tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9371167096202202302024-03-06T01:57:25.237-05:00WVRocksceneWVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.comBlogger495125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-37636217120636079492015-10-23T06:09:00.000-04:002015-10-23T06:35:01.729-04:00Chuk Fowler Memorial Celebration Show H-D Tribute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://twitter.com/ChukFowlord" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/1381498_633470860008816_725669452_n_zpswbutlcwe.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-size: small;">Photo:</i><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Justin Steele</span></div>
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<i>It’s been two years since <a href="https://twitter.com/ChukFowlord" target="_blank">Chuk Fowler</a> passed away, and to celebrate his life <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/" target="_blank">the V Club</a> is hosting a memorial celebration show Saturday night. The Herald-Dispatch approached a few of those who knew him best to share stories and talk about the singer, musician, artist, joker, but most importantly, friend.</i><br />
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It was on a Monday six years ago when I met Chuk for the very first time. I was a bartender at Echo, the bar that would later become The Ale House, and Chuk was the DJ for Doom Room, a weekly event that consisted of cheap booze, heavy music, and a rowdy good time.<br />
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We became acquainted over Mickey’s and shots of whiskey. As I went to grab another for him, I felt a small glass explosion at my feet from the grenade-shaped bottle. I knew exactly who did it, and jokingly shook the baseball bat that was kept behind the bar in his face as profanities were expressed. He laughed at me and we were friends ever since.<br />
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We went on to be roommates, and even fought like brother and sister from time to time, but I’ve never had a more unique or staunch friend. I’ll still randomly run into a stranger every once in a while who recognizes him from my stories. He made a lasting impression on anyone he met. A truly larger-than-life kind of person.<br />
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<b>--- Melanie Dawn Walker</b><br />
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_____<br />
I guess one thing I could say is Chuk lived very much on the edge. What I mean by that is, he had no problem saying and doing whatever he wanted just to get a laugh/shock/angry feeling out of people. Things normal people wouldn’t do because they saw it as very much socially unacceptable, he did with no shame. Pretty honest and real trait if you ask me.<br />
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It reminds me of when he lived in a small cottage style house behind Tat-Nice. His landlord at one point told Chuk he was going to raise the rent and Chuk could either pay it or move. No room for debate. Chuk decided to move and it was a decision all the rest of us being friends of his told him he should make.<br />
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He decided to have one last party there. Plenty of friends and liquor and of course a keg of beer. Great time, and of course as the night got later and later and people would filter out. There were about four or six of us left. We got rowdy and started smashing glass on the sidewalk in his yard and the parking lot in front of his house. Took one of the living room chairs and threw it in a tree. Broke the hammock. Playing Slayer as loud as we could and screaming as loud as we could -- at 5 in the morning.<br />
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Some of the details are fuzzy as this was seven or so years ago and we partied a lot back then. However, the cops arrived at around 6:30 a.m. They didn’t say much, but “What the hell is wrong with you guys?!” with a look of shock on their faces as they saw all the destruction and chaos around them. Pretty sure something was on fire too.<br />
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All they did was tell us to clean it up and go inside -- and I swear we didn’t get arrested cause they wanted to get as far away from us as possible.<br />
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<b>--- Matt Pauley</b><br />
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_____<br />
I first met Chuk in 1996, I was 14. I met him his usual way around that time, he grabbed me and began to dry hump me while his bellowing machine laugh was shared with the other elder punx as he did his signature bridge of the nose finger blast, a sure sign he was amused.<br />
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During the rest of the 90’s I frequented his various apartments around downtown Huntington hanging out and when I wasn’t skateboarding. Playing music and going to concerts together well into the 00’s, he was the cool big brother I didn’t have but always wanted. I think he filled that role for many people too. He was kind of a misfit magnet.<br />
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His peaceful aura and ability to listen, actually listen, and return a unique perspective was a part of his sincerity. He was always sincere, or insincere, either way it was very apparent. All our friends parents loved him and a few of them grocery shopped specifically for him too! My mom lovingly called him “Grape Juice.” His charisma combined with a natural gift of gab and life experience was a very key element in how closely people felt to him. I’d say dozens of people (probably more) considered him a best friend and confidant.<br />
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I have many, many great memories to share but I think something a lot of folks don’t know about him, besides his great visual talent and excellent penmanship, is that he lived in Las Vegas for a short time. He and some friends drove out to visit while I was living there and he decided to stay. We walked almost everywhere doing the casino hospitality thing so he inevitably lost around 50 pounds instantly despite us crushing those infamous buffets on the regular. He took up residency at a busted down motel in the Old Freemont district for $100 a week, this place was grimy. Within three days he had a black market phone sales gig and was the singer for a classic rock band. Half Ozzy, half Biggie, 100% amazing.<br />
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<b>--- Kris Hillen</b><br />
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_____<br />
I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what to write about Chuk. There is just so much I can think of. To encompass everything about him -- his incredible brimming-with-life personality, his genuine friendship, incredible talent for writing and music -- would take a novel, easily.<br />
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I first met Chuk in passing at an all-ages gig in Charleston around 2000 or 2001. He had come down for the show, which if memory serves with either the Wartime Criminals or Human Racist. He was rocking out to all the bands and getting along with everyone, like he always did.<br />
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Fast forward quite a few years to Huntington. My band had broken up and I had begun attending Chuk’s Doom Room DJ nights, which jumped back and forth from Shamrock’s to the V Club, to I believe Club Echo? He was playing all this incredible music and turned me onto a lot of the doom and stoner stuff I listen to now. The first time I heard Torche, Harvey Milk or Big Business was thanks to Chuk.<br />
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He told me he wanted to start a heavy project. Asked me if I wanted to drum in it. I asked what he wanted to call it. “Wizards of Ghetto Mountain.” I immediately accepted and began one of the more exciting musical projects I can count among those I have worked on.<br />
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Along with Luke Belville, Garrett Babb, Matthew Walters, and Greg Gilbert, we wrote some really great stuff, always with Chuk at the forefront lyrically, and with plenty of ideas for riffs and rhythms. Chuk was the driving creative force. We all chipped in, but we had day jobs, other things going on. I don’t think he ever stopped thinking about the music.<br />
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Chuk was a wordsmith. An amazing musician. He played guitar upside down and left-handed. I still can’t wrap my mind around that, but I guess that’s how he learned. Still boggles to think about it.<br />
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I count myself among the incredibly lucky folk who got to know him through music, art, and his ability to craft words. He was also, as many can attest, a joker of the highest order. Whether it was partying, writing music, or just chilling on his porch drinking a beer, being able to spend time with and get to know Chuk is a gift from the universe I will always treasure.<br />
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Ride the frequencies aligned, brother. See you in the ether.<br />
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<b>--- Bob Morris</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3691354694/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://wzrdsovghtomtn.bandcamp.com/album/flausa-sessions">FLAUSA Sessions by WZRDSOVGHTOMTN</a></iframe>
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_____<br />
I first met Chuk Fowler at Punk Rock movie night back in 2003. I have no idea what movie we watched that night but I remember the exact moment I became friends with Chuk: the moment I met him.<br />
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Chuk had this huge personality that seemed to creep inside you and made you a part of him whether you wanted it or not. To me being friends with Chuk was a privilege and I would have done anything for the guy. I even bought a van so we could go on adventures together since he couldn’t fit in my tiny car.<br />
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I want people to know Chuk as I knew him and that’s why Chris Woodall and I are making our comic, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Chukdawnofthedefiler" target="_blank">Chuk: Dawn of the Defiler</a>.<br />
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I know Chuk is drifting through space right now with an iPod full of Black Sabbath in one hand and a big hunk of the moon in the other laughing at me for being sappy and crying as I write this. “Crumple.”<br />
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<b>--- Justin Steele</b><br />
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_____<br />
I had the pleasure of getting to know Chuk and the other members of Wizards of Ghetto Mountain back after I had started doing flyers for the V Club. I did some flyers featuring them, then they asked me to take some photos of them in front of my Hunter S. Thompson mural, and after that we started becoming friends.<br />
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Chuk was one of those immediately likeable people. He wasn’t afraid to talk to anybody about anything and he usually used humor as the great equalizer. He had the ability to get anybody to laugh about the crudest/grossest things, riffing jokes into hilariously dark places, and he was usually the one laughing the loudest.<br />
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Not only was Chuk a hilarious, imaginative, and intelligent human, he was also a talented musician who could sing, play the guitar, and the drums. He was a huge fan of music in general, and loved making it as much as he loved listening to it.<br />
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A formidable front man in Wizards of Ghetto Mountain (among others), a rapper under the name of DJ Gilbert Grape’s Mom, and even I was lucky enough to jam with him (and Garrett, Luke, and Blair) for the summer of 2012 in our project “Siege Perilous” in which he played drums. We all mainly just hung out and made mighty space jams, which none of us could remember from week to week. Chuk would always say “Alright, I’m gonna do some big Dale Crover s*** on this” and then he would just go into disco beats. His sense of humor definitely spilled over into his musical endeavors. The project never did get to play out live, but I am eternally grateful to have those experiences.<br />
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In the large scheme of things, we weren’t really friends that long and I know I didn’t know him as well as others did, but I truly loved that dude. He just made you feel better when you were around him. Frowning was impossible. Before he passed, I didn’t get to see him for a while, but I heard he was doing well, trying to go back to school and recording a rap album. He genuinely seemed excited for the future.<br />
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My last experience with him was one day I was walking down 8th Street in Huntington. I was walking about 20 steps behind this unassuming middle age lady and all of a sudden I hear someone yell (over my earbuds, mind you) “SEX DOLPHIIIIIN!” from a moving car. I immediately knew who it was and looked up to this woman looking at me very awkwardly on the sidewalk. All I could do was cackle and keep on walking.<br />
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Unfortunately I didn’t get to see him again after that, but strangely enough this was the perfect coda to our friendship.<br />
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<b>--- Jimbo Valentine</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1628189717464212/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-AZP7_H392_-wPh6NcgNqeV5P3cKb-EDUnt2NgoFgLuxzFoRVD7PIQhzi8jN53X6bJ-hTpx5KxIHw5ITfqKtpHBvE6lnFV3FqhIFrQLAZIN681q5xRx1KDTrFdFymO9Nhnt-a0-fXQM/s640/CRNAQ0OWIAEKoI7.jpg" width="412" /></a></div>
_____<br />
I couldn’t exactly pinpoint where I first met Chuk. What I am certain of is at that time we were both human versions of the film “Runaway Train.” It was whatever, whenever, wherever 24/7. We bonded over a shared love of the absurd as well as various intoxicants. Things were more innocent back then. The false safety blanket of youthful naiveté. The idea of immortality that comes with young age.<br />
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Chuk was a mountain of a man but it was his personality that made him truly larger than life. His sense of humor, that barreling laughter, his warmth and true blue heart emanated from him a way that could only make you wanna love the guy. He affected so many through those attributes. Being at his memorial was literally like being at a rock concert. I have never seen so many people come out to pay their respects and I’ve been to more funeral homes than I care to count. They were there because of his warmth. They had been touched. All of them and for only the best reasons.<br />
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I do remember the last time I saw Chuk. He and Melanie came to visit me at this old, super f***ed up house I lived in. we spent a large portion of the evening drinking beers and discussing a music video I was set to direct for his project DJ Gilbert Grape’s Mom. A week later he was gone. I was at a friend’s house playing music when we stopped for a break. I picked up my phone and was worried when I had received some 40 odd text and/or missed calls. The news hit me hard and I only remember feeling numb and shaky.<br />
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The void he left is as big as his personality was and he won’t be missed as long as he isn’t forgotten. So, there is no worry as to forget Chuk is a true impossibility.<br />
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Rest easy, brother and don’t drink all the beer before I get there.<br />
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<b>--- Christopher Lusher</b><br />
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_____<br />
Writing from the place I still consider you the most, my love, an empty subway station at 1 in the morning half lit on wine I can’t afford. Sometimes I still feel pangs of guilt for staying here in the city you once told me not to move to -- “I can’t protect you there, and I don’t f*****g like it.”<br />
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Remember the times we drank dollar beers and rot-gut whiskey in the Pig and filled the jukebox with Kyuss and Fiona Apple, only keeping ourselves from getting kicked out by throwing on some Sabbath hits? That’s what we did together. We held hands and let ourselves cry when it hurt, then we’d bang our heads in communal forgetfulness and celebrate the moments we had that weren’t steeped in worry and fear.<br />
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I’m sorry for the times we fought over dumb stuff, like me being too boy-crazy or you messing around with girls I thought were trouble. I’m sorry I told you to quit screwing around and get your life together, but I’m more sorry that I didn’t get to hug you so hard when you went back to school. I was, and am, so proud of you and what you were and could have been.<br />
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I’m not sorry the last time I saw you was while I was wearing King Diamond corpse paint, but the last text I ever got from you was “I’m listening to King Diamond and wish you were!” so I guess it was fitting after all.<br />
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I miss you every single day, I tell everyone I can about how wonderful you were, and I’m happy that even in death, you’re the phoenix I knew you were. I hope someday when I walk into a sleazy bar in Valhalla, you run over and pick me up and shake me like a rag doll again.<br />
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Yours truly with the heaviest heart forever,<br />
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Kelsey<br />
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<b>--- Kelsey Zimmerman</b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">IF YOU GO</span></b><br />
Chuk Fowler Memorial Celebration Show<br />
w/Sangoma, Horseburner, Dinosaur Burps, Sweatband<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington (304) 781-0680<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 24<br />
<b>COST:</b> $7<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-71821280358028460552015-07-18T11:34:00.000-04:002015-07-24T08:44:41.529-04:00This Love: Phil Anselmo talks about his life in, and love for, metal<br />
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<a href="http://robfenn.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="http://robfenn.com/" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYhfyFxvewj9-HXJ1-beU0yglv32tnacUu26hytcEjp2u-cdn537Dm-M4jAdXmYRLnl8zPcIBwZVA18kKKOynInsb2N4h_7BUIBeAlHvtjRYlLvGNmkql-bL1gFCs7H6-btVrpdippnM/s400/10509609_10152325978414262_6186268357771567574_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Photo</em>: <a href="http://robfenn.com/" target="_blank">Rob Fenn</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/philipanselmo" target="_blank"><em>Philip H. Anselmo</em></a><em> (</em><a href="http://pantera.com/" target="_blank"><em>Pantera</em></a><em>/</em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/down" target="_blank"><em>Down</em></a><em>/</em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Superjoint-Ritual/7066758901" target="_blank"><em>Superjoint</em></a><em>) took nearly an hour of his time on his birthday to spend it on the phone for an interview, in advance of bringing Superjoint to The V Club Sunday for a stop on the It Takes Guts Tour, with guests </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/kingparrotband" target="_blank"><em>King Parrot</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/childbite" target="_blank"><em>Child Bite</em></a><em>, and </em><a href="http://www.byzantinemetal.com/site/index.php" target="_blank"><em>Byzantine</em></a><em>.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><em>Listening to him talk passionately about being in a band, his love for metal, running a label, and just making friends, well, what he had to say was his gift to the fans, the bands he helps at </em><a href="http://thehousecorerecords.com/" target="_blank"><em>Housecore Records</em></a><em>, and bands in general.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><em>Here is the interview in its entirety.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted/expanded/unedited from </span></em><a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x45919888/Phil-Anselmo-gives-back-to-fans-and-metal-with-Superjoint" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">the Huntington Herald-Dispatch</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> interview<o:p></o:p></span></em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Today is your 47<sup>th</sup>
birthday – you doing anything special or get any cool presents?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Phil Anselmo:</strong> Yeah, I’m sitting at home on my lazy ass, and
I’m not doing jack shit. I’m takin’ a break, and that’s the best present I got.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> It’s been a long time, how excited are
you to take Superjoint back out on the road for this “It Takes Guts” tour with
King Parrot and Child Bite?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> It’s gonna be awesome, man. You take the
group of guys in Superjoint, you mix ‘em liberally with, fuckin’, King Parrot
and Child Bite? (laughs) It’s bound to be a kickass fuckin’ time. I love all
those guys, and it’s gonna be great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Superjoint just played its first ever
European show, at Hellfest, how did that go, and how busy have you personally
been in 2015?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> Well, it seems like I do something every
year. The year before that, [Phil Anselmo and] the Illegals played, a year
before that, Down played; they’d had a cancellation, where Clutch had to pull
out due to a death in the family, so we filled their spot.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">This Hellfest gig was excellent, dude. It was really
fun. But, I will say that, it was our second show in over a decade, so, it was
a pretty damn big stage. Like I told the guys after the gig: the chemistry is
still there, we just need a few shows under our belt, and then I think we’ll be
just fine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the reasons I started Superjoint to begin with,
was to get back into the intimate rooms and clubs, just to have that feel
again. So, I think bringing these songs into small clubs again, the shit’s
gonna feel good, it’s gonna be alright.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">As far as 2015, I’ve been strapped in this cave called
the studio, since January, hashing out all kinds of stuff, mixing records for
[Housecore], for the future, and Jesus, man, just writing all kinds of stuff.
Matter of fact, one of the records we mixed came out today, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorandPunisher" target="_blank">Author and Punisher</a> album. That was a trip to work on, very freaky. Really a
different type of production there. A very talented man, Tristan Shone,
the man behind all these machines.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">But, um, just writing new Illegals, practicing with
Superjoint, writing new Superjoint. I did a couple under the radar projects
that will probably see the light of day, I don’t know, it’ll come out in the
wash. Fuck, what else? Down gigs, I’ve done a handful, more in August, but
really, mostly, it’s just a bunch of studio work, man. Just keeping busy, you
know? Keeping my fucking eyes peeled. Gearing up for year three of the
Housecore Horror Film Festival, which is always very trying in the early
stages, but right now we got a fantastic team around us, and they’re kicking a
whole shitload of ass while the rest of us work back out on the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Running Housecore Records, in this
digital age, there are pros and cons. In a recent interview, Fat Mike of NOFX
talked about running Fat Wreck Chords, and exposing and helping out bands he
likes, but said it almost feels like the thrill is gone, or at least the
immediacy of the Internet and all these bands at your fingertips takes something
away from the experience of finding out about new bands at shows. Being now
47-years old, being old enough to remember the pre-Internet days, how do you
see your role at Housecore?</span></span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> You pretty much laid out the foundation for
it all in your description. There are pros and cons. There are differences
between today and pre-Internet, and all that shit, you know, the good old days,
of having, you know, early 80’s, and well into the 90’s, being a music fan, and
actually having to get off your ass and chase music down, whether it be demos,
or just checking weekly in the underground music section, just to see what’s
out there, reading fanzines, shit like that.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s completely different today, where basically,
running a label is a big time labor of love. Records are stolen left and right,
by everybody. And, for musicians, and I can definitely speak for musicians, you
know, we know that in order to make a fuckin’ buck these days, you gotta get
off your ass and get out there and hump it, and play fucking shows. We get
that.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">That’s why, with Housecore, we look for those bands
that are lifers, that are willing to get in a fucking van and hump it for a
while. You know – get out there and tour! Play for people, and take risks!
Because, right now, your paycheck ain’t comin’ from album sales, physical
sales, anymore. People talk about vinyl making a comeback and all that shit,
and to a certain degree, it’s true. We believe in it. We do vinyl everything.
Am I blown away by the sales of it? Not really. But I do see the interest, and
it’s interesting that people are wanting to have this physical copy of anything
at all in their hands today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">And, I’m not going to distinguish between what I think
a real music fan is, you know? Someone who actually buys a record and supports
the bands that they like, or people who steal music and still love the music
but will come out to a show and buy a t-shirt. You know, that’s a tough water
to navigate for me. Of course, I’d definitely prefer that people buy every
album that they fucking goddamn well have stolen (laughs).</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Because, I’m gonna tell you what, there’s eventually,
well, you reap what you sow. This movement of stealing music is going to
backfire bigtime on people, and in ways that they’re not prepared for. And I can’t
wait for that day. I’m not gonna give away any secrets, but I will say that day
is comin’.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Also, when you do something like this, the way I think
about things, it’s like, heavy metal, and extreme music, really, has been so
kind to me my entire fuckin’ life. I’ve had a lot of success through hard work
and have made great fans – without the fans, you’re zero. So, you know, I think
it’s very natural to want to give back, and help out up and coming bands I do
like, and let it be known that they definitely have my stamp of approval, and I
got their backs.</span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Even non-Housecore bands, like the guys in Portal, or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deathspell-Omega/143341722413003" target="_blank">Deathspell Omega</a>, you know, extreme bands that I have complete respect
for, outside of the bands on my label, I’m gonna support ‘em, you know? Because
I like ‘em and I think they’re worth the time and definitely worth the effort
of listening to, because you hear something new every time you listen to it. These
are bands that are very much lasting to me, you know?</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I find great inspiration in all places; of course,
everything from The Beatles to Black Sabbath, to Merciful Fate, to Slayer to
Morbid Angel, and the young innovators within sub-genres, and I’ve already
mentioned two of ‘em, Portal and Deathspell Omega, they’re different genres,
but still innovators nonetheless.</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I don’t know. I’m a fan, man. I’m a music fan through
and through. Fuck it, it’s what I know best, next to boxing and horror movies. And,
at 47, I don’t think I’m gonna be challenging for the heavyweight title anytime
soon. So, I think I’ll stick to discussing horror films, discussing boxing, and
I’m gonna continue to keep making music, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">-----</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> You’ve mentioned how kind metal and
extreme music has been to you over the years. Looking back on the nearly 30
years that have passed since you were brought into Pantera, how, given how hard
you’ve worked, and you mentioned that, how lucky do you feel looking back at
that one break, that has given you this life?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span>
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> Well, that’s a pretty broad stroke. But,
straight to the point, I feel extremely blessed, you know? Not everybody gets
as lucky as I got. Right now I’m a free agent. That’s how I view myself these
days. I can do pretty much anything I fuckin’ wanna do. There’s no strict schedule.
