Johnny Van Rompu

Story

In some weird way after losing my right hand due to an accident I decided I wanted to persue a music career. So I bought a Bassguitar, I learned to play it despite of my handicap. through coincidence i ended up as a drummer for my first "real" band. we sucked balls. haha. through a friend a joined a death metal band called Death's Bride until 2001 and later I started a band called Leech 54 (2001 - 2006)and Downward (2014 -2019). Currently I am the Singer for a band called Catharsis.

Profile

• Singer
• Drummer

Instruments

• Vocals
• Drums

Genres

• Metal
• Punk
• Rock
• Hip_hop

Influences

• Lemmy
• James Hetfield
• Max Cavalera
• Chuck Billy
• Dave Lombardo
• Paul Bostaph
• Lars Ulrich

Equipment

• Shure Sm58
• Mapex Drums
• Paiste Cymbals
• Zildjian Cymbals
• Millenium Cymbals
• Vic Firth Nova Drumsticks

Languages

• English

What is music to you? What does it give you?

Music is a means to escape life. It has always been my way to vent frustrating about life in general and my to express my view on life and the world nowadays.

What is your music dream?

I lived the dream with my former bands "Death's Bride" and "Leech 54" Now I just play for fun and the love of music. I'd still like to perform once a month, the mind is strong but the body tells me it aint 20 no more.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

I'd start by taking down the rich and share the wealth among everyone.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

That would be Escape - Metallica, for a long time that was my personal soundtrack.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Too many to mention but here are a few: Metallica, Overkill, Testament, (old) Sepultura, Exodus, but also Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Tupac and Eminem

What inspires you to make music?

My life and this fucked up world we live in.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

No message really, I just want to create nice but rentlessly heavy or brutal music for people to enjoy.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Invigorated. I enjoy the interaction with the fans.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

The glory days from when musiclabels ruled the world is gone. There are so many possibilities nowadays to promote thyself, it's insane. But it is also harder for bands to release and record albums professionally, cuz it's bloody expensive. Everyone can become a home producer and releases stuff over the WWW. Improve?... Don't know. Local scenes could get and deserve more attention.

What do you think of Drooble?

Looks cool at first glance, still discovering all the possibilities.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

Not getting things done that way I want it.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

Yes, i go to shows when possible and I run a FB-page called "Belgian Metal Underground" for belgian bands to promote themselves.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Persistence.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Got an hour? ok, here we go: Exoto, Hell City, Voidian, Corpse mutilation, Emperors of Decay,...there are so many unkown awesome bands in Belgium

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