Deadly Nights is the Metal meets Horror Punk in this stitch-work of musicians and workmanship. Unafraid to pull the lid off your coffin and wake the dead. Created by front man formerly of Mutiny Within (RoadRunner Records) and The Zombie Mafia, Kaan teamed up with veteran guitarist Zombie Alex (The Undead, The Zombie Mafia), bone bashing bassist Sandman (Shadows of Dawn, formerly of Angel Vivaldi), guitar slayer Bones and deadly drummer Kenny to bring you music that is guaranteed to make you scream...with delight! A handful of the members took the time to discuss their debut EP efforts "Lost Souls" s well as some back history about the band, their song writing process, and future plans. The EP will be available through all major outlets on November 19!
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Sandman: Kaan started out just working on some new music after he left a band called The Zombie Mafia in 2009. Some of our songs, like Terror I Can were written years ago during this dark period, everything started to come to fruition in 2012 as one by one the band picked up members till finally when we brought Kenny in we were finally complete.
Alex: Kaan and I had played together earlier in The Zombie Mafia. After a few years he moved to Long Island and when he came back he wanted to put another band together. We found Chris through JV Bastard from Darrow Chemical Company. Bones and Kenny we found through craigslist.
Bones: I grew up a poor black girl in georgia, and then one day these assholes hired me to play guitar.
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Alex: The band is based in Central New Jersey which has a very diverse music scene. There are plenty of bands and venues in our area so I would describe it as very active. Bands I have shared stages with and would recommend would be The Cryptkeeper Five, Darrow Chemical Company, and Monster Rat.
Sandman: And The Zombie Mafia, they are still around sans Kaan, and Alex is actually still in the band, he is just super humble about it. TZM has been instrumental to this band, their bassist and drummer have both filled in for us before Kenny and I were involved, and we have played countless shows with them and even took a weekend mini tour in July down to NC stopping in DE.
3. Why did you want to go and call the band Deadly Nights, what does this name represent for you guys and the music you create?
Alex: The name of the band was all Kaan. I can't speak for him, but to me it represents our appreciation of horror both the genre of movie and the kind you find in everyday life. In my opinion nothing put on screen can ever be as scary as some of the atrocities found in real life.
4. How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Alex: Consider our music heavy punk rock with some metal influences as well. As I learned to play guitar I was influenced by late 80's orange county punk bands like Agent Orange, The Adolescents, and Social Distortion. By the time Deadly Nights started I was also influenced by bands like Blitzkid and the Serpenteens which played horror music and of course The Misfits were an influence.
Bones: Horror punk with a touch of metal. Obviously we've gotten a lot of influences from other horror bands like The Misfits and Blitzkid, but we all bring our own very distinct styles to the group. I personally use a blues style with iron maiden esque influences.
Sandman: We all have varied backgrounds, and you can hear it in the music, it will vary from more simple pop-punk sort of stuff to more technical darker heavy stuff, we all bring something different to the table.
Me personally, I listen to everything from punk to metal to classical to jazz. My biggest influences in this genre would be Rancid and early Green Day (back when Mike Dirnt was still playing bass fills)
5. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Alex: As far as themes or our lyrics I'm inspired by what I see and experience.
Sandman: Well I guess Alex only sees and experiences horror movies because that's what are lyrics are about.
Bones: Horror movies, and the central message seems to be "Bloody is Badass and Ghouls and Goblins are Great".
6. Can you tell me about the Halloween single and video you just released?
Alex: The single and video are for a song called Rhonda. It's based on a character in the horror film Trick R Treat. I really identified with Rhonda because she is viewed as odd and is treated as an outcast. She's seen as weird, but at the end of the day she gets the last laugh as a direct result of what makes her so different.
Sandman: Rhonda is one of my favorites on the EP. Alex gave us the base to it and everyone really came together and added their little piece to it. The video was shot, directed, and edited by Ben Neate; it was a fun experience and we were really happy with the result. The video and single were released on Halloween, we had a free download link as a Halloween special. You can still stream it on soundcloud, Facebook, or watch the video on youtube HERE.
Bones: Rhonda is a song that Alex initially wrote and that we spent a lot of time working on and improving as a band to try and make a really catchy song that still has the edge we like to show in our music. Trick R Treat, is a badass movie, and the video has a very B list horror feel to it.
7. Who produced "Lost Souls" and what was it like working with them?
Bones: Sean Glonek of SRG studios(http://www.srgstudios.com/). He's an extremely nice and extremely talented guy who does what he can to make everything he produces sound amazing.
