Interview With 'Down In One'
Firstly, introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be?
Hey there! My name's Gon, I'm the vocalist for the band. We also have Jonny on the guitars, Rich on the bass and Jimmy on the drums. The band's called Down In One and we like to call ourselves whisky fuelled, Heavy-Goddamned-Metal. We've been called Stoner Metal or Southern Metal too and I'm more than happy with that!
I met Jonny a fair few years ago through work and we quickly realised we have a mutual passion for loud Metal and drinking, forming a band was definitely the logical next step! So we started jamming, got some songs down and then realised we really needed a rhythm section. Jonny met Rich through his next job and invited him to join the band and I've known Jimmy since we were 15. We used to play in a Metal band back when we were young so I invited him to come drum for us.
What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?
Before this band I was still in another band haha, I've been playing in bands since I was 16 and honestly I've wanted to be able to live off of being in a band since I was 16. I mean I've got a day job to pay my bills but music has always been a massive passion for me ever since I picked up my first guitar!
Tell us about your latest EP and why our readers should check it out.
So our latest release is more a single and has two tracks 'Mad Gun' and 'Elena'.
'Mad Gun' is a balls to the wall Metal track with big riffs and pounding rhythm and the best bit is the song is all about getting drunk! We also released a video for it so please give that a watch on YouTube! If you like riffs and banging your head you should definitely check it out!
'Elena 'is, and I realise this word has become rather overused, an epic, melodic song and has a really fantastic but dark real story behind it. Back in the 30's there was this guy named Count Carl von Cosel living in the US. Ever since he was young he'd had visions of his true love in his dreams and while working as a radiologist he met a young woman named Elena de Hoyos, who surprise surprise looked like his vision. He fell madly in love with her but she died of tuberculosis. Carl was so in love with Elena that he dug up her corpse and covered it in plaster of paris, living with it for 7 years before it was discovered! There was just something about this morbid story, it was perfect for a Metal song!
Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?
Y'know, nobody has really left me awestruck, but I've got massive respect for a lot of people I've worked with. We wouldn't be anywhere near where we are now if it wasn't for some of the people we've worked with, promoters like Phil Core who put us on his shows or the crew of The Tap, which is one of our very favourite places to play.
If we were to head out to one of your live shows what can ourselves and others expect?
One of the most energetic, wild shows you've seen on top of our blend of heavy as hell Metal! Our stage presence and show is massively important to us and we live to entertain. It's a flurry of energy up there and we've usually got the bruises to prove it the next day!
If you had one artist/band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?
Oh man just one? That's a tough call! It'd have to be Black Label Society I think, I'm a huge fan of their music and those fellas look like they can drink!
You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why and what would you speak about?
It'd have to be Robb Flynn, of all my musical influences he was the first. I still remember the first time I heard Seasons Wither, that's the song that made me want to be a vocalist! And Imperium got me through a lot of shit times, Robb Flynn truly was a hero to me! I'd love to chat about music and Metal in general with him. Shit, I'd love to just have a beer with the guy, he seems cool as fuck!
And finally and most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Hell goddamn yes it is! And it's the BEST Christmas movie! I've got a tradition, every Christmas I watch the first Die Hard film with a bottle of good whisky. It's a damn fine tradition if I say so myself!
Check out their video for 'Mad Gun'
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/downinoneband/home
