My next guest on Sludgelord is
not a musician or part of band. But still has a very important part to play in
the realm of Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal.
Cat Jones aka Head Honcho at
Southern Cross PR, Respected Music Journalist for Fuzz + Hellfire, MetalSucks,
Willamette Week, The Portland Passive Aggressive, Oregon Music News, Desertfest
London and others.
Yeah Cat knows her stuff. She is
a self proclaimed Part-time doom-metal historian. With that much talent and
credibility behind her I just had to interview Cat. As she has made quite a
name for herself with her superb PR work for such great bands as Sons Of Huns,
Groan, Blackwitch Pudding and Chron Goblin to name but a few.
So I thought it would be cool to
throw the spotlight on this fine young talented lady. And Cat has kindly agreed
to talk to us at Sludgelord. So lets get started.
Hi Cat. Thanks for doing this.
How are things with you today?
Hello! And thank YOU! I'm honored
that you guys would think of me. Surely you must have meant a different Cat Jones.
Can you please give our readers
of how you became involved with the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene, as you have
had quite a varied and eventful career so far?
Well, it's my parents' faults,
really. When I was about six years old, they let me borrow their copy of Abbey Road by The Beatles and I played
that thing exclusively for weeks. I played it so much that even my mom said,
"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Say what you want, but as far as I'm concerned,
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" was the first stoner/doom song ever
written. It's so slow, hypnotic, sexy and, well, heavy--everything a good
stoner metal song should be. As a kid I was also constantly surrounded by bands
like Cream, Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and all other
foundations of heavy classic rock, and it always seemed like that kind of music
was designed to make you feel good. I've never had any patience for music that
makes you mope.
Fast forward to me as a teenager:
Purchasing Songs For The Deaf by Queens Of The Stone Age changed my
entire life. In a time when, for whatever god-awful reason, the whole world was
obsessed with emo, slit-your-wrists music, Queens Of The Stone Age sort of
blasted into the mainstream spotlight and said, "What's up, dickheads?
We're real men and shit's about to get heavy." I remember buying that
record the day it came out--I was 14--and taking it home and listening to it
again and again, obsessed with how completely perfect it was from start to
finish. It became a launch pad for me to go back and figure out where all of
their influences were. From there I learned about Sleep, Man's Ruin Records,
and the Palm Desert bands like Kyuss, Unida, Hermano, Fu Manchu, etc. When I
started yearning for more gnarly, doomy stuff, I turned to bands like Electric
Wizard, Candlemass, Pentagram, and all of that.
So anyway, now I'm 25, and after
going dabbling in school for journalism, philosophy and music it just made
sense to start writing about what I know. I've traveled to Palm Desert three
times, I've read every book on the subject I can get my hands on, I've visited
the roots of Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England where Tony Iommi had his
accident and they started it all, and when I moved to Portland, where the scene
is huge right now, it was easy to start writing pretty much exclusively about
music that derives from the stoner/doom/sludge stuff because that's what I'm
lucky enough to be surrounded by.
I know your work through various
magazines and publications but recently through your awesome Southern Cross PR
Agency. What made you decide to go into PR Relations work? In addition, was
that an easy decision to make?
Ultimately, all I ever want to do
in life is shout from the rooftops about music I love. So after about five
years of doing that through writing, it sort of dawned on me that there are
other ways of making that into a career. After working directly with publicists
on the journalist end of things, and hearing feedback from bands about their
various PR reps, it became pretty clear what works and what doesn't. I also
volunteered as the media and promotions manager for the Davis Music Fest in my
hometown of Davis, California for three years, so I had a general idea of how
that side of the business works. It was always sort of in the back of my mind,
and I was doing all kinds of freelance band-bio writing, taking press photos
and sending off the occasional press release, but it was really hard to get the
word out that I do that sort of thing without having a business name behind it.
Finally, in August of this year,
it was Ryan Northrop, the drummer of Sons Of Huns, who gave me the kick in the
ass I needed. He posted on Facebook, "How much do music publicists cost,
anyway?" I messaged him immediately and said, "You know what? Give me
a day to build a website. I'll be your publicist."
Why the name Southern Cross? Any
specific meaning behind it?
Oh man, I'm so excited that you
asked. It's my parents' faults again--They are high school teachers and I'm an
only child, so when I was a kid, they'd take me on all kinds of trips. We went
to Europe, Mexico, Hawaii, Alaska and all over the US and Canada to National
Parks and whatnot. It's not like we had overflowing amounts of money or
something, it's just that they worked hard and chose to spend their money on
travel instead of material things. I'm so glad they did.
