Interview with David Flood #2

So yeah, this was supposed to be up like a week or two ago but personal stuff came up and I just needed to get a break from pretty much everything and everyone - still battling this but as of just now; its 3am (UK time), and I have insomnia so I figured "let's get this fucking thing up!" (thats what she said...)

David is a cool-as guy who just seems so enthralled and inspired by this small group of musicians/personalities that are all about positivity and have all hit their dream and are now succeeding at what they want to do.
I know because I am very similar, I look up to the same group of people and try and do what they have to achieve what I want and get all out of life that I can.

This is the first time I've re-interviewed someone a second time and was something I had been wanting to do for sometime, same with David but damn my Uni work and again personal stuff kept on getting in the way and stopping me from getting something together.  A month ago Uni finished and I started getting this finalised and sent off.

So here you have it, the second interview with budding star-in-the-making David Flood: enjoy!

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Since the last time we talked, you’ve seemed to have gotten involved in a number of projects. How have these been going?
Hey Sean! Thanks for having me back for round 2!!  I am honored you chose me for a second interview! I have been involved in a bunch of projects lately, it seems like I never have a day off but its totally worth it! I love what I do and I look forward to everyone seeing what I have been working on in the coming months!

What’s ‘White Devil’, and what are your inspirations for this?
White Devil is the name of a clothing line I own with two very close friends. Keith Pyles and Veronica Mihalus! Basically what we aim to do is offer a new series of designs that will appeal to all walks of life but have a strong emphasis on music of course. We are very fortunate to have a spot on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival this year and we are all sooooo stoked for this! The launch is only a couple weeks away aiming for mid June and I really think everyone will like what they see. This has been extremely hush hush with the exception of a select few and I’m shocked I’ve been able to keep my mouth shut hahahaha.

Wanna talk about your growing relationship with Brandon Richter? What do you think about his recent career change into bodybuilding?
Brandon and I are super close and have been ever since last summer. We can do long periods of time without talking and be able to pick up right where we left off. Its a strong bond for sure. And lets just say Brandons arms are now bigger than my entire body hahahaha. Last year people would often confuse us at some shows but now its like comparing The Hulk to a green bean. He has always done what makes him happy despite criticisms he gets but nothing is gonna stop that dude

In the last year have there been any bands (new or old) that have caught your eye?
Yes!!! Holy fuck my music tastes have grown significantly. I listen to everything from Jerry Lee Lewis to Johnny Cash to Frank Sinatra to Metallica to Eminem to Parkway Drive to The Used to Motionless In White to deadmau5 to Rammstein to Jay-Z to The Pretty Reckless and Avenged Sevenfold seriously the list can go on and on. I have been listening to a ton of In This Moment, The Used, Arch Enemy, Marilyn Manson lately. Mainly when I listen to bands I will listen to the same fucking song over and over and just learn everything I can from their drum patterns. I am a pure music whore.

Being a drummer, which bands would you love to tour with – like what would be your ideal tour line-up be?
Such a tough question. I definitely want to hit the road with Avenged Sevenfold, Rammstein, Combichrist, The Pretty Reckless so I can take Taylor Momsen on a date! If your reading Taylor lets get some food!! hahahahah. I really really really want to tour with Fozzy. They are such a nice group of people with insane talents. Motionless is a given and major kudos to them for headlong Warped this year!! Its hard to keep it as just a venue line up ya know? I would love to play huge festivals like Rock On The Range and Download but my dream line up would be Combichrist, Rammstein whatever band I drum for and Avenged Sevenfold. I would channel my inner fan girl for sure.

Lately you’ve gotten a huge array of new tattoos, why put yourself through so much pain haha? Got any new one’s planned on the horizon?
Well to be honest I don’t know haha I guess I look good with tattoos? Who knows. But I have always been one to march to the beat of a different drum and the best way I can think of would be getting tattoos. I love all kinds of art and I always have. But pain…yeah thats never fun but go see Jimmy Fellows and Keith Pyles at Odd Fellows Tattoos in Akron, Ohio. They have the secret stuff to make tattoos painless! And yes I do! My chest will be finished in the next couple weeks then working on my entire left arm but thats a surprise!

What are your plans for the future/rest of the year? Any new projects?
The rest of the year is going to consist of drumming my ass off, growing my clothing line, going on tour, music videos, press, videos in general and no not porn…unless the money is right hahahahahah I am basically booked solid through about November and I love keeping busy so definitely keep up with my lame Facebook posts and Instagram to see what I’m doing and whats coming up next! See you in Hell!

