Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What´s the name off bands? Our band is called "Slant" -Munir
What made you to be baptized to just "Slant"? Slant derives from a perception or a form of interpreting or viewing something. It's how the 4 of us approach the art we create. -M
Where are you from? Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA –M Born in Hollywood, raised in and around Los Angeles, CA - F
How did you meet? Fahim and I have been friends since childhood. I met Jimmy Lee and Josh Chastain through the LA music scene. The four of us together make up Slant. -M
What is your name?/Who plays what?

Munir Haque - Guitar

Fahim Zaman - Vocals, Guitar

Jimmy Lee - Drums

Josh Chastain - Bass

What was the plan when you started the band? Music has always been a big part of my life, Helping to form Slant and create music we can share with the world just felt like what I should be doing. -M
Explain to those who have not heard you, how does your music? Our Music is described by some as a mix between Tool/Nirvana. We all incorporate influences from our diverse backgrounds, emotions and life situations to the music we listen to. -M
Each was led first gig?/Where were off last gig? Our first gig as an official band was at the Whisky A GoGo in Hollywood... We had just finished self recording our demo and burned a few cd's and called up a bunch of venues to see if anyone would let us play a show... –Fahim We have played in many venues and destivals in the US States to European Tours. Our last show was in Hollywood, CA at the Whisky Ago Go with Buckcherry. -M
Who has the best humor? I think everyone in the band has a great sense of humor. Thats part of the reason why we get along so well. We make fun of each other. We even make fun of our managers. -M

I have no humor...there's nothing funny about this band at all...lol I'm just joking, I think we're all really pretty funny in our own ways and yeah, like Munir mentioned, if we didn't enjoy each others company as people, it would be really hard to work with each other... so it's cool that we all get along so well - Fahim
What are your songs about? We tend to usually write lyrics about our personal experiences in life.
Have you released any album or single? We are currently working on our third studio full lenght. Along with that we have 2 EP's available. You can fing all our titles on the web and itunes. -M
What are they called so, and what years they were released? Our first album is titled "A Thin Line", Second album is titled "Slant" and the 2 ep's are titled "Wasted" and "demo Sessions". -M
Have you done any music videos? Our last Music Video is titled "Wasted" and is available for your viewing pleasure on youtube and www.slantmusic.net –M Yeah, we have a few music videos up on youtube. Check out the "Slantmusic" Channel and you should be able to view them. - fahim

What are your dreams with the band? I think it'd be a dream come true if we are able to do create music and play shows for the rest of our lives. We'd like to continue to share our music with more and more people all over the world. We've gotten emails and letters from people saying that certain songs of ours has helped them through difficult times and others say that they listen to us and tell others about us at the gym, while running, going to a party, etc. and it's an awesome feeling we get when people say we made an impact on their lives however big or small it is...  because our music is evoking thought/emotion/some feeling in another person...and I really feel that's really the true purpose of music.. being able to communicate and empathize with one another... .-fahim

Describe your show, visual and musically Our shows capture a lot of energy and emotion. When we perform we're in that moment where we let out all our emotions and share it with the crowd. We always try to connect with the crowd and make sure they are having a fun time. -M

We started using lasers two years back, and now we're thinking of using a projector to have visuals that go along with the music, hopefully we'll be able to include that soon. - fahim

What are your two big favorite songs you done?

Currently it is a song called "Wasted" and "through my own steps" –M

Mine would have to be "Wasted" and one of the new songs "twelve"  that will be on our upcoming album (hopefully to be released before summer 2014) - fahim
How important are your fans?

Fans are the most important thing. Fans allow us to create our art. Without them, music and the music industry would not survive. –M

Yeah, you know the question all artists are faced with (hopefully all artists are) is : "Whether or not this art/song/music i'm creating is worth creating at all..?"  And the answer to that (and to all artists) is that "Yes, of course it is...but you gotta share it with others to fully understand why...". All art is a form of expression/communication.. And fans are especially important because they are the ones that understand what you are expressing/communicating. Without them, It doesn't make sense.. Plus, if you have fans, it probably means you're on the right track with what you're doing (applies to anything in life).. -Fahim

How old were you at your first concert you saw? First big concert I remember was seeing Marilyn Manson and Hole at the age 17. -M
Besides your music style you play what do you like the music still enjoy listening to? I really do enjoy pretty much everything except country and disco. -M
What things are you most afraid of?

Spiders. -M

Fear itself... - Fahim

What is the biggest fear when you go onstage?

Honestly its the fear the equipment not working. Once the first song kicks in, I forget about it all. -M

Yeah we try our best to be prepared, but sometimes a cable goes out, or something decides to break on an amp or a light and all of us are like thinking "WHAT? NOOO!"...because our show is getting to have a cohesive flow more and more with the crowd interaction and lights and stuff, but we don't let it get to us or bring our energy down....Playing music for the audience is what we're there for and we'll always try to do that best foremost. - Fahim

What drives a band that is not very well known and live on it to continue to play? Purpose or Delusion..hahah I hope we're not the latter..What drives me to play is basically people, every new person we get to meet and that we believe in what we're writing about. Our lyrics are mainly about what we've come across in life....Bad situations and good situations, and what we've learned from it. Personally. I know I can't really stop writing songs because they just come out of me, probably because it's my way of dealing with things that I don't know how to voice otherwise.....So yeah, we continue to play because other people enjoy it, and we enjoy it too (with purpose!)..

