What is your name and what do you do for the band?
Band name: Requiem For Oblivion
This band started as a solo project and the name reflects my journey as an addict on the streets of California and the journey into recovery. But it is more than that...A funeral for futility that applies to all who struggle with addiction, alcoholism, depression and other mental disorders. The last album really started to expand out and touched upon more global ills...reflecting the statement 'As above, so below. As within, so without.'
As a side note, because I am a recovering addict I have a couple things in the works to address the national opioid epidemic that will involve this Requiem For Oblivion theme.
2.Tell us where you are based and describe the scene. How do you think where you are located influences your sound.
We are based out of Erie, Pa where I relocated from California years ago. Originally (and still) I looked at it as a great location because we are surrounded by Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. The metal scene in Erie was pretty strong here back in 2010/2011 with 3 or 4 great venues, decent support and a few really killer bands. Unfortunately in the last several years literally all but one venue have dried up and the fan support in almost nonexistent. Most bands now find that they have to travel and/or focus mainly on the global, internet side of things.
3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?
I'll speak for myself but I listen to some non-metal that may surprise people. The Mediaeval Baebes, Death Cab for Cutie, Karl Sanders, V.A.S.T. (first album), Rush (probably no surprise that a metalhead listens to Rush), Duncan Sheik, Porcupine Tree, RA (the hard rock band), etc...All of those artists have helped shape the sound of the band, either subtly or overtly. In addition, I actually practice Hindu (Sanskrit) chanting which finds it's way into most of the projects I'm involved in.
4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?
We are not endorsed by anyone. I've never even looked into it. Lol I guess I'd probably want to be endorsed by a guitar (Schecter, Jackson) or a boutique amp/effects company (Kemper, Axe FX,)
5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now?
My ultimate goal was and still is to make a full-time living with music. Whether it's from this band, one of the other projects, or the solo licensing stuff I'm working on (or any combination of those), that is still the goal. Some touring (even abroad) would be nice at some point...nothing too crazy but to experience it would be cool.
Really not very close to my goal at this point. Money has been hit or miss with the extreme metal stuff but a lot of that may be that we have not really had much exposure at all nor much of a budget for that. Plus we have played locally and regionally but nothing real consistent (because of lineup changes, etc.) and like I mentioned before, no touring yet.
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?
I try to release teaser videos for new music periodically since it has been nearly 2 years since our last release. Then, we will release a new full song about 3x prior to the album release.
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?
I remember seeing a video of Guns And Rose's live one time and they sounded terrible! I didn't like them much anyway but after that, I really lost respect for them. I know a big part of that was how wasted they were but c'mon! Have some respect for your craft!
Conversely, a band like Rush who sounds immaculate in concert and is able to reproduce live what I hear on the album, has my utmost love and respect. So yes, we do strive to reproduce musically what you hear in the studio.
8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?
Death Metal. But I sometimes describe it as hybrid death metal...or even garbage can death metal.
We combine elements of slam, technicality, atmosphere and prog into an old/new school package. Haha
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?
Yeah, we're not popular at all! But I think we're one of the more creative and talented bands in our region. I really would like to know what being popular feels like but not at the expense of creating music we can't passionately endorse!
I think we'll get there if we keep plugging away. This is actually the first album we've written inside the span of a year, with a lot of focus and solid identity, and all the same members.
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 mean we don't jump around like mall-core bands or have a crazy front man that climbs the rafters and hangs upside down like Fair To Midland. However, we will kick you in the teeth with our music! A recent focus has been to create moments in our songs that translate to memorable points during the set. We plan to add some visual aspects to the live show that we haven't had before but we want to play out a while with the new lineup and get the kinks out first.
11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?
We have a 2010 6 song demo (not really available anywhere), 2011 and 2013 EPs and two full-lengths, Dark Tales Of Forgotten Mindscapes and Burning Nation (all on our Bandcamp). There are a few other songs floating around which are low quality recordings, that probably will never see the light of day...until or unless, I re-record them.
12. If you have videos where can we see them?
We have a YouTube.
http://youtube.com/requiemforoblivion
We've never recorded any professional videos but theres a few picture/lyric ones on there. We had live videos too but I removed them as the sound quality was terrible.
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?
Yeah, we try to put our stuff in as many places as possible. With the new models of the music industry digital placement is king I guess. There is less label support and more direct band to fan relationships than ever.
I am torn on the whole controversy around 'give away free stuff to market yourself' as opposed to 'devaluing our work by letting everyone have it for free'. I've done a little bit of both and neither has really stood out as a better strategy to be honest.
I'm also torn on the 'pay to play' or 'eating tickets' phenomenon to get on bigger shows, with bigger bands, to present yourself to a potentially new, bigger audience. But again I think that practice has trained locals to feel like they shouldn't have to pay anything at a local venue to party and watch 3 or 4 small time bands hit the stage.
14.Best moment of your career so far?
'Moments'...We've had a few: opening for Katatonia, Kataklysm and Fleshgod Apocalypse were amazing shows. We played a big show, with a lot of bands, hosted by Metal Sanaz who was a big deal for a hot minute. We've opened for Mushroomhead a few times and those tend to draw big crowds locally. We were featured in No Clean Singing in 2017 when they shared and did a write up for the title track off our Burning Nation release. Recording at a big studio in Cleveland in 2011 was quite an experience! We played Celebrate Erie (a big 3 day street party) and got a good sized check 3 out of 4 years here in town. Getting a couple offers from small record labels was flattering as well. There's been quite a few highlights.
15.Your message to the fans?
Bonus Question who do you bring back
Dime , Cliff , Dio , Lemmy , Randy
For me, probably Randy...I loved Ozzy's first two albums...even tho Jake E. Lee was my fave Oz guitarist. But maybe it would be Dio...I didn't get into him until I got older though.
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