{"id":842,"date":"2015-05-19T12:04:31","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T17:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/culturated.com\/?p=842"},"modified":"2015-05-19T12:05:53","modified_gmt":"2015-05-19T17:05:53","slug":"royal-thunder-miny-parsonz-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/royal-thunder-miny-parsonz-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Thunder Frontwoman MIny Parsonz On Religion, Divorce &#038; Crooked Doors"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If Robert Plant and Tina Turner had spawned an offspring who grew up worshipping at the altar of Janis Joplin, she might sound a lot like Mlny (pronounced Melanie) Parsonz, the front woman for Atlanta\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/royalthunder.bandcamp.com\"><strong>Royal Thunder<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When the band emerged with their debut album, <em>CVI<\/em>, in 2012, they were raved about on the metal scene for their hard-hitting blend of swampy, soulful psychedelic rock and Parsonz\u2019 primal, bluesy wail. But their new album, <a title=\"Crooked Doors\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00TEQ279S\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00TEQ279S&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=greglotra0a-20&amp;linkId=EBE33PAXPFYZKONE\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Crooked Doors<\/em><\/a>, ups the ante considerably, powered by the emotion of the Parsonz\u2019s break from a Christian cult, her painful divorce from Royal Thunder guitarist Josh Weaver, and a general desire to change her life for the better.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I recently spoke to the singer\/bassist at length about her bitter breakup, her emotionally vulnerable lyrics, and the making of what I consider to be <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2015\/03\/29\/395298797\/first-listen-royal-thunder-crooked-doors\"><strong>2015\u2019s finest rock album<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-846\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Thunder MIny Parsonz\" width=\"648\" height=\"431\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny-330x219.jpg 330w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Mlny-296x197.jpg 296w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I like to start off all my interviews with the same question: Tell me about when and why you fell in love with music?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was just a kid. It was me and a piano to the right of a mirrored wall in Tom\u2019s River, New Jersey. I sat on the piano bench every day and found my own little island, so to speak. It was a place where I could duck my head and find melodies.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who were the artists who inspired your early interest in being a singer\/songwriter?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When I heard Nirvana, it resonated with my soul. I was a rebellious, weird, pissed-off troublemaker. There was something about Nirvana that I could relate to. Of course I had to bleach my hair, dye it bright red, buy a fuzzy green cardigan, and start a band. It was an awful band, Conniption Fit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What originally brought you to Atlanta from New Jersey?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My father was a computer engineer. He had a better opportunity within his career, and he took it. Now I&#8217;m a southern yankee. They say ya can&#8217;t take the Jersey out of a Jersey woman. &#8216;Tis true!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 648px; height: 485px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/VideoEmbed?track=3079012683&amp;bgcol=ffffff&amp;linkcol=0687f5\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" seamless=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you talk a bit about how the band came together, and what attracted you to Josh in a musical sense? <\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Josh and I have always had a sacred, special\u00a0musical connection. We\u2019ve been making music together since 1999. Josh and I have evolved so much over the years as musicians and, luckily, we evolved together. We were always on the same page, and we always shared the same vision. It\u2019s a dream that never died. He started this band without me, but he always knew I\u2019d be standing in that empty space where he was missing a bass player and a singer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>I&#8217;ve read about your experience with the Christian cult. Is that something you&#8217;re willing to discuss?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve gone in-depth on the topic of what happened. But I&#8217;d like to talk more about how I feel about organized religion. I think there\u2019s a slippery slope\u2013 a potential danger, or a slow burning fire that creeps up the front porch stairs, eventually burning down the house\u2013 when a human being is in a position of power. With organized religion, I believe people get lost in the smoke, groping the walls blindly. They can hear \u201cgod,&#8221; but is it really God or is it just man? If it&#8217;s man you worship, YOU will die. I am on my own path. This is my journey. Only I will determine what it is I do next. No longer will I allow myself to be guided, trained, conditioned or indoctrinated. I wanna be free, goddammit!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>CVI <\/em><\/strong><strong>established you guys as major players on the hard rock\/metal scene. Were you surprised by the warm reception to the band, the album and your vocals in particular?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Surprised, indeed! I never expected anyone to care as much as they did, and I&#8217;m thankful for all of the love and support. The metal scene scene was very accepting of us when we first started out. When no one else gave a shit, the metal scene was championing our band. The metal scene has everything to do with who I am as a musician today.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_940\" style=\"width: 658px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_by_KevinGriggsPhotography-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-940\" class=\"size-full wp-image-940\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_by_KevinGriggsPhotography-2.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Thunder by Kevin Griggs Photography\" width=\"648\" height=\"365\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_by_KevinGriggsPhotography-2.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_by_KevinGriggsPhotography-2-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_by_KevinGriggsPhotography-2-330x185.