Posted in Whathaveyou on July 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The lineup for Desertfest Belgium 2022 in Ghent on Oct. 30 is starting to get awfully full for a one day festival. And weird, which of course is a good thing. Desertfest‘s second Belgian edition welcomes cult legends Coven here, most notably — and it’s interesting to note that Jinx Dawson has a “fresh new band” behind her — as well as Steak, Tau and the Drones of Praise, Celeste, Ggu:ll and The Devil’s Trade, so yeah, you could say that the bill is starting to get a little out there. So much the better. You’ve got Elder and Pallbearer up at the top — though I wonder if either is headlining — and Monolord to keep things grounded. Might as well indulge a freaky side too.
If you go, I bet this’ll be a trip. Would love to hear about it sometime:
DF 2022 GHENT: NEW NAMES! COVEN, CELESTE, AND MORE!
After last week’s name dropping avalanche for DF Antwerp, it was high time for us to deliver the goods for the Ghent edition, wouldn’t you agree? So here are some sweet additions to the 30/10 line-up.
COVEN is one of the most revered names in Occult Metal lore. After years of cult status, their legacy finally got the acknowledgement it deserves. Now backed with a fresh new band, legendary singer Jinx Dawson has taken Coven back on the road, and we’re excited to see them play Desertfest Ghent.
Also on the bill will be French post-metal sensation CELESTE, who certainly need no further introduction. Their extreme crushing power is known, loved and feared in equal measure. To further thicken the oppressive atmosphere at De Vooruit venue, we have engaged Dutch doomsters GGU:LL who will present their first new material in 6 years (out later this year on the Ghent label Consouling Sounds). And how about THE DEVIL’S TRADE, aka Hungarian singer-songwriter Dávid Makó and his very personal take on doom folk and Eastern European folklore?
We further welcome London-based rockers STEAK who have certainly turned heads with their adventurous new album ‘Acute Mania’. We’re very excited to see them bring this Floydian opus to our stage. And finally, Shaun Mulrooney’s musical spaceship TAU will be here, along with the mysterious DRONES OF PRAISE who will join him in his neo-folk psychedelic jam-outs.
You know where to find the tickets, and be aware you can get a reduced combi deal for the Antwerp & Ghent festivals combined. Day tickets for Antwerp have also been on sale since last week – so there’s plenty of opportunity to mix and match the festival days to your liking!
[Click play above to stream My Sleeping Karma’s Atma in full. Album is out tomorrow on Napalm Records and available here: lnk.to/MSK-Atma/napalmrecords.]
If you believe in a soul, the music of My Sleeping Karma could hardly come from anywhere else. The German instrumentalists have gone to lengths to position Atma — the title derived is Sanskrit, translated roughly as the non-physical totality of a universal self in Hinduism; recall the YOB album of the same name in 2011 — as their most emotive offering to-date, which in the 16 years since their self-titled debut (discussed here) and the works they’ve released in the interim is saying something. Atma collects six tracks that break evenly across two vinyl sides, marked by the smoothness of groove and production that has in no small part defined their work and their distinctive approach to progressive heavy psychedelia, post-rock and weighted density of fuzz, and repositions the band from where they left off with 2015’s Moksha (review here), their most recent studio LP, which they followed with Mela Ananda — Live (review here) celebration of their 10th anniversary in 2017.
The four-piece of guitarist Seppi, bassist Matte Vandeven, drummer Steffen Weigand and synthesist Norman Mehren (credited, as always, with “soundboard”), pull back on some of the fleshed-out arrangements of the last album — so far as I can tell there are no horns on Atma — in favor of a more direct approach. And while the narrative — blessings and peace upon it — is about the emotionality of the material and that one way or the other the band has put five years of work into making this record, the truth about My Sleeping Karma‘s music is that it’s evocative and resonant enough that if they put the power of suggestion into telling you it was a story about flying to Saturn, there would be no choice to believe it; like all of their output, Atma is at very least a journey somewhere.
