Stillborn Portrait
by John Haseltine
Formed in early 2004 by bassist Juan Alvarado, guitarist Sergio Sanchez, and guitarist Kris Cana, Stillborn Portrait took shape in a garage on the south side of San Jose California. With the addition of drummer Mike Lomas the Portrait was beginning to take shape. Shortly thereafter Sanchez took a hiatus from the group, leaving a hole that would not be easily filled. Under the original moniker of Cryptic, the threesome put in countless garage hours writing, and preparing their craft for the one day they could finally be heard.
After several shows as an instrumental piece, they put their vocalist search into full swing by cutting an instrumental demo in October of 2004. It was soon thereafter that vocalist John Groom showed up that following January to start the new year off right, and almost instantaneously the music took on a whole new dimension. The addition of guitarist Jake Wright in the middle of that year put the project into full swing. Cryptic began to gain significant local support with the old fashioned approach of "play anywhere, anytime, and for anyone who would listen." After opening for several national acts, and finishing 2ND in a local battle of the bands, the group decided the only place left to go was the studio. A grueling five month recording process ens ued and they emerged with, "In the Year of the Moth," their first full length album in mid 2006.
Adopting the name Stillborn Portrait, and with album in hand the group was ready to take on the world, however studio time had taken its toll on the band, and Jake Wright took leave soon after the completion of the album. Despite personal differences, lack of media coverage, and the closure of many bay area venues, the Portrait is still as in tact and strong as ever. Petr Oplatka would step in to fill the final guitar slot and Stillborn Portrait then headed east to Wisconsin. After gracing the stage of the legendary “Milwaukee Metalfest,” and a swing of southern California in summer of 2007, the gears are once again in full motion for destruction of auditory nerves everywhere.
John: First off, introduce yourself and your band. Where are you guys from?
Mike: My name is Mike Lomas and I play drums in Stillborn Portrait from San Jose California.
J: Give us a brief history on how the band came to be?
M: Basically the usual story of a couple of guys (bass: Juan Alvarado, guitar: Kris Cana, guitar: Petr Oplatka, Vocals: John Groom) in a garage who liked to make noise. Eventually we took it to a stage and people were into it so we kept on pluggin.
J: How would you best describe your sound?
M: Unique. We all have different influences that criss cross at different places so that lets us draw inspiration from many different places. If I had to pick something to call it in the end it is really just straight up metal.
J: What is a good selling point of the band?
M: We really are a live band. To get the full effect of what we can bring to the table you have to see us live. No matter what whether there is no one in the house or if we’re playin sold out stadiums we’re all gonna be goin apeshit up there so whoever comes on out is sure to get a good show.
J: Do you currently have a release? Demo or Full Length?
M: We just released our first full length album “In the Year of the Moth” which will be available in our online store shortly.
J: Tell us a bit about it.
M: Well for anyone who knew us as Cryptic it’s the same brutality and energy just with a different stamp on it. We put a lot of time and effort into making sure as much of the energy of the live show came through as well as being able to appreciate the musicianship behind it all.
J: Are you currently signed to a label?
M: No label yet so we’re out there freeballin it for now and hopefully the right offer comes along soon.
J: Are you currently on tour? Or is this festival a special trip?
M: This time it was a special trip to get out here. Back home we’re nailing down the support system and setting the gears in motion for a little west coast swing. So all ‘yall out there get ready for the album in person as well as some unrecorded stuff we have that will blow your mind.
J: Is this your first time playing Milwaukee Metal Fest?
M: Yes this was our first Metalfest and hopefully the first of many.
J: What are your thoughts on the fest? How was your experience?
M: You know when we first heard about the opportunity to play Metalfest we were all pretty honored to be apart of the legend that it is. We were given a great opportunity and are grateful to everyone who put this thing together. Getting to play twice in one day and along side acts like God Forbid and Skinlab was just a killer experience.
J: What can one expect from a live performance?
M: Quite simply just aggressive, energetic, metal in its purest form. There are no gimmicks, costumes, or 12 foot demons on stage it’s really just all about the music for us.
J: What are your thoughts on the American Metal Scene?
M: I think this is the most exciting time that metal has had in years. Metal musicians are starting to gain accolades for their skill when they were once written off as just being noise, and there are so many good bands, both big time and up and coming that keep pushing the scene that has made this just a great time to be playing this music.
J: What’s up next for the band?
M: Right now just making sure we’ve got some grass roots nailed down and are set promotion wise with a solid web site, merch, and a video so we can branch out and see what other areas we can get to.
J: Any long term expectations or goals?
M: Well everyone wants to be the next Metallica but for now it’s just keeping it as real as it’s always been for us. Lots of hard work and grinding in the trenches and hopefully we end up someplace positive.
J: Where can one go to hear your music and or purchase some of your releases?
M: Well your best option is always to come out to a show and get the full experience, but for now check out http://www.myspace.com/stillbornportrait or http://www.stillborn-portrait.com for info. We will have an online store set up shortly so you can pick up cd’s, shirts, and what not there as well.
J: Who are some of your influences?
M: We’re really all over the place with that one. All of us listen to metal of course so there’s Lamb of God, Meshuggah, The Berzerker, Dying Fetus, and all those guys. But we listen to everything so don’t think we won’t turn off the grind riffs for a bit to stop and get crunk every once and a while.
J: What other acts have you shared the stage with?
M: Well Metalfest afforded us the chance to play with a whole bunch but other than that some notables would be Therion, and Necrophagia. As well as countless local acts back home.
J: Who would be the ultimate band to play with or tour with?
M: For me my ultimate few bands would be Meshuggah, Black Dahlia Murder, and Lamb of God. Met the Lamb guys a little while back and they’re all so down to earth and just cool about everything I think they would be killer to spend some time with. I hear the guys from Black Dahlia are hilarious as well so there’s probably some good fun to be had there. And I just love listening to Meshuggah so I think it would be awesome to get to see them live night after night. Plus I think those bands and us combined would be quite simply the most brutal show you could ever see on this earth.
J: Anything you want to add? Say? Bitch about?
M: Yeah, gas prices suck balls. |
