Posted in Questionnaire on November 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Tony Spillman of Spillage
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I started writing songs as a kid, but I got more serious when I was 17 when I started working as a guitar tech for Trouble.
Describe your first musical memory.
Hmmm. Probably very excited.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Listening to my first recorded and published song.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When players left my band for another opportunity.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
When I’m in nature.
How do you define success?
Being happy and productive at work.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Watching the pandemic riots… sad.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A gold record.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To expand your mind and emotions.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The announcement of the album details for Eight Bells‘ third full-length confirms the title as Legacy of Ruin, which was the title given when the Portland, Oregon, outfit first posted that they’d finished recording in Dec. 2020 with none other than Billy Anderson at the helm as engineer and mixer. In addition to that, and the striking cover art for Legacy of Ruin that you can see below, there’s also the tracklisting — six songs, three with guest violin — and a suitably apocalyptic theme unveiled, as well as the first audio, which is the new single “Nadir,” presented across five-plus minutes of engagingly anti-genre heaviness that’s more doomed than doom in its mood, if you catch my drift. Mortality of self, mortality of planet. The ephemeral everything.
It’s likewise encompassing and sad, but it would be. After releasing 2016’s Landless (review here) through the now-defunct Battleground Records, as well as Tartarus (the tape), and changing out their lineup around founder Melynda Marie Jackson — not to be confused with Melynda Marie Amann, who guests on vocals and keys — not to mention sitting on this record for at least most of this year, I’m pleased to have the album to look forward to. I guess that’s the plainest I can say it.
Preorders are up. You’ll find the link and PR wire details below. The “Nadir” video is, suitably, at the bottom of the post:
EIGHT BELLS release first single ‘Nadir’ taken from the forthcoming new album “Legacy of Ruin”
EIGHT BELLS are now revealing the volcanic video single ‘Nadir’ taken from their forthcoming new album “Legacy of Ruin”, which is slated for release on February 25, 2022.
The avant-garde doom project from Portland, Oregon conceived by guitarist and singer Melynda Jackson has also unveiled cover art, tracklist, and further details of their new full-length below.
EIGHT BELLS comment: “Our first single, ‘Nadir’ is the newest song that was written right before the recording sessions”, writes singer and guitarist Melynda Jackson. “It is inspired by the ugly part of human nature and tendency to devour everything until it is gone. There is grief in understanding that ‘right now’ is all we have.”
With their third album, Portland metal experimentalists EIGHT BELLS have sharpened their songwriting approach to create a soundtrack for the end of the world. “Legacy of Ruin” again features the trio’s trademark haunting vocal harmonies along with sometimes blistering, and sometimes impressionistic guitar riffing to create heady atmospheres of dark and light.
The result of EIGHT BELLS’ musical exploration is an emotional and insistent odyssey that transcends genre and imbues contemporary metal with 19th-century Victorian ghostliness, cinematic soundscapes in combination with female and male vocal harmonies perfectly fitting the album’s lyrical story. “Legacy of Ruin” focuses on themes of the human condition, natural destruction, death, regret, loss, malice, and retribution.
Tracklist 1. Destroyer 2. The Well 3. Torpid Dreamer 4. Nadir 5. The Crone 6. Premonition
Guest musicians Melynda Marie Amann – vocals on ‘The Well’ and ‘The Crone’ Melynda Marie Amann – Keyboards on ‘The Well’ Andrea Morgan – violin on ‘The Well’, ‘Nadir’, and ‘Premonition’
Tracked by Billy Anderson at The Hallowed Halls Produced by Billy Anderson & Eight Bells Mixed by Billy Anderson at Everything Hz Mastered by Justin Weis at Trackworx
Artwork by Tom Robers Layout by Ross Sewage
On further news, EIGHT BELLS will reissue their first two albums “The Captain’s Daughter (2013) and “Landless” (2016) parallel to the release of “Legacy of Ruin”. Both full-length recordings will be joined together under the title “Histories 2010 - 2016” as double-CD and triple vinyl editions that will also contain the bonus track ‘Purgatory’ and five demo versions.