But in the context of the outbreak of war in Europe (which happened after the record was done, but still serves as an example), the pandemic era, a rise of political extremism, climate crisis, and health and other personal concerns within the band, and perhaps even just the apparent slog of building these tracks themselves over such a stretch of time, a wistful sensibility is easily read as the nine-minute opener “Maya Shakti” quickly nestles into its volume trade patterns over its first two minutes, and that aspect holds true across the song and record that follows.
All of which is to say, as My Sleeping Karma are out there saying Atma is driven by emotion, the music backs that up.
“Maya Shakti” takes place over three movements, the last of which is one of the album’s most expansive stretches, the melody of the guitar, bass and keys pushed forward by Weigand‘s drumming, his snare cutting through the mix in a way that will sound high enough to stand out as jarring by the time the subsequent “Prema” hits into its more swinging second half — though I’m not sure that’s not on purpose; aural punctuation as grounding effect amid so much float, perhaps, or even a spiritual wake-up call — but ultimately finding a balance with the other elements at work as “Mukti” unfolds soft and ethereal, its memorable keyboard line set to a backdrop of hypnotic guitar and breadth of atmosphere.
The Sanskrit title, as the band has said, refers to the notion of letting go and finding peace in all things. Maybe that’s what’s happening with the krautrocking synth before the more driving finish of the track, and if it’s some semblance of existential freedom being obtained as the heavier thrust to the end — that snare again marking the path — then fair enough. As ever, they make it difficult to argue.
Side B’s “Avatara” is a mirror to “Maya Shakti,” stretching over nine minutes long and setting the ambience of the two songs that follow. There’s a tension in the line of organ, drums and bass in the song’s middle-third, and that does pay off after the quiet break in the ending, but true to Atmaas a whole, “Avatara” is more about the act of going than getting there, though they do dare a bit of prog-as-funk in the guitar late and that is especially satisfying on a record that’s so weighted in mood. With purposeful drift at its finish and what seems to be a gong, they stick-click into “Pralaya” and pointedly leave behind the quiet introductions that each of the four songs before and closer “Ananda” still to come have proffered in favor of a more immediate takeoff.
There are two subsequent comedowns and launches, and taken together they highlight the dynamic of My Sleeping Karma and their interaction with various post-heavy genres as well as the individualized take on sonic meditation that has made the band so influential in their time. If an understated one compared to some of what surrounds, it’s reasonable to call “Pralaya” a highlight, and its last crash and thud seems specifically meant for a live stage.
So be it. One wonders if the denser riffing that emerges early in the eight-minute “Ananda” is intended as an answer to that as well, as it feels imbued with a similar energy, but Atma‘s finisher ultimately has different plans, pulling back to quiet synth and guitar right around three minutes in to establish the bed for the album’s last build.
And it is a build, where much of Atma has been about the band lulling their audience into a trance and then snapping them out of it either by the sudden entrance of a sweeping volume surge or some other twist, the progression of “Ananda” — keyboard notes like water drops throughout — is a more even flow, still dynamic and quite heavy by the time another three and a half minutes have passed, but seeming to find resolution and catharsis in its last wash, letting the album go on a quick fade, reminding of the impermanence of all things, including ourselves.
I will not pretend to know the totality of what My Sleeping Karma have been through over the last seven years since Moksha was released. True to the storyline, Atma is sad, longing almost for a better world, but by no means void of hope, and if the band are laying themselves bare musically, they’ve captured the expressive beauty that’s always been at the heart of their craft. That combined exclamation of soul. It is easy to feel powerless, overwhelmed, to wake up every day and know that defeat is coming to such a degree that it’s already there. It’s harder to turn that into something that speaks to a possibility for more, and that is precisely what makes this return from My Sleeping Karma so vital. Someday I’ll see this band live.
Today, July 28, marks the release of Lafayette, Indiana, rockers The Heavy Co.‘s new single, Wormweed (Live at Foam City). The single-song outing follows behind their last single, “Shelter” (premiered here), for which Rock Freaks Records has pressed up a 7″ to be issued Oct. 8 through Bandcamp and at gigs — they had them at Freak Valley Festival in Germany, I noted; the fest and imprint are affiliated — the song having earned a bit of fanfare with a guest spot from a pre-recorded solo by Earthless‘ Isaiah Mitchell. And, just to tie everything together, The Heavy Co. will support Earthless at their tour stop in Indiana on Sept. 13, with records on hand.
