The Obelisk Questionnaire: Corey Webb from Apostle of Solitude
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.
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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Corey Webb from Apostle of Solitude
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
For 19 years now, I have played the drums for Apostle of Solitude. It’s a passion, a labor of love, and a source of balance to other aspects of my life. Thinking back, it seems a bit surreal sometimes how far we’ve taken this idea since the beginning, and the experiences we’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy as a band. AoS is obviously just an underground doom metal band in a sea of other bands doing this on a much larger scale, but I remember when our goal was simply to record a demo and maybe play a show for a few friends, so I truly am grateful for the friends I’ve made along the way and anything we’ve been able to do beyond that. When I started doing this I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to do some of the things I’ve since done. I am forever grateful for the places this journey has taken me.
My own path that led me to play in this band started a bit later in my life than others. I pursued a degree after high school, met my wife, got a “career” sort of job, and got married and shortly after we had our first son. Like others at that age, I was still just sort of finding out who I was as a person. I suppose I had a bit of an identity crisis, where I loved my “at home” life, but more wholistically speaking I basically decided that I couldn’t just work a 9-5 corporate America job every day, come home, mow the lawn, eat dinner, go to bed, rinse and repeat. I quickly became disillusioned with all that and decided there had to be more to it.
There had to be more to me. I wanted something more; some sort of outlet for individual and artistic expression, self-identify, etc. Music had always been an important component in my life, and something that I deeply enjoyed. Tape trading, making mix tapes, buying albums, drawing band logos on my school folders; all that. I played drums / percussion in middle school concert band, and then later marching band in high school, and my dad had an old ‘60s Ludwig kit around the house that I’d play occasionally back then (he was in a wedding band when he was younger), and although I loved playing I never really took it very seriously.
So fast forward to my quarter-life identify crisis of 2003 or so. I’d always been a bit of an introvert and a lone wolf, so I started going to shows by myself. I took photos, started collecting flyers and handbills, and wrote a few reviews. Some I submitted to a few early online sites and local print music publications, but most I just kept for myself. I was just doing it for myself anyway; just sort of exploring. I started to make some friends in the local metal and punk scene here in Indianapolis, and then started helping with flyer distribution for certain bands that I liked. I wanted to be a part of this little scene that’s always been there, but I’d just discovered. Sure I went to bigger sort of actual “concerts” with friends when I was in high school, but otherwise was pretty much wholly unaware of anything closer to the ground than that.
At the time I certainly didn’t realize there was a thriving local music scene with some great bands right under my nose, but I was starting to make the connection. A few months later I bought a cheap Fender guitar and started to learn some chords and whatnot. I had a little 4-track Tascam recorder and started experimenting with recording (that didn’t last long). Sort of toyed with the idea in my head of maybe one day playing in a band, but never really seriously considered it until my friend Steve (Steve Janiak, who also, as fate would have it, happens to play in AoS now) suggested to my buddy Carl Arana and I that we should start a band. This was at a show at The Melody Inn, a small but famous Indianapolis rock club, at a show for Steve’s band Devil To Pay, who Carl and I were both big fans of. Carl and I both sort of laughed it off at the time, but I believe it was like the very next day when we were like “dude, yeah let’s give it a shot”.
Carl had recently moved to Indiana from California and was one of the first new friends I met going to local shows. We were both walking down an alley looking for the entrance to a show featuring Devil To Pay (from Indianapolis), Slow Horse (from New York), and The Rubes (from Ohio). Both Carl and I sort of recognized each other as having “the look” of someone looking for the show, so we introduced ourselves as we were looking for the club. Absolutely killer show, by the way, and “the club” ended up being a private studio (“Ventilator Studios”) with a sort of DIY “donation to drink from the keg” sort of deal. After that Carl and I became good friends and decided to start jamming together and see where it might take us.
I ditched the guitar (I think it currently still has the same set of strings on it as when I bought it, ha) and bought a cheap entry level Ludwig drum kit. We wrote a few songs together and made some rehearsal recordings under the moniker “Tri Power”. We also got together with Steve and recorded some of those same ideas with the 3 of us under the moniker “Arlorey Eve”. We were so proud of that little CD-R, and gave about 20 copies or so out to friends. That felt so good at the time. It was like “hey man, we can do this!”. Carl had a great ear for music (still does), and came up with some pretty killer guitar riffs. Then the bottom sort of fell out for me a few months later when Carl moved back out to California. I decided I still wanted to do something with this, but I was honestly a bit intimidated about playing with someone else.
