Interview: Achilles Heel

Published on 7 February 2022 at 10:25

1: How did you decide on the name, “Achilles Heel"?

Bryn: Josh and I were very inebriated at a bus stop a few weeks into the band, we had a very slurred discussion about band names and a few ideas floated around like ‘Crowned Kings’ or ‘Portrait of Another’, all met with laughter at the idea, Josh then said “What about Achilles Heel” as a joke, met again by laughter, silence and a grin concluding “Nah, that ain’t bad ya’know”

Not exactly poetic but I think it is very fitting for the chaos that we find ourselves in.

2: What inspires you to create?

Bryn: Honestly, intense emotions and a lot of fear. If I have a bad day one of the first things I do when I’m alone is just pick up an instrument and start playing, therapeutic yet still an inner battle to myself that if this next piece I write isn’t a good sound, I’m still failing. Nearly every song we’ve written as a band I always try to find the right sound and rarely do. Perfection isn’t something in my eyes we have yet got to, a lot in our heads still needs to get out and I think the emotions and also the curiosity of what comes next is something that pushes all of us. 

3: What advice would you give to someone who wants to be in a creative profession?

Josh: There are definitely cons, with social media there's a pressure to constantly be engaging with your fans and posting all the time which can become unhealthy if you're not careful. This can be easily countered if you put together a social media plan and schedule everything so for me the pros outway the cons by miles.

4: Do you feel open minded about what you listen to? Do you like going out of your comfort zone?

Jordan: My family has always told me to keep an open mind when it comes to music and I always have! It’s really useful to listen to a whole bunch of different styles of music because otherwise you just get caught in the same formula and it just gets a bit tedious and repetitive after a while, I’ve always been stepping out of my comfort zone in order to find new influences but I always stick to my roots too, I think it’s an important factor in being a musician or just an artist in general to gain influence from a wide range of things and to keep an open mind about everything because you never want might spring up and help you to go down an interesting creative path!

5: What outlets do you find out about music from? (Record stores, magazines, samplers, etc.)

Jordan: For me I tend to find it from anything and everything really, Social media of course is a great help in that! Record stores too, as well as even things like Movie Soundtracks for example, The Crow soundtrack, I found some great artists through that soundtrack like The Cure and Nine Inch Nails, both of which are a big influence on me personally. Another outlet that I find new music from is actually the people around me! My parents, for example, introduced me to artists like Iron Maiden, Gary Numan, Marillion and a whole bunch of different artists who had a major influence on me! So to answer that question in a nutshell, Anything and everything is an outlet to find new music for me.

6: What is your favorite format to listen to music on? (CD, Vinyl, etc.)

Josh: I absolutely love owning CDs and vinyls of my favourite albums but I believe the introduction of streaming services is brilliant for newer artists as it allows them to reach audiences they wouldn't have been able to before. By submitting your songs for various playlists you can reach listeners that without streaming services wouldn't even know you exist. It also makes it easier for your fans to share your music with their friends.

7: How do you feel the internet has impacted the music business?

Josh: As a new artist I think the internet has been an amazing tool for us, especially during the pandemic, it's allowed many bands to continue to practice over zoom or facetime, and it's allowed bands to keep engaged with their fans via social media. I think a lot of bands wouldn't have made it through the pandemic if it wasn't for things like zoom and various social media.

8: Who was the first band/artist that became your favorite band?

Jordan: Iron Maiden was the first band for me to become my favourite and it went on from there. My biological dad showed me them when I was 3 years old and that pretty much set the groundwork for what and who I am now and I will forever be truly grateful for that!

9: If you could go open a show for any artist, who would it be?

Bryn: Current artist would probably be QOTSA, I think the dark yet jumpy songs we like to brew up out of the song cauldron would really fit the crowd at one of their concerts. Also, wouldn’t mind smoking and discussing life's greatest mysteries with Josh Homme. Either that or a early 60s Zeppelin.

10: What was the inspiration for your song “Fallen Demons”?

Jordan: That song came together through a song idea that Josh brought in, it was on the funky Red Hot Chili Peppers style which I’ve always found fun to play around with on the drum kit and then we had another idea which was more straightforward punky which later became the chorus section and all slowly worked itself out into the song it is now and it’s one of my favourite songs that I’ve ever been part of writing, it’s a really fun song to play!

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