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| Mother Corona (L-R, Robert Glen, David Michael Ogleby, Lee Cressey) |
Hey Sludge fiends, another 20 Questions Interview, this time with David Michael Ogleby from Mother Corona. We featured the band on The Sludgelord last year, where Steve was full of praise for their debut full length, Out of Dust.
They play a brilliantly fuzzed up blend of stoner/desert rock and have been touring constantly since the release of Out of Dust last year. Another great UK based band who are part of the brilliant underground seen at the moment. Here is what David had to say when I put my 20 Questions to him. Enjoy!
Hey David, How are you? I appreciate you taking the time to talk to talk to us.
Q) Where are you at the moment and what are you doing in terms of the band? Has it been a busy year for the band?
A) At the moment we are just playing around here and there, practicing and writing new stuff for our next album which we have already started to record. It has been a super busy year for us yes.
Q). For people may be new to your band, could you tell us a little about the history of the band and some of the bands you've played with? Where you’re from? When Mother Corona first formed? Current band members?
A) We hail from a small town in Oxfordshire called Didcot which is famous for its power station and railway and its about 10-15 miles outside of Oxford. We formed the band in late 2008 due to our old band Nable splitting up, there was a bit of friction with our old drummer so we decided to call it a day, then me and Lee said we wanted to keep playing so we went on the hunt to find a drummer and a bass player and after searching and trying people out we just could not find anyone, but then in mid 09' we received a call from a 16 year old kid who wanted to try out, turned out it was Rob and he is still with us nearly 4 years later, so the band consists of Lee on guitar, Rob on bass and myself on vocals and drums. We have played with some cool bands over the years, local bros like Desert Storm, Caravan Of whores, Undersmile and also alot of bands from around the UK like Trippy Wicked, Dopefight (rip) XII boar to name a few.
Q). Is Mother Corona a full time project?
A) It is but we all have shitty day jobs!
Q) What was your motivation to start the band? Were you friends beforehand etc?
A) Me and Lee have known each other since we were 3 or 4 years old so it's like a brother or family member or something, and we have always bonded over music, me and him were the only 2 guy's who was into rock music in secondary school in the late 90s while everyone was into 2pac and Eminem, me and Lee listened to Led Zeppelin and Nirvana, So its our love of music that motivates us to play, plus it gets you away from the day to day bollocks of life you know? I feel lucky that I can express myself through music.
Q) We have featured Mother Corona a couple of times on the blog and we predicted great things for you guys following the release of Out of the Dust. When you started the band, what were your hopes or aspiration for the band?
A) Just to play our music really! It feels great when people say nice stuff out your band, especially for small town guy's like us, when we play London and stuff its like a different planet haha! So our goal has always been just to try and get away from that bubble like existence.
Q) I read somewhere that you released this record yourselves, what are some of difficulties taking a DIY approach. Could you give us an insight into the gestation of producing Out of the Dust?
A) Money!!! haha!! it's cool being DIY but it cost more out of your pocket, I would rather be on a label that could support us you know? The reason why we released it on our own was probably because we didn't think anyone would be interested, and our buds desert storm self released there's as well so we thought we could do it too. We recorded it in May 2011 with Jimmy Hetherington, then had a few sessions with vocals and that, was recorded quickly.
Q) Are you big fans of rock/metal, if so what are you listening too at the moment? Any recommendations?
A) Love rock music not mad on metal though, lately i have been listening to a lot of Tom Waits and The Stooges, go check out those guys!!!
If someone was unfamiliar with your band, how would you describe your sound and due you feel it has evolved, since the release of your debut EP?
A)) Heavy, Psychedelic, Melodic, Brutal, Beautiful all those things! We have evolved for sure!Just for the simple fact we just keep playing and getting better.
Q) Reviewing records within the genres of sludge/doom/stoner, you often listen to a lot of stuff which is quite generic. (Out of the dust is amazing btw). What are you thoughts about the scene? With that in mind how pleasing is it that record appears to be lauded everywhere?
A) I think the scene is great! We've been playing this style of music for a long time! So it's nice to see some kind of community come together. There are certain band's who sound similar to others....intentionally or unintentionally.....but we have always tried to do our own thing, we probably sound like many bands!! But who don't these days?? Rock n' roll has been around for nearly 60 years and there is no one truly original! We just play the music we want to play and that's it and its a nice feeling when people give you kudos for your work you have put your heart and soul into.