Line-up Melynda Jackson – guitar, vocals Matt Solis – bass, harmonies Brian Burke – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
A lot to dig into here, and I suppose that’s not really a surprise when it comes to Roadburn announcements. Likewise, not a shock to see Emma Ruth Rundle and Lingua Ignota here, as both are album-of-the-year candidates among the underground critical literati and Rundle was supposed to curate 2020’s fest. Cool to see Messa make a return as well, and that new Mizmor is sitting on my desktop waiting to be dug into. The new 40 Watt Sun will make some resonant listening live, as it does on record, and I’m curious to dig into Hangman’s Chair, as my impression of them is they sound like Type O Negative but from Paris, which I guess is nothing to complain about. Jammers Kungens Män will be a joy for all who behold them, and Kanaan‘s heavy turn on their new album will bring Roadburn back to its stoner rock roots — if indeed that’s what they play — in a way that no one yet on the bill will do.
Oh, and Smote. If you haven’t checked out Drommon (review here), do that.
Like I said, a lot to dig into. That’s not even all of it, so don’t let me keep you:
New additions to Roadburn 2022
The second group of artists to be added to the Roadburn 2022 line up has today been announced.
Artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers, comments:
“Roadburn 2022 will be a festival of hope; a celebration of underground music by Roadburn alumni and young and upcoming bands alike. It feels so great to offer them a platform and it’s equally great to offer our community their much missed home away from home. Despite the difficult circumstances with live music we remain optimistic and move forward with caution. It’s not easy but we’re really hopeful to be able to welcome you to Roadburn 2022. The idea of celebrating together makes everything worthwhile.”
Lingua Ignota will return to Roadburn in 2022, following two explosive performances at the 2019 edition of the festival. Having released SINNER GET READY earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim, the return to Roadburn is well timed to showcase her new material.
Emma Ruth Rundle will take to the main stage to present her groundbreaking new album, Engine of Hell. Due to be our curator in 2020, we’re delighted to welcome Emma back to Roadburn and to have her step into an even bigger spotlight this time around.
Following on from the recent announcement of a new album, Perfect Light, 40 Watt Sun will also perform on the main stage in April. Mizmor will return to perform Cairn in full, as was originally intended as part of Rundle’s curated event, which due to the pandemic didn’t come to fruition.
After performing alongside Dylan Carlson and as part of Zonal in previous years, The Bug will return – this time with MCs Flowdan and Logan to accompany him. Milena Eva & Thomas Sciarone’s curated event gains a new name: Sordide will be performing their most recent album Les idées blanches in full.
A rejuvenated Sum Of R will perform their upcoming new album, Lahbryce, in full on the main stage. Messa’s recently announced album, Close, will be performed, as will A Loner – the new album from Hangman’s Chair.
Cloud Rat will perform two sets, including a special Do Not Let Me Off The Cliff electronic-based performance. Uniform will perform their album Shame in full. HEALTH, Kælan Mikla and KANGA will provide some end-of-the-world dance party vibes. Meanwhile, Smote will perform their new album, Drommon in full.
Also announced is Fågelle, Kanaan, Kollaps, Kungens Män, Pinkish Black, and Wyatt E.
These names join previously announced artists including Ulver, Sólstafir, Alcest, Backxwash, Russian Circles, artist in residence – Full of Hell and many others. Roadburn Festival will take place between April 21-24 in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Tickets for Roadburn 2022 are on sale now. Friday and Saturday day tickets are sold out. Thursday and Sunday day tickets, 3-day and 4-day tickets remain in limited numbers. Tickets and accommodation options are available to view viaticketmaster.nl.
Posted in Reviews on November 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
This was the first indoor show I attended since Jan. 2020, which is by far the longest stretch of my adult life. Probably and then some. I’ve never thought of Clifton, NJ, as my “safe space” over, say, the moon or anywhere else, but Swallow the Sun were supposed to play Dingbatz in that forgotten Spring of 2020, and I was looking forward to it since the announcement in Dec. 2019, so to see them now, almost two years and so many grey hairs later, feels a bit like symmetry in an asymmetrical time. To call it “post-pandemic” would only be wrong if one thinks about it in terms of the pandemic being over.
