Shock rock, industrial, nu-metalheads AMERAKIN OVERDOSE have released not one but three full-length albums, and a recent cover song of a well known pop artist! All new music is being written and recorded right now, some of which has been in the works for quite sometime! The band discusses their music, releasing much more music, including music videos, and hoping to tour and do shows sometime soon!
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
I came up with the name back in 2008 when I was putting together my ideas for a new band. At the time, I was paying attention to a lot of news about the war in the middle east and how the rest of the world viewed the United States of America. I remember seeing a media source that explained how Americans are viewed as the police of the world and how we live so extreme here in comparison to other countries and our attitudes are over the top. We want to have the best cars, clothes, houses etc. and anything we do we overdo it. I was writing down ideas for a band name based on that and I must have had 2 or 3 pages of different names but the one that stood out to me was American. I wanted something with that in the name and I wanted the name to be used in a way that represents how people see us and our attitude and how we live. Overdose was a cool word and it fit properly with what I was looking for. I looked up the name on google and found that no band was using that name and had not previously used it so it was perfect. I changed the spelling on it as an ode to Korn and other Nu Metal bands who used unique spelling.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
I was always around music my entire life. My dad was a DJ for an FM radio station so music was always being played around me. I would listen to what my parents listen to. It wasn't until my cousin introduced me to Metallica, Pantera and Korn when I was like 9 years old that I found my own music. I was instantly hooked. There was something very intriguing about how loud and aggressive the music was. One day my brother and I were hanging out with my cousin, and he started playing those 3 bands and I loved it. I went and picked up albums from all 3 of those bands. Then I seen Slipknot live in concert in 2000 at a club in Portland and I knew I wanted to be a singer. Heavy music is a great outlet, and this is why I love this genre of music.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Yes and no. My brother Pete who is the other vocalist I have obviously known my whole life. Brick (drummer) we met through Myspace when I was putting together a different project. Justin (Guitar) and Josh (Bass) I met when I tried out for one of their bands many, many years ago. At the end of 2023 we were looking for a guitarist and bass player and they reached out saying they were interested in playing with us.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
The band is based out of Portland, Oregon. Portland used to have a music scene but the last 10+ years the scene has been almost nonexistent. Many venues have opened and closed. Many national/international bands skip over playing in Portland. We lost the big radio station we had back in 2011 or 2012 or so. We try not to focus on playing here too much and play the other surrounding cities.
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Everyday life is what inspires me. I have lived a crazy life and I have a lot to say and write about. I like to write from personal experience and how I see the world. Anger, Sadness, happiness, loneliness etc. are great inspirations to get a song and lyrics going. When I get feedback from others that can relate to what I wrote about, that fuels me to further write personal songs.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Please see above.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
Yes, we write our own music. We are a band that has some very talented musicians who play multiple instruments so we all take turns and put input in all of the parts of the songs. One of us might come up with a guitar part and another person might come in with a keyboard/synth part that goes along with the riff. We put together a skeleton demo track and we work with our producer(s) to take it up to the next level and really make it a song. Most recently, I have been working very closely with Jonny Santos (Spineshank/Silent Civilian) where we work on vocal melodies/harmonies and lyrics. Jonny has also been a huge part of the production of the songs and the music part of the newer music. Between working with Nikolas Roy Quemtri (producer) and Jonny we have an amazing team and it is what makes up our sound.
8. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We have 3 full length albums people can check out. Our self titled album (2012), “The Great Amerakin Dream” (2016) and “Artificial Infection” (2024). Most recently, we released our current single/cover “Genie in A Bottle” on March 7th along with a video for it. The new music we are currently working on is some of the heaviest we have ever done, some of the most melodic we have ever done and some of it is the most experimental we have ever done. We are doing a ton of harmonies. We had some songs that had harmonies on it, but now we have really turned up the volume on that. Our music is only getting better each album and we are beyond excited for people to hear the new stuff.
9. Do you have any new music in the works?
Yes, we have been writing and recording new music since last Summer. We are always writing and recording. We started working with Jonny Santos (Spineshank/Silent Civilian) and we are writing some of the best music we have ever done. Jonny has helped push me as a vocalist and expand our sound to levels we have never done before. The next single “Point of No Return” will be releasing on April 25th along with a video for it. We will continue to be releasing new music and videos every 6 to 8 weeks. Eventually once we have released enough material, we plan to release our 4th full length album sometime in 2026. But plan to hear new music throughout all of 2025.
10. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We do not have any shows or tours planned yet. But if anyone is interested in booking us we are always up to play shows.
11. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
We will continue to release new music and videos. We will continue to play shows regionally and if we get a good offer to tour, we will tour.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can hear us on any major streaming platforms. We are on Spotify, Apple music, Youtube etc. Check out our music, follow us. Merch is available on our website www.amerakinoverdoseband.com. We have something for everyone, so go check it out and buy something!
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