Pomegranate Tiger have earned the bragging rights of being our first ever Artist of the Week! We have a FREE MERCH CONTEST for you to take advantage of and an in-depth interview with lead guitarist / extreme talent Martin Andres below. You can also read our full review of “Entites” right here and watch some videos of Martin doing what he does best down yonder.
We’re giving you the chance to win a FREE T-shirt and an autographed copy of Pomegranate Tiger’s album “Entities”!
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Martin Andres – We actually came up with the name by looking through a Salvador Dali book. We came across this one crazy painting called “Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening” and that’s where it derived from. We’ve always liked Dali and thought our music could represent the entire concept of surrealism in one way or another so it stuck. And also very strangely, it was the first band name that came up that not everyone hated haha.
Mike Thall – That’s awesome man. Salvador Dali is one of my favorites and I can definitely hear some of that surrealistic inspiration in your music. It’s obvious you’ve worked very hard on playing guitar. I have to say you’re one super talented dude. Furthermore, I’d say just about anyone who’s seen you play has been immediately impressed. How long have you been playing and how often do you practice?
Martin Andres – Thanks a lot! I’ve been playing guitar since I was 6 years old and actually started on classical guitar. I had 2 hours of private lessons a week until I finished high school and my parents made me practice 1 hour every day. I hated it at first until I started to notice I was getting pretty good. I’m 25 now so…yea I’ve been playing for a while. I haven’t seriously played the electric guitar until only about 5 years ago. I actually took a percussion performance degree at the University of Windsor because drumming is my true passion. J but Pomegranate Tiger and guitar comes in at a close 2nd for me. Currently my practicing is all over the place…I try to get a few hours in every day but sometimes go days without being able to grab my guitar. If I have time, I will practice/write for 12-16 hours a day.
Mike Thall – You don’t do too shabby on your second instrument. Any tips for aspiring stringsmen?
Martin Andres – Decide how good you want to be. From there the sky is the limit. The resources for becoming a better guitar/bass/anything player are endless now and have never been more accessible. If you truly want to be great at what you do, you have to sacrifice a lot for it.
Mike Thall – That’s the truth. And it’s obvious a good bit of sacrifice went into your recent debut “Entities”. Could you tell us a bit about that record?
Martin Andres – The songs on Entities are actually some of the first “prog” songs I’ve ever wrote. And it took a damn long time. 80% of Entities was written in 2011 and the beg of 2012, and the other 20% was written from 2008-2010. The record was actually finished in the early spring of 2012 but because of management/label opportunities we decided to look for a vocalist. When 2013 hit we said fuck it…Let’s do this instrumental. We’ve always felt at heart that this was a natural direction for us anyway.
Mike Thall – Do you have any favorite songs off the album? And could you tell us why?
Martin Andres – Many of the songs on Entities are a collection of riffs that were carefully crafted into hopefully some kind of artistic coherence. But the ones that have had further and deeper meaning to me have always been “The Ocean Trilogy”, “Sign of Ruin” and “Regenesis”. The Ocean has a specific storyline that I created and was the first time I actually wrote music to an actual storyline that created some imagery for me. Sign of Ruin is about Earth literally falling apart and the imagery that goes with that. And Regenesis is about the recreation of Earth over billions of years and the mysteries the future holds for it.
Mike Thall – How do you feel about the response to “Entities”?
Martin Andres – We can’t believe the response “Entities” has gotten and how fast the word is being spread. It’s totally mind blowing for all of us. We all worked EXTREMELY hard so it’s nice to see it all come back, but to see it actually happen is really an amazing feeling that we can’t believe is actually happening.
Mike Thall – You write some very interesting tunes, both musically and thematically. Just like you said, “The Ocean” trio is an example. What inspires your music?
Martin Andres – Haha kinda answered this already, but like I said The Ocean was the first piece of music that actually had further depth and meaning to me than a collection of sounds that we thought sounded cool. In short, the Ocean is about a big sea monster, and a white ship that battles it out and gets caught in a maelstrom only to find a golden portal when they get sucked in that takes them to a different world.
Mike Thall – You guys are currently unsigned. Do you plan on seeking a label or keeping up the do it yourself approach? And if you could be signed to any label, which would you choose?
Martin Andres – Depending what comes our way we are open to different ideas. We’ve been doing well on our own and Protest the Hero has definitely helped open the eyes of many DIY musicians as of late so we’ll see what happens I guess. We’ve always seen ourselves on Sumerian, Metal Blade, or Victory.
Mike Thall – What are your plans for the rest of 2013?
Martin Andres – We have MANY new things coming in 2013. Tabs, music videos, playthrough videos…bonus unreleased songs…and we are already working on new material. We are looking into touring and are definitely looking to hop on something if it comes our way.
Mike Thall – Sounds awesome. Any future music in the works?
Martin Andres – Many different concepts being thrown around already…the most recent is a double EP release by the end of 2013.
Mike Thall – Fun round – What would you do for a Klondike Bar?
Martin Andres – I’d be a back-up tambourinist for Justin Beiber.
Mike Thall – Damn. You must really like Klondike Bars haha. That’s all we have. Thanks for your time man. Do you have anything else you want to say or any shout outs to give?
Martin Andres – Thanks so much for having us be your first ever Artist of the Week! Shout out to EVERYONE who has helped support us through the release of this CD. We worked very hard on “Entities” and it is the best feeling in the world to see people enjoy it and directly support us. You guys/girls are the best!
