Today, we sat down with Elektragaaz to talk music listened to growing up, advice for musicians and much more. Be sure to check out their music below after the interview!
Interview:
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
Kate Amrine aka Kosmic Kate: I grew up listening to salsa and Latin music. I love it!
Jasper (Shogo) Dutz aka Jasper Windstorm: I listened a lot to jazz and classical music. Particularly Oliver Nelson, Gerry Mulligan, Beethoven and Aaron Copland
Josh Henderson aka Josh Firebow: Classical and classic rock.
Tom McCaffrey aka Tom Elektron: My first concert was Alice Cooper which blew my mind. I also loved Elton John cause he was my mom’s favorite. I listened to stuff like that as well as pop punk that was super popular at the time like Green Day.
Mat Muntz aka Mat Thunder: Jazz (especially Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk), prog rock, Balkan and New Orleans brass band
Kathy Sheppard aka Kathy Kaos: The music I started out with is classical symphonic music, probably because of all the great old cartoons I watched as a kid!
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
Kate: Honestly I can’t think of one person because so many people have inspired me but I’d probably say my family.
Jasper: As cheesy as it sounds, there were too many to name one. Bjork was definitely someone I’ve always admired greatly and of course various superheroes/video game characters were big as well.
Josh: My parents and grandparents.
Tom: Brian May from Queen was a huge hero of mine.
Mat: Not really, but I had an idealized vision of living a musical life that I wanted to emulate.
Kathy: My two heroes are Eleanor Roosevelt and Marge Simpson.
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?
Kate: Everything! All art and non art forms can be inspiring. The other day I was jamming out to a cement truck and it inspired an upcoming composition.
Jasper: What inspires me to write music is the fact that it’s universal among all humans regardless of cultures/backgrounds. The fact that we can participate in something that connects us to everyone else is really special and I want to do that for the rest of my life in some way.
Josh: The World around me, and the limitless things (good and bad) it has to offer.
Tom: Everything in my life; my peers and co-creators, my friends and loved ones, all the thoughts in my head, and the feeling of total freedom from playing music which inevitably feeds itself to inspire more.
Mat: I’m inspired to write music because I want to hear cool stuff I’ve never heard before.
Kathy: Creating music is a way of life. Inspiration flows from living.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing today?
Kate: I’d be a chef.
Jasper: Marine Biology specializing in cetaceans. No question.
Josh: I’d try to be an actor.
Tom: I would probably try and do something in making films / videos and sketch comedy
Mat: No idea, maybe something with history/politics.
Kathy: I don’t know.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?
Kate: Just do it!
Jasper: Just do it. Starting is the hardest thing you will ever do. Art has no end game because you do it your whole life so once you get started, you can go anywhere.
Josh: Keep trying!
Tom: Don’t wait for the phone to ring!! Just make music that is true to you all day every day — if you do that then you’re already a special musician worth your weight and people will notice you.
Mat: Don’t be afraid to go down weird rabbit holes.
Kathy: Have fun!
Music:
