Go big or go home is still the battle cry of many bands out there. Ozzfest is not a local venue for sure, brother.

In a place that hip hop can be king, metal can have a hard time flourishing. Trip Six (vocals), Jimmy Wooten (drums), Chris Dorame (bass), and Ethan Vega (guitar) knew full well the uphill battle to be king in Miami, FL the first day they were officially GEARS. With a new EP, Pride Before The Fall, a new lyric video, and going out on the road, the guys are just a tad bit busy.

We got a chance to grab Trip for a few minutes to talk about all of that and even some unfortunate clothing choices back in the day. So, grab a bit of sun, check local listings, and snuggle in for a little South Beach love. Head over to our Twitter or Facebook and let us know what you thought about this or any piece.


NRR: Thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions for National Rock Review. What’s been going on with the band, Gears, so far in the early Spring of 2016?
Trip Six: Our pleasure man, thanks for having us. We are promoting our latest record, Pride Comes Before The Fall, as well as promoting our latest lyric videos from the record, “Take Away” and “Face Down,” and last but not least scheduling our next spring/summer tour.
NRR: So, not a lot is what I’m hearing, (laughing). You have a new lyric video out for your second single off of your EP, Pride Before The Fall. Since you mentioned it, talk to me about “Take Away” and why was it the next track off of the record?

 

 

Trip Six: “Take Away” is about going against your gut feeling, not listening to that voice of reasoning, letting something or someone get the best of you, and [being] mad at yourself for throwing caution to the wind. We wanted to show the world a harder side from GEARS.
NRR: When band first formed, how hard was it to be a hard rock band in Miami, FL where even metal bands like the native Neurotic November have a rap/hip hop edge to them?
Trip Six: First and foremost shout out to our homies in Neurotic November! As for music, Miami is a very diverse city. Metal bands had their glory here back in the late 90’s early 2000. Now EDM, Latin music, and hip hop are controlling the local music scene. You still have a great amount of good metal bands, however, the live music venues that accepted metal and hard rock are shutting down rapidly. As for GEARS, we’ve decided to hit the road as soon as we became a band, we didn’t do the whole starting a following in our own city because we already had a following from previous bands we’ve been in, the transition seemed seamless.
NRR: “Face Down” is your first single off the new effort. What made that song good enough to be the banner track?
Trip Six: We didn’t choose the first single, the single choose us. For me “FaceDown” is that one track on this record that hits that nerve of reality that a lot of us seem to have forgotten. Jimmy Wooten and I wanted to come out swinging hard from the gate, and that is why we choose “Facedown.”
NRR: We’ve recently lost a few big names in music starting with Scott Weiland and Lemmy to Bowie and Fry passing as well among others. Do you have any fond memories of their music or were influenced by any of them, by chance?
Trip Six: Rest in peace to the greats and iconic gods that have passed away… All the above that you’ve mentioned have played a great influence to myself as an artist. Scott with his stage presence and they way he controls the crowd, Lemmy with just being the epitome of rock and roll! Bowie for being a trendsetter to always make you think outside the box with his lyrics and melodies. Fry for his different styles of “pop music” and making me understand and like pop rock. I mean there’s a lot more influences that are living that inspire me, and I can go for days, but you can get an idea and an understanding of how these special artists have not only influenced me but have influenced the world. I’m certain that every artist that has made a career in music have been influenced by one of these artists mentioned above.
NRR: Tell me about the band. How’d the group get started, and how did you settle on Gears as your coat-of-arms?
Trip Six: Gears was initiated by a group of guys that were currently not happy with the direction of their former bands. We got together without knowing each other at all decided and to make music. After several phone conversation Jimmy Wooten and Tom Herres flew down to Miami to meet up with Eli and I. We rented a house, and we started throwing ideas around, three weeks later we wrote our first EP, Set in Motion, recorded and produced by Corey Lowery. Two weeks after the record was done we headlined our first tour, and the rest is history.
NRR: So, Set In Motion was your first EP and the trailblazer for Pride Before The Fall. What, if anything, changed or evolved from the first to second sonic offerings?
Trip Six: For me the songwriting and melodies got better. We didn’t rush into making Pride Before The Fall Ep. Don’t get me wrong I’m proud of how Set In Motion came out, however, with PBTF it was a step up if that makes sense.

 
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NRR: For sure. Some people, and even more bands, sometimes seem like if it wasn’t for their bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all. Was it ever close to having the plug pulled on this endeavor as a musical venture in the early days?
Trip Six: For me… no! Jimmy and I had a plan from the beginning of this project, and that plan was to continue at all costs. There was too much right outweighing all the wrong that was happening to us at that particular time. We have a strong foundation of family that support us and believe in us, for us to let them down would be devastating to our hearts. Even if we wanted too we can’t, it’s not about us anymore.
NRR: Is there a moment, that thinking back on it now, in the your career, with any band now, that you can’t help but still feel a tad bit embarrassed about, makes you laugh about despite yourself, or just still makes you shake your head in disbelief? A Spinal Tap moment if you will, that you’d be willing to share with me?
Trip Six: For me, in my younger days I was in a band called “Pepper Pot” and it was a “new wave” band with the big hair and sequence shirts and pants. Songs were about girls and only girls; yeah, not a good look!
NRR: With festival season right around the corner, where would you be a good fit in a show’s lineup for you guys?
Trip Six: Of course we would love to be added to any festival related to rock music. Rock On The Range would be a blast; OzzFest would be on top of my bucket list.
NRR: I’ll hand over the bedazzled National Rock Review microphone, don’t mind the faint smell of tequila on it, is there anything you’d like to plug or mention before Thirsty Thursday starts in earnest here at the cantina?
Trip Six: Please visit our website for anything and everything related to GEARS. We look forward to seeing all of you at a show in your town in the near future. Thanks a million to National Rock Review and Erich for the cool interview.

 
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About The Author

After getting the photo bug in the far, past days of black and white film, Erich continued to develop his eye for photography which lead to stops in the sporting, art, wedding, and eventually concert music worlds. Now, doing more writing for National Rock Review, he has entered into the journey of getting to know the artists and the industry, not just the faces on the other side of the lens.