BLOODSHOT
LAS
VEGAS, WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT IT? OK IT'S THE WORLD CAPITAL OF GAMBLING,
A TOWN SOMEWHERE IN THE DESERT. ALSO AN ELVIS PRISLEY SONG (VIVA LAS VEGAS)
WHICH WAS COVERD BY ZZ TOP. WHAT ABOUT THE HEAVY METAL SCENE THERE? BLOODSHOT
ONE OF THE MOST INTRESTING BANDS AND LEADERS OF THE SCENE THERE INTRODUCED
US IN THE SCENE. I THINK WE THAT SOON WE WILL LISTEN MORE ABOU THIS BAND.
SO KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN...
1.FIRST OF ALL INTRODUCE THE BAND TO
THE FANS AND GIVE US A SHORT BAND BIO.
We are Bloodshot from Las Vegas,
NV. I am Rob Hussey, the drummer, we have Mike Hussey on vocals, Tim Dever
on guitar, Greg Elizondo on guitar, and Chris Moran on bass. We got together
in August 2002, released our debut cd "Demons, Addictions & Confidence
in October 2002.
2.HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSICAL
STYLE? IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO BE CATEGORIZED. NAME SOME OF THE BAND'S INFLUENCES
AND SOME OF YOUR MOST BELOVED ALBUMS.
Our influences are Slayer, Pantera,
Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Killswitch Engage, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden,
Cradle of Filth and Faith No More. Some of my most beloved cd's are Motley
Crue's Shout at the Devil, Metallica's Master of Puppets, Iron Maiden's
Somewhere in Time.
3.YOU EXIST AS A BAND FOR A SHORT PERIOD
OF TIME. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE ALMOST IMMEDIATELY RELEASED A FULL LENGTH CD.
HOW COME? DIDN'T YOU WANT FIRST TO RELEASE SOME DEMOS AND DO THINGS IN
THE OLD FASHIONED WAY? DO YOU THINK IT'S BETTER THIS WAY?
From the beginning our goal was
to have our full album available at our first gig. We met that goal. We
had all been in bands that started recording albums that never got finished.
In retrospect, our album would have sounded a lot heavier, if we
had played live first. We have evolved into a much heavier band than the
cd suggests.
4.TELL US A FEW THINGS REGARDING
"DEMONS, ADDICTIONS & CONFIDENCE". WHERE WAS IT RECORDED, HOW
LONG DID IT TAKE YOU, WHO WAS THE PRODUCER? WHAT DOES THE TITLE MEAN? THE
WORDS DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A CONNECTION.
It was recorded in my spare room
at home on a Roland vs 1880. From the day we started writing songs to the
release of the cd, it took roughly 6 months. I was the producer. My first
attempt at production. Tim and I wrote the bulk of the music, Mike wrote
all the lyrics. Chris didn't join until it was finished, he already has
songs for the next disc. Greg wrote the music for Blunt Force Trauma. So,
on the 2nd album, we'll have 4 songwriters. We all write finished songs
by ourselves and bring them to the band. There is no collaborating. Then
Mike writes the lyrics. It's easier this way, everybody gets to express
themselves. The title is basically your demons, whatever they may be, voices
in your head, etc, your addictions, sex, drugs, etc., and the confidence
to deal with it all. It was Mike that came up with the title, it may mean
something different to him. I thought it sounded cool right away.
5.WHERE ARE YOUR LYRICS REFERRING AT?
WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN WRITING LYRICS?
Mike writes all of the lyrics.
Hell on Earth is questioning religious figures. Brothers in Blood and Strength
in Numbers are about the unity of the band and our fans. Extremities is
about too much of everything, drug and alcohol wise, and how you feel the
next day. Angel Skin is about how beautiful a woman can look on the outside,
yet still be a demon inside. Blunt Force Trauma, and Today is the Day are
basically about crushing the skull of somebody that fucked with you. Taken
Away is about what life can do to you, having good things happen to you,
and then having them taken from you. Flatline is about your anger causing
you to lose your mind, and Shitlist is about various people that have really
pissed Mike off.
6.HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK IS FOR
A BAND TO PERFORM LIVE? DO YOU REMEMBER ANY FUNNY OR WEIRD INCIDENTS OCCURRING
TO YOU WHILST YOU WERE PERFORMING LIVE?
Live performance is the key to
everything. If you can't cut it live, you're doomed. Fucked up shit always
happens to us at shows. It's always something going wrong with the sound,
mics going out, guitar cutting out, etc. Tim caught some air at a show,
came down real hard and knocked the head off his stack, that is a funny
tape. We never miss a beat, though, that's just part of the deal.
