“We just try to make music that is an extension of everyone involved”: Amped & Doomed with Khemmis

By: Aaron Pickford & Khemmis

As every second of every minute of every hour of every day expires, friends, partners, husbands and wifes, son daughters, will find themselves engulfed in the sonic waves and distorted noises of their favourite bands, perhaps listening to an album, creating the next killer riff or beat, or mastering the next greatest album.  Indeed as the earth revolves, a revolution in the doom scene is emerging, once again, the slow dirge like riffs are saturating eardrums everywhere, captivating us not by the technical virtues of those that create it, but instead immersing us in a “tune low, play slow” aesthetic which in my eyes is the biggest and best genre there is. 

Coupled with a resolute DIY ethic from both bands and labels alike, this dearth of magnificently creative and ultra heavy doom bands is beginning to cause the wider metal community to take notice.   Indeed, one such band, emerged last year and pretty much crushed all their peers into dust, with their magnicificently powerful debut full length “Absolution”, that band is Khemmis and today they are our guests at “Amped & Doomed”.  Let’s get the lowdown. 

SL: Guys, today you’re undoubtedly fulfilling another dream on your bucket list, by talking to us here at “The Sludgelord” (haha).  Would you be able to contain your excitement and give us a brief history of your playing career to date, specifically how long you have been playing with bands, when did you pick the guitar, bass etc? 

Ben: I started playing about 18 years ago. My father’s side of the family has a longstanding history of playing music, and growing up with music in the house and at all of the family reunions made it inevitable that I would give it a shot as well. I started with the basics -- “Smoke on the Water,” “Stairway to Heaven,” and various grunge songs that I could struggle my way through. The turning point was really when I got into Metallica and (slowly) learned how to play the first five albums. I remember the first time that I (mostly) pulled off “Master of Puppets” -- I felt like I’d just won the Olympics.  I’m about to turn 31, and playing guitar has kept me sane and also lead to meeting some of my best friends in the world. The day I stop playing is the day I am no longer physically able to play.

Phil: I’ve been playing for about 10 years. My first shows were with an otherwise all-girl Judas Priest cover band in High School. After that I played in a 2-piece that never really did anything except play some house shows, but that was what really got me started playing the low-and-slow. We sounded like a cross between Thou and Electric Wizard.

Dan: Haha, career.  I started late. Some co-workers and I, after extremely long days of work, would joke about starting a band called Uncle Larry’s Bitch.  The president of the company was named Larry.  One day we decided, what the hell, how hard could it be?  I bought a bass and a practice amp. My Dad played a little bass when I was a kid, and I thought Duck Dunn was super cool, the way he played and smoked a pipe.  Bad ass.

SL: Can you remember who are what inspired you to pick up the guitar, bass? Are there any bands, guitarists, bassists currently on the scene that continue to inspire you and push you to try new things?

Ben: My father and my grandfather both made me want to be a musician. My grandfather taught himself to play the banjo, mandolin, fiddle, guitar, dulcimer, and more. He also built his own instruments. He was one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, and that informed my own desire to be a musician and, lately, to try my hand at refinishing guitars and low-level woodworking. My father always played guitar and sang to me when I was little, and he (and my kickass mom) both encouraged me to pursue music and push myself as a musician. Neither of them are metal heads by a long shot, but they have never stopped being supportive.

As time has gone on, I stopped thinking about “guitar heroes” as much as atmospheres that individual musicians and bands create by playing the music they genuinely feel. My interest in technical proficiency started to wane in my early-to-mid 20s, which is when I found myself drawn toward bands like Neurosis and YOB more so than, say, Necrophagist and Suffocation. At that same time, my taste in non-heavy music came full circle and I realized that the music my folks had loved and played for me as a child (e.g., Jethro Tull, Steely Dan, John Prine, Return to Forever, Yes) was actually REALLY awesome. Today, I am just as likely to throw on Pretzel Logic or Romantic Warrior as Through Silver in Blood or Primitive Man’s Scorn.

Phil: My dad listened to a lot of classic and southern rock, but I think the real eye-opener was David Gilmour’s super vivid tones on The Wall. I really wanted to be able to make a sound like that, just sustaining forever with so much power and beauty. J Mascis and Matt Pike are probably my favorite modern players, both guys just play with such conviction while also doing really interesting things with phrasing and tones. 

Dan: See above, my old man and Duck Dunn.  Others too. Curtis Mayfield’s bass lines were infectious.  Fugazi basslines drove the song.  John Paul Jones always held everything together. Taylor Iverson (of Abrams) doesn’t necessarily drive me to be better, although he is undoubtedly a way better bassist.  I just really dig his bass playing, and his tone, and his demeanor.  Good dude.

SL: Whilst we’re on the subject of inspiration or heroes for example, do you have 5 records that stand out as favourites, what influence did they have upon you and what is it about those records that particular resonates amongst others?  

Ben:

Mastodon – “Remission” - I saw them touring behind this with Soilent Green, Cephalic Carnage, and Dysrhythmia in ‘02 or ‘03. It blew my mind. I lived in small town Mississippi and had only recently gotten internet access at home. Finding out that this kind of stuff was out there and moreover that there were people like me who dug it, was an incredible moment.

Slayer – “Reign in Blood” - My story with this is no different than anyone else’s. A friend had it. I borrowed it. 28 minutes after hitting play, my notion of how fast and aggressive music could be was completely destroyed. This opened up my ears to the worlds of black metal, death metal, and grindcore.

Neurosis – “A Sun that Never Sets” -- One of my best friends, Eddie (with whom I formed Galaxicon), gave me this album about a decade ago when I started losing interest in a lot of death and grind. It floored me. From there, I consumed their entire discography as quickly as possible. A few years later, we went to San Francisco to see Neurosis, YOB, and USX at the Great American Music Hall. Neurosis opened with “Through Silver in Blood” and I was so overwhelmed that I thought I might die of sheer joy.

Weakling – “Dead as Dreams” - During my freshman year of college, a guy who would wind up becoming one of my best friends turned me onto this album. I had never heard anything like it -- it genuinely frightened me.

YOB – “The Unreal Never Lived” - Much like with Neurosis, YOB changed my notion of what “heavy” could mean. If I had to point to one contemporary guitarist who has influenced my playing, it would absolutely be Mike. His sense of dynamics and his use of big, complex chord shapes blew my mind, since I’d spent years thinking only of how to tremolo pick faster, how many sweep arpeggios I could cram into a solo section, or how (unnecessarily) technical I could make riffs.

Dan:

The Cure – “Disintegration”.  Just pure emotion and sadness.  Pornography is probably a better record but I discovered this one at a certain time in my life that makes it important.

