NARROWS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN LAANANEN
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/narrows
COUNTRY: United States STYLE: Regional Mexican / Post punk / Ghettotech

WHAT WAS AND STILL IS THE ORIGINAL “IDEA” BEHIND THE BAND’S MUSIC?

To write stuff we all enjoy and can fun with.

I GOT A… (AND I’M SORRY IF I SOUND LAME)… ARTISTIC FEEL AND VIBE FROM YOUR MUSIC AND VISUALS. DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELVES TO BE AN “EXPERIMENTAL” BAND?

That doesn't sound lame but I have personally never really thought of ourselves as an experimental band really. I like to think we try to incorporate as much of our different tastes and ideas into what we do so I guess we do experiment with that stuff where possible and of course, time permitting.

THE BAND NAME NARROWS HAS SORT OF AN “EERIE” FEELING TO IT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN ATMOSPHERE THAT YOU LIKE TO CREATE WITH YOUR MUSIC?

I think we like heading towards the darker side of music and that can mean different things from each of us. Personally, I like it when things have an eerie atmosphere and am just up for seeing what we can bring to the table in capacity.

TALKING ABOUT “EERIE”, YOUR MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG “GYPSY KIDS” WAS CONSIDERED TO EXPLICIT FOR MYSPACE AND THEY REMOVED IT. DO YOU THINK ONE CAN TAKE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION ONLY TO A CERTAIN LEVEL BEFORE IT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG?

Hahahaha, Craig (who made the video) will find that hilarious. I think it totally depends on what context that you put freedom of expression in to be plain wrong. I guess people can use freedom of expression as an excuse to just be plain wrong but I think that when it's used in any artistic concept then no matter how extreme it is, it will always boil down to your personal reaction to it. What you might find horrifying, someone else might find beautiful and vice versa.

WHERE WOULD YOU SAY THE BAND’S LOVE FOR THE “BIZARRE” SHOWN IN THE VIDEO FOR “GYPSY KIDS” COMES FROM?

In total honesty, the visual concept of the video was totally from the mind of Craig Murray (http://vimeo.com/myblackcat). I have known him for years and he's been making his own films for a little while now and asked me about doing a video for us.

I have really liked his stuff and always liked his timing and attention to detail. I think he has done a great job with this video and has complimented the song well in being both bleak and beautiful. But that's my own personal opinion of course.

“GYPSY KIDS” IS OF COURSE ONLY ONE OF THE TRACKS OFF YOUR LATEST ALBUM “NEW DISTANCES” WHICH WAS RELEASED IN MAY. ARE YOU GUYS HAPPY WITH THE WAY THE ALBUM TURNED OUT AND DO YOU SEE IT AS A GOOD DIRECTION TO CONTINUE FROM WITH FUTURE RELEASES?

I know that we're all very excited with how the record turned out. There was no definition in how the record was going to turn out once finished and we all just had to kind of go with it, especially given the short time we had. I am proud of everything we have done so far.

YOU GUYS APPROACH HARDCORE IN A WAY I HAVE NEVER HEARD BEFORE. IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU USUALLY APPROACH THE SONG WRITING PROCESS AND HOW DOES A NARROWS SONG USUALLY COME TO LIFE?

Given our geographical differences we of course can't really ever rehearse so ideas are mostly recorded at home and stored until it looks time when we might be able to all be in the same place at the same time. At that point, we email each other all of the tracks of ideas and check out what each other is thinking and how they might be inspired.

We then get together, put the different ideas together and see how we can make things fit and develop the ideas as we go along. Previously, at that point, we then go into the studio and just lay it all down and develop the ideas as we go. It's always evolving for us and can be a fun, exciting and stressful time.

WHEN WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE MOST “INCONVENIENT” TIME YOU’VE EVER HAD AN IDEA FOR A SONG AND DID NOT HAVE ANY WAY OF WRITING OR RECORDING YOUR IDEAS?

Ummmm, I don't really think that's ever been a problem. With garageband always near it's pretty easy to lay stuff down when needed.

WITH EACH BAND MEMBER HAVING A BUSY SCHEDULE, HOW HARD HAS IT BEEN TO GET A TOUR OF THE GROUND IN SUPPORT FOR “NEW DISTANCES”?

I guess it's not too much different than any other band really. We all work and have busy schedules with that stuff so that's the first thing that needs to be in place. We managed to tour the US west coast in December which was fun and now we're looking to do some US east coast dates in November.

We're loosely talking about stuff for next year too like for Europe and such but again, it all depends on availability. Then of course is looking how much it's gonna cost us with flights and gear etc. Granted, it's a bit difficult but it's doable.

AS DESCRIBED BY YOUR BAND BIO NARROWS IS “SPREAD OUT ACROSS BOTH THE UNITED STATES AND TWO CONTINENTS”, SO WHENEVER THE BAND DOES FIND THE OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM DOES IT SERVE AS A WELCOME ESCAPE FROM WHATEVER ELSE YOU WERE BUSY WITH AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME?

Sure. We love playing this stuff and I think having the distance between us keeps us keen to do it and keep the songs fresh for us to play.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN THE MOST “UNIQUE” VENUE YOU HAVE EVER PERFORMED IN?

With Narrows, I think all the venues we have played have been pretty standard in most respects but then we haven't really played a lot of shows.

ALTHOUGH NARROWS CAN STILL BE CONSIDERED YOUNG IN BAND YEARS, DO YOU THINK THAT THE PROJECT STILL HAS A LONG LIFE LEFT AHEAD OR IS EACH MEMBER OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY OF EXPANDING THEIR MUSICAL HORIZONS?

At present, we're all really excited to be doing this band and we're happy to keep it going as long as it's fun for us all. We all have other bands / projects that we're working with too so we're definitely keeping busy.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Keep an eye for US east coast dates and maybe another release. Thanks to all who have bought our record and support us.

Jodie / NRWS

ODIAN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOLENE BENADE
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/odianband
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Death Metal

ASKING WHAT A BAND’S NAME MEANS IS SOMETIMES A BIT WEIRD BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIMES BAND NAMES DON’T MEAN ANYTHING BUT I WOULD STILL LIKE TO KNOW HOW YOU GUYS CAME UP WITH “ODIAN”?

RUAN: I came upon the word while reading a book on runes. An Odian doesn’t worship Odin, rather emulates his path of Self-Transformation. And I think Marius said that the word means “Hate” in Spanish or something, so that’s pretty metal.

PIERRE: Well, I didn’t. They just pitched the name to me and I gave my thumbs up.

RHYNO: Ruan came up with the name. We had a lecture one day he came and asked what do think of the name Odian? I liked the sound of it right away it just sort of stuck.

