Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? Yes many bands over the years, most known was Arsin out of Toronto, Canada in the mid to late 90’s and Dave played in many bands also including Silent Crimes out of Windsor Detroit

How is it that you started playing music? Music has been in my family for generations. My Grandparents played everything from the guitar, violin, piano, harmonica, steel guitar, and even the spoons. I took interest in the guitar when I first heard Jimi Hendrix play Red House Blues & Johnny B. Good on a live album .. then Randy Rhoads came along and sealed the deal. Dave on the other hand has dabbled with many instruments such as guitar, keys, drums, and even the clarinet, he became interested in the bass guitar when he first heard Weather Report, and Return to forever.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?

Terry Crosson plays guitar

Dave Lorenz plays Bass

and we just got a new drummer this week named Griffin Griffin lol

Dave and Terry are in the 50’s and Griffin is only 20 years old but plays beyond his years

Have you had other previous members? Yes we had another drummer he died from spontaneous human combustion 

Did you make music even when you were young? Terry was interested in drums first before guitar and use to make drums from tupper ware bowls. Parents weren’t too happy about the banging lol Started playing air guitar on tennis rackets etc until he received his first guitar at the age of 14 … Dave first became interested in music when he was a boy sitting in his basement listening the the old Beatles Albums and was also influenced by his older brother who was in a band.

Where are you from?

Terry’s from Oshawa, ON, Canada

Dave’s from Toronto, ON Canada

What year did the band form? August of 2015

What's your style of genre? We enjoy playing many types go music … this band is primarily rock, progressive alternative with a hint of metal

What inspires you? Our love for our instruments and the many friends that support us

How often and where do you rehearse? We rehearse as often as we can. If I had my way it would be everyday. We use to rehearse at our previous drummers house and in industrial buildings. We will be rehearsing at Griffins house now,

How have you developed since you started with the music? I’ve developed calluses mostly but am always learning new things. You never stop learning your instrument. I’ve read it would take 4 life times to master any instrument so we’re always in development mode and looking for something new and innovative.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Terry’s a certified computer technician and enjoy bike riding and porn, and Dave enjoys doing digital art and animation/C.G.I

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Yes Being on the roster of a booking company or agency opens more doors presenting better opportunities for promoting the band

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? A Label would be great for many reasons including distribution

What made you decide to make this music? It’s a collective thing. I was a metal head in the 80’s and listened to Ozzy, Maiden, Priest, Dio, etc, etc and Dave is a huge Genisis and Yes fan, so combined it makes for an interesting sound

What are your songs about? Our first album will likely be a bit on the dark side. We have tunes such as Bad Clown & Blood Moon about end times and aliens, and our name “They came from 12” reflects that … the 12th planet

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? We all do.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? we usually come up with music ideas first and then write lyrics that reflect the mood or feeling you get from the song

Do you compose in a certain environment? Environment doesn’t affect me too much, I basically am in my own little bubble when writing, although I’d probably have trouble writing while sky diving.

Have you done any covers live? We’ve played many hundreds of covers between all of us but we have been focusing on our original material as of late. I use to play a lot of Randy Rhoads stuff when I was younger and Dave played a lot of Jazz and Top 40 songs

What language do you sing in? English/Slang

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? I’ve personally played gigs where maybe 30 people show up but that’s mostly due to weather or bad promotion … Dave on the other hand has opened up for several big recording acts such as Glass Tiger where the was an attendance of 50,000

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Most are between the ages of 18 and 60. 

