From: Brooklyn, USA
Sounds like: Torche, Quicksand, Hull
Website: www.MySpace.com/GoesCube

Thrash Hits verdict: This is a grand example of beardy metal and obviously it comes from the East coast of America. It’s doubtful that they’re going to make big waves on either side of the pond any time soon, but they definitely are dead cool. Check it out if you enjoy rubbing your chin a lot.

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How did you meet?
Matthew Frey [bassist] and I  started Goes Cube back in October 2003. We’d known each other since the first days of freshman year at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. That was in 1997. Kenny [Appell, drummer] and I, however, met each other much further back, though Kenny didn’t join the band til two years after it was formed (we’d used a drum machine for two years). Kenny and I played in our first band together. I was 12, he was 13. So this was back in ‘92, I think. We would play shows at “battle of the bands” and other type places. There was always this other band on the bill, which consisted of slightly older guys who were our buddies. That band always won the battle of the bands. And, they’re now known as Dillinger Escape Plan.

What made you want to start a band?
When I was 11 years old, I had a Nintendo joystick. I traded that for a really awful Cort electric guitar. I spent most of my time from the ages of 11 to 18 drawing various Fenders and Gibsons on my Trapper Keepers. All I know is that there’s something inside me that’s drawn to playing the electric guitar. I’ve given up fighting it.

Where did you grow up and how did it shape you?
I (along with Kenny) grew up in New Jersey. It’s informed how I drive, and how much shit I take from people. I feel like my geographic roots play into most everything. People always talk about “midwest values,” and I don’t doubt the values of the midwest. But, I also think the values of the north east (like New Jersey) are great, too.

With which band would your dream support slot be?
It’s cruel of you to ask us to pick one. Do you go with a contemporary like Mastodon, Isis, or Torche, or do you choose more of a classic like Snapcase, or Glen Campbell?

What’s with all those jumping-in-front-of-state-capitals pictures?
We are truly psyched to be going to all these different places, seeing all these different things. So from the get go, we wanted to pictures of us at the capitals. Somehow, we started jumping in these pictures. We’re like regular tourists. Except, we jump.

What bands do you consider as part of your scene or as your peers?
There are some bands who we’ve been so honored to play with and call our friends. We’d be honored to say we occupy space in the same scene as them. To name a few, they are: Hull, Constants, Giraffes, Jones Street Station, Freshkills, Austerity Program, Dub Trio, Valient Thorr, Red Beard… there are many others.

Are you worried about….shhh…the hipsters jumping on your bandwagon?
Wouldn’t that involve us getting more exposure? The whole hipster thing is both laughable and totally fucking aggravating. We’ve been around since 2003. For most of that time, using a distortion pedal was considered totally uncool in NYC. Now heavy music seems to be making inroads. Dudes are still walking around in the most embarrassingly tight jeans we’ve ever seen. I suppose the only scene or sound I associate us with is one that’s not necessarily metal or indie or rock or noise or anything like that. But rather: genuine people playing what they genuinely love. So if hipsters decide we’re amazing, that’s fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

What’s the best or funniest show you’ve played?
Here’s a funny/bad one We played at a pretty little bed and breakfast with Freshkills in Clinton, MS. There were a couple 12 -year olds there. Elsewhere in Mississippi, we played a place in Gulfport, which was a combination skate park, t-shirt printing press, and basement punk performance space. The place was packed, and everyone knew the words to our songs. That was an amazing one. O

Watch the video to ‘Goes Cube Song 30? by…err…Goes Cube

What have you got planned for the future?
Our CD release show kicks off our three week-tour, which takes us as far west as Denver, but also takes us pretty far north, too. That show is also significant, as it will be the farewell show of our bass player, co-founder, and best friend, Matt Frey. Matt Tyson will be soon taking over Matthew Frey’s duties. He’s a great friend to all, and we met him because he is one of our earliest supporters. He runs a great website called EarFarm. And back in 2006, after he saw our very first show with Kenny, he wrote about us. Later, he came on a national tour with us and documented the whole thing. So we’re a tight-knit group here, and our roots are very deep.

After this Spring tour, we’ll be writing new music, and playing some more shows. Matt and I are both married, so we’ll want to spend some time with our wives (mine, by the way, did the artwork for the record). But if people decide they love the record (shhhh, including the hipsters), maybe there’s a whole lot of great things waiting for us, that I don’t know about yet. All I know is that our next record is going to be amazing. Way better than this one.

What other band should everyone find out about?
I think everyone in the world needs to hear Jones Street Station. They’re not metal. They’re a folksy (at times), twangy (at times), soulful (at times) “Americana” band. Look, they’re a rock band. They’ve got some countryish tones to them, they’ve got some lighter moments, they’ve got some driving moments. I am absolustely convinced this band should be the most famous band of our time. Ben Kweller just asked them to hit the road with him for a few weeks out west.

If you’re asking about metal or heavy rock, it’s harder to say, but it’s certainly not going to do any harm if I tell you that our labelmates and buddies, Hull, are absolutely incredible. Their live show is staggering. Their songs are epic. If you’re into really long stonerish epic metal, where like two songs equal an entire 40-minute set, then Hull will completely own you.

Tell us a joke.
A particle physicist is racing to get to a lecture on time. A cop pulls him over and says, “You know how fast you were going?” The particle physicist says “No, but I know where I am.” I’ve decided to leave out the context, because I think it’s funnier without it. I just heard this joke on a PRI show called “Whad’Ya Know?” and some science writer told it. With the background she gave, it made the joke make sense, but it also made it into a har-har type dumb joke. I think telling it like this makes it better.

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Goes Cube’s debut album, Another Day Has Passed, gets its UK release on June 29 through The End Records. It’s pretty damn good - you might even see a review on Thrash Hits soon.