The Midnight Ghost Train: The Heavy Planet Interview

Earlier we shared our thoughts on what already promises to be one of the year's best releases from America's hardest-working band, Cold Was The Ground by The Midnight Ghost Train. Just two days shy of kicking off a European tour celebrating the album's release, we checked in with frontman Steve Moss. He shares what drives his writing, what drives his band, and what drives him crazy. He's also got plenty to say on why this new album is, somehow, even better than what Heavy Planet felt was 2012's best album.


Heavy Planet: I didn't think anything would top Buffalo. When you promised it would be better, I thought "He has to say that." But it's true. It's true with this album, it's fucking incredible. It's being released in less than in a month. Do you think fans are ready for Buffalo to become their second-favorite album?

Steve Moss: Fuck yeah. Oh God, yeah. We're always focused on just moving forward, pushing more and getting more out of things. We wanna keep pushing to the brink. We wanna get better and better on every album and I would hate to always be remembered for one record we did in 2012. I wanna keep pushing it forward and giving fans the next next new thing. We're changing. This record's a lot different than Buffalo, the next record will be even more different. We just wanna keep using different things to get people more interested in us and see that we're not one-trick ponies. It's heavier, it's faster, it's more fun to play. I think it's more fun to listen to... the new album's just bad-ass.

HP: Buffalo was my favorite record of 2012. I heard the new album in 2014, but I honestly don't see anything trumping this as my favorite of 2015.

SM: Thanks! Another big reason why we're ready to move on to the next album is because the musicianship is a lot better, but the bass is just phenomenal. Working with Mike (Boyne) just totally changed everything.

HP: I've seen him live with you and Brandon (Burghart), but I know he wasn't on Buffalo. How is it working with him as a band member? Not even as a bassist... how does that change the chemistry of you guys as a trio?

SM: It's completely changed. 180 degrees. He's really made the band whole. It shows on the album. He's just a monster on the album. We connect really well on stage. We wrote the whole album together, the three of us. Having him, having his input was a huge part on making this album sound different and better. He's a gigantic part of the progress this band has made. We're very thankful for finding him and being able to hone in with him. He's definitely the right fit, y'know? He believes in this like we do.

HP: He's jumpin' in with both feet just like you and Brandon. You can see it onstage. I thought his presence was perfect for you guys.

SM: He's awesome. We love working with him and it shows on the album. The craftsmanship on it has so much more to it, and a lot of it comes from his push. His technique is so much better. Brandon and I wrote all the basslines for Buffalo, and I don't even fuckin' know how to play bass, y'know? They were just simple. The basslines on this album are just so intricate and so beautiful. He really just plowed through on this album. We're happy with him, we'll keep him around.

HP: I think you should! You guys have toured with some of this stuff. I've heard the studio versions. How's it being received on the road?

SM: That's how we wrote the album, on the road. We would just come up with an idea, we'd play it live, see how it was received and change it accordingly. In the van at at night we'd be like "Eh, this kinda sucks. Let's try and do this tomorrow, something different." We like to road-test the songs. That's how we wrote Buffalo. On that Truckfighters tour you saw us on, we were playing the songs off Buffalo before it came out, before we recorded it. We like honing-in things live and then working it to the studio.

HP: You're not just doing this for you. This is you, this is your life... but at the same time, I know your last record was dedicated to your dad. You also lost a friend in John. Getting heavy on you, what would they say if they heard this new stuff?

SM: John would love it. John was a metalhead. He was into heavy music. Even though that's not what I really listen to, he was really into it. My dad was just so unbelievably proud of me. He's not into this kind of music, but he'd go to every show we'd play when we were in town. He was just proud of the hard work I was doing. I didn't really understand why he was so proud of me playing rock-n-roll. I dropped out of college, I used to be a teacher... I dropped out of college to play rock-n-roll. But he was so fucking proud of me all the time for this. He was always pushing me with the band. Telling me "You can't quit, you have to keep going." When things got really tough and I just wanted to throw in the towel, he had the words of inspiration to keep going and I didn't really understand why. He just saw that hard work and perseverance I had for this. My mom is the same way. She's exactly like my dad, just so supportive of me doing this. They're just really supportive and proud. We might not be making as much money as I would teaching, I might not be the quintessential star child, but what they saw in me is a thousand-times more hard work than I would have put into teaching or anything else. Just based on the love and passion I have for this. That was undeniable for them, just doing what I was meant to do. My whole family's really supportive and proud. Megan's the same way.

HP: She'd have to be!

SM: I'm so lucky to have that, the people that are there for me. Shit gets tough sometimes and gets really draining. To have them, it's really important.

HP: Bless your wife for letting you go on the road and for being cool with you pursuing this. You guys sound like you were born on the road. How do you keep up the energy to flatten everything night after night?

SM: It's all about the time we spend onstage. All the bullshit, all the hell we go through, the physical pain, the tiredness... It's all worth that hour, hour-and-a-half we're onstage. I have arthritis in my back, I have degenerate disc disease. Sometimes I get up before a show in so much fucking pain I can't even move, I can't even hold my guitar right. I get onstage and it goes away. I'm ready to do what we do. Maybe that's not the best thing for me, health-wise. But it wipes everything away, that time onstage. That's the reason we do this. We'll go through some really shitty times, it's really tough, we'll be really stressed out on tour. And then we'll be onstage and have this magic moment and I'll go over to Mike while we're playing and I'll just yell in his ear "This is what we do this for." He'll smile back. Those moments on stage keep pushing us to keep with it.

HP: You pull away from the mic and you guys are both just jamming. It's almost like the two of you are dancing. This'll sound strange, but it's intimate and awesome to watch the chemistry onstage. Brandon right behind you guys, you're all on the same page. I've never seen a live band like you guys...

SM: People ask me in interviews "You seem so crazy and intense onstage. Do you get all your anger our while you're onstage?" No. Nowhere near. I'm not angry at all, I'm happy as can be. That intensity you see onstage is love. All of us, that's the love of doing this. I can never be angry onstage, I love it. I love to perform.

HP: People who wouldn't know you as well, they're probably surprised when they meet you. They're probably stunned by your down-to-Earth, polite disposition. Your stage presence is just massive. I don't wanna call it a duality, but it's night and day for people who don't know you.

SM: I really feel for fans. You've seen us when it's just you and two other dudes. We'll still fuckin' push as hard as we can. I never wanna give the audience less than we should. I wouldn't wanna be treated shitty just because I'm not paying as much for certain service. We don't want people to be cheated. You came to see us play. Even if there aren't a thousand people there, you still deserve to see us play the way we should play. I never wanna disappoint anyone. I love performing, and those moments onstage, connecting with the fans... It's really important to give it our all. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't.

HP: When I saw you guys at Abbey Pub (Chicago), I think there were five of us in the audience. I compared it to the Truckfighters show at Ultra Lounge, which was just packed. You guys brought in people from the next room, they're walking in asking "Who are these guys?" They were blown away, buddies of mine at the show are saying "Holy shit, man."

