Posted in Whathaveyou on May 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Party in the desert, right? Certainly looks that way as the inaugural and maybe-one-time-only Burque Rock City Fest adds Dead Meadow, Greenbeard, Abrams, SuperGiant, Violet Rising and THC Worm to complete its lineup. SuperGiant are local to Albuquerque — which is the ‘Burque’ in ‘Burque City,’ where the fest is happening — this Aug. 4-5, and the first three names are familiar, but I admit I can’t find any info on Violet Rising and as this is my first time hearing/hearing of THC Worm, I’ve included the Bandcamp stream of their Dec. 2022 debut, Dead Horse Incubator, in case you’d also like to be introduced. As one might expect, it’s pretty over the top.
In the end — and I’ll note that there’s still two months to go before the festival actually takes place, so ‘end’ is relative — the lineup here is pretty solid for a lower-key take on what the same crew normally puts together for Monolith on the Mesa. A representative showing set in a different context. If this is a pivot to building something new, they certainly have the contacts, infrastructure and reach to do so, but if it’s a placeholder until 2024, it’s a badass one just the same. If you headed out, I think you probably know what’s coming, and if not, please see the first sentence above.
From the PR wire:
BURQUE ROCK CITY ANNOUNCE FINAL LINEUP!
Burque Rock City Is Happy To Announce The Full Lineup Of Bands For August 4th & 5th Downtown ABQ At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar
Burque Rock City Would Love to Welcome: Dead Meadow * Greenbeard * Abrams * Supergiant * Violet Rising * THC Worm
Completing the Amazing Lineup with Previously Announced Bands:
Weedeater * Pike Vs The Automaton * Belzebong * Early Moods * High Desert Queen * Thunder Horse * Sorcia * Prism Bitch * Coma Revovery * Brant Bjork * Yawning Balch * Year of the Cobra * Fatso Jetson * Electric Citizen * Tenderizor * Street Tombs * Red Mesa * Ojo Malo * Nomestomper
Roman Barham, co-founder of Monolith on the Mesa, has been quietly working on Burque Rock City Fest.
Barham says:
“Monolith On The Mesa crew would love to thank everyone who helped make Monolith 2022 an awesome fest. Huge thanks from The Taos Mesa Brewery crew, the Hotel Luna Mystica crew and to all the very respectful patrons that came out and made Monolith On The Mesa 2022 an amazing tribute to our fallen brother Dano Sanchez (deceased Monolith co-founder).
We have decided to take a year off from Monolith and bring it back in 2024 to Taos Mesa Brewery.
Branching south from the Monolith On The Mesa tree is Burque Rock City Fest in Albuquerque, NM At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar On Friday August 4th & Saturday August 5th 2023.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
One original and two covers seems innocuous enough until you get to the fact that one of those covers is “All Star.” Anyone see that video where the dude from Smash Mouth is hammered and goes on about going to someone in the audience’s house and murdering their family? If not, it’s both fucked and worth a watch. I don’t know what on earth might’ve possessed Mothman and The Thunderbirds spearhead Alex Parkinson to take on that particularly brutal earworm, beyond a well developed sense of irony, but I’m sorry, I’m not listening to that shit.
I listen to all kinds of music, and I’m up for checking out the original track “Gazer” and their version of “Mr. Spaceman” by The Byrds, and I’ll even dig into the bonus track, but Smash Mouth? That song is so bad it’s poisonous. I’m sure they do it and it’s either great or hilarious — or better, both — but I gotta pass. Just that track. The rest I’ll look forward to mightily.
June 23 is the release date for the Philly outfit’s Gazer EP, a stopgap en route to their next full-length, and they sent the following info down the PR wire:
Mothman and The Thunderbirds have returned once again, this time with the space-themed EP Gazer. The EP features the band’s original track “Gazer”, a space rockin’ song that is equal parts adrenaline and psychedelia. The new song is accompanied by two covers that keep with the cosmic theme: a mystifying version of Smash Mouth’s “All Star” and a totally tripped out take on The Byrds’ “Mr. Spaceman”. The EP will be released on June 23rd, and is recommended for fans of Torche, Hum, Ween, Mutoid Man, Swervedriver, and Truckfighters.
