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MiniVoid pulls their influences
from a variety of genres, while avoiding powerchord monotony, and
grinding vocal clichés, making for a high-energy but hook-filled style
that is slowly making it's way through more than a few states. MiniVoid
plays emotionally charged, melodic, heavy rock, gives a show that
rivals national acts, and has earned a beautiful fan base more loyal
than most regional acts.
BallBuster: Introduce your current line-up to our readers?
MiniVoid:
Grant Henry: Vocals
Brandon Lowery:
Drums and Percussion
Thomas McCoy: Bass
John O'Connell: Guitars
Andrew Shearer: Guitars
BB: How long has the group been in existance?
MV: As MiniVoid, about 3 years, though the two
guitarists, Andrew & John began playing 4 years ago. We've been playing
regionally for 2 1/2 years. MiniVoid's first EP, 14 Days, included
a different drummer and bassist. I definitely believe our sound has
matured immensely since the joining of Thomas and Brandon, and believe
it shows on the new full length, Readjust.
BB: In your own words describe your band's sound
& influences?
MV: We've come to the short blip of heavy rock.
Getting slightly more specific,it's a mesh of heavy riffs and driving
melodies with a singer who mixes his voice between singing and screaming.
Well, we each have our own personal influences on our individual instruments
and playing styles. As a collective, though, I would say we all universally
would cite TOOL as a major influence. Perhaps not so much a "songwriting"
influence, but more an influence on how we perceive ourselves as a
band, would be Sevendust. Those guys really have things together.
Their music is amazingly tight, their stage presence and live show
are an onslaught of energy, and they come across as real people, not
over-cocky rock stars. As far as our sound goes, we've come to the
description of high-energy, heavy rock. High energy because the shows
are truly energetic, between not only the band but the good crowds
as well.
 BB:Name
some bands in which you've shared the stage & opened?
MV:Most notably I think we would all name bands
such as Fear Factory, Nonpoint, Hed P.E., and One Minute Silence.
Some of our favorite regional bands to hit the stage and road with
are Bleak, Elijah Strange, and Swift.
BB: Where & what studio did the production take
place of your current release?
MV: Gothic Studios, Columbia, SC - recorded and mixed Digital Editing
done by John O' Connell The Kitchen, Chapel Hill, NC - mastered
BB: What is the current scene like in your local
area & how does MiniVoid fit in?
MV: Let's just say that the heavy scene in Asheville
is growing, and that's a great thing. We are now pulling crowds upwards
and over 500 people, and are getting better local responses to our
music all the time. There are also a number of different local bands
emerging on the scene, which makes me believe that Asheville heavy
scene will continue to grow, and won't go away any time soon.
BB: What's the bands long & short term goals
as far as touring, recording, writeing ect ?
MV: It's always been a goal of ours to expand
and tour all over the nation which seems to be a growing possibility
with increasing crowds and outside interest. With the release of the
new album, we're basically going to try to get our music out to every
available avenue that can continually spread our sound to new and
accepting audiences. Whether that be new crowds at new shows out of
town, or booking agents, or record companies. Basically, we are going
to continue promoting our music to the fullest extent to keep us doing
what we're doing for a long time. MiniVoid still writes new songs
continually. We try to get one out every local show.
BB: What would you say is your biggest gripe
about the music industry?
MV: Our biggest frustration is that record execs
are mostly older guys, and have no personal interest in heavy music.
So, despite, the every increasing market of this genre due to huge
success of bands like Slipknot, System,Sevendust, and Deftones, record
exec's still want heavy bands to "tone it down." As far as the local
music industry, it's lack of respect. As stated, we've toured around
this region for some time, and we consider ourselves to be very professional.
However, some clubs and owners still treat you like absolute dogshit
unless you are signed. (Here, we must give props to all the ones who
do support us though, such as Mic from Ground Zero, hooking us up
with nationals.)
BB: Has there been any label interest ?
MV: There has been a bit of label interest. We
don't want to mention any names outright at this very moment in time.
But we've been in regular contact to some of the A&R people for some
bigger labels recently.We also recently won a contest landing us a
slot on a compilation which will be sent to A&M, Roadrunner, Capitol,
etc. - all the big ones. With the recent release of our new, full-length
album, we are just starting to contact smaller labels.
BB: Any thing you wish ad?
MV: Just want to say thanks for granting this
interview, hope everyone who stops by the site digs the music, and
to all you fans of heavy music out there: go out and see every show
you possibly can, and give support to those bands out there that are
busting their asses to keep a great scene alive. Also, MiniVoid's
live show is very important to us. We believe it's how we grasp initial
interest from fans. Our music is emotional to us, and we show it on
stage by jumping around like maniacs and trying get the crowd into
it the best we can. All of us can't stand to see a band just stand
there and try to be heavy at the same time. When you're playing low
budget shows without all the lights, expensive sound, and costume,
we have to ignite the crowd ourselves.
http://www.MiniVoid.com
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