Crossing The Limits chat about the themes and influences of upcoming EP

From musical influences to the vast underrepresentation of female-fronted bands at music fests, I chatted with Crossing The Limits. Their excitement about their new EP, Perseverance, showed just how passionate they were about what they’re doing.

What type of messages are you hoping to convey in your new EP?

Empowerment really comes to mind. I hope when people listen to Won’t Settle they walk away from the person that isn’t giving them the same respect, I hope when people hear reverse they think Fuck You to the person they loved that hurt them so bad and find closure for their own sanity. There are songs that talk about being strong enough to go it alone sometimes, sometimes you don’t have anyone in your corner and you need to trust yourself and believe in yourself, it’s so important to keep it moving, no matter what bad comes your way in life.

What were your inspirations for “Won’t Settle”? For the EP? And in general for your band as a whole?

I was dating this girl at the time of writing Won’t Settle, I literally wasn’t interested in anybody for a while, I’d just come out of a relationship, and she was the one person I was really into. I felt like I was opening up to her a lot but never getting anything back. she was Emotionally cut off, I got really fed up of it all and took it out in the song. Inspirations for the EP are coming from a place of being broken down but choosing to keep your head up and keep going. It’s choosing to find hope when everything seems hopeless. Our favourite bands inspire us, bands who play with passion and energy inspire us.

What are some of your favorite bands that have influenced you?
State Champs, Neck Deep, Don Broco, Against The Current.

What bands would you compare your sound to?
I’d say our band is for fans of State Champs and Against The Current.

What’s it like to be a female fronted band in a scene that doesn’t necessarily have the best track record for treatment of women?

Honestly, it’s a bummer to think about. It annoys me to see so many festival lineups with so few female fronted bands. I wanna see that change so much.

(Note from the interviewer: Festivals, especially Vans Warped Tour, have been recently criticized for their lack of diversity especially in regards to gender equality. With Warped Tour’s last run came a severe lack of female fronted bands and even less appeal to women overall.)

Rachael, what type of challenges, if any, have you faced as a woman in the music industry?

Thankfully I haven’t faced anything too bad so far, besides being on lineups in the past where I’m being looked at like a piece of meat rather than for what I do is annoying but I’m not the type to take any shit from anybody, I’ve got that on my side. If I feel disrespected by you, then you’re probably gonna know about it.

How long did it take you to create Perseverance and were there any challenges along the way?

We wrote the EP over about the course a few months. We had a bunch of songs to decide from. I’d say the challenge was to not be so hard on ourselves, we wanted the best songs possible for the EP, but that kind of pressure in your head can make your creativity come to a halt. We had to learn to let go and not overthink things too much.

Take us through your songwriting process.

I write most of the time in terms of lyrics, or when something happens to me that touches a nerve. I’ll have them stored on my laptop or my phone then when Tom comes to me with a song idea I fit my lyrics around it. Obviously, it all depends on the vibe of the music as to what I’m gonna use lyrically. We then will take it to the other guys at practice and it evolves from there. Sometimes we can just write a song off the bat in a practice room, we don’t have a strict way of writing songs, but it usually will start with a riff, some lyrics, and roll from there!

Are there any songs that didn’t make it on the EP? If so, how did you decide what you wanted to show the world?

Yeah, there were a bunch that we just didn’t feel fit with EP. We choose these songs because they all have a strong message of having hope and being strong. We want our fans to feel uplifted by our music. We’re really proud of this EP.

On the message of having hope and being strong, do you think the alternative/pop-punk music scene is doing enough to enforce this message?

I think so, yes. A lot of my favourite pop/punk bands write honest, relatable music. What I love about pop/punk is the song can be talking about something sad, but the punchy vibe and the way it comes across is like a “fuck you I’ll be fine!” kind of feeling. I love that.

What are your goals as a band for the future?

We wanna tour the world, gain a bigger fan base and write more music. We’re just gonna keep working hard and doing what we love and hope for the best!

Any advice to younger musicians?

Practice, stay focused, work hard, and dream big, you never know what could happen.

You can get Crossing the Limit’s new EP– Perseverance– on April 6th and find them on Twitter @ctlbanduk. Additionally, check out the band’s most recent release “Reverse” below.

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