Catch A Rising Star Series: Interview with Corners of Sanctuary Drummer Mad T

By Mick Michaels

COSMICK VIEW: Hello, Mad T! Welcome to The Cosmick View. Thank you for taking some time out of your day to chat with me, it is greatly appreciated.
Mad T: Thank you for having me! I look forward to your questions.

CV: What is your perspective on the current state of the music industry? Given the massive changes within the industry during the past decade, do you feel building a livelihood around music can be a valid career choice?
Mad T: I am sure you get this sort of response a lot: the industry has moved and will continue to move to digital-based sales which then may create a roadblock for some bands and musicians to reach their desired audience. And that’s just a general perspective. Just because one’s music is on the internet, doesn’t mean that fans, strangers, and others are actively looking for one’s music. With that, much of the promotion and logistical tasks and responsibilities have fallen to the musician. Perhaps this was always the case in decades past, but such responsibilities may have been simpler then, i.e. meeting with a booker in person, set a date, form a contract – that sort of stuff. Though now we have social media and email, many persons or institutions that hold the “keys” to bands and musicians performing or advertising rarely respond to one’s inquiry. With that being said, it is possible, but maybe not plausible, for many to build a livelihood around music. Perhaps if one is a studio or touring musician, or one who is contracted on a regular basis with bands and other musical groups…but for a band to be the next KISS, Judas Priest, or Iron Maiden, it’s tougher than ever. But, that doesn’t mean I won’t give it shot! [Laughs].

CV: Has your experience thus far shed any light or given you any insight as to how to navigate such wildly changing musical currents to steer your career towards success? What have you found works for you?
Mad T: What works for one area, may not work for another. Advertising yourself as a hard rock band when you’re a thrash metal band may work with some venues, while advertising yourself as a thrash band when you’re a blue rock band may not work with others. Since the industry and currents you speak of change rapidly, you can only have control over what is constant – yourself. I think two things are important to a musician, their performance with their selected instrument and professionalism. I say these things because I have noticed that they are lacking in different degrees in the musicians I encounter. One may be professional and knows what to do in a business-like setting to best help their cause but their degree of knowledge (or confidence in their ability) of their chosen instrument is lacking, or vice versa. If one is roughly equal in both, then, like I mentioned before, one may have an opportunity to make a livelihood off of making music.

CV: Tell us a little about your specific style of music and what it is about the music that connects you to it. And how do you see your music connecting to others?
Mad T: My drumming style has a Rock foundation, this is because if I want to play Metal, I can easily speed up my Rock drumming approach, and if I want to play Punk, I play faster and simplify my fills [Laughs]. Having a foundation that I can work from is very important to me, especially when I make a mistake during the live set and I need to quickly get back to the beat…the fundamental beat of the song. The same goes for my guitar playing.

When I start to connect to the music, it really does start with the music itself. How does the guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, etc. gel with each other and does it get my foot stomping? Sometimes it’s some progressive music, sometimes it’s straightforward music. It really depends on the day. But when it comes to others connecting with my music, be it the drums or the guitar that I create, a straightforward beat or riff is more relatable than some heavily progressive or super technical beat or riff to the average person. There is a time and place for those types of styles, but it’s not for everybody. Why do you think pop music has that steady beat in 4/4? Whatever gets that foot a stomping, and it’s normally the straightforward 4/4 beat and simple riff that does the job quite well.

CV: What do you see are the biggest obstacles new artists face on their road to stardom? Are you experiencing certain challenges and if so, how are you working to overcome them?
Mad T: I think the internet, though absolutely helpful in many of the avenues musicians and other jobs and hobbyists use and follow, has also become an obstacle. With the internet, you can find you favorite band’s music and local bands can easily upload their music to the internet just like your favorite top band. There are now a plethora of bands and musicians out on the internet competing with one another to secure the fans that they all desperately desire from a small pool of potential listeners. With that being said, it is important for each musician and/or band to have their own distinct sound and not sound like someone else. I know that is easier said than done, but for example, take the band I am currently in, Corners of Sanctuary. Our musical roots are in the 1980’s Heavy Metal era and there are songs and parts of songs that sound like they are from that time period, but they also don’t sound too much like one artist from the 80’s. I don’t really understand how we achieve that distinction from our musical roots, as we are a guitar driven band…maybe ask our guitar player, but we have and our fans have distinguished Corners of Sanctuary from other bands. But we only really achieved our sound in the past few years. Finding one’s sound is a journey in it of itself. I always try and challenge myself to better fit the song on each recording…finding what works and what doesn’t. It’s never a one and done process, but that’s what makes making music absolutely fun!

CV: Every career has its competitive edge…music is no different. What have you done in your own career that sets you apart from other artists?
Mad T: I have really let the music speak for itself and what I have done as an artist. I have found that if one person really hypes another person up about something, whether it’s a show, a movie, music, or an experience, the one who received the hype sometimes feels either underwhelmed or just doesn’t know what to make of what just happened. So, I’ve kind of done, in music, what I’ve done with the new trilogy of Star Wars films, wait until I experience it myself without the fan theories and commercials. Each one of us experiences music differently, so to describe to someone what the music does for me is kind of saying that the other should be feeling the same as me. Instead of telling others what Corners of Sanctuary is, I let them experience what COS is…I do suggest they see the band LIVE! [Laughs].
CV: Many claim that young artists today have a sense of entitlement.  These artists are often accused of feeling they do not need to pay their dues as many others have done in the past. What are your thoughts? Have new artists taken such a stand when it comes to putting in the time and effort? Are the critics right?
Mad T: I think it’s kind of hard to get younger artists or bands to pay their dues when they can essentially pay-to-play on the same stage as their favorite artist. I also think that it is harder and harder to get that sought-after record deal that will propel artists and bands to where they would like to be. Then again, those deals are far and few between, especially not how it was done back in the 1960’s, ‘70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, you know? It also doesn’t help that venues and bookers place four, five, or six bands or artists on the same bill just to make the bar revenue for that night. This then leads to an idea that these bands or artists are replaceable on that night’s bill, leading to an unfounded mistreatment or hostility towards the entertainment. I guess in some sense, newer and younger artists and bands are taking a stand to stop such views on the entertainment from the venue and booker. But at the same time, there are some aspects of the industry that one cannot change or are hard to change. There is also a certain amount of professionalism when a band or artists, despite getting mistreated or screwed, gets on stage and performs that is respectable. And maybe that’s what some of these artists and bands are asking for from the holders of the keys, just some damn respect for the amount of time and energy sacrificed for the craft and passion.

