Friday, September 23, 2011

Putrefy

In terms of longevity, Putrefy have been round the block a few times. But it's only since 2000 that the Northern Irish Death Metal band shifted up a few gears. After releasing a patchy but enjoyable debut in 2006 the band followed that record up with the Impressive "One Nation Under Gore" (Great title lads!!) A third album is due to be dropped mid 2012 and so we caught up with drummer Jason recently for a chat......



1.Putrefy are currently gearing up to record their third full length, can you tell us a little about how the album’s progressing, what we can expect from it and indeed when you expect it to see the light of day?

First of all I’ll say thanks for the interview, thanks man, right we’re still writing the next album which is titled “Knelt before the Sarcophagus of Humanity”,5 songs completed and another being worked on, the overall vibe is different than the last CD with influences coming back from the bands early days with a more 90,s death metal vibe but with our own slant on it, much stronger songs, better musicianship, I’m hoping it’ll come out in mid-2012,we’re still on the search for a suitable label that promotes their bands.....................we’re writing the strongest album possible, it’ll be a few years since the last CD but the wait will be worth it.



2.You have released two albums to date, Putrefy (2006) & One nation under Gore (2008). What is your opinion of those records in hindsight? Is there anything you are going to deliberately do differently this time around?

The debut album myself and Connor can’t stand really. At the time we thought it was good enough but looking back it was all over the place, but we recorded it, got it released and people liked it but myself- I don’t like it. The next album was a big improvement. I think we got better as musicians and song writing got better.

This time we demoed songs, recorded videos of rehearsals so we could properly fine tune the songs for the new album, like pre-production you could say. The thought for the new album was to write a straight to the point brutal death metal album, but with more preparation than previous releases, better being prepared than debating later how things should have been, lessons been learned with previous recordings, our goal is simple on the new record to just release the best bunch of songs possible, so far its working out great.


3.Just to continue from the above question, I found myself that the first record was a little disjointed, some of that material had been kicking around for years so for me there was an element of inconsistency with that one, whereas the second record was the one where I clicked with Putrefy – One nation under gore was definitely a more focused effort. Would you agree with that statement?

Yeah the first album was a bit disjointed, like I say in the other question I don’t like the debut CD, if recorded now it’d sound awesome I reckon, we play a couple live from the debut in the live set, we’ve re-written them and tightened them up, Pigfucker and Lust so vile, we’ll be re-writing the track Putrefy next, it’s been started on in recent weeks.

I’d totally agree that one nation under gore was a much more focused affair, since the debut we agreed that every release has to be improved on every aspect being song writing and playing, the band has improved a hell of a lot since the last CD, it’s all good.


4.Can I just ask, why did it take so long for the first album to come out?

Ah right where do I start? A Ha! Basically since 1995 i had problems finding suitable musicians to play this type of music, finding death metallers was impossible to say the least and musicians like that even harder, In 1996 i came down with a medical condition which is on-going but I won’t go into that, so I was unable to play drums for a few years, I started playing drums in a couple hard-core bands and got liking drumming again and after a while I reformed Putrefy with a few friends, people came and went and in 2000 I met Connor and got a mate called Beaver to pay bass, who would be the bands longest ever serving bass player for 8 years, and things went from there, various band changes happened and between 2003/2005 we had a stable line up, then a change of vocalist (Jason Barriskill R.I.P/He passed away in recent years) happened and we had enough songs to record a full length with this line up, we had material back in 1995 for a full length but them songs didn’t get recorded, some riffs appeared in songs on “One Nation under Gore”, was a long time to get a debut album out but I’m very glad it finally happened, I always wanted to make sure the band recorded an album, and we’re on the 3rd  album now, so I’m very thankful that people support the band enough so we can keep doing albums ,I’ll keep doing this as long as the people want to hear the band.


5.This may seem a bit of a trivial question, but there have been several line-up changes in the band over the years, am I correct in saying that you have always been a core member? Who’s in the line-up for the next album?


Yeah your correct in saying I’ve been a core member, I helped form the band back in 1992,i was in a thrash band with Jeff on guitar for a couple years, original singer Charlie joined and his mate Mark joined on bass, we then decided to play Death Metal and thought of a name change, took a while but one day I mentioned the name Putrefy as I saw it in a mag somewhere and the name just clicked with us all, In 1995 the others in the band couldn’t be arsed doing it anymore so the band parted ways but I always wanted to bring it back as I always thought we had unfinished business in the underground scene, ex singer Charlie said I was always more serious about it than the rest, but this band has always been a passion of mine, I was determined to bring it back and try and continue spreading the band’s name, I still got a few letters over the years from people asking if I was going to bring it back, was always a thing I wanted to do but took some years to do it but it did and no regrets, played some cool shows and fests, made some good friends in the business, cool bands, nice people.

The current line up is Connor on Guitars and vocals,Aaron R on Guitar and Aaron S on Bass and myself of course,yep theres too Aarons in the band,lol,joking aside this is easily the strongest line up i,ve had to date and long may it continue,great musicians and great guys.



6.What are your plans on the touring front for the next record? I personally think with a bit more push on the international circuit you guys could catch something of a break. Can you tell us what the scene is like in Ireland too and how has the reaction been towards Putrefy at home? From the clips I’ve seen on you tube it seems like you have a dedicated following there.

We,d like to play as many places as possible,we always try and secure fests and gigs but in recent years its been drying up,things have been looked into but shat on to be honest,but we,ll keep trying,we like to play live and if people want us we will try our best to play there,the scene in Ireland is OK,there's some well known bands like Primordial,Morphosis,Abaddon Incarnate,and Warpath is making good waves,done European dates,then theres newer bands like Zealot Cult,Zombified,Guttrench,Skewered who all deserve some exposure,great bands.

In the north of Ireland there isn't much of a scene,some good bands in different genres but a lot of crap as well,bands like Zombified and Overoth do well in the north,we play more in the south as that's where our fan base is.


7.I had a chat with American brutal death metallers Gortuary there recently, I put it to them that the Brutal Death Metal genre is one of the most saturated around and simply littered with rubbish bands and even worse front covers. As a fan, it can be difficult to weed out the better bands, I’d like to put the same question to you Jason, do you find it to be the case yourself as a fan, and more importantly what do you think separates Putrefy from the pack?


Indeed a lot of crap is released now,bands or 1 man projects releasing albums instead of testing the waters with demos and improving their skills,some stuff nowadays is just shit,and going for retarded artwork,i listen to more old death metal now as bands nowadays just wanna be either all about being fast with no memorable riffs or a Devourment clone,i,ll always say the best death metal is early 90,s,all about good songs.

What separates us from the rest is we,re writing whats personal to us and not following whats new anymore,we've done that in the past with the debut album,but just write for ourselves in what we want to hear and just hope the listeners dig it,but we write for the fans as well,just don't follow trends anymore.


8.Can you tell us about your best and worst touring experiences to date? Also, from your Bio I have seen that you guys have opened up for a few renowned names in the death metal scene, Suffocation and Entombed are surely worth a mention here, any good anecdotes/memories from those shows? It must have been awesome to share the stage with bands that influenced you?