The last time I was at Dingbatz was probably over a decade ago. I don’t remember what or when. But the room was much as I remembered, and the bill — extra loaded with five bands, which was two locals on front of the three touring acts — was running late when I walked in. Abigail Williams was getting ready to go on, when according to the schedule I saw they should’ve been playing. Some things, then, never encounter variants. But I’ve always liked the place. Its silly bat mural was covered by Swallow the Sun‘s banner, if it’s still there at all.
Masks were rare. I had one and was warm with it on. Several others near me up front did too, and I was no less comforted by the fact that the dude to my right was also wearing sweatpants, though I didn’t see the name of his blog on the leg, which I’m not sure makes me better or worse off. Jersey metal holding its own on a Monday night. I missed Wilderun, but there was a momentary mosh while Abigail Williams played, which was adorable.
The four-piece were, incidentally, beset with technical difficulties from the outset. Before the outset, even. I kind of had the feeling when they threw up their hands and decided to go without the stage monitors that maybe it wasn’t going to be a career-highlight set for them. They ended up stopping what seemed to be early if it wasn’t, and were clearly frustrated. Sound was clipping, coming in and disappearing, vocals ultra-loud, then gone. On the way to the venue, the bluetooth in my car kept dropping out in the middle of songs. Frontman Ken Sorceron from Abigail Williams sounded like that. No fault of his own.
I don’t imagine that’s easy for a band in any circumstances, let alone one who’ve been together for over 15 years, playing a tour that’s been delayed by more than a year. I felt for the dude. He said that if anyone wanted to hear the band sound much better, to make the short trip to New York for the next show. I wouldn’t be doing that, but I wondered whether one shitty Monday night on a long tour matters to someone who’s been doing it so long, or if a couple days from now it’ll be forgotten. I guess it depends on how sensitive you are generally, how much you can write that kind of thing off. Between the bands, Saliva‘s “Click Click Boom” played on repeat, and I was reminded a bit why I felt relief when lockdown started last March. Fate is a total asshole, if you believe in that kind of thing.
My alarm had gone off at 5:30AM. I am not in “show-shape,” as I otherwise might be, and I’ll admit to being distracted by folks wearing bare faces around me, considerations of scary headlines from reputable sources, sweating in my mask, feet sore after an embarrassingly short amount of time, breathing in the fog machine, clicking, clicking, booming. Swallow the Sun‘s setup took a while. I’ve had the same headache for four weeks running. Can’t remember when I inhaled that hammer. I wished I had a bottle of water. I had downed an extra pot of coffee to prepare for being awake later than 8:30PM. Canceled a dermatology appointment in the morning. Clear my calendar. Edna, hold all my calls.
The coffee might’ve made the difference in, say, my ability to remain standing as long as I did. Despite my bizarre-headspace, there were a couple genuine moments of communion when Swallow the Sun played. The room, packed at the start of the set, thinned out as it edged toward midnight, but cuts like “Falling World,” “Firelights,” “New Moon” and the pairing of “Woven into Sorrow” and “This House Has No Home” from the recently issued Moonflowers (review here) had heads banging in more than just my own languid doomer nod. People were going for it.
Those last two finished out a regular set that had led off with “Moonflowers Bloom in Misery” and “The Enemy” from the same record, and I suppose that part of the challenge after 20 years is what to put in the set and what to leave out. I wouldn’t have minded “When a Shadow is Forced into the Light,” but you can’t have everything. The encore, with “Plague of Butterflies Pt. 2” and “Swallow,” was rightly and duly appreciated by those who remained, and I was one of them, though I’ll confess I’d moved to the back by then. No new album at the merch table. The live album, sure. Alas.
