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Taunted
Taunted is a killer thrash metal band with some melodic metal added in to the mix and as soon as I heard and reviewed the bands CD I knew it was time for an interview. I emailed singer Jacques Serrano some questions and here is what he said to them:
MC: Let's get the typical question out of the way, how did the band form and
what is the current lineup?
JS: JOEY GENONI guitarist and
myself JACQUES SERRANO vocalist performed in a hand full of bands together before
starting TAUNTED in 1992. We left a popular underground band called ANNIHILATION
and 4 months later put out our first demo known as the "red demo"
The current line up is:
JACQUES SERRANO VOCALS
,JOEY GENONI LEAD GUITAR, AR
MATT GOWER GUITAR
PETE AGUILAR BASS
HENRY MORENO DRUMS
MC: What would you say the band sounds like?
JS: TAUNTED is true to the bone "bay area" THRASH band with elements
of our past which is melodic true metal with a very dark edge. Intelligent concepts
that blend with the technical music but all the while keeping the listener in
tune and happy as an evil troll.
MC: The songs on the CD that I reviewed do you have a favorite and did the
songs come together rather quickly once you started writing?
JS: My favorite song right now is "LUCIFER". It has a very dark feeling and has a little old school flavor to it yet sounds up to date. The rest of the band tends to like it also. I like all the songs really. They all have their own special something. The writing process is always different but this time it went a little faster than our last CD because we had more input from Henry and it was HENRY'S second CD with JOEY and I.
MC: Where the most unusual place you can think of that a riff or lyric idea
came to you?
JS: I tend to write from two frame of minds. Sometimes I am traveling on a plane or something and I am really focused and have some sort of a general idea where I want to go lyrically and then I DIVE into it and begin the process of writing. Other times I might sit home and drink some beers and start thinking dark thoughts and put it down on paper. Both ways work and I enjoy doing it both ways. I used to act so when I write a concept down on paper I tend to pretend I am someone else to get into a different frame of mind.
MC: Do you feel your a good live band and who have you shared the stage with
so far?
JS: I believe you have to be good live. The best bands I have ever seen made
me enjoy their live performances more than their CDS. TAUNTED continues to get
better and better and that's hard to believe because we been performing live
for years but we are just hitting on all cylinders right now. It also helps
that this is the best line up we have ever had.
MC: Do you have any videos up on You Tube or My Space at all?
JS: Yes. Most of them are bootleg put up by fans of the music. Some of it is
rough but some of it is really cool and GOD bless the fans for caring enough
to post videos of TAUNTED. Just go to our MYSPACE www.myspace.com/taunted
to see some.
MC: What has been the hardest thing for you being in a band so far?
JS: Right now things are not
that hard. We just continue to work at all the business angles which is normal
day to day work so you can't complain about it. We keep working and things continue
to happen for us. In past years there were hard times and probably the hardest
was finding a competent drummer that fit the band
MC: How has the response been to the CD release so far and what are you plans
for the CD?
JS: The response in all underground circles has been 110% positive. Great reviews
and good radio airplay. In EUROPE people really liked our last CD "zero"
so they have grabbed a hold of this one even more. We plan to continue to nourish
the CD and get it in as many markets as possible for people to enjoy. We are
also doing a tour in MAY of the Southwest USA and will be looking for more FESTIVAL
appearances.
MC: How did you come up with the band name and were any other names considered?
JS: In the beginning Joey and I wrote down several names some of which are funny
now but little did we realize that the name was right in front of us all the
time. Our prior band was ANNIHILATION and they had a long history but Joey and
I were the last incarnation of that band. In that band we wrote only one song
for the band and that one song was called TAUNTED. So when we did our first
demo that song was included and hence the band name was born.
MC: If you ever were to do a cover tune, what tune what song would you do and
why?
JS: We always flirted with IRON MAIDEN stuff back in the day because JOEY is
a major fan but today if I had to pick a song it would be something from OVERKILL
from the 1990's era. Those CDs from OVERKILL really possessed us and made us
start thinking of writing heavier songs. I don't see a lot of OVERKILL tribute
bands especially in California so that would be the reason for doing it.