Fugazi – “13 Songs”. Again, not, my favourite Fugazi album now, but the first one I heard and definitely changed the way I listened to music and thought about songs.

Jimi Hendrix – “Are you Experienced?” It’s fucking Jimi Hendrix, that’s why.  I checked this out, on vinyl, from the public library when I was a kid.  It blew my damn mind.

High on Fire – “Surrounded by Thieves”.  Forever changed me. I missed “The Art of Self Defense” because, frankly, I wasn’t following metal closely in those days.  I saw them come through Denver on this album, and it felt like the combination of everything I loved about metal, perfectly focussed into one bone crushing mass.

Queens of the Stone Age- “Queens of the Stone Age”. I was shocked when I heard this.  I owned the Kyuss split and wasn’t that excited about this album… until I heard it, performed live, in 1999. It was aggressive and pretty at the same time.  Driving bass without being fancy.

Phil: As far as what records influence my playing in this band, I would have to say 3 matter more than others: Thin Lizzy- “Black Rose”; Mountain- “Climbing”; and Sleep- “Holy Mountain”. I’ve always been attracted to players who play “from the gut” and find strength in their eccentricities, but who also have an ear for melody and restraint that lets the rest of the band shine.

SL: Can remember your first electric guitar, bass?

Dan: Made in Mexico Fender Jazz in electric blue

Ben: It was an Ibanez GAX 70 in transparent butterscotch (or something like that). My parents bought it and a little DOD amp for me once it became clear that I was hooked on playing guitar. It was a cheap thing, but it worked and was infinitely cooler looking than most starter-level guitars.

Phil: It was a made in Mexico Fender Telecaster standard, which I immediately retrofitted with a humbucker in the neck. Partially because I wanted that fat, singing sound, and partially because I wanted to be Keith Richards.

SL: Ok, more to the point, what guitar(s) bass (s) are you using today and how did you gravitate towards the guitar you currently use?  What do you like about the guitars you currently use and have there been any specific modifications to them?  

Ben: My main guitar in Khemmis is a Gibson Faded Flying V that I completely redid from the ground up. The only original thing about it is the body/neck. I sanded and stained it, replaced all of the hardware (locking Grover tuners, roller bridge, straplocks, graphite nut, new pots and knobs), and put a pair of Duncan pickups in it (Black Winter in the bridge, Sentient in the neck). It is my favorite guitar that I have ever played or even seen. I also have a Gibson Les Paul Studio, which was my first non-superstrat guitar after my interest in playing death metal wanted. That LP is HEAVY, but it sounds so very good. I have several other guitars, but those are the ones I regularly play.

We just hooked up with the good people at Lace Pickups, so I’ll be putting a pair of Lifers in the Flying V in the near future. I have a Lifer in the bridge of my Les Paul now, and it just smokes, man. It’s hot, but not unusably so, and it has a subtle midrange bump that sizzles and sounds awesome.

Phil: My number one for the longest time has been my Reverend Volcano H-90 Custom. I have always been a sucker for V-shaped guitars and I loved the offbeat looks of this thing, with the raised center section and asymmetrical wings. I am otherwise drawn toward heavy, offbeat vintage guitars and always seem to have a rotating cast of them for my backup. Currently that slot belongs to my ’82 Electra X-270, which is a very neat guitar with some built-in effects, but a Yamaha SG2000 jockeys for position.

I love to tinker with things so I always replace the pickups in my guitars right away. I am currently using the Lace Finger Burners in my Reverend, and Lace Hemis in the Electra. For me, playability and resonance is key if I am going to hold on to a guitar. I want the instrument to feel like a tuning fork when I’m standing next to an amp! The Reverend, especially, plays great and the electronics are laid out so that they don’t get in the way, which is huge for me because I have a really heavy hand and always find a way to roll off my volume or switch pickups by mistake during shows.

Dan: My main bass is a Lakland Skyline 55-64.  I went after this one primarily because it’s a 35” scale 5 string. With our low tuning I was having trouble with all my 4 strings.  The string tension sucked so the string would flop around no matter how thick I went, I couldn’t get them intonated, I couldn’t get any sustain... it was useless.  The long scale remedies most of that.  I focused in on the Lakland over other 5 string basses with long scales because it doesn’t have a damned battery compartment routed into it.  I really like the stock passive pickups. It has great sustain and clarity on the low notes and it I really am a fan of the classic P bass style.

SL:  What amps and pedals do you currently use?  Do you use a combination of amps, or a full half stack? Talk us through your set up both in the studio and in the live environment?  

Dan: I use the same rig live as I do in the studio. SLM-era Ampeg SVT Classic through a 1973-ish Ampeg 8x10 re-speakered with Eminence 10’s.  There is a reason it’s the classic rock & roll bass rig.  I am about to replace the 8x10 with custom Atlas made, 4x10 + 2x15. I’ve found that I can’t live without 15’s, nor can I live without 10’s, so I’m getting them both. Hail Petras: Lord of Tone. Pedal board: Dunlop Bass wah, Black Arts Revelation, Wren and Cuff Pickle Pie B Fuzz, DOD/Black Arts Boneshaker.  I recorded “Absolution” with a Black Arts Tonewroks Ritual, on all of the time -- that was it.

Ben: My overall setup has been the same for a few years now. I occasionally get the urge to try out a new amp or dirt pedal, but I inevitably come back to where I started. I have an early 70s non-master-volume Ampeg V4 and a V2 (modded by a previous user with a master volume control, which I just leave dimed) from the same era. Those Ampegs are among the best pedal platform amps in existence, in my opinion. I run the Ampeg into an Orange 4x12 (loaded with Celestion V30s and WGS ET65s in an X pattern) and an Orange 2X12 (loaded with Eminence Wizards).

I use a Black Arts Toneworks Quantum Mystic for my dirt. I’ve been using BAT for my dirt tones for the last 4 or 5 years, and the QM is an unreal little box. It’s a little fuzzy, but is more of a distortion/OD on steroids. I rotate a number of other effects pedals in and out of my board, but right now am using a TC Electronic Polytune mini, a Morley Little Alligator, a Dunlop 95q wah, a Tech 21 Boost DLA, an Eventide H9, a Maxon PH-350 phaser, and a TC Electronic Alter Ego X4. I also use a Digitech JamMan stereo for triggering samples between songs and I use a TC Helicon Mic Mechanic to add echo and reverb to my vocals.

