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BACK
ABRASIVE
OUTLETS
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley, Nathan T. Birk and Paul Silbiger
Unfortuneately
we couldn't fit all of the stories into 'Abrasive Outlets' this
issue (which is a damn shame!) so here ya go, some great stories
on Hermano, Hatbreed, In Pieces, Sixty Watt Shaman, Living Sacrifice
and Aria. Enjoy! - A.B.
HERMANO:
"I told myself once that if Kyuss ever broke up, and because
it was so important to me, that I would never be in another band
again," starts ex-Kyuss/ex-Slo Burn and current Hermano singer
John Garcia. "But," he says, chuckling. "Well, as
a singer I found it very difficult to not want to do anything. It
is such a fun hobby being part of a band. I had to do it.
"I take my career [veterinary medicine] very seriously and
also love making music. I am very lucky to have two things that
I love to do, one being able to create music, the other working
with medicine and animals. It is a good hobby for me to have."
He adds, "I'll tell you, man. Just doing the rock thing would
make me go fuckin' crazy. I can't live that lifestyle anymore. I
can't live that way. I am the kind of guy that just goes full-on
crazy. When I play on the road I am always ready to go out and kick
some ass. I do enjoy having this alter ego of being domesticated
and when it is time to work, you work, work, work, work, work! And
when it is time to play, you go out and play real hard!"
So
how did the singer happen to hook up with hard-rocking act Hermano
for their debut disc …only a suggestion (on Tee Pee Records)
after stints with Slo Burn (who released only one EP, Amusing the
Amazing) and his other current band Unida? Was it just the need
to rock out some more?
"When
I got offered to do this band a few years ago I didn't even know
who was in the band, and it was very spontaneous. A mutual friend
I knew had approached me about singing with one of his friend's
bands in Cincinnati, Ohio. I did actually know Dave Angstrom who
was in the band and had been in Black Cat Bone and were once labelmates
with Kyuss on Chameleon/Elektra. Eventually I flew me out to Ohio
to record some tracks and I went with it. It was great. Thirty per
cent was already written and the other 70 per cent we just went
along with, and it felt great. There were some great people involved
that have to be mentioned, especially the bassist Steve Brown who
was the brainchild of the band. He was in charge of sending out
demos and material to Steve Earle [ex-Afghan Whigs], Mike Callahan
[ex-Disengage], and Dave and myself to get the ball rolling."
Did
Garcia bring any of his ideas from his previous outfits into this
band, or did he just let things happen?
Says
the singer, "Hermano was guiding me; I wasn't guiding it. I
didn't know what direction I was going with the songs. Eventually
the songs started dictating me and I went with it. I love when that
happens. It is just so exciting."
And
the name Hermano? Was the name chosen prior to the band assembling
or as an afterthought?
"Steve
Brown came up with the name Hermano because of the brotherhood that
went along in the studio and during the recording that went on for
three days. I think the name is very fitting. I couldn't have chosen
a better name. Plus with me being Hispanic, it was kind of cool."
As
Garcia mentioned above, the album was recorded three years ago and
has sat on the shelf since then. But finally, courtesy of Tee Pee
Records, the album is now out. Had Garcia ever thought that the
album might not see the light of day?
"I knew it was gonna come out some way and some time. It was
just a matter of time and the right situation."
And
it appears that Garcia's other project Unida is facing problems,
as the band is in a dispute with American Records. Garcia is not
happy about this at all.
"Unida
will come out whether it comes out on a major, an indie label, or
I have to put the fucking thing out myself," says a determined
Garcia. "I don't like the music business at all. Do I like
making music? Yes. Do I want my music to get out there full-blown?
Not really. At least make it available to people that are interested
in collecting rock 'n' roll. Bands like Monster Magnet, Queens of
the Stone Age and Fu Manchu are working hard to keep waving the
flag of rock 'n' roll, and I want to get put there and wave my flag
with some pride too."
