Black Tide
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The members of Black Tide were originally trying to play on the Ozzfest this past summer in their local area of Miami, Florida. They were trying to play shows like most unsigned bands were trying to fulfill, but what they got was an opportunity to play the remainder of the tour.
The band members range in age from 15 to 19, with frontman Gabe Garcia being the youngest. For being as young as they are, they are gifted players and have surprised audiences on Ozzfest this past summer and now on the Avenged Sevenfold tour this fall.
Fans got a taste of Black Tide’s music with advance listens to “Shockwave” and “Black Abyss,”which are posted on the band’s Myspace page. Musically, their blend of 80s hard rock structures with guitar harmonies and tasteful soloing, with a youthful modern flare makes Black Tide a band to look out for in 2008.
Bassist Zakk Sandler and Garcia spoke to Blistering.com about their forthcoming CD, Light From Above, their experiences on Ozzfest and their futures flashing before their eyes.
Blistering.com: Is it a bit surreal being this unknown bunch of kids on Ozzfest to actually doing a tour?
Zakk Sandler: It’s definitely surreal. Getting to wake up in the morning and knowing you’re about to go out on tour with some of your heroes. I don’t think there are words to describe what I’m feeling.
Blistering.com: How long have you been together?
ZS: Four years now. Our drummer (Steven Spence) that we have now has been with us a year. The rest of us have been together for four years.
Blistering.com: So did you meet in high school?
ZS: I was in high school! The rest of the band was in middle school. Actually, with the exception of the drummer, we used to be enemies. It was me versus the other two in the band! We were not all yet friends. One of their first three shows at a venue that wasn’t a backyard was with us. They had no bass player. I was like ‘I’ll do it.’ I was going to do it temporarily. Here we are four years later, going on tour with Avenged [Sevenfold].
Blistering.com: You used to be called Radio?
ZS: We knew we couldn’t keep Radio because of trademark issues. You can’t trademark radio. We needed a new name and it had to be decent.
Blistering.com: Who came up with the name Black Tide?
Gabe Garcia: It was between the band and the label. We all liked it. After throwing down a ton of names, we came up with one that we thought was it. We thought it was cool and could relate to it.
Blistering.com: You’re all relatively young in age. How do crowds view that when they see you for the first time?
GG: I don’t think it makes a difference.
ZS:It’s just a number. We’re just going at it, doing the same thing as everyone else. We’re going through the same first experiences. It’s no different.
Blistering.com: (To Gabe) when did you start playing music?
GG: I started when I was nine.
Blistering.com: Are you still in school?
GG: I’m doing online school. You can do it for just about any grade now.
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