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?
When I heard the bass solo at the beginning of NIB by Black
Sabbath for the first time my head nearly explode. I was hooked on heavy music
after that. - Moreno
I was a kid when I first saw Beavis and Butthead do America.
There is a scene in that movie where Beavis eats peyote and he starts tripping
balls.. The song playing during his trip was 'Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks And
Cannibal Girls by White Zombie'. That song plus the visuals of Beavis's trip
made me look for darker/heavier music to listen to. - Thomas
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?
Most of the time we'll just stumble onto a good riff, and
start building on that. Lyrics don't come into play right away either.. We start to work up a vocal melody around the
different parts of the songs. Once we find a good melody we will start working
on lyrics.
Who has influenced you the most?
Mothership has been a big influence on the band. We remember
hanging in the parking lot with them after they played here in Dallas in 2017, and they were very cool to
us. They tour constantly and push forward at all costs.
Where do you look for continuing inspiration? New ideas, new
motivation?
Without a doubt would be the live show; hearing live music
in general. Seeing people really enjoying the music is a huge inspiration.
We're all a product of our environment. Tell us about the
band's hometown and how that reflects in the music?
We originally come from a small town south of Dallas, and I think
that's made our music more aggressive over the years. Like a gorilla trying to
break out of it's cage.
Where'd the band name come from?
Our guitar play had broken his ankle and was in recovery for
about 2 months. During that time he wrote a two paragraph story about a
scientist that had constructed a portal, but could not pinpoint the location of
where it would take whoever passed through it. The scientist sends his young
colleague through the portal as a test subject. After a wild ride through a
time warp he lands in an overgrown, archaic world. This world is the Wooden
Earth.
You have one chance, what movie are you going to write the
soundtrack for?
Bruce Lee's - Enter The Dragon.
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?
Hair of the Dog by Nazareth! That song is the epitome of rock and roll,
and fuck.. it sure does make you want to shotgun a beer!
Come on, share with us a couple of your great, Spinal Tap,
rock and roll moments?
We were asked to represent Brash Brewing (Houston
Texas) at the Big Texas Beer Fest here in Dallas. We played an hour
long set behind a chicken wire covered stage while Brash served beer for only
that hour. Hundreds of people were in line for their beer that hour. People
were throwing beer cups and trash at us just like in The Blues Brother's movie!
Of course it was all in good fun, and our buddies at Brash Brewing (and their
fans) are exactly that. Brash. It's no miniature Stonehenge,
but it was a killer moment for us!
Tell us about playing live and the live experience for you
and for your fans?
Every single show we play, we perform like we might die
tomorrow. Brace yourselves for a very intense set.
What makes a great song?
If a song can captivate you and take over your brain for a
moment in time, it's a great song. Hearing a song that makes you check out from
reality is amazing.
Tell us about the first song you ever wrote?
Our first song we wrote as a band was Evil Offer; although
at the time we called it Thai Stick.
What piece of your music are you particularly proud of?
Our new single Fangs is one we are extremely proud of, and
it's one that always has had a good live response. The song was accidentally
deleted in the studio during the recording of our Waves of Smoke EP. That
actually gave us more time to round out our overall sound as a band and work on
the construction of the song.
Who today, writes great songs? Who just kicks your ass? Why?
Mastodon writes incredible songs and it seems like they have
been the most consistent in their writing. Each album is packed with great
music and the live show is no different.
Vinyl, CD, or digital? What's your format of choice?
Digital is very practical, but nothing sounds/feels like
vinyl. Walking over to a shelf full of records, picking one out, and dropping
the needle. It's an entire ritual.
Whiskey or beer? And
defend your choice.
Definitely would be beer! We like whiskey too, but the
drummer can only handle so much before he loses his shit.
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?
You have to stop by Josey Records here in Dallas, Texas.
I've gotten lost digging through records for hours over there.
What's next for the band?
We are excited to go back into the studio to work on our
first full length album. We also have a comic book in the works depicting the
story behind the name, and a lot more touring.
Any final comments or thoughts you'd like to share with our
readers, the waveriders?
We are eternally grateful for our fans support. If you see
our name on a flyer or event in your area.. come burn it down with the boys!
Cheers to all of you!
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