There are perhaps only a handful of bands, who rightfully deserve that accolade of ‘legends’ within the scene of heavy music or any music for that matter, but Melvins are one of those bands.
Spanning a career over 3 decade, Melvins are perhaps one of the most revered bands on the planet and continue to reinvent themselves, releasing music of superior quality.
Following on from their recently released covers album, Everbody Loves Sausages, our man, Fitton put some questions to Dale from Melvins. This is Fitton’s inquisition. So over to Fitton and Dale for this great interview. Enjoy.
FI) Dale, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions. So where are you right now? You guys seem to always be on the road.
Dale) We tour roughly three months out of the year. That doesn't sound like much really, does it? Right now I'm at home, contemplating building a sandwich.
FI) Have you enjoyed the series of shows recently where you guys have been playing classic albums in their entirety?
D) Sure, it was a real kick in pants. Some of those songs hadn't been played live in years. Some were never played live, ever.
FI) Do you think that one day you will be playing more recent releases from start to finish? I know I'd love to see 'The Bride Screamed Murder' played in it's entirety.
Dale) That's probably the last time we do something like that. Although, for the right price we'll learn the entire Prick album and play your bar mitzvah, bris or sweet sixteen party!
FI) The band recently was rejoined by Big Business. Personally, I have always loved the two drummer setup that you guys adopted. Are there certain pros to that formation, and was it a natural fit when it came into existence?
D) Having two lead singers is a plus. We were pretty certain it would work before we played a single note together.
FI) The band's current album is a covers release called 'Everybody Loves Sausages', and it's full of some great and eclectic decisions. Do you have a favourite from that collection to play live?
D) We've yet to play any of the songs live. I don't know that we will. Maybe we'll play Warhead.
FI) Are there any other covers that were considered or recorded that may not have made the cut? If so, do you think they will ever see the light of day maybe?
D) Oh yeah, there's tons more! It will all get released eventually. We don't waste anything.
FI) Melvins are known for putting out some great vinyl releases. Do you guys have any in the pipeline?
D) The Sausage vinyl thats coming out will be 7 inches with unreleased B sides. Theres a live record recorded at Jack White's Third Man Records that will be out soon. Melvins 1983 has an EP coming out too. There's probably about ten other things I'm forgetting about.
FI) On a side note, we all love the Shrinebuilder record here at the blog. Are there any future plans for that group, and do you think a second record will ever materialise?
D) Maybe someday. As of right now we are done and don't have any plans.
FI) You guys always have some stellar album artwork. Do you have a favourite album cover of the output that you have as a band?
D) I thought the artwork for Freak Puke was really good! Mackie Osborne has now done the majority of our artwork. We trust her vision and let her do her thing. I am never disappointed!
FI) Thanks for answering these questions. As a parting shot, do you have an immediate plans or more tours coming up?
D) Of course! With us there's always a plan. We're about to do a big 30th anniversary tour of the states this summer.
Well it goes without saying that it is an honour and a privilege to have Dale talk to us here @ The Sludgelord. Very special thanks to Lauren @ Rarely unable for setting it up and obviously a huge thank you to Dale and Melvins too, for just being the coolest band on the planet.
As ever, show your support to the band by checking them out at the various links. You can read our review of Everybody Loves Sausages here. It is available everywhere now.