SM: You didn't know us then, right?

HP: No! I bought that ticket thinking I'd see Karma To Burn. They had to pull out and I thought "Well, fuck." The Truckfighters' merch guy was like "You gotta check out this band." God, I was leveled, and we all were. That's what brought you guys to Heavy Planet.

SM: And if my back was hurting that night, or all the other tour bullshit... If I let it affect us that night and we didn't give it our all, we would never have had that effect on you. That, to me, is a tragedy. We always make sure to give everything. You never know who's watching! We've made really amazing fans. We played Des Moines, Iowa for one person. That one person drove two hours to come see us. That was literally the only person there and we still did what we do. He bought all of our merch and loved us and he's always in touch with us. If we had been like "Yeah, there's one person here, let's take it easy," we wouldn't have been able to give him what he came for.

HP: And you made his night.

SM: Yeah. We have a duty. They come to see us or another band. They pay to get in, it's our job to give 'em our all every time.

HP: You never talk about Sabbath or Deep Purple or the heavy bands. It's Muddy Waters, it's gospel. Jesus, your dogs are named after Muddy Waters and Junior Wells. It's so cool to hear such a different take on inspiration and influence instead of Sabbath, Kyuss, St. Vitus...

SM: I haven't even heard St. Vitus. A lot of times at shows people will come to me and ask "Do you guys listen to Mastodon?" I'm like "Yeah, dude!" I have NO idea what the fuck they're talking about. I've never heard a Sleep record. But every show we play, there's a Sleep t-shirt. St. Vitus and... I don't know anything about them, I'm clueless. I don't wanna get wrapped into a discussion with people about it because I wouldn't know a thing.

HP: Part of that comes from people being into a label or genre, a tag that doesn't universally apply. But you guys transcend those labels...

SM: I'm just happy for people to love our music. I don't care what label they apply. If we're stoner-rock or metal or whatever. We just love to play. When we first started out, I just wanted us to be a straight-up blues band. We started touring and I wanted to give the crowd more, more, more. I wanted them to have the best show I could possibly give them. Organically and naturally, it became heavier and faster, more intense. I became more intense onstage. But everything we do is based off blues, it just has an overdrive pedal on it. We just play it really fast.

HP: And it sounds incredible. You guys have an energy that's unmatched and that's what people are starting to recognize.

SM: I completely respect metal and stoner-rock. I totally respect the people doing it. Anyone doing this and putting their heart into it, I really respect it. I don't wanna sound like I write that shit off. It's just not what I'm into, it's not what I listen to. But it's so much fun to play heavy. I've heard the Sky Valley record and I think it's cool. It's not like a Bible that other people make it out to be, for me. A Muddy Waters record is something I go to. Or jazz albums. I don't even know what they're doing on that kind o' stuff. I've listened and don't even know the guitar stuff they're doing. To me, the blues makes sense. Metal never makes sense to me. Those crazy, insane thrash solos that are a million miles a minute... I have no idea how to do that shit! I listen to the blues. BB King is a huge influence for me and for the way I solo. I like to use the space, I like to breathe, take breaths in solos, use dynamics and things like that. That's what sounds good to me and what fits with me. But I don't wanna sound like I don't respect all of them, though. Because I do.

HP: Any tour hijinks? You guys are on the road so much. Fans may not know about Fish Time and stealing from Wal-Mart...

SM: [laughs] We go to movies on our days off. I'm a movie addict. We're always super-busy. We do go fishing a lot, we bring our poles and tackle boxes on tour with us. On days off we'll fish and go to movies. On this U.S. tour we're about to do after the European tour, we've got tickets to a few baseball games. I'm a gigantic baseball fan. Just different cities... We'll have a day off in San Francisco, we're gonna go to a Giants game. We have a day off in Cincinnati, we'll go to a Reds game. Another in Minnesota.

HP: I'm a big Braves fan...

SM: We're goin' to a Braves game, yeah! It's kinda hard, though. In Europe, there's a lot to see there that we haven't. Our first tour, we went and saw a lot of stuff. But for the most part, we're so busy all the damn time, we don't have time for anything. This is gonna be Mike's third tour with us in Europe. He's played Paris each time and never even seen the Eiffel Tower. We go to the venue, we do what we do, we leave, we go to the next place. There's not a lot of sightseeing. But we try to keep sane, we watch movies.

HP: You guys ever wanna strangle each other?

SM: Oh, fuck yeah! All the time. I can be a real asshole, I can be really pushy. I always want things to go perfect, to do well, everyone to be pushing as hard as possible. I can be a workaholic and be a real asshole to people.

HP: Which is hard to believe.

SM: I'll be the first to admit it. At the same time, it's things we need and I just don't know how to voice things the correct way. We're all on the same mission and believe in the same thing. We're all trying to get to the same spot, we're fighting for it. We're in a battle. We've got a long way to go, though. It's a long way to the top if you wanna rock-n-roll, y'know? [laughs] We've got a lot more we wanna do. We don't wanna be just an underground band forever. We wanna spread our music to as many people as possible.

HP: My dad's nearly 61 and retired, a big Allman Brothers fan. I played some of your stuff for him and he digs it. If you can get his ear, you guys can get anyone.

SM: The absolute best thing we can hear at a show is someone who comes up to us and says "I'm not into this music at all. My boyfriend drags me to these shows and I hate this kind of music. But you guys fuckin' rule." That's the greatest thing we can hear. People who aren't into heavy music fall in love with what we're doing because they can see the difference, the intensity on the stage... We wanna affect as many as people as possible. I don't wanna just have the stoner rock fans like our music. I want everyone to fuckin' listen to our music! I wanna put an artistic impression on as many people as we can. We're not just tryin' to do one certain thing. I think this record is completely different than Buffalo and the next album's gonna be even more different. I mean, I wanna come out with a fuckin' JAZZ album. We don't wanna have just one thing. A lot bands nowadays, especially in this style of music, every album is the exact same thing. We play with a lot of bands on tour and it seems so regurgitated, the exact same thing everyone else is doing. We're trying to do something different, do things a different way.

HP: You guys are doing a damn-fine job of it.

SM: We're just regular dudes, doing what we do. We're so appreciative of fans. We struggle so Goddamn hard, but it'll pay off in the end. That's what I keep telling myself. And when we do get to that point where we experience more success, we'll know how to handle it. We've been there, we know how to work our asses off. But there are so many fads. We're just trying to keep evolving. I'm sure we'll get to a plateau at some point, but then we'll just have to push again. I can't stand still, I gotta keep evolving, I gotta keep working, I gotta keep doing it.

HP: Cold Was The Ground is more aggressive, the musicianship is better. I thought Buffalo captured you guys live in a great way. And now I'm like "No, THIS. This is it."

