Interview with Eugene S. Robinson/Oxbow - author - fighter

                                                  (Photo by Paul Trapani)

I got to see Eugene for a minute after our first night in San Francisco with Neurosis and Yob. He was having a good time but was seriously focused on his upcoming fight, which he discusses in this interview. He told me he enjoyed our set and I was glad to hear it. I have always enjoyed Eugene, he is a fascinating and talented person - and one of the most prolific artists I know. But I won't declare any kind of understanding here - Eugene is simply too complex to fully comprehend. Through his spoken word I have heard truly disturbing snippets of his past, enough to know how much I (or any other listener) could never really know about him. His approach to music is equally challenging. He never does what I think he might do, and even when I listen to Oxbow records I can never anticipate the next line. For all his intensity, in person he always seems calm, in control, and extremely polite. I once accidentally spilled a drink on him and it never occurred  to me to be afraid, one thing I do know is that Eugene isn't the kind of guy who is looking to prove himself all the time. He has already done that. He put a lot of time and thought into this interview, and I for one thoroughly enjoyed his answers. Thanks Eugene. Enjoy:

1 - First off, you said you are now in training for a fight. Can you talk some about that process? Is it in any way similar to preparing for a show/tour? And can you tell me the where/when info about this battle between you and the unfortunate other soul?

Well I welcome your curiosity. Though I imagine only about 3 or 4 people reading this will give a shit but the similarities are noteworthy as the goal in both in cases is to allow you to answer the dictates of your soul. Especially since there is nothing worse than being on stage and TRYING to express something but being physically incapable of doing so.

This is a certain kind of horror and one which is very akin to entering a ring or a cage or a mat and just NOT being ready. here again, the pain of being un-prepared makes getting prepared much easier.

Of course this is all philosophizing since as of this writing I am sitting here with an icepack on my back unsure of whether or not I will be able to fight this weekend because I injured myself training. which consists of flipping tractor tires, using sledgehammers, standing hops, sprints, pretty much all of the shit you hated from high school gym class with a few modern alterations.

But the fight is in Sacramento at the Urijah Faber Invitational...and I am hoping to still compete. The difference between this and music is that no matter what I go on with Oxbow...torn medial collateral ligament? Fuck you...duct tape it and play. The show goes on since no one gets paid for NOT playing. But with fighting competitively you can baby yourself as no one gives a shit if Eugene Robinson does not show up. Including the guy who I will be fighting.

but getting ready for a tour or oxbow shows is exactly the same and I can add, if i haven't bored you to tears already, that even with all of the fight training I do I am STILL wasted after an Oxbow show.

(Myself, Eugene, and Matt at the Milestone club in Charlotte, NC. Note the Bad Brains graffiti. Photo by Chris Thomas)

2 - I have been listening to the Oxbow record "An Evil Heat" lately, and your vocal approach on many of the songs, particularly on the final 30 minute track reminded me of something I saw recently describing the ways certain predators use infrasound. From our brief conversation the other night I know you are familiar with this, but others might not be. So in short, infrasound is low-frequency vibration/sound generated by certain predators (big cats mainly) to disorient and frighten prey animals. And while they are standing there trying to figure out what is going on, they become lunch. Although humans cannot physically make this sound, your vocal style on An Evil Heat and other Oxbow records has a similar effect. It often blends with the low-end and tricks the listener. It has an unsettling effect, and I think it is a really cool approach. It is hard to put into words, but I almost feel like I don't necessarily hear your vocals in a traditional sense, but rather I feel them. I like the idea of using music as a kind of weapon, and I wanted to ask what you think about this? Do you see your music as a type of sonic weapon?

HAH....well you know the Nazis had this idea of klang krieg....using sounds as weapons. and even today we bombard compounds with Metallica in order to disorient and probably given how much they suck now, depress, the "enemy." I even remember this guy I knew once had developed what he called the Feraliminal Lycanthropizer....supposedly based on a nazi blueprint..a machine that turned listeners into werewolves.

