots of haters with heavier music. A few of us are from a town that doesn’t support heavy music, but we stand strong in what we believe is good music.
Kris Meyer-Ruef: Man, we’ve made friends and lost friends. I think image is overplayed in metal these days, and often times kids bail before your 30 seconds into a set because our ears aren’t stretched, we aren’t wearing basket ball shirts, and we’re not here to “spread the hate”. Standing by your convictions in the industry, and staying positive isn’t always easy.
MI: Do you have anything big coming up within the next couple of months?
Serianna: Actually, we are finishing up our first full length album that we will have done by the end of December that we’re very excited about. This new music is a pretty big step up from our last EP that we released, so we can’t wait to share it with everyone. We also have some tours coming up in January in support of our full length so see if we’re coming to a town near you!