You know, I just sat here and wrote out a whole angry rant about how the dude from The Roller couldn’t be bothered to even finish the email interview for this Six Dumb Questions feature, all “Next time I think it’s a good idea to take an hour out of my work day…” blah blah blah. But now, looking over the responses vocalist Mike Morowitz sent back, I don’t necessarily think it was a malicious thing that he basically blew off the interview. I think he might have just been stoned. They kind of read either way, and since I’m a bitter fuck, I automatically go for the negative, but yeah. The explanation might be that he was really, really high at the time. Hazards of the trade, dude.

The Roller is Morowitz, guitarist Theron Rhoten, bassist Miguel Veliz and drummer Jeremy Jenkins, and the below Q&A has been corrected for spelling and grammar/formatting. I also added capital letters to the beginnings of the sentences, because I couldn’t stand looking at them the other way. I left the last question blank because that’s how it came back to me.

One thing: they’re definitely a sludge band. There. I said it. Call it an internet flame war scandal and maybe I’ll get some more hits for the site.

1. Wasted Heritage sounds a lot darker than the self-titled. Was there anything specific in the songwriting or recording that might have brought that out of the band?

The only thing darker about us is our bass player’s skin. We got a new bass player. Theron wrote more of this record than the last. Bands grow over time, no one wants to put out the same album twice. Unless you are AC/DC or The Ramones.

2. How did you decide to make this release vinyl-only? I thought the art for the CD last time was killer. No chance of doing that kind of thing again?

Cyclopean Records is an all-vinyl label. It isn’t our decision but we are okay with it. We have limited edition screenprinted tour CDs with us on the road. We are really happy with the new album cover. We liked the old one too but who wants to keep recycling the same thing?

3. Texas Beer Battle: Shiner Bock vs. Lone Star. Who wins and why?

Whatever is cheapest? I am a Pearl man myself. Texas’ oldest brewery.

4. I’ve only ever seen Austin during South by Southwest, and I hear the town is completely different during the other 360 days of the year. What’s the sludge scene like down there, and how is non-SXSW Austin different?

We are just a metal band. We don’t consider ourselves “sludge.” Austin is an eclectic city with a lot of good bands in all different genres and everyone is friends. SXSW is fun for a week-long party, but who wants 80,000 extra assholes in their city? A week is long enough.

5. How’s the West Coast tour going? Any especially killer shows or road stories you want to tell? Anything you’re looking forward to seeing that you haven’t yet?

Yeah. We plan on touring any and everywhere that will have us. As long as our van and amps are working, we will be too.

6. Anything else in the works for touring? How long do you think you’ll stay on the road to support the album?

The Roller on MySpace

Cyclopean Records

Tags: Austin, Cyclopean, Texas, The Roller

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 at 5:21 pm and is filed under Six Dumb Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.