A show. With hoo-mans. I’ll spare you the list of gigs I’ve missed since concerts started happening in the face of covid, but there have been plenty. I don’t know if it was the fact that the band came from Finland to play Clifton or what, but there was something about this show that finally got me out of the house. Does that mean I’m about to become Johnny Outandabout? Yeah probably not. But this was a moment out of my own head that I haven’t had in too long and from here I’ll take it one at a time; show, day, minute. One thing — I was not surprised in the least to find out how much I’ve missed love music. I’ve known that all along.
Close eyes, pull out earplugs just a little bit for “Swallow” while they build that chug into sudden oblivion. “Thank you. Good night.” Indeed.
This tour rolls on — New York next, as Ken Sorceron from Abigail Williams assured — and when it’s done, Swallow the Sun will go back to Europe for an even longer stretch there supporting Moonflowers. Who the hell knows if those dates will happen, and who the hell knows when I’ll get myself out again to another venue, another town, or hell, to Dingbatz again for who knows what. I certainly don’t. But at least for the next few minutes I’m not going to worry about it, because if there’s a lesson amid all the bullshit of the last two years, isn’t it to be thankful for what you have while you have it because it can all evaporate faster than you ever thought?
When the show was over, I went outside, took off my mask. Cold air on my face. Felt like I could breathe a little bit, you know?
On Jan. 14, Buffalo Revisited release the live album Volcanic Rock Live through Ripple Music. The gig was captured June 6, 2018, at Sydney, Australia’s the Bald Faced Stag Hotel, and the band led by founding Buffalo vocalist Dave Tice shared the bill that night with Comacozer and Los Hombres del Diablos as they celebrated 45 years since Buffalo released their landmark second album, Volcanic Rock (discussed here), on Vertigo Records.
“I can’t believe it that I’ve been alive that long!” exclaims Tice after the set/album opener “Sunrise (Come My Way)” and before launching into “Freedom,” which is premiering below. He’s not the first of his generation to make the point, and despite the fact that many rockers of the heavy ’70s didn’t survive that decade or the ones since for a vast assortment of reasons, many did without necessarily expecting to. In Tice‘s case, he’s lived long enough to see his band, and the Volcanic Rock LP particularly, gain recognition for breaking the ground it did for heavy rock in Australia. What’s now one of the world’s most vital undergrounds — marked by stylistic variety between the nastiest sludge and mindblown psychedelia and all points between — would not have the life it does were it not for Buffalo and a handful of others who helped make it happen first.
Do you have to know Volcanic Rock to appreciate Volcanic Rock Live? No. I’m not going to say it won’t help give context, but Tice and the surrounding Buffalo Revisited lineup of guitarist Troy Scerri, bassist Steve Lorkin and drummer Marcus Fraser own these songs on the stage, whether or not all of them played on the original record. Scerri‘s lead work and the sleek grooves that accompany in “Freedom” alone make that point, but the truth is that one of the reasons Volcanic Rock has endured the way it has is because there isn’t a weak cut on it. “Sunrise (Come My Way)” is a catchy opener that reminds of ’60s vibes without forgetting that the ’60s were over, “Freedom” is righteously stoned forever, “Til My Death” shimmies hard enough to almost make you forget it’s a blues tune, and “The Prophet” rolls out its post-Iommi nod in a way that I heard three bands last week claim as their own, and though it’s not actually that much longer than the song before it, “Pound of Flesh/Shylock” feels all the more epic because of how the jam hypnotizes before the verses and chorus kick in to punch you in the face.
That’s true on the 1973 album and on this performance 45 years later. I’m not trying to tell you Volcanic Rock Live is something it isn’t. This is a specialty item. Mostly it’s probably going to get the attention of heads who either know who Buffalo were or simply trust Ripple‘s intention as regards classic heavy. Fair enough. What I’ll say is, first, this show was worth documenting. The band kills it in 35 minutes and is out. Nailed. Second, that if Buffalo Revisited manages to turn on a few listeners to the studio LP that spawned it and helps give further appreciation to what Tice and company accomplished decades prior, so much the better. Either way, you don’t lose.