Alex: It was a wonderful experience working with Sean. He is incredibly talented and has a laid back personality so he's very easy to get along with. He recorded albums by two of my favorite bands Blitzkid and the Cryptkeeper Five so it was amazing working with someone who produced music from artists I'm inspired by and think so highly of.
Sandman: Sean is a fucking genius.
8. Is there any story or concept behind the "Lost Souls" title?
Alex: The title Lost Souls was taken from a line in the single Rhonda, but to me it also reflects on the subject matter of our song Mayday which is about a relative of Kaan's who passed away.
9. Who did the cover art for "Lost Souls" and how much input did you have on it?
Sandman: Amy Kartman (http://www.amykartmanartdesign.com/) did the graphic design for it, she also worked on the artwork for my metal band, Shadows of Dawn. The photography was taken from the video shot with Ben. We also redid the artwork like 3 times before we came to this {laughs}, when we were shooting the video we had these smashed pumpkins on the ground with a pickaxe and in a loud flamboyant fashion I exclaimed threw everything else away, this is our album cover!, then kindly asked Ben to snap a picture. At least that is how I remember it.
Bones: I think Sandman is underselling his flamboyancy. We had a lot of input with the artwork. We provided her with some pictures from the video shoot and a couple concept ideas and she kept us up to date on everything she did.
10. Select two songs from "Lost Souls" and what inspired the lyrics.
Alex: To me the two most important songs on the EP are Mayday and Terror I Can. Mayday is about Kaan's cousin in law who unfortunately passed away. To me that song and our EP are a tribute to her memory and I was really happy that when I listened to the finished EP I thought Mayday came out the best. Terror I Can was a song Kaan had written before the band was even put together. It really shows what a great songwriter he's become and is one of my favorites to play live.
11. What are your upcoming shows and touring plans?
Sandman: We are currently on a hiatus while our singer Kaan is in Bootcamp for the Army Reserve, we may play a show here or there as a four-piece just to keep up appearances.
Bones - Hopefully once Kaan is back we'll spend more time on the road and playing out of state again.
12. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Alex: They should know we play original music that we are proud of and that we can't wait to bring our unique stage show to a venue near them. They should know that if they listen to our music there's a good chance they'll be singing along the next time they put the songs on.
Sandman: We are trying to bring more technical proficiency that you usually don't see in a punk band, this EP is pretty tame compared to the stuff we are working on for the future. Stay tuned.
Bones: Kenny has a 14 inch penis. Also we play music. And we wanna make a lot of money using both of these features
Sandman: um well that too I guess.
13. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Alex: As far as the future of the band is concerned we plan to continue playing in state and branch out and play with like minded bands in other states. We played an event called Halloween in July at the Rockshop in Fayetville NC with a bunch of great bands like The Casket Creatures. We would love to pay them a visit and play with them in their home state of Georgia.
Bones: Keep playing until we die, and then someone can write spooky shit about us. The circle of death.
Sandman: In the future we will all be cyborgs, and all ours songs will be about Jason X.
14. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Sandman:
https://www.facebook.com/DeadlyNights
https://soundcloud.com/deadly-nights/
http://www.reverbnation.com/Deadlynightsmusic
http://deadlynightsnj.bigcartel.com/
We should have our music up for sale on iTunes/Amazon/Spotify/etc. this November, although we don't have a firm date yet.
Alex: Our music can be found on the band Facebook page. In terms of buying stuff it can be purchased at our merch booth at shows or just message a band member on facebook and we can get what you want out to you.
15. What is it you'd like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Bones: All we want is music that people can listen to and enjoy, and if you like the stuff just make sure to catch it live when we're playing near you! Plus we love the support so feel free to tell us what you liked.
Alex: More than anything else I would like our listeners to enjoy our music. If they like what they hear they will remember the songs or the lyrics. Whether they are inspired to write songs, join bands or sing along as long as they get something positive from our music I'll be happy we made it.
Sandman: Every time you stop listening to Deadly Nights, God kills a three-toed sloth, please think of the three-toed sloths.
Bones: Lawdy Lawd, those poor sloths.
16. Any final words of wisdom?
Alex: My only words of wisdom are to not listen to people who tell you that you can't do something. When Kaan and I started playing music together there was someone in my life who told me that I was wasting my time and that no one would ever like my angry punk music. If they were still around I would tell them that I've taken that punk music to stages like Starland Ballroom and The Stone Pony in N.J. and to stages in Tennessee, Chicago, N.Y. and North Carolina to just name a few and that there were plenty of people at all those places who disagreed with her opinion.
Bones: Never get involved in a land war in Asia.
Sandman: Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
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