7.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO A FAN TO CONVINVE
HIM TO BUY YOUR RELEASE INSTEAD OF SOMETHING ELSE? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU
HAVE IN YOUR MUSIC THAT MAKES YOU DIFFER FROM OTHER BANDS?
We walk that line. We have hardcore
death metal fans that love us, and people that wouldn't listen to death
metal at our shows. We have the heavy, chunky, death riffs. Mike can growl
and scream with the best of them. Then he turns around and lays some sick
harmony or melody on you. Then we have Tim with the sick death backup vocals.
We have a little bit of everything, as you can see from our influences.
8.WHAT DO YOU THINK OF INTERNET? IS
IT USEFUL TO THE BANDS? "HELL ON EARTH" IS A FAMOUS SONG ON THE ampcast.com.
TELL US ABOUT IT...
The internet gives you the ability
to cruise around the world passing out flyers from your pc. People in other
countries and cities can find out about your band with the click of a mouse.
Ampcast.com was a cool site at first. We made a lot of fans on there. Unfortunately,
their customer service sucks. They're constantly trying to milk more money
out of the bands, so we dropped them. It's all about http://www.darksoul7.com/now.
A site that exists for metal bands and fans. And of course we have http://www.bloodshotfans.com/.
9.SINCE I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE
METAL SCENE IN LAS VEGAS PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT IT. ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING
BANDS WE SHOULD CHECK OUT? IS YOUR MUSIC ACCEPTED BY THE METALLERS OVER
THERE?
There is a coalition of bands called
War Machine. We have bands here that kick ass. You've got Buried, Four
Bolt Main, Parathion, Stupidog, Weirding Way, Garden of the Gods, Dreddmaster,
Bloodshot, Bent Valve, Better off Dead. We all work together, make flyers
together, promote together, basically help each other out. And it's all
tied together by Eric at http://www.darksoul7.com/.
You can check out all the Vegas bands at that site. It gets bigger everyday.
It's already covering the entire West Coast now, not just Vegas. A lot
of bigger bands like Nile, Cradle of Filth, Crematorium, Cephallic Carnage,
Sepultura, etc., are really starting to take notice of Vegas. They
make sure they come through Vegas, because they know the metal fans will
be there, and the local bands will promote the shit out of it for them.
10.YOU ARE GRANTED ONE WISH. WHAT WOULD
YOU CHANGE IN THE WORLD?
Well, I think most of us would
wish for World Peace and an end to all the terrorist activity. All the
pointless death and misery. I don't like to get all political, though.
I would wish for the music business to put less emphasis on money, and
more emphasis on developing new artists and giving them a chance
to have an extended career. That's what we're trying to do here in Vegas.
11.IF YOUR MUSIC WAS AN EMOTION, WHAT
WOULD IT BE?
12.IF YOU COULD TRAVEL IN TIME, WHICH
HISTORICAL PERIOD WOULD YOU LIKE TO VISIT AND WHAT WOULD YOU MISS THE MOST
FROM OUR TIMES?
I would definitely miss our music.
I would travel to the 70's, when the music business gave bands a chance
to develop a career. You didn't get dropped if you're first album didn't
sell a million copies back then. Also, the fans were a lot more open minded
to listen to many different types of music. Everything is much more categorized
now.
13.WHICH ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS
BLOODY AND CATASTROPHIC WAR AGAINST IRAQ?
It's tragic that it had to come
to this. I just hope something good can come from it. I hope for the safe
return of all of our troops. I hope for a peaceful, prosperous rebuilding
process for the people of Iraq.
14.WHAT TITLE WOULD YOU LIKE THIS INTERVIEW
TO HAVE?
Bloodshot : Las Vegas Metal Pioneers
15.THANK YOU! HAVE I FORGOTTEN TO ASK
YOU ANYTHING AND YOU'D LIKE TO MENTION?
I just want to thank anybody in
the world that listens to metal for keeping it alive. I don't care what
kind of metal you listen to, we're all in this together! Don't forget to
check out Bloodshot and all the kickass west coast metal at www.darksoul7.com.
And don't forget to check out Bloodshot's official site, www.bloodshotfans.com.
If you like what you hear, you can buy the full length cd online for only
$8 at www.cdbaby.com/bloodshot.
Also, if you're looking for another kickass metal site that is all about
helping new bands, check out www.heavycore.org.
And if you're a band looking for websites, check out www.eklanddesign.com.
Tell them Bloodshot sent you! Thanks for taking the time to read this,
keep metal alive!
Christine Parastatidou
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