"A Word" With Alex Preiss From Psychostick !

Psychostick are a "Humor-Core" band from Tempe, Arizona. The band fuses heavy metal and hardcore music with hilarious lyrics. Their debut album "We Couldnt Think Of A Title" has been getting great feedback, the band's debut and follow up album have both charted the Billboard's. While Psychostick are too awesome to tour for the "Sex, drugs and fame" they actually do it for the great food on the way from every city to another. The band finished recording their latest album "Sandwich" and are getting ready to unleash it onto the planet on May 5th.

Kick ass shredder Khalilson got the chance to have "a word" with Alex "Shmalex" Preiss the band's drummer about their upcoming album Sandwich, their influences, making fun of other bands, Weird Al Yankovic, and alot more.

Here's how it went:

Khalilson: First of all I'd like to say that I'm a huge fan of your previous album "We Couldn't Think of a Title", what can you tell us about your upcoming release "Sandwich"?

Alex: Well, Sandwich is a delicious collection of songs written from 2004-2008, mostly 08. It also features the first studio performances with the current lineup! We added Jake on 2nd guitar, and Jimmy on bass for this one, and like every other band to release a new album, I think it’s our best material to date.



Khalilson: Do you have any future plans of recording a Non Humor Record?

Alex: Not as Psychostick. This band is strictly a comedic metal band. Although, we do range from satire, to irony, to dark comedy, all the way to the occasional anecdote.



Khalilson: What are your influences and what bands are you listening to lately?



Alex: Lately, I have been listening to the new Thursday album a lot. That and I just got the new Prodigy! Awesome stuff. Besides that, Spitfire, Spylacopa, and all the regulars for me, Brand New, Alkaline Trio, The Hope Conspiracy.

Regarding influences, I have some for drumming, and others for songwriting. My favorite drummers are Travis Barker, Bryan Mantia, Tomas Haake, Chris Pennie, and Abe Cunningham. Bands that influence my Psychostick songwriting are probably Norma Jean, The Hope Conspiracy, Primus, and Hatebreed. How’s that?



Khalilson: How do people react when they see you live?


Alex: We get a few common reactions, actually. Sometimes we have people staring and seemingly not enjoying the show very much at all, but then we are flooded with compliments about how much they like it! I think that only happens in a town we haven’t played much before, and they are unsure of how to react to us. Then we just have some kids who like to be up front and sing, or kids who just want to mosh, like any other rock show. But my favorite reaction, regardless of how they express it, is that they are having a fun time. Oh course, we also get the occasional tough guy who doesn’t want to have fun and crosses his arms waiting for the next band to come on.



Khalilson: How did Pyschostick start. Whos idea was it?

Alex: Psychostick officially began in 2000, when Josh and Rob moved to Phoenix and met me and our first bass player. Before that, in the Psychostick “pre-production”, if you will, it was called Asinine. That pretty much just featured Josh who kept shifting instruments, and changing the lineup for a while until he moved. But once we were a solid lineup, we started recording demos that were just awful, and then started playing shows on Valentine’s Day, 2001.



Khalilson: Ever thought of making fun of other bands?

Alex: Oh, we do. Over the years, we have done a few live parodies of bands like Drowning Pool, Staind, and I think Def Leopard. Whoever plays “Pour some sugar on me”…that one. It’s fun, but we’re not Weird Al. He’s the best at that, and I don’t think we would get anywhere trying to be him. FUN FACT: Weird Al and I share the same birthday; October 23rd.



Khalilson: Whats the best show you guys ever did?

Alex: Tough question…can I name a few? The Sokol in Omaha, the Webster in Hartford, the Myth in Minneapolis, and the Warehouse in La Crosse. Any of these would qualify.



Khalilson: What countries are you guys planning on playing in next?

Alex: That’s another good question, but I’m not sure. Before we go anywhere, we need to get international distribution. We have an excellent group of people over at Rock Ridge doing our US distro, but they haven’t yet expanded to include the rest of the world. I would love to get a hold of an indie company that we could actually trust that could do that. Then will we be able to tour other countries. But I don’t know, maybe the UK?? I know we have a good following over there, but I have never been anywhere else outside of Mexico.



Khalilson: Apart from Psychostick, some of you guys are involved in a more serious band called "Evacuate Chicago" can you tell us about the band's music and how it differs from Psychostick ?

Alex: Evacuate Chicago is largely my own project. I’m only playing drums and doing the occasional back up vocals, but I wrote the 9 out of 12 songs. Josh did all of the guitars and main back ups, and Rob did the lead vocals. Josh did a lot of stuff actually, he wrote the remaining 3 songs, and he engineered and mixed it. But it’s a really personal, pissed of record I wrote when I was 19 and reading a lot of Alice Miller books. It’s very honest, thus the name “Veracity”.



Khalilson: Are you guys planning on releasing "Veracity" on CD ?

Alex: We are in fact! Chadd, the artist who did the latest Screaming Mechanical Brain cover did the art for this one as well, and it’s awesome. I can’t draw anything though, so I am easily impressed. But no, that guy rules. And now, as soon as we can afford to get it pressed, we will do so, and have it available online and at shows.



Khalilson: Thank you so much for your time, would you like to add anything?



Alex: Yeah, if you know a place where I can find something that is too spicy for me, I will give you a dollar. So far, this place called Firehouse Subs in San Antonio is the only one to come close!



Make sure you head over to the band's Myspace to get a taste (seriously!) of the band's awesome brand of metal, and find out how you can get your hands on "Sandwich" ... oh yea and and check out the band's Youtube channel for some hilarious videos. And lets all be on the look out for something crazy spicy for Alex.. The Hunt Is On !

I'd also like to thank Anthony Caroto the band's manager for helping us get the interview and for being so awesome.

Here's the band's video for their awesome song "Pluh" from their 2006 release " We Couldnt Think Of A Title"

Keep an eye out for alot more interviews and reviews from the always kick ass Khalilson !

One last thing I'd like to point you towards is the hilarious guest blog that the band's guitarist/vocalist Josh Key did for HeadBangersBlog.com

www.psychostick.com
www.myspace.com/psychostick