What is your name and what do you do for the band?
Hello from north of the border! My name’s Miko and I’m the vocalist for Burdizzo. We play Grindcore. The name was given to the band by guitarist, Sophocles, well, mainly because he spent a lot of time surfing the internet. At first, having a castration tool for a band name seemed absurd, then we realized that it was a perfect metaphor for how the world, or society, tries so desperately to hold us all in its grip.
2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound.
We’re based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and being from this city certainly has a strong influence on who we are and how we sound. The scene here is extremely diverse & eclectic and there is no shortage of incredible bands and musicians to check out on any given night. We get the best of both worlds. All the touring acts as well as the up and comers. It’s almost overwhelming because we simply can’t attend every concert. On top of that, we have our own events to play. That constant struggle for balance amidst all the chaos and frustration of living in a big city forged the intense sound we’ve been fortunate to harness and produce.
3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?
I’m not sure if the question is who, but rather what. We’re all at various stages in our lives and all have varying reasons for being pissed off enough to feel the need to express it through music. We’re fans of music first and musicians second and we all listen to a wide variety of bands from 80’s pop to Rock; Jazz & Blues to R&B and Hip Hop; and finally from Punk, Hardcore, Metal to Grindcore and everything in between. With an age range of 20 years between some members, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint any specific influence and we truly couldn’t cite any that we would all agree on.
4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?
Not yet. And to be perfectly honest, we have yet to reach out to any company. It never really dawned on us that any company would be interested in endorsing us, so thank you for giving us something to think about.
5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now?
At first, a couple of us were introduced and matched up by a dear friend, Tim Smith, in the hopes of reviving his project. When things didn’t go as planned, and Tim made his exit, we took a moment to reflect on what we wanted to do because we really enjoyed writing and playing together. Sophocles suggested a Grindcore project, and it was a no brainer because we all loved Grindcore and at the time, there wasn’t much going on in the genre locally. Maybe a handful of incredible bands comparing to everything else that was considered heavy. The ultimate goal was to write and play live as soon as possible and within approximately two years, we accomplished that and released our debut album, Acoustic Neuroma. Being working class, we understood that touring was never going to be part of the equation so creating, playing shows, making videos and building friendships with other bands was the only goal we ever set. We’ve had an amazing run from the start. The local support has been great as well as some kudos from the international scene, which helped us tremendously when things got rough. We recently release our sophomore album, Nursery, and that writing process helped us get through losing and gaining members over the last year or so, giving you the kind of band we are today.
6.In today's digital environment it takes creative strategy to keep things moving. What creative ideas do you have to keep your band relevant over time?
There’s no question that today’s technology has been instrumental in our development and networking has never been easier. We’re reaching people at all corners of the world. It’s amazing. The only thing I can comment on about remaining relevant, is that we’re constantly pushing each other to be better. In everything that we do. One thing we try to keep in mind is to not solely rely on digital tools. Keeping things organic and personal is key. With every show, we’re connecting with people, building relationships and using modern technology to enhance that experience rather than replace it.
7.We've all seen a terrible live band that is awesome on CD. Is that cool with you or do you lose respect for bands that cannot pull it off live?
For us, it’s not so much the fact that a band doesn’t perform or sound as they do on record. Some bands are great live and the recordings don’t do them justice or, more to your question, they sound phenomenal on record but are lacking something live. If someone has the courage and motivation to get up on stage and play their hearts out, the respect is there. The only time we lose respect for an artist is when they disrespect other bands by not being prepared at a show, starting late, playing longer than their allotted set time or coping an attitude as if they’re the best act that night. Confidence is great. Arrogance is not.
8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?
That’s definitely an easy question to answer: We’re Grindcore. We put the “core” back in Grindcore by respecting all aspects of Grind. Our core belief is truly what Grind represents and that is: No rules! Anything goes! Almost. We have a hard time keeping up with all the sub genres and are cool with how people want to categorize us as it’s their perception, their interpretation and there’s no wrong answer.
9.This is a tough question but a very real reality, Is your band actually talented or just popular?
Many bands make it with a cliche or publicity stunts etc. Would you accept fame even if it was just because of being the “ in” thing or is it actually important to you that you gain favor with talent?
