Today, we sat down with Polyachi to talk about their inspiration to write music, advice for musicians, and much more! Be sure to check out the music of Polyachi below after the interview on Spotify!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?
The inspiration for POLYACHi’s music is multifaceted. In terms of the themes we discuss in our lyrics, our inspiration comes primarily from the experiences and traumas our life presents. Our name is the phonetic spelling of the italian word “Pagliacci”, which means “clowns”, and we approach our lyric-writing much like a clown or court jester – making light of the ills that befall us; taking the darkest and most frustrating parts of our lives and turning them into a beautiful form of performance therapy to help us move past the pain and grow.
When it comes to finding inspiration for our instrumental composition, it can be found anywhere at any time; listening to the rhythm of trains passing by or a strong rain storm pounding on my roof; a melody one of my sons stumbles across while playing with their toy xylophone; and sometimes a feeling will grab me so hard and I’ll feel it so fully that it will just plant a melody or riff in my mind. Inspiration is constant for me, the key is capturing the ideas when that inspiration strikes before they fade into the ether.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
I grew up with two parents who had outstanding taste in music. When I was a young boy we primarily listened to The Beatles, Bob Marley, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Queen, Led Zeppelin and things of that ilk. As I grew older I discovered heavier music through bands like Nirvana, Creed and Metallica. Once I got a taste for the heavy I began chasing down the heaviest music I could find with an appetite that was insatiable; leading me to bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne, Korn, Deftones and later bands like Gojira, Tool and Karnivool. As I’ve grown into adulthood my tastes have become more eclectic, branching to pop, hip hop, EDM and really pretty much every genre of music – except for “Pop Country”.
Is there someone you looked up to as a hero?
My cousin, and now bandmate, Des was who I looked up to the most as I was growing up. Des had formed a band called Silver Lyning just as I was trying to put together my first middle school band and I would go to their shows whenever I could, watching their drummer as closely as I could trying to figure out what it would take to be in a “real” band. Whenever we went to a Hawkeye football game, which was quite often in my youth, we would stay at Des’ dad’s house where I would spend every second I could with Des listening to them playing guitar riffs and playing along on my lap, imagining what drum parts I would play if I were given the chance. Des would burn me CDs of the music they were listening to, particularly the bands with crazy talented drummers, and I absorbed as much as I could from those CDs – studying each song as a theist would their respective religious texts, trying to discern the how and why of each drum part that I encountered and applying the skills and approaches learned into my own playing.
Des would later join a band called Ten Ton Halo. My dad took me to one of their shows and on the drive back I told my dad I’d really like to be in a band with Des, but since they were already
in an established band and I was younger I felt it would never happen. My dad said “never say never”, and now here we are, two-decades later, making excellent music together in our band.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
If I hadn’t become a musician I’m not sure I’d even be alive right now. Life is full of conflict and stressful, heart-wrenching events and I’ve always been a person that internalizes such things and struggles with confrontation. Listening to and making music has always provided me the outlet I needed to let some steam off and de-clutter my brain, without that outlet I would have had a hard time surviving the inevitable turbulence of life.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?
I would say to just start creating, and never stop. Don’t stall yourself out trying to make everything perfect all the time – perfect doesn’t exist, especially in the realm of art. Just make whatever you are feeling in the moment and then perform it for people, follow where the muse leads and you will be in good shape.
As you venture down the path of art-making, you will encounter many people who tell you it’s a waste of time or “just a phase”. Do not listen to these people. These are people who gave up on their dreams and want everyone else to do the same so they don’t feel like they wasted their lives. If you have a calling within you to make art of any kind, never stop listening to that calling, never stop following that muse.
Music:
