www.facebook.com/psychohedband
From: Nashville, TN
Sounds like: Metal
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Psycho Hed" and is there any meaning behind it?
We’ve all been playing in bands for years, but some of us have been in bands together prior, giving us some instant chemistry. Rickey and Adam used to play together in 3 Minutes to Live. Matt and I played together in Piranah, and Eric came from Blood of the Enemy out of Ohio. We all came together in hopes of doing something new and slightly different from our previous projects. We wanted to rekindle the fun in having a band, and the common denominator was a heavy, powerful groove based sound with songs that really sink their teeth into you. As for the name, there were a few ideas running around early on, but one of the former members had mentioned “Psycho Hed”, having thought of the name years back. It just felt like the perfect name for this particular group of guys who were leaving their past behind to create something brand new. Really though, the band name can be thought of as the modern day state of mind in this insane world we live in. Everyone has a little Psycho Hed in them!
2. What do you want people to take away from your music?
We want people to have fun listening to our music. It’s heavy and powerful, but we like to keep it fun and crazy as hell! If they actually come to a show, that’s where they get the full experience. We like to do more than just play the songs. We want to convey passion and emotion, giving the audience a real intimate, unique experience with each show.
3. How would you describe your sound to the average listener?
Each member has their own individual taste in music, so we’re not all exactly alike. You’re getting a very interesting mix in the sound of Psycho Hed. Some of the obvious influences and comparisons would be Slipknot, Godsmack, Hell Yeah, Hatebreed, and maybe old school Metallica, etc., but it really feels like we’re developing our own monster. We like it heavy, hooky, and catchy, without getting so technical that you sacrifice the power of it all. We want our songs to literally smack you in the face!
4. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
Slipknot, Hatebreed, and Hell Yeah. We’re not too picky though.
5. What are your three desert island albums that you'd never get tired of listening to?
Since we all would have a different list, here you go… Plus, tastes change all the time, so this is kinda like a snapshot at this particular moment.
Eric: Slipknot – the self-titled 1st album, Asking Alexandria – Stand up and Scream, & Reckless and Relentless.
Matt: Kiss – Destroyer, Rush – Moving Pictures, and Anthrax – Sound of White Noise.
Rickey: Pink Floyd – The Wall, Metallica – Master of Puppets, Beastie Boys – License to Ill.
Adam: Danzig - Danzig 2, 3, and 4.
Thorin: Van Halen – Fair Warning, Santana – Welcome, Opeth – Ghost Reveries.
6. What’s your take on the current state of Metal?
Metal just isn’t main stream like it used to be back in the 80’s and even the 90’s. You don’t hear it on the radio so much anymore, unless it’s a Sirius XM channel or some special radio show dedicated to playing a little metal. The fans and the bands are keeping it alive though. It feels more underground, but there are tons of people that still want it. Hell, we sure do.
7. What’s the current music scene like there in Tennessee both locally and state wide?
In Nashville, there’s a lot of different genres of music playing in the various venues. As for metal, oddly enough, most of the bands have been put to the side in favor of tribute act projects. There’s tons of them. There’s even multiple tribute acts covering the same band. It’s pretty crazy, or even “psycho”, you might say. We love playing our own original music and are just trying to stick to our guns and do our own thing. Fewer and fewer venues are even booking original metal bands though, unless they’re bigger national label acts. It makes it tough sometimes, so we end up going further out of the main city areas to smaller places that don’t have so much going on and actually appreciate what we have to offer.
8. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
It’s a tricky question. Certainly every artist and musician wants to be able to get something back for all of the hard work, effort, and money they’ve put into their music. Sadly enough, it’s just not a perfect world we live in. Technology puts a lot of power and opportunity in the hands of the people, including the artists themselves, but it does come with a price. People just don’t buy music the way they used to. It’s a different time. At this point, we know that playing shows is what’s going to drive our machine. More people buy merch at shows than from online sales, in our experience anyway. So, we want people to listen to our tunes and get hyped enough to want to come see us. We’re not as concerned about how they listen to our songs as much as we are about how many listen and want to come be a part of what we’re bringing. We want to find fans that love good, fun metal music!
9. What’s next for Psycho Hed?
2020 is already proving to be quite a crazy year. We had a huge tornado disaster in early March and of course there’s the whole Coronavirus thing. We’re just trying to stick to our plans of continuing to make more music and share it. We have plans to get back in the studio in May. Of course that always takes a little bit to get a good finished product, but hopefully we’ll be able to share a single before too long. New shirt designs and other updated merch of course. We’re always trying to think of ways to make our show bigger and book some great new venues we’ve not been to. We’re hoping to get into some big festivals as well. The more the merrier.
10. Any shoutouts?
First and foremost, we wanna give a huge shoutout to our families. Our loved ones somehow put up with us and our obsession with this whole music thing. They’ve been beyond understanding and supportive of us all for years and we are truly thankful! We also wanna give a big shout out to Mr. David Dicks at Red Feather Recording. He always helps us bring our energy across onto the recordings and we can’t wait to see what it’s gonna be like this next time. Last but certainly not least, a big monster thanks to all the fans who enjoy listening to our songs and especially those that have come out to see the show. It’s the fans that make it all happen Hey, we’re fans too. We just love music and can’t stop playing cuz we’re psycho addicted to it!