SM: We're just gonna keep workin' our asses off until we can be more successful. I feel we deserve it. We work ridiculously hard and we kick ass live, our new album kicks ass. We've earned it. We've fought tooth-and-nail for every single bit of it. We'll keep at it. We ain't stoppin'!

Pre-order the new album HERE.

Cold Was The Ground release dates:

2-28-15 - GSA / EUR / AUS
3-2-15 - UK / NO / FR / DK / IT
3-4-15 - SE / ESP
3-10-15 - USA / CAN

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Brant Bjork: The Heavy Planet Interview

Through all the fuzz and beneath all the sand, Brant Bjork gives his strongest nod to his punk roots. You'd struggle to find a more impressive synopsis of work than his, from the dusty origins of Kyuss through his Low Desert Punk Band's debut, Black Power Flower. For the better part of three decades, Bjork has ceaselessly crafted innumerable landmark sounds of a species of rock music he helped to create. Outlining the measure of his influence and the magnitude of his contribution to stoner rock would require more than a write-up on a blog.

Heavy Planet recently chewed a little fat with Bjork, touching on his new band of buds, his inner punk, and the status of his various projects. Hell, he even offers an explanation on why some desert folks use meth.

Heavy Planet: Black Power Flower is being released this month. It seems meatier, it's got a different vibe than some of the other stuff you've done. It seems like there's a throwback element to it.

Brant Bjork: Yeah, there's a return on this record, for sure. I've kinda gone back to my primal, more adolescent root as a musician. I think I've full-on returned to the simplicity of my primal love for rock music. Simple and easy sometimes get confused, because it wasn't exactly an easy task. But I really wanted to get away from... sometimes when you play music and make as many records as I have over the years, you start to over-intellectualize something that's really simple and pure and primal. So this is a record to return to a place where it was just, like I said, primal and pure.

HP: About that title, there are a couple different ways to interpret it. What's your take?

BB: It depends. Like you said, there's many ways you can interpret it. It could be literal, it could be metaphorical, it can be symbolical. I like the concept of combining words, just from a wordsmith perspective. Like I said a minute ago, not trying to over-intellectualize what it means. Symbolically, I think it represents consciousness and awareness. In a more literal sense, my biological parents... My mother was a white hippie and my dad was a black power guy. It's literal in that sense, in terms of who Brant Bjork really is at the core of my being, my DNA. Those things combining... My music is biracial because I'm biracial. Throughout my career, I've consistently worked with that the way someone like Phil Lynott would work with it. I hear that in his music with Thin Lizzy. It's constantly a bridging of this gap, of these two bloods, and making sense of it. Also, it's just punk rock, y'know? This is my punk rock record. Punk rock is my root. This is my punk rock band and I wanna just throw shit out there that makes people move around and figure shit out. Push some buttons.

HP: What's the chemistry like between you, Dave, Bubba, and Tony?

BB: The chemistry began before we started playing music. Conceptually, to get back to that beautiful, innocent place after many years of playing music with various people and various situations I've come to accept the fact that it's important to play music with people that are down with each other, they're on the same page as human beings. The chemistry starts there. If you can hang out in a room and have a beer together and laugh and bullshit and have fun, that's going to carry over into the musicianship. So the chemistry begins before the music. And these guys are my friends. I grew up with Tony in the desert, I've known Dave for twenty years, we've been dearest friends. Bubba is a guy I've known for years. He's always been super down-to-earth and cool and I've always been a fan of his guitar playing. So I deliberately assembled a group of guys where there was vibe before we even picked up our instruments.

HP: You've been doing this since you were a kid. You've been writing, performing, recording... What's been most important in your success as a musician?

BB: What's been most important is what's happening right now. I look at this record as a return, kind of a full circle. I also feel it's a record you can only graduate to if you survive and last this long in the business. Therefore it's a real important record for me. I think it's my most important accomplishment because it's the result of many, many years of discovering and learning and exploring. Victories and failures, all that stuff. I feel really excited about it.

HP: You guys were in Australia, Europe, you did some dates out West. How's the new material being received? Around the world and across continents, what's been the response?

BB: Well, this music is live music. It was written and executed live in the studio. It's music to be performed live as much as it is to be listened to on another source as a recording. In all honesty, I was really shocked at how fast people responded to the new material, enthusiastically and almost participated with it. It was kind of shocking, especially since none of these people were familiar with the tracks. We made a point early-on to get onstage and start playing the new material even though the record wasn't coming out yet. Together we decided that we wanted to jump straight into a new trip, The Low Desert Punk Band. Like, "Let's get this punk rock goin'!" And even in Europe it was pretty amazing. You would've thought they'd already heard the record, it was pretty amazing.

HP: You guys taking it out again, anything in the works?

BB: Absolutely. I feel that we haven't even begun to tour to support the record. I feel like we were just exercising a new band, gettin' the band out on the road. Gettin' the live chemistry working, gettin' the fans back in the house and excited about a return to doin' my own thing. We've got new action happening. It's all about that. Now we've got shit on the stove and it's cookin'. I think when the record drops next week, we've already got plans next year to go out and support the record specifically. That'll be another adventure.

HP: You guys comin' out to the Midwest at all?

BB: Yeah, absolutely. I love the Midwest. For me, it's probably the best part of the states in terms of what we're doin' and having people come out and participate. So the plan is definitely to go out and hit the East Coast and the Midwest together at some point.

HP: You're pretty well cemented as a notable pioneer in the stoner rock, desert rock scene, whatever you wanna call it. Where do you see the state of that now in terms of what you're involved with and other bands. What's your take on the whole scene as it stands right now?

BB: That's an interesting question. Really, when I think about it, it's hard to understand the mechanics of the scene when you're kind of in the eye of the storm. So I really don't know. And it might not be for me to even know. I don't fully know what stoner rock is, and in some ways I wonder if I've ever known what it is. Stoner rock, for me, didn't exist when I was comin' up as a musician in what we were doing. For me, I was a stoner and I smoked pot for many reasons. Some of 'em didn't have anything to do with music. But I also loved music and I loved listening to records and going out and seeing my friends' bands play. And when I was at home I would smoke a joint and it was a way for me to get more meditative with a particular record. I would listen to that record deeper and I would hear it in a way that I'd never heard the record before, even if I'd heard the record a hundred times. So I took that into the music I was creating and the records that I was helping to create with Kyuss. That was kind of part of what I was bringing to it. So this whole stoner rock thing has become the name of a genre. But I don't know if these people even smoke pot, do they even care about smokin' weed? Is that even part of it? [laughs.] I don't know what stoner rock really is or means or how deep it goes. And as a scene, it eludes me. And desert rock, that was just something we called ourselves almost half-kidding because we were from the desert. And back then, the desert was a fuckin' trippy place that no one wanted to go to. [laughs.] So it's hard for me to say. In terms of rock music, for me, stoner rock and desert rock is synonymous with non-commercial rock music. I think rock music is really healthy right now. When I travel, I see a genuine excitement in the world right now. People still pick up instruments and get big, loud amplifiers and make loud rock music. I think people are excited about that and on some level they need it. I see a new generation of kids, it's cyclical, man. I think every ten to twenty years there's a whole generation of kids that are discovering it. And with the modernity of what's happening in the world now, kids need something tangible. They need something that pushes them around, they need something that scares them. They need something that they can hold and fear. I think rock music is doing that for a new generation.

