Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? ZACH: Yeah, I've been playing in bands pretty much since around the age of 12. I've played different genres and different instruments as well. To name a few... I played bass for a hardcore band called Shark Attack, sang in a hardcore band called Knockdown, played bass in a hardcore band called No Warning, played guitar in a rock n roll band called Thunder City... now I'm currently playing bass in Shark Attack, guitar in a band called Black Ops, vocals in Violent Minds, and I rap under the name Stretcherous.

How is it that you started playing music? ZACH: I was always obsessed with music, even as a young kid. I used to listen to my parents records... Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys. I always knew I wanted to play music but I finally got a guitar around the age of 10. My grandma gave me an old bootleg Fender Mustang and I played that shit til my fingers bled haha. Eventually I got good enough to write my own music. My cousin made me a mixtape of bands like Insted, Gorilla Biscuits, NOFX, Operation Ivy, Minor Threat, and a bunch of other bands. I must have been about 12 or so. I fell in love right then and there and got big into punk and hardcore, among other styles as well. Eventually I started a band with some dudes I went to school with and it pretty much took off from there.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? ZACH: I'm Zach Amster, I'm 34, and I sing in Violent Minds. Haroun Khan and Matt Smith both play guitar. Tait Organt plays bass. And presently we have Flza on drums!

Have you had other previous members? ZACH: Oh yeah, Violent Minds has had tons of previous members. It's always been one of those bands that's sorta like an extended family. If one person can't do a particular show, I'll usually reach out and find someone else. There's been a whole lot of past members who I still consider dear friends and part of Violent Minds.

Did you make music even when you were young? ZACH: Definitely. I started writing songs the second I could play a few chords haha. The songs probably weren't that great but I knew I had potential somewhere within.

Where are you from? ZACH: Well right now I currently live in San Jose, California. However I've lived all over... Philly, Toronto, San Francisco, etc. Our current members are scattered all over the country as well. Haroun lives in Detroit. Tait and Matt live in Philly. Flza lives in Richmond, VA.

What year did the band form? ZACH: It's difficult to recall exactly what year we officially started. Before Violent Minds we had a few different incarnations of VM. We were playing some of the same songs with a different line up under the name Fatal Blow and then under the name The Noize but eventually we changed the name to Violent Minds and released our first record in 2003 - 2004 or so.

What's your style of genre? ZACH: We are a hardcore band. Without labeling it too much, I'd say we play fast, in your face, early 80s influenced hardcore with our own twist.

What inspires you? ZACH: Life inspires me. People inspire me. Situations and experiences inspire me. As far as other bands, at least in terms of Violent Minds' influences, I'd say Bad Brains, Negative Approach, The Abused, Antidote, Straight Ahead, Minor Threat, Motorhead, Agnostic Front, the Cro Mags. There's so many bands that I love. I try to take what I like from all different genres and come up with our own formula. 

How often and where do you rehearse? ZACH: Well being that we're all so far from each other, it's tough to rehearse. We make an effort to get together before shows to practice. We all practice individually so we're usually good to go. In the past, with certain line ups, we've been based in the same area so we'd practice a lot more.

How have you developed since you started with the music? ZACH: Well when we first started writing and recording I was still fairly young, probably about 18-19. I was pissed off all the time, and just an angry person. I'd say the music reflects it. It's all good though, it was an outlet for me to get out all that anger. Nowadays I still like to get that rage out but lyrically I would like to think it's matured a bit. I've gotten more into rock n roll stuff over the years so you can definitely hear elements of rock in there.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? ZACH: Well me personally, I love music so I'm always trying to have some sort of creative outlet. Whether it's hip hop, hardcore, rock n roll... I have to be writing and playing music. Other than music, being a dad!

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? ZACH: Not currently. I would be open to it if the right opportunity came around. Right now we just handle everything ourselves. In the past we've had help booking certain tours though.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? ZACH: We're not looking at the moment. We've dealt with various labels since our inception. At this point I would rather have someone I know and trust to handle all that stuff. We self released our last recording. As far as future records, who knows...

What made you decide to make this music? ZACH: I grew up listening to hardcore and punk. I always wanted to play fast, pissed off hardcore. I was mad at the world so Violent Minds just seemed like the thing to do.

What are your songs about? ZACH: Different topics. Everything from people I didn't like, to ideals and beliefs I didn't like or did like, women, drugs, touring, hardcore, politics, war, the justice system, cops. Pretty much anything I felt inspired to write about.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? ZACH: I write all the music and lyrics. It's always sorta been my baby. Other members have added their own styles and influences along the way.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics?ZACH: Just depends on the song, really. A lot of times I'll get a guitar riff in my head and then I'll just sort of flesh out the song from there. Other times I'll have an idea for lyrics first and build the song off of the vocals.

Do you compose in a certain enviroment?ZACH: No, not necessarily. Just whenever, wherever I feel inspired. I have a small home studio where I write most of my stuff nowadays.

Have you done any covers live? ZACH: Oh yeah, definitely. I probably couldn't remember all of the covers we've done! Definitely some Motorhead, Negative Approach, it's tough to recall!

What language do you sing in?ZACH: English

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs?ZACH: Well we've definitely played some shows on tour in Europe where there weren't very many people at all, maybe 30-40 kids. Then other shows we've played packed sold out venues closer to a thousand.  It really just depends on where the show is and who's on the bill.

What ages are most of your concert attendants? ZACH: I would say probably anywhere from 18-40. We are a bit older now, I'm 35, but when we were first playing most of us were young dudes. Also depends on the show and the bands we're playing with.

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? ZACH: We try to switch it up. 

