Djinn
Los Angeles, California, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
usician Spotlight: DJINN
Meet DJINN, a Los Angeles-area band with three members hailing from Lancaster, SC. All four members were kind enough to sit down for an interview; their new online EP is scheduled for release by the end of April, and another album is already in the works.
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Describe your sound:
JASON: We think we have an alternative sound but we leave it to the listener to decide... Paper Pills, Deftones, Pantera, Radiohead, Soundgarden, The Doors, Miles Davis, Evol Intent, Fall of Troy, Pink Floyd, Capstone, Tool, Nine Inch Nails, The Mars Volta, Rage Against the Machine, Rick James.
So– who does what?
DANIEL: Vocal/Guitarist __JASON: Drums
BARNABY: Bass Guitar ___RUSS: Keyboards
Tell us the brief history of your band:
RUSS: We formed in '99, moved to Los Angeles and have been playing the LA scene since 2004.
DANIEL: Eight years wrapped up in a sentence. Good job!
What prompted the move from South Carolina to California?
JASON: If you want to make it in the music industry, you can't do it in Lancaster / SC.
Is everybody in the band from the Lancaster, SC area?
DANIEL: No. Barnaby is from Santa Monica, CA. The rest of us are all from Lancaster.
Any sordid tales of teenage angst?
RUSS: I have nothing. My youth was pretty happy.
DANIEL: We were the quiet children.
JASON: Not really.
What are your thoughts on the state of the record industry? Is it good or bad for striving artists?
BARNABY: Horrible.
JASON: It isn't as good because the labels aren't taking as many chances on new acts.
RUSS: The recording industry itself is definitely in a bad state, but there is a lot of untapped potential with digital distribution that the music world is just beginning to explore. With enough time, the current business model will, hopefully, evolve to incorporate the internet in creative ways.
DANIEL: What Russ said.
Where can we find your music / book the band? Our website & MySpace profile (direct booking inquiries to: booking@djinnband.com)
Are you currently working on any new material?
BAND: We have just finished recording an online-only EP. It is in the process of being mixed and mastered. We expect to have it completed and ready for release by the end of April. We are also working on another release of all new material that we hope to have recorded and ready by the end of '08.
Any crazy band stories?
BAND: A lot of the experiences that we've had in LA have been very exciting. Getting the opportunity to play the MTV2 LA Battle Projekt in front of members of Linkin Park and Rob from the TV show 'Rob and Big' was a huge moment. It was at the Roxy in front of a sold-out crowd and the energy was insane.
- www.29seven20.com
Rock band with local ties hopes for MTV gig
By Johnathan Ryan – Reporter
A Los Angeles band with local roots is trying to benefit from its large network of fans to win a MTV 2 contest.
Djinn, an alternative rock band with three members from Lancaster County, is looking to get enough nationwide votes to be considered to play on the MTV New Year's Eve celebration show in New York City.
"We're really getting into it for the further exposure," said former Lancaster resident Daniel Ghent, Djinn's lead singer.
The band was in sixth place in the Los Angeles region on Wednesday, with nearly 57,000 votes. That was about 2,000 shy of fifth-place band No More Kings.
Djinn has to be in the top five in order to be considered by MTV judges to play on the show and represent the Los Angeles area.
Other cities will also have winners representing them on the show.
Ghent's sister, Mica Jones, who still lives here, suggests that local people vote for the band. She and her family have done so, and hope others will do the same.
"I've probably voted a couple hundred times," she said, laughing.
MTV's New Year's Eve show is one of the most-watched television bashes on the national holiday.
"They're going for that national exposure," Jones said.
Of late, Ghent said his band is balancing its time playing shows in California with recording a new EP, which will consist of five or six songs that will likely be completed early next year.
He said the songs will be more intricate, both lyrically and musically, than past efforts, and reflect the band's further artistic development.
Voting for the MTV 2 contest can be done online through Sunday.
Jones said to go to www.mtv2ontherise.com/contest/nye/la/ to cast votes for Djinn.
You may also check out Djinn's Myspace page at www.myspace.com/djinnband.
Other local members of Djinn are Russ Harper and Jason Avant.