You’re what my grandmother would call ‘a smart cookie,’ so I’m going to assume you’ve got all that and just keep going. Good? Good.
I don’t know if the below stream of the track counts as a premiere, really, but the band called it one even though the song will be publicly available and I’m not one to argue so long as the point gets across that “Wormweed (Live at Foam City)” is available now. The song runs a bit under six minutes and is instrumental in its entirety. Recorded by the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ian Daniel, now-guitarist Jeff Kaleth, bassist Eric Bruce and drummer TR McCully, it’s live and recalls self-titled-era Clutch in its middle after starting out with more of a ’70s strut — something from which the band in any incarnation has never shied — interchanging a fluid verse and spacier groove before pulling up circa 3:45 to make way for the slowdown roll that more than earns its place consuming the rest of the track. A winding solo overtop — the things you can do with two guitarists — gives further sense of life to the live recording, and even over the last feedback and drum crashes there’s a palpable and purposeful sense of motion.
“Wormweed (Live at Foam City)” was, yes, tracked entirely live. That’s easier to do sans vocals, but one way or the other, The Heavy Co. succeed in getting their dual-edged point across, emphasizing the budding chemistry in the new lineup and the lack of pretense that has heretofore defined their work. It’s been a bumpy few years for the group, who came back from a six-years-no-new-material-out hiatus with 2020’s single “Phoenix” (posted here) as the duo of Daniel and Kaleth — the latter then on drums — and have since gone on to expand the lineup. But that reconstruction as a double-guitar foursome and hit-record-and-go studio ethic can only speak of a desire to play live, which, as noted, they’re doing as well. So much the better.
Given what I’m hearing here, they could make an album in this manner, recording live and so on. I’d probably want a couple songs with vocals — Daniel has an interesting voice and it’d be a lot of guitar solos otherwise; if that’s a pain while recording live, they might be forgiven for overdubbing live vocals later; that’s a pretty standard approach these days — but that just provides another opportunity to change things up from one song to the next. A new debut for 2023, some 15 years after their initial start in 2008? No doubt weirder things have happened.
When/if I hear of such a thing, I’ll let you know. Today, enjoy the new single. They certainly make that easy enough to do.
Dig:
The Heavy Co. will release their new single, Wormweed (Live at Foam City) July 28th. It will be available on the band’s Bandcamp and all of the regular streaming platforms.
This is the first release to feature their revamped line up with TR McCully on drums and Eric Bruce on bass. Jeff Kaleth has moved from behind the kit to guitar.
The track was recorded 100% live in one take at their Foam City recording studio. What you hear is exactly what happened.
The single comes right in time with the announcement of their October 8 release date for their 7 in. single with Rock Freaks Records, Shelter ft. Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless. The vinyl will be available at live shows and a limited number will also be available in the US through their Bandcamp.
Speaking of Earthless, THC will be opening for the San Diego power trio, September 13, in Ft. Wayne, IN. A limited number of the 7 in. will be available along with a newly designed line of merch.
Posted in Questionnaire on July 27th, 2022 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: Alex Awn of Temple of Void
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a creator, a leader, and a challenger. These three aspects manifest themselves differently depending on the realm, whether it’s through art, business, or even family life. I think all three are deep-rooted personality traits that are maybe equal parts nurture and nature.
Describe your first musical memory.
That’s a tough one. I don’t know what my first musical memory is but the first thing that comes to mind is seeing the artwork for Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. I remember seeing the cardboard cutouts in Woolworths in Glasgow. As an eight year old I was really drawn to the fantastical imagery of the album and the accompanying 12″ singles. I spent lots of time looking through the poster racks in the store as I stared at other Maiden artwork like “Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter,” “Stranger in a Strange Land,” and “Aces High.” I was transfixed.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
My favorite musical memories are all about playing live shows. There have been too many exceptional shows to pick one, though. The memory is more of a feeling than a singular event. When I’m able to transcend and really enter a flow-state on stage, that is the best fucking thing in the world. There’s really a oneness that you can achieve when the circumstances are right. Everything feels pure and effortless and connected. It doesn’t happen every show. But when it does it’s magical.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I’m an atheist. Always have been. On top of that I despise religion. Always have. But I got married in a church. It was a gesture of a couple hours that had a significant return on investment from an emotional perspective. It didn’t mean I hated religion any less. It just meant I loved my wife more than I hated religion. But I had to have confidence in myself and my beliefs to make such a decision.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Hopefully it leads to self-fulfillment and authentic expression.
