Monday, October 1, 2018

“Anhedonia” NOT GENRE NAZI'S THE GRINDER INTERVIEW

1. Please tell us about the about the band and its members. 

The band is called “Anhedonia” officially formed in studio at Rapture Recordings mid 2017.  It was started by myself (RJ) who then used the single “So Far Below” as a recruitment tool which helped formed what/whom the band is made up of today.
Members and their roles are as follows:  RJ Vargas does vocals, Jason Anaya plays guitar, Joe Anderson plays guitar, Jose Jimenez plays bass, and Andrew Holzbaur plays drums.


2. Who does the majority of the writing? Is it a group thing or does someone handle the writing duties?


After the writing and production of the single, the major writing duties and responsibilities were handed off to Jason to take over.  Being the second person to be officially recruited into the band, this allowed material to begin creation while I (RJ) could focus on all the administrative stuff such as continuing to scout and interview candidates looking to join the band, networking, setting up socials, etc.  With our full lineup now, Jason still maintain the major duties of producing our material, but we all work together and consolidate our input.  Whether it be suggesting a type of riff or breakdown here, switching something up there, or trying a drum fill here, etc.  Now we all make input in the overall product of songs regardless of who does what.  It’s a team effort.  Sometimes Andrew will come up with a drum sample, and then Jason and/or Joe will start to form riffs AROUND that and vis versa.  Whatever happens to come up and seems to work, we roll with and capitalize on to keep our creative grind dynamic and open.


3. Where is the band based out of ? Where did you want to the band to end up? What was the dream city to have as your home base once you got out of your scene?


The band is based out of Central California as that’s where it started.  But now we often practice in L.A.  Our members stretch from L.A. all the way to San Jose.  As far as our dream city, there hasn’t been too much thought on that.  We basically are where we’re from (which is all over CA) and work towards expanding our influence everywhere.  We consider CA our base of ops.


4. What is your genre? What bands do you use to explain  to people what you sound like?

We try not to genre-nazi when explaining music, but understanding what you are and who your market is will only help success rate as being in a band is still a business.  At least where we want to go.  Our overall genre/style would be considered “Deathcore” but we include elements of Deathmetal, Slam, Downtempo/beatdown, and even Prog.  We like our music super heavy and hard but also want to be able to reach multiple market audiences within that world.


 5. Can we buy anything from you Cd's shirts etc and where can we buy them?


 As far as goods and products, you can buy our single, “So Far Below” on pretty much any music platforms such as ITunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, etc.  You can even do so directly from our official website along with a bunch of other merch at www.anhedoniaband.com.  Our online store is also fully integrated with Facebook so you can even view our product catalog directly on our Facebook page.


6. Do you have studio time lined up anything new coming soon?

 We do have studio time lined up and will be working with Cody Fuentes of Rapture Recordings once again; we couldn’t be more excited.  We are booked up and ready to go for almost two full weeks straight in late January working into February of 2019.  Right around the corner!  This will be full production of our album titled “Virulence” which is where our single was taken from.


7. Have you ever been on tour? If so where and with who?

The majority of us come from various other / previous bands.  Some have toured, others such as myself just have extensive show experience but haven’t experience any major touring, and others don’t have major show experience;  It’s a melting pot.  Out of everyone, our drummer Andrew, has the most tour experience out of all of us as he used to drum for Oceano and The Devastated.  He’s also done tour work for Impending Doom and currently tours with My Children My Bride.  We’re talking European tours, Australian, etc.  For the rest of us, with the combination of all out experiences, we aim to make this it for everyone as a whole new entity. 


8. What is your favorite band? Who are the bands who influenced you?

As a whole band, we wouldn’t be able to tell you who OUR favorite band is.  Each of us individually have our own idols, influences, and inspirations that have contributed to the melting pot of creating what is in this band, and I believe that’s very important.  Otherwise if we try to identify and constrict it to us as a unit then we end up limiting the thought of who and what we are as Anhedonia.  This is typically why I personally don’t like the phrase “FFO” cause the marketing hook is then lost.  You think oh well that particular band(s) has been done before so why should I be interested in this one?  It’s all representation and marketing.  It comes down to psychology.  I think we each have our own network of inspiration and experience that makes this band what it is and what it will be.


9. Do you have a website? And do I have to verify that I am 18 to enter it? 

We DO have an official website which is www.anhedoniaband.com.  You do NOT have to verify that you’re 18 to enter.


