I
have been a huge fan of today's guests for the last few years. I have
featured them a couple of times now as they always release killer
tunes with their superb EP's and albums.
That
is no different with their latest and possibly greatest album so far-
DOG YEARS. A stunning mix of Sludge, Hardcore, Grind, Noise Rock and
a whole truckload of attitude thrown in for good measure.
I
am talking about Canadian Noise Rock Riffsters – THE GREAT
SABATINI.
I
described their new album as: The
Great Sabatini return with their 3rd eagerly anticipated album –
Dog Years. A noise rock driven sludge metal avalanche of angry moods
and riffs to spoil your day. These noise loving Canadians are still
angry as ever since their last album though still with a wicked sense
of humour. Look at the album cover folks. Imagine if these guys ever
made it to Sesame Street. Your kids would be scarred for life!!!
Dog
Years is an album driven by noise and emotion that you will find very
hard to ignore. It’s superbly produced from start to finish. This
is another album of the year contender for me. It’s seriously that
good. Ignore this at your peril!!!”
So
I have been given the chance to speak to one of Canada's dangerous
rock bands and I am going to take it. Wish me luck as this could get
ugly!!!
Q1
– Hi guys. Thanks for doing this. How are things with you all
today.
We
are well. The test pressings for Dog Years just came in and we're all
quite happy with the sum of our efforts for the last year and a half
winding up on these great plastic circle things called records. It
feels nice.
Q2
– Can you tell our readers a brief history on how the band started
and where it is today.
We
started this band in 2007 in Montreal. Our goals have been to make
music together as much as possible, both on record and live, for as
long as it stays fun, I suppose. We've been touring, and letting the
very meek spoils of those tours fund our recordings. It's been a fun
cycle that works out nicely for us at this point. Dog Years was made
with a grant to help us out, so that was a bit different. We'll be
hitting the road again pretty soon and trying to get the songs into
people's ears one way or another.
Q3
– How would you describe your sound as you pack a lot of different
noises into the mix.
I
generally describe us as a sludge band but that becomes less of a
useful blanket term to employ with every new release... I think we
try to wrap up all of our influences in one cohesive, sludgy package.
Of late, there seems to be some punkier bits rising to to the
surface, but it's a giant mish-mash of doomy noise rock with
sprinklings of some atmospheric shoe-gaze vibes here and there. We
like weird time signatures and fun little musical devices a la King
Crimson but we don't really try to inject that kind of stuff... it
just kinda happens when we work on stuff together. None of us are too
schooled at music or anything.
Q4
– How did you all get involved with music.
I've
known Rob (guitars/vocals) since we were 11 or 12. Music was really
what made us close friends. We knew Joey (bass/vocals) as teenagers,
and, this is just MY perspective, but Black Sabbath was really the
common thing for all of us back then. Rob introduced me to Sabbath,
and right about that time, I heard a shitty jam tape of Joey's band
at the time playing "Paranoid" in someone's basement, and
it blew me away. It left an impression on my young mind, in any case.
We all met Steve (drums/vocals) years later.
He
grew up in Ontario... I know he got into music young, like us. I'm
not sure how much of his corruption could be blamed on Black Sabbath,
but we all love Sabbath at this point and I'm sure that whatever
little Steve was doing or hearing that got him into music back then,
Satan had a part in it like He did with us, via Tony Iommi's awesome
riffs.
Q5
– So you're back to destroy the rock world with DOG YEARS. Awesome
record. You pleased with the final version that is being released
upon to the world. Would you change anything about it.
Thanks,
man. I think we're all really happy with the record. I know I
wouldn't change a thing. We've been making records for a while in and
out of this band, so we've thankfully passed through the awkward
years when the learning curve is pretty steep. There are ALWAYS going
to be small things that displease me about any given album, but I try
to keep those things in mind , moving forward.
We've
learned to be really, really prepared for studio time and to be
honest to ourselves about the results. At this point in our lives, we
will only give our dozens of fans a record that we're truly proud of.
If there was anything about it that made any one of us seriously
unhappy, it'd be a full stop til the problem gets fixed.
Q6
– Was it a hard or easy album to write and record for.
