HardRockChick Interviews Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers

by hardrockchick [about 2 months, 7 days ago.]

I can remember how hard I fell for A Place to Bury Strangers the first time I heard them a few years ago, and that was only magnified by the first time I saw them live. Since then, I’ve seen several more shows, and somehow my admiration grows every time. While the entire band is solid, my focus tends to be on the ninja guitar skills of Oliver Ackermann. Below is my phone interview with Oliver, who is in the midst of a West Coast series of headlining dates.

HardRockChick: When I first saw you guys a few years ago, the first words that came to my mind were ‘sensory overload’, between the volume and the fog and the strobes and everything. I was wondering how you think that fits with your music and what about that draws certain people in to that kind of show?

“And that’s even partially sort of the goal of the music as well as the live show where it kind of takes over the body and the mind with what’s going on.”

Oliver Ackermann: I think that all of those kind of elements just help…kind of go hand in hand, with where the songs and the music sort of goes. Where you’ve got things where it’s sort of ambiguous exactly what is going on, kind of like music and what sort of sounds are happening, which is kind of reflective of the smoke machines where it kind of blows your vision, strobe lights that can be disorienting and goes with the distortion and what not. You know, I think it’s just almost the same sort of thing with that, I think it’s an appropriate sort of marriage of things. And that’s even partially sort of the goal of the music as well as the live show where it kind of takes over the body and the mind with what’s going on. I think that’s the best way to do it- to mix it with something that’s disorienting as well as overpowering. I think that the kind of people who would like that sort of thing I guess are maybe people who, I don’t know, kind of want to have an out of body experience in some sort of way. It’s not the kind of music where you go with your friend and kind of mingle and pick up people or whatever. It’s for people who want to enter that out of body state, or something like that.

HRC: Another thing I noticed is that your vocals are always pretty drowned out during the show, and I was just wondering why that is, if there’s a reason for that?

OA: I guess it doesn’t always end up that way. Maybe it’s because of inadequate PA equipment? We’re kind of playing where the guitars are an important element as well as the vocals and everything, and the volumes are really loud on the guitars so to get a particular sound, so I think sometimes it’s just, you can’t necessarily hear exactly what’s going on with the vocals. Sometimes it has to do with the PA. It’s just the way things go.

io echo / APTBS by hardrockchick, on Flickr

HRC: The highlight of your show for me is always when you essentially destroy your guitar. I was wondering- there’s equipment abuse and then almost this element of admiration for the instrument that goes along with that, like when Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire. While those are 2 conflicting elements, I was wondering if you feel they go together?

“And when you kind of rough it up a little bit, you kind of get more in tune with how a guitar is built and how you interact with it and what maybe it’s limits are.”

OA: Guitars, and instruments, are meant to be played. And when you kind of rough it up a little bit, you kind of get more in tune with how a guitar is built and how you interact with it and what maybe it’s limits are. So I guess, you know, I have a little bit of an advantage because I can just put the stuff back together. It’s great that there are guitars and to be able to use such nice beautiful guitars out there, but as far as respect goes, you shouldn’t really worry too much about some sort of object. It’s meant to create the sound, and it should be used for its purpose.

HRC: What’s the best show you’ve ever played and what makes it the best show for you?

OA: Best show I’ve ever played? Tough call. I’m just going to say…we played a festival in Greece, and I guess it was because it was truly destructive, so it was super fun. I was swinging my guitar around and it smashed into these lights and they exploded with glass all over the place. And we were rolling around in the glass and lots of good stuff. It was fun. And then I think I threw a guitar through the drum set. It was just a good, fun, crazy show.

HRC: So it seems like you guys are constantly touring…how do you keep your sanity and remember where you are?

“You should just live life, live it up, experience and hang out with good people that you’re doing good stuff with and make you feel good.”

OA: I don’t know. I guess we don’t do it? Is that an answer? I guess, you know, you can remember where you are once you get someplace, it’s easy enough. You become aware of what’s going on. But we usually don’t know exactly where we’re going or what time shows are and stuff like that. As far as dates in the future, people will be like ‘hey I heard you guys are playing, what time are you playing?’ and I’ll be like ‘I don’t know’. It’s hard to remember that kind of shit. As far as keeping your sanity, you just don’t really think about it too much. I think I sort of felt like I’ve lost my sanity at times. You should just live life, live it up, experience and hang out with good people that you’re doing good stuff with and make you feel good. I think you would lose your mind more if you were just constantly partying and not aware of reality or something. You have to take in a little bit of the environment. Helps keep it amazing, helps keep you inspired by the cities.

HRC: That leads into my next question; who or what would you consider to be your muse?

OA: I don’t know, I guess…all sorts of things….just life helps take that role…and it changes. It can be exciting, whether its the people in your band or the bands you’re traveling with, all sorts of stuff. Let’s just say the music. That keeps things afloat. And that conversation between it and you.

HRC: What’s a goal you have in mind for the band and for you personally?

“Just try to be able to do everything I’m doing now as much as I can, whether it be like helping bands out or releasing some cool records, or travel around more and play more cool shows.”

OA: Oh my…for the band, just to record more music that we want to hear. We’re writing a bunch more songs. I think that goal would just be to write and record some really cool stuff. And for me, personally, I guess it’s the same kind of thing. Just try to be able to do everything I’m doing now as much as I can, whether it be like helping bands out or releasing some cool records, or travel around more and play more cool shows. I dunno, I guess just to focus on working all the time and usually that ends up working out for me, and have a good outcome. The goals come about without even realizing it, I think.

HRC: Is there a new band that you’re working on helping out now or are into recently?

OA: Yeah, we just played with this band Weekend, they’re amazing. This other band Grave Babies, they’re an amazing band. I really like this band Natural Child, and Jeff the Brotherhood, they’re wicked. Seahorse, they’re a good band….there are a bunch of good bands.

HRC: What’s the last movie you saw or book you read that had a big impact on you that you would recommend to people?

OA: It’s a book- Atomised, by Michael Houellebecq. That was an amazing book. I don’t know if it exactly ties into what we’re doing….but it’s kind of raw and sexy and really cool.

Genre(s): Interviews

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HardRockChick Interviews Roxana Shirazi, author of The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage

by hardrockchick [about 3 months, 1 day ago.]

This past holiday weekend, in between my own rock ‘n’ roll moments, I could not put down Roxana Shirazi’s newly released memoir, ‘The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage‘.

After reading the press release and the intro, I expected the book to be one salacious story after the other. But very early on I realized that it was going to be much different. In fact, the whole story really got under my skin. Is it a loss of innocence, coming of age, falling in love with the wrong guy story like Pamela Des Barres’ books? In a way, yes. But Shirazi tackles very current and extremely heavy topics at the same time: Middle Eastern cultural issues, immigration, sexism, abortion, and feminism, just to name a few. It’s smart and it’s shocking; it’s entertaining and thought provoking.

I spoke with Roxana on the phone last night from her hotel room in LA about how she wrote the book, her favorite stories, regrets, advice, and plans for the future.

HardRockChick: I read your book this weekend and couldn’t put it down…it was really unexpected, the way that it began. It almost felt like two books in one….which made me wonder what prompted the timing of you writing the book, and if you started out in one direction and went into another. What was your initial plan?

“I just thought, OK, I guess this is my life.”

Roxana Shirazi: I actually started it at university, because I was speaking at a lot of women’s conferences. I started writing this book at university because I wanted to write about my childhood in Iran. It had a lot to do with gender issues, identity issues, and lots of things about the war and revolution. So it was purely that; it was going to be something about growing up in war-torn Iran and about revolution and how politically active my family were. And at the time I was seeing a lot of bands. So someone said to me, it would make a really interesting book if you put both lives, because it’s like a secret life you have, and you kind of write about that, too, with rock bands. And I was like, wow, it’d be weird, because I don’t know how to merge the two together. I had a really great tutor who said to me not to censor myself- he said just write everything you have about your childhood, how you were sent to England, and then start going into how you got into rock ‘n’ roll. And I guess it kinda went on from there really. I just thought, OK, I guess this is my life. The rock bands are a huge part of my life, so I might as well put that in as well.

HRC: So how long did you write for before you got to the point where you felt ready?

“…so I was writing about it as it was happening..”