Phil: I’m primarily using a Black Arts Toneworks (BAT) Black Forest into my 1983 Carvin X-100b for all of my dirt sounds, but will occasionally run the Black Forest into a BAT Fnord for really sludgy sections or places where I need a little more volume. The Carvin is generally pretty cranked, and runs into both a 4x12 loaded with a mix of speakers that I like and a homemade 1x12, 1x15 loaded with an Eminence Wizard and Big Ben. Overall I need a fairly clear guitar sound with a bit of low end, super saturated mids, and some presence to compliment Ben’s growlier guitar sound, and the Carvin is a great platform for that.

While recording “Absolution”, I wanted a bit more of an “amp exploding/speakers tearing” kind of sound that still retained some clarity, so I went with a BAT Oath into my Legacy VL100. The Oath has no knobs or controls of any kind, and is just everything all-the-time, while the Legacy is just a really middy and clear sounding amp.

SL: What one pedal could not live without and why?  

Dan: Black Arts Toneworks Revelation SuperBass.  I bought this from Ben, our lead guitar player (in fact, I think all my pedals may be Ben’s hand-me-downs!) It gives me a lot of options; from overdirve, to dirt, to fuzz without totally taking the bass out of my bass. It does everything pretty damn well, with the least amount of low end sacrifice in any pedal similar pedal I’ve played to date.

Phil: If Ben doesn’t list a delay pedal, I’m calling bullshit on his answer! I could live without any of the pedals (and have had too many times), but I do love the BAT Black Forest. It is just super versatile and adjustable-- I think I could get close to “my sound” with just my V, that pedal, and any amp.

Ben: The Quantum Mystic. Take everything off my board save for that and I can get the notes out of my brain and channeled through my rig. Of course, I say this, and then I’m sure Mark will come out with something even more badass and I’ll have to eat my words. Also, Phil can kiss my ass! I love delay well enough, but the starting point for good, heavy tone is the dirt.

SL: What are your amp/ pedal settings?

Dan: Amp: I usually have my gain between 3 and 4 and adjust master volume for the venue/situation.  My bass setting is at about 6, mids at about 7.5, treble just past 5.  I have the revelation setup to be more of an overdrive tone, almost like a part of my pre section.  The pickle pie does the fuzz.  The Boneshaker will be my grind-ier distortion, but I just started playing with it.

Phil: I basically dial in a loud, verge-of-breakup tone with tons of mids, presence, and bass on the amp, then boost mids and cut out the lowest and highest frequencies sent from my guitar with the Black Forest pedal. The result is really squishy-sounding in the midrange, with lots of clarity, sustain and harmonics.

Ben: On the amp, I set the lows around 3 PM, mids around 1 PM (with the rocker switch kicked down to the lowest midrange freq), and treble anywhere from 12-3 depending on the stage sounds/acoustics (with the treble rocker switch in the middle). On the QM, I set the level a bit above unity to slam the front end of the amp just a tad. I set the bass at ~2 PM, mids at 1 PM, treble between 12 and 2 (same reason as above), and the distortion level around 2 PM. This gives me a very gnarly, mid-rangey sound without filling up the entire guitar frequency spectrum, as Phil’s rig is set to be a bit brighter with slightly less pronounced lower mids.

SL: What tunings do you use and why, and as a result is there a specific brand / gauge of string you prefer?    

Phil: We are tuned to Drop A#, which is like C-standard with a dropped E-string. I think this was as low as we could go and still retain enough string-to-string clarity that we can each play power chords on the low strings and melodies with our other fingers that are actually audible. We both do that kind of two-guitars-at-once sounding thing a lot in this band. As far as strings, I like 12-54s, my preference being Curt Mangan or D’Addario.

Ben: I play D’Addario Pro Steels 12-52. They’re affordable, durable, and sound great.

Dan: D’Addario Chromes.  Love them.  Super mellow but still some punch.  I like flatwounds generally, but these are the perfect mix of tension and tone.  They’re rad for the stuff we do; too bad they cost $44 bucks a pack.

SL: Do you have any advice for up and coming guitars players, bands?

Ben: For guitarists: Play the notes that you truly want to hear. Don’t get complacent but know that you don’t have to be the fastest or most technically-minded musician to be a good one. Don’t bullshit yourself or the listeners; if you are sincere in what you play and how you play it, it will often be clear to everyone involved. Avoid getting caught up in having THE gear that X person or band uses. Don’t spend every dime you have on the newest/fanciest/oldest/most awesome vintage piece(s) of gear ever...unless you have a ton of money, in which case send me some. Get good instruments, amplifiers, and pedals that are reliable and know how to use them -- I’ve seen so many bands with old school Peavey or Acoustic Control amps into run-of-the-mill Marshall cabs blow bands with boutique rigs off the stage simply because they knew their gear and how to coax stellar tones out of those rigs. Practice as often as you can; you may never be Yngwie, and that’s fine, but you ought to be able to play the notes right while putting on a show of some sort.

For people in/trying to form bands: Don’t be in a band with people you don’t like and/or can’t trust with money and basic adult responsibilities. Music is an incredible part of life, and you can be soured on it very quickly if you’re in a band/project that causes more stress than it relieves. Don’t cheap out on recording -- a professional recording is not out of reach for any band of adults in 2016, and nothing will hobble your attempts at playing out, building a following, touring, and/or attracting label attention than sounding like amateurs in an ever-growing sea of bands. Record your practices when you can and figure out what works and what doesn’t -- your live shows and experiences in the studio will be so much better if you’ve put in that work ahead of time. More than anything, though, I’d say just make sure you have fun with it. What’s the point in making music if you don’t enjoy it?

Phil: Don’t try to be anyone but yourself, and less is almost always more. We all have eccentricities in how we play our instruments, and you will be a more recognizable, passionate, and interesting player if you do things to highlight these quirks in your playing instead of trying to “fix” them. 

Dan: Well, in Khemmis, we have people from very diverse musical backgrounds with substantially different musical tastes.  We all overlap somewhere, but we don’t all go home and put on the same records, like, ever.  As a result, we never actively focused on a sound or a style.  We just tried to make music that was an extension of everyone involved -- and we like how it came out.  Stay true to what you here in your heads and don’t worry about how to label it.

SL: Do feel there are deeply help misconceptions about being in a band?  

Phil: Not every band from Denver is inspired by marijuana

Ben: I think a lot of people who aren’t in bands think that touring resembles the hedonistic debauchery that 80s hair metal bands wrote about in their power ballads. Touring in 2016 consists of you and your friends hoping your van doesn’t explode between point A and point B while worrying about turnouts, guarantees, finding a place to crash, and what you’re going to eat that night. Don’t get me wrong, you get to play music that you care about to people who want to hear it in cool cities. You get to make friends with people from all over the world. But it ain’t a cake walk.

SL:  Moving on a little then, what can you tell us about any of your current projects, tours, cds, etc you’re currently promoting, completed and anything else band related we should know about?

