Blind Guardian: Hansi Kürsch interview

This interview was taken at the last day of April right before the concert of Blind Guardian in Sofia (a gallery and a report, only in Bulgarian though). It is published in the webzine Rawk'n'Roll and I place here the English version, so it could be useful both for Blind Guardian and their fans abroad.

Blind Guardian is a very special band for its fans. The fairytale and the real aspect in their art is always in great dialogue while the music - sincere speed metal at the very early days before taking and attracting a bit from the epic of the power metal and the amplitude of the classic rock bands, is specific, always inspiring and bearing its unique style and spirit - such things you cannot forget if they have ever been a part of your microcosmos. And when almost 20 years after I first loved their music and I met the singer Hansi Kürsch, it showed that I am one of the pretty few lucky people who are not disappointed when they meet their long-time hero and he appears to be really down to earth and amazingly nice company and person.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RR: It is the beginning of this part of the tour but how have been the shows so far?
HK: Spectacular! Great shows! Serbia has been bombastic. Slovakia was really good too. We’ve played a couple of songs and people seemed to enjoy them so much. It’s been good entrance into this very small two-week tour. I’m anxious to see how it’s gonna be tonight.

RR: I am sure that it’s going to be great. I have seen the setlists from your previous shows and I noticed that for the first time in more than ten years you are starting your concerts with different song from “War of Wrath/Into the Storm”.
HK: Yes, it’s true.

RR: How did you decide to change the opening song?
HK: We have been waiting for an “opener” to appear but the problem is that “Precious Jerusalem” and “This Will Never End” from our latest two releases were too difficult to start a show with. “Sacred Worlds” is a great opener but the problem is that it’s still a difficult song. But since we have that great orchestral introduction it was no other option than using that as an intro for the show. It would have been a waste. I don’t think we can’t get off stage too often and have an orchestra playing. At the beginning of the show it creates atmosphere as it was with the intro of “Into the Storm”. This made the decision far easier though it still is a difficult song to start a show with.

RR: How did the fans accept the song?
HK: Very good. It was this festival touring in 2009 we played in Kavarna as well. And most of these festivals we played “Sacred” in a shorter version and it was received very well there already.

RR: And you are playing now the full version, right?
HK: More or less the full version because we skip the outro because there is no point. You know, after the 6-minutes people would like to go crazy and we wanna go crazy, so we cut it there and going to the next song. A song that people easily can relate to. Like “Wheel of Time” features the best of the new Blind Guardian album, so people don’t have any problems no matter if they are oldschool Blind Guardian fans or more of the “modern” type of Blind Guardian fans.

RR: In the setlists from the previous three shows I saw that you have included the second part of “The Bard’s Song”. How did you decide to put that? I haven’t seen it in the setlist in the last maybe more than 3-4 years.
HK: Oh, longer. I think we haven’t played it in ten years. Maybe we played it once in Coburg during the Blind Guardian festival but I cannot recall playing “The Hobbit” in… maybe we played it during the “Nightfall…” tour but I am not sure even of that. It is a nice song. We didn’t have it in mind anymore but sometimes we check our page and people were suggesting songs to be played. “The Hobbit” has been one of them and so we decided it might be a good idea to involve it again. It is easier to maintain that thing with many other songs. Yesterday there was a request to play “Thorn”. If we don’t rehearse “Thorn”, we cannot play it. It would take a week or so before we can play “Thorn” but “The Hobbit for example took us about 6-8 hours and then we could play it. It belongs to “The Bard’s Song” and “The Bard’s Song” definitely is one of the most successful songs we have ever done. Also it is great to have that opportunity to feature this second part of the song as well.

RR: This is your third show in Bulgaria. Do you remember the previous ones?
HK: Yes.

RR: Can you share something more remarkable that you have memorized from these concerts?
HK: Especially when we played in Sofia, we didn’t have any idea what will it be, it’s always impressive the first show somewhere and do not exactly know the mentality. We have been told that we have big fanship but I didn’t know how big that was until we played that venue and it was fairly good visited. I was impressed for the first time and I was also impressed by the skillful singing and the cheerful appearance of the people. It was a really good-mood concert, there was no violation, there was no that feeling sometimes when people feel so passionate that… I mean the people have the same love and passion for Blind Guardian but in between themselves they can sometimes hurt each other. And that not was the case here in Sofia. So we enjoyed the show a lot and I consider it to be one of the best five shows at least of this touring route.

RR: Your last album “At the Edge of Time” it still sounds very diverse, very bombastic like the previous ones but it also bears the spirit of the earlier albums like “Somewhere Far Beyond” and “Imaginations from the Other Side”. Did this appear naturally?
HK: For most of things it did. The only thing we justified in the beginning was the involvement of acoustic guitars instead of chorus guitars because that is more of the 90’s sound of Blind Guardian. It delivers more of the Celtic and mystic feeling than the chorus guitars we used in “A Night at the Opera” or “Twist in the Myth” but other than that it was pure expression; it was not done by purpose. Of course when things turn into a different direction and you start the production – we have very strong producer in the face of Charlie Bauerfeind – and if he recognizes something, then he tries to drive it in the adequate direction. There was the song “Tanelorn” with this late 80’s, early 90’s sound and he was the one who forced us to go this way. He suggested taking things out or involve other things. For most of its part, the album was a pure spontaneous decision.

RR: All you in the band, except Frederik are in your late 40’s. But you still remain very passionate and good fairytale tellers. How do you manage to keep the child in a grown up man?
HK: I don’t see it really much as a child in a grown up man. It is more or less the normal life, it’s entertainment in general, no matter if you do political songs or if you do fairytale songs, or fantasy songs. I have my personal ideology and personal philosophy in terms of having a story and within my point of view as with the old fairytales, there is an additional message in between the lines. And I never consider it done by child.

RR: But you still keep this passion for reading such books.
HK: Yes, but they are not childish. Not at all. It’s the pure sensation in these stories and it is a great pool of inspiration. It gives courage and strength for people in normal life. You know that some people watch television, other people like computer games, others go out and drink alcohol and some people love to read and discover their way of coping with real life and get their time off without trying to escape from reality but just to have good time.

RR: Since you are a fan of George Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice” saga, did you manage to see the HBO series?
HK: No, it is in my post box at the moment. And did you?
RR: Only the first episode but I find it great, yes.
HK: I expected it to be great only by seeing the trailer.

Here, while the conversation takes a different direction, Hansi misses another interview by phone and shrugs and shares: "I should have picked up earlier, it was for an interview from another country" and we continue with the questions.

RR: Another thing that is interesting for the fans of Blind Guardian is your project with Jon Schaffer Demons & Wizards. And I have read somewhere that you have met during this 70 000 tons of metal cruise and you have talked about maybe third album. Are there any ideas already or it is just something you want to do somewhere in the future?
HK: We’ve discussed that matter and it is on the agenda but due to the activities we both have to work on for Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, it would be difficult to come up with the lot of stuff during this year. We may have some days in the summer to spend together and we will immediately start working on new Demons & Wizards album or the music at least but since Jon is very, very busy in completing the next Iced Earth album, I don’t see a chance to really finalize the Demons & Wizards album within next 18 months, that seems to be impossible. If we’d be able to do so, I would be very happy but there’s so much to do and we have so many ideas how to improve the style and get this project to the next level, it would be a waste just to spend two weeks together and to somehow manage to come up with some album. When we do it, it has to be done properly, we’ll take the time.

RR: And about the orchestral album, it has taken already most than ten years of work. At what stages have you reached with it? And how do you see it, what is your personal view on all the things around it?
HK: It is still some of the best things we’ve ever done. It was good and we did not use the songs on the albums that we have done in between because otherwise the concept would have been spoiled a little bit. “Sacred Worlds” and “Wheel of Time” give a short idea of what these songs are about and how they could sound yet they still are different. We are on a good way; we have found the right orchestra in 2009 in Prague. They delivered a spectacular job, they have done six songs of the album so far but there are four more to be completed. But in addition to that, I have to do all the vocals and we have to do a proper production and there are different side issues we have to cover. Coming up with storyboard is one thing and delivering this storyboard to an audio book is something else, so we have to find new partners in which we trust and which could help us to create an even more sensational project. Musicwise it is something you have not heard so far. It might give us the chance to appear to wider audience or it might not attract people at all because it is very special music and done for Blind Guardian fans, especially for those who are into that Tolkienish and “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” period.

