Bullet to the Heart
Interview conducted on April 26, 2022
By Dan Locke
Alt-Metal/Hard Rock band Bullet to the Heart’s new album Transcendence is out now!
“Transcendence is the epitome of wanting more for ones self but falling short. There will always be something trying to hold you back. With perseverance, time, and the support of others, nothing can stop you. From the first song to the last there is a voice pushing you forward, making sure you achieve the greatest version of yourself. Even though darkness lurks around the corner, the smallest of lights can create the brightest stars” says the band’s vocalist Audrey Queen.
After facing life’s trials firsthand, Chicago 4 Piece Alt-Metal/Hard Rock band Bullet to the Heart was inspired to write music to help others through the issues that challenged them; mental illness, addiction, and personal identity. Their studio music demonstrates the range, technique, and song writing ability that has been played on world-renowned radio stations and has been featured on Spotify and Apple music playlists. A local favorite, the band is taking the next step, sharing their message and music with the world. Bullet to the Heart plans to use their dynamic live show, highlighted by distinctive guitar and vocal techniques, energetic rhythms and uplifting stage performance that has earned the praise of their dedicated fan group, “The Bloodline”, with a larger audience.
Bullet To The Heart is
Audrey Queen
Draven DC
Brian Benischek
Tom Monroe
How did you discover music
· Draven: I came out of the womb listening to music, when I was a day old my parents had me listening to disturbed, Lincoln Park and Slipknot. Naturally I developed an affinity for rock music.
· Audrey: My mom was always going to concerts, even when she was pregnant with me, so naturally as I grew older she showed me all the music that she loved and grew to love with me.
· Tom: I was introduced to music by my older brother, he introduced me to grunge and metal music when we were in our teens. Although he is not a musician, he still sends me new music to listen to frequently
How do you start writing music
· Draven: When I was 14 my school hosted a battle of tbe bands and required at least three original songs. So me and a group of friends got together and wrote three originals.
· Audrey: From the time I was young, I knew I wanted to be a rockstar, specifically a frontman of a band, but never knew how to start being a musician. When I was 14 my mom signed me up for choir and from there on I searched for a band, found one, and put my passion for writing lyrics and singing into that
· Tom: Brian and I started writing music together in our first band when we were in high school
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How did your band form?
Group: Brian and Tom had been playing music together since high school. about 6 years ago Brian was the opening act for Audrey and Dravens project at the time, who announced on stage that they were looking for a new guitar and bass player. We started working together shortly thereafter.
How did you get your bands name?
Group: We previously went under a different name that we didn’t like. During the writing of our first album, we wrote the lyric, “I took a bullet straight through the heart and it ricocheted to you”, and we’re inspired to make it our band name. Which became Bullet To The Heart
Our music is modern hard rock/Alternative metal with gothic undertones and a twist!
What was your first performance at like?
Our first performance was opening for Dear Deadly at their album release for “It’s not over yet, which was at the Subterranean in Chicago. The show went great, Dear Deadly introduced us to the Chicago local scene. And the Subterranean continued to play a big role in our bands history.
Does your band belong to a songwriting agency:
Yes
What makes a good songwriter:
A good songwriter bases their music with authentic thoughts and feelings.
What was the title of your first original song:
Our first song as a band was “Locked Inside”, it was also the first song we recorded and released.
What is the process writing your music:
Brian- It usually starts with me writing riffs and building skeletons of songs and Audrey picks the ones that inspire her and then we take it to the group
Tell me about your single Decay:
Decay talks about wanting to be with someone on a deeper level but finding it difficult to truly open up. With both sides not willing to commit there is a final push in the chorus to show that, no matter who you are in the world, everyone is facing something deep within themselves. We are all the same. We are all connected as one.
Why did you pick Akash to do the video for Decay:
Group- We have worked with Akash since our first video, he understands our creativity and shares our goals. He has done all of our videos. I can always make the most out of every thought and idea that we have tried to use someone else one time and it did not work very well
What’s the idea behind the wedding:
The idea behind the wedding is love. We wanted to share our experience with our friends, family and Bloodline, especially since covid limited our ability to share our experiences with our fans.
What was the idea behind the rumbling:
The band bonds over watching anime together and really liked the song Attack on Titan and was inspired to play it. And make it our own
How was it to record Transcendence:
It was a tedious, elongated and difficult experience that brought us together as a band. It was the hardest thing to do because it was right in the middle of covid and besides going through our own trials we had to find creativity in the darkness
Favorite song:
Tom- Decay, Audrey- Mirage, Brian- Tortured pleasure Draven- Falling Away
What are your feelings about streaming:
so a lot of people don’t like this but I feel like you reach audiences you normally wouldn’t reach due to streaming everyone is so worried about making money through their music they forget that there is an entire business attached so that side of the product via merch everyday collector items etc. I’m not saying you shouldn’t get paid more but there are some bands that ignore this tool completely and don’t want to use it or promote it, it has proven to us again and again that a lot of our Outreach is from streaming platforms.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
Hashtag- I don’t think that anyone outside of music probably knows that. And we dont personally have an opinion on it
Digital/ Vinyl
Group- Digital all day
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
No, I believe people want live experiences even more after being deprived for two years.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Has covid been a plus to your career: No
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
both writing music and dealing with Depression.
Who designed your mask:
Paul Johnson Audrey and Dravens tattoo artist how old is also does all of our merchandise and all of our artwork
How did you stay healthy during lockdown:
Tom- I drank a six pack of cider every day to maintain my vitality
Draven: What lockdown? I worked everyday.
Brian: I laid in bed and was sad
Have you rediscovered any new hobbies:
Brian- I played Elden Ring for like a month.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, then you Omicron, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music.
How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
Security and safety as venues see fit
How was it to open up for September Mourning at the Forge in Chicago back in September?
September Mourning: The Forge is a great venue that treats us really well and we are always happy to play there.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Pay to play: Yes, and I wish we had the money to do it.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Hologram concerts: No, the interactive human experience is a key part of what makes concerts exciting, concerts are a chance for music fans to interact with each other and the bands.
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Brian- Doing what I’m doing now, but without doing music, Draven- If I wasn’t doing music I wouldn’t be alive. Audrey- I’d have another career I probably would have went to college instead of giving myself to music and risking it all
What is your happy place?
Music
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, John Legend, ZZ Top and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offering by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
On January 19, 2021 Hipgnosis Song Management acquired 80% of Kenny Chesney’s recorded music royalties, covering the country superstar’s discography from his 1994 debut In My Wildest Dreams through 2017’s Live in No Shoes Nation.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. In addition, it was not an easy thing for him to do. However, by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. Now he does not have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands, which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
If someone was willing to buy your music and you never had to work again would you do it: Yes then invest it in more music making haha
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
Spotify: It’s a double edged sword. Some bands will be drowned out by the mass of options, others will break through.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Tiktok