Ben: Khemmis is my only project at this point -- I have a backlog of ideas, ranging from riffs to complete songs, for a variety of side/solo projects that I may or may not ever get around to using. Teaching, writing my dissertation, doing the Khemmis thing, and having a normal home life doesn’t leave a lot of time for other bands. We are finishing up the writing process for album #2 right now and will enter the studio with Dave Otero in late spring/early summer. If all goes according to plan, the album should be out on 20 Buck Spin in the early fall, which is very exciting.

A cool little label out of Texas called Young Cubs (http://www.youngxcubs.com/) is releasing “Absolution” on tape, which is going to be pretty rad. Hell; I didn’t know people still bought tapes! 20 Buck Spin also released a second pressing of “Absolution”, including a small run of coke bottle green records. I think those numbers are starting to dwindle, so maybe there will even be a third pressing. Who knows? We’re really lucky to work with Dave (and Kayla), who are genuinely awesome humans.

Dan: The new material seems pretty different from “Absolution”, to me.  There are elements for sure, we might be drawing on the format of the album a little, but the differences seem significant enough, to me, that it may challenge a few people that really liked “Absolution”.  Similarly, people who may not have been into “Absolution”, might like this one a little better. I am not worried, because we like it, and we’re having fun playing it -- that’s all that counts.

SL: What springs to mind when you think about the completion of material for your new record and how is the mood in the camp at present?

We are incredibly excited about this album. We feel that we have been able to dial in our overall sound in a more cohesive way that has allowed us to focus on the songwriting. There is definitely more rock ‘n’ roll swagger on this album, but we also have some of our sludgiest, most aggressive moments. Oh, and solos. Lots of guitar solos.

SL: What are your favourite songs to play live?

Dan: “The Bereaved” and “Serpentine” for the same reason -- they both have a simple, heavy, melodic groove that’s easy to get into.  I can just zone out and dig in. 

Ben: “Ash, Cinder, Smoke” and “The Bereaved” are always fun to play live. The former just has some of my favorite grooves and harmonized lines that we’ve written; the latter is the one that people expect us to play, the one they cheer for when I mention the title on stage. That is always a strange and exciting feeling -- who would have thought that anyone would ever even know these song titles? We have also started playing a new one live, titled “Beyond the Door.” The final section of it is probably the heaviest thing we have ever done in this band, and it’s ridiculously fun to play. 

SL: Who are some your favourite bands you have toured with and what has been your proudest moment and/or performance of your playing career?

Phil: This has happened a few times now, in a couple different places, but the proudest moments for me have been when Veterans have walked up to me after our set and told me how much (the song) “The Bereaved” means to them, and that it helps them sleep and feel normal. I feel honoured to have written something that can help people, and especially people who lay their lives on the line like that, in such a profound way, when I have such a different but similarly life-affirming connection to the song. It is really beautiful.

Ben: Playing a string of shows with The Atlas Moth and Vattnet Viskar last August was a great time. We already knew the AM guys, and we instantly made good buds with the VV fellas. We played with so many awesome bands on that run! I think that we’ve had a lot of incredible moments in this band that we try not to take for granted. Playing Denver Black Sky the last two years was awesome. Hell, every show we play in our hometown is a lot of fun. Denver supports its bands and comes out for touring bands like no other city I’ve seen. Our album release with Call of the Void and Of Feather and Bone at the most excellent HiDive was particularly special, because my parents flew out from Mississippi for the weekend.

Dan: Shit, we’ve had so many unbelievable moments in the last year alone.  I guess playing with Pig Destroyer was up there.  The Decibel list was big. Signing on with 20 Buck Spin was awesome. Okay I got it: One day I walked into a local restaurant with my 7 year old daughter. She was wearing her miniature Khemmis Beer Wizard shirt.  A woman who worked there was leaving and as she walked past our table, she stopped by my daughter and said “What a cool shirt, I have the same one. That band is awesome!”  My daughter’s eyes lit up like Times Square.  I turned into jelly.  It was cool. That woman, Shanda, was also carrying a guitar, which I later learned was a Gibson Marauder (she plays in a great Denver band called Luna Sol).

SL: What can fans look forward to from you over the next 12 months? How is your schedule shaping up?

SXSW in March, recording in April/May, Seven One Grind Fest in June, Migration Fest and West Coast run in August, and more cool stuff in the fall and winter that will be announced in the coming months. We’re hoping to make it over to Europe in the next 12-18 months as well.

As for Denver, we’re playing some great shows in April, May 12 (with Druden, an incredible black metal band from PDX), and June at HiDive (details TBA). Check out our tour dates page to keep up with those as we announce them in the coming weeks. (http://khemmisdoom.com/shows)

SL:  Finally, do you have any final comments/word of wisdom you’d like to bestow upon us?

Spend more time doing cool things (e.g., making music, hanging out with dogs, drinking good beer, eating tacos at Illegal Pete’s, making your city and scene as awesome as possible) and less time on Facebook or mindlessly sitting in front of the TV. Listen to ZZ Top as often as possible.

The End

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

A Conversation with Dave Angstrom of Luna Sol/Hermano: From The Soul of a Guitar Slinger

Words by: Marc Gaffney & Dave Angstrom

Music should be thought provoking and tell a story in which the listener can take a right or left or be daring and travel down the path less taken, the nominal fork in the road.

Much like a Frost poem in which you have Miles to go before you can sleep, the Luna Sol album is rifftastic with a grown up story of political awareness and human feelings that touches a side a lot of rock does not engage in. It is one of caring and going out on a limb rather than taking a machismo stance and a love of the blaring carburetor of life.

David Angstrom, Les Paul slinger of Hermano, treats us to a feast of riffs and incredibly emotional and solid lyrics in the debut of Luna Sol’s “Blood Moon.”

An output that is so pleasing to the ear, you will be enjoying yourself immensely from track to track.  Sit back, maybe grab a nice artichoke dip with some pita chips and enjoy probably and this might get me in trouble, but my favorite interview I have done by far.

Gaff- Thanks for taking the time and chatting

David- My pleasure

Gaff- The new album is really good, I will be honest it is a different vibe than I thought. Lyrically I found it to be really heavy and then in other aspects it was light. Can you take me through your writing process? Is it something that you do as a group or lyrically are you coming up with everything

David- This project, when I moved to Colorado I wanted to write songs that I liked and was just really playing them at home. I wasn’t looking to tour or make a record. I just wanted to keep writing songs and be a songwriter and musician for myself. When I write I have a home studio and my wife is really cool, she puts up with me and my dog and lots of guitars and Marshall stacks. I tend to go into my own space and come up with riffs …and when I like the riff I will structure a song very quickly. I usually do that in a half hour to an hour and then it’s done. I try not to beat it up because I find that when I beat it up it kind of loses its soul.

