WINTERSTORM THE GRINDER INTERVIEW

   1.What is the name of your band and how did you come up with it?

What is your name and what do you do for the band?

The band is Winter Storm. No specific story behind it. My name is Hannah and I play lead guitar and vocals as well as running Winter Storm 

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 in the West Midlands and Devon  the scene is the Midlands is strong; there is a wide variety of sub genres in metal and some great promoters. I don't personally think where we are based has influenced our sound. Wayne and I are the only founding members now, however John has been in the band before and we have known each other a long time 

3.Who influences your sound that would surprise people?

 

I'm into bands like Rush, Tesseract, Iron Maiden, Heart, Eluveitie, Symphony X, Evergrey, Gojira, Devin Townsend etc. Originally I was inspired by Eva Cassidy..

4.Are you endorsed by musical companies , if so who , and if not who would you like to be endorsed by?

We would love to be endorsed by Daddario, Mayones, Ormsby, Ibanez, Elixir, and many more..

Current endorser is Spiral clothing.

5.When you started what was your ultimate goal? And how close to the goal are you now?

We wanted to make a band fusing several sub genres in metal and play some decent sized gigs. We have achieved that, done some incredible tour supports, played in Belgium, at Bloodstock open air and at Hammerfest/HRH metal.

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 engage with social media as frequently as possible and make it feel as personal and humanised as possible. Fans want someone who is real not just advertising a product.

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 think it's important to be able to maintain a high level of musicianship live.

8.Tell us your “core” are you Metal , Rock , Punk , Pop etc because people just have to categorize these days you know?

Metal, rock, but we are also influenced by classical and jazz. Some members drum and bass.

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?

I believe we have talent, but we are not as popular as I would like us to be. I think this isn't something I'm interested in, fame, really. I just want the band to keep making good music and being able to tour further afield and spread our name, music and reputation for making good metal. We are potentially too niche to be big. But that's just my opinion.

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?

We are heavy, and it's high energy. A lot of atmosphere comes across live in our music. Wayne always plays with a lot of energy, as does Nathan. It's important to engage audiences and make the experience captivating for them.

11. What releases have you put out , When will we see something new?

We have Serenity In Darkness, Within The Frozen Design, and on the 11th October 2019 we release Relapse In Time our third album.

12. If you have videos where can we see them?

All are available via our YouTube channel, winterstormuk 

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?

It's important audiences can access you wherever they want to. If they can find you easily on a platform they are comfortable with you may get more focus than if you were not. No one wants to trawl through pages to find that band, or struggle to hunt for their CDs.. it's about publicity and making it easier for fans.

14.Best moment of your career so far?

Bloodstock open air as I returned to vocals after having to retrain for a whole year when I lost my voice to MTD. I nearly cried.

15.Your message to the fans?

Thanks for the continued support and belief in us. Enjoy the new record :)!