With the announcement that post-Kyuss desert rock outfit Unida would headline this year’s Desertfest in London and Berlin, one of the genre’s most incomplete chapters was reopened. Unida, you see, has been through their fair share of what guitarist Arthur Seay — also of House of Broken Promises — rightly calls “bullshit,” having recorded an album with Rick Rubin only to have it sit shelved and go (officially) unreleased to this day.

Like Sleep, whose contractual immobility also resulted in their dissolution, there was really nowhere for Unida to go. They’d had the Coping with the Urban Coyote full-length out on Man’s Ruin and a split with Dozer, but what was supposed to begin their ascent was this full-length — varyingly titled For the Working Man or The Great Divide, depending on from whom you download it — and with it sitting in the can,Unida were shot down before they even took flight. The list is long, but it’s up there with stoner rock’s bigger bummers.

It wasn’t long before vocalist John Garcia resurfaced in Hermano with a promising first album in 2002 — his movement from Kyuss to Slo Burn to Unida having led him to that point — and the rest of Unida moved ahead as well. By 2004, Seay and drummer Mike Cancino had aligned with bassist/vocalist Eddie Plascencia in House of Broken Promises (Scott Reeder, who played bass in Unida, went on to produce acts, put out a solo record and join a slew of other bands, among them Goatsnake), though it would be half a decade before their debut LP, Using the Useless, showed up via Small Stone.

With Seay and Cancino in HoBP and Garcia devoting his last several years to revitalizing the Kyuss brand in Garcia Plays Kyuss, Kyuss Lives! and now Vista Chino, it’s been a winding road to get back to the unfinished business of Unida. But though there’s enough backstory to fill a book and then some, mostly it was the future that Seay wanted to talk about in our recent interview. New touring, new albums for both Unida and HoBP, and plans for things to come. Seay also built his own recording studio and works traveling the globe as a guitar tech for commercial metal acts like Slipknot and Limp Bizkit, so there was much to discuss.

Fortunately, Seay‘s a bit of a talker. There was a lot of the interview that was off the record, some talk about the desert scene, etc., but there’s a tremendous amount of information contained in his answers, so even if you’re a relative newcomer to Unida or just heard about them through Desertfest, I hope you’ll agree it’s worth a read.

Please find the complete 3,900-word Q&A with Arthur Seay after the jump, and please enjoy.

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It’s the weekend of my wedding anniversary, but man, the lineup for Small Stone‘s Philadelphia showcase is pretty badass. True, I’ve seen most of these bands, but I don’t imagine House of Broken Promises are going to make a habit of being on the East Coast, Backwoods Payback are buddies, Solace kill every time, Red Giant‘s got a new album coming, I’d really, really like to hear some of the material from Sasquatch‘s third record live, and the Millcreek Tavern has their own home brew. Looks like it could be another test of The Patient Mrs. living up to her name.

Here’s the news from Small Stone:

Small Stone is pleased to announce that we will be doing two back-to-back showcases at The Philadelphia Film & Music Festival in September. Our events will be taking place at the Millcreek Tavern which is located at 4200 Chester Avenue, University City, Philadelphia (215-222-1255). And, now for the lineup:

Friday September 24th: Dixie Witch, The Brought Low, Throttlerod, Lo-Pan, Sun Gods in Exile, Backwoods Payback

Saturday September 25th: Solace, Roadsaw, Sasquatch, House of Broken Promises, Gozu, Red Giant

It’s a formidable statement of intent that Indio, California, desert rockers House of Broken Promises made with their Small Stone debut full-length, Using the Useless. Basically, it went like this: if you’ve got balls, they’re gonna rock ’em right off. No tricks, no bullshit, no extended prog solos to show off musicianship — just heavy rock and roll, all the time. Do one thing, do it loud.

After they made themselves known with the Death in Pretty Wrapping demo and a split with Germany‘s Duster69, there was little doubt Using the Useless would destroy in classic fashion. The band’s lineage traces back to Unida, one of the many acts in the Kyuss family tree, fronted by vocalist John Garcia. Screwed by their label and more or less shut down for good, Unida slowly dissolved as Garcia set about becoming a family and working man (nothing against it; we all have to choose our priorities and a good many times real life wins), leaving bassist Eddie Plasciencia, guitarist Arthur Seay and drummer Mike Cancino bandless. It wasn’t long before Plasciencia took the vocal spot in addition to playing bass and House of Broken Promises was established.

They recorded Using the Useless in Seay‘s own BitterSand Recording studio, and are set to play this year’s Small Stone showcase at SXSW and the Roadburn Afterburner event in The Netherlands as part of a European tour with Texas heavyweights Dixie Witch. In the following interview, an excited Seay discusses the formation of the band, the secrets of the riff, and just whose dog that was in the video they filmed for the song “The Hurt (Paid My Dues).”

Q&A, always, is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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Detroit‘s Small Stone Records has a whole batch of good news, including release updates on House of Broken Promises, Sasquatch, Gozu and more. Be sure you make it to the end where it talks about Sk?nska Mord, the new project from the dudes who brought us Half Man. Wholesome Swedish goodness. Check it out:

We are pleased as punch to let you all know that the debut album Using the Useless from California‘s House of Broken Promises is now here and in stock. If you were one of the smarter folk who pre-ordered the album from us, your copy was mailed out to you earlier today. For those of you who are not quite self starters, the rawk and roll dinner bell is now ringing for you… Come and get it!

