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Satyrasis
Satyrasis is a killer band and after reviewing the bands CD I knew it was time for an interview. I send an email over to band member Dave and here is what he said to my questions:
MC: How did the band form and what is the current line-up?
Dave: The band formed in 2001 when I met our other guitarist, Matt, in High
School. We spent the large part of the next 5 years or so looking for suitable
people to play with.
Our current Line-Up is:
Alan Budlong: Bass Guitar
David Peterman: Lead Guitar/Vocals
Dimitri Mitropoulous: Drums
Matt Trzcinski: Lead Guitar
MC: How did you come up with the name for the band and were any others considered?
DAVE: Ha Ha. yeah, we
went through some pretty stupid names. Some of the real gems were: 37 Kills,
Natricide, Villainy, and Phrygian NightsÉ.we were pretty fucking stupid.
The randomly selected dictionary word we landed on was Satyriasis.and our drummer
at the time, being a kind of backwoods gent, couldn't pronounce itÉ.thus
Satyrasis was born. Every time I tell that story, I hear the rest of the band
groaningÉ.but that's how it happened.
MC: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it and do you feel as a band that you're pretty original?
DAVE: It's really hard to describe what we do and not because we're visionary.
But it never ceases to amaze me how many metal people don't have a clue who
Carnivore is. We sometimes try to use our self coined Post-Millennial Thrash
monikerÉ.but then people think we're trying to crawl up new American
metal's ass. So I've settled into saying Death mixed with CrowbarÓÉ.ItÕs
a losing battle. Original is a word that describes a precious few in our genre.
Everybody got it from somewhere even the boundary breakers. I do think that
we sound like ourselves, which we're quite happy with.
MC: How does a song come together and how about the lyrics?
DAVE: It's a process of concentrated argument, one-upmanship and ridicule. Weed
out the garbage and elaborate on the stuff we forgot to throw out. Usually this
leads to a song. I write lyrics throughout the process, I've found that's the
best way for an idea to mature.
MC: The 8 song CD I got and reviewed. Have you sent it to any record companies and how has the feedback been on the disc so far?
DAVE: Yeah, we've sent it to every record company that has any sort of name
for itself and actually got replies from Metal Blade and Seasons of Mist, who
actually take the time to let you know they want nothing to do with you. All
the reviews for the record have been great, which is awesome. It's always gratifying
when somebody digs your music it's one of the only reasons to do
this.
MC: Do you guys get to play live a lot and who have you shared the stage with so far?
DAVE: Yeah we play as
much as we possibly can. All 4 of us are at various points of finishing college
and trying to get shows scheduled can be a real bitch sometimes. Our bassist
and I have both played in other bands in our metal tenure and have opened for
In Flames, Moonspell, Impaled, Phobia, Dark Tranquility, Chimaira while the
band has opened for Type O Negative, Dysrhythmia, Nachtmystium, Today is the
Day, Wolves in the Throne Room and more that I'm forgetting. I wish that would
get you somewhere but it doesn't. If you have guitars and stupidity to sell
tickets you can usually open for a national every other weekend in Detroit.
MC: What are some sort term and long term goals for the band?
DAVE: Short Term: Tour in May. Long Term: Get the next Album out and tour again.
MC: What is the band's website url and what will be people see when they long onto it? Same thing if you have a My Space page too.
Dave: www.satyrasis.net
they should see our logo and a cool picture of old Russian machining
equipment. www.myspace.com.satyrasis Should
see our zombie face logo and the typical myspace douchebaggery!
MC: What are some things you guys do when your not doing band related stuff?
DAVE: Alan collects odd things that no other human has any use for. I play hockey
in my front yard, Matt makes stew and Dimitri goes to Libertarian conventions,
while lamenting the demise of Grecian influence on the globe.
MC: How often does the band practice and is this where you guys may start t o put together a new riff or 2 at practice?
DAVE: If we're getting ready for a showÉ.we usually practice a bit more
than never. When we're writing in the practice space the sessions can be long
and grueling but usually we're able to take it easy after the songs are written.
MC: Are there any cool record stores that cater to metal fans in your area?
