Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Lead Vocals
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Guitars
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Bass
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Drums
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Poon Destroyer
- Federico ‘Freddy’ Spera: Producer
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Crejuvent? How long has the band been around?
I’ve been playing in bands for several years now. My first band was Tasered, a metal band based in Maastricht, the Netherlands. I then joined Tystnad in Brussels and that’s where I met Max Fuchs, who I still play bass for in his recordings. When I moved to the UK I studied music where I played with countless artists and bands: Helena Johnson, Desparate Forben, Mari Hajem, Chanel Samson, Shoa, amongst other session work. I joined Novacrow in 2013 who I’m still playing with and producing, I produced Kryocell and Exhumation’s debut albums (both winners of Liverpool’s Metal 2 the Masses competition) and joined Kryocell on vocals briefly whilst their singer was out of action, and I produced Tigerpunch’s demo CD. Now I’m still gigging with Novacrow, do all the work behind Crejuvent, do session/function work, I’m starting a proggy country-ish band with some friends, and am in the talks of joining another band.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
I was playing scrabble with a friend and accidentally came up with the word. It was too cringy a word to not use it, so I stuck with it! I haven’t changed it yet, but maybe one day I will. Who knows.
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
I write all the songs. Generally, the themes will be about crippling existentialism or abstract concepts, whatever is bothering me at the time really. I don’t really like limiting myself to just one thing, so the topics are always changing. There are only so many songs you can write about the elusiveness of time, you know?
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
A lot of the music in Crejuvent is influenced by bands such as Strapping Young Lad, Gojira, Obscura, the heavier stuff in general. I’m getting super into Car Bomb and Steven Wilson recently, I can definitely imagine them being an influence in my next release.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Nope, I just wanted to get my music out there. Otherwise I’ll have spent all that time writing and recording those songs just for myself, and that seems selfish.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, ect …
None of that. If I’m about to play a particularly technical set then maybe I’ll warm up a bit for 10-15 minutes, but that never happens. I just try to limit how much I have to drink before hand, does that count as preparation?
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
I had some dude in Germany hate the living hell out of the EP, which I thought was amazing! He wrote the most brutal review I ever read, and when I shared it on Facebook he actually replied very politely, which was nice. But knowing I’m already on my way to having people hate my music so much means there’s going to be someone out there who is going to love the everloving shit out of it! Easily the biggest highlight of the band’s career!
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
I think touring with Type O Negative back in the days would have been incredibly fun. I remember seeing a documentary about them and their touring life (might have been some bonus content on one of their albums or something) and it looked like they caused all sorts of shenanigans! Touring with someone like Gwar looks like it would be fun as all hell!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Hell yeah, thanks for the little interview! Now that your readers are at the end, they can close this tab, go to facebook, type Crejuvent, and hit that little like button! Check out the new Time EP on all the usual places and help me fund my crippling cynicism!