At one point during our conversation, “Dixie” Dave Collins — bassist, vocalist and central figure behind North Carolinian slingers Weedeater — walked outside the bar he was talking to me from to take a piss on the side of the building. This, my friends, is what sludge is all about.

Collins — along with guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd and drummer Keith “Keko” Kirkum — is about to release Jason… the Dragon, the fourth album in 10 years from Weedeater, which formed after the dissolution of his prior outfit, the recently-reunited Buzzov*en. Along with expanding on some of the ideas first presented on 2007’s God Luck and Good Speed (also issued on Southern Lord), Jason… the Dragon finds the trio trying out some genuinely new ideas on tracks like “Palms of Opium” and “Homecoming,” flirting with acid blues and (dare I say it?) accessible songwriting in ways they never have before.

More than stylistic twists though, what Jason… the Dragon represents is remarkable persistence on the part of the band. They tour like bastards. I mean it. Weedeater is always on the road, and before they finally got down to recording this album at Electrical Audio in Chicago with Steve Albini, they had to get through Kirkum tearing his meniscus, Shepherd breaking a finger and Collins — not to be outdone — blowing off one of his toes while cleaning his favorite shotgun.

No word on whether or not it’s still his favorite.

After all that, one might be tempted to say “fuck it” and begin a whole new lifestyle, let alone leave one’s band. But not Weedeater. They stuck it out, and the result they got in the form of Jason… the Dragon is not only a couple killer stories, but probably the best album of their career. There will always be purists and first-album-worshipers, but screw it, these guys are writing songs better now than they ever have before, and captured live by Albini, they sound thick, nasty and baked just right.

The topics of conversation should be pretty obvious given all the band put up with to get Jason… the Dragon together, but suffice it to say that there’s a reason why among all the sludge bands who’ve come along in the last decade-plus, there’s only been and only could be one Weedeater. Read on and I think you’ll get a good idea of at least part of why that is.

Unabridged Q&A after the jump. Please enjoy.

At this point, are you just glad to finally have the album done?

Yeah. Yeah, I am. We were prepared to do this on several different occasions. We were supposed to record, and, you know, Murphy’s Law falls into everything I’ve ever done in my entire life. I wasn’t really surprised that it happened the way that it did. We took time off on purpose to just get our shit back together. All of us are very busy people, but at the same time, we were ready to record this record a long time ago. That’s before Keko had the injury with his knee, and I blew my toe off with a shotgun and Shep broke his hand. We’re pretty much gluttons for punishment, and we get through this shit all the time. I wasn’t very happy with the fact that we weren’t able to record it when we were originally supposed to, but at the same time I wasn’t surprised.

Was it worth the wait for you to record with Steve Albini?

Yeah. This is the second record in a row we’ve done with him, and he’s one of the best producers in the world for analog stuff, for sure, and I’ve been very fortunate working with nothing but the best. Billy Anderson is also, in my opinion, right in the same caliber, one of the best producers for analog shit and live sound in the world. It was worth the wait, and Steve was very patient with our situation. Even if, in the end, he did ask for the money up front, which I can’t blame him for (laughs). Once you cancel on him twice, and he shifted around bands to get us in there, but when it was all done, we had a very positive experience at [Electrical Audio] once again. He’s got one of the best recording studios in the world, if not in the US. I think the place is awesome. So we had a blast, and it was our second time there and all the same main people that work there are still there, and they’re awesome. Look forward to doing another record either with him or Billy or somebody.

I hope you don’t have to go through the same kind of trials to get there.

I can only do that nine more times if I do.

Are you tired yet of answering questions about the toe?

Well, you know, I’m not so much tired of it. I imagine I’m gonna be asked questions about that for the rest of my life. I have a pretty good sense of humor, and I’m still alive and I actually fared better than a lot of people would have from that incident. My doctor told me that if there’s any possible way to be lucky shooting off your toe, then I am. I’m fine with it. It’s not a big deal. I imagine I’m gonna hear about it. I’m still wearing the same shoes. I got a giant hole through my fucking shoe and I’m still wearing it right now.

Tell about bringing new sounds into Weedeater. Does it happen on purpose, or is it just what comes out of jamming?

It’s pretty much what comes out with us all the time. The last record, we did a home recorded bit or two, maybe, that I had all done on my own at the house or whatever, and it just seemed a natural progression for us – and I also like the way it breaks the record up. Especially on the vinyl, it’s going to be right in the middle, “Palms of Opium” is, anyway, and I wrote that song. I don’t even remember recording it, I was on so much pain medication for my foot. I was laid up on my couch on my back when I recorded it. I thought about not putting it on there – I had some other stuff that I was thinking about putting on there – then I was like, “You know what, nobody’s ever paid me a god damn dime for anything I’ve ever done, I’m gonna put on there what I want to.” So that’s what I did.

