With an extensive combined history, a rapidly growing fanbase, and a mindset not based in micromanaging, the members of Many Eyes are going out there and just doing the damn thing.
Keith Buckley has been out of the public eye since the demise of famous rock band Every Time I Die. After some encouraging words from Hatebreed’s vocalist Jamey Jasta, Many Eyes was born, and it’s a culmination of years as a leading voice in the hardcore community. There’s no one else that sounds like him. The second you hear Buckley’s vocals on a track, it’s unmistakable. This band may only have three songs available currently but they’ve put in their 10,000 hours.
Credit must also be given to Charlie Bellmore, because the riffs in these three Many Eyes songs are top notch. On tracks like “Future Proof,” the guitar swells into the bridge and makes the final chorus feel earned. When “Revelation” comes on, the guitar tones command your attention and respect. Nick Bellmore on the drums is also a stand out addition to the band. He opens “Mystic Cord” with a drum fill that gets more furious as the track progresses. The band is showing the world they’re not going to phone it in; it’s heavy, it’s powerful, it’s fun, and to put it as simply as we can, it’s great!
We had the chance to chat with Keith Buckley at Irving Plaza in New York City before they hit the stage. Not only that, but it was the band’s final stop on the War All the Time Tour opening for the New Jersey legends that are Thursday. Talk about a night!
First question is about this Thursday / War All The Time Tour – how has it been going?
It’s been incredible! It’s hard to believe this is really the last show. I feel like Many Eyes is still hitting our stride. We’re ready to go for more. Today was the first conversation I had with Geoff [Rickly, Thursday] and Walter [Schreifels, Rival Schools] all at the same time. I feel like we’re just getting the hang of hanging out again. It’s nice, but unfortunately it has to end. We’ll do it again… I’m sure we’ll do it again sometime.
How does it feel for a band when you have three songs out and over 80,000 monthly listeners?
Yeah, it’s crazy! People keep coming up and being like, “So you guys have three songs, how long is that set going to be?” No, man! We have other songs, we just haven’t released them. It feels wild, but it’s cool to see people learning them and people studying the footage they see online so they know words to songs we haven’t released yet. You can tell that’s going on because more people are singing along to unreleased songs. It’s nuts. We’re thankful, very thankful.
Is the plan to drop an EP or an album next?
I think we’re going to talk about that when we get home. We have an EP recorded so we’re just going to figure out how to doll it out and get everybody what they want after this tour.
You’ve been very vocal that Jamey Jasta has helped promote this band. Has he seen Many Eyes perform in front of an audience yet?
He was in Connecticut at the first show we did. I know he was upstairs – I didn’t see him in the pit. Until I see Jamey Jasta pit for us… [Laughs]. The tour started in Buffalo, but we did a secret warm up show in Connecticut first and Jaime was there. He was at our first show, absolutely.
Being in the music industry for 20+ years, how have you seen the industry grow and evolve around you?
I’ve seen it fall apart. If that’s what they consider growth, I mean… it is completely in shambles now. I think it’s a really good time for the artist to start getting some autonomy. I know that people are going out and promoting themselves on Youtube, Soundcloud, and things like that, but that’s not really what I’m talking about. I’m talking about live music, getting out there, giving people this experience back. So much got lost after the pandemic; I still see the shock waves resonating throughout the music culture. I think now without labels really having any idea how to handle artists it’s probably the best time to be an artist right now. It’s great.
The underground guy can have more of a chance now.
More of a chance, more of a reach, more stamina as far as the longevity of their career. That’s not always good, but if someone’s heart is in it, you can watch their career take off and know they did it themselves. It’s very cool.
When you’re performing live, you’re playing songs people haven’t heard yet. How do you get them hyped and get them ready when they may not know the lyrics?
That was the concern at the beginning. The answer is just write good riffs. As long as you’ve got good riffs, it doesn’t matter if they know the lyrics – they’ll bang their head, move their feet, get into the song, and connect with it. Then later they’ll connect with the lyrics. As long as you connect with them through the music, through that tone, then it’s good.
Being a big fan of The Damned Things, is a third album a possibility?
I don’t know. It’s always a possibility. There’s no one that loves The Damned Things more than The Damned Things. We love being in that band, we love getting together and playing shows. It’s just if the schedules are right. Many Eyes is definitely going to take priority for a long time as far as I’m concerned.
Awesome! What kind of vocal warm ups do you do when you go on stage? With Many Eyes you’ve got a lot of stuff that’s clean and a lot of stuff that’s harsh.
A lot of it is just staying hydrated to be quite honest. This will be my vocal warm up for today – this interview, I swear, is all I need to do. I just need to make sure all the muscles are working and then that’s it. Then you just don’t get in your own head. You just get out of your own way and make sure that you’re ready to go and do what you know you can do. Stop worrying about these little micromanagement details that people get thrown over.
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