The band welcomes back Joe Sobieski, who previously sang on their 2021 track “Cloud Giant”. Joe penned the lyrics to “Gazer” and sings on the verses for that track and “All Star”. His clean yet animated vocals provide a potent contrast to project leader Alex Parkinson’s explosive choruses. Egor Lappo also returns at the helm of production duties, having previously elevated the band’s sound on their 2021 CKY cover and 2022 split EP with World Eaters. Egor’s mixing and mastering skills shine through once again, tripling down on the cosmic sound Mothman and The Thunderbirds peddle throughout this EP.
When asked for comment on the Gazer EP, Alex had this to say: “this EP is very trippy, and very, very fun!” Pressed for something more insightful to say, he added: “we’ve been hard at work on the next album, so this EP was a nice break. “Gazer” was a song Joe and I wrote in 2018 that we unearthed and recorded earlier this year – I’m super proud of how it turned out! We had a great time putting our own strange spin on those covers too. This EP is a fun pitstop for the band as we prepare to embark on our next big sonic adventure!”
Tracklist: 1) Gazer 2) All Star 3) Mr. Spaceman 4) Liminal Spacetime Continuum (Bonus – Instrumental Demo)
Credits: Alex Parkinson – lead & backing vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin, synths Joe Sobieski – lead vocals, whistle solo Egor Lappo – mixing, mastering, production, drum programming Lyrics for “Gazer” written by Joe Sobieski, music by Alex Parkinson. Music for the bonus track “Liminal Spacetime Continuum” was written by Alex Parkinson.
Posted in Questionnaire on May 31st, 2023 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: Eric Patzschke, Felix Rambach and Simon Ulm of Godzilla in the Kitchen
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
What we do I describe as having fun! But the most important thing is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We spend a lot of time together and for this reason it is important to spend this time with a smile on your face, no matter how serious the music is. Of course, our music is basically serious and so are the topics we address with our covers and videos. We started jamming and quickly realized that we all shared similar musical roots. First songs were written pretty easily and so we decided to stick to that process. In some way we express what moves us. Every time we jam something that really gets us, everyone in the room knows immediately: that was awesome – let’s make something out of it. You could say the songs depicts our emotional state at the time it were written. In our two albums, of course, we have gone through a development. Exodus is more of an overall concept, whereas on Godzilla In The Kitchen we also had many different songs related to the genre. We love both albums and they mean a lot to us as a band.
Describe your first musical memory.
Eric Patzschke: My musical inspirations are manifold. but today i would limit myself to my biggest inspiration: Led Zeppelin. To this day, I can turn on any record by this band without a single song on it annoying or disturbing me. The songwriting is simply impeccable, everything fits, the sound is timeless and what inspires me the most is that they never thought about music genre. There is rock, prog, psychedelic, folk, country in their songs but in the end it is still Led Zeppelin. For me simply the greatest band in the history of music.
Felix Rambach: The discovery of the band Porcupine Tree was one of the main turning points in my musical development. When we had our final concerts at the music school, my teacher wanted me to play “The Sound Of Muzak” by Porcupine Tree. By that time, I covered a lot of rock and metal songs from Slipknot, Green Day, Lamb Of God, System Of A Down, but also some of the older stuff like Dire Straits, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and so on. But when I was introduced to the musical work of Gavin Harrison, I was immediately flashed. The combination of his sound and the way he constructs his drum parts were kind of a game changer for me. I really wanted to become such a musical and interesting drummer like he is. Since then I have studied a lot of musicians like Danny Carey, Benny Greb, David Garibaldi or Jeff Porcaro (and still do). I like how all of them manage to serve the music while preserving recognizability by their sound and the way they play. They always add something special to the music. And that’s what I want to do when we write our own songs. Make the music more interesting while keeping the vibe of the song running and evolving. For me, there is never a master plan, we jam and whatever comes out, if we like it, we keep it. That’s what I really love about our music, every song is always kind of a retrospect at our emotional state of the time it was written.
Simon Ulm: I am pretty sure my first musical memory was listening to the “Made in Japan” Live Album of Deep Purple. I remember listening to the Bass Lines of Roger Glover and thinking: I definitely wanna do something like this. I think this was before I started walking. From there on I sucked in every Rock and Metal song I could get my hands on and dreamed of moving people with hammering bass lines myself. When I was thirteen, I discovered “Forty Six & 2”by Tool and immediately bought a cheap bass guitar and amp. That’s how it happened!
