The Pound in San Francisco is a venue for the dedicated. It sits deep in an industrial area, just East of Bayview, next to trucking companies and warehouses. No busses or trains go near it, and cabs might not even know how to find it. It’s a venue that usually draws a faithful hardcore or punk crowd. But on a breezy, cool Saturday night at the end of March, the Pound was packed with an eclectic mix of music fans. Before the doors had opened, more than a hundred or so waited in line to see the City of Champions Tour, featuring, among others, Open Hand.

Open Hand is Justin Isham, Paxton Pryor, Michael Anastasi and Sean Woods. They hail from Los Angeles, and have recently released their new album, You and Me, on Trustkill Records. The City of Champions Tour is taking them from coast to coast and back again. Despite their grueling schedule, Mike and Justin took some time out to discuss their new album, their goals, and their sound.

Mike and Justin have been playing music together for about eight years. They know they’re playing rock that speaks to a growing fan base, but they still have a difficult time describing their music. “Our influences range from everything from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s,” says Justin. “A hardcore element comes from the fact that people playing in the band come from the hardcore scene and hardcore bands, but I wouldn’t consider [the music] hardcore. I also wouldn’t consider it emo, metal, or stoner rock. It’s part of all those. It’s got everything.”

The idea of defining and identifying their style hasn’t been Open Hand’s focus. Touring and making records is their primary goal, no matter how they’re labeled. However, they are often very amused at how others try to define them. “I’ve heard kids at our shows call us Stoner Rock,” says Mike. “It’s sometimes like if the kids who are fans of punk or hardcore hear riffs that are complex or instrumentals that are longer, they associate it with stoner rock. I’m not sure what that means.”

“One of my favorite things to hear is how others try to define us,” says Justin. “We just want to gather fans, tour, and keep playing music. Labeling our style isn’t key.” They didn’t want to characterize themselves as having any particular political slant either. “I mean, we’re politically minded people. But we’re not a political band. One of the tracks on our new album has a splash of politics, but mostly we just want to play and have a good time.”

“You know, the old fashioned way: tour, gather fans, tour again, gather more fans, make our mark,” adds Mike.

In this age when a band’s ability to gather fans can be heavily dependent upon how their music is shared or purchased on the Internet, Mike and Justin are concerned, but don’t feel they know exactly how the Internet and the MP3 market affects them. “I think where we’re at right now, the Internet kind of helps us a little bit,” says Mike. “It helps spread the word. But at the same time, you can play a great show, with kids loving it and bobbing their heads, but then you leave, and you’ve only sold ten CDs. It’s like there were four hundreds kids there, but only ten CDs sold? Then, you have to think that maybe those ten kids may go home and burn five copies for their friends. So right now, Internet and computers are good because they spread the word about our music; yet, in the end, we hope they’d all buy our CD, so we have to ride the fence on the issue.”

Mike and Justin also seemed resigned but content with the fact that for the time being, they will be making most of their money through touring and selling merchandise. “Touring and merchandise - that’s how you make it. So, you basically have to just keep cranking away,” said Justin.

They admitted that definitions are a double-edged sword, because a band that keeps listeners guessing might have more buzz and mystique, yet at the same time the lack of definition makes it harder to sell a sound quickly. For example, they acknowledged that there was a time before the word “punk” was used to describe a song, but it became a very useful term that captures the style of hundreds of songs. “We’d rather just keep the question going. When you hear the new album, You and Me, you’ll probably have a hard time classifying the sound. It changes throughout the album.”

“You hear the word rock nowadays, but any screamo band down the block can call themselves rock,” Mike continues. “What does that mean anymore? I really don’t know. So to say we play in a rock band is kind of tough. I think it’s more than that. I like to ask kids after a show, ‘What kind of music are we playing?’ because I’d love to know. I’m not sure it could ever be defined, or should be defined.” Open Hand has been compared to some unlikely bands. “Modern day Boston,” say Justin, smiling. “I’m serious. I’ve heard us compared to a modern day Boston. Or, Black Sabbath meets Peter Gabriel. Or maybe Queens of the Stone Age. Kids have called us stoner rock, but there are so many bands put into that category that are so amazingly different that I don’t think it means very much. It’s like calling something alternative. I don’t know what that means either. “

Mike and Justin are grateful that Trustkill Records supports them. Control over their music and their touring is important to the band. “Being able to call the President of Trustkill is great. They’re really open-minded people. Whatever will allow us to survive is key. We’re also careful with what we do. We might rather sit with Trustkill, but longevity is important. We’re serious about surviving as a band. All of those bands we’ve been compared to, well - they all went to major labels. No matter what, our goals are getting our stuff out in stores, getting financing, and getting out on tour.”

Mike and Justin, and the rest of Open Hand are looking forward to continuing on their tour, and are excited about their album, You and Me. They work hard and their schedule can be exhausting. But, a few minutes with them is all it takes to be convinced that they love music, they care about their music, and like the rock fans that truck out to the Pound in San Francisco on Saturday night, they’re dedicated.