RS: Well, I wrote the parts about my childhood in Iran, and took me only two to three months. When I started writing about the rock ‘n’ roll stuff, the thing is it was going on, so I was writing about it as it was happening. When I started the rock ‘n’ roll stuff, everything had happened up to the point of Brides of Destruction, just before Dizzy, I think. And then that year I went on tour with Guns n’ Roses, so…then stuff happened and I wasn’t writing anything. Stuff was happening and I was in a really bad state of mind. And then I went back to writing the book. And I wrote everything that happened to me and things after that as well. All in all, the thing was a year and a half, maybe? With lots of breaks in between.

HRC: Oh wow, that’s really interesting; so it was almost written as it was happening instead of looking back, except for the part about your childhood.

RS: Yeah, the band stuff…it wasn’t like a diary where I wrote as things happened. Because when I went through the stuff with Dizzy, I couldn’t write at all…I was kind of really depressed. I left it and didn’t write, and then went back to it.

HRC: Well hopefully it was therapeutic for you to write about it.

“I was like ‘oh my god, did this really happen to me? Ick’.”

RS: Actually it wasn’t. I was like ‘oh my god, did this really happen to me? Ick’. It was like an icky experience. Or, I wish this hadn’t happened. It felt really uncomfortable and afterwards I was really nervous, thinking, you know, what have I done to myself. But looking back now I think, well, you know…I guess….I’m glad I put it down on paper to make some sort of sense out of it.

HRC: I know you are getting a lot of comparisons to Pamela Des Barres‘ books and things like that, but she wrote that many years after the fact and it was obviously a very different time. So I think it’s very interesting because now there are things like text messages and emails that record everything as it’s going on, I could see that you were putting some of that into your story. I was wondering how that helped you keep the memories?

“So, I always thought rock ‘n roll was a very free spirited place. It turned out to be not as wild as I thought it would be.”

RS: Well, I never thought I’d be compared to a groupie. I don’t like to be compared to a groupie…I think I’m too wild to be a groupie. I don’t want to be subservient and meek to other men. I want me to be the one calling the shots. So, I always thought rock ‘n roll was a very free spirited place. It turned out to be not as wild as I thought it would be. So, I don’t really like to think of me being compared to someone who is a groupie. I’d like to be compared to someone who is a very strong woman, and who’s in charge of things she does. I love Madonna. Some of my idols, people I look up to, are very strong women. But back to your question about the internet and stuff, I think it’s easier to get in touch with people, obviously. If you’ve got Internet, and now that people have these social networking sites; if you’ve met someone on tour and you’re trying to get a hold of them, you can try and find them and contact them. Where as maybe before, it wasn’t that easy. But then there’s also the added thing of internet and stuff that it has lost it’s mystique. So as maybe in the ’70s, everybody went on tour together and they shared things together, everything is so much like technology-technology now. Maybe it’s lost some of it’s romanticism in some way. I don’t know. It’s become too sort of ‘out there’…I don’t know, maybe I’m an old romantic at heart, but it just seems to me that in the ’60s ad ’70s it was much more free love, open, everyone was like together…and now it’s so corporate, the rock ‘n’ roll world. Very corporate, like an office.

HRC: Absolutely. How does it work legally with including the names of these people in your book? Did you have to ask their permission?

“I had so many guys say, ‘can I be in your book?’.”

RS: Yeah. I had so many guys say, ‘can I be in your book?’. And I’d be like, ‘uh yeah- there’s nothing that’s happened with us’. There are so many that I haven’t written about because there’s nothing exciting to talk about. Like members of Whitesnake and Def Leppard, it was really so dull when I went on tour with them. But in terms of, I told a lot people before when I was writing about it, that you will be in this chapter. I even actually gave their chapter to them. A lot of them were cool with it. There was one person that I didn’t name. I said which band I was with but I didn’t name who he was because he asked me not to, and I absolutely adore him so I didn’t. There was one other guy who I have a very close friendship with- I mean he’s absolutely adorable- I have named him, but I think that he looks really good in it. And I said, you know, he’s going to get more chicks, really, so I think he should be happy and flattered.

HRC: In terms of editing the book down to what got included, was there any part that got left out that you wish you could have included?

“And when you read present tense, as if it’s happening, it’s a lot more powerful.”

RS: Yeah…well, obviously there was a lot of stuff about guys and rock bands that I didn’t write about. But, there was my style of writing, which was slightly different from the edited version. Mine is really heavily poetic, and I’ve written a lot of poetry throughout my life and childhood. And they kind of have to make it less dense and less poetic to appeal, to make it more accessible to the reader. I wish, like for example, there’s parts about my abortion, and especially my childhood, with the child molestation- were very painful points in my life which I had written in a very raw, in the present tense. And when you read present tense, as if it’s happening, it’s a lot more powerful. And it’s not present tense now; they’ve edited it to make it- it’s a lot sort of like happened in the past. I wish I could have kept my way of writing. Maybe in my next book I’d have more power.

HRC: I think I can probably guess what the hardest part to write was; so what was the easiest or most fun part for you to write?

“They said, we want to call your book ‘Are You Fucking Man Enough? The Legend of Roxana’.”

RS: Oh, well there were so many fun things that happened, like with Matt Sorum and Tracii Guns and Jeremy Guns from L.A. Guns. There was the stuff on Kid Ego, that young teenage band who I had a lot of fun with. There was stuff like with Avenged Sevenfold, which was not very nice, but it was just some crazy nights. I liked writing about, like, I love Buckcherry, and they sort of renamed my book…they said, ‘we want to call your book ‘Are You Fucking Man Enough: The Legend of Roxana”. I wish I could call it that. I liked writing about fun times that spontaneously happened with lots of bands that didn’t have any emotional attachment. Where there was no love or anything involved, it was just a good night out getting drunk, dancing, and having great fun. So those were like…funny, made me laugh..I was like, this is cool to write about. Those were good, and there’s a few of them, I guess.

HRC: Do you have any regrets- like a missed opportunity…I’m trying to keep it positive here- about anything that happened along your journey that you covered in the book?

“It was something I did without really thinking about it.”

RS: Well, my regret was having the abortion. I wish I hadn’t. It was something I did without really thinking about it. I feel like I was never really given any- I mean, no one sat me down and was like ‘are you sure?’ I mean, I would have thought there would be people who at the clinic would talk to you about it, and not just take you into the room. So I wish I hadn’t done that. And obviously, I wish I hadn’t done drugs. I used to do cocaine, and I had a seizure on it. I wish I hadn’t damaged my body. I don’t touch drugs at all now. I hardly ever drink. I have one glass of wine and I’m completely drunk, it’s so embarrassing. I wish I hadn’t- and I think I’m wild enough that I don’t really need to do a lot of drinking and taking drugs. So those two things. I don’t really have any other big regrets, I guess, no…I guess maybe with some of the really boring rock bands I wish I had made them be a bit more fun.

HRC: That’s what I was getting at there. You alluded to the fact that there’s more to the story and that the story continued on past what you’ve covered. So, I was wondering what your future plans are from here?

“I’d love to still have a bit of rock ‘n roll fun.”

RS: I have so many things that I really want to do. I just have some much stuff I hope I can do them all. I’d love to continue- I want to do my Ph.D. and do more teaching at the university on gender and feminism. I absolutely love teaching. I’d love to write more- because I’ve written from a young age. I do a lot of animal rights work, anti-fur stuff. I’d love to still have a bit of rock ‘n roll fun. I’ve done a lot of theater work in my life- I did the Vagina Monologues, Dracula, and lots of Shakespeare. When I was young I went to drama school. Basically anything creative- I love creativity. I love art, I love painting, sculpture and stuff. I’d love to be able to actually have a profession being creative. And also I’m academic. So if that could all happen it’d be really ideal.

HRC: What music are you listening to nowadays?

“…I have these funny little phases where I just get crazy and I like something really weird.”

RS: Wow, gosh. You know what- this is going to sound really funny. I’ve always loved musicals, and recently in England there was a show that they were auditioning girls for- a Wizard of Oz show, Over the Rainbow. I think it’s just a little sort of passing phase- I don’t think it will last- but I have these funny little things where I get into something for a while and then I get bored of it. But I’ve been listening to any sort of Broadway musical soundtracks, and it’s really fun and happy. My first love is rock ‘n’ roll- I always listen to Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin…my absolute love is classic rock. Love Leonard Cohen. I love The Beatles. So that’s always there, but I have these funny little phases where I just get crazy and I like something really weird.

