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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
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This Monday, June 1, Metal X is airing a special record label showcase for Small Stone Records. The entire show will exclusively feature bands on Small Stone’s roster, such as Freedom Hawk, Gozu, Sons of Otis, Wo-Fat and Abrahma. This will be the second record label showcase we have aired. Several weeks ago, we aired our first label showcase for Grimoire Records. That show featured the likes of Foehammer, Corpse Light, and Barbelith.
A significant part of our vision for Metal X is giving airplay to bands in diverse genres. As fans of doom, sludge, and stoner (along with their many subgenres), we support The Sludgelord blog and the bands associated with these genres. Metal X wants to play more than the usual recycled metalcore and deathcore that seems so prevalent in heavy music media.
With that being said, we welcome music submissions for airplay. We invite bands (signed or unsigned) of any metal genre to submit to Grant at grant@localxradio.com. All metal genres are accepted. We are open to international bands, so please submit even if you aren’t in the US.
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Thanks to Steve for allowing us to share this with you. And thank you for reading.
Kamchatka
have been playing their blend of Hard Rock/Blues Rock/Stoner Rock
vibes for 14 years now. Since then they've released a string of
acclaimed albums with their latest album and 6th overall – Long Road Made Of Gold – being their most diverse and hard rocking
yet.
Last year the band released their acclaimed 5th album –
The Search Goes On – which we rate very highly here at Sludgelord
HQ. I interviewed Thomas from the band back in May 2014 and I've been
given the honour once again to interview Thomas (Lead Vox/Guitars) and see how are
things with Kamchatka.
So let’s get started.
1
- Hi Thomas. Good catching up with you again. How are things with you
today. Thanks for doing this.
-Thomas: Hi Steve and
Sludgelord ! All good here and Kamchatka is feeling stronger than
ever.
2 – Before we start talking about your new album
– Long Road Made Of Gold. Can we talk about the last 18 months or
so for Kamchatka as your last album maybe of been your most
successful to date. As it won a ton of great reviews and got you
noticed with a few more people. Did it surprise you the response to
your last album.
-Thomas: Well we knew that we had
made a good album with “The Search Goes On” but we didn’t
expect the great words from around the world and of course we are
very grateful for the warm welcome that it received.
3 –
What have been the highlights over the last 18 months or
so.
-Thomas: There are many but we have had a really
good time touring and growing together, also recording and releasing
“Long Road Made Of Gold” and meeting new audience !
4
– Looking back on the last album – Would you change anything
about it. Or are you happy with the way it is.
-Thomas:
We are happy with it just the way it is.
5 – Now we
have to talk about your new album. Wow – what an album that is.
Even better than your last record. What can people expect from the
new album.
-Thomas: Well I guess that “Long Road
Made Of Gold” continues where “The Search Goes On” ended,
fuelled with a bit more heavy tunes but still with the same vibe and
energy.
6
– I'm surprised you've came out with a new album so soon after your
last record. Only 15 months since The Search Goes On was released.
Did you plan on taking a break after touring commitments for
promoting the last album were completed.
-Thomas: No
we never planned anything really we just kept writing music, touring
and recording in between tours and all of a sudden a new album was
born. Breaks are boring
7
– How soon did you plan on recording – Long Road Made Of Gold –
during last year. And was it an easy album to write and record
for.
-Thomas: We just decided to record when we had
enough music to record and it was really easy to write and record
“Long Road Made Of Gold” because we were so inspired from all the
positive energy we got from touring and from all the wonderful
reviews of “The Search goes On”.
8
– Did you do anything differently when recording this album
compared to the last album.
-Thomas: Yes, on the
previous album, Per Wiberg was the executive producer and on this new
album he was a full time member as bass player and 2nd vocalist and
that changed the way we worked together, forming the songs to final
versions, maybe a little bit more team effort.
9 –
What I dig most about the album is while the Kamchatka sound is still
familiar on the album. You've still managed to make it sound so
different and exciting as well. Was that your plan to try something
different. It features some of your heaviest material to
date.
-Thomas: Yes, we decided early on that we wanted
the new album to sound different to “The Search Goes On”, not
that we don’t like the way that album sounds - it’s more that we
always want to push the band in new directions both with the music
and the way it sounds like on an album and that is the reason why we
wanted Russ Russell to do the mix and master, to evolve and extend
the sound of the band.
10 – What influenced you when
recording this album. It seems Kamchatka are a lot more angrier which
I loved. Or am I looking way too much into the music.
-Thomas:
When Per joined, we moved closer rock music than before cause he is
all about rock and that is what I like with Kamchatka, that we can
tune in to the different elements of different genres yet still sound
like ourselves. Angrier? I don’t know. Maybe frustrated sometimes,
it’s a tough business ;)
11
– You've performed a lot more gigs over the last 12 months or so.
