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| Interview by Burt Wolf with Dave Sandstrom, bassist for the band PATHOGEN. Interview done October 28th, 2006. |
| PATHOGEN HAS BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS NOW. CAN YOU GIVE A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BAND SO FAR? HOW YOU GUYS FORMED? ANY PREVIOUS BANDS MEMBERS WERE IN BEFORE OR SIDE PROJECTS? It all started in 1996 when I asked to join the band after watching a show that they played. I joined as a guiatrist as they only had one which was Aidan Barton. We were soon joined by my friend Louis Dunstan as the new bassist & with Gavin Irving on drums & Tim Patterson doing vocals. Already we started writing for our "NIGHTFALL" demo. This was the core that made PATHOGEN what it is today. Unfortunately, this line up didn't last long. Due to numerous reasons & after many line up changes, including me changing to bass in 1998, we started recording our debut in 2002. We went through two singers during that time & finally we were blessed with Mike Lenane as screamer. Glenn Dyson (Soundworks Touring) on rythym guitar. Ben Mazzaroi has just started with us on drums, Aiden on leads & myself on bass. |
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| WHY WAS THE NAME PATHOGEN CHOSEN AS THE BANDS NAME? The name funnily enough, was chosen by Aiden while he was studying for an exam in high school. He thought it was cool. HOW YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE STYLE & SOUND OF PATHOGEN? Our style & sound could best be described as high energy melodic groove Metal. We aren't ashamed of letting the ballad shine through either as acoustic guitars play a big part of our sound |
| WHO OR WHAT HAS HAD SOME IMPACT OR INFLUENCE ON YOU CREATING YOUR MUSIC OR JUST IN LIFE IN GENERAL? Music & life I would say has the biggest impact on the creation & inspiration of PATHOGEN. Listening to bands like OPETH bring forth a strive for majestic elegance & life shows you the harsh reality that underlines everything. DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY IN THE BAND? ARE YOU SELF TAUGHT? As mentioned earlier, I also play guiatr & a little bit of drums. Totally self taught though. It was tabs all the way! You learn by listening & watching others. YOU'RE NEWEST ALBUM THAT I HAVE IS "BLOODLINE" WHICH WAS RELEASED IN 2005 BY PRIME CUTS MUSIC. HOW DID YOU GET HOOKED UP WITH THEM? HOW HAS IT BEEN WORKING WITH THEM? Heh Heh, PRIME CUTS is Glenn Dyson's label & with him being in the band... You get the picture. Real easy to work with. HOW WELL HAS THE ALBUM BEEN DOING IN THE UNDERGROUND MUSIC SCENE? Don't know...But people are always saying how they still listen to it. So I think it'll satnd the test of time. WHICH OF YOUR SONGS IS YOUR FAVORITE & WHY? WHICH SONG WOULD YOU SAY BEST REPRESENTS PATHOGEN & WHY? My favorite song to play live is "Identity Theft". This song was the last one written for the album & definitely shows the signs of maturity & diversity that we want in our music. |
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| IS THERE ANY NEWER MATERIAL RELEASED OR IN THE WORKS? WILL THIS BE PUT OUT BY PRIME CUTS MUSIC AS WELL? As for newer material, we've just finished a new song that really kicks ass. And have another two half written. The new stuff is coming along nicely with the direction progressing from older songs but staying true to our way of writing, ie, trying not to have such structured verse, chorus, verse songs. Songs are stories, so should take you somewhere, not in a circle. As for wether our next album will be released on PRIME CUTS, not sure. Most likely unless something else pops up. DOES PATHOGEN PLAY OUT OFTEN? WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES YOU'VE PLAYED? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU'VE SHARED THE STAGE WITH? We don't play as often as we used to, with only a handful of shows in our hometown a year. The rest we play in the eastern states, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, etc. We toured Australia with CHILDREN OF BODOM last year, which was fucking awesome. And recently we supported DARK TRANQUILITY (whom we loved since they began) & ARCH ENEMY, which was a really good show. In two weeks time we set off on the BLACK DAHILIA MURDER Aussie tour, which I can't wait for. |
| WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR MORE MEMERABLE SHOWS & WHY? Definitely when we supported OPETH was memorable.These guys have been huge influences for us, so chilling out with them was really cool. They're so approachable. ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING OR FUNNY BAND STORIES YOU COULD SHARE WITH US? Hmmm, so many stories. The last time we were in Melbourne, Glenn & Aidan were smashed & looked for the kitchen in the hostel we were staying at. They went through a wrong door & sprung this guy fucking his pillow!!! That was pretty classic. ARE YOU INTO ANY OTHER STYLES OF MUSIC BESIDES WHAT YOU PLAY? WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU HAVE CURRENTLY BEEN LISTENING TO? I generally stick to Metal, but I do listen to a lot of other styles when the mood takes me. I love old Celtic music. Been listening to Devin Townsend a lot lately. I love his perspective. Also KATATONIA, IN THE WOODS & ARCTURUS are on my high rotation. WHAT DO THE MEMBERS OF THE BAND DO WHEN NOT DOING ANY WORK FOR THE BAND? JOBS, HOBBIES, ETC? We all work when not playing, so that takes a lot of time. However I also train in Kung Fu a few times a week & study mythology & the occult when I can. As for the other guys, not sure, though it probably involves a lot of drinking. He he!!! WHAT WAS THE FIRST ALBUM YOU REMEMBER BUYING? WHAT WAS THE FIRST CONCERT YOU EVER WENT TO? Fuck, the first album I remember buying was GUNS N ROSES "USE YOUR ILLUSION 1 & 2". And the first concert I ever saw was METALLICA on their Whereever I May Roam tour. Fucking bets night!!! WHAT CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING NEXT FROM PATHOGEN? Next from PATHOGEN will probably be a film clip that we shot for "Beyond Repent" a couple of months ago, then more new songs for our next album. |
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| WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE THIS INTERVIEW? WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW THAT IT'S DONE? I was playing around with a delay pedal I forgot I had before I started this interview & now that I finished, dunno, probably get drunk & play some music. THANX FOR DOING THE INTERVIEW. FEEL FREE TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE. Hope that's enough for you to work with, don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything else |
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| 4 TIMO COURT FERNDALE WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6148 PATHOGEN@PATHOGEN.com.au www.PATHOGEN.com.au |
| ALL PHOTOS & GRAPHICS COURTESY OF PATHOGEN. INTERVIEWS MAIN PAGE |