THERE WERE A FEW INSTRUMENTAL DEMOS POSTED ONLINE AND THEN IN A MATTER OF A FEW WEEKS THE BAND HAD A FULL LINE-UP. HOW DID IT ALL GET STARTED SO QUICKLY?

PIERRE: I wanted to form a new band I didn’t really know who was going to be the members but as soon as I enrolled here on Stellenbosch that all sorted itself out.

MARIUS: Good band dynamics and neglecting our academic responsibilities...

THOMAS: I joined the band after the guys started playing for about 3 months. They had three band practises. I basically had to audition about four times, the one I didn’t even know I was being auditioned, but when I joined the one band practise, it just felt right. Pierre gave me the call to say I’m Odian’s new front man, on my way home. It was raining and I almost rolled the car. Hahahaha!

RHYNO: The band line-up was full from the beginning of the year except for Thomas who was recruited a couple of months later.

THE BAND SEEMS TO HAVE COME UP WITH A GREAT SET LIST VERY QUICKLY AS WELL, IS THAT THE CASE OR WAS THE SONGS ALWAYS THERE, BUT JUST WAITING FOR THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO COME ALONG AND PLAY THEM?

PIERRE: The majority of the songs are brand spanking new and a lot of it originated from my ideas. Ruan was quick to join in with the writing and we pretty much just aimed to get a full set down.

MARIUS: I don’t know. I just tab and play the drums to the tracks they give me...

THOMAS: Pierre and Ruan just go crazy with riffs and Rhyno and Marius complements that with their instruments, and really quickly when a song is being written. I would probably say that the songs were always there, but when I started putting my lyrics and melodies in it, it just started sounding better and more complete.

RHYNO: Pierre and Ruan are mainly the songwriters. I think that a couple of riffs have been in their arsenal for a while but I know majority of the set was written for Odian, but yeah, they should answer that really.

YOU HAVE STARTED TO BUILD UP A REALLY GOOD FAN BASE. HAVING HAD A FEW REALLY GREAT LIVE SHOWS SO FAR HOW ARE YOU PLANNING TO CAPITALISE ON THE “HYPE” YOU HAVE CREATED IN THE CAPE TOWN METAL SCENE?

RUAN: Buy me a beer.

PIERRE: Haha well, I don’t know how we got hype to start off with but I’m not complaining and as long as it’s there I’m just going to go on with my daily lifestyle as it is now! Seeing that it does something for the band. Haha.

MARIUS: What hype?

THOMAS: I don’t know about the hype, but if people enjoy the music and want more, we probably have to go up a notch. We should probably start selling drugs at our shows. Hahahahahaha!

RHYNO: From my point of view I just enjoy performing live to the dudes in the moshpit who came out to listen to us. I guess it’s just about giving everything you got in a live show. If you are tight the hype will persist.

WAS IT EASY FOR ALL THE BAND MEMBERS TO “FIND THEIR FEET” AGAIN ON STAGE, BECAUSE SOME OF YOU HAVEN’T PERFORMED LIVE IN A WHILE OR IS IT LIKE RIDING A BIKE; IF YOU’VE DONE IT ONCE YOU KNOW HOW TO DO IT FOREVER?

RUAN: Our first gig was my first time on stage in five years. To be honest, I thought I would freak out, but when I got up on stage, it just felt right.

PIERRE: Well, I was out of action so to say for almost a year but I don’t think I’ll ever lose it! But I know Ruan and Rhyno had to get past that first gig, but they pulled it off with style!

MARIUS: It is still hard for me to go on stage, wondering what will go wrong, such as muscle cramps or falling off stage (both of which have happened). But I don't want to disappoint the fans or my brothers in the band, so I give 150%. That’s why I had difficulty walking after the gig with Marching Dead... :)

THOMAS: Never. I’m so used to be on stage by now, because I’m also in an acoustic band, called “Die Einstes”, which made me feel at home on stage. I would say it is different with Odian, because I’m not behind a guitar. But the feeling behind the mic is addictive.

RHYNO: The debut gig was quite stressful for me. I used to play in Inferium and haven’t been on stage at that time for about a full year. If the first song goes well I am in the pocket and I just enjoy myself on stage.

I MAY BE WRONG BUT IT SEEMS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE THAT VIKING / AMON AMARTH METAL VIBE GOING WITH THE NINE NOBLE VIRTUES AND EVERYTHING POSTED ON YOUR FACEBOOK, BUT LISTENING TO YOU GUYS LIVE IT SEEMS THAT YOU COME FROM AN DIFFERENT DIRECTION MUSICALLY?

RUAN: Yeah, Amon Amarth is a Viking Metal band, where we are a bunch of Vikings that just happen to play metal. We would rather just praise the gods of metal with our music. No need for preaching.

PIERRE: Personally I don’t want our band to be a theme band! I write what I feel and I listen to Megadeth, Judas Priest, Pantera, etc. You get the idea? The whole 9 noble virtues is more a way of life or lifestyle for us, so it goes beyond the music. I go out to make “Fun” metal for myself! For me, it’s about a good live show. So the music is shaped round the aspects of playing live.

MARIUS: We are not a Viking Metal band, but we believe in the Nordic way of life. I don’t have to have blue eyes and long blond hair to have the spirit of my barbarian ancestors, nor do I have to play the same style as Amon Amarth to honour the virtues of the Nordic people.

THOMAS: Well I have a huge interest in Norse mythology, but that doesn’t mean I have to be Amon Amarth or Tyr. I love the music we make and some of the songs are about the whole Viking mentality. But yes, not all of them are necessarily, but it’s still BAD AS FUCK!

RHYNO: We didn’t want to be a thematic band because it can get limiting. I think Ruan and Pierre pretty much just write what comes out without really thinking about defining a specific sound. The lyrics are written by Thomas on a very wide range of topics. I guess we are influenced by Norse mythology, but we didn’t want to turn ourselves into a theme show.

SINCE POSTING THE DEMOS ONLINE WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER YOU GUYS HAVE COMPLETED TWO SONGS AND MADE THEM AVAILABLE TO LISTEN ONLINE AS WELL, ARE YOU PLANNING TO RELEASE AN EP OR ALBUM IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

RUAN: We might be recording something in December. Depends how lazy we are. LOL.

PIERRE: We want to do an EP, but I feel the songs need to mature a bit more first and only then when we have a fist full of furious songs, then we will go into the studio!

RHYNO: I think there might be an EP in the pipe line, but only at the end of the year. None of us have the time right now.

WHO ARE CURRENTLY THE BIGGEST SONGWRITERS IN THE BAND AND HOW IS AN ODIAN SONG USUALLY CREATED FROM START TO FINISH?

