The underground music scene of NYC is one of the hardest places to roam if you’re a musician. Everything from forming a band, recording and booking shows can stir up an unprecedented problem. Getting fans to turn out for shows is a problem all its own.
Now, imagine being able to accomplish a lot of the goals, even going as far as building a fan base, only to break up. Years pass by and you find out your fan base never disbanded. This is the story of Stryctnyne, a band that that disbanded over 20 years ago, but was brought back by their loyal fan base. Stryctnyne consists of members John Scacco (a.k.a. Johnny Scacc’s) on lead vocals, Vincent Carollo (a.k.a. Samson James) on bass, Mike Sabatino (a.k.a. Thunder Kixx) on drums, and Mike Paris (a.k.a. G.Cyco) on guitar.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Strycnyne’s lead guitarist Mike Paris on what it was like to roam the underground music scene of NYC in the 80s, their upcoming plans and of course, what it was like to have their fans bring them out of obscurity.
TSL: You guys originally formed in the 80s and toured during that time to support your demos. What was it like to tour during that time and how to you compare and contrast it to touring today?
Mike: Stryctnyne toured the entire East Coast in that particular time frame, the scene was rockin’ to say the least. Every night, a different club had something going on. The clubs advertised in media and music papers, advertised through radio broadcasts, advertised on MTV on occasion. Flyers were made and distributed. The 80s rocked! People were into hard rock/heavy metal.
Today there are limited places to play and not really a demand for it (metal/hard rock). There are so many tribute bands and free shows in the summer, like Jones Beach and outdoor festivals, the clubs are empty in the summer. Unless you’re a supporting act for a national or have a few local big names, the clubs are empty.
TSL: I understand that Stryctnyne’s reunion is all thanks to fans that have discovered the bands music and made the effort to reunite you guys. Tell me a little bit about that process; what was it like reuniting and agreeing on making new music two decades later?
Mike: We feel very blessed to have this reunion and write new material. Our fan base has always been very loyal and supportive of us. We would get letters, emails and reach out’s from fans/followers worldwide asking for a reunion and it absolutely humbles us.
With the help of Facebook, different members were put in contact with each other until we all decided to have a sit down breakfast. Keep in mind we haven’t seen or talked in 20+ years. We agreed to have a reunion show for shits and giggles and from there it snowballed in a positive way from our anthology CD release via an independent label from California USA, which is now expired. The good thing is it got word and attention worldwide that the “9” was back in the fields and back for attack. Stryctnyne decided to put a full CD together (12 songs) that’s being exploited by the band and a PR company from Europe at this very moment. The music chemistry we have amongst us is magic and writing songs is a natural for us. I guess we’re blessed like that.
TSL: I heard your latest album Unfinished Business, and there is so much Sabbath, Priest and even some King Diamond influence in it. Who are your biggest influences and what bands does Stryctnyne look up to the most?
Mike: LOL you nailed some of them — Black Sabbath. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Pantera, Godsmack, Dio, Led Zeppelin are some to come to mind but not limited to. Stryctnyne are disciples of hard rock/heavy metal.
TSL: What was the inspiration for the album both musically and lyrically?
Mike: The inspiration comes from a internal passion of hard rock/heavy metal within us. Stryctnyne is just made up of four metal warrior’s driven by our strong passion and motivation from our fan base, our unique chemistry style and playing which we feed off of each other. Stryctnyne is very diversified, we don’t write a single style of music. The singer Johnny Scacs is a lyrical genius. All songs may have bits and pieces including lyrics/choruses of some or individual members but we stand as one and all songs are written by Stryctnyne. We are more abroad in writing songs; the interesting point is if you ask a handful of fans which is their favorite STRYCTNYNE song you will get a handful of different answers.
We wanted to create an “all killer no filler” CD with our roots but combine it with todays sound — old meets new blend.
TSL: It’s truly amazing for any band to find the time and dedication to reunite after so many years. Now that you’re here, together again, where do you see Stryctnyne going in the upcoming years?
Mike: We see Stryctnyne getting picked up by a label and making cameo appearances in the USA and even Europe. We have a library of music that needs to be heard and shared throughout the world. We will start pre-production at the end of this year to follow up the newly released Unfinished Business CD.
TSL: The CD release party will be held in Long Island, do you guys have any more tour dates set?
Mike: The cd release party will be sat 1/14/17 @ 89 North Music Venue in Patchogue, Long Island, NY. This is our major focus at this time. Once we are behind this, Stryctnyne plans on hitting the east coast and tri-state area for appearances/shows.
TSL: Where can we keep up with Stryctnyne?
Mike: You can keep up with Stryctnyne on the following social media sites!
Email: metalwarriorx9@aol.com
Website: https://stryctnyne.wixsite.com/stryctnyne
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Stryctnyne
Instagram: https://instagram.com/stryctnyne
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stryctnyne
Tumblr: https://stryctnynemetalwarrior.tumblr
Any label/bookings/ music industry interest etc. please private message us with your contact info with one of the sites listed above-\m/ x9 \m/ spread the disease.
We would like to thank Mike Paris of Stryctnyne for taking the time to speak with us, and now check out this awesome performance of the band.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhD_OUkWL9A[/embedyt]
