Today on Sludgelord I am interviewing Tom Begley member of one of the the best underground Sludge/Post-Metal Bands the UK has to offer. The brilliant BOSSK.
Who sadly split in 2008 but are now back together in 2012.
These guys toured with some heavy hitters – Cult Of Luna, Baroness, The Ocean and The Hope Conspiracy to name but a few.
They have released as string of critically acclaimed releases EP's (.1 & .2) and .3 which was released on DVD.
Well Tom has kindly agreed to do an interview with me.
Q1 – For People not in the know – Can you tell them how the band came about, When you formed etc...
We formed in 2005 after all our other small bands fizzled out, we all wanted to do something different, make music that wasn't confined to any specific genre. None of us had really been in a 'serious' band before.
Q2 – How would yourselves describe your sound.
Our sound is made up of a bunch of different elements, epic progressing metal if you will.
Q3 – Which bands influence you on your music.
We all take influence from different bands really, Pink Floyd, Mogwai, Neurosis, Oceansize are all bands that we enjoy.
Q4 – You guys sadly split in 2008 just when I was starting to get into your great band. What was the reason as things started to go your way during that time.
Many bands go through what we went through around that time. We had been touring pretty hard, and some members felt burnt out by it, the want to work full time hours and live a normal life was something that is not really possible while being in a band.
Q5 – Did you guys stay in touch during your hiatus or was there still a bad atmosphere when you guys got together.
Q5 – Did you guys stay in touch during your hiatus or was there still a bad atmosphere when you guys got together.
Yeah we did, all of us original members have known each other for over 10 years. I don't really speak to the new members that were in the band when we split. No real bad atmosphere, but we did drift apart in the few months right after we broke up.
Q6 – What made you guys get back together. I am well pleased you are as you were my fave UK Post-Metal band at the time.
Thank you! I am very happy that the other guys were keen to start up again, it's something that I personally have wanted to do for a very long time. It was a combination of things for each of us I'm sure.
Q7 – You have an upcoming date with ace Doom Popsters (Well they hate being called Sludge Metal) Torche at Nottingham Rock City in Sept 2012. Bet your looking forward to that. I know I am. Do you have more dates planned in the future.
Q7 – You have an upcoming date with ace Doom Popsters (Well they hate being called Sludge Metal) Torche at Nottingham Rock City in Sept 2012. Bet your looking forward to that. I know I am. Do you have more dates planned in the future.
Can't wait! We played a show with them and Baroness when they came over the first time in 2007. Their new record is great, and can't wait to see them play. The only other show we are doing this year is Damnation Festival in Leeds with Electric Wizard and many more.
Q8 – You released a trilogy of well received releases by fans and critics alike. Are you proud of what you achieved first time round. I loved your DVD release of .3. Very cool for you guys to do that. Must be daunting to release your material on DVD. Any future stuff will be released on Blu-Ray then – Just Joking.
I'm incredibly proud of all the music we made as a band. We spent a lot of time and our own money getting them to sound and look how we wanted. And I think doing that has made them stay relevant so many years later.
Q8 – You released a trilogy of well received releases by fans and critics alike. Are you proud of what you achieved first time round. I loved your DVD release of .3. Very cool for you guys to do that. Must be daunting to release your material on DVD. Any future stuff will be released on Blu-Ray then – Just Joking.
I'm incredibly proud of all the music we made as a band. We spent a lot of time and our own money getting them to sound and look how we wanted. And I think doing that has made them stay relevant so many years later.
A lot of bands look back to the first stuff they recorded in the early days and see it as outdated badly written early material. We don't see it that way. It was quite cool to do something on DVD, I remember a few people being surprised that we did that, but we always want to be a band that does things unconventionally.
Q9 – What is the song-writing process like in the band. Is it a whole band collective or individuals that write the music.
It's both, Rob and Alex are two of the best song writers I know, and Nick is one of the most creative talented drummers about. We often jam out songs together once some basic ideas have been written. Some of the song ideas might come from one person, but they are formed as a band.
Q10 – Is the band a full time project now or do you still have jobs and other bands to support your vision of BOSSK.