RUAN: I would say Pierre. He shits out riffs like you would not believe. After that, I take some of his stuff and mess around and then we sit and grind heads about the parts. We then give the song to Marius so that he can write drum parts. After that we sit with Rhyno and write parts to go with Marius’ drums after which we do a little demo recording. Thomas then writes lyrics and there you have a kick ass metal tune.

PIERRE: I would like to say that I’m the main songwriter in the band seeing that almost all of the songs are mine, but I have to give credit to Ruan who helps me produce them. Ruan adds his own little flavor to the songs, a riff here a riff there and recently he added some of his own works to the setlist. So in general I shit out a bunch of turds and Ruan helps me polish them!

MARIUS: Pierre and Ruan are biggest song writers in our band. After they have finished the song outline, they give it to me to write drumtracks. After that I don’t know. Somewhere in this process Rhyno writes bass lines and Thomas writes lyrics. Then we have band practice where we put everything together. This works for some or other reason.

THOMAS: Pierre writes the songs and then everyone adds their part to make the song an Odian song. I write all the lyrics, that’s about it.

RHYNO: Pierre riff; Ruan arranges and structure, I develop the bass, Marius does the drums and Thomas weaves in the vocals. Simple as that really.

ARE YOU EVENTUALLY PLANNING TO TAKE A MORE BRUTAL OR MELODIC DIRECTION WITH YOUR MUSIC?

RUAN: I think it will go both ways.

PIERRE: Well I’m hoping for both! The future Odian songs are going to rip your ass open while you cry to the sweet melody!

MARIUS: If I can thrash and play epic fills and patterns, I could not care less. But as a Power Metal fan, I would really like a few melodic songs, but no too melodic. Brutality each day keeps the posers at bay...

THOMAS: I like the balance we have now, but I can’t say what were going to sound like in a years’ time. I would love the balance to stay the same, but with way more epicness. It must sound like our music started doing Tik. It should just get crazier.

RHYNO: We will see, I don’t think we are planning anything like that right now. As I said, we write what comes out.

THESE DAYS EVEN I CAN GET A DECENT GUITAR TONE OUT OF MY COMPUTER WITHOUT PLAYING THROUGH AN AMP WITH ALL THE SOFTWARE THAT IS AVAILABLE, HAVE YOU GUYS TAKEN THE “DIGITAL” ROUTE YET AND DO YOU THINK RECORDING THE “REAL” WAY WILL EVER REALLY DISAPPEAR?

RUAN: All our demos are recorded digitally, but I think Pierre will agree with me, we both love playing on our amps. The EP will be done on amps though. Btw. Thomas’ vocals are digital too, because he is actually Battle Droid from the future.

PIERRE: Digital is definitely a very cool thing! Makes life a lot easier, but for an album me and Ruan both agree on the fact that nothing beats the warm resonance of a fucking cab with a Valve amP!

MARIUS: The drums on our current recordings are programmed. As an old school purist when it comes to recordings, I believe that my drums should be recorded. Not only because it is hard to tab fills, but because you lose a lot of feel and dynamics when you program. But that said, we don't have the time, or the money to record drums at this moment. And the samples we use sound awesome.

RHYNO: Ruan is a qualified sound engineer so he is in charge of the direction the recordings are going to take. The idea is to record everything the real way, but that takes a lot of time and money, although that’s definitely the future for us.

ARE YOU AIMING FOR THAT “SIGNATURE ODIAN SOUND” WITH YOUR GUITAR AND BASS TONES THAT WILL SET YOU APART FROM OTHER DEATH METAL BANDS OR DOESN’T IT REALLY MATTER HOW YOU SOUND AS LONG AS THE MUSIC YOU ARE MAKING IS GOOD?

RUAN: I guess we just work with what we got live, but on a recording side, I study the mixes of Andy Sneap, Collin Richardson, Jens Bogren and Fredrick Nordstrom.

PIERRE: I write songs as they come to mind so if it turns into a signature sounds then I guess that’s a bonus!

MARIUS: Not my department. As long as I am having fun behind my kit I could not care less.

RHYNO: We are in the process of creating a signature sound. We are trying to be original in every single way.

I LOVE THE PART OF YOUR BAND BIO THAT READS “ODIAN BRINGS YOU A MAELSTROM OF SOUNDS INFLUENCED BY ALL THE GREAT GODS OF METAL AND ROCK MUSIC.” WHO WOULD YOU RATE AS THE BEST METAL BAND THAT HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU AS A MUSICIAN?

RUAN: I would say Meshuggah. I am completely blown away with what they do rhythmically. Rhythm is a huge part of my music. I would rather jam in 19/16 time than shred…but I guess I’m just lazy.

PIERRE: MEGADETH! Or MegaDAVE haha! They are the reason I picked up a guitar to start of with.

MARIUS: Slayer was the reason I bought a double bass pedal, but the band that had the biggest influence on me as a musician is probably Blind Guardian. I love power metal and thrash metal, and they combined it perfectly. I listened and played “Imaginations From The Other Side” almost daily while I was a youngster. But the best metal band in my opinion is Manowar. I just love their music and their way of life. Hail and kill!

THOMAS: I have an unhealthy infatuation with Trivium. Yeah I said it. They’re the band that you either love or hate. I love them. I’m also a huge Mors Princium Est, Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth and Decapitated fan. It’s random, I know.

RHYNO: For myself I would have to say Steve Harris from Iron Maiden. He influenced my playing style. I will always play bass with my fingers. I jammed their songs starting out as a bass player and I guess it sort of just stuck.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

RUAN: Watch this space. Hail to the Hammer! Thanks for the support and keep on truckin’.

PIERRE: The Fans should look out for their well being and I would like to thank the members of the band who until now has given me no reason to hate them….yet. HAHA
I am Victory!

MARIUS: Thanks to everyone that is supporting our band. Also a huge HAIL goes out to every band we have had the privilege to gig with. Come and see how we destroy Somerset West with MIND ASSAULT on the 29th of August. Hail and farewell.

THOMAS: Squirrels are false according to Metal. That’s my comment. I would just like to thank all the bands we’ve had the privilege of playing with so far and all the fans and friends that have supported us so far. There are still a lots coming your way. Awesomeness. And if you’re reading this and haven’t heard of us, were on Facebook and Myspace. Do it, or else expect a battle axe in your skull.

RHYNO: To every single person that comes out to supports us, thanks a lot man! I really appreciate it. And to all my friends that have been so supportive of the band as well.

IDOLS ARE DEAD

WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/idolsrdead
COUNTRY: Italy STYLE: Rock / Metal / Idol

WHEN THE BAND FIRST STARTED WAS IT A BIT OF A STRUGGLE TO FIND YOUR “SOUND” OR DID THE BAND GET TOGETHER VERY WELL FROM THE START?

