Interview with ‘Adrenalin’

Interview with 'Adrenalin'

Adrenalin was formed as a loosely organized group of misfits, experimenting with different sounds and moods, everything from metal to ballads to pure noise, finally settling on a sound best described as Alternative Rock. The band was put on hold in 1997 when bassist Dave Cactus moved out of state, forcing both him and guitarist Woody Barrelson to spin off side projects. In 2019, Gre Gone was added on drums and a tighter focus on simple grunge and alternative riffs. Although he has since gone on hiatus, Adrenalin aims to bring the sound of the 90s back around, inspiring listeners to stage dive into a world of flannel, checkered Vans, and fuzzy guitars.

Where are you from?

Denver, Colorado.

How long have you been making music?

Our band was formed in 1994, and after a hiatus, we started making music again in 2018.

How many songs /albums have you released to date?

So far we have released one album, called Now, with 14 songs. Including B-sides and alternate versions, we have 24 songs released and are working on plenty more.

Can you tell us about your latest release and the background and inspirations behind it?

The album was conceived as a 25th anniversary album, containing 25 songs, which would represent all the music we had written in our career, as well as cover songs that we found inspiring. As the recording process progressed, we pared the album down to 14 essential songs and decided that it would not be the final word in the story of Adrenalin, but instead, we would build on this foundation and release better music in the future. The cover songs on the album reflect our diverse inspirations, from Neil Diamond to blink-182, from Lesley Gore to Waterparks, many decades of music to draw from.

How have you ended up in the music industry?

As independent artists, we are on the fringe of the music industry, but we are always trying to come up with new and fresh music to pump in, to get our foot in the door, and to share our art with the world.

What do you think of the music industry in 2020?

The pandemic situation prevents both performing and attending concerts, so 2020 is a bit of an anomalous year as far as music goes, but 2021 will likely see an unprecedented amount of growth in new music as well as anxious fans chomping at the bit to get out and enjoy some live music.

Who do you think the most influential artist?

The most influential artist overall for us would be Nirvana. Their music is what inspired us to pick up instruments and write new music. Nothing spoke to us in the 1990s more than Nirvana and still to this day we carry their influences and proudly wear them on stage and in the recording studio.

Who have you collaborated with so far in your career?

At this point in our career, our collaborations are few but very powerful, including James Alvarez, featured on the track Attitude, a Misfits cover, we joined Octopus/Caveman on the track Dinosaurs Are Super Cool, and Dueling Dragons will be showcased on several tracks on our upcoming release.

How do you think you differ from other artists?

As the two main members of Adrenalin, Woody and Dave have been friends since high school, so that chemistry is hard to match. We have been writing together and playing music together for so long, and we know each other so well, that spur of the moment changes happen smoothly.

Dead or alive, who would be your dream collaboration?

For Dave, the dream collaboration would be to play bass with the band Waterparks. For Woody, the dream collaboration would be to play with Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl of Nirvana. For us as a whole, sharing the stage with Mudhoney or blink-182 is tops. Writing a song with them would be an opportunity of a lifetime.

What was the first album you bought?

For Woody, it was Michael Jackson’s Thriller on record. For Dave, it would be Metallica’s self titled album on cassette.

What’s your favourite song at the moment?

There are far too many to mention, but the song we have been playing the most at practice has been I Don’t Care by Fall Out Boy. It has an undeniably powerful energy.

If you had to sell your music collection tomorrow, what album would you leave in your draw?

Nevermind by Nirvana is considered by us to be the consummate album and is impossible to part with.

What is your favourite saying?

Our motto of late has been “all killer, no filler” — a reminder that the music we are doing at this point can’t just be “good enough” to pass muster, it has to be the best that we are capable of doing.

What other hobbies or interests do you have?

Recently we have been building guitars together, and look to do more of that in the future.

Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

Yes. Dave has Kurt Cobain and Cliff Burton memorial tattoos, and Woody has several tattoos obtained over the years.

Tell us more about your upcoming project or this new project?

Our next project is going to be an eclectic mix of covers and original songs, heading in a different direction and maturing as a band from the teenage angst of our 90s music. There’s no real theme but all the songs are more fun and upbeat, compared to the depressing theme our last album had.

What’s in the pipeline after this project?

After this project we hope to rely less on covers, potentially even excluding them from the albums but saving them for B-sides, and writing more original music that not only we enjoy but that others can enjoy and relate to as well. We are working on songs for this project simultaneously with the current project, making it fun to find new songs for each album.

Thank you for your time and may you carry on making great, fresh music.

Thank you for having us and helping us spread our music!

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