That all being said, I must disagree without being disagreeable but I don't think any of us in Oxbow view Oxbow from a weapons point of view. That sounds terribly Rollinsesque. I would say I feel about my voice maybe the way Picasso felt about the color Blue. Especially in how the vocal for that song you're speaking of "Shine [Glimmer]" came about. I mean I liked the idea of having the vocal space suggest itself, as you say, almost sub-sonically. Sort of the exact opposite of maybe someone like David Byrne. sub-sonic, sub-literal...just a presence to suggest a continued presence. I never thought that song would work and resisted putting it on the record but it consistently draws attention of the positive variety and so I guess the note that we were seeking has managed to be a note of interest.

3 - You recently released your second (correct me if I am wrong about that) book, "A Long Slow Screw", a crime novel. I know you have an extensive background as a writer and it seems like people now have many ways to know Eugene Robinson: Author, musician, journalist, fighter, radio host on KMBT, and spoken word performer. How do you handle all of these things? Do you have any other things cooking?

how do I handle all of these things? hahaha...poorly probably. Or what's that expression about "failing upward"? In any case I am not the first to do this but I am certainly the BEST to do it. So it rankles just a tad to still be looking at the front seat of my car as a viable living option because I am so poor but hey, at least I HAVE a car. In any case a friend of mine recently criticized my radio show and told me that it sucked because it lacked focus and I if I buckled down a bit and stopped cursing and focused and made it more "professional" I could actually "make it." and I had to say that the joy of doing all of what I do that you mention is that I can do so minus any careerist notions about "making it." You know I only think about money once a month: when it comes time to pay rent and bills. or when I want to buy a fur coat. or a hooker. (laughter) the rest of the time I don't think about it at all. or much. OK...wait. who am I fucking kidding? I think about it all the TIME but it only motivates me to do anything once a month. the rest of the time it's a true pleasure to do things withOUT thinking about using those things to MAKE IT. and they all coalesce around my long time interests and so...not a stretch at all.

but other things cooking? yeah...I would very much like to get back on TV. I had done TV commercials, and TV shows and movies and so on. I think I'd like to get back on TV for sure. The guys in The Residents got my head on straight about that. I had made a fair amount of money doing it but hated it and they told me at one point that MASS media was the only game in town and I should GET ON IT if I wanted to smear as much of myself as possible over the face of the world. just a shame we have to figure out how to get around people like Kim Kardashian to do it.

                                                                (Eugene's book. Buy it.)

4 - I saw you play with the Scottish band Black Sun at Roadburn a few years ago. How did you come to meet/work with those guys? Are you still working with them?


well these guys had just started emailing me and understood pretty quickly that I was not as much of an asshole as people have said. and moreover I have a pretty open ear and eye when it comes to tastes and willingness to collaborate. my requirements are thusly...

1] don't suck
2] fly me to where you are and feed me when I am there
3] a place to sleep works well too
4] let me write the lyrics and see the other lyrics and get a handle on your trip
and
5] don't be assholes

...that's it. I give extra points to guys who know the meaning of hustle too, since after having recorded TWO whole records for people who just shitcanned the whole project afterward I figured out that I was NOT indeed doing this shit for my health and really just wanted to see it actualized.

so they wrote me. we shared a sense of humor, I like their aesthetic and I love Glasgow. so off I went. I find it funny that neither them nor Oxbow has been invited BACK to [or in the case of Oxbow TO] Roadburn again. I guess buzz roaching is not on the stoner menu for Roadburn.

But the record came out...Twilight of the Gods I think it is called and I have done 2 songs on it and I'd do just about whatever those guys asked. but playing live with me is a bit more costly, haha....so I think we may be done. but I enjoy them. They are no strangers to car as domicile either.


5 - Oxbow recorded a track "Insylum" with Marianne Faithful, and I have always wanted to ask you how that came about? What was it like working with her?

it is hazy hazy...but I wrote her and asked. This was before she had done anything with anybody else. In fact I remember being very annoyed when they asked Metallica where they got the idea to work with her and they didn't very directly say what I know to be the truth: we got it from Oxbow. but whatever. I just wrote her and told her who we were [nobody] and what we wanted to do and she agreed. but it was amazing that we got it. she still has trouble getting into the states from all of her Keith Richards drug lunacy days and so she got held up and returned one time before we decided it would be easier to go to Dublin where she was living at the time to record there. which we did. in U2's studio. Which was not cheap. And when we went her phone was disconnected and we sat there in the studio not knowing if she was going to show up.

and when she finally did it was a weird funny meeting for us. I mean she might rightfully be considered to some sort of rock royalty and she really was. At one point when she discovered we didn't make enough money on the band to LIVE off of it, she asked what else we did and we said we had day jobs and she stomped her foot and looked at her manager at the time and said, "Francois! 'I' want a day job!" Very funny. But this went on for hours before we recorded a note. so I remember being very tense. And we started as a duet but when I came in with my first line I could see a few things happen. I could see I had freaked her out and I could also see that she knew at that point that we were not fucking around and so after I finished my lines she came in and just KILLED it. it was fantastic. She actually did two songs with us.

of course as with many things with Oxbowian it ended badly. she wanted to be involved in the mix and we tried to get her involved but she never returned calls and was not so big on email and we had a schedule and so when she got the final version I don't believe she was happy with it. I was not sure why until we tried to get Diamanda Galas on board for something and she said, "why? so you can do to me what you did to Marianne? no thanks." I asked her what she meant and she complained about the mix. well I like the song and don't hear what they might find upsetting and it has drawn good reviews but she never mentions it, and it never appears on her discographies, so whatever. I liked her. I think her voice is great, and think she's a great artist.


6 - I have seen your spoken word performance twice, and both times I was struck by the effect your words had on the audience. Both times people shut up and listened when you started speaking. No cell phone conversations, no chatter, nothing. I wanted to ask if people always react this way to your spoken word?

well you know...well, yes. but you know...I try to make it like a conversation you might have with me if you pulled up a barstool next to me. in boston recently I had some guy in the audience who took this too far but because what i do is only partially theater I could just stop and look at him and make mention of the fact that most people there had probably paid to listen to me...and not so much to watch me choke him out. so please...you know, save it for another 10 minutes. Prick. and he did. but as usual alcohol was the problem here. but it's always necessary when you stand behind a microphone and start talking that people know that you are resisting the really unholy urge to "BE APPEALING." I mean laughs are nice. and the coming to an understanding between audience and performer can be nice too. but my goal is not necessary to be appealing or to make you like me or anything like that. I just want to speak and be understood as delivering a version of reality colored by an idea set or a belief system. so listening quietly makes sense. especially if there's a likelihood that you might miss something that could help you. or hurt you. or something. but I don't always get this and much like nina simone I have no problem, if people are voting with their mouths, of getting the fuck off of the stage and taking my money back to the hotel room and drinking alone. dharma gates are endless and here to I might find some sort of meaning.

     (Eugene with fellow Oxbowians Dan Adams and Niko Wenner. London.)


7 - Final question - What do you have in the works for 2011?


Well I will be teaching a residency at a university in france that will end with a show that will involve me, Oxbow's guitarist Niko Wenner, Pete Simonelli and Joe Goldring from The Enablers, then I have a few shows at festivals with a side project of mine with Philippe Petit. Then a few more bookshows.

Oxbow will be re-issuing King of the Jews with a bunch of extra shit on it. Plus the first installments of our next record the Thin Black Duke will start coming out...we're releasing this differently because of file sharing the days of releasing an 8 song record on Tuesday and having people steal it on weds are done. so the records will come out 2 songs at a time, on vinyl, in random order...only to come together as a full record much much later. fuck it. we got to try to do SOMETHING to get people interested in owning artifacts again. I mean a distributor friend of mine just told me "the only people buying CDs anymore are fans at the band's shows." stores are a non-factor, so is mail order...but labels really are dying, and so we got to try and do something to try to re-jigger the system from "download, download, download."


 Fin.

Interview with Stevie Floyd from Dark Castle

I first met Stevie and Rob from Dark Castle in an old office complex in Richmond Virginia. Some kids had rented out the giant place as a kind of communal apartment, which (like most crusty kids in Richmond) they also used as a DIY venue for house shows. Despite the difficult, stair-plagued load-in, it turned out to be a killer show. Later we all crashed at a practice space (presumably Gwar's) and watched "The Foot-Fist Way", which almost caused me to laugh myself to death. Ever since that show USX and Dark Castle have hit it off. Stevie is a great guitar player as well as a great visual artist, on canvas as well as human skin. They are always on the road, don't miss them when they come through your town.



                                                       (Stevie Floyd by Wandering Star Photography)


First off, Dark Castle just recorded a new record with Sanford Parker. I have heard the track “Stare Into Absence” (because I did backing vocals on it), and it sounded really cool. Can you talk some about the new album?

-We dug deep on this new recording.  As we are very influenced by multi cultural scales,  we used only the 2 that are the most influential to us at this moment, so every song was written in Hungarian and Japanese scales to have the vibe and flow that we were trying to create.  A very decrepit yet enlightening ancient and primitive emotion is what we were feeling to achieve in all riffs, beats and vocals.  The lyrics are from the darkest, deepest part of me that I have ever tapped into, but climb towards awareness of the source of all life... encompassing dreams, death, nature, light and the five senses. We wanted to bring out the farthest extremity of all emotions and feelings possible with this album.

 Also, you guys just signed with Profound Lore, a label that has been putting out a lot of good stuff. What are your thoughts on that?

-Profound Lore is a collection of some of the most artistic, influential, forward thinking, HEAVY bands...Yob, Portal, Salome, Krallice, Ludicra, Bloody Panda...just to name a few. We are very honored to be a part of this.

                                          (Stevie and Rob recording with the black Flying V.)

I always enjoy your live shows, killer guitar tone. And you pull of the guitar/drums only thing without compromising the sound. Can you talk about your rig some? I know you use multiple amps, something I like to do as well. I’m interested in your setup.

-Thanks Nate!...Well I used to use 3 heads and now I narrowed it down to 2, my Sunn Model T and my Ampeg V2. I run the Sunn through a 6x10 cabinet for more mids and highs and the Ampeg through a 2x15 cabinet for more of a bass tone. I also used my Sunn 200s through 2 4x12 cabinets but discovered it was just as loud without them.  I run the heads through a voodoo labs pedal that is a 4 channel selector.  I use several pedals as well, mostly my Big Muff for distortion, octave, chorus and delay. I try not to over do it, I like the tone to be as raw and thick as possible without getting too muddy and messy with tons of effects. Less is more.  Rob also uses marching drums for his kick and snare, as well as a floor tom as a rack tom.

You also put out some really cool art, and you have a distinct style.  Can you talk about your history as a visual artist?

-Thank you, as a child, my dad was an artist and pretty much made my brother and I draw constantly...which we appreciate so much now.  My dad also was super into music and records. He designed album covers for some prog bands in the 70's as well.  So naturally I was inspired and driven by him.  I've drawn and painted almost every day of my life...my brother too, who is an incredible artist. I also went to an art high school where we took college level painting, sculpture, photography and art history classes...it was pretty unreal.  Now I tattoo and have been for almost 10 years and I love it. Ive designed a few album covers and t shirt designs for bands and I'm hoping to do a lot more of that.  I really enjoy listening to a bands music and lyrics and letting images come to me for album art, its the ultimate inspiration. I love how as you grow and open your mind more and more, your art changes and unfolds in that same light.

