HEARTSICK

HEARTSICK is a band I guess would fit the in the alternative rock genre. Still good and hard enough for me to like it. Anders Ekdahl ©2018 <!–more–>

How hard was it to come up with a band name and how does the name fit the music? 
-It was actually pretty hard, lol. We all sat down and wrote list of band names we liked. Our drummer had recently passed away and changing the band name felt like the right thing to do to honor him as he was not a fan of the old name. 

We put our heads together with our management team at the time and Heartsick was the name everyone had on each of their lists. It fits the music well because I (Alfonso) am a pretty big empath and because of that I am sensitive by nature. Everything I write really is something I care about or believe in and often times fret over. Life can be hard especially when you are sensitive to the world and those around you, you can often feel drained or heartbroken when people or things are hurting or not just. 

What was it that made you want to be in a band in the first place?
– The defining moment for me was when I was in 8th grade and my best friend Vinny started learning guitar. If he was going to start learning then I had to as well. That just sort of kicked off the whole lets start a band thing. Been hooked ever since. 

As I am no musician I have no idea how it works, but how do you make your own music based on what influences you? What parts do you pick?
-When I was a kid and just starting to learn guitar, my sisters boyfriend at the time told me something that really stuck with me. He said “don’t learn other peoples songs, it will influence you to mimic them. Write your own stuff, that way you develop your own style and sound. I took that and ran with it. However I will say that my favorite band is Deftones and I eventually learned a good portion of their catalog which of course influenced a lot of my song writing. I really pick up on the easy chords they use but make these incredibly complex songs. Yet anyone can play them on guitar. 

When you are in a band does it feel like you are a part of a worldwide movement? It does at times.
-Then other times it is fucking lonely and frustrating. I think most artists just want to create and reach as many people as possible and being in a metal band you sort of restrict your self in someways because it is a very niche market. Then add in politics, money, etc. and it can feel fucking impossible. At the same time that very niche community is so wide and vast and people genuinely care about each other and the bands they love so you absolutely feel like you are part of this larger than life movement. 

How important is it that you look the part in promo shots and stuff? How important is the graphic side of the band?
-I hate to say it but it is extremely important. You are creating a body of art. From how the band looks, to the songs, to the design etc. Everything is sort of this giant art piece and if you don’t really water that piece it just doesn’t have the impact it can have. Image unfortunately is important. There is something about the human mind that wants to be accepted and cool and well image is part of that. The graphic side is also important because it conveys a message, it solidifies what people see and hear and if you fuck off and just put together some half assed art and graphic it absolutely can kill the whole vibe. 

What would you say influences your lyrics? How important are they? 
-Life. Everything in my life influences my lyrics because like I said I feel things extremely deeply. So those feelings play such an important role in how I write. I also don’t want to pigeon whole my self into writing about one specific thing constantly. So anything in my life or life in general is fair game. Politics, love, mental health, anxiety, war, etc. We all live life and I just feel that in itself is a huge and vast thing to be able to write about. 

Is the album as relevant today as it was in the 70s and 80s? Is digital killing the album?
-I think that from then till now it is. It is just consumed differently but I think people still want full records, they just want to consume it differently. American society is so fast paced. It is work work work work, we don’t promote a lot of healthy life styles things like just be home and have a day and relax etc. It is just this all consuming type society at times and I think that lends it self to make people want to consume something like a record as quickly as possible and digital formats offer that. Which is why I would say digital is killing physical record sales but not records in general. 

Where will the future of format end – digital verses physical verses whatever?
-I think that they will continue to co exist more so in the Vinyl form for hard copy. Digital is undeniably becoming the king but people love nastalgia, so records as hard copies to me will never fully disapear. 

How much of a touring entity are you guys? What is a live experience with you like?
-We tour a lot. We love to tour and to us the whole point of being in a band is to play live and show people what you got. So we tour as much as possible but obviously still value our time at home with kids, families, friends, wives, etc. Touring is what this band was built on and it will continue to be that very foundation that helps us get further into the world. If you come watch us live it will feel like watching a world war II dog fight in the air. Highs, lows, moments of tension and high energy followed by moments of trying to gain your footing and controlling your emotions. 

What lies in the future?
-Right now the record is do out February 15th on all digital platforms. From there we have some tours set up through out the spring months and hoping to hit Europe in the fall. In between all that a few video shoots and beefing up our youtube presence.