Garcia
finishes off with gusto, "I just want people to have the opportunity
to listen to it. Hell, I want people to listen to any music that
I make. I'm not in this for the money, I just want people to hear
my music. I don't think the music that I do will change the face
of rock, but I think it will put a couple of stitches and bruises
along the face of rock." By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
HATEBREED:
So are Hatebreed assholes and bullies like many people in the music
scene have labeled them? Singer Jamey Jasta agrees to a certain
degree.
"I hear all of that, but I don't let that bother me,"
he begins. "Any publicity is good publicity and any rumours
are good rumours. I'd rather have people talking bad about us than
not talking about us at all. I think it really helps the whole vibe
of the band. Some people have really good reasons to hate us, and
I don't blame them. We have done some very counterproductive things
and some fucked-up stuff that we regret, and at one time we didn't
know how long of a haul we would be in with this band. We changed
our outlook on things. We stopped drinking and have started treating
people the way we want to be treated.
"I just want to be able to give back and try to do right by
people, and all we can do is try to go out and change people's opinions
of us," Jasta adds. "But the people who are set in their
ways and think those things about us serve their own purpose."
It
has been a long wait for the band to put out the follow-up to their
1997 monster album Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire (on Victory
Records). Lineup changes, label changes, touring, and a lot of shit
has gone down. The title Perseverance (Universal) is perfect for
a band like Hatebreed, having persevered to get to this point.
Jasta
explains where the album title came from. "We were at a truck
stop one night and saw this sign on a wall with Dale Earnhardt [deceased
race car driver] on it and it said 'To persevere is to remain steadfast
against all odds.' When we saw that sign, we looked up many different
versions of that word and found out that the word 'perseverance'
seemed like the perfect album title for us."
As
one would expect, the new Hatebreed album is quite intense. I told
someone recently that it feels like some bully pinning you in the
corner of a room and yelling at you for 40 minutes straight-a very
intimidating album to say the least.
"When
I play back this album all I hear is a positive release. I knew
that we didn't hold back with this album and that we had a lot of
magic in the studio [the band is rounded out by guitarist Sean Martin,
bassist Chris Beattie and drummer Matt Byrne]. It is great to go
out on the road and play this album to the fans and they sing along.
They feel and know what you are saying, and it just creates this
awesome vibe on tour. It feels good to have been able to capture
a real solid feel to this album. We didn't water or cheapen it down,
we gave it our all and it came out strong and aggressive. We just
tell it like it is."
Was
there ever any feeling in the Hatebreed camp that you had to top
the last album?
"We
felt that we didn't have to change our formula for writing. I mean,
we have a pretty simple formula that works for us. Why fix it if
it isn't broken? We just wanted to go out and show people that we
are better musicians now than what we were a few years back and
have a more solid lineup. We had a much bigger budget this time
around. We didn't have nine hours to do 14 songs this time around,
It was more like a month to do 16 songs and two weeks to do vocals,
rather than five hours. We just want the kids buying the album to
put on the CD and have their heads blown off."
And
the jump from Victory to Universal-was it a smooth transition?
"It
was very smooth," remarks the singer. "It felt great to
be able to get this record out on Universal. A lot of people are
upset and think we did what Universal wanted us to do, and we did.
All they wanted us to do was to do what we wanted to do and we did
just that. We don't need to change our sound or braid our goatees
to sell records. We just need make a strong record and go on tour
and show everyone what we are made of.
"This
is such a great life I have," he adds. "I mean, I am so
into what we do. I want to write a record once a year and then go
on tour and travel to all of the places that kids write and e-mail
us from. We don't care if there is no tour support or we don't have
a bus. We'll do what we have to do. If that means riding in a van
on top of our gear to get to a place we'll do it. All we want to
do is play and our music and do what we want to do."
Hatebreed
hails from the small New England state of Connecticut, where I used
to live in the mid to late-'70s. It seems odd that one of today's
biggest hardcore/metalcore acts came from such a small U.S. state
(which is now home to a rabid hardcore scene).
"It
was a lot of hard work on our part to get noticed, and now there
is such a great scene there. Lots of great bands worth checking
out. It felt really good that the whole state stood behind us and
supported us on our rise to where we are now. People always want
to support where they are from, whether you are on a football team
or in a band. It is always cool to represent," he laughs.
