Rock Fist Reviews

Interview with Pour Habit 2.4.10
~Kris Melton
Photography by Susie Ceruto of Shock & Awe

The last time Pour Habit visited Atlanta they came with some amazing bands, The Flatliners and Strung Out (both are must sees with must buy albums). During their set that night I was interviewing Jake Kiley, guitarist of Strung Out, and unfortunately missed their entire performance. The guys gave me their album “Suiticide” and upon reviewing it, I became totally hooked on their energetic and catchy punk meets metal sound. Thankfully, these talented musicians returned to The Masquerade and I was able to catch their amazing live performance prior to our interview. They opened for Iration, Passafire, and The Expendables- more noteworthy, must check out bands. Pour Habit’s front man, Chuck, is unforgettable with his repetitive crowd interaction, enthusiastic stage dives, and crazy T-Rex dance moves. These guys know how to fire up a crowd and entertain. We met after their set backstage and I had the opportunity to interview the two brothers in the band, Eric and Colin, joined later by Chuck and Steve. Sweat still dripping from their brows, the brothers crammed into a single chair next to me to discuss their upcoming album, touring plans, and the taste of sweet success.

Pour Habit is signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the label owned and operated by Mike of NOFX. How did this come to be?

Eric: We got signed to Fat (Wreck Chords) from Jordan of Strung Out hooked up shows with NOFX in San Diego and Anaheim. And he made Fat Mike watch us, like he physically held him down.

Colin: No he didn’t! That’s not what happened at all.

Eric: And then Chuck beat him at thumb wrestling so we got signed.

Now see that I believe.

Colin: No, what happened is that we had bands like Strung Out, The Expendables, Authority Zero always helping us out, and they would play with NOFX and mention us. So Jordan from Strung Out got us a show with them in San Diego and Mike watched the show. And then he was like, eh.

I think he was a little more than, eh.

Colin: Mike is always like, ehhhh. (laughter) So that’s how it happened. And now he has regretted it everyday since.

I seriously doubt that after just seeing you perform. Shawn recently left the band. Can you give us some insight on what happened to make that decision?

Colin: Touring’s hard. Our very first tour, I mean we had done some small like 2 week tours, but our first tour was with NOFX in Europe. And we had some tough tours, ya know, van and trailer. The four of us that are in the band now have all been so close for so long and he was just kind of new to the band and I think he just never really grasped the dynamic. And we’re hard people to work with. We only function by being dysfunctional. If we have to do normal sh** then we’ll explode. We like lose things, break stuff, and don’t write play lists, we never care.

Typical musician stuff, right?

Colin: No, I don’t have herpes. Just find out. Got a letter.

Eric: Did you?!

Colin: Yeah, so kinda not typical.

So ladies he’s clean.

Eric: How do you know ladies? (laughter) Shawn was kind of irreplaceable. We were bummed cause he’s such a good friend. It sucks that he decided to do normal person life.

Colin: We heard Dave Mustane was interested.

Really? Like Dave Mustane from Megadeth?

Colin: Uhhmmm, but we’d have to change our name to Mega Habit, so we were like nah I don’t think it’s going to work. (laughter) No we haven’t really looked for a new person. We feel like… it’s like when you’re looking for love. You can’t look for it you just have to find it.

So you’re not actually looking for a replacement guitarist, but if you come across one that might fit then you would consider it?

Colin: I want like a… panda bear. That would be awesome. A shredding panda that drinks. Has a temper, but is clean.

You release “Suiticide” in 2007 and I heard that you’ve been working on some new material. Do you have plans to go back to the studio this year?

Eric: That’s the first thing we’re going to do when we get home. Probably have one band practice with all the new songs and then get in the studio with our boy TJ Rivera, and he’s going to make us sound way better than we should.

Colin: It’s been hard cause we’ve been playing the same… we released the CD and then we were about to do our own CD on our own and then we got signed so everything kind of got pushed back. So it’s hard for us cause no one’s ever heard of it, but we’ve heard it for so long and we’re so excited for the new album. It will be delicious.

Does everyone play a part in writing new material?

Colin: Have you ever watched old school Jerry Springer? That’s how we write music. Chair throwing. There’s always like one calm guy, like kind of instigating, and then a song comes out of it somehow.

Eric: As Charles (Chuck) says we’re a bunch of monkeys sorting out bananas. (laughter)

Pour Habit has been touring heavily for the past year. Do you plan to continue doing so or will you be taking a break?

Eric: F*** no. You are a different breed of person to be doing this. Like seriously, you live in a van… like this isn’t even weird cause I’m always this close to him (points to Colin who is squished in the same chair next to him). No we want to be on the road as much as possible, hopefully with The Expendables. Those guys rule.

You’ve performed with bands such as Strung Out, Authority Zero, and Bad Religion. So, how cool is that?

Colin: That was amazing.

Eric: We wouldn’t be anywhere without these bands. We don’t ever get jaded or take anything. We just try and take it in. The thing is, is that they’re all nice people. That’s what’s cool. Like all these people you grew up watching are great people.

Your dad is friend’s with Strung Out right?

Colin: Yeah, he started Strung Out, but he was too crazy so they kicked him out. (laughter) Nah, but Jordan grew up close to us, and my dad is a drummer and would like go and help him tune his drums, so Jordan’s always been cool with us.

What other bands are on your “Must perform with…” list?

Eric: Slayer. That’d be cool.

Colin: That would be way cool. We get to play with a lot of those bands. We got to play with Bad Religion, NOFX, that’s always been cool, Strung Out, it’d be cool to play with some bands out of the genre. I’ve always been big into Avenged Sevenfold. We’re like into metal, me and my brother are. What other bands?

Eric: I want to tour with Wesley Willis if he was here.

Colin: Dude, I wanna tour with Lil Wayne. I do, I really want to tour with Lil Wayne. I think that’d be awesome.

Eric: We’re training.

Colin: We’re putting out to get on the next Lil Wayne tour.

Do you want him featured in one of you songs?

Colin: If Lil Wayne was in one of our albums, I don’t think we could put out another album.

Eric: I think we could afford another chair.

You guys have been together for over 5 years now. What are the best and worst parts about being a touring band?

Colin: Sitting in one chair being interviewed. We get to meet awesome people and see family that you would never get to see. We have family in Atlanta that’s good to see, that I would have never seen.

Eric: We got to stay with some family in Buffalo. Cool stuff like that.

If you had any advice for other aspiring artists what would it be?

Eric: Just keep playing no matter what. The mission is to just keep playing, seriously. No matter how shitty you are.

Colin: I’m still shitty and I get to play.

I’d hardly classify you as “shitty” after just seeing you perform. Well I loved the album you put out. When can we expect the new one?

Colin: It better be out this summer, or I’m just gonna seriously cry.

Eric: I don’t know, probably June. Let’s shoot for June. The songs are done we just have to record them.

After Eric and Colin’s chair almost broke I thanked the guys for their time, and who should walk through the door but the band’s radical front man Chuck and bassist Steve. To my delight they insisted he answer a few questions himself.

What’s your favorite part about performing?

Chuck: I get to be myself. And my nipples are getting hard!

(Laughs) How are you enjoying Atlanta so far?

Chuck: Sick. Awesome.

Steve: You guys need to check the thermostat.

Chuck: Ask some random stuff.

Okay, so have you ever ended up in a Motel 6, hammered, with some fat chick next to you?

Chuck: I have ended up in Motel 6 with Steve’s big head next me, yes.

Are you seriously going to The Clermont later tonight?

Steve: Yeah.

Chuck: If our bus call allows.

It’s a landmark in Atlanta. You have to go.

Chuck: There are some 60 year old big ass titties there.

Have you heard of Blondie? She can crush beer cans with her boobs.

Steve: Yeah I’ve seen her!

Chuck: Was that her? I have seen her!

Is that why you want to go back?

Steve & Chuck: Yes!

Big thanks to all the guys in Pour Habit for a fun interview and an unforgettable show.

Pour Habit is:
Vocals- Chuck
Drums- Colin
Guitar/ Vocals- Eric
Bass/ Vocals- Steve

Below are pictures from the Pour Habit’s performance the night of Rock Fist’s interview. Click a picture to view a larger image. All photos taken by Susie Ceruto of Shock and Awe.

Interview with SidAerial 1.16.10
~Kris Melton

I had the opportunity to interview the guys in SidAerial backstage at Rock Fest held at Planet X in Marietta, GA courtesy of Local Productions. In 2009 SidAerial released their album “Look What I Found” which was well received in the Atlanta music scene. While last year brought many changes to the group, losing a guitarist and gaining a new drummer, SidAerial feels that the music is better than ever. The guys had just finished loading in to the chaotic venue when they met me backstage to talk about their new format and sound, their upcoming album, and what they hope to accomplish in 2010.

 

On your band’s Myspace page you have a message for fans saying “New music coming soon”. Are you working on another album?

Jonas: Yeah, we’re doing the pre-production right now. Probably set up to record sometime in April. We’re going over our options right now on who we want to record with and how we want to get it done. It should be ready before the summertime.

So you’ve already started writing songs, how many do you have written at this point?

Jonas: We have about six and we’ve changed our line-up; minus one guitar player and we have a new drummer. The whole dynamic of the band has changed. The whole sound of the band is really going to change. So we have six new songs and they’re in the works right now.

You say the bands sound is going to change. You’ve been quoted as saying that SidAerial pulls inspiration from metal, country, hip hop, and punk. Will the new sound stay true to your old colors, or do you want to branch off into a new sound?

Wud: I’m the new guy in the band, and what we mean by that is that we all come from different backgrounds as far as our musical upbringing; myself being the jazz, gospel, R&B, hip-hop guy. And all of that is going into the new sound of SidAerial. Which quite frankly I think is a better sound because of all of the different breeds coming together.

Do you think the new sound will reach a new audience?

Duncan: Yes, this is something that’s going to touch more people. We’ve had a pretty good run with touching (band mates begin laughing) yeah, touching each other. We have a pretty good run with touching folks with the lyrical content and the type of music we play. The new sound we’re pumping out is a lot more soul-felt. We think a broader base will be impressed by what we got.

So does everyone in the band play a part of writing new music?

Jonas: I write everything. (Band mates react with sounds of disagreement and laughter) It’s a collaborative effort for sure. We all kind of throw in our own ideas, and really everybody brings good ideas to the table. A lot of them don’t get denied and they end up becoming songs. We could have songs with riffs that Duncan wrote and I or Aaron wrote. Even Wud comes up with riffs on the drums. I think that’s one of the reasons that the music is so dynamic. We have so many different influences that go into each and every riff.

Duncan: The idea is that we are all equals, and that we all have the ability to write songs. It takes a long time to craft songs because we all have our hands in the cookie jar, there’s never one person saying, “We’re going to do this”, it never works that way. Everyone gets their hands on something and tears it apart, and builds it back up, and throws it back in the pot, and it gets mashed up again until we finally come up with something where we’re all like “That’s awesome”. It takes time, but the effort really shows.

You’ve shared the stage with bands like Sevendust and Taproot. Is there a band you feel has influenced SidAerial that you would like to share a stage with someday?

Jonas: I’m really digging on Red at the moment. And we’re working on some stuff to maybe get on tour with those guys this year sometime, which would be lovely. I’ve had both of their CDs in my CD player for the past two months. I’ve been listening to Mastodon a lot too. And to know that we used to practice down the hall from those guys and to see what they’ve become is inspiring.

What are the band’s plans for 2010?

Duncan: Besides just going out and gigging the death out of this year, the album is pretty much what we really want to get done. And we’re constantly trying to move out into a bigger circle around our local area, but eventually to tour by the end of the year. Book a solid tour and make that our schedule. 2010 will hopefully be the year that we get out and make this a reality.

Sid Aerial is:
Jonas Lagana (Vocals)
Aaron Andrus (Guitar/Vocals)
Duncan Niederer (Bass/Vocals)
WuD (Drums/Vocals)

SidAerial’s album “Look What I Found” is available for purchase on iTunes or clicking the banner below:

 

 

 

 

To see when SidAerial is coming to a venue near you, check out their currently scheduled shows and visit their web pages listed below:

Feb 5 2010 8:00P
The Music Store Showcase @ Apache Cafe
Atlanta, Georgia

Feb 13 2010 8:00P
House Of Tunes Music Hall
Beaufort, South Carolina

Feb 26 2010 8:00P
The Rock Shop
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Mar 6 2010 4:00P
2010 Jubilee Festival
Selma, Alabama

Apr 17 2010 8:00P
TBA
Atlanta, Georgia

Apr 23 2010 8:00P
SoHo’s
Columbus, Georgia

Jul 31 2010 8:00P
SoHo’s
Columbus, Georgia

SidAerial’s Myspace: www.myspace.com/sidaerial
SidAerial’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/SidAerial/45737997093

Interview with AM Conspiracy 1.16.10
~Kris Melton
Photography by Susie Ceruto of Shock & Awe Productions

I had the pleasure of interviewing all the guys in AM Conspiracy at Rock Fest held at Planet X in Marietta, GA courtesy of Local Productions. With all the madness occurring inside the venue/ arcade and the yucky weather outside, which was both cold and wet, I was grateful the band invited me on their RV for some good conversation and a staple of all musicians, pizza. Lead singer, Jason Jones, is probably best known as the singer of Drowning Pool after Dave Williams’ death, but he has found a new love with AM Conspiracy and is excited for the unknown road ahead of them. This entertainingly funny band of Floridians shared never-to-be released personal videos, their collection of tattoos (Jason brings his equipment on the road!), and their upcoming plans as seasoned musicians in a band that’s just getting started. Most of the interview is below. The rest was either off limits, too crude, or indecipherable due to immense laughter.