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Wacken 2022. We were invited to play six shows at the biggest metal festival in the world. It was the first festival experience as artists and also the first time Wacken Open Air for us. Having both of it checkmarked in one run is definitely something we are very proud of. We have a very detailed report on our website if you wanna read about all the details of this trip.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
It wasn’t possible for us to get together on a continuous basis after graduation in 2016. We each had to earn money and come to terms with our new lives as workers. In 2020, we all finally settled back in Leipzig. So you can say that we were very inactive as a band for at least 5 years and only saw each other once a month. It was a very hard time for the band. But we always believed that we would get back together in one place and go for it. Funnily enough, that happened in the middle of the 2020 pandemic. We remastered the first album and recorded the second one straight away. 2022 then Wacken and touring and we can’t wait to go on tour again this year.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
What we notice, not at least because it affects our own music as well, is that everything is getting way more technical. There are numerous ways to set up your gear in the way you want it to achieve the sound you’re aiming for and the result is that music itself is getting more and more detailed. The term “sound” is becoming increasingly important, you want one that makes you recognizable but not too diverged from the average listening habits. It’s a tough balancing act. Plus, with today’s capabilities for everyone to produce and promote their own music very easily, you have to compete with a lot of other musicians. However, this – in order to keep your music interesting and some sort of outstanding – leads to whole new approaches to writing music and thus to many niche genres.
How do you define success?
To us, success is measured by response. As artists, we make our art to transport something. Since we don’t have any lyrics, we aim to transport feelings by our music. And the idea of transporting something seems to lose sense when there’s no one receiving it. We want to take the people out on a journey with us, either to forget about their everyday worries, problems and anxieties or to process them in a world we created. So basically, every person truly appreciating our music is a success for us.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Ok let’s try to stick to something unserious here. A story from our last tour in October 2022: Simon, our bass player, was so exhausted shortly before the end of the tour that he took his sleeping bag and lay down on the board next to our car and just slept for two hours. We still have no idea how he managed to do that and why he felt better afterwards than before, but we hope that our sleeping situation on tour will improve in the future and that we can offer him a warm bed next time…
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A 3rd album :)
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Art is a way of communication, it transports feelings and emotions in a way that spoken words aren’t capable of. Today, a lot of popular music is produced with no real intention, lyrics are vacuous and the main goal of those songs is to be not annoying or irritating. It kind of leads you to not listen properly. But if you make music as art because you have something to say, you want people to listen, to feel what you want to make them feel, whether its pleasant feelings like love, joy or uncomfortable feelings like anxiety, depression, frustration and so on. You need the full spectrum. Otherwise, you’re not producing art, you’re producing entertainment.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Once they were announced for Burque Rock City Fest in March, The only real question was how long weed-worshiping Polish sludge metallers Belzebong would be on the road in the US, and now we know. That festival in Albuquerque will be the final stop on a string of dates that covers just about a month’s worth of touring — there’s a four-day break in there and some other days off, but it’s a good run — and they’ll set off from the Eastern Seaboard on July 7 for what they’re calling ‘Weedsommar,’ because, well, weed, and midsummer, and that movie, and subculture speaking to itself. You get the idea.
This is the part where I point out Belzebong‘s last record came out five years ago. Whatever. Good edibles take a while sometimes. Keeping company with Greenbeard — who play both rock and roll — Belzebong were in the US last year for a stop through Psycho Las Vegas (review here) where the two bands also featured on the same day, though whether that’s where they met or not I have no idea. But it’s a European act coming to the US, so maybe everybody stop shooting each other for five minutes so we can make a decent impression, hmm? A lot to ask these days, I know.
Dates follow, and if you’ve never seen Belzebong before, I’ll tell you outright they’re a blast. Fun fun fun, and fun. From social media:
BELZEBONG – Weedsommar
North American Tour 2023 with Greenbeard. Tickets go on sale this Friday.