I vomit riffs out and if they feel good while I am playing them I start humming melodies and writing lyrics. I walk my dog a lot around here it is just beautiful in Colorado, there is a nature reserve near my house, and I would just walk and think about different cities I have been to, and I wanted to create, I had never done this before, I wanted to create a space to write within and decided to take the old tales from cities, you know, kind of creepy and tell about the dark side of Colorado because it is so pretty, but there are haunting elements as well, like there was a lady who lived in a cabin for 32 years and she went fucking nuts and dies in this cabin. That dirt in the cracks of the beautiful landscape were seeping into the lyrics and the headspace where I was coming from at the time. I was trying to put it all together. Some songs are written in different stages, I was thinking about the continual wars that are going on and conversations I had been having with my son and a chorus just popped out for “Your War”. I would like to say I am some kind of genius but I am not, I am a slob and it just kind of comes natural.

Gaff- I find that usually ends of the most genuine

David- Yeah, me too. I grew up listening to Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter and Leslie West. I like the purity of players like that. When I write songs, I try to do the same thing with the songs.

Gaff- The one thing about the album from a listening standpoint, it is in no way contrived.

David- Thank you very much

Gaff- Some stuff you listen too, especially in certain genres, some will write only about certain things, this is riff and boogie ridden but is dealing with mature topics, which is what captivated and grabbed me. So you have the lyrics and riffs, how do you go about the process of putting it down in the studio?

David- I have always loved recording and since I was twelve years old I was working with a 4 track my friend David Barrick bought. Well actually I had 2 radio shack recorders first and then I bought a 4 track. So I have always written that way. I was in a studio in Atlanta and Brendan O’Brien and Nick were in there, he is so talented and just the sweetest guy (Brendan), he gave me some of his drum samples and sometimes I will write over my own cut-n-paste jacked up beats and tell the guys this is what I am going for. I have used those samples for 15 years for writing.

It is just a kick, snare and hats and cymbals and I create drum beats under a riff, sometimes I will create a drum beat that I think is kind of cool and that is why the drums sound really weird and Pat is the first drummer I have played with that has tried to emulate some of that stuff as it is really quirky and bizarre. He always says “I want it to sound like your writing demos”. He’s a badass, that’s not easy to do.  I demo everything. I put harmonies on tracks and everything to hear it as complete as I can sometimes.  The coolest thing about playing with Pat, Shanda and Shannon is that they are so unique in their own sounds and personalities …they bring these totally different layers to where I was originally going. Shanda and Shannon add their own harmonies that always make me smile. 

Once we started playing together and working on songs together I could hear them and started writing into their thing. So yeah, I kind of tend to throw everything down and I send it to them to check out. Then they tweak it and we start breaking the ideas in and creating them as Luna Sol in the practice room.   When we are writing a record, I will send those guys a riff and ask what they think, but I am quick also to throw things away. I will go back and listen, if I don’t love it, I know it is disposable. I don’t linger on songs and ideas…if they grab us, we use them, if they don’t we don’t.  It is kind of cool what you said about writing. I think, being older and looking back, I used to be that way. When I was in Supafuzz, I loved being in that band. The soul kind of left the band because we were writing to be on the radio or to appease some music biz weasel who was promising the world. You forget that at the end of the day man it all started when I was 10 years old and I put on the radio and was blown away. I’ve discovered that by having wife and kids in my life and heart that I already own the world…having the right riff and playing music is just the icing on the cake. 

Gaff- I think there is a thing with growing older, the sanctity of your soul, there is no substitute for it. Like I said, lyrically, this album the strengths are its tonality and the articulation of the voice and really just the lyrics.

David- Thanks man. I also see myself as a guitarist so when you are saying that, it makes me blush. (Laughing) I had to sing because no one else wanted too.  That started when I was 10 years old in my first band with David Barrick and Jon McGee, outside of Hermano it still holds true.

Gaff- That was the question I was going to ask you, and you answered it. You have been in Supafuzz, Hermano, over 5 bands, is it easier being a singer songwriter or do you still see yourself as the cat with the black Les Paul just fucking rocking out?

David- Guitar geek is how I see myself, it is just Les Paul swung low, that is when I am having the most fun. I am still working on my guitar plating and recently really began working on my vocal style. You know it is interesting, when I was writing a couple initial ideas that grew into what is now on “Blood Moon”, my wife would kind of pull out stuff and say, “You know, that doesn’t sound really sincere, it sounds like you are trying really hard” when I was trying to sing higher parts and stuff, she would tell me to just be myself. “When you sit around and play guitar, you do not sound like that.” So in Luna Sol I tried to approach it as being more honest and not caring what came out. Well caring, but not forcing.  I definitely see myself as a guitar player but I love to write songs. I really enjoy singing and harmonizing too, I can’t lie.  I love the craftsmanship of songwriting, the art form. I love it all, especially with Hermano, you know those guys are so amazing and I can be sitting in a room and pop off 6 riffs and you know put some turn around in there and come up with a pre chorus and a bridge and literally write a song in 5 minutes. That is fun, I love it. It’s a rarity and I’m honored to be a part of Hermano and Luna Sol.

Gaff- Do you find, with this, you are not focusing on the riff so you are able to be a free with playing because you are focusing on the vocals?

David- I actually do not focus on the riffs, I just let them come out. John (Garica) told me one day, and I remember we were offered a tour, and I was like we gotta do that. We were on the phone and John said “We gotta do what? First of all we don’t GOTTA do anything.” I was like, haha..yeah, you see I have been in Supafuzz for 10 years playing every dive bar in the US and you are already well known, we were playing in shitholes, so yeah in my mind, we had too. It was really cool to have a friend of mine just grab me and say you do what you want to do when you want to do it. Then it is really real. It’s pure and honest.  Done because you love it and crave doing it vs feeling you have to do something for someone else.  He taught me that freedom and I think that is becoming a bigger part of my life in a lot of areas and it is really nice. I am very grateful for John and all of my friends.  OK… I am not sure if I answered your question or just rambled.  My brain is fuzzy at times. hahaha

Gaff- No you did, it seems as if the riffs come out effortlessly and vocally, do you see yourself thinking more about singing than playing the guitar

David- No, it just all kind of happens. I mean I had to be the singer when I was 10 years old and in sixth grade I had a band called Aftermath with David Barrick, who now produces Black Stone Cherry and also the Kentcuky Headhunters, David is amazing.  Also Jon McGee from Taildragger.  He’s so talented as well. 