So you guys literally just released your self-titled debut album in the past week is that right?

Jason: It was actually this past Tuesday (1/12). It was a wonderful day for us.

Dean: It’s very exciting to have a record out.

Jason: After 5 years of beating that shit to death, it’s finally done. It’s out.

So you’ve been a band for 5 years?

Kenny: Yes, that is correct. Kenny says with a smile.

So now that the album is released, what plans do you have for 2010?

Jason: Our overall plan is world domination. That’s what we’re here for. I’ll be doing that tomorrow, you can come back around here and I’ll be sitting here doing that same shit. Nah, we’re actually going to tour as much as is humanly possible until everybody’s ole ladies tell them to f* off because they’re never home. That’s what we’re trying to do here.

Dean: Except for keep our ole ladies.

So you have definite tour plans for the year, or are they still in the works?

Jason: We’re on tour right now, so it’s kind of definite, but this tour is only about 2 weeks and then we go back home. Hopefully we’ll only be home for a couple weeks and then we’ll be back out. That’d be damn skippy.

Do you have plans to make a music video?

Jason: I think we’re supposed to make a video for “Pictures”. We’re basically just waiting on the label to give us the go ahead and hopefully it’ll be a good time.

Speaking of labels, you decided to sign with a brand new independent label, Burnhill Union Records. How did that come to be?

Jason: Well for one thing Shaun Glass formerly of Soil who is now in Dirge Within is one of my really, really good friends. And knowing that he’s behind it, that he’s going to push everything he can into the band and the label’s the same way- we are their “flagship” band.

Dean: Second that motion.

Jason: So it just seemed like a better idea for us cause we don’t want to get lost in the shuffle and have a record that’s somewhere that nobody’s hearing. So we knew they’d get it out pretty quick.

Rob: It does suck when it sits in a vault somewhere. No one ever hears it or sees it.

Jason: Rob was in a band called Still Naïve and that happened to them.

Rob: We were on Maverick.

Going back to “Pictures”, the song was mixed by Randy Staub who has done work with bands such as Metallica. How did he get introduced to your album?

Dean: He really wanted to do it.

Jason: In my previous band he did our whole record, and the placement of the instruments and everything was just really good, especially considering what he had to work with.

Kenny: We’re supposed to be positive. We will no longer be sarcastic.

Jason: Strike through that, he just did a really good job. So when it came time to mix this record I wanted him to do at least one song cause that’s pretty much all we could afford. He’s extremely expensive, but it sounds f*n great. We actually got pushed back from when he was supposed to start mixing it, it was pretty funny cause they call us up and go, “Yeah, he’s running a little behind, he’s doing the new Alice N Chains record”. So I’m like, I can’t bitch about that.

So I’m sure most people know you (Jason) used to be the singer for Drowning Pool. Do you feel people are expecting something from you that’s similar to Drowning Pool or that this new band will let you run in whatever direction you want?

Jason: That is why I am in this band because it is completely opposite from anything having to do with that period in my life. I’m much happier now and it’s a good time. They’re happier, I’m happier, everybody’s one big happy f*n family. Hooray!

I always like to ask this question, especially since Rock Fist namely focuses on local artists. Do you have any advice for other up and coming musicians?

Jason: Get a really good lawyer. Or definitely get a lawyer, and make sure they’re pretty decent. Get a lawyer.

Drew: Make sure you can play your instrument.

Dean: Just do your work. You gotta put your nose to the grind everyday. You can’t slack. You gotta be out there and play to 5 people or play to 500 people. We did it just the other day and now we’re here playing in front of…

Jason: 3 or 4 people

Dean: 10 people hopefully tonight as opposed to the 5 that we did 2 nights ago.

Jason: But those 5 people loved it. Those 5 people bought us more Jager than last night in front of triple the crowd.

Dean: And that’s 15 so…

Kenny: There was one drunk guy there that just fed us a bunch a jager and he probably woke up the next day and went, “Shit, how much did I spend? Why did I buy those guys that?”

So is Jager the liquor of choice for AM Conspiracy?

All: Yes.

Jason: Unfortunately, yes.

Like straight Jager or…

Jason: F* that shit; I don’t put Red Bull in my Jager.

Kenny: I prefer it with Red Bull, but ya know I’ll do it straight.

(Guys debating over to add Red Bull, or not add Red Bull…)

Kenny: I got a box of tampons for whenever you want to borrow one.

I’m a red-headed slut kind of girl myself.

Jason: You know what, we’ve talked about fisting, red headed slut girl… ya know what, I’m gonna marry you. It’s gonna happen.

And then you can give me tattoos and we’ll just live happily ever after.

Jason: I’m down; let’s go right now to Vegas. How do we get there?

Dean: We’ll swing by tomorrow.

Since you’ve made it know that you like to partake of the beverage, I’m assuming there’s got to be a funny story where someone lost clothing or ended up in a weird location, there’s got to be a good one.

Jason: You have no idea, there’s so many of them.

Drew: You do not have enough tape in that machine.

Jason: We’ll actually show you a quick video snippet of when there’s too much Jager going on. So sometimes we drink a lot of Jager, like a lot too much. If that even makes any sense.

Drew: Nope.

Dean: My Deanism’s are rubbing off on them.

Jason: Yeah he’s been trying to rub off on everybody in the band, but none of us are really into it. He even offered cross arming but everybody’s like… nah…

Rob: Don’t rub me off. No, don’t rub me off.

You’re a very close-knit band. I’ve heard about spooning (this was prior to recording unfortunately), rubbing it out…

Jason: Oh yeah, we’re like this

You take care of each other, whatever the need is.

Drew: Just to be clear, I’m not gay.

Jason: We call him “In the Rye”, cause he’s kind of like the Catcher, ya know, in the Rye. But yes, we tend to get drunk and stupid sometimes and I know that’s hard to believe since we’re coming across so intelligent right now.

I’m really finding hard to believe looking at all of you.

Kenny: I bet she’s actually finding it hard to believe we can drive the tour bus anywhere. so how do you drive this thing again? (Whispers) Very carefully.

Drew: We don’t drive this thing carefully, what are you talking about?

Whoever is the least drunk drives, right?

Dean: It’s like drawing straws. Can you grab the straw? No. Can you grab it? Maybe. Then you’re driving. Whoever can grab and actually focus on the straw gets the keys and everyone else braces. We all pray for a safe drive.

Jason: See this is what kills me when we headline, cause I can’t drink until after we get at least 3 or 4 songs in, because I will literally will end up naked on the stage, and it’s not really pretty.

That might be a good promotional tool for the band though; videos would pop up on You Tube everywhere.

Dean: That’s not the kind of promo we’re looking for with this mother f*er.