"Someone
once wrote in an interview with us in a small-town paper in Connecticut
that we were one of the biggest things to come out of Connecticut,
only second to Michael Bolton. I can live with that." By
Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
IN
PIECES:
Elsewhere in this issue (you find it), I argue that Escape Artist
is set to be the new AmRep, but all's not bent 'n' burly in the
EA universe. For example, take Connecticut quintet In Pieces, whose
Learning to Accept Silence debut is, daresay, beautiful. Immediately
addicting yet not immediately categorizable, In Pieces' debut full-length
safely evades convenient genre tags-a dash of anthemic emo-rock,
a smidgen of searing metalcore, and an ample dosage of Rock Power.
EA's newest hopefuls are not only an exception to the label's norm,
they're an exception to the post-hardcore rule of rigidity. With
their meld of the mathy and the melodic, the angelic and the demonic,
this dynamic fivesome just might be the missing link between Cave
In's Until Your Heart Stops and Jupiter had Rush and Radiohead not
taken over Steven Brodsky and crew.
Being
that how it is-that juxtaposition of contrasting musical elements-do
In Pieces put forth a conscious effort to balance catchier rock-figures
and quasi-shoegazer textures?
After a pause, drummer/lyricist TJ Orscher expels a chuckle and
states, "I don't know if it's a conscious effort. We're not
going around playing and saying, 'We need a rock part here.' It
kinda just happens. We'll all feel that way, and it'll work itself
out into creating that part. If we feel we need a really heavier
part, we'll put the heavier part in, but the songs write themselves.
And if we're writing and it's not going anywhere, we can always
sense it-if everyone's getting tired of the writing process, it's
time to call it a day," comes another chuckle, "and come
back the next day…sometimes we trash it. I would say we've
had 30 different little things we've written and never expanded
on."
Their songs are five to six minutes long and travel along like a
seesaw, with a myriad of emotions and sounds along the way. Is that
the In Pieces blueprint?
"I
would say so," Orscher agrees. "I'd definitely say we
pride ourselves on being a dynamic band and having a lot of energy,
but also being able to take that energy back and chill it out for
a little bit."
Speaking
of chilling out, how about that album title-a thematic unifier at
all?
"I
would say so, yes, only in the sense of…" the drummer
pauses to ponder. "Because I view the lyrics I wrote on the
album as expressing my sadness or whatever, but also I think I come
across-or I try to come across, at least-that there's always tomorrow,
that there's always getting back up on your own. I dunno, it's very
much a positive record. It's weird to think of it that way-a negative/positive,
they cancel each other out… Learning to Accept Silence is learning
to cope with something that's not there, something that's usually
there-a person or some thing or some place you've been-and then
learning to cope with not having it there anymore, that constant."
As the band's sole lyricist, then, do you ever feel you're walking
a treacherous line between putting too much of your soul into the
lyrics and maybe leaving a bit open to personal interpretation?
Another
pause. "When I write, I don't really hold back, but if something's
a little too personal or something of that nature, then most likely
I probably wouldn't use it. I mean, the lyrics I wrote on the album
are really personal. I went through some tough times, and those
[lyrics] were just me and how I felt about (the tough times), my
general feelings of whatever I was feeling at the time."
Poor
chap. Are times looking up now?
"Yeah,
oh yeah," confirms Orscher. "I mean, times weren't really
all that horrible, but there's always some aspects of life that
are intense and saddening-the world today, it's disheartening to
see what's going on. It's an inner album for myself, and I find
it amazing when someone comes up and says, 'Your lyrics touched
me.' It's such a great feeling that I've reached someone, helped
someone to realize that there is tomorrow."
So,
as a musician, have you indeed learned to accept silence more?
Understandably
and ironically, silence ensues before Orscher laughs in the affirmative.
"Yeah, sometimes I'll be driving in the car, listening to a
record…I love music, I listen to it maybe 80 to 90 per cent
of the day. It's good, sometimes, when you have that silence and
turn the music off, and you can then enjoy that silence. There's
also those times where the silence is the thing that's the most
intense, it's the thing that's gonna bring you over the edge. I
guess that's where my ideas for the album [title] came up."
