   |
By: Brynn McKenna
| Brynn M. : Let's start things off by introducing yourselves. D.J. : I'm D.J., I sing. Rich Fumasoli plays guitar, Scott Gramlich plays bass, Pete Andrews plays guitar & sings backup and Joe Tesoriere is the drummer. (Everyone but Pete was present for the interview). Brynn M. : How did you come up with the name Sonipath? D.J. : It's a contraction of "Sonic Psychopath." I also like to think of it as "Sonipath is on a path" to success! Brynn M. : Good outlook. How long have you been together? D.J. : We've been doing this seriously for about a year. Brynn M. : How would you describe your sound? D.J. : The name of the album is "Heavy Hooks." It's heavy, but, it's got good hooks. Good melodies & choruses that stick in your head. Somebody asked us today & I said that we're somewhere between a Lollapalooza band & an Ozz Fest band. Brynn M. : I think this has a certain sophistication about it. It's clever musically, lyrically & vocally. D.J. : I appreciate that. I hope everyone else thinks that, too! Brynn M. : I don't think I've ever heard a vocalist with so many different voices! D.J. : (laughs) Well, that's my multiple personality disorder. I have a multiple personality disorder & they all come out in different songs. Brynn M. : Have any of you had any formal music training? Rich F. : I've had guitar lessons, but, I actually started out with classical guitar, then I just picked up electric. I never had any rock or blues guitar lessons, mso I think that's one way I ended up developing my own style. I never had anybody tell me, "You're supposed to play guitar this way or, you're not supposed to play this way." I just created my own style. Brynn M. : Who writes the songs & where do you get your ideas? D.J. : Rich usually comes in with an idea, then we mutate it & warp it. Then I take the tape & put words over it, and then we try to make it sound like a song. Brynn M. : There are a lot of astute observations in these songs, they're about the silly & crazy things that people really do. D.J. : I'm currently going for my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, so I like to write about human interactions. I investigate what's going on in the world & I like to write about it. Brynn M. : Really? Have you worked with any actual patients? D.J. : Oh yeah, I've had tons! I've worked with SOME EXTREMELY KOOKY PEOPLE. Scott G. : But he's crazier than all of them! (laughs) Brynn M. : What are your musical influences? D.J. : The crazy people I've worked with. Brynn M. : What's the deal with that unnamed eighth track on the album? Rich F. : (laughs) Extra tape left over from when were recording. We've never screwed around in the studio before & that time we just pulled out all the stops. It was a lot of fun, actually. Brynn M. : I hear that there were so many people at the "Heavy Hooks" release party that the cops raided the place. D.J. : It's true! Out of nowhere the police were there, throwing people out. I don't know if we broke any city ordinances or if it was because of all the livestock we had onstage. Brynn M. : Where are you gigging now? D.J. : Our next gig is in the Bronx! Then we're playing Philidelphia, we're going back to Virginia. We played the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships in Vermont. It was the biggest snowboarding contest EVER. The song "Wring It Dry" was inspired by a day on a snowboard. Brynn M. : Are any of these songs getting radio airplay? Joe T. : The first two, "www." & "Sound Idea," on college stations. And one commercial station, WBAB in Long Island, New York. Brynn M. : Do you have a strategy in mind for getting signed? D.J. : All of them & none of them at the same time. We dabble in a lot of things that people tell us to do, but before we really go any further, I really want to get a good following. I want to do it independently because I've learned so much in the last year. And that would be my suggestion to any upcoming bands, don't wait around to get signed. Do it yourself! Single handedly, we've played conventions, we've advertised on MTV, we have commercial & college radio airplay, we've played with national acts like Corrosion Of Conformity, Life Of Agony & Overkill, but we don't have a manager, all we do is try. I don't have a degree or a backround in music. We just try everything constantly. Brynn M. : You get your asses out there & just do it. D.J. : That's right! Brynn M. : Anything else you want future fans to know? Rich F. : Just look out for us & visit our web page. E-mail us at sonipath13@aol.com or just Click Here! D.J. : We're going to try our best to be on Ozz Fest & Lollapalooza next year! Joe T. : A lot of people say our shows are better than the CD! More energy! D.J. is a lunatic onstage! D.J. : We're trying to get fans everywhere. We'll play anywhere, anytime! Joe T. : Just give us a place to stay! |