CV: Do you feel the ease and access of modern digital technology has made many young artists impatient? Some feel as though this impatience has led to rushed releases and a lack luster catalog of music, all in pursuit of fame and fortune. Do you agree with such an assessment? Are newer artists in such a rush to “make it” that ample time to hone their craft is being neglected?
Mad T: Humans have always been impatient, even without the ease and access of modern digital technology. As a student of history, the past is riddled with events, large and small, caused by a lack of patience. With that being said, a rushed release normally creates a lack luster catalog, but then, who is forcing the rushing? I remember reading the liner notes of W.A.S.P.’s Inside the Electric Circus and Blackie Lawless basically said that the record label was up the band’s ass to get into the studio and record the next album or hell itself was going to freeze over. In this case, both Inside the Electric Circus and The Headless Children are killer and solid albums in W.A.S.P.’s earlier career, one of them being a major fan favorite.

I think “making it” is now a relative term. Before, it was to be famous in America and do numerous and successful tours of the country and different parts of the world. Now, with modern digital technology, the sense of making has changed from making a few bucks on your music or having your music be featured in a film halfway around the world. The possibilities and opportunities are now more than ever since the 1980’s, let alone before. And with the technology now, we can copy and paste and get into the nitty gritty and fix timing issues without having to rerecord the entire part over fifteen times to get it right. So, “making it” is now relative but also the ample time to hone a musician’s craft is also relative with the technology we have in the music industry.

CV: What traits do you find you possess that are positively working for you and your career and that you believe others should have?
Mad T: I stated this before, but professionalism is very important. Being professional encompasses many aspects, from knowing your parts in the song to knowing not to post that image to social media because it has not received the green light from the band’s or group’s leader. It also includes being a good team player. Being in a band and creating music means to work together to create something that really kicks it. If everyone is off doing their own thing in the song, then it turns into a jam session that doesn’t have a clear direction for both the musician and the listener to follow…fans want something to connect to and look forward to on later releases. This even goes for outside of playing music, i.e. traveling with the band, allocating funds to what is a priority to the band, not just yourself, everyone helping with the social media aspect, and the list goes on. Everything comes back to being a professional, not just in the instrument but in interpersonal relations as well.

CV: Is dabbling in different musical genres and promoting across multiple audiences something artists should do in today's industry landscape? Can it be sustainable or could an artist spread themselves too thin over time and possibly end up with far less than they originally hoped or intended for?
Mad T: I think an artist or band can bring in and utilize different musical genres if that is their thing. You didn’t see Judas Priest infuse reggae or hip hop into their overall sound. And I think there is something to be said about that. Though Priest made a stylistic change with British Steel, they kept to their brand of British Heavy Metal and I think that is what artists and bands need to do. Find their sound and their brand. Something that is true to them. Those who have followed the trends don’t make it big in the end, and in this time and place of the industry, it’s harder to follow the trends because everyone has access to them and can release a new song tomorrow with the trend that just released today. Continuing to use Priest as an example, they stayed within their box of what works for them. With each album, they took that box and shifted it to one direction or another. They did not throw everything that was in the box away to pack it with something else…something totally new and maybe foreign. Think of Dream Theater or Coheed and Cambria, they are progressive by nature and by that nature, they will include or dabble in different musical genres because it is part of the progressive musical genre. After a certain point, it’s not about making music for the people; it’s about making music for you and your people.

CV: How would you describe your musical essence? What makes you the artist that you are?
Mad T: I have always valued the foundational aspects of anything, and my drumming is no different. Since I was influenced by the straightforwardness of Punk Rock and the post-British Steel era of Judas Priest, the simple yet driving backbeat is very important, if not essential, to my musical essence and to the songs I help write. You couple that with the slight progressiveness I picked up from Awake-era Dream Theater and almost every Power Metal band from Europe [Laughs], I diverge slightly from my foundation to give the perception of being progressive and accent the music where it needs it.

CV: What are you currently working on and where do you go from here... what's next?

Mad T: With Corners of Sanctuary, we are working on both an EP and an album, hopefully for next year’s release. There are a few more drum tracks I have to lay before we switch gears and start recording the next instrument. After that, I think there are discussions about another short tour of Europe in a car just big enough to hold our equipment [Laughs] and maybe even California again. I love playing out and on stage…so as long as I get to do that, I’m okay with wherever we play!

CV: Thank you again Mad T for spending some time talking and sharing with our readers. I wish you all the best and continued success.

Mad T: Thank you the opportunity and you enjoy your continued success!

Check out Mad T at:
Official: www.cornersofsanctuary.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CornersofSanctuary

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MadTmusician/

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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word.  Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.

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