At
press time, In Pieces will have wrapped up a month-long tour supporting
Time In Malta, with new vocalist Brendan Mannle replacing the departed
Scott Gibson, who was both a founding member and the man whose suitably
dynamic vox graced the band's debut. A big blow, perhaps, but Orscher
remains undaunted. "We're solidifying our lineup and actually
going full-time in September, and everything's slowly falling into
place. I know there's a couple things we'd like to work out more
smoothly, but that's the breaks of being in a band." By
Nathan T. Birk (www.inpieces.com)
SIXTY
WATT SHAMAN:
"We got a lot of good responses from critics for our last album
[their Spitfire Records debut Seed of Decades] and we are happy
about all of that, but that was a hard record to make," begins
bassist Reverend Jim Forrester. "We had a hard time assembling
it all and when that record was finished we were thinking that we
didn't make the record we wanted to make-kind of putting out there
who we are and what we do. This time around with Reason To Live
we feel we have done what we should have done the first time around."
It
seems as though it all clicked this time around and everything just
fit right into place.
"Yeah, I think it all just fit into place," he agrees.
"We have a new drummer in the band ['Minnesota Pete' Campbell]
and he has really changed things quite a bit. We are way more comfortable
as a group now. It is a much tighter experience.
"Making
this album was a much easier experience because we had Scott Reeder
[ex-Kyuss, producer] on board as well. It was an amazing experience
to have worked with him. I can't compare what we did this time around
with what we have done in the past."
About
the making of the album, he reveals, "There were no real blueprints
on how Reason To Live was to be made; we just had a lot of songs.
We all just sat around, drank from the keg and it all came together
[the band is rounded out by singer Dan Kerzwick and guitarist Joe
Selby]. There was nothing pre-planned, and that is the way we wanted
things. We wanted the spontaneity to jump out at you."
What
was it like working with Scott Reeder?
"Oh,
man, where do I begin? On the 'thank you' list of the last record
I thanked the holy trinity of bass players: the late Cliff Burton
of Metallica, Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath and Scott Reeder, formerly
of Kyuss. Through various friends Scott found out about that and
eventually got in touch with me to talk. We had been communicating
for a while via e-mail and when it came time to produce the album
I asked him if he wanted to produce us and his answer was pretty
much, 'Hell, yeah!' For me it came together real cool because it
isn't often you get to make a record with one of your heroes."
He
is a great guy. I talked to him almost ten years ago when he was
in Kyuss. Good thing he wasn't a jerk, eh?
"Yeah,
he was a totally cool guy. I knew right away from talking to him
that he was a cool dude who believed in what we were doing."
Unlike
a lot of bands out there who produce two or three albums that sound
the same, rarely venturing outward a step or two, Sixty Watt Shaman
have delivered an album that shines like nothing they have done
before. The groove is heavier, the songs are more rockin' and there
is a stiff attitude echoing from the recording.
"Seeds
is a great record, but it wasn't the record we wanted to make. We
still love what we did and appreciate all that went into it, but
this album finds us where we want to be. We have found ourselves
and so will the fans with Reason To Live."
Is
it good to change a considerable amount with each release?
Replies
Forrester, "Absolutely. We are a pretty diverse band and we
all have different influences and what we like. When we come together
to create ideas for the band we have all these influences and thoughts
all pouring into this one big vat. Seeds was more of a stoner experience;
this album is more in your face. Changes happen to bands, and I
have never been into repeating myself as a musician. I hate bands
that repeat themselves with each album. It feels only right to change
ground and move forward.
"We
put our asses on the line for this record. I will firmly stand behind
this record as the be all and end all of what we could do as a band
at this point in time," the Reverend comments. "I know
there was a lot going into this so I hope, like we do, fans get
something out of this."
They
should be pretty happy.
"Yeah,
I know. I'm confident people will be totally into this album, maybe
even moreso than the Seeds album."
