Texas In July | Staring Into The Horizon
A young guns, Texas In July, laid some pretty stable foundation to build off of while still attending High School. That foundation included a deal with CI Records, an EP, a full-length, and a very heavy-hitting single. Now graduated and staring at nothing but free time on the horizon TIJ has transitioned to Equal Vision Records and will be hitting the road hard this Fall, then sitting down to record a full-length which we can expect this Spring. Here is a name you can get used to hearing.
What have the last two years looked like for you guys?
Ben Witkowski: We were in high school still, balancing doing homework and weekend shows. But since June 2010, all of our members are officially out of High School. So now we are taking on full time touring. It’s definitely a change from the past two years, because while attending high school we weren’t able to do too much, but we tried as much as we could during the summertime.
You guys have a clip up on your page right now of a track that will come out on your full-length sometime this spring correct? Tell us a bit about what we can expect from that record.
BW: Our new track “Uncivilized” is actually not going to go on the full length that we are preparing to record. But what I can say is that the sound of the song is what we are aiming for. We are trying to accomplish a more melodic, big, heavy sound, while sticking with our original Texas In July roots.
What is most important to you when you sit down to write new music? What is foremost in your minds?
BW: We really try to capture and maintain a certain emotion throughout the song, so that everything flows together. Whether the song is happy, sad, or angry we try to maintain consistence of the natural feel for everything we write.
How did the name Texas In July Originate? You are from PA right?
BW: Yes we are from Pennsylvania, so sometimes our name throws people off. What we wanted to do with the name was have something very original that no one would have. During the process of picking a name for the band, our lead guitar player Christian went to visit family in Texas, In July. So when he came back, it got brought into conversation and we came to a consensus that it should be our bands name.
There is so much music out these days and especially in the heavy scene it is so easy to sound like everyone else. What do you feel sets you guys apart in this scene?
BW: I guess it can be easy for bands to sound alike, but in my opinion there is always someone in the band or something about the band’s appearance or sound, that can make them unique. When we write our music, we write exactly what we would want to hear. We also have a good amount of melodic leads and rhythms, and our vocalist has an angry lower range of vocals, this could set us apart from other bands? But you never know, it’s always someone’s opinion on what your band sounds like.
So far what has your favorite memory with the band been?
BW: The best memory of the band has to probably be going to Europe for a month with each other. It was generally just a great experience for us, setting aside playing shows everyday we saw things together that we have only ever dreamed of seeing; it was a great bonding experience and brought us closer together.
In your opinion, who is coming up that we should keep our eye on right now?
BW: Our good friends With Life In Mind, they just got signed to our first record label CI records. They are a bunch of great dudes and they put out awesome jams.
What are your plans for the next several months?
BW: Well, we leave September 3rd for a US tour with This Or The Apocalypse, and we get home October 17th. Then after that we are taking a little time off to finish writing our record. Then we are heading into the studio sometime in mid November, till around the holidays. Then after the ball drops and 2011 is in gear, we plan to hit the road almost immediately, and start off the New Year right! 
