Interviews: Gigantum

On this new occasion, we have had the opportunity to interview the MHeavy Metal/Heavy Rock/Hard Rock band Gigantum from the USA. Check out the interview and follow the band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

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

MIA: My idea for the band was always to be loud and in your face. We share a room with Behold The Monolith and I saw on their new song board that they were working on a song idea called, “Blastodon” I thought that would be an awesome name but the rest of the band thought that it sounded too close to Mastodon. I said, “Well, I want it to sound really big, larger than life. Like more than gigantic, Gigantum.” The rest of the band was like, “That’s it!”. I’m pretty good at making up band names. I’m always starting a new band or giving names out…Funny enough, Mastodon has a song called, “Gigantium” and people sometimes get confused. Whattya gonna do?

MARK: We wanted a band name to convey what we felt about the music we were creating. Large, heavy, gigantic, GIGANTUM.

CHASE: We wanted something strong and big and powerful like the music we make.

BLARE: After bouncing around some ideas this seemed to be the best fit for the sound we have.

2. Why did you want to play this genre?

MIA: I was born a music lover. I love music and every genre. That shows through in the songs we create. As a teenager, I was very into thrash, metal, and punk. Those are the genres that could express what I was feeling more than any others and how I relate to the world. Sometimes I feel like an outcast and throughout history, my music has been a scapegoat as well, so we suit each other.

MARK: We tend to mash up various heavy music genres, that suits our sensibilities. We also don't want to limit ourselves, genre-wise. The heaviness comes in many many forms. 

CHASE: I wanted to play this kind of music because it's fun and comes naturally to us. Also, there are no rules when it comes to making our music, we will mature and do what we feel like doing moving forward and always. 

BLARE: It encompasses different styles that I always loved to play. 

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

MIA: I have known Chase and Blare for a very long time and have a lot of history. We have played in other bands together and still do. Mark is a more recent friend, but I knew he would be my brother when I met him. We are all family and that’s the type of band I wanted. I met Mark at a Fu Manchu show and decided he was the one to be in a band with, my intuition is always right.

MARK: I met Chase in the LA metal scene, and subsequently the rest of the band.

CHASE: Yes, we all knew each other, some more than others but we have all been close friends for many many years. 

BLARE: Mia and Chase yes, Mark no.

4. Each band member's favorite band? 

MIA: For someone who loves music as much as I do, that is so hard to say. I grew up on Ozzy and Black Sabbath – he feels like a long-lost uncle by now, learned how to play an instrument by listening to Tom Petty’s, “Damn The Torpedoes” – most of my first songs were only A, G and C because of that! I started playing because of Bianca Halstead in Betty Blowtorch. MARK – Black Sabbath

CHASE: I have too many bands I absolutely love, Rush, being among my favorites, if I had to choose just one. 

BLARE: Hard to say because it always changes, right now I’m going back and forth between Slift and early Pink Floyd.

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?

MIA: I grew up with my grandfather, Raymond J. Flores, who was a playwright. He would pick me up from elementary school and we would go to his writing room. He had a desk, and I had my own little desk behind him. That’s where I learned to create stories and poems and riff ideas off him. He taught me to be aware of my surroundings and have opinions about them. That is how I’m inspired to write. People, places, things. Memories and emotions. The feeling of a note. A conversation.

MARK: Nature, relationships, emotions, anger, love. Some mix of all that drives me. 

CHASE: Inspiration comes from many different places but mainly from each other when we start jamming through ideas and want to capture the vibe and that will usually influence the lyrics as well. 

BLARE: Being a musician I can’t imagine not writing, seriously how can someone be an artist and not want to create something from just an idea.

6. Where was your last gig? 

MIA: Our last gig was at the Stockade in the mountains of Crestline, CA. It was an amazing event that was put on by none other than, Mark Lüntzel, our guitar player. For us LA people, it was great because they cater to dietary whims.

MARK: At the World Famous Stockade Grub & Whiskey in Crestline, California 

CHASE: The last show to date was in Crestline CA.