There ain’t no one gonna get me out there with six straight months of touring,
or shit like that. No fuckin’ way.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve literally broke my fuckin’ back, literally ripped
my knees apart, I’ve destroyed the skeleton inside my skin for this shit called
extreme music. And there’s no regrets, except for the everyday, chronic pain I feel
from the abuse, I guess, of just being on that fuckin’ stage my entire life. But
you just deal with it, you know? There’s pain that goes around the entire
world. Fuck it. Mine ain’t any more significant than anyone else’s.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">But I feel very, very blessed, and the fact that I can
put together a project and can see even a small contingency of people enjoy
what I do? That’s a blessing. When I look at other contemporaries, or people
before me, even, and you listen to their voices, and they have this distinct
voice, and you know it’s them when you hear it, I think that’s a sign of
success. And I think I’ve got that quality of voice, that when people hear it,
they’re like, ‘Fuck, that’s Anselmo!’<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">However, there’s a lot of stuff I haven’t released
that is very different than most people would be used to, to a certain degree. Eventually,
when I go and release everything it’s gonna trup some people out, and let ‘em
realize that, um, I’m a diverse motherfucker, and not just heavy metal music,
or hardcore music. I think heavy music doesn’t need distorted guitars and shit
like that. There’s all sorts of heavy music out there. Some classical music is
heavy as fuck. I’ve tried to touch on those, and bands that have influenced me
over the years, and you still want that heavy edge, whether it’s the lyrics, or
just the atmosphere or the tonality, depending on the project.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">-----</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Musicians and artists talk about the
catharsis of writing and/or performing. Given the pain you’ve endured
physically and emotionally, over the years what kind of solace has writing
lyrics offered you?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> The world is large. Topics are many. There’s
more out there than religion. There’s more out there than politics, and there’s
more out there than social statements. Case in point: on my first solo record,
most of it was about me going fucking bananas in my own fuckin’ bedroom. I wanted
to write about something that was one hundred thousand percent real, and not
just supposition.</span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Like, Satanism, or nationalism, or politics. There are
all kinds of bands that have done that, and done it better than me, you know? Fuck
it. Why should I fuck with it? Plus, half of it is fake anyway, the religious
part, if you ask me. It’s like ‘Ehh,’ (sighs disgustedly) – it’s boring, you
know? Can you play your instrument? That would be nice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">But either way, writing lyrics, some shit I’ve written
in the past, I hate it of course. It sucks. But to someone else, it may be the
best thing they like about my style. Lyrics are for everybody, and when I say
that, when I write lyrics, definitely don’t try to zero in on one particular
topic, really, for one song. It’s all about the song and the flow of the song:
what would give that song its own personality? Its own train of strength to
make that song the best song possible. But I love to leave that bit of room in
there, open for interpretation.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Take a song like “This Love” by Pantera: that could
mean a million things to a million different people, and that’s fantastic. That’s
how I prefer it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">So, lyrics, like I say: ehh, love ‘em, hate ‘em, take ‘em,
leave ‘em, to some people it’s great, to some it’s hogwash, so guess what? You can’t
please everybody all the time, so fuck it, you may as well write what you feel
like writing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">-----</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> In your interview with Graffiti Magazine,
you talked about your enduring friendship with Superjoint bandmate Jimmy Bower.
How special is it to have Superjoint back and share this experience with your
good friend, after all these years?<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> Considering how deep we were both – and you
have to lump Kevin Bond in there – there was a great contingency of my old
friends who lived on the edge, so to speak. The mere fact that we’re all alive
makes me glorious and deliriously happy. And the mere fact that we’ve learned
our lessons and came back from it stronger than ever, and, can cope, and, can
talk and be comfortable with one another, is priceless.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 6pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Because, a great case in point would be, uh, Pantera. What
broke Pantera was lack of communication. I was guilty of it. They were guilty
of it. Both sides were guilty of it. And, bingo, sure enough, we broke up and
ended up on bad terms. And we ain’t the first band, and we ain’t gonna be the
last band that happens to.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">So, any advice I would give to up and comers, would be
speak freely, you know? And the guys that can’t take criticism, probably
shouldn’t be there to begin with. It’s best learning that early in the game
than later in the fucking game, down the road, and you have to tell somebody “You’re
not pulling your fucking weight,” and he becomes a crybaby, and wants to quit
and go home, and you’re stuck out there with your fucking thumb up your ass.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Be up front right off the bat. Speak your mind right
off the bat. Talk it out like human beings are able to, you know? We have this
fantastic gift as humans called reason. We should all be able to sit down and
hash things out, civilly and democratically, and with the ability to, and, I hate
this word, compromise.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Because, if you’re doing something that is, I guess,
stepping on the toes of one of your bandmates, or upsetting them in some weird
way that you’re not aware of, and they let you know about it, you gotta have
part of your heart where you say, “Oh, holy shit! Pardon me, sir, it won’t
happen again,” and move on. It’s like, you gotta have that open mind.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Fuck it, man. I think being straight with each other
is fantastic, and I think that’s something that me, and Jimmy, and Kevin, and,
look here man, the very brutal honesty of all of this is, I got a 25-year old
drummer, little “Blue” Jose Manuel Gonzalez, he might be the most mature fuckin’
guy I’ve met. (laughs) He’s bone sober and has a good head on his shoulders. He’s
a father, and he’s got his priorities right. And I can’t say enough about Steve
[Taylor] my bass player. He’s a hard worker, and he’s a damn good songwriter, and a great musician.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">The group, you know, we get along very well. It’s stunning.
The same can be said about Down. Like a lot of bands, you go through lineup
changes, and stuff like that, different, uh, chapters in life, shit like that. You
gotta respect that, and if you wanna keep the band going, that’s up to the
band, and it’s up to you, individually, as well.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">But, if you find the
right guys to fill some hefty shoes, then, not only are you lucky, but you also
probably reignited the band’s energy level, you know, with the infusion of new
guys and new influences.</span><o:p></o:p></span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">
-----</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Whether it’s Superjoint losing a decade
to internal disputes, or Pantera/Dimebag/metal fans being robbed due to an
unspeakable evil, do you feel like you’ve lost time or you have been robbed of
something you love?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> No, I don’t think I’ve lost time. I’m the
kind of person, I will take the time to mourn the loss of a fallen comrade.
But, I’ll also remember that fallen comrade would’ve wanted me to continue on,
and keep fightin’. Keep on puttin’ those fuckin’ feet forward and movin’
forward. And, I’m a forward movin’ motherfucker.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">So, really, when Pantera ended, for me, it was
probably time we needed a break, anyway. If Dimebag was alive, do I think
Pantera would’ve continued? Absolutely. I think we would’ve put our differences
aside a long time ago, and continued on for as long as we felt like it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I can say the same thing about Superjoint. When we
broke up and called it a day, it was time. I was exhausted, man. I was dealing
with Dimebag’s death. I needed a fucking break. I needed back surgery. I needed
knee surgery. I needed to get my brain back together. I needed all kinds of
shit; therapy, mentally and physically, you know?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">When you do that, it makes you a better person, in one
way or another. I would never call that lost time. I would call that recharging
the battery for the next chapter in life. So, no, I don’t feel like it’s lost
time. I feel like it’s life. And, I’m not the first, nor will I be the last, to
lose somebody dear, and close, in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Hopefully (pauses) – hey, it’s gonna happen to
everybody, whether it be a parent, a brother or a sister, or a best friend, you’re
gonna lose somebody along the way. I just hope that people can remember, that,
you know, life does still go on, and, there are ways to cope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">You might not understand, you know, all the mysteries
of life, but does anybody have all the fuckin’ answers? No, they don’t. Not
everybody has all the perfect fuckin’ answers to life. Human beings are very
complex creatures, and everybody sees the world a different way, you know? Everybody
wants different things out of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">There’s a lot of variables there, and there’s no way
one person can sum it up perfectly, unless, uh, there ain’t no way anybody can
sum it up perfectly, unless you just want to say “Live and let live,” and we’ve
seen that before, and does it work? No, it doesn’t, because people have
different ideas of what live and let live is on top of that shit. (laughs hard)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">So, you know, I say do your fuckin’ best. That’s what I
say. Do your goddamn best, today, to better yourself, to better the people
around you. Take care of your own. Fuck, always be open to makin’ new
friendships, and listening to people, and trying to understand instead of
combat immediately if it doesn’t jive with what you’ve been thinkin’, you know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Because, there’s a lot of different ways to look at
things. There’s a lot of very intelligent people out there, way more so than
myself, that I find very interesting, and I’ve learned from. Hopefully a little
bit every day. That’s my thing: just do your best you can today and tomorrow
and next week, next month, and next year. Fuck it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>WVRockscene:</strong> Looking back on all these years, how
special has it been to not only share being in a band with your friends, but
meeting and sharing it with your fans? To be able to bring Superjoint, like you
said, into these smaller more intimate venues?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><strong>Anselmo:</strong> I love it. I love it, I love it, I love it. I
look forward to meeting people, man. The fans, I find that, I learn something
from them. When fans get past the fact that, this rock and roll guy they have
enjoyed for many years, then they realize I’m pretty much a just a regular guy,
and we have similar tastes and shit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Dude, I’m easy to please: for me, it’s music, boxing
and horror movies. Great, let’s start talkin’. You know, I can learn about a
new band, fighters, movies, anything, out of meeting new people, and being open
with the audience.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve never been a huge fan of the term rock star,
unless it really applies. And, it’s normally a pretty negative connotation when
I use it, at best. The way I feel, man, I just feel like a music fan, myself. That’s
how I’d prefer to be seen, whether people want to put me on this oddball
pedestal or not. I think, once you meet me, you would probably, you know, just
consider me a damn fun, damn fine acquaintance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">That would be a lot better for me. (laughs) If you
meet somebody one time, and you have a conversation with them, you can still
enjoy their fuckin’ music and whatnot, just realize some of us are really just
down to Earth motherfuckers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Man, I could go into the truth of it all. Like, some
of the nicest people I’ve ever fuckin’ met, you know, would be Black Sabbath,
Ronnie Dio included – maybe one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">So, are they stars? Fuckin’ Black Sabbath? Hell yes
they are, in their own way. But are they rock stars? They most certainly, uh,
don’t conduct themselves with this air of being untouchable or unapproachable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">They’re some of the nicest people. The truth is, they’re
some of the people I like to model myself after, instead of, the dicks in this
business? Yeah, they exist, for sure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><em>--- Superjoint performs Sunday, July 19 at The V Club in Huntington with special guests King Parrot, Child Bite, and Byzantine.</em></span></div>
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WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-25207956752790118672015-06-25T11:58:00.002-04:002015-06-25T12:02:43.259-04:00Q&A w/Molly Mess of Some Kind Of Nightmare<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/somekindofnightmareband" target="_blank"><img alt="https://www.facebook.com/somekindofnightmareband" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-L-qI6fmkRYysU_ZqvjeoHrZatqv40HQNg3o35xkoEGzk8qAbvbsN-OYslnq3jTlrF60UX3uxZJoDbPBXPTcIBd9f9VE2mn6-g6bspitSaMVXDZGpwgl07FzRTtt3cjewUdK00o5MnU/s400/901673_533336323448720_1953602894_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-size: small;">Ohio natives Molly and Chy Mess, who front the San Diego-based punk band </span></em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/somekindofnightmareband" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-size: small;">Some Kind Of Nightmare</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: small;"> may have had to cancel their show at The Empty Glass Wednesday due to not having a drummer, but that will not stop us from running this fun, fact-filled Q&A. Hopefully they come back to West Virginia soon and we can run this feature in print and get paid for it. Who knows?</span></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 104%;"><em></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 104%;"><em>“…We’re still without a drummer so we had to cancel on our end. We’re very
disappointed in this as we’ve never been to Charleston,” Molly, the singer-bassist said over email. While the band has found a drummer for a show in Indianapolis for its Never Gonna Stop Tour, not having a drummer and keeping her band going with her husband, Chy, is no big deal compared to the fight Molly may end up fighting: breast cancer.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> HOW HAS THE NEVER GONNA STOP TOUR GONE SO FAR? HIGHLIGHTS AND/OR
LOWLIGHTS?<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly Mess:</strong> The Never Gonna Stop Tour was really good and really harsh at the
same time. It was good because we got to see a lot of our friends across the
country again. Booking the tour started getting easier. But it was extremely
difficult because we were touring in a ‘76 Ford Econoline so we were breaking
down every day. Then we inherited a ‘94 dodge ram b250. Then we had fuel pump
issues with that van. So we changed the name of the tour because we felt it was
cursed hahaha.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">We were able to take my 16-year old sister on the road
with us for about a week. That was really awesome! We also got to play with our
friends from Berlin called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheFever.Musik?fref=ts" target="_blank">The Fever</a>. That was great seeing them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> MOLLY YOU ARE FROM OHIO ORIGINALLY? WHAT
PUNK BANDS INFLUENCED YOU TO WANNA BE IN A PUNK BAND, WHEN DID YOU GO TO SO
CAL? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DESCRIBE MEETING AND EVENTUALLY
FALLING IN LOVE WITH CHY. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly:</strong> Rancid and The Sex Pistols were a major
influence on my life. Rancid’s album “Let’s Go” changed my life. Chy and I both
came from broken homes, as it always goes. I had never heard anything so
uplifting. It gave me a sense of self-worth. Chy’s album was Rancid's “…And Out
Come The Wolves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">Chy and I are actually both originally from Ohio. We
met in middle school and started dating when we were 17. We were both looking
for a punk to be with. In the small towns that we grew up in, punk was an
extremely rare thing. We were both so passionate about it. We became
inseparable. About two and a half years into the relationship, we formed Some
Kind of Nightmare.</span><br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2484066761/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0px currentColor; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://somekindofnightmarepunk.bandcamp.com/album/never-had-a-chance">Never Had A Chance by Some Kind Of Nightmare</a></iframe>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">-----<br />
<strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> YOU JUST HAD MESS FEST IN ATLANTA OVER THE WEEKEND HOW SPECIAL WAS
THAT? IT WAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT SUPERSUCKERS FRONT MAN EDDIE SPAGHETTI WAS
FIGHTING CANCER, AND YOU SAW A LOT OF OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FROM BANDS AND
FANS. MOLLY HOW SPECIAL IS IT FOR YOU TO HAVE YOUR FANS BASICALLY SAY YOUR
LIFE MEANS SOMETHING TO US?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly:</strong> Mess Fest was incredible. It really meant a lot to see so many people,
friends and strangers, showing support. It was really appreciated that our
friend Kevin Stokes filled in for drums. It was a little difficult that we didn’t
have our own drummer. It was somewhat difficult having the focus on the health
issue. It was easier when we were on the road because we kept so busy that the
health issue was more in the back of my mind rather than being the main focus.
We’re so grateful for our friend Reed (a cancer survivor) and his band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Above-Repute/229303837210822?fref=ts" target="_blank">AboveRepute</a> for putting this benefit show together for Chy and I.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> MOLLY WHAT IS YOUR HEALTH SITUATION RIGHT NOW, AS FAR AS FIGHTING
CANCER?<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly:</strong> The health situation right now is testing to see if it is breast cancer.
I have a tumor in my left breast and an unidentified lump in my lymph node area
under my right arm. At this time we do not know if either issue is cancerous. I
just made an appointment today to get a mammogram and an ultrasound for
testing. The not knowing has been terrifying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">Unfortunately the process has been slow. First you
have to get a referral. Then you have to set up an appointment for a mammogram
and an ultrasound. Then depending on the results, you have to set up an
appointment for a biopsy. A very slow process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> HOW IS THE DRUMMER SITUATION RIGHT NOW? YOU GUYS HAVE TO BE LIKE
THE MILLIONTH BAND THAT HAS HAD TO SEEK DRUMMER HELP RIGHT? SEEMS LIKE IT MAKES
YOU GUYS EVEN MORE PUNK ROCK HAHA...<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly:</strong> Ah the drummers! We’re still trying to figure out our drummer situation.
We live on the road, so it is very difficult to find someone to commit that is
in a healthy state of mind, to put it politely. We’re a bit bitter right now,
because Chy and I invest money into drummers who bail on us. Today we bought a
drum machine. Hahaha so we won’t have to keep canceling shows because people
back out and bail on us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong>WVROCKSCENE:</strong> MOLLY HOW COOL IS IT TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THIS KIND OF MUSIC AND
SHARE THESE EXPERIENCES, FOR GOING ON A DECADE NOW, WITH THE PERSON YOU ARE
ALSO IN LOVE WITH?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><strong>Molly:</strong> I started out singing. We wanted to take the band and explore
California. So we packed everything we could in a two door Hyundai Accent and
moved to San Jose. The other band members stayed behind. We stayed in San Jose
for about a year then wanted to explore Southern California. San Diego became
our new home and the band really started cutting our teeth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;">In 2011 we did our first tour up and down the
coastline. I became sick of constant changing members. It was very difficult to
get members to tour, so I picked up the bass and learned to play and sing. In
2012, we did a two-week tour from San Diego to New York and back with a
wonderful drummer named Phil Cullin. Then a few months later, Chy asked me why
we came back from tour? He then said we’d quit our jobs and leave our home and
do a year on the road. In 2013 that’s what we did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%;"><em>--- Check out Some Kind Of Nightmare on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/somekindofnightmareband" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://somekindofnightmarepunk.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a></em></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 104%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-30270794235378817972015-04-04T05:00:00.000-04:002015-04-04T07:34:35.381-04:00Divine Intervention: Chris Ojeda leads Byzantine into new era with “To Release Is To Resolve”<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.byzantinemetal.com/site/index.php" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/_DSC8644_zps4oc42mp6.jpg" height="800" width="532" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo:</i> Courtney Bell</span></div>
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<i>Charleston-based progressive groove metal band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Byzantinewv" target="_blank">Byzantine</a> (clockwise from bottom: Chris Ojeda, Sean Sydnor, Matt Wolfe, Brian Henderson) will release its fifth album, “To Release Is To Resolve” Saturday night at <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/" target="_blank">The V Club</a> in Huntington.</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted (and expanded) from <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x1119199937/Byzantine-to-celebrate-new-album-with-V-Club-show" target="_blank">The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a></span></i><br />
<br />
For Byzantine fans who haven’t heard it yet, the question over the last few months has been: What will “To Release Is To Resolve,” its new record, with two new members, sound like?<br />
<br />
“How should I put this?” singer and rhythm guitarist Chris “OJ” Ojeda responded when asked that question over the phone with his band, “All I can say is, everybody better be ready for a decibel shower, because it is comin’.”<br />
<br />
Byzantine will release “To Release Is To Resolve,” and perform Saturday night at The V Club with opening acts <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Horseburner" target="_blank">Horseburner</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amongthedeadband" target="_blank">Among The Dead</a>.<br />
<br />
“I’m pretty pumped about it,” Ojeda said of the new album, the band’s fifth release and second on its own Snakepit label, and funded again this time by fans. Like past releases, it has already received critical praise, from press outlets large and small, most recently Revolver Magazine.<br />
<br />
“It’s the second time around that we get to do this kind of on our own label and on our own terms,” Ojeda noted. “We’ve got the new guys, so there’s a lot of provin’ to do. I think we’re gonna shut up some people who, uh, wanna see us fail, and we’re gonna make a lot of people happy.<br />
<br />
“When you’ve got a group that’s put together four albums, and then you have a sudden shift in members, you feel like you’re up against the wall. With me and Matt being here for so long, it’s like, we’ve got a lot to prove on this.”<br />
<br />
Fifteen years after starting the metal band, playing shows with a drum machine, and after the agony of keeping the band together with members spread out over the east coast, Byzantine is now based entirely out of Charleston, and moving forward with its new lineup.<br />
<br />
“From my point of view, it was fairly seamless,” drummer Matt Wolfe said of bringing lead guitarist Brian Henderson and bassist Sean Sydnor on, replacing longtime members Tony Rohrbough and Skip Cromer. “Brian and Sean and I have been friends for a very long time, longer than I’ve been in Byzantine. So, we’re very familiar with each other on a musical level.”<br />
<br />
Henderson said this, his second stint in Byzantine, feels more special.<br />
<br />
“It’s a little different this time. A lot different, actually,” Henderson admitted. “The last time I felt like I was just filling in somebody’s shoes temporarily. Now that I’m a full-fledged member I feel like my fingerprint’s gonna be on what you hear. Playing this kind of music, it forces you to kind of push yourself, and play things you wouldn’t normally think yourself capable of playing.<br />
<br />
“Especially when OJ is standing in the room with you, making you play things you can’t play, or previously couldn’t play,” Henderson said to hard group laughter.<br />
<br />
“I think all Byzantine fans are gonna love it,” “Hendo” added of the new record. “If they don’t, they don’t, whatever. But I don’t see it as a problem or think it’s too far of a departure from their stuff in the past.”<br />
<br />
“I’ve said it from day one, I felt like this was divine intervention,” Sydnor said. “The four people in this band are all on the same page musically. That’s the key to this music, that, whatever changes happen, it’s always gonna be Byzantine because OJ is OJ, and that means Byzantine.<br />
<br />
“I’m beyond pumped,” Sydnor added. “This has been a dream come true. The last tour we just did, I’ve been waiting twenty-some years to do that. It’s been a dream come true and I don’t see anything but total awesomeness coming from us from here on out. I just feel totally blessed and privileged to be a part of it.”<br />
<br />
“It was neat to get this lineup together on this record because the last record, I think me, Matt, Skip and Tony, we elevated ourselves,” Ojeda said of the band’s <a href="http://byzantine.bandcamp.com/album/byzantine" target="_blank">self-titled 2013 release</a>. “I think it was our best record to date, and it came after a four or five year layoff.<br />
<br />
“To come back after that, have two new members come in, write a new record and keep an identifiable sound, it’s a fuckin’ hard task, ya know? There are some bands that just can’t keep it together over four or five albums. Me and Matt have been able to put a stamp on a certain sound, a West Virginia-based groove metal, and no matter what lineup it is I think you can turn it on, and you can hear it and know it’s Byzantine.<br />
<br />
“This new album is going to do exactly that, and then some,” OJ said. “The first song that we put out, “A Curious Lot,” I’ve done a couple interviews already and they keep asking ‘Is this what the album sounds like?’ And I have to tell them no. This song is the most up-the-pike, straight forward song, and we like to put out songs that sounds exactly different from the rest of the album, kinda to fuck with people,” Ojeda said with a laugh.<br />
<br />
“It’s what we did on the last album. Our single was “Signal Path,” which was the weirdest song we’ve ever written. It’s fun to do that, so we did it again on this one. The rest of the songs are gonna be a complete one-eighty from “A Curious Lot,” so everyone just needs to hold on to their seats until they get all eight songs.”<br />
<br />
“There’s just such a solid sound, that you can’t fuck with it,” Sydnor added. “We all know what to do with this music. This music, the ideas that OJ comes up with, it really stays Byzantine no matter what it sounds like tempo-wise or dynamically. We were just meant to be. That’s why I say it was divine intervention. It’s not egotistical at all. I just think it was meant to be.”<br />
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After praising engineer Jay Hannon, the “fifth member of the band,” OJ said crowdfunding albums is really the way to go for Byzantine these days.<br />
<br />
“It’s instrumental in how we’re doing things right now,” Ojeda said. “We’ve circumnavigated the record industry, and worked our way back into it without having to sign a record deal. Anybody can get on Kickstarter, or <a href="http://www.pledgemusic.com/artists/byzantine" target="_blank">PledgeMusic</a>, or GoFundMe, and try to fund a project, but to actually be able to work it, and to get it out in a timely fashion, you’ve got to have some business sense. I think we’ve gathered some business sense, fifteen years into this.<br />
<br />
“When you’re trying to do something that costs some money, you either spend your own money, or you spend other people’s money, and one of the best ways to do it is to sign investors, and that’s with any business. Who better to invest in a project than the people who love it? The fans get exactly what they want out of it, there’s no middlemen, everybody’s shareholders, and if someone has a problem with it, they can go straight to the CO’s, and we resolve everything as quickly as possible. It’s a very streamlined process to get records out, and we’ve been able to do it successfully two times in a row.”<br />
<br />
Wolfe said what’s made Byzantine stand out among their metal peers all these years is really just them being themselves.<br />
<br />
“I’m very proud of what we’ve gotten accomplished to this point. I think the reason we may stand out, sonically, with some fans, and people that may have never even heard us before, or are hearing us for the first time, is because we’ve always kind of stayed true to our formula, and what we like, and what we wanna write, and what we wanna play, or hear, instead of following any trends.<br />
<br />
“I mean, we’ve been at this for going on fifteen years now, and music being the cyclical thing that it is, there’s been a lot of styles and fashions of metal that have come down the road and have since dissipated, but we’ve just kind of stayed true to what we do.”<br />
<br />
Ojeda, with his twangy southern West Virginia accent (and ever present sense of humor) said with humility that being called a metal god by media types isn’t really accurate, maybe. The real rock stars are the other guys in the band.<br />
<br />
“I have successfully figured out how to fool everybody in the heavy metal industry,” he said laughing. “There are a lot of people who think I may be one of the best front men, and yet, I’ve never been the best guitar player in my band. Now, I’m not even the best singer in my band because we’ve got Hendo,” he said to group laughter.<br />
<br />
“So, it kinda keeps me grounded, when people put me on these plateaus, you know, this that or the other, and I look at the other guys in my band and they all smoke me. It’s pretty cool.”<br />
<br />
Ojeda said that, with help from his old friends, he’s going to keep Byzantine going for the foreseeable future.<br />
<br />
“What I’ve realized, through this whole time of breaking up, and getting back together, is that you really shouldn’t quit anything you love to do just because it’s hard. This is the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do, was try to be in a band, uh, and have somebody care about it. But I love it so much it doesn’t matter, you know? It’s not really that hard.<br />
<br />
“There’s a lot of people who -- I just turned 40 -- there’s a lot of people who put age limits on it and will say ‘Well, I’m 30 I’m gonna quit,’ or ‘I’m 35, I’m gonna quit.’ I’m kinda fuckin’ done with that stuff. There’s no reason to quit something you were born to do.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">IF YOU GO:</span></b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/439314529554023/" target="_blank">Byzantine, Horseburner, Among The Dead</a><br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 10 p.m., Saturday, April 4<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave. (304) 781-0680<br />
<b>COST:</b> $8 ADV, $10 DOS<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a><br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> <a href="http://www.byzantinemetal.com/">www.byzantinemetal.com</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-19265685091627222672015-03-21T06:00:00.000-04:002015-03-21T08:13:27.374-04:00John Lancaster brings "Hell on Earth" to V Club Saturday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/johnlancastermusic" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Gm4cmJp_RD5Zv2woG1ZodH16Z6aGPXPnxSRnEKwiT7pWp56P4usWPcaR1el5GYKA85yHdmcawn80SqW9q-zrpiwXbmJKpII5XW7anS2V865uV-LCIYMR3Dsw8C4w6hN4nHpPy7V2l78/s1600/Photo3_final.jpg" height="365" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>photo:</i> Laura Dial</span></div>
<br />
<i>On the heels of releasing “A Penchant for Hell on Earth,” their third record in five years, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/johnlancastermusic" target="_blank">John Lancaster</a> and his band (L-R: Mac Walker, Lancaster, Josh Adkins, Barry Smith) will perform at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vclubwv" target="_blank">The V Club</a> Saturday night with opening acts <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FLORABURNBAND" target="_blank">Floraburn</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/slyrooseveltunofficial" target="_blank">Sly Roosevelt</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Reposted with permission from <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x294263655/John-Lancaster-showcasing-new-EP-at-V-Club-show" target="_blank">The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a></i></span><br />
<br />
You could say things have kind of slowed down for John Lancaster in the two decades since he was fronting the Huntington-based melodic hard rock band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/chumwv" target="_blank">Chum</a>.<br />
<br />
Between then, you know, the 90’s, through bands like Guru Lovechild and Earth To Eros, it’s been Lancaster’s own labor of love to front a rock band. With help from old friends he’s not only now released three solo records in five years, but has a rock band he has fun playing shows with.<br />
<br />
“Overall, we don’t play out a whole lot,” Lancaster said over the phone. “We do what we can, we kind of have other things going on. We do enough to keep us all somewhat sane I guess,” the singer-guitarist said with a laugh.<br />
<br />
Lancaster will bring his atmospheric (apocalyptic?) melodic hard rock band (Lancaster; Mac Walker: guitar; Barry Smith: bass; Josh Adkins: drums) to The V Club Saturday night, where they’ll be joined by Floraburn and Sly Roosevelt.<br />
<br />
But just because there aren’t a lot of shows may not mean things are slowing down creatively for Lancaster.<br />
<br />
Since releasing the debut full-length, “Phantom Moon” in 2010, following that up with the six-song EP “Crash Test In Progress” in 2012, Lancaster’s studio project has congealed into a band, has opened for acts like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Byzantinewv" target="_blank">Byzantine</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karma-To-Burn/118432638215095" target="_blank">Karma To Burn</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DTESBAND" target="_blank">Dream The Electric Sleep</a>, and released the six-song concept EP “A Penchant for Hell on Earth” in January.<br />
<br />
“You know, this whole thing originally started with the idea that this was going to be a studio project,” Lancaster admitted. “When the first record was coming together, I had the idea of all these different friends coming together and coming in to play on different things.<br />
<br />
“But there was really no intention for it to be a live thing. But after “Phantom Moon” was released, I was missing playing out at the time, so I thought ‘Why not put together a solid band to play some of these songs live?’ I wanted to kind of keep the songs alive on some level.<br />
<br />
“So we started doing that, and that’s where it’s been ever since,” Lancaster said of the project. “We’ve got three releases now; the first full-length and the two EPs. We kind of take our time with the recording side of things, and we do everything ourselves, so that gives us the opportunity to take our time with the recording.”<br />
<br />
Breathing life into the project as a live band has been made easier by working with longtime collaborators Walker and Smith, who recorded and mixed the new EP.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=406012112/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://johnlancaster.bandcamp.com/album/a-penchant-for-hell-on-earth">A Penchant for Hell on Earth by John Lancaster</a></iframe><br />
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“I love working with Mac,” Lancaster said with emphasis. “I’ve known him for a long time, and I’ve played with him in various projects for years. The same goes with Barry; we did a project together back in the early 90’s, then we did Earth To Eros. But with those two guys, there’s a lot of history there, and I love working with them.<br />
<br />
“But back to Mac, our guitar tones seem to mesh really well, and our styles seem to compliment each other really well, and that’s really nice. When I present these songs, it’s just in demo format and it’s just my guitar, so, it’s nice to add these other guys and their playing styles to what I have. It kind of breathes life into the songs.”<br />
<br />
Lancaster said that from “Phantom Moon” to “A Penchant for Hell on Earth,” what began as a studio project has become an actual rock band.<br />
<br />
“One thing that was different in the process on that record, was, on the previous two records, definitely on the first record, and pretty much the second one, was that a lot of those songs, I’d already written them and demo’d them myself, and then showed them to the guys, and from there we recorded them.<br />
<br />
“So, the difference with the latest record is we worked on those songs quite a bit in rehearsal. This latest record sounds more like what we sound like live. The vocals are more aggressive on this record, and I think that’s because when you’re working on vocals in a live environment, it definitely pushes you more. The difference in the process made the end product something I’m really proud of.”<br />
<br />
While not meant to literally be about Hell on Earth, obviously, Lancaster said it may not be a surprise the new EP plays like a concept album.<br />
<br />
“The interesting thing is that it wasn’t meant to be a concept record, but it totally plays like one. I’ll admit that and I’m happy that it does. It does have the same themes lyrically throughout, which is more or less, letting go of things that you can’t control, and moving forward, you know?<br />
<br />
“But, without getting into each song, it does have sort of a conceptual vibe to it,” Lancaster added. “I didn’t really mean it to, but it has part one at the beginning and part two at the end, so it kind of wraps the idea up at the end and gives you an intro and then concludes at the end. So it does have a conceptual feel.”<br />
<br />
Lancaster said despite the Bandcamp, iTunes, Spotify pages and social media platforms, getting the music out these days, compared to the 1990’s is easier. Getting people to shows? Sometimes, not so much.<br />
<br />
“On paper, you would think, in this day and age it’s perfect for getting your music out,” he said after an exhausted sigh. “But there’s just so much out there, and I think a lot of people just aren’t as excited about hearing new music or seeking out new bands that excite them, at least not like they used to be. We’re definitely in different times now,” the 42-year old Huntington music scene veteran said with an understated laugh.<br />
<br />
“You’d think with the technology you have, you’d just be able to promote yourself better, and you have the possibility to, but I just think it’s a lot harder to get people to come to shows now. Everybody has their reasons why they think that is, and there’s not one specific reason, I think it’s a lot of different reasons. Umm, I don’t know. It’s definitely a different time. And it’s not just around here, it’s everywhere.<br />
<br />
“I was having a conversation the other day with somebody, and we were both talking about how we just hope it’s one of those cycles that’ll come back around. You see how that works, you know? It’ll be really hot for a while then it’ll die off. Then, at some point, it’ll come right back. Hopefully that’s how this’ll turn out.”<br />
<br />
Moving forward with his band into 2015, with his old friends backing him up, Lancaster said he not only is looking forward to playing The V Club Saturday, but just having a good time playing shows.<br />
<br />
“I have a family and help run a business, so obviously my priorities lie there. But music is still important to me and it’ll be important to me until I’m long gone. I think I look at getting out and playing shows differently. Like, I appreciate it more, you know? I don’t get to do it as much as I used to. In a strange way I enjoy it more and appreciate it more.<br />
<br />
“You know, I’ve just tried to approach this whole project with the idea that it needs to be fun. If it’s not fun, just don’t do it. It’s not worth it if it’s not fun. We’ll play a gig somewhere and there’ll be five people there, and we’ll still have a good time.”<br />
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<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT TO GO?</span></b><br />
John Lancaster, Floraburn, Sly Roosevelt<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave.<br />
<b>WHEN: </b>10 p.m., Saturday March 21<br />
<b>COST:</b> $5<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a><br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> <a href="http://www.johnlancaster.com/">www.johnlancaster.com</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-68579130771801610772015-03-11T13:30:00.000-04:002015-03-11T13:44:49.920-04:00Darrin Hacquard and Ben Townsend talk about "Signs and Wonders"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Leave it to Darrin Hacquard and Ben Townsend to, if nothing else, have fun in the snow. Bandmates in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Fox-Hunt/10216409263" target="_blank">The Fox Hunt</a>, the pair, now both calling Elkins home, with help from the rest of The Fox Hunt guys, pulled off no small achievement in recording Hacquard’s solo “psych country” debut “Signs and Wonders,” released in February on <a href="https://questionablerecords.bandcamp.com/album/signs-and-wonders" target="_blank">Questionable Records</a>.<br />
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Talking over the phone together about the record, and preparing to take Hacquard’s project to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/123-Pleasant-Street/146173908739985" target="_blank">123 Pleasant Street</a> with The Fox Hunt Thursday night veered more into what they each hope Elkins, and West Virginia can be: wild and weird.<br />
<br />
“Well, uh, drinkin’ a lotta beer, for sure, and playin’ some old time music,” Hacquard summed up when asked how he was holding it down with heavy snow falling.<br />
<br />
“We’ve got some friends in town and we’re just making the best of it,” he added. “As far as old time music, it’s just about the best scene you’re gonna find in the country.”<br />
<br />
Hacquard said that, while his roots are in old time music, both he and Townsend were/are looking to shake things up in Elkins.<br />
<br />
“I’m from Hocking County, in Ohio. It’s a part of Appalachia. The music I guess, I have a deep connection with it, and I believe it goes back to, it’s connected to the landscape, and the culture, and where you’re from. It was also a part of my family, so I connected to it in that way. It just makes sense to me, something that old, to keep it going. But, really, it just sounds right.<br />
<br />
“But as far as a weirdo rock scene, we’re trying to get that going as we speak. That’s what I’m interested in.”<br />
<br />
Making the best of things (and keeping things weird) with his friends is just how the 13-song “Signs and Wonders” got done, to hear Townsend, who performed on and engineered the album, tell the story.<br />
<br />
“You’re talking about playing old time music? I don’t know, I came back here so I wouldn’t have to think about it so much. Like, you can go anywhere and get experimental, but like, here, I kind of came here, like Darrin was saying, some of the best players in the country, and in the world, a lot of them live right here in Elkins. I came down to hang out with my buddies, who I consider to be some of the top musicians in the old time world.<br />
<br />
“But I came down here to get away from that,” Townsend added. “Or at least to get away from the idea that I needed to do that everywhere. So, there’s a good solid foundation of old time music, from which I hope we are able to continue to do creative, and experimental, and visionary things. But I think that while it’s great to have a foundation in the past, it doesn’t mean you have to spend all your time there.”<br />
<br />
Hacquard said enlisting Townsend, The Fox Hunt guys, and talented dudes like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheWilliamMatheny" target="_blank">William Matheny</a> to help on the record made it more special.<br />
<br />
“I’m proud as hell of it. I’d like more people to know about it, but I’m just glad to have it for my own accomplishment, you know? I wrote the first couple of songs like five years ago, and they kind of trickled in over the last five years but my vision for them was pretty much what you hear on the record. I didn’t have to look very far to find the people that could make that happen.”<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1940854023/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 120px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://questionablerecords.bandcamp.com/album/signs-and-wonders">Signs and Wonders by Darrin Hacquard</a></iframe><br />
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Making it happen proved quite the challenge, recording in “The Doodio” as it is known, Townsend said.<br />
<br />
“We used to live in this house in Martinsburg that was my granddad’s house. Darrin and I had lived there, some of The Fox Hunt guys had lived there over the years, it’s really been kind of a rotating cast. We used to call it The Doodio and I guess we still do, but there ain’t much of it left. So, John [R. Miller] and I had been playing in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hackensawboys" target="_blank">The Hackensaw Boys</a> for two years, and I’d been living in Richmond, and I hadn’t seen the house. It had been vacant for like three or four years or something. And I had this wild or stupid idea to, we were financially necessitated, to go in there and record. So I took all my gear up -- we couldn’t lock the doors or anything, so somebody had to stay there all the time -- and there was black mold all over everything, just <i>fucked up</i>, man, you know?”<br />
<br />
“There were Wolf Spiders,” Hacquard added.<br />
<br />
“Yeah, there were Wolf Spiders everywhere, and it looked like some sort of rodents had gotten in and kind of tore up everything, and the ceiling was falling in. So we just decided that it would be a great place to make this record. We cleared all the shit out of the sink, and we got a cooler, and we filled the sink and the cooler up with ice and beer. Darrin got a bunch of Kombucha on his food stamps, and a half gallon of vodka and some groceries, and we sat up there for four days and just tracked them all out.<br />
<br />
“The power wouldn’t work, so we couldn’t run a bass amp, the power wasn’t strong enough to run it. We had everything all plugged in and I had everything all mic’d up. We tracked everything out, and I took it to my house in Winchester, where I was living at the time, and I did all the overdubs. Then, Darrin and I got back together at the house in Martinsburg and mixed the thing. It definitely was a trial by force, you know? Computers died, just about anything that could go wrong did.”<br />
<br />
“We almost lost the whole thing,” Hacquard recalled with more horror in his voice than when describing the spiders.<br />
<br />
“Almost, and more than once,” Townsend noted. “I spilled a beer on my laptop and fried it. But it’s those inconsistencies in life -- you don’t have to have everything to make a great record. I think sometimes our limitations are what allows us to really thrive. I think the attitude around that record was just like the record itself, there were some ups, there were some downs, you know, that’s life.”<br />
<br />
Townsend said he’s both impressed with Hacquard’s songs and proud of pulling the record off, despite the challenges.<br />
<br />
“Oh shit, dude, I think it’s awesome,” he said of the experience. “I get pretty crazy in the mixing situation, and can tend to be a little bit of a perfectionist. We’d set a mastering date and we were coming up on it and I was stressing out about it, and I’m talking slight changes. Darrin, though, had the wherewithal to just be like ‘This is done. It has to go out,’ you know?<br />
<br />
“We didn’t even have a room to monitor it in. We’d just burn the CD off and go listen to it in the car. Usually I have a really good setup, and that’s kind of what I’m working on down here, is getting my setup back together. I mean, we didn’t even have a set of speakers to listen to the thing on. And I don’t say any of that because I think it’s an interesting story. I think the record sounds awesome, I think the songs are awesome, the performances and the energy, I just think it’s all right there.”<br />
<br />
Hacquard said he’s glad that friends and fans like the album.<br />
<br />
“You know, a certain number of people would have bought it whether they liked it or not,” he said. “But it’s cool that people actually like it. Some of these songs, I take a risk putting what I think out there. People know me as one person, and I share some of my struggles and some of the weirder aspects of my personality on the record. I’m a little surprised that people are rolling with it so much, but I’m glad that they are.”<br />
<br />
Townsend said that Hacquard, everyone involved in the making of the record, and area bands as a whole have something to be proud of, and it is something they are glad to be a part of, being from West Virginia.<br />
<br />
“I’ll chime in on that stream of thought. I’m not sure if it’s a good way to say it, but I think that’s the overall view too in the state, that like, there’s a big reception when we’re doing something that’s more traditional. Then you kind of have to like guide people along for the other side of things.<br />
<br />
“That’s a big part of why I came back here, specifically to this area, because a lot of people that are into old time music in Elkins, are also into some other creative aspect of music, or art, or life, all those things. What led me to this wasn’t having a closed mind and being interested in one style of music, it was being open to just about anything. I think what we’re really hoping to do is push the bar, like ‘Yeah, sure, you can play old time music, and that’s great, but what do YOU have to say?’ Let’s all encourage each other.<br />
<br />
“How many cool bands are in West Virginia right now? You mentioned Horseburner, everything Bud Carroll is doing, The Demon Beat, when they were going strong, there’s just a ton of creative people in West Virginia, and I came back because I wanted to be a part of making the world know that.<br />
<br />
“To hell with, ‘Let’s move to L.A. and play old time music,’ let’s move to West Virginia and make it happen here.”<br />
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<i>--- Signs and Wonders and The Fox Hunt perform Thursday, March 12 at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown.</i>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-17405279825447113792015-03-10T13:41:00.000-04:002015-03-10T13:57:24.431-04:00Seven Year Itch: Tucker Riggleman debuts new single, announces new solo effort "Burn Out Too Bright"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/tucker.riggleman" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/b19755dd-c855-442a-9519-bc614e841c3e_zps04hupwot.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Renzo Velez</span></i></div>
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<i>Before he was in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedemonbeat" target="_blank">The Demon Beat</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/prisonbookclub" target="_blank">Prison Book Club</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bishopswv" target="_blank">Bishops</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/rhinwv" target="_blank">RHIN</a>, Shepherdstown’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tucker.riggleman" target="_blank">Tucker Riggleman</a> was doing acoustic stuff by himself. Roughly seven years after starting down his own musical path, Riggleman will release his seven-song sophomore effort, “Burn Out Too Bright” on translucent yellow cassette March 24 on <a href="http://twincousinsrecords.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Twin Cousins Records</a>.</i><br />
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<i>Tucker took some time to talk about the debut single, “Signal” and bringing the solo material to fruition with friend and longtime collaborator Paul Cogle…</i><br />
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“Burn Out Too Bright” was essentially seven years in the making. It was that long ago that my only other proper release, “Let You Down”, became the first <a href="http://bigbulletrecords.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Big Bullet Records</a> project that was completely handled in house. That feels like a lifetime ago, and a lot of really great things have happened since then. I was very lucky to be a part of some awesome bands with some of my best friends throughout that time. During that span, and especially once Bishops got up and running, it became easy for me to forget about my solo material that got me started down this crazy path. Even though I am the songwriter in Bishops, my solo material has remained a separate entity throughout the years. This particular batch of songs covers that whole seven year span --- some were written that long ago, while the single “Signal” is my newest solo song.<br />
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While The Demon Beat, Prison Book Club, and Bishops received the bulk of my focus during that stretch of time, I continued writing songs that didn’t fit with any of those projects. I would play them alone in my room, at the occasional open mic, or keep them hidden in notebooks. I finally set aside a couple of days to track some of them for posterity’s sake with my good pal (and founding member of Bishops) Paul Cogle this past October. I went in with a bunch of ideas, but ultimately kept it incredibly simple. All of these recordings are one take with no overdubs. It is just me in a room with a guitar, the way all of this started. I thank Paul as always for being an amazing producer, and knowing just what the songs and the performer need to make the record be its best.<br />
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The result is an intimate collection of songs that were written on the sideline of my twenties, in which a lot of good and bad things happened, just like in anyone else’s life. This is what I was writing when I wasn’t out touring and playing loud music that I love with the people that I love, and I’m glad that it is now available for anyone to hear.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3173701358/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/track=1015130839/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://twincousinsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/burn-out-too-bright">Burn Out Too Bright by Tucker Riggleman</a></iframe><br />
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<i>The release show for <a href="http://twincousinsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/burn-out-too-bright" target="_blank">“Burn Out Too Bright”</a> is 3.27 at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/genes1944" target="_blank">Gene’s</a> in Morgantown with guests <a href="http://johnrmiller.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">John R. Miller</a> and <a href="http://goodwolf.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Tyler Grady</a>, and it can be pre-ordered by clicking on any of the conveniently placed TCR links.</i>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-12788035294413460132015-02-19T22:35:00.003-05:002015-02-19T22:37:20.779-05:0015 Years of Thrash: The False Profit Q&A<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Buckhannon-Morgantown thrash punk legends <a href="https://www.facebook.com/falseprofitthrash" target="_blank">False Profit</a> will play 123 Pleasant Street in Magic Town Friday for its 15 Years of Thrash kickoff show. The band (Marshall Tolliver: vocals; Tommy Fultz: guitar; John Halterman: guitar; John Lang: bass; Steve Halterman: drums) will be joined by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/falsepterodactyl" target="_blank">False Pterodactyl</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HIGHFIVESandHELLYEAHS" target="_blank">High Fives and Hell Yeahs</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fckyourbirthday" target="_blank">Fuck Your Birthday</a>.</i><br />
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<i>WVRockscene caught up with singer Marshall Tolliver, guitarist Tommy Fultz, and drummer Steve Halterman to talk about being a punk rocker, making your own music and your own scene... </i><br />
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<b>WVRockscene:</b> How exciting has it been having the band back together? How pumped are you guys for this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/536671646467271/" target="_blank">“15 years of thrash” kickoff show</a> Friday night at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/123-Pleasant-Street/146173908739985" target="_blank">123 Pleasant Street</a>?<br />
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<b>Marshall Tolliver: </b>I know we are all excited for the show. We have some new songs we’re going to be playing for the first time, and we’re eager to see how the crowd responds to the new tunes!<br />
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<b>Tommy Fultz:</b> I am super stoked, I know we are all super stoked. These guys are my best friends, have been since we were wee little. Playing music is something we all do. We took a hiatus but it was never a question to whether we were done. We’ll end up being the meanest fastest thrash band in wheelchairs.<br />
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<b>Steve Halterman:</b> We are super stoked for the show, whether 50 or 150 people show up. It is great to be playing shows again. I am not so sure if you could say we are back together or not because we never really stopped hanging out and jamming. Our other band/side project, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Man-Band-of-Thieves/110236132365499">Wildman Band of Thieves</a>, gave me, John, and Lang an opportunity to practice False Profit while playing some good ol rock and roll.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> How much did it suck NOT having the band together?<br />
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<b>Marshall: </b>We never officially quit playing. We just weren’t actively seeking shows for a while. Some of the guys were performing with other bands, but we were all still writing False Profit songs. I know we’ve all been itching to get back out there as False Profit though.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> Life is better with thrash<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Talk about meeting/knowing each other and forming out in Buckhannon and in Morgantown so many years ago. What punk bands influenced you guys or brought you together?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> When I was in 7th grade (around 1990-1991) a good friend of mine named Jonah had a cassette of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/deadkennedys" target="_blank">Dead Kennedys</a>, “In God We Trust, Inc.” Up until this time I just listened to whatever was on the radio, whatever was popular at the time. When I heard that DK album, I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard! I was blown away. I liked the fact that the songs were so fast and short (and offensive!). Then he played some Minor Threat for me, and I was hooked on hardcore music.<br />
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I loved how you didn’t really know when one song had ended and the next had begun. I loved the aggressiveness. Later, when we were in high school, Jonah and I decided we would start a band. Jonah played bass and I played guitar. We found a drummer and a singer, called ourselves “Big Trucks” and played a few shows. Jonah and Tom had jammed together before, so that’s how Tom got involved.<br />
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The lineup then changed to Steve on drums, and me taking over on vocals and rhythm guitar, Tom on lead guitar, and Jonah on bass. We changed the band name a few times, but eventually ended up calling ourselves Aneurysm. This was around 1993, 1994. That’s when we started writing our own songs, as opposed to playing covers, and taking things more serious.<br />
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We played quite a few shows around West Virginia and surrounding states, and put out a few albums. During this time, a lot of local bands really influenced me. Bands that were more established, who took the time to help us out and sort of “show us the ropes” so to speak. I really looked up to bands like Malicious Intent, Screw Worm, and Dead Ant Farm, all West Virginia bands.<br />
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Somewhere along the way Jonah moved on, and Steve’s brother, Dave took over on bass. After a short dormant period with Aneurysm, we were all ready to fire back up again. We made some more lineup changes, with John taking over on second guitar, allowing me to concentrate solely on vocals, and Tim on bass, as Dave had moved to Columbus, and was playing with a pretty successful band there. This was in 2000, and we decided on the band name “False Profit”.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> we have an awesome story about how we formed. I got asked to play one song with this garage band called Big Trucks that Marshall played guitar in. This was 1994 or ‘95. We ended up winning this battle of the bands, not because we were good, but because we were crazy lunatics on stage. That’s how I met Marshall. Another crazy fact: my uncle and his uncle had a band in high school, had no idea.<br />
