The VOX Interview with
Gil Bitton of Endo

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>> Endo's Gil Bitton works the Ozzfest crowd.>>

VOX: You have an interesting cultural background.
Gil Bitton: Yeah – my parents were born in Morocco.  They then migrated to France, then moved to Israel, where I came into the picture.  They did their share of traveling.
VOX: Do you speak Hebrew or any other languages?
Gil: I speak a little, I guess, but not much.  My dad is the language guy – he speaks seven languages.
VOX: Cool.  Have you been back to Israel?
Gil: I’ve been back twice, but the last time was when I was like 16 or 17.   My sister lives there, and I’ve got a bunch of family over there.  It’s not the greatest of times to be over there, that’s for sure.  But, it’s been like that for so long…
VOX: How about France?  Have you been there?
Gil: No, I never have, but I can’t wait to tour Europe.  I want to go to Paris; I hear it’s beautiful.

VOX: You know you’re going to get a lot of exposure from Ozzfest.  Any anxiety about the tour?
Gil: We’re not afraid of what it will bring at all.  I don’t think there’s any anxiety within the band either.  I think it’s that we pretty much can’t wait for it all – what we do is real, and we want to get back out there and play.  This is what we do, and it comes from the heart, from out love of music and our love of performing.   Playing a tour like Ozzfest, where you’re going to get the chance to play for so many different people is like a dream come true for us.  We’re all really excited and ready to show the masses what we’re all about.  At the same time, we’re really humbled to be on the biggest and best festival tour out there – Ozzfest.  It’s a dream come true.

>> Gil and guitarist Eli Parker. >>

VOX: What are the biggest differences for the band between Evolve and Songs for the Restless?
Gil: The biggest differences?  There were so many…in many ways, though, I think a lot of the changes we had were just a natural process and the changes that happen as you grow.  We grew as people, as musicians…we had a couple of new members enter the band, which brings with it loads of changes.

It’s all been a natural process for us.  You can’t force it.  Life experience is something that only comes with time, but each of those experiences causes you to grow and change.

VOX: It’s taken some time to get the second record out there – what caused the long time between records?
Gil: That’s the business side of being in a band.  There was a bunch of shit that happened in between the records with the label and all that.  We had wanted to go back in and start doing demos again, but there were setbacks along the way…the most important things is that it’s here.
VOX: You guys changed the record quite a bit during the recording process…
Gil: Well, we, uh, basically we concentrated on the songs; we wanted to write songs and let them grow organically.  We didn’t know what would happen.

>> Endo bassist Zelick - the shirt says it all. >>

As for my personal experiences, I was going through a rough time, and I think you can tell that from the songs.  The truth comes out in the music, which is why I say our music is so real.  In the end everything fell into place for the record.  The record came together organically; there aren’t any smoke and mirrors, any hidden tracks or any gimmicks.  It’s pure Endo.

VOX: What’s the first single going to be, and what’s the song about?
Gil: “Simple Lies” is the first single.  The song is basically a poetic translation of a relationship I was going through at the time.  The issues, other things like the restlessness and insomnia turned into these lyrics.  Those experiences became this song.

Everything I write is very personal…I’m very happy to be so…intuitive, and be able to take what I’m going through and put it into words on paper.  I can’t play stuff that doesn’t mean anything.

>> Rocking in the heat. >>

VOX: How would you define the Endo sound?
Gil: The sound, it’s personal, it comes from the heart…it’s real.  We’re musicians who write original music, who really love what they and want to make the best music we can – I hope that’s clear from our sound.  We’re four guys who don’t have similar backgrounds or similar musical tastes necessarily, but it just works.

I’m into singers like Bowie, Peter Murphy, bands like Depeche Mode, jazz, rock, goth…you name it.  It’s cool to bring those influences in to the band and fuse them into the heavier side of music.  

>> It was worth it to show up early. >>

VOX: What would you like people to take away from your music?
Gil: If there’s anything I hope people get, it’s that you can take the worst of times, the negative things that happen to all of us, and let it out in a creative way that ends up positive.  It’s important for people to remember that all things shall pass, that things get better.

I hope people get the intensity, see the potential, maybe even some enlightenment…I don’t know, but maybe if we affect one or two people to be creative, then I feel like we’ve succeeded.