When I was a kid, growing up in a house with Cat Stevens,
Neil Diamond, and Simon and Garfunkel, the first time I ever heard 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 listened to music. I've had a few minor epiphany's
since then, when you come across a band that just brings something new and
revolutionary to your ears.
What have been your musical epiphany moments?
Jeremy: I was always a fan of heavy music, beginning with
Kiss when I was about 6. Growing up in a small town, the most accessible heavy
music in the 80s was the glam or “hair” metal. Gun n’ Roses was a little
different and exciting, but it was discovering bands like Mudhoney,
Soundgarden, Nirvana in the early 90s that really grabbed me.
Justin: I was a bit of a late arriver to the rock/metal
scene. I was pretty much a new wave kid
through most of high school. Hearing the
Cult for the first time—Love and then Electric—was a big deal for me. I’d say they were the band that transitioned
me toward rock, and I still love their stuff.
Ian Astbury remains one of my favorite vocalists. I met Jeremy my freshman year of college, and
he began turning me on to more rock and metal.
The real standout was Alice
in Chains, although I love pretty much all the grunge stuff. I think that prepared me for my real epiphany
a few years later, which was seeing the video for Kyuss’s Green Machine on
Headbanger’s Ball. I was hooked
immediately and have been a stoner rocker through and through ever since.
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?
Jeremy: Most of the time, it starts with riffs. These days,
Greg and Justin write the majority of the songs. I sometimes come up with riffs
that get turned into songs when we all get together and collaborate.
Occasionally, Justin or Greg will record rough Garage Band versions of whole
songs that we will then collaborate on.
Justin: I’d agree it
mostly starts with riffs, although occasionally I’ll hear a vocal melody in my
head first and come up with a riff that suits it. Even when we have full Garage Band demos, the
songs never really come together completely until the four of us are in a room
together playing them at high volume.
How did the band originally get together? The how did you reform after the long hiatus?
Jeremy: Justin and I met as freshmen in college and became
friends. I had been playing guitar for a while, but not consistently. He was
interested in guitar, so I traded my old first guitar to him for a bunch of
comic books. Then we just started playing, and formed a band with some other
friends I knew from growing up in a town about 30 miles south of Houston -
Alvin, TX (one of whom, Chad Robinson, went on to form the band Dynamite Hack).
I knew Greg from high school, also, and he would sometimes come to our
practices. We eventually started playing together along with another guy from
Alvin, David Obert, on drums. This was about 1997. In 2006, after we had
self-released 3 albums, Greg decided to go to chiropractic college in Florida. Mr. Plow played
a few shows with Ben Yaker on bass, but it slowly fizzled out. Justin went on to sing in Sanctus Bellum with
Ben. Cory Cousins, a friend of Ben’s who
had played in Ben’s other bands, played drums for Sanctus Bellum. Greg moved
back to Houston,
and after not playing for a long time, Mr. Plow got asked to play a show, and
Dave was not interested in continuing.
So Cory played drums. We all had a lot of fun practicing and playing
that show that we decided to write some new songs and keep it going! We are having more fun than ever now.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new
motivation?
Jeremy: Popular
culture usually.
Justin: My actual
life is pretty boring, so I typically look to novels and comic books for
inspiration.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the band's hometown and how
that reflects in the music?
Jeremy: Houston is a great place
to live, but not somewhere you would really want to visit. It’s hot and humid
most of the time. There is a lot to do, though, if you live here, and it’s
relatively inexpensive for a big city. It has always been behind Austin and Dallas
as far as music goes, but there is a thriving scene here now. There is really a
lot of camaraderie, whereas in the past there seemed to be more of an air of
competition.
Justin: We spent a
lot of years playing to pretty much nobody but family members and friends who
were too polite not to show up. I agree
with Jeremy that it seems like the heavy music scene in H-Town is getting a
more vibrant and engaged. We see a lot
of familiar faces at shows, but more and more unfamiliar ones as well. That’s pretty rewarding, but I think our
early experience taught us that if the music isn’t its own reward, it’s not
worth doing. It also taught us not to
take things too seriously, which I think comes through in the music too.
Where'd the band name come from?