HP: It seems you have such a connection with the desert and the Earth. It's strong and transcendent. What's your connection with the desert independent of the music?

BB: I like that you asked that, "independent of music," because that's really where it starts, right? In planetary terms, it's my planet. I come from Planet Desert. It's just my environment, it's my ecosystem, it's my life force. It's big space, time stands still. It's hot weather. Seasons are really shot. It's hot, it's cold, it's not complicated. The terrain is rough and it's mean. It's pretty intense. The beauty is equal. And it's a meditative place. For brain-trippers like myself, it really caters to us and is kind to us. It forces meditation on some level, it mellows you out. The drug of the desert is methamphetamine. I think it's because people freak out on the meditation out here. [laughs.] They don't wanna be sedated by the environment, so they do a stimulant so they can get up and make shit happen in their lives. I never participated in it, but I can totally understand why people do. That's my environment, that's just where I come from. Then you throw in Southern California culture; skateboarding, punk rock, BMX, Motocross, and all these things that we grew up with. A peacocking, if you will, of Southern California, the big Hispanic, Mexican, Chicano culture and low-riding. All that stuff, it's all out here too. So you just wrap that up, give a kid a joint and a Jimi Hendrix record and all of a sudden it starts happening.

HP: You're so proficient, you're always doing something. Whether it's Kyuss, Fu Manchu, your solo stuff, - the Bros, - the Operators, and now the Low Desert Punk Band. This Jacuzzi project, is it gonna see daylight anytime soon?

BB: Daylight, yes. Anytime soon, I don't know. It's all about time management for me, especially now that I'm married and have kids. So I've gotta really work on my time management, which is something I was lucky enough to have discovered early on, that it was important for me to execute what I do. And let's face it, there's only so much time in the day, only so many days in the week. I've gotta pick my battles. Jacuzzi is one of my most talked-about records and I've never even put it out, which is kind of interesting to me. I'm kind of enjoying it, though, because it's almost forcing me to not rush to put it out because I'm kind of letting this thing build. But really it's the result of getting back together with John and Nick and putting Kyuss back together, which was obviously consuming all my time. And right before that adventure took off was when I was tying up the loose ends of that session. So it kind of just sat on the shelf. I had no formal way of putting the record out back then anyway. No design, I didn't have a plan. It was a record that I just started recording, it was a knee-jerk while I was in the studio. But I really dig the record and I would like to get it out. I've got super-solid management these days and pretty much need to sit down with them and design an appropriate plan to put it out. That'll probably just involve timing. We'll see.

HP: I could watch Sabbia over and over. I could watch it without the sound, I could listen to the sound without the visual. It was such a cool project. Do you ever see yourself doing anything like that again in the future?

BB: Yeah, I would love to return to that situation. Back then, that was a combination of people having the right tools to do something at the right time to pursue it. I haven't been lucky enough to have those planets align, but I'm sure glad when they did align back in the day we were able to take notice of it and motivate, create, and release. It was a lot of fun and it was exactly what we aimed to do. As far as doing it again, I would love to. Next to music, my other passion is film and soundtracks and movies in general. I would love to get deeper into that. Actually, maybe even work on a full movie with dialog, screenplay, music. That'd be the ultimate.

HP: Peace was incredible. The record made a statement and seemed to establish you guys (Vista Chino) as a cornerstone act. Then Nick comes out and says "it's over." Is it?

BB: [laughs.] I don't know. Nothing's really over, is it? We could say the same thing about the whole Kyuss adventure, Kyuss Lives! and all that. If there was any one thing that we had all kind of discovered and established simultaneously, it's that nothing is over. So having said that, I look at Vista Chino as just another word describing this adventure that started a long time ago. And it'll probably just keep rolling down the road. But metaphorically, I see Vista Chino as a car that we parked for a while because we have to go do other things.

HP: Finally, be honest; what's one question you hate being asked in an interview?

BB: [laughs.] That's a funny question. I really hate it when people ask me what my favorite song or favorite record is that I've done. It's like asking "What's your favorite kid? Your son or your daughter?" It just doesn't make sense. I understand. I don't lose sleep over it because not everyone makes records and not everyone writes and records songs. But for me, it's a question that's just such a waste of time because I couldn't possibly tell you. I don't have a favorite, y'know?

I guess I don't either, man. Black Power Flower is available in the U.S. on 11/18. 

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Heavy Planet's Initiation in the Order of the Owl

In the midst of an east coast tour with fellow Atlantans Volume IV, on the eve of a headlining slot on this year's Eye of the Stoned Goat Festival, and with a new EP release just over the horizon, it's safe to say the guys in Order of the Owl are pretty busy.  But that didn't stop guitarist Casey Yarbrough from taking time out to talk a little shop with Heavy Planet.  Read on to get acquainted with the six string wizard as he discusses his band's formation, his hometown scene, and most importantly new music from Order of the Owl.   

Heavy Planet: So I know that [bassist/vocalist] Brent [Anderson] was originally in Zoroaster and Casey, you've been involved with a number of other bands (Halmos, Demonaut, etc.), so how did the two of you originally come together to start Order of the Owl?

Casey Yarbrough: When Brent parted ways with Zoroaster, he got together with long time friend Corey Pallon to start OotO. Corey knew I had been wanting to get out of the more punk, dissonant, rock and get into something heavier. We jammed together and it stuck well. First song we did was "Class War." 

HP: It’s been a couple of years since the release of In the Noon of the After Day.  When can we expect a new album? 

CY: [It's been] just a bit over a year and a half from its release. With the departure of Corey Pallon it threw off our progress, but Joe has picked up well and we just recorded a 4 song EP.

HP: Is there any chance the new record will be put out on a label or will you be going the independent route again for this one?

CY: [That's] still TBD at this point. 

HP: Do you have a name for the new album yet?

CY: [It's called] The Wolves of True Diamond Hate.

HP: Now you mentioned Corey Pallon who played drums on the first record and I was reading that the reason for him not being able to continue with the band had to do with some unfortunate health concerns.  How has it been transitioning to a new drummer?  

CY: It's been really good. Joe [Sweat] has brought an element to the band that was unexpected, and we have made some real progress.

HP: How did you come up with Joe as Corey’s replacement?

CY: Corey wanted to pick his replacement since he had a lot to do with the band's existence. He picked Joe Sweat and we couldn't be happier.

