ecently signing to Strike First Records, Portland Oregon’s A Hope For Home isn’t pulling any punches on their way up the progressive hardcore latter. This is a band whose inception into the scene was marked with a tragic loss of a founding member.
Their music reflects struggle and questioning but ultimately perseverance and triumph. The latest record, The Everlasting Man, has been pleasing audiences in the Northwest since late last summer but now with a wide release through Strike First, the boys are hungry for more.
Touring behind the concept album and graciously opening for acts such as Wrench in the Works and War of Ages, A Hope for Home couldn’t be more excited about what the future has in store for them. We talked with guitarist Matt Ellis a bit about the past, present and future of A Hope for Home.
“A couple of us were in different bands throughout high school, not really taking anything seriously. I left to go to college and do my own thing and a couple months in I get a call from Kyle, who I knew was not doing too well, and he basically was like, “dude, we need to start a new band. Come home, drop out of school, andlet’s do this!” And I agreed for some dumb reason (laughs). We basically just continued on from there, through Kyle’s death, to be where we are now.”
Founding member, Kyle Cooke was diagnosed with cancer in his early teen years and struggled with it greatly throughout the band’s early years. Starting in his legs, the cancer even took one leg before eventually spreading too close to his heart to operate. Kyle Cooke passed away on August 5th, 2006.
“Kyle’s death really encouraged me to continue with making music in this band. Just as our lives have to continue when a loved one passes on, I really felt that I owed it to Kyle to keep making music, and keep going on.”
A year later, A Hope For Home’s remaining members, guitarist Ellis, vocalist Nathan Winchell, guitarist Tanner Morita, bassist Dan McCall, keyboardist Eric Gerrard and drummer Ian Vidovic, soldiered on to record Here, The End in McCall’s home studio.
“Looking back (on that album) I can see how much God really formed us in those days to be something none of us really imagined, and uprooting us into a scary place of uncertainty, but in His plan.”
Fast forward to the summer of 2008. After dozens and dozens of hometown shows and smaller tours around the Northwest, A Hope For Home immerses themselves once again into finding a their sound as the band they have become. The result of another session in McCall’s home studio is The Everlasting Man, a concept album based on the G.K. Chesterton novel of the same name.
“The Everlasting Man is a really cool book wherein Chesterton basically gives a whole world history that culminates in Jesus Christ, and what that means. I really feel that the church today emphasizes feelings and emotions and how good God makes you feel, or how wonderful it is that Jesus will love you even if you’re a jerk on one day. Which are all valid statements, but did we forget just how radical and important the concept of Jesus is? His very existence turns what it means to be a human, on this earth, right now, upside down. Each song signifies an important event in biblical history and how it shifted our entire consciousness as a people, to culminate in the physical being of Christ, and our unity and purpose in him. That was the point of the novel, and that was the purpose of our record.”
The album’s credibility spread quickly and eventually caught the eye of Strike First Records, a subsidiary of Facedown Records. A Hope For Home was signed shortly after and has been touring in support of the record pretty much consistently ever since.
“I can’t say enough good things about Jason and the Facedown/Strike First team. It has been tough assimilating onto the national level, especially since most bands on our label don’t really sound like us, but it has been a challenge we are all stoked to take part in.”
Their progressive sound has drawn comparisons to Haste The Day, Means and Living Sacrifice with their challenging lyrics ethereal messages. The chemistry between Ellis’ backing vocals and Winchell’s surprisingly deep tambour is a rarity in today’s scene, which just further goes to show these guys’ potential. The Everlasting Man is a result of years of hard work, chaos, tragedy and triumphs. A Hope For Home has an agenda and they won’t be silenced anytime soon.
“I guess we just want people to walk away with a deeper understanding of what it means to live in this world. And to realize there is so much more to this world and our lives than what we can see. And that goes for the Church as well. There is so much more to the Gospel of Christ than just feel good emotions and a couple metaphors here and there. I never really consciously tried to sway anyone’s world view with this, but I hope I could reinforce what I see to be true and real and maybe that would inspire someone else.”
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