Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Campbell.
Michael, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Satyr started as a bedroom project between myself and my friend Jack Tennant while we were living in the Georgia State dorms in 2016. We were jamming and writing a bunch of songs together for fun, and once we moved out of the dorms, we decided to start taking the project more seriously. We gave it a name and got a live lineup together to start gigging around Atlanta. We went through several different lineup changes in a short amount of time while keeping a constant schedule of small shows happening in the metro area. It was during this chaotic time that we found Calvin Cox as our bassist. A few months later, Jack got a study abroad opportunity in Japan, which would force him to leave Atlanta for a year. So we decided it would be best for Jack to leave, and our good mutual friend Brody Smith replaced him just before he moved. A few weeks later, Calvin introduced us to a friend of a friend Janald Long, who soon auditioned and joined as our new vocalist/guitarist. We were initially looking for just a vocalist after our previous vocalist abruptly quit one day, and JD expressed interest in joining. He came to our place to audition on vocals, and we asked him to join that day. Then he started noodling on my guitar and casually revealed how talented he was on that instrument as well, leading us to ask him to play guitar as well. With this lineup solidified, we recorded our EP “Neutrino!” with Corey Bautista at his home studio in Stone Mountain. We toured the eastern US a lot in support of this EP, all while writing songs that would end up on our full length Locus, which we recorded with Corey in mid 2019. We just released Locus as our debut full length project.
Has it been a smooth road?
The main obstacle, in the beginning, was trying to find a solid lineup. It took the better part of a year to go through ten or so members and end up as the four pieces we are today. Another constant challenge is simply scheduling events around the busy lives of four people, which can be daunting no matter what type of business you are running.
Honestly, aside from early member issues and difficulty in scheduling events, the ride has been fairly smooth. It’s been a long and fairly slow grind, but we are very excited to see where we can go in the next 12 months.
Please tell us about your music.
Satyr is a progressive post-hardcore/progressive metal band from Atlanta, GA. We specialize in tight jams and sick riffs. We are most proud of our recent debut full length record Locus. I think what sets us apart from others is those said sick riffs.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think the music industry is going to continue to change rapidly. Everything is shifting towards diversifying your brand and putting a lot more emphasis on your online/social media presence. It’s no longer enough to be a good band with good songs. You also have to have good videos, good social media posts, engaging and consistent content. You have to engage with your fans as often as they engage with you, etc. It’s so much easier to reach your fans directly, and I think people should continue taking advantage of that. Social media, as a whole, is slowly obsoleting the label business model. For the most part, at the point in the industry, anything a label can offer an artist that artists can do themselves if they take the initiative. Labels and managers and whoever else are no longer looking to ‘discover’ talent. They are looking for artists that have already proven to be talented and popular. They are looking for artists that are already doing well and then try to hop on the bandwagon. At this point, the labels need the artists more than the artists need the labels, which was not the case until maybe 7-8 years ago. So overall, I think we are going to be seeing more and more independently successful artists.
Pricing:
- Locus CD $10
- Locus Vinyl preorder $25
- All shirts $20
- Socks $10
Contact Info:
- Website: www.satyratl.com
- Email: booking@satyratl.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/satyratl
- Facebook: facebook.com/satyratl
- Twitter: twitter.com/satyratl
- Other: youtube.com/satyratl
Image Credit:
album art by slumberspeak.com
pictures taken by Zak Waddle
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