You
wanna hear something crazy, but true?
"What?"
I
am gonna go out on a limb here and say that this is the record that
Down should have made instead of the one they made for Down II.
"Wow.
I am a big fan of Down and I love Nola. I really like the new record
and I appreciate the compliment a lot. We have had a couple of reviews
already pop up on the Internet that have stated that this is the
perfect companion for the Down II album. I can hear where these
reviewers are coming from and it feels good to be in the same sentence
as a band like Down."
So,
Reverend, what is the "reason to live" for you?
"Fucking
jammin', dude! I love playing."
You love it that much, eh?
"Yes."
Do you go to bed with your bass?
"No… I don't think my girlfriend would dig that,"
he says, laughing.
You never know, man…
"True, it may open up new doors. Thanks, I might just try it
this weekend."
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
LIVING SACRIFICE: 
There probably isn't a band in metal that uses rhythm as well as Arkansas'
Living Sacrifice. In 1997, when they veered away from the death metal
sound they'd been known for since 1990 and released Reborn, the album's
title shared a glimpse of what this new Living Sacrifice was all about:
interpreting metal a little differently than everyone else. And it's
their multi-dimensional rhythmic approach that helps define these
guys as unique. Most metal bands portray themselves musically through
distinctive vocals and guitars. Without a doubt, Living Sacrifice
has distinctive vocals and guitars, but their dual-drum delivery shares
that centre stage as well.
Conceived
In Fire, due out on September 24, is their third opportunity to
show the world what Living Sacrifice has become. And what they have
become is an infectious, innovative band that probably stands unique
in the metal world. A louder offering than 2000's The Hammering
Process, Conceived In Fire features heavier vocals from guitarist/lead-growler
Bruce Fitzhugh, and an evolved rhythmic attack from drummer Lance
Garvin and percussionist Matt Putman. Guitarist Rocky Gray and bassist
Arthur Green do their own part to turn the volume right up as well.
With
Bruce on the other end of the phone, I wanted to find out why Living
Sacrifice, after being ultra-heavy for so many years, mellowed out
on The Hammering Process, only to get heavier again with this release.
"It
was a conscious decision," Bruce admits. "We wanted The
Hammering Process to be brutal and heavy, but we also wanted to
broaden our audience. We had hoped that it would open more doors
for us. There's a lot of different stuff on that record, and while
it's all metal, there are a lot of different aspects of heaviness.
We toured on that record for two years straight and really just
ended up playing the same clubs we'd always played. We never really
got on to a bigger tour except one tour with POD, but that was because
we're friends with them.
"We
were bummed about the whole thing and decided to just write an all-out
heavy record, and say that whatever happens, happens. We're not
worried about broadening or opening up our audience any more than
it is. So we've made the most heavy, brutal thing we can.
"The
last record had clean singing and stuff like that, and I found it
tough to do. I like it on the record, but I didn't feel like tackling
that for this record. I just wanted to sing the way that comes naturally
to me, which is the low, heavy, guttural-type stuff-and I wanted
the music to match.
"But
after everything was said, we just came out and wrote the record,
and some songs came out heavier, others didn't. So while making
this one heavier was a conscious decision, some songs have cool
rhythms and harmonies that aren't that heavy."
On
a personal note, I think Living Sacrifice's The Hammering Process
is a flawless record-a 10/10. So when I hear about a band shifting
their sound after I feel they've got it nailed, I get nervous. I'm
sure many of you have been through the same experience with your
own favourite bands. Bruce's enthusiasm is equal to my own when
I move the conversation into The Hammering Process record.
"The
Hammering Process is our best-selling record so far-about 30,000
copies. I was pretty pleased with that number, but I had higher
hopes for it. With the amount of touring that we did for it, I felt
it could have gotten to 50,000, and my goal was to get it to 100,000.
But after touring on it for two years, it was obvious that it wasn't
going to get up there."
Why
didn't Living Sacrifice get the break? "You know," Bruce
begins, "the only thing I can attribute it to is that this
is the way it's supposed to be. I'm not bitter about it. We have
so many fans, and those fans go out and buy our record, and it is
what it is. I'm really appreciative of everyone that's into it because
we have great fans and get a great response from them.
