When I spoke to Stone Axe multi-instrumentalist, occasional-vocalist, recording engineer and principle songwriter, T. Dallas Reed, he was, as I imagine he often is, working in his HeavyHead studio in his native Port Orchard, Washington. His prolific nature is evident in the sheer number of releases Stone Axe has had in the last two years or so, including two full-lengths, numerous splits and singles, compilation appearances, and so forth. Stone Axe II, the second long player, was recently released via Reed‘s own Music Abuse Records, and already there’s word of a new split with weedian Brooklyn mischief-making punkers Mighty High through Ripple Music, out just in time for the band to hit the road alongside the legendary Saint Vitus later this week. He just keeps going.

But if self-sufficiency is a factor in the output of Stone Axe, it’s because of the years Reed has spent honing his sundry crafts. As he explains in our conversation, he’s been making solo recordings for two and a half decades, and is well accustomed to completing projects on his own. His many years working with labels like Nasoni, Small Stone and Roadburn in Mos Generator have helped shape his mindset of what he wants albums to be, and he has the experience to execute his ideas as they occur to him — which apparently they do on a pretty regular basis.

The mission of Stone Axe is simple: To preserve and honor the godfathers of the heavy ’70s, and unlike the myriad retro acts out there whose vacuous posturing is more chic now than it ever was then, Reed prefers to focus on sonic orthodoxy in the songwriting and recording as a means for expressing his love of this sound. Through Stone Axe II and the band’s 2009 self-titled predecessor, joined by vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff, Reed has molded his guns and stuck readily by them, resulting in some of the most prudent classic rock to come along since before it was classic.

After the jump, we join the conversation already in process. Reed has just informed me that with him in the studio is Stone Axe‘s live bassist, Mike Dupont (Mykey Haslip rounds out the live band on drums), and although I shouldn’t be, I’m a little surprised he’s already onto the next round of Stone Axe material…

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Multi-instrumentalist and occasional vocalist T. Dallas Reed of Washington classic rockers Stone Axe has just revealed several editions of vinyl for his band’s latest offering, II (review here). In addition, Reed informs that Stone Axe are getting ready to hit the road with none other than Saint Vitus next weekend, starting in Seattle. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer dude. Here’s the update:

Hello everybody, it’s Tony from Stone Axe. I have been waiting for a few things to show up before I sent out the updates. I want to thank all of you for your support and dedication to this band. It means a lot to us.

First of all, the Stone Axe II LP has arrived and it looks and sounds great. There are a few editions that will be available for sale starting today: Clear Vinyl w/18×24 poster and one-sided 7″ (non-CD track), 100 copies. Black vinyl w/poster, 250 copies. Black vinyl, 230 copies.

Available soon: “die hard” edition. Clear/black splatter vinyl w/18×24 poster, one-sided 7″(non-CD track) and a 12″ test pressing, 20 copies. $50. Click here to check out the record and order it.

Here is the link to buy our CDs. Feel free to support our touring habit.

Speaking of touring. We are going on the road with doom legends Saint Vitus in only a week’s time. Here are the dates.

Stone Axe/Saint Vitus tour:
6/25 – El Corazon – Seattle
6/26 – Satyricon – Portland
6/27 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco
6/28 – Origami Vinyl – Los Angeles (No Vitus) 7pm Free In-Store Performance
6/29 – Viper Room – Los Angeles
6/30 – The Casbah – San Diego
7/01 – Wasted Space @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas
7/02 – The Zephyr – Reno (No Vitus)
7/03 – The Alibi – Arcata (No Vitus)

One could sit for hours, either with one’s self or with others amenable to such a situation, and argue back and forth whether or not Port Orchard, Washington, classic rockers Stone Axe fall under the ever-expanding banner of stoner rock or not, but then you’d entirely miss the point. On the band’s second album, II (Music Abuse Records), they remind us that it’s not about genre or subgenre, not about classification, about overthinking it, about analysis unto death, but about getting together with friends, having a good time, and the enduring spirit of rock and roll.

To affect this revelation of purpose, multi-instrumentalist T. Dallas Reed and vocalist Dru Brinkerhoff (joined here part-time by bassist Mike DuPont and drummer Mykey Haslip) have made some of the least pretentious music ever to grace the eardrums of man. Stone Axe’s II oozes a brand of organic sincerity that’s generally either subservient to corporate shilling or undercut by ironic snickers, and they do it for the duration of the record and without wavering. Their warm, ultra ‘70s-styled rock is so specific in its mission that to even call out Thin Lizzy, Free, Grand Funk and any number of the other (of course Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin) foundational acts from whom they take inspiration seems superfluous. It matters so much less where this music comes from than how it makes you feel while listening.

Like summer.

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