JYNX are back with their brand new single LEVITATE
Interview took place on January 01, 2018
By Daniel Locke
Jynx was born out of frustration with a world in which people refuse to be their true selves. Every day, they wear a mask of insincere niceness to avoid offending others. They want to be liked by everyone, but in return, are loved by no one.
Jynx is not for everyone. Jynx is for the fearless, those who aren’t afraid to take off their masks.
JYNX cd image from Jerry DeLorenzo fb page
Unratedmagazine: How did the band get together? And tell me about the development of the band?
Jerry DeLorenzo: The band started almost immediately after my last band broke up. I wasn’t too into starting over again, but our original vocalist heard some demos I tracked out and kept harassing me until I decided to take them further. We jammed and talked with a few people while writing, but ultimately ended up with these dudes, I couldn’t be happier with them personally, we’ve all crossed paths for years so the awkward getting to know each other part didn’t really exist. After we dropped the EP our original vocalist Christian left to pursue a career and Tommy filled in on a show date for us and here we are now.
How did you pick your name?
We had an awfully hard time trying to find a name at first, and one day I was reading about witch craft and the idea of how woodpeckers (genus: jinx, jynx) were used to hex People was super interesting to me. We also have shit luck, and everyone thinks it’s a Pokémon reference.
Who is in the band?
Tommy Roulette: Vocals
Jerry DeLorenzo: Guitars/Vocals
Justin Whang: Guitars
Ray Francisco: Drums
Felix Cruz: Bass
Xermane: DJ
I see you have DJ, Xermane in your band. How has him being in your band, helped into developing the sound of the band?
Having a DJ was something we roughly talked about before we recorded our first single, we wanted to try to add something different and have a bit more of the electronic aspect under control by a real person, who doesn’t really have any ties to our music scene so we can really play around with and meld genres.
How do you describe your music?
We’re a metal band, plain and simple, I guess you can lump us in with Nu Metal Metalcore, and alt-rock as we draw most of influence from those genres.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
A lot of hip hop, nu metal, and death and black metal, in my mid to late teens I got into hardcore. I’ll always be super attached to the first wave of nu metal bands though, angst ridden teen til I die.
The music scene in New York City? Is there room for another metal band?
There’s always room for bands, we have a super supportive and really open minded scene. I would say the majority of people in our scene are excited to check out a new band. People show up early most of the time, and you can tell how well you did by how many people stick around for your set, or if the room turns into absolute chaos.
What do you feel in what direction the metal music in New York is heading?
There’s a huge resurgence in the local hardcore scene and it’s pretty awesome, there are some great promoters doing amazing shit for a city that is constantly making it harder for heavy bands to do well. We’re the underdogs of the music industry, so we constantly lose venues and money hungry promoters who don’t understand risk/reward are constantly pulling out of shows or refuse to book metal bands.
How did you get signed to the label?
We’re currently unsigned as of this interview.
Let’s talk about your new single Levitate. Tell me about it and why you pick it as your next single?
Levitate a song that I felt like had a strong message. It’s really personal to me and reflects a state of declining mental health Tommy and I were sharing at the time. We want people to know that they aren’t alone when they are feeling depressed.
How did you pick the person to produce your album?
Zach Jones (My Enemies and I) recorded our homies in Kissing Candice and what they came out with was nothing short of Incredible. We have a really special chemistry and our work flow is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. We’re actually going back in a few weeks to write some more singles to put out this year.
What made and model of instruments does you and your bandmates play?
Right now I’m playing an Ibanez RG1527 and an RG7321 with Seymour Duncan Pickups, Justin is playing a schecter blackjack sls with Duncan Blackouts, and Felix plays a Mexican Fender deluxe P-bass with the stock noiseless pickups, and a Mexican Jazz Bass with Duncan pickups.
What type of clubs have you played in?
We’ve played in everything from basements to dive bars, to headlining a major venue in our city.
What music fests would you like to play in?
I would absolutely sell my soul to do the final warped tour, and the European Festival Circuit has been a dream of mine since I was younger.
Have you looked into SXSW?
It’s something I’d like to Cross Off the list for sure. Those kinds of gatherings are so few and far in between now, but when they work they are something truly special.
How would you explain your live performance?
High energy, I want to ramp it up even more in the future. I want it to feel exciting in the way riding a rollercoaster at 6 flags is. Dangerous but fun and chaotic is the goal.
How did your video for Fade come about? And what is the meaning of the snake?
Fade was so much fun to shoot, Nightmare Film Crew came up with a cool concept that I really feel like captured the mood we wanted the song to portray. The Snake the was meant to portray evil similar to how the bible would have, not that we’re religious in any aspect haha.
Who have you opened up for?
We’ve opened for Like Moths to Flames, Northlane, in hearts Wake, Aiden, our NYC neighbor’s in Sylar, Varials, and a whole bunch of other bands. We’ve been pretty lucky so far.
If someone was listening to you for the first time, what 3 videos would you tell them to look at and why?
I’d definitely tell them to check our latest videos, Obsessive Convulsive, Fade, and Levitate, it’s just the start of us evolving into something new.
How do you see your band in the next 5 years?
Tour, tour, tour….and tour.
Any guilty pleasures your fans would be surprise you listen to?
I don’t think anyone should ever be ashamed of liking music, everyone perceives art differently. With that being said, I’m a huge
JYNX sneaker
Hall and Oates fan, it’s the most fun music
What is on your phone for music now?
A whole lot of Bjork, Cannibal Corpse, Gatecreeper, the latest Varials and Kublai Khan releases, and A$AP Ferg’s latest album
Anything in closing you would like to say?
I had a blast doing this interview and really hope everyone understands what we’re about a little. Everyone experiences extra negative events in life and their perception is unique, but no one is truly alone when they feel sad or depressed. Reach out to someone and try to get help if you feel like the situation is becoming dangerous.
Also, if anyone wants to catch hands on Dragon Ball FighterZ add me on ps4 ClarkDjent.
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