RR: Is this going to be the next Blind Guardian record?
HK: I don’t know yet. We intend to do so but we have a request for a “Best of” CD that might be released prior to the orchestral album, it has not been decided yet completely. And if we feel it takes too long to release that new orchestral record, then we might create another Blind Guardian album in between and release that first. It is still not clear if that orchestral project will be released under the name Blind Guardian because it contains different music and it is a little questionable if we should make it under the name Blind Guardian or it should be released as something done by the Blind Guardian guys.

RR: I would like to ask you, besides the heavy metal music we are all into, what other bands and musicians are you inspired of and enjoy listening to?
HK: Metal is one big part and then there’s the regular classic rock stuff I’m into. It’s not a secret that Freddie Mercury and Ian Gillan are my idols as vocalists. I love Genesis and Peter Gabriel, I love all kinds of good music. For instance, I am a big fan of Dixie Chicks, I think they do spectacular music and Tori Amos is great too. It is all different kinds of music. I even like to listen to Jets’ music from time to time, it is still not my most favorite music but there are good elements in there and if don’t take it too far it is very enjoyable for me.

RR: Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s when Blind Guardian was still not a very big name as it is now, there were a lot of German heavy metal bands and German heavy metal was one of the biggest scene in the genre with bands like Helloween, Running Wild and Gamma Ray. And now, when it is 2011 it appears that Blind Guardian remains the biggest and the strongest name of all of them. Maybe Helloween still keep good audience but it is far from what it was. How would you explain this?
HK: That might sound arrogant but we have been the most successful band in all over Europe and most parts of the world from these German bands since the early 90’s. It was just the 80’s that have been dictated by Helloween when they did their, in my personal view, their best albums. Gamma Ray had a strong impact in the late 80’s and the early 90’s but ever since “Somewhere Far Beyond”, we are the biggest band of that scene. It was a certain development and nowadays it is more obvious that we are a little bigger than these bands. It’s not a competition, it’s just the simple fact. You can see that in terms of attendance during a concert, in how many people show up. Helloween, I have to say that, always have been the bigger band than we are in Asia and in Japan which has been one of our strongest markets. I think that it is because we have never denied to ourselves. We do have the strongest and most stable discography, there is not a single album that can be considered a complete disappointment because some people disagree on the direction we took with “A Night at the Opera” and “A Twist in the Myth”. We had the opportunity to attract new fans with these records and most people understood that it was our way to explore new directions and the band has to reinvent itself. So, even people who partly disagreed with them, they stick loyal to the band. Helloween for instance have lost many people with “Chameleon” for example or “The Dark Ride” and “Rabbit don’t Come Easy”, these are albums that people cannot relate to. They are not bad albums but if you do a drastic change in style, it has to be something spectacular and most bands are not able to do so. While we were more loyal to our core music in general and still are able to add new ingredients to the music without disappointing people and that’s the difference. And I would also guess our stable line up. It has its impact on the people. People try to relate to the same people. I love Deep Purple most when Gillan and Glover have been there. I like Mark I and Mark III but this was when Deep Purple was MY Deep Purple. And kids and fans are the same all days.

RR: So, do you see it going for the next ten years the way it is now for Blind Guardian?
HK: It depends on every individual. We never had an intention to fire Thomen, it was free will and there were several reasons for it. It is sad that it went that way but… Yes, if the other guys including me do not change mentally, I doubt there will be a line up change. Of course, that really is limited on all four core members of the band while Oliver or Michael who are more or less stable and constant members of the band, they do not belong to Blind Guardian. They are very close and they are close friends but I cannot say how long they will be with us. It is their decision and our decision as well. And if anyone of them wants to leave, okay, we’ll separate in good terms.

RR: Okay, let me leave you for your dinner. Thanks a lot and have a great show tonight.
HK: Not a problem. And we will.

Siena Root interview

This interview is published in the Bulgarian rock fanzine Rawk'n'Roll. I put here the Enlish version, so it could be used by the band and its fans abroad.

Siena Root is one of those bands the music of which pours life and sunbeams in your soul and while you listen to it you can't help smiling and loving life. In their albums there are influences of everything beautiful, colorfull and fragrant from the past decades - just take the vynils of Jimi Hendrix, the early Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin, powder them with cinnamon and let the spring summer and the scent of the awakening for new life Nature in your home and you will get an idea about their music. Or just listen while you are reading.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RR: Hello! First, present yourself (name and position in the band) and tell us where this questions are catching you and what are you doing!

KG West – guitar, organ and sitar. You are now catching me in my home with a cup of coffee.
Mr. Sam Riffer – bass guitar riffs plus a little derbouka and singing.
Love Forsberg – percussion, Stockholm.

RR: Siena Root is going to record its next three shows for a live album. It seems that not many bands from the psychedelic rock scene are releasing live records. How did you decide to do that?

SR: To me it’s been my dream or part of the plan all along the way, a few studio albums to get moving and then it comes; the double live album!
KG: Also, ever since we started touring, people coming to the shows have asked us about a live recording. So, we have been bringing a mobile 16-track tape recorder – ”The Root Rock Mobile”, to record shows for over a year now. The next three shows will finish off the sessions.

RR: After the DVD with as-Sayf, this will be your second live record in a row out there – quite a brave act in my opinion. About the DVD – how did you decide to release it after 3 years and how do Egyptian dances add to the music of Siena Root?

SR: We did release it after all the years since we liked the sound of those tapes. We did not release right after it was recorded due to the fact that Sanya left the band a few weeks after that show.

RR: Compared to “A New Day Dawning”, your fourth album is different and more psychedelic but when we hear the two albums in between, we see that the way to “Different Realities” is very logical. How did you turn to longer instrumental trips and how have you decided to use the sitar so vastly in your music?

KG: We have always been doing a lot of instrumental music. To me, instrumental music is the most pure form of music – without any words there is just the notes and sounds without any distractions from other art forms. But of course you can use lyrics to convey a message and that combination can be very powerful, so we use some vocals lines in the right spots also on “Different Realities”. It was quite natural to use the sitar as it fits the music, and I have been studying the ragas and talas more in depth the last years and feel more at home with the instrument. But it´s not the only instrument we use that you wouldn´t normally find in rock. There´s a long list of derbuka, flute, hurdy gurdy, glockenspiel, mandolin, various keyboards and all kinds of things you can think of, that we used for live shows and albums.

RR: When should we expect a new Siena Root album and do you have any idea by now about its musical approach?

SR: I hope that the live album will be released in the fall of 2011.

RR: One of the interesting things with the band is that for four albums you have had three different singers, both male and female. Why is that fluctuation?

LF: No, that is four different singers, one for each album. We have also used three different flute palyers and many other gueasts in studio and on tour. This is partly because we don't care to stick to a classic rock structure of the band, but also because some of us have an easier and better way to work together. Not all ideas and wills are possible to fit in one band.
SR: We could never find a singer that would fit the band 100% so we had to change often in order to make the band and the music move forward.


RR: Even though the singer much or less is the face of every band, you have managed to preserve the specifics of Siena Root and each of these people has fit perfectly in the band’s style. Was it hard to achieve?

SR: Very hard, never really worked ;)
LF: It's a lot of work managing a band. Don't forget that there are great bands without singers.

RR: Your sound and musical approach is very bright and positive, yet trippy and hypnotizing. What are you in everyday life – the same shiny positive people or distinct trippers?

LF: I think that is for others to tell. I try to be positive and I'm not trippin’ very much.
KG: I doubt I come across as shiny and positive... but I´m working on it!

RR: Could you describe the band the way you feel and see it, show us Siena Root from your eyes and heart?

KG: I think that since we have been doing this for a long time, it´s hard for us to see Siena Root objectively from an outside perspective. To show you Siena Root from our eyes and heart, we let you listen to our music of course. Which is the mean of communication we have been working on very hard for a great amount of time. I don´t like to diminish our work by trying to describe it in a few sentences.

RR: Let me share a quote of an interview with Siena Root: “In the sense that blues is blue, hard rock is black, and reggae is pan African coloured, this music has the colour of siena. It is a warm, earthy colour, originally from the muddy roots of Toscana. Because this sound has roots that go deep, it was also natural to let root be a part of the bands name.” Speaking so passionately about the colors, can I ask you if you have deeper passion to the painting too and if so, do you find many links between creating music and visual art?

