We hit the USofA again today, this time country music territory, to heard from all four members of Borderline Natives…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
Bobby – We’re from all over, but currently we’re in Nashville!
Ivan – Been in Nash since I was 3
How did you meet?
Bobby – The same way all great romances begin, online. Kevin was hunting for a band since he had already lined up a gig at a brewery here in town. We hit that show without a rehearsal just thinking “man I hope these guys don’t suck, and learned the songs.” The show was awesome, we were all kinda blown away at how it just came together. That was the start.
Ivan – Jake from Free Throw introduced Kevin and I, I later filled in for a gig and now I’m here!
Kevin – it all felt so natural we just vibed. we always talk about how good of a first show that was.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Bobby -The band has been through some different incarnations, but in its current form we’ve been together for about a year now.
Kevin – yeah this past year has been incredible, the band really became something that im personally very proud of. everything before was a just test on how to do it right.
Before you get sick of being asked… Where does the band name come from?
Bobby – We all come from different parts of the country, except Ivan, he grew up in Tennessee. The cool thing about the scene here in Nashville is everybody came here for the same reason, and nobody has an ego about it. Musicians here know how bad the grind sucks and they help everybody out when they can. It’s a community that makes you feel like you’ve been here forever, hence Borderline Natives.
Kevin – it’s also just if anyone feels out of place in their life then they by extension are a Borderline Native.
What are your influences?
Man, we’re all over the board. Our music is heavily influenced by the pop-punk giants that are Blink-182, All Time Low, The Starting Line… but we like all kinds of stuff, you can find influences from just about everything.
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
Bobby – I think the best word to describe it is “organic.” One of us tosses out an idea with a couple chords and in 20 minutes we’ve put a song around it. We’re not sitting at a computer all day thinking about how to tweak this or that, we just let it come naturally. Kaleb especially is a badass at this. We come up with a structure and look at him and say “give me something mid-tempo and bouncy in the chorus” and he instinctively knows exactly what we mean.
Kevin – We don’t really have dry sessions, if one of us wants a song done that day it happens
Ivan – I think what makes us unique is that we’re not overthinking things. We’re just 4 sweaty dudes hanging out in Kevin’s room “having fun”, if you catch my drift ;)
Kevin – Ivan perfectly summed up every practice.
Do you have any particular lyrical themes? Life, love, whatever fits
Ivan – Live, Laugh, Love or whatevs.
Kevin – I write about a lot of darker themes, i know people think about this stuff so i wanna talk about the not so cool part of what goes on inside someone’s head along with all the Love songs there’s a few about loss of unity, isolation and constant pressure to try to feel ok.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
Bobby – We’ve played a dozen shows probably, not bad for about one year when we just got started and decided this is a thing. Our live show is raw and full speed ahead. We want people to react to the tunes lyrically, but also be able to jump around and experience what the heart of punk music is.
Kevin – we want everyone there to know they are involved in the show and that they are the reason we are there. Energy and chemistry are major points for us.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Bobby -With Borderline Natives… it is alleged by some that I may have been getting into it at a show, and stepped on Kevin’s cable and ripped the input jack out of his amp that he JUST got… in my earlier life there was a night that involved cheap beer pitchers and me on a bass drum. Thankfully it ended in a good pic and no damage. Aw, to be young again. haha.
Kevin – WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALLEGED? that totally happened! it still falls out also this didn’t happen at a show but, bobby loves breaking the new stuff i get, a few weeks ago i got a new guitar and he dropped it. case in point dude please stop.
Ivan – The wildest thing I’ve ever done was chucked a Piñata (filled with candy) mid set into a packed venue for Cinco de Mayo one year. I passed out sombreros and made it really festive.Super Fun show!
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Kevin has an affinity for ‘72 Telecaster Deluxes, especially his Chris Shiflett sig. He plays that through an Orange rig. Ivan has a killer Strat and a Jaguar that he plays, on occasion an SG, and through one of his Fender Amps. I have a gear problem… Jazz basses, Precisions, 4-strings, 5-strings… usually though I’m in love with my late 90’s Stingray bass through an Ashdown rig. Kaleb will play the crap out of any drum set you put between him. At our first show (keeping in mind we hadn’t rehearsed) I stepped on to the drum riser in between his crash and ride cymbals as he hit both. That was the first, last, and only time I will do that.
What are your plans for 2020? Recording a full-length album, we’ve put together enough songs that we should have something to really be proud of. After that it’s just getting shows all over the place so people can come check this thing out for themselves!
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before! Ivey would be an easy choice, since that’s Ivan’s other band. I’ve got some buddies in a killer band back in Denver where I’m from called REDLANDS, I’d love to take them along with us.
Ivan – I think it’d be really cool to open up for Free Throw. I would plug Early Humans (Nashville) as well