(The guys shared some hilarious videos from on the road with me at this point, but asked if I could leave the footage and what was shown out of the interview. Sorry Rock Fisters! Take your chances searching the web. Since Planet X is both a venue and a Whirlyball/ Lasertag spot we jumped back into the interview discussing the games.)

Dean: Do they have dodgeball in there?

No, but they have Lasertag.

Jason: I’m not a Lasertag kind of guy. I’ll play dodgeball. Hell yeah.

Dean: You know what they gotta get next door is croquet.

Croquet?

Dean: Kenny and I are avid, avid croquet players.

Jason: When was the last time you played croquet mother f*?!

Dean: Doesn’t matter, its croquet.

Jason: “We’re avid croquet players”, like he does everyday!

Dean: Used to do it all over the place, it’s a good time. You gotta play with the crazy rules, that’s when it gets to be a good time.

How do crazy rules apply to croquet?

Jason: It’s just like prison when he plays it guys just come over and f* him in the ass. I’m sorry, in about 3 hours you’ll probably have about 4 ½ minutes of footage you can actually use. We did this thing for NBC and the only footage we have is of us retarded, like hammered drunk.

Dean: NBC loves us, I just want to say.

So you guys are going to be on NBC sometime soon?

Dean: Did you really just see those videos? No, no we’re not. I doubt they’ll use any of it.

Kenny: I don’t think she wants to hang with us anymore.

Well I’m going to try and wrap up the interview, but this was fun, you guys are great.

Drew: But we have so much more to talk about.

Kenny: I don’t let my kids hang out with us, but we are a wholesome family band.

AM Conspiracy is:
Vocals – Jason “Gong” Jones
Drums – Dean Andrews
Bass – Kenny Harrelson
Guitar – Drew Burke
Guitar – Rob DeHaven

Below are pictures from the AM Conspiracy’s performance the night of Rock Fist’s interview. Click a picture to view a larger image. All photos taken by Susie Ceruto of Shock and Awe.

10.12.09 Interview with Jake Kiley (Guitarist in Strung Out)
~Kris Melton

I had the pleasure to interview Jake Kiley at The Masquerade prior to Strung Out’s performance. We had been playing a near constant game of phone tag and back and forth emails for nearly a month and half, and finally the moment I’d been waiting for. Despite the success that Jake has earned over the past two decades, he is still down to earth, easy going, and a truly positive, inspiring talent. As a true fan of his band, the butterflies were flying as I walked into the venue that night. The fact that my nearly new camcorder decided to break the night of our meeting did not help matters. Sure, I had met him before and knew what an awesome guy he was, but sitting down for an interview is slightly different. However once I was right in front of him, it felt more like catching up with an old friend. We discussed the bands rise to fame, life as a touring musician, and what it’s like to live the dream.

 

Strung Out was one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. How did this come to be and how did it impact the band?

JK: Well we had been playing a bunch of shows in southern California and I had been in the band for about 6 months when we got a show with NOFX, and this was right when Mike had just started up the label. I think they had put out The Longest Line and that was like the only thing. So he was like look you guys have something that really works, keep going at it, keep in touch, send me some demos. So we would just kind of send him some stuff every couple months. Once we had a few songs together, record it, send it off to him, and we kept in contact with him a lot. That was our old bass player because he did a lot of the business stuff back then. So we kept in touch and as soon as we got like 15 songs together, Mike came down and we went to the studio with him, and it was real informal, just a word of mouth kind of thing, no contracts, just lets do this. It worked out really cool, he was super easy to work around.

Does Mike ever work with you on any of your music?

JK: On our first one he did. He came in, and he didn’t change any songs but he would help the vocals a bit. He’d be like why don’t you try singing it like this, try moving this there. And just a little bit but it was the first time we ever had him trying to produce us, you know direct us. And I think he did a good job, and then after that we just did it all on our own. And we worked with different producers, but that was really the only record he was involved in.

Throughout the band’s history, Strung Out has had members come and go. Why do you think as one of the original members that you’ve managed to stay with the band while others were more seasoned?

JK: Well, we’ve only had one change where we changed bass players, so we’ve actually been pretty fortunate that we were able to keep the line-up together.

Didn’t your drummer change too?

JK: No we’ve had the same drummer. Jordan has broken some bones and stuff, and we’ve had some drummer’s fill in for him. But he’s been the guy on all the records and stuff like that. And I just love it to death and I think we all need it in our lives in some way or another. So its cool that we can just come together, it’s like a form of therapy for us. And I love to travel and tour so I would make it work no matter what it takes. And if this band couldn’t continue then I’d find another group because this is why I’m here. Absolutely, I love it.

Strung Out just released your 7th studio album titled “Agents of the Underground”. What plans do you have for touring and promoting the new album?

JK: Well we’re going to Japan next month, and then we’re going to Costa Rica, and we’re going to do a lot more U.S. and Europe shows. We’re going to go down to Austrailia and New Zealand next year, and then probably come back here again. We go everywhere basically twice. We just keep pushing it, because we don’t really get like radio play or video play or anything like that.

Which is just wrong.

JK: We don’t care it’s life.

You guys have a good fan base regardless.

JK: Yeah exactly, were stoked with the fans we have, we’re stoked to go out and play shows the way we always have, the way we’ve always done it. That’s pretty much the plan for right now.

Is there any place in particular that you prefer playing or any place that you were really excited that you got to play at?

JK: It’s cool to go to new places. Like I’d like to go to Russia, I haven’t been there yet. We went to Athens, Greece, which was incredible, I’d like to get back there. And just anywhere new that we can. And as far as the other places we love going- like London is great, Amsterdam’s cool, places all over the states, lot of good shows, a lot of good cities.

I read somewhere that when you’re not touring and making music, you give occasional music lessons. How do you choose your cliental and is this something you could see yourself doing more and more in the future?

JK: I just kind of do it for fun when I’m at home and I have some time off. I have kids who email me, and I’m down with whoever can make it out. I just tell them yeah come on out to my place and we’ll kick it for a couple of hours and go over some stuff. It’s a real cool thing. I’m not like a formal teacher, I’m just trying to show people the things I’ve learned to get to where I’m at. Little things I’ve picked up along the way and how to build speed, to be a clean good player live, and just to show people that you can have a good time with it. It doesn’t have to be a serious thing. You want to give 100% to it, but you want it to be fun. So yeah, I’m down with whoever can make it over to my place.

That’s very cool for the lucky kids who figure that out.

JK: It’s on my myspace, so just write me on myspace.

Strung Out has been a band for 20 years now. What are the best and worst things about being in a band with such longevity?