Anyway, I've always been a really
extroverted person, so it was tough for me to be alone in the back of a car or
whatever for that long--sometimes up to six weeks at a time with no other kids
around. So to occupy my mind, I'd obsess over whatever music my parents were
playing. Sometimes they'd tell me about it and sometimes I'd figure it out
myself, but I always wanted to get to the bottom of what every song was about.
One song in particular always struck a chord with me, and that was
"Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills & Nash. It's about a guy who
sails around the world trying to forget about a woman who broke his heart, and
the only things he has left to remind himself of her are the songs he sings
about her. There's a line that says, "I have my ship and all her flags are
a-flyin' / She is all that I have left and music is her name." And the
constellation called the southern cross, which is only visible from the
southern hemisphere, has always provided a lot of comfort for sailors who have
been gone from their families for months on end. I guess I've always loved how
that song is rich with metaphors of music being a source of comfort and a
reason for carrying on.
I actually got that particular
line in the song tattooed on my arm a few years ago--half because it's so
beautiful and half because it's an homage to my parents (even though they'd
really rather I didn't have tattoos) because if it weren't for them, I never
would have fallen in love with music as I have. So when I decided to start a PR
firm, I thought for a second about a name, looked down at my arm and went,
"Ah! Southern Cross PR. Perfect."
You recently told me you have
only been going for 6 months or so. WOW. Great work. Was it hard going starting
up your own PR Company? What hurdles or challenges did you have when creating
Southern Cross PR?
Thank you! I'm just so grateful
for the bands who have worked with me. It's all been quite a learning
experience, as all of life tends to be, and they've helped me as much as I've
helped them. For the most part it was pretty easy having a general plan of what
to do because I've been in the business long enough to observe how other
publicists do it, but I'd say the biggest hurdle is learning how to manage the
business side of things: Contracts, money, how much to charge, etc.
You have a stunning collection of
clients already. Sons Of Huns, Groan, Blackwitch Pudding and possibly a few
others I don’t know about. How did you hook up with them? Did you use past
contacts or did they contact you?
Well, I'm lucky enough to always
be surrounded by musicians in my life, so the word gets out pretty easily that
I do PR work, especially with bands who know me well enough to hopefully see
that I know what I’m doing.
I had been a big fan of Sons Of
Huns for years, ever since I came to Portland for vacation before I moved here
and saw them play a show with Witch Mountain. When I moved to Portland, I got
to know them a bit better and, like I said, Ryan was the one who really inspired
me to do PR in the first place. Groan have been dear, dear friends of mine for
awhile, and we had quite a few adventures together when I visited England last
spring. I was really excited when they wanted me to work with them on their new
EP because, seriously, how can anyone say no to Groan? I also met Chron Goblin
in England when they played Desertfest, though they're from Canada, and we
actually camped in Washington to see Black Sabbath together earlier this year,
too. I met Blackwitch Pudding through our mutual Portland friends in the band
Black Pussy.
Do you have a set batch of rules
and ideals when selecting your PR Clients? Or do you listen to the music and if
you dig it you agree to represent them?
Yes. I have three rules. 1) I
have to absolutely love the band. There's no way I'm going to accept money to
promote a band I don't actually believe in. 2) I have to personally be able to
attest to the good-hearted personalities and work ethic of the band members
themselves. If they're jerks or they don't work hard, there is no sense in me
trying to get people to like them. 3) This might be my favorite and most
important rule: I have to be able to throw out the professional talk
occasionally and bro down with a band. In this scene, we all go to the same
shows and know the same people, so it would be ridiculous for me to have
certain people who can't talk to me as a friend when the time is right.
So ultimately, if you're a really
talented band full of wonderful, hard-working people and we can occasionally
drink beer, cuss and talk about life, then you're golden.
We all have a musical journey of
some sort. I started being a Dance/Rave Fan in my younger years before moving
onto Grunge, Hard Rock and then Sludge/Stoner/Doom. What were your musical
tastes when you were growing up?
Ultimately, heavy classic rock
has been an overarching favorite my whole life and always will be, but I also
still go through phases of underground hip hop, new wave/goth, post-punk--the
list goes on forever. And, oh my god, GRUNGE. I used to want to marry Chris
Cornell so bad. Still would. And any Fiona Apple record any time will make me
happy. And anyone who knows me well knows that I have a completely non-secret
love for Kanye West. I think it's really stupid that it appears to be hip to
hate him right now. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was one of the
greatest albums ever made and no amount of him being an egotistical asshole
will ever change that.
Which bands and musicians do you
currently listen to now? Any particular faves.
I've been spinning Ancient
Warlocks' self-titled debut nonstop since I got it a couple of months ago. God,
that record is perfect. And Windhand's first record, which I just picked up the
other night when I saw them with High On Fire. I'm also digging pretty much
everything on Portland's Eolian Empire label, especially Drunk Dad's Morbid
Reality. That label is a huge force to be reckoned with in the Pacific
Northwest and everywhere right now and I suspect it will just continue to get
better.
