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Metal For Breakfast With VOX REALIS · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Thanks for tuning into Heavy today.
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: Today we've got a very special guest from the US
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: called at Vox Realis, who has just released his debut single,
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Overkill and already the future is looking very bright indeed,
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: So Vox, thanks for joining us.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: It's great to be here. Thank you for this opportunity
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: to talk about my music.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: My absolute pleasure.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: So, as I say, you released your debut single, Overkill
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: and not long ago on October twenty four, so it's
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: only been five days mate, But how's the early reception been.
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: It's been really great.
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: The feedback from fans on social media has been amazingly supportive.
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: I don't know if there's a team.
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: Progressive metal instrumental category to really judge you by it,
• 0:40
  Speaker 4: but the consistent feedback is, you know, wow, keep going,
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: keep writing, so overall very positive.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: I think the good thing about it too, like when
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: it first came across my desk, like your age was
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: obviously front and center in the press release, but as
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: soon as I put it on, that became irrelevant because
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: it was just about the music, and it was about
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: what you were doing mid the music, and it doesn't
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: matter whether you're two or twelve or thirty or thirty.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: The music speaks for itself.
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: You've done well, Thank you.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Can you talk into the song a bit deeper for
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: us musically and tell us what you're going for?
• 1:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, So in this single, I knew that I needed to,
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: you know, find my own voice, and I wanted to
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: make sure that was in my head was represented in
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: the song. And I'm really particular about tones, and so
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: I really just embraced an ABCAB song structure so it's
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: accessible to the listeners, but I can still get what
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: I want on my head into the song.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: And so this song is.
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: Full of emotion, and I really had lots of fun
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: with the different effects and the drive and really capturing
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: what I was feeling and school and life is pretty
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: hard at thirteen, and this song is my first attempt
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: to communicate the sometimes conflicting and really big emotion.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And did you write all of the instruments? So
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: just the guitar, I wrote all of it.
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: So the origin story is on the last day of
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: seventh grade, I hopped on a plane to Helsinki to
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: shred with my mentor Gallerero at his annual guitar experience.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: That was really fun.
• 2:19
  Speaker 4: And then right after that I went to Musicians Institute
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: in LA for a week, and so when I finally
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: made it home to Seattle, I was so incredibly energized
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: from being around so many incredible musicians that I just
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: sat down and wrote Overkill in one sitting. All the
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: lead lines, rhythms, structure, emotions. It just came pouring out
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: of me, is what you could say.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: I don't want to put too much pressure on you, mate,
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: because it is your first song, But is it just
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: a standalone soum or is it part of a potential
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: album or EP in the future.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: It is a standalone single, but it's a good start.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: I really didn't want to miss the chance to capture
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: what I feel at thirteen and how that sounds.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're looking through it.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: You've got some pretty high profile people playing with you
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: on the song, so tell us who they are and
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: what they brought to the actual song.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Hava Kill.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: So this is really cool and actually kind of a
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: dream come true for this. So my first call that
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: I made was to my producer, Adare Dauffenbach. He's worked
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: with Megadeth and Anger before and I had been him
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: a few times, so I kind of knew that we
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: would work really well together, and it was absolutely amazing
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: to work with him. He was a really good producer
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: and he added these little touches here and there that
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: really elevated the song. That and my goal and the
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: vision that I was really trying to achieve there and
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: so Adair actually works with Dirk verb Buren, the drummer
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: from Megadeth. So when Dirk heard my song and my
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: little home recording, he offered to you the drums, which
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: was unbelievable to have Dirk verburn Yeah on my song,
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: so it was amazing. He added some ruthlessness and speediness
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: to it that again elevated this song. And then finally
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: the amazing bass player Philippe Andreoli said yes too, so
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: his track that he laid down really grounds the song
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: with his bass. So overall working with this Legends was
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: unbelievably cool.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna say, I like you taken it all in
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: your stride pretty well for a young fella you and
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: I like you're not You're not fanboid.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: I ready it is.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: You're not getting egotistical, you just you taken it really well.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: May Like I know people twice your age would be
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: sitting there saying a lot look at me, but you
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: taken it in your stride very well, right, good on.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: You, Thank you.
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: Yes, I do get that a lot, but in a
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: very positive way. Everyone is so supportive and excited to
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: see where this all go. They also recognize that I'm young,
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: and you know, all this guitar needs to be my choice,
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: but it is and I am only thirteen. But my parents,
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: my mentors, and my teacher they all help me keep, like,
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: you know, a balanced life and encourage me to embrace
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: the long and patient journey that is becoming a musician.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: It's tough. And I just say, there's no vocals on
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: the song. I'd be killed, mate.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: So is that because you want to focus just all
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: the instrumental side of things for now or do you
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: plan on introducing them?
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: Oh?