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First day of school in art class the teacher asked us to draw something, anything, I drew a Dead Kennedys symbol. I look over a couple seats down and this long haired dude drew the same thing. “You play drums?” ‘yep,’ “Awesome, practice is Tuesday, see you then,” or something easy like that. That’s how we met Steve.<br />
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Tuesday practice came, our new drummer showed up two hours late. We thought he wasn’t gonna show. He did, first song was <a href="http://youtu.be/eIqESwzCGg4" target="_blank">“California Uber Alles,”</a> and ANEURYSM was formed. We started, by playing our school talent show, and played <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blackflagofficial" target="_blank">Black Flag</a>’s <a href="http://youtu.be/nB_tGab-t0g" target="_blank">“My War,”</a> again, we were lunatics. Audience didn’t expect that.<br />
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Big Dave Halterman, Steve’s brother, later played bass for us and we tore up shows in West Virginia for a few years. Big Dave moved to Columbus, Ohio, and John Halterman, Steve’s other brother joined, and False Profit was born. This was 2001. False Profit was faster, meaner, a completely new band. John Lang, a lifelong friend, came into the picture to play bass in 2010. This is our final lineup. This is False Profit.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> In as far as what punk bands influenced us I would say for me first and foremost <a href="http://www.badreligion.com/">Bad Religion</a>, Dead Kennedys and too many more to mention. One day I heard <a href="http://nofx.org/">NOFX</a>’s <a href="http://youtu.be/SCr5C9jIb6M" target="_blank">“Linoleum”</a> for the first time and said “We can play that fast.” From that point on we have been playing with speed and precision blowing the rest away.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> So you have new demos and are gonna have a new album?<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> We have all of April booked to record our new full-length. We have 10+ new songs, faster and meaner than ever. You can tell through our 15+ years how our songs have progressed. We are known for our blazing fast drums, stop-on-a-dime riffs, and our oohs and awws in the background.<br />
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The new songs and album will be no different, just better. I’m super stoked and I’m sure the False Profit fans out there are too to hear some new songs. I know we are.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Looking back on your 2004 full-length release “Thrash Till Death” how proud are you guys of it still?<br />
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<b>Marshall: </b>Actually, the “Thrash Till Death” CD is a compilation of songs from all three of our albums. I’m proud of everything we’ve ever recorded, but I think our self-titled album (our second album) that we recorded ourselves in 2003 is my favorite. Kevin Lyman (founder of Warped Tour) heard that CD and called me up personally to offer us a stint on the Lyman Stage at Warped that year.<br />
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He commented on the production of the album, which we did entirely ourselves, from recording to mixing to mastering. He thought it was a great recording for being done entirely DIY. I felt that this was very positive feedback, considering the overwhelming number of bands and albums this guy hears on a daily basis!<br />
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Our newest album, “Hallucinatory Terrain” is definitely better quality of any of our previous recordings, as we went into a real studio. We recorded it in 207, so we’re anxious to get back into the studio with our new material!<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> “Thrash Till Death” is just a compilation of every False Profit song ever recorded, songs that we recorded at our home studio and songs off the “Hallucinatory Terrain” album. It’s nothing better than a crowd singing along to all your songs. Every False Profit song is fun to play or we wouldn’t play them.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> “Thrash Till Death” still sounds just as great as it ever was. Some of the songs are still a challenge to play even with as far as we have progressed since.<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3822047546/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://falseprofit.bandcamp.com/album/false-profit-15-years-thrash-till-death">False Profit, 15 years, Thrash till Death by False Profit</a></iframe><br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> You released that record over 10 years ago. Is the desperation gone for you guys? People change over time have you felt that influence how you feel about punk rock or do you feel the same love for it?<br />
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<b>Marshall: </b>I still feel the same about playing and performing my music as I did from day one. Life happens, (marriages, kids, mortgages, etc…) but we still have that same drive to get out there and rock it out!<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> We play THRASH PUNK, that’s what we do, and we do for shits and giggles at practice but we play the fastest blazing pissed thrash that we can. Our business is thrash and business is good.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> I still feel as passionate about playing as I ever did if not a little more.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> It happens that people can kind of put music down for a while and just not be in a band. The worst thing would be to try to do something if your heart wasn’t/isn’t in it. What made you wanna start False Profit back up? Did it take not having it around to make it seem kinda more special?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> When we weren’t playing all the time like we used to, I definitely missed it. Going to shows and watching bands play made me miss it more. We all still hung out and there was no doubt that we would be playing as False Profit again. I think we all just finally had had enough of not performing together as False Profit!<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> False Profit never ended, it just took a break. There are two things that we do when we see each other and always have, is we have a handshake we do to say hello and goodbye and we talk about False Profit. False Profit is a part of my life, it’s what makes me, me.<br />
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It is cool though, friends and fans are stoked to see us playing again, and we are greating great response from new fans that haven’t seen us. I get more people saying they can’t wait to see False Profit for the first time, they say False Profit was legend.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> I am not one of those people who can put down music for a while. I am always playing and have been in multiple bands at multiple times and all the while have been working on False Profit stuff.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> What/when was the high point of/for False Profit during your operational time? Favorite show?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> Really, the whole time has been a high point for me! Playing with some of my favorite bands like the Queers, The Murder Junkies, D.R.I. The Warped shows were really fun, getting to meet and hang out with bands like Bad Religion, Lagwagon, Rise Against, NOFX. It was a blast!<br />
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I really miss the 516 Pearl St. house parties in Morgantown. We had some crazy shows there to say the least.<br />
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<b>Steve: </b>My favorite show was playing with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/DRI/137263955229">D.R.I.</a>, or <a href="http://vanswarpedtour.com/">Vans Warped Tour</a>. But our high points just keep getting better and better as time goes by.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> Right now is the tightest we have ever been since 2001. We area ll focused on practice, shows, and recording our new full-length. This Friday starts off our schedule of shows booked until the end of June so far. In 2001 we all lived together and practiced day and night in our basement. We have played so many kick ass shows, shared the stage with so many awesome bands. I miss the house party, anything goes, beer flying chaos shows we had in Morgantown the most.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Do you think it was much different forming/having/keeping a band together back in, say, the mid-to-late 1990’s? Pros and cons, promoting bands online versus getting people out to shows? Even/especially as it relates to Morgantown?<br />
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<b>Marshall: </b>I don’t think it’s any different now keeping a band together or starting a band than it was when we first started. Of course now everything is much easier in terms of setting up and promoting shows, as well as distributing one’s music. With the internet you can let hundreds of people know about a show instantly with the push of a button. Press kits can be sent electronically to promoters or clubs. We used to use “Book Your Own Fucking Life” and mail out cassettes to every venue when looking for a show in the early days.<br />
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Honestly though, I miss some aspects of that. It was more personal. You had to talk to an actual person on the phone instead of doing the email, Facebook, text thing.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> It has always been easy for us to keep the band together from the beginning until now because we are all good friends. It’s much easier to promote and to get people to come to your shows with online media. You can gain fans on the other side of the world and not have to play a show in their hometowns.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> Flyers, zines, and word of mouth was the only way to promote your band. It’s a lot different now with online social media. We have only been on Facebook for a month and we’ve reached out to so many people, new and old. Promoting is a lot easier now but vinyl, cassettes, flyers, those were the days. When this new full-length comes out, what’s the point of producing CDs? They are obsolete now. Digital downloads are the new big thing. We will put all of our stuff online for anyone to have and check out, but we are thinking of putting this album on vinyl to have at our merch table. I’d buy vinyl over anything, any day.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> The drummer from Charleston-area punk band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MiniatureGiant" target="_blank">Miniature Giant</a> lamented the lack of a punk scene in West Virginia recently in a Facebook post. It does seem like there are cool punk shows going on in Clarksburg at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/themainstreetcafeclarksburg" target="_blank">Main St. Café</a>, and 123 has cool punk bands play there. How supportive and/or active of a scene is there for punk bands?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> I think the scene is what you make of it. Coming from Buckhannon, there was no “punk scene”. No bands played punk rock when we first started. No venues wanted to book a bunch of rowdy punk rock kids! This is West Virginia for God’s sake! Your average bar crowd wants to hear hip-hop. If there’s a band playing the crowd wants to hear Skynyrd, AC/DC, or country.<br />
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Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But that’s not what we do.<br />
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So we started our own scene in Buckhannon. We started renting out firehalls and community buildings. We booked tons of touring bands, and put on numerous kick ass shows. We basically started our own scene and we realized that people would come. They wanted an alternative to the bar band, DJ club scene.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> It’s not like it used to be. We’re just getting back into the scene but so far it’s been encouraging. Morgantown will always have a scene, and 123 Pleasant St. and Clarksburg used to be on of the best towns to play in, and I’m sure it hasn’t changed, if anything it’s gotten better with the Main St. Café. I think what Daniel Bonner is doing at Main St. Café is great. Our first show back in Clarksburg is Saturday, February 28th.<br />
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North Central West Virginia is definitely lucky to have two major venues that are being packed and bringing traveling, touring bands. Elkins is also starting to form a new thriving scene at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Captain-Rons/1377446072508173" target="_blank">Captain Ron’s</a>, so our idea is growing. If you look around at our neighboring states, this whole area has a lot of venues that we can all keep the music going. And social media just makes it easier to promote and schedule.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> I’ve always thought the scene in West Virginia has been rather weak compared to other regions, but that being said, there has been enough for us to play shows comfortably for almost 20 years now. I’m always hearing about bands playing in the Charleston/Huntington area, Clarksburg and Morgantown and a multitude of bands coming and going so it seems robust enough.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> You call yourselves “West Virginia’s Kings of Thrash” -- influenced by these old punk bands like you are -- do you think thrash is something that’s kind of lost on a generation of punk and metal fans? Or, not?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> I’ve always said “to each his own.” You can’t force someone to like a style of music they’re just not into. So many bands are influenced by thrash bands and they don’t even know it. I hear people saying “I love Avenged Sevenfold,” but put in some old Sacred Reich or Nuclear Assault and they’re like, “What’s this crap? This band sucks!” If not for these bands, the bands out there today wouldn’t exist!<br />
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Old school thrash is basically punk rock, just faster with more distorted guitars. Most of the kids out there, into this brutal slam metalcore stuff, have no idea where extreme music came from! It didn’t start with Korn and Slipknot, that’s for sure!<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> That title didn’t come from us, but we will proudly use it. Every band comes up with their own sound, something that sets them apart from the rest. Our sound is straight forward, blazing fast. We will see if the generation is dead or not, maybe a resurgence. Even back in the day we weren’t like the others, we fill a niche that nobody else does.<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> NO, because the thrash that we play rides the line between punk and metal. We fit in playing with pop-punk bands and get good responses as well as hard ass metal shows and rip it up. I think what we play is right at home with punk and metal fans.<br />
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<b>rockscene: </b>You guys play thrash, right, haha? You guys have no doubt witnessed this kind of safer punk rock emerge over the last 20 years. When DID punk rock become so safe? Was it the late 90’s? Seriously though are False Profit shows safe?<br />
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<b>Marshall:</b> Yeah, punk rock has become safe. I do believe this happened in the late 90’s. After the whole “grunge” scene was done, the corporate record labels were looking for the next big “underground” sound. Poppy sounding punk was the obvious next step. Punk rock became so mainstream, and easily accessible. Nowadays automobile manufacturers use Sex Pistols music on commercials to sell cars. You can go to Wal-Mart now and pink up the latest “underground” band’s album. We used to have to order albums from labels like SST, Alternative Tentacles, or Epitaph and wait for them to show up in the mail. You couldn’t just go down to the department store’s record section and ask for the new Anal Cunt album. Nor could you instantly download it and listen to it on your cellular phone, ipad, or laptop.<br />
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There should be a sense of danger associated with punk and underground music. The topics discussed in our lyrics are not happy or sugar coated. But we want everyone to feel welcome and safe at our shows. I can’t stand the guy who gets in the pit with the intention of causing harm to others. That’s not what we’re here for.<br />
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Some minor injuries have to be expected when thrashing with others at a show (I know I’ve had my share), but if we see someone acting like a total jackass in the crowd, we will stop playing and have that person removed from the show. Actually, one of our new songs deals with this exact subject (tough guys at shows).<br />
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<b>Steve:</b> I think that safety in punk rock started with the emergence of bands like Green Day, Blink 182, and other happy sounding overly emotional bands who have months of the year or days of the week in their names.<br />
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<b>Tommy:</b> We encourage safety. Everyone, be safe while stage diving. Make sure there is someone who will catch you or it’s going to hurt. If the pit’s too tough, take a safety-breather-beer-break and jump back in.<br />
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It’s funny, we don’t look like your typical punk rockers. None of us try to pull off that look. We would roll up to a venue, show, or house party and people would look at us like ‘Who are you guys? You got the wrong place.’ Until we flipped the switch on our amps.<br />
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We look safe, actually probably out of place, until people hear what we’re all about.<br />
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<i>--- False Profit performs Friday at 123 Pleasant Street with False Pterodactyl, Fuck Your Birthday, and High Fives and Hell Yeahs.</i>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-70257628693535048072015-02-13T07:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T07:10:02.643-05:00Horseburner Gets Grilled: The WVRockscene Q&A<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white;"><i>In 2015 Parkersburg-based stoner rockers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Horseburner">Horseburner</a> are looking to release a new record and play as many shows as possible. The band (Adam Nohe, Jack Thomas, Rob Howard, Zach Kaufman) will open for <a href="http://www.byzantinemetal.com/site/index.php">Byzantine</a> for their CD release show (in Huntington) in April, and tonight will perform with <a href="http://www.k2burn.net/">Karma To Burn</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sierrariff">Sierra</a> at <a href="http://123pleasantstreet.com/">123 Pleasant Street</a> in Morgantown. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">A few of the guys talked with WVRockscene about writing, recording, playing shows and grilling hamburgers... </span></span></i><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>WVRockscene:</b> You guys are demoing new material -- how excited are you about writing and recording a debut full-length?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam Nohe:</b> Oh man. I couldn’t be more excited. We’ve passed 6 years together as a band, so I think it’s well past time we finally got a full-length LP under our belts. Since we’ve been around for a bit, we’ve got a good number of songs out there. Some of the songs we’re recording for this album are near five years old.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob Howard:</b> A full-length is just the next step for us that we wanted to take as a band. It’s always been important to us to keep things moving forward and we are so stoked on the new songs...and revamps of older ones too!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jack Thomas:</b> My previous two bands which were in the middle of writing for a full-length both stalled and broke up shortly after. Hopefully the third time is the charm? All kidding aside, I’ve got high hopes for this one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> You most recently released Strange Giant in 2013 -- from then (and even Dirt City) to now, has much changed in the way you approach the process? You recorded a 7” D.I.Y. in your basement before sending it off will this new record follow a similar process?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> Yeah, this is looking to be a fairly similar process. I think we’re working on finding somewhere other than the basement to record this one, but we’re doing everything in-house once again. We’re really aiming to spend more time actually tracking this time. Spend more time getting the sounds we want, making sure each take is the right one. Without paying for a studio, we’re afforded some extra time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> We love the ability to have complete creative control in the recording process. If Zach wants his guitar louder in a certain spot...or Adam wants more thud out of the kick drum, we have the advantage of messing with the faders with impunity.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> On one hand, that’s cool because we don’t have an outside influence on the songs. But on the other hand, if they suck, that’s all on us too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> What is it about what is generally called stoner rock or this kind of more sludgy stuff, or classic rock inspired stuff or whatever you wanna call it that appeals to people after so many years and styles and genres?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> I think there’s something universal about the music that all of those genres come from. If you really think about it...All of the prototypical bands that would go on to inspire the countless number of weirdos in their bedroom rebelling against their parents or “the man” ...they all had one thing in common. How many of those bands do you actually SING the guitar riff? THAT to me is the enduring legacy from bands like Sabbath, Zeppelin, Deep Purple....hell, even Rick Derringer or Edgar Winter for that matter. ALL of those bands had riffs you sing...and the music is so infectious that you can’t escape it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=846008836/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://horseburner.bandcamp.com/album/strange-giant">Strange Giant by Horseburner</a></iframe>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> For me, some of the classic rock bands were some of the best. Not to say I don’t listen to more current artists as well, but take a band like Thin Lizzy or Tom Petty. Those songs, those riffs, they stick with you. And especially with Lizzy or Petty, those guys were just cool. If anyone brings some level of that vibe, I think people will latch onto it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jack:</b> I think another big part of the appeal is aesthetic. Everything, the amps, drums, volume level, is larger-than-life. There’s a certain raw energy, a “no rules, just be loud and fuzzy” attitude not found in other genres.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> You guys are from Parkersburg. You don’t hear a lot about Parkersburg as it relates to cool rock bands or shows do you think that’s an accurate assessment? Are there venues to play? Cool bands? Is it an asset kind of being in between Morgantown, Charleston and Huntington, geographically?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jack:</b> There are still a few fantastic musicians and bands in the area who are friends of ours. There’s pop-punk band Street Food, hardcore band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/killjoyband">Killjoy</a>, and more. The lack of a real music venue (one interested in more than just cover bands) is a big problem. It’s just a lot less hassle to make the short trip to Morgantown, Huntington, Columbus, OH, etc.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> Funny story. We’re opening for Byzantine’s album release show in Huntington later this year. Yet, we were not approached by anyone to play their Parkersburg date. Figure that, ha. Parkersburg used to be really cool for shows. When we had dedicated all-ages venues, it was great. Shows every weekend. Then those died out and we did the D.I.Y. thing with houses and renting halls or community buildings. Then that died out a few years ago, so there’s not much of anything going on anymore.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">I don’t hear of any shows or even bands really anymore unless my friends are in them. It’s shocking to me. Back when Jack and Zach and I were in high school, it seemed like half the school played in a band or came to shows. Now, I’m a teacher and it seems like hardly any of the kids even listen to music, let alone play it. That makes me sad for them to not have that experience. Those formative experiences for me are irreplaceable. Rob was in the Parkersburg scene years before we were, so I’m sure that as much as I see a difference, he has to see an even bigger one.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> I’ll use my “old man” status again.... When I was a teenager, the Internet didn’t exist on the plane that it does now. We had to create our own fun. So there was somewhat of a burgeoning scene that started in Parkersburg/Marietta by a few college kids and the random kids who caught a Bad Religion video on 120 Minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were countless bands from here. A few good ones...A lot more not good but just kids having the time of their lives. I suppose the biggest band to come out of here was Zao (not from Pennsylvania like others may say). And they seemed to do pretty well for themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My generation’s scene died in around 1999. However, after a couple of years, the guys in my band resuscitated it as best they could. But what's terrifying and depressing to me is that I’m not sure something like that can happen again. I realize every generation is different. But it’s such a bummer to me to not see kids actually picking up an instrument and making a fool of themselves by belonging to a music community.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> You guys (I think Adam specifically) had posted on the band profile about how special Huntington was/is to Horseburner as far as support and friends and misery. How special is Huntington and the V Club to Horseburner?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> I was born in Huntington. Spent the first few years of my life there. I always have a soft spot in my heart for that town, (and a Gino’s Pubwich) and the wonderful humans we’ve been lucky enough to have in our lives who call Huntington home.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> I think if you read that post through, you get an idea. Huntington is one of those places that’s become more of a home to us than Parkersburg. We have more fans down there than here. We’ve met so many awesome people there, many who have become close personal friends. Every time we make a trip down there, it feels like a homecoming. Down there, everyone, we’re all miserable, but we’re all miserable together.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> You guys have <a href="http://horseburner.bandcamp.com/">a bandcamp page</a> and Rob was asked in an interview about label support how important IS a label in this day and age do you think?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> I think it depends on your goals. If you just want to record and release some music online, it’s never been easier to do that than right now. However, I think if you want to widen your reach, having a label can be a great way to get that support. I’m not saying throw your name on any contract placed in front of you, but if you find people you trust, and you dig what they do and they dig what you do, why not? As long as you’re not expecting to magically morph into some global phenomenon, and you put your share of the work in, I can’t see how it wouldn’t be beneficial.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> How excited are you to open for Karma To Burn Friday at 123 Pleasant Street?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> Dude, I’m really stoked for the show.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> Super pumped. Those guys have been kicking ass for many years and it’s a testament to the spirit of rock staying alive in all of us.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> Our buddy Evan [Devine], who used to play in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ancientshores">Ancient Shores</a> (and may possibly still be in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SweetLifeRock">Sweet Life</a> and who knows how many other bands), ended up <a href="http://http//wvrockscene.blogspot.com/2014/12/popular-wva-band-karma-to-burn-back.html">filling the drum seat for Karma to Burn</a>. It’s been awesome to watch him as he documents life on the road. Personally, I’m kind of living vicariously through his Instagram account. But the bands rule, 123 Pleasant Street rules, and we have tons of awesome friends in Morgantown. It’s going to be a good time, man.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> Just how passionate are you guys about grilling hamburgers? More than most bands?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> A wise man once said, “No life til burger.”</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> I remember several of the cities we’ve played or visited based soley on where I got a great burger. I would challenge any other band to match our passion for burgers. I guarantee they will come up short. Except maybe <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lopandemic">Lo-Pan</a> from Columbus...</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jack:</b> I think pizza and burritos deserve an honorable mention too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> Aside from getting the new record out do you guys have anything you’re looking forward to in 2015? Shows? Tour? Grilling hamburgers?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> Like you said, we’re focusing on the record right now. We’re also looking into booking as we speak. I said we have the Byzantine show coming up. We’re working on some short summer tours, we’re working on spring weekends. Every year, we’re like, “Let’s play more shows than ever!!!” and then life gets in the way. I’m hoping that this year, we can really get out there and hit the road. We haven’t done that as much in the last year, and it’s been slowly driving me insane. So, if all goes as I think it will, expect to see us revisit the northeast, midwest, and the south sooner rather later.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Jack:</b> Personally, I’m most excited to watch more New Japan Pro Wrestling and to NOT cut my hair (my worst decision of 2014).</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Adam:</b> We’re hoping Jack brings his dreads back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>rockscene:</b> It seems like, whatever genre or style you get plugged into, for most musicians it seems to come back to having fun sharing something you love (music/rocking out onstage) with friends and fans. The vast majority of bands will never be a commercial success or barely break even. Is just having fun and having the respect of your peers what it’s all about at the end of the day?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Jack:</b> When it comes to playing music, having fun is always priority number one. I think everyone in the band has lost interest in music at one point or another, but we all come back around. It’s addicting. There’s no feeling quite like it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Rob:</b> Fun. It really is about fun. If money was the driving interest, I’m not sure that many bands would have even started in the first place. For me, money isn’t where I define success. Playing to a boatload of people who enjoy what you’re doing IS. I would honestly take no pay to get the rush of a huge show where everyone was just waiting to hear that first note. You play music for yourself... but wow it sure is amazing when you have a group of people who want to share that same experience with you at the same time. That is the essence of rock and roll to me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 17.9400005340576px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Adam:</b> It’s all about the experience of sharing the energy, the vibes, and this thing, whatever it is, that we’ve created. I know it sounds cheesy, but for me it’s this cathartic, almost spiritual thing. To have that energy passed between the four of us, to the crowd, back to us, it’s the only reason to do what we do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Horseburner performs Friday at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1584647995099753/">123 Pleasant Street with Karma To Burn and Sierra</a></i></span></div>
WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-17928734633586440532015-01-29T10:46:00.002-05:002015-02-13T06:36:12.386-05:00Shepherdstown-based band RHIN to play Huntington on Saturday (H-D repost)<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/rhinwv" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/10264015_656054257816871_6588425458749609624_o_zps4j6zpkeh.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Courtesy photo</span></i></div>
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<i>Since forming in the summer of 2013, Shepherdstown-based sludgecore band RHIN (L-R: Tucker Riggleman, Ben Proudman, Dominic Gianninoto) has been writing, recording, and rocking out at shows. The band will perform at The V Club Saturday night.</i><br />
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<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted with permission from <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x984738863/Shepherdstown-based-band-RHIN-to-play-Huntington-on-Saturday" target="_blank">The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a></span></i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/rhinwv" target="_blank">RHIN</a> has been on a good run lately.<br />
<br />
The Shepherdstown-based sludgecore/punk band, comprised of members of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bishopswv" target="_blank">Bishops</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blackblizzardwv" target="_blank">Black Blizzard</a> and fronted by a “Two Ton Rhino” singer-bassist, Dominic Gianninoto, released ‘Bastard,’ its debut full-length in December to some critical acclaim, and has been playing shows with West Virginia stoner rock pioneers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karma-To-Burn/118432638215095" target="_blank">Karma To Burn</a>.<br />
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The band will ride no small amount of momentum into Charleston and Huntington this week for shows at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/395111600665129/" target="_blank">The Empty Glass</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/708714742579474/" target="_blank">V Club</a> for its first shows in the respective cities.<br />
<br />
“We’ve started off on a good foot,” Gianninoto said of how his band has started 2015. “The last couple of months, we’ve been getting some shows that we enjoy being on, and playing with some bands that we really look up to.”<br />
<br />
RHIN (Gianninoto; Tucker Riggleman: guitar; Ben Proudman: drums) welcomed Karma To Burn to Shepherdstown for the band’s record release in late December, and things went off without a hitch.<br />
<br />
“It’s been really great, all the support we’ve got,” Gianninoto said. “We were really nervous about the record release show, with Karma To Burn coming down, making sure it all went well. I was blown away with the response.”<br />
<br />
Before blowing some critics away with its sophomore full-length, released on Grimoire Records out of Baltimore, the band’s home away from home, you could say Gianninoto, influenced by the Melvins and Mike Patton, got into “some heavier stuff” living in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<br />
<br />
“When I started messing around with a bass and a distortion pedal, that was what started RHIN,” he said.<br />
<br />
Returning to Shepherdstown found Gianninoto briefly fronting Domino and the Two Ton Rhinos.<br />
<br />
“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wasn’t very focused and I just didn’t know what the hell I was doing, just being in a band, what that means, you know?”<br />
<br />
After reuniting with his college pal Riggleman, and recruiting Proudman on drums, RHIN was born in the summer of 2013.<br />
<br />
“I was thinking about doing something with music again, because the whole Domino stuff was very short lived,” Gianninoto said. “Tucker told me I should meet this guy Ben, who I’d went and seen in Black Blizzard, and it kind of went from there. I must’ve asked Tucker to play, and he was down.”<br />
<br />
The band released its self-titled debut in October 2013 and from there, Gianninoto said the good chemistry and approach has bore sludgy fruit.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3234629623/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://rhin.bandcamp.com/album/bastard">Bastard by RHIN</a></iframe>
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<br />
“Ben’s really into more extreme metal, and he’s always expanding my tastes with really aggressive stuff. And he’s not afraid to get aggressive or angry,” he said laughing.<br />
<br />
“Tucker brings a cool approach to it, in the sense that some of his lead work is really great, classic rock stuff. We both have a love for classic rock, so we share that. Having been in The Demon Beat, he has that garage influence. Some of his lead work is really cool noise rock 90’s stuff, and that’s right up my alley.<br />
<br />
“It’s a nice little melting pot I guess. I think me, Ben and Tucker work well together. I like our songwriting process, because we can get it together pretty quick. I think we all just want to be respected and play music that our peers or people we look up to respect in the end.<br />
<br />
“I mean, we’ve only been around for, maybe a year and a half or so, and we’re very pleased with our recordings,” Gianninoto said with pride. “We definitely felt like we matured a lot and we’re very pleased with [‘Bastard’].<br />
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The guys in RHIN, more used to the Baltimore scene than Morgantown, are looking forward for their first shows in Charleston and Huntington.<br />
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<a href="http://www.vclublive.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/jpmnnpxxfic7med73h85_zpszb1jreg3.jpg" /></a></div>
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“I know it’s the first time, and it’s a building process of trying to get people out but we’re really excited to be comin<span style="font-family: inherit;">g down that way,” Gianninoto said. “We’ve talked about it now for almost a year, and we’re hoping to do it some more. That’s the cool thing about being in a band, you get to go different places, and we’re always down t</span>o play shows, so let’s make it happen.<br />
<br />
“We’re just trying to keep the forward motion going, and just keep getting better and writing good songs and playing good shows,” Gianninoto said.<br />
<br />
“We don’t waste too much time in general,” the singer-bassist said, kind of summing things up. “I haven’t had much band experience. I’ve had some, but, this has just been an awesome experience.”<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">If you go:</span></b><br />
<b>WHO:</b> RHIN with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ratship" target="_blank">Rat Ship</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cavern666" target="_blank">Cavern</a><br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 10 p.m., Saturday Jan. 31<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave., 304-781-0680<br />
<b>COST:</b> $7<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a><br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/rhinwv">www.facebook.com/rhinwv</a><br />
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WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-83073925441688779682014-12-27T12:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T07:04:07.510-05:00Popular W.Va. band Karma To Burn back with a new album (H-D repost)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karma-To-Burn/118432638215095" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/RW6_3676_zpsmm47cgeq.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Courtesy of Evan Devine</span></i></div>
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<i>The popular West Virginia band Karma To Burn is touring the United States and Europe with a new album, “Arch Stanton”</i><br />
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<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted with permission from <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x1753198614/Popular-W-Va-band-Karma-to-Burn-back-with-a-new-album" target="_blank">The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a></span></i><br />
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The more things change, the more they stay the same, they say. Such is the case for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karma-To-Burn/118432638215095" target="_blank">Karma To Burn</a>.<br />
<br />
Over twenty years after forming the Morgantown-based instrumental stoner rock outfit, guitarist Will Mecum, again, after a detour and some road bumps in recent years, has the band rolling again as a trio, with a new record, “Arch Stanton” and more touring in Europe and now the U.S.<br />
<br />
Hanging out after a rehearsal at the band’s base, 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown, Mecum, drummer Evan Devine, and recently recruited guest bassist Eric Clutter said 2014 has been great, and they’re all pumped to get out on the road in January.<br />
<br />
“Well, it’s been quite busy and uh, a little crazy, with trying to formulate the new record and get it out to the public, and tour Europe,” Mecum said.<br />
<br />
“It’s weird, I haven’t talked to too many people in the states that have heard the new record, and I talked to some people last night, and they were saying it’s the Karma To Burn that they grew up with, that they know, and they’re really happy that the new record is what it is.<br />
<br />
“It just makes me very proud. It’s cool.”<br />
<br />
Karma To Burn will perform at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown Saturday, December 27th. The band will embark on a U.S. tour, spanning 34 shows in 37 days, starting January 7th in Akron to promote its sixth full-length album.<br />
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Mecum said that “Arch Stanton” was an intentional return to a more direct, instrumental stoner rock sound, like that found on Roadrunner Records releases, 1999’s “Wild Wonderful Purgatory” and 2001’s “Almost Heathen,” records that put the band on the map. This, as opposed to the last two Napalm Records releases that found the band in an incestuous, experimental relationship with L.A.-based Year Long Disaster, 2010’s “Appalachian Incantation,” and “V,” released the following year.<br />
<br />
“With the last couple of records with Karma, there was always like, a lot of different influences, like, different opinions here and there,” Mecum said diplomatically. “I would try to accommodate everybody and try to write the best song that I could. [Arch Stanton] is basically like, go straight forward at it and just get back to basics and just slam it out and make it a total, grind your teeth kind of sound, you know?”<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r2bfNAXyYiQ" width="440"></iframe><br /></div>
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For Mecum, there has likely been no small amount of frustration keeping his pioneering instrumental rock band going over the years. After a long hiatus between 2002 and 2009, and an attempt to reunite the band, longtime members, bassist Rich Mullins and drummer Rob Oswald could no longer be in Karma.<br />
<br />
“Ya know, there’s been some member changes, and I think things are working out just great,” Mecum said. “I really am proud of [Arch Stanton] and I’m proud of Mr. Devine for writing it with me.”<br />
<br />
Devine, the 26-year old drummer and veteran of Morgantown’s music scene, said the recording of “Arch Stanton” at FABA Studios in Biel, Switzerland marked a turning point for Karma To Burn.<br />
<br />
“Getting to write with Will was kind of refreshing, because everything kind of got grounded. It was kind of like a fresh start for me, and sort of for Will, as well. It was the next step for us, but it was the first step in everything that’s happened since then.<br />
<br />
“It’s just been really cool, because now it’s songs that Will and I wrote, and writing with Will is great, you know, he’s a riff machine,” Devine said to group laughter.<br />
<br />
“It’s just great to finally have a record out, and say they’re my songs, our songs, it’s been really cool.”<br />
<br />
“It’s always nice too, that you only got one other person to tell ya ‘f--- off!’” Mecum added, laughing hard.<br />
<br />
Devine said ending up in Karma To Burn, and getting to tour Europe, was, and is, kind of surreal.<br />
<br />
“Every time I get home, when I get back to Morgantown, and back to my friends, and I just look and I’m like ‘Wow. All of my friends are some of the best musicians I know and everyone I know deserves to be on tour,’ but it’s just not how the world works. I wish it did. I hope all my friends get to go on tour one day. So many, many guys deserve it. But I would’ve never expected it, or claimed to have deserved it. I was just in the right place at the right time.<br />
<br />
“It’s really humbling. I get home and I talk to people, and I’m sure you know Bud Carroll, he’s been working his ass off for years and years, and I talked to him about you know, like ‘I just toured Europe,’ and it’s kind of weird for me, because I just kind of stumbled into something. But there are so many people that deserve to be on the road, to be out there, but it is hard. I’m just trying to do the best job I possibly can.”<br />
<br />
When asked about being a stoner rock pioneer from West Virginia, and featuring and reminding people of that, Mecum said he’s proud to be a mountaineer.<br />
<br />
“I’m not so sure I wanna be the music poster boy for West Virginia,” he said to group guffaws.<br />
<br />
“No matter what the band has been doing, no matter what Karma is up to, I always make sure that there’s a little sideline to let people know where the hell we’re from,” Mecum said with emphasis.<br />
<br />
“Most of the time, like Evan was saying, there’s a great pool of musicians in West Virginia that people don’t really know too much about. I’d love to take an army of em to go Los Angeles and kill all those f---ers.”<br />
<br />
“Yeah, really. Let’s do it man,” Devine added.<br />
<br />
“But I’m happy to be a part of West Virginia,” Mecum said. “I’ve lived here for 25 years. I’ve spent more than half my life here and I’m always proud to fly the flag and tell people, when they ask, ‘Where are you from?’ I say West Virginia. West By God.”<br />
<br />
Mecum said heading into 2015, he’s still pumped about Karma To Burn twenty years and running.<br />
<br />
“It’s definitely pepped me up a bit,” Mecum said of the renewed focus and energy Karma has found.<br />
<br />
“You know, with any kind of like, business in the music realm, you have your ups and downs and things like that, and that’s never gonna stop. But at this point I really enjoy playing with the guys that I’m playing with, and it really gives me somewhat of a solace in my head to always go back to like, listen, you’re playing good music, you’re with good people, and just keep on rollin’, keep on doing it, ya know?<br />
<br />
“I mean, there’s a lot of people that, talk about times where their jobs get them down, their family gets them down, and things like that. I get to do what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a very lucky person because of that. Even though it’s not always a bed of roses, it’s just a great thing. Of course, I don’t want to die tomorrow, but if I did I’d be like ‘F--- it I had a good time!’”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">If you go:</span></b><br />
<b>WHO:</b> Karma To Burn with Keep, RHIN<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 9 p.m., Saturday Dec. 27<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> 123 Pleasant St., Morgantown (304) 292-0800<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://123pleasantstreet.com/">123pleasantstreet.com</a><br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> <a href="http://www.k2burn.net/">www.k2burn.net/</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-37565713691736777952014-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:002015-02-13T07:04:26.767-05:005 Questions with Blag the Ripper of the Dwarves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMv3Chmv4GavmDHY0-fitLEQd1D0qe2OGy9HMlOn0q1I0fYdFEP9gBFW6J-W0fwONB85epkgrtcGoJE0v6emU2qC8sfD7Pqwd11LdLzrpZRP-qkum-vAnp7qpaaP2dYcwNq-93Mxd6xE/s1600/Blag+Green+Rock+Shirt+Hi+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMv3Chmv4GavmDHY0-fitLEQd1D0qe2OGy9HMlOn0q1I0fYdFEP9gBFW6J-W0fwONB85epkgrtcGoJE0v6emU2qC8sfD7Pqwd11LdLzrpZRP-qkum-vAnp7qpaaP2dYcwNq-93Mxd6xE/s1600/Blag+Green+Rock+Shirt+Hi+(1).jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ester Segarra photo</span></i></div>
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<i>Frontman Blag the Ripper and the rest of San Francisco punk band <a href="http://www.thedwarves.com/" target="_blank">the Dwarves</a> come to Morgantown Monday for their first show in the Mountain State.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Reposted (and expanded) with permission from <a href="http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141119/GZ0601/141119080/1174" target="_blank">The Charleston Gazette</a></i><br />
<br />
On Monday night, smutty, drug-fueled San Francisco-based punk band the Dwarves will play <a href="http://www.123pleasantstreet.com/" target="_blank">123 Pleasant Street</a> in Morgantown with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Queers/156515077754764" target="_blank">The Queers</a>. In advance of the show -- the band’s first in the state -- the gazz caught up with singer Blag the Ripper to talk about sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and Hasil Adkins.<br />
<br />
<br />
Q: You guys released ‘The Dwarves Invented Rock and Roll’ in August, what’s been the response to that?<br />
<br />
A: “You know, people love this new record, and it’s a little embarrassing for me, because I only wrote a couple of the songs on this one, you know? I kind of left it open to the rest of the band, and they wrote a bunch of the material. Everybody in the band brought in a couple of songs, and we wound up with this record, and people really love it.<br />
<br />
<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=885978360/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 42px; width: 100%;"><a href="http://thedwarves.bandcamp.com/album/the-dwarves-invented-rock-roll">The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll by The Dwarves</a></iframe>
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<br />
“We went for a straight forward punk approach, and it is a little straighter than the last couple of records, which veered into weird experimental and pop realms and stuff. This one is sort of a continuation of that, but we like to genre hop. The whole thing was kind of gut level punk rock. It was fun.”<br />
<br />
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Q: There’s sex, drugs, and maybe a little violence, it seems, bound up in what you guys do. You released a very NSFW video for “Sluts of the USA,” off the new album to play up the sex angle, how great was that to make?<br />
<br />
A: (laughs) “You put them in the right order. I’m glad you put them in the right order. It’s gotta start with sex, drugs come in second, and then, violence, it’s always kind of creeping in the background. “Sluts of the USA” pretty much pushes the sex angle exclusively. We’ve definitely had more lurid videos, like the one for “Stop Me Before I F*** Again,” on the last record, was a lurid, disgusting video.<br />
<br />
“Sluts of the USA” was a more bubblegum type song, with the female vocals in it, so we just cut together all the jiggle footage from us being on TV, and us making videos, sort of showing you how the Dwarves cavort through a world of tits and ass.”<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/109480981" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/109480981">DWARVES - SLUTS OF THE USA</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3587588">Recess Records</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Q: You’ve talked about being around in the early 80’s seeing people get hurt, seeing violence at punk shows. The recent incident with Fat Mike onstage in Australia -- that may have been something you and him witnessed at some of those early shows. What are/were your thoughts on seeing that go viral and is that something someone should expect if they run up on someone like that onstage, even/especially at a punk show?<br />
<br />
A: “Well, you know, in the interest of full disclosure, the Dwarves have a seven-inch coming out on [Fat Mike’s label] Fat [Wreck Chords] in a couple of weeks called ‘Gentlemen Blag.’ I’ve been friends with Mike for over twenty years, and always wanted to put out a record on Fat. We always got along really good, so I always really liked Mike.<br />
<br />
“It’s tough to know from just the little piece of footage what led up to something. You never know what was said or what happened or how he was feeling or how it went. Violence never really looks good, you know? But I know what it’s like to just be driven to distraction being out on the road with a lot of people grabbing at you for weeks on end, you know?”<br />
<br />
“It’s hard to make an excuse for it, it’s just, uh, you’re up on stage playing, and it could be your worst moment. Most people don’t have their lives recorded like that. It’s tough to get a context as to what’s right and what’s wrong. It would be great if it was a world without violence (laughs) but we’re never gonna get that in our lifetime, you know?<br />
<br />
“It’s always sad when someone’s whole career boils down to one thing. We’re seeing that now with Bill Cosby this week. It’s hard to know who’s guilty and who’s innocent and who did what when. But it’s sad that in this day and age, now with the internet, everybody’s life comes down to the most recent little flap about you, as opposed to what you actually did.<br />
<br />
“I don’t think people back in the day were judged as much by, like, one incident that happens to be the viral one, you know?”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
Q: You’ve contrasted what the Dwarves do, whether it be in the music itself or running your own label, Greedy, against maybe more mainstream punk bands. What makes the Dwarves unique?<br />
<br />
A: “Well, it’s always easy to second guess other people’s motives for doing things, you know? I mean, I do this for a living, so I have to make money at it. If I didn’t make any money with it, I’d have to do something else. So, that would be tough (laughs).<br />
<br />
“It’s not like I’m going to West Virginia for free. I’m makin’ the motherf---ers pay. I’d like to think that by paying for it, people appreciate it more, like, ‘F---, I’m gonna go here and check this out, and I’m holding these guys to a high standard.’ It’s gotta be a great show, you know what I mean?<br />
<br />
“There a lot of people, maybe you can say they’re sincere, but they don’t try very hard. (laughs) For me it’s not enough to just be sincere, I have to play good music, I have to write good songs. Other than look at people’s motives, I look at people’s music. I think a lot of people are making boring music, and the Dwarves keep making interesting records, and that’s really the difference between us and them.<br />
<br />
“It’s the same with the live stuff, some dudes are just phoning it in. Maybe they made a cool punk record a long time ago, but who is actually coming out and playing like they mean it? People are going to see us play and be influenced by it, because it’ll be good.”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
Q: You've made a career of this for 30 years and counting. What keeps the Dwarves relevant?<br />
<br />
A: “The Dwarves are a band that continues to make quality records, and always brings in something new, jumpin’ around, skippin’ genres. We’re one of those bands. You know, in the 1980’s nobody predicted that we would survive. We were too crazy, too wild, too much crazy s--- happened around us, and I’m just really happy that we carried on.<br />
<br />
“I mean, getting to go to places like West Virginia? I mean, I’ve been almost everywhere in America, but the Dwarves have never played in West Virginia. So, to go back to where Hasil Adkins comes from? It’s gonna be great. I mean, Appalachian rock, I’m ready to do this.<br />
<br />
“I think we’re part of a great continuum of American folk music, you know? Hardcore and punk, that’s a part of that. I feel like we’re a part of a big movement of American music, whether people would recognize us as part of it or not.”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
Q: Do you feel lucky to still be able to do what you do in the Dwarves?<br />
<br />
A: “I feel extremely blessed, and why not? I’ve been lucky. Most people have to slog away at a pretty miserable life, I think, whereas I get to play music, and enjoy myself. It’s been pretty good. I can’t complain. I mean, I could, but who would listen to me?”<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT TO GO?</span></b><br />
The Dwarves w/The Queers, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PEARStheband" target="_blank">Pears</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellowdog-Union/460512627313233" target="_blank">Yellowdog Union</a><br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 9 p.m., Monday 11.24<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> 123 Pleasant St., Morgantown (304) 292-0800<br />
<b>COST:</b> $15<br />
<b>INFO:</b> www.123pleasantstreet.com<br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> www.thedwarves.comWVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-8391470862508136012014-09-08T10:56:00.002-04:002015-02-13T07:04:41.175-05:00Energetic Weedeater returns to Huntington (H-D repost)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Weedeater brings its brand of stoner/sludge metal to Huntington’s V Club Monday, Sept. 8. “We love Huntington,” singer-bassist Dave </i>“<i>Dixie</i>”<i> Collins (pictured above) said. “...we’re looking forward to it. It’s gonna be one of the highlights of the trip.”</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>(Reposted from <a href="http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x573966812/Energetic-Weedeater-returns-to-Huntington" target="_blank">The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</a>)</i></span><br />
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HUNTINGTON -- Time sure flies when you’re having fun.<br />
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This would seem to be the case for the guys in <a href="http://www.weedmetal.com/" target="_blank">Weedeater</a>.<br />
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Approaching its 20th year of putting the “stoner” in stoner/sludge metal, the critically acclaimed Wilmington, North Carolina-based trio is hitting the road in September on the way to record its fifth studio album.<br />
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Formed in 1998 by singer-bassist Dave “Dixie” Collins after the dissolution of sludge progenitors <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Buzzoven" target="_blank">Buzzov-en</a>, Weedeater (Collins; Dave Shepherd: guitar; Travis Owen: drums) has made a name for itself through relentless touring, frenetic, energetic shows, and just making music they’d want to hear.<br />
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Weedeater’s fans know what kind of show to expect.<br />
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“We’re pretty much jokesters, and we have a good time and don’t care,” Collins said.<br />
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Weedeater returns to Huntington Monday, September 8 for a show at <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/" target="_blank">The V Club</a> with local punk bands <a href="http://stationswv.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Station(s)</a> and <a href="http://ratship.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Rat Ship</a>.<br />
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The band will record its fifth full-length in September, again working with legendary producer Steve Albini in Chicago.<br />
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“We have always taken kind of a nonchalant approach to recording,” Collins said. “We will have some ideas when we go in there, but the majority of the record is written in there.”<br />
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Preparing to follow up on 2011’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjXcgBwa9fk" target="_blank">“Jason… The Dragon,”</a> Collins said Weedeater is ready and is preparing to record the way they have in the past: differently.<br />
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“This time, we’re just as prepared as we ever are, I’d say,” Collins continued. “We just got together with our drummer, he doesn’t live in North Carolina, he lives in Atlanta, so he came up and we worked on some ideas that we’ll be putting together and assembling in the studio with [Steve] Albini in mid-September.<br />
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“But, yeah, I think we have kind of a weird way of going about recording. We don’t do it traditionally like a lot of other people do. You know, some bigger bands go in the studio for months at a time. I think we have the studio for six days, and we’ll probably have the record done in about four. That’s the way it usually happens; the last two were done early.”<br />
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Capturing a live, almost dangerous energy on a record, in their own unique way, is something Weedeater does well, Collins admitted proudly.<br />
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“It’s a little different for us, the way that we do things, pretty much, a lot of it on the spot. And I think it comes through, too. It works.”<br />
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Describing the recording process, and writing and incorporating acoustic material that may seep in from Collins’ and Shepherd’s side project <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Kl3mkHTpc" target="_blank">Barstul</a>, Collins said it all comes back to doing what comes natural: rocking out.<br />
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“We still are a heavy band, obviously. But we feel absolutely no constraints as to what we want to put on there. If it sounds good to us, we put it on there. Once again, we do it for ourselves first and foremost, and of course, we’d love for people to like it. If they don’t, they don’t.<br />
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“But I think that it goes together pretty well, the way that we decide when and where to put in acoustic type stuff or whatever, to change the direction a little bit.<br />
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“But, still,” Collins said pausing, to speak more deliberately, “as a whole, my favorite thing about recording a record is to try to make the whole thing a record, not just a collection of songs, so it’s very listenable from beginning to end. That’s the way I prefer people to listen to it, but they can do with it what they want.<br />
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“But for us, there is nothing that’s not possible to do. We can make anything that goes in the record and meshes with everything else.”<br />
