IndiePulse Interviews: The Infection

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Joseph Timmons in Exclusive Interview, featured, Featured Artists / Bands, Featured Content, Featured Labels, Featured Record Stores, Interviews, news // 0 Comments

Forming just two years ago, New York City’s The Infection has quickly infiltrated the hard rock scene with their heavy modern grooves and accessible hooks and melodies. Now, after teaming up with renowned Engineer Anthony Rocky Gallo (John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, The Cult), they released their debut single “Consequences” on Friday, February 15 and will soon launch their full album Time To Heal Friday, March 8th.

Featuring veteran musicians Rick Dunn (Vocals), Tommy Guarnieri (Guitar), Santiago Helman (Bass) and Vinnie LaRocca (Drums), The Infection describes their songs as “hard rock with meaning” and according to Dunn, they always strive to connect with their fans on multiple levels.

“We want our fans to relate and feel the life experiences of the band through its lyrics, melody, riffs and grooves,” said Dunn. “You know, in life one is never always angry or always happy. People have ups and downs and we write music that reflects those same emotional swings, giving fans something to grab on to.”

This raw emotion that is conveyed throughout the writing was brought to life in the studio thanks to Gallo’s precise recording style and unique perspective on the project.

“Recording with Rocky was a lot different than we had experienced in other studios previously,” said Dunn. “He preferred to record the song over and over and use the best takes, rather than going back and fixing individual parts. We weren’t really sure what to make of this at first, but in the end, this really helped us create a great product that sounds both polished and raw at the same time.”

In conjunction with the single, the band has also released the video for “Consequences” on the date of release. Directed by Eric DiCarlo (SquareUp Studios), the video puts a spotlight on current news events with the underlying message that “you reap what you sow”.

“We can all find something we’ve done where we’ve had to pay the consequences,” said Dunn. “And every day there is a new scandal or corruption breaking in the news. As our first single, I hope ‘Consequences’ resonates with fans and gives them a glimpse into who we are as a band.”

IndiePulse Music Magazine has been granted time for an exclusive interview, with everything going on, we are very grateful for the time, this band is moving and shaking, and definitely shaking up the music scene.

IPM: Tell Us About the band members, and of your chemistry and about your experiences.

Rick Dunn (Vocals): We’re a heavy rock band at heart. We tend to infuse accessible hooks and melodies with a modern rock sound and while you can definitely pick up on some of our influences in our music we tend to have a sound that’s both unique and familiar at the same time. The songs on the album vary in rock style and intensity but they have the cohesive sound of ‘The Infection’.

The lineup consists of myself, Rick Dunn on Vocals, Tommy Guarnieri on Guitar, Santiago Helman on Bass and Vinnie LaRocca on Drums.

We all get along really well – though we do follow two rules that keep us from tearing each other’s throats out. No talk of politics and no talk of religion. We all have our viewpoints and agree to disagree.

We poke fun at one another pretty regularly and have a good laugh at each other’s expense. No one is safe.

We also really enjoy performing together live, and feed off each other’s energy.

IPM: What inspired you to write music like you do?

Santiago Helman: We just wanted to create great heavy rock music and have fun doing it. We’re really passionate about our music so writing and enjoying what we’re doing comes naturally. We don’t follow a particular formula or try to emulate other bands, though we can’t really escape having hints of our various influences show up here and there. We allow ourselves to experiment and then reign ourselves in to only include things that make sense to the song. That’s pretty much what created our sound.

Rick: The inspiration for each song comes from all over. “Vagrant,” for example (track 7 off the full-length album Time to Heal) was inspired by a homeless man I passed on the street. I got to thinking about what his story might be and the lyrics wrote themselves. “The Brave” (Track 3) is a tribute to anyone who has had the courage to wear the uniform and defend our country and its citizens.

IPM: What are or were some of the challenges for you in producing or performing while keeping true to your vision of your music?

Tommy Guarnieri: First and foremost, we’re a tight, live heavy rock band. Modern technology is great and can make for an easier recording experience but it can also be a double edged sword. It’s really easy to get carried away in the studio with layers upon layers of tracks and tricks that sound awesome on record, but then you wind up sacrificing much of that later on. We didn’t want the album to be over produced with tracks that can’t be reproduced and played live. Almost anything can be manipulated in a studio setting, but when we’re writing and recording we always have the performance of a song in mind. This way when you listen to the album, you have (what we hope) is a good idea of what we sound like live and vice versa.

Vinnie LaRocca: When performing, each venue brings different challenges. Every room sounds a little different and we make adjustments as we go. We don’t always get a sound check so we have to trust each other. The sound engineers are different as well and we have to work with them to make sure we get the best mix that we can. When we start the show, the band is focused on performing at the highest level. This is our vision.

IPM: Tell us about some of your recent shows / performances. Anything that stands out, or is there anything that you feel makes for an exciting highlight.

Rick: Generally speaking, we’ve been extremely pleased with our live performances. Each has been a success in its own right, though we always take away something we can try to improve upon.

We played a show this past Sunday with Crazy Town. And though we hadn’t officially released the album yet, we decided we’d bring a limited number of albums to the show to sell. Well, after a killer set we literally sold out of CDs. Definitely a great feeling, especially in the digital world where most of us don’t even have a CD player (laughs). And even better when we were asked to autograph some of them.

IPM: Any Albums coming out soon or shows you are looking to promote?

Well, the single ‘Consequences’ that just launched on Feb. 15^th that can be found online at Spotify and Apple Music, the full album will be available everywhere online on March 8^th as well. Physical copies will be available directly from us at GetTheInfection.com, Amazon, CD Baby and select music stores

IPM: Any “strange tales” or things that may have happened during a show that seemed too weird to be true?

Vinnie: Just recently, we had finished our set and I went to relieve myself in the smallest bathroom I have seen in a while. I was standing behind a guy just waiting my turn. I could clearly see that he had more than his share of cocktails. I was standing back as far as possible in this tiny space, due to the fact that he was pissing two feet back from the urinal and wobbling. Then the guy begins to fall backwards towards me. I put my arm right in his back to keep him from falling on me, all the while he was still pissing all over the floor. (laughs) It could have been worse.

IPM: Where do you see your music going, where would you like to be in the near future, goals, dreams and passions?

Rick: My future dreams, goals, passions? Madison Square Garden!

Of course, I also want people to know our songs. There’s no better feeling in the world than having someone know the words to your song, or share a story of where they were at the time they were listening to your album… you know, like a soundtrack to part of someone’s life. A soundtrack would be nice too. I can hear our song “Consequences” being played during a hockey game when someone goes to the penalty box, or perhaps “I Hate to Lose”.

Tommy: Three words – Rock in Rio

IPM: What would you like our readers to know about you?

Tommy: That we’re honest and sincere. Whether listening to the album or seeing us live, it’s apparent that there’s no B.S. or gimmicks involved. Our music is heartfelt and genuine and we don’t write music just for the sake of writing the quintessential “hit” or something that we feel is necessarily going to be commercially successful. Obviously as artists we hope that as many people as possible connect with our music, but we don’t write just to serve our egos. Everything has to serve the song first and foremost in order to convey an honest message. The songs we write aren’t just three chord pop tunes, yet on the flip side, they’re not overly technical for the purpose of being flashy or ego driven either.

IPM: Where can our readers find your music?