LF: Yes, there are obvious links, in my opinion. All art comes out of ideas and philosophical perceptions. Also, if you combine music and visual art you get movies, probably the most powerful media of them all.

RR: Your songs are like a flight above fairy lands, powered by the spirit of the blues and rock from the 60’s. Admit it – do you have a license to drive a flying carpet?

SR: You bet! All types and sizes.
LF: No, I don't, I think the music itself is the only license you need.
KG: Well, it´s of course better to have a license, but nowadays it´s getting more expensive to get one. I have been saving up, and hopefully I will have it for the summer.


RR: If you had a Volkswagen Microbus, covered with painted flowers and powered by green smoke that could take you anywhere in time and space, where would you drive to with the band?

SR: I’d be quite happy to have myself a little time trip to 1967 for some jammin´. Maybe a tour in 1968-69 and then some small festivals in 1970. I think I might enjoy it.
LF: If anywhere in time and space was an option for one day, I would like to see India at the time of Buddha. I think that might me an interesting experience. But I think the time where we are now is really thrilling to. It can be nice not to know the future.
KG: I would probably go to headline a festival in a parallel universe next month, just making a small detour to stop by 2040 and pick up the band. We would be in our 60´s then and would probably have learned to play better by then.

RR: Who would you invite to the trip and what would be the soundtrack of it?

SR: I´ll bring the band and let our riffs be the main soundtrack accompanied by Ennio Morricone of course.
LF: I would invite the prime minister of Sweden, play some improvised folk music and hope that he would gain some perspective on the ignorant stuff he's into right now.
KG: I invite all fans of Siena Root, and why not a soundtrack by Dick Dale.

RR: What bands, books and drugs have influenced mostly Siena Root?

LF: To me, I would say the single most influential band would be Black Sabbath, I think. But I also often come back to my records with Pink Floyd, Bob Marley and Grand Funk Railroad. When it comes to books, I enjoy surrealistic Sci Fi and Fantasy.
KG: You could say Siena Root is influenced by all the great bands you have already guessed, Deep Purple, Zeppelin and such, but there are also the obscure influences other than rock. I never listen to rock in my home. It´s mostly blues, Indian classical music or some old synthesizer works from the 70´s.

RR: The Swedish rock scene seems to be endless. With which bands do you keep in touch and to which of them are you fans?

KG: As Sweden is not very big, we keep running into people from bands like Abramis Brama, Bland Bladen, Öresund Space Collective, My Brother The Wind, Backdraft and others.
LF: I'm not a fan of swedish music in particular. But I enjoy acts such as November, Nationalteatern, Peps Persson, Bo Hansson, Trummor & Orgel, etc.

RR: You have played many picturesque events like “Burg Herzberg Festival”, “Duna Jam” and “Yellowstock Summer Festival”. Which of them was the most memorable experience and how will you remember it?

LF: I like Herzberg very much beacause it's so big and yet there is a friendly atmosphere. But my favourite is Dunajam. It's laidback, warm and very beautiful, that's my style.
SR: I had a great time at all of those places. I especially remember our first time at Herzberg. The night before the show the keys to our hotel got lost somehow so we didn’t get any sleep at all and when we arrived to the festival we had no idea what to expect. We were a bit late; as I recall it, we pulled in like an hour before show time, all of us out of our minds due to no sleep. As soon as we hit the stage all the stress was gone due to the warm welcome by the crowd, truly a great day in Siena Roots´ history.



RR: Quoting a friend of mine, I’d like to ask you – how does it feel to be among the “last standing hippies”?

SR: It feels very good! But I doubt we really are the last ones.
LF: I don't know whether I'm really a hippie. But if you say so, I say that there will come new generations of hippies, people that have an open mind for music, love and peace.

RR: Thank you! I hope I could catch you live one day! Take care, good luck and Peace!

SR: Thank you!

Karma To Burn: Rich Mullins interview

This interview is posted in the Bulgarian webzine Rawk'n'Roll. I post it here in English so it could be available to wider audience and also for the band and its managers to use it as they find proper.

When Karma To Burn got back together two years ago, we almost shitted our pants brown. And when last year they released the amazing "Appalachian Incantations" we went insane because it apeared they hadn't moved an inch and they beat again our shit out with great riff punches. And now, in the eve of their fifth album and their upcoming big tour, we are talking to their bassist and the cofounder of Karma To Burn, the nice guy Rich Mullins.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RR: Hi, Rich! Are you just waking up?

RM: Yes.

RR: How has been 2011 so far?

RM: So far so good. No horrible tragedy.

RR: Last year’s “Appalachian Incantation” was a massive statement for your comeback. How did you come up with this album? Was it written and recorded in a rush or it was all natural process?

RM: It was pretty natural. We started with… I think the third track we did was “Forty One” and that’s when we decided we should try to do another record. We just went form there. At the end I think we were little bit rushed because we wanted to do one song ‘cause we worked with Scott Reeder. We wanted to try to do one song out there that we just kind of put together with him and we didn’t have time to do it.

RR: Mentioning Scott Reeder, he has produced the album. And you have John Garcia singing in it. What is this strong Kyuss connection?

RM: I think it was during “The Sky Valley” tour. We’re from the opposite sides of the country. The guitarist for this band Hermano he was in this band called Black Cat Bone out of Kentucky. They were in the recording studio and at the same label as Kyuss when they were doing “Sky Valley”. And he had a copy of it. And when he heard us playing, he said: “Hey guys, you’ll probably like this” and he gave us a copy. And so we heard it, we thought it was cool and we did some shows with them in Ohio. This was a long time ago and at that time we became friends. We opened for the Queens Of The Stone Age on their first tour. So we’ve just known those bands forever. And then actually John came to live with me in West Virginia for a couple of months, right before they did “… And the Circus Leaves Town”.

RR: How is the album accepted by fans and the critics? And is it selling good?

RM: It went really well. Really well.

RR: What was the reason for the band split in 2002?

RM: Ah… I had a drug problem. Hah, kind of got out of the way of things. I tried to do a geographical change in my life. I thought it would help out but it didn’t really.

RR: While Karma was disbanded all of you joined various projects. Was that a good experience for you?

RM: It was good. We kept playing and trying some different things. And we all had to go, me and Rob, get ourselves clean. It gave us how to do that and get away from everything that we’ve been doing and allowed us to come back to this situation with a different perspective.

RR: How did you decide to reform Karma To Burn?

RM: Gosh! Will and I talked for the first time in 7 years and it came up right away. It was weird. It was like “Alright!”

RR: When you were back in 2009 you did a lot of touring. You played many shows in Europe which seems to be preferable scene for bands from the States. Why is that?


RM: It’s because the US doesn’t really rock anymore. The US is pretty bleak for anything that isn’t straight up commercial.

RR: But there are so many rock bands from the States!

RM: You can do okay. There are bands that are doing better here than there. We have toured with The Sword. The Sword does much better here in the US than in Europe.

RR: Well, The Sword toured with Metallica which, I think, helped them a lot.

RM: Yeah. That seems to help a little bit. But even before Metallica they were doing pretty much the same. Their first record did really well here. It’s weird – it’s hard to predict what happens in the States because you can’t get much of the media coverage if you don’t get on TV a little bit.

RR: When you returned in 2009, you played the Roadburn. And you did two shows for night.

RM: Yes, we played twice in the same day. We had to play an extra show because of that volcano we had a lot of band cancelled. It was really weird to find out that a volcano is keeping people from travelling. No one expects to hear anything like that. And there were bands that were coming over to play Roadburn and we were playing a lot, it was a part of the tour so we were going to be there for long anyhow. So we came before the volcano and we saw people that were trying to get boat tickets and they were going to travel from England to Los Angeles. It was pretty crazy. We saw people doing desperate things trying to get across the ocean.

RR: What was the highlight of the shows you did after reuniting? Which country?

RM: We got really lucky; I think we had a lot of them. We went to a lot of places we’ve never been before like Greece and Poland. I was shocked to see how the rock scene was in these places.

RR: I tried to come to Greece to see you but I couldn’t make it on time, so I hope I’ll catch you some day.

RM: We are trying to come out your way this summer. We are booking our tour now. It starts in the last week of May. And I know that we are going up in Finland for the first time. Then we will try to come down in Russia. And then we are straight in Greece. So, we’ll see.

RR: During the years you have played with such a great bands like Monster Magnet for example. Which ones were the coolest to tour with and who were your favorite ones?

