Garrett Gutierrez of Rapture

On Tuesday night, I interviewed Garrett of the spirit filled hardcore band Rapture, from Los Angeles, California. Garrett and I spoke about their experience with the label, the band’s upcoming album, and some other cool stuff!

Could you give a quick background on the band?

We all came together in the summer of 2014. Richard and I (Garrett) came up with the idea of starting a Christian hardcore band. The goal from the start was to always share the message of our lord and savior to those who did not know it or wanted a relationship with god. We did not have a drummer. So a couple weeks later Richard had gotten back to me regarding Tony our drummer. We set up a practice and pretty much hit it off from there. We did not have a bassist at the time so I asked my cousin. We’ve been together since. And have been going strong for 3 years.

Alright. So 3 years? Man it feels like you guys have been around longer. It’s like since I’ve been into this scene.

Haha yea 3 years since 2014. We do feel like it’s been longer. We’re pretty much family.

So the band has released two EPs and a single titled “Once to Die” (awesome song btw). And I think there’s a new album coming out. Have you guys released any other material?

Yes. We released Trials in march of 2015. Followed by our second release Persevere in August of 2016. Then we wrote once to die and we’re very eager to release it! We’ve gotten great feedback on it. We are currently writing for a full length but have not released anything new since but we hope to in the next coming months!

Sick! Speaking of “Once to Die”, you guys were on my compilation, Metal From the Dragon Vol. 1, which is why I’ve listened to this track a lot. Were you guys aware of that?

Yes we were! We got word from David of OTA and then I quickly told the guys! They were very excited.

I’m glad to hear it! So I’ve listened to the track several times. Is there a lyrical theme to it?

Well the meaning for the song is kind of straight forward, the Bible says that it is appointed for man once to die in Hebrews 9:27 so basically nothing in this world is certain but what is certain is that we all have one day, that appointment with death and after this we all meet face to face with God and have to give an account for how we lived our lives, and basically I’ve lived my life without God and everything that this world offered to me wasn’t enough because it all passes away.

That’s poetic. I need to read that verse. So you guys are signed to OnTheAttack! Records. How has that experience been?

It’s been pretty good so far! David helps us with CDs and such like putting our music online like iTunes and Spotify. Also some booking and promotion here and there. He’s been very kind and generous.

That’s good. He’s been helping me out a lot with setting up interviews and sending me reviewer packages. I really appreciate it. Shout out to David of OTA!

Yea for sure!!

You guys seem to have gained some ground and still are in the scene. I remember looking for articles about some of my favorite bands and seeing you guys pop up in random places. What are your thoughts on this?

So cool to hear. Yea we try very hard to maintain and stay relevant in the SoCal scene. Being a Christian band isn’t easy but we make it work and play where we can. Weather it’s Lancaster, San Diego or up north in San Francisco, we spread the message through our music and lyrics. We’ve made friends with a lot of people. Met so many new faces. We usually pull our own weight as far as merch and recordings. We all pitch in. I call it the recycling process. When merch runs out, make new merch. Same with music. Is it’s good. Then we record and release it. That’s process helps us stay strong and going especially in hardcore.

That’s very old school, DIY, spirit-filled hardcore style. Like Unashamed.

Yes very much!

Yeah. Man they were a great band. Anyways sorry, back to you! Do you guys have any tours coming up? Or do you just play locally?

As of now. We only play locally. Touring has always been a dream of ours but unfortunately it’s very difficult. We work full time jobs. Have school and busy with church. The farthest we’ve been is up north to San Fran. One of the best shows we’ve ever played. But touring is always on our minds and something we definitely want to do in the future.

You guys are still in school? Like College? Or high school?

College. Tony (our drummer) is the youngest in the band. He just graduated a couple years ago.

Ah ok. What are some local Christian heavy bands in your area?

That’s a good question. There aren’t really any Christian local acts around here besides Judgment X Day, Dangerous Minds and we go to church with the members of Dynasty.

Ah, so that’s a great segway. Is that how you guys came into contact with Dynasty? Are they still a band? They don’t seem to be that active.

Richard has known them for a few years. But I met them once I started going to church. They’re all pretty much busy now. With wives and kids and full time church duties. They play shows every now and then. They played this year’s Facedown Fest.

Yeah I knew that. Alright that’s pretty cool. What bands/artists have you been listening to lately?

We all have been listening to different music lately. Here’s a list:

Expire
Criminal instinct
Disgrace
Kublai khan
Those Who Fear
Knocked Loose
Lionheart
Hatebreed
Turnstile
Terror
Comeback Kid

Man I miss Those Who Fear. I didn’t realize they had disbanded until like two weeks after it happened.

Yea I know. I never had the chance to see them but Tony has seen them twice haha.

Haha yeah I was bummed. I was having a good day that day too.

Major bummer.

Yeah. Anyways, is there anything else you’d like to say?

We love what we do. We’re like brothers. We literally put a lot of time and effort into the band. We have ups and downs, good days and bad days. There are times when we argue and disagree but we always look at the bigger picture and trust God to lead the way. Without Jesus in our lives there would be no Rapture. We definitely want to keep it going for as long as we can. We thank everyone who supports us. “Our eyes have seen the glory of the Lord”.

There aren’t words to describe how much I respect that. Thanks for doing the interview man!

You’re very welcome!