Q: Who is Genghis Tron and how did the band get started?
Q: Who is Genghis Tron and how did the band get started? A: Genghis Tron is three people -- Mookie Singerman (vocals/keyboards), Michael Sochynsky (keyboards/drum programming) and Hamilton Jordan (guitars/drum programming). The three of us met in school in Poughkeepsie, NY and started writing music in early 2004. We self-recorded a demo a few months later, and that demo found its way to Adam at Crucial Blast, who offered to put our our first release. Four years of writing, recording, and touring later, we are now based out of Philadelphia and we've just released our third official release (and second full-length) Board Up The House on Relapse Records. Q: I want to book GT for a show. Are you guys available? A: All booking inquiries should be sent to one of our booking agents (contact info below). It's hard to keep track of emails and Myspace messages, especially ones about playing shows. Speaking with one of our agents is absolutely the best way to go about booking us. North America: merrick@thekenmoreagency.com Q: Where can I buy your album? A: Board Up The House can be found at many independent record stores in North America, but is also available at many chain stores such as Best Buy, FYE, and Hot Topic. Call your nearest location to check on availability. All three of our CD releases can also be found on iTunes and major online retailers/distros like Relapse.com, Amazon.com, Interpunk.com, Insound.com, etc. Cloak of Love and Dead Mountain Mouth are cheapest through Crucialblast.net. The vinyl for Board Up The House can be ordered at lpurecords.com. Currently, the vinyl editions of Cloak of Love and Dead Mountain Mouth are sold out, but they might be repressed in the future. Q: Where can I get Genghis Tron t-shirts/sweatshirts/textiles? A: Come to one of our shows or go to our webstore: genghistron.bigcartel.com. Q: I want a copy of your CD to review in a magazine or to play on my radio station. Can you send me one? A: We are not able to send out CD's for free -- we have to pay for all of the CD's we get from the record label, so we can't afford to give them away. However, there are people at Relapse you can contact for such requests: Press/Publications/Reviews -- Betsey Cichoracki -- press@relapse.com Q: What's the deal with Cape of Hate and Triple Black Diamond? Where can I get one, and will they be repressed? A: Cape of Hate and Triple Black Diamond are CD-R only releases which we sold on the Cloak of Love and Dead Mountain Mouth tours, respectively. They are NOT official releases -- just some limited edition tour EP's which feature some remixes, reinterpretations, and live tracks. They are both sold out at this point and will definitely not be repressed -- we've got better and more exciting things to work on for the future! Q: What does GT use for drum programming? A: Over the years, we've used a variety of software (sequencers, VST instruments, and lots of plug-ins) to create our programmed drums. For the first several recordings Hamilton and Michael used FL Studio (a.k.a. Fruity Loops) and some FL plug-ins exclusively. In the last few years, GT has also incorporated programs such as Ableton Live, Drumkit From Hell Superior, and Battery. Any recent GT song contains programming from several of these programs. Q: What advice do you have for programming drums? A: Drum programming is like learning an instrument...it takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. Pay close attention to the details of the drumwork on some of your favorite songs; focus on the choices being made and familiarize yourself with the anatomy and structure of beats which sound good to you. Pick out a drum part you like and try recreating the general pattern with the software/hardware you're using for your programming. Understanding how drum beats work and where the kicks/snares/cymbals/etc. should appear within a given measure will help you learn how to translate whatever beats you might be hearing in your head into something more concrete. Solid drum programming also extends far beyond just writing engaging drum patterns -- the quality of the samples and overall production value is just as important. Experiment with editing and EQ'ing your drum samples to make them your own, and also make sure to lift/buy/steal/search for samples in lots of different places -- or record your own samples if you have the means. All in all, just be creative and be patient -- there's no easy way to dial in something which sounds unique. If all of the samples in your kit came standard with the program you're using, chances are strong that your programming will sound a lot like the beats of other people who have the same program. Q: What kind of synths/hardware/amps does Genghis Tron use? A: Michael uses two synthesizers -- a Novation KS-4 and an Alesis Andromeda A6. The KS-4 was his primary keyboard for Cloak of Love and Dead Mountain Mouth, and then the Andromeda was incorporated as his primary synth for Board Up The House. Mookie plays a Moog Voyager. Live, he uses a rack-mounted version of the synthesizer and controls it with a Novation SL-37 MIDI Controller. Hamilton plays a Gibson Les Paul and a First Act Lola, both with EMG pickups and Ernie Ball strings. He runs a Diezel Herbert amp through Mesa/Boogie and Diezel 4x12 cabinets. In the past, he's used a Peavey 5150 II and a Sunn Beta Lead. He also uses some pedals -- EHX Holy Grail, EHX POG, Moogerfooger Ring Modulator, Boss Loop Station, and ZVex Fuzz Factory. Q: Who does Genghis Tron's artwork? A: Jon Beasley, a California-based artist who is NOT the dude from Baroness (although he's done a sweet shirt for us), designed the artwork for all three of our CD/LP releases. His website is www.oskdesign.com. Our t-shirts were designed by a wide variety of artists, most of whom can be Googled for more info -- Dylan Reece, Romantic Walrus, Seripop, Seldon Hunt, Trish Kleinot, Gunsho, Nat Damm, and John Baizley. |