Interview With the Band Members of BlackMore!
I was so excited to see BlackMore, and was waiting outside the venue for doors and it was cold! Once inside, I sat down with Shaunt, Vinny, Adrian, Vahan, and David in these comfy black couch-type things hugging the wall opposite to the bar. My first impression came in two waves: 1) These guys have a LOT of hair…Well, Shaunt and Adrian do, and they have enough to donate a fair amount of hair to the other three members. 2) Wow! These dudes are funny! They said that they had another interview afterwards, so I jumped right into it.
Having read on their bio on their website (www.blackmorela.com), that they auditioned for a singer and the only one suited for them was Adrian, I wanted to know WHY he worked so well with them. This, along with any other question I asked, was immediately responded to with a rowdy burst of laughter than subjected us all to stares by the merch table-haunters and the bartender. Apparently, Adrian’s part in the band was because of “the sexy hair.” “We asked what hair conditioner he used, and he was like ‘Pantene,’” stated Vinny (I think it was Vinny, anyways). “L’Oreal, L’Oreal,” corrected Shaunt, who then explained the actual situation: “Some random dude came in and, well, he sounded like crap. Then Adrian came in and he (fucking) killed it and I was like ‘Dude, you’re a (fucking) awesome guy.” “Hey! Language!” someone interjected. Vinny added that “he was experienced. He knew what he was talking about. Musically, that helped us out a lot…He kind of thrusted us in the right direction.” “Really, I just came with pizza…” corrects Adrian. “He actually brought the name BlackMore,” Vinny explains. “Well, actually it’s this guy,” Adrian says while gesturing at Shaunt. “I just convinced him to change the name,” Adrian continues. “I just wanted it to not be White Horse,” someone adds. Clearly, everyone had their own two cents to throw in; really, it was more like three cents.
So me, being a website designer, had to ask, “Who designed your website, ‘cause it’s really awesome.” They all started pointing as Adrian coughed loudly to bring attention to him. “Guilty as charged,” Adrian admits, seeming to be very far from modest. It turns out that the amazing artwork on their website and t-shirts is also done by Adrian. “It’s what I do for a living and during the day,” he explains. “I do cartoons for TV.” And you won’t believe this but he works for Marvel! “He’s the Marvel Mystery Man,” Vahan (I think…) declares with laughter. Vinny promptly starts singing, “Can he beeeee my marvel,” and in a…beautiful…voice. “If I could only see the way he love me…” he continues. Apparently his singing was better than times before.
I always find that the childhood’s of musicians can be pretty interesting and so I decided to inquire about theirs. Vinny starts the band off with his story: “When I was seven I started piano, at 13 I got into drums and at 15 I stared taking formal lessons; I slacked off and at 18 started taking it seriously. Now I’m 24 and taking lessons from this guy. He’s my mentor, he’s like an idol for me. Sammy J. Watson from the Appex 3.” Vahan takes over, “Mine was actually a lot similar to his I started piano at seven ‘cause my mom was a piano teacher, at 15 was when I picked up the guitar and it was six months later when I started formal lessons, then that was like the staple where I was like ‘Dude that’s it. I wanna be a musician for the rest of my life.’ Now I’m 20 and I’m in this band, so obviously I’m not doing too well,” as Vahan says that last bit, the whole band breaks into uncontrollable laughter. “Nah, I’m just kidding, I love it,” he corrects. Shaunt decides it’s his turn to talk, but has a lot of trouble figuring out what the topic was since he was Facebook messaging (yes, I saw you). “My pops first got me into classic rock. I wasn’t really into it until 13-14 when he taught we what Sabbath was, what Deep Purple was. I picked up my guitar when I was twelve; I picked up my dad’s guitar and started jamming on that, started writing some tunes and then I realized…I can write songs. And then I’ve wanted to start a band since I was twelve. I’ve been in and out of a couple bands, then I found Vinny and Vinny knew Dave and then when found Adrian and I knew Vahan and it came together and now we’re headlining The Troubadour.” I figured that was a pretty damn good accomplishment. Adrian decided he was next. “I was surrounded with a bunch of musicians, actually, but one of them, my uncle, was an actual professional, international touring musician, so what he did was he bought everyone in the family…guitars, so that’s how it started. I grew up around him.” Last but not least, David got to tell his story. “So I used to watch my grandpa play a lot when I was younger and from there I got into the trumpet and then into a marching band. From there I started playing guitar, the real turning point of things. Oh, and I played piano somewhere in there…from there I started playing the bass and then I had a band. Then I had another band. And hen I had my last band. Then I have this band.” As David finishes, Adrian announces that he had to tell me a story. “When I was a freshman in high school, well someone…was like ‘you should play the flute.’ So I say, ‘Ok, cool.’ I picked it up and I was learning flute but then…this is what my friend said, ‘Dude. You’re not gonna get laid. Drop the flute. Pick up a guitar.’ So I didn’t, I continued flute, and I never got laid. That’s the whole story.” After hearing that, I kept thinking Hey! I’m a flute player! Oh well, what could I do? It was a funny story even though it dissed my instrument. At that point, they all decided they needed to go somewhere, and with that, the interview abruptly halted, but not before they could all yell “Bye Zoe!” into the recorder. These guys were awesome! And if you’ve never heard them/heard of them, go check out their website, listen to their music, leave them a few comments, like them on Facebook, ‘cause these dudes rock!
