In this exclusive interview, the members of Antagonizör – Sarah, Tzu Wei, and Michelle – delve into the band's origins, unique blend of punk and metal, the inspiration behind their latest album, and the impactful experiences that shape their presence in the Florida music scene. From the challenges faced to their plans for the future, get ready to explore the dynamic world of Antagonizör with firsthand insights from the badass trio.
1. How
did Antagonizör come together, and what inspired the formation of the band?
Sarah: I have
roots in punk music but spent the past few years playing metal. After taking a
break from playing in bands, I felt inspired to revisit my roots in punk music
and start a new punk band. Tzu Wei and I
had played together in a black metal band called Von Nacht, and through that
project, we found we are a perfect pair to work together on guitar and bass. We
saw Michelle perform with her band Piss Test and were impressed by her machine
gun drum fills and high energy. We actually started the band as a 4 piece but
decided to just be a 3 piece and an all-female line up. All of us really enjoy
writing music with other women. It took a while for us to refine our sound and
find our direction, and we started out playing quite a few covers by bands like
Doom, Rudimentary Peni, and Negative Approach. But now we’ve got a bunch of
originals and two EP’s out!
2. Can
you share the story behind the band's name, Antagonizör?
Sarah: Michelle
came up with the name. We thought it sounded mean, and it’s the perfect name
for a band that exists to piss people off. We are heavily influenced by
Motörhead, and the -ör sounds like -er. There is already a band called
Antagonizer, there’s a band called The Antagonizers, so we needed some way to
set us apart from them. It’s so hard to come up with a unique band name these
days because everything is taken.
3. Tell
us about your individual musical backgrounds and how they contribute to
Antagonizör's sound?
Sarah: I
picked up guitar when I was 13, but I didn’t start playing in bands until my
late teens. I started playing in punk bands in Orlando when I was 17. I played
in punk bands, a riot grrrl band, a deathrock/post-punk band, then I went off
and started a solo black metal project which turned into a full band
eventually. So I have experience playing both metal and punk, and now I’m
finally blending the two together in this project.
Tzu Wei: Growing
up I was a classical music musician majoring in violin. I am from Taiwan and
moved to the US in 2015. There wasn’t much of an underground music scene back
home. Now it is growing, but it is still a small community. I liked and listened
to punk but had never played in a band until I met Sarah. She introduced me more
to the scene, and that’s when I started to go to local shows to see local
bands. Our black metal band Von Nacht was active at the time, and I started out
playing the prelude and one of the songs with electric violin for the band in
both live and recording. Then I picked up bass, and we have been playing in
bands as guitar and bass together since then. Classical music might sound
sophisticated, but I think all forms of music are about expression. Technique
is second. And that’s what Antagonizör is about, too.
Michelle: I started out performing at open jams when I was old enough to drink &
be at a bar. It didn’t matter to me where or with whom the open jam was, all I cared
about was having a shot at the drums, learning to jam and one day playing in metal
& punk bands. Open Jams were a great start for me because it seemed like
nobody believed that I could be a good drummer. I felt like because I was a
young woman drummer, nobody took me seriously or even gave me a real shot. Open
Jams were literally it for me and it was a great starting point. These open
jams lead to me being asked to play in my first official punk rock band, Piss
Test, fronted by Debra Fetzer, who performed in Gainesville punk bands like
Ovary Dose & Mutley Chix. I played in a power symphonic metal band for a
brief period called Soul Survival that played originals and a lot of old covers
from Metallica’s Ride the Lightning, some Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Alien Ant
Farm & Dio. About 2 years ago, I got into an all woman project called ILL
STAR that plays anthem-y horror punk originals & then about a year after the
formation of Ill Star, I met Sarah & Tzu Wei and we formed Antagonizör. Sarah
wanted to form a pure punk band, which I was cool with but, I also was desperate
to dive head first into D-beat, thrash and metal so we agreed to do all of the
above with a heavy influence of one of my favorite bands of all time, Motörhead!
I am so lucky and excited to be performing with so many talented women. Each
band that I am in supplements a major need & speed & chaos are it for
me and Antagonizör.
4. Being
a married couple, how does the dynamic between Tzu-Wei and Sarah influence the
band's creative process?
