Interview with Bobby from the Band Asylum 431

Chances are that even the biggest unsigned music buffs have never heard of Asylum 431. Among the millions of independent artists and genre specific musicians, this group stands out. They are a mix of everything great about several music types, which meld together to create everything but what you would typically hear on the radio. Mainstream has no room in their sound, which is one thing you will learn to love and hate about Asylum 431. The members are a musical treasure trove of experience, but the band itself is green behind the ears. I had the chance to sit down with Bobby, lead guitarist, for some insight on where they came from and hope to accomplish as a musical force. It's not only interesting to hear the take of an unsigned band member, but also find out just how talented you can be with an extremely hard road to travel before ever getting one single break. Music is a lovely thing, but it's world is harsh and almost impossible to be heard in this strictly mainstream pushed society. So what is Bobby and Asylum 431's personal story? Let's take a look at what makes them tick and keep going.

Question: Where did the name Asylum 431 originate from?

Answer: Working at Walmart, which the stores go by store numbers. The Walmart store that I worked at was store 431, and many of the fellow crew members as well as myself thought of it as a mental asylum. So, we decided to call a band Asylum 431.

Question: Where is the band from?

Answer: We're really from all over. We have members that originate from California, Arkansas, Illinois, etc. Our member are from other bands also. We all met in small towns called Paducah, KY and Brookport, IL we are river folk.

Question: What other bands does Asylum 431 consist of?

Answer: Lyrik Assassinz, Artificial Kings, Salvaged. We all have prior band and performance experience in a variety of genres.

Question: How many members do you have?

Answer: Currently, we have six members off and on, but two permanent. The off and on members are more or less from other bands, and we all just get together and jam to see what comes up. I'm always working on guitar riffs (I do some for Rhythmatik and Lyrik Assassinz projects), and also creating beats. Rhythmatik always has his own cds coming out. Billy works with other bands as well, just filling in for drums. Our vocalist Dusty, is solely working with Asylum 431, but you never know what else everyone may get into. We also have other vocalist that are eying us for projects.

Question: What genre would you label Asylum 431?

Answer: Well, if anyone was to listen to us, I would say to decide on genres themselves. I really don't like to put our music into any particular genres. We're really more like a collective genre. We've taken the best parts of several types of music and made it into one single genre of our own. We'll go from a song that's so heavy that it makes you want to turn the volume down, then we'll go from that to something the opposite end of the spectrum that's more melodic. So much more even, that it makes you want to cry. If you really had to categorize us, we're a mix of rap, jazz, country, classical, metal, and anything you name probably. We'll try it and contribute some aspect of it into our music. You really can't knock too many particular kinds of music, because there is something amazing to incorporate from them most of them. That's why we call it Asylum 431, we want to in-trance you by getting inside of your head while you're listening to us.

Question: What were your musical influences?

Answer: I have to say my biggest one is Metallica, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Beethoven (Especially classical music in of itself really), Folk Music (I love the idea of telling a story, not just with the lyrics but with the music. Being able to set the mood with the first few notes of a song is incredible), movie soundtracks (I would love to do songs to a movie one of these days). There are tons of musicians I could name, but we'd be here forever lol.

Question: What messages do you hope to establish through your music?

Answer: None whatsoever, I think it's up to the listeners point of view. I could say it's about one thing, just like my other band members might say a totally different thing, just like the listener could.

Question: Where is Asylum 431 in terms of being a full fledged established band?

Answer: In discussion mode really, like in talking. We're just talking about the formation of the band, who we want to include, and what direction we want to take. The other members have been working on all kinds of other projects, and we decided to start formation late this year. We plan to start working more in 2009, producing a lot more material, and really get a feel for our sound.

Question: Where do you hope the band is in five years?

Answer: Just still making music is all that I hope for, I have no aspirations of making it big. No artist or band should with how competitive the industry is, and especially if you're not willing to go mainstream instead of keeping your own unique sound. I really just want to be up in front of any size of crowd playing our music. Becoming huge household names is just not a realistic dream to have in my opinion.

Questions: Why should people listen to Asylum 431?

Answer: We're not your regular run of the mill rock band, we're not your friendly neighborhood metal heads, we're not the bling bling that you see on tv. We're your everyday normal neighbors that you fear will say something bad about you, and you'll actually be happy about it. Our take on things is just totally different, love us or hate us, we'll always be opposite of what you're used to hearing.

Question: How did you decide that guitar was the right instrument for you?

Answer: Pure luck. I started out learning piano, learned how to read music, and all of that crap. I learned measures, beats per minute, and all of the stuff. In my first band, I'd just gotten my first instrument (a Yamaha four string bass guitar, which I customized myself with black hardware), the guitar player and I came up with a crazy idea to switch instruments on a song, and it ended up being a good idea. He was better at bass, and I was better with the lead guitar. I am not the best guitar player, but I love playing. There's always something new to learn, especially in music.

Question: Where can those who are interested hear Asylum 431's music currently?

Answer: We have a myspace page, www.myspace.com/asylum431band, we're also on Sound Click as well.

In conclusion, you can sense that Asylum 431 will go somewhere beyond playing small shows just because of the wisdom and honestly expressed. Listening to their music, you do feel as if you're there with them in that particular situation and are compelled to keep listening in. This is a musical force that should be recommended even if you don't like the blending of genres or consider yourself a mainstream music junkie. You may end up finding that you have discovered a new obsession when it comes to unsigned artists.