MANA (VOCALS): I can tell you it was not difficult because we were all pretty sure in doing something heavier than our past projects (we were in Nu Metal Bands) so it was all starting well! We are all into Bands like Metallica etc… and everything has been very natural and spontaneous for day one.

THE BAND HAS RECEIVED GREAT MEDIA ATTENTION AND ALBUM REVIEWS EVER SINCE THE ALBUM “MEAN” HAS BEEN RELEASED. WERE YOU SURPRISED AT FIRST OR DID YOU KNOW YOU HAD A GOOD QUALITY ALBUM AND THAT IT WOULD GET THE DESERVED ATTENTION?

I’m sure an artist is always sure to have a great Album in his hands when it’s ready and done. I think it has been the same for us. From the very first time we have heard the Album finished we thought it was very good! You know, it has good thrashy tunes mixed with this touch of hard rock and it is also well produced… said that I have to admit also that I often listen great records worldwide so I’m sure we have made the necessary to be at least competitive and I can easily say we have achieved this propose!

About the reviews we have received I’m glad to tell you that 90% of them have been great and most of all the ones coming from the U.S. … We’re very proud of that cos we think it’s the most important market in our genre!

WHERE DOES THE STRONG “OLD SCHOOL”, HARD ROCK INFLUENCE IN YOUR MUSIC COME FROM AND WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR THE BAND TO WRITE MUSIC THAT WOULD APPEAL TO FANS OF ROCK AND METAL?

I’m always happy to receive this kind of question cos it means that our intention to mix Thrash and Hard Rock has been understood he he… As I said before these influences are all coming from the 5 of us. We’re all over 30 and we have grown listening to Metallica and Slayer but also Motley Crue and Skid Row just to name a few. “Mean” is the perfect mix of all these Bands/influences. And it came after hours of jams in dirty and smelly rehearsal rooms…

DOES HAVING A SOUND THAT IS APPEALING TO A WIDE VARIETY OF AUDIENCES HELP NOW ESPECIALLY THAT THE BAND IT TRYING TO MAKE A NAME FOR IT SELF IN THE US?

Yes, I think it’s important. I’m sure wider is the audience bigger are the chances to gain more fans you know. Even in the reviews we have received we have often read it is an important point to let IAD name grow in the scene! I hope we can have appeal for both Hard Rock and Thrash fans… I’m repeat I’m happy you have notice that yourself!

HOW LONG ARE YOU PLANNING TO STAY IN THE US, AND ARE YOU HOPING TO OPEN MORE “DOORS” ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC SO THAT YOU HAVE MORE OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO TOURING?

I think it will be a couple of weeks. We were supposed to tour this fall but we were forced to postpone because of serious problems we had few weeks ago.

We’re now scheduled to have it in march/april 2010. Our managers Alex and Rick are working very hard to find the best tour situation we can have. We can’t thank them enough for all their efforts!

And yes, to have both Europe and America as places to tour in is very cool! Hope to come in South Africa also one day :)

MANY BANDS THESE DAYS HAVE ALBUMS THAT ARE SOMETIMES VERY OVER PRODUCED, BUT LISTENING TO YOUR ALBUM, CAN ONE SAY THE BAND WAS REALLY AIMING FOR THAT “RAW” ROCK SOUND WHILE RECORDING “MEAN”?

Of course we can say it! I mean, we are doing this thrash/hard rock style that absolutely need to be so raw… I can’t image “Mean” having this Linkin Park sound he he… it’d be too clean in this case… sometimes raw and dirty is better!

WHAT GEAR AND GUITAR TUNINGS DOES THE BAND CURRENTLY USE, AND DO YOU GUYS STILL HAVE THAT ONE INSTRUMENT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY?

Oops… I’m not so good in telling you about our guitar tunings. I know we have a lower tuning on the guitar but I sincerely don’t know the exact note… about the gear I’m sure Ico and Alley (our guitarists) have the guitars they have dreamt about cos they’re Schecter endorsers (the same of Avenged Sevenfold) and they loved these guitars even before they obtained the endorsement deal!

HAS THE BAND BEEN WORKING ON NEW MATERIAL AS OF LATE AND HOW ARE YOU HOPING TO BUILD ON THE “SOUND” YOU CREATED WITH THE SONGS ON “MEAN” WITH FUTURE RELEASES?

Yes we’re working on new songs and I think you have used a perfect definition when you’re saying “build on the sound you have created in Mean” because is what we’re aiming for!

You know, we like to consider “Mean” as the first attempt in create this Thrash & Roll style so we hope to develop the second record in this way and to be as natural as possible in doing it!

WOULD YOU GUYS EVER CONSIDER RECORDING OR PERFORMING ITALIAN VERSIONS OF YOUR SONGS?

No! Italian really sucks in Metal! English is perfect he he…

LISTENING TO YOUR ALBUM ONE JUST CAN’T HELP TO IMAGINE HOW GOOD THEY SOUND LIVE. HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE PLAYING LIVE IN THIS BAND WITH THE OTHER BANDS THAT YOU HAVE PERFORMED IN OVER THE YEARS?

I think we’re better live with IAD than our past Bands. I say that because we don’t need samples this time. You know, we used to have Nu Metal bands for years and we did need DJ’s and samples all the time to create the sound we had on the records and it was not always so simple!

With IAD we have much more impact on kids and the adrenaline is much more free to do its important part on stage :)

THE BAND HAS SHARED STAGES WITH MANY GREAT BANDS SO FAR; NO MATTER HOW MANY SHOWS THE BAND HAS PLAYED, IS IT ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO DREAM “BIGGER” AND SET NEW GOALS FOR YOURSELVES?

Yes Man! I think it’s the most important! If you haven’t big dreams to achieve you better quit tomorrow… even if we know it’s extremely difficult we can’t stop dreaming about ourselves on the Ozzfest stage one day…

If you’re sure your music is good you have to have these dreams! Or at least it’s what I personally think…

DO YOU HAVE ANY LIVE SHOWS COMING UP IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT YOU ARE EXITED ABOUT?

Yes! We have a few here in Italy this fall… they’re all in the best clubs we have in the country so we’re pretty exited for sure! And we obviously can’t wait to have this U.S. Tour!!! It will be incredible!

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

We naturally would like to thank YOU for this chance! Very nice questions Bro! and once again thanks sooo much to our Managers Alex Gilbert and Rick Fortier for their efforts and dedication!

Cheerzzzz…
Mana

BLACK MARKET RIOTS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WERNER ROUX
WEBSITE: http://www.blackmarketriots.com/
COUNTRY: South Africa STYLE: Alternative / Rock / Punk

HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED WITH MUSIC AND HOW DID THE BAND START?

