Interview with Rodtgod

Hello guys, nice to have you on Volatile Weekly! What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music, what would you be doing today? 

• Hello there! Thanks for having me!
  Making music got me into it. I started in big bands, playing everything from jazz to polka on brass instruments and then transitioned to guitar. Back than it was bands like Europe, AC/DC, Queen and some of the NU Metal bands that where big back in the early 2000. If that hadn’t happened, then I would do any of my thousands of other hobbies. Like astronomy and anything up in the air, photography and martial arts. Glad I kept up making music though, otherwise we wouldn’t have the chance to chat!

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

• Anything of the above! Mostly being outside and doing any of these, preferably in in nature. Since Rodtgod is a project about life itself, I don’t need any influences outside of what happens in our daily lifes. I have another project where my guilty pleasures come to shove. Mostly the astronomy part. But that hasn’t come out yet.

How long has your band been around? 

• 2016. That’s when the first ideas became actual songs

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

• Based in the south of germany. Luckily the high costs of living here didn’t influence my work at all! Watch out for my new band “TaxGod”. No really, I could be based in Namibia and it wouldn’t influence me a bit. I hope I can go there some day (one of the darkest night skies in the world!) and tell you if that changed anything.

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

• Since it started out as garbage can of a sludge/stoner band of mine, it sounded more like “Easy Rider” but with an angry truck instead Harley’s. There was all this imagery of Hot Rods (“Rod”), the desert and also some death metal influences (the “t” in “Rodt”) so it came naturally. A dumb story resulting in a dumb name. I don’t care about names too much, otherwise I would have chosen something “cool”, obviously. Like “§lBF?Zcw&$”.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

• This project doesn’t play any. I can tell you another one close to my heart though. It was the first gig for the band for which the first RG tracks where actually meant. We had a great location and no expectations. After the first song the location was packed and we had the time of our lives. Luckily I can play quite a lot of great shows with my folks and it’s a lot of fun everytime. You never really know what happens, which ads to the fun, but it usually turns out great.

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

• There was a youth club near our hometown that was great to play. The stuff got increasingly drunk during our set 8we played last, as usual) but luckily they didn’t touch the sounboard and it turned out great in the end. We played with Spaceslug and Abronia that night. It was amazing!

If you could play any show with any line-up, who would be on the ticket?

• Jimi Hendrix (Guitar), Michael Jackson (Vocals), John Paul Andrade (Drums)!

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?

• Listen to others, learn from them and follow your vision. And don’t be an asshole.

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

• Johnny Walker Blue Label isn’t worth the money!

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

• All of them. Each represents something that is either important to me or important to mention/speak about. And since I see myself as part of an ecosystem/organism that inhabits this world, I think both are equally important.

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

• Don’t play live with that band. But luckily I play with a impro-/space rock band, that has nameless titles. And I particularly like the one we call “Space Rock” :D

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

• Inspired by life, fueled by the fun of writing it. Once that is done, the recording is a matter of days/weeks, depending on the amount of songs. So it’s really straight forward. You see/here, you write, you record. You’re done. There’s no magic to it.

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

• You only live once. Do something that makes you happy and, if possible, makes others happy too. That is, in my humble opinion, the meaning of life.

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

• Yes, but I can step down without regrets. Being in a band means being democratic about things. I’m not only that, I’m also liberal as fudge, so there is not much of a discussion. If I don’t like it, then I still have my own projects to do whatever the heck I want to do.

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

• Keep keeping it up! That’s all. Planing is good, but too much is not. If it makes me happy, I look into it. WeÄll see what the future brings!

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

• Bandcamp I would say: https://rodtgod.bandcamp.com/

  There’s also
  https://www.facebook.com/RodtGodOfficial/ 
  https://www.instagram.com/rodtgodofficial/ 

• Follow, if you like, or just watch/listen. Do whatever pleases you! And thanks a lot J