Interviews: Minority 905

In this new occassion we have had the opportunity to interview the Pop Punk band Minority 905 from USA. Check out the interview and this band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?

John: “Minority” came from the Green Day song. I always liked the idea of embracing individuality and accepting that being different can sometimes be a good thing. So before joining a band, I already thought of that name. A lot of ideas were brainstormed for what would be the other word in the band’s name later on. “905” was eventually settled on, which is my area code.

2.Why did you want to play this genre?

John: Green Day was my favourite band when I started writing so it was natural for me. I try not to think about genre too much though when writing. Personally, I prefer pop more than punk because it’s what I grew up listening to. I think this is why a lot of the pop-punk bands I like tend to lean more on the pop side of the spectrum.

Chris: I grew up in the Caribbean where the radio had basically two music stations, one was Top 40 radio, the other was local, terrible, soca music (which I now am nostalgic for, but a lot of it wasn’t very good). When “American Idiot” came out, it was so different from anything else I had heard, which I’m sure would illicit laughs from some people as “gReEn DaY iS bAsIc AnD bOrInG”, and whenever I saw one of Green Day’s live performances on MTV or VH1, there was just something interesting about the fact that it wasn’t some girl dancing and singing her song to a pre-recorded track with 20 backup dancers, it was three guys actually playing their song on a huge stage. So years down the line, when I wanted to learn guitar and sing, they were the first band I turned to for inspiration.

Spasimir: I used to play in a marching band back in my hometown in Bulgaria. One day we started learning how to play American Idiot and Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day. This was around  2007 maybe and I hadn’t heard about them before, but I really liked how the songs sounded when we played them with the band. So eventually I checked them out and fell in love with their music. Shortly after I also checked out blink-182, Sum 41, The Offspring, etc. As I kept discovering more bands I grew to love the genre even more and I wanted to play that kind of music.

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?

John: No, I never really went to any independent live shows until I started playing in Minority 905. I got into this kind of music pretty late, around 17. Minority 905 started not long after and I met everybody else after the band was already formed. The first time I met Spas was when he volunteered to sing on stage back when Minority 905 used to cover Blitzkrieg Bop live. Most of the crowd--including Spas--were members of other bands who were playing the same night.

Steven: Spas (drummer) and I knew each other before, John met us at separate times while Minority 905 had different members. We met Chris through an ad when we were looking for a lead guitarist.

Spasimir: I actually met Steven at my first ever show that I played with my first band back in 2013, so I knew him already. I didn’t know John and Chris at that time yet.

Chris: I found them through a Green Day fan site when the guys made the Green Day Medley, and I was super jealous of how good it was. Some months later I saw they were looking for a new lead guitarist and figured “yeah I know how to play like every Green Day song ever, I think I’ll do just fine with these guys”.

4. Each band member favourite band?

John: Green Day and Paramore are pretty much 1A and 1B for me.

Chris: What that guy said.

Spasimir: Tie between Green Day, Blink-182 and Metallica.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

John: Michael Jackson made me love music as a kid. As a writer, Billie Joe Armstrong and Taylor Swift are my two biggest inspirations. I wanted to become an artist and write songs because of them. Taylor’s RED tour in 2013 was my first experience being in a stadium concert. Seeing so many people sing the songs along with her was very inspiring for me. Since I started writing, I’ve been inspired and influenced by lots of other artists but I think these three names I mentioned will always be my favourites since it all began with them.

6. Where was your last gig?

Steven: At Crobar in Montreal QC with our friends The Wet Bandits

7. Where would you like to act?

Chris: In the Sonic the Hedgehog film coming next year, or Star Wars Episode 9, both of which have already begun production, so my dreams of being an X Wing pilot that gets blown up in an epic space battle, or some other background character in either film have been dashed… Is this the right kind of acting?

John: If WWE ever asked me to be an enhancement talent I’d be up for that.

