Interview with Mike Florentine- Voice of Generation Underground

J- Tell me a little bit about the band because I know you guys are fairly new. When did this all start? What led to you wanting to be in a band? 

M- The band's been around for almost three years now. We used to be called Kold Blooded but we changed the name of the band back in June of this year to get a fresh start. We have been playing shows pretty often since early 2016 and we have no plans of stopping anytime soon, this is only the beginning. I think what led to being in a band was me being around heavy music for a good amount of my life, so I think wanting to get into music just came naturally. Also, no one else in my family was ever a musician before so I kind of wanted to break that stereotype.

J- Mike, tell me some of your influences. I know you’re pretty young, so growing up what were you listening to?

M- When I was growing up my Dad turned me on to AC/DC around 3rd or 4th grade and that pretty much started everything for me. But, when I got Guitar Hero 3 for Christmas one year- that was a big turning point for me. It really opened my eyes to everything else that music has to offer. That game got me into Slipknot, Disturbed, Rage Against the Machine, Slayer, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Guns N Roses, White Zombie and many more bands like that.

J- Speaking of being young, I’m pretty sure you’re only about a year or so younger than me. What are you up to now? Are you going to try and focus on music?

M- Yes, nothing else in the entire world is more important to me than being in a band and making it big one day, haha. I'm not in this for the money or the fame though- it is an added bonus. I'm in the music industry because of my love for music.

J- Does Generation Underground play out? When did you first start playing shows? If you’re playing a show, what does your set typically consist of?

M- We play out all the time. If we have a stable lineup we usually will play at least once a week, if not more. It just depends on what's available with the venues that we play. Our setlist usually consists of 3/4 originals and about 1/4 covers. If you attend one of our shows you're certain to hear us play “Killing In The Name” by Rage Against The Machine and “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor” by Drowning Pool plus some of our original material.

J- Your debut EP ‘Slaves To The World’ is set to come out October 13th. Is this your first release or did you guys have singles out prior to this?

M- We put out two singles back when were called Kold Blooded- one was called “Slaves To The System” and the other was “Nightmare Never Ending”. We ended up re-recording the 2 songs and putting them on the EP. After we re-recorded those 2 songs, we felt that “Nightmare Never Ending” was the strongest song on the record so we chose that as the lead single and put a music video out for it as well.

J- Tell me about the EP! How long has this been in the works for? Was there any influence behind it?

M- The EP has been in the works since late 2015, but the bulk of the writing was done from January through early July of this year. Most of the stuff from 2015 never made the cut but it was a good starting point and it definitely helped make the songs the way they are now.

J- Describe the sound of the EP. Also, what would you compare the sound of your band, overall, to?

M- The overall sound of the EP is very angry, pissed off and straightforward. I wrote just about all of it while I was in High School which I hated with an absolute passion. So that's where the majority of the lyrics and anger come from. The record is definitely something that will always be very close and personal for me. If I had to compare it to another band or two I always tell people that are music is pretty much Rage Against The Machine meets Parkway Drive.

J- Upon its release, are you planning to do any shows to help promote it?

M- We're planning on doing a whole bunch of shows before and after the record comes out. It just hard to say what's going to happen at the moment because we're in need of a guitar player. If you're a serious guitar player out there and you're reading this please reach out if you're interested, haha.

J- EP aside, what’s next for you guys?

M- Well after the record comes out we're hoping that we can get signed to a record label and hopefully be able to tour the world for a long time. We've been in touch with a few labels that have said they are interested and also a few management companies as well, so we're waiting to see what's going to happen. Fingers crossed.