DANIE: We have all been playing instruments like any other school kid do when they are young. The dream and the skill is the main element for every kid that age. We all have been in bands before we started this group in which I think it makes it easier for us to work together. All of us have very different influences but mainly it sticks with a good feeling in the music. We started off with a different bassist, Riaan Scholtz. Riaan and I wanted to start something serious and I found my old friend Shaun (we had a school band together). Very eager to join but we had a serious problem in finding a great guitarist. Eventually we found Pierre on facebook (yes it does work).

After 10 months of gigging, having fun and hard work Riaan decided to go overseas, in which we had to find a new bassist. This is where Nic jumped on the bus and we can truly say it’s been a great experience having him on board! Think the key element in having a great friendship in a band is to be honest and open hearted to all of the members feelings…oh how gay! Hahaha! So in other words…we like being super nasty to each other….yeah a great hate relationship works for us!

WITH ALL FOUR MEMBERS BEING INVOLVED IN THE SCENE FOR A WHILE NOW; IS IT STILL A BIG GAMBLE STARTING A “NEW” BAND EVEN IF ALL THE MEMBERS ARE EXPERIENCED MUSICIANS?

SHAUN: It is a bit of a gamble considering you will either make it or not. If one is really dedicated to your music and you enjoy what you do, it makes it a little easier looking past all the money that goes into starting things out. That is normally where a lot of bands end up drawing the line and throwing in the towel. Nobody ever said it was easy to start a band, everybody just sees all the famous musicians on television and think that they have life so much easier than everybody else. They don’t realise how much effort goes into putting up a decent performance night after night and all the preparation it takes behind the scenes.

Getting back to “gamble” or “no gamble”, if you set your sights on accomplishing your goal it will be a “gamble” that will pay off in the end.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST MUSICAL INFLUENCES OVER THE YEARS AND HOW DID THOSE INFLUENCES IMPACT THE WAY YOU MAKE MUSIC TODAY?

PIERRE: My influence has always been guitar themed. And what all of these bands have in common is the fact that you can feel the music they're making. Not just the sound system that’s really loud, you get a certain sense of "oooh yeah" when you listen to it. I'm pretty sure it's the same for the rest of the band. And that's pretty much what we are trying to do subconsciously. We make music we like, music which gives us the "oooh yeah" feeling.

The beauty of making music together is that all our separate influences shines through in the new concoction and we end up with a genre we like to call “our own”! We don't try to make commercial, or socially acceptable music, we just mould it around what we like and experiment as much as possible, trying to surprise even our most loyal fans with new tunes they didn't expect.

YOU HAVE A DEBUT EP THAT WILL BE LAUNCHED ON THE 19TH OF SEPTEMBER AT AANDKLAS. HAVING RECEIVED MONEY TO RECORD THE EP BY WINNING A BATTLE OF THE BANDS, THE SONGS ON THE EP MUST REALLY MEAN A LOT TO YOU?

DANIE: Obviously we have played these songs over and over at every show we play. By now we can probably do them behind our backs but when we hit the rehearsal room it always keeps us moving. No matter how old they might be its always fun playing them. It is strange to think that one of the tunes we played on the final of the competition was a brand new song back then and now we just finished off a video for it.

I guess new songs makes you more excited to write and explore more. Over all the songs we played in the comp means a lot because it made us winners…so the sentiment stays right up in the top shelve!

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THE RECORDING PROCESS FOR THE EP; AND WAS IT A CASE OF RECORDING TWO SONGS A DAY IN THE SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME YOU HAD TO RECORD?

SHAUN: The whole recording process was really exciting but stressful at the same time due to the fact that we only had 5 days to record 7 songs. We decided on seven songs so that we could at least release an EP and not another 3 track “demo” or something.

It was a bit of a mission to try and squeeze 7 songs in 5 days but fortunately we knew the music and the actual recording went quite smooth. Some songs went really quickly and some songs we at least had a bit of time to play around with different sounds and so forth. From there it was off to mixing and mastering and when we received the end product we were very satisfied.

WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS MUST HAVE CERTAINLY BOOSTED THE BAND’S CONFIDENCE. IS YOUR LIVE SHOW STILL “EVOLVING” INTO SOMETHING BETTER OR HAS THE BAND FOUND ITS COMFORT ZONE ON STAGE?

PIERRE: We don't really plan anything out when we go on stage. The only little pep talk we have is "just go out there and have fun, no matter how the crowd is!" and that's exactly what we do. We thrive on a big crowd, like at Oppikoppi and the battle of the bands, we just go ape and I'm almost sure that’s one reason we pulled it through in the end. People can see we're having a fun time, making them have an even bigger jol than we are!

YOU PLAYED A “WILD CARD” SLOT AT OPPIKOPPI LAST YEAR. ARE YOU HOPING TO BECOME “REGULARS” ON THE FESTIVAL CIRCUIT OR IS BUILDING A GOOD FAN BASE IN CAPE TOWN A BIGGER PRIORITY FOR THE BAND AT THIS TIME?

PIERRE: I think both aspects are important, and they both actually run hand in hand. If we build a fan base, we'll probably get bigger gigs and get noticed for festivals, and if we get into festivals we'll build our fan base, so it's a nice little ring-a-rosie we want to get on as soon as possible. We've signed with Mad Brew Productions a while ago and are expecting big things and awesome gigs from them, so fingers crossed!

IF YOU LOOK AT HOW OPPORTUNITIES COME AND GO, ESPECIALLY IN THE LOCAL MUSIC BUSINESS, CAN ONE SAY THAT THE BAND HAS HAD PRETTY GOOD LUCK WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE CONCERNED SO FAR; AND IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN LUCK DO YOU BELIEVE THAT HARD WORK HAS ITS REWARDS?

SHAUN: When a band starts out, everything that comes along might be seen as good luck, but to carry on being lucky, one needs to work a little harder and harder to find that bit of luck that comes your way. So it is a mixture of good luck and hard work. If either one of those are missing then things are just so much more difficult.

That is normally when one starts thinking that things aren’t going to work out for you, but if one keeps on focusing on what you want to achieve then for some reason a bit of good luck comes knocking on your door again. It’s a weird circle but that is obviously why the music industry is such an interesting place to be in.

WHO IS THE BIGGEST “CONTROL FREAK” IN THE BAND, THAT LIKES TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING RUNS SMOOTHLY?

NIC: It would definitely be Danie. The band has named him 'dad' and he fills this position perfectly. He leads a professional life and the influence we get from that makes us eager and determined musicians, both on set and off. Determined to get on stage and give the audience our very hearts.

