Owl Maker Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD. What type of artist are you?
Jessie: We’re a metal band from Connecticut.
PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.
J: The band formed in late 2016 with myself, Chris Anderson (drums), and Simon Tuozzoli 
(guitars/vox). Simon, Chris, and I have all known each other for years through different musical projects.
PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
J: Musical influences for this band are Thin Lizzy, Amon Amarth, Khemmis, Iron Maiden, blues music…. At least for me! As far as non-musical influences, we get a lot of our song material from literature, history, and mythology of different cultures.
PD. What are your dreams and goals?
J: An immediate goal is to release our upcoming EP, Paths of the Slain, to as wide an audience as we can. We’re lucky that Arthur Rizk was able to help us with post-production; he works with bands that are way beyond our scope and the finished product sounds really great. I want people to hear it!
PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?
J: I write the skeletons of the songs, then the band arranges them as group. Simon writes all his guitar and vocal parts — he comes up with things I would never even dream of! We also had our friend Chris Baldwin write the lyrics for “Lady Stonehheart” — Simon and I are in another band with him and he’s an excellent lyricist, so it was cool to collaborate with him on Owl Maker material.
PD. How do you promote your band and shows?
J: We do the regular online promotion through social media, but participating in your local music scene and trying to put together good line-ups for shows is more important than anything a band can say online. Personally, I go see other bands that I enjoy, try to help other people be successful, and let Owl Maker’s music speak for itself. And so far, that’s working out!
PD. What do you think about downloading music online?
J: Like, stealing it? Or paying for digital music? As far as paying for digital music, that seems to be the way of the times and makes distribution easy — just put your songs on bandcamp and call it a day. A negative is that it takes out the tangible factor of holding the artwork in your hand, flipping through the lyric booklet, etc — but again, it’s the way of the times.
PD. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
J: It seems like the record industry is having a rough time with all the streaming options available now. Rather than having to purchase a MP3 download or buy a physical copy, people can just stream whatever they want for nothing, or for a very small subscription price. I just read about a billion-dollar lawsuit against Spotify that’s being brought by a music publishing company. We’ll see how that pans out….
PD. What song do you wish you’d written and why?
J: “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy. Great bass lines and harmonies, epic story. Or “Romeo and Juliet” by Dire Straits. The lyrics to that one make me tear up every time I hear it. (That’s not very metal, is it?)
PD. What are some of your pet peeves?
J: Too many to list, I’m pretty grumpy sometimes… As my bandmates will tell you. 😉
PD. What is your proudest moment in music?
J: Honestly, I’m really proud of this EP. Another great moment was getting to participate in an alumni master class at my old high school recently. Some of the music alumni have become pretty legit, and to be up there with those guys talking to high school kids was really cool and humbling. I was giving the “weekend warrior” perspective, like, “So I’m in a metal band and we play in bars sometimes…” Meanwhile, the guy next to me is producing records for Sony. Whoa! 
But my input to the conversation was still valued among all these amazing players, especially by the young women in attendance. I told them not to take any shit! Then my old high school teacher made me put a dollar in the swear jar….
PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
J: Our next few show is 2/10/2018 at Strange Brew Pub in Norwich, CT. It is Shadow Witch’s CD release party, and Pinto Graham and Red Mantis are on the bill as well. This is a killer lineup! If you are in driving distance of Norwich, come down for some great tunes and pick up Shadow Witch’s new album, Disciples of the Crow.Facebook event here.
Owl Maker links:
Check out our page for Owl Maker
Learn more about Owl Maker on their Facebook page
Follow Owl Maker on their Instagram page
Check out this review for Paths Of The Slain
