Exclusive: Such Gold Interview

Such Gold is one of the most successful bands within the Pop Punk/Hardcore realm, with 3 releases and various international tours under their belts, there's no stopping the Rochester quintet. Read on to catch our interview with vocalist, Ben Kotin, where we discuss the band's eventful year, upcoming tours, and releases.

For the record, can you please state your name and role in Such Gold?

Ben: My name is Ben and I sing for Such Gold.

The band is currently on tour with The Wonder Years and Valencia in the UK - how're you enjoying this so far? Not being your first visit, would you say you've come more prepared?

Ben: So far this tour has been a blast. The Wonder Years and Valencia rock the
house every night. I would say we were a little more prepared this time and we knew what to expect more a little more.

You guys are also gonna be jumping on Polar Bear Club's Clash Battle Guilt Pride tour in late September, after wrapping up in the UK - what're you looking forward to the most about this tour?

Ben: I mean it's hard to say what I'm most excited about 'cause there are so many cool things about that tour. Polar Bear Club is from our hometown and we love that band so we've all been going to their shows for a long time. It's very exciting that we're finally getting to do a tour with them. We also love Fireworks and Balance And Composure so it's awesome that we get to play with them every night as well.

I was lucky enough to catch you guys on your Australian tour in February, with No Trigger. How did you enjoy your trip down under? Any plans on coming back anytime soon?

Ben: That tour in Australia was one of the most fun times in my life. Australia is such a beautiful country. No Trigger is another band that we've all loved for a while. Actually the first time I saw them was with Polar Bear Club a long time ago in a park lodge near my town and I was blown away by that whole show. We're working on getting back to Australia as soon as we can but so far we don't have any definite plans.

A split with Into It. Over it. was also released earlier this year. Some fans perceived the songs to be a little different to your previous releases - can we expect Such Gold's future material to sound more like these songs?

Ben: Our new material is a healthy mix of everything we've done to date but some of it has a new feel to it. We've put a lot of time into writing to make our new stuff as good as it can be. I think it's safe to say that if you like what we've done so far you'll like our new material.

2011's been quite an eventful year for the band, having toured various countries, coping with your incident, and going through a line-up change - how big of an impact would you say all this had on the band?

Ben: Honestly some of those things haven't affected us too much but adding Skylar has added a new element to the band. We all work on writing together so bringing in Skylar's input has been awesome. It's nice to have a fresh look on things.

So a lot of your fans have been wondering where the band currently stands in terms of recording. You've mentioned in the past that a full-length is in the works, how is this coming along so far? Could we expect a release early next year?

Ben: I can't make any promises about exactly when it will be released but I can tell you that we are recording it before the end of the year so hopefully it will be out by early Spring.



In January it was also announced that a split between yourselves and A Loss For Words would be released. AL4W recently stated that a November release was in sight - could you shed some light on this for us?

Ben: It is on schedule to be released in November. We have two new songs for that and I can tell you that the A Loss For Words songs on it rip. It's going to be another co-release with Mightier Than Sword and No Sleep Records.

You guys are involved with 6131 Records as well as Mightier Than Sword Records - what's it like working with multiple labels?

Ben: I think it's great being about to work with multiple labels. The way I see it is it's better to do that than look at it as a competition. There are a lot of cool labels out there right now and I like that we as a band and all the labels are growing together.

Of all the places you've visited during your time in the band, where would you say has stood out the most? Do any tour stories come to mind?

Ben: I would have to say that our tour in Japan stood out the most just because of the culture shock. Everything is so different there but we have such a good time and everyone was so nice. There is a funny story. It might not be as funny when I explain it but at the time I thought it was hilarious. We went to a Samuri castle on our trip there and for some reason the guy in the security office about a hundred feet away wouldn't stop staring at me and it made me a little uncomfortable. So I didn't know what else to do besides stare back at him. Then I felt that he was staring harder than me so I grabbed everyone I was with at the time and they all stood behind me and we all stared at him until finally he looked away and we had won as a team. He knew our stare was too powerful for him so he didn't look at us again.

The band's been touring almost non-stop lately, with what I imagine to be little free time. Personally, do you sometimes feel disconnected from the outside world?

Ben: Yeah I definitely feel that way sometimes but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I mean I fall behind on my favorite TV shows and rarely spend time on the Internet but I like it that way. Obviously I miss my friends and family but it makes me notice how much that shit runs peoples lives around me. And I feel a little more free being able to enjoy the things that are actually in front of me rather than being bummed about the things I can't do or have.

Thanks for your time! We really appreciate you doing this. Would you like to add anything else?

Ben: Thanks!

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