HP: Are there any differences in Joe’s playing style or perhaps other nuances that he brings to the band that are different from what Corey brought to the table?

CY: Corey had an improv and jazz kind of vibe that he added. The songs meandered a little more and that was fine and good. Joe has brought to the table a steadier and slightly faster vibe. Songs are tighter and we are liking the direction a lot.

HP: Speaking of differences in sound, how does the new material compare to what we heard on In the Noon of the After Day?  What can we expect to hear in the new material?

CY: [The] new stuff is faster.  Joe is adding more vocals, and it's just as heavy. You'll hear it soon enough.

HP: You’re out on tour right now with another Atlanta band, Volume IV and while it seems like little old Savannah gets all the credit for being the burgeoning heavy rock scene in your state, Atlanta doesn’t seem to be doing so badly itself.  Can you talk a little bit about the heavy music scene right now in your city?  Any bands we should be on the lookout for that we may not know about just yet?

CY: Atlanta has a hell of a lot of great bands coming out of it. To name a few...Drop Out, Demonaut, Mangled, Sadistic Ritual, Palaces, Pretty Please, Crawl, Ron Mexico, and so many more that I can't even name them all! 

HP: So can we expect to hear some new material on these current tour dates and at Eye of the Stoned Goat? 

CY: You'll hear the whole EP!

HP: Casey, you’ve been involved in the past with Sourvein as well, is that right?  Are you still playing with those guys? 

CY: My Sourvein days were very limited. But you will hear my guitar work on their new split with Graves at Sea. 

HP: Any other projects we should be keeping an eye on?

CY: [I'm] just really focused on OotO progress.

And you can hear that focus on the band's 2012 debut In the Noon of the After Day, which is available via Order of the Owl's Bandcamp page.  And keep an eye out for the new EP The Wolves of True Diamond Hate, which will be available very soon.

Heavy Planet would like to thank Casey Yarbrough for taking the time to answer our questions.  Be sure to check out Order of the Owl at the following dates:

May 02, 2014 - Buffalo, NY - The Lair w/ Volume IV

May 03, 2014 - Brooklyn, NY - The Acheron w/ Volume IV

May 04, 2014 - Worcester, MA - Ralph's Rock Diner, Eye of the Stoned Goat

(((FACEBOOK|BANDCAMP)))

Stumpfest 2014: An Interview with High Priestess Rynne Stump

Take a glance at the lineup for Portland's Stumpfest 2014 and it's difficult to make sense of how such a staggering three-day bill came together. Spend just moments speaking with the event's founder and organizer, Rynne Stump, and it's immediately evident how easily she can pull off such impressively heavy company. Words like friends, magic, and love dominate her vernacular more than fans or money, and a disarmingly genuine nature bleeds through each sentence.  Heavy Planet enjoyed an opportunity to gush as Rynne opened up about the annually-expanding Stumpfest and its past, its future, and its purpose.

Heavy Planet: This is the third year for Stumpfest, right?

Rynne Stump: Yep, third year!

HP: What are some of the origins of the festival?

RS: It just kind of came to me. I used to do booking in Portland and I did production there with my best friend, Chantelle Hylton, back in the early 2000's. And I used to do my own little shows around town. I guess the origins would be from that and moving to L.A. and not really having much of a scene down here. Some people could argue that with me, but I've lived here ten years and if you wanna go to a heavy show you've gotta drive to Pomona or somewhere on God's green Earth out there. A lot of my friends I met in Portland who do play in heavy bands, they'll come stay at my house when they're in town but usually they don't have a good venue to play down here. So a couple years back, YOB was doing their first stint out with Tool and I asked them on the last show, "What if I had a festival? Would you guys play it? If I booked a gig up in Portland, would you guys headline?" And Mike (Scheidt) was like "Absolutely!" And I thought, Well how cool would THIS be? Do a show every year with my friends, bands that I like, bands that I don't get to see. Maybe my friends from down here come and play up there, we'll just get everybody connected. So really it was just the idea of bringing my friends together and actually getting to see all these amazing bands that I'm missing living in Los Angeles. That's probably not a very nice answer, but it's the truth! [laughs]

YOB

HP: 2012 was one night, 2013 spanned a weekend, and this year's three day lineup is fucking killer! How big is this thing gonna get?

RS: I don't know! This year I was like, Maybe we'll go back to one night. Then I just had an outpouring of requests from bands that I really love, bands that played the first two years and I can't say no to. They're my brothers. The Rieseberg's in Norska, my best friend Mark (Bassett) in Diesto...  "Of course you guys are gonna play because I wanna see you! I never get to see you!" So aside of that, Ancient Warlocks came outta the woods and I love them, I love their record. Bands like Drunk Dad, who I just got turned onto a couple months back. I wanna see them, y'know?! One of my friends from elementary school, Kevin Spafford, is the drummer in Honduran. He sent me their album a while back and I was like "Oh my God, you guys have to play!" I got excited and I cast the net kinda broad and wide because bands like Trans Am, you don't know if they're gonna say yes or no. You don't know where they're at in their creative process. They haven't played shows in a while. The last time I saw them was actually at Mississippi Studios. A year and a half back they did a show for their record label, it was like an all day thing. They've been friends of mine for years, we worked together and booked them at Berbati's a long time ago. I reached out to those guys and it just so happened they finished their tenth record (Volume X) and they're lookin' for a show. The only thing was Sebastian (Thomson) is now drumming in Baroness. So I was like, "Can we get Seb out?" And Seb said "Yeah, we can do it." And he's gotta fly back for Moogfest in Asheville (NC) like the day after. They're friends and they wanna be a part of it and it's really exciting, but I had NO idea they would say yes. Red Fang, we were negotiating with them last year. Pretty much everyone that plays this knows me or is one degree away from a close friend.

Ancient Warlocks

HP: It seems so tightly knit, the entire thing...

RS: Absolutely! It's a total family affair. I had a lot of requests from bands I've never heard of or don't know and that's really exciting that people wanna play it. That makes it awesome for me because I get a chance to discover new music and see new bands myself and that's exciting. But for right now, it's really just... family. [laughs]

HP: I keep seeing the term "Bro-love."

RS: It's SUPER bro-love! And that's the cool part! If you're there, it's cool. You can experience it and be a part of it. It's really an intense thing. People in the crowd, the audience, they feel like they're a part of something, they feel connected to the musicians, they feel connected to the vibes that are being procured. Every band, so far, has brought an incredible set. It's insane, it's leveling! Everyone is rehearsing, getting prepped; they really take it seriously and I think that's the inspiration of love, friendship. It's not a competitive thing, it's not like we wanna sound better than anybody else. To me, it's Stumpfest. We all just wanna get a quality thing together. And I love that! It's happening naturally, it's something I can't explain. It's magic. That's the magic and power of love and friendship. And I have no idea what's gonna happen in the next couple of years! [laughs] It's its own animal, it seems like it just keeps morphing and evolving into this bigger, cooler thing. Hey, I'm just holdin' on for dear life here!