Have you noticed your live shows becoming more popular as I have a
few friends who seen you guys last year in concert and they never
heard of you guys. But you won them over in the end.
-Thomas:
Yes, we have toured more lately and that has always been our main
goal, to be on the road. I guess that the more you are out there, the
more people notice you and in the end new ears attend the concerts,
also I think we are a better live act these days than before. 12
– So why did you call the new album – Long Road Made Of Gold.
Does it have a specific meaning to you individually or as a
band.
-Thomas: “Long Road Made Of Gold” is the
“Long Road” as a travelling musician and the music is the
“Gold”.
13 – Will you be doing a major tour for
the album. If so which parts of the world will you be
visiting.
-Thomas: We will start with festivals such
as Freak Valley Festival (Germany), Atomic Rooster Summer Jam
(Sweden), Zwarte Cross, Lichtenvoorde (Netherlands), City Rock,
Leeuwarden (Netherlands), Culemborg Blues, Culemborg, (Netherlands).
Then we will tour in different ways through September, October,
November, December - plans are being made as we speak.
14
– Well Thomas, thanks for doing this. Before you go. Do you have
anything to say to your fans.
-Thomas: Yes, I would
like to salute all of you rockers out there and thank you for tuning
in to Kamchatka, without you guys there would be no Kamchatka
!!!!!!!!
Well Thomas, all the best with the new album.
It's a killer record. Thanks. Steve.
-Thomas: Thank
you Steve ! My pleasure
I
want to thank Thomas for taking out the time to to talk to us at
Sludgelord HQ. Thanks to Brian at Fresno Media for arranging this
interview
Long Road Made Of Gold is available to buy on CD/Vinyl now through Despotz Records.
Stars
That Move is a new band featuring members from another great Psych
Doom Metal band called Starchild. Though Stars That Move are a great
band in their own right. They've just released their superb S/T debut
album that will appeal to fans of 70s Hard Rock and Doom Metal. It's
a trippy and psychedelic offering that has shades of Black Sabbath
running through it's veins.
Opening
track – I Hold A Gaze – is a doomy atmospheric offering with
psychedelic guitars and intricate drumming setting the scene before
the finely tuned vocals of Elisa offer a calming influence as the
song builds to a psych doomy climax that instantly draws you in.
Second
Track – The Blue Prince – carries on the 60s/70s Psych Rock
worship with Elisa once again offering finely balanced blues tinged
vocals for a tale that ventures into Cosmic/Space Rock projectory.
The guitars are dripping with FUZZ and a ton of reverb feedback as
the band leave you wanting more from this track. It's one of my fave
tracks from the album and I wished it went on slightly longer. Oh
well, there's still 6 more great songs to listen to.
Third
Track – From East To West – is a more straight forward Psych Doom
song as the band offer a more direct approach. The fuzz from the
opening two tracks are gone and is replaced with a song that feels
like it was recorded live. Elisa is on fine sultry blues rock form
once more as the band weave magical riffs around Elisa to build upon.
It's a majestic offering where the guitars become the main focus
towards the end of the song.
Fourth
Track – A National Acrobat – didn't excite me as much as the
other tracks. Yeah it's a powerful song but something didn't quite
gel with me this song. It doesn't seem to get started and that' a
shame as I was digging the whole vibe of the album before this song.
It's a good thing that Stars That Move return to winning ways on the
5th track – The Hidden Hand – a slow-paced bluesy doom
and gloom affair that sees the band play another one of the albums
standout tracks. The vocal delivery from Elisa is top-notch and is
matched against the finely tuned instrumental work that offers one of
the albums most exciting songs to emerge yourself with.
The
band have created a fantastic video to accompany this song. It
features clips from 1979 craptastic – so bad it's good – sci-fi
flick – Starcrash. Check it out for yourselves.
The
remaining 3 songs on the album offers more passionate vocals from
Elisa and more stirring riffs from the rest of the band as this album
closes off in style with the slow-paced acoustic tale – Burning In
Flames. This song shows a tender and caring side to Stars That Move
as they offer a more reflective and emotional song. Stars That Move
have created a hard rocking and deeply moving album that will offer
Psych Doom Metal fans a thrilling ride from start to finish.
Well
this Split EP from Hell Night and Cathedral Fever came very much as a
surprise to me. I wasn't expecting much as I didn't know a great
deal about both bands. Well apart from that the members of both bands
are part of other projects such as TILTS and Path Of Might.
So
what do we get here. You get 4 tracks of pissed off Hardcore
Punk/Thrash/Stoner Rock riffs with sheer brutality to match. Both
bands offer two songs on the split EP. Each showing what both bands
are all about. Hell Night's songs are more of the pissed off Hardcore
Punk variety but I can detect Andy White's familiar guitar riffs from
TILTS so you get a nice sideline in almost Stoner Rock territory.