                                             USX art by Stevie

Who has great guitar tone?

-Well it completely depends on what style of music is being played....but I'm pretty much obsessed with Sunn Model T's so, the only band who completely covers the stage in Sunn Model T's.....SUNNO)))

You also work at/run a tattoo studio in Florida, and I have seen your work on a few of our mutual friends. How long have you been a tattoo artist, and how did you get started?

 -I've been tattooing for almost 10 years.  I absolutely love it and never get tired of tattooing.  I opened an appointment only studio with my friend Kim about 4 years ago. We both travel a lot so we wanted a quiet and peaceful space where we could make our own hours and put our full focus and attention into who were tattooing with out distractions. 

What are your thoughts on touring in America? In your opinion, what are the pros and cons?

-Well, we've probably gone on 20 American tours or more and they have all been so incredibly different.  We booked our own tours for a few years, which got better each time as far as knowing who to book with and meeting the right bands to play with...etc.  The coolest thing about DIY touring is all of the beautiful people you meet and the crazy places you play....kids basements...churches..etc.  You never know whats going to happen at each show, its always a mystery and something new and different each time.  I guess the con would be instability and having times where problems occur with shows.  Going on tours that are booked through agents are always more structured and planned out of course...which is rad but you definitely lose some of the mystery and self fulfillment that you get doing it yourself.  Regardless of what happens, its always so much fun...waking up every morning somewhere different and driving somewhere new!

What is your favorite unknown band?
-US Christmas:)

Final thoughts?

-I'm just so appreciative and honored to be a part of this heavy music movement in this time and place.  Everyone has so much love and passion.  And never have I imagined such open minded beings coming together in all forms of this music without any division.

Interview with Gravy from Rwake

                                                                   

Gravy is a great guy,  and one who doesn't deny his roots. Despite being part of Little Rock's infamous Rwake - a band that has created some of the most menacing, venomous metal ever to emerge from the American south - Gravy could easily slip on a pair of overalls and pick along with a gospel bluegrass band. People like him make the south interesting. He and fellow Arkansas guitarist Kiffin are one of the sickest string teams around, and anyone who has ever been to a Rwake show can verify that. Gravy was nice enough to motor up to the dock, put down his fishing pole and answer some questions about Rwake, family, touring, and tone. Thanks Gravy.

Hey man, first off can you talk some about growing up in Arkansas and how you got into heavy music?

Growing up in Arkansas, I was subjected to all kinds of music. My moms side of the family was heavy into old school bluegrass stuff. I remember being three or four years old and seeing both of my uncles with a guitar or banjo or mandolin. All my aunts and my mom played piano and sang, at family reunions they would jam all night. When I was 7 I recall my older brother watching KISS on MTV. One day my brother brought home the Diary of a Madman album by Ozzy. My mom was flippin’ out about the cover and everything. As soon as he put it on the record player I was hooked. Randy Rhoades, that’s all I got to say.

I know you have several kids, and I can relate to that. Can you talk some about how you handle the band/family thing?

Having Kids and touring is an absolute juggling act. I bust my ass working when I’m not touring, have to make sure the family is taken care of while I’m gone. Me and my wife get along great cause we get to spend a lot of time apart. So I guess while I’m home its all good times. My job is cool with me being gone too, I just tell em how it is. I’m going out on the road regardless, so why loose a good worker? I plan ahead so there are no issues with work, bills etc.

What is in your current guitar rig?

The guitar rig I’m using is a Gibson 1981 Custom Les Paul, wine red. It’s got an EMG in the bridge and a stock pickup it the neck. I use the neck pickup for clean stuff, and the EMG for the dirt. A couple of years ago I got a Laney GH100TI head and cab. I love the Tony Iommi head, the leads scream on that rig and it wasn’t too expensive. The only pedals I use are a Boss tuner, a Boss DD3 delay, and a MXR micro amp boost for the leads. I run my pedals through the FX loop on my amp so they wont cut the signal from my guitar. Its a simple rig, but I really like it cause I control the whole sound with my hands and volume knobs.