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Before Weedeater heads into the studio, though, they’ll hit the road for a two-week jaunt that includes a stop in a town familiar to the band.<br />
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“We love Huntington. We’ve enjoyed The V Club,” Collins said excitedly. “Don [Duncan] is an awesome dude. We have ties to Huntington from way back. We’ve always been well received there, even in the Buzzov-en days. So we’re looking forward to it. It’s gonna be one of the highlights of the trip.”<br />
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Doing things their own way, making their own sound over nearly twenty years, and having fun is what it’s still all about for Collins.<br />
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“We’ve been doing this the whole time for ourselves, anyway. And, obviously, for the people that appreciate it.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">If you go</span></b><br />
Weedeater w/Station(s), Rat Ship<br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club 741 6th Ave.<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 9 p.m., Monday Sept. 8<br />
<b>COST:</b> $10 advance, $12 day of show<br />
<b>INFO:</b> (304) 781-0680<br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/weedmetal">www.facebook.com/weedmetal</a>, <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-28458263683069631812013-08-13T10:50:00.000-04:002013-08-13T13:23:08.985-04:00VIDEO: Miniature Giant "Kill Yr FriENDs" (official) & "Murder The Government" (NOFX cover)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">photo: Megan Green</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miniature Giant (L-R: John Ballard, Michael Workman, KC Shinglebop) have been hanging out, writing songs and playing shows over the summer; things punk bands are wont to do...</span></i></div>
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Our friends in Charleston-area punk band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MiniatureGiant">Miniature Giant</a> have been busy over the summer, which is always good, because staying busy keeps you out of trouble.</div>
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Singer-guitarist Michael Workman, bassist John Ballard, and recently added drummer KC Shinglebop have been playing shows, writing new songs (going from "bad" to "tolerable" as they said on their Facebook page) and, making videos.<br />
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Below, see the recently released video for "Kill Yr FriENDs," off their 2012 debut EP <i>The Superhero Chronicles</i>...<br />
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...and, here they are covering one of our favorite songs from <a href="http://youtu.be/pFUYdX6Hgss">one of our favorite NOFX cassettes</a> (yeah, tapes!) at the Parrot this past weekend...<br />
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We'll look forward to running into Workman in/around Quincy, and taking Ballard -- described by an ex-girlfriend as "weird" after she met him at the Glass 7.4 (translates as: "not a loudmouth jerk threatening to fight everyone") -- out for Chinese food sometime soon.<br />
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Look for Miniature Giant to be playing shows, not fighting people, and otherwise being super cool punk rockers, in a venue near you.<br />
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Oh, and look for stuff here as we attempt to relaunch this thang closer to September!WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-34235932537649081232013-07-24T09:27:00.000-04:002013-07-24T09:29:13.323-04:00“No talent busker” releases new music!We’ve been “out of the office” here for the past few months, much to our dismay. There were print pieces here and there, but the blog has remained dormant.<br />
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Until now.<br />
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Morgantown native, and now Lexington, Kentucky-based “angry one-man band” <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thejmarinelli">J. Marinelli</a> has released a handful of new tunes over the past month.<br />
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Right in time to celebrate West Virginia’s birthday, he released his seven-song Sovereign Slates E.P., and Monday, he uploaded his half of a cassette split he did with Lexington’s <a href="http://maturner.bandcamp.com/releases">Ma Turner</a>, including versions of <a href="http://goodwolf.bandcamp.com/album/shitty-kids">Goodwolf’s</a> “Bikini Girl” and “Filler” by Minor Threat<br />
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We’re super pumped anytime Marinelli releases new music. We’re also pumped to be back, covering bands to the best of our ability over the rest of 2013! Get awesome!<br />
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<iframe seamless="" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=243622584/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/" style="border: 0; height: 692px; width: 350px;"><a href="http://jmarinelli.bandcamp.com/album/sovereign-slates-ep-3">Sovereign Slates EP by J. Marinelli</a></iframe>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-55925661094159943752013-04-20T12:21:00.001-04:002013-04-20T12:21:48.739-04:005 (or 10) Questions w/Greg McGowan of Time and Distance (Gazz repost)<a href="http://s44.photobucket.com/user/tronnik/media/timedist_I130417214700_zps3f20765c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo timedist_I130417214700_zps3f20765c.jpg" border="0" height="266" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/timedist_I130417214700_zps3f20765c.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<em>Greg McGowan (right) formed Time and Distance as a teen and has kept it going through lineup changes and other challenges for the past decade. (Photo by James Vernon Brown/The Liquid Canvas)</em><br />
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<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted (and expanded on) from The Charleston Gazette</span></em><br />
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<strong>CHARLESTON, W.Va. --</strong> After his band's three-week Southeast tour in March, which included a show at South by Southwest, Time and Distance singer/guitarist Greg McGowan has been enjoying some downtime. On Saturday, he's back onstage in an <a href="http://www.emptyglass.com/">Empty Glass</a> show with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BlueRingMusic">Blue Ring</a> and The Red Lights.<br />
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In advance of the gig, he talked to gazz about what it's been like fronting the Charleston pop punk band since its inception more than a decade ago.<br />
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<strong>Q: How did the South by Southwest tour go, make new friends and fans?</strong><br />
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<strong>Greg McGowan:</strong> It was really great; we had great weather and mostly great shows. Met some awesome people, ate some really great food (haha), made a bunch of friends, walked a TON. I got to see Butch Walker play when we were at SXSW, and he is pretty much my favorite songwriter, so that pretty much made my month/year.<br />
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A couple days after we were at SXSW we played at Six Flags in Dallas. I'm not personally much of a roller coaster person, but everyone else had a blast riding all kinds of stuff. We finished off the tour with a super fun show in St. Louis that was I think one of our favorite shows we've played in a really really long time, then we got home and ended up playing an all-ages show at the old putt putt building in South Charleston, which was totally awesome and a great way to end the tour properly.<br />
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<strong>Q: SXSW is such a huge fest, and there are so many bands and shows - do you feel like a band has a chance to be discovered down there, or is it just the thing of playing for so many people, getting exposure like that?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> It is absolute madness down there. So many bands, so many people - everyone trying to get somewhere fast. You definitely have to be a little bit inventive to get people's attention when there's so many other people vying for it. We went in with a ton of fliers and CDs and just tried to pass them out to everyone we could get to stop and talk to us.<br />
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I think it was great exposure for our band, in that we were able to reach people from all over the country and even the world, but at the same time I think we were kind of the outcasts of what was going on down there in terms of the "buzz" trends or genres. There was a GIANT trend of singers who play a floor-tom, and I don't do that, so I don't think anybody wanted to sign us, haha.<br />
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Overall it was a great experience and we are already making plans to go back next year and hit it even harder.<br />
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<strong>Q: What's been going on with the band since you've been back? Rehearsing? hanging etc.?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> RELAXING. haha. We recorded our "ON" EP last September, and literally have been going back and forth non-stop between rehearsing and touring ever since. We're finally feeling like we are at a point where we don't have to beat ourselves to death with songs, we're pretty comfortable and confident in them these days, so we've been taking things a little bit easy before everything picks back up this summer/fall, playing a bunch of shows around home and just enjoying life for a minute.<br />
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At the same time, we're always working on something -- we are working on a couple of acoustic versions of the EP songs now, we're shooting a couple of different music videos very soon, hoping to have the songs and at least one video out before we hit the road again.<br />
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<strong>Q: Time and Distance goes back over 10 years or so. Talk about the pre-T&D days; what bands influenced you as a youth to want to be in a band, and what are some of your favorite memories looking back on local shows or bands that may have inspired you?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> Pre-T&D seems so long ago in my head it's hard to even remember what I did back then, haha. I remember seeing Green Day play on late night TV when I was probably like nine or ten, and just having something in my head kind of click like "that's it! That is what I should be doing!" So I got a guitar and started figuring it out.<br />
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As I get older, my parents tell me stories about how I was always banging on things or singing to myself when I was a kid. I think doing the music thing fits nicely with my inability to sit still for too long. My brain runs like 100 miles a minute all the time, I've always gotta be working on or doing or thinking about something.<br />
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I remember the first local show I ever went to in Charleston was a battle of the bands thing at Common Grounds. I'm pretty sure <a href="https://www.facebook.com/69fingers">69 Fingers</a> played; I know Shindig and a couple of the other mythical bands of the "old days of Charleston" did.<br />
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I thought it was so cool that there was somebody from my town who was willing to open up this dirty old building to give all these bands a place to play, and even cooler that kids from my town came out to watch. It really just reaffirmed my already existing thoughts that that was what I wanted to be doing. To me at 13, if I could play Common Grounds to 100 kids on a Friday night, that was the biggest thing that could possibly ever happen to me. If you'd told 13-year old me that by the time I was 23 I would have been signed to and split from a record company, played shows with my most of my idols, and gotten to see the entire country with my friends, from the back of a van, I would not have believed you for a second.<br />
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There used to be SO MANY great shows in Charleston and Huntington. I could go on for hours about all the great bands I saw first around here -- but most people have never heard of any of em. Some were locals, some where locals from other places that went on to be HUGE BANDS headlining Warped Tour and stuff (I'm looking at you, Thursday) -- we just had this great sense of community, where everyone was a part of something really cool. Then all the venues got shut down, people got older and had families and jobs and and it kind of faded. I don't ever want to be that dude who makes myself sound old by talking about the "olden days" but I think that a lot of kids coming up today just don't get it, and it's not their fault -- they just didn't grow up with that same sense of community within a scene that I did.<br />
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"Scene" never used to be a dirty word, but now it's like, a total insult. At the same time, we've started to have some all-ages shows popping up again, and I'm finally seeing younger bands out playing shows again, so I think it might be coming back a little bit. There is still hope.<br />
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<strong>Q: So many bands come and go over just a few years, much less a decade. Of course there are the fun times, but how much work has gone into you keeping the band going over the years?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> It's so hard sometimes. I think I'm just too crazy to quit trying. But it's just life, unfortunately. When you live in a van with three or four other people for a couple of years, everybody's little quirks and things come to be very much known to everybody.<br />
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Sometimes people just change and don't want to be pseudo-homeless for over half the year. Some people meet people and want to have real relationships or families, which are super hard things to do in a tiny touring band. I've kind of run the gamut from playing with people I grew up with, to people I didn't really know at all outside of the band, and then now kind of back to playing with my best friends.<br />
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The four of us are super tight and we'll hang out even when there's nothing band related going on. Obviously we all fight and get annoyed by each other sometimes still, but it just comes with the territory. We are all able to see the bigger picture of how fortunate we are to be able to do what we're doing, and I think when everyone is on the same page like that, it's a bit easier to keep everything in check.<br />
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Everybody involved understands that T&D is my baby, I've been doing it for ten years, but I would not call it MY band. It's all of ours, even if I may be the one who writes a lot of the material or sends the emails or whatever. I think we have a good understanding of how things work well for us, and we kind of just try to stay in that mentality.<br />
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<strong>Q: From recording to songwriting; over the years how if at all has hashing out material with the dudes in the band changed? This is may be a good point to talk about any strong friendships in the band that make it a fun exercise, and not some big ego thing etc.</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> If it makes any sense, it has changed a ton, and not very much, all at the same time. When I started doing T&D, I was just solo acoustic, so when it eventually became a band we just translated those songs into a band format and that was kind of the way we would write new material as well -- kind of just translating songs that were written acoustically into something that worked with a whole band.<br />
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But especially in the last I'd say five years I've gotten way more into doing pretty fleshed out "demos" of new songs at my studio (usually before anyone in my band has actually heard them at all.) The "ON" EP was pretty much written and demoed at the same time over the course of last summer, mostly really late at night all alone with like a bottle of wine or something. That was the first record I've ever written completely that way -- having an idea for a song but not always having any idea how it's going to end up when I start demoing it. Then maybe a day, a week, or three months later, all the parts just sort of come together and even surprise me.<br />
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So when we went in to actually record the EP, I had these crazy giant full-on production demos, and we ended up actually taking some small parts (like keyboards and drum loops) straight off of my demos onto the final versions. It was a really cool way to work, but I think the four of us are really excited about trying to get into a room together and create something. We'll jam a lot at practice on riffs or whatever, usually ending up on these ridiculous like 10-minute jam sessions and we've started trying to do it a little bit live to transition songs and stuff.<br />
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<strong>Q: Over the years you've got to see these platforms like </strong><a href="http://timeanddistance.bandcamp.com/"><strong>Bandcamp</strong></a><strong> and Indie Go-Go pop up and help give bands their own label. This is not to mention social networking sites. But how cool is it for T&D to be able to use something like Bandcamp as a site to sell music AND make fans by allowing people to hear the songs?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> I think it's awesome. When I started T&D in 2002, it was literally not possible for me to make a record on my laptop, finish it, and then a day later upload it to the internet, and a week later have it available for sale all over the world, which is pretty much exactly what I did with the "OFF" EP in 2011. I made that record in my bedroom at my parent's house, with my cat staring at me half the time. I put it online with literally no help or advertising budget or anything and it just took on its own life, which completely rules and completely empowered my thinking that I/we can do this all on our own without anybody's help (not that a giant checkbook would HURT…).<br />
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With sites like Bandcamp and Indie Go-Go popping up, you're actually cutting out the middleman even further, and putting control into the hands of music listeners to make the things that they are actually interested in a reality. I really feel like this whole system is the future of the music industry. Labels are dying out, budgets for making records are virtually non-existent, and everyone is scrambling because they know the "old model" isn't working anymore, but they have no idea what the "new model" is going to be.<br />
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I will tell you this, the whole current trend of things that become popular originating from viral YouTube videos or a television show full of highly-paid celebrity judges deciding what is "good" or "bad" is NOT the new way, and it isn't going to last. Fan-funding, streaming music services (i.e. Spotify, rdio, etc) and the basic principle of music being or seeming "free" is where things are heading. we, with the "ON" EP, decided deliberately to try and embrace this -- we put the record up for "name your own price" download via Bandcamp, really expecting everyone to just enter a "0" and take it for free, but we've been genuinely surprised by the results not being that. Sure, we've had more free downloads than we've had paid ones, BUT I don't think that we would have moved the number of copies of the EP that we have, in the time that we have, if the only way to get it was for $5 on iTunes. Even better, when someone gets our EP for free, and doesn't pay anything for it, it seems like they're more inclined to then pass it on for their friends to check out.<br />
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We've been getting a lot of downloads and making a lot of new friends, all through old fashioned word-of-mouth. I think it's a really exciting time, I couldn't have predicted that this is where the music industry would've been five years ago, which has me very excited to see where things are going to be five years from now.<br />
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<strong>Q: You're in </strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tom-McGees/152243878174500"><strong>the McGees</strong></a><strong> now too? This can kind of tie back into like, the 69 Fingers days, cool local punk bands. But how long have you known any of those dudes and what's it like stepping in, playing shows, going on tour, recording etc.? Seems like being friends and having fun is what it's all about regardless...?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> I've known the McGees dudes for years. I met Adam Dittebrand and Chris Woodall in the earlier part of the decade when they were both in 69 Fingers. I knew Mike Withrow from The Concept, and then he played bass in Time and Distance for about three years before he and Adam started the McGees. Then, after the McGees were a band proper, I hung out with all of them all the time, because my studio and their rehearsal space are in the same building.<br />
<br />
Late last year I recorded a couple of cover songs for them. We all got along really well in the studio and the songs came out great, so we began talking about me recording their next EP. Over the course of all this, Mike and I had a couple of conversations about me possibly playing guitar with them, then one day randomly I ended up jamming with them while they were trying to put together a new song, and the next thing I knew Mike was teaching me songs three days before I was to play my first show with them.<br />
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It's been a blast so far, McGees is absolutely about having fun, and it seems like I'm constantly cracking up at practices and shows. I'm really excited to get the new EP recorded and released because, as just a fan of the first record, I feel like these new songs kind of take the things about the first record that were really cool and the strengths of the band that were already there, and kind of expands on them a little bit more than the first one did.<br />
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I think anybody who liked the first record will love the new one, and I think it'll surprise some people who maybe weren't as into the first one. It is pretty funny though, because when I was younger and starting out, 69 Fingers were THE band in Charleston. I remember Adam talking his way into my high school band's shows just by dropping that he was "in 69 Fingers" so it is kind of offhandedly full circle that I'm now in a band playing songs on a stage with him.<br />
<br />
"Offhandedly full circle" actually pretty accurately sums up a lot of the things and experiences I've had in my life so far relating to music.<br />
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<strong>Q: One of the recurring themes in your T&D SXSW tour dispatch was the couch surfing or just meeting up with old friends, flung far and wide in these states across the southeast. Is that what it's all about even after all these years, sharing your music and experiences with your band mates and old friends? </strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> Yeah I think you pretty much nailed it. I kind of long ago gave up any "rockstar" aspirations in favor of just being stoked that I'm one of a small number of people who are even fortunate enough to be able to do what I do. I may never make a million dollars, or even be able to pay my bills every month on time, but when I'm 70 I'm gonna have so many cooler stories than anyone else.<br />
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It also rules that after doing this for so long I have friends spread all over the country, some of whom I know from West Virginia originally who have moved away, and a TON more that I've met just through touring. It rules to be able to be like "Oh, we're going to xx city, we get to hang out with xx!!" But it also sucks because I have made some of my legitimate best friends on the planet through touring, whether they're people in bands we toured with, or people we met, or stayed, or hung with, and I never get to spend nearly as much time with them as I'd like to.<br />
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It's cool sharing the touring experience with the dudes in my band, though; they haven't been doing it as long as I have, so even though I may be bored to death with seeing the same things over and over they always manage to make me see it like it's my first time again.<br />
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<strong>Q: Looking ahead to 2013 is there anything you guys are particularly looking forward to?</strong><br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> This goes completely against my earlier point about how we've been going non-stop since September and are enjoying resting at home, but i am totally stoked to get back on tour. We've not even been home for a month, and we are all dying to get back out. The McGees do a short tour in May, and then Time and Distance leave the end of May for a six-week full-U.S. run with our friends in a band called The Traditional, who are from Buffalo. It's been a while since we've hit the west coast and I'm super pumped to get back out there and see some friends, eat some In-n-Out burger, and visit San Diego, which (no offense Charleston) is my favorite city in the country.<br />
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After that, we are going to be doing a Time and Distance/The McGees tour in the fall, which should be insanely fun. Eventually before the end of the year, I'm hoping to sleep some.<br />
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<strong>Q: This ties back in with the fun, but after 10+ years is it still as fun as it was in the early days? From doing SXSW tour dates to releasing new music how proud are you to have kept the band going all these years?</strong> <br />
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<strong>McGowan:</strong> I still love it just as much, if not more, than I ever have. In the years I've been doing this band, and all the years before that, music is the one relationship I can always come back to, no matter how bad I might mess everything up, or how many times I fall on my face in the process of trying.<br />
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I love creating music; I love the process of hearing a song come together from an idea in your head to a finished recording that people react to. I love when someone comes up to me and tells me a song I had a part in creating touched them or helped them in a positive way.<br />
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I hate the business aspect of it all, but it's a necessary evil I suppose. It's really easy to get yourself mixed up in the politics of the BUSINESS of making music, which is entirely different from the ART of making music.<br />
<br />
I've seen a lot of people get really discouraged because band X, who they have some past relationship with, eclipsed their own musical endeavors in popularity, or record or ticket sales or MySpace friends, or whatever. I've had friends with bands that sold way more records than I probably ever will, but then their bands broke up because in their minds they "didn't sell enough records."<br />
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At the same time, I have friends who have platinum records on their walls that are still the raddest, most down to earth people you'll ever meet, and love music still for the art of creating. I guess that kinda ties together the thing that keeps me going -- the music BUSINESS has just never ever been what playing and writing music has been about for me.<br />
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I feel awesome about the fact that this silly little thing I started in high school is still able to release records and tour and play our songs for people, and I obviously want it to succeed, but generally we release a record, and we sell about the same amount of them every time -- but I don't care how many that is. That isn't how I judge our success.<br />
<br />
I judge our success in the fact that for ten years this band has managed to do things our way, without anybody really helping us out or telling us what to do, and we've managed to reach an audience of people who care about what we do and what we create, but maybe not so much about what we're wearing or what the current hip blog has to say about us.<br />
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It seems, to me, like our music has resonated with people for that exact reason -- we don't try to be anything that we aren't. We write songs we'd listen to if we weren't in the band, we wear whatever we like, and we get on stage and don't always play every note perfect. Maybe if we had better haircuts (…or if I had a floor tom) we'd be better financially situated, but I digress. <br />
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Music to me is about moving people, not dollars and units.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">WANT TO GO?</span></strong><br />
<br />
<em>Time and Distance, Blue Ring, The Red Lights</em><br />
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<strong>WHEN:</strong> 10 p.m., Saturday, Apr. 20<br />
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<strong>WHERE:</strong> The Empty Glass, 410 Elizabeth St., 304-345-3914<br />
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<strong>COST:</strong> $7<br />
<br />
<strong>ONLINE:</strong> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/timeanddistance">https://www.facebook.com/timeanddistance</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-41157237063630287262013-04-16T13:17:00.000-04:002013-04-16T13:19:15.661-04:00VIDEO: Rozwell Kid "Unmacho" (Official Video)<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QsS6u8246XY" width="440"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
We’ve been off the grid for a while, but one of the more awesome things that came out recently was the official video and title track for <a href="http://rozwellkid.bandcamp.com/">Rozwell Kid</a>’s February release, <em>Unmacho</em>.<br />
<br />
Brought to you by <a href="http://northwardadvance.com/index.html">Northward Advance</a>, the same people who brought you <a href="http://thedemonbeat.bandcamp.com/">The Demon Beat</a>’s video for “<a href="http://youtu.be/5wJDKRHWaFM">Bored Forever</a>,” (and including Adam Meisterhans guitar lessons) we gonna post it to give us a reason to come back soon!WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-15495096564760861742013-03-22T09:00:00.000-04:002013-03-22T09:09:29.052-04:00The Only Way Out Is Through: Streamlined DTES plays V Club 3.22<a href="http://www.dreamtheelectricsleep.com/"><img alt=" photo 61209fc7-5914-4565-812b-85cdb5e27788_zps0d4c00b8.jpg" border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/61209fc7-5914-4565-812b-85cdb5e27788_zps0d4c00b8.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>photo:</i> LA Watson</span></div>
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<i>Lexington, Ky.-based progressive rock band <a href="http://www.dreamtheelectricsleep.com/">Dream The Electric Sleep</a> (L-R: Chris Tackett, Matt Page, Joey Waters) will perform at The V Club Friday.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</span></i><br />
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It’s been two years since <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DTESBAND">Dream The Electric Sleep</a> released its debut album, <i><a href="http://dtes.bandcamp.com/">Lost and Gone Forever</a></i>, for free, out of nowhere, to critical acclaim.