7/7 Cambridge, MA Sonia 7/8 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie 7/9 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus Bar 7/11 Cleveland, OH No Class 7/12 Detroit, MI Sanctuary Detroit 7/13 Indianapolis, IN Black Circle 7/14 Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge 7/18 Dallas, TX Club Dada 7/19 Austin, TX The Lost Well 7/20 El Paso, TX Rockhouse Dive Bar Kitchen Venue 7/21 Tempe, AZ Yucca Tap Room 7/22 Los Angeles, CA Resident 7/25 Sacramento, CA Cafe Colonial 7/26 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge 7/28 Eugene, OR John Henry’s 7/29 Vancouver, BC The Wise Hall & Lounge 7/30 Seattle, WA Funhouse Seattle 8/1 Portland, OR High Water Mark Lounge 8/3 Salt Lake City, UT Aces High Saloon 8/4 Denver, CO Hi-Dive Denver 8/5 Albuquerque, NM Burque Rock City Fest (#128168#)(#128168#)(#128168#) poster: Rafał Łagowski
(#128168#)(#128168#)(#128168#)
Assembled at the behest of SloomWeep Productions and offered as two separate digital compilations, StonedChine Vol. 1 and StonedChine Vol. 2 are specifically focused on the growth of underground heavy sounds in China and the Chinese diaspora. Each volume offers one or two tracks per band and has a runtime that, on its own, would be a 2LP — Vol. 1is 54 minutes/eight tracks/five bands, Vol. 2 is 63 minutes/six tracks/three bands — if physically pressed. The styles included run a gamut between and sometimes within the bands themselves, as Alpaca from Shanghai lead off with 2019’s single “Drown” (12:04) and the maybe-new “Jauria” (8:03), moving between sludge to psych-dub jamming to grindcore in their first piece while in “Jauria” they use a declarative chug as a backdrop for a Crowbar-style airing of grievances, shifting into a dramatic solo section before looping back to the central riff.
Immediately, StonedChine Vol. 1 claims extremity as part of Chinese heavy, and The Hermit, who close with the whistle-from-the-movie-inclusive “Kill Bill” (6:19) with their Bongzilla-type crust ‘n’ crackle sludge, reinforce the message. But the ‘various artists’ release doesn’t skip on the variety either, as Ramblin’ Roze picks up from Alpaca with a turn toward heavy rock that nonetheless keeps the threat of violent intent palpable with an opening news-broadcast sample about nine hikers being found murdered in the woods.
That song is “Mountain of the Dead” (8:35), and with feedback building behind its start, one expects an onslaught, or, given the content, at very least a madcap boogie in the vein of Japan’s Church of Misery, but the fuzzy roll that ensues is more Uncle Acid in its languidity and guitar interplay, melodic grunge-doom vocals more straightforward to keep up with the tempo boost as they kick into a “Hole in the Sky”-style riff and transition back to the hook with Heaven and Hell-style purpose, lead guitar howling behind the vocals before it goes down the drain at the end. Ramblin’ Roze‘s “Escape” (4:37) is partly acoustic and has an even stronger lead vocal performance, a thick Zeppelin vibe that grows raucous near its conclusion after a relatively peaceful start. They’ve reportedly had lineup changes since 2020’s debut LP, Howl of the Coomb, from which “Mountain of the Dead” is taken as a remaster, but would fit on any number of EU/US heavy rock imprints.
Guangzhou-based deathsludge rockers Rude Gove offer two tracks from last year’s Chirp of Doom in “Save My Soul” (4:15) and “Yeti” (4:15), rawer in production and more beastly in their assault, like they dug a whole in their own low-end mud and decided to record there. Peppered with lead guitar hinting at melody, “Save My Soul” is gritty, low and guttural, and “Yeti” follows suit with a speedier swing and more open cymbal crash, the vocals veering toward cleaner throaty shouts but still with plenty of Carcass-type gurgles to fill it out, catchy and no less coated in dirt-dust for that.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, meditative psych explorers SPAWN issued their righteous Live at Moonah Arts Collective (review here) through SloomWeep in 2021, and are the most tripped-out act on either volume of StonedChine, with “Meditation in an Evil Temple” (6:28) as their lone inclusion, resonant in its worldly acid flow. They’re a sharp curve from Rude Gove just before and they give way to the aforementioned The Hermit to cap Vol. 1, but can’t help but stand out even from the scope of intent Alpaca laid out. Returning to harsh vibes, “Kill Bill” — from The Hermit‘s 2021 The Wall of Desire EP — boasts some subtler layering in the guitar near its finish and is fluid in its movement from one part to the next, making its primary impression in bite with some depth underneath.