You and Kiffin seem to have a real solid connection when you play, how do you guys pull things of so seamlessly?

Me and Kiffin have been jamming together since 2002. He is an ungodly riffer on the guitar. When he showed up to our practice with his guitar, he knew all the riffs and harmonies already. He plugged in and rocked it 100 %. Whenever we get a chance me and Kiff sit down and write riffs or just BS around with some melodies or ideas. Practice and one-on-one jam time keeps us in shape. When you play the same stuff so many times it becomes muscle memory, your hands will do the same thing out of habit.

 

What’s next for Rwake? I’ve heard some talk of a new record.

We’re going mid-January to finish the new album. It will be out soon and be warned, its a heavy one. After it comes out we will be getting back out there and doing some shows. Can’t wait to get back on the road!

I know you like to fish. What is your preferred method? What is your prey? And how long have you been addicted?

When I’m not workin’ I’m fishin’. Before I came to do this interview I was fishin’. Bass fishing is what I prefer, but I like any thing that bites. Bass on a top water lure is the most fun! I been fishing since i was a kid, it’s a southern thing I guess.

I always enjoy your mandolin parts on the Rwake records. I’m guessing you picked that up through family/community exposure in Arkansas. Is that the case? If not, could you talk about your musical roots?

Well my family was huge on bluegrass. When I first stared playing I was 12, and I would sit with the family and play along. My uncle Danny sat me down and showed me the blues. My dad was big into BB KING and Stevie Ray Vaughn, so I would play around with that stuff. I would go to guitar lessons after school and come home and play till midnight every day. I played so much I hated it, but I wanted to get good so I paid my dues. There were some classical lessons and jazz lessons in there also. I was lead guitar in the high school jazz band for two years and also played drums in the marching and concert bands all through high school. My parents surrounded me with music everyday, I guess that’s why I am who I am.

What is your favorite unknown band?

My favorite band to this day is Weedeater, we have such a good time with those dudes when we’re out, but also they bust their asses touring. I respect that, they do what they want to do and nobody’s gonna change that!

Who fights the good fight?

Triumph fights the good fight! You guitar players out there: go learn A MIDSUMMER’S DAYDREAM by TRIUMPH. Great finger-picking exercises in that song!

Final thoughts?

Thanks again Nate for your time, Gone fishin!!!

Interview with Brett Netson - Built to Spill/Caustic Resin

This makes me very happy. Brett Netson is the founding member, guitarist, and creative force behind Caustic Resin, one of my favorite bands of all time. He is also a full-time member of Built to Spill, and has toured with Mark Lanegan's band. I first met Brett in Athens Georgia on the last Caustic Resin tour. He was elbow deep in their van's engine but he still took the time to get Matt, myself, and our wives into the show for free. During that show he broke a string during one of the songs and changed it while he played. Try doing that sometime. Anyway, he has always been very cool to me and I am honored to have him on the page this week. Enjoy.

                                                                          All live photos by Carl Hamilton

1 – I like the handmade amp/cab you use (see below). I have never seen anyone with a rig like that. Can you talk a little about that amp?

Tweed deluxe circuit with 6L6 power tubes. English made vintage 30's. Speaker cab is wood from 100 year old house. Head box made in friends auto shop as fast as possible. Had the plan in my head for a long time.

                                       

2 – I know you have been touring a lot with Built to Spill, what are some of the coolest gigs you have done lately?

On a boat in the Hudson river NYC.

3 – What else is going on? Are you still doing Reversion?

Just recorded in a real studio. Finally.

4 – You once told me about playing in a band with your two kids. Can you talk about that?