DAVE: Actually yes. Our very good friend is the proprietor of Uncle Sam's Record
Emporium in Lansing, Michigan. He gets me vinyl when I order it and carries
what you need to be hearing. We also have the legendary Flat, Black and Circular
in East Lansing. which has been a staple of the area since Moby Dick was a guppy.
MC: If you do not get signed to a label with this release, what are your plans as far as putting some new music out there?
DAVE: Seventh Door Records, will be putting out our next CD....and will be partnering
with our good friends at Los Diaper Satanico, for the LP. We're really stoked.
MC: What have you done so far as far promotion for the release?
DAVE: So far we've sent out, about 200 albums for review, label consideration
and radio play. The water is so muddy with bands nowadays, getting yourself
to the top of the pile is tough.
MC: If you could change some things about the CD that you just put out, what
would you change?
DAVE: Now THERE is a can of worms ha ha. All the usual first record stuff, Recording
issues, Mixing Issues, Art issues. To tell you the truth, I'm really happy with
it, considering everything we had to go through to get it made. But, as the
other guys will surely attest to, there's always room for improvement.
MC: Has there been any reviews so far that you have felt were unfair?
DAVE: Not at all. Which
is completely the opposite of how I thought it was going to be. If you entrust
your music to someone else's ears, you better be ready to take some lumps. It
comes with the territory. You can't be everything to
everyone. Everclear taught me that.
MC: How in the hell do you guys come up with such a crushing heavy guitar sound?
DAVE: I think part of it comes from the fact that Matt and I have been playing
together so long. It has become very compensatory through evolution and that
I think adds a cool dynamic to the overall sound. The other side is just Matt's
engineering prowess' very good at analyzing the tone and figuring out a way
to make it better. With very little means to do so.
MC: Have any of the band members been in any other bands?
DAVE: Yes. Alan has about 19 different projects going at any given time, but
we met him through his 1st band, Cursed Eternity. I spent two years with a great
bunch of dudes in Genocya, and helped out CE on bass for a time. Dimitri was
going to try out for Incantation, but Kyle shaved his mustache.
MC: If you pick any one label to sign with, who would it be and why?
DAVE: Willowtip. They have a cool and diverse roster of bands, and seem to be
a good proving ground for underground acts. The record label model is becoming
more outdated everyday. There's becoming very little they can do for a band
that they can't do themselves, so they spend most of the time hoarding their
resources and narrowing their marketing. They're definitely in a get busy living,
get busy dying kind of position.
MC: If you could pick any one song to do a cover or what song would it be any
why?
DAVE: Where Evil Grows by The Poppy Family. Doing it justice will be the challenge.
The song is sublimely threatening, and has one of the best choruses ever written.
MC: What merchandise does the band have for sale?
DAVE: CD's, Shirts, Free stickers. The usual shit. We were in negotiations with
Blue Grape to make a Satyrasis Hockey Jersey. But it turns out they still haven't
sold out of the Prong ones. So it died on the vine. We do not however, plan
on releasing a line of women's panties, because they would only come in one
size......and it wouldn't be the tiny one.
MC: Does the band have a manager or do you plan on getting one someday and
do you think having a band manager is a good or bad idea?
DAVE: No, thankfully we're not that dumb. Having a manager is as useless as
letting your girlfriend pretend she's your manager.
MC: Does the band have any videos floating around on say You Tube and do you
think your a good live band?
DAVE: Yeah I'm sure if you search for us you'll find several drummer vanity
videos and one or 2 poorly records full band performances. We're in the process
of getting some more stuff up there. I think we're a decent live band. We"re
definitely not The Dillinger Escape Plan, but it's is my firm belief if people
come to see us to hear the music, not watch 3 Ninjas: Boner Up.
MC: How long do you see the band being around for?
DAVE: As long as we're stupid enough to keep doing it. Only time will tell.
MC: Any last words? Horns up for the interview and plug anything you wish.
DAVE: Check us out on tour May 25- June 17. Hopefully somewhere near you. Many
thanks for the interview.
Email: satyrasis@gmail.com