Being new to all this, the notion of linking up with more seasoned musicians was definitely intimidating. I met up with Chuck Brown via a local “musicians wanted” message board, and we talked online a bit, and then decided to get together to jam. At the time, Chuck played drums in The Gates of Slumber, so Apostle of Solitude was more of a side project to him in that regard. He had some songs from a prior band that he had called The Keep, which sort of petered out and then he decided to regroup and call it Apostle of Solitude.
The first time we got together, it was Chuck, Brent McClellan on bass, and me. I’m not sure if those guys considered it an audition or not, but from my perspective we were just getting together to see how things would click. I think we played Saint Vitus’ “Born Too Late”, and three or four songs from a demo cd that Chuck sent to me. Maybe one or two of the songs that eventually ended up on the first AoS demo we put out? I don’t recall exactly. The short-term goal was just to record some songs and play a few shows, which was perfect for me and all I really wanted at the time. Nearly 20 years on, Apostle of Solitude continues to play doom metal from the heart and with absolute sincerity. Our music seems to connect with people on a very personal level, which is something we are pretty proud of.
Describe your first musical memory.
Probably my dad’s blue sparkle Ludwig kit set up in our living room. I grew up on ’80s heavy metal, but before that it was ’60s and ’70s “classic rock” from my dad’s record collection. Of course as a teenager it took some time before I realized that some of the music my dad listened to was actually good music. Like most kids, at the time I was thinking “that’s what my parents liked, so it couldn’t be cool, right? No way”. I gravitated at an early age towards the heavier, grittier, and darker sounds with BIG drums and loud guitars. I distinctly remember the day I first heard Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks.”
I was in 4th or 5th grade, and my dad put the record on the hi-fi stereo in our living room. Referencing the posters from Hit Parader, Creem, etc. (then later on, Metal Maniacs, etc.) on my bedroom walls featuring spandex-clad androgynous rockers, he said something to the effect of “son, let me show you what REAL music sounds like”, ha. I reluctantly agreed and sat down in the chair as he proceeded to drop the needle onto the record. As corny as it may sound, that moment changed my life. Though I probably didn’t really openly admit it to him or myself at the time, that was the first time I realized some of the music my dad listened to was actually cool. But also, and more importantly, John Henry Bonham, right? I don’t think you can really call yourself a rocker if you hear the beginning of that song and don’t want to air drum. I knew then that someday I wanted to do something that captured that same sort of feeling, and that thought has never really left me.
Another early memory: Somewhere in Time was the first Maiden record I bought on the day it was released, and I can still remember that excitement. It seems to me it was a bit more exciting back then to buy a record on its release date. The thrill of going to the record store to pick the album up and then going home and listening to it as you poured through the liner notes and album art were all very tangible things.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
The first time Apostle of Solitude went to Europe was a real trip. By that time we’d already done multiple US tours primarily consisting of the Midwest, the east coast states, and the southern states; but this was our first time touring internationally, and it was so exciting. Everything was like a new frontier. We booked eight consecutive dates through six different countries culminating in a performance at the legendary Hammer of Doom festival in Wurzburg, Germany. The first stop on that tour and our fist time playing for an audience outside the US was at the Doom Over Vienna festival at the Viper Room in Vienna, Austria. Being totally immersed in another country and another culture like that is cool, regardless. Everyone was so friendly and appreciative, and in a way we really felt like we were doing something big; I know I did. We had a big touring van and a driver, and a guarantee for most nights with accommodations. Stuff we hadn’t really experienced yet on prior tours in the US.
Chuck had already been over to EU with The Gates of Slumber in 2004, but this was the first time for the rest of us. Our bass player Mike had just joined the band about a year prior to that so we finally felt like we were firing on all cylinders, and to be doing it in front of audiences in France, Belgium, Poland, The Netherlands, and Germany felt great. Playing on the big stage at the Hammer of Doom festival for the first time on that tour is something I’ll never forget. We’d played several US doom fests but Hammer of Doom is something on an altogether different scale. HUGE stage, and a crowd larger than we’d ever been in front of before. The “house kit” included my choice of like six different type of snare drums and multiple options for cymbal sizes and makes. We had our own separate green room with our name on the door, proper catering, fans asking for autographs, the whole nine. We were like “yeah, so let’s definitely do more of this.”.