Aside from breaking the album up, like you said, what do you think that kind of thing adds to the album?

Well, it obviously adds diversity to it. The last record, when we did “Alone,” the second or third track, that was totally different from anything Weedeater’s ever done, but at the same time, it kind of fit with the mood and everything. I think that “Palms of Opium” is really totally different than anything we’ve ever done. I don’t even remember recording it, like I said, but at the same time, I like the song. It definitely came from a place deep within me, when I was in the way that I was, and I don’t know. I thought about not putting it on there, but I’m not willing to sugarcoat anything that we do. And then, the money thing. All these people are worried about what the hell I’m playing, but I don’t ever see the outcome, so I don’t give a shit. I like it, hopefully people will as well. I think it takes a couple listens to realize what the fuck it is. I don’t even know what the fuck it is, to be honest with you. Hopefully people will be happy with it. I’m happy with it. If they’re not, then I guess I’ll take the pay cut, which would be from zero to… negative zero? So that’ll be fine. …As I’m pissing on my favorite bar as I speak. I’m outside.

That’ll show the bar.

They’re used to it around here. We’re in the middle of the damn midtown ghetto here in Cape Fear, North Carolina, so they’ll be fine.

It seems to me that “Palms of Opium” colors the songs around it. You get to that part of the album and it adds a bluesier feel to the tracks around it.

It’s not a Hawaiian luau feel (laughs). I think it’s still dark, and it still represents us very well. It’s definitely the way that felt at the time, and like I said, I thought about not putting it on there, but then I’m like, “Why the fuck wouldn’t I? Nobody’ll ever hear it if I don’t.”

Has that attitude been something you’ve grown into with Weedeater?

Yeah, pretty much. Weedeater’s been a band now for 15 or 16 years, and we never catered to anyone’s want of what we were gonna do, but at the same time, we always felt kind of confined to play the same type of thing. I have absolutely no problem with putting anything on there, from circus music to fuckin’ Danny Elfman, to whatever. It doesn’t matter to me. Whatever we feel comfortable with and want to release, we will. We’ll continue to do that in the future. There’s already stuff written for the next record that’s gonna be similar. Well, I wouldn’t say similar to that, but definitely out of the box for what we would be expected to do, and the “genre” that we’re now cast into, which, when we started doing this, there was no genre of this. I guess Eyehategod and Sleep might be close to what we do, but it’s still different, and as far as the other tracks on the records, I don’t feel any reason to be constrained or restrained to play anything that I want. If someone was paying me a million bucks – I’m glad they’re not, because maybe then I’d think twice about it, and that would suck.

How did “Homecoming” come about? That song stood out to me.

Yeah, that’s different as well. That’s another thing. I’m proud of that song. Very much so. Our guitarist David Shepherd had written that song as an acoustic song. Me and him are in a side-project that’s just me and him, known as Barstul, and it’s all acoustic guitar and banjo and lap steel and basically no amplified instruments at all, and he had written the song for that, and we were in the studio with Albini, and we had paid the extra money to stay in the bunks they have there at EA, in Chicago, so while everyone else was sleeping, we would just jam all night and see what we could come up with to add to it, and Shep had that riff and basically the structure of that song written for acoustics, and I was like, “Dude, we should just play it straight and loud through your Marshall rig and fuzz it out and make it a Weedeater song and see what it sounds like.” I’m very happy with it. I think it sounds different than anything else we’ve ever done and it’s one of my favorite songs on the whole new record.

It was one of my favorites as well, listening to it.

I think we’re going to do a video for it too. We are pretty much against doing videos, but I had a great idea for doing a video for it, so I think we’re going to probably do that very shortly. We’re going to go back to my junior high school here in North Carolina – I already talked to the principal now and he told us we could use the gymnasium. We’re gonna have a bunch of people stomping on bleachers, like it’s a homecoming football game or basketball game, but instead it’s gonna be zombie cheerleaders and a full-on grown folks, drunken, retarded dodgeball game.

And I assume you guys are going to be playing, like it’s a Weedeater pep rally?

Yep, pretty much. Pretty much a Weedeater pep rally with zombie cheerleaders and grown-folks playing dodgeball and beating the shit out of each other.

I can see why you would say, after not wanting to make a video, “Okay, maybe it’s time,” if that’s the video you’re gonna make.

Yeah. I’m still on the fence about it, but I promise, if I do make it, it’ll be completely retarded.