BLARE: Crestline, CA

7. Where would you like to act? 

MIA: Since we are a new band, we have only played close to home, not far from Los Angeles. I would love to get out there and be in different places and meet different people. I tend to enjoy smaller venues because you can feel the energy of the crowd easier but I have no problem learning to play in larger places and enjoying the benefits of a kick-ass sound system to best convey what we are doing. Our band is Gigantum, so it’s meant to be loud.

MARK: Broadway

CHASE: Where would I like to act? If you mean to play, I would love to play in Japan, again.  BLARE - I would love to travel and play outside the US.

8. Whom would you like to feature with? 

MIA: I met Mark at a Fu Manchu show at The Troubadour and a year later we had a band outing to see Fu Manchu at The Troubadour. It only seems like the right band to feature with one day. They are so awesome live.

MARK: Fu Manchu

CHASE: Jack Nicholson

BLARE: Slift

9. Whom not? 

MIA: I would not like to feature with bands that would not be into our sound or what we are doing. They don’t have to be the same style of music. They don’t have to have the same crowd, but they do have to like what we are doing. It only makes sense.

MARK: Not sure we'd go over well at a country & western show, but I'd do it anyway.

CHASE: No jerks.

BLARE: Rod Stewart

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

MIA: I suffer from stage fright. I don’t like a lot of attention on me. My need to be creative and express myself is what got me to be the front person. I still don’t think of myself as the person who’s at the front of the stage, even though I am placed front and center. I’m always thinking about what can go wrong. How I got over that is just to let things go wrong and figure it out. I have lost my voice, fallen off a stage, hit my head on a bass headstock, had my bass head just stop working, accidentally pulled out cables, plugged into a bad stage outlet, and then got my lips shocked for the total performance, passed out momentarily, forgotten what I was supposed to be playing or singing and much more. What I realized is that no one gives a shit if you are putting on a good show. So just do the best you can and give everything you got.

MARK: I think if you aren't at least a little nervous then something isn't right. Loud and proud, my brother used to say. We each have to find our own way to overcome that fright. 

CHASE: Stage fright no, anxious sometimes yes, if you ever feel so comfortable going on stage then it's time to give it up. You have to have that nervous energy as it's part of the excitement and it tells you that you still have the utmost passion to still want to do this. BLARE - Grow your hair long and look down when you play.

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

MIA: I have to say Betty Blowtorch because that’s how I got the impetus to pick up an instrument. Growing up, The Lunachicks were a big inspiration that I could even see myself on a stage. Pantera was inspiring because I was always in awe of Phil Anselmo’s vocals and strived to have that strength in mine.

MARK: Black Sabbath, Voivod, Motorhead, Poison Idea, Septic Death

CHASE: So many bands and artists have inspired me to no end. It's difficult to answer so few. I would say off the top of my head, Rush, Slayer, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Maiden, etc. 

BLARE: Many bands, Ten Years After, Jeff Beck, Maharishi Orchestra, Motorhead, The Supremes, Tina Turner, and the list goes on. 

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

MIA: I am weird so nothing is ever too weird to me – I don’t mind being asked for things as long as it’s not gross. I think the most out-of-the-norm thing that I gave a fan was a rock that I painted a bass on it. I sometimes give tea because I custom make tea. People that love what I do are awesome. If they get into what I do, we are already friends.

MARK: My personal phone number 

CHASE: We are weird too it's hard to determine what you consider weird!

BLARE: Lock of hair, which I said no way. 

13. What do you think of your fans? 

MIA: It takes a really long time to perfect a song from the very beginning to what people then hear. I’m always amazed that anyone is into anything that I do. So if they are a fan of mine, I am a fan of theirs.

MARK: Lovely people. Best people. Music fans. 

CHASE: Our fans rule!

BLARE: Yay Fans! Fans rule! Thank you!

14. What do you think of our site?

MIA: The site is amazing because it’s all about music and gives so much information! Very thought out – definitely music lovers reside here.

MARK: Lovely site.

CHASE: Your site rules!

BLARE: Excellent, great having this venue, thanks much!

15. Something to add?

MIA: We just released a single, “Monkey King”, and are releasing two more before our self-titled EP releases in September. Be on the lookout for our next singles, “Necron 99” and “For All My Friends”. Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us!

MARK: Thank you!

CHASE: Looking forward to what the future will bring and looking forward to writing new music and playing live!