YOU HAVE FINISHED SHOOTING YOUR FIRST MUSIC VIDEO FOR THE SONG “MACHINE” AND BY THE TIME THIS INTERVIEW GETS PUBLISHED YOU WOULD HAVE SHOT ANOTHER VIDEO. TELL US ABOUT THE CONCEPT FOR THE “MACHINE” VIDEO?

NIC: The music video ties in with the song which is people unwilling to conform to standards or ways others would have us be. We had the privilege to work with video staff who had the same insight as our concept. It's a vintage set and every member doing his own thing separately and later on resulting to Danie being a finished product and packaged, "the machine people want".

THE BAND HAS A REALLY GOOD “IMAGE”, WITH A PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE AND ALL. WHO DOES ALL YOUR DESIGN AND PLEASE TELL US WHAT THE SYMBOLISM IS BEHIND THE BAND LOGO WITH THE RAISED FIST AND CROWN OF THORNS?

DANIE: Well Danie handles all the marketing and graphics for the band. Guess it’s his little fun of freelance freedom. It’s very important to keep people interested in what you do or how you are represented in the media. Luckily this works out for us so far.

The symbolism behind the logo….strange but works well with our name. Black Market Riots stands for fighting with courage in something you believe and strive to be. So the fist is the symbolism of this statement. The crown with thorns represents honesty and purity. There is no connotation to religion but we would like to let people know that this is no message against religion or any other blasphemous message. None of that! Just a symbol of believes!

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE BAND AFTER THE EP IS LAUNCHED?

NIC: It has definitely been an interesting and busy time for us but we're not taking a break anytime soon, only upwards and outwards which is song writing and an album on the scene as it's all compiled. We would probably do another launch because we finished two music videos. Hard work has gone into this EP and production. Hopefully this makes a mark on the local music scene and once you have got your foot in the door one must make work to push it wider which we're here to do.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

DANIE: Well as been mentioned, we have our EP and Music Video launch on 19 September at Aandklas, Stellenbosch. This is an event, which we have been working hard at so pop in to see what’s going to happen. Pre-order cd’s available for R50, which includes entry for this event, otherwise R20 cover and R70 for the EP. After this we will post all footage and vids on the net for your face to feed on!

We would really like to thank all of the crew who worked on the EP staright to the Videos. So here the list goes:

Uys Visser at Franschhoek Studios, Julian Bach, Lapdust Studio, Media Film Service, Annie’s Wardrobe, Panalux, Props to the stars, Artichoke and the main man Conrad Mostert for his unbelievable vision and hard work for these Vids.

And thanks to you Niel!

ASHES OF ERIN

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN CLYDE
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/ashesoferin
COUNTRY: United States STYLE: Rock / Metal

DID ALL OF YOU PLAY IN OTHER BANDS BEFORE FORMING ASHES OF ERIN, AND WAS IT HARD TO FIND THAT BALANCE OF HEAVY AND MELODIC ELEMENTS IN YOUR MUSIC AT THE BEGINNING?

We did all come from other bands. Jenna came from a band called poetic anxiety, drew came from several bands but most notably murder all traitors (which he still plays in) Andy came from Vehemence. And Josh and I came from Detox. Josh and I pretty much Started Ashes Of Erin after a few years with Detox. We felt that we wanted to expand on our music and wanted to do this with a completely new sound in mind.

Everything pretty much came naturally with us in starting this band. I think we we're all just really on the same page with how everything was going to sound. And the addition of Jenna was just the final piece of the puzzle. She liked the direction we were going with our writing and we loved the melodic aspect she brought to the bands sound.

YOUR BAND BIO READS, “IN A WORLD WHERE IMAGE SEEMS TO EXCEED ABILITY, MOST OF WHAT IS CONSIDERED TO BE KNOWN AS THE MTV GENERATION. SOMETHING DIFFERENT WAS INEVITABLE...” ISN’T IT UNFORTUNATELY THE CASE THAT AS LONG AS THERE ARE POWERFUL PEOPLE WITH MONEY IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS THAT WANTS TO MAKE EVEN MORE MONEY THERE WILL ALWAYS BE BRAINLESS POP STARS?

Unfortunately it sells. You put a Miley Cyrus on TV and pump it in to people’s heads and it will sell. Especially to the younger demographic. It's really been this way for a long time but it just seems like its getting worse.

It Just sucks to see so many bands or artists that have so much talent, being completely overlooked because a record company would rather bank on this young teenage girl with a pretty face sing songs that she doesn't even write herself, then has to lip synch all of her parts live (because her songs are all pro tooled to death) just so they can sell her look and appeal to the young audience. There are just as many kids out there that like metal or rock, but they seem to just keep it going with a Britney spears type.

IS WORK ON YOUR DEBUT ALBUM “THIS SOMBER EVE” COMPLETE YET OR IS THE BAND STILL HAVING A FEW FINAL THINGS DONE TO MAKE IT AS GOOD AS POSSIBLE AND DO YOU HAVE A RELEASE DATE IN MIND?

We have spent a lot of time in the studio, and our producer, Byron Filson of villain has been working very closely with us to make sure we release the best product we possibly can. We still have some mixing left to finish, but we're looking at releasing it this October. We don't have a solid date yet, but we will be posting one soon on our MySpace.

“THIS SOMBER EVE” WAS COMPLETELY TRACKED BUT THEN THE BAND DECIDED TO RE RECORD THE ENTIRE ALBUM WITH NEW DRUMMER ANDY SCHROEDER. HE MUST HAVE REALLY MADE A GOOD IMPRESSION ON THE REST OF THE BAND?

Andy joining the band last year has improved our sound 100%. He added so much power and stability to the songs that we had prior to him joining that It only seemed right to retrack the entire album when he joined.

The guy is just fucking good. And a pretty sweet dude at that.

YOUR MUSIC HAS A LOT AND I MEAN A LOT OF ENERGY. MANY BANDS WITH WELL PRODUCED ALBUMS HAVE VERY GOOD PRODUCTION BUT NO “ENERGY”; HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO KEEP THAT ENERGY WITH YOUR RECORDINGS?

Byron had a lot to with making sure the music translated correctly. We wanted to make the album sound the way we sound live because we do take a lot of pride in our live performances. Byron would come out to our shows and see what we were going for, then we would work at finding the correct tones in the studio to come close to replicating the live sound.

BY RE RECORDING THE ALBUM DID YOU ADD ANY EXTRA TRACKS, OR DID YOU KEEP THE AMOUNT OF TRACKS THE SAME AND JUST MADE SOME “IMPROVEMENTS” TO THEM?

We did keep a lot of the songs but with Andy’s drumming, it already improved everything so much. There were a couple of songs that we weren't completely satisfied with in the original recording, so it did give us the opportunity to change all those things we weren't completely happy with. We did also write a couple more tracks that we wanted to include on the album.