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-940\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo\u00a0by Kevin Griggs<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Since <em>CVI <\/em>was released, half the lineup has changed and you and Josh ended your marriage. Was there ever any question of whether you would continue on with Royal Thunder?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Behind the closed doors, in my home, is a world no one else knows with the exception of our closest friends and our family. I won&#8217;t ever again talk about Josh and I (no offense) but I must say, it BLOWS my mind to see people write about your life as if they know about YOUR LIFE. We will always be in each other&#8217;s lives. We will always make music. Our dreams are our destiny. Don&#8217;t expect us to ever get punched in the face and not heal up. I&#8217;m a bull. I don&#8217;t give up. I don&#8217;t stop growing. And I won&#8217;t ever stop movin&#8217; and shakin&#8217;. Even after I&#8217;m gone.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/pitchfork.com\/reviews\/albums\/20354-crooked-doors\/\"><strong><em>Crooked Doors<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> seems more emotionally charged, less cryptic than <em>CVI<\/em>. Can you talk about the difficulty of co-writing a breakup album with the guy you&#8217;re breaking up with?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the record, we didn&#8217;t write a breakup album. We weren&#8217;t even in the studio together at the same time for MOST of the album-writing process. Josh read the lyrics after sent them over to our label during the layout process for the album art. I didn&#8217;t have a concept in mind. I wanted to share my heart, and my only intention was to be more flagrant and less cryptic. As far as lyrics go, cryptic is what I\u2019ve been since I was a child. Until I burned them, I had poetry books full of bullshit cryptic stuff. Art, songs, etc&#8230;. But I wanted to follow my gut and my heart, and that was to open up and say [what I was feeling]. So I did. I\u2019d felt conflicted for so long, and I needed to process that whole idea. I needed to snap, break and bend my life. Each song is me, sitting around my campfire, watching my life dance in the flames. That&#8217;s what <em>Crooked Doors<\/em> is, not a breakup album. I wanna say that like you say, &#8220;It&#8217;s not a tumor!&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s not a breakup album!&#8221; (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Your voice shows the usual strength and dynamic power, but also a newfound sense of vulnerability. Was it hard to allow yourself to go to these intensely personal places?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It was hard to NOT beat myself up and enjoy my voice. I just tried to appreciate the fact that I can do it at all! I&#8217;m thankful that I have any kind of voice. I&#8217;m thankful that I get to express myself, singing. It&#8217;s a pleasure and a challenge, but it&#8217;s one that I will gladly take on. As far as the sense of vulnerability goes, yes and no. It was difficult because I didn&#8217;t wanna give it ALL away, my heart. And I didn&#8217;t. I always keep a little to myself and never tell anyone everything. That&#8217;s where &#8220;no&#8221; comes in. Because I always keep a few beans in my pocket, I feel a little better about being vulnerable.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_845\" style=\"width: 658px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/RoyalThunder_648-KevinGriggsPhotography1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-845\" class=\"size-full wp-image-845\" src=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/RoyalThunder_648-KevinGriggsPhotography1.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Thunder by Kevin Griggs\" width=\"648\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/RoyalThunder_648-KevinGriggsPhotography1.jpg 648w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/RoyalThunder_648-KevinGriggsPhotography1-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/RoyalThunder_648-KevinGriggsPhotography1-330x209.jpg 330w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo\u00a0by Kevin Griggs<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>I&#8217;ve read about your efforts to stay sober. How is the recovery process going for you?<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This one is hilarious. Dude, I was on a 14-day cleanse to strengthen my immune system and build up my endurance before I played SXSW, so I could bring my all to the table! I was asked during an interview, &#8220;How are you doing?&#8221; My (the addict) response: &#8220;I&#8217;m 12 days into being sober: It&#8217;s been hard, but it&#8217;s been good!&#8221; Maybe it&#8217;s my fault for not being more clear. But, that&#8217;s just it\u2013 people writing about other people. It&#8217;s probably not even close to the truth, what you read about others.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>It seems like you&#8217;ve been through a hell of a lot in the last few years, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. How would you say you&#8217;re different from the woman you were when you started Royal Thunder?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m stronger. More sure of myself. Less focused on the static. And determined as hell to be true to myself and to those around me. I think I get &#8220;it&#8221; now. How to live. How to be happy. And THAT&#8217;S what I&#8217;m after.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where would you like to see your career 10 years from now?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t ever consider my future. I&#8217;m here now. I&#8217;m seeing what it is I need to be seeing, right here, right now. Who knows?! I&#8217;m a sonic gypsy. Don&#8217;t know where I&#8217;m goin&#8217;, but I&#8217;ll end up somewhere\u2026 <em><strong>&#8211; by Bret Love<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>If you enjoyed reading MIny Parsonz On Religion, Divorce &amp; Crooked Doors, you might also like:<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-title\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" title=\"Royal Thunder - Crooked Doors Review\" href=\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/royal-thunder-crooked-doors-review\/\" target=\"_blank\">ROYAL THUNDER- CROOKED DOORS REVIEW<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If Robert Plant and Tina Turner had spawned an offspring who grew up worshipping at the altar of Janis Joplin, she might sound a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/RoyalThunder_MIny_Parsonz.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5slei-dA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}