Supporting Suffocation twice is the all time one for me,we,ve played great fests but playing with them was the best for me,legendary band,both times was great but the last one was insane,kids was rocking the drum kit back and forward when i was playing,stage diving,we sold 900 euro in merch that night,a successful night for sure,the Entombed gig was OK,played OK and sold a few things,but still a great thing to share the stage with a band like Entombed and i,ll always be thankful for the promoter for offering these slots.

Worst experience was playing Central Illinois Metal fest in the U.S.A. And our train being delayed by some kids firing ball bearings at the train and stopping it,we had to wait 3 hours till it moved and the guys in the band jumped off and tried to get taxis for us and then the train started again and had to run back on,we then got the train to the airport,having a hour to get there to check in,ran up the airport,somehow got the luggage through and then all searched as we looked dodgy,lol,so we get on the flight and when we arrive in Dublin i get informed that my luggage with £600 worth of drum gear is missing and on another plane,but luckily got it back 4 days later,we was very lucky we got home.


9.Speaking of influences, who do you consider to be Putrefy’s biggest influences musically? And if you had the choice, who would you like to ideally take out on tour with you?

My influences are mostly American Death Metal bands,esp the New York bands,the others are the same in the band,heavy death metal,cant be arsed with this melodic death metal,heavy and straight to the point for me,if we had the chance to tour with anyone it would be with Suffocation,Mortician,Internal Bleeding,Pyrexia.................that would be killer.


10.You guys had the pleasure of working with Will from Mortician on your first album (Released on Will’s Redrum label), how did that work out for you? It must have been a massive boost to have Will’s approval for the band?  Do you have much contact with him these days? He seems to keep a very low profile; hopefully a new Mortician record will be on the cards.

Working with Redrum was good for the band,Will Rahmer is a legend in the scene and liked what he heard when Connor sent him a track of the new album just to check us out,and he was interested in releasing it,was a easy decision to release the CD with wills label,we,re still in contact with will,me and Connor have our own NYDM chapter in northern Ireland,we do events for charities,and will still checks on the bands progress,hes a busy man and i,d say there could be a new Mortician release coming soon,cant wait myself,i did hear of a DVD coming so keep your eyes out for that.


11.As a death metal fan you must be aware of several pure death metal labels that are on the go now, two I want to mention are Sevared and Brutal bands as they seem to be gaining a great deal of attention, what is your opinion of each and do you think it would be good for Putrefy to work with either?


Both great labels and it would be a honour working with either of them,good band rosters and promote their bands,exactly what we're looking for.

12.Are there any other good metal bands Death or otherwise back home that you could recommend to our readers?


Check out the bands i listed previously from Ireland,other bands i listen to are the oldies like Suffs,Mortician,Dehumanized,Internal Bleeding,old Gorguts,Massacre,Deicide,new bands i like are Vomit the Soul,Disma,Sufferage,Infernal Revulsion,Bone Gnawer..................so many good bands out there,just cant think of many at the moment.


13.On the touring front, do Putrefy limit themselves to only playing on pure death metal bills or are you open to diverse bills?

We prefer to play with bands similar to us as then you,ll have a crowd that should want to check out all the bands,we,ve played diverse gigs before and notice each band having their own following and pissing off after they see that band,with a death metal bill you,ll have the chance that they,ll watch all the bands.


14.I seen that you have played quite a few death fests, can you give your overall opinion on these including pros and cons?

The pros are good exposure and the cons is affording the travel,some promoters pay,most don't,so the only con is money for bands as people have their own personal stuff to deal with outside the band so sorting a $1500 dollar flight for a fest someone wants you to play for free isn't a option really,just sucks with us living in Northern Ireland where to go to some cities in Europe you have to get a connection in England and double baggage to pay,last time we played London it cost £350 just to get the gear on the plane,and that was mostly for drum gear,you just have to do it if the right gig is offered.


15.You’ve been at this game a long time now any advice for anyone out there thinking of starting a brutal death metal band? And indeed is there anything you would change about your career to date??

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm,the only thing i would of changed was practising my own drumming more back when we started,lol,but youth and knowing it all at the time prevented that,i,ve learned a lot over the last 5 years when i started taking my playing serious like i should have back  then,everything we,ve done since the start has been a learning situation so i wouldn't know what i know now without going through it all,its been a hard ride but learned a lot from mistakes and when i can i try and advice younger bands how to not make the same mistakes,

Thanks again to Jason for his time, please check out the following links
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#%21/pages/PUTREFY/117333211610033


http://www.myspace.com/putrefy05

Friday, July 1, 2011

Creations Tears

Creations Tears may be an unknown quantity to most of you, a band from Ireland who have not hung around waiting for things to happen. They’ve gone the DIY route, which may have some of you groaning, but make no mistake; they have produced a professional sounding record, one even their peers may be envious of! Produced by Jens Bogren no less (Katatonia, Opeth etc) I caught up with Brian Reynolds, recently to discuss the album and more. Fans of Katatonia, Grey Waters, Anathema, Paradise Lost etc could do worse than to check these lads out

1. For those who are not aware of the band, can you tell us something of the motivation/inspiration behind the formation of Creations Tears?

I was frustrated with the cycle of jamming but never releasing an album.  There was an early incarnation of Creation’s Tears back in 2002 and we never managed to get our shit together to release anything despite having some strong songs.  Two of us in that early line-up also played for a band called Apathy (NI) some years before. 

I had hoped to revive the original Creation’s Tears line-up but a couple of the lads had commitments to other areas like business / family which I completely respect, so it was clear we didn’t share the same focus.  As a musician, there’s always a desire to play music and have an outlet for your creative energy, so when I put Creation’s Tears together again in 2009, I vowed that things would be very different this time.  The recruitment drive commenced and from the offset, I made it very clear that an album would be recorded with a top producer outside of Northern Ireland.  Initially the only goal was to record the album, but now, 9 months on from the release of Methods To End It All - why quit?


2.Forgive the ignorance here, but from what I can make out, it’s yourself who has handled most of the writing for the album if not all. Did you intend to take on the bulk of the work or was this just the circumstance you found yourself in?

I heard that the guy who writes the music gets all the chicks?  Is that a lie? 

The ethos of the Creation’s Tears reformation and in particular the Methods To End It All album was a very personal statement for me, a kind of “fuck you” to all the people who told me I would fail.  

A couple of the songs on Methods To End It All were written by me many years back (before Creation’s Tears was even thought of).  When the rest of the songs were being written, it was just me and Ian (the bassist) in the line-up so we didn’t even have a “band” as such, just a concept for a band.  Musically Ian and myself are cut from the same mould.  I write the guitar parts, vocal melodies, lyrics etc and send them to him; he’s my “sounding board”.  To answer your question, you could say it was circumstantial that I wrote all the songs on Methods, but at the same time, there needs to be a musical “quality control” guy in every band.


