CRYPTONIGHT - "Old school's back!!!" Interview with Arthur Sinclair by Dave Wolff - Music

When was CRYPTONIGHT formed? What is the inspiration both for starting the band and the name?
Well, we started in late '98. Our bassist Tito came up with the name. In fact, Tito and I go far back as 1984 and then we were both involved in a band called FOE. Tito called me up one day and asked if I would be interested in participating in a band, and I said, sure I'm down with it. So I picked up my guitar, went to rehearsal, and Tito, myself, and our then drummer, Jimmy Guess started jamming.

What is the band's lineup and their positions? How long has the band been around now?
Tito Gonzalez is on Bass, vocals, Myself on Lead Guitar, vocals, and our current drummer, Garth Burton. So far, we've been together as a unit for almost a year now.

Which bands influence you the most, as a band and as individuals? What does your lyrical content focus on?
Bands like JUDAS PRIEST, BLACK SABBATH, KISS, METALLICA, PANTERA, and FIGHT, just to name a few. Speaking for myself, I have a diverse range of influences such as guitar players like Chuck Berry, Tony Iommi, Ace Frehley, Gary Moore, Angus Young, and of course Jimi Hendrix because of the way that he played the guitar, the sounds that he got from the guitar were intense, and when he performed on stage, I believe he was possessed by the Holy Spirit. Lyrically, we talk about life, we want to be real with our audiences.

Discuss some of the other bands you have been in from back in the day up to now.
Throughout the past few years, I've been in: SHORT CIRCUIT, WORLD WAR 3, ARMED FORCES, SCATH, LOCKDOWN, and now CRYPTONIGHT.

Please tell of the experiences you have had with those bands.
SHORT CIRCUIT was formed in my high school days. The drummer was in that same school with me while the bass player was a friend of the drummer, so we did a couple of gigs here and there and after disbanded after that. WORLD WAR THREE was a band that my brother and I started, my brother Andre was on drums, Andrew, a childhood neighbor of ours was the co lead guitarist, and Ray Isabelle on bass. We did only ONE gig together! And after that we disbanded. After that, After meeting guitarist Mike Manne, I joined him in his band called ARMED FORCES. We've done some gigs on the local scene in NYC. We played one gig at this place called Magique, and this place was a disco! After playing our third song, we were asked to leave the stage because we were too loud. We did some gigs in Long Island also. We also had constant lineup changes. And eventually I left because it obviously wasn't getting anywhere. My brother and I teamed up again to form FOE, once again, this was the first time that I met Tito, and he joined as the vocalist. And we also had a bassist who later switched to guitar after we got rid of the original co-lead guitarist. Ray from WORLD WAR THREE joined on bass, and we did three gigs at L'Amour, the rock capital of Brooklyn. (Oh, L'Amour is open again I might add.) Before the third gig we did at L'amour, due to Ray's drug problems, we hired a new bassist Roger Wired, (yes, that was his name.) And we played that gig. And we disbanded after that. I met drummer Dave Hill, and we formed SCATH. We tried second guitar players, but we settled on the power trio thing. We went through so many different bass players. Despite forming in late '85, we didn't do our first gig until '90! It takes a long time sometimes to get a full band together. We've played at the Underworld, Bond Street Cafe, Space at Chase, 308 club in Brooklyn. We were set to play CBGB's, our bassist had a different gig that same night, so unfortunately, we had to cancel the CBGB's gig. Dave left the band in '91 and was replaced by a powerhouse drummer Ray Reed, a new bassist, Also named Arthur, and we did more gigs at the underworld, and two gigs at the Grand, which was a disaster, because these were pay to play gigs, which I was completely against, because I have read about them. But Ray insisted that we do them. The only reason why I went along with doing the gigs at all was because we would be opening for signed bands. The first time we played there, we opened for Pro-pain, and the second time we opened for SOULS AT ZERO. And from that point on, Ray had left the band, Dave came back to the band and left again. After that I put the music on hiatus, because I needed to straighten out my personal problems. Three years later in 1997, I joined LOCKDOWN, who Ray Reed was already a member of, so we played CBGB's, the next night at Blackthorn. My third and last gig with them was at Dr. Shay's in Long Island, and after that I was kicked out of the band. I was relieved somewhat, because although I liked the songs and the musical direction was up my street, there was obviously no room for my musical input. So I guess being out of the band was a blessing. In late '98, Tito and I teamed together to form CRYPTONIGHT, and the rest is history.

In your opinion, is the scene better or worse off than it was about ten years ago? How important do you believe the old school attitude is to the Metal underground today, as far as bands and those who support them? Do you believe it's "outdated" or that just because something is old doesn't mean you throw it away?
I believe that Metal music hasn't died, it's just that the audience got distracted by something else like Alternative or God knows what (laughs). Personally, I don't think that it is outdated, just last night I went and saw BLACK SABBATH. Now here is a band that has been around since 1969, and the audience had younger Metalheads as well as older Metalheads. I guess you can say that with the resurgence of BLACK SABBATH, KISS, and now bands from the eighties such as IRON MAIDEN, the old school is alive and well just as much as what's current. It’s just a matter of time.

You are also into Punk Rock and Hardcore. How important do you feel it is to keep elements of those attitudes within the underground?
Hardcore has certainly just like Metal maintained it's position in musical history. I see a lot of kids who are into it.

How many shows have you played this far and with whom? Who do you hope to play with at future shows?
We are about to play our first gig on Sept. 1 at the Spiral. And from that point on, we hope to do gigs with other Metal bands on the local scene and go from there.

Are you into new school Black and Death Metal at all? Do you see the lines thinning between those two styles? Do you feel that the infighting between fans of both styles is harmful to the underground in the long run?
I think as long as there's respect between the audiences of these two different styles of metal, then there really shouldn't be a problem, let's face it, we're all in this together. As far as my opinion on Black or Death Metal, I'm not too big on those type of lyrics, but the energy is intense and it's all good.

Do you read a lot of zines these days? If so, which ones? How do today's zines compare with the ones from the old school?
I've read a couple zines here and there, and it seems to me that the basic principles of these is more or less the same. The Metal zines are still flying the Metal flag so to speak, thank god. I've picked up Hit Parader, for instance, and they had interviews with bands from the past and the present, so like I said, the principles of these zines, to me are the same, they are trying to keep the scene alive.

What does CRYPTONIGHT hope to accomplish?
Massive success.

Is there anything you wish to close with?
Look out for upcoming CRYPTONIGHT gigs, and to the Metalheads everywhere, help bring the scene where it rightfully belongs and keep it there.

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Page Updated Thu Jul 22, 2004 8:40pm EDT