Interviews: Ion Vein
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
Back in 1995, after Latent Fury broke up, we were trying to come up with a new name that would describe our music and the feeling we wanted the fans to get while listening to it. Our drummer at the time, John Ashe, thought of electrical energy running through your body and came up with the name ION VEIN.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
Iron Maiden and Metallica were very influential when I started writing songs, but after hearing Fates Warning, I knew I wanted to add more progressive elements to our music. I’ve always liked the idea of balancing strong rhythmic playing with interesting melodies and acoustic textures to help tell a story. You’ll see below, from our favorite bands, why we all leaned towards this genre of music.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Russ, John, and I all went to high school together; our lockers were all in the same section of the hallway, but I didn’t really get to know them that well until after high school. They played in bands together since they were 14 or 15, but they didn’t even know that I played until I formed Latent Fury after high school. We found Scott and Brian through ads in a local entertainment paper.
4. Each band member's favourite band?
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Life really inspires me to write songs from a lyrical perspective, and often musically, and I think the love of the instrument, and creating on it, helps to inspire the musical portion of writing songs. I think the whole band would agree.
6. Where was your last gig?
Wow, the last gig for this original version of Ion Vein was probably in February 2000 at a festival that I organized called Chicago Powerfest at a small club in Lansing, Illinois called JJ Kelley’s. This is also the club where the live tracks for this 25th anniversary edition were recorded back in May of 1999. My last gig was in October 2015 at Reggie’s in Chicago, opening for the legendary Fates Warning, a band that was an instrumental influence on me, so this was a dream come true indeed! Looking back, it’s so crazy how time has flown by.
7. Where would you like to act?
We would love for Ion Vein to play in Europe; it’s been such a special place for us from the very beginning that it would be an incredible honor to get out there and perform for our fans/friends out there!
8. Whom would you like to feature with?
Iron Maiden!! Haha, why not dream big, right!
9. Whom not?
Well, I suppose any band that we don’t fit with stylistically and whose fans would not appreciate or welcome what we do.
10. Have any of you ever suffered from stage fright? Any tips for beginners on how to beat that?
I think there is a level of anxiety that we all experience, even to this day, which is probably the rush of adrenaline to get us ready to perform. I don’t think we’ve ever suffered from stage fright to the point that it made us unable to play, but I know that many do. For beginners, make sure that you’ve practiced enough to know your parts inside and out, and before you go onstage, try to relax, control your breathing, and tell yourself that the anxiety you're feeling is the energy that your body is creating to go out and kick ass!
11. What bands have inspired you the most?
All the bands listed as our favorites have inspired all of us the most at different times in our lives, from early influence to later inspiration. I just saw Iron Maiden’s Run for You Lives 50th anniversary tour, and what an incredible inspiration it was to see them still performing at such a high level; it was truly amazing.
12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for?
LOL, well, that certainly could lead to some interesting answers, I’m sure, but I think we’ve been pretty lucky and haven’t been asked for anything too weird.
13. What do you think of your fans?
We love our fans; without them, what would be the point, right? We’re especially grateful for all the fans that haven’t forgotten us after all of these years; this 25th anniversary release is for you!
14. What do you think of our site?
Breathing the Core is a great site, very well put together, and important for the many great bands out there that don’t always get the attention they deserve. We certainly appreciate your interest in Ion Vein and appreciate your efforts to help bring great metal music out to the masses!
15. Something to add?
Thanks so much to you and everyone reading this for your time and interest in Ion Vein. We appreciate you and look forward to catching up with you on the road at some point. Cheers!
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