Opening track – Internal Bleeding – is a punk/stoner/thrash
hybrid that wants to party with you whilst kicking the utter shit out
of you. It's got some fantastic Stoner/Thrash Rock riffs that I
didn't expect.
Hell
Night second track – Head Bag – carries on the same violent
carnage from Internal Bleeding with lead vocalist Mike – having the
time of his life on this track. The riffs are the best thing about
Hell Night as they're so damn catchy despite the psychotic violent
rock carnage that Hell Night ultimately bring to the party!!!
Up
next is Cathedral Fever – And this is where things take a more
darker and sinister turn as these guys play a more dangerous blend of
Stoner/Thrash/Doom/Punk Rock and they're the most exciting of the two
bands. No offence to Hell Night as they're a great band but Cathedral
Fever are the most exciting of the two bands. As they don't FUCK
about here. The two songs – Libations Imbibed and Mansion Symposium
– that Cathedral Fever offer here sees the band venture into more
violent and dangerous territory. Mansion Symposium is the standout
track here as it's a thrilling style of Hardcore Punk, Doom, Stoner
and Thrash with traces of Psychedelic Rock lurking in the shadows.
All
in all this is great split EP to showcase the talents of two superb
bands to check out especially if you're into Dark Aggressive Hardcore
Punk. Though I would love to see a full-length record from both bands
in the future. Just to see if these guys have the vision and talent
to create something more longer on offer here.
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
To Andy from Hell Night for the promo. Hell Night Cathedral Fever
Split is available to buy on DD and Cassette now from both band's BandCamp page..
SEAN BOOTH / bass
(Special Guests, Inifinite Flux, (9999), Second Sun, Drywater)
Stubb
Band Members:
Jack Dickinson-
Guitar and vocals
Tom Fyfe- Drums
Peter Holland-Bass
Review
Two
of Stoner Rock's finest bands team up for one what will surely be one
of the finest split Stoner Rock albums of the year. In one corner you
have USA Stoner Rock Heavyweights – Mos Generator and in the other
corner you have UK Blues/Stoner Rock upstarts – Stubb. Put these
two bands together and you have the recipe for a must-have split
album called - The Theory Of Light & Matter.
Each
band has submitted 3 tracks to the album. Mos Generator's side runs
for around 13 minutes or so whilst Stubb runs for an impressive 18
minutes. So you have almost 31 minutes of awesome new music. If
you're a fan of both bands then nothing much has changed with the
bands sounds as their both recognisable as each other. Though you
won't care as this split album just flat out rocks.
Mos
Generator opens the album up with – As Above So Below – a song
that could be classed as the perfect follow up to – Obi Wan Kenobi
– as it has the same sort of Mos Generator magic. Blazing
Stoner/Heavy Rock guitars with a nice sideline in 60s/70s Psych Rock.
Tony is on fine form once again unleashing his trademark heavy riffs
and grizzled fine vocals to match.
Second
Track – Catspaw – is a more hard rocking affair with Mos
Generator offering a more stripped back approach. It's firmly rooted
in 70s Hard Rock with Tony offering more world weary advice. The
blues rock aspect is noticeable in the background as the band offer
another fine slice of Mos Generator magic.
Third
Track – There's No Return From Nowhere – opens with a finely
played acoustic guitar solo before Mos Generator venture into Heavy
Metal territory as the mood turns rather violent. I've never heard
Mos Generator as heavy as this. Tony and co are PISSED OFF and you
can feel the unwanted anger and fury. It's another slab of
Psychedelic Stoner Metal that may show us the new direction that Mos
Generator are planning on going with future releases. And I dig it a
great deal. Mos Generator have managed to include a dreamy psych folk
rock passage towards the end. If ever a song had multiple personality
disorder then this would be it. As the band manage to include many
different moods and genres in a short space of time. Definitely the
highlight of Mos Generator's side of the split release.
Now
time to focus on Stubb's side of the split release. Stubb offer a
more bluesy psychedelic take on Stoner Rock compared to Mos
Generator. Opening track – Priestess Of The Moon – is a lush
psychedelic offering with elements of Blues Rock, Stoner Rock and
Space Rock combining for one hypnotic tale. It's more firmly rooted
in 60s/70s Hard Rock and Psychedelia but that's what make Stubb such
a fantastic band from the UK Hard Rock/Stoner Rock scene. The vocals
are perfectly pitched between the different musical elements whilst
maintaining an air of originality.
Second
Track – The Wingmakers – is another lush psychedelic blues rock
offering with the band opening with a slowly played bluesy guitar
riff. The drumming adds a sense of calm and wonder as you know this
song is going to explode into a loud volume of noise and epic riffs.
It's purely an instrumental affair as Stubb show the whole world
their musical credentials. Slabs of psych blues rock will leave you
in a trance from beginning to end. This is the standout track from
Stubb's part of the split album.