10. What about your music do you want people to remember? What is the quality you want to hit people when they hit play?

The biggest thing we want people to remember with our music is the EXPERIENCE it gives them in their mind that translates to how they feel.  Even if it is just for that brief moment in time.  Whether it be a live show or in their headphones, we want our music to have a lasting impact that hits peoples subconscious even after they are finished listening to it.  Granted we are a heavy band that plays malevolent sounding music;  It’s the guilty pleasure of this particular sound and music world.  That rush you feel when a certain part hits you in just the right way.  Spine tingly, almost primal.   In a sense, we want to open the Hellraiser puzzle box within your own mind through our music, and we want that experience to be unique for everyone.  


11. Name a person who is integral to your band that nobody knows about , what person drives your band like they are part of the band? Who is the extra member ?

An integral part of our band, who may not even realize it, is our good friend Joe Collins.  This guy has been so supportive and down for anything even before this band really locked in the lineup.  He’s been there to provide practice space, encouragement, input, and is even ready to step up and fill in for the band in situations that may or may not occur.  Whether that be filling in for drums if Andrew can’t make it for any reason, and/or to step in and tech for the band.  He’s ready to be there both on and off scene as well as ready to jump on opportunities to learn and expand HIS skillset which still helps us in the long run.  He’s the most genuine and supportive dude, and I couldn’t be more thankful to know him and be able to call him a friend.  


12. Tell nerds like me tell us about your live rig and equipment.

For gear, we operate with 7string guitars and a 5 string bass of course.  We alternate between the tunings of Drop G and Drop F.  Nice and HEAVY.  Here are the detail on our hardware

a.  RJ (vox)  If I’m not using the house PA at a bigger venue, I generally prefer to use my personal rig (for smaller venue shows) which consist of two Peavy 215s powered by a QSC Gx5 power amp with a small Xenyx mixing board.  For my mic, I use a Senheiser E835.  

b. Jason (guitar)
- Ibanez Iron Label 7
- Schecter Damien Elite 7
- Peavy 5150 Signature
- ISP, TC Electronic, and Maxon Pedals.

c. Joe (guitar)
- Strandberg Boden OS8
- Ibanez (Prestige Series)
- Prs & Fortin Amp
- Digitech
- ISP
- Randall Cab

d. Jose (bass)
- LTD B-1005MS
- Ampeg cab
- Darkglass Electronics B7KU
- Gallien Krueger 700 RB II
- TC Electronics Polytune 3

e. Andrew (drums)  is rocking a custom endorsed SJC drum rig, and custom MEE Audio headphones for his in-ears.


13.What is your musical guilty pleasure that you are ashamed of?

 We all have our musical guilty pleasures outside of metal and the band, but none of us are embarrassed about any of it.  We like what we like, and we respect each other’s tastes as well as opinions if asked.  Me for example, I like reggae, orchestral music, industrial, cloud rap, etc.  Same for the other guys, it’s just one huge melting pot.  Many times we even recommend other non-metal music to each other.  It’s a great dynamic not just as a band, but as friends.



14.If you could custom build a band who would be the members?


I wouldn’t want to build any other custom band than this one.  THIS band is a custom build within itself.  If you’re thinking about “what ifs” and what not then you take away from what you have working right in front of you.  At least in my mind.  I like the band that was built from the ground up that is Anhedonia, and don’t pay too much thought about a fantasy dream team or anything like that.


15.Message to the fans? What is it?

Our message to the fans would be, like and follow us on social media.  Check out our lyric video on youtube and stream us on all your music platforms.  Check out our website and keep on the lookout for when we drop “Virulence” next year.  After we drop that, we are coming out the gates and booking hard and heavy.






17. Who in the band has the stinkiest feet?

Probably Jason.  We have this inside joke to where we have different names to match different identities of party fouls with Jason.  Like multiple personalities to match a situation.  So I’d say he/they win by sheer numbers.





19. How do you think your band will break up?

I don’t think about how this band would break up.  It’s been set up in such a way that no matter what it is going to keep moving.  As a musician and businessman, I am making sure the mistakes from previous bands I’ve been in don’t happen again.  It took so much just to start Anhedonia, obtain the members we have now, and the progress we’ve made to a point where the idea of failure is not an option, let alone in our vocabulary.  I believe it is important to have that mentality, and people underestimate how much of an impact your mindset has on your outcomes of achieving ANYTHING.



20.Last but not least , Zepplin or The Who

Even Split between Zepplin and The Who.





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