How do you define success?
Success can be measured in a variety of ways. Simply put, it’s achieving the thing which you set out to achieve. It’s very binary. You either did the thing you wanted to or you didn’t. But success can be held through failure, too. If you learned in your failure then you grew. You moved yourself forward. And that is success in and of itself. I have different measures of success in different realms of my life. They’re all uniquely defined. Sometimes simply trying is a success.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Michael Masi’s ruling in the last race of the 2021 F1 season in which he robbed Lewis Hamilton of his eighth world title. It was criminal.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A new album from my new band.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Self-expression.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Houston, Texas, four-piece Warlung will release their fourth album, Vulture’s Paradise, on Nov. 4 through Heavy Psych Sounds. It is the follow-up to later-2020’s Optical Delusions (review here) and brings nine new cuts that have clearly learned some lessons from that prior outing. “Sky Burial” (video premiering below) serves as the first single from the record, and it seems to push further along the lines of the focus on melody and hookmaking that songs like “Sun Eater” from Optical Delusions wrought, the guitars of George Baba and Philip Bennett harmonizing in readily grandiose fashion as a setup for the harmonized vocals of the chorus, resting easily on the midtempo groove from bassist Chris Tamez and drummer Ethan Tamez, whose flow extends even into the dreamy-vocal pickup prior to the solo as the halfway point leads into the back end of the song.
It’s an easy record to get lost in, or at least it would be if Warlung weren’t such skillful songwriters. Immersion and go-go-go rock and roll play out sans conflict in their sound — they do not come across like they’re competing with each other, but all working together to serve the ends of their songs — and like their work more generally, they make tonal largesse a backdrop across Vulture’s Paradise cuts like the edging-on-doom title-track and the Sabbath-meets-Styx-combo-you-know-you-always-wanted-to-hear “Demonocracy,” which follow ahead of the more direct, urgent riffing of “Return of the Warlords,” calling back to opener “Hypatia” while expanding the palette of the album overall. On that backdrop, they dance the swing of “Grave Marauders” with a pop-derived-but-not-pop ethic of craft, downing shots of ’80s metal with a ’70s rock chaser while eating mushrooms from a future that’s brighter whether they want to admit it or not.
Coming across at the outset of “Hypatia” like an American answer to London’s Green Lung, the sense of control and of the band knowing who they are and what they want to do is writ large over Vulture’s Paradise, and so help me gawd, I’ll give bonus points forever to “Caveman Blues” for the lyrics, “I’m a Stone Age stoner/I hunt and gather shrooms,” as well as for the organ that accompanies the memorable start-stop verse riff and what may or may not’ve been an inadvertent Phil Hartman reference (think ‘Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer’). Because there’s no substitute for stoner charm in heavy rock and roll. The penultimate “Worship the Void” goes deeper into guitar-forward stylization, finding the line between airy stretch-out and terrestrial riffing and then setting up shop there for its catchy four-minute duration, while closer “Runes” seems to start with highway sounds before starting a slow, from-the-ground-up linear build that underscores the melodic purpose throughout the songs prior and the progressivism in terms of arrangement that’s made the record likewise intriguing conceptually and utterly listenable.
At the risk of getting to the point, Warlung sound a like a band ready to make their mark. I don’t know what their tour plans are, even within Texas let alone the rest of the USA or beyond, but the material they present on Vulture’s Paradise is their most accomplished work to-date and deserves as much support as they can give it — something that, of course, couldn’t have happened for Optical Delusions given its timing. It’s a big universe and there are infinite possibilities at any given moment, but if you’re still reading this, I have a hard time imagining Vulture’s Paradise not leaving an impression. They could make a single out of any of its tracks and you wouldn’t call them wrong, but there’s still a flow across the 43-minute entirety that serves them gorgeously in highlighting their chemistry and sonic reach.
