SOCIAL MEDIA

Vio-lence Interview

TM - Hi, This is Amelia and Elizabeth from Twinmusix and we are here with Sean from Vio-lence, Thank You for having this interview with us today we appreciate it.

VL - Thank You for having me, it is great to talk about the band and talk about what we are up to, so cheers.

TM - Cheers, You are coming to Australia, what can fans expect from your tour?

VL - Well they can expect this, we just played the Whisky a Go Go on Saturday, go and take a look at some of the videos. Vio-lence stirs people's emotions in different ways but mostly they are motions of aggression. I am letting all of that out now we are playing and I can't wait to get to Australia and present this music to people and presents to them the same thing that people in LA and Chicago and the Bay Area already experienced.

TM - What can fans expect from your setlist?

VL - We are going to have a bigger percentage of Eternal Nightmare songs, Oppressing the Masses and Let the World Burn songs.

TM - Is there anything you are looking forward to seeing in Australia?

VL - There is plenty, I am looking forward to seeing but I don't know if I will be able to see much because we are doing 5 shows in 5 days and you don't get a lot of days off when you are on tour. Days off cost money, the promoters try and book us every day we are here to entertain people, not be on vacation.

TM - You are playing this sacred Reich are you excited about that?

VL - I enjoy playing with Sacred Reich. We have had a few shows with them before and they are good friends of ours. It is going to be a fun time. We have a history together, back in the day in Phoenix, we would play the Mason jar and they would show up to hang out. To go out with them and do this many shows is going to be a great experience. It is also good to go out with bands that you haven't toured with before because you make new relationships with different people and that's always fun too.

TM - You say you would like to go and tour with bands that you haven't toured before, is there anyone you would like to tour with?

VL - Behemoth, I am a huge Behemoth fan. I met Nergal at Alcatraz festival in Belgium and we had a short conversation. I enjoy their music a lot, that would be a band I would love to tour with.

TM - You released your ep 'Let the World Burn' last year, what was your writing and recording process?

VL - When we write Phil and I try to structure the music. I'll start and try and figure out vocal patterns for the music and then start writing lyrics to it, it is a process. Some songs fall into your lap and some songs it's like chipping through Grunert, so it is a crazy process and I enjoy it a lot and that's how I do it.

Then we try and record locally, we record at the Studios and then we send the music off to be mixed. Then we present the finished product to the label and that is always a great conversation because represent it's two Metal Blade Records and that is like a family-owned business, so the people who work there are fans of the music. Back in the day when we were recording songs all subsidiaries of major labels like MCA and Atlantic Records wanted to control you, but with the metal blade, it is nothing like that. They would be in the Pitt as quickly as they would help you getting a record produced.

TM - What's your favourite memory of watching someone else perform live, can you tell us a story?

VL - I have seen a lot of great bands live back in the day. I have seen Kiss and Stray Cats but I have never seen Behemoth live and I would like to see them play.

TM - what was the first ever band or artist you saw live?

VL - The first ever band I saw live was on my 13th birthday and my mum took me. she was like, on your birthday we are going to a show. We use to listen to Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest except she took us to see The Isley Brothers, but she chose not to tell us until we got there, but it was a great performance. The first show I bought a ticket for was $10 and I saw The Cars at the Oakland Coliseum during the Panorama tour.

TM - That's cool, did that inspire you to play music as a career?

VL - No, I love the music and I made friends with the guys from Exodus and helped them out on a couple of local shows like Sacramento. I knew Paul well, but I worked with Dean and Phil and when Jerry birr left Vio-lence, Dean told me Jerry left so they needed a singer. I went to Phil and I said I heard Jerry left, do you need a singer and he was like yeah. I was like hell I will try, that was how I kind of got started. I was talking to GBH, Fear and angel city and some other punk bands and I liked all the metal bands and Led Zeppelin and The Doors. I have always been into music so when that came up I was like I will give that a shot.

TM - And you are still in music today.

VL - And here I am flying to Australia

TM - You mentioned The Doors, I love their music. If you go to Barney's Beanery in LA you can go and sit where Jimmy Morrison use to sit at the bar.

VL - I will definitely go and check that out. We played Saturday at the Whisky a Go Go and in 1968 they were the house band. We had more options in LA because more clubs cater to our type of music. We had the opportunity to play there and I know our fans aren't big fans of the place because the tickets are expensive and the drinks are expensive but I was like I want to play on the same stage that Jimmy Morrison played and the show went off. We got signed in the Ally in the back it was a sold-out show and it was musicians treat and a great show.

TM - If you could have any band play one of your songs, what band would it be, what song would it be and would it be in your style or their style?

VL - It would be Slayer and they would play world in a world in their style. I have seen Slayer a couple of times. I saw them in Northern California and they still had the makeup under their eyes like on the Show No Mercy record and the boys from Exodus said don't come up here and wear that s*** because this s*** is real. Then I saw them the next Saturday and I got a chance to stand on top of one of the sound cabinets so no one was in front of me. I have also seen Possessed, Exodus Testament and when they were Legacy. I saw Dave Mustaine make it this for the first time after Metallica fired him, that's what inspired me to want to play music the great scene of intensity and stuff.

VL - Pantera still has Phil Anselmo singing and unfortunately Dimebag and Vince aren't there which is sad, but the music is great and they have some great musicians playing for them. They wouldn't be playing big festivals if the fans didn't want to see them and regardless of what blabbermouth say Pantera is this s*** and I definitely support them. They are back out you know the funny thing is I went and saw them at a convention back in the day and Pantera did a few songs as a showcase and Harold a friend of mine had a photo past so I took his photo pass so I could get between the barrier and the stage and it took security a while to figure out I didn't have a camera, I got to watch three songs before they kicked me out. what's funny is at the same convention a ran into Alice In Chains and they were total Vio-lence fans and power to Pantera for taking the music to the generation who haven't seen it live and us taking our music to places it hasn't been and playing for people who have never seen us and that is very rewarding to me.

TM - It also carries it forward to the next generation, that's good as well.

VL - Yeah, because back in the 80s there was nothing like the Bay Area thrash metal scene. When we got back to 2019 and played there were people from all over the world that showed up from Japan Germany and England so it was a great experience but not everyone can do that right, so now we are playing to people who wouldn't get to see us if we weren't back together and we love it.

TM - Is there anything else you want to say to your fans?

VL - You should come to our show and fully experience the thrash metal. I don't know what clubs allow you to stage dive and what clubs don't allow you to stage dive but we love the pit. Those people who want to come out and experience some awesome, you see I am probably going to draw you into the Pitt. We are so excited and it happens all the time. You will lose control and submit to the thrash metal and we hope you leave having a great time and great memories.

TM - Thank you for having this interview with us today, we appreciate it.