Hell, you don’t need me to tell you any of this. I first found my way to Volcanic Rocka decade ago and I’ve not regretted it since, and you’re way cooler than I am so I’m sure you know the deal. Dig into “Freedom” below and enjoy yourself.
Go go go:
BUFFALO REVISITED “Volcanic Rock Live” Out January 14th on Ripple Music (limited and classic vinyl, CD, digital)
TRACKLIST: 1. Sunrise (Come My Way) 2. Freedom 3. Til My Death 4. The Prophet 5. I – Pound of Flesh II – Shylock
Alongside Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs and Blackfeather, Buffalo pioneered Australia’s heavy metal, pub rock and alternative rock movements in the 70s. In May 1972, they issued their debut single, “Suzie Sunshine”, followed a month later by their debut album “Dead Forever…”. Both the single and album sold well with the album sales reaching 25,000 despite a virtual commercial radio blacklisting stemming from the band’s uncompromising hard rock sound and a ghoulish LP cover. In mid-January 1973, Buffalo supported Vertigo label-mates Black Sabbath on the Australian leg of the Volume IV Tour. The four-piece line-up of Baxter, Economou, Tice and Wells recorded their next two albums, “Volcanic Rock” (July 1973) and “Only Want You For Your Body” (June 1974).
Buffalo pre-dated other early Australian hard rockers like Coloured Balls (formed March 1972), AC/DC (late 1973), The Angels (1974, as The Keystone Angels), and Rose Tattoo. Like many pioneering heavy metal acts, Buffalo incorporated strong influences of blues-rock and psychedelic rock. The band toured across Australia incessantly, at venues ranging from school dances in tiny halls to large outdoor concerts. Some say Buffalo pre-empted doom metal and stoner rock.
BUFFALO REVISITED lineup Dave Tice — Vocals Troy Scerri — Guitar Steve Lorkin — Bass Marcus Fraser — Drums
Posted in Features on November 29th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
I have been looking forward to this for months. I always do, but I’m extra curious to get a look at everybody’s favorite picks from 2021, and I feel like it might be close when it comes to how the final list shakes out. There’s been so much creative ground being broken, it’s awe-inspiring and humbling at once.
To that point, yes, there are still some really good records to come in the next couple weeks. I know. This post will be here until Dec. 31. If you’re holding a spot for something, that’s fine. But I want to give people as much of a chance as possible to add their favorites to the poll, and that means posting this sooner. If I waited until Dec. 31, it would be silly, and by January, everybody’s head is tired of lists, my own included. So just trust me. I’ve done this before.
Maximum participation is encouraged and appreciated. Thank you.
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Thanks for being part of this. Please share the link if you can.
Same rules as always: Anything from Jan. 2021 to whatever’s coming out between now and Dec. 31 is eligible. If something is out digitally now and physical later and you want to include it, do so. Two lists are tabulated; one of the raw votes, and one in which a 1-4 ranking is worth five points, 5-8 worth four, 9-12 worth three, 13-16 worth two and 17-20 worth one.
Poll runs until Dec. 31, 2021. Results go up Jan. 1, 2022, along with all the individual lists. I am not kidding when I say this is my favorite post of the year. It will be on the top of the front-page for the next month.
As ever, the Year-End Poll would not be possible without the diligent and respected efforts of Slevin behind-the-scenes. Every year like clockwork I bug him with an email or a text about the poll — and I’ll do so again when it’s time to do the final tally — and he’s never yet told me to screw off, which it only feels like he’d be increasingly within his rights to do. Thanks dude. You’re amazing.
And thank you one more time as well. Let’s have some fun. We’ve all earned it.
Posted in Radio on November 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
I had two ideas in my head for this episode. The first was to do a stuff-to-look-forward-to-next-year playlist, which I did, and the second was to do a me-spending-your-money-on-Black-Friday-Bandcamp-recommendations edition, which I did not do.