HP: Our readers are familiar with Norska, Black Pussy, everybody loves Red Fang. I'm not even able to attend and I was stoked to see the lineup, especially when Ancient Warlocks were announced. Are there any bands there people would be foolish to miss? You'll probably say all of them...

RS: That's such a tough question. That's the reason I set it up, these are ALL bands I would NEVER miss. Trans Am, who's gonna argue with that? They're one of the best bands on the entire planet! Unequivocally, Trans Am is one of the best of the best. It's been over fifteen years they've been together and they still just deliver. If you miss Trans Am, you should just... [sighs] That would be the one for me. I would NOT miss Thursday night. That's a hard question, that's not funny! [laughs]

Trans Am

HP: Sorry!

RS: I don't know, YOB? Red Fang in a 300-capacity venue? When I first saw Mastodon in 2001 or 2002 in Seattle, they were playing at this tiny club up there. It was mind-blowing! Seeing YOB in a small place, Black Cobra, I just can't say enough about this year. I don't even know how I did it. I have no idea.

Black Cobra

HP: When I first saw the bill, I think it was on Cat's instagram or something, I thought, You've gotta be kidding me! But it seems so much a celebration of the Pacific Northwest and an increasingly prolific scene, if you wanna call it that. What would you say is special to the area compared to other hotbeds of heavy music like New Orleans or Savannah?

RS: What I think is of utmost importance to these musicians is that they care, they give a fuck about what they sound like. And like I said, not in a competitive format. Not in a "We wanna make it big" format. They care because the music means so much. The tone, y'know? The carving of the tone, the heaviness. They respect the heavy. They respect their craft and, as you well know, anyone who respects what they do has the integrity to do BEYOND. You wanna evolve. You wanna transform, right? Isn't that the idea of art? To transform, to transcend. THAT'S what comes out of the Pacific Northwest. Transcendence through quality. These guys work jobs. They go home and work jobs. They take care of their families, they take care of this or that. But they can tell you exactly their pedal board systems, their handmade cabinets from dudes that MAKE cabinets in the Pacific Northwest. It's just such a beautiful place, it's like a garden. A garden for quality, heavy music and rock n' roll. I just believe all that rain, all those clouds...

HP: There's something about it!

RS: There's something about it, right!

HP: I've been told not just Portland, but the Pacific Northwest in general, is a strange and special place.

RS: They know how to cultivate sound, and that's the beauty. It's the respect, it's that respect for the craft. And that's art, that's the DEFINITION of art. It's not to bastardize and make thousands of dollars being a jerk, not knowing what the hell you're doing.

HP: And a lot o' people make a lot o' money doin' that shit...

RS: I know, I KNOW! You see bands like Yes and old school bands that are still doin' it for the love. They're not out there tryin' to make money, and I doubt they ever were. It's the integrity of the art.

HP: And you've got bands coming out retirement because they have bills. And it sucks.

RS: It depends on what band you're talkin' about! You know what I mean, we gotta watch it! [laughs] But there's nothing wrong with making money, either. The money is not the evil. The evil comes with how you're motivated by the money. It's what you choose to sacrifice to make that money. If you just so happen to be completely devoted to your craft and you happen to be able to make money on it, fuck... more power to you! And if you happen to make money without that? More power to you, but I'm not gonna listen to your shit. Good music is good music, it doesn't matter what it is. I listen to EVERYTHING! I listen to MUSIC, I'm a MUSIC lover. I sang bluegrass when I was a little kid and I still listen to bluegrass. But, like I said... with anything, with art, when it's really, truly there....people know it. And that's the beauty of being a human. ONE of the beauties.

HP: Yeah! I was raised on my dad's old Mountain and Allman Brothers records and it's funny now, I love this heavy stuff, this sludge and doom. But I was fed a lot o' good music as a kid. And like you said, good music is good music. It doesn't need to be categorized.

RS: No, it doesn't! It can, but it's not necessary. You know when something's good, you know when it hits you right in the sweet spot. I think that's one of the beauties of this year's festival: every band has a sweet spot. Every band that's on this bill has the potential to be headliners. Or ARE headliners!

HP: Right! I could ask which of these bands are primed to explode, but I look and I can answer my own question. ANY of them!

RS: Yeah, any show could have been developed over any number of these bands. I got lucky. The powers that be aligned and here it is. The beauty is that when things are right in the world, everything just works. It's a problem when you try to force things. Fortunately, the magic was in the air and everyone said yes! Everyone I asked said yes. Except Sandrider, because they were having a child or something. And I was like, We need to get some more days at Mississippi, because we love it there and they take great care of us. And I feel like if we have to move to a larger venue at some point, maybe for a night, we might do that in the future. But Mississippi should and will always be our home. I like the intimacy and I don't wanna have to start charging people a lot of money for tickets. That's another huge point of contention. I'm trying to keep the cost of the festival livable so people can come.

HP: And the tickets are modestly priced.

RS: I want everybody to have a chance to come to all the nights. It's all about the whole picture. Maybe some people don't wanna come to the same venue every night. But the people who ARE gonna be there all three nights are gonna experience something really special.

HP: Looking through photos from the first two years, there's nobody there that isn't smiling and loving the shit out of their life at that point.

RS: [laughs] Well, yes! It's fun! Everybody gets paid, everybody gets fed. I give a free t-shirt to every member of the bands. Usually I screen-print the t-shirts by hand but this year I'm gonna actually go down to a shop in town and have them do it because it's red and black and really intense with a red washout. I'm a printer, by the way. That's my college degree, printing. I have my own little set up here at my house but this year's artwork demanded a little more attention than I could provide with the time frame because I just got home from tour with Tool and I didn't have enough time to actually screen-print the number of t-shirts I'll need. So that's kind of a drag. I just went down and had a meeting with the printers yesterday and they said, "Come on down, you can help us!" So I'm actually involved, but I won't be doing them all by hand. But everybody gets a little love. My sister and I make handmade laminates out of nudie magazines for all the bands. High Times, Playboy, National Geographic... little collages for each band member. It's fun! Everybody is involved because they want to be. Our artist who's done the artwork every year, one of my dear friends, Gabriel Shaffer out of Asheville, North Carolina... he's done artwork for us at our home, and naturally he was the first person I asked to help me with this because it's a family affair! It gives us all a reason to get together. It's easy when it's just all your friends. [laughs] Everybody just likes to see each other and it's like a big reunion. And we get to bring other people into the fold. We make new friends, new relationships get forged, bands meet each other that maybe otherwise hadn't in the past. I know Floor is taking out Hot Victory, that happened because they all met last year. I think that's why it happened, at least. It's just cool. New bonds are made, that's the whole idea.

