Interviews: Blnk Slate

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the Metalcore band Blnk Slate from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their INSTAGRAM PROFILE.

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

Originally, we had several potential names, however, we couldn’t decide on a name, and to go along with the music, the idea Blnk Slate came up, because with all of our ideas, our music is all based around metal, never the same thing. The a was removed from Blank only for some fun wordplay. Other than that, it’s because we started with a blank slate and it was only up from there.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

We all like the intensity of metal and the dynamic feel. It also feels like a good place for the development of our ideas. Metal, to us, feels like a very broad genre, therefore allowing us to really expand on any ideas we come up with to write and compose.

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

So Trevor and I (Duncan/Mr.Mang) go way back to high school, and we’ve known each other for about 7 years now. Mr.Unlucky, a friend of the band and I met when we were doubles on the set of a couple of music videos for the band, Tallah. Ever since then, even though he is located in Pennsylvania and we’re located in Ohio, have worked together over the past couple of years to make things happen.

4. Each band member's favorite band?

So Trevor’s would probably be something like Dream Theater, Mr.Unlucky likes m3 era Mushroomhead, and for me, personally, I’m a huge fan of Vildhjarta. Something special about that band and what they do musically that just resonates with me.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

That would be a few things really, a lot of it has to do with past issues and traumas we’ve individually been subjected to, therefore giving us topics we want to speak on. On top of that, however, we all have a strong love for music and a burning drive to make music.

6. Where was your last gig?

We haven’t had any gigs yet, however with our list of our own songs out now, we’re looking for the right people and the right places to start playing!

7. Where would you like to act?

I’m not sure about the other members, but for me personally, I’d love to play in The House of Blues in Chicago. That was a great concert experience for me personally. I think the venue stage looks impressive, and I had such a great time there on a trip to see Tallah and Avatar with a couple of my buddies, I’d love to go back, but this time on stage.

8. Whom would you like to feature with?

I can’t speak here for anyone else, but I would love to feature with my vocal coach, Justin Bonnitz. He helped give me the encouragement I needed to start putting myself out there and start really pursuing music and sound production. Not to mention he has helped me tremendously when learning to do proper vocals. So it would be a cool full-circle moment if I worked on a song with him.

9. Whom not?

I personally can’t think of anyone I’d outright deny working with off the top of my head, but generally, I think it’d be fun to work with different artists and different styles of music. However, I will say, that if someone is an outright jerk/is hard to work with because of ego, narcissism, or doesn’t want to really apply themselves to whatever project that we are hypothetically working on for whatever reason, I wouldn’t want to work with them.

10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?

Some years back now, I was in an orchestra that performed in several pretty cool places, like the Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati’s Music Hall, Etc. And how I handled any sort of stage fright, was simply to just get lost in the music I performed, it became less about the crowd watching, and more of me trying to perform alongside the orchestra to the very best of my ability to do my song and part justice.

11. What bands have inspired you the most?

For me, I’d have to say System of a Down, Tallah, Vildhjarta, Dillinger Escape Plan, and The Human Abstract

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

To put it bluntly, not a whole lot, hopefully shortly, we'll have a few fun comments to talk about!

13. What do you think of your fans?

We aren’t a big band so I can’t pretend, and won’t pretend we have a huge fanbase. However, we do have our fans, and for those fans who’ve supported us this far, I am very appreciative of them. Blnk Slate has been a way for all of us to learn how to make music, my way of learning to produce music, and us finding ourselves musically. We love that those who do listen to us, listen. That’s a really cool thing for us to experience, every time we see someone stream one of our songs, every new follower, every new person we get to interact with through our music, someone to entertain. I believe at this point that Blnk Slate is going to really start blossoming into what we all wanted it to be as a band and music project just from knowing what I know from behind the scenes. So to those fans, thank you, and we see you, and we appreciate you, you’ve helped us get here, and you’ll be helping us forward into the new year.

14. What do you think of our site?

We think it’s a great place for people to discover smaller bands like us, and to maybe get a bit of a closer view to those behind the music they like!

15. Something to add?

We appreciate this opportunity to talk a little bit about ourselves and the band, and we appreciate everyone who has helped us along the way thus far!