Third
Track – Witch's Kiss – feels like a love letter to the legendary
bands of the 60s/70s Blues Hard Rock scene as Stubb play a familiar
style of riffs whilst maintaining their own identity. Jack's vocals
are the main focus here as he gives an impressive vocal performance.
Though the riffs aren't too bad either. Crank this tune as loud as
you possibly can as there's some fantastic instrumental work to
worship to.
Kudos
to both bands for teaming up for such a great record. And to Hevisike
Records for releasing this. The Theory Of Light & Matter is an
album that has it all. Two killer bands playing some of their
heaviest and finest material to date. It doesn't matter type of music
you're into, don't pass this by as this is a must have release. No
question!!!
Words
by Steve Howe
Thanks
To Hevisike Records for the promo. The Theory Of Light & Matter
will be released on Vinyl from Hevisike Records on June 22nd 2015.
1). Welcome to Hell 2). Saving You 3). Push Against the Tide 4). Never a Better Time 5). Web of Lies 6). Fade 7). Forgotten Friend 8). Do You See What I See? 9). Stone Cold Blow to the Head 10). Out of Fear 11). Pay Your Debt
Review:
For a band as little known as Godsized, having Zakk Wylde personally cite, with a passion, that’s he’s a fan of your music is a fantastic accolade. It’s valuable too for any band which writes heavy, blues honouring music such as this and for this British quartet especially, the reputation senior Wylde's enthusiasm has helped garnish has been priceless. But friends in high places aren’t everything and such a weighty compliment could so easily metamorphoses into an albatross around their collective necks. So not only does ‘Heavy Lies The Crown’ stand as testament to why exactly the ex-Ozzy man and part-Viking gunslinger loves this band, it begs the question as to why they are indeed, with this their second full length album, still a little known band.
It’s been over four years since they provided amicable, if not bang on the money support on Black Label’s Society’s UK theatre tour. They had just released their second EP, ‘The Phoney Tough & The Crazy Brave,’ and on that billing their x-ray showed a striking similarity in their basic bone structure to the headline act. It worked a treat, especially for people like myself who attended those shows early to catch a band they already had a degree admiration for. But the cynics amongst us would have liked a bit more of their own DNA to have been amongst those meaty rhythms and muscular riffs.
If that was a band - and a promising one at that - in its infancy, then 'Heavy Lies The Crown' is the band outgrowing their adolescence. They're developing into a very classy unit with a raw and heartfelt emotion as predominant in their songs as there are greasy grooves and stylish solos. Its macro songsmithery and such a philosophy will only help this record become their most wide reaching to date.
The album as a whole is as revisitable as a grandmother who spends all her pension on sweets for her offspring's own, but what’s perhaps most enjoyable about the record is way it progresses. Each song is extremely well written and although you could well argue that a more radio-friendly sound – which is damn excellent at that – is at the expense of some of their aggression and voraciousness, you can’t fault the quality.
There are still plenty of crushing riffs in these songs, the thing is that the songs are rather more centric to the chord progressions and vocal melodies; in other words, it’s the bare bones that the tactile songwriting orientates around and the individuality of their modern day make-up in that sense has blossomed considerably. Building on from there, they then just intersperse some incendiary playing into the midst of a sound which, although hit hard at points, aren't calling cards that they rely solely on. The bigger picture is much more vibrant. Its genius really; at times those riffs come bursting into the open, but for much a part they become embedded, and consequently integral to the main body of their musicality without the need to jump around and attention-seek like a child for an unresponsive parent.And to be honest, while they are riff centric on ‘Never A Better Time, ‘ a biker rock song fuelled as much by testosteroneas it is by gasoline and whisky, the real album highlights come elsewhere anyway. ‘Forgotten Friend’ has it all; the riffs, suppleand well placed harmonies and a wah-drenched solo made half in Mr. Wyldes image and half Glen Korner/Chris Charles’ own signature blends. The chorus is as uplifting and well-crafted as any and that is the focal point here, the seductive pull.
Sure, the line ‘I swear it must be about minus ten out here’ line in the second verse is a little sketchy - telling of a few lyric stutters on the record which highlights an area in need of a little improvement - but it’s a minor blip. The song is solid. The way they've pushed on as a band from those early days have been a joy to witness.
Songs like the gritty 'Out Of Fear' as well as the catchy and memorable piledriver 'Welcome To Hell' fly the flag for all this band believes in. That flag now waves and flickers in the breeze, looking more proud, polished and capable of reaching their promise than ever before.
'Heavy Lies The Crown' is a great and well-rounded achievement.