Q) Who would you say are your influences/heroes both musically and artistically in terms of the bands sound?
A) Blue Cheer, Hendrix, Cream, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Hawkwind, 13th Floor Elevators, Mc5, The Stooges, Pentagram, Nirvana, Black Flag, Monster Magnet, Nebula. and a billion others!!!
Q) I’m assuming all musician like to talk about gear, so with that in mind what gear do you use in terms of guitars, amps and why? Also what tuning do you use?
A) Our guitarist Lee uses a Les Paul through Laney amps and cab, it is a load amp so that's why he uses it haha! His effects are fuzz tone, flanger, reverb, delay, wah, and tremlo to get some trippy sounds!!
Rob uses harkte bass amp and some random cab through a bass fuzz! and our tuning is A#448 standard
Q) Your hometown has produced some great bands including Winnebago Deal, Caravan of Whores, Undersmile to name but a few. What are your thoughts on the current scene? Where do you think Mother Corona fit within that? Any bands we should be keeping an eye out for?
A) Its great there's a scene coming together, when we first started with Nable in 06 we were playing with indie bands, there was no hard rock scene, then we went away and came back as mother corona and everyone's tuned down and have distortion pedals, its cool, you should check out Desert Storm for sure!
Q) How valuable are blogs such as the Sludgelord reviewing your records, as opposed to mainstream music magazines? Does all forms of media coverage translate to people buying merch, downloading music etc, coming to shows?
A) I think so yes! Most people and bands are looking at alternative's to fish out new music cause the main stream is just so fucking lame!! In terms of reaching new people then places like Sludgelord are great, 'cause its a labour of love rather than a marketing scheme!
Q) What kind of reception has your band received and does it surprise you when people buy your music and merch?
A) Yeah it does! But its all been really nice stuff said about us so far, not everyone is gonna dig the band but fuck um! I don't care! Its the ones that do and its really nice when people come up after a show and say they dig it!
Q) How easy is it for bands such as yourselves to gigs? From talking to other bands, some venues/promoters just won’t book them, Is it a struggle?
A) For us lately its been fine! We have had gigs coming out our arses! But it is true that some venues won't have certain bands! Trying to get on biggish bill's is kinda hard for us! That's something we would love to do this year, and I've always said this industry is about who you know rather than who you are!
Q) Do you have any interesting stories from your tours, favourite’s places you’ve toured and bands you’ve toured with?
A) Yes there is one that involes our guitarist and his shlong but I will not get into it! hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
Q) What are your thoughts about Out of the dust, now that it has been unleashed on the unsuspecting public?
A) It's cool! there are somethings I wish I could have done different in my playing, but for the most part its really cool! It's a proper dirty rock record and very human sounding! There are mistakes all over the shop and I like that!! People keep lumping us as metal but I don't think we are a metal band at all!! We are just a kicking power rock trio in the vein of Blue Cheer or Grand Funk but with spaced out elements, its just cool that people dig it!!
Q) What is your approach to writing material for the band? What was your agenda when you began writing the new record? Is it your best work to date?
A) I may come in with a song or a riff, same as with Lee and then we just piece it together as a band, then write some lyrics then jam it again at the next practice. Lee's good for inspiring me for lyrics with coming up with song titles, and the process has always been like that, my favourite is probably hedonist king or VAG from the album! We just wanted to make a record we loved and that's it and then see what people thought and it is our best work so far but our next record will blow it out of the water!!
A) We have been jamming that live for years and it was Lee's idea to put it on there! I know people will think that its a typical sabbath song to cover but we fuckin love it!! Ours is up there man!! Someone said to me ours was better than Orange Goblins!! I'll take that any day!!
Q) Will you be releasing your music yourselves in the future or is their a possibility that may sign to a label? How do you feel about sites like bandcamp and releasing music for free to get your music heard?
A) Hopefully we can get on a label for the next record and give our wallets a break hahaha! But we'll see how it goes, bandcamp is great!! Gives a chance for bands like us to knock our music out and be heard everywhere
Q) Thanks for answering my questions, but one final question, you got anything you like to say to your fans?
A) Stay at school and always wear a rubber!!! haha!!!
Thanks to David agreeing to do the interview. Great band and hopefully another cracking record to look forward too this year. You can buy their latest record Out of Dust on bandcamp here Check out the links for more info about the band. As ever, show your support to great underground bands.
