Black Amethyst is an eclectic progressive metal band from Tucson, Arizona.
Matt: I hit things.
Zack: I play guitar.
Ashley: I play bass without a pick.
Ruben: I write all the lyrics and provide both clean and harsh vocals.
Interviewer: When did you decide you wanted to be in a band?
Matt and Ruben wanted to be in a band since high school, Ashley wanted to be in a band since middle school, and Zack has always wanted to be in a band.
Interviewer: What is different about being a musician than you imagined?
The whole financial aspect of the music industry was a huge hindsight, it wasn’t just making music anymore. It was figuring out a way to get money so we can pay for the banner, merchandise, and everything else involved. There’s also not as much partying as Zack expected.
Interviewer: What gear do you use and why?
Matt: I play a Pearl drum set BLX series with Paiste cymbals (they’re the bomb) that was top of the line in the late 80s, it was a gift from my Great Aunt Beth.
Zack: I’m currently in the works of getting new equipment.
Ashley: I run a Model 3500 Hartke Systems Transient Attack bass amp and a Gallien Krueger Backline 410BLX bass cabinet. I also use a Warwick Corvette bass with a Darkglass Alpha/Omega distortion pedal.
Ruben: Shure Beta 58A Performance Microphone, it is the industry standard performing microphone.
Interviewer: What music do you listen to that would surprise people?
Matt: I really like The Script and Stravinsky.
Zack: Latin music.
Ruben: I listen to Norah Jones and John Mayer.
Interviewer: How do we find your music and merch to buy?
Our music is not up online as of yet but you can find us on:
FaceBook: Black Amethyst
Instagram: blackamethystband
Snapchat: baband18
And if you would like to support us financially go on Patreon.com and search Black Amethyst
Interviewer: Do you want a record deal or are you DIY?
Members of the band are partial on which route we’d rather take, we believe that having a record deal would open doors and let us focus more on the music and less on the business side of things. However, it could land us in massive amounts of debt whereas if we did it by ourselves we wouldn’t be in debt to anyone.
Interviewer: What bands do people compare your music to?
Tool is a big one with elements of Korn and Alice in Chains.
Matt: Music is more like an advertising for what your selling like tickets and merchandise, the music has become free but the show and merch are where we make money.
Zack: I guess it’s easy for people to learn about other bands but the band doesn’t make much for streaming services
Ashley: Spotify is a good tool to get your music heard, to me, it’s not meant to be where you make money.
Interviewer: What’s the ultimate goal for the band?
Matt, Zack, and Ashley: Be the first band in space!
Ruben: When Korn gets inducted into the Rock n Roll Music Hall of Fame, we would be the band to play their music for them at their induction.
Interviewer: Will we see you tour?
We do have upcoming shows on October 27th at the House of Bards from 7-10pm and on November 17th at The Rock from 5:30-6pm. Both venues are in Tucson, Arizona.
Interviewer: Who would you love to tour with?
Matt: King Crimson, Tool obviously
Zack: Limp Bizkit, Puscifer
Ashley: A Perfect Circle, Periphery, Animals as Leaders
Ruben: Korn, Tool, Rammstein
Matt: I kind think our newest one the Accused is gonna be a good one, there are odd times and there's a lot of well-placed pauses and overall the song is filled with a lot of intense emotions, I love that.
Zack: Burnout, the riffs are really fun to play and it's a good pump it up song.
Ashley: Whoosh cuz I kind of feel sassy when I play it.
Ruben: Evil Eye, I like the mixture of the different vocal styles there's lots of intensity and then there's mellow part and rhythmic parts thrown in at the end.
Interviewer: Why should people take the time to listen to your band over thousands of other bands?
Matt: Because we’re better.
Zack: Because we’re kick ass.
Ashley: We’re kinda cool and we do music differently. Definitely worth a listen.
Ruben: I think we take the time to challenge ourselves and do things that people aren’t doing. None of our songs are half-assed, everyone is constantly working and we’re all trying to do something that’s unexpected.
Interviewer: What are your favorite music websites, labels, podcasts, etc?
Matt: drummerworld.com
Zack: pitchforks.com
Ashley: Sumerian Records, songsterr.com
Ruben: Smodcast.com
Interviewer: Is imagery important to you? Do you judge albums by their cover?
Matt: I think imagery is important but I don't think I judge albums by their cover because I think the imagery can add to the music if you want it to.
Zack: Yes, I guess yeah, because if an album cover looks cool then I’m going to be impressed by it and pick it up.
Ashley: Imagery is important but it’s not something that should dictate whether a band is cool or not.
Ruben: I don’t really cool what the album looks like at all because I will only buy an album if I know what the music sounds like. I didn’t put down Metallica’s Black album because it looked boring.
Interviewer: If you could choose a cover song your bandmates would hate what would it be?
Matt: Get Down on It by Kool & The Gang
Zack: Rock Lobster by B52s
Ashley: All Star by Smashmouth
Ruben: Love me Thrill me Kiss me Kill me by U2
Matt: I think they are equally important, the record needs to be to a certain quality that will be remembered and the live show needs to have a level of entertainment that encourages people to come back to more shows and buy more records.
Zack: Live show
Ashley: Live show
Ruben: Record
Interviewer: Name 3 people dead or alive you would want to play your music for.
Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Chip Ritter
Interviewer: Lemmy, Ozzy, Dio, and Rob Halford in a cage match who wins?
Matt: Ozzy
Zack: Lemmy
Ashley: Rob Halford
Ruben: Dio
https://soundcloud.com/blackamethystband
https://www.facebook.com/BlackAmethystBand/
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