The Lexington-based progressive rock band’s stunning 14-song concept record about the life of an eastern Kentucky coal mining family would not be easy to duplicate.<br />
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So, live, and in the studio, Matt Page, Chris Tackett and Joey Waters would move on in a new direction, continuing to see where their diverse musical influences take them.<br />
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“When we finished the first record, sometimes you just kind of know that you have something special on your hands, and you just cross your fingers and hope for the best,” bassist Chris Tackett said.<br />
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“Nobody knew who we were; we weren’t anyone. We hadn’t recorded anything and we’d never played any shows. So it was just really important for us to just get the music out there and let people hear it. We thought we’d achieved something pretty damn special.<br />
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“It’s been nice to get the good response; we’ll take it.”<br />
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After downsizing into a three-piece a few months ago, the guys in DTES were challenged with recreating live, the richly layered sound (think Pink Floyd meets Muse) found on the debut record.<br />
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“It was a definite transition,” singer-guitarist Matt Page said. “We were trying to figure out how to fill up the space, since the album that we wrote was fairly lush with keyboard parts, acoustic guitars, and harmonies.<br />
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“We sort of debated whether we wanted another guitar player, or someone that can do keyboards, but nothing really worked out. So at this point we’re a three-piece. We’re trying to work [arrangements] with samples, and applying the stuff we need to, as opposed to finding another member.<br />
<br />
“So we worked hard at figuring out ways to sort of beef up the sound again, and I think we’ve finally got to that point. Last year was sort of us testing stuff out live while we were writing new material. But it’s kind of nice that the three of us gelled, and work together so well. We’re all pretty happy with where we’re at.”<br />
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Dream The Electric Sleep performs Friday at <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">The V Club</a> in Huntington with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/johnlancastermusic">John Lancaster</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Horseburner">Horseburner</a>.<br />
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“Even though the three-piece, live, with the material from [Lost and Gone Forever] at certain points was maybe a little thinner than the album was obviously, because there’s not five or six guys on stage playing,” drummer Joey Waters added. “It made us a little less muddy live. So, from that standpoint it was a good thing.”<br />
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Tackett, who’d came on around the time the band was finishing the debut album, said writing as a three-piece has had its benefits.<br />
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“This record we’re getting ready to record was written as a collaboration between the three of us, as opposed to the last record, where I kind of stepped in and helped finish the album. This one, we all worked together on. So it does sound a little bit different. I wouldn’t say it’s anything drastic, but it sounds more like a real band.”<br />
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Tackett, with years of experience being in bands as diverse as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/chumwv">Chum</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Heptanes/288767964482069">The Heptanes</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hyatari">Hyatari</a>, said Dream The Electric Sleep is bringing everything together as a three-piece.<br />
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“As far as doing the three-piece thing, my role in it, like Matt mentioned, we’ve really experimented with some effects and different techniques to fill up some space, especially in trying to mimic the older songs. But the new material, I think, since it was kind of hashed out in a room with the three of us, it sounds a little more natural live.”<br />
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Page said Tackett’s sonic tendencies and sensibilities were more integral this time around, and that each member’s influences make the band what it is.<br />
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“This album, Chris’ influence and sound have really helped to shape that. Like, I don’t listen to anything like what Chris listens to, and I don’t know that Joey listens to anything that I do, so we all have our feet in different musical genres. It’s an extraordinarily exciting thing for me.”<br />
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“These guys have been really cool about letting that sort of influence leak into this band,” Tackett added. “I certainly wouldn’t say it’s taken over or anything like that, but there’s definitely some Hyatari-type elements that we employ from time to time. They’ve been really gracious with letting me express that side.<br />
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“It is a weird style, and it’s kind of like, my style, so it’s cool that they let me include that in this project. I personally think it makes for a really unique sound with Matt’s harmonies and writing. We do incorporate some of that Hyatari-type slower, doomy, dissonant stuff, and it works!”<br />
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Waters seconded Tackett’s increasing influence in DTES.<br />
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“I’ve always played with a really aggressive style, but I’ve never enjoyed playing metal, per se. I like listening to it, and that’s mainly what I’m listening to right now. Chris let me fill in on drums for Hyatari, and that was one of the coolest shows I’ve ever played. So he’s definitely been an influence on me as far as getting back into heavy music again.<br />
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“In Dream The Electric Sleep I hit as hard as I want, and really get the demons out. At the same time, I’m able to play that aggressive style but be in a band that’s more accessible to a wider audience. Matt and Chris are good at reining it in and making it sound like Dream The Electric Sleep.”<br />
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“Joey and Chris have kind of melded together,” Page said matter-of-factly, describing the rhythm section.<br />
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Page said it’s the experimentation and openness that makes DTES what it is.<br />
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“It’s really fun to work with two other musicians of high caliber that are also willing to take somebody more like me, who’s going to be more like a singer-songwriter, and put Hyatari riffs and thundering drums behind it, and come up with a sound that’s surprising to me. That’s why it’s so exciting.<br />
<br />
Looking ahead to recording 11 new songs and 80 or so minutes worth of material with Jay Groves at <a href="http://wvrockscene.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-only-way-out-is-through-streamlined.html">Sneak Attack</a> in Lexington, Page said he hopes the recording will be as much of a natural, creative process as the songwriting.<br />
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“I’m hoping that comes across when we start recording the album, that this is a step forward, sonically. I want to make sure we capture that as opposed to us setting up a bunch of microphones and crossing our fingers and hoping we get the sound we want.<br />
<br />
“I’d rather go into a studio and work with a professional and get that sound, then take those tracks and kind of sculpt them outside of the studio session, in our rehearsal space, and start experimenting with amps, guitars, keyboards and vocals, all that.<br />
<br />
“So I think that’s the process, at least at this point,” the singer and guitarist said. “To be honest, the recording process for us isn’t going to be recording something that’s already finished. It’s going to be us creating as we record.”<br />
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The guys said they’re looking forward to playing RosFest, a big prog rock festival held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in May.<br />
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“It’s a pretty big deal for us,” Page said. “People from all over the world fly in for this festival and they’re super stoked to be there, and they’re music aficionados, and they already knew about us, which was also weird to have people know who you are but you’ve never played for them before.<br />
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“These people-- the fans, the organizers, have been extremely supportive; they want us there. So I think it’s going to be a really positive experience for us.”<br />
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Page said 2013 is shaping up to be a good year for Dream The Electric Sleep.<br />
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“We’re playing shows, we’re playing new material, we’ve got the festival coming up, which is a really big deal, and we’re gonna be in the studio trying to finish an album.<br />
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“It’s gonna be a crazy six months I think.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">IF YOU GO:</span></b><br />
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<i>Dream The Electric Sleep, John Lancaster, Horseburner</i><br />
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<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 10 p.m., Friday, March 22<br />
<b>COST:</b> $5<br />
<b>INFO:</b> http://www.vclublive.com/, (304) 781-0680<br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> http://www.dreamtheelectricsleep.com/WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-43811783585803281242013-03-20T16:00:00.000-04:002013-03-20T19:26:35.769-04:00Bishops Make Next Move With "Feel Alive" EP<a href="http://www.facebook.com/bishopswv" target="_blank"><img alt=" photo 68e4f247-c695-44f4-b8c4-d82a7907041e_zps519b0944.jpg" border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/68e4f247-c695-44f4-b8c4-d82a7907041e_zps519b0944.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>photo:</i> Jordan Hudkins</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Right where they belong: Tucker Riggleman and Paul Cogle have found a new home for their creative output in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bishopswv">Bishops</a>. After releasing their debut full-length in 2012, the duo returns with a new EP, <i>Feel Alive</i>, released in March.</span><br />
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<br />
<i>Before The Demon Beat, before Prison Book Club, Tucker Riggleman was kicking around Shepherdstown area bars and coffee shops playing solo acoustic shows, singing his own songs. Late nights at Shepherd University, playing music and sharing songs with PBC band mate and The Fox Hunt’s John R. Miller helped Riggleman come into his own as a performer.</i><br />
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<i>The Demon Beat would emerge as one of the region’s better bands, and Riggleman would later share singing and songwriting duties in Prison Book Club, the Shepherdstown-based alt-country band, with his good friend Miller.
But it was only after teaming up with veteran musician and engineer Paul Cogle (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/voxpopulithefirst">Vox Populi</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ALT40">Alt 40</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fabledsons">Fabled Sons</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/blackblizzardwv">Black Blizzard</a>) to record some demos that Riggleman’s songwriting efforts would emerge as his own band.</i><br />
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<i>After recruiting Demon Beat singer-guitarist Adam Meisterhans and PBC drummer Andrew Ford, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bishopswv">Bishops</a>, birthed out of Cogle’s Falling Waters studio, released its debut self-titled full-length in 2012.</i><br />
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<i>Bishops will release its new EP, Feel Alive, digitally March 5, and will perform at Gene’s Beer Garden in Morgantown Saturday, March 23.
WVRockscene caught up with Riggleman and Cogle for <a href="http://spotlightwv.com/">Spotlight West Virginia</a> to learn more about the project and the new EP, which finds Riggleman and Cogle striking out on their own...</i><br />
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<b>WVRockscene:</b> The new EP, <i>Feel Alive</i>, how excited are you two about the material and getting it out to fans and friends? From original demos and rehearsals to now, how has Bishops progressed?<b> </b><br />
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<b>Tucker Riggleman:</b> I think it’s safe to say that we’re really excited about the new EP. I think it’s a logical step forward for us. A couple of the songs started as demos where I played everything, then I brought them to Paul and he added his magic. It’s a lot of fun to be able to bring in a song and have someone else hear something that they think can add to the vibe of the whole thing, and then mix it all together to get the finished product.
I’m particularly stoked on this batch of songs because they’re kind of all over the place stylistically.<br />
<br />
There are a couple slow building acoustic/folk rock types of songs that get pretty triumphant at the end, there is a 70’s punk rock sounding song, a straight up rocker, and one that is just me and a guitar. What I love about what we’ve been able to do as a band, is that we can combine these different influences and it doesn’t seem too jagged or out of place. It makes sense that it’s one band making all that noise.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fVK9yOA0LVo" width="440"></iframe><br />
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<b>Paul Cogle:</b> Yeah the EP is a really cool jam! We do stretch out a little more on this release which has been a lot of fun. Tucker’s writing is top notch and one of my favorite songs (“Let go”) is on it.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> How did Bishops get hatched originally? Tucker how encouraging and/or awesome has it been having Paul as a musical partner for your songwriting efforts?<br />
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<b>Cogle:</b> Tucker is an awesome guy with a heart of gold. The best thing that’s come from Bishops for me is an excellent friendship. Yeah, Bishops began after a lot of email pestering by me, I initially wanted to record <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedemonbeat">The Demon Beat</a> but our schedules never worked out.
Tucker finally came to the studio to record some demos – and we just hit it off so Bishops evolved from there.<br />
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I think we hear things the same way. We love things that are over-the-top full of distortion and reverb but still melt when the song is as sweet and pure as a single voice and guitar.<br />
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<b>Riggleman:</b> Paul is definitely a musical brother of mine. It’s so comfortable to work with him. He’s a great musician and person, but he is also an excellent engineer/producer in the way he can get certain things out of you, or maybe put you in a position to look at the song a different way and follow it down that path a little bit to see if there’s something awesome you can get out of it.<br />
<br />
Basically, the band wouldn’t have happened without Paul’s encouragement. Originally, Paul had me come over last year to demo some songs I had lying around. I was clueless about what should be done with these songs; I just knew I wanted to get them down for posterity’s sake. Once we listened to the demos, I think we decided to get together and try to rock them out a bit, which resulted in the debut full-length. I am still very proud of that record.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Tucker, given your past solo efforts, how has being in The Demon Beat and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/prisonbookclub">Prison Book Club</a> expanded your own songwriting sensibilities? What’s rubbed off on you, if anything, being in these other bands?<br />
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<b>Riggleman:</b> I would like to think I’ve got a lot of the boneheaded youthful mistakes out of the way (i.e. booking a show in New York City on Super Bowl Sunday at a bar with no TV) and can focus on efficiently writing, recording, and playing shows. Doing everything on your own tends to lead to a lot of trial and error, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I’m just glad I got those parts out of the way when I was 21, and not now when I’m 26.<br />
<br />
But it’s not just the mistakes you learn from, but also the good things. For instance, we now have the luxury of knowing which places will be good for us to play, and which ones we should skip. The Demon Beat and PBC made a lot of friends over the years (as have Paul’s previous bands) and we’re lucky that a handful of them continue to follow our other projects. I think it’s just like anything else, you learn more as you go.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Just like The Demon Beat, with Adam Meisterhans recording, with Bishops, Cogle can handle production duties. How important and/or convenient is it to be able to control the means of production in both bands?<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Cogle:</b> The only way to get the best possible recordings are for people to feel one hundred percent comfortable and I’ve always wanted to have a place where friends could come, relax, jam, and record – and for the most part I have achieved that. It’s a private studio. I’ll only work with friends. I’ve never recorded someone I do not have a personal friendship with. It’s also really, really cool to be able to send Adam or Jordan [Hudkins] a mix to get their opinion.<br />
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<b>Riggleman:</b> I think the familiarity makes all the difference. Try as they might, some producer at a costly studio somewhere is not going to know your music or what you’re going for better than your band mate and friend. It’s just really convenient to not have to/ rush in the studio and be able to build things up the way we do.<br />
<br />
We have a pretty good process down, but it’s still spontaneous enough to catch those unexpected moments. For instance, the last track on the EP, a song called “Easy,” is just a guitar and me. I was playing it for Paul and he kind of snuck over and pressed record. Those are the kinds of takes I think you can only get while recording in an environment such as the one we have at Paul’s studio.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> Tucker you’re still running <a href="http://bigbulletrecords.bandcamp.com/">Big Bullet Records</a>, which just released a winter sampler. How frustrating and/or necessary and/or awesome is it to be able to cut out the middlemen and run a label DIY?<br />
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<b>Riggleman:</b> You know what? It’s gotten a heck of a lot less frustrating once I decided to stick to digital releases for the most part: less overhead, less worrying about pressing deadlines. Everything is just so flooded these days, and I watched it happen from BBR’s inception up until now.<br />
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I think we have a small group of folks who diligently check out what we do as a group, and that’s really all you can ask for these days. With every band and label in the world putting things on Bandcamp for free, if you can get just a few people who actually care to click on your link then you’re doing okay.<br />
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<b>rockscene:</b> You’ve got this show 3.23 at Gene’s with your friends <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Matheny-The-Frustrations/155513041937">Billy Matheny</a> and Tyler Grady in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/goodwolfhowl">Goodwolf</a>, looking forward to the show?<br />
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<b>Riggleman:</b> I am really stoked on this one. I’ve only ever stepped foot inside of Gene’s once in my life, and it was awesome. The intimacy and potential for rowdy rock behavior definitely increases in smaller spaces like Gene’s, especially when the shows are free.<br />
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Billy and Tyler are two of my favorite musical people, and we are very excited and honored to share a bill with them. There are so many talented musicians in our state. I can only hope that anytime any West Virginia bands get noticed even the slightest that the outside world gets turned on to all of the state’s awesome music.<br />
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<b>Cogle:</b> The first time I met Tyler he was opening for Bishops and he just totally blew me away. Love his work! Billy and his group are top notch people (and friends from way back) so this is gonna be one of my favorite shows – I’m so looking forward to it!<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=3231451655/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://bishops.bandcamp.com/album/feel-alive-ep">Feel Alive EP by Bishops</a></iframe><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WANT TO GO?</span></b><br />
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<i>Bishops
w/Billy Matheny & the Frustrations, Goodwolf</i><br />
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<b>WHERE:</b> Gene’s Beer Garden, 461 Wilson Ave., Morgantown (304) 292-1147<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> 9 p.m., Saturday March 23<br />
<b>COST:</b> Free<br />
<b>ONLINE:</b> www.facebook.com/bishopswvWVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-18863645465809299342013-03-18T12:13:00.002-04:002013-03-18T12:15:47.038-04:00CD Review: "III"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://whiskeydaredevils.bandcamp.com/album/whiskey-daredevils-iii" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitN6mKLMekYancCUGDswzyQ7js-ecwxeyF-cbc3Zup3zil0XUeaklU8WNiHLRC2rN-WWLP6h1JQJ1cHxq1yISk0qUJ5ux1b4EhbeT6AYVLOU8UZIkcL-8v_u4skHenznpheHt4A-FT29w/s320/1485847154-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>CD:</b> <i>III</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ARTIST:</b> <a href="http://www.whiskeydaredevils.com/news/">Whiskey Daredevils</a></span><br />
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Cleveland's resident cowpunks, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Whiskey-Daredevils/48998473360">Whiskey Daredevils</a>, return with ten new songs worth of "no frills rock n' roll" on <i>III</i>, ironically the band's eighth release (the first with new bassist Sugar Wildman) and arguably their best to date.<br />
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Since welcoming ultra-badass lead guitarist Gary Siperko on, before <i>Introducing the Whiskey Daredevils</i>, the Daredevils have continued to rapidly congeal its own lovelorn, maybe drug-fueled but definitely super fun version of rockabilly. Singer Greg Miller and drummer Leo Love continue to move the band forward, as they did in the 90's with The Cowslingers, which later begat the Daredevils.<br />
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<b>"Swim The Lake of Fire"</b> is maybe the hardest rockin' Daredevils song yet. <b>"Corina"</b> is to <i>III</i> what "Ida Jane" was to the <i>Greatest Hits</i> CD. Seems like so many years have past just since that release, but just highlights how the band has progressed through alternately distorted & twangy garage rock, through a more country flavor (<i>Golden Age of Country Punk</i>) on the last couple releases.<br />
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<b>"Never Again"</b> is an old school sounding Daredevils ballad that fans will come to love.<br />
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Whether you're traveling Route 66, living some sketchy life, falling in love with women you really shouldn't, or singing along with the band at the Empty Glass, the Daredevils are always a good time. This really could be their best CD.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=2895910586/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://whiskeydaredevils.bandcamp.com/album/whiskey-daredevils-iii">Whiskey Daredevils III by Whiskey Daredevils</a></iframe><br />WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-21216102643386962142013-03-17T16:32:00.001-04:002013-03-17T18:03:10.043-04:00CD Review: "Disenchanted"<br />
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<a href="http://sweetlife.bandcamp.com/"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWonQzaDjjUgrCvuRSghJsSWQtCZPuvxv03Ozs6Ow1O6CoudcYydwmM0IoKeos4E_9RsFktLaSNcta4rZ0IrY1s8r4Ei_QyfbexSw9o0PUfYedMT1P2LdwnABK1gvW5DaipELoFVdMy0/s320/766853853-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>CD:</b> <i>Disenchanted</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ARTIST:</b> <a href="http://sweetlife.bandcamp.com/">Sweet Life</a></span><br />
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The next time bands like KTB, The Sword, or Valient Thorr come to play a show in West Virginia, we suggest they investigate the possibility of having <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SweetLifeRock">Sweet Life</a> open for them.<br />
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These Morgantown & Pittsburgh-based stoner rock dudes-- Jason McCarty, Nick Leombruno, Evan Devine, Mike Roberts-- over the course of seven songs and barely over 20 minutes on their debut EP <i>Disenchanted</i>, actually give reason to be excited to hear more from these guys.<br />
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By the time you've heard <b>"Rock n' Roll III"</b> and the first single, <b>"Black Babylon,"</b> (see Geoff Hoskinson's killer video for that) you'll be hooked on "The Sweet Life," as we'll refer to the band from here on out. <b>"Cop Dad,"</b> 65 punk rock seconds in length, is an early nominee for best song title of 2013.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="213" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/59483754?byline=0&portrait=0&color=05edda" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="440"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/59483754">Sweet Life - "Black Babylon"</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/ghoskinson">Geoff Hoskinson</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Mixed by Ryan Hizer, mastered by Dave Klug, and with art provided by the aforementioned Hoskinson, <i>Disenchanted</i> is super impressive.<br />
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Despite there being only seven songs on the EP, there's enough on display here to make this actually one of the more exciting releases to come out of the "WVRockscene" in 2013. We'll stay tuned and look for these guys to get put on some awesome shows.WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-57592551427814437282013-03-08T10:47:00.000-05:002013-03-08T11:09:14.572-05:00CD Review: "Unmacho"<br />
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<a href="http://rozwellkid.bandcamp.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8KDdpHI7rykkhW4IA43q8bJtpcmEfuOKVZq1p1xAxxHW08Nv6nrWdPx6rWizKXvIzvWNgXaGUMPZX7pmpkxoZUR2nARjn96SmKDq9z6b_y7IY8YlknSclh8htcuUr_B3pFGLhid7Hd4/s320/1993255286-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>CD:</b> <i>Unmacho</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ARTIST:</b> <a href="http://rozwellkid.bandcamp.com/">Rozwell Kid</a></span><br />
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Never considered yourself a van man? Get ready to reassess your life situation.<br />