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Is that in combined with right now, my voice kind
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: of sounds like a squirrel on helium and combined with
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: the voice crack, yeah, and combined with all the voice cracks,
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: I think I'll just, you know, wait till i'm older.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: I don't know if I have a good voice.
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: I guess I could be, I don't know, like a
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: bomb jovie or something like that, but it's really too
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: early to tell.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you give main passion is justin guitar. You're
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: not really not really that focused on singing as well?
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Just yet?
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah so far?
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah too easy.
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: You picked up the electric guitar when you were just
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: seven years old, mate, So are there other musicians in
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: your family that made you want to play or did
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: you want to play?
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: There are no other guitarists in my family.
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: The legend has it is that I found a toy
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: guitar when I was two years old, and I just
• 6:31
  Speaker 4: kept dragging it with me everywhere and playing it everywhere.
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: And I think the breaking point for my parents was
• 6:38
  Speaker 4: when I asked my mom to tune it. So that's
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: when a Santa showed up with a Fender Squire, and
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: that's where my guitar journey truly started. And I've loved
• 6:50
  Speaker 4: it ever since, and it's it's a great friend.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, most kids of that age, right though, they're playing
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: sport or they're playing games on their iPads. But what
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: made you decide to focus on It's tire said, like,
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: it's not what what every kid does, and it's not
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: the easy way to do things.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: I actually do all of that too.
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: I am actually on a premier soccer team, and I
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: played Nintendo you know, Super Mario Kart. Of course, add
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: in school and homework and it is a lot, but
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: I am pretty efficient with my time.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: So yeah, I do it all.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: You do it all.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: I'm just gonna throw this one in Rob, Like, were
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: you self taught initially or did you did you get
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: lessons to start off with?
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: I did? I started out with lessons.
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: What's what's like from for a young person, Like, what's
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: what's the difference between teaching yourself at that age, I
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: guess and getting lessons? Like is it does it sort
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: of fast track things at all?
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: Or I would say it probably depends. But having a
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: teacher is a great start because they really understand the
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: instrument and they can start you on the path that
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: you want to go on and give you the fundamentals
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: and you know, correct your technique and everything, and it's
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: a really nice foundation to start with the teacher, is
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: what I would say. Yeah.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a big difference between being a kid and
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: picking off a guitar and having to be a fun
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: and then decide that you're going to write your own
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: salt when you got to release it?
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Like, so, at what point did you feel.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: Comfortable enough with what you'd lay it and what you
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: were doing that you decided that you're going to take
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: that next step.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: I don't know if I am good enough or if
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: you ever feel good enough as an artist to, you know,
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: take that next step, but I'm passionate about it, and
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: I feel like that's all that matters. I mean, when
• 8:42
  Speaker 4: I was ten years old, I taught myself the Crazy
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: Train solo, and I was really kind of just connected
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: with all things Randy Rhods, and so when I pusted
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: it on social media, Kathy Rhodes left a comment and
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: she said Randy would be proud.
• 8:55
  Speaker 3: I should know.
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: He's my little brother, and you know, it's such a
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: small thing, but she knows what good guitar sounds like.
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: So I think that was really the first moment where
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: I thought, Hey, maybe I do have something special here.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, wow, that's so cool.
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: You spoke about it before, but you listen Megadez Kiko
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: as your mentor, So when did say, mensa, what does
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: that mean?
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: What does he help you with? So far?
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: Pretty much everything, I mean, Keiko is amazing. So I
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: first met Kiko two years ago when he posted about
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: an opening spot in his mentorship program. I didn't think
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: you would say yes because I'm a kidnall and it's
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: made for adults, but he did. So we meet every
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: two weeks and talk about pretty much everything. Guitar like,
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: guitar technique, guitar music theory, song structured jazz, classical, commercial considerations.
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's truly everything. And I don't think I
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: would be so far along in my journey without his guidance.
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: So and I've learned so much from him. And he
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: also has an amazing community that he's created at the
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Kikolero Guitar Club and the KLGA, and it's a wonderful
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: place and it's really supportive for a young artist like me.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Do you find it like he goes hard on you
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: or do you think he goes a little bit soft
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: on you because you're only only just starting out?
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Oh?
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: He goes full out on me. I ask him to,
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: you know, when we first met.
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: Sometimes be like, you know, Henry, if you want we
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: can slow down a little bit, and it's like, no,
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: keep going, I want this, I want this, keep going,
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: keep going, give me more.