WOULD YOU SAY THAT IT WAS A FINANCIALLY SMART DECISION TO RE RECORD THE ALBUM OR WAS IT JUST REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO MAKE THE BEST ALBUM POSSIBLE?

It was really important to us to put out the best product we possibly can. We kinda now look at the original recording as a pre production record. Something to nit pick and rework what we didn't like.

YOU DID A REALLY COOL PERFORMANCE VIDEO FOR THE SONG “I” WHICH WAS DIRECTED BY SHAN DAN. IT LOOKS LIKE THE BAND IS PERFORMING ON A ROOF OF A BUILDING; WHERE DID YOU SHOOT THE VIDEO AND HOW MUCH FUN WAS IT TO MAKE THE VIDEO AND DO YOU PLAN TO DO MORE?

Oh where do I start with the evening of that video ha ha.

We did the video at a friend’s old warehouse in downtown Phoenix. It's right next to the police station and is said to be very haunted. In fact, we had a large fan on the bottom floor that would keep turning on by itself every time we went down stairs.

I had done a lot of work with the owner of the warehouse so he always told me we can use it anytime we wanted to. It's a three story building with a basement and the elevator doesn't go all the way to the roof (obviously) so it was a long night of carrying gear and generators up narrow stairs. It was a lot of fun though and Shan Dan was a blast to work with.

We do have plans to do more videos, and we have a couple songs in mind but you'll just have to wait to find out which one(s) we end up doing.

IN APRIL YOU HELD A CAR WASH, WITH THE MONEY RAISED GOING TOWARDS YOUR DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE. LOOKING BACK, DO YOU SEE THAT AS ONE OF THE STRUGGLES OF BEING AN INDEPENDENT BAND OR AS GOOD MEMORIES THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO KEEP IN YOUR HEARTS?

It's always fun doing anything as a group. I mean, we are all friends and have a blast with everything we do together but obviously financial backing would be a plus. But there really are a lot of generous people out there and we will work our asses off to make sure we don't ever take any free handouts.

We have a lot of support, and to see our family, friends, and fans come out to see us when we have any kind of benefit for the band really makes us feel loved, and we really appreciate everyone’s support and love so much!

I SEE YOU ARE PLAYING TWO SHOWS IN AUGUST, I GUESS THE AMOUNT OF SHOWS YOU PLAY WILL INCREASE A LOT TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR?

Absolutely. Once the album is released we plan on booking a lot more shows. In town and out of town. We are just trying to keep focused on the goal at hand... put out the best album we can.

I SEE THERE IS A VIDEO OF A LIVE PERFORMANCE OF THE SONG “DEAD FISH” POSTED ON YOU TUBE. DO YOU THINK THE INTERNET HAS PUT BANDS UNDER MORE “PRESSURE” TO PERFORM BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHO IS THERE RECORDING YOUR LIVE SHOW WITH A VIDEO CAMERA OR CELL PHONE?

I personally hope so... No one wants to pay to see a band they like just to see them half ass their performance. Whether we're having a good or a bad night, we still give it all we got. As long as our fans are there to see us, we'll give them what they want to see.

LOOKING AT YOUR MYSPACE ONE CAN SEE THAT YOU HAVE PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO ASHES OF ERIN WITH THE BAND’S “IMAGE” AND MUSIC. IN WHAT WAYS HAS YOUR HARD WORK PAID OF SO FAR AND WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE BAND IN YOUR OPINION?

Honestly, it's all about the fans. When I was a kid, I wanted to see pictures of my favorite bands, I wanted videos, new music, shirts, stickers, whatever I could get my hands on. So we work really hard to give our fans everything we always wanted. The fans are the biggest pay off. There's nothing like talking to someone after a show that really enjoyed what we were just doing. There's no better feeling than that.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

We'll leave most of the thank you’s for the album. It would just be too long here. But we would like to thank the fans because you are all the reason why we do this, and why we can continue to do this. Also, we'd like to thank websites like www.projectrfsezine.blogspot.com. It's so nice to have such awesome people who are willing to support bands, and help get their name out there.

But everyone keep on checking our MySpace, we'll be posting more video blogs, music and info very soon. Especially the album release date.Thank you and please send us messages and comments on our MySpace. We are on there everyday looking forward to talking to each an every one of you.

OH CHENTAKU

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHERMEN MUKHTAR
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/ohchentaku
COUNTRY: Malaysia STYLE: Punk

WHAT ASPECT OF WRITING MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST AND IS IT ALWAYS EXITING TO SEE HOW A SONG “DEVELOPS” FROM START TO FINISH?

The best thing about song-writings is arranging the flow of the song itself; we have no interest towards simplifying a song just to make it done quickly, for instance, intro to verse and ending with a floppy and tedious choruses. We do fancy of non-repeating rhymes, although using the same progression of chords, but the style of thrumming is developing from one to another. Best example of reference perhaps, we could say, a band from US called Taking Back Sunday, where they used the same chords progression but modifying the song from lyrical view or drumming tempos.

We obviously appreciate the efforts, every time when we could came up with ideas that would turn melodies into a song. Ensuring the bridge part won’t have any close progression with the choruses or verses, and completing a song with a climax finishing, where there should be a sing-along fraction or stiff breakdown or something similar.

DO MOST OF YOUR SONGS ALWAYS COME OUT THE WAY YOU ORIGINALLY WANTED THEM TO OR DOES EACH MEMBER’S INPUT USUALLY GIVE A BETTER END RESULT THAN JUST ONE PERSON’S?

Most of the time, the band would sit together in a studio to re-arrange the song, making it completely durable although the band is a three-piece. Each members contributed in each songs composed based on different perspective of music-making, for instance, Myo listens to singer/songwriters a lot, Naem would rather listen to Jazz and Blues while Adib is really interested in Screamo, happy hardcore and all those heavy stuff.

Imagine the arrangement of songs would be at the end of the day? Somehow we’re not saying that we’re that special, but we are happy with what we’ve achieved so far, and it took great efforts, sweat and tears to finally reach phases that we have set in the first place. We’re so not done yet, because we’re craving for more and more of unique song-writings, comprising good melodies and good lyrical song words.

IF MY GOOGLE SEARCH WAS CORRECT YOUR BAND NAME “OH CHENTAKU” TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH MEANS “OH MY LOVE”, DO MOST OF YOUR LYRICS REVOLVE AROUND THE THEMES OF LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS?

Ideas came from experiences. Not love story entirely.