"For
whatever reason though, people may have misconceptions about us,
being that we're Christians, so maybe they're just not open to listening
to us. Or maybe we're just not that great of a band! Seriously though,
without being boastful, I think we're a great band. Otherwise I
couldn't do this.
"In
essence, I have high expectations for what we do. There's a lot
of heavy bands out there, many of them even heavier than we are,
that sell a lot more records. As far as this record goes, we think
it's a good record and we just hope it stands out. We want people
to listen to Conceived In Fire and say 'Oh yeah, those bands are
good, but have you heard the new Living Sacrifice?'" By
Paul Silbiger
ARIA
Much like the music of Between the Buried And Me, Aria is far
from being your typical hardcore band. The members also come from
a previous band, but that doesn't stop them from expanding their
sounds and ideas and assembling a record that'll shake, rattle and
roll the listener into unconsciousness...or at least try.
"I
think we were all very happy with how the material we had written
turned out," says guitarist Joe Benham about their five-song
EP titled As If Forever Really Exists on Tribunal Records. "The
bottom line was that we really wanted to do something different,
even though nowadays that feat seems to be almost impossible. I
think we were somewhat able to create a sound of our own."
My
favourite aspect of this album is the emotional roller-coaster ride
that the album delivers. Does Benham think that might be too much
for music fans, or will they embrace the variety and flow of the
album?
He
responds, "I think this was one of the stronger aspects to
our record. Because of it I think it will help keep the listener's
attention better and even surprise and catch the listener off guard.
The last thing we wanted was to write an album consisting of songs
that get lost in each other and all sound the same [the band is
rounded out by singer Paul Genet, guitarist Jason Bigham, bassist
Zach Newhouse, and drummer Kevin Markie]. And although we are content
with it, I'm not sure how others are going to perceive it. I'm hoping
that kids will like it, but I'm not totally sure."
How
was the recording experience of this five-song EP?
"At
first we were very enthusiastic about getting into the studio, but
that shortly changed," he says, laughing. "It was an extremely
long and tedious process, and I don't think any of us saw it coming.
It had taken almost twice as long as any of us had expected, but
in the end it definitely made for a much better product. I don't
think there was anything that we wanted to accomplish on the recording
that we couldn't. Maybe next time we can hope to get it completed
in better time, but who knows? Doing this EP was frustrating enough,
I don't even wanna think about doing a full length…"
And
seeing that Aria rose from the ashes of another band (An Orchid's
Chance In December), how did that alter or change the way they did
things musically this time?
"With
our previous band," he says, "We wrote songs that lacked
flow and uniformity. It took us about six months to mature from
that, and even with earlier Aria songs you could see that problem
was still evident. Recognizing the problem in the first place was
when things really started to turn around for us in our songwriting
skills. Also, in Orchid we tended to write riffs to sound like they
had a specific musical influence, and because of this a lot of parts
within a given song would sound really random and not blend in with
the rest of the composition."
Where
does the name Aria come from?
Says
Benham, "We had all been searching for a new name for weeks
until we came up with using the name Aria. Really, it was the first
thing that we had all agreed on. I think it was neat though because
the definition had a relevant meaning to our music. This meaning
that I am speaking of is that it is an 'elaborate melody,' which
seems to fit us well because we are all into attempting to write
neat, flowing, and introverting melody lines in our songs."
The
interview closes with me asking the guitarist about where he thinks
Aria will be a year from now.
"Man,
I have no idea. I would like to think that we would have established
more of a name for ourselves in the scene, but as far as that goes,
who knows?" comes the initial answer. He adds, "I think
we all would definitely like to do some more touring. This past
summer we went on our first real tour as this band, and we had a
ton of fun and it was pretty successful. Hopefully we will end up
hitting up another tour this winter. I do think in a year we should
be in the midst of recording or finishing up material to be written
for a full-length record, so hopefully that will be the case."
By Adrian 'The Energizer' Bromley
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