Tampa post-hardcore outfit LIMBS is breaking out of the Bay area in a big way thanks to a 30-date run with Chico, California genre heavyweights Hail The Sun.
The tour stops at Crowbar in Ybor City on May 30, and two members of the band — vocalist Chris Costanza and guitarist Jordan Hunter — caught up with CL to talk about getting booked for national tours, what the Tampa community means to them and why they’re so good to their fans online.
Read our Q&A and listen to LIMBS’ new EP, SLEEP, below (download it for free by clicking here). Watch a new video from the crew below as well, and get more information on the show via local.cltampa.com.
You’ve been playing some small shows at The Bends. You’ve opened up for Saosin, but what does the band have to do differently as you get ready to play some bigger rooms opening for Hail the Sun?
Chris: Well I'm definitely going to pack more socks on this tour...that's number one. Fortunately, we've had more time to prepare for this stint than we did when we toured with Saosin last year. We have a fully automated light show now, and a lot of other new elements added to our live performance. We also collaborated with some rad local artists to create a good deal of new merch that'll be available for the tour.
How’d you guys get on the tour?
Chris: Our management actually submitted us a little while back. We were stoked when we received our tour offer for it. We were even more excited when we learned that the tour would be coming through Tampa on May 30 at Crowbar.
You sent a new song out in a recent newsletter. Talk about that approach and LIMBS’ relationships with its fans.
Jordan: As a band, we obviously understand the necessity of social media and having content out publicly on the Internet. That being said, we also feel there’s a sense of detachment with just releasing music to the masses and being like, “Here you go. Enjoy.” Considering, as well, the perpetually limited reach bands have with listeners over platforms unless they pay ad money…it’s easy to lose all sense of personalization in your presentation. We (LIMBS) didn’t want that. In fact, we were adamantly against it. We always want to be a band that’s as directly connected (literally and metaphorically) with our listeners as possible.
Our website and newsletters provide us with exactly that: a direct connection. It started as an idea we tested, and quickly became something that proved very beneficial. So naturally, when we decided that we wanted to exclusively release a new track from our most recent EP, SLEEP, a week before we knew it’d be publicly released, we all agreed the newsletter was the best way to go about it.
You have some great friends in the community. Talk about the support from music makers in your hometown and what that’s done for your career.
Jordan: You’re absolutely correct — we have some truly amazing people from this area that we’re fortunate enough to call friends. It’s pretty surreal how many insanely talented artists refer to Tampa Bay as their stomping grounds. It was honestly providential that we managed to become associated with our producer, and again with our manager, due to all parties originally hailing from this area. Our overall support system from the Tampa community is nothing short of astounding, and we’re so humbled by it. It means more that words can really portray to have established artists giving us encouragement, all while continuing to crush their own markets,respectively.
Lastly, can you talk a little bit about how you two end up together in the band (Chris and Jordan are two fifths of LIMBS. Other members include Daniel Nelson (drums), Josh Kowalski (bass) and Tyler Martin (guitar)? What are your goals, struggles, etc?
Chris: I'm a Florida native; been playing music here for the last seven years. When my project prior to LIMBS broke up in 2012, I began releasing music solo under a new project name. After releasing music for a while, Daniel joined up (beginning of 2013). Josh became involved not too long after that. Jordan joined up with the group in 2014. He and I immediately began formulating our path as a band, and figuring out a clear vision as to what we wanted to accomplish.
In 2015, the project rebranded to LIMBS and began touring. Tyler joined on as our other guitarist shortly after that. The goal of the band from the get go was to play fast/energetic music that was as fun to play/watch as it was to listen to. I think we've maintained that for the most part over the years while letting it naturally progress along the way. Thanks to our behind-the-scenes team (manager, tour manager, producer, videographers, etc.) we've managed to build up, we are able to focus even more energy on creating the best music we can.
Jordan: I'm originally from Pensacola, Florida. I moved to Tampa Bay after the summer of 2012 to attend college. I had grown up playing in bands back home, and even had a small bit of touring DIY circuits from old projects prior to moving. In 2014, I was introduced to Chris. I ended up filling in on guitar for a couple of the project's shows shortly after meeting, and soon after that joined full time.