3.Regarding your debut album “Methods To End It All” You have a couple of notable guests on there, can you tell our readers about your guests and how it came about that they agreed to play on the album? I have to say this has definitely drawn some extra attention to the band, was this intention behind recruiting them specifically in the first place? Also were the guys your first choices, if not can you tell us who else was on the shortlist?

I’d been struggling on and off for years to get a solid band line-up.  The departure of a drummer is what finished my old band Apathy back in the day and drummers are a rare commodity in this country.  When I put Creation’s Tears back together in 2009, I couldn’t find a drummer here.  The scene is really small here and nobody else in Ireland is playing the kind of music that I write (at least not that I’m aware of). 

After some months of advertising for a drummer in music shops and online it was obvious that nobody was interested.  I was determined that the lack of drummer would not halt the project this time.  I had this bizarre idea for years that I’d love to work with Lee Morris.  His debut with Paradise Lost on Draconian Times and in particular, the closing sequence in “Enchantment”, had really caught my attention.  As a songwriter, I knew his drumming style would be perfect for Creation’s Tears. 

So, I went back to my CD collection and revisited Draconian Times and it just made sense in my mind that Lee Morris had to be part of this project.  The problem was that he’d been out of Paradise Lost for nearly 10 years and I couldn’t locate him.  Undeterred I continued to track down Lee although I spoke to a couple of other drummers and session guys as a kind of insurance plan.  While any of those drummers would undoubtedly have had the ability, it was Lee Morris I really wanted to work with.

After 3 weeks, I managed to get a number for Lee Morris.  I made a kind of nervous / excited phone call and while Lee was very polite, I detected that he thought I might be a crazed Paradise Lost stalker.  He didn’t express a great deal of enthusiasm when I described the genre, but he asked me to send him some demos, although I honestly thought that was just him telling me to “fuck off” in the most polite way.  Luckily for me, he was really into the demos; he was singing phrases from my lyrics back to me in our next call.  I was compelled by his excitement about getting involved and on top of that, he said he had a few drum lines he’d been working on that he was looking for an outlet to use.  I couldn’t wait to hear his ideas!

For a guy who toured the world at the height of Paradise Lost’s career, I have never met more humble and affable gentleman.  He was such an inspiration to me during the drama that surrounded making the album, that I refer to him as Lee “life coach” Morris and he is now a good friend.

The story with Sarah Jezebel Deva goes much the same way.  I loved her vocals on Angtoria’s “God Has A Plan For Us All”.  When I sent her the demo for the track Creation’s Tears, she compared it to early Anathema; she was into it.  So, between recording sessions in Sweden, I flew to England, hooked up with Sarah and recorded her vocals with a guy called Daniel Abela (who now plays guitar in Sarah’s solo project).                          

4.As for the Album itself, it sounds magnificent guys, aside from the quality of the music, the production is excellent, and there is great clarity and separation between the various components. In terms of distribution and label you have gone the DIY route, how is that working out for you?

The clarity in production is really down to the techniques used by the album’s producers, David Castillo and Jens Bogren (Opeth, Katatonia, Soilwork, Amon Amarth).  David Castillo spent a lot of time on the right guitar sound in the studio which had enough grit without being too muddy.  He’s an excellent producer; demanding nothing short of your best take.  He’d always say, “one more time” to the point it was driving me nuts!  He worked tirelessly to get the best from the guitars and vocals during the recording sessions.

Similarly, Jens Bogren produces albums that always have a lot of clarity and definition.  He mixes alone and sends you a mix for approval, an idea I really struggled with as I like to be hands on.  We knew what we wanted in the Creation’s Tears sound, and Jens Bogren knows what he wants, after all, he’s the producer – the guy we’re asking to ensure we have a good sound so we just had to trust him on some aspects.  He did an immense job!  We wanted an album with a production to rival any major commercial release and we weren’t working with a massive budget; David Castillo and Jens Bogren delivered as far as I’m concerned.           

5.I can hear a lot of Mid – Period Paradise Lost/Katatonia in your music as well as something of your own identity, would you agree with those comparisons? Is there anyone else you would cite as an influence on Creations Tears?

Everybody hears something different.  There have been comparisons to bands I haven’t even heard of!  Of course Draconian Times still ranks as an iconic album for me, that’s why I chose Lee Morris but beyond that, it’s hard for me to pinpoint specific influences.  Ironically I don’t listen to much “Gothic” music. 

I had this discussion with Lee Morris over a drink in Liverpool recently.  We’re both of the same mindset that influences can come from anywhere.  A good song is a good song no matter who performs it.  I don’t have rigid rules to say that what I write or what I listen to must belong to a certain genre.  Listen to Odyssey (OPUS IX) from Methods To End It All, is it even a metal song? 

6.You guys are not very prominent on the live circuit, I don’t mean disrespect with that statement, and I just find it to be the case. Have Creations Tears played live or indeed do you ever intend to a la Darkthrone, Burzum?

Initially the vision for Creation’s Tears was to record a great album, my personal statement for posterity.  I recorded all the guitar parts in the studio, so even after the album’s release, Creation’s Tears didn’t have a proper band line-up.  Since around February 2011, I’ve been working with a couple of guys and we have just performed 2 local gigs.  One was a very intimate gig in my hometown of Ballymena and the other in Belfast.  The response to the gigs and the album has come as a great surprise to me.  There may be more live performances yet to come.

7.Just following on from the performance question, you have made a great record and one that I think could potentially go down very well in Europe, I think a tour or a suitable support slot could see the band go from being relatively obscure to securing something of a following. This is obviously my own opinion though, I guess what I’m asking is how is the album being received in terms of sales, and do you intend to follow up with a tour in order to increase sales and raise profile?

Creation’s Tears / Methods To End It All, was never about sales.  If it was, we’d have sold the idea to a record label with a great marketing department right from the offset.  Methods was my personal journey, my “fuck you” to the naysayers.  It was important for me NOT to hand over control to some commercial force. 

As far as I’m concerned, if I never leave the house again, I’ve already achieved what I set out to do with Creation’s Tears.

On another note though, I have received e-mails from people who now look at Methods To End It All and the journey to get there as a source of encouragement.  I don’t mean that in an egotistical way; what I mean is; I’ve had e-mails from musicians who can’t get a record deal who have been roused into action by the statement Creation’s Tears has made with Methods without label support.  It shows people that they don’t need to follow the rules or some traditional path although I must also say that the right record label does still have its merits. 

Others associate strongly with some of the lyrical ideas from Methods.  It’s rewarding to know that from such a dark album comes so much light and for that reason, I’m not going to stop the Methods journey now.     

8.Who would you ideally like to tour with?

Metallica / Iron Maiden / Megadeth or any of my childhood metal heroes – I’ll join the queue.

9.Have the band written any further material since Methods has been released? What direction do you see the material heading in? I think personally, Bands like My Dying Bride, PL and Katatonia have coasted for periods in their career without taking major risks, do you see Creations Tears offering up album after album of the same thing or would you prefer to see how things pan out naturally?