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Check out David's Facebook here to keep up on his latest escapades;
https://www.facebook.com/davidflood1993

Check out our Facebook site;
https://www.facebook.com/theghostchant

Interview with Jeremy Saffer

For the last while I haven't been able to post anything much, base it down to personal stuff, Uni work and some other things. I always tried to fit some things in, tried to get interviews with bands but due to uptight Record Labels it was impossible to get anything with the bands I wanted (Every Time I Die and Killer Be Killed namely). But once I got some time (Uni's finished till September) I decided to be persistent and go for different bands and stuff - the first is this with Jeremy Saffer, a man that has most probably photographed every important band in the world of rock. His work is unique and IMO so crisp and clean, he always seems to make the bands/subject that much more cooler, guys like Eighteen Visions, Mitch Lurker, Chris Motionless, The Misfits, Alice Cooper, Danny Trejo and Bring Me The Horizon, to mention only a few.

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To start off, what do you feel was it that led you to pursue a career in photography? Had it always been a passion of sorts for you?

I was in bands growing up, so I was always taking pictures of bands, usually with a disposable camera… eventually a local promoter (Scott Lee) saw I was at almost every show, and asked me to start taking photos at them. I got a better camera, and started shooting for the local shows here, which were, Hatebreed, Lamb Of God, Chimaira, All That Remains, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage, etc. Then I started shooting for a bigger company he is a part of, which included The Worcester Palladium and eventually The Webster Theater in Hartford. 

I went to Berklee School of music for music production and engineering but ended up hating it. So I would skip homework and shoot shows instead. Eventually after 3 semesters, I wanted to quit Berklee, so I talked to Scott who is a mentor and hero to me. He basically said “well, you don’t like Berklee, what do you like to do?” – I answered “take pictures”. So he gave me this look like I was the last one to understand that I should actually go down that path. So I essentially put down my guitar for a camera. 

I toured a bit, then went to Hallmark, and within 10 months I graduated and was out shooting. 

Do you have any set equipment that you MUST use when working, or are you pretty flexible in that respect? 

I have to have a camera! haha - the 1dx is the camera i use for everything - if im doing portraits i need to have the 24-70. if im shooting live i need the 16-35 - i rarely do photos with only natural light so id say the dynalites i use are fairly vital to the image. but ive learned how to make anything work - one light - no lights - etc. 

Having worked with a large number of bands and people, what do you feel are your best shoots? Which bands/people do you enjoy working with most and are there any locations you particularly like shooting in? 

i always say my next shoot will be my best one - which is why i treat each shoot as if it is.

- i enjoy working with the bands i work with the most - which is why i work with them so often :) 

- for locations i like shooting in areas i haven't shot in before - always cool to get something different than the same few spots over and over. 

If you could work with any, alive or dead, who would it be – kinda like your ideal shoot? 

michael, sabbath, dio, vincent price, bela, etc- in terms of alive - sabbath would be the one shoot id always want to get but never will get 

Related to this, and also because this is a music-based site, what sort of bands are you rocking out to lately? Do you find music itself helps you when shooting or inspires you? 

i listen to everything - lately ive been rotating between the new bring me the horizon (incredible) - old alice in chains - portishead - diabolical masquerade - and babymetal 

Along with being a photographer, late last year you started a new clothing brand, TenThirtyoneinc, what was the reasoning behind this, and again where do your inspirations for the designs come from (apart from the obvious Halloween)? 

well the way tenthirtyoneinc came about - I always had saffer shirts - and had my friends do designs - usually horror based (as thats essentially a big big part of my life aside from photos) - so i had a bit of extra money and a perfect person to do the designs, who was able to put my words into art - so i felt the time was right to finally do it. essentially its all for selfish reasons. its thinking - okay - i really want this shirt to exist so i can wear it. ill have it designed, print it, and then ill have a bunch of them! and maybe i can recoup the cost of having these shirts essentially custom made for me to wear by selling them as a clothing line. if that makes any sense? haha. so think of all those grammy suits and dresses. - like that - but t-shirts. its not a money thing. its a love for horror and love for art thing. ive essentially only been wearing 10x31 since the first run printed. 

To finish up, what do you have planned for the future? 

i have a few projects in the works - i am going to start a crowd funding campaign for my next book - more print series coming out - and summer tour seasons about to kick off so mayhem and warped are around the corner.

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Check out Jeremy's shoots on his site, with a link to his store too;

http://jeremysaffer.com/

Check out TenThirty1neInc on their site;

http://www.tenthirtyoneinc.com/

Check out our Facebook site;

https://www.facebook.com/theghostchant