Ixion: Who am I speaking to and what do you do in Sinder?
Mike: Mike Young and I'm the singer.
Ixion: Give us a little history of the band, and who all is involved.
Mike: We started out just being normal high schools, Tony and I, and found a flyer to join an existing band, so we tried out. They liked us, we basically tore that band apart, there isn't one remaining member still in us. So, after jumping around with a few different drummers, we landed a solid one who played our first show and many others with us, Jason Lory, but has left since and is now being replaced by our friend Bobz of a friend band Stricken. So, now the lineup remains Tony, Chris, Bobz, and I.
Ixion: Lately I�ve noticed there has been a wave of younger musicians to enter the scene, and actually get some recognition. With Sinder being one of those younger bands, how do you feel about it?
Mike: I feel like being one of the younger bands, we don't get the respect we deserve, being treated as inferior because of our age, but still being able to still handle ourselves with people twice our age. But it gives me a good feeling knowing we have a headstart and we have peers who are in the same boat as us.
Ixion: Being a younger band, do you have any bands you look to as mentors?
Mike: We look up to bands we know and listen to, for example, Tool, My Ruin, The Doors.
Ixion: Orange County, Ca. has its reputation for metal... Have any of the local breakout bands influenced you?
Mike: They influence us greatly by watching their stage show, they're personas on and off stage and we take in all we can of good, no matter where from, and reject the bad. But many great bands come out of OC some die without even getting the recognize they deserved.
Ixion: What is the OC scene like these days?
Mike: OC scene is heavily into the Emo and Hardcore, It's a crazy show to see, packed.
Ixion: Does the movie "Orange County" do any justice to OC?
Mike: I was truly dissapointed with the movie "Orange County" first of all, their high school looked like some science musuem or art gallery. Many things were true tho, the Crazy Town song being inescapable, and believe me i tried. The older brothers that just leech off the family and do drugs, and especially the older rich men having young gold digging mistresses. It's straight scandelous.
Ixion: Reading the band�s bio, it says that a lot of your energy and lyrics come from repressed anger and pain. One can definitely sense that from your music. Where does that anger and pain come from?
Mike: I was brought up going to a private catholic school, besides that playing a trick on ones mind, I was the subject of much ridicule and suffered mass isolation and outcasting from the mere 30 students I basically had to grow up with, only finding a way to break free by ventalation through anger. And dealing with being shadowed upon by others triumphs left me looking into dissapointed eyes.
Ixion: One thing that I find refreshing about Sinder�s sound is the true metal driven music. Which is very reminiscent of the older generation before this nu-metal era. Is that something that the band strives for, or does it come naturally?
Mike: Well, I never had a chance to learn about music until I discovered it, rather late, so I missed out on some great hair-bands, shredder guitar playing, and grunge. Chris has a big Doors influence and Tony has this funky playing that might be remaniscent of older generations.
Ixion: For anyone unfamiliar with the band, give a description of your sound, and why should someone give Sinder a listen?
Mike: We have a lot of raw emotion that comes out through all of us, which I think is rare in the sense that we don't just write something to have something new and have to make sure it's going to get stuck in your head, like Limp Bizkit, we take our time and are never fully satisfied with our songs until we feel it has been perfected by everyone. Also, my messages in each song, even if unable to make it out, are strong and deep ones to me, and lately I've been finding bands lyrics to be lacking.
Ixion: How do you feel about nu-metal?
Mike: Nu-metal is a genre that has bands that I like in it, but also has many bands that I don't like.
Ixion: How did you get your start as a musician?
Mike: I have always been singing, the most significant start was when I was in the All American Boy's Chorus and I got to experience great things such as tours, live performances, and strict practice. I highly recommend it to any 10 year olds reading this.
Ixion: What equipment do you use?
Mike: I personally use (for practice) a Carvin PA which is an 8 channel 700w mixer with 2 400w 15" speakers. Also, I use a very special Microphone, its a Sennheiser that was given to me as a gift from a great inspiration and good friend, Tairrie B. of My Ruin. The rest of the guys you'd have to ask them, haha.
Ixion: Out of all the up and coming bands, I really see Sinder as a promising act. In your short couple of years together, has the band gained much of a following?
Mike: We have gained loyalty from people all over, not just people who are able to come to our shows, people from countires like New Zealand, Italy, Ireland and knowing that we've reached out to someone so distant from us gives us a great feeling.
Ixion: If you could chose any band to play out with, who would you choose?
Mike: Our friends My Ruin and Two Hit Creeper, they both have shown us great morals and strengths that we stand by.
Ixion: What do you see happening with Sinder in the near future?
Mike: We only keep high hopes and low expectations.
Ixion: Whats the band�s current label status?
Mike: We are still working on material but we are always introducing ourselves to labels, who knows you might see a full lenght or EP from us on an indy label sometime in the near future, no one can tell whats in store.
Ixion: Any last words?
Mike: Thanks for just giving us a piece of your time, I hope it you feel it was well spent.
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