RM: Motörhead! We have done like a hundred shows with them and I still watch their show every time because they are so good. Every song’s great.

RR: With which band you still haven’t played and you really wish to?

RM: There’s only one. We’ve played with them at the same festival but I don’t really count it. AC/DC.

RR: Isn’t it exhausting playing both in Karma To Burn and Year Long Disaster?

RM: Man, it’s exhausting just playing in Karma To Burn. We do so many shows, it’s crazy. I like playing music so to me it’s not exhausting. No matter what you do, if you’re doing it a lot so you become profession out of it, you are going to give it thousands and thousands of hours, so no. I wanna play music so I wanna do it as much as possible.

RR: What made you decide doing again songs with vocals?


RM: At the beginning it was just because we couldn’t get a vocalist that we could work with. We are not the easiest three guys to get along with. We have requirements for writing, for what we do in the song an sometimes it doesn’t leave a lot of room. And it’s really hard in a lot of instances for a voice to reflect this power that we can reflect. So it was really difficult. Recently we’ve got better in writing, so this record has some songs with vocals on ‘em.

RR: How did you meet Daniel Davies?

RM: I was buying booze for this party and he was buying booze at the same time and I started talking to him at the store, haha. We shared similar interests with the party at that time. We hang out that night and then it turned out that we shared similar drug interests. When you meet people like that, you usually hang up with them for a while. We were hanging up for a week when I found out that he can play guitar. When I heard him play I thought that this guy was good.

RR: How does it feel working with John Garcia? You are friends for so many years but how does it feel working with him? Because I can tell that “Two Times” is a personal favorite of mine.

RM: Ah, cool. Yeah, he’s just a natural. He steps up to the mike and it starts happening immediately. Sometimes it happens… we have experienced that with a lot of people trying to sing with us, you see some people whose vocals just don’t pick your song up and take it any place. And he instantly stepped on and took that song to a better place.

RR: Did he write the lyrics or they are yours?

RM: They are his lyrics, he writes his own. That’s part of the thing – we do the music, like the bass parts are mine and the guitar lines are Will’s. Well, basically music starts and ends with Will for Karma To Burn, to be honest. We all try to put our little expressions in there. When somebody is singing, he’s gotta bring his thoughts. If you’re doing it live, they have to go out and be able to express it every night.

RR: That sounds true. You have announced that you are working already on a new album. Which means that you are definitely here for good. Can you tell me more details on the record? What should we expect? Are you working again with John Garcia?

RM: The stuff that we did with John Garcia is gonna come out in his record, Garcia Vs. Garcia. We made a deal with him. He’s gonna give us, I don’t know exactly, but when we started working he wasn’t doing Kyuss Lives and now they are doing this thing and it’s gonna take them a lot of time. So I’m not sure exactly if we’re gonna get anything with him for our record.

RR: When should we expect it?

RM: Our record’s gonna come out at the end of May.

RR: Oh, it’s close!

RM: Yeah, we are recording it. We’re starting recording in a couple of weeks. We are going at the Dave Grohl studio which is just the greatest studio on the planet. It’s gonna be probably the biggest album we’ve ever done. Just the demos that we have, they’re giant. I am pretty excited about that. It’s the closest I’ve heard of somebody capturing our sound like live on a recording. We are going to be there for a month. Daniel’s gonna do a couple of songs with us. He’s gonna play guitar on some songs. Scott Kelly from Neurosis is gonna come down and do a song with us. And we’re always talking to Burton Bell and we are trying to get him to do a little bit stuff, so we’ll see if he’ll be able to get… It’s just heart getting people out of their schedules. It’s not just people show up for one day and then go. You’ve got to come and work with us for a week at least.

RR: Do you have any idea for the title of the album?


RM: We’re just going over things right now. If it was a rap album, we would just call it “Karmageddon”, hahaha.

RR: Are you still working with Napalm Records?

RM:.Yeah.

RR: How did you get in touch with them? It’s an Austrian company and you are from West Virginia.

RM: Who knows? Our agent Matthias is from Germany and has his own band called My Sleeping Karma. They originally started as a Karma To Burn tribute band. I’m just making that up, haha. He knew the guys at Napalm and asked them and their president just said “I’d love to have Karma To Burn”.

RR: Are you doing something besides the music or you can make a living of playing the bass?

RM: Right now I’m scratching a living of playing the bass. It’s rough because Los Angeles is an expensive city. When I was living in West Virginia it was much cheaper. But we got to record out here, so we are out here for right now. We are fortunately enough to do shows in US and we are okay in the US. Most bands in our genre can’t so we are fortunate enough so we can play here. The music industry is very much returning to, at least for the artists, I think, to where it all began which is the travelling musician. The guy who’s going from town to town and playing and making his existence that way. We just have to keep playing because that’s how we generate our income.

RR: In 2010 you released albums with both of your bands, so it definitely is a strong year for Rich Mullins. What do you expect from 2011?

RM: 2011 is going to be focused in just Karma To Burn.

RR: Since Karma To Burn is such a great riff machine, I am curious what music are you guys into? What bands inspire you most?

RM: We are all over the map, we listen to everything. Whatever we get our hands on, we try it. When we first started, we haven’t changed much since then. What happens after a while, after the first year we really became our own thing. When a song starts you know that it’s us. If you’ve listened to us you could probably be in the other room and somebody plays a new song and you get like: “Oh, that sounds like Karma To Burn” and then you come in and it would be us. Sometimes we go like: “You know, that song of Thin Lizzy with that crazy ending? We should do a song with a crazy ending.” This would be stuff like that. “You know that The Cure song?” or “You know that Joy Division song?” People don’t realize it but we covered one Joy Division song in our first record. And to be honest whenever we think of some of our… I think it’s probably one of the greatest bands of all time and we would imitate them in a metal kind of way in some instances.

RR: What was the last record you bought?

RM: Aaah! I just bought something. Oh, yeah, I bought “Freak-A-Zoid” by this band called Midnight Star. I also bought this band called Stillwater, they have a song called “Mind Bender”.

RR: What is Karma To Burn like while on tour? A rock and roll band with all the wild things surrounding it or a group of calm people?


RM: You think it wouldn’t be as crazy as… When we toured in the early 2000’s, it was pretty insane. It was pretty dangerous situation for everybody involved. These days it’s not nearly as much. We just try to focus on making sure that we are going to make it for the next show and we would be in the best shape so we could play well every night. But it’s still pretty weird group of guys, we are very bizarre people and we have strong personalities that are closed in a small area.

RR: Can you tell some of the craziest stories around you while on the road?

RM: People ask me about that and it’s really hard to convey the situations and emotions through your random sampling stories and what actually occurs in the evening and what is occurs on the next day but you can always point out practical joke nights and crazy situations. I never know what people want to know.

RR: What does this thing with numbers mean? Why did you decide to put numbers instead of names of the songs? Well, there are some songs with names but most of them are numbers.

RM: If one has a name, then we did vocals to it. If it’s instrumental, then we just number it.

RR: Who brought this idea?

RM: I have to say Will because he was doing that with his riffs before we started Karma To Burn. He was calling them: “This is going to be number one” because there was no singer. It just means sense to us. I have a background with math in engineering, so I like numbers. Sometimes rock is a little confused. Sometimes we’ll do two particular songs – “Thirty” and “Thirty Four” to cause the most confusion. When they are on the setlist I always have to wait to make sure I would start the right one.

RR: And which songs are your favorite songs playing live?

RM: I love playing “Twenty Eight” and “Twenty” because they are really filled with energy. Recently I really like playing “Forty One” a lot. “Forty Seven”, the opening of the new record, that song is just smash.

RR: Last year when you released albums with both of your bands, how did you decide which riffs and which melodies to put in Karma To Burn and which in Year Long Disaster?

RM: The Karma To Burn songs are written like the three of us are at a practice and we start playing.

RR: More like a jam session?

RM: Yeah. That’s how we write the Karma To Burn songs. Except for “Waiting on the Western World” – me, Will and Daniel we were living in the same house, then Will started playing that riff and then Daniel started singing so this song was written separately. Then Daniel brought it to practice and put it all together. And the Year Long record was written with the Karma To Burn contributions to it. We were having a sound check in Spain and a couple of things sounded cool, so I recorded them on my phone and then I e-mailed them to Daniel and he sang in these and we put it in the Year Long Disaster record. The Year Long record usually starts with little bass riffs I have. And that was even before Karma To Burn started to play, we had most of the “Black Magic” record already done.

