From an early age, Zyon and Igor began forming bands. One group,
Hell's Aliens was born and even went so far as to have shirts made.The boys were learning their
instruments.Zyon was attracted to
drums and making beats immediately, while Igor had to find his nitch.He was fluent playing bass, guitar, and
a bit in the future, drums also.He had a vast vocabulary and extremely developed memory, and began
throwing lyrics down on paper.His
drumming skills were amazing.Not
super powerful shoulder maestro-ing like Zyon, but precise drumbeats,
impeccable timing, comparable to using a click track...but not using one.We realized this on the CC tour when he
asked if he could play Troops of Doom, at a very young age.
Hell's Aliens
Hell's Aliens
2008 or 2009, Max and I went to the desert house for the weekend
and the boys asked if they could stay at the Phoenix home.We normally didn't do this but decided
to give them our trust and headed out.When we returned 2 days later, we walked in to a big surprise!The living room had been transformed
into a jam pad and the boys had a friend joining them on guitar!And you know what, my Students???They were good!I was totally blown away by the riffs
they were spewing out!
Time went by and the boys could not find a bass player.One day, their friend, Shea aka SHANKS
Fahey was chilling at the house and the boys looked at him and said, "F#@$
it!! You are playing bass!"Max promptly took Shanks in the back room and gave him a quick 10 minute
lesson and he came out a bass player!!He learned a couple riffs that day, good enough to grab him a spot on
the lineup!
Papos, the guitarist, knew a friend who could sing and we
brought him over for a tryout. This kid could scream, sing, jump in the air,
and was damn good looking!Perfect
for the vocalist!!
went to Guitar Center one day and bought a ton of soundproofing
and got busy making one of the bedrooms in to a jam room.It was tiny but served the purpose
well.
The band wrote enough music
to play a 20 minute set, so I snooped around town and got them on a few local
gigs.I learned quickly about
paying to play as I was handed large amounts of tickets to sell, for each
gig.I have loads of friends so
the ticket selling wasn't so bad actually.The frightening thing was the shows!!
Moldbreaker
Moldbreaker
Moldbreaker
Moldbreaker
Every show was total
insanity. Even Max was scared to see what would happen whenever the boys took
the stage. It took about 2 shows
and I had to replace all the gear!
Amps blown, cymbals shattered, guitar necks broken and mics
smashed!! Not to mention the kids moshing up front getting wound up!
Moldbreaker (Photo by: Glen LaFerman)
After Moldbreaker was
kicked out of every club in Phoenix, I decided to take them outside their
perimeter and added them on 4 shows of the Soulfly US tour. I figured they could be dug by the Cali
crowd, who is so open-minded and adventurous! I enlisted my old friend Mike aka Fatty McArdle to drive my
band of misfits, and to Cali they went!
Moldbreaker flier
By the time they reached
Phoenix, they were crumbling apart.
It was difficult to organize
Moldbreaker because they were all their own
separate identity. They weren't a
unit. There was great promise, I
knew, so I booked one last show and the band split up.
I couldn't stop the ball
from rolling.Zyon, Igor and
Shanks kept practicing. Igor decided he would sing and avoid the trouble of
finding another member.They enlisted
the guitar skills of childhood bro, John Bauer, and soon Lody Kong was
born!The name is taken from a
friend with turrets named Cody Long...they just switched his initials.Pretty ingenious and original, just
like the name Moldbreaker!
T-shirt back
Tour poster
On the 15th anniversary of
Soufly's origin, I made a tour called Maximum Cavalera Tour and put the boy's
bands on with Soulfly. Soulfly,
Incite and Lody Kong was the golden ticket!! The tour was well received and did
4 US/Canadian runs and 12weeks in Europe.
There is NO better way to develop a band besides getting them on the
road! This is where you learn the
ropes, fine tune your songs, learn how to work the crowd...it's a zillion times
better than writing in the confines of a jam pad and playing local gigs that
get you nowhere.
John
Igor
John, and Igor
Zyon, and Shanks
Lody soon received
attention from the European media who sought the unusual, no-category, no-genre
music coming from the 16 year old rebels.
Releasing the acclaimed Monkeys Always Look video sealed their
creativity and got them an offer for a demo deal. Lody Kong recorded an EP with Roy Mayorga, to follow the
video.
Zyon
With Zyon drumming for
Soulfly on the Savages release and the world tour, it has been a juggle for him
to balance the music. In between
tours, the band went in the studio with Phoenix producer, John Gray (Soulfly's
Dark Ages, Cavalera Conspiracy), and recorded a new single, Sum Pulp, which
will come out with a second video in the Spring of 2014. This track will be released via
MinusHead/Megaforce, and will also feature the track, Topaz.
LK
LK in Biarritz, France
Famous cartoonist, Sergio
Zuniga, took the Kong under his wing and designed an artwork vision for them
that is always on the brink of the horizon, never predictable!
