INTERVIEW – Ivan David (Opensight)
Published on October 23, 2010 by Christian Sellers · No Comments
Opensight first formed in Bogotá, Colombia, in 2002 and describe their sound as ‘progressive heavy metal,’ citing the likes of Opeth as inspiration. The band’s current line-up consists of singer/guitarist Ivan David, guitarist Carlos Gomez and drummer Giovanny Niño.
Their debut release was Prosthetic Soul, which gained acclaim from the Latin Rolling Stone, and they recently followed it up with this year’s The Voice of Nothing.
Ivan David talks about touring with Opensight.
What is the last thing that you do before you walk out onto a stage and how do you prepare yourself for a show?
“It depends on the venue, but we try to always do a soundcheck and warmup before going onstage. Sometimes this is not possible because of schedule conflicts, but we try to make sure everything is laid out properly and deal with every problem we may face. We also like to be well rehearsed. You always feel a bit nervous before a show, but if you’re well rehearsed everything will go smoothly and you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more.”
Is there a specific style of guitar that you favour and do you have one in particular than you enjoy playing the most?
“I’ve always been inclined to playing styles that favour the music, that serve the song and its intention. Showing off with lots of notes and technical skills is not that interesting in the long run. It’s important to be proficient technically, but good ideas are the most important thing. I really enjoy playing songs with contrasts, that’s why Opensight has this mixture of heavy/mellow parts going on.”
How do you songs usually come together? Are they a collaborative effort or does one of you usually bring an idea to the other members of the band?
“I get a lot of inspiration from movie soundtracks and other musical pieces that have a vibe or create a dramatic effect that I want to emulate. So when I get something interesting on the guitar I usually record the parts, tracking guitars and programming drum patterns in order to get a well rounded idea of what I want. After the song is done the band gets together in rehearsal for modifications and arrangements.”
What is the largest tour that you have done to date and how do you cope with surviving on the road?
“Touring opportunities are not that common down here, mostly because of distances, roads, budgets and the kind of music we play. We’ve travelled to other major cities and it’s been quite an experience meeting other bands, meeting new people and so on. I’d love to start working as a fulltime touring musician and enter the record/tour/break routine, but it’s very difficult with the facilities and music business structure in which we are functioning.”
The internet has allowed a new generation of musicians to publicise their work without the support of a major label, yet file sharing is making it difficult for artists to make a serious living out of music. How do you feel about the internet’s role in the modern industry?
“That’s a tough question, since there are a lot of implications regarding the internet. For us, it’s been a great tool though. We wouldn’t have contact with a lot of people without it, and our presence on the web is very important in order to promote our music, shows and merchandise (we wouldn’t be doing this interview without the web, actually). On the other hand, mp3 files have become the main thing so everyone expects to get music for free, there’s an overflowing of bands and people nowadays don’t have time to pay attention to all the music that’s out there. Right now music is being associated with movies, videogames and other media in order to “survive”, which I find positive. Musicians should branch out and collaborate with filmmakers, game developers and other artists. We as musicians must come up with stuff that’s special and more interesting.”
Do you feel that Opensight has been an easy group to market, having to create your own press kits to attract attention from music fans and critics? Do you find that people often want to simply categorise you alongside other bands and fit you neatly into a genre?
“We’ve been fortunate to have friends with skills that help us with photos and video. I’ve been doing all the design and web stuff, which is instrumental in spreading the word about Opensight. Nowadays musicians need to be aware of all the other things that need to be done in order to grow as a band. Music is just the first step. We are not marketing experts in any way, and I think is important to learn a lot about it or hook up with someone who understands our music and how to market it properly.
People always want to place bands inside genres, and that works if you want to market a band, but with Opensight people have a hard time placing us inside any of the numerous rock and metal subgenres that exist. I’d like to think that we’re really going towards an authentic sound and identity, but we should be able to find other likeminded musicians and bands to play with and build a “scene”, and that’s been difficult.”
Out of all your songs, which do you enjoy performing the most and which are you most proud of?
“That changes with time. Right now I would say Absolute Truth is very fun to play live because of the drastic changes of the song, but regarding songwriting I felt very good coming up with Deleted Scene. It has some daring arrangements and a cool soundtrack vibe going on. I wanted the guitar intro to sound like Nancy Sinatra’s Bang Bang (not very “loud”, I know.. hehe…) and we got something different, but with the right atmosphere that I wanted to achieve.”
Are there any specific festivals or events that you hope to play in the future and what is your single greatest achievement to date?
“Like I said, I would love to play as much as possible and really enter into a touring routine/environment. Nothing specific regarding festivals really, I want to make the right steps and grow. I think that the band remaining active and putting out a second record after all the stuff that’s been going on is an achievement in itself. I feel very good with the songs on The Voice Of Nothing and I hope is a step in the right direction.
Thanks a lot for the interview. Keep it LOUD and check out our stuff at http://www.opensightband.com“
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