Spasimir: Movies where they need a drummer.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

Steven: Lizzie Tupman would be fun to do a cover with.

John: All Time Low and Alessia Cara. Also If Taylor Swift ever asked me to be a one-night special guest on one of her tours that would probably top anything else for me.

Chris: Ninja Sex Party would be cool, but I dunno how the hell that’d work, I don’t think we’re 80s or funky enough.

Spasimir: All Time Low would be cool, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte. If we’re talking about YouTubers I’d pick Jared Dines or Rob Scallon.

9. Whom not?

John: I don’t really know, I would consider anything.

Spasimir: Some of the Soundcloud rappers from nowadays, like Lil Xan.

10. Any of you has ever sffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that?

Steven: Performing for the first time will always bring butterflies. Just stay focused on what you’ve prepared to play, and you’ll be fine.

Chris: I rarely get stage fright unless it’s a very big show, but regardless of the size, the minute before I go up I always get super nervous. However, there’s something about being called to the stage, whether it’s by a band member, event host, or just knowing it’s time to go up always snaps me out of it immediately. A big part of overcoming it is being prepared though. If you know you’re prepared, and something goes wrong during your performance, then it’s not your fault, and people will know, if you’re not prepared though… Well, people can tell. The shows where I’ve had the most stage fright are the ones where I haven’t been as prepared as I’d liked. So, if you’re performing something ever, don’t be a lazy fuck and practice your damn act.

John: Singing and performing for me is actually easier than talking. I hated doing school presentations because it was harder to memorize and if it was memorized, it looked and sounded kind of unnatural. I think with music performances, it’s easier to prepare because there really isn’t a lot of improv involved in it and most things can be memorized. I think confidence can build up over time.

Spasimir: I used to get a little nervous before but it got better over time. Nowadays I don’t get stage fright. Mostly because I am doing what I love and having fun with it. Some tips to get over it would be to make sure you’re prepared, try not to think too much about it and just have fun.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

John: Green Day, Paramore, All Time Low, Yellowcard, and Tonight Alive. For solo artists it’s Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson. I was also a big fan of KISS and Westlife when I was younger.

Chris: Green Day for sure, Jonathan Coulton is a big inspiration for me too (he’s the guy who wrote the Portal games’ credit songs, and also the Spongebob musical songs, and many other things), also Jun Senoue and anyone who’s written music for any modern Sonic the Hedgehog games, and also any of the Nintendo composers, namely Koji Kondo. Even though I’m not making video game music, when I hear the songs from Zelda or Pokemon or any Nintendo game played by a live orchestra, it never fails to bring out the tears for me.

Spasimir: I’m inspired by a ton of bands / artists ranging from rock to punk to hip hop. Green Day, Blink 182 and Metallica have probably inspired me the most, but I also get inspired by bands like Rush, Dream Theater, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Linkin Park.

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?

John: Someone once asked us on our Facebook page to each take a photo of ourselves to prove we weren’t fake.

Spasimir: Yeah the thing John said was pretty weird. He was asking for a picture of John with his guitar. I think he said he wanted to see if the guitar is real or something.

13. What do you think of your fans?

Steven: They’re amazing. They’ve always supported us in our pursuits and we’re really grateful that they’ve stuck around and continue to watch our content.

John: I think they probably believe in us more than a lot of people I’ve encountered on a daily basis. So I’m grateful for that.

Spasimir: I love each and everyone of our fans. They’re what keeps me going and it’s thanks to them that I believe that we can make it as a band.

Chris: Our fans are great! I’m really happy that they like our covers and our original music, and I’m glad they’re excited to see whatever we do!

14. What do you think of our site?

John: Thank you for wanting to interview and feature us on Breathing The Core. I think that what you guys are doing for smaller bands is great and very valuable to artists and fans. I also like that your website features a wide variety of genres.

Spasimir: Everything that John said. Plus, the design is really slick. I like it a lot.