#11 – Burdened Hearts – RichardThinks Band Of The Week

This week’s RichardThinks Band Of The Week is Burdened Hearts from Baltimore, MD! Forming in November of 2013, they have had quite the debut year in 2014 with the release of their EP, “Lost In Myself”, and performing shows throughout the East Coast. We sat down with Mickey of Burdened Hearts to discuss their formation, writing for “Lost In Myself”, and much more. Check out the complete chat below, and be sure to tune in every Tuesday for a new RichardThinks Band Of The Week!

For more information on Burdened Hearts, be sure to check them out on their official Facebook page and follow them on Twitter!

1) First, can you please introduce yourself & tell us your role in the band.

Hi! My name is Mickey and I play bass and toss a few vocals in the band.

2) With so many bands emerging in today’s scene, how do you believe Burdened Hearts stands out?

What I feel makes Burdened Hearts stand out so much as a newer band in today’s scene involves our heart for community. We aren’t just some local band who is trying to get big. We don’t think we’re better or worse than anyone else; we simply want to help reestablish the local scene in the areas where we grew up listening to music. Yes, touring and all is great, and we’d love to start to do it, but we want to rebuild and recreate the impact made on us years ago in our local scene for others. We stand on a stage as five broken guys who desire to share nothing more than our hearts.

3) Can you give us a brief history on Burdened Hearts ?

The band came together rather quickly in October/November of 2013. Tyler and I actually hadn’t even met until the first time we took promotional pictures together, haha. The five of us quickly learned that we share a bond through this project though. If I had to tell you how it all happened, the best word I could sum it up with is “calling.”

4) How did you pick the name for the band?

The band name was actually something that had been laid on my heart for a few years now. I was waiting for the right people with similar interests to share it with, and it’s really cool to see it come into the scope of things. The name is literally our message, our aim, our ministry and our hearts: We’re all Christians, but we were all lost and broken first, and this Christian walk not only heals, but gives us wisdom and guidance on continuing to live and allow God to make the best of that brokenness. We want to show people that we, too, are people and we’re hurting and we hurt, every day. We just want people to relate, and let our lives be the proof people need. That long ramble is essentially how the band name is what it is.

5) If you could pick three words to describe your band, what words would you pick?

Relatable, Quirky & Approachable. Those about sum us up.

6) What has been the biggest accomplishment for the band to date?

Honestly, we haven’t done much! Hahaha. We’ve been avoiding playing shows and such to get this EP released. It’s taken a bit more work than we thought it would take, but we’re stoked with the outcome! We recently played Empire’s Winter Battle Of The Bands and actually came in 1^st place. That was a huge blessing and it was very surreal and humbling too, being that it was our first show. We were able to use the money from that to purchase a van for touring and such, so there’s that!

7) What is your favorite part about your scene?

Everyone we play with in the scene or have played with (in past bands), are like family. We see the guys in ANN PERKINS at almost every show and we love those dudes to death! My favorite part about the scene would definitely be the sense of community and acceptance from among peers. It’s growing, but the scene I’m used to is like a family.

8) The band released the first song, “Temptations”, awhile back. Lyrically, what inspired the song?

The song “Temptations” was inspired by…well, temptations. We have specific struggles we may walk through or relive when we write. That particular song is about sexual sin and idolatry, to some degree.

9) “Lost In Myself” your debut EP, will be released on March 8^th. Can you tell me a bit about the writing and recording process for it?

The writing for the EP was actually done back in December. We came together, and Caleb had already had a good amount of these songs written. Tyler and Caleb were able to collaborate to make those even better. Casey and I added to the writing process a bit as well. We more so worked with finished products and tweaked bits this time around, for the sake of time. Nick handled all of the vocals, including melodies and such and we later went to record vocals with Brandon Cagle (ex-Whitechapel). All of the instrument tracking was done with Caleb in Frederick.

10) How does the album art for the EP correlate with the title?

The girl in the center of the photo is actually depicted as joy. The surrounding is cold, barren to some extent, yet almost homey-feeling. Imagine a local park or casual place you’d go to when you were younger. A place that inspires nostalgia at random times. We try to find joy but sometimes get caught up in old vices and places and it becomes easy to lose ourselves. The girl, joy, is in turmoil.

11) After the EP is released, what’s next for the band?

After the release of the EP, we’ll be trying to play as many shows as we can! We’ll be booking a few tours in the summer as well! We’re looking to try to meet as many people as possible.

12)  Anything else you would like to add?

If anyone reading this ever needs any prayer, or would even like to talk to us, be friends, criticize us, whatever, feel free to contact us. Message us, email us, call us, talk to us, you are our priority. Our hearts are for you to know you aren’t alone, you are loved so much, and you have been made so worthy of that love, and that love is all you will see from us, so please, don’t be afraid to be a part of this family.  Be blessed! Thank you, Richard, for your time with this interview. It truly means a lot, my man!