Band Info.

Perspective

     In the wake of music with negative outlooks plaguing the airwaves stands Perspective, a band full of messages of hope, love, and happiness. “We realize that the world is a terrible place to live in, but it’s not like we had a choice of where we wanted to live in the universe. The choice is the world’s inhabitants changing their outlooks and creating hope for others with weaker resolutions. That’s what Perspective is about,” states Matt Wood, the group’s lead singer.
     The theme behind the Memphis-based band was simple to find when the guys first came together over a year-and-a-half ago. The band has gone through many face-changes throughout the first six months, but decided to stick with the same winning combination since it’s origin in the early months of 2003. Two months and five songs later, they were asked to play shows at The New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street. “We’re four suburban dudes with problems like everyone else, but we keep those personal. From the way we see it, there are enough songs out there right now consisting of the same clichéd problems we all have. What people want now, or will want soon, are songs of hope and reflections of moments that we all want in our memories,” explained Zack Smith, the backbone guitarist of the group.
     After six months of headlining the New Daisy Theatre consistently, opening up for signed bands such as Hot Action Cop, having numerous interviews with newspapers and an interview with the local alternative radio station 93X, Perspective went into the 747 Studios in Memphis to cut their first five-song E.P. “It was such a fun experience being in the studio with these guys,” said the drummer Brandon Earl, “it was just fun watching our videos and seeing how well we got along and how we were just there supporting each other through the mess-ups. We just grew closer as a band and I think that’s definitely a good thing if we plan on doing this for a long time to come.” First, they recorded a crowd favorite called “Before You Know”. It tells a story about hope in a failing relationship, that even after all the pain and break-ups, a better relationship will be manifested. The second song, Hourglass, was their most requested song at 93X this year, following up the successes of their singles in 2003, “From the Blue” and “Cascades” (which were re-recorded and placed on the E.P.). The last song they recorded was “Breathe It In”; a song about spiritual clarity overcoming lost love. “My favorite song on the C.D. is ‘Breathe It In’,” claimed bassist Zach Kirk, “ I’ve always loved summer-penned songs. It just starts off at a slow, healthy pace, and pretty much accelerates to the ending with finesse and consistence. It’s one of those songs that make you question yourself and the band’s talents, like ‘How did we write this?’, you know? But we’re still growing in our talents and maturity…”
     And indeed they are. Just four months after the release of their first E.P., they claim that the new songs they’re writing showcase their talents as collective songwriters more than the E.P. “We’re just now learning to crawl,” says Brandon Earl, “The things these guys think of and write down truly leave me flabbergasted. We were truly blessed to have the same ambitions and mindset as one another. We all equally contribute to these songs, and that’s apparently rare.”
     That’s where the group came across the name of their band. It’s not about one person’s view; it’s about people coming together with the same outlook and sharing progress through pain in song. It’s about people having a hope in the world. “One thing I realized when we picked the name,” claims Matt Wood, “ is the responsibility behind it. Just the single word itself, ‘perspective’ has so much meaning attached, but I now have the appropriate confidence in myself and the guys that we can prove that we can have a multi-meaningful band name and be able to balance it out with music that fits it comfortably. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish. We hope that one day, when we’re all old, we’ll be able to look back in content and pride on what we accomplish in the days to come.”