You’ve cleverly disguised multiple questions in one paragraph ;)

A musician is always writing.  I have new song ideas on my computers and mobile phone and lyrics scribbled on pieces of paper etc.  I’m very selective though.  One day I’ll write a song and then delete it.  For me it’s about whatever fits the mood at the time of recording.  For that reason, there is strong material that didn’t make it on to Methods.  I have finished songs that may never be used.    

As for the musical direction, I remember a review of one of the early Creation’s Tears gigs back in 2003 where the reviewer gave some very positive feedback but asked how we could make the synthesis between the light and heavy moments in recorded form.  Take Odyssey (OPUS IX) and then play the closing track, Untimely Reminder or take Another Collision and then play No Saviour Here – those songs are all worlds apart.  You couldn’t download one album track from Methods and allow that to represent the entire album.  I don’t want to be pigeonholed into having to regurgitate the same stuff over and over. 

On your point about bands coasting, the one thing I admire about Metallica is the diversity in their catalogue.  I’m not saying I like every song or album, but that’s irrelevant.  The fact remains that if Metallica want to play The Thing That Should Not Be, or Mama Said, they have that right as musicians.  For me, Methods To End It All came from a dark place and my songs reflect personal experiences so who knows where I’ll be at on the next album.     

10.As mentioned earlier, you Methods is a DIY effort, but make no mistake this is a professional release, which is no small achievement, there are bands on major labels that haven’t put out a package as professional as this, what advice do you have for any young bands out there thinking of recording their first album?

Thanks for your kind comments.

To young bands and “old hands,” I’d say fuck the rulebook!  Do whatever it is that you love to do.  I wasted too much of my life sitting around with ideas instead of rolling up my sleeves and doing what I really wanted.   

Strap on your guitar or get behind your kit and play whatever it is that you’re feeling.  Don’t try to be some parody of whoever is selling merchandise this week; people see straight through false bullshit.  Don’t get hung up on production – you should have heard the bedroom demos I sent to Lee Morris!  Turn off your games console, turn up your amp, hit record and go for it.   

11.Lyrically you are not a very happy bunch! What gives? There is no way you could stick Methods on at a party! In all seriousness, are the lyrics based on personal experiences? Do you think there is any positivity in there at all, and was the intention to be negative during the writing process? I’m literally asking regarding the lyrics, as the music can be bizarrely uplifting at various points.

You’re going to the wrong parties mate ;)

The topics in all those songs are very real as are the people they are about.  All the songs are about events in my life.  I couldn’t sit down and write you a song about World War II.  I wasn’t there so I couldn’t truly capture those emotions - it’s just not how I write.  The first ever Creation’s Tears song, “Years Apart” (which didn’t make it onto Methods a long story for another time), came off the back of a row I had with my then partner.  That’s the song that led me to form Creation’s Tears back in 2002.  I suppose I have some morbid infatuation with darker subjects. 

Ironically though, I’m not a fan of Doom Metal so that’s probably why the music doesn’t echo the lyrical sentiment.  Funnily enough, I was just loading up my Ipod with a playlist of my favourite 300 (or so) tunes.  There’s not a fucking happy number in there! 

12.Finally, I’d like to ask what the heavy music scene is like back home. Are there any Irish bands out there we should be on the lookout for??

The scene is small and you could play every hole in the hedge here and never be heard of outside of Belfast unless you can afford to jump on a plane.  I’d have bet money on the success of a Belfast band called Stand-Up Guy after watching them support Katatonia but they broke up a short time after.  It definitely is a challenging scene and many promising bands break up as a result of hitting the same barriers repeatedly.     

The disadvantage for bands here undoubtedly is our geographic location and the extortionate extras we have to pay for living on an island.  Another negative subject – I’m off to write a song ;) 

Please visit Creations Tears Website http://www.creationstears.com/ for more info on the band and to pick up the album.

There is also a three track sample available here http://www.creationstears.com/3-track-sampler

Friday, June 10, 2011

Gortuary

San Diego's Gortuary have been on the go since 2006 now, I talked to guitarist Andres Guzman  to see what the band has in store for 2011 and beyond.

1. With your second record out almost a year now, can you tell us what to expect from Gortuary in the near future?

With our third release, Divine Indigenous Sacrament, we are definitely still keeping the same type of writing style as our last record but with more intricate parts as well as more groove and better song structure. We feel as with every release we would like to top the previous record each time without losing any type of listening credibility.

2. I have to say, I much prefer Awakening Pestilent Beings over Manic Thoughts. Manic Thoughts for me was an album that  ticked all the brutal death metal boxes, whereas Awakening, I felt there was much more to it, right down to the lyrical themes and artwork which moved away somewhat from the textbook torture/gore type to a sort of classic horror/apocalyptic style. What are your own thoughts on the two records in hindsight? Can you perhaps comment on the direction future material may take?

We feel the same exact way. With our debut, we were much younger as far as being musicians and after that record was released we felt that we could definitely better ourselves not only musically, but as well as writing more concrete song structure, rather than just going all crazy and see how it goes. As with every release, we have put more thought on the music as well as what we want to write the record about. For Divine Indigenous Sacrament, we are definitely straying away from the typical serial killer/zombie type concept; instead we are focusing on writing about all the blood laden rituals and human sacrifices of the Mayan and Aztec as well as other tribes. Something that we are very excited about since it is definitely something different than what we've written about previously.

3. Brutal Death metal must be one of the most saturated musical genres; there are literally thousands of acts churning out similar material, and although I am a fan, it does become tough to find the good bands. Would you agree with the saturation comment? And how do you feel Gortuary have managed to stand out within the scene?

Well it all depends on the bands really, if you really want to stand out, you have to have that certain something that will make you stand out from the rest. For us, we have been fortunate enough to mix all the elements of death metal that we each personally like and have the audience tell us how well we mix those elements of groove, speed, melody, and guitar solo's. For us, it's more of writing music that we would personally would love to hear  a band do, like from a third person point of view, so it just comes out naturally.

4. Am I correct in saying you guys have not played Europe yet? If so have you any plans to get over here at some point?

Yes you would be correct. Although we do have a few things being lined up for 2012 so we will definitely be going out of the U.S on that year. We have a lot of devout European fans so it is a no brainer to go to their homeland and destroy the stage.

5. Obviously Brutal Death metal is not for everyone, aside from fests how have you found touring from an attendance perspective?

As far as touring, we are waiting to go over seas to do a tour because here in the U.S it is very much not the same, the shows have very little attendance so the bands don't feel like it's worth it because, like you said, brutal death metal is not for everyone but outside of the U.S. it is widely more accepted and the fans are much more devoted to the scene and the music.



6. If you could hand pick a touring package, who would you take with you?
    Inveracity, Despondency, Disgorge and Insidious Decrepancy
7. Can you tell us about your best and worst touring experiences?
    Ask us next year and we'll definitely have an answer he he

8. Just one more keeping with the live theme I've never seen Gortuary live – when (and if!) I get to see you on these shores, what can I expect to see from a Gortuary gig? I find in a live setting I’m let down by some death metal bands, they promise a great show but then when you see the band they are rooted to the spot. For example I was very disappointed with Dying Fetus last time they passed through here, fantastic musicians, but no stage presence, I may as well have been at home listening to the record. Is the “show” element important to you guys?