HRC: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and what’s a good piece of advice that you could give to other women out there?

“We need more characters in this world- we need more individuals.”

RS: Oh, that’s a hard one. The best piece of advice I ever received is to be myself, and not to give into peer pressure and society’s ideals of how to be. Just not to censor myself. I think I’ve always had difficulty with being…I’ve never had any friends that were kind of a dork and a nerd and I always worried that I wasn’t cool enough and I wanted to be like them. I’ve stopped wanting to be like others. So I think the best thing I can say to other people is, don’t worry if you’re different or don’t think you have to be this same, homogenized version of what society wants you to be. We need more characters in this world- we need more individuals. Human beings are very complex; you can’t stereotype people. Like for example, I have come to live with the fact that I’m very academic, but I’m also very, very sexual. And I don’t have to be one or the other, I can be both. So just be yourself and embrace what you feel and what you love, and love yourself, basically.

HRC: My final question is what do you want, and what do you expect, to come from people reading this book?

“I mean, a bad human being should be measured by how cruel or selfish or horrible they are, not what they do in bed. “

RS: Ideally, well, I’d like a couple of things. I’d like them to understand that to, break stereotypes- I know that there’s a lot of people who think, ‘oh, she’s from Iran- so she’s a Muslim’, and no, I’m not. ‘Oh, she’s from Iran, she must be a terrorist’. Well, no, I’m not. ‘She is very sexually active so she must be a bimbo’, well, no, I’m really academic as well. So I hope to break these stereotypes of people’s limited way of thinking about humanity that you have to be- if you’re one thing you can’t be another. I want people to understand that human being can be multifaceted and very complex. And, you know, to be able to open their minds and know that if a girl’s really sexual and she loves being wild, she also can be a humanitarian and love people and do charity work and be completely academic and be a complete feminist. You know, I hope to change people’s way of thinking- that would be my greatest achievement, you know, if people can start to see things and be more open minded and aware. And also I’d like for people to see that women can be quite sexual and be quite happy. When they read the parts about my experiences and think well, you know, she’s not a victim. She controls it, she enjoys it…so what’s the harm in that. And if you’re sexually active it doesn’t make you a bad human being. Your sex life doesn’t reduce you down to a bad human being. I mean, a bad human being should be measured by how cruel or selfish or horrible they are, not what they do in bed. Maybe, hopefully, people will be able to see something in that when they read the book.

Buy ‘The Last Living Slut: Born in Iran, Bred Backstage’ on Amazon here.

Roxana’s MySpace
Roxana’s Facebook Fan Page

Genre(s): Interviews

3886Comments (2)2010-06-03+17%3A41%3A50hardrockchick

HardRockChick interviews Black Breath

by hardrockchick [about 3 months, 19 days ago.]

I spoke with members of Black Breath before they took the stage last night in SF, opening for Converge. Topics included their band name, Mexican tacos, an epileptic roadie, and their upcoming slot at Maryland Death Fest.

HardRockChick interviews Black Breath from hardrockchick on Vimeo.

Genre(s): Interviews

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HardRockChick Interviews Dan And from Bison B.C.

by hardrockchick [about 3 months, 26 days ago.]

Dan And of Bison B.C. stops by before their opening slot for Mastodon in Oakland (alongside BTBAM, High on Fire, Baroness, Priestess, Valient Thorr, and Black Cobra) to talk about touring, his creative process, and criticism for having “too many good riffs.”

HardRockChick Interviews Dan And from Bison B.C. from hardrockchick on Vimeo.

The Decibel blog Dan mentions can be found here.

I’d like to dedicate this interview to Tim, brother of my friend Jeff, who along with Hetal is helping me transition to video interviews. Tim passed away earlier this week, and my heart goes out to his family in this difficult time.

Genre(s): Interviews

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HardRockChick Interviews Red Sparowes

by hardrockchick [about 3 months, 26 days ago.]

The post-rock band Red Sparowes have been creating mind expanding soundscapes since the early 2000′s. From the basement dressing room of the Great American Music Hall, with a sleeping merch guy on a couch behind me, I chatted with 3/5 of the band about the beginning through the now. It was very much apparent that Red Sparowes has an agenda for their fans, and that’s to let them create their own experience from their music. It was an interview that made me leave feeling smarter.

HardRockChick: I wanted to start out talking about how you got your name and your origin story; how you met.

Greg Burns (bass, pedal steel): The name comes from a line in a T.S. Eliot poem. There’s a line where he talks about the sparrows in the gutters. That line was picked out by the earlier lineup. The original band name was Sparrows, and it turned out that there was some other band named Sparrows in the ’60s. So we changed the spelling at that point to the old english ‘Sparowes’. A friend of ours who’s a lawyer said that that wasn’t enough. So then we added ‘Red’. So that’s why it’s ‘Red Sparowes’ with the old english spelling.

“So we never meant to start a band.”

As far as the origin goes, I’d known Jeff Caxide, the bass player for Isis, from Connecticut where I grew up. I’d been living in LA, and all the Isis guys moved out to LA. So I went out to meet them for drinks, and at that point, Cliff and I met. And the original lineup which was Josh and Dana, Jeff and myself; we were just all there, and got excited about music, and decided to try jamming. So we never meant to start a band. All of a sudden we just had all these songs, and we decided to record them. And then we decided to try playing a show, and it just snowballed from there.

HRC: Very organic. I read in the early days you opened for Dillinger Escape Plan and then, later on, Nick Cave. That’s an interesting progression. Any fun memories you can share?

Dave Clifford (drums): Well, the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds shows…that was really awesome. How that all came together was cool. I knew Jim, one of the drummers in the band, for a long time. He got the other guys to listen to us, and they liked it, and let us come play with them. It was pretty cool. We never thought that our music was suited for them, but they thought it was really great and were very enthusiastic about it. It was great, and I think we went over pretty decently with the audience, too.

GB: No tomatoes thrown that I saw. I feel really good about all the bands we’ve opened for, and it’s nice being in a band that can do that. And I think that being instrumental probably has a lot to do with it. But Dillinger was awesome- we had all known those guys for a long time, so it was just sort of a natural friendship. We played a series of shows with them- 4 maybe 5 shows- but our first show was like the third show we’d ever played. So it was a great way to sort of kick start things. It was fun.

HRC: Being an instrumental band, I wonder if when you’re writing songs if you ever have a desire for lyrics to be in there, or if you would ever consider lyrics in the future…or is it a very conscious rule to not have lyrics, ever?

Emma Ruth Rundle (guitar): I think we may incorporate some. I mean, there are vocals on the record that we just finished, but there are no lyrics. At some point, I think as the band progresses…we don’t want to be limited by any sort of rule, whether to have vocals or not to. I mean, it seems, part of the post-rock genre is there are no vocals allowed. But we certainly don’t want to be limited by that. At some point in the future, we may.

“The weird thing is that when some word got out that we were putting in vocals on our record, all these people assumed they would be cookie monster vocals.”

DC: I think that, as far as, like, evolving, just the voice as an instrument on music I think in certain sections would be really cool. But I think it is one of those things where we don’t want it to really be just lyrics. We’d like it to be something that is kind of more indistinguishable for what it is. Some kind of way that is not interfering with the music, but part of the sonic landscape. The weird thing is that when some word got out that we were putting in vocals on our record, all these people assumed they would be cookie monster vocals. A lot of people kinda freaked out about it.

HRC: There were 4 years between albums. How long did the writing process take? Were you working on it on and off the whole time? Or was it more just before you went in to record?

“Everything was just supercharged.”

GB: Well, specifically, we started writing right after Every Red Heart, but what happened is that we went through a line up change. But before we went through the line up change, there were some geographical challenges because we had a member living in New York. Everything really sort of slowed down. We were writing in LA as part of the band, but kind of holding back in a lot of ways. So there were pieces here and there. So we had a lot; a lot recorded and demoed in our own little studio that we have. But nothing was in a finished state because we were in this weird sort of limbo. As soon as we found Emma, everything came together. Although it was interesting, we wrote a lot of stuff when Emma came in, because we were just really inspired by having her. Everything was just supercharged. We ended up not using a lot of what we had already written. Which is great, that is what I would have really wanted. Everything felt fresh and really exciting.

HRC: That’s really sweet. Do you think you’d ever go back and rework any of those original pieces?

