Hello everyone!
I was recently interviewed by an indie 'zine
out of New York called DARKLAND.
Here it is...enjoy!
Tell me about the CD Outside the Design.
It started off as a concept record but has now shifted to more of a centralized theme. That theme is the choices we make and how it affects our lives and the lives of those close to us. With all that has happened to both me personally and the band this year the story side of things started to fade away and the theme of choices seemed to rise to the surface. We are looking at tracking the CD in the spring with our producer, Chris Mara (
www.chrismara.com), at the house that we practice in, which is owned and occupied by Scott (bass). Kind of like the Red Hot Chili Peppers "bloodsugarsexmagic", we would live in the house and pretty much eat, sleep and breathe this record. With the recent addition of people downloading entire CD's off of websites, its making less and less sense to us to sink a ton of money into duplication of thousands of Cd's. We are looking at alternate ways to get our music out there thats exciting and new to the music listener.
What is your attraction to progressive metal?
It's what Ive always felt inside. Its the best platform for a release. Not just the release of ideas, but the emotional release writing and preforming these songs brings with it. We don't always play shows to sold out audiences or make tons of money, but one thing that is always there when we get off that stage is that feeling: like someone just emptied the bin of emotional garbage. I think we all need this in our life because with out it we would slowly submerge into the cracks of society.
Was this the first time you played the Red Gorilla Music festival?
Yes it was, and hopefully not the last! Travis (X-drummer) and I attended SXSW in '04, so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect as far as people and vibe. It was fantastic, a really great experience all around. Playing that show helped pave the way for us to do a national college radio campaign which then lead into some licensing opportunities on cable television.
What would you like to see more/less of in American metal?
I think Metal is in the best state its been in awhile. Id like to see more bands push themselves musically to create something unique and amazing. Otherwise we risk the chance of diluting our scene with crap and it becomes harder and harder for new Metal fans to find and be turned on to great stuff.
How is the scene in Minnesota?
Its a pretty good scene. Theres a lot of fans of live music and bands playing metal. I moved here in 2002 from Madison, WI, a place that saw few metal bands in the local scene. Then once Xerus got out and started playing shows, I couldn't believe how many talented bands we wound up playing with. For the most part everyone gets along great and theres very little attitude, were all in it for pretty much the same reasons.