Hot Victory

HP: I wish more festivals were like this one. The way it's presented, the way it's arranged and delivered. It's difficult for me to describe as an outsider. I won't ask you to sell the festival, it seems to sell itself. But is there anything people may not know about Stumpfest that you feel they need to know?

RS: Not really! They just need to be armed and prepared to open their hearts, connect, and have a blast!

HP: Can they get in if they don't have a beard?

RS: [laughs] Absolutely! I don't discriminate! There's a lot o' hair goin' on, it's amazing! John Theodore, when I asked Life Coach to come up... We already had Phil (Manley) from Trans Am, and I was like "Come on, Johnny! You gotta come up!" And he was like "Man, Stump! That's a lot o' heaviness there, I don't know!" I told him he'll be fine! Because I want each night to have its own identity. What's a festival if it's one big clod and everybody sounds in the same ilk? It kinda gets to you after a while. So it's nice. That's maybe one thing that I'll leave you with. Each night crafts its own sound, its own style. And I've tried to cultivate it that way. We have one night that's different to keep it fresh for everyone who does want to come for three days. You ARE getting a different vibe on stage each night!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don't sleep on this one, kids. It seems there's no over-stressing the heart that goes into Stumpfest at every angle. From Ms. Stump, through the bands, and directly into the lucky few in attendance runs a stream of unity and passion. If only the rest of the world would catch on, eh?

Stumpfest 2014 | Facebook | Southern Cross PR | Trans Am | Red Fang | YOB | Federation X | Lord Dying | Black Cobra | Black Pussy | Life Coach | Norska | Diesto | Drab Majesty | Ancient Warlocks | Drunk Dad | Hot Victory | Chron Goblin | Honduran

To Hell and Back: A Sixty Watt Revival

I was recently offered the rare opportunity to sit in on a couple of jams with the reunited Sixty Watt Shaman as they prep for a string of festival dates in the United States and Europe.  Despite the absence of vocalist/guitarist Dan Soren, who was unable to join us (but is very much a part of this reunion), what I heard in the band’s downtown Baltimore practice space was a fuzzed out take on heavy blooze with a soulful swagger and a shit ton of groove.  Afterwards, with my ears ringing and lungs full of rock n’ roll, I sat down with drummer Chuck Dukehart III (also Foghound), bassist Reverend Jim Forrester (also Serpents of Secrecy), and new guitarist Todd Ingram (also King Giant and Serpents of Secrecy) to discuss the band’s past, present, and future.  So from record label buyouts to management miscues and from logistical nightmares to near fatal health issues, what follows is the tale of Sixty Watt.  If you're a fan of the band, then there’s a lot to be excited about…unless of course it’s a Tuesday night in Paducah, Kentucky.  Read on to hear what the boys had to say...  

  

Heavy Planet: So how did this reunion come about?  Who initiated it?

Jim Forrester:  It kind of came about because of Serpents [of Secrecy].  I had been talking to Scott Harrington [from 313 Inc. Artist Management], and the Sixty Watt topic came up.  He'd already been talking to everyone else too, so it all just started swirling around.

Chuck Dukehart III: A few years ago, the idea of a Sixty Watt reunion was floated around, but [vocalist] Dan [Soren] and [original guitarist] Joe [Selby] weren’t really into it at that time.  So Jim, Todd and myself started jamming in a project called Serpents of Secrecy with Aaron [Lewis] from When the Deadbolt Breaks on guitar and Johnny Throckmorton [from Alabama Thunderpussy] singing.  It was sort of like a stoner rock super group and we were tossing around the idea of doing a couple Sixty Watt songs and a couple of Alabama Thunderpussy songs, just because people hadn’t heard those songs in a long time and we were gonna go out and try to do some shows, maybe a couple of little tours.  We figured we could write five or six songs and do a couple of songs from each band and…boom…we’d have a set ready.  But it just didn’t really work out that way.  

JF: I got sick and Todd got hurt. [Note: Jim suffered, and has since recovered from, a near fatal medical condition, and Todd broke his wrist and was unable to play guitar for an extended period of time]

CD: Yeah Jim got sick and Todd got hurt and so we took an extended hiatus from that project.  Then I approached Dan about doing some vocals on the Foghound record [Quick, Dirty, & High] and we got together and did that.  He came to a couple of rehearsals and then sang on the songs “Long after I Die” and “Buried at Sea” which made it onto the record and that was kind of us reconciling and him having a musical project for the first time in a long time.  Dan had been concentrating on more personal and career oriented things and I guess he got the fever again after singing some more and it was just a really good, positive experience.  And then we got approached by Desertfest about doing a show.

HP: Now I want go back.  After the Seed of Decades album and the touring that followed…Chuck, you left the band.  What was that about?  Why did you leave before the Reason to Live album?

CD: Well there were personal differences.  We were going full blast, 100 miles per hour for going on three years.  It was a really crazy time and basically, you know, it's like what happens with any band when you're stuck in a van together for nine months out of a year.

JF: And you have to understand on the Zakk Wylde tour [in 2000], before we did the Clutch/COC tour, we were on the road for three and a half months straight…making NOTHING.

CD: No money and a lot of internal stress where we were still living hand to mouth.  And you start to harbor resentment you know, it's like being married to three other people when you're in a band and you're on the road.  And after three or four years straight, it's like "I am so sick of your fuckin' face…why do you have to breathe so loud?" [Laughs]  It's like everything they would do, no matter what it was, it amplified itself when I was in that bad headspace and I kind of took on a negative world view.  At any given point, two of us in the band were at each other's throats.  So I got really bummed out and I personally wasn't feeling the lifestyle anymore and it reflected in my attitude and it just built up like a snowball effect.  So we were already writing some of the songs for the Reason to Live album.  We had written two-thirds of that record before I left, but being in a bad headspace and everything being just negative, negative, negative, I just didn't want to do it anymore, so I opted out.  And then I got asked to go do some stuff with Halfway to Gone and Sixty Watt went on with Kenny Wagner and then Minnesota Pete [Campbell].

HP: So Jim, tell me about what happened with Sixty Watt Shaman after Chuck left the band?    

JF: We took some time off after the last tour that Chuck played and then went to Europe and toured with Karma to Burn.  After we came back, we did some Stateside short runs with Clutch.  I asked one of my heroes, Scott Reeder [of Kyuss, The Obsessed], if he would come in and produce Reason and he did.  We basically got rid of our management because they had mishandled our funds pretty badly while we were over in Europe.  We really didn't make anything while we were over there and we came back with a bad taste in our mouths because of that.  But then we recorded Reason and it was a great experience, a lot of fun.  Everyone at the label [Spitfire Records] seemed stoked about it when it came time to release it and we did a first tour right off the bat, a co-headlining run with Alabama Thunderpussy out to the midwest and back along with more dates with Clutch.  After that, we were working on booking a headlining tour back in Europe and at the last minute, we had our tour support pulled.  Spitfire had been sold out to the parent company and [Spitfire owner] Paul Bibeau, who had signed us and was really behind us, was no longer a part of the company.  As a result, we weren't able to do any press, there were no ads going up, no radio spots, no interviews and no tour support for Europe…all of that fell apart.  Obviously, some different internal things started going on in the band.  Dan had his own personal issues and moved out to Oklahoma.  At the end of the day, we never said "Sixty Watt's over with…we're done", we just kind of ceased to be.  And then everyone went on to do their other projects.  There were no hard feelings from it.        