Sarah: The
connection shared between Tzu and I is magical to say the least. We are so
connected that it is effortless for us to work together. I typically write the
riffs and the lyrics first, and then Tzu will come up with something on bass.
Since Tzu is a natural at stringed instruments, she is able to learn songs
quickly and come up with her own unique additions to the songs. We communicate
well and foresee that we will play music together for the rest of their lives.
TzuWei: We
have been together for a long enough of time that I know what Sarah’s music
taste is and I understand what kind of sound she likes. Our connection and
understanding of each other makes things work super easily. And we can practice
and figure how the song goes whenever we want since we live together, and we
even made our house into our band practice space which is even better! Sarah is
the creative mind here; I just help her to further accomplish her ideas.
5. Michelle,
how did you become a part of Antagonizör, and what drew you to the band?
Sarah: We
answered this already. I would suggest eliminating this question.
6. You played together in the Orlando metal
band Von Nacht. How did your previous experiences shape Antagonizör's musical
direction?
Sarah:
Well, Von Nacht was also an all-female band, and being a woman in the metal
scene is a “unique” experience to say the least. I got tired of being talked
down to by a bunch of judgmental, know it all, balding men about my music, so I
decided to break back into the punk scene where I won’t be so heavily
scrutinized for being a woman playing extreme music and actually feel like I
belong. Heavy Metal Bootlicker is actually a song written to troll dudes I’ve
met in the metal scene, and so is our new song Incel/Unwashed Ass because a
bunch of metal dudes are intolerable gatekeeping incels and we hate people like
that.
TzuWei: Playing
in Von Nacht was awesome, and I love metal, but yes, there is always an
invisible pressure in the metal music scene as a female musician that you have
to consistently prove that you are not a poser or a groupie at the show. There
are many supporters and open-minded people in the metal music scene for sure and
I appreciate them, but we also face many technique-heads and gearheads out
there trying to tell us how to play our music. Playing music supposed to be fun
and you are allowed to play whatever the fuck you want. Antagonizör gives us a
freedom to do that, and that is punk af.
7. Your recent show at Uncle Lou's was
well-received. What was the experience like, and how does the Orlando
underground scene influence your performances?
Sarah: Tzu
and I have only lived in Gainesville for the past 2.5 years. We are from
Orlando. Playing at Uncle Lou’s is amazing, and when we play there, we feel
like we are going home. I’ve been playing and booking shows and events at Lou’s
since I was a fucking teenager. The owner and I love the fuck out of each other
too, and he is always happy to have us play there. If you’re from Orlando and
you’ve never been to a show at Lou’s, you’re missing out. I feel like that
place is where you can really experience the heartbeat of Orlando’s
underground. I’ve been playing at Uncle Lou’s since I was a teenager, and it’s
my favorite place to play. We have so many supporters in Orlando, so the crowd
had amazing energy and we fed off it. There was lots of moshing too, which is a
major plus!
TzuWei: Like
I mentioned before, I started to go to local shows after I moved to Orlando and
met Sarah. Uncle Lou’s is the venue that brought me into the Orlando
underground scene. People there are always so supportive, and all kinds of
bands can play in there. You can say pretty much every band in Orlando starts
from there. It is our roots and a special place for us.
Michelle: Orlando has the most energetic and receptive crowd. It’s always a
great time & the punks aren’t afraid to move around.
8. The
label mentioned that Antagonizör blends both metal and punk styles. How do you
approach combining these genres in your music?
Sarah: I
just write whatever the fuck I feel like playing. We have thrashy songs. We
have dbeat songs. We have old school heavy metal songs. We have hardcore songs.
I wouldn’t say the genres are blended, they’re rather haphazardly arranged
within our set and our albums. Someone once combined our genre defying sound as
“confusing” and I think that is the perfect adjective to describe our sound. It
cannot be clearly defined. “Metal punk” is the best description we’ve been able
to figure out to define our sound. I have ADHD and eclectic tastes in music, so
stay tuned to see how our sound evolves.
9. Tell
us about your latest album. What inspired the songs, and what message or
feeling do you hope listeners take away?
Sarah: Our
new EP SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKERS is titled as such because it debuts songs with a
new heavy metal style. This EP is a perfect example of how we “blend” genres.