I was sent mp3s of the album to review and there were these noises in the songs, almost like a mic was being adjusted during the song or something like that, and I was just wondering if that was just on the files or if that’s in the actual recording.

I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, but we didn’t purposely put any sort of clicks or pops in there or mic noise or anything. Hopefully that’s in the mp3 file. When I did the approval for the last mastering of the record, which came from Golden Mastering, John Golden, who did all the Creedence shit and everything, I pretty much just told him a couple notes, like I wanted this to be louder, this to be quieter, this and that, and my drunk ass trusted Erik Jarvis [Tone Deaf Touring; Weedeater management] on the final authorization of it, because somehow I never received the final copy (laughs). Hopefully they’re either not on there, the pops you’re talking about, or they’re on there and I’ll approve of them (laughs). I guess we’ll see, because it won’t matter because it’ll be done then.

They’re not glaring. I couldn’t make up my mind if they were there on purpose.

It may be the ghosts that are all over Chicago and Electrical Audio for all I know, but if that’s the case, they can stay. I don’t want to piss them off, that’s for sure.

I heard you’re running a head shop. Is that true?

Yeah. I’m actually looking at it right now. I worked today until six o’clock. When I’m not on tour, I’m a manager of the largest chain of head shops in North Carolina. One of my best friends in the world is the owner, and I’ve worked here for nine years now. He’s one of the only people in the world, probably, that would allow someone in my lifestyle to be a manager, work there, and also leave for more than half of the year and come back and step right back into work. Which is great for me, dude. It makes a huge difference for me, because when I’m not on tour, I still need to make money. He’s been awesome and very supportive of us. Years and years ago, when we were out of a vehicle, he gave Weedeater a van, which we subsequently ran into the ground, broke all the windows out of. Now we rent or use a management van, or fly or whatever, but at the time it was really instrumental in us being able to tour like we have. We’ve pretty much toured extensively for years. It’s actually great working here at Expressions. I love it. Today I left an hour early so I could come down here to the bar and have a few drinks before you called me. The name of the bar, my local bar right here by Expressions, is called Rack ‘Em, but I must mention that the very best dive bar in the world is called Reggie’s 42^nd Street Tavern. Two of my friends own that bar. They’re both in bands. One band is called Thunder Lip, the other band is called White Tiger on a Bed of Roses. Both of those guys own my favorite bar in the world. I have to say that, because I’m pretty sure my tab’s up right under a thousand bucks right now. I’ll pay it. I’ll pay part of it when I get back from tour.

Tell me about doing Buzzov*en again, about picking that back up.

Well, it had been 12 years since we played a show at all, and I’m pretty sure that Erik Jarvis, one of the guys from Tone Deaf, was approached by Kirk Fisher, and he called me and asked me if I thought it would be worth our time to even try and get out and play some shows after 12 years. We contacted Jarvis, Jarvis fished around and figured out it would be worth our while, and here we are. We’ve done one run of the East Coast, one run of the West Coast and now we’re poised to do the Midwest. I think I leave on Feb. 2 to do that, then I will come home from that for a day, and then Weedeater will leave for a 40-day, or so – 40 shows in 41 days – US tour, and then I will come home for one day, then I will go with Buzzov*en to Europe for two and a half weeks, ending at Roadburn, and then I will stay there with a day off, and then Weedeater will play Roadburn, and we will do three weeks. From Feb. 2 through mid-April, I will be gone.

Wow.

Yeah. It’s gonna be heavy duty, but whatever, I’ll be fine.

Doesn’t that kind of thing take a toll on you, after you’ve been doing it for…

Yeah it takes a hell of toll. It’s gonna kill me one day, but what am I gonna do? I guess I made this bed, so I’ll lie on it.

Anything you’re looking forward to seeing at Roadburn on that day off?

I’m looking forward to seeing every bit of Roadburn. Believe it or not, I haven’t played Roadburn before. I’ve played that same venue. I’ve played Bat Cave, in Tilburg, in Holland, several times, but this’ll be the first time. Last year, we were gonna do Roadburn, but instead we did Hellfest and several other festivals over there – Stoned from the Underground and a bunch of European festivals – but this is tighter scoped. There’ll be more people there to see bands like us, and therefore us, than there would be at Hellfest with KISS and Slayer and Motörhead. This is way more my cup of tea. Like I said, I’ve played the venue several times, and I’ve always heard Roadburn is the shit, so we signed up to do this year. They asked us and we said we’d do it. Tickets sold out I think in like 15 minutes, so I’m looking very much forward to it. And also, I usually never have a day off. Usually if I’m out, I’m playing every night, and because of the two-band situation, I’m gonna have a day off to enjoy some bands on the Friday night of Roadburn, so I’m looking forward to that, and I’m looking forward to having a damn good time over there, like I always have, and trying not to get arrested, like I always have.

