Ventana: Not Just a Mushroomhead Side Project

Ventana and Mushroomhead may share members, but the similarities end there. For the most part. Turntablist and electronics specialist St1tch told Noisecreep, "Ventana came to be due to my love for industrial music. With Mushroomhead, I'm not responsible for the songwriting, just adding soundscapes and samples. With Ventana, I have the opportunity to create a style that stems from my childhood influences and put a modern day spin on it, with crisp production and catchy choruses, not just doing the typical 'industrial style.'" St1tch dubs Ventana "a much more vulgar, darker, electronic metal band than Mushroomhead. There are minor elements that could be compared to Mushroomhead, but Ventana is definitely a different machine."

Even though Ventana exist apart from the parent band, St1tch certainly wants Mushroomhead fans to take a gander at Ventana, rather than pursuing a whole different audience. "Of course I embrace the Mushroomhead fan base," Stitch said. "A main percentage of Ventana fans are Mushroomhead fans. The reason our popularity grew so quickly was because of the built-in fan base to promote to, but we have noticed a large amount of people that are into our music are not 'Shroom fans, due to our more industrial background.

"We respect and appreciate all kinds of fans; without them we would not be doing this. What we do want Mushroomhead fans to know is that Ventana is not just a side project. The goal is to make this band very self-standing, to tour heavily, build a solid following and hopefully one day be as successful as Mushroomhead is."

The band's debut, 'American Survival Guide, Vol. 1,' due out Oct. 6, makes its social points, as well. "We know the world is in trouble, mainly America," St1ch said. "This is not news to people out there with a brain in their head. The economy is falling apart, jobs are disappearing, social interaction and the general status of human beings is crumbling."

As a result, the album is a wake-up call for those not paying attention. "To people who live in their little bubble and focus on the most unimportant things in life, we are basically saying, 'These are the things in day-to-day life that are wrong and corrupt. Do something about it or we as a species will not survive,'" St1tch said. "The human race has become very selfish, rude and concerned only with status and digital toys. It's worse than ever, and we want nothing more than to shake the world out of its coma."

Personally, beyond his passion for music, St1tch admits he has a "very ridiculous habit" of collecting movie props and memorabilia, and that a majority of the money he earns goes right back to his collection. "My apartment has more Freddy Krueger gloves, Michael Myers' masks, Phantasm Balls and Jason Vorhees' masks than actual furniture." He admits to hoarding figurines, screen used props, posters, autographed 8x10s from conventions. "Horror movies have always been an inspiration for me growing up," he admitted. "My grandmother took me to see 'Friday the 13th' movies when I was five years old, that's what started it all."