In other news, Benny Grotto has been busing recording the debut Gozu full length Locust Season over at Mad Oak. The album should be completed sometime in December, and is due for release sometime in 2010 (perhaps late Winter or Spring). The word on the street is that the new Gozu album is one of the best soundings recording to come out of the boards and gizmos at Mad Oak Studios. We are very much looking forward to hearing it!

Mr. Grotto will also be mixing the new Sasquatch album III in the next two weeks (or less). We already know how good that one sounds, and it sounds damn good! The new Sasquatch album will be coming out in March of 2010, just in time for their headline appearance at the Small Stone Showcase at SXSW 2010. The Sasquatch band is also gearing up for their first European Tour which will is tentatively scheduled to begin sometime in the Spring of 2010.

Finally, Mr. Goosman hand delivered us the mastered master of the debut album from Sweden’s Sk?nska Mord today. If you are not all that familiar with them, perhaps you may recall the band Half Man from about a decade ago (same guys, new band). Their debut album is called The Last Supper, and it will be our first release of 2010. We will also have a track from them up on our Jukebox sometime next month. If you are a fan the retro classic rock, ala The Want, Stone Axe, Greenleaf, Five Horse Johnson, and The Brought Low then you are going to really dig this band. Big guitars, big songs, big tones, all delivered with soul! Quite a dying art if you ask us.

And here it is. Their ass kicking Small Stone Records debut, Using the Useless, is on iTunes now and will be available on CD next month.

PLEASE NOTE: In my recent review of House of Broken Promises‘ Small Stone debut, Using the Useless, I attributed lead vocals to guitarist Athur Seay, when in fact, bassist Eddie Plascencia is on lead, and Seay and drummer Mike Cancino handle backing vocals. This is what happens when you rush to get a review done before there’s a bio available. Apologies for any inconvenience the mistake may have caused, and in case you’re wondering how I found out, Eddie was kind enough to send me the following polite corrective email:

Hey H.P. appreciate the review of our upcoming album….correction though. Eddie is actually lead vocalist and Bass player, Arthur and Mike contribute to the back up vocals.
Thanks,
Eddie P.

So there you have it. If I trust anyone’s word on the matter, it’s gonna be the dude from the band’s. In this fast-paced world of internetular reviewism, sometimes the hurry to get something out there trumps rigorous fact-checking. Never believe what you read, kids. Again, unless it’s the dude in the band…

At the mountaintop of heavy metal clich?s (and quite a mountain it is) sits the mighty ?Formed from the ashes of.? It is the ultimate, beating out the many variations on ?shred? and any use of ?brutal? you can imagine. Imagine any (every) local band press release: ?Formed from the ashes of Three Bands You Never Heard, New Band X is totally shredding brutal?? and so forth. Happens all the time. So when you see it in the next paragraph, please feel free to wink back.

Formed from the ashes of Unida, Indio, CA, desert trio House of Broken Promises make their debut offering in the meaty riffs of Using the Useless (Small Stone), combining accessibility with desert fuzz and a raucous catchiness. At the helm is righteously-bearded guitarist Arthur Seay, and bassist Eddie Pasciencia‘s vocal delivery reminds of one-time Unida frontman John Garcia but comes on unhinged and confrontational where the former Kyuss/current Hermano singer was more controlled. The commonality is largely in using the gut as the launch point for their voices.

Seay?s guitar sounds downright huge from the start of ?Blister? and remains so for the rest of Using the Useless, but fortunately the bass of Plasciencia and Mike Cancino?s drumming are equally massive, so although the songs are clearly based around the riffs, the rhythm section mounts a considerable presence. Both Seay and Cancino contribute vocals as well. Hand-claps, gang shouts and a low in the mix female orgasm permeate ?Obey the Snake,? in the first demonstration of House of Broken Promises? commercial tendencies, which pop up again later on ?Torn,? where the central riff follows a progression similar to Corrosion of Conformity?s ?Shake Like You? while the vocals take a turn in the direction of Skid Row?s ?18 and Life.? If this song doesn?t end up in a video game somewhere, there?s no justice in the universe.

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In a pairing that can only lead to good things, Californian desert rockers House of Broken Promises have signed to Small Stone Records for the release of their debut full-length, Using the Useless. Here’s the news as it appeared on StonerRock.com, saying pretty much exactly what I just said:

House of Broken Promises consists of Arthur Seay, Mike Cancino, Eddie Plascencia (all 3/4`s of the famed Unida band). HOBP`s Small Stone debut Using The Useless will be hitting store shelves this fall, and the band will be touring Europe in November in support of this release. Perhaps a stop at SXSW 2010 is in the cards as well. More to come very soon, including, bios, photos, lies, and other modern day propaganda…

I interviewed Seay years ago back in my excitable college radio days, but of course, didn’t tape it. Shit happens. He was a cool guy then, pretty clearly stoned, and his band’s demo ruled. Looking forward to the album. In other news, VALIS side-project All Time High also joined the Small Stone roster. Dig it:

All Time High is led by Adrian Makins (current VALIS low end man), and also features Steven Brown, Samuel Williams, and Matt Vandenberghe (also from VALIS). So, you get 50 percent of VALIS for the same low price… Oddly enough, we had only heard of the band`s name, but it was not until Van Conner turned in the audio master for his Northwest Mind Meld comp [review here for curious parties] a few months ago that we finally got to hear their music. We dug it, and we hope you do as well. The band`s debut album, Friends in High Places, will be out as soon as we get it remastered and make some art tweaks. If you are overly curious or just a self starter, head on over to iTunes or eMusic and check out the All Time High song “Steel Sunshine”… It is what sold us!