Thy Kingdom Slum Interview
Interview with Pete Devine of Pete’s Rock News and Views and Michael Edwards .. Lead Vocalist from the band Thy Kingdom Slum from Windsor, Ontario. (https://petesrocknewsandviews.com)
PD. What type of artist are you?
ME. I’m a vocalist for the heavy rock/metal band Thy Kingdom Slum (TKS) and on the side I illustrate the bizarre images from the depths of my imagination in pencil and ink.
PD. Tell us the brief history of yourself.
ME. Musically I got started back in High School – the way many do… I got hooked up with some hometown friends who moved to Toronto and started my first recording act their. cut my teeth and learned a little bit about the music business. That band dissolved and I enrolled at the University of Windsor to pursue art. Got involved with another band at that time called Lodown, which also feature Trevor DeBlock of TKS on bass. Recorded and toured. That band also dissolved around 2011 and I took some time off music to get my life together. 2016 rolls around and Trevor asks if I’d be interested in getting involved in a new project he’s planning – I said yes. Here we are 18 months later with our first release “A History of Dissent”.
PD. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
ME. Musical influences for me include the dessert rock band Kyuss, perennial touring road-monsters Clutch and the usual list of rock pillars Zep, Sabbath, Purple and AC/DC.
non-musical influences…. in art… Jack Kirby, John Romita Jr. and Bill Sienkiewicz.
PD. What are your dreams and goals?
ME. Dreams and goals in music??? Continue to produce music and get it recorded. Period.
PD. Who writes your songs, what are they about?
ME. Trevor introduces riffs to the group and we collectively work it out and arrange compositions. I provide vocal melodies and lyrics. The songs thus far are a reaction to the 
current social and populist political climate. I feel their is a great deal of manipulation being employed by both political and corporate interests… and whats troubling is the general complacency and malaise I see amongst my peers and in the general population… John Lydon once sang that “anger is an energy”… I’d like to see that energy focused if anyone cared enough to cut the defeatist-shit-attitude and get busy.
PD. How do you promote your band and shows?
ME. We employ all the usual-suspects in the Social Media game… FB, Twitter and Instagram…. We all have a performing history here in our hometown Windsor… so word of mouth has SOLD-OUT our Feb. 17th release show for “A History of Dissent”.
PD. What do you think about downloading music online?
ME. I’m good with it…. a dollar a song sounds about right to me…. if you’re stealling it… then you’re a shit-bag and a thief.
PD. What’s your outlook on the record industry today?
ME. My thought is that if you’re getting into the record industry to get rich you are in the wrong business… you better love the music. If you know somebody established in the record industry then you have a better chance to get somewhere. Money truely talks and opens doors. The rest of us have to love the music and work our asses off. The record industry isn’t for the thin-skinned. When I was younger I was much hungrier… today I have a different perspective and expectation… I seem to be enjoying myself a lot more since I buried the idea of success and failure and just enjoyed the process of writing and recording.
PD. What song do you wish you’d written and why?
ME. ‘Sick Again’ by Zeppelin off Physical Graffiti. Its got musical chops, great performances, attitude and a live version I like from L.A. in ’77 is just Bonham on fire. I sat for more than a couple of minutes thinking what song I was gonna answer with… if you asked me tomorrow or 5 minutes from now the answer might be different. The reason I wish I could of written this song is because of the perspective it comes from… Zep were the biggest and best band in the world at that time and Plant wrote this one about life on tour at the pinnacle of incredible success. I’ve never been there… so its a bit of fantasy fulfillment I suppose. a limousine ride sounds nice, doesn’t it?
PD. What are some of your pet peeves?
ME. drummers getting cute with their twirls and shit.
PD. What is your proudest moment in music?
ME. This latest release is especially special for me because it wasn’t long ago that I thought making music had passed me by and that I’d never step into a recording studio ever again…. so I’m pretty thrilled that Thy Kingdom Slum knocked this one out of the park.
PD. Tell us about your next shows and why we should be there.
ME. The Backstage in Windsor Ontario (right across the river from Detroit, Michigan – if you’re in the neighborhood) on Saturday February 17th. Its our debut release party. Supermansion and A Rebel Few will kick ass to be sure… then TKS will blow the roof off. That is a guarantee
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Thy Kingdom Slum links:
Band location – Ontario Canada
Check out our page for Thy Kingdom Slum
Learn more about Thy Kingdom Slum on their Facebook page
Watch the latest Thy Kingdom Slum videos on their You Tube channel
Listen to and buy Thy Kingdom Slum music on Bandcamp