1). Invisible Hand 2). Rabbits Foot 3). Solid Gold 4). American Mirrors 5). Toy Memaha 6). Nine Lives 7). Good Hand 8). MK Ultra 9). Twelve Houses 10). Rich Gift 11). Pale Horse
Turbowolf is:
Chris Georgiadis Andy Ghosh Blake Davies Lianna Lee Davies
Review
When a band combines elements of different genres in their music I’m instantly intrigued and I’m even more impressed when they can do it successfully. I love a good genre cocktail because it keeps me engaged and interested in what I am listening too; the skill it takes to cohesively combine different elements shows the talent of the musicians. Staying pure to a genre is great, but honestly, I prefer the former. That being said, it is also a double edged sword. Too much at once can ruin a band’s sound and come off as cluttered. I’m very pleased to say that Turbowolf’s ‘Two Hands’ is a remarkable mixture of punk-rock and alternative metal.
Turbowolf has crafted quite an experience, the guitar riffs have a great fuzz effect and the drum rhythms are always upbeat and kicking ass. The vocals on this album have a unique rock feel and are always driving the music forward. The band also experiments with more electronic sounds this time around, mostly felt on tracks “Solid Gold” and “Nine Lives,” more so than their previous albums. My favorite track is “American Mirrors.” It has a great punk rock vibe to it and ends with some psychedelic progressive riffs. Overall this album jams really hard; it’s a great album to rock out too with your buddies or even at a party. I had a blast listening to this album and I’m excited to hear more from this band. Notable Tracks: “American Mirrors” “Solid Gold” “Nine Lives” “Good Hand”
Following
the crushing doom of their critically-adored, 2014 double LP, V,
which earned a spot on Rolling Stone's 20 Best Metal Albums Of 2014,
UK drone/doom duo, OMMADON, continues their perpetual quest to
achieve sonic annihilation of the self through unadulterated heaviness with Empathy
For The Wicked. Boasting just one earth-rupturing track broken into two
parts, Empathy For The Wicked was recorded live, mixed by OMMADON and
mastered by recording legend, Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Zoroaster, Eyehategod,
Taurus, Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth etc.), who gave it the final crushing
touches it deserves.
Where OMMADON's
previous scores were all recorded in the Highlands of Scotland surrounded by
forest, Empathy For The Wicked marks their first release to be
recorded on an industrial estate in urban Northumberland surrounded by the
dregs of humanity. The first track from Empathy For The Wicked was
originally recorded for the cassette split with Horse Latitudes and Coltsblood.
During that session, OMMADON decided to continue recording
through the night and drone out the riff which became the second side to Empathy
For The Wicked.
Empathy
For The Wicked will be released on 12" vinyl
via Golden Mantra on July 15th, 2015 with preorders available at: www.goldenmantra.co.uk.
Teasers to be unveiled in the coming weeks.
Critical
Hails For V:
"A
hypnotic, dead-eyed combination where patience, misanthropy and endurance
collide; a zombie chained to a pole walking the same ugly circle." -
Rolling Stone
"Split
across four sides of vinyl, the double record was mastered by Billy Anderson...
so you can bet your favourite Sunn O))) picture disc on this thing sounding
heavier than a dying planet." -- Terrorizer
"I love this album because it's so preposterously
barbaric and for such an extended period of time and it's beyond excessive.
It's an absolute endurance test, and by the end of it I was not the same as I'd
come into it. There aren't a lot of albums you can say that about." - The
Sludgelord
"OMMADON categorically prove that it is still possible to make
compelling music within the field of drone-doom, an area that I personally had
considered long since mined dry." -- The Sleeping Shaman
"OMMADON's V has more in common with the harsh, acidic fuzz of Conan,
and Earth's early work, but much, much more abrasive." -- Blog Of
Putrefaction
"Over the last couple of years I've been lucky enough to listen to some
quite excellent instrumental doom, and OMMADON's V is right up
there with the very best." -- Lair Of Filth
"Listening to the two 45-minute tracks on V is like trying to imagine your
own burial under the Himalayas." -- Echoes And Dust
The pioneers of industrial-tinged extreme metal, FEAR
FACTORY, will release their 9thstudio album and Nuclear Blast
Entertainment debut, entitled Genexus, on August 7thworldwide. Genexus was
produced by vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino
Cazares, and co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber. The
album was mixed by famed British producer and engineer, Andy Sneap (ARCH
ENEMY,TESTAMENT, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD).
Artwork was once again handled by artist Anthony Clarkson. Drums on Genexus were
performed by Mike Heller(MALIGNANCY).
“The word genexus is a hybrid of two words; genesis and nexus,” explains
vocalist Burton C. Bell. “This word describes the next transition in
human evolution as man moves forward to a ‘mechanical’ state of being. Ray
Kurzweil predicts that the singularity will occur around 2045. Genexus
is the term for that next evolutionary process. Where humans are machines,
machines are human, and the differences are oblivious to the naked eye.