That memory is probably at the top of my list, but prior to that holding our first demo in my hands, then later releasing our first album on vinyl and cd (on an actual record label!), playing our very first show outside the mini barn we used to practice in, the first proper tour we did (nine or 10 dates through the East Coast… one of them being for a crowd of two people at a tavern in New Jersey), playing our first doom metal festivals in those earlier days (Doom or Be Doomed in Maryland, Templars of Doom in Indiana, Born Too Late in New York, Born To Be Doomed in Maryland, Days of the Doomed in Wisconsin, Stoner Hands of Doom, then a bit later the first Maryland Doom Fest, etc.) are all also on the list.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
My marriage and thus my family are interracial, and this was a bit of a first for both my wife’s and my families. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that “love is blind”, and have never had any issue whatsoever with relationships outside one’s race or sex, etc. I grew up in a fairly diverse environment and it just wasn’t something I really thought about. And I’ll say my parents and immediate family have always been absolutely supportive of me, my wife, and our kids in that regard. When my wife and I first met and first started dating, I never really even considered that we might get static for being together. But we do live in a fairly conservative area of the country so I’ve since learned that being in an interracial relationship means sometimes ignorant people might be judgmental and might think it’s their business to let you know they don’t approve. Shortly before we got married I had an older, sort of old school extended family member that really acted like an ass about it, and went so far as to threaten to “remove my name from the family tree” (like that’s a thing). It was both hurtful and embarrassing to be honest, but I was angry more than anything. That person apologized to me years later on their deathbed at the hospital, but I carried that resentment around with me for a long time before that, and I probably still do a bit. I suppose I thought blood was thicker than water, but that’s not always the case.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Refinement of the things you do well and/or evolution and change from what you previously did. With art, its obviously subjective so sometimes this means the band or artist you like creates something you like even more; other times it means the band you once liked made an album you absolutely cannot stand to listen to. My opinion is that the best art, art that is true to it’s creator, is always deeply personal, so as the person creating art evolves so does their personal expression through their art. There’s nothing at all wrong with taking into consideration what others might like as an ingredient to your recipe, but ideally I think that notion should be a secondary ingredient to your creation.
That said I love AC/DC, so take all that with a grain of salt. What was that Angus Young quote?….”I’m sick to death of people saying we’ve made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we’ve made 12 albums that sound exactly the same”. So in my opinion artistic progression is certainly a good thing, but it’s not necessarily a requirement.
How do you define success?
Happiness.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I was walking in the woods once with a friend, and we walked up on a deer that had gotten its leg caught in an old piece of farm fence and had either starved to death or gotten killed by something. The deer had obviously been dead for quite some time. It was summertime, and the carcass was swollen up like three times its normal size. The eyes looked to be gone and decay had set in. The hair had started falling off in clumps, and the skin was stretched around the bones like old leather in the hot sun. Absolutely smelled to high heaven (I can’t stress this fact enough, we actually smelled it before we saw it… so nasty). Well, as we got closer we noticed it was moving (!). And making this weird grunting / slurping noise. My friend and I both sort of froze in our tracks and just stood there trying to figure out if we were tripping or what. The grunting continued, and the carcass continued to move in these sort of jerky motions and just as we both were looking at each other like “dude wtf” a wild hog crawls out of the deer carcass, absolutely covered in guts from its rooter to its tooter. It just stood there blinking at us as it’s eyes adjusted to the sunlight outside of the deer carcass, and then it walked away casually. Looking back it’s a bit of a funny story, but it seemed to be the pentacle of “things that are not pleasurable to look at” at the time.
Oh and I also watched all the Faces of Death VHS tapes when I was younger. In retrospect I definitely wish I hadn’t done that, ha.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
The next Apostle of Solitude album. We also have some things we’re working on for a potential collaboration, but I need to keep a lid on those plans for now.
I’ve always been a “one band” sort of guy commitment wise, but someday I’d like to play drums in another project; possibly something much different than Apostle of Solitude. Maybe something along the lines of Grand Funk, Free, or Lynyrd Skynyrd? ;)
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
If an artist makes something that’s true to themselves, but someone else also connects with it on a personal level, that’s magic. If it changes the way the viewer or listener sees things, or the way they approach things, that’s even better. And if the viewer or listener hates it or are offended by it, that’s still good. There’s a connection there that’s specific to this human experience, and it’s a special thing in this world.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Probably our next family vacation, though I’m not sure where or when. Our oldest son graduated high school this summer and he’s working now and taking college courses, so it’s getting more difficult to coordinate that sort of thing. We went to the San Francisco area last October and absolutely loved it out there. We got to see some of the redwood trees in and around Muir Woods, but I’d really like to go further up the coast and inland a bit to see the Sequoia trees. It’s absolutely beautiful out there, and while I love my home state, California is definitely a bit of fresh air in more ways than one compared to the Midwest.
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