Vol. 2 is perhaps more solidified in its methodology, but consistent in the purpose of highlighting the Chinese underground. “My Pet Depression” (8:04) and “Endless Parade” (13:32) come from Apollo 20‘s Endless Parade 10″, released in 2021, and they appeared in succession there as well. The melodies in the vocals of the former remind a bit of Acid Bath‘s brooding slog, but “Endless Parade” offsets its early whispers with blown-out shouts soon enough before re-mellowing and nestling into an engaging solo-topped jam at about six minutes in that carries them for the duration, some cricket chirping added among the light effects swirl to help ease from one to the other.
A lucid ending there lets the punch of bass at the outset of BanyanRiver‘s “The Ghost of Temptation Still Haunts On Me” (15:36) have that much more impact, and as the longest cut on either volume of StonedChine, it declares itself with a patient buildup and a slow, Black Sabbath‘s “Black Sabbath”-type pull in a short opening movement before a dead stop and feedback arrive to announce an ultra-dense janga-janga march. By the time it gets to including what might be vocals beamed in through another dimension, it’s a semi-metallic thrust that will drop to chants and meditative doom, but the bass and drums still hold the march as the guitar gradually freaks out en route to the inevitable noisy ending. “All is One” (7:48) launches from there with standalone chant-like vocals for its first minute-plus, and maintains that ceremonial spirit as it works its way into a central nod, growing furious and punk in its shove at 5:35 and riding that speedier course to its end, laced with feedback.
Bass also introduces HallucinGod‘s “Go Space” (6:49), which is a less-directly sludged nod at first, clean vocals resting atop an angular but flowing doomer riff, turning semi-psych with guitar effects and backing vocals in its midsection before reviving its prior lumber. HallucinGod‘s second track, “Marijuaua Desert” (11:27) (sic), is broader in its arrangement and remains grounded in the kickdrum even as the guitar reaches into ethereal atmospherics branched outward from the solid groove underpinning. Layered group chanting in the verse fascinates and gives over to speech in the left channel and swirl in the right, but the hint toward the intensity to come is in that drum, which grows steadily more active before taking off into a modded High on Fire-style breakout turned almost cosmic in HallucinGod‘s hands, if only momentarily. They’ve grown huge in the interim, which is shown in the slowdown and subsequent roll toward the return of the folk instrumentation that started the track for its ending, which fades out and brings StonedChine Vol. 2 with it.
With more than a few surprises throughout, these two StonedChine compilations get their point across in the freshness of the bands’ approaches to heavy. As SloomWeep posits, the Chinese heavy underground is new — the label counts 2011 as the country’s first stoner-doom show; Never Before (who don’t feature here) played — and many of these acts sound accordingly young, but it’s new bands, new players and new ideas that result in new sounds, and it may be that the bridges being constructed between styles by some of these groups, whether it’s sludgy grind-dub or just an individualized take on doomed psychedelia, will continue to flesh out as the next decade or so plays out. In any case, the mission of StonedChine in showcasing China’s flourishing heavy scene — as well as SloomWeep‘s roster of talent — is unquestionably a success, and coming out of a comp with the homework of more bands to dig into is an ideal made manifest here. It’s not a minor undertaking, but being split between its two volumes helps, and both the educational value for those outside its own geographical sphere and as a listening experience, easily worth the minimal chasedown. All you have to do is be willing to hear something new.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 30th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I was on social media the other day, scrolling for band news which is pretty much what I do on there at this point, when I saw something or other about King Buffalo — they’ve been on tour in Europe ahead of returning to Freak Valley next week, it might’ve been that, it might not — but I was skimming the comments and there were people ragging on the band.