Jeremy: The Simpsons, of course. We were going through
potential names. I can’t remember any others, but I can’t be serious about
anything, so I assume they were all ridiculous.
This is the one that we hated least.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the
soundtrack for?
Jeremy: Porky’s 2 or Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo (tie)
Justin: I want to say
The Big Lebowski, but none of our songs are as good as CCR.
You now write for a music publication (The Ripple
Effect?). You're going to write a 1,000
word essay on one song. Which would it be and why?
Jeremy: Maybe Outshined by Soundgarden. Badmotorfinger is a
desert album for me, and this is a great song. I might be able to write 1,000
words on the drum sound alone.
Justin: I’d probably
go with Gardenia by Kyuss. To me, it is
the apex of stoner rock, capturing everything that is so great about the
genre: killer vocals, incredible drums,
and down-tuned guitar and bass that are beautifully muddy and heavy, all meshing
together in a magical way that is greater even than the sum of all these really
great parts.
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap,
rock and roll moments?
Jeremy: When we first started playing, none of us had tuner
pedals. We would usually make sure that
we were tuned to the bass, because the bass rarely goes out of tune. During a
show, Greg accidentally bumped his headstock and threw the low E string out of
tune. But Justin and I thought we were out of tune. We proceeded to try to figure
it out, tuning loudly in front of an audience for about 5 or 10 minutes, but it
seemed like hours. It was brutal. Another time, we used so much fog during our
performance that you could not see 6 inches in front of your face. The owner of
the venue got pissed and pulled the plug on us.
Justin: At a show
years ago at Houston’s
legendary Emo’s Lounge (which is sadly no more), I was rocking out a little too
hard and fell off the stage. Luckily, a
couple of my friends up front caught me on my way toward the concrete and set
me back up. It probably looked a fair
amount like Nigel Tufnel being propped back up after his epic guitar solo he
performed on his back—although I’m pretty confident there was nothing nearly so
epic emanating from my guitar at the time.
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you
and for your fans?
Jeremy: We love
playing live and it’s always great to hear that others enjoy it. Expect it to
be loud and foggy.
What makes a great song?
Justin: It’s gotta be
heavy, but it’s also gotta be catchy. If
the vocal or main instrumental melody gets stuck in my head, I take that as a
good sign.
Jeremy: A half-time
breakdown gets you a lot of the way there.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
Jeremy: It might be Right On, Gauntlet or Travis Bickle.
Just your standard type of Fu Manchu – inspired songs. Lyrically, they are
about space travel, eating very spicy chicken, and the movie, Taxi Driver.
What piece of your music are particularly proud of?
Justin: I’m pretty
proud of Matchstick from our upcoming album, Maintain Radio Silence. It’s inspired by my favorite comic of all
time, Mage by Matt Wagner. I put
together the basic parts and structure of the song and vocals, but I was really
excited with how Greg, Cory, and Jeremy built on that to create what appears on
the album. I think the final product
sounds better than I ever thought it could.
Jeremy: I like when the main riff of Johnny Gentle (also on
our upcoming album) kicks in.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Jeremy: There are so many great bands right now. A few
examples off the top of my head are Truckfighters, Pallbearer, Red Fang, and
Mastodon. They are the right combination of heavy, melodic and catchy.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Justin: I have to
confess I mostly go digital these days, just for the sheer convenience. But I also like having a physical
product. I generally buy CDs so I can
listen in my car, but I think vinyl is its own art form.
Jeremy: Digital for ease, convenience, and physical space
limitations. Vinyl for fun and sound quality.
Whiskey or beer? And
defend your choice.
Jeremy: Beer, it
tastes good and can be consumed in greater volume.
Justin: Totally agree.
We, at the Ripple Effect, are constantly looking for new
music. What's your home town, and when we get there, what's the best record
store to lose ourselves in?
Justin: Sound
Exchange, Vinal Edge and Cactus in Houston,
TX. I’d check ‘em all out if you have the time.
Jeremy: What Justin said.
What's next for the band?
Jeremy: World
domination. Or at least trying to promote the new album, Maintain Radio
Silence, by playing in as many cities as we can after the album comes out.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our
readers, the waveriders?
Justin: Thanks for
supporting heavy music!
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