Eight Octaves: How was the recent concert in Bangalore for you guys? How did it compare to your other shows?
Mark: It was incredible! The fans were amazing and from the very beginning of our stay in India, everyone was incredibly nice and hospitable to us. The show was considerably larger than most of our headlining shows in the US, and in terms of fan reaction it was pretty insane. At one point Spencer got a huge circle pit going near the end of the set. It was special.
Eight Octaves: Have you heard of any Indian bands, if yes, which are your favourites?
Mark: I can’t say I have, to be honest. Well, I do know the band Skyharbor, which features a couple of our friends – and I do dig them quite a bit. I saw a couple pretty impressive bands the night we played as well, though sadly I can’t remember their names.
Eight Octaves: Progressive metal is definitely up the trend now and you guys have your own signature blend of polymetric grooves and soaring melodies, how did it all happen? Tell us about the experiments and how you arrived at this ‘ unique’ style of yours.
Mark: Well from the start I think it’s always been a matter of writing what comes naturally to us, and creating music that ultimately we want to hear and play. There’s never been any really specific end goal artistically that we pointed to and said, “OK, we want to be exactly this”. What we sound like now I think is just a reflection of all of our creative styles jammed into one vehicle. All of the songwriters in this band have his own style so that accounts for the varied material.
Eight Octaves: It has been about two years now since your first full length album ‘periphery’ released. How has the journey been? How do you think ‘periphery’ as a band has carved a niche for itself since then?
Mark: I think we’ve found our own voice and creative style, definitely – but that’s not to say we can’t evolve and change as time goes on. To us, that’s almost the most exciting part – that we’re a prog band and that that term basically defines us a constantly evolving band. The journey since the first record has been amazing. I wasn’t around when it was released, but I can tell you that no one in the band really expected it to take off like it did. We toured like crazy in support of it and for one record to put us where we are now was sort of unprecedented for us. It’s been a great experience.
Eight Octaves: As a band, what do you think is the ‘key factor’ which you share which has kept all of you together? What do you think makes a band successful?
Mark: I think it starts with the fact that we’re all friends first. The lineup that we have in place is seriously just consisted of a bunch of dudes who hang out, haha. That’s how I met everyone. Any time you have that dynamic, you have something immediately going. There are many other factors you need, of course – but I see so many bands full of hired guns that eventually fall apart because they don’t know how to communicate, debate amicably, or just be around each other all the time. The biggest component to longevity in a band is the ability to work with others and not be a diva. That aspect is pretty simple.
Eight Octaves: ‘Periphery’ has toured extensively and you guys have even performed with big names like Emmure, Devil Driver etc. Share with us few instances which made that particular concert a ‘special’ one.
Mark: I’ve loved the bigger festivals we’ve played this year, like this one, Download and most notably Manila, where I came back to my home country of the Philippines. My favorite tour thus far has to have been with Dream Theater, in Europe earlier this year. That’s the kind of thing you dream of, and DT has been a big influence to everyone in the band. There were so many standout shows on that tour too – Budapest, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, and Wembley Arena in London.
Eight Octaves: Your band has undergone a lot of line-up changes. How do you think that has affected the way ‘periphery’ sounds to the audience?
Mark: I wouldn’t consider the lineup changes to be that many. If you look at the lineup on the debut album, only 2 members are different; it’s a bit of a misconception that we sort of have this revolving door lineup. We’ve been fairly stable for the amount that we’ve been through since the release of the debut 2 years ago. I do believe that the lineup changes have changed the way we sound, definitely. Myself and Nolly being the new additions, we bring our own creativity and voices to the table and while we’re just pieces in a bigger puzzle, the idea of having a more democratic writing style was wanted from the start. So what we’ve got now is a band where literally everyone contributes creatively.
Eight Octaves: “Passenger” was one of your singles released this year. Some insights that you could share with us about the composition?
Mark: I wrote that song with Misha years ago, as it was originally intended for a project that Misha and I had called Haunted Shores. When I joined the band, our first impulse was just to turn it into a Periphery song as it was a favorite of all of ours’, and it fit the Periphery vibe very well. As far as the song goes, I wrote most of the riffs, Misha added some of his own, and he and I arranged it and finished it at his studio. It was one of the easiest songs I think I’ve ever worked on, because the ideas were so natural – and like almost always Misha and I vibed off each other really well when it came writing the rest of the song.
Eight Octaves: The League of Extraordinary Djentlemen” was definitely a huge success last year. This being your first European headline tour, how did it feel?
Mark: I had not joined the band yet, but the reaction the band got in Europe was great and more importantly, it laid the groundwork for future shows in Europe. Many of those venues were sold out and it showed the band that it had a strong following abroad. It was a somewhat turbulent tour though – Jake broke his finger on the UK leg of that tour and had to go home early, and nearly everyone on that tour got very sick. I don’t think the band has fond memories of alot of that tour, haha.
Eight Octaves: How do you see ‘metal’ music in today’s scenario? How do you think it has changed over the years?
Mark: I know alot of people like to bash the current state of metal – in fact, hasn’t it always been “cool” to always hate on what’s out and current right now? I hear alot of really awesome bands and records coming out now, and it always refreshes me. I think metal is constantly evolving in so many ways, but in that manner it’s just staying the same – evolution in this or any type of music is healthy, and it’s what keeps the fanbase growing.
Eight Octaves: Will we be seeing Periphery again sometime soon? Would you like to give a message/shout out to the fans?
Mark: I certainly hope so. India was an unforgettable experience for all of us, and it’d be too good to pass up if we were ever offered another opportunity to return. Hopefully we can see more cities next time! But keep your eyes peeled…. we’ll definitely be coming back sometime in the future. And to all the fans who have given us love, support and your attention, THANK YOU. It was amazing meeting some of you in Bangalore — we’ll be hangin’ out again soon!