Do you have a regular place you play live often?ZACH: No, we don't play as often as we used to. We played LA a little while back, that was fun. Before that we played in New Jersey. 

What was your first gig like? ZACH: It was in Toronto I believe. At the time I was playing in No Warning, who is based out of Canada. If I'm remembering correctly we covered Black Sabbath "Sweet Leaf" and some dude who looked exactly like Ozzy sang it. It was awesome! I honestly have a shitty memory though, and I can't say for sure if that was our first show or not. We've played a lot of shows!

What was your latest gig? ZACH: We played Berserktown 2 Festival in LA. There were a ton of fucking bands, the fest was like 3 days.

Have you had to cancel a gig? ZACH: Yeah when we toured Europe we were struggling to make ends meet, let alone make the crazy drives. We had to cancel a few shows in Spain, Italy, France. We had to cancel Switzerland as we got strip searched at the border and denied entry because they found weed on us lol.

Where have you played live this year? ZACH: Not yet. We've been on a hiatus for a little while.

Where do you plan to gig the comming year?ZACH: We have a show coming up very soon! It'll be in Richmond, VA in a week.

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? ZACH: We started making merchandise not long after we started playing shows. Over the years we've had all the regular stuff... records, tapes, lots of different shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, all the usuals. We will have some of those available at our upcoming show.

Where can people buy your merchandise? ZACH: Our records are available through Deranged Records. Our shirts will only be available at our shows for now. 

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days?ZACH: I mean, as a musician it sorta makes it difficult, but in the hardcore scene people are for the most part pretty supportive. They want to own the physical copy of the records. There's not much any band or musician can do to stop people downloading music, not to mention all the streaming platforms as well. It is what is is. The way I see it, I make music because I love to do it. If I was trying to get rich I'd quit playing hardcore and become a soundcloud rapper lol. I don't worry about it. People wanna download our shit, go for it.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? ZACH: In certain ways it's made things better to be honest. Now corporate major labels don't have as much control as they once did. When I was in No Warning we were signed to Warner Bros and I don't think I'd ever go that route again. You're basically being pimped out. You might get more tour support and promotion (if you're lucky) but as it goes on you start to realize you could do it all yourself or with an independent label and make more money and do a better job in the process.

What do you think of my work?ZACH: I'm just now reading your stuff, and so far, so good! I respect anyone that has a creative outlet like yours and also helps promote music.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business?ZACH: Well like they say, any promotion is good promotion! Maybe we'll spark the interest of some more people in Sweden so we can come back to your beautiful country!

Do you have any role models or idols?ZACH: Hmm, I wouldn't say I have any idols per se. However there are a lot of people I look up to or admire. My mom... as a parent I've realized how difficult it is to raise a child. She's always been there for me no matter what. Other people I look up to... Lemmy, Bon Scott, David Icke, Eckhart Toole, there are a lot of people I admire in music, literature, etc.

Why do you think that they exist? ZACH: To inspire others like myself, I'd say. 

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today?ZACH: Definitely older bands. All my favorite bands are older. That's not to say there's not good music around today but nowadays there are just so many bands, artists, rappers, etc. Everything is a bit watered down. You have to filter through a lot of garbage to find some substance.

What have been your biggest obstacles? ZACH: Well as a band, not having a solid line up at times has been an obstacle for sure. Poor decisions with some of our records as well. I don't really regret any of it, it's been more of a learning process than a mistake. As far as me personally... the list is pretty long haha. Addiction, mental health issues, disease, incarceration. They've all been obstacles but again in the long run I've benefitted from everything. Even the bad shit. I appreciate life much more now than I did when I was 18. That comes with age and a whole lot of fucking up along the way lol.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? ZACH: Being a musician is not for the faint of heart! Touring is a lot of fun but way fucking harder than most people would ever imagine. Take care of your mind, body, and soul! Oh, and be ORIGINAL. Don't try to sound like your favorite band. Sure, it's ok to be influenced and/or inspired by your favorite bands but no one wants to listen to a second generation when they can listen to the real deal!

How do you get psyched for a gig? ZACH: Well back in the day I'd get fucked up lol. Drinking, drugs, all that bullshit. Nowadays I don't. I meditate, chant, and visualize how I want the show to go. It works!

Do you have any new material?ZACH: Well not as Violent Minds, but a couple of us from Violent Minds are in a new band called Black Ops. It sounds similar in a way but also different. We'll be releasing our debut this summer. As I mentioned earlier, I also do some hip hop stuff under the name Stretcherous (follow me on IG @stretcherous) and myself and my brother DJ Wayward will be dropping a new album this fall/ winter. There are some other projects in the works but I don't wanna let the cat outta the bag quite yet!

What are your web sites? ZACH: You can check www.blastphamous.com or Violent Minds' facebook. My Instagram kinda covers all that stuff so give a follow @stretcherous

How can people reach you? ZACH: Best way to reach me is either through my IG (@stretchrous) or via email: [email protected]

What are your plans for the future? ZACH: I have a ton of plans for this year, let alone the next 5 years. Release a lot of good music. Tour. Live life to the fullest.

Do you have something to add? ZACH: Well first and foremost thank you very much for the interview! I appreciate you reaching out! I sincerely wanna shout out anyone and everyone that's ever supported Violent Minds in any way. Whether you bought our records, shirts, came to see us, let us crash on your floor, whatever is was.. Thank You!!! Also I wanna say FREE EYE KHAN!!! My little brother was sentenced to 17 years in prison for some bullshit he didn't do, but he'll be coming home soon, so if anyone who is reading this is a fan of Violent Minds and feels like writing him a letter, it would mean the world to him and myself..