Writing
is easy. Because Steve lives in another province, when we get
together once a month (for 3 or 4 days at a time), it's right down to
business. We all have a lot of time to work on things at our own
pace, and bring them into the jam room when Steve is in town. When we
get together, it's usually like an explosion of creativity, and we
get very productive. There's almost another entire album written from
the Dog Years jam sessions. As for recording, we work endlessly to
refine the songs and prepare them for recording.
To
answer your question, it was very hard work that we found easy to do.
By the time we hit the studio, we were more prepared than we'd ever
been, I think. We tracked the entire album in 3 quick days. Sean
Pearson helped a lot too though... he is probably the quickest guy
I've ever worked with. He is thorough, and has a great ear...
insanely efficient in that studio. It was nice to work with someone
who was as prepared as we were.
Q7
– What is the album about? Is there a concept behind it or do you
want people to discover this for themselves.
There
wasn't an overall concept in mind when we began writing, but
ultimately, our personal history with the dark musical arts was
something that kept coming up when I was writing the lyrics. Stuff
we've put ourselves through in order to chase our dreams. Munera is,
on the surface, about a bull fighter. Pitchfork Pete was a guy Rob
and I knew when we were younger. A really weird guy. All of the songs
are about some aspect of our Rock Fury, that thing inside us that
makes us sleep in a van in some god-forsaken walmart parking lot
after playing a 25 minute set in someone's basement in Nebraska, or a
squat in Austria.
There
is a common thread between all of these songs but we didn't set out
to put it there. I also tend to encrypt my lyrics in a way that might
not make a theme super obvious. I'd much rather have a listener
project his or her own feelings and impressions onto the music after
hearing it and/or reading the words, cos that's exactly what I do
when I listen to my favourite records... those albums all have their
own colours and shapes to me. So, it seems cool to me if people want
to draw their own conclusions about the words... I also believe
firmly in nurturing some kind of mystique to the songs, if at all
possible. I've probably said too much, haha.
Q8
– Which bands and artists influenced you as musicians. Any
particular band or album that stand out.
All
of us listen to a pretty wide variety of music. But the bands that
seem to cross over the best, the ones we all love, would be Helmet,
old Sepultura, KEN mode... Slayer's Reign In Blood comes on in the
van and we ALL sing along and headbang together. King Crimson is big
with us, and for the last couple years, the Laughing Stock album by
Talk Talk has been on all of our ipods. But, as I said, I think we
all have pretty varied tastes and influences. Sabbath and The Beatles
are the primordial ones, and that leads to Melvins and the amrep
stuff and classic metal like Slayer and Maiden and then Mr. Bungle
and scary Miles Davis stuff like Bitches Brew or Herbie Hancock's
Sextant record. But I think the mos important record of all time for
The Great Sabatini has been My Daughter The Broad by The Frogs. I
think we all agree that it is the greatest thing to ever be recorded.
Q9
– We have to talk about that crazy, insane and fantastic album
cover. Who came up with that design. Looks like a demonic character
from Sesame Street.
Thank
you. That's what we were going for. I had this idea and pitched it to
the guys. I wanted a demented looking muppet thing on the cover, but
maybe just a tiny bit more dangerous looking. We wanted a 70's or
80's kind of vibe for the photography. We wanted it to seem like he
was pulled out of some faded memory from your childhood. Everyone was
fully behind the concept so I built him, from scratch. The only part
I didn't make myself was his eyes. A friend got them for me from a
taxidermist, so they look more real than any other part of him.
Q10
– The new album is being released by Solar Flared Records. Great
label. How did you hook up with them.
We
heard about them from Lee, who runs No List Records out of Winnipeg
(he released or last record, Matterhorn). He hooked us up with Sofy
Major, when they were in North America making a record and touring.
Later on, we played with them in France and got to know them and the
Solar Flare operation a bit better. They are wonderful people, true
grit type of people... they've been through a lot for the music and
we trust them. The fact that they are behind us with Dog Years means
a lot to us.
Q11
– What is the song-writing process in the band. Is it down to one
individual or is it a group collective.
Rob
and I usually write the riffs, on our own time, and bring them in to
the jam room when we all are together. Everyone has a hand in piecing
it all together, and with handling his own parts. Almost never will
someone be told what to play. It's very collective. I write most of
the words, though Joey wrote the words to Nursing Home and, from time
to time, everyone has pitched in words here and there, and we all
handle vocals.