DC: I think it would be kinda worth it to go back and listen to some stuff and see. I think everybody kinda has….we have a lot of ideas now and it’s pretty easy to come up with stuff whenever we have done something. I think we are probably going to just continue to move forward because we have a lot going on. But I think it would be interesting to go back and listen to see if there’s anything great that we’ve forgotten.

HRC: The visual that you have in your live show- how do you come up with those, how are they made, and what’s the inspiration?

DC: Each one is from the specific albums; they’re kinda tied to the concept for the album. Like, the couple that we play from Every Red Heart are themed to that, and the couple from the first record are tied to that. And most of them other than one new one is found footage, or purchased footage. But we’ve all collectively worked together on shooting stuff, or editing and putting it together. It’s supposed to be something to just create a total environment, for when people go and see the band, they can actually get what they want out of the visuals or the music. They don’t necessarily have to get the idea. I like it when the visuals definitely are conveying something- some sort of idea- rather than…I’ve seen so many bands where it doesn’t seem like there’s any real purpose to it. It seems important to have that.

HRC: Do you feel like the visuals lock you into a setlist?

DC: We change the sets a little. It’s convenient to be able to bring Final Cut on the computer and move things around. But we pretty much always play the same set.

GB: We allow ourselves, well, we usually bring several DVDs so we have a choice. And then we definitely allow ourselves room in between songs to play around and sort of improvise a bit here and there. So there’s still room for….I guess I feel like there’s always a response to the energy of the show that might get lost if it was super rigid. But we leave room for that as much as we can.

HRC: The album title- can you talk about that for a little bit?

“And in a lot of ways that’s really helpful, but in other times it can have a disastrous effect.”

DC: The Fear Is Excruciating But Therein Lies The Answer? Well, it’s tied into the concept of the album which is about wrong ideas and how our human brains are programmed to be able to make quick conclusions and to connect the dots to things really rapidly. And in a lot of ways that’s really helpful, but in other times it can have a disastrous effect. From that, it’s connected to the whole history of science- throughout all of this evolutionary progress that we’ve made, all the kinds of wrong ideas that have come up, and this ongoing paradigm shift that continues throughout time. What is really interesting to me about that concept is how often wrong ideas can really proliferate. So it’s basically about that. The way to find meaning- you can be very afraid of not knowing something and wanting to find answers, but to just jump to a conclusion out of fear is very dangerous.

HRC: What’s an example that’s on your mind that may have sparked that idea?

DC: I suppose in real emergency situations, like 9/11 or something. People were very panicked, and imagining all kinds of scenarios about what was going on because it’s scary. You don’t know what’s happening. Is a plane going to crash into my house the next minute? So that is an example; conspiracy theories where people try to find some other explanation that can be the easiest one to jump to. Also, things like celebrity deaths, hoaxes and things like that. Where people automatically believe something that they read online or something because it exists. They’ll just believe it without doing any investigation.

HRC: What do you want people to walk away from your show feeling or thinking?

DC: With a handful of records…

GB: Well I guess I would just hope that every person could really just sort of experience their own unique feeling. I wouldn’t want to hope anything. A lot of what we do is just really try to put things out there in a way that people can relate to it how they want, and get what they want from it. Hopefully that they would just come back to another show. But besides that, just to open themselves up to it and allow themselves to take it in for what it is.

HRC: Last question- what do you think is the most important event in music ever, and what is your guilty pleasure music?

GB: Oh man, I can tell you my guilty pleasure music right away. I think Chamillionaire is amazing. Yeah.

ERR: I think the most important event in music…..electricity. That changed music forever.

GB: That’s good.

DC: I don’t have any guilty pleasure music. I appreciate anything for what I appreciate it for. So there’s nothing I feel like I have to be ashamed of liking.

GB: He’s afraid to say Chamillionaire, basically.

Genre(s): Interviews

3803Comments (0)HardRockChick+Interviews+Red+Sparowes2010-05-10+01%3A52%3A20hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Cain Cressall from Malignant Monster and The Amenta

by hardrockchick [about 4 months, 0 days ago.]

I became a Cain Cressall fan about 30 seconds into seeing his performance with The Amenta last year. His wicked stage presence really hooked me, and I went on to name him one of my Top 10 Standout Musicians of 2009 That Aren’t Household Names Yet. So obviously I’m thrilled to bring you the below interview with Cain, fresh off several shows with The Amenta in Australia opening for Behemoth and Goatwhore.

HardRockChick: What were you like as a kid? What kinds of things were you into?

Cain Cressall: Not much has changed. Art, music, horror, cartoons.

Cain Cressall

HRC: When did you first get into music? Did you/do you play any instruments? What was your first band like?

CC: I first became obsessed with music when I saw the video for AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock. I never took up any instruments until much later in life. I play some guitar and keys, purely for writing & toying with ideas. My first band sucked. They were a sloppy Metallica cover band with a handful of awful originals. I got kicked out after about 6 months.

HRC: I read that you also draw- can you talk about that?

CC: My first passion was for drawing. This began way before I ever became obsessed with music. My subject matter usually revolves around the macabre or ghastly self portraits. I don’t draw so much these days but have been aching to get back into it.

HRC: I also read that you are a horror film expert. What is it about that genre of film that attracts you? What’s your short list of must see horror films?

“I recommend that all parents introduce their children to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) at an early age.”

CC: I wouldn’t say expert, just an avid enthusiast. I have been obsessed with horror since I was very young. Among my greatest admired directors are Dario Argento, David Lynch, George A. Romero, Stanley Kubrick, and Alfred Hitchcock. I recommend that all parents introduce their children to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) at an early age. That film will always have a very special place in my heart. The Shining also had a particularly memorable impact on me as a kid.

HRC: How did you form your band, Malignant Monster? What is your vision for the band?

CC: No particularly interesting origin story. Just trial and error, trying to find the right players to suit the direction. My vision is a new strain of musical sickness founded on good old fashioned extreme aggression. A celebration of ugliness and perversion.

HRC: It seemed like you took on vocal duties for The Amenta right before embarking on the U.S. tour with Vader. How did you acclimate to the role, and how did you feel about the tour?

CC: Yeah, the guys had shared a stage with Malignant Monster the year before, over on my side of the country (I’m from Perth, Western Australia, the other guys are from Sydney on the East Coast). They liked my band & we hit it off really well, so they asked me aboard when their previous vocalist left the band.

The tour was very successful for us. I don’t think we could have asked for more satisfying outcome, considering we are fairly unknown in the US.

Cain Live

HRC: It seems that everyone who’s seen you perform walks away saying that you have a truly amazing stage presence. Where does it come from? What goes through your mind up there? How much do you pay attention to the crowd’s reaction to you?

“I pay total attention to the crowds reaction because they’re half the fucking show.”

CC: Thank you. I’ve always loved theatrics and character in live music, from Alice Cooper to modern day extreme metal spectacles such as Mayhem. I guess, as with most performers, it’s just an excellent outlet for self-expression.

I pay total attention to the crowds reaction because they’re half the fucking show.

HRC: I’ve heard great things about the metal scene in Australia. Besides your bands, what are some others that you recommend checking out? Also, does the negative sentiment about the future of the music industry pervade over there as much as it does here?

“We generally seem to have a great kind of underdog determination.”

CC: There are always great bands coming and going over here. Some prominent ones really causing a stir at the moment would include Psycroptic, Ruins and Portal. Other bands including The Amenta members include Norse and Pain Division. Being so isolated over here from the global metal scene, we have a general kind of acceptance that the industry is a cunt and that we’re in such an inconvenient location that it seems crazy to get too caught up in that kind of sentiment. We generally seem to have a great kind of underdog determination.

HRC: What are your future plans with both Malignant Monster and The Amenta, and anything else you might be working on?

CC: Both bands are working on new albums which are intended for release early 2011. I am very excited about the progress of both these productions.

HRC: Any final words for the readers?

CC: Take care and I look forward to screaming at many more of you next year.

Genre(s): Interviews

3781Comments (0)2010-05-06+01%3A33%3A24hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Evile

by hardrockchick [about 4 months, 16 days ago.]

Evile.

EVILE!

EVILE!!!

Ever since I started listening to Evile last year, I have been unable to say the word evil anymore. It has been replaced by the word evile for the indefinite future.

