Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD: How would you describe yourself or your band as an artist?
EV: We’re a 3-piece group who share a common passion for making music that brings out the dark side of our emotional spectrum.
PD: Can you tell us briefly about your background – i.e. where you’re from, how you came to make music, etc.
EV: This project was started as a one-man bedroom thing sometime around the beginning of 2019. At least that’s when the first riffs and songs were starting to be written. I had released a few demos over the next couple of years as well. When it came time to release an album, I wanted to add my friend Curtis Fitzpatrick who had been in Ba’alzamon with me in the late 90’s. Together we released 2 singles before adding Chris Brandon as our bassist. Chris and I met through a mutual YouTube friend and they had featured Eisige Venen on their series called Heavy Metal 101 Reviews. Then we released our third single as a trio, recorded the album and that’s about where we’re at up until now.
PD: Who and what inspires you to make music, both in terms of musical and other influences? What do you like to write about in your songs?
EV: I honestly get inspired by so many different genres and artists that I couldn’t possibly list them all. Some of my influences include Billy Corgan, Leonard Cohen, Peter Tägtgren, and many more. I don’t listen to a whole lot of heavy metal when I’m writing music personally. I also prefer the darker side of things when I’m writing lyrics. Depression, sadness, lost love, etc. I try to stay away from topics that are more worldly.
PD: What are your aspirations as an artist?
EV: I think I can speak for all of us when I say that our biggest aspiration is to inspire others to start making music as well.
PD: What is the proudest moment in your music career so far?
EV: I think releasing this album thus far. Not to take away from other projects I’ve been involved in, but this one is just more personal and I really put a lot into it.
PD: Promoting one’s music is such a challenge these days, especially with so many new artists emerging
from bedrooms in the day of the home studio. How is that going?
EV: It has been a challenge to say the least. You have to work harder at making connections via social media when you’re a home studio project for sure. We have made some friends and met some good people along the way, however. I enjoy promoting us as much as one can and look at it like a second job. It takes hours a day to get responses and make these connections. You definitely have to be willing to put in the time for something like this and any band for that matter.
PD: And how do you book and promote your live shows and tours? Any performances coming up?
EV: For the time being, there are no plans to get on stage together. It would be an impossibility for the near future.
PD: What do you think about downloading music online? What about streaming sites like Spotify?
EV: I think they can be good for people like us in some ways. We’re not able to play live so streaming services are the only way to get our music out there. I think things just progress and things get outdated. I just wish the streaming services were more generous with the artist’s cut.
PD: What song do you wish you’d written and why?
EV: Right now, if I had to pick, probably Thunderous by Borknagar. Its a very epic piece and captures the emotions perfectly in my opinion.
PD: Is there anything you don’t like about the music industry, which you would change if you could?
EV: I don’t care much for any pay-to-play deals. I wish that would go away. I would like to see more small labels be able to compete in terms of audience reach without bankrupting themselves as well.
PD: So, what are you working on at the moment?
EV: Right now we are working on follow-up material and promoting the recent release.
PD: Where can we learn more about you and buy your music/merch online?
EV: We are very active on Facebook and Instagram. You can also find out more and get links to everything on our website www.eisigevenen.com or our Linktree at linktr.ee/eisigevenen.
Eisige Venen links:
Band/Artist location – Austin, TX – Morrilton, AR – Seoul, South Korea
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud – Bandcamp – Merch – Reverbnation –
Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer – LinkTree – TikTok –
Check our page for Eisige Venen
