Below an interview with female fronted alternative heavy rock band Submission Red. Yvonne and David talk about the release of the new upcoming CD (Vision Tour), the cooperation with Ex Skillet guitarist Ben Kaskia, favorite food and much more.
(TMR) Hello to you from ‘The Metal Resource’ Holland, how are things going there in ‘Fort Lauderdale?
(SR) Going great guys. Thanks so much for having us.
(TMR) Will you Introduce yourself and the band please ! (name and instrument)
(SR) David Winfrey – Lead Guitar, Yvonne Winfrey – Vox, Rhythm, & some percussion, Aquila Correa – drums, Ryan Horner – Bass
(TMR) Can you tell us something about the origin of ‘Submission Red’ please?
(SR) David and I are married. I (Yvonne) was in a lot of bands before, just having fun. But David is a very serious musician and didn’t want to mix band and marriage. When he finally gave in (haha), people say that we have the best of both worlds…crazy fun backed by serious musicianship.
(TMR) Are you guys full time musicians ? If not what kind of job or school do you do beside the band ?
(SR) We’re pretty full time right now. Sometimes when we’re home, Yvonne works as a floor manager at a local music venue.
(TMR) Why the name ‘Submission Red’ ? Is there a story behind it ?
(SR) Submission Red comes from us submitting to the ‘red letters’ in the bible. We are not ‘preachy’ Christians, but we think that Jesus cut through a lot of the junk that the laws made. He just made common sense. Even if people choose not to believe –which is their prerogative- we think that if people just tried to treat each other based on those ‘red letters’, the world would be a better place.
(TMR) Who writes the music/lyrics in ‘Submission Red’ ? .. how do you get in the mood for writing music? And which bands/situations have influences you for writing music and lyrics ?
(SR) Most of the time I (David) just give Yvonne a bunch of guitar riffs/progressions. Those inspire her to write the story.
I (Yvonne) don’t really consider myself a singer to be honest. There are way better singers out there. I’m more of a storyteller. David’s riffs inspire stories out of me.
(TMR) How do you describe the music of ‘Submission Red’ the best ?
(SR) We always have problems with this question. For some reason, we’re like beer goggles. People see what they want to see. Whoever listens to our CD finds a song that’s for them and then they say that’s the kind of band we are. A metal head hears “Dirty Scene” and says, “Dude, they’re totally metal.” A headbanger hears “The Ticking Clock” and says,”That scream is sic!” Then a teenaged girl hears, “Inside” and says, “She’s emo, just like me.” The truth is we are all of those things and they all come out in different songs.
(TMR) How does ‘Submission Red’ stands in life till events in the world, religion and politics and in which proportion stands that till your music and lyrics ?
(SR) We stay out of politics and even religion –if you can believe that. We are about building relationships. The world needs changing for sure. And there are many jobs out there that can change the world. We just believe that its up to us to do our part in our own unique way. But Submission Red is not just about the music. We are truly a unique band that brings forth a positive message for all, especially the youth of today. David and I have fostered over 90 children during the course of our marriage, and have two adopted our two sons who now travel with us.
(TMR) For a lot of bands the lyrics are just a accidental circumstance, but for some bands they use
them to communicate ! ..can you tell us how that is for ‘Submission Red’ ?
(SR) Many “Vision Tour” songs were inspired by our experiences with foster children and ‘down & out’ youth. We love the outcasts–the unloveable. We also talk about the effects of war, on a very personal level. What can I say, David’s guitar riffs just speak to me!
(TMR) What is the message you want to bring with ‘Submission Red’ ?
(SR) It doesn’t take an organization or a church or a social group to start a movement. It can start with one person.
(TMR) Is there a highlight you will always remember, since the beginning of ‘Submission Red’ ?
(SR) We were all just driving through the mountains days away from home, on tour and we heard ourselves on the radio. As much as we try to act like it doesn’t matter, it’s really cool to hear that –static and all.
(TMR) And the worst thing were ? (if there is one)
(SR) When our former bass player (and very good friend) quit. That’s all we’re going to say about that.
(TMR) Name some of your favorite bands to play with live (past and future) and tell us why ?
(SR) We loved opening for Flyleaf and Decyfer Down.