I also did a big interview with Aaron Edge of Lumbar recently, so I've
grown very attached to The First And Last Days Of Unwelcome. And I know
these guys are a Sludgelord favorite as well--War Wolf! Those guys RULE. Also,
anything on Good To Die Records—Monogamy Party, Sandrider, Gaytheist—they’re
all amazing. Oh man, and the new Whores record, Clean. Can’t get enough of that. I’m sure there are many more that
I’m forgetting right now.
And as I said earlier, I don't do
PR for bands I don't absolutely love, so Groan's Ride The Snake EP,
Blackwitch Pudding's Taste The Pudding, Sons Of Huns' Banishment
Ritual, and Chron Goblin's Life For The Living are all ones
consistently blasting out of my speakers, too.
You’re visiting the UK in 2014
for Desertfest. Have you been to Desertfest before or any other foreign
festivals? If so which ones have been your favourite?
Well a 2014 UK visit is actually
up in the air. I suppose I won't know for sure until a couple of months
beforehand. I sure hope to make it, though! It's looking like Stumpfest,
another KILLER festival I work closely with in Portland, is going to be that
same weekend. Really tough decision--and staying here is also much cheaper. So
we'll see.
As for last year, yeah, I went to
Desertfest 2013 and I have never been more happy in my entire life. That was
heaven on Earth. There are no words. Someday, when I eventually pull my head
out of the clouds, I'll likely write a short story about it.
The Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal
scene is more popular than ever. I have noticed bands getting more recognition
from the wider Rock/Metal Scene. Have you noticed anything different since the
last 12 months or so?
Yes! In fact, that's one of the
reasons I started the online magazine Fuzz + Hellfire. I am so intrigued and
inspired by the fact that the music I've always loved is finally getting
recognition that I want to interview everyone and write down the history as
it's happening. Who would have thought this kind of music would be popular? It
makes me so excited for what the future holds for rock and roll.
What things do you love most from
the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene?
I love the fact that almost every
single person I meet, from all over the entire world, seems to be really down
to earth. It's funny that the outside world seems to have this perception of
metal heads as being these hyper-aggressive, angry people. Maybe there have
been some trends in metal in the past that have lent themselves more to that
type, but I can definitely say that our peers in the doom scene listen to music
and go to shows to feel GOOD.
It's the heaviest music can possibly be without
being negative or sad. These are generous, kind, huggable human beings who just
want to get rowdy and rock out. And most of these people are doing it in
addition to their taxing jobs and paying for all of their own equipment,
recording time, and transportation 100% by themselves. The kind of motivation
to make things happen is astounding. I'm not sure we could possibly ask for a
better group of people.
What things frustrate you most
from the Sludge/Doom/Stoner Metal scene?
I'm actually really glad you
asked me that. There is one thing that has really been frustrating me lately.
While I can't express how glad I am that vinyl is popular again (and I love to
buy vinyl myself), this "limited-edition, collector's-item,
comes-in-five-different-colors-and-a-crazy-case" thing in getting out of
hand. Make a run of an album, as many as your operation can afford, and when
you sell out, make a second run. Maybe sell a few test pressings. But if you’re
going out of your way to create a shortage of something so people feel like one
is more coveted or valuable than another, then you are the Beanie Babies of
metal. This phenomenon is detracting from the main point of everything this
scene stands for, which is minimalistic, no-fucks-given rock and roll. Especially
when the band might not even be that good AND the record just came out this
year.
The bottom line is that if you
somehow feel smug that you own something someone else doesn't, then you're a
snob. End of story. Rock and roll has no place for snobs. Give me two sides of
a simple black record I paid $20 or less for and a few friends in my living
room to blast the hell out of it with me and that's all I really need.
I should add that it doesn't mean
I'm not pleasantly surprised when I open a record and it's a crazy color, but
packaging shouldn't ever be the main motivator when purchasing music.
As you know, we are massive Vinyl
Heads here at Sludgelord. Do you have any cool records in your collection?
Well, it's sort of along the same
lines as what I was saying a minute ago, but I think the only thing that should
make a record "valuable" is how much you love it. Or if it happens to
be particularly old and rare and in good condition. Or if you happen to have a
really great memory of playing it that you relive every time you open it up. So
yeah, I have a few cool ones but I guess my definition for what that means
might be different than someone else.