To wit as regards that flow, I didn’t even intend to review the album right now. This was a news post when I started out. Here we are. I guess I just got pulled in by Vulture’s Paradise. You should know that might happen.
Enjoy “Sky Burial.” Album preorders are up as of today, as per the PR wire below.
Here goes:
Warlung, “Sky Burial” video premiere
Warlung – Vulture’s Paradise
RELEASE DATE : 4TH NOVEMBER 2022 PRESALE STARTS JULY 27TH
“As our forthcoming record, we knew we had to go big on Vulture’s Paradise,” says the band. “These songs found the perfect balance of a raw, live sound and psychedelia. Though the lyrical themes revolve around death and destruction, the music is more alive and creative than ever.”
WARLUNG is a Texas rock band formed by longtime friends and brothers in 2016. Inspired by the sounds of old, they wrote heavy, catchy songs with a psychedelic twist.
By February 2017, they recorded their debut album, Sleepwalker, which was self-released the following fall. Playing festivals such as End Hip End It Fest and opening for acts like Wo Fat and Dead Meadow, they quickly gained a cult following around Texas. Less than a year later, they entered the studio to record their second album, Immortal Portal, released in February 2019. They continued to host various breweries and festivals like SXSW, and quickly became a fan favorite within the local rock community. Their audience grew as they opened for bands such as High Reeper, Forming the Void and King Buffalo.
In February 2020, they began production on their third album, Optical Delusions. They teamed up with Heavy Psych Sounds to release the new album in October 2020.
AVAILABLE IN: 15 TEST PRESS – 12″ VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD COLOR-IN-COLOR TRANSPARENT / RED SPLATTER BLUE – 12″ VINYL 400 LTD ORANGE – 12″ VINYL BLACK – 12″ VINYL DIGIPAK CD 6 PANELS
Tracklisting: 1. Hypatia 2. Sky Burial 3. Vulture’s Paradise 4. Demonocracy 5. Return of the Warlords 6. Grave Marauders 7. Caveman Blues 8. Worship the Void 9. Runes
All music written and performed by WARLUNG. Recorded by Jacob Rodriguez at King Benny’s House of Sound. Mixed by Jeff Henson and assisted by Jeff Klein at Red Nova Ranch. Mastered by Alberto de Icaza. Artwork by Meike Hakkaart (Art of Maquenda).
Warlung are: Guitar/vox – George Baba Guitar /vox – Philip Bennett Bass – Chris Tamez Drums – Ethan Tamez
At this point, I’ve said a fair amount concerning Berlin rockers Samavayo‘s 2022 album, Pāyān (review here), and the fact that the three-piece had the rug pulled out from under their Spring release tour with Stoned Jesus by Russia’s invasion of that band’s native Ukraine. Setting aside for a moment the horrors of that war that is ongoing as yet another dragging proxy battle for the US supplying weapons against Russian imperialism, that was a hard way to have a record come out, and the work the band put into Pāyān deserved better.
But given that the subject has been raised before, I’ll note that there’s nothing I can tell you about Pāyān that’s going to help you understand the record better than listening to “Prophecy.” The nine-minute video for the just-under-nine-minute song was filmed at this year’s Desertfest Berlin — the trio have also been confirmed for Desertfest Belgium this October — and their progressive psychedelic flourish is suited to the manipulation of said footage that takes place, frontman Behrang Alavi leading the band through twisting rhythms derived from Persian folk and rock as bassist/vocalist Andreas Voland and drummer/vocalist Stephan Voland make each change fluid, consistent, engaging. “Prophecy” soars melodically in a way that, for a band’s seventh long-player (second for Noisolution), speaks to the ongoing nature of Samavayo‘s development and the intention to push themselves to do things they’ve never done before.
Again, I’m only telling you what the music will tell you more effectively.
“Prophecy” is the fourth clip to surface from Pāyān, so one could not accuse Samavayo of not trying to reach their audience, and as you dig into the track, I think you’ll find they’re doing exactly that.