Was it the right choice? I don’t know, but it kind of feels like a victory for the good guys every time I get to play All Souls, or King Buffalo, or Sasquatch — or Gozu, or Conan, Stöner, Colour Haze, etc. — and there’s some small chance anybody will hear it, so I won’t exactly say I regret going the way I did. There will be other Bandcamp Fridays, I think.
And to be perfectly honest, I like thinking about this stuff, about new records coming out. I like to wonder what bands will come up with, song-wise, sound-wise, how things will have changed since their last record, how the identity of a group can shift over time. Think of High on Fire. Think of Dozer! A new Dozer album after 14 years. Who the hell knows what that’s going to sound like?
So yeah, that’s what I went with. And since preorder is up for some of this stuff — 40 Watt Sun, the PostWax series of which Dozer are a part, Naxatras, Messa, Earthless — I guess maybe you could spend some money anyway here. Plus there’s always older records to buy. It’s a big planet. There are a lot of albums on it.
Thanks for listening if you do and/or reading. I hope you enjoy.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 11.26.21
Dozer
The Flood
Beyond Colossal (2008)
Some Pills for Ayala
Space Octopus
Space Octopus (2021)
Gozu
They Probably Know Karate
Equilibrium (2018)
Wo Fat
There’s Something Sinister in the Wind
Midnight Cometh (2016)
VT
Sasquatch
Destroyer
Maneuvers (2017)
Earthless
Electric Flame
Black Heaven (2018)
Stöner
The Older Kids
Stoners Rule (2021)
Långfinger
Silver Blaze
Crossyears (2016)
King Buffalo
The Knocks
The Burden of Restlessness (2021)
Torche
Times Missing
Admission (2019)
All Souls
Winds
Songs for the End of the World (2020)
Conan
Volt Thrower
Existential Void Guardian (2018)
High on Fire
Freebooter
Electric Messiah (2018)
Messa
Leah
Feast for Water (2018)
40 Watt Sun
The Spaces in Between
Perfect Light (2022)
VT
Colour Haze
Life
We Are (2020)
Naxatras
Land of Infinite Time
III (2018)
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Dec. 10 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Questionnaire on November 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Blake Carrera of Aiwass
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’d describe my music as psychedelic doom. I didn’t make a conscious decision to start playing psychedelic doom or anything. It wasn’t like I sat down and said “yep, this is what I’ll be playing today.” Instead, it came from years of listening to music and playing downtuned guitars and one day it just started coming out of me. This was all during the pandemic when no one had anything better to do. Some people started baking; I started writing and recording an album that had been in my head in one form or another since I was fourteen or fifteen years old.
Describe your first musical memory.
My first musical memories are all about being in the car. This was back in the day when cassettes were contemporaneous and not collector’s items. We had so many of them. I remember the Beatles, the Stones, and Black Sabbath always being on. Before that, it was all lullabies I guess. I still remember those somewhat. I lucked out in that my mom always said she couldn’t remember the entirety of traditional lullabies so she sang what she knew – Elvis, The Doors, The Beatles, stuff like that. I guess if you really, really go back that’s my earliest musical recollection – being rocked to sleep while my mom sang me those songs.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Maybe it’s not the best per se, but the most important musical memory is the first time I picked up a guitar. Originally, I wanted to play drums. I just wanted to make as much sound as possible. But that wasn’t going to jive with my mom. Instead, I was told I could have an acoustic guitar – little did she know I’d save up to buy an electric guitar and a loud amp down the line. But that first music shop experience where I held a bunch of cheap starter acoustic guitars was so important to my development as an artist and a human being. I felt an immediate connection to the instrument even though I had no clue how to play it. Something about it was calling to me. Then came the frustration and the blisters that turned into calluses, but I sure hated the thing for a while. Nonetheless, it was that pure memory of first holding a guitar that kept me going and still does. I can’t say that I really have any memories that compare in terms of the longevity of their impact – not good ones to say the least.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