We have always been very into the music that we play on stage; therefore we feel that stage presence is and should be a very huge part for a live band. Your energy onstage results in fans getting into your set, therefore high energy bounces back and forth from band to fan. With us, we like to enjoy a few cold beers and just let loose on stage. We increasingly get told that we always have the best energy out of any of the bands that are playing. So it’s really flattering to hear positive feedback from our live set since we put lots of effort to please the people who pay to watch us.

9. Musically speaking who have been the biggest influences on Gortuary?

We all individually have different influences but we all agree that bands like Disgorge, Necrophagist and Inveracity, amongst more, hold a great deal of influence to us.

10. Finally, I’ve got to ask you. Have you heard the new Morbid Angel record, and if you have what are your genuine thoughts on it? And could you ever see yourselves experimenting like this musically?

We will never change nor play around with such experimental extremity as they did on that record

Thanks again to Andres for his time, Please be sure to visit Gortuary's facebook site

To Buy Gortuary Albums/Merch

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Grey Waters

Grey Waters are a tough band to describe, you could label them many things without being completely accurate. Whatever the label, the result is very effective, the debut EP is nothing less than impressive. I recently caught up with Tim to find out where Grey Waters are heading next.




1. After some promising releases, Austere split up. Can you tell us what lead to the dissolving of the band?

Tim - We had our reasons and they will remain private.

2. Can you ever see yourselves returning to that style of music or has it been put to bed for good so to speak?

Well, I guess the last Woods Of Desolation album is similar to Austere's later material, but that was recorded over 18 months ago. As for myself, I don't think I'll ever do something too similar to that style of music again. I find more enjoyment creating different kinds of music and trying new things.

3. Grey Waters are an entirely different proposition altogether, what were the initial ideals/inspirations behind the formation of the band?

Basically just to create music that came from the heart.

4. I hear a lot of Post-Rock, Mid Period Katatonia and some of Australia’s own Butterfly Effect in your debut EP “Below the Ever Setting Sun” are these comparisons you are happy to accept? Would you cite these styles as an influence? Please elaborate on what else is influencing you musically.

We both listen to some Post Rock, and enjoy older Katatonia material, but for myself my main inspiration comes from other styles of music. Maybe it's hard to hear when put into the context of a Grey Waters song, but I'm influenced by a lot of things that would probably be completely surprising to listeners. Everything from Pop to Classical to Blues to Trance.

5. Do you view Grey Waters as a metal band? Most press I have encountered has been in metal related publications and I was wondering - Is this the audience you are going to be aiming toward predominantly? I know its early days yet but in my own opinion, based upon your EP, I think you are going to be a difficult band to categorise. I can see fans of different genres finding something they like in your music.

I don't think we are a Metal band, especially a lot of songs from the upcoming full length really don't have many "Metal" elements in them, aside from of course a distorted guitar. We didn't want to aim to any audience in particular, but given our past bands I think we were lumped into the Metal genre quicker than we would have been had our pasts been different.

6. How has reception been towards Below the Ever Setting Sun critically and commercially?

Honestly I don't really know. I looked at a few comments and reviews when it first came out last year, but other than that all I know is what I get told by people. I guess most people are finding something to enjoy in it. But of course you can't please everyone.

7. Have you found it tough to reach a new fan base or has your past with Austere helped launch the band? Have you found that some fans of Austere’s have warmed to Grey Waters’s material?

Of course Austere has helped Grey Waters gain exposure. I guess this can be considered both a blessing and a curse. If Austere fans can find something to like in Grey Waters material, then that's great, if not, that's OK too.


8. Who took care of the lyrics on “Below…?” I love the style, simple direct and very effective. Can you elaborate on some of the inspirations behind the lyrics on the EP?

I wrote most of them, along with reworking some of D's. I don't think they are anything great, but maybe they can just be considered a small look into my thoughts.

9. Forgive the ignorance if I’m wrong on this, but Grey Waters have yet to perform live, if this is the case do you have plans to play live at some point?

You are correct. Last year we began rehearsing with a full line-up, and even began to talk with promoters about booking some shows, however after some time we made the decision that it didn't feel right, and it's better to not play at all than to give a performance we would not be 100% happy with. Whether Grey Waters will ever perform live is uncertain, but one thing is for sure - it won't be any time soon.

10. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the EP, I don’t think we have heard your best material yet, would you agree with this? To add to that, I know you are recording your debut album at the minute, can you tell us anything about how it’s shaping up or when we can expect it?

Yes, I definitely agree with that. We began work on the full length around a year ago now, however after a few months we came to a halt, and since then not much has been done in regards to completing the album. We'll resume work on it sometime this year though, and I hope to see it released by the years end, however time is passing very quickly it seems, and I don't know if this will happen...

Be sure to check out the guys Myspace and Facebook pages, for info merch and more

Monday, May 30, 2011

Paul Miro (Apes Pigs And Spacemen)

Paul Miro is best remembered as being the front man for Apes Pigs & Spacemen. Those who followed the band may be forgiven for thinking the band had simply disappeared without a trace, though the reality is far more complicated than that. Paul is busier than ever these days with his solo career, film projects collaborations and Apes Pigs & Spacemen, I caught up with Paul recently and we left no stone unturned. Enjoy the read and a very special thanks to Paul for taking so much time to answer the questions, this is probably one of the most honest interviews I've done yet.


 1.A few years ago I randomly typed Apes Pigs & Spacemen into Google and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was there an official site, but Apes were still on the go to some capacity.  Did the band ever officially split up and can you tell us something of the motivation behind ending the hiatus to record the Free Pawn Album?

The band never broke up. We’d spent a frustrating few years in legal hell – I won’t bore you with too much detail at this point, but, essentially, we could not record, release or perform live using the Apes name until certain contractual problems were resolved. That process took a lot longer than anyone could have anticipated.

During this period, Bassist Bart and I had both been building up our own recording studios, working on various projects to bring in some money. Eliminating the need to spend exorbitant amounts of money on residential studio hire in order to make great albums had been a priority of ours since we made Transfusion!.

The idea with Free Pawn was to do everything independently – recording, mixing, mastering, manufacture and online distribution, using the Internet as our main promotional tool – by 2003, Internet speeds were fast enough for album downloads, and networks like Myspace were actually useful for expanding your fan base (hard to imagine, when you look at the sad joke Myspace has since become).

Our hope was that Free Pawn would be the starting point of a relaunch of the band, leading to tours, a raising in our profile, bringing as many of our original fans and many new ones on board. This, of course, would rely on more traditional promotional tools – the printed rock press, radio, etc. We still had (and have) a great deal of support from journalists, and the initial buzz surrounding the impending release of the album was encouraging. Unfortunately, without a considerable promotional budget, it is nigh on impossible to get press exposure. It works like this: the amount you contribute to a publication’s advertising coffers dictates the attention your product will receive in the review pages. And we couldn’t afford to advertise, so we couldn’t get reviews. The ‘unsigned band’ reviews sections were also closed to us because we’d graced the front pages as a signed band in previous times.

