Interview with Threatpoint; Drummer CJ Krukowski Discusses His Band, Writing, Recording, and Pocket Knives

Threatpoint is an independent groove metal quintet from Scranton, Pennsylvania which released their sophomore album, Careful What You Wish For, on October 7th, 2014. Rest assured this 14-song affair is clear proof that the band don’t believe in frills or gimmicks, instead, much like a rhino or steamroller, Threatpoint just move forward in one clear direction, bashing everything in its way. We recently spoke with drummer CJ Krukowski to learn more about this formidable metal act.

For those not familiar with your band, can you tell us a little bit about yourselves?
Krukowski: We are Threatpoint from Scranton, PA… we are a no gimmicks, groove metal band.

You guys are an extremely heavy band, how does it make you feel when that power and energy you channeled in the studio comes to life in front of a crowd?
Krukowski: Amazing! People are nuts… they MAKE the show, not us. We get up there night after night and I know what we have to offer and I know what we can deliver, but all crowds are different… you really can’t generalize them. We like the ones who aren’t afraid to throw down and start a pit… that ALWAYS makes for a good show!

When you write, do you do so with the live setting in mind or do you write a song just for the song’s sake?
Krukowski: Great question as we always discuss this… we totally write for the live setting. We will never record something we can’t replicate live.

Along those same lines do you take advantage of technology and email riffs and parts back and forth, or do you get together in a room in a more traditional sense and write together?
Krukowski: We are honestly purists… in person is best. It’s the system we’ve established and it seems to work for us just fine. The guys will record their riffs on their phones or whatever to get the idea down, but we always jam on it and see where it goes.

What’s the story behind the name of the band?
Krukowski: It wasn’t actually the original name we were gonna go by, for one, and we thought we can do better… something a little more intense. Chris came up with a bunch of names and “threat” was one of the words in the title and I just kinda came up with “point”. It sounded cool and as time went on, it stuck… we think it suits us.

Do you receive a lot of support from your local scene and fans in general?
Krukowski: Our local fans are great! We don’t think of them as “fans”, but friends. They always come together and support us when we play home and make us feel welcomed.

Check out the song “Collapse” here.

Do you have any rituals before you hit the stage? If so, what are they?
Krukowski: We all have our own thing, I guess… I’m the drummer so I’m always chopping on my pad to loosen my wrists and fingers up. Everyone else pretty much warms up accordingly and might even stretch a bit and jump around to get that blood flowing.

What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far?
Krukowski: There’s really been a few… from sharing the stage with Stryper to jumping in the bus and completing our first tour in New England last fall.

What is the strangest thing that has happened to you on tour, or at one of your shows?
Krukowski: I can’t forget that we played a show last year and a kid wanted one of our hats and he didn’t have any money or a credit card… so he offered us a pocket knife and we told him to go sell it! The bus doesn’t get gas in it’s tank from filling it with pocket knives… In that same token, on our recent Memorial Day Weekend Confederate tour, a girl actually gave me a pocket knife to remember her… I just can’t escape pocket knives for some reason!