This is a hard one. I like to think that people are, at heart, good, but that belief has really been tested in the last few years. Whether it’s the political environment we live in or this BS about not getting the COVID vaccine, it seems like the worst in people is really coming to the forefront. I find it harder and harder to believe in the good in people, which is really sad. I’m starting to wonder whether we’re all just selfish and narcissistic at heart. There’s still plenty of good out there – I’ve met some incredible people since I started this project – but I see so much negativity and hatred out there that it’s getting harder to see that goodness.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Artistic progression can only be a good thing. Not everyone may agree because some artists think they’re progressing when they’re really stumbling, but I think that as long as the artist feels that they are progressing, really good things are going to happen. The reason for that is that progression is a byproduct of growth, something that we should all be aspiring towards. An artist doesn’t just grow as an artist – they grow as a person. Some people might not like the results. A lot of people hated Bob Dylan for going electric, but he changed rock and roll forever (I would say for the better). The important thing is to cling to that sense of personal growth and to follow the wave of progression to see where it leads you. I know that the songs I’m working on now, for example, are the best ones I’ve done. I think they’re the most mature that I’ve produced. Some people might prefer what I’ve done and want me to stick to “what I’m good at” but that isn’t why I’m doing any of this. I’m doing this to grow as a human being and express myself. So, long story short, fuck ’em if they don’t like it. Artistic progression is everything, even if your audience doesn’t necessarily appreciate it. You have to progress in order to avoid stagnation which is, let’s face it, certain death for an artist.
How do you define success?
Ultimately, success is pretty ephemeral and hard to define, I believe. Part of that is because success is so subjective. It’s not something that I think you can quantify through commodities – money, possessions, things like that – because I don’t think that’s what success is about. Success is about happiness I think. Success is about feeling fulfilled. When it comes to music, success is about finding an audience that connects with your music. It doesn’t have to make you a lot of money or make you rich – it just has to find an audience who thinks your music matters and is worth listening to.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
After I finished my first album, my mom got very sick very suddenly and passed away. It was incredibly hard to watch her waste away and ultimately fade away. She was in the ICU for about a month and I had to watch, day by day, while she drifted away from me. Being mostly raised only by her, we were pretty close. On top of that, the ICU ward was full of people on ventilators from COVID. I saw some really nightmarish things in there. I never doubted the danger of COVID, but I’m much more aware of just how bad it is now that I’ve seen it. It really makes me more comfortable in my atheism because if there was a god, that being is either very vengeful or doesn’t care about us. That’s in my music a lot – talking about how people are gods and there isn’t some entity up there in the clouds. It just so happened that the moment that I was most secure in my lack of belief in a god came after I was finished writing the first EP and album.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
For my second album, I’d love to create a concept album. On the first album, the concept was really the occult, Jungian psychology, my own mental turmoil and struggles. But for the second album, I’d like to craft more of a story. I think part of that will come from forming a band and writing with other people. Overall, though, creating a story and telling that story through music is one of the things I’m most eager to do. I think concept albums are pretty much the apex of what you can do and I think I have the songwriting chops to actually get it done.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Not to get too philosophical here, but art is about uplifting the mind and the soul – whatever the soul is. I think that art is the highest form of expression, communication, and interpersonal relationship-building. Without it, what are we but blind and dumb? We’re just organisms, animals. In my opinion, what distinguishes us from the rest of the natural world is our ability to create art. There’s so much out there, whether it’s visual, musical, literary, etc. and all of it is worth consuming in as much quantity as possible. The more that we imbibe art, the more that we become whole and fully actualized.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
This is a hard one since most of my life revolves around music and work. But the thing that keeps me going when I’m not playing music is reading. I have a lot of great books on the docket. Some Crowley as always, a few other occult thinkers, but I’m also really diving into older classics and philosophy again. Right now I’m reading Paradise Lost and I hope to follow that up with Dante’s Inferno. On the side, I’m reading some Nietzsche, some Schoppenhauer. I’m really interested in keeping my mental blade sharp and I think reading is the best way to do that. Aside from reading, I’m a huge sports fan. Really enjoying the current NFL season.