RR: OK. And just to finish this interview, I would like to ask you about your favorite albums in 2010, which records impressed you most?

RM: By other bands? Aaah… Ah! I’m trying to recall what records I’ve listened to. Do you, guys, have Metalocalypse over there?

RR: Yeah.

RM: The cartoon. (laughs) Season three! (bursts in laughter) And the new Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I loved the last season. I liked the new Sword record. I listened to the new Monster Magnet record a little bit. Who else put out new records?

RR: And what other bands seeing live impressed you most during the last year?


RM: Torche. We saw also a couple of really good Monster Magnet shows when we toured with them. We see also great opening bands but I forget the names because they are so many. There are a lot of good bands out there. Like this one we played with in Gernany, I can’t remember their name (probably Rich speaks of Sungrazer). It’s hard to remember all of them and I am just waking up. Maybe in an hour I’ll be like “Yeah! Them! Oh, that record was really good last year!” Haha.

RR: You’re right. Okay, I’ll leave you now. I will send you the links to the interview when we post it online in two weeks.

RM: Cool, thanks. You know, you should change the questions, to pretend like you asked me something else. I can do a couple of answers for you like: “After hiding the body and wiping the scene from all the DNA, there was nothing left to do that night.” Okay, have a good day, man! Bye!

RR: Bye!

Clutch: Interview with Tim Sult

This interview was published a couple of weeks ago in the Bulgarian webzine Rawk'n'Roll. I am posting here the English version of the material, so it could reach more people and so it could be useful for the band too. We did it not exactly by the scheme "question-answer" but made it look more like an article in order to make it full-blooded text and as a way to express our love and respect to Clutch.

Clutch is one of the steadiest and hardest working bands in rock and roll ever. For 20 years on stage they have released 9 studio albums; one compilation with strong enough songs to be counted as a studio album too; two DVD’s, a few official live recordings; half a dozen official bootlegs; tens EP’s and singles; countless number of concerts; a side band with two and a half albums and a few more projects. And all of these are stamped with the mark Pure Rock Fury. Are we fans of Clutch? A lot more!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clutch is a name with which we come to attention and bristle up, waiting our eyeballs to rocket out of orbit in every tone, played by the quartet of Maryland. Clutch, subjectively or objectively, are the greatest and most authentic rock and roll band today. Clutch are four friends from the high school since 1990 and until now on they play, live and travel the world all the time, always together. Because the Music, dear friends, is the motor of these people, it springs out of them and fuels them, makes them breath and they never cease to create and play. That is why the fans of the band all over the world are the same – crazed melomans to whom the sincere, powerful rock and roll with bluesy groove acts as an adrenaline shot up the ass. And how does the band accepts this situation? “We're just happy to be in the position to play shows all over the world for fans of the band. It is amazing how many people around the world know the band, but we're not exactly huge or even close to being rock stars.”, answers the guitarist Tim Sult.

You must be blind or deaf to miss when Clutch are on tour. Because they play so intensively at so many places that the pulse of their music vibrates with the one of the Earth and there is no way to pass by your heart rhythm if in your chest there beats rock and roll. In November it finished the tour of the band as a special guest of Black Label Society in their Black Label Berzerkus Tour and supporting acts were Children Of Bodom and 2Cents. And although “I’ve never been much into Zakk Wylde’s music, the tour felt great and all the shows were fun. It's always good to play for people who have never heard of us. I believe we were accepted very well by the Black Label crowd. Hopefully, we made a few new fans.” When the tour was over, the band made some headline shows and instead the four of them to sit and rest during the Holidays, they went out to few special gigs, including New Year’s Eve. This is how you build up a name.

Let’s see. In 2009 there are released albums of Clutch, of their instrumental alter ego The Bakerton Group, of The Company Band – a project in which Neil Fallon sings with friends from a few other American rock bands. An during the whole year when they are not in the studio, the four are on the road where even a few times The Bakerton Group opened for Clutch as for the change of the bands they’ve just put out a microphone for Neil. 2010 finds them working hard on the re-releases of their previous three albums for which they have regained the rights from thei former label DRT Entertainment so they could put them out with their own new company Weathermaker Music. “Well we had our own label called River Road Records that sold online and at shows back in the 90's/00's but we decided it was time to hire somebody and get real distribution. At this point in our career, it just makes more sense for a band like us to put out our own stuff.”

And when they are not recording nor dealing the deeds of Weathermaker, Clutch jam all the time or are on the road. It appears that they are of the most active and busiest bands ever. Which leads to the thought that Neil, Tim, Dan and Jean-Paul are feeling best when they are working only that playing is not just a “working process” for them but also a pleasure and need to create. “Thanks for the compliments. I'm not sure what you mean by "working progress" but yes, being in Clutch and The Bakerton Group is a pleasure. Working on new music constantly is always important, I think.” And with the two active projects in hand it is easier to divide the various musical searches of the four guys. So, on the move they find out if a certain riff or melody fits more Clutch or The Bakerton Group. “The Bakerton Group originally started in the late 90's. Neil moved to Colorado so the rest of us wrote a few instrumental songs and started playing shows around the east coast for fun. As you know, Neil ended up joining The Bakerton Group on 2nd guitar about 10 years after the first Bakerton show.” In the second album of the instrumental project, “El Rojo”, along with our heroes, there stands the name of Per Wiberg, keyboard player for Opeth and Spiritual Beggars. The interesting in this case is that a musician from a European leading underground act plays with a common band from the American scene. It appears though that as usually happens in life, the things just happened by their own. “We met him when we toured Europe with his band, Spiritual Beggars. Yes I like Opeth. Per also has a side project with our drummer, JP, called King Hobo. Per has played keyboards for several Clutch shows in Europe as well as these past 5 U.S. New Years shows.”

The keyboard is an important part of the music of Clutch in their later records, mainly from “Blast Tyrant”, to “From Beale Street To Oblivion”. The Hammond in these records adds space in the band’s groove and brings associations with leading names of the scene from the 60’s and the 70’s. Thus, apart the totally obsessing rhythm, the fiery preaches, great riffs and rusty-muddy solos from the Gibson of Tim, we receive a new until that moment for Clutch epic sense of freedom. In two of these three albums on the keyboards is the friend of the band Mick Schauer who quits the line-up in 2008. And when “Strange Cousins From The West” comes out a year later and the band shares that its sound is more straight and direct, it is due to the fact that “Maybe it sounds more raw because there are no keyboards in the record.” The CD reminds more of albums like “Clutch” and “Elephant Riders”. But this doesn’t mean that Clutch are turning their back on the idea for keyboards in their music. “Yes, we plan to add keys as we see fit. Mick also played keys on the first Bakerton Group full length CD. We have also had Chris Brooks from Lionize play on a recent acoustic session. (we see him also on stage with Clutch in their last DVD “Live At The 9:30”) Of course, Per Wiberg plays with us when possible as well.”

With so many guest appearances with Clutch it is not surprising that other bands often invite band members to take part in their records too. While with Mastodon with whom they are connected with strong friendship and Tim claims to be a big fan, they change appearances in the live performances of the bands. Dozer invited Neil Fallon to sing a few lines in “Empire's End” and “Two Coins For Eyes” of “Beyond Colossal” which happened to be the last album of the Swedish. The connection of the bands again results of incidence. “Well, they were one of the bands on the tour that we did with Spiritual Beggars.” That’s it. Just Neil is a cool guy and when he finds time, he doesn’t mind to do a little help to his friends.

Besides his strong stage appearance where he shakes like obsessed of religious fanaticism preacher, his deep and inspiring voice, Neil Fallon is also expressed lyricist. Influenced by the revelations of Henry Rollins and his favorite author of music poetry Tom Waits, Neil recreates images drawn deep of the American subculture and he often interweaves blues themes and gospel proverbs with futuristic pictures and mysticism. For example in their last album the American president Abraham Lincoln is honored with a song dedicated to his assassination while his presence in the artwork is of a pagan god with four hands holding Nature symbols. While asked why they pay such an attention to his figure, Tim simply answers: “We just love that beard, man.” And he denies explaining who the strange cousins from the west are. The humor often presents in the band. But not when it comes to music. When they hit the road, the four of them often don’t stop touring for months. “We're pretty mellow on tour. We just chill and play the shows.”