Now that’s a tough one. We’re seasoned musicians and talented in our own right. We know we’ve created something special and are humble about it. We’re honoured that the scene has accepted us and we measure our talent, popularity and success based on the feedback of our peers and fans. It’s important to us that people enjoy what we do, as much as we enjoy what we do. We do it for ourselves first and foremost and those who want to grind along are welcome. I’m sure there are those who may not think that what we do takes skill or talent, and let’s face it, if you’re in a Grindcore band, it isn’t to become popular, but people don’t completely hate us so we must be doing something right.
10.Tell us what to expect from you live. Nothing is more boring than watching bands stare at the floor and bob their heads to music nobody but the band knows. What can your band offer in a live setting that people will remember?
I wouldn’t say that we’re the most insane band live ever! But, we play fast and hard, so we hold our own, and the night dictates how intense our live performance will be. There’s no choreography, we just let lose and try to be mindful at the same time. I’ve definitely taken a few guitar headstocks to the ribs over the years, so it pays to be aware of your surroundings. My focus is the crowd. I love to balance out engagement and enjoyment because nothing beats getting lost in the music and putting on a great performance. Some of the best comments we have received after sets are usually around expectations and how we exceed them. The only time I’m staring at the floor is to keep an eye on our time and find out what the next song is.
11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?
Both albums were recorded and engineered by our good friend, Graham Scott Anthony. We released our debut album Acoustic Neuroma in 2016. 11 songs in roughly 13 minutes. A beautifully chaotic mess as we were all over the map finding our sound and style. The birth of Burdizzo. Within the last 3 years, we’ve played tons of great shows with some awesome bands both locally and internationally. We lost members and gained members and the sound changed even more. We released our Sophomore album called, Nursery on October 25th, 2019. 12 songs in roughly 18 minutes. The majority of the music was written by Sophocles and Frid with Spencer and Andrew contributing one song each as well as their respective parts to all the songs. Having those two songs on the album meant so much to us and it’s a sneak peak to what album three will sound like. With this writing power, well be sure to release that sooner than later. I’m the one that needs to be nervous, since I’ll need to keep up with them lyrically.
12. If you have videos where can we see them?
We released one official video for Mistress, off Acoustic Neuroma. It’s about all the vices we suffer from and ones journey of recovery. We also have a handful of live videos as well of the new songs off Nursery. Those were teasers prior to its release and were shot and edited by another good friend, John DiMarco. He worked on Mistress as well. Everything can be seen on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2G89M4xKs4foWHnI6gSo6g
13.Everybody has Bandcamp , ReverbNation , Soundcloud , etc
Why do you think this is so important? Doesn't it seem like everyone is giving everything out for free?
Well, since we’re not going to make a living off our music, sharing it with as many people as possible is the goal. We have everything for sale, from CD’s to T-Shirts and we appreciate everyone that has made a purchase but it doesn’t bother us that we’ve given a lot away. As far as free downloading or pirate streaming/downloading we’re all for it. If someone truly cannot afford $5 for a CD because it would mean they’d skip a meal, I’d rather give them a free CD or a free bandcamp download code. I can see the down side for touring bands that depend on every single cent, but with all the money being made, and them not getting a fair cut has nothing to do with the issue of “illegal” downloads, but more to do with how their finances are being handled. Artists have been getting ripped off since day one. It’s nothing new unfortunately.
14.Best moment of your career so far?
Everything we have done have been highlights of our time as a band. Every show is equally important to us but there’s no denying it’s a great feeling to share the stage with our heroes. When we shared the stage with Dayglo Abortions and Brujeria and then followed that up by playing with Hideous Divinity, Cryptopsy & Aborted, we felt like we belonged. Both shows, some fans asked the same question: “Where are you guys from?” The look on their faces when I replied with: “Right here!”, was priceless as it blew their minds. Those are moments we cherish, when new fans take us for a professional touring band.
15.Your message to the fans?
Keep going to local shows. We know it’s hard to catch everyone, but every city has more than a few gems that are worth the price of admission. When you do make it to a local show, don’t be shy. Approach the bands and let them know what you thought. Believe it or not, a lot of musicians are introverts and sometimes they may seem disinterested or standoffish, but once warmed up, they’re some of the nicest, most approachable people you’ll ever meet. And if they act like rock stars? Move on lol!
Bonus Question who do you bring back:
Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy
Oh man, I say let the dead rest. They have given us all so much over the years but if I had to pick, it’d be Lemmy. That was a tough blow because I grew up listening to Motörhead. I listened to everything that was being played on the radio in the 70’s & 80’s and when they came on, I paid attention.
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