2.Was it tough to reconnect with your fans? Obviously you were going to do that record on your own terms and I’d assume a good percentage of your fan base from the mid 90’s were not aware the band was still active?

In short: yes. Without press, we were, and remain, an online entity. If a band is not in the mainstream press, then, unsurprisingly, the majority of fans presume they’ve ceased to exist. So, people have to actively seek us out – in the same way you did! A fair number of people continue to do so, but not yet enough for us to raise money to promote in the press or tour.

3.You followed the album up with a bunch of EP’s Monkey Mettle, Simple Simian, Dirty Monkey and Fives. There is some great material on those EP’s and they showcase several sides to the band, what is your own opinion on those releases and how were they received?

I’m proud of each of the EPs. The thing with the Apes is that we’ve never wanted to be tied to a particular ‘sound’, if that makes sense. It’s always about the songs, and the end recorded result depends on the vibe we had at that point in time.  We started life releasing EPs before albums, and it seemed a logical step to continue releasing EPs between albums. I like the EP format for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is quicker than making an album! Secondly, it enables you to put together smaller collections of tracks that might not fit into the ‘concept’ of an album. Fives, for example, is a nod to some musical legends who have influenced us. It shows the band’s range without being confined to any particular style, and allows for a release that couldn’t be included on an Apes album.

Each of the EPs has been well-received. There’s never one particular favourite amongst Apes fans. Everyone has their personal songs-of-choice, and people’s opinions differ quite widely, so it’s always interesting when reading mail after any release.

We plan to release more EPs. It’s been a while because respective schedules are so ridiculous. There’s also another Apes album in the planning stages – likely to be called Human Zoo. Can’t wait to get chance to complete it, but I wouldn’t dare to hazard a guess as to when that might happen at the moment. Pitchshifter’s Jason Bowld will be playing drums on the new album. He’s an outrageous player and it’s great to have him on board for the project.

4. I’ve been asking a lot of bands this question lately but I’m really interested in hearing the various responses. What is your opinion on illegal downloading of material? Do you see recorded output being a source of revenue for artists in the future and what can be done to make this happen?

This is probably the most hotly debated topic amongst music circles. There are countless articles, studies and debates on the subject. Unsurprisingly, because the only thing certain is the music industry and the way people access music has changed completely and no one knows what’s going to happen. I could write a book on this one and still not have a definitive answer. But there are some serious points I’d like to mention. Firstly, I don’t think illegal downloading, piracy or ‘street sales’ of bootlegs bears as much a responsibility for the decline in music sales as is often argued, though it has definitely had a huge impact.

I gave a series of lectures on Music Industry and Music Technology recently and was shocked to discover that the vast majority (probably 90%) of students I talked to had never purchased any music, either on CD or legal downloads. And these were all either musicians wanting to make a career from making music, or individuals who wanted jobs in the music industry. They all had iPods filled with gigabytes of music, who felt it was their right to ‘own’ whatever music they desired without paying for it. And yet they were all under the impression that, when they signed their major record deals, everyone would rush to buy their music. This naïve contradiction sums up an attitude that has seeped into our culture, and it isn’t likely to be reversed. Speaking as an independent artist who relies on direct-to-fan sales via my website, I have stopped being surprised when people email me asking where they can download my music for free.

I think there are a number of factors that have led to this situation. With constant connectivity, universally available content, fast download speeds and small file sizes, music users were inevitably going to change their listening habits.

Considering all of this, though, people are still currently paying for downloads, albeit in reduced numbers, and there are always going to be people who want to own CD copies of releases by their favourite artists, though this is increasingly becoming a minority sport – CD enthusiasts are inevitably going to go the way of vinyl collectors.

More frightening is the imminent demise of paid downloads, destined to be wiped out by streaming, which, in my opinion, represents the biggest threat to artist/ copyright owner revenue. Basically, recordings generate royalties via two methods: mechanicals (sales) and publishing (broadcast/performance of works).  For a ‘signed’ band, it’s always been necessary to recoup any label investment before the artist starts making any money from the sales of their music. On a major, the ratio would probably be something like 90/10 in the label’s favour, meaning that the artist would be paid 10% of the dealer (not retail) price of the album, once the label has reclaimed any advances. Advances are recouped via the artist’s percentage. To try and make this make sense, I’ll round everything up to decimals. Let’s say an album sells at £10. The ‘dealer price’ on this is probably going to be nearer £4. So, if the artist split is 10%, then they are going to be knocking about 40p off their debt to the label with the sale of each album. So, if a label has invested 100k or so into a band, that would require a shit ton of sales before the artist started to make anything.

With CD sales dwindling, the main ‘retail’ outlet to generate mechanical sales has been paid downloads. But, prices are lower, meaning fewer royalties are generated.  Streaming takes things to another level entirely. Put simply, if you’re an artist who is used to getting ~£7 for the sale of a ~£10 download from iTunes (or ~40p for the sale of a ~69p single), your revenue is being diminished by several orders of magnitude when that same album/song is streamed.
While the figures change in terms of payments depending on if the stream is interactive (Rdio, Spotify, etc) or non-interactive (Pandora), in both cases the payment from streams will have a decimal point and many zeros in front of what a paid download generates. E.g. 40p becomes 0.00001p.
With Amazon launching their Cloud streaming service and iTunes (which accounts for 70% of all online downloads) destined to follow, the future does not look bright when it comes to making a living from selling your music.
I believe there will always be ways for artists to make money from their music, but it is going to be a case of learning to diversify and find different ways to generate income. The idea of ‘getting a record deal’ is not really valid any more. I don’t know what the answers are, but I try every day to pursue new avenues and find different angles to exploit every opportunity.



5.Do you think a band just at the beginning of their career is selling themselves short by offering their material for free? On one hand I guess they are gaining fans that may attend a show or something, but if those fans don’t pay for material in the beginning, they are hardly going to suddenly start paying at a later stage in their career?

I think a lot of what I said in answer to the previous question applies here. Obviously, I don’t agree with giving away music. I think it’s one of the most ridiculous business models ever devised. And, when you think it was industry-led, that makes it even more ludicrous. I doubt, for example that Sainsbury’s is likely to decide to start giving away food because an increasing number of people are stealing from their shelves, in the hope that those not wishing to pay for food might perhaps like to, say, take out an insurance policy with Sainsbury’s.

Giving away a certain proportion of a release for promotional purposes is always going to be necessary, but I think it’s important for artists, especially independent acts, to set a value on what they have gone to great lengths to write, rehearse, record and release and not get sucked into the perception that music is a free commodity. To accept that, then music becomes something for hobbyists with secondary incomes from day jobs, which defeats the whole purpose of wanting to be a professional musician. Okay, major labels may now use the music as a loss-leader, a giveaway to promote ticket and merch sales on tour, but unless your band is on the major touring circuit, then giving away your music, other than to magazines, perhaps a free track here or there for cover mount CDs etc. is counter-productive. Giving away your music does not bring more people to the party. ‘Put it out there and people will come’ is a delusional philosophy. It also devalues the product you are trying to sell.