It's like Caustic Resin but folkier. Like Crazy Horse/Mark lanegan ish. Bands have chemistry and with yr own kids its pretty deep. Not totally easy but very rewarding.

5 – What is your favorite unknown band?

Out here in the west I would say USX.
But um ... Cober, Wolvserpent, Helvetia.

                                                                        

6 – Are you still building hot rods, or any other cool machines?

My BB Chevelle has sat in the driveway all sad for a couple years. I've gotten more into motorcycles. 70"s 2 stroke flat track style bikes. Real wrapped up in gardening, hunting homesteading type shit. And government issue guns.WWI,II .45's. Cop shotguns,pistols etc.

7 – Who is your favorite guitar player of all time?

Dude?...

Yr gonna get five.
Joh Lee Hooker, Jimi, Ben Keith, Neil Young, Randy Rhodes.

8 – I noticed you are using a new mustang-style guitar body, but it looks like you have the neck from your old strat. Is that the case?

Yeah, it's a Jazzmaster body my friend Carl Hamilton made.
68 Tele Bigsby. Lindy Fralin pick-ups. Stripped the chrome with muriatic acid and a battery charger.

9 – I remember you had found a really nice old BC Rich Warlock when you came through NC that time, and you said you had always wanted one. What inspired your interest in pointy, metal style guitars?

Not just the shape but the whole handcrafted look that the early BC Rico ones had. I started my life with the guitar as metalhead in Jr high. Of the BOC,Iron Maiden,Deep Purple,Rush variety.

                                   (Brett back in the Caustic Resin days/by Pixie Merrick)

10 – What is your favorite weapon?

Fast Car-Torque wrench.
Pit Bull.
Can of carb cleaner.
WWI Colt 1911.

                                                                                 

11 – You are from Idaho, a place with tons of Native American/tribal history. Have you had much contact with people from that culture? And if so, has it been an influence on your music.

Natives that I have hung with seem to have had a really rough time connecting with their heritage. Just like the most of us in the west. All I know is that most of my joy in music comes from the hypnotic nature of the Great Basin/Snake River and nature in general. All the stories and evidence of the Shoshoni/Sheepeaters are huge in my understanding of this area (Boise, Idaho/Great Basin). Been here my whole life and was introduced to nature here, then music. The Shoshoni have their pow-wow's and I have been to them and gotten a lot out of it, but as a dirty, white and culturally feral creature, I am hoping to be a part of some new heritage of open human animals of all past cultures. Really good rock bands serve the same purpose as healers right? Rock and Roll has given us all a great reference point to start from perhaps. If we can keep it real that is.

12 – In recent years, you and some of your friends have done some really cool video/film stuff. Can you talk about that?

Satire/absurdism. Kinda off color.

Technology now allows us to make these things cheaply. They are really just done to help all involved get this shit out of our heads so we can sleep at night & to stir up the hive mind. They are usually made real fast and can end up pissing people off and confusing us and others. Just like music.

13 – Who fights the good fight?

Buffalo Field Campaign. And all wildlife.



Question for Savage Throat:

What is a southerners perception of the west?
(not at all a trick question)

Sure man, I have always been fascinated by the American west. I guess it started when I was little, seeing it in books and movies. Westerns on tv. My wife and I took a trip out to the 4-corners area about 8 years ago, and it was everything I hoped it would be. We got to ride horses into Canyon de Chelly in Arizona, and I we took another ride through Monument Valley in Utah. I remember that there were skeletons everywhere, almost covering the ground. Sheep and cow bones mostly, but so many it was kind of hard to tell. I got to see a good bit of Navajo, Hopi, and Ute territory. We even went through the Apache reservation, which - other than Detroit or Memphis - is the roughest place I have ever been. The whole place was alien to me. The light is different, the air smelled foreign. The horses were different, same with the dogs and pretty much every other animal. I spent a good bit of time looking at the rocks, the dirt, the plants. I took it all in because I wanted to remember it. I hope I can get back out there sometime, I would love to see the Rockies. Steve from Neurosis lives in Idaho and one time we were talking on the phone and a moose walked through his yard. He says it is really wild out there. Yeah man, glad you love your home like I love mine. Good stuff Brett.

