The Binary Code are the answer to New Jersey’s endless amount of shitty Bruce Springsteen and Bouncing Souls clones. They are a unique combination of hardcore and metal heaviness, with an almost jazz or concert-violinist technicality. Both brutal as fuck and incredibly concise and intricate at the same time, they are on a mission to put all those dayglo-wearing “metalheads” to shame.

Give me a brief history of The Binary Code.

Jesse Bartholomew [Guitarist]: It’s a long history as far as members go. We’re kind of like the Steely Dan of underground metal. We’ve had so many different members since we started back in 2004. Basically, I met a couple of dudes who wanted to play the same stuff I was into. I worked in a music store selling instruments, and the dudes came in and heard what I was playing, and we got to talking, and that was the beginning. I was trying out for their band, and the bassist ended up wanting to form our own band with me. We lost touch for like three months before we formed the Binary Code. I went to Florida for my mother’s wedding, and my grandfather back in New Jersey passed away the day my mom married. So I came home to the funeral, after the wedding, and got a hold of the bassist.

Read after the jump for more with The Binary Code.

(continued)

Starting this band was a milestone in my life. It was the beginning of my new form of expression, being I was so confused with the happiness for my mom, and the sadness of my family back home. Since that day, I’ve managed to keep this band going. The current lineup is better than ever. I’ve been playing with Umar since January of 2007. He’s my musical twin. We like different stuff, and disagree once in a while, but we’re usually one step ahead of one another. We can jam for six hours, and write one hundred twenty songs. My bassist, Lukasz has been with us for about a half a year. Our most recent addition is Cody on vocals.

The band itself covers all sorts of bases from metal to hardcore to even some jazz influences thrown in there. Yet, at least to me, it works without sounding overcrowded. What sort of influences have you guys had?

Jesse: Well, for me, it’s kind of tough. I don’t get my guitar inspiration from just guitar players. The guitarists that I’m into primarily these days are Pat Metheny, Oz Noy, Allan Holdsworth, Wayne Krantz, Fredrik Thordendal, Guthrie Govan, Larry Carlton. Lately, I’ve been jamming A Perfect Circle, Meshuggah, Pat Metheny Group, Stone Temple Pilots, Frank Zappa, Mike Keneally’s Dog, Porcupine Tree, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden. All sorts of bands. Umar is way too broad of a listener to even begin to mention bands he listens to. The other day he was listening to 88.3fm which is like old-school jazz during the day, and avant-garde jazz at night. Lukasz hangs out with the brutal death metal dudes, but is generally speaking, exactly like Umar and I when it comes to music. Cody is big into experimental stuff. Mike Patton projects and what not.

I saw you guys play a couple of weeks ago, despite the worst last-minute problem a band could have to deal with; no singer. I know you recently got a new singer. That one time, did you go into it sort of “hey, let’s just play an instrumental set,” throwing caution to the wind? Or was it something that you thought hard about? Especially considering how you’re not primarily an instrumental band?

Jesse: Umar and I are kinda old men about music, so we were like, “sick, people will focus on the music instead of covering their ears.” It was a fun time, all the bands that were there were super supportive of the music regardless. The Network and Don the Reader made that night memorable. I remember a bunch of the dudes in the bands just going nuts, and eventually coming onto the stage and singing whatever came to their mind. That show was all about having fun. A lot of shows aren’t like that anymore.

You also have an extensive touring schedule coming up in the next couple of months with Mabus. How’s that shaping up?

Jesse: So far so good. It’s almost like each day that goes by, another date is booked. I’ll sign onto Myspace and see a message from Mabus. It’s usually a date booked in a particular state, and a lovely message from Shane, their singer. We do play a lot, and we love it. We’re aiming at never being home anymore. We just want to play for as many people as we can, and hopefully get a chance to do so this summer. It’s going to be a hell of a good time I know that. Mabus is awesome.

Do you feel that touring is as important for bands these days as it used to be even up to five or six years ago, with the advent of new technologies that help in terms of promotion or sharing your music? You could have focused more on recording, writing, and trying to get new music out there. Instead, you’re opting for this route instead which is arguably, much harder as a path to getting your name out there.

Jesse: Touring is either a method of torture to the weak, or masturbation to the strong. I don’t want to set foot in New Jersey without playing the entire United States before 2009. If that doesn’t happen, you’ll be seeing me on tour with a carnival! Once we get the opportunity to go out, with full support, we won’t be back until it’s time to write a new record.

So, who’s the new singer?

Our new singer is named Cody. Cody is beyond talented. He’s studied piano, vocals, music theory, the works. His personality fits in just perfectly with all of ours. We have a very challenging personality in our band. If you can’t get past our personality, it’ll never work out. He was great from the first word. It’s going to be one hell of a year for us.

Got any particularly memorable shows or band experiences that come to you? Particularly funny, fucked up, or just weird?

Jesse: Weird would be when we played at the Lit Lounge in NYC on Feb 4th. I was outside with a dude who was just up in arms about our music, and how sick it’d be if there were vocals. We’re talking, and all of a sudden, we got attacked by a homeless mafia. One dude was like, “Darkwing Duck?” I’m looking at the dude like he’s God’s gift, because I hadn’t heard the name “Darkwing Duck” in years. Then, another guy swings by to bug us. He’s missing teeth, begging for money, smelling amazing. We ended up having a pull-up competition with him on one of the weird structures they use in NYC on the sidewalks. I did like…three, which is amazing, and he did like…a quarter of one? Then, he proceeded to tell us, “I have HIV, Hepatitis B, herpes, I’m bi-polar, I eat shit, I’m proud to be an American.” I kinda chuckled, and just waddled away. I was limping around from having some serious tendon problems in my ankles. Good night it was!

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