The Rise & Rise Of Injected – Interview With Danny Grady

Published on Alternative Israel, 2003.

The rise & rise of Injected

I'll start with a Statement: I L-O-V-E Injected!!! So if you'll hear (and you will hear, no doubt about it) an extra supportive sound in my article, that is the reason.

Their debut album "Burn it Black" (2002) is one of the best albums that I had the pleasure of listening to in this year and also in the past few years…

The vocals of the lead singer, Danny Grady, is amazing; some will say that he has that whole Brandon-Boyd- thing going on, just a lot powerful.

"Burn it Black" is full of various music types combined with urban old school and awesome Metal power, and on top of it all emotion. A lot of emotion.

The band feels strongly about their lyrics and every word in the album is charged with emotions.

But before that, I'd like to introduce the band, and they are:

Danny Grady (27) Lead vocals and Guitar, Chris Wojtal (28) Drummer & Steve Slovisky (27) Bass. Actually, when the band started, they had a lead guitarist named Jade Lemons who left the band for undisclosed reasons, but I was assured that it all was in good spirit.

The band is from Atlanta – Georgia (in the all-mighty USA).

They all met in high school and they did the usual round of rehearsals in basements and from that to performing in local places.

One day the legendary superstar producer, Butch Walker, (Marvelous 3) discovered them; from there they teamed up with Rich Costey (Rage Against the Machine, Jurassic 5, and Fiona Apple) and made a record.

These guys are so simple and down-to-earth and they keep an intense connection with their fans through their website (www.injected.com).

They are totally against over-marketed bands (or so you'd think by their blurry pictures at the album booklet) and it is almost impossible to find any decent pictures (non- show) on the web…and in case you were wondering… the guys aren't ugly (!!) and Danny (The singer) is a first class "poster boy"…

So what CAN you get? If you'll buy their album (buy it! Buy it! Buy it!) "Burn it Black", you could find on it (besides the songs of course) the "Faithless" Video and a link to their personal mailbox, so that you could send them emails and tell them how much you LOVED the album (which I'm sure you will).

Nowadays, the guys are working on their second album and in between, they are performing in local Atlanta places (a blast from the past?).

Now after all this lovin' you get an exclusive interview with Danny himself, just for you "Alternativa" readers in Israel, so sit back and enjoy…

 

* Where does the name Injected come from? Does it have a special meaning for you?

 

we used to rehearse in Chris's basement, which effectively doubled as an auto-body shop, he must have restored 3 or 4 cars while we were working there…we needed a band name, we were sick of looking for one.  We realized that band names are meaningless after a while, so we picked something short and easy to say and remember.  I think there were a few fuel injection kits lying around that day…

 

* If you had to introduce Injected to a new fan by one song, which song would it be?

 

probably the title track, 'burn it black', it's short and simple, heavy and has a good chorus, a guitar solo and some time and key signature changes.

 

* When I read your bio, I saw that you started as 4 band-members, why are you a threesome now?

 

We recently parted ways with our lead guitar player.

 

* Do you have any free time, and if you do, how do you spend it?

 

Yeah, we have a good bit of free time when we're not on the road or in the studio on the clock.   Writing songs is a leisurely and really creative, fun time for us.

 

* Has your life changed after the album came out? How?

 

My life has changed since we went on tour; I'm a little more paranoid and suspicious of other people and their motives. Touring can be a weird experience, you never leave your job, you're traveling in this little bubble that no one else can seem to relate to, and someone always wants something from you. At the same time, I'm closer and more open to my family and friends than ever.

 

* Tell us something that would really surprise us about Injected?

 

Does anything surprise anyone, anymore?  I don't know, uh…….how about we're all really women?  See, I went all the way and that doesn't surprise you.

 

* Where does the band stands as far as the next record goes?

 

It's being written.  It's definitely a new sound for us.

 

* Your album "Burn it Black" is known for dealing with harsh subjects like alcohol addiction ("only hurts a while"), depression ("Misfortune") and violence at schools ("Bullet"), isn't a little hard to write about such intense subjects, why is it so important for you to write about those things and can we expect the same from your new album?

 

Music is entertainment, so your subject matter and the way you talk about it should be entertaining, as well as insightful and expressive.  Those subjects you mentioned are pretty extreme, so it's easy to come up with interesting angles on them, those kinds of lyrics just beg to be read.   It's a lot harder to take something subtle, like the beauty in an uneventful sunny day, or the pain you feel when you see a homeless person or some social injustice, and express it into a song that's entertaining, insightful and expressive.

 

* The Rock scene is becoming more and more popular in the past few years, you can see metal bands on MTV in the middle of the day, Do you feel fortunate to be part of the new rock invasion? Do you have a favorite band among the new ones?

 

If the rock scene is getting more popular, I certainly don't perceive it.  We're not really part of any scene or movement, except our own.  We absolutely love music, we love playing music and we do our best work when we're doing rock music, that's the only reason we do what we do.  That being said, I like the white stripes a lot, I think his lyrics are great and his songs are fun to listen to.

 

* Which CD can we find at your stereo at the moment?

 

Hmmm, some local Atlanta bands: the Tom Collins, dropsonic. Other than that there's some Misfits for fun, a band called Shiner (an amazing record, 'the egg', which can be found on amazon.com, I think..) for psychedelic freak outs, and AC/DC's High Voltage for driving really really fast.

 

* Are you living your dream right now or do you have any other dreams?

 

Right now my dream is to make a record that will outlast myself.

 

* What is the best thing about being a "rock star"?

 

You get to make music all the time.  Free beer.

 

* What is the biggest challenge of doing what you're doing and did you come across some bad experiences?

 

Definitely starting out.  That's the good thing about being young and foolish; you don't ever know what you're up against.  Getting signed as rock band and getting on the radio is so frickin impossible sometimes.  I'm glad I was stupid enough to keep on with it.

 

* What is the most important message that you try to bring through your music?

 

Hmmm…I can't ever lie in any of my lyrics, so I guess truth.  The good and the bad is all art and part of the human experience.

 

* Why is there a prenatal advisory sticker on your CD? Is that because of "Bullet"?

 

Yep, just one 'if you see kay' and you're the same as gangsta rap, funny, huh?

 

* How important is the connection with fans for you?

 

If I make a connection with someone through my music, then I've accomplished my goal.  When someone lets me know that, it's pretty satisfying.

 

* Do you have any words for your fans in Israel?

 

the courage that most ordinary people have in your part of the world to just go on with daily living in the face of so much turmoil is, well, astounding and inspiring.

 

So, that's about it guys and girls. I think you got the message and that you'll run and buy their album and you'll enjoy it just like I still do.

 

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