Down In One - Interview

In this new occasion we have the great opportunity to interview the Metal band Down In One from UK, here we will let you their FACEBOOK PAGE to give them a like and follow them.We have nothing more to say, so enjoy this interview!

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

Well, so far we've made most important band decisions while drunk and the band name was no exception...We were all at the pub and Jonny, our guitarist, comes in and yells "I've got it! Down In One! Y'know, because drinking!"  If I remember correctly (and honestly, that memory is pretty hazy) we celebrated by following the creed of our new found band name.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?  

We didn't really choose a genre to go with, we kinda just wrote riffs and went with whatever came to mind. We've never wanted to pigeonhole ourselves into one genre.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?  

Me (Gon) and Jonny met through work and quickly realised we both love loud metal and drinking. You could say it all went downhill from there! Jonny then met Rich (our bassist) at his next job and we ended up talking about the band over cheap whisky and an outdoor showing of Batman. Finally I've known Jimmy since we were 16 year olds playing in a metal band from way back when. We invited him to come jam with us and I think we wrote our first song on that first session. He was in the band that night.

4. Each band member favourite band?  

Gon: For a metal frontman embarrassingly none of my favourite bands are actually metal! My favourite artists are The Knife, The Controls, Nico Vega, Aesop Rock, The Heavy and Caro Emerald.

Jonny: ZZ Top, Black Label Society, anything involving Eric Clapton and David Gilmour. Foo Fighters, Mastodon, Down, A7X even thought I know people hate them their early work was a huge influence on me. I've probably missed a shit load but there ya go!

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?  

Gon: As a band, and admittedly in a very cheesy way, we work off each other when it comes to songwriting. Jonny will come in with a new riff, Jimmy will start to put some sweet ass beats underneath it and Rich brings the thunder on the bass. Lyrically I like to tell a story. Usually it's something personal but sometimes it's based on stories or something I've seen that interests me. For example Elena, one of our upcoming tracks, is about Count Carl Tanzler von Cosel, a man who was morbidly in love with a lady called Elena to the point that he lived for seven years with her corpse after she died.

Jonny: I find it easiest to write songs and riffs whilst listening to music. Even if it's a completely different genre.

Jimmy: Just the love of playing drums for me, I write drum parts that I enjoy and I think work well with the song.

6. Where was your last gig?  

Our last gig was fantastic! We got invited by the awesome Torturous Promotions to play a stoner/doom metal night at the Old Angel in Nottingham. The bands were fucking incredible and it was a great evening of balls to the wall heavy as hell metal.

7. Where would you like to act?  

Gon: More festivals for sure. I would absolutely love to play Download or Bloodstock. We played at Rock And Bike Fest last summer and ever since I've been itching to play a festival again.

Jimmy: I like being in a band from somewhere with as great a music scene as Nottingham has so I would love to work our way up to playing on the same stage as so many great bands who pass through here, Main Stage at Rock City.

Jonny: I'd love to gig in Australia as I used to live there for a while and have family there. Soundwave would be awesome although I've heard it might not be going much longer which is a great shame.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Gon: Man, there are so many amazing bands I'd love to play with! Black Label Society for sure, they seem like royal dudes. I'd love to have a drink (or ten!) with Zakk Wylde!

Jonny: Down, Black Label Society and Mastodon are high on the list but there are so many great bands out there that I could never list them all.

9. Whom not?  

Gon: Ha! Difficult question...I'm not sure really, I have the most fun at gigs where all the bands are chilled out people. When everyone's cool and down for a laugh and some fun it just gives this great atmosphere for the show, y'know? So I guess, un-chill people?

Jimmy: Music to me is all about enjoying myself and giving the crowd a great show. I wouldn’t want to share the stage with anyone who takes themselves too seriously and aren't putting the effort into their performance.

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Gon: I’ve been playing in bands since I was 16 so I haven’t had stage fright for a long time…but I sure was shitting myself before I went on at Rock And Bike Fest! I’d say practise, be confident, drink enough water, eat enough food, have a piss, make sure you're comfortable before going on stage. Also beer. Beer is always good. Just uh...just don't get so drunk you can't play. That’s just embarrassing.

Jonny: When we played Rock and Bike festival earlier this year I had a fair bit of it. Mainly due to the enormous size of the stage and tent we were playing in but as soon as we got into swing of things it all faded away.

Jimmy: I've never been afraid of the stage but there have definitely been pre-show nerves like when we played in London for the first time. I feed off that nervous excitement though, it gives you the rush of adrenaline you need to perform your best.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

In general we draw inspiration from classic rock and metal bands like Pantera, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Motley Crue and Thin Lizzy. We also love Mastodon and Black Label Society.

Jonny: I have a mate who I met when I first moved to Nottingham told me that all he wanted to do was be a Rock Star. That was almost 5 years ago and through a shit load of hard work and even a law suit involving his band name and having to reinvent themselves, him and the lads are making it happen and starting to reap the rewards. So yeah, Heck, they're right up there. Oh and Jim Root too.

Gon: Chris Cornell and Robb Flynn, as well as by a lot of stuff outside of rock and metal like Aesop Rock and Caro Emerald.

Rich: Ken Kasey, Jason Newstead and Oliver Riedel are the main influences behind my bass.

Jimmy: My main influences are Vinnie Paul, Taylor Hawkins and Mikkey Dee, I just love how hard they play but keep it all together. I aspire to perform as well as play and to me noone does that better than Arejay Hale from Halestorm, he plays hard and he puts on a hell of a show. I always approach song writing with my all time idol, Chris Adler, everything he plays is perfect for the song. He knows exactly what beat can bring a song together and his cymbal work is second to none.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?  

Jimmy: I don't know if it counts as weird but a 14/15 year old kid came up to me at our London show while I was warming up with some stick tricks and asked if I could show him some. Him and his dad really loved the show so I signed a stick for him and that made his day. It's a good feeling to know that people are enjoying what you're doing and would like something to remember the show by.

13. What do you think of your fans?  

They're all fucking awesome! We honestly couldn't ask for better!

14. What do you think of our site?

Loving it and what you guys are doing!

15. Something to add?

Drink, listen to loud music and support your local scene!