-Fahim

Where have you played from 2010 to 2014? We've played shows in multiple states in the U.S., Got the opportunity to play in Germany, Italy, Spain, & Bosnia-Herzegovina 2011 as part of an Armed Forces Entertainment tour (Serving U.S. & U.N. Military Bases) which was great because we got to meet some great people and see parts of the world we've never been to. I really hope we get the opportunity to tour internationally in the future more. -fahim

Do you always the same songs live or vary it? We vary it usually, no one wants to play the same set over and over... Sometimes it depends on what kind of event it is, or what other bands we're playing with...but mostly, our setlists are dependent on what we've decided will work best for the show we're playing (time, flow-wise)..... 

What countries have you played in? United States, Bosnia, England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium to name a few -M

Our music has been on radio stations in Brazil, Spain and a bunch others as well... -fahim

What is your pre-show ritual? Right before any show I tend to go somewhere quit and pump myself up in my own head before meeting with the rest of the band. We briefly chat and wish each other a good show.-M

I usually like to check my guitar tuning, do my hair, and take a shot of jack daniels. :) -fahim

Where do you sleep when you're going on tour?

We have slept in our van, tour bus, hotels and homes of fans and relatives, etc....Tourlife is fun and it doesn't matter really where, as long as we get SOME sleep.  -M

I snore, so I don't really know how much sleep the other members get, but I like sleeping everywhere and anywhere... hahahaha - fahim

What do you think of that they go to download music from the internet instead of buying records? The past 10 years has radically changed alot of industries (not just music) if not all of them, and honestly I think it's working out as a positive for everyone. The "market" for music has changed with the advent and availability of digital formats for media..information & media is getting closer to becoming "free" now and like wise having the internet making the global market accessible to anyone with a connection...i feel it creates the situation where the consumer/person wanting to check out a new band or song now has the ability to hear it first (try before they buy) and decide IF it's what they want. I don't mind if someone that would've never heard our music downloaded our songs because he/she found them online and enjoyed them enough to download it. The probability of them talking about us and sharing our music with people they know is 100 percent more likely than if they didn't know we existed.....and of course that means that the 2 to 3 dollars a person would've paid to purchase the music (when downloading wasn't available) is lost, but they're more prone to come to a show to see the music performed live because it compounds the value of just having the music... That's the best part, because it really does comes down to what the artist is creating music for and realistically.. Are they making music because they love it enough to share it with the world?, or do their motivations lie in what they believe making music will get them/perceived perks of being a rockstar (money, fame, blah blah blah)?  If you believe that great music itself has an intrinsic value that is recognizable by anyone that hears it (this is just a theory of mine), than the internet creates a situation where artists that rightfully should have the opportunity to share their music can, and the music that is made for the purpose of solely being a product to sell (that will be pushed and marketed onto people) will get weeded out a bit. - fahim

What is your outlook on the record industry today? Well honestly it's the same as it's always been: It's the industry that is and has been the vehicle to deliver music to the masses. As far as the state of the industry... it's getting sorted out right now and will continually change and be updated. The traditional model is not really broken, it's just being revamped...lol here's how I feel it's divided a bit right now. There are the big companies that are figuring out their ways to keep as much of the traditional model they had created by finding and fighting for sources of revenue and investing in their already established artists and sticking to them, and a few smaller companies that are taking chances on artists that have a bit of capital and public demand enough to create their own sort of market, and there are the artists that are just way to good that their music and story spreads and is appealing by a mass of people and they then have the ability/power to deal with the giant & smaller companies/industries to create their own version of industry that in turn will attempt to do the same as the former. One thing's true at the moment though, and I'm not sure if it will ever change: The world is a gigantic place and any artist that wants to spread their music at a larger scale and reach more people will have to seek help from record labels big and small eventually (because of the methods and infastructure that's already in place; example: radio, publications, how licensing is done, royalty collection, etc), unless something as equally big and life-changing as the internet happens again and we no longer are using those methods and infastructure...lol. - fahim

What are your web pages? www.slantmusic.net and you should find the links to all the other pages such as our facebook, instagram, myspace, etc.
What inspires you? Human behavior and people in general. History, Life, God or whatever we call that stuff that we can't fathom or fully understand.
What advice would you give to other bands? Remember to care about your songs and do everything with your core goal in mind. Stay true to it and practice. The rest will fall into place at the appropriate times, often in the most unexpected, best ways....so enjoy the ride ;) - fahim

Do you have anything to add?Just would like to say we "Thank You" for interviewing us and giving us the opportunity to talk a little about the band and music. We hope we can visit Sweden someday soon, heard it's beautiful and that the people are awesome out there. -fahim