Interview with Sinsation

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? Seeing our friends shredding and wanting to be a part of it and wanting to out shred them. Friendly competition and wanting to be a part of the awesomeness going on. We would probably be doctors, circus clowns or vampire actors I think.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?We surf, paddleboard, freedive, Stacy even sails and Mike goes to a lot of amusement parks. Sado does a lot of tech stuff and supports the scene by going to a lot of shows.We are pretty much big California kids having fun. You might not think this would coincide with Vampire goth rock/metal but it really does in many ways and inspires us, excites our deepest imagination.

How long has your band been around? Since 2019. We have had a few member changes, a few record label changes, but the core group has stayed the same and we have had a really consistent, solid lineup the past few years. A really tight team for sure.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music? We are based out of Southern California. There are a lot of incredible bands all around Cali and we love playing shows with them and getting psyched by the intense ways they get crowds going. We have a lot of badass labelmates from Sodeh Records, so they also inspire us as well. For example Die Tired, Suppressed Intentions, The Rift, I, Suckertrap. There are so many. There is also a huge goth, vampire scene all around and in LA so that inspires us as well.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you? It was a song by Sammy and Bill’s band The Dtease, so we asked if we could use it and they said yes. It is about becoming the next sensation in Hollywood or entertainment and what “sins” are committed on the journey. Sammy and Mike lived this in LA and were “chewed up and spit out.” They made it out by the skin of their fangs and lived to tell the tale. It’s also about redemption because now they have returned to play iconic clubs like The Whisky A Go Go and The Viper Room. It is now our dark playground and the story of Sinsation goes full circle. Also it is a great name for a vampire club.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.Definitely the show with Adema at Fallout Fest when McKiller met the Adema singer she grew up as a fan of. Also the Green Jelly shows were amazing. There were giant puppets, vampires, performance art goth bands and overall great crowd and musicians. Playing with our labelmates Suppressed Intentions in Atascadero was super epic and the best coffee Sammy ever tasted(Dark Nectar Coffee). We played an outdoor festival in South Central LA that was a little scary but ended up being killer bands and a gnarly pit. All our Viper Room shows have been amazing and Whisky A Go Go with Burning Witches ruled. We played with a band called Fused By Defiance that really inspired us and Taj the singer has infectious energy.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already? Whisky A Go Go, The Big Rock Bar because it reminded us of the bar in From Dusk Til Dawn. We would love to play Red Rocks in Colorado and The Santa Barbara Bowl would be incredible.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket? Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, Korn, In This Moment, Gojira, Mastodon, Tenacious D, Slayer, Taylor Swift, All our labelmates, The Dtease, Trivium, Tool, Motley Crue, Primus.

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? Go to shows, support the scene, build relationships. Support every band you play with, go early, stay late. Lift each other up and succeed together.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be? Don’t DO DRUGS!! Ha ha, but seriuosly DON’T!! Unfortunately it probably wouldn’t work, life is a journey. Lol Oh yeah and also I would give the music for a famous song and get RICH from it. Great advice right? hmmm

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? Horns Up Fangs Out because it’s a vampire anthem to enjoy life, party and bite as much as possible. I Am Man because it deals with real human issues such as war and bad things men do.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most? I (Sammy) love playing Nocturne because McKiller and i play percussion and beat on a floor tom in a crazy way while Sado shreds leads and Billy and Mike do a tribal type drum and bass line. Mike-I Am Man because it’s fast and hard! McKiller-Horns Up Fangs Out, because fans can sing along.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music? Events of the world and history inspire us. Also being immersed in water and freediving is so surreal and inspiring. When a great riff comes along we record it right away so it doesn't disappear into the void. One of us builds on that and creates a quick demo to share. If it passes the shred test then we bring it to rehearsal and add ideas to enhance it. McKiller puts the lyrical super sauce on it and voila! Also we may have an idea that materializes at rehearsal. We quickly record and do the same process as above.   

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music? Vampires, the light and darkness of the human experience, War, mortality, more vampires, zombies and otherworldly creatures.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them? Of course, everybody does. Communication is key and just being kind to one another. We are all on the same team and have the same goal….world domination!!

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up? We just released Sinsation Nation on Sodeh Records, so we are going to continue to promote that and release a video for it as well. After that we have a song called Zombie Nightmare along with a very ambitious video to go along with it. Think Vampires versus Zombies. Who would win? After that another release Only the Strong Survive all on Sodeh Records. Lots of shows, festivals and support our amazing sponsors..Artificial Guitars, Warp Core Pickups, Poison Valley Clothing, Sophia Tremelos, TigerLuv Guitars, Dirtbag Clothing, Black Cat Amps, Coffin Cases, Skull Strings, Intune Guitar Picks, Pig Hog Cables, DiemondStar drumsticks, Soultone Cymbals. Special thanks to Volatile Weekly, Sodeh Records and our fans, we love you!!!