Nate - USX

13 questions with Laura Pleasants from Kylesa

                                                                               Photo by Dorotea Robertson

1 – What was your first concert?
Danzig.

2 – Who fights the good fight?
I fight the good fight!

2 – What is your favorite music venue?
For sound: Webster Hall in NYC. For vibe and good times: anywhere in Poland

4 –Would you rather laugh with someone or at someone?
With someone. It's a cure-all.

5 – Do you believe in bigfoot? Explain.
 I would like to. I don't, but there are plenty big feet out there.

6 – Who has great guitar tone?
Wino and Steve from Black Mountain

                                                                      Photo by Ronan Thenady

7 – What books do you enjoy?
Children's books are the best

8 – Are you nocturnal or diurnal?
Depends on what's going on and where I am. I like the daylight a lot. I need the sunshine.

9 – How loud is too loud?
When the ear plugs don't work

10 – Matt from USX once put $5 in a jukebox and played Dwight Yoakum's cover of "Suspicous Minds" until someone unplugged the machine. If you had $5 for one song, and you were stuck in a place full of people you disliked, what song would you play?
Depends on the people. . . maybe some Hatred Surge.

11 – Do you have tinnitus?
Yes. : (

12 – What is your favorite instrument?
Guitar

13 – What is your favorite unknown band?
Fluidage from Sweden

13 questions with WiIl Lindsay - Indian, Storm of Light

1 – What was your first concert?

My first concert was Tiffany at Knott's Berry Farm sometime in the '80s. My first rock concert was Queensryche in 1990.

2 – Who fights the good fight?

Salmonella.

2 – What is your favorite music venue?

Berbati's Pan in Portland is one of the first ones that comes to mind. 013 in Tilburg is pretty great, too.

4 –Would you rather laugh with someone or at someone?

Hmmm. This would be really circumstantial.

5 – Do you believe in bigfoot? Explain.

I suppose it's possible, but I don't really have an opinion one way or the other. Bigfoot is much more believable to me than God, Satan, Tarot Cards, etc.

6 – Who has great guitar tone?

Well, a lot of people do. The last person I heard that really caught my ear was Josh Graham's tone the last time I played with A Storm of Light. He started using an OCD instead of the on-board distortion. Probably the best tone I've heard out of a Mesa. Of course, his amp isn't from the Rectifier series.

7 – What books do you enjoy?

I've been on a WWII kick the last few years. Right now I'm reading "Delivered From Evil" by Robert Leckie and "Comfort and Critique" by Peter Sotos.

8 – Are you nocturnal or diurnal?

It really varies depending on what else is going on in my life.

9 – How loud is too loud?

I don't know yet.

10 – Would you ever agree to be on Sesame Street, or do muppets frighten you?

Muppets don't frighten me. Sesame Street is still on the air?

11 – Do you have tinnitus?

Thankfully, not. I've become a fanatic about ear plugs these last few years, though.

12 – What is your favorite instrument?

Right now, I'm really enjoying playing bass, lap steel and synthesizer. But I always end up back at guitar. Pedal steel is probably my favorite to listen to, though. Provided it's a really good player.

13 – What is your favorite unknown band?

My Increment. An amazing band from Bakersfield that no one ever really got to hear of. They broke up in '96, I believe. Joel from that band now plays drums in Defeatist.

What's all this nonsense?

I am starting this page so I can have a space to write about music, discuss and share cool guitar/gear stuff, and to post photos and videos of live music. I may also film and post some of the juvenile pranks that I find so entertaining. Get with it.
Nate - USX