A few years ago I went to Third
Man Records in Nashville and picked up Jeff The Brotherhood Live at Third
Man. I especially love it because it has their song called "I'm A
Freak" which is one of my favorite songs of all time and it's not on any
of their full-lengths. Kill Em All by Metallica and Cowboys From Hell by Pantera always make me happy when I play them
because they were given to me by my best friend Kate, and they remind me of
thrashing around and singing in my living room with her in my hometown.
I don't
know--I've got every Queens Of The Stone age record and all of them have played
a different, equally important part in my life. I've also got a few old Dio
records that'll never get old. I hope I don't wear them out, but then again I
sort of hope I do because that would rule. OH and I also completely,
unabashedly love Foreigner. I have all of their records and have been known to
blast them and sing at the top of my lungs while cooking.
The Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
Webzine Community is starting to grow. You have worked with both the mainstream
and underground press. Which ones do you like working with most? Or is that a
hard question to ask?
That's a really good question. I
think it depends; the underdogs generally pour a bit more heart and soul into
what they do since they're most likely not getting paid and they do it because
they love it. Mainstream ones might have some conflict of interest when they
have to write about certain bands to promote events they're putting on or
favors they're repaying or whatever, but they also tend to be a bit more
clean-looking and do actual fact-checking and edit out more typos, which I'm a
big stickler about. So there are pros and cons, definitely, but I've worked
with wonderful people in both areas.
What advice would you give to
someone who wanted to start his or her own PR company?
Make sure you understand the
rules of journalistic integrity. If you're also a writer, NEVER write about a
band or company you're also representing. Always be honest, kind and polite.
Never expect someone to do something awesome for you, and when/if they do,
always go out of your way to say thank you. And if you're in it for the money
and not the music, do us all a favor and quit. To be fair, I think those are
all things I'd say to anyone in any facet of the music business, not just PR.
How do you relax in your spare
time from the pressures of PR Work and music in general? Or is music your way
of relaxing from the pressures of life?
Well the funny thing is my entire
world revolves around rock and roll. So if I'm stressed out about a long day of
answering emails, transcribing interviews, finishing writing assignments and
updating various websites, chances are I'm going to relax by heading down the
street to see more music. A glass of scotch does wonders for a bad mood, too. I
also have two hilarious cats who make me laugh by acting ridiculous all day in
my house, and a bunch of kickass friends to act like dickheads with. All in
all, though, I love everything I do, so chances are I'm working late at night
for fun more often than I'm trying to escape from it.
What is your verdict on the
crowd-funding scene? A lot of bands and musicians are using it more and more to
fund their next release or project. Would you ever publicise a band’s request
in drumming up support from crowd-funding activities?
I think it depends. In general
think there's more integrity involved when you work your ass off at your crappy
day job until you have enough money to go into the studio and make a record.
The record itself might be better, too, since chances are you'll have more
inspiration from daily life to make cathartic music. That being said, if it's a
band who has proven time and again that they're always going to knock a record
out of the park, like Murder By Death, who recently crowd-funded the greatest
record they've ever made, then I'd think about it.
Since 2013 is almost over. What
have been your favourite and least favourite albums and gigs of 2013?
Oh man, what a hard question! I
saw so many jaw-droppingly incredible shows this year. Aside from Desertfest,
which was on another level entirely, I'd have to say seeing Om at my favorite
venue in Portland, The Doug Fir, was one of the best. And Yob at a little bar
owned by Relapse Records in town called White Owl Social Club. I also saw High
On Fire four times this year, which is crazy. Stumpfest 2013 was amazing…Floor,
Tweak Bird, Norska, Black Pussy, Danava and a whole bunch of others played.
Worst gigs? Jeez. I don't know. I
usually try to put them out of my mind right away if they're that bad, but I’ll
say that in Portland, every now and then, I’ll end up in a bar with some mopey,
out-of-tune folk singer and an acoustic guitar, and that almost always makes me
want to stab my eyes out.
What can we expect from Southern
Cross PR in 2014? Any personal highlights we can expect to look forward to.
Possibly Black Pussy?
I don't want to say anything yet,
but there are some good things in the works. As for Black Pussy, though I've
written bios for them and their other band, White Orange, and taken many photos
of both, I'll probably never do PR for them because that means I can't write
about them. And let's just say I've got a Black Pussy-related piece I'm sitting
on right now that people will probably be very excited to read. That'll be out
in the next couple of months!
Well Cat, thanks for doing this.
Thanks for sending us some great releases over the last 6 months or so. Let’s
see what goodies you will send our way in 2014.
Thank YOU! I’m so honored that you wanted to talk to me. You guys are
just amazing. Keep doing what you're doing.
Thanks to Cat for this great interview. One of my fave interviews of 2013 right there folks.
You can check out Cat and her awesome work she does from the links below
Fuzz And Hellfire Links
Southern Cross PR Links