They’ve got fests and more slated for the next few weeks, and you’ll find the dates listed under the player below.
Says Behrang Alavi, “I have waited a long time to make up for the canceled release tour with Stoned Jesus in April in some form. It is a slightly shorter tour but we are extremely looking forward to it and it will be something new to tour in the (high) summer. Some challenges especially of olfactory nature await us!”
PĀYĀN SUMMER TOUR 2022 29.7. Münster (D) – Rare Guitar 30.7. Schwalbach Open Air (D) 31.7. Würzburg – Immerhin (D) 01.8. Dresden (D) – Beatpol * 03.8. Feldkirch (A) – Poolbar Festival * 04.8. Cham (D) – La Cham ** 05.8. München (D) – Free & Easy Festival * 06.8. Wolfach (D) – Moosenmättle Open Air 07.8. Salzburg (A) – Rockhouse ** 13.8. Sonic Blast Moledo (POR) * WITCH ** WO FAT
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Stöner‘s end-of-summer schedule would seem to be taking shape, as they do a full round of festivals in Europe next month before returning to the US to hit the East Coast and Southwest. Neither tour is the longest the band has done, but fair enough as both are wrapped around festival appearances, with Muddy Roots in Tennessee and Monolith on the Mesa in New Mexico anchoring the lists of dates. The three-piece of Brant Bjork, Nick Oliveri and Ryan Güt were among the multitudes this past weekend at RippleFest Texas 2022 as well, and they’ll continue to tour even as Bjork‘s new solo album, Bougainvillea Suite is set to arrive in October on Heavy Psych Sounds (info here). Busy busy busy. If you’re going to do a thing, do it.
I think I’d like to got to the Connecticut show. I put it in the calendar, and that’s the weekend after Psycho Las Vegas, but I haven’t caught Stöner yet, so if my drag-ass ass has yet recovered, I’ll give it a shot.
From social media:
STÖNER – Aug. & Sept. Tour
EAST COAST SOUTH WEST GO VAN GO VAN GO VAN GO!!!!
Thu 8/25 – Brooklyn, NY – Sovereign Fri 8/26 – Boston, MA – The Middle East (Sonia) Sat 8/27 – Jewett City, CT – Prost Bier and Music Hall Mon 8/29 – Philadelphia PA – King Fu Necktie Tue 8/30 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl Wed 8/31 – Ferndale, MI – Magic Mag Thu 9/1 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s Fri 9/2 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups Sat 9/3 – Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn Sun 9/4 – Muddy Roots Festival Tues 9/6 – Virginia Beach – the Bunker
Wed 9/14 – Las Vegas – Soulbelly BBQ Thu 9/15 – Grand Junction – Mesa Theater Fri 9/16 – Denver – HQ Sat 9/17 – Taos NM – Taos Monolith on the Mesa Mon 9/19 Scottsdale AZ with Eyehategod Tue 9/20 – San Diego – Brick By Brick
Previously announced European tour: AUGUST (+ support TBA) 02.08.22 (ITA) Cagliari | CuevaRock Live 04.08.22 (GER) Stuttgart | Universum 05.08.22 (AUT) Innsbruck | p.m.k 06.08.22 (ITA) Monguelfo | Burning Park Festival 07.08.22 (ITA) Bologna | Freakout Club Festival 08.08.22 (ITA) Treviso | ALTROQUANDO 10.08.22 (CHE) Bruson | PALP festival 11.08.22 (POR) Moledo | SonicBlast Fest 12.08.22 (BEL) Kortrijk | ALCATRAZ MUSIC Festival 13.08.22 (GER) Marienthal | Hoflärm 2022 Festival 14.08.22 (NLD) Eindhoven | Effenaar
STÖNER is: Brant Bjork – Guitars/Vocals Nick Oliveri – Bass Ryan Güt – Drums
Posted in Questionnaire on July 26th, 2022 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: Mike Patton of 3 Parts Dead
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Yikes, first question and I’m not sure how to answer. I guess I’ll stick to what’s relevant and just say I’m a musician, with the assumption that that encompasses playing, creating, listening, and generally experiencing it. It came about pretty organically – some of my first memories are around listening to music, some of my best memories growing up are around playing it… Can’t imagine ever not surrounding myself with it.
