INTERVIEW: Greg Baczmarga of THREATPOINT Talks About Influences, Gigs & New Album

Thrash metallers THREATPOINT are a band on the rise and not afraid of putting the graft in. Happy Metal Geek got to fire a few questions at the band’s guitarist Greg Baczmarga.

Give me a little background info on you personally. How did you all get together to form the band?

Greg: Well I haven’t been here since the start, yet it feels like i have because of how smooth everything is going “knocks on wood”. I’ve been here around 3 months now so other than me being the new addition, this is the original lineup the band started with. I played shows with them in the past when I was in another band so we became pretty good friends and would hang out together at our shows. A few months back in the beginning of December I got the offer from Chris and Cj to play if I wanted. However, they weren’t looking for another guitarist so i didn’t
know what to expect. They gave me the material to learn and… here I am!

What influenced you to start playing?

Greg: Music has always been an interest to myself and other members of my family. My grandfather and father both played guitar as well as some of my uncles. I remember being roughly 5 years old watching my Uncle Mike shred on his guitar and play along to Cannibal Corpse songs. At the time that sort of music was a bit much for me to process through my underdeveloped pea brain. I didn’t actually acquire my first guitar until I was 13 or so. It was a first act acoustic and it was awful. At this time i knew nothing of guitars i just wanted to play. That didn’t pan out very well and
the guitar ended up going into the attic for years. Then when I was about 17/18 i acquired my first electric guitar and this was around the time I actually started learning. So I would definitely say I was influenced by some of my close relatives. My older sister also had a boyfriend which practically became my older brother. He would take me to shows and music shops all of the time because he used to promote bands. I would get to try guitars and listen to different types of music and demos. He also took me to my first concert “the offspring”. Which was one of my favorite bands
growing up as a kid. So I definitely have him to credit him for all of the exposure that influenced me as well.

How do you find gigging/touring/recording?

Greg: Well I’ve never actually been on a tour or anything weeks at a time. I would imagine it’s quite tiring considering being out on the road for a few days traveling to shows wears you out especially after a full work week. Regardless, I’d love to experience it. Gigging is always fun, you get to see a bit of everything and meet some pretty cool people. Every show is different with different bands and different crowds. Sometimes you have a bad show, it happens. For the most part they’ve all been great honestly. Recording is always interesting because you can go into the studio knowing what you’re going to play and all of the sudden it changes. It can be a bit challenging especially if you’re recording leads and you cant play a part you wrote. I like to refer to the “record” button as the red button of misery. I can also say I’m quite excited to record the next album with these guys because we are already throwing around some crazy ideas.

Favorite gig/festival you performed at?

Greg: I’d probably say years back when I played the Ragnarok festival in Chicago. I remember meeting the bass player from reo speedwagon in the hotel lobby where I was staying. The whole thing was just crazy, it wasn’t only the festival it was everything else around it that made it awesome.

Favorite gig/festival you attended?

Greg: I’d have to say the “Death to all tour” 2012 in New york City. “Death” is one of my favorite bands and one of my biggest influences on guitar is Chuck Schuldiner. I never got to see the band because Chuck had passed years before I knew they existed. I saw this as an opportunity to get as close as I can to seeing the whole band. I got to meet Luc Lemay the singer from gorguts. I ended up talking to him and I must say he is the nicest person I’ve ever met. I also met Paul Masvidal on the way out and managed to get a really bad photo with him Ha! The show was intense and the sound was super clear. I am quite thankful I got to attend that show. I’d also like to point out I will never drive through New York City again, that was rough.

What would be your favorite track from your own music?

Greg: In all honesty anything I’ve written or came up with in the past is dead to me. There is always something you’ll hear in your own material where you wish you would’ve changed something or you might hear it differently now vs. then. I’m just not the type of person that favors my own material. I am also my own worst enemy/critic when it comes to these things. I’d rather leave that opinion to the listener and take it from there. I’m sure if I did have to pick a favorite track off of the new “Salvation” album it would be “Godzilla“. That song is just aggressive and I love it. I might even be able to answer this question better after I record the next album with these guys.

THREATPOINT are Chris James: Vocals  |  Alex Olivetti: Guitar  |  Greg Baczmarga: Guitar  |  Sam Young: Bass  |  CJ Krukowski: Drums

THREATPOINT is a metal band from the city of Scranton,Pennsylvania. They started back in March of 2012. Blending many different styles of hard rock and metal together is what makes up their sound. So many influences from a broad spectrum spanning many decades of music. Threatpoint focuses on a positive message and bringing hope and strength to the listener. Spiritually driven with a clear mindset. Tired of the negativity they see out there in the world and they choose to walk a different road.

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THREATPOINT on tour