US band Beloved were recently on tour here in the UK and Void Avoidance managed to catch up with them and chat to lead singe, Josh Moore.

Void Avoidance: Your Name is?

Josh: Josh

VA: And you're with?

Josh: Beloved

VA: Good Stuff! Who would you say your influences are?

Josh: Musically? As a band musically we are influenced by U2 just 'cause I love the way they view their views and how it's about more than music. Just musically I'm really in Ryan Adams. I've been listening to a lot of that...he's from North Carolina. It's like awesome.

VA: It's quite surprising 'cause your music is a wee bit heavy

Josh: A little bit heavy...a wee bit heavy, but I guess It's good that way, I really like a lot of hard music, but I don't listen to much. I love it all, I just don't listen to it.

VA: So were you guys always Hardcore?

Josh: Yeah we've always been like kind of heavy, kind of hard.

VA: What do you call it? Hardcore or Heavy?

Josh: We call it Melodic Hardcore 'cause it's still...it's still heavy but it's got melody to it. Melody is Melodic.

VA: Good as Emo maybe?

Josh: Nah...it's kind of like, nan...we don't use that. If it helps people identify with us...something like that

VA: Did all you guys learn your instruments to Hardcore Music?

Josh: Em...I guess I got a guitar when I was 11 or 12 and I liked Greenday, stuff like that. But I guess Matt, our lead guitarist, he grew up playing guitar to Metallica, stuff like that and our drummer used to listen to like death metal. So I guess we did kind of...I guess we did grow up playing like hard metal.

VA: So how long you guys been together?

Josh: This December it'll be five years.

VA: Full time?

Josh: Oh we've been together full time...maybe...2 and a half years. I haven't had a job for about a year and a half. Yeah we've been on tour non-stop for about 2 years.

VA: How many members are in your band?

Josh: There are five

VA: Take 2 of them. If you could describe 2 members of your band in 7 words, what would it be?

Josh: 2? 1 of them or both in 7 words?

VA: Seven words each

Josh: Joe our drummer in seven words...urn...he's the...oh hold on...smartest mildly retarded guy I've ever met. That's Joe and Dusty...

VA: What does he play?

Josh: He plays guitar. He's the quickest...he's the quickest not retarded guy.

VA: Ok, What is the difference playing over here and playing over in the States?

Josh: This is different, besides tonight's show, 'cause tonight's show is an exception cause all the other shows you're touring for the first time, 'cause it's the first time we've been over here. It's like people never knew you, you just played. It makes you play harder and it's makes you want to play better 'cause you know that these people are watching you. Tonight people were like knocking and going crazy but all the other shows just make us play harder. It's challenging.

VA: Right, the big question - we ask all the bands this - Who is Jesus?

Josh: Who is Jesus? Jesus is the son of God...God Incarnate. He's the perfect love. Perfect human. Perfect Sacrifice.

VA: What is it like to be a Christian on tour?

Josh: Em, I think it's the best thing in my life, but as far as the tour is concerned it is also the hardest thing to maintain. Maybe the hardest thing or maybe the most challenging. Its like a day to day thing which is cool 'cause we're made new everyday which is cool too.

VA: How do you kind of keep on track?

Josh: A big part is the guys I have with me 'cause all the guys believe the same thing I do and try to up hold the same stuff. A lot of the time it helps to have people around that aren't believers just because it sharpens you, know that they are looking at me and I know what they think about me and I've kinda got to hold my ground.

VA: Does your music have a message?

Josh: Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'd like to think that our music with us...with us put aside, in ten years time from now and somebody wants to listen to our music, I'd like to think there is a message of faith and a message of hope...yeah I there definately is. I think someone could listen to the songs and see that maybe we're looking for something bigger and better than us. Yeah just like Faith in song.

VA: If you guys weren't gonna be in the band, what would you be doing?

Josh: Like if I wasn't in is band or in a band at all?

VA: At All

Josh: Urn...I dunno...'cause this is the only thing I want to do. I want to be a husband. Become a dad and become a husband.

VA: Are you getting married?

Josh: No, No...I don't even have a girlfriend. I was just saying I'd like to be a dad.

VA: Is it hard trying to keep a girlfriend

Josh: Yeah...yeah it's real hard. I mean, three of the guys in the band have really really serious girlfriends and I think a big part of that is that they had their girlfriends a long time before they were in the band. They had a foundation. I can't really start anything and jump up and be like go where I've only been able to talk to a few people at home like once the whole time I've been here. Yeah it's kinda hard. It's real Hard.

VA: Is that a temptation for you?

Josh: Girls? No, No, not with me. I've never- I'll talk to girls that are really nice but I'm never interested. I' don't really want to look for a girl at a show, not that I wouldn't find one, but it's just not where I would personally look for a Lady.

VA: Right, talking about your CD release. You released the old one and it's just got one extra song. What was that about?

Josh: That song is called Into Your Arms. We recorded it for the original CD but ended up not using it, we always had it on Solid State. Well they always want to come and do something with a re-release. So we changed the art a little bit and we said, "Hey we have this new song" So we put it on.