You might have a harder time getting arrested in the Netherlands.

Yeah, that’s true. I always get arrested coming back from The Netherlands. Imagine that (laughs). I guess they’re actually watching that border pretty hard.

When you’re scheduling tours, do you purposely try not to get days off?

Well, I would love to have days off, because I’m old (laughs). But at the same time, they just cost money, man. Every day that we play, we get fed for free, we get our drinks for free, and we get paid. If we have a day off, I don’t know how much we’re gonna eat, but we’re definitely gonna want to drink something, and it just costs money, and it costs money to find places to stay. Out on tour, I would prefer playing every night. The Melvins/Down tour that we did, they had plenty of days off, because that’s the way those bands will do, and I think we played 71 shows in 72 days. I’m used to it. A day off just makes me realize how much my back hurts and how old I am, so I’d just rather keep going. It’s easier for me.

How long do you think you’ll stay on the road for Jason… the Dragon?

I guess we’re doing 40 shows or so in the US, we have two days off, then I leave for Europe with Buzzov*en, then Weedeater, we do our three weeks in Europe supporting Jason, and I imagine we’ll continue to support it as much as we can and see what people think of this new record. I’m very happy with it. Some people seem to think it’s different. Not many people have heard it, but some people that have, some seem to think it’s different, they don’t know what to make of it. Some people think it’s too short. I challenge them to even live this long doing this. I’m very happy with it and I will tour as much as I have to to support the shit out of the new record.

I think you’re going to get a lot of positive response on the record. The little changes you guys have come up with, I think you might find some new people grabbing onto it.

I think so too. I think in particular “Homecoming” is gonna bring new people. It’s a terribly different situation for us. We’ve never done anything like that, but we’re very happy with it. We were done recording it, Shep was like, “You think this really fits the situation, considering I wrote it for Barstul, wrote it to be acoustic?” and I was like, “Nah man, I think it’s fucking great. I love the shit out of it. I love the nuances of it. I love every bit of the song.” I love the whole record. There’s two other tracks on that record that were released previously, differently. The way they were done was completely different. I liked putting them on the record, but I loved both of those songs – “Turkey Warlock” and “Long Gone.” I loved the previous recordings of them, but I think they were hurried, and I was really happy with the fact that we had the time to listen to what we were doing and change it up a bit. They came out on a sampler from a good friend of ours, Gary Shifty from Shifty Records put that out on Crushers Killers Destroyers, and not enough people got it. I don’t mean “got it” like listened to it and didn’t get it, I mean like not enough people actually heard it. And I just wasn’t willing to waste those songs on something that people didn’t hear.

What’s different about the new versions?

We changed the formats of the songs. We put a different bridge in one of them, and the other song, “Long Gone,” was done – we were on tour with Bongzilla at the time and Pee Wee from Bongzilla played second guitar and sang backup vocals with me on the original version. This time, we just did it a little differently. We set it up more for a three-piece and just hammered it out. I’m very happy with it. Very happy with it. And Albini’s the man. He captures live sound as good as or better than anybody. Between him and Billy, I can’t think of anyone else that can do that. We recorded them just to see what they sounded like and then decide if we were gonna keep them, and there was no way I wasn’t gonna keep them. The record is as the record stands.

(Laughs) But you haven’t heard it yet.

But I haven’t heard it, right (laughs). I can hum it in my head, so I’m alright.

It’s alright, I’m sure you heard it plenty writing and recording it.

I heard it plenty in the fuckin’ studio. That’s the other thing. When you record shit like we do, we cram it in. We recorded that record in four days, just like we did with God Luck – we recorded God Luck in four days as well – and I’d rather hear anything once I get home from sessions like that than that. You’re pretty much done with it for a minute. But I’m happy with it.

How much of the record was done live? The first half bleeds into each other and sounds live. Was it?

Yes. It was completely live. We did absolutely nothing but play the songs straight through without stopping. Anytime that you’re hearing one song bleed into the next, that’s exactly what happened. We played the first three tracks on the record in one take, at once. We don’t trick around and melt shit into other shit. The record really doesn’t stop as far as our live recording until “Palms of Opium,” the stuff that was patched in from shit I’d recorded at home. That’s another reason to work with Albini or somebody like Billy Anderson. There’s absolutely no tricks in that record whatsoever. Everything was recorded live except for my vocals and a couple overdubbed guitars. That’s why we were able to do it in four days, four and a half days.

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Southern Lord

Tags: North Carolina, Southern Lord, Weedeater, Wilmington

This entry was posted on Friday, February 18th, 2011 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.