Today we’d like to introduce you to Zander Reddis.
Hi Zander, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out playing my mom’s dusty acoustic guitar at age nine. My first job was teaching guitar at my local music store, Meyer Music, at age sixteen. I come from a fairly musical family, though my mom traded playing for avid listening after her Beatle-mania faded, my dad was a trained opera singer and many members of my family played instruments, ranging from guitar and piano to upright bass. I participated in many avenues of performing early in my life. I studied music through guitar, voice, piano, and theory classes. I danced competitively in several styles for many years and participated in theater and dance throughout high school and college.
I moved to the LA area from Missouri about two weeks after turning eighteen. I attended Cal State Fullerton for about a year and a half, during which time I began joining different bands and exploring an exponentially fuller and more active heavy music scene by attending and playing shows around the LA area. Eventually, I picked up bass to play Blink 182 covers for a friend’s sister’s quinceanera, and soon after I joined Sixes playing bass.
Sixes became a big passion & focus early in. We recorded an album and began touring across the country, playing some incredibly fun festivals, and eventually toured Europe in late 2019.
In the midst of this, I also joined Dim7 playing bass, and I am currently playing bass in Sordes Dominum and Sixes, as well as playing guitar in Pearl Farm.
I have had many wonderful opportunities to be a guest in live performances, recordings, and music videos across several metal genres with talented & lovely people. I truly enjoy collaborating & working with other musicians while exploring different sounds and ideas. It is always a fun, interesting, and eye-opening experience, and I am thankful to have learned so much from everyone. I am also beyond grateful to currently endorse several badass gear companies, including Coffin Case, Darkglass Electronics, Pig Hog Cables, Black Harbor Sound, & EMG Pickups.
In 2020, my boyfriend and I started a pedal company called Doomchild Effects. We currently have a fuzz pedal and look forward to expanding more with time. Most recently, I received a wonderful opportunity to become a guitar tech at Schecter Guitar Research, where I currently work as a tech & sales assistant, as well as doing my own guitar setup work independently.
My passion for music has been a constant in my life throughout a great deal of change, and I am thrilled to keep learning about and pursuing all facets of it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have definitely been struggles, as I believe there are bound to be to some degree with most pursuits in life, though thankfully I don’t think there has been any struggle I haven’t learned something from.
I had many people close to me from my early life tell me moving across the country to pursue an artistic direction was a bad and selfish idea. I’ve struggled to get by financially at different points and moved between various living situations countless times when times were tough.
I have not always been viewed as a legitimate member of a band by onlookers, been told I’ve only gotten a place in a band because I am a woman, and experienced prospective collaborators flat out saying they didn’t want to deal with a woman, regardless of ability. I do believe this is an issue moving in a positive direction towards women be more and more legitimized throughout the field, so I am thankful and hopeful for that.
However, all of these things are minuscule in comparison to the things which have worked out and the incredible experiences I have had pursuing my goals. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have some truly wonderful friends and bandmates, to have experienced things I only dreamed of early on, and to be where I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My primary focuses are guitar, bass, and guitar repair work.
I specialize in heavy and witchy music, for lack of better phrasing. I love gritty, low, heavy metal and all sorts of dark and enchanting music and art.
I am most known for playing bass in the doom metal scene. I am very grateful & proud to be a part of this scene & the projects I am in. I have had countless incredible experiences while performing and pursuing various facets of heavy music.
I believe what sets me apart from others is a wide variety of experiences and influences. I am very open-minded to all genres and explorations of expression, and though I am confident in my own voice, I am always interested to hear ideas, as well as different ways of creating and working which other artists bring to the table.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What I like best is the diversity and overall openness of this city. If there is a way of thinking, interest, food, natural landscape, or any topic one may be interested in or looking for, it can almost always be found here. What I like least is this city often seems like a liminal space. People come and go, places open and close, and though I have not been here my whole life, I have seen this happen many times already. There is a beauty in that, but it is often bittersweet.
Contact Info:
- Email: zander.reddis@gmail.com
- Instagram: @zanderbar_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zander.reddis
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqRQJCBCrW4GCqG3o6exYNQ
- Other: www.sordesdominum.com
Image Credits
Anabel DFlux – Deliquesce Flux Photography Chad Kelco Alex Crescioni