What started as a one on one with Ol ended up being a full band interview before their set at the San Francisco stop of Killfest. From the secret dressing room high above the Regency Ballroom stage, I discussed metal awards, videogames, sightseeing, and being an unbreakable new band with the boys from Huddersfield, who proved to be neither evil nor vile.

HardRockChick: First off, I think you guys have the most awesome band name out of all the new bands that I know. You hear some really shitty band names nowadays, and I really like yours.

Matt Drake (vocals): We don’t like sentences for band names. Or theories. Or days of the week.

HRC: I know, right…you can’t remember it! So being part of the new wave of thrash metal bands movement, how does it feel to be in San Francisco where it was born?

Ben Carter (drummer): It’s ridiculous. Ever since being in high school, listening to Metallica and Slayer and people like that, I’ve always wanted to come to San Francisco. I never thought I would, certainly not playing in a band.

MD and Joel Graham (bassist): Though Slayer is LA…

Ol Drake (lead guitar): You always hear about the Bay Area, and thrash metal to me is like (makes an excited sound).

MD: Obviously it’s changed over the years, it’s not the same now, but the history is amazing to me.

BC: It’s a spiritual kind of thing.

HRC: You’re nominated for a Metal Hammer Golden God Award for Best U.K. Band…how does that feel?

BC: Amazing.

MD: Confusing…

BC: Amazing and confusing. It’s a privileged to be involved in the same sentence as the other bands that are nominated for it. It’s quite strange.

MD: The other bands are ridiculously successful…and we aren’t.

JG: Judas Priest are in it. Like, who else is gonna win but Judas Priest?

MD: It’s good to be nominated, I’m just, I dunno, in disbelief I guess.

HRC: What do you think about awards like that and metal…do they fit together?

OD: I think it’s pretty pointless.

MD: It’s just an opinion, really, you can’t say ‘we’re better than anybody else’.

JG: It feels a bit embarrassing to me…to be honest. It just feels weird! You can’t be like, ‘Yeah! Great! We’ve been nominated!’….you just go ‘oh god..’

BC: It’s humbling in a way. Because, like you said, Judas Priest has been around for how many years?

OD: 80.

BC: Yeah, at least 80. And then they come around and, like, we’re in the same bracket as those guys? And like Skindred as well, and Bullet For My Valentine as well.

MD: That’s why I kind of think it’s a joke.

HRC: You guys have been through a lot for a relatively new band- with the death of your bassist, and you (Ol) had a bad accident on tour….what gives you the drive and inspiration to keep going when a new band can be so breakable?

MD: It’s all we can do.

BC: I think you have to take the blinkers off and see things from outside the band’s perspective. Like, the fans would obviously want us to carry on, well, whatever fans we’ve got. People who’ve grown up with us know that this is all we know how to do. So, our friends and family, if we stopped being Evile, I think we’ve let them down, we’ve let ourselves down.

OD: We’d let Mike down as well.

BC: We’d let Mike down for sure. So, yeah, we’ve just gotta keep rolling on and see what happens. We just enjoy doing it.

MD: That’s it- it’s just the love of doing it. Just to be able to come to different cities and different countries is great. As far as inspiration goes…it’s just fun that somehow people enjoy what we do. It’s just good to have that.

OD: The inspiration is when you play to a crowd and they appreciate you and you appreciate them..it’s like an exchange of appreciativeness.

MD: Is that a word?

OD: It is now.

HRC: You guys are involved in the Rock Band Network…how is that going?

OD: Very…annoying.

HRC: It’s very new….

OD: Yeah, it only started in March, but it’s just a very thorough process and it’s taking a long time, but it’s going to be worth it and very cool. A lot of people played the song ‘Thrasher’ before…we had all these downloads…and people kept saying ‘more tracks! more tracks!’ so that’s what we’re doing.

MD: Going through every song to rewrite it for Rock Band is really hard to do. It’s really cool to do it, just the fact that we’ve all grown up playing games. All we did was play computer games when we were kids….so to be on one is amazing…so good.

HRC: So are you guys good at Rock Band?

OD: I can do up to hard difficulty on the guitar, but not past that.

BC: I’m useless…condensing everything that I have in a drum kit into four pads and one kick pedal…it’s horrific.

OD: It’s not drums, it’s a game…it’s totally different

BC: And I’ve got the slowest reactions in the universe…I just can’t do it.

MD: I love it. Me and my girlfriend have our own band on there…I play drums and she plays bass. And we just play that. I have yet to get Beatles Rock Band, it’s on my wish list.

This is the part where I revealed what my real job is…which I think earned me some cool points with Evile.

HRC: You guys seem pretty involved in social networks and connecting with your fans- I saw Ol’s YouTube channel and Twitter in particular….what do you think about all of that and do you have any weird stories about things that have happened?

MD: There’s upsides and downsides.

OD: I think it’s really important to be in touch and be accessible. Because I know, when I was growing up, if Metallica had a Facebook, if the internet was around, I would be like ‘oh wow!’, because they would be talking to you…and that would be amazing. To see people react to you, just interacting with you, it’s just really cool.

MD: The downside of that is that people, not really take it for granted but kind of go too far sometimes and don’t stop hassling you. You’ll get 50 questions in one email: ‘what’s your favorite color?’, ‘what’s your favorite band?’, ‘I like this and it’s really good’, ‘what color guitar would you prefer to have next week?’…

BC: ‘Are you wearing a belt right now?’

OD: Then it’s like I got 1800 messages today to reply to…

MD: So that’s the downside of it….but like 99% of the people are cool.

JG: It had just been announced that I’d been in the band for like a week or two weeks, and someone put a thread up about me joining the band in the forum. And someone posted that they were in Sheffield talking to this person and this person, and I actually found out I have a sister through the forum….and I actually don’t have a sister. But someone just said, ‘I know your sister and her boyfriend’ and I’m just thinking…I don’t have a sister! But people presumed I had a sister..strange!

BC: It keeps you grounded in a way.

HRC: So what’s on your list for sightseeing tomorrow?

MD: Golden Gate bridge, Alcatraz, the port….as many places as I can think of that were in The Rock. I just want to go stand by them and go ‘Welcome to The Rock’ all the time.

BC: In a mock Sean Connery accent?

MD: A really bad one.

JG: There’s lots of movie sightseeing going on on this tour. We’re using movies as reference points to go and see things.

BC: Not actual landmarks…just movie references.

JG: We went out to see The Goonies house yesterday.

HRC: Wow!!!

BC: First thing when we landed in New York was go find the Ghostbuster’s fire station.

OD: The Goonies house was great because the owners put up a sign that said ‘Goonies Welcome’. So you could walk up the drive and look at the house.

MD: I just wanna go and see as many things as possible tomorrow…the hills, the trams…the obvious sightseeing stuff. Because we’re English, everything’s seems cool.

HRC: So what’s in your future plans after this tour?

MD: Writing.

JG: Festivals, writing…

BC: We’ve got like 8 or 9 European festivals lined up.

OD: We got Wacken, finally, in Germany.

BC: We’ve got Hellfest in France, and Sonisphere in the UK. Bloodstock in the UK.

HRC: That Hellfest lineup is ridiculous.

BC: I’m hoping we can stay for the entire weekend because I really want to see Kiss. Stupid Kiss fan.

MD: We get to open the entire thing- we’re the first band on the main stage. So we’re the ones that get to iron out all the technical difficulties.

———————————————————————————————–

Be sure to catch Evile on the rest of their North American tour!

Genre(s): Interviews

3757Comments (0)HardRockChick+Interviews+Evile2010-04-20+08%3A03%3A32hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Chris Reifert of Abscess, Autopsy, and Death

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 13 days ago.]

It’s not every day that I’m given the opportunity to interview someone who is considered a founder of one of my core genres. Chris Reifert played drums on Death’s debut album, and has since gone on to form Autopsy and Abscess, among others (like the lovingly titled side project Eat My Fuk). I was supposed to chat with the Bay Area legend yesterday, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to- but he quickly answered my questions via email, in red, all caps letters. I don’t know how to turn the text red, but I left it all caps nonetheless as I imagined that he screamed all the answers. What lies below can basically be summed up by one sentence: it’s all about the music.

band photo

Abscess – Chris Reifert – second from left

HardRockChick: In reading some of your other interviews about the upcoming Abscess album, Dawn of Inhumanity, you talk about how it was crafted to be listened to start to finish, and that each song is like a piece of a puzzle. It almost sounds like a concept album. What was the inspiration and what are the interwoven themes you are trying to communicate?

