A Sunday Conversation with Pig Iron

Blasting out their own brand of seriously heavy, blues-inflected rock and roll, or Blues Metal as it's been christened by the band, Pig Iron, burst onto the English metal scene, kicked in some teeth and took no prisoners. Stomping as if they just crawled out of the Mississippi swamp after a steady diet of AC/DC and Metallica, their debut disc, Paths of Glory Lead But to the Grave, blew us away here at the Ripple office.

So today, taking up residence on the infamous Ripple couch is Johnny Ogle, lead singer and harmonica player for our favorite kick-ass southern (England) band.

When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens, Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkle, the first time I ever hear Kiss's "Detroit Rock City," it was a moment of musical epiphany. It was just so vicious, aggressive and mean. It changed the way I looked at music, what it could sound like, how it could make me feel? What have been your musical epiphany moments?

That's an easy one. My mum and Dad were always into cool music - they had a lot of vinyl, including an old collection of 45's that my dad had collected since he was a kid (which I now own) and we used to enjoy listening to them together a lot. But the one moment that really changed my life was when my mum played the opening of "Dust My Broom" by Elmore James. It was so electrifying and goddamned cool, it shook me to my very core. I can't describe it, but I sure as hell felt something that day. I was about 7 years old. Another moment was when I heard AC/DC for the first time, which was "Let There Be Rock." Again, something indescribable happened and I became OBSESSED with them for many years. The only other moment I can describe as an epiphany was when I heard "I'm So Glad" by Skip James on the radio after I had moved to England from Canada - it was such an old, crackly record and the radio reception wasn't so good, but I literally nearly cried when I heard it. I thought maybe my ears were hearing something that wasn't actually there, but even when I listen to it now - there is something spooky about that song....


Talk to us about the song-writing process for you. What comes first, the idea? A riff? The lyrics? How does it all fall into place?

Its kind of all over the place, really. When we first started, Hugh had a bunch of songs already in place - I came onto the scene and started writing vocals to his songs, but gradually, we started jamming in the rehearsal room and getting riffs together. We record the jams and I take them home and wait for lyrical inspiration. I'm shit at improvising - I need time to think about what kind of feeling the song conjures up to me. The best writing sessions are when we all sit down in a room together with a few beers and bash out some ideas. Then, we translate them into the rehearsal room, I write the vocals, and blam - the song is born. I even came up with the basis of one of the songs (Hellacious Days) and I don't even play guitar! The lyrics for that are based on an old blues tune that I have - I don't know who its by, but its one of the coolest tunes I have ever heard. The blues plays a big part in my life. A big inspiration.

In songwriting, how do you bring the song together? What do you look for in terms of complexity? Simplicity? Time changes?

We just kind of do what feels right in the song. It's chemistry. We will have a song (Battle Malady, for example) and we'll be playing away and suddenly Dave will say 'when we get to that part, we should do this' and play this thing that makes my fucking head spin and we're like 'holy shit!' - that's chemistry - its what being in a band is all about. We try not to think about the songs too much - it's more of a feeling than anything. When I present the lyrics to the guys for the first time, I'm always worried that they wont like them, but so far, they've all gone down really well.

Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new motivation?

It's easy for me - I try not to listen to too much new music, as it tends to cloud the mind. If I played guitar, I would probably write 10 songs a day. My mind is like a jukebox. Motivation is always to just play good music and as long as people like it, we will keep doing it. The response we've had to our stuff is amazing, and that is a real buzz. The ideas come from all over - we have all wanted to be in bands since we were kids, so this is an opportunity to try out all those things we've had in our heads all these years! Somebody said to me to write about what you know, so as long as its not false and we're not trying to pretend to be something we're not, that will come across in the music - I am an 'all or nothing' person - and that goes for music too.

Genre's are so misleading and such a way to pigeonhole bands. Without resorting to labels, how would you describe your music?

I always had this thing of wanting to combine heavy music with blues - to me, they are the same thing. You are playing with passion and feeling and singing heartfelt lyrics - whats the difference? I want to coin a new term here - 'Blues metal' - that's what we are. I guess that's basically what 'Southern Rock' is - which is what people always call us - it's just metal with some blues. At first, I didn't think the harmonica would work, and the guys were like 'just keep playing it' and gradually, I started to like it more and more. It gives us something a little different.