6.The first couple of releases (Antiseptic EP and Transfusion) were heavily influenced by the grunge sound overall. Obviously you had your own thing going on in the mix there as well, but if I could ask considerately, was there a record company influence to shift your sound in that direction to suit the market at the time or was that who Apes were at that point?

To be honest, here wasn’t much record company pressure exerted on the first releases. We’d toured virtually constantly for a couple of years prior to signing to MFN, and the early recordings were essentially more a reflection of the ‘live’ band sound that we’d developed up to then. So, yeah, it’s where we were at that point in time.

7.Following on from the previous question, the next record, Snapshot was very different, I always felt we were starting to hear the real Apes with that album, would you agree with that? You seemed to totally do your own thing with that record and to be honest I prefer it now over the first.

Snapshot is definitely a more ‘subtle’ album, with many more textures and a wider sonic canvas than Transfusion. I always tend to write songs on acoustic guitar. The song comes first, and then the treatment. On Snapshot, we approached the arrangement more on the basis of what worked for each song, rather than layering vocals over a canvas of riffs. It was easier in some ways because I had taken over playing guitar on Snapshot, so I was in control of how the guitars would sound. More use of acoustic instruments, an array of amps and guitars, plus keyboards and strings. Also, Laurie Jenkins took the drum role on the album. His playing style was far more suited to the more delicate, intricate approach, with far more dynamic range in his armoury than Sam. Definitely more what Bart and myself had in our heads when we first formed the band!

Because it got virtually no promotion, we struggled to get this album out to the wider public, but, of the 30000 or so who did buy it, the general reception was better than Transfusion.

8.What happened after Snapshot? You seem to have gone from being media favourites to vanishing into thin air overnight, what went on behind the scenes?

Haha! Definitely the question I continue to be asked most often! Our problems with MFN started long before the release of Snapshot. In fact, we realised we were in trouble within days of the release of Transfusion. We had a three-album deal, and were the label’s priority act. Part of the agreement was that three singles, featuring tracks not on Transfusion, would be released to further promote the band and keep us touring and expanding our profile up to the release of our second album. Transfusion topped most rock charts across Europe and we had a hectic touring schedule for the months following its launch. The plan was to release the first single after we returned from a long European tour, and a sellout UK tour was put in place to promote the single. Without our knowledge, however, the label decided that the album was selling okay as it was, and rather than ploughing money into the promotion of a single, they decided against releasing it. This meant no radio promotion and no new people finding out about the band. Consequently, we played a sold-out UK tour of major venues and lost money because the audiences already had the albums EPs and whatever merch we had available.

The label then refused to make any further investments in the band, and decided against releasing any singles from the album. This meant we had no money. Press also costs money, and there needs to be something to promote to justify that expense. So, we were starved of funds and press, had no budget for tours and no reason to justify touring. Before the press impetus died, we desperately tried to persuade the powers that be to allow us to record our second album. There are, however, little details called ‘option periods’. In theory, these are there to ensure a band releases an album within a given time period. They can also be used by a label to prevent the release of an album until they are forced to release the funding for it. In our case, the option period was two years, which meant that the label didn’t have to release funding for our second album for two years after the release of Transfusion. And this is what they did.

I sold just about everything I owned in order to fund the recording of Snapshot so it was ready for when the okay was given. Obviously, I expected to get that money back, but, in the meantime, the label had been bought by Zomba, my then publisher. This effectively killed any negotiating power we had, and also enabled MFN to get out of properly financing the promotion of Transfusion. To all intents and purpose, it was merely a methodical case of administrative box-ticking. It was a horrible time, as we knew our album was about to be killed. I was under strict instructions at that time not to say anything critical about the label, with the threat over our heads being, ‘Say anything bad about us and we have you for another album, and we can keep you waiting for three years on that if we like.’

Interviews during that period were difficult, because just about every journalist was in a state of disbelief. ‘This album is much better than your last one. It should be huge. Your label sucks ass,’ kind of thing. I bit my lip and hoped we’d get out of our contract and remain in a position to negotiate another deal based on the strength of the two albums we’d recorded, and the third album we had in the pipeline. We were given no budget to tour Snapshot, so we threw every penny we could muster into a small, self-financed promotional tour, fully expecting a substantial payment from the publisher upon delivery of the album. However, because the publisher now owned the label, they knew exactly what was being spent on promotion, and so knew it couldn’t sell massively. However much of a conflict of interests this was, it meant the publisher backed out of paying due advances.

There then followed an unbelievable saga of crookedness and corruption, legal hell, and horrendous experiences with the taxman, chasing me for huge sums of money that someone had obviously run off with, but which I had never seen. I went bankrupt, had to sell my studio and my guitar collection and didn’t really get out of legal hell until 2003.


9.You have been quite active with your solo career these past few years, you have released two albums, play live regularly and are constantly writing songs for various different projects, how do you get time to fit it all in, do you work around the clock?

I do work virtually constantly. I’ve always been that way. People tend to think that when you disappear from the public eye, you cease to exist. Music has always been what drives me; the same was true before signing a bad record deal, and the same is true afterwards. I am an insomniac; my head is always full of ideas, and I usually work in the studio from around 8 in the morning till midnight, 7 days a week, obviously making time to eat and do gigs!

Having a studio is a huge benefit – I only wish digital technology was at this stage when the Apes started recording! I am known as a workaholic. I don’t do holidays or take breaks. I just see it as who I am. The ideas flow constantly. I do suffer from the typical artistic impatience of wanting to complete everything as quickly as ideas come to me, but, the way I look at it, I have the next three years of recording and writing mapped out, and, once that time has elapsed and those projects have been completed, I will have another bunch of projects in there.

10.You must have written thousands of songs at this point, how do you keep yourself inspired?
I have lost count of how many songs I’ve written. The ‘inspiration’ question is one I’ve been asked a lot. I tried to sum it up in a song a while ago, and wrote, ‘Inspiration cannot help itself and nobody wills their own willingness.’ The simple fact is, I love playing, am constantly writing and reading and discovering new ideas. I get the same kick out of picking up a guitar as I did when I was eleven, and somehow, when I play, something new always seems to happen. I don’t necessarily have any formula for writing. Sometimes I start with a lyric, sometimes a bunch of chords; sometimes a melody or combination of the three. Some songs I write in fifteen minutes, others, I might have music and melodic arrangements for years before I come up with the lyric that I feel suits it. It’s never a case of lack of inspiration – with me, it’s a case of having the time to finish the mass of ideas I already have forming!

11.Can you tell us about some of the recent projects you have worked on? You have done some film work recently and I see Sarah Harding’s name mentioned on your site, can you tell us something about those projects?

As you’ve pointed out, I always have a number of projects on the go. The Sarah Harding thing you mentioned was a film called Bad Day, which she starred in. It’s an independent movie – I tend to write a lot for independent film director friends. The same director used the Apes song
Great Place
in his first film, the Killing Zone, and I’ve written stuff for just about all his other releases. The latest film I wrote songs for was a horror movie called Cut, which has my song Eternal all over it. I’m currently in talks about writing songs for a teen comedy called Ten Year Itch, which looks like being shot in the US later this year. I’ve also got a co-writing credit on the script for the movie.