It was a little surprising, but it’s actually a sign that all the work they’ve put in, whether it’s on tour, or the pandemic trilogy, or even just their own online presence, is starting to pay off. People who don’t even like them know them and feel strongly enough about their work to have an opinion either way, and to express that opinion. That doesn’t happen for bands who don’t matter. Most bands nobody talks about at all. So I took it as a positive, even though it was someone basically being like, “grr here’s a thing on the internet I don’t like so I’m saying I don’t like it.” So it goes.
The Rochester trio have Copenhell and Hellfest to look forward to in addition to Freak Valley in June, more UK/EU shows this Fall, and US festival stops between as they continue to support last year’s Regenerator (review here). They’ve just sent word along the PR wire that their 2013 Demo (review here) will see a one-time limited vinyl pressing and that preorders go up on Friday. I remember when that came out, they were a four-piece and I was stoked because I’d been into Velvet Elvis, in which drummer Scott Donaldson and then-guitarist/vocalist Randall Coon had featured, while guitarist/vocalist Sean McVay and bassist Dan Reynolds had played in Abandoned Buildings Club.
I knew at the time they were a cool band. I’m not sure I knew they’d put themselves at the forefront of American heavy psych rock, or be the kind of act people feel compelled to express opinions about on socials, but when I think (or listen) back to that demo, you can definitely hear the roots of what they would and have become in the decade since it came out. Maybe a fan-piece or a curio, but I’m a fan. I guess I felt like saying so on the internet.
From the band:
KING BUFFALO – Demo LP
DEMO Preorders start THIS FRIDAY 6/2/23 at 12pm EST.
For the first time available on vinyl, our “Demo”! These were the first 3 songs we ever wrote and finally decided to give it a proper pressing on the 10 year anniversary.
THIS IS A ONE TIME PRESSING! After the Test Presses, Deluxe and Standard Editions are sold out, that will be it. THESE SONGS WILL NEVER BE PRESSED ON VINYL AGAIN… EVER!
These songs have been remastered for vinyl with new artwork by Ryan T. Hancock.
Tracklisting: 1. Pocket Full Of Knife 05:22 2. In Dim Light 06:08 3. Providence Eye 11:15
October 17.10. (UK) London @ The Dome 18.10. (UK) Leeds @ Brudenell Social 19.10. (UK) Nottingham @ Bodega 20.10. (UK) Brighton @ The Arch 21.10. (BE) Antwerp @ Desertfest 28.10. (DE) Hamburg @ Lazy Bones Festival
North America Tour
6/28 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s 6/29 Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Festival 8/25 Cleveland, OH @ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 8/26 Lexington, KY @ Expansion Fest 9/23 Austin, TX @ Ripplefest Texas
King Buffalo is: Sean McVay – Guitar, Vocals, & Synth Dan Reynolds – Bass & Synth Scott Donaldson – Drums
Posted in Questionnaire on May 30th, 2023 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: Ross Ferguson of Owls & Eagles
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I like to think of my self as a music maker, I’ve always enjoys the layers you can create with sound. You don’t need to be an amazing musician, you just have to have an ear for what you think sounds good, figure out how to make that sound, find someone else to make it with, and voila, you have yourself a band. Music has always been a part of my life, from when I was a kid going through my parent’s record and cassette collections; to discovering punk and metal for the first time, that’s the first time I remember really listening to music and thinking “…that’s only four chords, I can do that!”. I performed in plays and performance pieces in school as often as I could, so the passion to be a stage musician was born. I find getting along with most people pretty easy, so I don’t think I’m too difficult to be in a band with. It makes a huge difference when all the members really gel and being in a band with your closest homie makes it easy.
Describe your first musical memory.
I remember piano and bagpipe music from very early on. My parent’s music collection was very eclectic, but the intro for Money for Nothing by Dire Straits blasted through Walkman speakers at as loud as you can handle is something I will always remember.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Touring Canada with Dayglo Abortions in our hardcore project Citizen Rage. It gave me a whole new respect for touring musicians, especially those DIYers like us. Holy shit the driving hours and grunt work, but the most rewarding musical experience of my life to this date.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I went down a Qanon rabbit hole during the pandemic. I’ve never trusted the government, wherever I’ve lived. I’m not saying they’re all bad people, but there’s too much chance for corruption with all the closed doors shit they do, and they are only accountable to the corporations and not the people and don’t get me started on the unelected groups that run shit behind the scenes. Short story long, I lost it at a jam going on about baby eating satanists probably lol and was called out, told to step back and look at who I was becoming. It was an interesting time for me personally and I’ve become a little more relaxed in my opinions since then.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Anywhere you want. King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard showed me that as long as the music is good, the fans will accept pretty much anything, regardless of genre. That feels like artistic progression to me, not being held to a specific style or sound, exploring different tones and shapes of sound is exciting to me and naturally leads your forward as a musician.
