| GIZMACHI |
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| INFO |
YEAR FORMED: 1999
HOMETOWN: Newburgh, NY
MEMBERS:
Sean Kane (vocals),
Jay Hannon (guitar),
Mike Laurino (guitar),
Kris Gilmore (bass),
Jimmie Hatcher (drums)
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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Brutal and beautiful are two words that accurately describe the potent music of Gizmachi. Simultaneously, it is and is not heavy metal, and therein lies the tantalizing challenge for listeners. Gizmachi's unclassifiable music is what each individual listener wants it to be.
The upstate New York quintet's debut album 'The Imbuing' is forthcoming on Big Orange Clown Records, a Sanctuary Records imprint. Gizmachi is the flagship artist on Big Orange Clown and 'The Imbuing' is the label's first release.
Lead vocalist Sean Kane, guitarist Jay Hannon, guitarist/backing vocalist Mike Laurino, bass guitarist Kris Gilmore and drummer Jimmie Hatcher recorded 'The Imbuing' with mentor and Big Orange Clown chief M. Shawn Crahan as producer. Crahan is better known as Clown, or #6, in Slipknot. 'The Imbuing' is Crahan's first production project.
"The brutality and vision of this band encourages me because it's not designed around anger or hate like a lot of other band. It's unique in today's world of metal. That's why I'm in," says Crahan.
The eight songs on 'The Imbuing' are the first single and video "The Answer," "Wandering Eyes," "Bloodwine," "Burn," "Romantic Devastation," "Wearing Skin," "People Show" and "Voice Of Sanity."
Gizmachi formed in 1999. It is a testimony to the quintet's originality that the members did not travel the typical, well-worn paths followed by most bands in their development.
"I met Jay in high school and we started jamming just for fun," says Gilmore. "We met up with Jimmie and then Mike came along. We would play in our friends' basements sometimes. Once we got together with Sean we really started to take the music more seriously and develop our own style. Sean has a lot of drive and focus."
"We take our art very seriously, and it's been an evolution," says Kane. "We've built up what we started with by adding more layers to our music. Heavier elements were added as time progressed."
The music is what matters, and Gizmachi relentlessly and obsessively focused on songwriting and creating a united vision devoid of selfishness.
"I write the lyrics and they write the music. Mike comes up with a lot of hooks and does some of the more melodic vocals," Kane explains. "I have a book that I write lyrics in and I work out how the words fit, even when it comes to matching them with the basic rhythm of the music. I write the lyrics separately from the rest of the band, and I don't even start until the songs are arranged. But when we all get together the songs come to life. We are perfectionists."
Gizmachi did not go out and perform often locally. Gilmore said the main reason for this is that the music scene in Orange County, NY, near West Point, was geared more toward emo, and Gizmachi did not fit in. This should not be looked upon as a hindrance. Instead, Gizmachi concentrated on songwriting.
"You always think that somebody is going to find you and offer you a record deal, but that's not the case," says Gilmore.
The band was confident it was only a matter of time until a well-deserved break came along. That break occurred when Crahan and Kane met at a concert. Both men had friends in the bands playing that night. They struck up a conversation and Kane presented Crahan with a Gizmachi demo. Over a period of two and a half years, they kept in touch and Kane would update Crahan on Gizmachi's development. Last year, Crahan surprised Kane with a phone call.
"He called me up and said he was coming to New York City on Easter Sunday and wanted Gizmachi to do a showcase for him. We only had three days to do everything ourselves, from booking the studio to rehearsing," says Kane. "He had never even spoken with any of the other members of the band. Just me. He came to the studio and we performed very well."
"It was a sterile environment with no crowd, and it was intimidating to play for a successful musician you look up to, but we were very comfortable with where we were at as a band and we all felt like we gave a strong performance," Gilmore says.
Crahan was impressed, and he soon called with the good news that he wanted to sign Gizmachi to Big Orange Clown and produce the band as well. At first, only an EP was planned but Gizmachi had so many strong songs that it was decided a full album was the proper route.
Last summer, Gizmachi played at the Aggressive Music Festival show with Slipknot, Slayer, Hatebreed and God Forbid prior to entering the studio in September. By this time, Crahan had formed close friendships with all of Gizmachi's members. They stayed at his house and in return he stayed in the same hotel as the band during recording at Spin Studios in New York City and rode the subway with the members too.
"When we got into the studio, we already knew where we were going with the music. Clown had some great ideas and we just intertwined them," Gilmore says.
"In the studio, we were all reborn in the belief of what we could do as a band. We stepped up," says Kane.
Gizmachi is excited about hitting the road. The band plans to spend two years on tour promoting 'The Imbuing.'
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