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Having read on their bio on their website (www.blackmorela.com), that they auditioned for a singer and the only one suited for them was Adrian, I wanted to know WHY he worked so well with them. This, along with any other question I asked, was immediately responded to with a rowdy burst of laughter than subjected us all to stares by the merch table-haunters and the bartender. Apparently, Adrian’s part in the band was because of “the sexy hair.” “We asked what hair conditioner he used, and he was like ‘Pantene,’” stated Vinny (I think it was Vinny, anyways). “L’Oreal, L’Oreal,” corrected Shaunt, who then explained the actual situation: “Some random dude came in and, well, he sounded like crap. Then Adrian came in and he (fucking) killed it and I was like ‘Dude, you’re a (fucking) awesome guy.” “Hey! Language!” someone interjected. Vinny added that “he was experienced. He knew what he was talking about. Musically, that helped us out a lot…He kind of thrusted us in the right direction.” “Really, I just came with pizza…” corrects Adrian. “He actually brought the name BlackMore,” Vinny explains. “Well, actually it’s this guy,” Adrian says while gesturing at Shaunt. “I just convinced him to change the name,” Adrian continues. “I just wanted it to not be White Horse,” someone adds. Clearly, everyone had their own two cents to throw in; really, it was more like three cents.
So me, being a website designer, had to ask, “Who designed your website, ‘cause it’s really awesome.” They all started pointing as Adrian coughed loudly to bring attention to him. “Guilty as charged,” Adrian admits, seeming to be very far from modest. It turns out that the amazing artwork on their website and t-shirts is also done by Adrian. “It’s what I do for a living and during the day,” he explains. “I do cartoons for TV.” And you won’t believe this but he works for Marvel! “He’s the Marvel Mystery Man,” Vahan (I think…) declares with laughter. Vinny promptly starts singing, “Can he beeeee my marvel,” and in a…beautiful…voice. “If I could only see the way he love me…” he continues. Apparently his singing was better than times before.
I always find that the childhood’s of musicians can be pretty interesting and so I decided to inquire about theirs. Vinny starts the band off with his story: “When I was seven I started piano, at 13 I got into drums and at 15 I stared taking formal lessons; I slacked off and at 18 started taking it seriously. Now I’m 24 and taking lessons from this guy. He’s my mentor, he’s like an idol for me. Sammy J. Watson from the Appex 3.” Vahan takes over, “Mine was actually a lot similar to his I started piano at seven ‘cause my mom was a piano teacher, at 15 was when I picked up the guitar and it was six months later when I started formal lessons, then that was like the staple where I was like ‘Dude that’s it. I wanna be a musician for the rest of my life.’ Now I’m 20 and I’m in this band, so obviously I’m not doing too well,” as Vahan says that last bit, the whole band breaks into uncontrollable laughter. “Nah, I’m just kidding, I love it,” he corrects. Shaunt decides it’s his turn to talk, but has a lot of trouble figuring out what the topic was since he was Facebook messaging (yes, I saw you). “My pops first got me into classic rock. I wasn’t really into it until 13-14 when he taught we what Sabbath was, what Deep Purple was. I picked up my guitar when I was twelve; I picked up my dad’s guitar and started jamming on that, started writing some tunes and then I realized…I can write songs. And then I’ve wanted to start a band since I was twelve. I’ve been in and out of a couple bands, then I found Vinny and Vinny knew Dave and then when found Adrian and I knew Vahan and it came together and now we’re headlining The Troubadour.” I figured that was a pretty damn good accomplishment. Adrian decided he was next. “I was surrounded with a bunch of musicians, actually, but one of them, my uncle, was an actual professional, international touring musician, so what he did was he bought everyone in the family…guitars, so that’s how it started. I grew up around him.” Last but not least, David got to tell his story. “So I used to watch my grandpa play a lot when I was younger and from there I got into the trumpet and then into a marching band. From there I started playing guitar, the real turning point of things. Oh, and I played piano somewhere in there…from there I started playing the bass and then I had a band. Then I had another band. And hen I had my last band. Then I have this band.” As David finishes, Adrian announces that he had to tell me a story. “When I was a freshman in high school, well someone…was like ‘you should play the flute.’ So I say, ‘Ok, cool.’ I picked it up and I was learning flute but then…this is what my friend said, ‘Dude. You’re not gonna get laid. Drop the flute. Pick up a guitar.’ So I didn’t, I continued flute, and I never got laid. That’s the whole story.” After hearing that, I kept thinking Hey! I’m a flute player! Oh well, what could I do? It was a funny story even though it dissed my instrument. At that point, they all decided they needed to go somewhere, and with that, the interview abruptly halted, but not before they could all yell “Bye Zoe!” into the recorder. These guys were awesome! And if you’ve never heard them/heard of them, go check out their website, listen to their music, leave them a few comments, like them on Facebook, ‘cause these dudes rock!
Post Quote