“This album is a record of thought patterns, psychology and struggles of the
Genexus generation. The cognitive machine has arrived, and it wants autonomy
from the industry that created it. This machine struggles, like every other
human has throughout the course of history. This is the story of every one of
us.”
Genexus track list:
1. Autonomous Combat System
2. Anodized
3. Dielectric
4. Soul Hacker
5. Protomech
6. Genexus
7. Church Of Execution
8. Regenerate
9. Battle For Utopia
10. Expiration Date
Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989, FEAR FACTORY changed
the world of metal and have become a huge influence on the genre ever since
their inception. The band’s unique sound helped bridge the gap
between death metal, grindcore, thrash, and industrial on landmark
releases like Soul Of A New Machine, Demanufacture,
and the gold-selling release, Obsolete.
Music can be many things to many
people. It has the power to soothe, rejoice, excite and take us down a
wonderful trip in the folders that we store in our minds for secret and
intimate moments that can create a beautiful place or a tear drawn homestead. The
thing is; music, at its purest form is made from emotion by emotion and so
flawlessly delivers emotion to and fro. It is when you put on an album, cd, Mp3
whatever is in your arsenal at the moment; the body becomes one with the music.
In a time when everything is thrown
into a genre, whether insane or not, people want to pigeon hole this gift. From
organic, scream no whip latte doom to hold the goth, Marshall stack, down tuned
dune buggy experimental sock hybrid, prog; it has a tag. My question is; who the
fuck came up with this tagging of sorts. Is there a meeting with people sitting
around a dim lit cave coming up with names to sort music into? A sort of Walmart institution, but with
really hard to find Ipod covers, like ones only made in the Czech Republic by a
guy named Sweet Nuts.
Whatever happened to listening to
music for the sheer thrill of listening to music? Not looking for underlying
abstract clues and who they want to sound like but if we dig it or not.
Listening to shake our ass and singing along in the car like a maladjusted
American Idol contestant.
Bring in the Mojave Lords. They came
up with an album ladies and gentleman that is pure undaunted, body moving,
krush grooving fun. This album makes you want to forget about the bullshit in
the world and dance and sing and play a tennis racquet as if it was Dave C’s
Flying V and try to look as cool as Bingo Ritchey. Sorry to be the bearer of
bad news, there is only one Bingo Richey, and he is his own man. If you must
imitate, good luck.
‘
Unfuckwithable’ is an album that
deals with an underlying heaviness of the soul, but comes across as a trip in
purity and humanity. From the songwriting, to the kinetic fluidity and groove
of the drums to the magnificent playing by every musician that graced the
console of this gem.
For me, and this is only my opinion,
touches on all that makes music still worth listening too. It is a nice ride
through different notes that raise the hair on the back of your neck and lets
you boogie woogie until the boy from company B gets back.
I was able to chat with Bingo
Richey, Dave Catching, Gene Troutman and Brian O’Connor. They were on their way
to a Thai meal but took the time to let me know about the making of what became
and is ‘Unfuckwithable’.
Gaff- Thanks so much for taking the
time and speaking with me.
All- our pleasure, thanks for your
time.
Gaff- How did this all come
together?
Bingo-
We are neighbors and we work together on a lot of stuff for a long time,
David and I really wanted to figure a way to work on a project together because
we have worked on so many others peoples records Figure out a way to spend some time together
and make something fucking fun and generate some heat. Brian is here and there
are so many fucking talented people that live around here. We are all pals so I
figured why don’t we get a band together with all of us lunkheads and motor
through it.
Gaff- The actual process, was it all
done at Rancho?
Bingo- yup, everything was done here.
Gaff- It has a certain vibe, a great
boogie to the album. Did you guys set up time to write or when it came to you,
you all just went in and recorded?
Bingo- It was a bit of both. We are
always working on songs and riffs independently you know because it’s our
craft. We wanna keep boogying, so I would bring a collection of stuff on a
thumb drive and Dave had some riffs in his catalogue that weren’t being used,
and Brian had some ideas you know, but then we would do stuff and just make it
up on the spot too, which is great, so it’s a collection of all of that.
Dave- It was done sporadically
too, here and there, so we busted it out.
Bingo- When we finally came together
to do the, like deliver the whole thing; we did it in a few different chunks of
time because we are all so busy with other projects.
Dave- I just did another shot,
your turn.
Gaff- I did a shot of Jameson, is
that ok with you guys?
Bingo- Mothers milk, good
Gaff- How long did the album take,
from mixing to mastering
Dave and Bingo- 2 weeks.
Gaff- That’s great. With different
guys playing on the album, did you all have the cast in mind or simply just
giving guys a call and saying hey, come on down?