How do you define success?
Being happy with who you are, what you have and where you are, however you define that.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Nothing comes to mind. I thought of many things I wish hadn’t happened, but I don’t regret seeing them, that is besides every shit movie someone I care about made me watch.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’ve always wanted to build a house. Create a dwelling and live in it seems like such a basic human ability, it’s a shame most of us are so far removed from the process. If we paid a bit more attention, it might become more equitable and affordable.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To make people feel or evoke an image or story without direct physical interaction.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Growing old with the love of my life and watching my grandchildren grow up.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 30th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
YOB‘s current US tour started over a week ago and this week swings through the Midwest en route to the Eastern Seaboard. The Eugene, Oregon, cosmic doom stalwarts announced about a week and a half ago they’ll reissue their debut album, 2002’s Elaborations of Carbon, through Relapse Records in the spirit of past album revisits with new artwork, a remaster, and so on. The tour will see them stop through Mutants of the Monster this week and as they head in that direction, they’ve put word out that Dave French (a noted front-of-house sound engineer and formerly drums in Brothers of the Sonic Cloth) has joined on drums as a permanent member of the group.
This isn’t the huge news it might seem to be when one considers that French has been playing with YOB for two years, as the band mentions below, but the current tour is the largest undertaking they’ve done in that time, so it’s a fitting moment to make it official. French stepped in on drums for YOB as life began to return post-pandemic, filling the role formerly occupied by Travis Foster, who had joined in 2003. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt is as he has been the lone remaining founding member, while bassist Aaron Rieseberg (also Simple Forms) came aboard when the band returned in 2009 after breaking up in ’06. Got all that?
The dates don’t really matter. What’s important is that with French as a permanent member, YOB will proceed on this tour and continue moving forward, and that their announcement gives me an excuse to post a pic by Dutch photographer Paul Verhagen, who is among the all-time champion sweethearts of the universe. Also included are the dates for the tour that I spent half the post talking about.
Dig:
We’re very happy to announce that Dave French is officially joining Yob as our new drummer.
We’ve been friends, neighbors, tour mates and admirers of Dave for over a decade. We first met in 2012 when he was playing drums for Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth. His crushing approach and commitment to detail behind the kit was remarkable. Since then we’ve toured with Dave in multiple scenarios when he was working as a tech or sound engineer for bands like Neurosis, Voivod, Sleep (as well with Om, Boris, Soundgarden, MC50, and many others) over the years.
Dave has been playing drums with us live since 2021 and has brought his focus, energy and inspiration to every moment. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Yob.
(#128248#) Paul Verhagen
YOB US TOUR DATES Tue 5/30 – St Paul, MN – Turf Club* (SOLD OUT) Wed 5/31 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown* Thu 6/01 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck* Fri 6/02 – Little Rock, AR – Mutants Of The Monster Fest* Sat 6/03 – Murfreesboro, TN – Hop Springs* Sun 6/04 – Louisville, KY – Portal* Tue 6/06 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall* Wed 6/07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall* Thu 6/08 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar* Fri 6/09 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts* Sat 6/10 – Boston, MA – Middle East (Downstairs)* (SOLD OUT) Mon 6/12 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge* Tue 6/13 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge # Wed 6/14 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry # Thu 6/15 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall # Fri 6/16 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell) # Sat 6/17 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues # Sun 6/18 – Austin, TX – Oblivion Access Festival # Tue 6/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister # Wed 6/21 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile # Thu 6/22 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick # Fri 6/23 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom # Sat 6/24 – Oakland, CA – 3rd & Castro # * = w/ Cave In # = w/ Pallbearer
YOB is: Mike Scheidt – Guitar, Vocals Aaron Rieseberg – Bass Dave French – Drums