Q9 – What is the song-writing process like in the band. Is it a whole band collective or individuals that write the music.
It's both, Rob and Alex are two of the best song writers I know, and Nick is one of the most creative talented drummers about. We often jam out songs together once some basic ideas have been written. Some of the song ideas might come from one person, but they are formed as a band.
Q10 – Is the band a full time project now or do you still have jobs and other bands to support your vision of BOSSK.
All the guys in the band work full time, Rob, Nick and Alex play in another band together doing something completely different to Bossk. I tour full time working for a bunch of different bands and Sam works in the film industry. These days we are finding the balance between making music together without having to sacrifice having lives outside the band.
Q11 – You guys played over 200 shows I seem to recall before you split up in 2008. What is the plan this time. To tour locally, nationally or around Europe. As you do seem to have a great global fan base.
Q11 – You guys played over 200 shows I seem to recall before you split up in 2008. What is the plan this time. To tour locally, nationally or around Europe. As you do seem to have a great global fan base.
Yeah we played a lot of shows when we were a band, we probably won't tour as hard as we used to. It's just not possible with everything we each have going on. We want to re visit places we played before, and cover as much new ground as possible. There will be no limits to where we will play.
Q12 – The UK has many superb Sludge/Stoner Metal bands coming out. Just not enough venues to put them on unless your in a band wearing your Mother's/Girlfriends make-up and talking about which clothes to wear on your date. I hate that shit. Anyway I digress, What do you think of UK's gig scene for bands like yourself.
Q12 – The UK has many superb Sludge/Stoner Metal bands coming out. Just not enough venues to put them on unless your in a band wearing your Mother's/Girlfriends make-up and talking about which clothes to wear on your date. I hate that shit. Anyway I digress, What do you think of UK's gig scene for bands like yourself.
It's obviously been a fair amount of time since we played shows, but the two we have done so far have been really encouraging. The scene seems to have grown while we have been away! However, we were always a band that played with bands outside its normal scene, and that is something that we plan to continue with.
We often played with metal and hardcore bands that sound nothing like us, and at a lot of those shows we were received well. Even outside of the 'stoner/doom' scene people want to find something different. We don't want to be an exclusive band, anyone can enjoy our music regardless of what bands you normally listen to.
Q13 – What are your fave bands around at the moment. Any new ones you can recommend for ourselves to check out.
Q13 – What are your fave bands around at the moment. Any new ones you can recommend for ourselves to check out.
For me a band called Worship. Truly one of the coolest bands I've heard recently, think Radiohead meets Pink Floyd, but poppy. They are such an original sounding band. Not heavy really, but probably my favourite English band right now.
Q14 – You have toured with famous bands, have you got any interesting stories from your tours?
Q14 – You have toured with famous bands, have you got any interesting stories from your tours?
Touring with bands I respect is the best part of what I do. I have stories for days, I'm lucky enough to tour the world with what I do, and I use my experiences with that to try and help get Bossk out as far as I can.
Q15 – What are the most and least rewarding aspects of participating with the band.
For me its making music with people that are not only some of my oldest friends again, but musicians that I completely respect and look up to. As we have known each other so long we know each others flaws and strong points well. The whole process is rewarding for me.
Q16 – What is your view of bands and blogs giving away music for free. Lot of bands and people have different perspectives.
Music has changed, or at least parts of it has. Our next song we will release will be a free download from our website. But people still buy music they love and support bands by coming out to shows or buying Merch. And both those things are just as important to bands these days.
Q17 – Finally what are the future plans for the band. (As a fan please say new material).
New album next year. Work has already begun on it. New shows, new experiences. Riffs and good times.
Thank you for actually asking some interesting questions. I really enjoyed answering them.
Tom
Well Tom thanks for answering these questions. All the best from all of us at Sludgelord. I hope to catch up with you at Nottingham Rock City with Torche. Thanks. Steve.
Thank you for actually asking some interesting questions. I really enjoyed answering them.
Tom
Well Tom thanks for answering these questions. All the best from all of us at Sludgelord. I hope to catch up with you at Nottingham Rock City with Torche. Thanks. Steve.
Check Out BOSSK From The Links Below:
