By:
Mark Ambrose
From
September 14-17, hundreds of metal fans descended on White Hall, Maryland for a
weekend of camping, music, and generic mayhem at the third annual Shadow Woods
Metal Fest. THE SLUDGELORD was on the
scene and managed to snag a few interviews with performers, artists, and the
people behind this unique, amazing musical event. As part of our coverage, we sat down with
Philadelphia grind-thrash-metal-punk duo Night Raids, who
delivered a blistering set, highlighting tracks from their self-titled debut
and latest release, “Servants of the
Scablord”. Vocalist/guitarist Worm Vomit and drummer Jazzy Bonehead shared their thoughts on
the festival, the balance of work and music, and their commitment to DIY.
You guys manage to pull off a surprisingly full sound
in your live set despite the two-man (guitar and drums) setup. Was the dynamic a matter of choice or
necessity?
WV:
I think it started off as a matter of convenience and then we grew to embrace
some of the limitations of a two man group.
It makes it easy to write songs, too.
Your latest 7 inch, “Servants of the Scablord”, came
out in March. What’s the timeframe for the next release?
WV:
We recorded on a four-track and we’re gonna have it out before the end of the
year. Hopefully December. We’re gonna put it out on tape and it’ll have
a few more tracks than “Scablord…” –
maybe six tracks total.
JB:
Some new songs and we also revisit some stuff from our first cassette
release. We’re constantly developing and
from playing so often the songs just get honed.
Tell me a little about Scum Cult – the label that you
use to put out your DIY releases. Are
YOU Scum Cult?
WV:
Scum Cult is actually an old thing that was started by some
old bands that were associated with our house and us. So we’re PART of it and there isn’t anything
else coming out on it right now. There
was an old, Flipper-style punk band called Deep Possum that was
probably the first thing that Scum Cult did. Then a death-doom band Rorschach. Our friends Spencer and Tiffany have a band, Hexer, that put some stuff out through Scum Cult
before moving on to other labels. It’s
just our DIY outlet.
What do you see as the benefits of DIY?
WV:
In the broad sense, the work ethic that we’re doing it all ourselves feeds into
everything in terms of our rehearsal and our work schedules. The way that we make the whole project
strengthens the unit in an intangible way.
What is the civilian Night Raids life? Are there any side projects you’re working
on?
WV:
We both have other music. Jazzy is more
active in terms of playing “out” at shows so I’ll let him talk about that. We work jobs and that’s a big part of our
band, too. When we get to rehearsal it’s
about getting out of that work week. I’m
a woodworker.
JB:
I work in the service industry so obviously there’s a lot of disgruntled
attitude. There’s a nice, venting
component of Night Raids.
WV:
We’re definitely a working band.
JB:
Subcommandant Worm Vomit taught high school for seven years and that was during
the [Pennsylvania Governor Tom] Corbett administration which was probably the
worst time to teach. That kind of stuff
chews you up and spits you out.
WV:
The music’s about our work days in some ways and just being in that grind.
This is your first Shadow Woods. What are some bands you are specifically
excited to see?
WV:
I’m really psyched for Vastum. Our homies in Dead in the Manger
JB:
Heavy Temple are friends from Philadelphia so I’m excited
about that. I’m bummed that we missed
out on Elagabalus who were playing when we were
setting up. We could hear them from the
stage and their stuff is just so amazing.
Really cool.
WV:
We’re also excited to hear a lot of new bands – new to us.
And finally what shows do you have coming up?
WV:
We have a benefit show the day after Thanksgiving (November 24) in Trenton, New
Jersey for hurricane relief and homelessness.
And we’re playing our friend’s record store in Philadelphia on Sunday,
September 24. It has a stage and stuff –
R&D Records at 6th and Dickinson.
The
End
Thanks
to Night Raids and Shannon Void of Perfect
World Productions. This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.