JK: Well, the best thing is that we still get to do it, and it’s not like a flashy band kind of thing where you put out a couple records and then the band breaks up. That would be really frustrating. You’re trying to develop your band and keep it going and then sometimes people don’t see eye to eye and it just can’t continue. So for us it’s just been really cool that everyone’s been able to grow with each other and we’ve evolved into what we are now. And you know there’s nothing really negative about it. I think some people may only want to get into a touring career for maybe a few years because they don’t want to do it forever. But for me I love every aspect of it.

I’m imagining you don’t have a pet.

JK: I have a dog that I share with my mom, it’s like a family dog. And I’ll have him over at my place sometimes. But yeah it’s impossible to have really a lot of commitments back home when you’re gone half the year. Having something like a pet or a relationship, a family, all of that stuff is really a challenge when you’re out on the road and travelling. But for me, I promised myself music, that’s what I dedicate my life to. So I don’t mind, I’m not missing anything.

Do you feel you’ve accomplished your musical goals, or is there still something on the horizon that you’re hoping to achieve?

JK: I think I’ve accomplished the important ones. Everything I really wanted to do with it, I’ve been able to do. Some people would look at it like ‘you need a gold record or something’ and that would be kind of cool but to me that’s not as important as a lot of the other things. The things that really affect people’s lives, and played some of the shows that we’ve played, and to see some of the places in the world that I’ve been. It’s hard to really top that. I’m definitely content with it.

I ask this question to everyone I interview, especially since Rock Fist namely focuses on local bands. If you could give any advice to other aspiring artists, what would it be?

JK: Just always love what you do. Do it on your own terms and write the music and play the music that your stoked to play. Don’t just try to fit into something. Don’t try to say this is what’s big right now so we’re going to be this type of band because if you’re not really into it, it’s not going to last. It’s too hard to do if you’re not loving what you’re doing. Always keep it fun, and keep control of your music. And don’t listen to what people say, just as long as you enjoy it.

Go after the dream.

JK: Totally, do it for yourself. You have to make yourself happy, you have to live with it at the end of the day, you have to be responsible for the music you’re creating. If you put out something that you don’t believe in and it bombs you’ll always think maybe I could’ve had a shot if I had just done what I loved. And even if you have success with something you don’t believe in then you’re just known for that, and its almost like a curse. Your famous for something that you’re not even that into. So just do it on your own terms and then whatever comes from it will be something to be proud of.

Pictures from our interview taken by Susie Ceruto of Shock & Awe below (click on the picture to enlarge it).

To see when Strung Out is coming to a venue near you, check out their scheduled shows below:

Oct 12 2009 8:00P
The Masquerade w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Atlanta, Georgia

Oct 14 2009 8:00P
Jesters w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Oct 15 2009 8:00P
Volume 11 Tavern w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Raleigh, North Carolina

Oct 16 2009 8:00P
Peabody’s w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Oct 17 2009 8:00P
Eleanor Rigbys w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Jermyn, Pennsylvania

Oct 18 2009 8:00P
The Basement w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Columbus, Ohio

Oct 19 2009 8:00P
Frankies w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Toledo, Ohio

Oct 20 2009 8:00P
Turner Hall w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Oct 22 2009 8:00P
Pops w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Sauget, Illinois

Oct 23 2009 8:00P
The Marquee w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Oct 24 2009 8:00P
Launchpad w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Oct 25 2009 8:00P
Black Sheep w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Colorado Springs, Colorado

Oct 27 2009 8:00P
The Aggie Theatre w/ Flatliners, Pour Habit
Fort Collins, Colorado

Oct 28 2009 8:00P
Downtown Grill w/ Pour Habit
Casper, Wyoming

Oct 30 2009 8:00P
V2 w/Pour Habit, Nations Afire
Salt Lake City, Utah

Oct 31 2009 8:00P
The Clubhouse w/Calabrese, Pour Habit, Nations Afire
Tempe, Arizona

Nov 1 2009 8:00P
Karma w/Pour Habit, Nations Afire
Victorville, California

Nov 22 2009 8:00P
Club Vertigo
San Jose

Nov 27 2009 8:00P
Shimokitazawa GARDEN w/ Authority Zero
Tokyo

Nov 29 2009 8:00P
F.A.D. Yokohama w/ Authority Zero
Yokohama

Nov 30 2009 8:00P
Daikanyama UNIT w/ Authority Zero
Tokyo

Dec 1 2009 8:00P
Club Quattro w/ Authority Zero
Nagoya

Dec 2 2009 8:00P
Club Quattro w/ Authority Zero
Osaka

Strung Out’s official website: www.strungout.com
Strung Out’s Myspace: www.myspace.com/strungout
Strung Out’s Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/STRUNG-OUT/49909229975

5.20.09 Interview with Speed X: The (almost) Lost Interview
~Kris Melton

I filmed my first video interview with Speed X on May 20, 2009. It was days before their first performance, and their first official interview. So why were these videos almost lost, and not seen until now? Let’s just say technical difficulties. So enjoy the guys talking about their new project and live footage from their rehearsal!

Speed X is made up of some familiar names who have been in some very familiar bands:
Nick Catanese- Black Label Society
Mike Stone- Queensryche
Mike Froedge- Double Drive
Joshua Sattler- Double Drive
Jason Fowler

Speed X Links:
Myspace: www.myspace.com/speedxband
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Speed+X&init=quick#/group.php?gid=63543055791

 

Intro:

 

Interview Pt. 1

 

Interview Pt. 2

Interview Pt. 3

On the way to Rehearsal!

Rehearsal: Song 1

Rehearsal: Song 2

8.21.09 Interview with Chris Unck
~Kris Melton

Rock Fist Reviews spoke with Chris Unck of Chris Unck & The Black Roses on his new album “Ridiculous Ridiculous”, his “Turning Knives into Steam” music video, touring plans, and more!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Kris Melton of Rock Fist Reviews interviewed the guys from Martians See Red just moments before they took the stage at The Masquerade for their CD Release Party for “Godot”. Be sure to also check out live footage from the bands’ set as well as a performance review- all here on Rock Fist!

Rock Fist talks with Atlanta locals, The Bastard Suns, on their new album “Here Come The Suns”, being a reggae/ punk band from Georgia, and midget burritos. Get a taste of who the guys are behind this humorous and talented quintet.

RFR: “Here Come The Suns” is the name of your new album. How was that decided upon and why?

Clay: It’s been a saying and a running joke for a long time. I mean when we started the band we used to this little intro that mocked The Beatles line (starts singing) ‘Here come the suns”, so its just one of those things that’s been with us the whole time.

Jay Tea: I named this house The House of The Rising Suns, but it hasn’t really caught on yet. That’s a really awesome name for this house, right? The House of The Rising Suns.

Levon: And I also think ‘Here Come The Suns’ helps with the declaration of this being our first full length. It really states the fact that this is something were about.

Clay: We threw around a couple, but we felt this was the best one.

Jay Tea: For the record, what were some of the other ideas that we had? ‘Cause there were some funny ones, like ‘Lets Get Ready to Stumble’, was one?