We were kids growing up together in Glasgow, Kentucky. Those guys didn’t wanna sing and said I had to sing, we were trying to emulate Rush, Itchy Brother, and Mountain. We were trying to learn all this stuff and I said I can’t focus on guitar because I have to sing and I can’t focus on singing because I have to play guitar and it’s was confusing to me.  Then one day, I don’t know, I just found this space when I was a kid and just started doing it and it would come out. I didn’t have to struggle with it after that. One thing that is kind of interesting and one thing that I have learned about myself is that if it’s not there, I am not gonna force it.  If I can’t find a melody I don’t force one anymore.  I mean we have 5 tunes that I think the riffs and the songs are just amazing musically, but I can’t find a natural vocal part …so I just scrap them. They are just songs, we can make more.  hahaha

Gaff- Yeah, it seems as the interplay with the guitar and vocal is very natural sounding.

David- Well Thank you

Gaff- As a band how long did the recording process take you?

David- Well, these guys are all badass so when we kind of decided we were really a band, we tracked for a week in my home studio in Colorado with the amazing David Prasse co-producing. I would find time to do vocals around work and life, so it took about a year to complete to be honest. I work a lot, so I would get up around 5 in the morning just to sing vocal parts, about once a month I would have time to do that. So as far as music goes it was done pretty quickly, and were passing files to friends so they could play on it. It did take a little time, but David Prasse really did an amazing job and it was worth every moment we took to create “Blood Moon” in my heart.  I’m very proud of this record.

Gaff- Who mixed and mastered the album?-

David-I am really glad you asked that man, a really good friend of mine named David Prasse, he actually was the attorney that was behind the force of Supafuzz. He traveled all around and did so many great things for us.  Of all the people in the music business, I know a hand full of people that are good people, Ram (Hermano/Luna Sol manager), David Prasse they are great people who love music like we do. David and I have always been friends and we hadn’t connected in a couple of years since I moved out here, so I shot him a note and was like “hey I wanna make a record” and he was like, “Oh I am doing a lot of recording at home just for fun.” So I told him he should come out to Colorado from Atlanta and let’s make this muther together.  He did, he paid for his own flight, brought his own Miller High Life and tracked us.  He brought his own mics and really became a part of this record from the first note recorded.  He is definitely a part of all of this and he has done a great job with it. He actually just recorded Hermano here at my home, too. David Prasse rules, man.  Great guy.

Gaff- I was gonna ask you about the 12 songs 

David- Yeah, my poor neighbor’s man. I’m loud and always writing.

Gaff- So that is great, you were able to re connect with someone, and did he do all the recording, mixing and mastering

David- Yeah, he did it all at his house. He would send it to us in dropbox and that was around him working on record deals, as he has his own full time gig, and it was great, and he is such a good friend that it really meant the world to me that he was involved in it.

Gaff- In terms of the mix, are you guys, well some engineers are like, please get the fuck out of my hair, are you all hands off and let the engineer do his thing and listen then on the car stereo, or hands on?

David- I am definitely hands on and always involved.  As co-producer I helped sculpt across the board, but David and I work really well together.  We have a blast!  We set up mics together and made sure sonically that the album sounded real. David REALLY did an amazing job to capture a real sound, I wanted to hear a record that was honest sounding like Zappa, Clutch or Government Mule.  You know you can get something back from an engineer and it is so squashed, and they say “it’s better for radio”.  Honestly, I could care less about this playing on the radio, I wanna listen on my home stereo. Loud!  Let other people kill it with their own compressors, I wanted it to sound natural and David did too. He and I did a lot of that stuff, Pat was involved a lot too.  He had some amazing ideas. Shanda and Shannon had a lot of ideas too, they are all so very talented.  As far as the engineering and technical chores though they all really trusted what David and I had done before and let us do our thing. They are very trusting. and badass! I’m lucky.

Gaff- What was some of the gear, guitars, amps pedals, what kind of shit were you running?

David- I have a plexi reissue and a JCM800 that was modded for me by Steve Wilson. He’s an amazing tech and great guy.  Check out his company Bias King.  Amazing!  He was Stevie Ray Vaughn’s tech. He is an amazing guy out of Louisville. Shanda and Shannon brought their won kickass gear as well.  In fact, one of the reasons Shannon is in the band, I knew when she walked in with a 76 P bass and a 72 SVT that she got it.  She knew tone.  That made me smile.  Shanda also has this old Electra that sounds so great, and a purple sparkle Flying V that sounds great. She showed up for our first jam with that Purple V and a kickass JCM900 (her 900 sounds amazing!) and I thought, “well, Shanda’s in”.  I use Dimarzio pickups. Steve Blucher has always been good to me there. I use what most people use for the neck position in my bridge position, I like that goofy old sound.  As for pedals I use a Greenhouse Effects Gold Drive pedal, Roy’s pedals are amazing. I also use my SugarBoost from Brad/Fu Manchu’s company Creepy Fingers, I have one of his original pedals that he made for me. I love that pedal and use it all the time. It’s like butter…well, fuzzy warm butter.  Ha.  So… yeah, a bunch of old pedals, some new pedals and a bunch of crappy chords that have been in road cases way too long.  Those cables bring the crackle to the party.  Ha.

Gaff- Is the Les Paul your main axe in terms of everything?

David- I think so, I mean when I was growing up Ace Frehley was everything to me. Then, at 11 or 12 I went to the music store and Sam Bush and Greg Martin were all hanging out and they would tell us to bring in a record and show us what kids were listening too. So we would bring in Kiss and they would all laugh. These amazing bluegrass and blues players, they were all laughing at it. So this amazing guitar player, Kenny Weber (Kenny was a mentor, teacher and friend to me..he passed but is still a part of my soul) said if you are going to listen to rock you need to listen to Johnny Winter, man. He put it on and I was like holy shit. So I really got into Johnny Winter, so I got a Firebird, Strat, Melody Maker, LP Jr., Silvertone, Gretsch, J200… I just love guitars man. Each one is very different.

Gaff- Growing up in the south, were you an Allman Bros fan?

David- Oh my god yeah.

Gaff- Yeah, because it tinges through for me in some of the stuff you guys are doing, Tonality wise, some of the Duane stuff shines through in some of the stuff you are doing. Which is the shit, I fucking absolutely love it. So, I really get a tinge of that in what you are doing, so thank you.

David- Oh man, I really love the Allman Bros. If I could even play like Duane Allman could played with the slide on his pinky toe I’d be stoked.  Ha.  I’m a hack slide player, but slowly learning. 

Gaff- There is that Southern tinge in which I find to be very relaxing and not a lot of bands, in terms of the heavy riff rock thing, have that laid back soul, so that was another thing that I thought was really happening

David- Oh man, that is awesome.  I will always have my Kentucky roots and southern soul.

Gaff- So you have the album out, do you guys wanna tour, where do you wanna take it?

David- I don’t have any pre conceived notions, I just wanted to make a record and was blessed that David and Randy’s label wanted to put it out in the states. Isa and Martin at Cargo in Europe stepped up, Alex too over an email I sent out when I was on a plane asking if anyone would want to put this out for me and Isa said, “I will, Dave.” She rules. 

Gaff- I was actually able to go to Cargo last year. Man, what incredibly nice people. So if something happens great, if not, you have an album that fucking slays.

David- If it is in the cards, I’ll play cards. I suck at playing cards, my wife always beats me, but whatever…no plans, no failure, just music for the love of music these days.  I’m at a stage musically where I don’t want to make any plans. I have enough gear in my house in that any moment I can go in and have more fun that most people get to do at clubs …so I feel deeply blessed.

Gaff- Do you have a favorite track on the album? Or one that really hits you when you are playing and singing?

David- They are all so different that I don’t know if I have a favorite. I had not thought about that. I mean I really like singing the chorus of “Your War”, I like bringing to light that politicians easily send people over to be killed, yet stay home protected themselves. My dad was in N. Korea and Viet Nam, so I am trying to reflect what he may have gone through in the song “December”. That really hits me as I am really close with my Dad.  I used to write stuff with a lot of hidden messages, and I just tried to be honest in writing this time. I had a great time, so each one of them is different and they are fun to play which is kind of cool.

Gaff- Yeah it’s not fun to play an album and you fucking hate playing it

David- oh dude, yeah. As a kid, I was blessed to work with the attorney, Linda Mensch, an amazing person and she helped this band I was in, Black Cat Bone, and asked on the demo is there any song that you hate, and I said, yeah and I told her and she said to take that song off and I asked why and she said that will be the song that will be a number one hit. She said every band, the song you hate is the number one song even before they get a chance to hate it. I said that was interesting. I loved and love Linda Mensch.  She was a great guide for me early on in my music business path.

Gaff- You turn into Quiet Riot.

David- Yeah, no publishing. I watched a video on that drummer.

Gaff- He was a great drummer, for that style of rock.

David- He is amazing,

Gaff- You forget that Randy Rhodes was in that band. Rudy Sarzo on bass. Franky had a great back beat for a sunset strip band.

David- What an amazing guitar player. Rhodes, Oh fuck yea. The drummer, his style was so different. When I was in Supafuzz, we got this call from our booking agent about this weird in between date and it was opening for Quiet Riot, but they have to use your gear, we were like, Hell yeah we will do that. Rudy Sarzo and Frankie, hell yes. It was awesome.

Gaff- Who was playing guitar, Carlos?

David- Yeah Carlos was playing, it was all of them.

Gaff- What year was that?

David- It was 95 or 96, maybe 94. We started Supafuzz in 94, it was early on and we were just hitting the road and playing anywhere we could. It was trip and I loved Rudy Sarzo.

Gaff- Especially since he played with Ozzy and did the Whitesnake shit. He has played on some Epic albums. In terms of influences, growing up in the South, were you way into the boogie swing or really have a lot of different influences in your style of playing? Obviously, you also loved Kiss.

David- I love metal, early Priest, you know, if I ever work out, I can’t help but crank some Priest, I just love it. Really everything, I just love music. I adopted, even late, when I met my wife, she had put a Tom Waits track on when I was with Hermano, and now I am learning about Gogol Bordello and Tom Waits from her. Amazing artists!  I have just always tried to soak in good music and I try to think about what Eddie Van Halen said about Cream when I was growing up. “Hey, you can always learn from anybody, sometimes you learn what to do and sometimes what not to do, but you gotta learn.” I was like, that is really cool. So I try to adapt that. I am not saying I am good at adapting that (laughing), but I try.

Gaff- In terms of the journey you have had, do you still love playing as much now as you did as a kid? Or now, being able to reflect on certain moments, is it more fun?

David- I actually like playing and writing even more now than I ever have. I don’t like going out and playing in clubs, trying to play at midnight, I could care less about that. I’m not interested in impressing anyone; I just want to play guitar hahaha. I love to play guitar and write songs, but I also love to think back about being all over the world and I have done some really cool shit and the reason I was able to do it was because of that Black Les Paul. Watching Greg Martin when I was 10, thinking, I could do that. He is amazing, I didn’t really think I could pull off what Greg does but he was so honest in his style and tone.

More importantly, Greg Martin was standing beside me, saying you can do this and let me show you how. It was never a question. I never thought I would be as good as Greg Martin and I still can’t play like him as he is amazing and one of my favorite guitar players in the world, but just being around that, I think it changes your view of what might have seemed so distant. I love playing, its different, I used to like the fight and the struggle of the dive car circuit.  We are headlining on Friday, we got the best tour, but honestly I could give 2 shits about that anymore; I just wanna play guitar man. With Hermano, we will play matinees, blow their heads off and let the young kids with skinny jeans and even skinnier tone fight it out who is gonna go on late and ask themselves what the hell just happened. I realize that skinny jeans kid was me a few years ago and that makes me smile for them.  It’s all good stuff, just different stages and different paths, I think.

Gaff- We get to play early shows and you are done at 9pm, for guys our age that is spectacular.

David- Now that is what I am talking about that is my favorite. Last time we went on tour, which was a few years ago, my wife and I were dating and when we would get done, she would laugh as we would grab a bottle of wine, go up on the second floor of the tour bus and watch Six Feet Under, now THAT is an after party.

Gaff- I get it takes a lot to rock. You are stinking and sweaty, need some downtime.

David-exactly, you know what is crazy, when you are young and no money you get in the studio and have to hurry, now you are older and you have a family and responsibilities so time is limited and again you have to hurry, it is as if things have come full circle. But I have better gear now. Haha.

Gaff- so true, I think now I can relate better and play and sing better as I can look back and really know what I am doing now, as opposed to being young and not really taking it for what it is worth. I now really understand the math and science of being in a studio and really how it works. It is such a crazy thing and people so take it for granted. Next thing you know from a click click, you have 7 guitar tracks and 5 vocal harmonies and you are asking yourself how the fuck did you do that. But in all honesty, without bands like Hermano, I wouldn’t be doing this today, so thank you so much for doing what you do my man.

David-  Hermano is such a joy, like you said, you feel blessed, you get to a point where you are doing it for the love of it and it is a different element and it is really nice.