Chris Reifert: WELL, IT’S NOT REALLY SO MUCH ABOUT LYRICAL THEMES AS MUCH AS A LISTENING EXPERIENCE FOR THE EARS AND MIND. IT’S ABOUT GETTING LOST IN A WORLD THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THIS PLACE WHERE WE ARE USUALLY FORCED TO LIVE. DON’T WORRY ABOUT PICKING OUT A SONG OR TWO FOR YOUR IPOD, JUST DIVE IN DEEP AND COME WITH US FOR THE WHOLE SICK RIDE TO A STRANGE PLACE.

HRC: What is sickodelia, the term you coined to describe Abscess’ genre?

CR: I THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY PEACEVILLE’S WORD. WE HAVE CALLED OUR STUFF PSYCHEDEATHIC BEFORE, BUT JUST IN PASSING. THERE’S SO MANY WEIRD TERMS AND CATEGORIES FOR MUSIC NOW, I JUST SAY LISTEN TO THE ALBUM AND SEE WHERE IT TAKES YOU. BOTTOM LINE IS WE PLAY SICK, HEAVY BRUTAL MUSIC.

HRC: What is your philosophy behind album art?

CR: WE LIKE TO HAVE ART THAT CAPTURES THE FEELING OF THE MUSIC AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT CAN’T BE DONE WITH PHOTO SHOP STUFF OR SOULLESS COMPUTER ART OR WHATEVER. WE’VE ALWAYS PREFERRED IT WHEN AN ARTIST TAKES THE TIME TO UTILIZE PAINT BRUSHES OR PENS AND DIG DEEP DOWN TO FIND THE IMAGES THAT COMPLIMENT OUR STRANGE SOUNDS.

HRC: What does it feel like to be referred to as a pioneer of the death metal genre? What are your thoughts on the progression of the genre as a whole, especially since it’s become more mainstream?

CR: METAL IS METAL AND THAT’S THAT. OFTEN I GET INVITED TO DISCUSS THE RELEVANCY OR PROGRESSION OF THIS MUSIC AND I JUST CAN’T DO IT. REALLY IT COMES DOWN TO BANDS YOU LIKE OR DON’T LIKE. SEEMS LIKE METAL WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG LONG TIME AND THAT’S WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO ME. BESIDES I’D RATHER PLAY IT THAN TALK ABOUT IT. HAHA!

HRC: Your music, artwork, and shows are laced with material that tends to be deemed shocking and controversial. Is it harder to be shocking these days? What do you think draws people to music that is provoking in this way?

CR: YEAH, YOU CAN’T REALLY WORRY ABOUT OR ANTICIPATE SHOCKING PEOPLE ANY MORE. IN A WAY, IT’S ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE. AT THIS STAGE IT WOULD BE HARD TO GO FOR SHOCK VALUE WITHOUT BECOMING OVERLY RIDICULOUS OR OBVIOUS WITH YOUR INTENT. THAT SORT OF THING HAS TO HAPPEN NATURALLY IF AT ALL ANY MORE. AS FOR ABSCESS, WE JUST STAY TRUE TO OUR VISION OF WHAT THE BAND SHOULD BE. AS FOR THE DRAW OF ‘SHOCKING’ MUSIC, I WOULD GUESS THE SPIRIT OF REBELLION HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THAT, WHICH IS WHERE THE HEART OF METAL REALLY RESIDES. NOT SETTLING FOR WHAT SOCIETY DICTATES AS NORMAL OR GOOD OR ACCEPTABLE.

HRC: Are the sources of anger that fueled your music earlier in your career the same things that do now, or does it come from a different place? I’ve seen a lot of metal artists mellow out a bit as they get older, but it doesn’t seem like that has happened to you…

CR: IT’S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT CHANNELING ANGER AS IT IS RELEASING THE HORRORS OF THE HUMAN MIND, OUR INCLUDED. THERE’S ENOUGH HORROR IN THE AVERAGE PERSON’S MIND TO FUEL AN ETERNITY’S WORTH OF BRUTAL METAL ALBUMS OR HORROR FILMS OR BOOKS OR WHATEVER.

HRC: I’ve read about your legendary performances….what is the craziest thing you’ve ever done on stage, and what is the craziest thing you’ve ever seen done on stage?

CR: THERE’S BEEN SO MANY THINGS. HAHA! THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THE MUSIC THOUGH. WITHOUT THAT, THE SICKEST STAGE SHOW OR ANTICS ARE NOTHING. THERE’S BEEN TONS OF BANDS WHO TALK ALL ABOUT THEIR INSANE SHOWS AND UNLESS THERE’S GOOD SONGS TO BACK IT UP THEY QUICKLY FADE AWAY.

HRC: There’s a lot of anticipation for the Autopsy set at Maryland Deathfest this year. How do you feel about it? Are there any plans for shows for either Autopsy or Abscess this year, particularly in the Bay Area?

CR: WE’RE EXCITED OF COURSE. THE PRESSURE IS ON TO DELIVER A CRUSHING SET WHICH IS WHAT WE INTEND TO DO. AS FOR OTHER SHOWS, WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MDF. AS FOR BAY AREA SHOWS, I’VE LEARNED TO NEVER SAY NEVER BUT THERE ARE NO PLANS FOR THAT AS OF NOW.

Check out the upcoming Abscess album, Dawn of Inhumanity, which hits March 9th. It’s great nightmare music.

Genre(s): Interviews

3514Comments (0)2010-02-22+04%3A25%3A24hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Threat Signal

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 16 days ago.]

If you haven’t heard of Threat Signal yet, well, you can thank me later. I chatted with them last night before their set opening for Epica. From mustard yellow couches in the sticker filled dressing room downstairs at Slim’s, the guys shared their thoughts on filming their recording process, dealing with the music business, the meaning of Twitter, metal vocals, and Lady Gaga.

HardRockChick: You’re from Hamilton, Ontario; how much does where you’re from affect your music?

Adam Weber (guitar): I’m from in the middle of nowhere, I grew up around not a lot of metal. There wasn’t many metal kids- they were all punk kids and pop punk kids, and I hated it all, I don’t know why…but I didn’t listen to anything. One kid moved to where I lived from Florida who listened to all metal- Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall- all that kind of shit, and I fell in love with it. And in my whole high school and pretty much the whole city, there was only my metal band, who was just a bunch of my friends who I made listen to it, and they started liking it. So there were pretty much just 5 dudes who listened to metal in my whole city. Now there’s a ton.

Jon Howard (vocalist): I remember there wasn’t much metal going on in Hamilton. I got into the whole grunge phase, you know- like all the West Coast, Seattle kind of shit…

AW: I didn’t even know that existed.

“And then I just wanted heavier and heavier and heavier, and it just went from there.”

JH: That’s what I got into, and it started me playing guitar, and my whole music career. And then I just wanted heavier and heavier and heavier, and it just went from there. But the metal scene now, it’s decent, man. Every show we play in our area is sold out every single fucking time.

Norm Killeen (drums): There are a bunch of metal bands from Hamilton now…..

JH: It’s picking up. I think metal’s a lot more accepted these days.

HRC: Yeah, for sure.

JH: You even hear heavier shit getting on the radio now, like Alexisonfire. They scream a hell of a lot. It’s cool to hear that on the radio.

NK: growl-growl-growl-growl….

HRC: When you were growing up, was there one album that really affected you and made you want to be a musician?

AW: Ashes of the Wake, 100%, Ashes of the Wake. It’s the reason I play guitar- the way I do now, anyway. I started playing guitar before that, but that’s why I’m a lot better now. But yeah, Ashes of the Wake, Lamb of God.

JH: Mine’s gotta be something like Pantera, Vulgar, or something. Like I grew up watching all of the home videos, and just fucking getting smashed and breaking shit…

AW: We still do that!

HRC: So I was reading about the beginnings of the band, and using garageband.com to promote yourself; can you talk about that a little bit?

“I was like, ‘fuck- we don’t have to play a show? Do we need a drummer? Fuck!’.”

