Manntis
Words: Nikki -
Words: Nikki -
Southern California is home to a fine band called Manntis. I stumbled upon their music a little while back and decided an interview was needed. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to the mixed sounds of "Shades of Hatred" and a power sander. This past week, I was in touch with bassist Clint Gregory, I asked some questions, he answered them, a couple of days later here I am writing the article. Thrilling process, eh?
Manntis started out in 2000, they had a different line up back then. Four years into their career and we find them with the five members they have now. Jake, Jeremy, Adair, Clint, and Jimmie.
So, why? Why is Manntis here? Manntis is around for one simple reason: love for music. They live it, they breathe it, they feel it flowing through their veins. It'd probably be their favourite food, you know…if it were possible to eat sound waves. The point is, music consumes them. What does Clint do when he isn't working on Manntis projects? Go to shows, listen to music, talk about music, think about it, possibly even dream about it.
Why should you (yes you) listen to them? I can't tell you what to do, but I highly recommend giving them a listen. For a while, I listened to them for most of my writing day. When I asked Clint to describe what mantis sounded like, he replied, "Brutal, emotional, extreme, and explosive." That's a pretty generic answer, give you somewhat of a sense of sound. But then, he went on to continue with, "The kind of shit that makes you want to crush someone's skill, and then go home and make sweet love to your lady." Being a straight lady myself, I'm just going to leave that last sentence alone. However, I do agree with the first part. If you like the heavier stuff (but not too heavy) and still like to have it hit you on the emotional, and personal level, check them out, it's two clicks of a mouse (okay, maybe three.)
While we're on the topic of their sound. I'd like to mention that they are currently in the studio recording (no, really) for their C.D entitled "Sleep in your grave." Which will be out in the early months of 2005. Of course, with studio time, usually comes the song writing process. It can be a very gruelling process, especially if everyone in the band is so different. The technicalities of it weren't shared, but Clint did say," A song doesn't work unless we rip it apart and put it back together." Now, I may be jumping to conclusions here, but I can see them drawing lines on the floor, and telling each other to "stay on their side." Okay maybe not, but it would make song writing a little more interesting, and memorable for that matter.
I asked "What does Manntis want out of all of this?" Basically, all they want is for people to listen to them. They want your attention, just for three minutes. Enough time to clean off the window you see the world through, it's not like they want to re-decorate your kitchen, just clean the window a little, maybe add a curtain. Just enough for you to even briefly see something different when you look out that window every morning. Then you can decide if you want to smash the window open, and join them, or stay home and feed the cat. Speaking of design. Promotional material can really make a band why they are. And Manntis takes it all very seriously. They push themselves, to their limits
They're currently battling to be on Ozzfest 2005. They cancelled some of their tourdates so they could head out to Hollywood for the tryouts. Hopefully those cancelled showed will get them on the bill.