Clay: My favorite was the one that was going to have a big fat lady covered in baking flour and the title was ‘Vulgar Display of Flower’. That’s brilliant man.

RFR: Do you have any favorites off the album?

Levon: I think we all have our own.

RFR: How about we go around the group. I’d like to get a taste of everyone’s personality.

Levon: I like Celina, and it’s not me just being biased because I helped create it. It turned into a really good song.

Wes: I honestly like ‘Go For Broke’ that’s one of my favorites, because it’s actually one of the songs off the album that the band collectively wrote. So when I listen to it, I just think about how it’s the first time the entire band actually… that everybody had input on the song and we just started with a rift and built up from there. So when I listen to it I’m like… sweet.

Kevin: I like ‘What Have We Won’

Jay Tea: Yeah that’s my second favorite for sure.

Clay: I like the diversity in the band in that song.

Jay Tea: ‘Never Say Die’ that’s a good one.

Levon: And I gotta say my favorite part of the CD is the guitar solo in ‘Never Say Die’.

Jay Tea: I knew it was gold right when we first started writing it.

Clay: I think the biggest surprise off the album is ‘Sweet Leaf’, I think a lot of people are going to be like… wait, what do we call it? SBMT?

Jay Tea: I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

RFR: What made you decide to use older songs like ‘R.I.P.’ and covers like ‘Walk of Life’?

Clay: I can tackle this one. Without stepping on anyone’s toes or hurting anyone’s feelings, we thought that ‘Blood Sweat & Beers’ was a little sub-par and that’s the album the songs originally came from. We thought those were good songs that we all still love and just play, but we never really thought they got their time in the sun. Like, good recording that they deserved. Not to mention…

Jay Tea: Two-thirds of the band aren’t on there or whatever.

Clay: Two-fifths. I’m not good with fractions but…

Wes: No, but we were a six piece at the time.

Jay Tea: Do the math now buddy!

Clay: Whatever. And I don’t know that ‘Blood Sweat & Beers’ is going to be put out anymore. It’s kind of been put to bed. So we took the ones we felt really deserved a second chance.

Levon: And as for the covers, those are songs that we play anyway. We did them live and they had such a good response live that we figured, hey which two get the best response?

Jay Tea: Are we making no bones that there’s a hidden song?

Clay: Well if we’re saying that then I have to say that Queen’s my favorite probably.

Wes: I’ll just to say when you get done with the CD if you have an extra three minutes it will be much appreciated.

RFR: In the past Clay has done the writing of the lyrics and a good portion of the songs. Were other members more involved creatively on the new album compared to the past?

Jay Tea: Of course.

Levon: Absolutely.

Clay: I’m still the lyric guy. You gotta give me that. And there was a time in my life where I wanted to be a writer and that’s what I loved to do.

Wes: Well it’s just like anything you know, when you come into a band that’s pre-existing… I mean when I came into the band, most of ‘Blood Sweat & Beers’ was already written, except for ‘R.I.P.’ and that was the first one I collaborated on with Clay. When you come into a band, you just have to accept that songs are already written, and already there.

Levon: Yeah, it takes time to put your stamp on it.

Clay: And what’s popular is popular. If you say ‘oh well we’re not going to play this specific song because the whole band wasn’t around or didn’t write it’… I mean you do what the crowd likes and what you like. If you don’t you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. And that’s what some are kept around and some of them are new.

Jay Tea: I love you grandmother clichés.

Clay: You like that?

Jay Tea: It’s like I’ll give a piss to a squirrel at a fair ground. It’s like what does that mean?

RFR: I haven’t heard that one.

Clay: I haven’t either.

RFR: You’ve been labeled a drinking band in the past. How do you feel about that label?

Clay: It depends on if you’re looking at it as that’s all we are or… I mean when you cook a dish and you use pepper, does that mean the whole dish is pepper? No, we’re a bunch of different things, and that’s definitely one of the ingredients.

Levon: I think also with that title, I guess you could put it back when bars were the standard place to play. It was at an earlier time in the career of the band.

Clay: I mean, would you call Rancid or Dropkick Murphys drinking bands? No. Do people love to get f’d up? Yes. I mean, are we always going to have a good following on St. Patty’s? Probably. Cinco de Mayo? Definitely.

Jay Tea: Actually we’ve pretty much moved on, we’re more like a crack cocaine band now.

Clay: We’re a meth band. Actually we’re in recovery.

Wes: Next we’ll get into psychedelics.

Clay: Yeah for our Beatles days.

RFR: Kevin you’re awfully quiet over there, is that because you’re the worst with the drinking, and the crack?

Kevin: I’m pretty much just Kevin.

Jay Tea: When you’re that attractive you don’t have to say much.

RFR: You have a unique sound in the Atlanta area and the Southeast in general. Do you think this helps you or hurts you?

Clay: Define helping or hurting?

RFR: The general sound you guys play has more of a west coast vibe compared to what is usually found in the Southeast.

Levon: We’re definitely alone in Atlanta. You may find things similar in Florida. It’s a tough thing to do, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Jay Tea: I think people would rather hear our type of music than that recycled bullsh*t. Can I say bullsh*t, is that allowed? It might be harder for us to be in a market but people are like ‘Man, I’d much rather hear your fresh take on music than the same ole cry metal’.

Clay: The way I look at it is we write what makes us happy, what comes naturally, what we feel like listening to. And all of those factors, if you keep those as your major motivators when writing music, then you can’t lose. I don’t care if we’re all totally stoked on polka. Then write some good polka songs. It’s not about what’s big right now.

RFR: Your ages range from 26 to 32. If this album doesn’t create the buzz you hope it will The Bastard Suns continue pushing forward or do you perceive at some point moving on to other ventures?

Jay Tea: Hey, we’d go for broke but we’re already there so…

Clay: I think anybody in music who doesn’t perceive at some point moving on to other ventures is fooling themselves. There’s only one Mick Jagger, and that’s not a real likely outcome, it’s pretty lucky. But you can hope to see the world and do a good bit of touring and have a great run. So the answer to the question is when we’re not happy anymore we’ll stop.

Jay Tea: You don’t have to be Mick Jagger famous to make a living at doing this either.

Clay: That’s the thing, if we can make a living and stay out of the poor house that’s a win win.

Jay Tea: But since we are going to make it the question doesn’t matter really.

RFR: The Bastard Suns have established a very loyal fan base that continues to grow. What do you think it is about your band that has captivated the hearts of Atlanta locals and beyond?

Wes: Humility.

Clay: We try to help the whole scene. I think a lot of people pick up on the fact that we’re not all about The Bastard Suns. A lot of bands are all about, insert name here, whatever their band is. We want to build a scene.

Jay Tea: We stay for bands even if they don’t stay for us.

Levon: And the fans, we have something where they can relate. We’re just like most of our fans. We grew up like them, they’re our friends, and they see that on stage.