JH: We basically had myself, and two guitarists, no drummer, no bass player. It was just like a side project. We ended up calling it Threat Signal. We were going to school, going to work, and we just recorded these demos in my cousin’s room. We just recorded them ourselves and threw it up on garageband. It’s a rating site- so fans come on and rate the songs. We put up ‘Rational Eyes’ and it went up to number one. There were like 8,000 other entries and it just went to number one. A lot of people paid attention to it after that. And that’s where we got our record deal. Nuclear Blast went on the site, listened to what was number one, what was on top, and they lost their shit. They were like ‘holy crap what is this Threat Signal band?’. So they hit me up and asked me for more demos. They just sent over a record deal right away. I was like, ‘fuck- we don’t have to play a show? Do we need a drummer? Fuck!’. So that kind of gave us the kick in the ass to try to do this full time. As soon as we signed the record deal I left college to do this full time. It’s like now or never, right?

HRC: What were you in school for?

JH: I went for architecture. I was in my third year of architecture. I wanted to build bad ass houses.

Pat Kavanagh (bass): Now he’s building a badass studio!

JH: Yeah! So I’m still using it.

HRC: I checked out most of the video that you guys did about your recording process…

AW: Oh yeah, it’s pretty long…a lot of party footage.

JH: Oh yeah, that was the basement! A lot of that drunken wrestling…oh fuck….

HRC: Was there any moment during that process that you didn’t capture on video that you think should have been there?

AW: I think there’s a lot.

JH: I think we captured a lot. We were filming all the time.

AW: Except for all the lead parts- we didn’t do any of the solos.

JH: Yeah, because we filmed it all ourselves, right?

AW: It’s kinda hard because sometimes you’re working away…

JH: You got two guys working and no one to film.

AW: So all of my guitar solos- there’s none of me playing.

JH: Yeah, we should have captured more of that. And Travis’ solos…we caught a little bit of them, but…

AW: Yeah, it was just me and Jon when we were doing my solos, and we were like working and concentrating, so we’re not gonna go, ‘let’s get the camera and film this’.

JH: It would have been sweet to hire someone to fucking film it.

AW: Yeah, it would have been way easier. When I was doing the rhythm guitars, Pat and Jon were both there, and they were doing nothing but playing with the videocamera, so there’s so much footage of that shit. But, yeah, there could have been some more stuff. But it was a lot of fun.

HRC: Yeah, it looked like it was fun.

JH: That’s what we were trying to put across. It was a fucking blast. We just recorded until we got too drunk, and then we partied.

AW: Just the overdubs is what we missed mostly.

JH: Fuck it. We captured a lot of that shit. And it’s all edited by us, and filmed by us. I like it when bands do that. Some people say it’s too long, but I like when it’s long.

AW: It’s a long process

JH: A lot of fans like seeing everything that goes down.

HRC: It looked like a lot of people watched it. So, beyond using garageband to get a record deal and using youtube to show behind the scenes stuff, is there anything else that you’ve maybe seen other bands do or you’ve thought about in terms of social media and new, innovative ways to promote yourself?

AW: We’ve actually got a guy working for us that’s really good at all of that kind of stuff. He’s just wiring it all together, and we’ve been kind of taking a step back. We used to do a lot of that ourselves, and it’s kind of a lot. It’s way too much- especially on the road. I mean, we have internet today, but not very often. So he’s doing a really good job of making a fan club, an involved fan club, where you get exclusive videos.

JH: That’s one thing we’re really working on- the fan club.

AW: Yeah, news updates and stuff like that. You can win prizes and stuff. So he’s really good for that. We’re doing a lot of cool things that are going to be launching in the next couple months that we’re pretty excited about. So it’s not just myspace, replying to comments, and facebook.

JH: We started doing twitter now.

NK: We started twittering, but not that much yet.

JH: Almost every day.

HRC: Are you guys actually doing it or is your guy doing it?

JH: Oh no, we do it.

PK: I take a picture almost every day and put it up on facebook.

HRC: I’ll have to go check it out. We can follow each other!

JH: Yeah, twitter me!

AW: Tweet me!

HRC: That just sounds really dirty…

JH: What was that one you came up with, Travis? The meaning of twitter?

In unison: The space between your twat and your shitter!!!

everyone laughs

HRC: There’s a lady present!

JH: Oh yeah! Well that’s what bands talk about.

HRC: I know, I’m just kidding. So, you’ve gone through a few line up changes. Besides teaching new members the music, what else do you tell them about?

AW: I think it comes back to the whole garageband thing. When you get a band out of nowhere, it’s just a bunch of kids sitting in a basement. You tell them to get a band together, buy all this shit, and go on tour.

JH: We rushed into it.

“You have to be a really strange kind of a person to be in a band and go on tour.”

AW: You have to be a really strange kind of a person to be in a band and go on tour. I would say 90% of people who want to be in a band can’t actually do it. It’s fucking hard….it’s really really hard.

JH: It kind of slapped us across the face, like ‘oh shit, we gotta do this full time?’ We didn’t know what it was going to be like. Then we hired a drummer too fast, a bass player too fast, and you think everything’s going to be fucking great, everything’s paid for, you’re set. Fuck no. You’re broke, sleeping in a van.

Travis Montgomery (guitar): I think teaching us how the business actually works. Because people have no idea what it’s really like and how it actually works.

JH: A lot of people learn how it works and just quit.

HRC: People in the business don’t even know how it works.

JH: Well, that’s what we’re finding out. So with the new members, it’s basically, we know up front to tell them what’s going on and how the business works. These guys haven’t left yet- they’ve been with me for years and years…three years. Pat’s been around for fucking ever…

PK: Six? I dunno.

JH: He’s even got the Threat Signal tattoo on his arm- that’s a fucking lifer!

AW: I think we’ve all been in this band longer than anybody who started the band, except for Jon, of course.

JH: Yeah, this has been the line up for longer than anyone else who was in the fucking band. I don’t even consider that. This is fucking Threat Signal right here.

HRC: I first found out about you (Jon) through your other project, Arkaea. When I first listened to that, I thought, ‘he sounds so much like Chester form Linkin Park!’. Do you take that as a compliment or no?

JH: I definitely take it as a compliment, you know, Chester is a great singer. He may not be as metal as a lot of people want, but he’s a fucking amazing singer….great band. I’m not biting his style or anything…my voice sounds like it does, you know. I think it’s a lot heavier than Chester’s, that’s for damn sure.

HRC: Yeah, I agree.

NK: A lot of people think you’re trying to sound like Chester….they don’t get that Jon just sounds like Chester.

PK: It’s almost a vocal technique, like Jon doesn’t sing clean very often- like he does in ‘Rational Eyes’ and a couple of other songs- but the new album he doesn’t sing clean I think at all.

JH: No, not at all because I’m really pushing to put that rasp on it because I want it to be hard.

AW: There’s a thick rasp on it and I don’t think a lot of people understand what’s going on.

JH: I think it’s because I’m so high- I think it’s the range, because I’m up in the higher range.

AW: You’re fucking high, that’s for sure.

JH: Especially the Arkaea record- there’s a lot of highs on that shit.

AW: A lot of dudes do that now. Like Randy just started doing that in Lamb of God.

JH: Everyone’s trying to put it in.

AW: It’s exactly the same technique. Speed does it from Soilwork. The dude from All That Remains tries it sometimes, Phil. Not just clean singing. Killswitch does it, too.

JH: Melissa Cross is trying to teach it.

“Melissa Cross, the vocal teacher, she teaches people how to sing like Jon.”

AW: Melissa Cross, the vocal teacher, she teaches people how to sing like Jon. She met him once and goes, how the fuck do you know how to do that because I try to teach people to do that.

JH: Yeah, she’s like, Jon, you should teach my class. It was like a huge compliment from her.

AW: The dude from Shadows Fall is trying to do that now. Like those guys all get lessons from Melissa Cross, and they’re teaching what Jon already does. I don’t know how the fuck he knows how to do it.

JH: Yeah, she’s like ‘don’t do the death metal, and go to the straight singing’.

AW: Just low screaming, and la-la-la-la-la. I think it’s all from Pantera. Phil used to do that like a motherfucker. Always raspy singing and shit, after the Diamond Darrell phase.

JH: I’m influenced a lot by Phil, man. He did the raspy melodies.

AW: Yours is more trained, and I think you know what you’re doing.

PK: Even James Hetfield used to do it, not anymore.

JH: Yeah, that’s what I grew up on….Metallica, Pantera. Layne did it, too! Layne had some fucking balls.

AW: Chuck Billy does it in Testament. He’s got a heavy fucking voice, too. That’s what Jon does, he just sings it really fucking high! I dunno- it just seems like the metal thing…I just named, how many names in metal bands? People get pissed off because we’re not metal…..