Now, in the beginning of the year, Clutch are at home, they relax from their intensive schedule drinking beer and smoking weed, watching their families… or not exactly. ”It is now January and we are off until the end of the month when we start a 6 week U.S tour with Motörhead. We have been in the studio finishing up a few things for the Blast Tyrant double CD reissue.” Vacation, eh? Interesting, what happens with the acoustic songs they announced they intended to put out as a ЕР and then it appeared that they would keep them for other purposes. ”So far, we are going to have 4 of them on the Blast Tyrant Reissue.” Namely, on 29th of March.

We cannot keep from asking Tim for some of the bands that impressed him years ago. As favorite bands in the 80’s the guitarist points Circle Jerks and Minor Threat and for the early years of Clutch he says: “we’ve listened a lot Kyuss and Monster Magnet in the early day of Clutch” but he appears to be laconic on that matter. In an attempt to return to him the mean trick that Weathermaker Music played with the fans of the band, making us to point out only 5 favorite songs of Clutch to put them on the website of the label as a podcast and free download, we invite him to point out his five favorites. Tim, however, doesn’t hesitate at all: ”Ghost; Abraham Lincoln; White's Ferry; Release the Dub; Rapture of Riddley Walker”. Topically for the beginning of 2011, he shares also his favorite albums for 2010:

Swans - My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
The Budos Band - Budos Band III
Grinderman - Grinderman II
Melvins - The Bride Screamed Murder
O'Death - Broken Hymns, Limbs, and Skin
OFF! - First 4 Ep's
The Sword - Warp Riders


And what should we expect from Clutch in 2011? ”Well we have a six with tour with Motörhead from January 29th to March 12th as I said. On some dates they will have a break and we will have headline gigs. In the spring we will put out the re-release of “Blast Tyrant” and we have a few European shows in June planned so far.” Profession Rock.

Kula Shaker: Interview with Alonza Bevan

This interview is published in the Bulgarian webzine Rawk'n'Roll. I put here its English version in order this way it to reach more people and also the band to use it however they want to.

In the nineties, during the era of the grunge, the brit-pop and growingly faceless songs at the music channels, it is almost unimaginable for a psychedelic rock band, deeply inspired of India, to conquer the charts. The music of Kula Shaker bears at the same time the fiery energy of the youth and the wisdom of the musical culture of past epochs; contemporary, yet reflecting the spirit of the music of the 60’s; wonderfully combining the vivid picturesque pageant of the soundtracks of “Hair” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” with the psychedelia of the later Beatles. And in 2010 it abandoned all this musical whirlwind to release one of the purest, tender and beautiful rock albums. Kula Shaker closer, presented by Alonza Bevan.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


RR: First of all – congratulations for “Pilgrims Progress” , though it’s been half an year since it came out! It is among the most beautiful albums ever released. Can you tell us shortly about the album, the label issue in 2008, the songs and the recording sessions?

AB: Well, the album grew out of circumstance we had just got out of some dodgy dealings with the dark side (moneymen, accountants and lawyers) which left the band in a rather poor financial position. We knew we had some good songs and so with some great help from our friends and local musicians we started recording Pilgrims Progress here in the countryside of southern Belgium.

RR: The first thing that is obvious while listening the CD is the fact that you have taken off the colorful garment that was so typical for your previous releases and “Pilgrims Progress” is a stripped down to naked melodies and pure emotions record. Was that transmission natural or you made it by purpose?

AB: The production idea for the album was to capture some of the magic and freedom of the song demos which so often gets lost in the recording process. I mentioned how circumstance created this record and it definitely affected the production choices. I finally got to use all the peculiar instruments lying around my studio, the organ from the local church got used and more than anything the medieval surroundings and forests gave their fairy tale magic.

RR: Is the song “Peter Pan R.I.P.” only about the end of the childhood, the end of the fairy-tale period of the life or it also treats the moving away of the band from the vivid explosion in the sound of its earlier records?

AB: I thought it was about the death of innocence in the 20th century but apparently not, you'll have to ask Crispian.

RR: I can tell that in “Winter’s Call” there is a load of Roger Waters-like drama, especially at the end of the song. Is it true or it’s just my mind and imagination?

AB: No it's not your imagination, It is a fully certified prog epic.

RR: The first two albums where echoing of the burst of the psychedelic rock and the hippie movement from the 60’s and the 70’s. “Pilgrims Progress” also bears the spirit of past decades but it seems as if it’s more opened to the folk rock and even rockabilly and evergreen era. Am I right?


AB: It wasn't something we really thought about, I've always loved the sound of the 60's folk revival, I guess this album offered the opportunity to draw on these influences.

RR: The album is very acoustic. Is that connected to the fact that the studio you have recorded it is in the woods, closer to the nature and closer to the roots? Because overall it is calm and beautiful with a peaceful aura, if I can say so.

AB: Absolutely, we thought we were going to make another rock'n'roll album but those bloody fairies and wood spirits had their way.

RR: What kind of music do you listen to and does it influence the songs of Kula Shaker?

AB: I've just been listening to The Cramps... I don't think they had much influence on the last album but as a rule most bands are shaped by their record collection.

RR: When you released “K” back in 1996 and it quickly gained popularity with singles like “Govinda” and “Hey, dude”, did you expect it or were you surprised? And do you think the success back then is due to the spirit of these years or it’s a complex of factors that brought Kula Shaker to the top?

AB: It seems strange looking back, at the time we thought that's what happens when you get signed by a major record company but we were one of the "lucky" ones. I think we were signed by accident because guitars were back in fashion. I don't think they banked on the Sanskrit Prayers or Vedic perspective which probably contributed to our commercial success.

RR: “Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts” is like an explosion of music, one of the most picturesque and splendid rock and roll albums. What have you listened back then and what have you taken while making the songs? :P

AB: I seem to remember lots of "Jesus Christ Super Star" being played, we felt we could do what we wanted and so we did. As usual we were under the influence of a lot of tea.

RR: What led to the split of the band in 1999?

AB: It stopped being fun.

RR: And what made you reform the band in 2004?


AB: We thought it might be fun again.

RR: “Strangefolk” was released without much of a media noise or advertisement, even though the fans were in furor. Why you did not pay that much of attention to the promotion of the CD?

AB: I guess we were a little apprehensive from our previous experience. We also wanted to work for ourselves at our own pace.

RR: The release of “Pilgrims Progress” also went aside of the wide attention and without much of a loud PR. Don’t you think that if you push a bit more the media it would lead to greater commercial success?

AB: Of course, it just costs a lot of money.

RR: It’s the same with the live appearances. I read everywhere that all of the concerts were really successful. Even so you seem not to care that much to provide us with live reports, videos and articles in the media. Is it by purpose or you just don’t want to pay that much of attention to this side of the business – it is obvious that fans love you anyways?

AB: I'm starting to feel guilty now.

RR: Talking on promotion, don’t you think about a live album or a DVD release?

AB: Why not?

RR: How did four guys who are aspired by the Eastern culture gather together in a band more than 15 years ago?


AB: Karmic destiny and the search for the Grail.

RR: Were you all vegetarians before Kula Shaker or this came with the band and its heritage?

AB: I became vegetarian at the age of 17, I think it came from youthful idealism and now meat eating seems very odd.

RR: Isn’t it controversial being a vegetarian and being in a rock band? And while skipping meat do you also restrain the alcohol and the drugs?

AB: I don't think it's controversial anymore, there are so many veggies, the world is changing. To answer the second part of your question, I became vegetarian for the health of animals not my own.

RR: While touring, is Kula Shaker a party band or a group of calm and devoted people?

AB: We are one of the most un rock'n'roll bands in the business... most of the time.

RR: What is your favorite tea?

AB: PG, nothing fancy just a good honest cuppa.

RR: While Crispian is dedicated to the film he works on, what is everybody else in th band doing? And are all the other guys okay with this situation?

AB: I've been working on the studio here in Belgium the film has allowed me to pick up on some old projects so I'm happy.

RR: What does the future of Kula Shaker hold? Crispian has mentioned that he would like to eventually keep the band involved in the soundtrack of the film.

AB: No plans but things are more exciting that way!

RR: At least Kula Shaker released a Christmas single in December, so it seems everything is alright! Wish you guys all the best and happiness from all our team!


AB: Yes it is! Sorry it took so long to get this back to you! I hope you have a good year too!!!