VA: So who are you with now?

Josh: Solid State

VA: Also on the CD, why do you open with a sound clip from the Witches of Eastwick?

Josh: How did you know that?!

VA: I (Steven, Wake N The Dead) recognized it when I heard it

Josh: You recognized it? I'll tell you what, I've never seen the film but I was walking up Dusty's stairs- Dusty is our guitarist- and the TV was on, and back in the day all the hardcore - I mean like 2001 back in the day then I was like 17/16 and all the hardcore songs I listened had sound clips and that was like the big, so I was just walking up the stairs and I heard this clip come from the TV. Never saw the movie. Never even saw what it was and it was like the coolest thing ever. So we looked up the satellite and we found the movie and Dusty found it and put it on tape. So I've never seen the movie, never seen that part. I don't even know what the woman looks like but I just thought it was a really cool way to start the song. That's awesome.

VA: So what are your plans for the future?

Josh: Em dunno man, we don't really have a plan. We're trying to plan but I would say for Beloved the - I mean definitely the plan is we want to write new songs 'cause we don't have any new songs and I've got a lot in me that I want to put in song. The most important thing is Joe, our drummer is getting married November and I think right now that's the most important thing for us. We just got to get him to do that; he's moving out for the first time and getting married. It's the biggest thing ever in his life, so I would say that's the most important thing right now and we're just gonna plan around that.

VA: How do you guys write your songs? As a band?

Josh: Yeah we write as a band, ya see that's the hardest thing because we haven't written any songs 'cause we only got to practice five or six times the whole year because we come off tour and it's like we don't wanna practice. We're lazy and when we do get together it's so hard 'cause rather than playing much together you just have to get into the groove of things but we've always written together. Maybe I'll have a guitar bit I'd bring to practice and that would start the song and we play until we got stuck then we'd come back the next week with another guitar part and go from there and that's kinda how the songs mix between that, but we've always written altogether. So it's like now, it's like I'll sit there and try to play guitar for hours and try to write a song but that's not how it works for us.

VA: When do we expect a new record?

Josh: If we can go home and we can get going- Awesome. If we can have a record out as soon as summer and maybe the latest by like September that would be awesome.

VA: And get it to the UK?

Josh: Yeah...record or touring? Record? Yeah we're on a record company Golf, Golf in the UK, but yeah it could probably come out and maybe we can arrange it like sooner 'cause I dunno how long it took. I don't know think it came out until a long time after.

VA: We (Wake N The Dead) Ordered them off the net to get them. It's easier to get them from the Southern States than it is to get them here.

Josh: Well then we'll plan this one better.

VA: Who does your CD artwork? It looks awfully similar to Starving Eyes guy; you ken he does The Beautiful Mistake and Further Seems Forever?

Josh: It's a different guy, but I know what your saying. The guys from Astorid Studios, they actually used to work in Tooth & Nail. So we know them and we'd meet them before and we really wanted them to do our CD. They do a lot of Tooth & Nail stuff. They do like everybody's stuff.

VA: So how did you end up associated with Tooth & Nail? They've not exactly got the best rep in music business.

Josh: How did we get associated with them?

VA: Well-Not many people are complimentary of them.

Josh: You know what it is, a lot -I dunno what is. Are you saying like bands?

VA: All the bands we've interviewed, not one of them have said any complimentary about Tooth & Nail.

Josh: Actually, um, I'm really happy with it because when we were a younger band we signed when I was probably 18/17 and like, I think in their part it's smart to sign younger bands 'cause they like get to grow but at the same time they take a chance on bands like us. They put a lot of money into recording and doing all that. They really gave us some chances as a younger band and I mean I wouldn't say anything bad but some older bands, like I don't wanna say name but some of the older bands that were really unhappy with Tooth & Nail, they probably signed bad contracts back in the day 'cause they didn't know and they got stuck in this kinda crappy signing, maybe too they've been expecting to much, like we've never made any money off of CD sales 'cause you have so much to pay back, like they front you so much money and you can't expect them to get money. I dunno if that's a big problem with money but the only way that bands are better of level would make any money is touring, which I dunno if you'll make any money from....but hey, whatever.

VA: Do you expect to come back?

Josh: I would like to come back in the spring.

VA: Bring Demon Hunter or someone with you

Josh: Are they coming over here?? Dunno.

VA: They should!

Josh: They're good man. Dead Poetic toured with them. They are dead good.

VA: Aye, they're really good

Josh: We tried to come here 2 times with Norma Jean but it never worked out

VA: Yeah Norma Jean are good. They played here last time

Josh: Yeah we'll probably come back with them. That's like our best friends and we've toured with them a million times, but we've never toured with them here. It makes sense. When you do this last thing, pan over to the lovely couple over by the water. It would be the perfect fade out.

(Interview is late at night outside Glasgow Barfly, over looking the river Clyde)

VA: Nah that's just kind of pervy.

Josh: Oh they're about to kiss, about to kiss...any more questions?

VA: Nah, Thank you very Much