Clay: So one thing is humility, we treat everybody how we’d want to be treated. And the second thing is we literally have one show that we play. We go out there and I’m not leaving the stage until I vomit or something along those lines. And I think people identify with that. We’re not, ‘oh this is a five person show so we’re going to play crappy’. We go out there and we kill it every time we play our very best.

Jay Tea: And it doesn’t hurt that we’re like sinfully hot.

RFR: Any stories from the road you care to share?

Clay: First let me say, check our blogs on our MySpace. I write repeatedly about funny things on the road and there’s some gems that I don’t really think I could retell as well as I wrote them.

Jay Tea: Should we tell them about the burrito midget incident?

Clay: That’s personal, leave it on the road. I think we’d violate FCC or a regulation of some sort. But you know I want to do that song, “We can dance if you want to” as a punk song. And I want to get that f-ing midget and put him on my shoulders. Have you ever seen the video?

Jay Tea: Listen midgets live a lot less longer than other people so he’s probably dead.

Clay: You’re a f@#%!

Jay Tea: Tell the folks at home about the game that we play where we eat a hand full of sleeping pills and a handful of laxatives and see what happens.

Clay: Either way you’re a winner, you know what I mean? That’s a good road game. Or the one where you rub your hand or your toe under someone’s nose and they try to tell you which one it is.

Jay Tea: Oh yeah that’s a good one too. Or you can do it with cocks.

Clay: Yeah it’s called hand or toe or cock.

Our 4.18.09 Interview can be found all over the place (including, of course, on our Interviews page)! Both RevolverBlips’ Daily Radar, BraveWords.com and Blabbermouth.net have posted the interview with the legendary bassist of Megadeth. This is simply proof that Rock Fist and its fans are being heard and celebrated! You know where you saw it first! Keep checking in with Rock Fist for the latest and greatest in new music and exclusive interviews!

~Kris Melton
Editor in Chief

4.21.09 Interview with David Ellefson

You are best known as the bassist of legendary 80’s thrash metal group Megadeth. How do you feel about inspiring and paving the way for bands like Pantera and Slipknot?

DE: It’s cool, it’s an honor. You know I think when you get started in any of these things you have high hopes and expectations, of course. But making any sort of success in the arts is always kind of a pipe dream and most are a Cinderella story at best. I think the fact that I was able to go the distance and the group was able to survive all that it did, and now be revered as one of these landmark bands is probably nothing short of extraordinary.

And probably a little surreal?

DE: Yeah, and you know I was there all the time when it wasn’t such a Cinderella story. If it were easy everybody be doing it. You know? I guess that’s part of the trick of show business, we make the hard stuff look easy and the easy stuff look hard.

Why did you choose to use Dan Huff as a producer for the album Cryptic Writings when he normally produces pop-country music albums like Faith Hill and Reba McIntyre?

DE: When Dan did the Cryptic Writings record, that was only the second album he ever produced. He had just finished producing a little young start up band called Lonestar right before that. And the reason we chose him was really our manager suggested him. We were fans of the Giant album which was Dan’s band back in LA in the early 80’s- 90’s and we loved his tone and his guitar playing. So we were really requesting the guy who engineered that record to do Cryptic Writings when our manager said ‘Why don’t you just get Dan to do it? Dan’s actually in Nashville now he’s transitioning from being associate guitar player to being a full time producer’. It was really good for the both of us, because my opinion is that the Cryptic Writings record is sonically one of the best sounding records that we did in that group. I think from a song writing point of view- we started to transition a little bit away from only doing thrash metal on the Countdown to Extinction record. And then we did Youthanasia, so Cryptic Writings was a key record for us to really to keep our thrash roots. Like what we did with songs like The Disintegrators, but to really take the melodic capabilities. And I think the song writing abilities within that band to another level. Risk, Youthinasia, and Cryptic Writings were those three records that really captured that M.O.

Dave Mustaine was the original guitarist for Metallica. While Megadeth gained fame, they never received quite the same amount of attention. Did that reality affect Dave and thus the rest of the band as well?

DE: You’d have to ask him on his side of it, but for me my attitude was I was always thankful for Metallica, because without them I probably wouldn’t be here. Not only am I a fan of what Metallica does and has done, but just as a contemporary of theirs in the scene I have great respect and admiration for how they ran their business. They were just a big, well oiled machine. And as a result they got huger and huger. They really captured the minds of millions of people. And I think the first ones to the party are always the winner. I think to some degree the ones that come after that probably will never gain that much success, but that’s not to say- I mean what we did was a lot of what Metallica did, but we did it a lot differently. We offered something different, and that ultimately became our hook. And now to think all these years later what we’re revered for our own uniqueness and originality. Without uniqueness and originality you’re just another band. So for that we really shined bright in our own spotlight. All these bands, ourselves included, compare successes. But when you’re actually in the band yourself I think those of us who have had success, in any walk of life, you remember the hard times as much as the good times, because it was the difficult times that you learned the most and proceeded to grow the most to.

There was a very public lawsuit involving Mustaine and you over the rights to Megadeth. After that battle, where do you two stand today?

DE: Things are peaceful between us. He lives in San Diego now, I still live in Arizona so we don’t see each other regularly. We don’t communicate regularly, however any recent communications we’ve had have been fine and there doesn’t seem to be any hostilities between us. I think for me personally I’m glad to just be moving on with new things in my life.

Megadeth’s drug use has been well documented in the past. Do you think drug issues played a part in why so many band members came and went?

DE: When those issues are around its pretty hard to keep any consistency. It’s the nature of what that lifestyle does. I have not been a part of that lifestyle for many, many years. Consistency and continuity are key in my life, and it’s because I’m not in the lifestyle anymore. It’s funny because some of the best rock and rollers out there, guys that I grew up listening to like Gene Simmons, Kiss, and Ted Nugent- they weren’t part of the drug lifestyle either. Look at their lives and they’re still around. They’re still kicking ass, and they’re still doing it. Most of the ones that got tangled up in that lifestyle, because they thought that’s what it’s about, they ultimately took their eye off their music and most of them aren’t even still around to talk about it.

You also work as an artist relations representative for Peavey. Do you enjoy that line of work? Is it hard tackling two different careers?

DE: I do enjoy it, I think I have a good temperament for it. I’m a people person and I love to communicate with people. Because I’m dealing with a music company and we’re talking about gear. You know I haven’t met a musician yet that doesn’t like to talk about gear. To me it’s just an extension, or arm off the same body so to speak. For me everything I do in my life is all music related; whether it’s actually playing the music or writing it, recording it, touring it, stuff I do for Peavey, producing it, my YouTube series David Ellefson’s Rock Shop, where I’m talking about it, the book I wrote; I mean everything I do is music related so to me I don’t look at them as separate things, they’re all just part of the same gene pool.