In the future, the dream would be to open for the Foo Fighters, Sevendust, Megadeth, Iron Maiden or if they ever get Ozzfest together again, we’d freggin go crazy to play it!!!
(TMR) What is your favorite food and drink? for everyone personal (no idea why people always want to know that)
Yvonne: haha. People want to know this? uh…. Bit o Honey and Sweet Tea
David: Sushi & Red Bull
(TMR) First record you bought? (for everyone personal)
David – Iron Maiden, Live After Death
Yvonne – The Doors, Strange Days
(TMR) What makes you laugh? (for everyone personal)
David – “Are You Being Served”, “Benny Hill”, all Britcoms
Yvonne – My poodle Ozzy (he’s got a mohawk:), “The Office”, “Friends” and seeing people fall –sorry, it’s just funny.
(TMR) How do you prepare for a show? (for everyone personal)
David – Sushi & Red Bull
Yvonne – Vox warm ups, jumping.
(TMR) Favorite movie(s)? (for everyone personal)
David – Book of Eli
Yvonne – ALL Star Wars
(TMR) What is the dumbest question you have ever been asked? (for everyone personal)
(SR) On one of our first telephone interviews, Yvonne was asked if she is black. They said they couldn’t really tell from the recording.
(TMR) Do you have a life philosophy? (for everyone personal)
(SR) red letters
(TMR) Are you visiting many gigs by yourself and what do you listen to these days? (for everyone personal)
(SR) We really don’t get a chance to see as many shows as we’d like being on tour and all. But, we do like to check out the local scene where ever we go.
(TMR) Tell us about the hardrock/metal scene in your area please?
(SR) Here in South Florida, the metal scene is okay. I’m sure that some people who live here may say it’s awesome, but when you’ve been all around the country and see how passionate people are about their local music, I’m sorry, but South Florida just doesn’t compare. To be honest, the place we play the least is probably South Florida –not by choice though. We are even on rotation on some of the stations here too.
(TMR) How do you think about downloading music from the Internet
(SR) We don’t really care. As long as people get it and come to the shows. Our shows are pretty fun, in-your-face and intense. You can’t download a Submission Red show!
(TMR) What can you tell us about the ‘Vision Tour’ album ? (recording process, songs, label etc)
(SR) “Vision Tour” has been a long time coming. It actually started with Ben Kasica and Skies Fall Studio finding us years back. We started with a 5 song EP. Then about a year later, we added 5 more songs and got “Vision Tour”. It took a great deal of our efforts and resources to bring it to life. The good news is that the label likes it so much that they will be re-releasing it as our first CD under Dream/Universal records. Universal was very impressed with the ‘readiness’ of the album to be released and go to radio. We owe a great deal of this to Ben and Skies Fall!
(TMR) The album is produced by ‘Ben Kasica’ (ex Skillet), how did you come in contact with him and tell us about the cooperation with ‘ Ben’ please ?
(SR) Ben actually contacted us on Myspace a few years back. He and Skies Fall Studios have been great at getting the best out of Yvonne’s voice and her character along with creating that wall of guitars that we love. David’s with our fav engineer Nick Rad laying down guitars for days. Ben is also a great co-writer with us. He’s also become a good friend. He’s a really cool guy.
(TMR) And what about the (near) future, any plans ? (European tour maybe ?)
(SR) We’re always touring here in the states. But it continues to be a huge goal of ours to do a European tour. If we can find an agent there to work with our booking agent here, IT’S ON!
(TMR) Guys thanks for your time and the interview, we wish ‘Submission Red’ all the best ……Is there anything you wanna say at last? (any final statement ?)
(SR) Thanks again for asking us. Stay in touch with us through submissionred.com and facebook.com/submissionred. We try to talk to everyone that leaves a comment or message.
Weblinks: Official website / Myspace / Facebook
Below Submission’s Red new music video for Stand My Ground.
Related articles:
‘Submission Red’ signs with ‘Dream Records’ (March 2011)
‘Submission Red’ featured on ‘Whip Of Chords Radio’ (June 2011)
‘Submission Red’ to Release ‘Vision Tour’ on Dream Records September 13th. (August 2011)