Interview: The Cynz Talk to RRX Before Coming to Town This Saturday!

The Cynz (Henry Seiz and Cyndi Dawson)

By: Rob Smittix

RRX: I got The Cynz on the line, that’s pretty awesome. Thank You for taking the time to chat with me.

CD: You’re quite welcome.

HS: Thank you.

CD: Excited to come your way. I don’t think that we’ve ever done a show in your area. You’re ort of close to where we’ll be playing. Is it called Rocksackie?

RRX: Rocksackie is the name of the concert series, Coxsackie is the town (pronounced Cook-sackie) and a lot of people make fun of the way it should sound. It’s an interesting spot and it’s a great concert series going on out there.

CD: I’m excited about this, I heard they get a good crowd too.

RRX: Yeah, what’s really cool is even though it’s a smaller town they have buses from Albany and Troy that head out there and bring people down. And they don’t have to worry about driving.

CD: That’s really good. They may not go otherwise because they wouldn’t want to go that far if they had to drive and they’d like to have a drink or two.

HS: Fantastic, that’s great!

RRX: It’s a really cool thing that Brian Jakusik put together. I talked to him and he was excited to get you guys on this. The Cynz just came off of a big tour, didn’t you?

HS: We were in England and we had a blast, it was such a great time.

CD: First of all the Marc Valentine band were really nice guys. We had a blast with them but the crowds are just so into their rock & roll. They really love American rock. It was so nice to walk into these clubs and they were so welcoming.

RRX: Of course American rock & roll but you are a little more than that, I’ve seen The Cynz being described as a band that started in 2011 but still sound like what you’d hear at CBGB’s in its heyday. And I agree, you do have that sound.

HS: Thank you, Cyndi and I are musicians that play in a band but we’re also fans. We go to see lots of bands and we also thought to ourselves, what do we want to see? What are the things that energize us? The answer to that is… a lot of energy and danceable songs. It’s hard stuff but you can still dance to it. When we get people dancing, it’s really gratifying to see. We try to jump around on stage, try to look good, try to sound good and have a good time.

RRX: There’s nothing like staring out at the crowd and seeing people having a blast. I’ve done it myself for many years and when I scan the crowd usually it was my wife that was the only one that looked like she didn’t want to be there.

(All Laugh)

CD: I laugh because the people that come to see your band are caught up in the fantasy and that’s the best part about it. Going out to see a rock & roll band you lose yourself for a few hours. But your family knows you. My daughter’s like oh man there’s Mom again rolling around on stage. She just sees me as Mom, it’s hard for your family to see you in that part of your life. Let’s face it, you let go on stage, you let loose.

RRX: That you do. It’s hard for your kids to realize that hey… Mom’s cool!

CD: Yeah! I think she didn’t think I was cool until she finally saw the band and then she said okay Mom I get it now. I’m like… good, it’s about time.

RRX: So since 2011 when you got started, is there anything that comes to mind that makes you say, that really made it all worthwhile?

HS: Anytime we’ve travelled. We’ve toured in the Mid-West, we’ve been to Sweden twice and this trip to England was a lot of fun. I’m sure Cyndi agrees travelling and seeing new people, getting to see different cultures and listening to what they listen to. Being exposed to that is really great, I really love it.

CD: For me, the most magical moments happened in Europe. When you see in audience singing your songs, they know the words and then they call out requests. Then their bopping and jumping up and down while singing the words. You ask yourself, how do they know the words? We never played here before. I think that is a defining moment where you realize how music communicates universally.

RRX: I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m holding it here in my hand… I’ve got your newest album “Little Miss Lost.”

CD: That came out a year ago this month.

HS: We’re actually working on another album as we speak. We’re hoping that it’s out in the summertime.

RRX: Well that’s cool.

CD: Summertime or closer to fall. That is what I’ve been told by the label. We are going to fight for it to be closer than the fall because we’re planning a trip to Scandinavia in the fall. So we really need to have that done. We were very indie for about 14 years but now having a label… you really do hand over some control of your music and that you’re not used to. It’s fine, you know? Those are the things that you should expect when you become part of a business entity. You have to allow them decide when and how you’re distributed. I tend to want to get things done quickly to get it out and always have something out. The label tends to want to let songs breathe a little bit. Little Miss Lost has the distinction of being one of the only indie labeled albums that I know of that had every single track on it played on the radio. We really got a great run with this album. It was really super appreciated and supported by radio. Can’t ask for more than that.

RRX: No, not at all.

HS: When we had our own label, we could put out music whenever we wanted but now with JEM (Records) we’re not the only band. There are a bunch of other great bands on that label. Everyone’s dying to get their music out, it’s kind of like coming through a funnel.

CD: There’s also a danger of the high that you get when you put out a new song. Then you get on all of the charts, the radio’s playing you and people are like wow, you’re getting all of this, feed me! When that starts to ween down, you get that hunger, you want that again, you want that more. That’s not necessarily the best thing to constantly put songs out. I do think it is good to let songs breathe a little bit. When you do have something new out people are excited by it but I’m not one to want to wait too long. So there’s that fine little dance that you do between what’s appropriate and I’ve got this new material. Do I release it all now, so that when the album finally comes out they’ve already heard everything on it. You’ve got to be careful about that as well. It’s a very new model now. These young bands that are up and coming… when they talk to me and want advice; it’s hard to tell them to slow down a little bit and when you put something out to give it time to breathe, give people time to hear it. They may not have heard it last month but they might hear it this month. Don’t be so quick to keep putting out new but I do think on the other hand, it’s got to come out faster than the model 20 years ago. People didn’t have as much competition, now you have the internet and people can self-release. It’s kind of flooded and over saturated right now.

RRX: The amount of songs that come out on Spotify and different services daily is insane.

CD: So how do you stand out? How do you get people to take notice of your band? It’s a very difficult thing to maneuver these days. It makes it hard to give a band advice because what works for one band might not work for another.

HS: And we’re still learning all of the time.

CD: We’re really focused on live shows and writing songs that we like. When we write a song we don’t think oh will radio like this? If we like it, radio will probably like it too because we’re fans as Henry said. We listen to a lot of radio and I’m very big on discovering new bands and new music that excites me. I’m a big radio fan. So, if someone was to ask, what’s the best advice that you could give to an up and coming band, I’d say just get out there and do live shows. You are your own company now, you’ve got to promote and really appreciate radio. If they play your music, you give your thanks and gratitude. If they support your band in anyway, let them know, share it on your social media. Then the radio station gets supported in return. That’s the biggest advice I could tell a band right now. Don’t take anything for granted, there’s a lot of competition out there.

RRX: That’s the truth! Anything you’d like to say to the people before the show this Saturday?

CD: We promise to give you a show unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!

Saturday, March 29th Doors at 7pm/Show at 8pm
Rocksackie Series: THE CYNZ w.s.g. Dmitry Wild
Wire Event Center: 60 South River Street, Coxsackie,12051
For Tickets and More Info: https://rocksackie.com/