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Polluteme / Polluted Ezine / Interviews / Interview w\ SUBHUMAN
Interview w\ SUBHUMAN written by: Jacob Robison One of the first bands to submit to our site outside of the Kentucky/Tennessee region was the four-man band from Central Iowa SUBHUMAN. Led by the husband-wife combination of Mike and Joni Lawler on guitar and vocals respectively, the band also features the talents of Paul VanWeelden on drums and Mark Loomis on bass. Thanks to the wonderfully powerful internet, I was able to arrange an interview with this unique band. We touched on everything from their influences to the scene in Central Iowa to being a female vocalist in a predominately man's style of music.  How old is everyone, what does everyone play, and how long have you been playing together? JL: 27, vocals. ML: 27, guitar PV: 29, bass ML: 28, drums Joni, Mike, and Mark have been together since October of 2000 and Paul joined in January of 2001. How did you come up with the name SUBHUMAN, and why do you write it in all capital letters? JL: It came from a list of band names that we all brainstormed up. We looked them over and marked the ones we liked. SUBHUMAN was the only one that had everyone's vote and the reasoning for the all caps is for a cool oxy-moron kinda thing. Unfortunately at the time that we named ourselves, we weren't aware of an old band called The Subhumans. Their existence has recently been brought to our attention. We are once again brainstorming for a new band name. Who are some of your influences, both individually and musically? JL: I have too many vocal influences to really list extensively but to name a few... Robert Plant, Chris Cornell, David Wyndorf, Paul Rodgers, Eddie Vedder, Linda Perry, Mike Patton, and Maynard James Keenan. ML: Jimi Hendrix, and my dad. PV: Jaco, Flea, Noel Redding, Brian Marshall, Les Claypool, "Geezer" Butler, and John Paul Jones. ML: Neil Peart, Scott Phillips, Lars, and Jon Knox to name a few. We try to incorporate all of our individual influences to our music to create a sound all of our own. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you play before? JL: Along with modern hard rock/metal style we often incorporate a "bluesyness" to some of our music that gives us what we think is a unique sound. Does Des Moines support the local music scene, or do you have to fight for recognition? JL: Considering this is Iowa we are talking about I guess I can't really complain too much. Obviously we have to work hard for recognition, I don't know of too many bands that don't. PV: There's not too many places to play in Des Moines and only one radio station that supports local music. What caliber of scene does Des Moines have? JL: A lot of hardcore, blues, country and classic rock bands. This question is for Joni...The number of female musicians getting involved in the metal/hard rock movement is on the rise (definitely a good thing). What inspired you to start singing in a genre of music that is historically male-dominated? JL: I have sung just about every genre of music. I have yet to find a music style that allows me to express myself as freely as metal/hard rock. Other genres make me feel somewhat constricted because, although I may appreciate the style, they don't run as deeply in my bones or I just plain don't like them (i.e. country music). As far as metal/hard rock being male dominated: to me it isn't about a male/female thing. I believe it is about the talent and determination. Almost all of my influences are male obviously because of the rock genre being male-dominated but it is solely their style that has influenced me. Do the music fans in Central Iowa make a big deal over the fact that you are fronted by a woman? JL: The only thing I have noticed is that when we have a gig, those who come to hear us who haven't heard us before, see that we are fronted by a woman and automatically have a preconceived notion that we are going to be wimpy or something. But as soon as our music and stage performance kicks off, they quickly have a change of heart and end up supporting us. This last question is for Joni and Mike. Do you find it hard to keep your marriage seperate from the band, and does the fact that you are married to each other make your band stronger? JL: To the first half of your question - Music is what brought us together in the first place and after 7 years of marriage and a family we are still very much in love. Although we have many more major common interests, music still plays a very important role in the success of our marriage. Yet the band and our marriage are two separate things and we have never really had a problem keeping them separated. To the second half - We think it does help to make the band stronger. It is helpful because we know each other so well with where each other is going creatively in musical ideas. Plus we have more time on our hands to collaborate in writing, and to get tight with each other. We are then able to pass some of this on to the rest of the band when we get together with them. |
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