Lots of Love

Alonza

The photographs, used in this material, are taken from www.kulashaker.co.uk and www.facebook.com/kulashaker.

Interview with John Garcia

This interview is posted in the Bulgarian webzine Rawk'n'Roll. I am posting it also here, so the text could be available both in English and Bulgarian. And why we made an interview with John Garcia? Are you joking? Because we love him and we love Kyuss and they changed the way we listen to music.

RR: Good morning, John!

JG: Good morning, Ivo! How are you?

RR: I’m fine, thank you! I guess you are on your first coffee since it’s 9AM there.

JG: Haha! More like my second coffee really.

RR: OK, and I’m on my first beer now, here it is 7PM.

JG: Ah, good to you! Thanks for wanting to do this!

RR: Well, thanks to you for doing this, since the stoner rock or the desert rock is not that massive in Bulgaria as it is in the Western Europe or in the States, so it’s an honor for us here to have you!

JG: Okay, good deal!

RR: Yeah. And also Happy New Year and I wish you all the best!

JG: Same to you!

RR: How did you celebrate the New Year’s Eve?

JG: Sleeping. I took my wife out for dinner and we had some drinks and a couple of cocktails. We didn’t do too much really, we wanted to have a nice, quiet New Year’s and we really didn’t do anything. There are a lot of crazy people out here in the desert and people who are drinking and driving and stuff like that, so it’s safer for us just to stay home and celebrate here. My wife made it until midnight but I didn’t, I was sleeping. She woke me up 15 seconds after the New Year. So it was nice and quiet, thanks for asking!

RR: Sure. So, are you working currently on something, some music or you are still in holiday mood?

JG: I’m working, I’m working feverously to get Garcia Vs. Garcia off the ground.

RR: It’s been a while since your last update in the website.

JG: Yeah, I know. I’m working. As a matter of fact I worked on Christmas Eve, I worked on Christmas Day, I worked New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day on the record and I’m still working on it right now but it’s still the beginning stages of it. So, it’s gonna take about 6-7-8 months to finally get this thing done. I hope to have it all done by the beginning of winter of this year, so we’ll see what happens.

RR: I cross my fingers on that! And what about the Kyuss Lives! Tour? Do you feel excited about it already?

JG: I’m extremely excited about it. Especially because it’s all for the promotion of Garcia Vs. Garcia, that’s the entire reason I am doing Kyuss Lives! Thank God that Nick and Brant and Bruno obliged me and they’ve signed on to do this tour. It’s something that I look forward to express with Nick and Brant. Those two guys are… I mean, talking about integrity and rocknroll and good music that they make themselves. It’s a pleasure for me to play with those guys all over again and including Bruno Fevery. It’s something that I very much look forward to.

RR: And it is really amazing when you play live. I saw you last year when you played in Vienna during the Garcia Plays Kyuss tour and you played with Brant Bjork for a couple of songs and it was a real blast. The crowd went insane, it was amazing show. When you started this project – Garcia Plays Kyuss did you expect what followed and how does it feel up there on the stage seeing all these people going crazy in front of you on the songs you have made so many years ago?

JG: To revisit some of these songs and to celebrate my past, this was my plight along with letting people know that I’m still there on the musical map. Don’t count me out just yet. I’m not gone yet. I’m taking a break from veterinary medicine for a little while and it felt great to celebrate my past, it felt great to revisit these songs so many years after the records came out. So, it’s a great stepping stone for Garcia Vs. Garcia. It was great. It’s going to be even better because Brant and Nick are now involved in this. I look forward to the crowd response, I look forward to the opportunity to tour with Nick and Brant again after all these years. There’s gonna be some stories. I’m looking forward to having those times, to having these stories to tell. It should be good.

RR: Was it easy to talk Nick and Brant to do this?

JG: Well… I don’t know if it was easy or not. Once I played with Nick and Brant together in Hellfest in Clisson, France I realized I wanted to that again. I had to be strategic when it came to asking Nick and Brant. I wrote Brant a long letter asking him if he’d wanna do it again, not for just one show or two shows but for 21, 22, 23 shows. He came over to the house and we sat on the deck and we talked about it and I presented it to him again verbally. And thank God that he said “Yes”! He did say “Yes” and then I called Nick when I was over in my manager’s office in Nijmegen in Holland. I talked to him over the phone and I asked him and he luckily said “yes” as well. It’s very fortunate to have those guys signed on to do this and it’s even more fortunate to have Bruno Fevery, the guitar player, to stay on with me.

RR: We all know that Josh Homme was never into Kyuss reunion. Have you heard him when you decided to make Kyuss Lives! and do you know what is his opinion on this?

JG: (laughs) No, I don’t. Josh is a busy guy. He’s real, real busy. He’s busy with the Queens Of The Stone Age, he’s busy with Them Crooked Vultures, he’s got his hands in lot of pies, you know. And I don’t think he has time nor does he want to revisit Kyuss. With Josh is ever forward and never backward. But I love Josh and I don’t want to be there any shit talking about me and Josh because I think Josh is extremely talented, he’s a great songwriter, he’s a great singer and I love him dearly. It’s just one of those things when he doesn’t wanna be involved and I’m okay with that.

RR: And do you know if he has heard of this project?

JG: Yeah, he’s heard of it. Nick told him. I think he said that that was cool. I don’t know what else he wants or can say about it. I’m not gonna hold my breath, waiting for Josh to oblige me to play some Kyuss songs, especially when the only reason I am doing this is to help Garcia Vs Garcia. So, I think it would be kind of unfair from me to ask him and nor did I ask him. I haven’t asked him because I know that 99.99% of the times I would ask him, he would say “no”. So, I’m not gonna go back on that. I understand the reason why he doesn’t want to do it and I’m fine with him, he’s okay with it and I’m okay with it, it’s okay for both of us.

RR: Can I take you 15 years back and ask why did Kyuss break up?


JG: You know, I get this question a lot. When Josh and I sat down in a bar in Palm Desert, California and we decided to split, we knew that we were going to get this question a lot, so we decided and it’s true that it was just time. It was time to move on. A lot of good things came out of the demise of Kyuss. You know, Brant leaving and formed Fu Manchu and Brant Bjork and the Bros and Brant Bjork and then Nick Olivery and Alfredo and Josh. A lot of good things came out of the demise of Kyuss, so any time anybody asks me that, I just say “it was time”. It was the perfect timing for the disbanding of Kyuss and we all moved on.

RR: And after the disbanding you didn’t stop making music. You formed Slo Burn, then made Unida, then Hermano and you’ve sang in so many other artists’ albums, I think they are countless. Can you even recall all of them?

JG: Yeah, I can recall them all. That kind of makes sense for me to do it; it kind of makes sense for me to sing in other people’s stuff. And you know, that’s the key, Ivo, it’s… I would get my fix every now and then with bands like that. But always burning through me was me wanting to do this solo project which is Garcia Vs Garcia thing, so it’s time to get this monkey off my back with the blessing of my family, especially my wife. She gave me the thumbs up to give veterinary medicine a break and concentrate on music again and this is my way of reintroducing myself back into the musical community by doing Kyuss Lives! and Garcia Plays Kyuss and getting ready for the beginning of what’s about to happen and that’s Garcia Vs Garcia.

RR: I see. And what about Hermano? I have read that you were setting a new record. Is it going to happen?

JG: I think that Hermano will never die. I think Hermano is something that will constantly be in an idle position. So when everybody gets time between their already busy schedules to do another Hermano record, then we’ll do that. I definitely think that it’s in the cards for me to do another Hermano record at some point, so yes.

RR: You have announced that you will record an album with Kyuss Lives! Is this the line up you want to make the album with?

JG: Yes. Definitely! We decided that after weeks of rehearsal. I went to Brant and I went to Nick and we had a lunch in Hollywood and I told them my intentions and I asked them if they would oblige me doing another record. I don’t know what it’s gonna be called. It might be called Kyuss Lives!, I don’t know. I don’t know what it’s gonna be called but the plan is for now once everybody gets their time, ‘cause you know, Brant is working on his record, I’m working on my record and when that’s done, then Brant and I and Bruno and Nick will sit down and we’ll start writing the next record. So I’m excited about that too.

RR: Do you have any ideas about the songs and their sound?

JG: You mean the sound?

RR: Yeah, the sound of the studio record.