Bingo- we always have all of our
brothers in mind cuz they are always in our hearts. We didn’t know exactly who
would be in it, but we knew we wanted a core group of writers, have me Brian
and David just be like lets have everything a go like Earth Wind and Fire and
just hire a horn section, you know, Barret Martin started stopping by a lot and
he fucking killed it. Then Joey was by so we wrote a song with Joey. You know, Chris Goss
would come by and we’d get him to sing some stuff and get some of his
arrangement ideas because he is such a genius producer, Everybody has been
super gracious with their talents and having fun.
Gaff- Lyrically, is that something
that you bounce off each other or did you write most of it yourself?
Bingo- I wrote the majority of the
lyrics but David Catching was definitely involved from top to bottom with it.
We bounce stuff off each other a lot. I get the idea of a story line and we
would work together on it, pretty much all of it start to finish. There’s maybe
a couple of phrases here and there that we didn’t.
Gaff- The album itself has an
internal feel, did you have certain things in mind when you were writing the
album, like Whole New World has, “Got my nightmares tied in a sack”, or
Microwave Me Baby, “If you pound on the door I’ll pretend that I don’t know”
Bingo- “Microwave me baby” is like a
love song about radiation therapy, our brother Brian’s radioactive because he’s
been getting treatments for cancer. So to me, like the majority of the record,
the concept was like a battle between a dude and his fucking ego trips in his
head and trying to not listen to the voices, you free some wolf saliva and make
samurai swords out of it. You kill that shit as soon as it pops up. That’s what
I try to focus on. It seems an interesting way to focus on what we are as people you
know. It’s a little bit more articulate than looking in a mirror and screaming
you know. When you break it down I think it’s kind of like that.
Gaff- lyrically it’s nice and deep,
it hits pretty hard and you all should be commended on that. Obviously, the
playing is great, but I think lyrically is where it catches people
Bingo- Thank you very much
Gaff- Welcome, in terms of gear for
the album, were you guys playing anything different? Dave, did you play your
Flying V and Black Les Paul, or were you guys switching up and fucking around
with some different pieces of gear
Dave- in terms of gear we had
limited time and access to stuff so we experimented pretty hard core with
everything
Gaff- Did you all use a lot of
different pedals, there is some great sonic traits to this album. Were you into
boutique pedals or just plugging in an MXR pedal and having at it?
Dave- Sky was the limit. I never
plugged into a pedal that didn’t have some use. For this one we were pretty
much going right into the amps.
Bingo- I know one piece of equipment
that we used throughout was the Lim lm 1, in order to get our grooves going.
The Lim is an analog drum machine
Dave- Made famous by Parliament
and Prince. Bingo actually used his Epiphone Les Paul on most of his tracks.
Bingo- with Lollar pickups.
Dave- you didn’t have your Lollar
pickups
Bingo- no I didn’t that’s right. Woops
Dave- sorry Lollar
Gaff- Were you guys using any of the
Creepy Fingers at all
Dave- Brad and I are old friends;
fu Manchu did a record here. I have about 15 of his pedals as he first started
making them I would buy them as he always gave me a great price and I always
have his pedals on my board.
Gaff- where you guys going into Marshalls into half stacks
or combo amps
Dave- At the studio we were using
2x12s at the most, I don’t have a lot of 4 12s around and we used a lot of baby
amps also,
Bingo- Zinky was a good one we were
going through
Dave- we used the Decade Peavey,
Music Man
Gaff- The one thing that really
stands out in terms of the boogie is that the drums have a really spectacular
sound, was anything recorded on tape or straight to pro tools
Bingo-straight to pro tools, lots of
sound board gear, they used the patch bay
Dave- with a killer drummer and a
killer drum kit, we just put a few mics around there and couldn’t go wrong.
Bingo- there’s a maple Gretsch kit
that is a favorite
Dave- why don’t we let the drummer
answer the drum questions
Gene- as a drummer that played on
the album, the drums and the drum room are one of the signature elements of
Rancho
Bingo- we have to bring you in the car
with us because we are going to get Thai food.
Gaff- So the album is out, what do
you guys have coming up in the live world, is there shows or any tours you are
planning on doing
Bingo- we have a couple of showcase
things coming up, we did some shows around Halloween in New Orleans and were
there for about 2 weeks rehearsing and writing and jamming with our friends
there. We played in Memphis and I met fucking met Charlie Pride which was a
highlight and then we played Nashville, we are doing a couple of gigs coming
up, playing the Viper Room with a band we are going to be producing called
Thelma and Sleaze, they’re from Nashville, we met them and they are fucking
great.
Gaff-Any plans for getting out east?
Bingo- we are certainly hoping too, we
are just throwing it up the flagpole and seeing who is gonna salute man. I
don’t know anybody but fucking Dave knows everybody and so does Brian and all
of them, hopefully if we could find a reasonable situation with a booking
agency or a great manager. Whatever happens it’s gonna be great. I feel like
I’m getting taken to school with these people but it’s like getting taken to
school in a limo, an armored limo.
