The Phoenix post hardcore troupe Common Wounds are this week’s featured Meet The Band artist. Their full-length debut is All Night Blood. Vocalist/guitarist Ian Lanspeary introduces us to his band.
Chad Bowar: Give us a brief history of Common Wounds.
Ian Lanspeary: Matt Martinez and I started playing together in the early part of 2016, not too long after both of our previous bands dissolved. He posted something on Facebook asking if anyone was interested in doing something in the vein of ’90s noise rock/post-hardcore, and that sounded right up my alley. After a few years, a couple of member changes, and some minor setbacks, we wrote and recorded an EP and played a handful of shows under the name Dead History. Then Covid hit and our drummer moved across the country, so we took that time to write new songs until the world opened back up. By then, we had a new drummer and a batch of new songs. At this point it felt like a great start, so we changed our name to Common Wounds, recorded and released an EP, and started playing shows again.
Describe the songwriting process for All Night Blood.
Our songwriting process is pretty linear. Songs usually come from an idea or two I have, like a verse and chorus riff, and we build the song around that, through jamming and collaboration. Sometimes it flows pretty smoothly. Other times it takes a while to come together, with songs not developing until we have stepped away and left the incomplete song alone for a while. We try not to overthink or complicate things too much, although it does happen from time to time.
What will be your strongest memory of the recording of the album?
For me, it’s just recording with Rippy (Zachary Rippy- Sound Signal Audio). It’s chill and laid back, and we all just get along really well. It makes the recording process a lot less stressful. Within the recording process, he had a lot of creative ideas and input that helped guide us in capturing what we wanted the album to sound like.
What was the biggest challenge in its creation?
We set some pretty tight deadlines with this record. As a band, we don’t always have the best sense of urgency with things, so decided to push ourselves a bit. In hindsight, it all worked out just fine, but there were definitely some tense moments we all had to go through. Coming up with lyrics is always a challenge as well. I usually don’t have too much written until we go in to record.
How would you characterize its style/sound?
I think it’s a pretty straight forward post-hardcore record. Our influence is fairly diverse, but rooted in a love of ’90s era post-hardcore, noise rock, emocore and hardcore. Coupled with a lower than expected guitar tuning; some songs are heavier, and some are more melodic. Overall, I think that’s the vibe.
What lyrical topics do you cover?
A lot of the stuff I write is from a personal/introspective position. Some songs delve into social/political themes as well, but I find the easiest things for me to write about relate to what I see and experience around me. I’ve been working through some mental health issues the last few years, so that tends to come though in what I write as well.
How did you come to sign with Protagonist Music?
Brendan DeSmet, one the owners of Protagonist, has been a long time friend of ours. He offered to release our first EP in 2023. We had a great time working with him on that release. When we told him that we were planning on recording an LP, he was eager to be involved and went above and beyond to get the physical release exactly the way we wanted it (layout, packaging and vinyl variants). He is a joy to work with and we are proud to be his 100th release! Protagonist has been a favorite label of ours. The release roster is extremely diverse, centered on DIY and Hardcore music, but heavily weighted on Brendan’s love of music. Every release has a personal connection to him.
What are your goals and expectations for the album?
We just want people to have the opportunity to hear it. If they like it, and connect with it that is even better.
How was the video shoot for “Mile Marker”?
For the “Mile Marker” video, Matt Martinez, our bassist, put together some candid footage of us wandering around downtown Phoenix, combined with live footage from a previous show, and imposed shots of the locations we used for the album art. I don’t think most of us realized he was shooting video, so it was a breeze! We also shot two other videos that included more performance, synchronization and “takes.”
What has been your most memorable Common Wounds live show?
Probably our first out of town show in Prescott Valley, AZ. Our friends in the band Ugly asked if we would come up to play there. Prescott is generally a pretty conservative region of Arizona, and the show was at a sports bar, so we really had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a really great show, and people genuinely seemed to be into it.
What are your upcoming show/tour plans?
We have our record release party at Eleven10 Motogarage (a DIY motorcycle shop) in Phoenix on October 18th (the album release date), and our first show in Tucson, AZ at Wooden Tooth Records on November 16th. Our work, family and life situations will not align with extensive touring, but the plan for 2025 is to do some shorter regional focused tours and one-offs or festivals. We plan on playing to as many new audiences as we can!
How is the heavy music scene in Phoenix these days?
The heavy music scene in Phoenix is constantly growing and thriving, and encompasses many sub genres. There is something about this town that nurtures heavy music. It is probably the heat! Gatecreeper released an amazing death metal album this year and is representing AZ around the world. Other notable bands worth checking out would be Skin Ticket, Live Longer Burn Everything, Life Ender, Pig City, Hard Luck and The Cause of Depression. That is just a small sampling, an entire article could be written about Arizona bands doing great stuff. We love our music community!
What are some of your non-musical interests and hobbies?
Most of my free time is spent hanging out at home with my wife, cat, and dog. I’m also an automotive technician by trade, so I’m constantly keeping up on the newer tools and technologies that are coming out. I was training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for a few years, but recently had to take a break due to some sport related injuries (getting old sucks). (laughs)
What’s currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Oh man, I’m not sure that most of the stuff I’ve been listening to lately qualifies as heavy. Most recently I’ve been listening to the new Jesus Lizard record that just came out. It’s pretty different from a lot of their other releases, but I like it. The newest Metz record is really good too. But I have been listening to bands like Chat Pile, Dying Wish, Incendiary, Chamber, and End here and there.
(interview published October 19, 2024)