JG: Well… (laughs) It’s not gonna be a polka record, that’s for sure! It’s gonna be a heavy rock record. I mean, you’ve got the singer for Kyuss, the drummer for Kyuss, one of the main writers for Kyuss music, the bass player for Kyuss, so I wonder what it’s going to sound like. Probably Kyuss (laughs).

RR: I thought it. Last month I talked to Phil Caivano from Monster Magnet and he told me that Europe is very open for rock and roll and they play here very often. Is this the same reason you are playing often in Europe?

JG: To me, ever since I was in my early twenties, Europe has always treated every single one of my bands and projects with open arms. The European Union collectively, including Scandinavia and the United Kingdom has always invited me to dinner. They’ve always opened their doors and took me by the hand and say: “Hey, sit down, let’s have a meal.” And have always shown me really warm reception. I like to work and if there’s a want or a need or yearning for the type of music that I play in any country, I don’t care if it’s New Zealand or Australia, or Canada, or South America, or the EU, or Japan, I’m gonna try to go. You have to make a living out of this. You’ve got to love music and unfortunately, you’ve gotta make some money out of it. A lot of musicians are afraid to talk about money but you’ve got to make money, especially when you are a father, a husband and you wanna support for your family. There comes a time when you need to fucking man up and be a dad, be a husband and support your family. And you can’t be in a rock and roll band just for the love of fucking music because you have to make money out of it. And in my age, I’ll be 41 years old this year, it’s gotta make sense to go to countries that you know that gonna continue to work with you on a business level. And that’s extremely important for people to know as well – that you go where the business is good and you go where you’ve been before and you’re tap into that market. One market that I haven’t tapped in since the early 90’s is Australia. And I just booked an Australian tour for Kyuss Lives! And we’ll be down there for two and a half weeks. And then we are heading to New Zealand after that for three shows. So those unsaturated markets that I haven’t been to in ten plus years, it’s a great place to tap into after all these years, to go to and to be able to make a living. That’s important.

RR: And from the last year tour, can you recall where was the most inspiring and interesting show?


JG: Oh, it got to be the Hellfest in Clisson, France with Nick and Brant. That was the highlight of 2010 for me.

RR: And compared to the Kyuss days, what is the difference between now playing live and playing live back then in the 90’s?

JG: There is a big difference because Josh isn’t there. It’s a huge difference. That’s the big difference. And I’m a little bit older now, a little bit wiser, I’m appreciative of my past. Instead of shining my past which I used to do, I used to be: “Oh, fuck Kyuss, I don’t want anything to do with them or with my past” but now I’ve really come to terms where I’ve embraced my past and I am very lucky to have played with such great musicians in my life. The difference now from then is that I appreciate the music more; I appreciate what we were doing back then more. So that’s really the big difference, I hold it a lot more closely to my heart than I used to.

RR: And back then when you started making music first, when you were still kids, what made you wanting create music, what bands inspired you, what musicians, who were your favorite ones?

JG: I think that the biggest one was The Cult. Once I heard The Cult – Love, I wanted right then and there that I wanted to become a singer. That was really the main thing. The main band for me that really made me want to sing; that was a life changing moment in my life when I heard that record and that song “She Sells Sanctuary”. Of course later on I started listening more and more to The Cult, I changed high schools and Josh and Brant were going to that one high school and it was something they were into as well and we all just kind of got together and I was inspired by them. Those guys were my idols – Brant and Josh; I looked up to them because they were hungry, they wanted to do it. We all were just young kids, we just wanted to play in a rock and roll band and that’s basically what it was.

RR: Obviously Black Sabbath is an influence too because you have recorded that cover of “Into The Void”. I have seen an interview with you where you say you don’t like your singing on this one.

JG: Yeah, it’s true.

RR: I personally enjoy this one a lot but my favorite cover of this song is by Monster Magnet. Have you heard it?

JG: By Monster Magnet? No, I never heard it but I’m sure Dave Wyndorf does a much better job than I do on that song.

RR: It’s just more psychedelic, that’s the main difference. By the way, just yesterday I was listening to the Hermano albums and I was wondering is there any connection between the songs “My Boy” and “Adoption Boy” or it’s all in my head?


JG: Oh! You know, I haven’t listened to those tracks in a long, long time. I mean, lyrically there might be, I don’t know. That was a difficult time of my life when I was recording those songs. It’s something that I just can’t pull up in my head. It’s something that I have to go back and listen to and read the lyrics. It’s been so long since I haven’t sung those songs; it’s hard for me to pull them up in my head. Some people can do it, some singers can just tell you right about the similarities and the differences but I can’t. I’ve got to go back and listen to that shit. Sorry about that one.

RR: Do you still listen to new music, besides the music you are into? And if so, what albums in 2010 made you the greatest impression?

JG: (loudly, to his wife somewhere in the house) What records did we get in 2010, honey? Rufus Wainwright? You know, a lot of people think that I just sit down and listen to rock music all day long, he-he! It’s really not. The older I get, I find myself going backwards. Some of the new music that I’ve been listening to is really old music and revisiting these older songs. A lot of people think that when you are a rock and roll guy, listening to Maroon 5 is a guilty pleasure and to me it’s really not. I genuinely like Adam Levine’s voice and his vocal melody and Carmichael’s writing ability in that band. I’ve been listening to them. Also I’ve been revisiting Rufus Wainwright’s record “Poses” and that came out in 2003 I think it was (actually it’s 2001), I’ve been listening to that. And last night my wife and I were listening to a 1976 Boz Scaggs record called “Silk Degrees” and then we threw on Jimi Hendrix and after that we threw on Minute Work. A lot of people think that I listen to Karma To Burn and Monster Magnet all the time. And I listen to these bands a lot too but there’s some other stuff that I like listening to and I like going backwards sometimes.

RR: That’s what I heard from many other musicians and that’s what is going on with me too – going backwards, going to the roots, going to the old blues and folk. The new Robert Plant, if you have heard it, it’s all country and folk rock and gospel. When you grow older maybe that’s the thing you’re into. About the Kyuss Lives! tour, going back on this, what should we expect from this tour? What have you prepared?

JG: You can expect four guys getting up there and knocking your socks off really. The last thing that I wanna do and the last thing that Brant wants to do, the last thing that Bruno and Nick wanna do is suck. We don’t wanna go there and have a bad show. We wanna get up there and have fun and do what we know and what we know is these Kyuss songs. And we wanna get up there and have everybody enjoying the party and come down and have a good time and celebrate Kyuss. Celebrate the past. Because this is about as close as you’ll ever gonna get of seeing the real deal. I wouldn’t hold my breath for Josh to come up on stage at all, so again this might be as close as you’ll ever get seeing the real deal.

RR: But you have played with Josh, maybe it was 2005, with the Queens Of The Stone Age, I have seen a few videos in youtube, where you are making some Kyuss songs with Josh and the Queens.

JG: Yeah, that’s true and that was me and Josh and that was it, you know. What can I say? That was one show and one show only and it was with all the guys from the Queens.

RR: About this tour how did you choose the songs that you will perform? Or you still haven’t chosen them?

JG: We’ve already chosen. We’ve already chosen the majority of the songs. There are gonna be songs from “Blues” and “Sky Valley”, “Circus Leaves Town”, maybe a couple from “Wretch”. We’re gonna choose the heavy hitters, we’re gonna choose the ones that have proven that we know obviously how to play. We’ve got close to thirty songs to choose from to what we play, so hopefully each set, each night will be a different set.

RR: Last year in Vienna you did “Pilot The Dune” by Slo Burn. Are you going to go back to your other projects on this tour or it will be only Kyuss songs?


JG: Only Kyuss! No more “Pilot The Dune”, no more Slo Burn.

RR: Okay, John. Let me leave you now to enjoy your day. I hope to see you again in Vienna because I just booked my plane ticket for that show, so I’ll see you in Vienna.

JG: Alright! Well, thank you very much, I appreciate it. Have a beer for me!

RR: I will, next one is for you. Bye!

JG: Okay, I’ll talk to you later. Bye!

I would like to thank John Garcia for the patience for this interview and for sending me the picture with his wife Wendy in the vet clinic they work and the photo of him with Scott Reeder in Thunder-Underground studio in Palm Springs, CA. The other photos I took at the Garcia Plays Kyuss show in Vienna last June. Big Thank you goes also to Ram Lauwrier, the manager of John, who has been a great support.