The band developed a following after performing on the Charlotte music scene after it was formed in 1999.
Members of the band moved to Los Angeles about four years ago to pursue their dream of gaining a larger audience and a recording contract.
Contact Johnathan Ryan
at 416-8416 or
jryan@thelancasternews.com
- The Lancaster News
Discography
Djinn has 2 EPs for sale physically and through digital distribution channels, Itunes and Amazon.
Relic, a 4-song EP containing re-recorded and mixed fan favorites from the last 10 years, was released in August of 2008. The single from that EP, "The Earth", receives streaming radio play on Jango.com.
Ruinstar will be released digitally on October 10th, 2010. It contains 3 brand new, fully mastered, top-quality recordings. Djinn is actively touring to promote and support this new EP. A fan-made video for the song "Something on the Wing" has already received a great response from the bands internet fan base. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es_ZQD7-oEc&sns=em)
Everything Always, and Pawns are Queens were both played on MTV2 when Djinn competed in the "LA Battle Projekt" contest developed and hosted by Linkin Park. That video featured E.A. and was shown on Time Warner's OnDemand channel for 4 months. The show was also advertised on Network channels; including MTV and TNT. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gul2bfBdlH0)
Djinn has many more demos and live songs that do not have an official release. They are capable of playing nearly 2 hours of live music, should the need arise.
Photos
Bio
Djinn, an alternative rock band based in Southern California lives it's music with an intensity and determination that is hard to match. The band has a passion for creation, using music as a way to explore another state of connectedness and understanding. With influences ranging from the calm, multi-layered experience of Pink Floyd to the intense aggression of bands such as Deftones, Djinn has a unique ability to draw fans of nearly any type of music.
Industry professionals who have heard Djinn have nothing but respect for what they are capable of. Reviewers, producers, even fellow musicians all agree that Djinn is writing unique music that stands out in the current flood of indistinguishable bands. Since they arrived in Los Angeles, Djinn has shared the stage with many well-known local and national acts, such as Snot, OneSideZero, Fair to Midland, and Opus Dai.
"Djinn blew me away from the moment I heard them. They are a band that is pushing the envelope constantly, a kick in the ass for this very stagnant music scene." - Christian Hernandez of OneSideZero
Djinn formed in late 1999 in the city of Lancaster, South Carolina. They spent many years playing the Charlotte music scene and eventually became one of the more recognized bands in the area. Despite seeing great success in their home town, Djinn wanted to push their limits even further. With this desire in mind, they moved to Los Angeles in 2004.
In 2006, they caught the attention of Christian Hernandez, the bass player for OneSideZero and independent producer. He enjoyed the music so much, he went on to help Djinn record many demos for free, as well their first EP, titled Relic, for release on Itunes in 2008.
In 2007, Djinn gained wider national attention due to its appearance in the finals of the battle of the bands known as the L.A. Battle Projekt. There it performed in front of a celebrity judges panel containing members of Linkin Park, Styles of Beyond, as well as Rob Dyrdek, the professional skateboarder, and Danny Wimmer of Atlantic Records. Although they did not win the grand prize, the band left a strong impression on the judges and has had some interest from major and indie labels.
In 2008, Djinns Relic EP gained the attention of, both, Stephen Perkins and Dave Navarro of Janes Addiction. They both praised the music on their public radio shows, even going so far as to draw parallels between one of the songs and Led Zeppelins "Stairway to Heaven".
"That's a serious rock anthem. Great bass playing, an emotional vocal performance. It was like a song that had building blocks to to get bigger and bigger and bigger in a strange way like Stairway to Heaven from Led Zeppelin..." - Stephen Perkins of Janes Addiction
Djinn signed with indie label Planet L.A. Records and MusicBox Publishing library in fall 2010. The band completed its new EP "Ruinstar" scheduled for release October 10, 2010, further expanding their recorded music catalog. Djinn is preparing to begin touring in support of it. Now, with the support of a strong indie label, Djinn is poised to explode onto the music scene. The one certainty for 2011, and many years to come, is that Djinn will still be here, writing and playing with undying passion.
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