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
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
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