HRC: When you’re not playing music, what else do you like to do?

AW: Drink.

HRC: Besides drinking….

TM: I don’t really do much else.

JH: Lots of music….recording….producing…

TM: All I do is work and play guitar.

AW: I ride my dirt bike.

PK: Videogames…

JH: He works at a videogames store. I used to build guitars for 10 years. I was building guitars from scratch, custom guitars. We’re DJing now- metal DJ night! Every Friday! Rock Hard Friday.

NK: Yeah, the rest of us show up and get drunk and go ‘play this song!’ and everyone gets mad at us. People want to dance!

JH: Gotta play the crowd.

HRC: What’s something you listen to that people wouldn’t expect you to listen to?

JH: Uh-oh.

NK: Lady Gaga!

AW: Norm listens to Lady Gaga, let’s just get that straight. Jon does, too. I do not.

JH: I enjoy it, I won’t lie. I like to dance while I drive.

AW: I listen to James Taylor a lot. I like to cry. What else….Andrea Bocelli….he’s a wicked singer.

TM: Lots of jazz stuff.

PK: A lot of people think I’m weird when I say I like the Foo Fighters.

JH: Foo Fighters are alright.

PK: Well you listen to Lady Gaga.

NK: We’re in a metal band, you know.

This is the point where someone makes a joke about sucking Lady Gaga’s dick….to which everyone laughs…..and I remind them that I have this all on tape.

HRC: After this tour, what else do you guys have planned?

JH: We have a European tour lined up after this supporting Hed PE. Hopefully that gets pulled together. We’re working on signing some last minute financial details. After that we’re looking to open more shows. We’re looking to be a support band…we’ve headlined for way too many years…and we need to grow our fanbase.

AW: Hopefully we get some sweet tours.

JH: We gotta find some hook ups, man.

Thanks to Jeff for setting this up and taking the pictures.

Genre(s): Interviews

3502Comments (0)HardRockChick+Interviews+Threat+Signal2010-02-19+06%3A27%3A15hardrockchick

HardRockChick Interviews Creature with the Atom Brain

by hardrockchick [about 6 months, 22 days ago.]

When the opening band for the Alice in Chains tour was announced, I immediately checked them out since I’d be seeing them a couple of times on the tour. Creature with the Atom Brain was not what I expected, but they fall neatly into my psychedelic rock bands: The Black Angels, Jesus & Mary Chain, Crocodiles, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols.

I got 10 minutes with the guys right before they went on stage. You know they are nice guys when they offer you a drink when you get to the dressing room. So while some of them stretched, I sat on a couch with Aldo Struyf- vocalist and guitarist- and Dave Schroyen- drummer- and chatted with them about Belgian bands, vampires, Chris Goss, and how they want their music to make people feel.

HardRockChick: How’s the tour going so far?

Aldo Struyf: Great. We have two guys who are not with us normally, so we’ve had to work them in.

HRC: How has the Alice in Chains crowd been receiving your music?

AS: Good, I think. The first time there wasn’t that many people there. But the last couple of shows there have been lots of people there, and they seemed to enjoy it. I think it’s weird music for them, different than what they’re used to…

Dave Schroyen: Exotic…

AS: I don’t know about that…

HRC: What’s the music scene like where you’re from? The only bands I know of to come out of Belgium have been very different from your music…like Front 242

DS: Good band!

HRC: Yes!

Michiel Van Cleuvenbergen (guitarist): Lords of Acid..

HRC: Yeah, Lords of Acid…

DS: That’s not so good!

HRC: There was about a year that I liked them…

AS: Do you know Deus?

HRC: No…

AS: They’ve been here a couple of times.

DS: (mentions something I can’t find anywhere!). Now that’s a good band.

MVC: Milk Inc.… do you know them?

HRC: It sounds familiar…

AS: There may be too many DJs. Soulwax is another example.

HRC: So is your music very popular in Belgium? It just seems so different than what I’ve seen come from there.

AS: Our music? It’s underground. They play it on the radio from time to time, but it’s not like Alice in Chains here or something. It’s different.

HRC: The name of your band comes from a Roky Erickson song. That puts a certain expectation on your sound because it’s inspired by that. Do you ever find that limiting at all?

AS: No, because I don’t care at all. We are not sounding like Roky Erickson, it’s different. Here and there it influenced us because we all love them. But it’s one of many things that influenced us. But we would be a great back up band for Roky! That would be a great thing to do. But I think there are other elements in our music.

HRC: What are some of your other influences?

AS: Lately, it’s been rock music from Turkey, Pakistan, and Cambodia….Bangkok. There have been a lot of new compilations and reissues coming out on a few labels for all that music. We all have been listening to that, because, you can only be listening to like, 5 Foo Fighters albums and the sixth one, well, it’s another Foo Fighters album. I like the Foo Fighters but by the sixth one, I was a bit bored of it. So I wanted to go listen to other stuff. And also, that came into the solo-ing of the album and stuff…

DS: Percussion.

AS: It can go on for a long time without changing…I don’t know the word for it.

HRC: Your first album was called I am the Golden Gate Bridge. Since we are near San Francisco, I was wondering what the significance of that is?

DS: I don’t know where it comes from. I made a song once- ‘I am the Golden Gate Bridge’ – and Mark Lanegan was at our place in Antwerp for a few weeks. And we were listening to each others’ music. I had just written it down and said this is a solo album. And he said, ‘that’s a great album title- you should use that!’ And it’s just something- I don’t know where it came from. I was maybe also a bit inspired- I saw The Bridge movie.

HRC: Oh, the documentary?

AS: Yeah…

HRC: That’s a pretty depressing documentary.

AS: It is. So, he said it was a good album title, and that was that.

HRC: How about Transylvania? What was your inspiration there?

AS: Well, when you hear ‘Transylvania’, there’s lots of stuff that comes to your mind. You think of Dracula, murdering lots of people…

HRC: Where you reading Twilight when you wrote that? (note to self- no more Twilight jokes…I think they found that offensive…)

AS: No!

DS: Twilight sucks!

HRC: That was a joke…

AS: Most of our music is music you could use for a movie or something. It’s a word that says a lot- it’s a very visual word. And there also ‘trans’ in the title..which is what we do. We can’t do it tonight, but normally we play 15 minute songs. We like to get people into the music.

DS: Did you see that movie Let the Right One In? It’s a Swedish film.

HRC: Yes! They’re remaking it here- it’s going to be terrible I’m sure.

DS: No! That’s blasphemy!

HRC: The ending stuck with me for days after…

DS: Great movie.

HRC: How was working with Chris Goss?

Jan Wygers (bassist): Don’t go easy on him!

AS: I worked with him three years ago when we were doing the Bubblegum album. I was there for a few days. So I knew him…we were communicating good. He was nice…he’s a sweet guy. So I asked him, and I needed someone who does great stuff and knows what to do. He was a friend, and I thought, ‘damn, I should ask him’, and he did it right away, which was really nice of him. And then, he started doing it, and in the beginning because we’re used to one way of mixing, I was thinking, ‘damn, this is not working out’. Thinking it but not saying it. It was just weird. And, that was the great thing about it. He just did his- whatever he had to do- and in the end it came out great. So it was weird working with him because I couldn’t follow his….and sometimes I was just like, ‘damn, this is wrong’. It was really good but weird.

HRC: That’s usually the word associated with Chris Goss- weird..but in a good way. How do you want people to feel after listening to your music?

AS: (deep pensive silence) Dave?

DS: Umm…angry.

AS: No…I dunno.

DS: Maybe we can inspire them if they are musicians, or something like that. I like watching bands if they’re creative. It really inspires me and gives me motivation to play myself.

AS: Especially when you see a show…it often makes me think of making music. Good answer, Dave.

HRC: What are your future plans? Do you plan to come back and do a headlining tour?

DS: We’re doing SXSW , that’s great…

HRC: Oh, I’ll be there!

DS: A few weeks after this tour. Looking forward to that.

AS: I’m looking forward to going to Texas.

DS: We’ve never been there.

HRC: And Austin- home to Roky Erickson! Great city- I lived there.

DS: Cool, I hear lots of great things. And then we’ll do Europe and stuff.

AS: We’ll be back for sure.

Check out my review of the show here.

Genre(s): Interviews