My most recent release is a collection of ‘library’ music, called Bunch of Punts. It’s predominantly a collection of instrumental works, many of which were written for TV/ ads/ film etc. As an independent, it’s vital to try and get your music used in any way that generates royalties. The return on such tracks is small and probably only one in ten ends up being used by clients, but it’s a handy string to have on one’s bow.

Another imminent release about which I’m pretty excited is the debut EP by The Pacmen, called Byte Me. The Pacmen is a collaboration between Antiproduct’s Alex Kane and myself. It’s been something we’ve talked about doing for some time, but has taken longer to complete than we would have liked due to our respective schedules, and the fact that Alex lives in LA and I live in the UK. Alex was over in the UK at the beginning of 2011, and we managed to get a couple of weeks in various studios tracking his guitar parts and vocals to five tracks, which I’ve now finished mixing and mastering.

Also in the pipeline (though I can’t hazard a guess on a completion date) is a new Apes album, Human Zoo. Writing has already begun, and we’ve brought in Jason Bowld (Pitchshifter) on drums.

12.You still get out and play live regularly, are these predominantly acoustic shows? Do you still enjoy performing live? Those two questions may seem to be contradictory but some acts later in their career see the live work as a necessity rather than something they enjoy.

I love playing, probably more than ever, to be honest. Yes, a lot of my shows are solo acoustic performances at present, and I’ll admit that it took me a while to embrace the format. It was a bit of a shell shock to go from playing big stages in a band to a few thousand people, to playing small venues on my own.

I started playing solo acoustic shows shortly after the release of Snapshot, basically because we couldn’t afford to keep the band on the road. And, at first, I felt a little as if I might be disappointing people who were turning up to see the band. But I quickly realised that the stripped-down, intimate representations of the songs were something audiences appreciated as much, and in some ways more, than watching the band play.

I remember a guy coming up to me at one of my early solo acoustic gigs. I was expecting comments like, ‘It’s not the same without the band; when will the band be touring again?’ Instead, he said it was one of the best gigs he’d ever been to.
  ‘Just me and an acoustic guitar?’ I said.
  ‘Who’s your favourite songwriter?’ he asked.
  ‘Tom Waits,’ I replied.
  ‘Okay. Imagine you heard Tom Waits was playing a bar in your town and you’d get the chance to hear the songs played, close up and personal, just as they were written. And, after the show, you got to talk to him and buy him a pint?’

In the time since then, I’ve grown to love solo gigs, and working on solo material. Of course, there is a degree of ‘necessity’ attached inasmuch as I have to generate income in order to live. But I consider myself fortunate to be making a living doing the thing I love most, which is playing music I’ve written. I’d love to be doing it with a band, and shall continue to work towards a point where that is once again financially possible.

13.B.O.A.T.S is very heavy lyrically, and I personally found them to be a change from what you wrote in general with APES, was this a conscious decision or were you just in need of an outlet to express your feelings as some of it is quite dark?

That’s an interesting reaction to B.O.A.T.S. I didn’t intend it to be a ‘dark’ album; just an honest one. It’s certainly the most personal collection of songs I’ve released to date – the ‘I’ in the lyrics is me, as opposed to a metaphorical character used to help tell a story, which is something I’ve used more commonly in my songs in the past. B.O.A.T.S. started out completely differently from the end result – more quirky and upbeat. Then, I contracted a mysterious illness that nearly killed me. It was a bit like an episode of House – a long stay in hospital with doctors running numerous tests and sticking things in me, prodding, probing, injecting, slicing and trying to find out what was wrong with me, while all the time I became increasingly ill. Unlike a TV show, however, they never discovered what was wrong with me. Eventually, my natural defences won out and I recovered. Definitely what is referred to as a life-changing experience.

Overall, I have become a far more optimistic person, and I no longer worry so much about things I cannot fix. The idea of B.O.A.T.S. then became a journey from dark to light, with days as marks in the sand. It start’s out with a Bad Day, goes through the Same Shit, Different Day, and moves on to My Lucky Day and into The Best Days of Our Lives. Yes, there are some dark moments along the way, but I never intended it to be something that left the listener with an overall feeling of darkness.

14. Have you any plans in the midst of all your projects to release another solo album anytime soon?
Yes, my next solo album is well under way. I’m hoping to have the recording finished by the end of this year, depending on other commitments. The working title is Esperando un Milagro (Waiting For A Miracle). So far, it’s quite a hooky, summery-sounding affair and I’m really enjoying working on it. So much so, that I’m trying to cancel some of the other stuff I have on the go in order to concentrate on it more fully for a while.

15 If were starting your career with Apes again, what would you do differently, and what advice do you have for emerging bands looking to sign with a label?

Haha! 20/20 hindsight and all that. It’s not easy to say. Obviously, if I was allowed to simply wind back the clock equipped with the knowledge I now have, then there is no way I would have signed many of the pieces of paper that got me into a world of trouble.

That said, though, we weren’t naïve or stupid, nor were we fame hungry. There is a point at which a band becomes too busy to do everything required to run a professional show and expand your sales and fan base. You have to delegate the responsibilities of management, promotion, marketing, distribution, tour management, etc. to others. However careful you think you’re being – and we were about as cautious as was possible – there is always the chance that you will discover you’ve made a bad decision further down the line. In hindsight, I would definitely not have assigned certain responsibilities to some of the individuals we chose to look after some aspects of our careers. Legally, I can’t go into any detail, but they know who they are.

One thing that we’d definitely have done differently is signing to a bigger record label. We were offered huge deals, but decided against them because we wanted to start serious touring and releasing albums as quickly as possible. Had we signed with majors, it would in all likelihood have been at least two years before we released anything, and that didn’t fit in with our plan. MFN sold a good used car to us, promising to develop us over three albums over a short period of time, with commitment to release singles from each album, and a ratcheted investment deal that would see the budget allocated for promotion increase with each successive release. It’s always a risk. But, at the time, that seemed the wisest choice to make to get our careers heading in the right direction.

I’m not saying a bigger label wouldn’t have fucked things up just as badly, but the difference would have been that we would have walked away from such an arrangement in a better position with regards to the band’s profile and bargaining power. Also, perhaps fewer crooks would have run off with our money. But that’s another story!

I tend not to dwell in the past. I got ripped off before the Apes, and have been ripped off numerous times since, and, no matter how careful I am, the nature of the business dictates that it will happen again. Those are not the moments to focus on. The odds, as they say, always favour the house, and creatives are hopeless gamblers. My mission remains to find new ways to introduce my music to a wider audience without sacrificing too much of my independence. I’m involved in some really exciting projects at present, feel really proud of everything I’m releasing and attached to. It would be great if more people got to know about what I was doing, but that’s a different game that I continue to find a way to play to my advantage, and has little to do with the music itself.


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