Q12
– How big of a help has BandCamp and the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
community been in promoting your music.
Bandcamp
rules. It is quite efficient. Thanks to great blogs like yours and
Shiny Grey Monotone and a slew of others, word has spread nicely
about us among folks who enjoy grimy unlistenable screaming and
atonal guitars. We can't thank you enough. When folks actually post
about us online it still blows our minds. We never take it for
granted... the fact that bandcamp has made it easy for folks to share
our music and even for us to make a few bucks here and there, is
beyond cool.
Q13
– What is your musical set-up when playing live or recording your
music. Any hints and tips would you like to give to the budding
musicians out there.
Rob
and I play baritone guitars mostly, through full stacks. So, 2
guitars, bass and drums, and we all do vocals. It's a constantly
evolving setup, in terms of gear and tweaks to our sound. We just
wanna be a crushing band that sounds good. So, kids, take your time
with your gear and focus on getting YOUR sound going before you start
turning up real loud. We've gotten louder over the years, but I dont
feel like we ever compromised our tone, to be lame about it. Rob and
I have been playing music together since we were 15, so we've had the
benefit of time to completely gel our sounds together.
Q14
– We are massive Vinyl Heads here at Sludgelord. Are you vinyl fans
yourselves.
Yes.
All of us. Joey and I are probably the biggest collectors but we all
enjoy our vinyl. What a wonderful format.
Q15
– Canada has a rich musical scene encompassing so many different
genres. What is the Sludge/Noise/Doom/Stoner Rock scene like in
Canada. Is it well known or is it still based in the underground.
Canada
has a ton of amazing bands in those genres, and it is all still very,
very underground. In early 2008, when we did our fist tour, it felt
like there weren't a lot of bands of our ilk to play with but soon
enough, we were aware of a great many bands in all corners who are
killing it in their respective styles. It's still very underground
but Canada, for such a huge country, is a very tight knit community
when it comes to sludge, doom, stoner, noise etc.
Q16
– Do you guys play a lot of gigs or do you have to travel further
afield.
We
play as much as we can get away with. Relatively speaking, I think we
tour a lot. We've played around North America quite a bit in the last
few years and hit 11 countries in Europe last year.
Q17
– What is your verdict on the whole crowd-funding scene. Where
bands ask fans to fund their next album. Are you a fan of that
platform. Would yourselves ever go down that route.
I'm
not a fan, in regards to using it as a tool for my own band. I don't
see it as looking for a handout necessarily. If you're getting
something real back in exchange for your contribution, then I don't
see a moral issue with it. But for us, we developed a kind of system
for making records: work fucking hard. There's no pitch and no
dependency on anyone other than ourselves in order to do what we do.
We hit the road, sell shirts and records, try to get guarantees, save
EVERY PENNY and somehow manage to make enough to get our asses into a
studio.
Not
only have we made it work, but if feels great. Dog Years was made
with money we received from the Ontario Government, but we still had
the money in our coffers left over from tour to be able to track it,
if the grant never came through. The grant has enabled us to do a
lot, and fast, but I never felt like we compromised our working
methods or personal work ethic in order to get shit done. If we
weren't a touring band, yet somehow had a substantial audience, maybe
we'd consider crowd funding but the way we've done it has worked out
just fine so far.
Q18
– Why did you choose the name The Great Sabatini. Any particular
reason for this.
It's
a secret code. If you do enough diggin on youtube, you may find an
explanation that is accurate.
Q19
– If you could give any advice to someone wanting to start a band.
What would it be.
"Turn
down for what"
Q20
– The last thing before you go, Do you have anything else to say to
your fans.
Thank
you. When musicians say shit like "I make the music for me, and
me alone", I don't buy into it. We make music for us. And even
though we don't expect anyone else to like it, I can't lie... it's a
great feeling when someone says they are a fan of our band. It's as
much for you as it is for us too. Thanks for sharing this with us, it
means everything.
Well
guys, Thanks to talking to us here at Sludgelord HQ. All the best
with the album release. This will definitely end on my best albums of
2014 list. That's how highly I rate it.
Thanks to Mathieu at Solar Flare Records for arranging this interview. Dog
Years will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl from June 2nd 2014.
Check The Band From Links Below
