It’s been almost a month since I saw a live performance of an upcoming band that I dubbed, insane. If you read my review, you know they are actually called, Invitro, and that you must see them for yourself. I recently got the opportunity to interview Invitro’s front man, Jeff Weber. Enjoy.
Micah (RM): With the Sevendust tour over half complete, Invitro has had the opportunity to play before thousands of people. Is there a generic response from the crowds, or has each city been completely different, thus far?
Jeff: Every town is different. None of them are expecting our sound or
style so the most general response has been disbelief. We get a lot of
still heads, wide eyes and open mouths until about the 3rd song when
the crowd starts to understand us and go crazy; and then all hell
finally breaks loose and there’s a serious pit… Then it’s on!
Micah (RM): You guys open your set sporting aluminum foil masks and lab coats. How did that come about?
Jeff: Like most of our nutty ideas, I think it started out as a joke. Mikey
and Brad produce bands back home, and every once in a while they
would freak out some of the bands they would record by wearing tin
foil masks. From there it turned into something we would do at
rehearsal. We would laugh our ass’s off. Finally we brought it to the
stage…bad joke gone wild!!
Micah (RM): I read a fairly recent interview with Mikey Doling and got the feeling that he really appreciates freedom in making music – meaning, it’s ok to be different. I agree with this, and think rock-n-roll should give us a sense of freedom. In your opinion, when rock music is able to be played on “pop” stations, is it really rock?
Jeff: It’s very few and far between but occasionally I hear a song on a pop
station that I think Rocks. I think it’s not the music that needs to
fit into the radio guidelines as much as it is the stations need to
try and expand the minds of their audience, as opposed to feeding them
music that is so easily digestible. Music shouldn’t be a carbon copy
of the past or the latest. You draw from your influences, but
originality is what’s most important.
Micah (RM): I also read that you guys are all good friends. When you get a day off, what is something you enjoy doing together? Or do you take your days off as an excuse to get away from each other?
Jeff: On days off we still love to hang out. We jam out, some of us ride
skateboards, play poker, and drink a shit load of beer. We’re bro’s.
It’s creepy how we don’t ever get on each other’s nerves.
Micah (RM): Are you able to maintain a friendship with the guys in the other bands (Diecast, Red, Sevendust) on tour?
Jeff: We hang out and party with everybody, the bands on this tour are all
cool. It’s always weird when a tour starts and you don’t know the
other bands. 99% of the time, by the 3rd of 4th show, the ice is broken
and it’s a big party.
Micah (RM): What are some of your personal tastes in music?
Jeff: Personal tastes include Frank Zappa, Bad Brains, early GnR, Ernest
Ranglin, Dillinger Escape Plan, everything Mike Patton, Slayer, The
Descendants, Black Sabbath, Fatso Jetson, Sort of Quartet, Wes
Montgomery, Invisible Skratch Piklz, Black Flag, Tom Waits, and on and
on…..
Micah (RM): With so many sub-genres in music today, what exactly would you consider Invitro to be?
Jeff: The thing about Invitro, to me, is the originality. If I had to, I
would label it rock/metal with a punk back bone. As long as our music
is honest, I don’t care what you call it.
Micah (RM): I know that Mikey played with SNOT and Soulfly. Have any of the other members of Invitro played with other bands, of which we might not be aware?
Jeff: Mike Pygmie: Melodious Pygmies, The Agents, Brothers from Different
Mothers, The Pedestrians, Brant Bjork and The Bros/The Operators and
the Whizards
Jeff Weber: Candy Rotten Apples
Brad Dujmovic: Polka Dot Pogos
Benny Cancino: The Whizards
Mikey Doling: Snot and Soulfly!
Micah (RM): What advice could/would you give to a band that’s just starting out?
Jeff: The most important thing that I could pass on to a new band is that if
music is really what you love then don’t ever stop. It takes a lot of
work and sacrifice to make a band succeed, and if you’re not up to it,
your life will become miserable.
Micah (RM): What should we expect from Invitro’s debut album, When I Was a Planet?
Jeff: We wanted to make a record (When I Was a Planet) that was fun to listen
to! Not all trendy… It had to be full of memorable songs that
couldn’t be put in any categories… We are very proud to say we think
we accomplished just that!!