MC: What are some things you like to do when your not doing anything band related?
JS: I am an avid mountain biker. I travel to different places every year to
get some different taste of the dirt and the trails. I also like hanging out
with friends at shows drinking some beers.
MC: How much time would you say in a given week is spent doing band related
stuff?
JS: Actual playing time is
two nights a week for 3 hours each night but there is a lot of hours put in
on a weekly bassist whether its doing interviews, promo stuff, booking shows,
etc etc etc. Always something to do to keep promotion going and keep your name
on peoples minds.
MC: Do you ever plan on getting a manager at any point?
JS: I have been managing most of TAUNTED's career and when I am a little overwhelmed I hand stuff off to JOEY but we done good so far so if anyone became our manager it would probably happen when the band gets too big for us to handle on our own. If we start touring more and getting generally busy we would want to spend more time on the music but I am glad we have managed our self so that if anyone would take over the job we would always have our hands on it at the same time with the new manager.
MC: How does a song come together? Is a band member or 2 collaboration or does
the whole band get involved with writing and arranging the songs?
JS: Every step of our career has been different. Joey and I wrote almost the
whole "zero" CD except for a song here and there but its always different.
On our old demos our bassist wrote a lot with us. Now with the total new line
up we plan on sharing ideas and putting stuff together. It is different for
every band. We welcome ideas all the time but we do know what direction TAUNTED
wants to go and luckily our new band mates want to go the same way. Dark evil
and HEAVY!
MC: Does the band have any short term or long term goals?
JS: This year the main goal is to get this tour secured. We have never done a tour so this is a big deal for us. We also have a festival in TEXAS May 22nd called GATES OF METAL OPEN AIR with FLOTSAM N JETSAM and OTHERS.
MC: Do you have a good local following and do you draw pretty good crowds at
your shows?
JS: Considering the state of the scene we do draw well. There are still a lot
of bands out here and they are always trying to promote their shows. We still
always promote but we are lucky that we do have a good core of fans that show
and support.
MC: Have any of the reviews you read so far in your opinion didn't seem fair?
JS: Not really. All of our reviews our whole career have been fair to awesome.
We never have had a real bad review. Maybe you will give us our first? LOL..
We appreciate opinions and we don't let anything get to much in our head. We
just do what we do and are lucky that people like what we do.
MC: What are some things you hate about the music industry if there is any things
that you hate?
JS: I don't hate anything but I wish the economy was better so that the labels
could not struggle so much. It has always been hared to get a record deal but
its even harder now that no one has any money. I also wish bigger bands would
take more bands out on stage with them and not the same ole bands all the time.
TAUNTED will go well with any national act and so would a lot of other bands
but sometimes you see the same ole group of bands locally doing shows together.
I get a little bored seeing the same ones I figure the avid fan must feel the
same.
MC: Plug any websites you have and what will people find if they go there?
JS: www.myspace.com/taunted
you will find tour dates, up to the minute info, pictures, videos, and music.
We update the information regularly our main website WWW.TAUNTEDMUSIC.COM
is getting re-done AND BOTH sites will have many updated pictures and downloads
and looks very soon.
MC: When can we expect some new music from the band?
JS: Well this record is still new but our goal is to have something out near
about the this same time next year. NOV 2010 - FEB 2011 we should have something
to offer.
MC: Are lyrics a big thing for you or is it music first then lyrics?
JS: BOTH are important in this band. we make sure the music and lyrics blend and have the same feel. sometimes a lyric or concept starts a riff or vice versa
MC: What would be a dream tour for the band?
JS: OVERKILL, KING DIMAOND, NEVERMORE, etc, etc. etc
MC: Any last words? Horns up for the interview.
JS: THANK YOU and all the people like you because we all need each other to
keep METAL MUSIC alive and kicking. Thanks to all the fans that share their
time and listen to TAUNTED and enjoy it. We look forward to burning up the stage
for years to come and we can only hope that we keep meeting all the wonderful
people in the METAL WORLD!
Email: octanevocal@juno.com