Danny plays drums, Krys is on Guitar, Mark handles the 2nd guitar work, Mike plays bass, and Moe is on vocals.

I'd like to let you guys know that it's refreshing to hear a band that's as brutal as it is thought provoking. Now that I got that out of the way, when writing for Children of God's Fire, was the idea of a concept album already in mind or did it just come about?

Thanks for the compliment. It’s good to know that people are connecting to our work Now, to answer your question. Yes, actually. We decided going in to the writing process that we would work on the concepts behind the album and each individual song beforehand. We spent a lot of time sketching out the concepts and discussing what vibe we wanted for the record, which artists we might want to collaborate with, and the overall aural aesthetic.

As separate individuals what inspires you, it could be anything from music to your life experiences, etc.

Danny: Experiencing new cultures and artists that push the envelope.
Mike: I’m inspired by the ability to draw from the varied experiences of my life. Some of them are "negative" and some of them are "positive" yet I draw on all of them. Mark: Being able to wake up and enjoy a new day and play music that people draw inspiration from. That interaction is inspiring. Krys: Artistic pursuits.
Moe: I’m inspired by the understanding that I’m part of a continuity of struggle that has lasted generations. I’m just making my humble contribution to it.

What are some bands or artists that have sparked your curiosity that you would suggest to check out?

Cipher presents the most pretensions "what to check out" list ever: The works of Egon Schiele (early 20th century expressionist artist), Anything Frida Khalo (Mexican painter) touched or looked at. The mixtpae appearances of Immortal Technique(Afro-Peruvian, political emcee) The off broadway one-woman efforts of d.bi young (Jamaican dub poet /actress) Pre "Adrenalize" Def Leppard (British cheese rock) and/or Joe Elliot’s Mullet Post "Bends" Radiohead (hottest rock band alive).

What kind of jobs do the guys in the band have to stay afloat?

Danny: They pay me to tell kids what to do with numbers.
Mike: A grocery store slowly saps the life from my wretched body.
Moe: I’m a grassroots political organizer. I work on autonomous community organizing and prison issues.
Krys: I design fine women’s clothing and moonlight as an international man of leisure. Mark: I teach kids how to play Greenday covers at a guitar store down the block from me. And I study music and psychology.

How'd you hook up with MF Doom to appear on Verse Vs. The Virus?

Moe: Well Doom is fam. I’ve always known him. We grew up together. I’m younger than him so I always really looked up to him and learned a lot from him music wise. So, it was definitely a pleasure to collaborate together as artists. We talked about it for years but there never was an appropriate time to do it. I was able to catch up to him in the studio to pitch the idea for "Verse vs. the Virus" and he dug it. And one thing led to another.

How's the road treating you? Hopefully you guys got your van fixed?

The road has its ups and downs as always. The shows that are well attended make you forget about the ones that aren’t. In the past it’s been particularly difficult to do a DIY type of tour in the summer when you have every other band out on the road but with the corporate sponsored hardcore festivals these days it hasn’t gotten any harder. We’re on the grind regardless, spreading our music and message the best way we know how. The transmission blew out in the van the first week but we got it fixed. We’re accrued a bunch of debt but we’ve never been happier as a band. It’s awesome driving from state to state and seeing how people around the US live. We’ve met a lot of awesome people, some of whom were probably the craziest people I’ve ever met in our lives. One thing we all observed from this trip is that this country is economically depressed. Whether it’s upstate NY, the Midwest, or the South, people are struggling. People are really hurting. It’s not just in the big cities, it’s everywhere, especially in some of the most remote places in our county. These places and the people that live in them are often forgotten.

What do you feel hardcore and metalcore need more and less of?

Hardcore needs to reevaluate itself as a movement. There’s a lack of integrity nowadays. Bands break unspoken rules today that were sacrosanct in earlier years. There’s nothing wrong with bands getting exposure and selling a bunch or records. However, when there’s no core of community supporting the artists, and there’s no politics guiding the work, what makes a band hardcore in the first place. Every band doesn’t need to be as overtly political as Cipher but it would be nice if more bands challenged some of the more egregiously oppressive lyrics, the silly rock star attitudes, and the clichéd songs we’re hearing way too much off.

What, above all else annoys you to no end?

Personally I cannot stand when I see people wearing a veil of disguise because they're petrified to be in their own skin. If I had a quarter for every time I saw a suburban kid thugged out I'd be able to feed a third world country. People, that due to their privilege, disregard their effect on the rest of the world Promoters that think guarantees are "friendly suggestions." White people that use the word "nigga," "nugga," "nukka," or one of the many carnations of the word "nigger" The lame excuses those kids usually employ to explain why they can use the word. It usually begins with "my best friend is black…" Dirty club bathrooms. Pouring hot tea on your crotch on the way to Cleveland. The smirk George Bush has on his face when he says, "they’re jealous of our freedom" "When animals attack" Cocaine being the "drug of choice" in the Hardcore scene. Missing "City Slicker’s II: the Search for Curley’s Gold" when it airs on HBO.

Moe, how was your experience doing the Afropunk documentary?

It’s kinda weird seeing yourself in a movie. During the filming it was odd to have cameras following me throughout my day-to-day. From my perspective, the most important aspect of the movie is the community it helped to create. So many people were really inspired because they could identify with the stories of the kids in the movie. A lot of kids that felt alienated in the hardcore and punk scene identified with the feeling of being doubly marginalized for being punk/hardcore and then further marginalized due to racial stigma, sexual orientation, gender, etc. It has brought a lot of people together. It has also helped to inspire conversations in the black community about expanding definitions of blackness. So I’m proud that I could be part of something that has had that effect.

You guys released a lot of your stuff DIY, was the writing and recording process radically different for Children of God's Fire?

Yes and no. We still worked with the same engineer in the same studio, we still worked at a snail’s pace completing the record, and we still wrote it in Danny’s "Buck Rodger’s" themed "if this-were-the-future" wallpapered practice space. But then again, it was different because we devoted a lot more care and deliberation into each aspect of the record. We never began work on a record with a whole concept in place beforehand. It made the work more challenging. But the end result was very satisfying. There’s a sense of continuity on the record we’ve never achieved.

Well, that's it. Thanks for taking the time out to answer my questions. If you have anything to say, please do.

We just really want to urge people to get in contact with us with their critiques of our music, to discuss any of the ideas we present in our work or just to say hi. We have a phone line dedicated to reaching our listeners. It’s 516-670-6741. They can also reach us online at www.cipheronline.com or email us at cipher@cipheronline.com