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Whether he’s suggesting totally gross/genius menu items to fast food chains or pestering Marc Maron on <a href="https://twitter.com/RozwellKid">Twitter</a>, hilariously juxtaposing and attributing lyrics to songs on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RozwellKid">Facebook</a>, or, returning with his band’s sophomore full-length, Jordan Hudkins is always entertaining.<br />
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On the recently released <i>Unmacho</i>, Hudkins, now, along with full-time writing buds Adam Meisterhans, Andrew LaCara, Devin Donnelly, and Sean Hallock, returns with ten songs worth of new and improved grungy, noisy, super-catchy power-pop, exploring the depths of the band’s get-in-the-van ideology, only now, with essentially three front dudes leading <a href="http://thedemonbeat.bandcamp.com/">The Demon Beat</a> drummer’s emerging side project.<br />
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Not only do you have Hudkins, Meisterhans, and LaCara (remember <a href="http://yourresonation.bandcamp.com/">The Resonators</a>?) but a short, star-studded, red carpet lineup of area musicians (<a href="http://patpat.bandcamp.com/">Brian Spragg</a>, <a href="http://goodsport.bandcamp.com/">Ryan Hizer</a>, <a href="http://ac30.bandcamp.com/album/ac30">Bud Carroll</a>, <a href="http://spiritnight.bandcamp.com/">Dylan Balliett</a>) appear on <i>Unmacho</i>, making it, as far as local releases go, pretty darn studly.<br />
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From the cacophonous jam at the intro of <b>“Bonehead”</b> (“Oh wow, oh wow/I really fucked up now,” Hudkins sings) through the first single and band’s super-charged anthem <b>“Van Man,”</b> to the shredding outro on <b>“Rozwell Man,”</b> (“Get in the van. I don’t have a plan,” Hudkins sings repeatedly) <i>Unmacho</i> is a delightful romp indeed.<br />
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Standout tracks include <b>“Lipstick,” “Gumshoe,” </b>and the swaggering <b>“Afterparty,”</b> (based on actual events?) you should definitely check out those if you’re reading this and never listened to RK.<br />
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It seemed silly to think a few years ago that of the handful of promising acts birthed out of Shepherdstown, RK would be or could be where it is today. Hudkins, with help from his friends now in Rozwell Kid, have emerged as more than just a drummer’s side project. Now, these dudes have fans and online stalkers all their own.<br />
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Where <i>The Rozwell Kid LP</i> may have, for some, fondly evoked <i>The Blue Album</i>, maybe <i>Unmacho</i> is like <i>Pinkerton--</i> a better band, bigger guitars and killer solos (hear the title track,) better backing vocals/harmonies, and just a better, live energy captured on a better record. A more experimental bent is on display, from the noise jams to reverse cymbals to synth-type hits and other studio tom foolery. Kudos, again, to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/davidklugstudio">Dave Klug</a> in Pittsburgh for his studio efforts.<br />
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It’s exciting to see how far Hudkins has taken Rozwell Kid, looking back on it from the <a href="http://bigbulletrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lingering-blue">Jude Universer</a> days. As he and his band approach Rozwell manhood, it’s commendable that Hudkins, now, along with his friends, on a record so highly anticipated, did not disappoint.<br />
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="100" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=1580295269/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/transparent=true/" style="display: block; height: 100px; position: relative; width: 400px;" width="400"><a href="http://rozwellkid.bandcamp.com/album/unmacho">Unmacho by Rozwell Kid</a></iframe><br />
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<i>--- Rozwell Kid performs in a very special Sunday rock show 3.10 at 123 Pleasant Street in Morgantown with Pat Pat and Dangerous Ponies.</i>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-89179212289532729482013-03-02T13:01:00.000-05:002013-03-02T16:01:56.899-05:00The Renfields on The Renfields!<a href="https://www.facebook.com/renfieldsmania"><img alt=" photo 285785_10151435843248563_192579069_n_zpseca0ef64.jpg" border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/285785_10151435843248563_192579069_n_zpseca0ef64.jpg" /></a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The picture above really does a good job capturing what The Fiend’s reaction might be when he’s again being starved for an extended period of time. Since there was so much good conversation with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/renfieldsmania">The Renfields</a> for <a href="http://wvgazette.com/Entertainment/201302270149">our Gazette piece</a>, (and good pics via Mike Winland Studios,) we thought we’d put something a little special together on the band for its first show back in five months tonight at The Sound Factory, and why the band starves its mongoloid bassist…</span></i><br />
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<b>Dr. Von Renfield IV:</b> “I remember the very first show, seeing them, was at The Elbow Room. [To Vincent] I don’t know if you remember this one?”<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> “I do.”<br />
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<b>Dr. Von Renfield IV:</b> “Yeah, it was a Dangerkat show, and we were playing with you guys, and I was like ‘Look at these jerks walking around in costumes!’ Then, you guys started playing, and I was like ‘Oh, this is kinda cool!’<br />
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“And you guys had, like, 3-minute long [movie sample] intros between each song, (laughter) and I was like ‘Oh no, I hate these guys!’ (laughter)<br />
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“My girlfriend just had to explain our band to her parents like a week ago.” (laughs) “She said it didn’t go over very well. She ran into the same thing, like ‘How do I explain that they wear costumes and are covered in blood, but they’re not some evil metal band?”<br />
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<b>[Vincent, on Dr. Von Renfield IV]</b><br />
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“When he joined the band, we still had Herbert III, and we became friends because we always played with Dangerkat. He joined as Lucio on guitar. Then, the next practice, Herbert III quit. And we were like ‘OK, well you just bought that guitar and bought that amp but now, you’re the drummer!’” (laughter)<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “First impression? Seeing their pictures on MySpace, and thinking, ‘What the hell is this [expletive]?’ (laughter) And then I listened to it, aaaaannnnnd, I loved it.<br />
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“The catchy tunes: just like with the radio when people turn it on and hear pop tunes-- it’s catchy! And that’s what people like; something that they hear, and then, hours later they’re doing something and all of a sudden, it creeps in your head, and you start bobbing your head. And that’s how The Renfields are, they’re catchy.”<br />
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“Then I wanted to play a show with them.<br />
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“And we got a show with them, somewhere near Beckley. And I remember pulling into the parking lot and seeing them, and thinking, ‘That has to be them!’” (laughter)<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> “And we weren’t even in costume!”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “They were unmistakable.”<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “The first time I’d ever heard of them I was playing in [REDACTED] -- [Fiend] would talk about them often.<br />
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“The first time I ever saw them, we played with them at Fright Farm, and I remember thinking the same thing; ‘What the hell is this [expletive]?’ (band laughter)<br />
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“And I saw ‘em play, and for me too, it was “Machete a Go-Go,” I was like ‘Oh my god, this [expletive] is catchy!’<br />
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“Then, it was the half band, half set show in Huntington. We went out there, like hanging out, and I was like ‘Man, what happened to these guys?’”<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> That night, I’d called [Fiend] the week before and said ‘Hey man let’s do The Jasons,’ it always happens like this, and he said ‘Yeah,’ and when we lost the bass player and it was just like with [Dr. Von Renfield IV] ‘OK you can be the fiend now.’”<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “That show was actually right after we’d quit playing with [REDACTED]<br />
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<b>Fiend:</b> “It was.”<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “Right after everything just went…”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “To Florida.” (laughs)<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “And we just kind of hung out, and I remember you talking about possibly joining The Renfields. And we actually sat in his dining room, and just messed around, we did an acoustic version of what was it, “Prom Night?”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “Probably.”<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “We were just jamming around on that, just for fun. And I was like, ‘Man if they need anyone else, I’ll do it.’”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “The band never had a second guitarist.”<br />
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<b>Vincent [to Fiend]:</b> “When you said [Dick Ramsses] wanted to join, I was like ‘YES!’”<br />
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<i>*on booking shows…</i><br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “You can’t expect a response from every venue owner to every text, every e-mail, saying ‘Sure, this is my place of business, come on over, play a show!’ and, you know, some of the hardest places to get in, are sometimes the crappiest places to play.”<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> “Yes, they are.”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “I don’t know why that is.”<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> “[Fiend] books the shows. But it’s frustrating when you’ll want to play a show, and they have no idea you’ve been a band for ten years. And you just wanna say ‘LOOK at what we have been through!’”<br />
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<i>*on starving The Fiend (Renfields intervention breaks out mid-interview)…</i><br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “It’s always his own fault.”<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “Yeah!”<br />
<b>Dr. Von Renfield:</b> “He really makes us do it.”<br />
<b>Dick Ramsses</b> (to Fiend): “Quit making mistakes, and behave well, and you’ll get food.”<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “Here’s the key: don’t be who you are, and we won’t have to do what we do to you.”<br />
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<b>The Fiend:</b> “A lot of kids like us.”<br />
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<b>Dr. Von Renfield:</b> “When we played ShockaCon, there were little kids wearing Renfields shirts there. Like 6 and 7-year old kids.”<br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “Kids are either really scared, or they love it.”<br />
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<b>Vincent:</b> “Just like Barney!” (band laughter)WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-25915655841381599652013-03-02T13:00:00.000-05:002013-03-02T15:51:24.712-05:00EXTRA! EXTRA! The Renfields Get Animated!<a href="https://www.facebook.com/renfieldsmania"><img alt=" photo 64544_10151431648443563_693560246_n_zps8d26621e.jpg" border="0" height="640" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/64544_10151431648443563_693560246_n_zps8d26621e.jpg" width="470" /></a><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">There was so much good quotage left over from our <a href="http://wvgazette.com/Entertainment/201302270149">in-person interview</a> with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/renfieldsmania">The Renfields</a> that we thought we’d post it here! From first impressions, to winning fans, to recording and re-animating The Fiend, this special two-part mini-series, if nothing else, reminds you to go see Team Transylvania tonight at The Sound Factory with Miniature Giant and Calendars and Kerosene.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Now, The Renfields, on --</span></i><br />
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<i>*The band’s undead origins…</i><br />
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<b>Vincent Renfield:</b> “I was in, just, a regular pop-punk band, and I always wanted to be in a gimmick band. I’ll call them a gimmick band, but when I was real young I heard KISS, and I remember sitting there with the LP that my brother gave me, and my mind changed from ‘What kind of music do I want to play?’ to ‘What will we wear?’ (band laughter) ‘What is our image?’ ‘What is our shtick?’<br />
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“I’d always wanted to do that.<br />
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“So I asked every person that I knew, and no one wanted to do it.<br />
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“So I started buying instruments; bass, a drum set.<br />
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“And then I would say, ‘You don’t know how to play, but if you want to be in a horror punk band with me, you can be Dr. Von Renfield, or Chester; whatever character you want to be, you can use the equipment, and we’ll learn how to play together.”<br />
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<i>*Wearing costumes, winning fans…</i><br />
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<b>Dick Ramsses-Renfield:</b> “With this band, the appeal that catches everybody’s eyes is the costumes, and they’re like ‘This is stupid. What are these 30-year old guys doing dressed up like a bunch of idiots?’<br />
<br />
“And then we play, and everyone-- well, I don’t want to say everyone,” (band hard laughter)-- “I guess not everybody’s a fan. But most people, yeah, when we start playing, it clicks in their heads; they get it.”<br />
<br />
<b>Vincent Renfield:</b> “They want to hate us, because of the way that we look. They think that we’re going to try to get up there and be like, Danzig Jr. or something, and be tough guys. And so they’re instantly like, ‘Yeah, [expletive] these guys.’<br />
<br />
“And then, we start making fun of ourselves, and horror punk in general.<br />
<br />
“[Dick Ramsses] said it the other day, and it’s true: we’re not a horror punk band, we’re a parody of a horror punk band. We’re fans of what we do, but at the same time a lot of horror punk bands are dudes, just normal guys, trying to look scary.<br />
<br />
“Our shtick is that we’re monsters that don’t know we’re scary.”<br />
<br />
<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “For me, personally, when we play a show, I don’t care if they like us as a band. I just hope they have a good time. They don’t have to like our music to have a good time watching us.”<br />
<br />
<b>Dr. Von Renfield IV:</b> “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to us after a show and been like ‘You know, I normally hate your kind of music, I’m a fan of--’ what’s the band with the teddy bears?-- The Grateful Dead! ‘Yeah I’m a giant deadhead, but I had a great time tonight.’”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<i>*Vincent, on having Lucio back as hype wolf and to run samples…</i><br />
<br />
“Lucio’s an important part. We needed him. He’s the dude that is obsessed with horror movies like I am. When he came on I was happy because, like, we all like horror movies and watch them, but I’m obsessed and he’s obsessed with them. So, maybe it’s not even a band thing, but we can talk about collecting VHS tapes and imported German stuff. (band laughter)<br />
<br />
“I missed that.”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<i>*on recording “GO!,” the new album, versus past efforts…</i><br />
<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “The reason we recorded in mono was, that was all we had. And I knew my guitar skills were limited at the time; I didn’t know how to sing and play the guitar at the same time. So, I was just trying to do what The Mummies did, what the Ramones did. And instead of making apologies for what I don’t have to offer, I would champion what I <i>do</i> have to offer.<br />
<br />
“In my head though, when I wrote “Burning Revenge,” you can go back and listen to it and see what I was able to do with it. In my mind, it wasn’t a mono song, it was just, that’s what we had. Now, the version on [“GO!”] the way it is, and every song on the album, is the way it should be. When we recorded the CD and I sat down to listen to it, sure there were one or two things we wanted to go back and change, but I was like, happy with everything.<br />
<br />
“So, every other album that was done in mono, it was like, ‘Well, that’s the best we could do,’ and some people dug it and some people didn’t dig it.’”<br />
<br />
<b>The Fiend:</b> “I like how [Vincent] was talking about how he showed what he <i>could</i> offer. And what was cool was, how he proudly said, and the reason I was a fan was the things he said in the liner notes, like ‘Recorded in blood-curdling mono,’ and was proud of that.<br />
<br />
I thought that was just humorous and kinda cool. Something else he said in another liner note; ‘If it sounds like it was recorded in a casket, it probably was,’” (band laughter)<br />
<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “And I still wanna celebrate that, but I don’t wanna hold back [Renfields] members who are capable of doing awesome things. I’m trying to get a custom made guitar that has just four strings, and instead of dots, just has the number of the frets, (hard band laughter) with just one pickup and one knob, because I want people to be like ‘What the [expletive] is that caveman [expletive]?’ (laughter)<br />
<br />
“That’s what I’m interested in doing, because that’s what it was built on.”<br />
<br />
<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “We didn’t want to have an album put out and us not be happy with it. For so long-- and any band could say this-- they don’t want to just hand somebody something and say ‘Here’s our CD, BUT,’ and then go into some long explanation about what’s not good about it, or why they’re not happy with it.”<br />
<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “That’s been The Renfields, like, for years. (laughter)<br />
<br />
“This record, because we’re not going to let it happen, there isn’t going to be one thing we’re not satisfied with. Not one thing will be anything less than what we want. The artwork, whatever length we had to go to, money-wise, we did it. We’re going to do that with the packaging, and a special little tour edition that’s already working.<br />
<br />
“And luckily, with the recording, any little thing that we wanted to do, we can go back. We’ve talked about it; a lot of bands put out a CD that’s thrown together…”<br />
<br />
<b>The Fiend:</b> “In a week.”<br />
<br />
<b>Vincent: </b>“Yeah. We’ve done that enough. We recorded “Stalk and Slash [Splatterama] Part 2 in 13 hours. This has been almost 13 months.”<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<i>*on how recording “Porkchop,” re-animated the recording process…</i><br />
<br />
<b>The Fiend:</b> “It just made sense.” (to work w/Eamon Hardiman)<br />
<br />
<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> “That’s what started the whole recording process, too. We went in and were just going to do the ‘Porkchop’ theme and two other songs, just to have. And then we got in there and it was like ‘[expletive] it, let’s do an album.’”<br />
<br />
<b>The Fiend:</b> “We didn’t have the money, but we just made it happen. We were like ‘If we don’t do it, we’re never going to.’”<br />
<br />
<b>Dick Ramsses:</b> (laughs) “YEAH!”<br />
<br />
<b>Vincent:</b> “When [Dr. Von Renfield] and I drove down to show him the song, and all we had was the rough guitar mix, so we sang it to him, like, played it on the stereo and sang it to him, and he teared up.”<br />
<br />
<b>Dr. Von Renfield IV:</b> “That’s the only time I’ve ever seen Eamon show emotion.” (hard band laughter)<br />
<br />
-----<br />
<i>*Dick Ramsses, on keeping The Renfields going…</i><br />
<br />
“I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know about the rest of the guys. I think I was telling [Vincent] and I told [Fiend] the other day; I’m gonna go with this for as long as I can. This has been a lot of fun.”WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-937116709620220230.post-84063557861185006452013-02-23T10:00:00.000-05:002013-02-23T10:49:39.360-05:00'Nation' Building: Huntington band built on love of thrash<a href="https://www.facebook.com/thebandnation"><img alt=" photo 6c982b62-4a95-40ff-a547-befcd0908369_zps5473e320.jpg" border="0" src="http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f36/tronnik/6c982b62-4a95-40ff-a547-befcd0908369_zps5473e320.jpg" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Mike Adkins</span></i></div>
<br />
<i>Nation (<b>L-R:</b> Jake Wegman, Dana White, Ryan Vickers, Bobby Midkiff, Bryan Patterson) formed out of its member’s friendships and love of thrash metal. The Huntington-based band will help open things up at Byzantine’s CD release show tonight at the V Club.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Reposted from The Huntington Herald-Dispatch</span></i><br />
<br />
<br />
It wouldn’t be incorrect to describe Dana White’s new band as an exercise in “Nation” building. Except, in lieu of foundational concepts like democracy and liberty, the Huntington-based five-piece band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thebandnation">Nation</a> is built on the freedom to express themselves and pursue happiness -- as a thrash metal band.<br />
<br />
Gathered at White’s house in Huntington for a Saturday rehearsal, White, guitarists Bryan Patterson and Ryan Vickers, and bassist Bobby Midkiff talked about the big ideas behind the birth of their own particular Nation.<br />
<br />
Describing Nation as “way more thrash,” than his previous bands, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/therealholdencaulfield">Holden Caulfield</a> and Heart Holds True/Black Seas, White said Nation, comprised of members of Holden Caulfield, Neutral Agreement and Deckard, formed quite organically through friendships developed over the years.<br />
<br />
“I was excited about this band from the get go,” the singer said. “Bryan and I had been wanting to be in a band together for a long time, and we finally pulled it off.”<br />
<br />
Nation performs at The V Club Saturday night, helping to open for Charleston metal band <a href="https://www.facebook.com/byzantinewv">Byzantine</a>, as they release their first record in five years.<br />
<br />
Borrowing from a Holden Caulfield album title, White said after the popular hardcore band broke up he and X-Box buddy Midkiff agreed they “Can’t Stop Now.”<br />
<br />
“When Holden Caulfield broke up, Bobby and I had already been talking about doing Heart Holds True, which had no name at that point. But Heart Holds/True Black Seas, which was basically the same band with a few changes here and there, that band never really got its momentum. And we hated that, because we enjoyed it and it was fun.”<br />
<br />
It was entirely coincidental that Midkiff was moving back to West Virginia from Jacksonville, Florida, when Nation was being birthed.<br />
<br />
“Well, Dana and I have been best friends for what, like, six or seven years now?” Midkiff asked as if to confirm it with the singer and his bandmates.<br />
<br />
“Thirteen? Longer than that,” Patterson, who White said has written the majority of Nation’s songs, added to laughter from the guys.<br />
<br />
“Yeah, a long time,” Midkiff said, continuing. “But I was in Florida, and had just moved back, and Dana said he needed a bass player for Nation. So I was like, ‘of course,’ it was like the perfect fit.<br />
<br />
The bassist described how Patterson was pulled into orbit over the years.<br />
<br />
“When I was in Holden Caulfield we played a lot of shows with Neutral Agreement, and Bryan was in Neutral Agreement. Actually, on the Holden Caulfield record “Can’t Stop Now,” Bryan came in and did some guest guitar work on two songs. Just playing shows with our bands, together over the years we’ve gotten to know each other that way.”<br />
<br />
Patterson jumped in at this point to describe the band’s genesis, and their mutual love of thrash.<br />
<br />
“Like Bobby hit on earlier; he, Dana and I have been crossing paths for years now. When I was in Neutral Agreement we’d play shows all the time. Dana was always really good about putting us on shows and supporting our band. Really just by playing shows together and hanging out at shows we became pretty good friends and we always tossed around the idea of playing together.<br />
<br />
“We’ve always had a love of old school thrash, which is something that’s not around here, or surrounding areas too much,” Patterson added. “So we really liked the idea of going back and doing what got us into music to begin with: Anthrax, Metallica, Slayer, stuff like that.”<br />
<br />
“We both love old school thrash, we all do,” Vickers added, describing the mutual interests he shares with Patterson and the rest of the guys. “He grew up with it, and me, I kind of ventured into heavier, heavier music. But we all still maintained that interest in thrash.”<br />
<br />
Admitting he was excited for his band to have the opportunity to open for Byzantine and potentially reach new fans, White said when it comes to getting Nation’s music out in the digital age, just like playing out, it’s all about getting your music out there these days.<br />
<br />
“As far as giving the music away, stuff like that, it’s hard to sell music these days, especially when you’re not the headlining band,” the singer said. “We just figure, ‘Hey, we’ll just give this away, and hopefully people will listen to it and we hope they like it,’ get to know it that way.”<br />
<br />
Patterson said that, financial constraints aside, the band looks forward to recording a full-length follow-up to Nation’s 3-song E.P., released in September 2012, this year if possible.<br />
<br />
White, asked about the likelihood of living out his admitted dream of having his band open for Anthrax, said he’s quite literally living the dream in Nation.<br />
<br />
“It would be a dream come true to get to play with Anthrax,” White said.<br />
<br />
“But at the same time, I’m so stoked to play any show that we can, even if there’s hardly anybody there, we’ll still be pumped to play because we’ll get to hang with each other, we’ll still get to meet a handful of new people, and we’re probably going to play a new venue that we’ve never played or been to.<br />
<br />
“Being in a band is a privilege that some people, sadly, take for granted.”<br />
<br />
“I agree with Dana,” Patterson said. “I’ve loved thrash metal for as long as I can remember. Going through my entire life and just now being able to be in a thrash band, it means the world to me to play the music I love, and play the music that influenced me.<br />
<br />
“It’s icing on the cake that people come to watch it and people enjoy it.”<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">IF YOU GO</span></b><br />
<i>Byzantine CD Release show w/Nation, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DeadFaceDown">DeadFaceDown</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/amongthedeadband">Among The Dead</a></i><br />
<b>WHERE:</b> The V Club, 741 6th Ave., Huntington (304) 781-0680<br />
<b>WHEN:</b> Saturday, Feb. 23<br />
<b>TIME:</b> doors at 8 p.m., show at 10 p.m.<br />
<b>COST:</b> $12 advance, $15 day of show<br />
<b>INFO:</b> <a href="http://www.vclublive.com/">www.vclublive.com</a>WVRockscene!http://www.blogger.com/profile/15932663136091070446noreply@blogger.com0