Today on Sludgelord I am interview brilliant cosmic based Hard Rock/Stoner Rockers - MOTHERSHIP - who are blazing through the Stoner Rock Cosmos with their amazing debut album which I reviewed recently where I stated the following:
Well the guys have granted an interview with myself which I am very pleased about. So lets get down to business with Motheship before they blast off into another galaxy.
Q1 – Hi Guys, Thanks for doing this. How are things with you guys Today.
Doing great, were just sitting in the van enjoying cold beer waiting to play tonight at The Deadhorse in San Angelo, TX.
Q2 – For people not in the know can you give them a brief history of the band and how it came about.
Kyle and Kelley started the band 3 years ago in Dallas, TX after leaving their previous band. Their father John was the original drummer for Mothership. During the early days the band played mostly cover sets at biker bars in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area while mixing in original sets here and there. A 3 song demo was recorded with father John and drums. In December of 2011 Judge Smith became the permanent drummer and the band recorded the debut album a few months later in early 2012. During the course of 2012 the band played many shows all over the state of Texas including shows with national acts such as Red Fang, Prong, and Nashville Pussy to name a few. The band signed with Ripple Music in late 2012 and the re-release of the debut album on vinyl/CD and mp3 came out world wide on February 12th, 2013. The band is currently on the road promoting the album and about to start tour with Gypsyhawk (Metal Blade Records).
Q3 – How would you describe your sound.
We are a high energy heavy rock n roll three piece band from Texas, influenced by a wide variety of blues, hard rock, heavy rock, and metal that defined music many generations ago.
Q4 – Which bands and artists influence you directly as musicians.
To name off every band that has influenced us would make this interview about 5 pages longer! We are influenced by all different styles of music ranging from the Texasblues to southern rock, to the heavy rock sounds of the 70's to heavy metal of the 80's and early 90's. We pull from all different types of influences and we love many many of the iconic bands from the older eras of music. We hope to one day fill our own void like many bands in the past have done, and leave a lasting impact when we are dead and gone.
Q5 – Are you all full time musicians or do you have regular jobs to pay the bills.
We are currently full time musicians.
Q6 – Are your family and friends supportive of your music.
Our famiies are very supportive and have allowed us to follow our dreams to get to this point in our lives, we love them very much for that. Our friends are always there for us, they support our music and come out to all of the shows they can. We are very proud of where we come from and thankful to have such a great support system.
Q7 – What is the song-writing process in the band. Is it a group collective or is just down to one individual.
We show up to practice turn on the amps, press record, and start jamming. We record all of our practices and go back and listen to them all. When we find an idea or a riff we build on that and create the song from there. It is a very non forced way of writing music and letting whatever happens in that moment come out.
Q8 – It seems your excellent new album has taken over the Stoner Rock solar system. OK it's getting some brilliant reviews all over the place. – You pleased with the responses so far.
Very pleased! We are just very happy people are listening to the album, and even more so taking the time to put their two cents out there for all to read. It is mind blowing to see reviews coming in from all over the world.
Q9 – Was it an easy album to write and record for.
The album was very easy to both write and record. A couple of the songs were on the 3 song demo and the rest of the songs were ideas or new songs we wrote when Judge joined the band. Kent Stump recorded the album at Crystal Clear Studios in Dallas, TX and it was best laid back good vibes environment we could have asked for. Wewere on a very limited time crunch because we did not have much money to spend. We recorded the whole thing live and went back and threw a few more guitar tracks and vocals on top. Kent did an amazing job and we cannot thank him enough for his work.
Q10 - Are you happy with the final version that is out there. Would you change anything.
Yes we are very happy with how the entire record came out, we would not change a thing about it. Although, it would be nice to not have a time limit when recording to vinyl. We had a few more songs we would have liked to maybe have put on the album, but the length of the other songs would not allow it.
Q11 – How did you guys hook up with Ripple Music. One of my fave record labels currently out there at the moment. Ran by some great guys who we have dealt with on numerous occasions.
We first met Todd and Pope at the Heavy Fest that took place in Dallas, TX this past summer. It was a 2 day festival that took place at The Boiler Room that included the heaviest most rock n roll bands in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. Bill Goodman from The Soda Shop had mentioned our name to Todd and Jay Brockington who put on the Heavy Fest had mentioned our name to them as well. They reached out to us and we met for the first time in Dallas. It was a great weekend for us, we had a few meetings with them and played a killer show. We verbally committed with them at the end of that weekend and signed a few weeks later. Ripple Music is a very tight knit family if you will of great musicians and bands that we are very proud to be a part of. They have really helped us out in so many ways and we are very thankful for that.