Gaff- I feel it comes out really genuine. That is why when listening to your playing in Hermano and Luna Sol, the boogie and certain influences so hit home for me, and I truly love it.

David- No one gets that so I am so happy you got it and thank you.

Gaff- So obviously your heart and soul has been put into this album, is it an easy transition then into the Hermano tracks, you can hop on the les Paul, not worry about singing and just let it ride?

David- Yeah man, I have my friends over, we get up, make a huge pot of coffee, and we start writing riffs and record them. Some of the songs we had gotten together about 5 years ago and did a little session to see what we could write and we did 5 tunes.  David Prasse was laughing as he kept timing, we had not heard these songs in 5 years, let alone play them. We would listen to them and he would say the longest time it took for you to run a song before tracking was 7 minutes.  He was like “you guys are insane”. There is something in that band, we are just such good friends you know and it just clicks, we are all very different yet musically we think a-like. Hermano is definitely a blessing and I am humbled and honored to be a part of it. They are all just great, life-long friends. We get done at night after recording with Hermano, and most bands talk about how great it sounds and how badass you are, we get out the catch phrase game have a drink and that’s it. We don’t even talk about the songs.  We just let them live on their own. 

Gaff- We enjoy eating chicken wings.

David- Friendship is just as important.

Gaff- If not more important

David- Yeah, you are definitely right.

Gaff- It is such a marriage

David- You are right man. I have always had that. I have always been lucky and it took me getting older to truly see how I lucky I was you know to have that. I don’t know if a lot bands are lucky enough to have that. Good thing about being in the bands I am in, we have no egos and we have no money, but we have a deep, true friendship and love for loud slamming riffs.  That trumps money any day. (laughing)

Gaff- I am just happy I had money to buy some gear. Guys get all wacky and pissed about who is getting credit for writing what, it is a band; everyone is contributing to the process. You hear horror stories about bands making these great albums but members are still pissed because they only got a fifth of a credit. So it’s great you guys are free about that stuff.

David- I had a buddy came in and he helped me with a riff and I turned it around but gave him points on the album. Why not, was the right thing to do.

Gaff- It gets crazy

David- People get so crazy about points, I am like dude, I will give you 43 cents right now, fuck it. You are worrying yourself to death over nothing.

Gaff- Yeah, here, I will take this quarter and cut it in thirds, there you go.

David- Ah, here man, here is a whole quarter, I’m cool.

Gaff- Oh you are on Itunes, let me break it down for you, I make enough to buy a fucking jiffy pop at the end of 3 months. If you are in it to become a millionaire overnight, fucking auto tune your voice and do something different, because it is not gonna happen.

David- Yup, yeah no thanks, not doing that.

Gaff- so the album, all tracks are killing, is this the easiest album you have done?

David- The new Hermano album is the easiest album I have ever done. It just took a few moments of my life. I was laughing my ass off the whole time. The Luna Sol album was a labor of love. I wrote maybe 25 songs just to get the ones we ended up with. I wanted to make sure it was good and I think David did a lot of work on his side, tone wise and going back and forth, making sure I was happy and it is was all done in a real positive light. You know, we had a blast, I felt 15 again in the back of a Camaro, cranking Van Halen. It definitely took a lot of work but I love it.  …and my friend and executive producer Art McIntish came in and saved the day helping us finish up the album and getting it released in the US.  He’s a great guy too. I’m lucky.

Gaff- Then Hermano, if you are ripping tunes in 7 minutes then that truly can’t be a time you hated, ha.

David- It is crazy, the drummer Chris and I have been friends since we were 13 years old. It was a totally different vibe with Luna Sol as it is them playing my songs, with Hermano, we just get in a room and everybody riffs and we track it, like the first Gov’t Mule album. Luna Sol is a crafted band that ultimately creates the sound organically after running the songs several times.  I really dig both very much.  So cool.

Gaff- I think a lot of times, with guitar players, their solo album sounds exactly like the band they are in, whereas the Luna Sol stuff so definitely has its own vibe. So, I commend you in terms of that.

David- Thanks so much man. 

Gaff- When Steve Perry did, “Oh Sherry”, fucking Journey could have done that.

David- I wanted to be Ace Frehley and do “Back in a New York Groove.” Sound like Kiss kind of, but no, not.

Gaff- You would have to get on Quaaludes and have that Brooklyn drawl. So it just seems like everything and this is one of those albums where you listen to it, then listen to it again and by the third time, the Luna Sol album has you hooked. Like I said, lyrically it hits places a lot of bands in different genres shy away from. The maturity along with the riffs is what really sunk its hooks into me, so Thanks so much for putting out a great album.

David- Thank you so much for those kind words.

Gaff- Like I said, I was not sure what it would be like, so I listened to it and then I had my son listen to it and then I went back and listened to Hermano and the Luna Sol stuff is different but still has the chug to it where you can still shake your ass in a bit if a different light. Is there a date when the Hermano album is coming out?

David- I have no idea. John is out in the desert doing vocals and with all of this stuff, Hermano and Luna Sol, it happens when it happens. No plans, no pressure.  I am sure it will see the light sometime next year. I am really stoked for it.

Gaff- Thank you so much for doing what you do. It touches a lot of people and lets people feel better about themselves.

David- Thank you for helping to get the word out. I love to make music man and I hope to be able to do for a long time. At the end of the day, the fact that people like it makes it so much more. And if my kids and wife dig it, I’m happy.  I’m so lucky that my folks bought me a guitar for my 10^th.  It’s allowed me to see the word and make some great noises with wahs over the years.  

The End

So, what have we learned from this discussion friends? David might be one the coolest and most down to earth players in this hemisphere. He is what one may call the Wyatt Earp of guitarist in the fuzz driven world of rock that roll, where pure confidence and ass kicking display of the power of the riff compels me.

Loving the music you make and sharing it with the people of the world is such a wonderful gift and David is hitting it out of the park with his release from Luna Sol. It is a mature, lyrically story telling of the common man, and what and how people are feeling in this insanely motorized and crazy busy society we co-habitate in. It is a breath of fresh air when pollution is loomimg it’s ugly head around and above the street corner of desire.

My advice, get this album, put it on, mellow out your mind, body and soul and just listen as it transcends boundaries of wonderful musical escapades.

The riffs fly and the bass and drum work set such a wonderful foundation, no leaks will ever be intruding this piece of art. Yes art folks, due to the pouring of emotionally adequate vibes that were introduced to the ears of listeners. Much like a Basquiat painting, it lets you into what the artist was feeling and wanted to portray at the moment it was conceived.

Bravo Luna Sol, thank you David for a piece worth its weight in Gold.

Gaff out.   

Band info: bandcamp |facebook