Describe your first musical memory.
The Beach Boys at the Compaq company picnic when I was 5 years old. First live show, big outdoor shindig with a bordering on festival vibe (at least to a 5 year old), and I loved every second of it. Right up until some glowsticks I had exploded in my eyes and sent me to the ER. Good times.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Another doozy of a question… Haha, it’d be so easy to go with the “cool” memories (neat shows we’ve played, meeting idols), or the funny memories (road stories, spinal tap moments)… But those really just make for fun stories or brags. I guess really it was one particular rehearsal. We had recently gone from a four-piece to our current three-piece, and that first jam with the three of us… it was so fucking freeing. I knew there was interpersonal tension and conflict, but it wasn’t something I had really fully realized was hanging over the band before that – like we’d show up, do our jobs (play), and then pick the drama back up.
But we started to play, and the lack of stress and tension and WEIGHT, and just the way we were able to jam and have the creative juices flow again… I don’t even remember what we jammed on (I think at least one of the tracks from our 2nd EP Master was written then). But I distinctly remember that feeling of relief, and being able to breathe and just enjoy playing with my brothers in a way I had forgotten. I had always idealized the “a band is a gang” mentality, and it got replaced along the way with the “a band is a business/marriage/collective endeavor” mentality of you suck it up and ignore differences and just endure because of whatever… and that jam, I got back to just doing something I love with some dudes that I love.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Fuck man. I’ve read these things many times before, but I guess I completely forgot what you asked when I volunteered myself. I don’t know, I’m not really sure I have many firmly held beliefs, or that any of those have been tested. I don’t have any real spiritual or religious beliefs, I don’t have any faith in politics or people… I was going to follow that up with saying that I believed in my friends and family, but I guess that’s actually probably a valid answer to this question. Without getting into specifics, I’ll just say there have been plenty of let downs there. Part of me says that’s my fault for forgetting they’re people too (which I’ve already established I have no faith in), and part of me says sometimes it’s worth keeping the faith.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I guess that depends on the artist? Some artists progress in a circle, some meander through different climes and times, some grow, some evolve, and some don’t progress at all. I also think it’s a question that can be answered completely differently depending on how you experience the artist’s journey – if you like the Use Your Illusion (or Chinese Democracy), your answer is probably pretty different from someone that is stuck on Appetite. Speaking for myself and my progression… I have no idea. I can barely tell you where I’m at today, much less where I’m going. Let me know if you know where I’m heading!
How do you define success?
For me, at least artistically, I think it’s the moments where something I’ve helped to create is able to connect me with someone else. That can be moments where we’re on stage or rehearsing or in the studio and connecting with each other, moments where the crowd is into it and connecting with us, or moments when someone takes the time to say I dig something you’ve put out there. Commercial success is just the financial ramification of connecting with more people (that would be nice too).
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Haha, fuck man, again? I don’t know… Too many friends die too young, the opioid/fentanyl/mental health crisis (which have all contributed to that first point), 2 girls one cup, the most recent Mötley Crüe tour, the cultural takeover of social media and cell phones… The world is a dark place. But hey, I’ve avoided the Kardashians so far!
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’d love to write a novel. I’ve spent so many hours transported to the most amazing places, taken on the most incredible journeys, by books. When I was a bored and lonely kid in a new school (we moved a good amount growing up) I would sit at my desk and just escape. To this day a good book provides a break from whatever I need a break from, even if it’s my own head. I wrote a few questions ago about my artistic success lying in being able to create connections – that is a kind of connection that I would love to explore someday.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Haha, I’m sensing a theme in my answers here…. Connecting with people. I could also (and many other people have) describe it as moving people, transporting them, making them think or feel or experience or forget or remember. From the artists perspective, maybe it’s putting yourself out there, exposing yourself, risking yourself, expressing yourself. But really I think those are all facets of just creating a connection. And I think that’s something we desperately need in a world that feels increasingly isolated.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m planning on heading to France for the Rugby World Cup with my family and some friends next year as an early birthday celebration. That should be pretty awesome.