Gaff- there are so many genres of
music that bands can get pigeonholed into, for me this is a great rock album.
It at times has the backbeat of early Neil Young albums. Do you guys listen to
a ton of different music while recording and in general?
Bingo- Oh man, we listen to so much,
like we all love R&B, Motown and Funk, Disco and Soul, ZZ Top Butthole
Surfers and Black Flag. I think its rock too. Our next stuff is gonna be
different than that. We try to make stuff that is not the same.
Gaff- Vocally, it has a lot of soul,
it doesn’t stay in one vibe which is nice, is there a guy that you absolutely
love as a vocalist, or are there too many too count
Bingo- Well there are always too many
too count but off the top of my head, George Jones, Ray Price, I’m a baritone.
If I could sing high, it would be like ACDC, Brian Johnson is a god.
Gaff- Being that you all are so
busy, is this a one off are you going to blessing us with another
Bingo- we already have the script
written how the band is gonna break up and how we are gonna do our reunion
tour, also the album covers too, we wrote out our whole career on a napkin cuz
if we hadn’t written it done, we would have never remembered any of it, but its
brilliant
Gaff- Got ya
Bingo- the third album will sound like
Timbaland, it will be money, you open up the cd and money will just fall out of
it. It’s no money just us buying people as products. (He and I are at this
point laughing rather hard) I don’t know, but it has taken on some different
twists and turns so it is a lot of fun.
Gaff- So 2 weeks to do the whole
album, was the overall experience just really easy?
Bingo- Oh yeah man, most of us can
play any position on the field you know, from making coffee or breakfast to
running wires, running the console, it was seemless. It was great, everyone could hold it down, it
was a lot of fun
Gaff- The album has a very seemless
flow to it
Bingo- Thank you
Gaff- Again, you guys should be commended,
after the first listen, the lyrics and vocals get you, the second time the
backbeat and the third time everything meshes so perfectly together sonically
that you are hooked. The process would appear that it was really an awesome
time recording the album
Bingo—well thank you and you got it
man, you nailed it, we are working with people that are so focused and
dedicated and open and creative to whatever. You know Fred Drake. It’s like him
and Dave started that studio so long ago, Fred was a mentor to me as an
engineer, I have been living out here for a long fucking time. I bought a house
from this dude on a piece of notebook paper so I started working there pretty
much right away. He asked do you wanna help us out engineering, I actually had
a folk label up in Oregon, just doing folk music recording people, fisherman
and farmers and shit, it was cool, so I kind of had some experience and then
the first thing they threw me was re-doing the patch bay for a quadrophonic
console, so I said ok, let’s put on some coffee
Gaff- Having the engineering
background, are they favorite mics you all like to use
Bingo- I hardly ever do, David is at
the helm of the studio so much, he knows the sounds that are coming out of
what, he is so great at it, I like things a little more slap back, hap hazard,
because to be honest, there might be a great fuck up, you know listening to
what Steve Berlin did for Los Lobos, it’s crazy because they still have the
natural ability to have space between the notes and as such but the shit in the
middle of it is tremendous. It comes from not maybe textbook perfect sounds but
when you blend it in, it totally makes sense.
Gaff- Which is much more transparent
than trying to force something
Bingo- Oh god yeah
Gaff- That’s the kiss of death, ha
With the guitar interplay with you
and Dave, the tonalities of the guitars are totally happening
Bingo-awesome, we jam all the time
man, play acoustic a lot together too, he’s so easy to play with, he’s really
great, there’s a reason why he is a legend. There are some bands; you ever
listen to the fall? They have endless ability to invent new rhythm and grooves,
Dave has that ability
Gaff- he has great tone
Bingo- yea
Gaff- In terms of players, it is
crazy. The guys you were able to record with is insane. Are you someone that
just simply loves to be playing, whether it be acoustic guitar or whatever?
Bingo- If I am out here it is, but I
have a whole other joint going down in San Diego, helping run a clothing
company, me and my wife and we have a 1 year old daughter so that takes a lot
of my time. Dave is super busy as the studio is blowing up. It’s great so
whenever we can absolutely. It’s hard to book time but he always returns my
texts.
Gaff- write on, thanks so much for
taking the time and speaking with me
Bingo-Thank you my man, this is the
first real interview I have done so thanks again for everything and we will
talk soon.
As you can feel and read from the
interview, music when done right should evoke different feelings and above all,
should be fun and done for the correct reasons. What are the correct reasons, I
think that is up to the reader and listener. All I can say is that music shines
through when the artists truly dig whom and with whom they are recording,
writing, vibing, and letting it flow like a river that has settled into a nice
flow and washes all your troubles away.
Do yourself a favor, a gift to you,
get the Mojave Lords, “Unfuckwithable” and instantly feel a different groove in
your mood and a sense of feeling like the world is a better place to be in.