Q12 – You pleased with your debut album being released on Vinyl. Not many bands get a chance for their first album to be released on Vinyl. Plus it's sold out as well. Though I have been told your getting a repress – Congrats on that one.
We recorded our album to put on vinyl regardless if we were signed or not. We recorded analog and had vinyl masters ready when we left the studio. We had the album art made for vinyl and were saving up money to have them pressed when Ripple came along. We were about to pull the trigger and order them ourselves, thankfully we didn't. Funny how things work out sometimes. We are blown away by how many units of vinyl have sold to date. We were afraid we weren't going to have any vinyl to go on theroad with, that's about how fast they all went. A repress has already been completed and we are getting more copies in within the coming weeks. Be on the look out for some killer colored vinyl options this time around as well.
Q13 – What is the live MOTHERSHIP experience like.
You will most definatly get your money's worth at our live shows, we live to play shows this is why we began playing music in the first place. To write albums and play in front of people. There is not a better feeling in the world than to play and see new faces in the crowd watching you play for the first time. 10 or 10,000 people we always put on the same high energy show.
Q14 – What are your favourite bands around at the moment. Do you listen to modern day rock/metal or do you just listen to the classic era of Stoner/Sludge/Doom/Post-Rock/Post-Metal.
We love bands from both the past and the present. The past really has influenced us a lot more than modern bands but there are some amazing acts out there right now all over the world. Bands right now that we are listening to are Graveyard, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, Orchid, Witchcraft, Titanoboa, The Sword, Red Fang, Mastodon, Nashville Pussy, Atomic Bitchwax, Earthless and Clutch to name a few.
Q15 – What are your views of blogs such as Sludgelord featuring and reviewing your records as opposed to the mainstream magazines.
We don't hate on any medium magazine or online blog that is willing to put our music out there. Online blogs are definitely more up our alley because they are willing to listen to our music and write/review the album where as most magazines only deal with bands who are on a major label or have been around for a while. We find out about so many new and upcoming bands from online blogs more so than mainstream music magazines. Would be cool to see these online blogs start their own magazines one day!
Q16 – Has BandCamp been a big help in getting your music across.
Bandcamp really helped us out when we first put out our album out to the public before Ripple came along. It is a cool website to not only stream your music before people buy it, but you can also find many great bands on their as well. We sold a lot of digital copies of our album thanks to this website.
Q17 – What are your views record companies shutting down blogs and websites due to illegal downloading. Some people are for it and some people are against it.
If someone is broke as hell has no job and wants a copy of our album to blast in the living room of their apartment they are about to be evicted from then more power toem, take that damn album for free and bang your head. We just want people to listen to our music however that may be. We dont really get to involved or think aboutquestions like this one although a lot of bands and musicians do, not enough time in the day to worry about things like money. Sounds like a case of wolves not getting their cut and just shutting things down cause they are pissed. Whatever, probably the same type of dudes that jump out of buildings when they go from Billonaire to Millionaire status.
Q18 – What are the most and least rewarding aspects of participating with the band. Obviously the reality of how expensive it is being in a band could be considered as a negative aspect.
We don't think about the negative things. We play in a band because we live for this life. Traveling around to other cities meeting new friends and writing albums is what does it for us. Sure traveling, recording, and gear is all expensive but you do what you have to do to make it happen. We want to do this for the rest of our lives.
Q19 – What words of wisdom would you give to a band starting out or some friends wanting to start a band of their own.
Record your practices, don't play too many shows locally, travel around to other cities as much as possible, write albums not just demos or EP's, and play with other like minded dudes. If you want to tour and the other guys want to go to school and be family men, then you might want to reconsider your options. If its in your blood never give up on the dream.
Q20 - Finally, Do you have anything to say your fans
You all know how thankful we are to have you on board, you hold the true power and we take pride in knowing that. Thank you for the continued support and for spreading the good word to your friends and family. We love you all, and can't wait to meet you all on the road!
Well guys thanks for talking to me. Good luck with your excellent album and tour. No doubt you will sell out your Vinyl again. Though I will definitely get myself a copy this time. Thanks again.
Check This Great Band from the Links below.
BandCamp
