Band Interview: Children of Atom
Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life bring you an interview with psychedelic space rock and funky groove metal band, Children of Atom.
1. How did you get started as a band?
Michael Fenris – Vocals, Guitar (MF): Two neighbors bonding over a mutual love of Megadeth. I met our original drummer Gabe in 2013 and we started jamming together immediately. It took a couple years before we really became a band and started lol writing our own tunes and playing shows. We’ve had a few members come and go since we released our first album in 2016.
Josh McClure – Drums (JM): I joined the band right before they were getting ready to go on tour and needed someone to fill in on drums. I was a fan of the band before I joined and when I saw the opportunity I jumped at it. We had two practices then hit the road.
2. How would you describe your sound?
MF: We’re definitely a rock ‘n’ roll band, but we have a tendency to try and kick around on the edges of that sound. We blend in a lot of other styles we dig, sometimes it’s psychedelic, sometimes it’s heavy metal, oftentimes it’s both. I usually call it psy-fi rock or cosmic groove, I feel like that gets the idea across, but most folks describe us as stoner rock. We just try to bring a whole bunch of riffs and grooves with us and try to make you decide whether or not you should be dancing or headbanging.
JM: I definitely think we have a little bit of funk in our bones too. We’re like Stoner rock but with a groove you can dance to.
3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?
MF: We like a fairly wide range of stuff from funk to country, but I think classics like Sabbath and Zeppelin and 70s rock in general had a huge influence on our sound. Myself, I grew up on Dave Mustaine riffs, and when I got a bit older Hendrix basically taught me the blues. I learned to sing listening to the Doors and Mark Lanegan. Other than the stuff I absorbed growing up, I’d say Queens of the Stone Age probably had the biggest effect on my approach to songwriting and style/genre.
JM: Easy! Sabbath and Zeppelin obviously and for more modern stuff for me it’s Clutch and Mastodon.
4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?
MF: Well, no one has offered us a million bucks yet, so I’d say any opportunity for us to bring what we do to the folks that dig it is an asset for us. People should definitely be compensated more fairly, and I think as the legislation catches up with the tech things will start looking a bit better for artists. It’s taking a while, but I would say we’re slowly trending in that direction.
JM: It’s hard to get people to hear your music unless you can put it where the people are.
5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?
MF: I’m pretty much always making music, even in my spare time. With what time is left I’m usually not doing anything too exciting; I like to ride my Harley, hang with the family, smoke lots of reefer, and get lost in the woods.
JM: I wouldn’t say I enjoy it but I definitely waste a lot of my time listening to people talk about crazy conspiracy theories and whatever dumb thing some politician decided to say.
6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?
MF: We’re spending all our time in the studio right now recording our next album- should be finished for a 2023 release, and then yeah. Spend some time touring once that’s all finished.
JM: I just want to play a bunch of shows. I’m ready to get on the road and start touring again. Covid really killed a lot of the momentum we had built up.
7. Tell us about this latest release and where we can find it.
MF: Our latest single Bloodlust Boogie is available to stream on Spotify or wherever you get your tunes. You can also head over to our Bandcamp and snag a copy of our EP on super-limited cassette.
Links
Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
