Digital Summer

The first time I heard Digital Summer’s music one word seemed to describe the band for me: brilliance.  Categorized in the Rock genre it’s easy to see why; heavy guitar riffs, wild drum beats, and a killer string of vocals pour through the speakers in way that ties itself up together in a bow of heavy raw power with melodic vocals. Digital Summer got together in 2005 in Phoenix, Arizona with brothers Kyle (Vocals) and Ian (Guitar) Winterstein and their longtime friend Anthony ‘Guido’ Hernandez (Bass). Drummer Ben Anderson completed the line-up. Kyle mentions that they had a very different approach with the music industry than the other bands coming out of the area. “We started promoting the band and our music before we ever played a show.” Kyle explains. And handing out 20,000 self-burned demos as self-promotion paved way for a sold out show at Alice Cooper's Town. Not too bad of a start if you ask me.

In 2007 the band released their first album ‘Cause and Effect’ with the first single ‘Whatever It Takes’ dominating the radio seen for 45 consecutive weeks. One year later the band released the acoustic EP ‘Hallow” that included two songs from ‘Cause and Effect’ and four new songs all done in the strip down acoustic fashion. Two of these songs however would reappear in Digital Summer’s 2010 album ‘Counting the Hours’. Two singles have been unleashed from this album so far ‘Hostage’ and ‘Just Run’ witch took the number one seat for seven weeks on 98Kupd ‘Arizona’s Real Rock’ radio station.

Digital Summer has shared the stage with bands like Sevendust, Drowning Pool, 10 Years, and Saliva on their last US tour, and occurring to Kyle they are “looking at options for the coming year” once they release their next studio album.

Sitting down with the BlueJacket Buzz, Kyle Winterstein answers a few of our questions.

What's It Like Being In A Band With Your Brother? Is There A Lot Of Problems, Or Just A Consent Supply Of Brotherly Love?

•  “It's great. We have a very good relationship. We've actually never even been in a physical fight. We have the same outlook on most issues so usually communication is quick and easy. We like a lot of the same music as well, so writing is a smooth process. Overall I wouldn't want to be in a band without him.”

Your Day Job, An On Call Fire Fighter?, How Does This Effect The Music Career?

• “It's tough. I'm constantly trying to juggle my schedule and make it all work. I feel like both careers have benefited my song writing though. I'm able to draw lyrically from several different aspects of life. Realistically though, it's become very hard to manage both careers and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm forced to leave the fire department at some point.”

You Guys Are Working On A New Album, Right? How's That Coming Along?

• “The new album is kind of being done in pieces. We've finished and already recorded half of it and are currently working on the next half. No release date yet.”

How Did You Personally Get Into Music?

• “When I was 15, my friend’s older brother had a guitar sitting in his room. I was waiting for her to get ready so we could leave and I started messing around with it. She showed me how to read tabs in a Nirvana book she had. Within 15 minutes I was hooked. Never been able to shake this musical disease.”