Interview: Phrenetix

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

As long as I remember myself, I loved music. In my early childhood, I sang and danced to all the music I heard. When we were playing ‘house’, I always pretended to be a singer and an actor, haha. Though, until I picked up the guitar, I didn’t do much with music. I only sang in a couple of choirs and, to be honest, I didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do with music. When I started to play guitar and heard Metallica for the first time, everything changed. From that second, I figured out what exactly I want to do with my life. And it was to become a full time musician.

If I hadn't got into music, I honestly don’t know what I would be doing. I never had second thoughts.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I love to meditate, do spiritual practices like Reiki and being in nature. Sounds like crazy hippy stuff, haha. But yeah, I love to clear my mind as much as possible, because that’s where my biggest struggles are. It keeps me going and inspires me to apreciate all that I have.

One of the biggest obstacles for me to create is the thought that I cannot do anything well and everything is very hard. Then usually I go for a walk in the forest and I come back home inspired and cleared of shitty thoughts.

How long has your band been around?

I think it’s about 10 years.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We are from Vilnius, Lithuania. I always adored traditional lithuanian music, so I think sometimes some melodies may come as an inspiration from our traditional music I heard some time ago. Other than that, it’s hard to say. We don’t have big pop music traditions, so for me personally I have almost zero performers in Lithuania as my role models or influencers.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

While thinking of a band's name, we were quite 'messed up' at that time, so we tried to mirror that in our name. Frantic was a good word that suited us, but unfortunately - very popular. So we added a couple of letters and Phrenetix was born. For me it stands for a wish to create beauty out of chaos.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Three shows come to my mind.

First one is very DYI grindcore and punk festival called “ONT GRIND’Ų“, which translates as On The Floor. Our time to perform was at about 12am, but things can get a bit late, and our time to perform was delayed until 4am. Shit got wrong between alcohol and me, I passed out and, when it was time for a souncheck, I understood that my motorical skills simply don‘t exist anymore and I cannot play the guitar. So I just sang during the whole gig, until I headbanged so much, I fell on the drums and ended the gig there. It was a nice hangover the next day.

Second one would be Wacken Metal Battle Lithuania contest final. I almost broke my foot three days before the gig in a sofa kicking accident. It was a very stupid and sad situation, because it was so important for us and we prepared a lot for this show. Though, I took a lot of painkillers and luckily was able to perform standing, without crutches. We won the contest and it was one of the happiest evenings in my life.

Third one would be Wacken Metal Battle final in Wacken Open Air festival. It was the first time we performed in front of such a big crowd. There was a lot of excitement and maybe even anxiety, but the experience was priceless. I think it was the gig that brought the biggest amount of all kinds of emotions before and after the show.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

My favorite venue to play at is club nArauti in Vilnius. It’s like our second home, because we played there most of our gigs, our friends work there and it’s always a great party atmosphere.

They also have the best spicy chicken wings in the city, maybe in the whole country.

Overall, my biggest wish is to play in random clubs all in USA.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Metallica, Municipal Waste, Mastodon, S.O.D., System of a Down, Twelve Foot Ninja, Primus.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

To someone who is starting: don’t fear to try. You should make mistakes. You need to do shitty gigs to know what great gigs are. Also, it is your band, you can do whatever you want and no one has a right to interfere with your choices.

To younger me: chill the fuck out and you are as good as everybody else.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Be more confident and don’t fear expressing natural personalities. Also, don’t get stuck on things that don't matter, look at the bigger picture.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

It would be “Dark side of mine”. For a long time I’ve felt lots of emotions, but couldn’t describe them correctly or precisely, and with this song I came closest I can to the expression of how I was feeling.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

My favorites to play are: Blaze of Alienation, Raw Pain and Exuviae. Most requested I would say Art of Jail.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Usually, I come up with riff ideas at home alone. Then, when there is enough material, we all come together to jam things out and to look for what sounds good and what doesn’t. Then, when we have built the whole song with its structure, I start to write vocal melodies and lyrics. As the last part we add guitar solos.

Mostly, inspiration comes from certain states of emotions. Sadness, anger, or hype are the biggest inspirations for me I would say. Sometimes it is music I get obsessed with. But I like to take the general vibe from that music, more than material.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

The main message would be: don’t be afraid of your dark side and appreciate all kinds of experiences that accompany us in our lives.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Yes, sometimes we have disagreements, but they are mild and very general. This riff is good/bad, we should play this gig or not, is this artwork good or not and ect. Then diplomacy comes in hand and we just vote. Downside of that - sometimes it takes too much time to get to the agreement.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Our plans for the future are to get as many gigs abroad as possible and to create new interesting music. For now we are kind of still resting from the second album recording and releasing, because it took so much energy, nerves and time. But keep following us on social media because we have lots of ideas we plan to realize, it’s just right now I don’t want to make any empty promises.