YOUR DEBUT ALBUM WAS RELEASED RECENTLY AFTER YOUR DEBUT EP SOLD OUT. SORRY IF I SOUND CONFUSED BUT IF “SUITCASE, A SCARF AND THE DEPARTURE” IS YOUR DEBUT ALBUM HOW DOES “OFF-BROADWAY TWILIGHTS” FIT INTO THE PICTURE?

The band based in Malaysia and released three different releases. First was the 7 songs EP titled Heartbreak Ridge Was Never This Arrogant, then it was the official Europe release titled Off-Broadway Twilights which was entirely recorded and mixed in Zurich, Switzerland and just to be sold in Europe. Then only the debut album came after a yearlong hiatus due to personal obligations. Somehow there is a trend of releasing the releases principally and according to different market; for instance Asia market and Europe market shares different perspective of looking into music.

We’ve noticed this after we completed our band tour to Amsterdam, Manchester, London, Dublin, Zurich, Lugano, Sorenberg and Luzern in Europe. Therefore we decided to release different releases to suit the listeners. Just another special releases, which can’t be found in our country itself, only in Europe and as far that we’re concerned, they were sold out.

HOW MUCH DID THE BAND “IMPROVE” IN THE TIME BETWEEN YOUR EP AND YOUR DEBUT ALBUM IN YOUR OPINION, AND WHAT DID YOU TRY NEW MUSICALLY WHILE RECORDING “SUITCASE, A SCARF AND THE DEPARTURE”?

We took 2 years to complete writing the 10 songs in the debut album. First we write almost like 20 to 25 songs, and then we narrowed the list down into 8 best songs that should be in the debut album. The other 3 songs written was 1 the intro, 1 of it is the outro of the debut album, and the last one is a special single written in our own mother tongue to tackle the local listeners and radio station which only plays our mother tongue based songs.

People in the other region might gets really confused, but this is how it is in Malaysia, the musician has to write in their own mother tongue to tackle the market, we rather found it challenging since we’ve been writing English songs ever since. But the outcome was great and we’re extremely happy about it.

DO YOU GUYS STILL USE THE SAME GEAR SINCE DAY ONE AND IF NOT WHAT DO YOU CURRENTLY USE?

Still the same old gears, no use of spending unnecessarily.

HAVING TOURED IN EUROPE, WOULD YOU SAY MUSIC TRULY HAS NO “BORDERS” AND THAT IF YOUR MUSIC IS GOOD YOU CAN HAVE AMAZING SHOWS ANYWHERE?

Music crosses borders, and amazingly in Europe, the listeners were more appreciative, and really enjoyed originality of a performer. There’s no classification of good music and bad music, it always depending on the listeners judging’s, different people has different preferences, stage performance and flexibility is one bonus point in a band.

A band should be able to be very flexible and be able to read the crowds. Our point is, sometimes, a song might be very popular in Amsterdam, but the band can’t expect a same result if they play that particular song in Tokyo or California.

HOW MUCH DO YOU TRY TO PERFORM LIVE AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME AND HOW MANY SHOWS ARE YOU PLANNING TO PLAY TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR?

The band has been playing numerous of shows in and outside of the country, and still planning to hit some more stages until the end of the year, preferably a local tour and to neighbouring countries in Japan and Australia. However, the band is not as active as before since the players are currently busy with daily jobs and considering shows that we really can make it.

Years before, we used to play 3 shows in a day and that was constantly continuing for the whole weekends, more likely; 12 to 15 shows a month just for the sake of performing joyfulness and promoting the band to new listeners, promising fans. But now, more likely, 3 to 4 shows in a month, because we need to focus on work too.

HOW DO YOU GUYS USUALLY ORGANISE SHOWS THESE DAYS, AND IS IT USUALLY AS EASY AS PHONING A FEW OTHER BANDS AND ASKING THEM IF THEY ARE INTERESTED IN PLAYING, OR IS GETTING A VENUE USUALLY THE TRICKY PART?

Malaysia is one easy country to organize a show, from a carrying capacity of 50 to 50,000 people. In any day, there could be 3 big concerts in one place nearby to each other on the same day, same time but obviously different crowds. Getting bands is not a hassle, the main problem is getting good band line-ups, one show at a time, therefore the organizer should book a date, the most accessible venue since we have hundreds of venues, and reasonable entrance fees. A lot of consideration has to be made before even think about uploading the gig poster on Myspace. That is just not happening.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST “INTERESTING” LIVE EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE EVER HAD?

Broke the guitars twice after a couple swings, a crazy body surfing from the rooftop of our stage to a huge stage speakers and then to the crowds, a girl came and gave a bouquet of sunflowers, each band members kicking and boxing happily with each other during a show, answering calls from our mobile phone while singing, funny music video shoot, but the best thing of all was, tearing the stage apart with crowds taking over the mics.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE PRICES OF GEAR ONE GETS THE IDEA THAT MUSIC IS UNFORTUNATELY A VERY EXPENSIVE “HOBBY” TO HAVE. BESIDES COSTS, WHAT ELSE DO YOU THINK USUALLY PERSUADES PEOPLE NOT TO CHOOSE A CAREER IN MUSIC AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO CHANGE THAT IN YOUR OPINION?

Other than costs, what could actually de-motivate people from choosing music as careers are the possibilities of maintaining the name and the fans in a long-term, which is obviously not many musician could do that until they are finally dead, then only they will get so famous and sold out their late albums.

There is nothing could be done to this case, because people come and go, and a life of a musician is just like a bicycle wheel, sometimes when you paddled so hard, you will be right up, on the top of the wheel, however, sometimes, even when you have paddled so hard, sweating and fell off couple of times, you still at the bottom, life is going round and round. Everybody just have to accept it and face the reality. For us, we appreciate both good and bad times when we were still in a band, which all became memories and history to tell.

THE BAND HAS HAD OVER 293000 VIEWS ON MYPACE; IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU THINK THE BAND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN BUILDING ITSELF A GOOD FAN BASE, AND LOOKING BACK AT THE BAND’S CAREER SO FAR ARE THERE ANY THINGS YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?

We never want to change the clock or turn the time backward, what we went through was the best thing that should happened to us, we can never be more thankful than this. In our point of view, perhaps the listeners really enjoy the music we’ve written, the energetic stage performance and because we are down to earth and very humble to everyone, from bands to fans, medias and we never show the eagerness of enjoying the famous life when we were with our childhood friends. Basically, we have never become selfish, snob or hypocrite. We are just like any other ordinary people, because we enjoyed being ourselves.

ANY COMMENTS; THINGS FANS SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR OR PEOPLE YOU WOULD LIKE TO THANK?

Stay true and thanks to Neil for the interview, Shak our producer, girlfriends and friends, die hard fans for the outstanding undying supports from scratch to stretch. Cheers!