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? We vary. We have our favourite ones we always keep in our sets but sometimes shuffle them around. It also depends on the length of the show and the audience

Do you have a regular place you play live often? Not at the moment. Try to stay away from multiple appearances at one place. The music scene from our little hometown is a bit stagnant. We have played at a few venues in Toronto but with the whole drummer deal we’ve been in limbo for awhile. As soon as our new drummer is comfortable we’ll definitely be hitting the big city venues around Canada to start

What was your first gig like? My first gig was at a high school dance and I think it went pretty well. Not a lot people dancing to Queensryche and Ozzy though lol Dave’s first gig was at the Mingles in London, Ontario which left a lasting impression

What was your latest gig? We haven’t done any gigs recently but have been attending open mic jams looking for a vocalist 

Have you had to cancel a gig? We’ve never cancelled a gig during either of our music careers because most gigs were under contract through an agency

Where have you played live this year? The Edge, Birch mount Tavern in Toronto, Ontario

Where do you plan to gig the coming year? We have no plans at this time but want to gig wherever and when ever we can, again, we’re just breaking in the new drummer so these things are a couple of steps away,  but we want to cover the entire planet from infinity and beyond

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I really don’t know what to make of it. I use to love going to Sam the record man or Sunrise to pick up the newest albums or singles. Downloading does not give you the experience of buying  a physical object filled with art and the experience of going to the record store.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? The internet has really changed the industry. I don’t believe in stealing someone else creation but it has been going on since the invention of the tape recorder. I use to tape songs from the radio in the 80’s and make my own mixed tapes like everyone else at that time.  The idea of downloading from online is good as long as the artist gets payed for his work somehow, I don’t think they’ve quite figured that out yet since the internet is still really in it’s infancy. I see big changes coming soon though

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? Well, they say any exposure is good exposure. The more people we connect with through our music the better . I did an interview with my old band Arsin in the 90’s with Q107’s Al Joines and it help considerably, we had people contacting us from south America and we’re getting radio play as far as Texas

Do you have any role models or idols? My greatest role model is my Dad, but musically I’d have to say Randy Rhoads, John Petrucci, and Alex Lifeson from Rush are my idols. I’ve been a Rush fan since I was 11. One of the first complete songs I ever learned was In the Mood. Dave’s idols would be Percy Jones, Stanley Clark, and Jaco Pastorius. It’s tough to just pick one role model since there are many great people

Why do you think that they exist? Leaky condoms … All kidding aside, they exist because they’re ambitious, persistent, and have worked hard to get where they are.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I personally don’t listen to the radio, so most of my inspiration and ideas come from the air. I’ll pick up my guitar and suddenly just start playing something, it’s really weird. I generally don’t sit with a pen and paper and write out notes, things just seem to flow and then there are times when nothing happens … could be weeks or months. I like some new bands but I’m old school and enjoys a lot of melody in music … not so much in to the growling and screamo

What have been your biggest obstacles? My biggest obstacle has always been money personally but obstacles that have nothing to do with me are usually other band members. Over the years I’ve dealt with members and their drug and alcohol abuse and crazy girlfriends … those two things can be band killers

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Rehearsal, Rehearsal, Rehearsal, Rehearsal

How do you get psyched for a gig? Terry likes to sit in the green room if there is one and just relax and go over the tunes quickly. He doesn’t necessarily get psyched it’s more about being relaxed. Dave’s done so many gigs that it doesn’t even phase him anymore, it’s second nature, “Time to go to work”.

Do you have any new material? Yes, we are always writing new material and every song seems better than the last. We have a new ballad that is just awesome and we can’t wait to get it recorded and promoted. We have just over 20 original songs which would be just fine as an opening act atm

What are your web sites? We are still working on our website and it should be completed by summers end

How can people reach you? They can reach us through our Facebook page “They came from 12” or “Youtube”. Or just Google our name and we should be at there top of the page.

What are your plans for the future? We love what we do and just want to get out there and spread the joy. Our plans are to make a comfortable living from doing what I love, and then retiring to our own in home studios when we’re too old to stand up for 2 hours .. or becoming old Jazz cats sitting on stools in a lounge

Do you have something to add? Just want to add “stay tuned” there’s lots more coming from “They came from 12” .. and thanks for allowing us to do this interview, we appreciate the continued support from our fans, friends, and family …  we’ll see you soon!