There is even clean singing on here, SURPRISE! There’s thrash, heavy metal, and
hardcore elements in the songs on this EP. Check it out!
10. What
makes Antagonizör stand out in the Florida music scene, and what do you think sets
your live performances apart?
Sarah: We
are badass babes playing aggressive, heavy music. All our songs don’t sound the
same. Our lyrics mean something to us. We aren’t afraid to make people dislike
us. We aren’t afraid to make political statements. Stuff like that.
11. How
has your classical training, Tzu-Wei, influenced your bass playing in a metal
and punk context?
TzuWei:
Since I am a violinist, learning another string instrument was a fairly quick
process for me. I have always love cello over violin, so playing bass is like
fulfilling my love in low instruments. Having classical training is definitely
a plus, there are many benefits technique wise. But classical music is about how
you interpreted other people’s music, there is no room for improv. I learned a
lot by playing in metal and punk because I have to peel out my overthinking
mind and embrace creativity and originality.
12. The
album contains both studio and live recordings. How does the energy and
experience differ between the two, and do you have a preference?
Sarah: I
like that there is a live recording on vinyl of me talking shit in between
songs. That makes me happy. Some of the songs are played faster live than on
the recording too.
TzuWei: I
have always loved the energy in live recordings. You live in that moment with
the audiences, and you can tell what the band really is about. Studio recording
gives you room to fix your mistakes, which is nice. But our studio recording
process is almost like a live recording actually. It’s very DIY and straight
forward. We recorded our instruments all together in our practice space by ourselves
without isolation, so we still got the raw, not overproduced sound in there.
13. What was the inspiration behind the song
"Heavy Metal Bootlicker (Live)"?
Sarah: The
song was inspired by some drunk dickhead I encountered at a party once. He was
some metal guy who everyone put up with for some reason. He drank too much,
wouldn’t shut the fuck up about politics, kept making racist jokes about the
Hispanic people at the party, and eventually had a borderline shouting meltdown
calling everyone communists before finally being subdued by someone. It was
ridiculous. But the dude was also a huge bootlicker who bragged about how he’s
buddies with cops. It was a few years ago during the Trump years that I
realized just how many bigoted brainwashed right-wing dipshits there are in the
metal scene in Florida. I’m not sure if it’s like that everywhere, but that’s
what it’s like in Florida. At least with a lot of the more boomer age dudes.
And I wanted to write a song to trigger all of them. It’s a Motörhead rip off
song, so all the better!
14. Can
you share some memorable moments or challenges you've faced as a band?
Sarah:
There was a time when we couldn’t play shows because Michelle was recovering
from a lobectomy after being diagnosed with lung cancer. It was scary to hear
that she had received that diagnosis, but she handled it like a badass and made
a speedy recovery. My favorite memory is probably having Josh from Danger Room
Recording Service sub in on guitar for Incel/Unwashed Ass at one of our recent
Uncle Lou’s shows. I got to mosh and go apeshit while doing vocals, which is
something I very much enjoy doing.
TzuWei: We
got to open for a doom death metal band Worm in Orlando, and Sarah ate a jar of
live mealworms at the end of our set on the stage. Even the security guard and
some audience members at the front ate some worms with her. That was pretty
awesome. We do crazy shit at shows sometimes.
15. What
are Antagonizör's plans for the future? Any upcoming projects or shows fans can
look forward to?
Sarah: We
want to do a little mini tour and go up to Asheville because we love it up
there. We want to play in more Florida cities and eventually do a tour in Asia.
Tzu Wei and I go to Taiwan every summer to visit her family, we know some punks
in Taipei and Japan, and we think we could make a few shows happen over there
on a trip overseas. I’m writing new songs currently. As far as projects go, we
are all playing in a new black/death metal band called Necrophila with our old
drummer from Von Nacht. Pretty exciting stuff. I’m playing guitar and doing vocals
while Tzu plays bass and Michelle plays synth. We haven’t released any
recordings yet but watch out for us because we will have recordings in the near
future hopefully!
16. If
you had to describe Antagonizör's music in three words, what would they be?
Sarah:
angry, mean, aggressive
Tzu Wei: real, raw, fun
Michelle: deez and nuts
Music | Antagonizör (bandcamp.com)
ANTAGONIZÖR (@antagonizor.fl) • Instagram photos and videos
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