Getting to Know… Crone Tye | Interview

In the 465^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from Crone Tye, ‘the unholy union of dark industrial chaos and glam-punk rebellion.’ 

“We are part industrial, part punk, part sleaze, and part metal,” Mik describes his band, Crone Tye! He expounds, “We feel [like] our music is catchy, and also takes countercultures such as horror, gothic, and futuristic stylings and runs it through an 80s style filter.” Word. Fellow member Tye adds that Crone Tye is “another creative vein for me to channel things into.” In our 465^th Q&A, we get the inside scoop on the ‘unholy union of dark industrial chaos and glam-punk rebellion’ band’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and current and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into Getting to Know… Crone Tye: Interview No. 465!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Crone Tye distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?  

Mik: We are a band that combines different elements of alternative styles. We are part industrial, part punk, part sleaze, and part metal. We feel [like] our music is catchy, and also takes countercultures such as horror, gothic, and futuristic stylings and runs it through an 80s style filter.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Crone Tye form, and what were some of your goals or visions early?

Tye: We met over a decade ago through music and have kept in contact ever since, watching each other develop as artists and pursue our visions through our projects, then Mik hit me up with an instrumental demo last year asking if it was something I was interested in putting my touch on.

Mik: We are big film nerds, so taking influence from classic movies like The Terminator, Lost Boys, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, we decided to start a project.  We both play in other bands so this project is two like-minded people expressing our creative sides in a different way than the other things we do.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Mik: At present, we want to get our sound out doing to as many people as possible. But if 1 person likes it then the job is done.  It’s more of an expressive art form to me. If I’m not creating something, something is missing.

Tye: It’s another creative vein for me to channel things into, it’s not world’s away from my material with INHERITOR for example, but it’s much more free, DIY, and upbeat, it’s not completely foreign territory to work in but also has completely new challenges and elements to it. It’s very rewarding to be able to work in another dimension of heavy and alternative music and reach people who maybe find my other work too ‘full on’ or ‘modern sounding.’

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

Mik: Sisters of Mercy, Zodiac Mindwarp, Ministry, Faster pussycat, Nine inch Nails, LA Guns. Different styles, but all true to who they are. I also like the Bee Gees. I can do the Barry Gibb falsetto well. Maybe on another song.

Tye: For the new Crone Tye song, “No Guts, No Glamour,” I was very inspired by sleaze and glam rock and some more rough around the edges stuff, there’s a lot of nods to Shotgun Messiah, Skid Row but also that element of early Manson, Nine Inch Nails and Tim Skold’s rockier works. On the whole, I’m mainly influenced by bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Motionless In White, Trivium, Slipknot, etc., but also love industrial and 90s death metal. Marilyn Manson is an idol of mine, creatively and lyrically, even if his vocal style and way of writing aren’t able to be translated fully in a sonic sense to my more metal songs.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

Mik: We haven’t performed this project yet, as it’s primarily a recording project. But personally, I did a good one where the singer and an audience member decided to switch clothes mid-set. It was a lovely frock the singer wore. I have to say I was concerned about the guy in the crowd. Those leather chaps were a tad obscene.

Tye: I’m really not sure how many stories I’ve got that would be appropriate here, or anywhere for that matter hahaha, but I’ve had my head split from collisions with guitar and bass headstocks, done laps of the venue whilst singing, climbed the structures around stages. Recently, I’ve taken to headbutting the microphone at certain points to emphasize the percussion, and I also tend to make a lot of risque or cheeky jokes that the crowd seems to enjoy. I swear I’m a well-meaning and normal person offstage, for the most part.

To this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

Mik: In my previous band, The Sourheads, we had a song called “@Don’t Get Caught AKA I am the Lotus.” A real good rocker of a song. I’m sure the Crone Tye song we are promoting, “No Guts No Glamour” would go down well. Nice and melodic with a strong sing-along chorus.

Tye: It’s the ever-impossible question, as they’re all so special in different ways. With the Crone Tye tune, I really felt like I captured the theme lyrically and said what I wanted to say with the perfect delivery. Some of what I consider the best music I’ve worked on is currently being put together behind the scenes with my band, Demoralised. It’s been a long time coming and hasn’t disappointed me at all. With INHERITOR, there’s a piano version of our song “This Bleak Bliss,” which is love with a passion due to my vocal performance and showcasing my clean singing voice, then again, I love our songs like “Wasted Time,” “Borrowed Pain,” and “Death Spiral,” which are huge crowd movers live and allow me to show my range for extreme vocals.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left-of-center we should know about Crone Tye? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Mik: Tye has a food show on the Foodinati UK network on YouTube where he eats strange and unusual food items. I ride a Harley.

Tye: Mik is also a prolific educator of the next generation of musicians and rockers in our area and is well-respected by many of my peers! I am obsessed with books, was once an aspiring cage fighter, I write for Devolution Magazine, and I once saved a tropical fish with my mouth… and nearly died in a septic tank one time too.

What is Crone Tye currently working on or promoting that you can share? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

Tye: Check us out on Instagram at @cronetye666, there’s a link in our bio that will take you to our entire online presence. If you type “No Guts, No Glamour” into any streaming service, our debut single will no doubt rear its distortion-saturated head!

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.