What is you musical intention? What are you trying to express or get your audience to feel?

I want people to be entertained, but also to feel something. Whether it be a sense of fun, or relating to the lyrics, or whatever. I love psychedelic music, too - I want to introduce more of that into our music. I guess rock is just beer-drinking good time music, but it doesn't have to be just that. I think we have something for all tastes - the blues aficionados can get into it, and the metalheads too! You can either nod your head or bang the fuckin' thing!

The business of music is a brutal place. Changes in technology have made it easier than ever for bands to get their music out, but harder than ever to make a living? What are your plans to move the band forward? How do you stay motivated in this brutal business?

We don't have an agent, label, manager or any of that. It helps keep us down to earth. We have a very 'do it yourself' attitude and I think people like that. It can be very annoying when bands are constantly banging on doors and bigging themselves up all the time. The only help we have is a distribution deal, which is essential. We release the albums ourselves, do all the PR, book all the gigs, our bassist does all the design, etc...I think that helps a lot and it seems to be the way forward for a lot of bands these days.

Describe to us the ideal (realistic) record label and how you'd work with them, and they with you.

Well, obviously, we'd own all of our own stuff, have full creative control, etc...! What we really need is someone to give us money and then sit back and wait for the album! We could do with some more promotion, too - that's the main thing we need. But having said that, we do pretty well on our own. Because of that, we're not getting offers from anyone - they seem to think we're already doing a good enough job. No offers yet - nothing serious, anyway. I think we are now getting to the stage where we could do with a little help - so, any labels out there - come and see us live - it's where we shine! We just want to make good music, have fun and do some good gigs - any label that can provide that is alright by us.

Do you have a particular sound in your head that you try to bring out? Or is the creation process random and spontaneous? Or both, or neither?

We all bring different things to the table - I am the blues, Hugh is classic rock, Dave is...actually, I'm not sure what Dave is....Joe is into all sorts and our new guitarist Ben is the metal! So, when we come together, it is literally a combination of all of those influences. No one person forces anything on anyone else, we just do what sounds good and try to keep everyone happy. If we don't like something, we change it, until it sounds 'us.' A lot of the new material is really good, but it's not very Pig Iron-sounding, so we work it until it is! I guess that's not very spontaneous, but it works for us.

Where do you see you and your music going in ten years?

In ten years, I'd like to still be doing what we are now - writing (the most important) playing and gigging. I don't think there is an age limit to these things - if bands like Kings X can be still recording and touring, then we can do it. As far as I'm concerned, we will be better musicians and writers, the longer we are doing it. I will have my own blues band by then, too.


What makes a great song? Who living right now writes great songs?

There are so many great songs and writers out there - it always surprises me. Just as you think there is nowhere left to go, you hear something that sounds fresh and new and amazing. I hope that we do something that is different in some way - we don't want to re-hash old stuff over and over...That's boring. A great song to me is something that hits you in your heart - I'm an extremist when it comes to music - if it doesn't make me go 'holy fuck!!' then it ain't in my collection. I hope we do that to people.

Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?

Oh, Jesus - the first real song? Probably one that me and my friend Jared wrote when we were about 9 or 10. I wrote one called "Unexpected" which basically sounded like an AC/DC song - a little bit like "Gimme A Bullet" from Powerage. I think Bon Scott was one of the best vocalists ever. My lyrics were terrible, but the feeling was there - and one day, we might record it properly and see how it stands up. I think it might actually be pretty good!


Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?

Vinyl, all the way. I have all my dads old 45's and I am going to appreciate them by putting them all in an old vintage jukebox, when I can afford it. Turntables, vinyl - I fucking love it - its still magical to me to this day. I was just listening to an LP by Head, Hands and Feet - there's a few crackles, but it doesn't spoil anything for me. I love dropping the needle on a great album.


What's the best record store in your town?

Well, it used to be Selectadisc - sadly, now gone, but I guess for me it would be one of those dusty old crate-digging ones, like 'On The Beat' which is in a little back street, tucked away. Tons of vinyl - a proper collectors shop. You can drop in there, just to have a conversation.

Thanks, for joining us Johnny. Can't wait to catch you guys live on road soon. May blues metal rule!

--Racer

Buy here: Paths of Glorylead But To The Grave

www.myspace.com/pigiron