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: So definitely does not go easy on me.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: They kill You've got a lot of influences.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: We've spoken about a few of them, but they're guys
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: like Alisi There's back While he Got Iron Made and Megadeth.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: But I think young person without that overall worldly experience, like,
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: how difficult is it for you to take that expiration
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: and then make your own music.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Out of it.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: I mean, if you are at all familiar with American
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: middle school, you know that it's it's very difficult and
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: you definitely need a little children about own, little Megadeth,
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: little Ozzie Osbourne to get through the day. It's pretty
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: crazy and unpredictable and tough to handle. And even though
• 11:10
  Speaker 4: it's not a world the experience, you know, out in
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: the real world, on your own, I feel like you
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: can still see these examples and take what they mean
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: from their song and you know, apply it in real
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: life and see, you know, maybe even a scaled down
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: version of what they're talking about.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: You know, So that's what I mean.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: I find that quite interested that you say, like what
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: they're talking about, like most people that that's music. You're
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: talking about them talking through music, which it's fascinating. Like
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: a lot of people just listen to lyrics and that's
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: music for them. But the way you're speaking about the
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: music talking to you like, that's that's next level mate.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean music is a story. You know, there's
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: you can write a story, you can make a poem
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: about a story, or you can make a song about
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: a story. I'm sure there's more, but this is like
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: the big categories for me. And so you know, a
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: song is a really interesting and beautiful way to tell
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: a story, but still at the same time in a
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: way that no one has ever or really ever will
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: because it's your own.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: It's your song. The amount of.
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: Effort and notes and riffs and choruses and chords and
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: drums that you add it makes it unique but at
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: the same time relatable to where to the point where
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: I can relate to it, and you know somebody else
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: in Australia can relate to it too.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Yes. Cool.
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: Now you've also got your own YouTube show as well,
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: called Metal for Breakfast.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: But that sounds like a great way to start. The
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: data may tell us more about it.
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, So during the pandemic, I would practice my guitar
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: every day right after breakfast. So when I started posting
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: my progress online, I named the show Metal for breakfast.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: I mainly play iconic solos and it really took off
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: on Instagram and TikTok, and the metal community was so
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: supportive and still is, and I really learned that metal
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: heads are everywhere and it's a wonderful community and I
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: definitely would not have come this far without this much
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: support from that community.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what's the basic structure of the show? Lord?
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: Do you just pick a song you want to play
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: a new play it? Or is people ringing in and
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: asking the song? Which is an interactive.
• 13:24
  Speaker 4: It's it's mainly it's it's a combination of what I
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: want to play. What you know, Kiko recommends, a guitar
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: teacher recommends, or someone in the comments recommends, and I
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: checked them out and I, you know, I found it.
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: I find a cool solo or a cool song. So
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: it's it's all all the little bits combined together, which
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: is what you know, guides my choice as to what
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: I play next.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: Now, not long ago, you became the first ever recipient
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: of the Musicians Institute Summer Program Scholarship for Contemporary Music.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Now that is a hell of a mouthful. Yes, what
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: did you get even that?
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: So, first of all, it was a huge privilege to
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: receive that and a great honor. So I had to
• 14:11
  Speaker 4: submit my performances for a review, and after they heard
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: me play, they really believed in me, and then they
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: gave me the scholarship and that paid for my entire
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: tuition at their summer program.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Nice.
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: So what such of things do you reckon that opens
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: up for you as a young emerging artist, Like where
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: does that sort of stand you from here?
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: In their programs, I got to meet so many other
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: teenagers making rock and metal. It was really really awesome.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: You know, my life this year has been about finding
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: communities that love music and storytelling, so overall as an
• 14:51
  Speaker 4: emerging artist, it's a total boost to find friends and
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: a community because it's pretty hard to find anywhere, but
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: especially you know, it's hard to find anywhere teens that
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: are into rock and metal and play it and want
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: to form a band and want to write it at
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: this level.
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: So it was really.
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: Awesome because they were all just kind of congregated together
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: and it was like ooh, drummer, bass player, guitarist, singer.
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: Speaking of the moving forward, have you sat down with people
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: a map down your next steps or are you just
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: sort of having fun of my being taken as it comes.
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: That's a great question, I would say. The answer is
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: somewhere in the middle. I don't get anywhere without goals,
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: is all, is what I would say. So my goal
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: is to have a four song EP out in three years,
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: and having done a single, I think I'm much better
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: prepared to think about an EP.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: I'd also like to, you.
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: Know, join a thrash power metal band in the next year.
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: And you know, the journey of who I am and
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: who I am with my guitar, it's kind of had
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: like a natural cadence and it really feels good. So
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: just you know, finding those next steps and really thinking
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: about them alongside. But in the end, I still have
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: to go to school and.
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: Do a lot of homework and that that.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: Really cuts into my guitar time. But I'm just getting
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: started and it's exciting to be.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Here, Fantasy Bo. So it's been an absolute pleasure to
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: get to know you, brother. The song Overkill is out now,
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: and like I say, you get past the fact that it's.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: A thirteen year old kid playing it. It's a damn fine.
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: Song no matter who's playing the mate, So best of
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: luck with everything in the future and I have a
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: feeling we shall talk again.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: I would love to thank you so much for your time,