You created David Ellefson’s Rock Shop, an ongoing YouTube series after you wrote Making Music Your Business. What kind of response have you received and do you feel like you’ve helped eager to succeed musicians?

DE: The response has been great. And you’re right, years ago in 95’-96’ is when I wrote and released the book. And since that time I’ve had a lot of people ask me to write a Volume 2, and quite honestly I’m so busy I don’t have time to sit down and focus all my thoughts on it. And the world has changed, people don’t just sit down and read books, they go to the internet now to find resources. They want resources quick. So I do the Rock Shop the same way. I do these short little 5 to 10 minute segments. I address a topic or several topics, probably some I’m going to do a series on the same topic, and I can address a whole bunch of things as they pop into my brain. I can rally the team, we can shoot these things, and we can post them quickly within a few days. It’s an easier, more modern day way to basically do the same thing I did when I authored the book.

I personally found the videos very interesting, and I’m not even a musician.

DE: And that’s also the best part of it. Just like when I wrote the book, I wanted it to be something that non-musicians could read, enjoy, find fascinating, or take interest in. And that was my goal with the YouTube thing with David Ellefson’s Rock Shop, is to have something not only informational, but hopefully entertaining. And for people who don’t get to walk in our shoes of the day to day active artists and performers, can check it out and go ‘Wow that’s cool, I didn’t even know how that worked’.

In 2006 Peavey introduced the Zodiac DE Scorpio which you helped designed. Was designing an instrument something you always wanted to do? What was your goal behind the design?

DE: It’s not something I always wanted to do, because to be honest with you I’m not a guitar designer/ builder guy. I like playing them, I like writing songs and performing with them as a tool. It’s not my identity, it’s a tool so to speak. So for me, when the opportunity came up to design something with Peavey, it was more about creating a culmination of all my years of experience. Knowing these are things I like about instruments, and these are some things that I did not like about instruments. These are some things I know that work, and lets avoid the things that I have found that just don’t work. And really put that together in an instrument and something that would benefit Peavey, something that will benefit the player, and probably lastly something that would benefit me because I have a lot of instruments I use for a lot of different uses. So my goal with the Zodiac was to design something that would really work well in a whole variety of applications, and so far the Zodiacs that I have is all I play now. I think we’ve come up with a nice line that takes care of all the uses I have, which hopefully will be most or all of the uses that anyone else might get a bass for.

Do you feel the need to prove yourself with F5 or do you feel as a member you’re a part of a fun or liberating chapter in your life?

DE: I think it’s the latter. One thing I’ve learned, especially moving on from all the former stuff, is none of these things last forever, and I think to some degree they shouldn’t. Bands are formed and created because of the people in them and at some point bands then control, dictate, and dominate the people that are in them and that’s a bad place to be. It’s not creative, it’s not inspiring, and you almost create a prison around yourself. F5, Temple of Brutality, and the work I did with Soulfly, these new bands that I’m always getting involved in- everyone of them is an opportunity. They’re kind of a blank palette, a canvas for me to recreate myself and create something new for what’s happening today and not always having to rely on what I did yesterday.

Both of F5’s albums have 1980’s metal and thrash influences. Do you feel you are sticking with what has worked in the past or do you feel that’s an unfair statement?

DE: I don’t think that’s a fair statement. Obviously anything I do is going to have some of that influence from years ago just because I’m in it. And those influences are part of who I am, but I think if anything F5 has been a huge, giant step forward for me by adding in much more modern elements, and to some degree I think was initially judged very harshly and critically because it was not straight up 1986 thrash metal. But one of the things that I’ve stood by and am very proud of is because I’ve moved on a new band formed called F5. I did not feel I needed to dictate to F5 and make it just be more of what I did in the past. I could let F5 really grow and germinate and become something of its own. Let it stand on its own merits.

What current projects are you especially excited about?

DE: I just did this Northern Light Orchestra thing that played on the record last fall in 2008 that we just shot- it was a huge undertaking quite honestly. We just shot a live DVD this past week in the Orpheum Theater in Phoenix, and it was absolutely wonderful. It was just one of the (most fun) things I’ve been involved in, and probably because it was so much work. Me and the drummer, Ken Mary, who’s been a friend of mine now for almost 20 years I guess, he and I put the band together and like everything I seem to get involved in I dive in head first and I go all the way. And it really became a great project helping put the band together, essentially almost becoming the live music and performance director for the show. It’s awesome, and all these new things have allowed me to step up and really recreate myself. I think when opportunity is there I’m not the guy who sits on the sidelines and goes ‘Its not my job man, someone else will do it or you just tell me where to go and I’ll be there’. I am not that guy. And I think its one of the things that was probably frustrating from the past was that I didn’t want to just be Junior anymore. And I didn’t want to be Dave number two. Because quite honestly, I’m capable of a lot more than that, and that’s proved by the last 8 years I’ve been in that band. I think what you’re seeing in my life now is just a manifestation of all of these other skills and abilities that have always been within me, but now just somehow- I’m really being led towards those opportunities, to really showcase those sides of who I am and the abilities that I have. As a result I’d like to think that there’s now a lot of other really cool projects that are starting to really open up and develop, because hopefully I bring something to them. I’d like to think they’re better because I’m there, because I’m showing up and actually contributing to them, rather than going and telling me what to do and I’ll do it.

I find what you just said inspiring.

DE: And I hope- you know lots of people say ‘Oh you’re in a big rock band, you’re living the dream’. Well I’m telling you big rock bands can be the golden handcuffs just like being in any high paying corporate job. I get good benefits, and I make a lot of money, and there’s security, but I hate my job, I can’t stand the people I work with, and there’s got to be more to life than this. I think most of us hit those walls in our lives, especially when you hit middle age like where I’m at. I think the trick for me was going okay my real passion and seemingly a big reason I’m on the planet is for creativity and music and all the things that come around that, but there’s got to be a way to move forward and to be able to be creatively inspired and creatively free and build upon the past rather than tear down the past. And I think that’s also a big part of it, is that you don’t have to hate your past in order to move forward, you can embrace it and use it as a real building block for your future.

Rock Fist namely concentrates on local artists. Any message or tips of the trade to share with aspiring artists today?

DE: With David Ellefson’s Rock Shop I try to address as many of these issues as possible on YouTube, so you can stop over there and hopefully that will be inspiring. I think don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Don’t be afraid to get out in front of people and play as often as you can, with as many people as you can, and as many different situations that you can. I think if you have a band or an act or a project your doing, think about the marketing. Playing your instrument is just a small part in the music business. If you’re out performing, and you’re making records, and you’re trying to sell your music, you have to realize you are in the business of music at that point, and you really do yourself a great disservice if you just play the dumb musician thing. The dumb musician thing is not attractive, its not appealing, and I think the world is way over that. To be sharp, to be educated, to really be on top of your game so you can really give your audience the best, should always be your goal.

~Kris Melton