Interview With 'Mynas'
Firstly, introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be.
In the band we have Miles Lanham (vocals/rhythm guitar), Jeff Pritz (Lead Guitar), Mark Bazar (Bass/Vocals), Mauricio Silva (Drums). Mynas was originally meant to be a studio project under the hands of Miles and Mark, the band lacked members at the time (around 2013) and was just going to be just for fun. Around 2015 the project became a bit more serious with Jeff joining the band and with the help of a drummer friend of ours (Mike Fitzgerald from guttural secrete), songs from the first record (Fear The Slave) started to take their final form and at that point we began to think of the project as an eventual full time gig. Around 2016 Mike decided he no longer had the time to contribute with the project and we found our current drummer Mauricio who became the last permanent member. At this point we were ready to go full time and write second Mynas record in hopes of starting a career in Metal music.
What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?
We were all following different paths, some of us going to college and others investing heavily on a trade but collectively our dreams were always to play music full time. It just so happened that when the four of us got together we figured out we had something special and the people to make it happen.
Who would you say is the band's main songwriter or is it a group effort and where do you draw your inspiration lyrically and musically from?
We tend to pull inspiration for song our writing from our day to day lives. Musically, we get together and jam and generally right there and then we come up with something we can use to start a song. We like to make sure we never write the same song twice and that we always challenge each other to keep the sound moving forward. Lyrics generally come from a place of emotion and self reflection. Miles is normally the one writing the first words and he is heavily influenced by his personal circumstances or world events/trends that stand out in society. After we get a few words on the pages, the other members will then contribute to nail down the perfect ideas.
It is a dream come true for the four of us to be able to write a record like this, we believe it truly stands out and we can’t wait for people to hear it.
Tell us about your latest release and why our readers should check it out.
The new album “Dead To The Unknown” is a reflection of who we are as musicians. While writing it we found out this band doesn’t really have a main contributor to the song writing, but instead it is composed of equal parts from the members. Everyone puts in the work and cares about all aspects, from guitars to vocals, to drums, to song composition, etc…
As a band what do you believe is your greatest achievement to date and why?
This new record is easily the greatest thing we have done so far. The sheer amount of work that went into making it just towers over anything else we have even thought of doing up to this point. It took us anywhere in between 8-12 months to write, produce, record, mix and master, and it was all done in house. Plus all the artwork and all the promotional stuff that was created for it, this record is something we are very proud of.
Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?
We are big Metallica fans, I think I (Mauricio) can speak for the four of us that the first time any of us saw them live it left a big mark. Being musically influenced by someone for so long and then seeing them in the flesh after years of just listening can leave you awestruck.
What do you enjoy most about touring?
This year will be our first touring year. We will find out very soon.
If we were to head out to one of your live shows what can ourselves and others expect?
If you come out to our shows you can expect Metal from front to back, however, we try to write our songs and make the set lists in a way where it feels like a ride, or like there is a pay off if you were there for the whole thing. We like to have songs that sound different, with different tempos to make the listener feel like they are going through an experience, sort of like watching a movie with ups and downs.
If you had one artist/band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?
We would go on tour with Unearth…..because its Unearth god damn it.
You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why and what would you speak about?
We would collectively pick James Hetfield and we would most likely jam Metallica songs for and hour straight or talk about their early days of touring.
And finally and most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Yes Die Hard is a Christmas movie….what’s wrong with people.
Website - www.mynasofficial.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mynasofficial/