HP: Is Dan still involved with any of his other projects like The Mighty Nimbus or Stillhouse?

JF: No.

HP: And Jim, tell me about your other musical projects during that time after Sixty Watt split up.

JF: I went on to do The Devil You Know with a bunch of guys here in Baltimore.  That was going really well, but I met a girl and moved to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area.  I started Angels of Meth out there and did a record with them.  We were starting to really make some headway touring…came up here [to Baltimore] and played a lot.  And then I started Soaphammer, which had members of Angels of Meth, Trephine, Meatjack, Misery Index…a bunch of bands.  We had a lot of fun and played some good shows…it was like an eight man band.  But that faded out and I eventually closed up the [tattoo] shop that I'd been running, moved back to Baltimore for about a year and eventually ended up living in West Virginia.  

HP: Are you from West Virginia?

JF: No, I'm from Maryland, same area where Chuck is from.

CD: Jim and I grew up together…since 3rd grade.  We were the heavy metal kids in school, you know [like] who could collect the most pins and patches?  We were in each other's first bands…we were starting bands in high school.

JF: Yeah we've been pissing each other off as far back as we can remember.  [Laughs]

HP: Why is Joe Selby not part of this reunion?

CD: Well after Sixty Watt [ended], Dan and Joe were in Stillhouse together and when that didn't work out, there was some animosity, bad blood, and burned bridges.  There was some reaching out, but he's just doing his own thing.  Joe has a family and he's just not feeling the lifestyle anymore.  And after enough unreturned messages and phone calls, it kind of became apparent that he just didn't want to have contact with anybody anymore.  And you know, that's his prerogative and it's totally understandable if he's moved past it and that's not what he wants in his life anymore.  You have to be a hard headed masochist to want to do this.   

JF: Joe made a decision not to be involved with us, but we don't hold any ill will towards him.

CD: Yeah there's no ill will.

HP: So Todd's obviously the replacement for Joe and from what you're saying, the Serpents of Secrecy thing kind of led to that, but what led to Serpents of Secrecy?  How did you guys know each other?

Todd Ingram: Well as Jim mentioned earlier, we were contacted by Scott Harrington [from 313 Inc. Artist Management] and he was trying to see about putting together some sort of super group with Johnny Throckmorton, Aaron [Lewis], and Chuck and Jim and myself.  And that eventually became Serpents of Secrecy and we all started jamming together.  But it was always understood that should the planets align, Jim and Chuck were gonna do a Sixty Watt thing and so Serpents wouldn't be a full time gig.  Plus, Chuck already had Foghound going.  And so when it became apparent that Joe [Selby] was not interested in reuniting with Sixty Watt, it was kind of like…"hey there's a guitar player we've been hanging out with and jamming with here for a few months, let's see if he's interested."  And I said "sure, I'd be glad to help."  So that's how that came about.

HP: So you mentioned Desertfest, and obviously there are some other big things happening as well with the Moving the Earth and Eye of the Stoned Goat Festivals both coming up.  Is there any other big news that we should know about?

JF: There may be some more European dates around Desertfest London.  We don't know for sure, but we're taking any offers into consideration for festivals.  Probably short runs and one offs right now until we see where things are going.  We want to play the shows that are gonna have the most impact.  That's where the festivals fit in because that's a huge group of people all at once…those are shows that people will make the trip [to see].

CD: Yeah, realistically, it's not gonna be a road dog adventure unless it’s something super, mega, awesome.  Nobody's getting in a van and going out on the road for a month.  We're concentrating mainly on the short gigs, doing cool gatherings like the festivals…that's just the logical thing to do.  I don't see us doing any Tuesday nights in Paducah, Kentucky.  [Laughs]

HP: You know you just crushed the dreams of some kid in Paducah, Kentucky. [Laughs] So what are the plans for new music?

JF: We would like to have a release out by the end of the year.  We want something out in 2014.  Whether or not we can make that happen, time will tell.  Once again, the planets aligning and that kind of thing, but that's what we would like to see happen.

CD: There's definitely a creative vibe in the room and some skeletons of songs and jams.  Every time we rehearse, there's usually some new thing on the table.  And if somebody approached us with an offer to put something out, that would obviously push the deal forward a little more.  But right now, the main thing is just getting back together to try and relearn these songs that we haven't touched in 15 years.

TI: Yeah, that's the front burner, the priority, is getting the original Sixty Watt material down and ready for the live setting.  But of course as musicians are gonna do, we're jamming in between things and there's already skeletons of about three songs ready to go.  Now it's just a matter of getting the structure down tighter.  But that's on the back burner until we fulfill our commitments to these shows.  

JF: Yeah, we want to be the best that we can be for these shows before we're gonna spend a lot of time working on things for a recording. 

HP: I got to hear you guys jamming on "Cactus Mexicali" from Ultra Electric back in the practice space earlier.  What else can we expect on the set list for these upcoming shows?

CD: It's gonna be really heavy off Ultra Electric and Seed of Decades.  A song or two from Reason to Live may pop up, but for the most part we've been concentrating on the songs that we wrote when we were still in the basement and the idea of touring in a bus or opening for our idols was just that…an idea.  So trying to get that energy back from the time when we wrote those songs has been key and so far it's coming together really nice.

JF: A lot of the talk around this reunion was the fact that the 15th anniversary of Ultra Electric was last year.  We put it out in 1998, so the 15th anniversary just passed and that was kind of a milestone and we want to commemorate that.  We're talking about doing a re-release…re-mastered, re-packaged, new artwork.  And we have a vault of demos, live tracks, stuff off the singles like "Whiskey Neck" and "Stone's Throw Away" off the 7" [split] with Spirit [Caravan].  Stuff like that we want to put out on a concise release, and with that in mind, we're kind of aiming towards the older stuff [for the shows].

HP: Can we hope to hear any new material at any of these upcoming shows?

JF: One way or the other, probably.

CD: Yeah, maybe not so much the first show [Moving the Earth Festival].

TI: [Desertfest] London is probably the first opportunity for that.  I'm not saying "London you're gonna hear new stuff," but logistically and feasibly, London would be the first opportunity for that.  I would imagine by Eye of the Stoned Goat, we'll definitely have one ready to go.     

HP: Speaking of writing new material, how is it different having TI in the room?  What does he bring to the table that may be different from what Joe [Selby] brought to the band?

JF: Todd and I have been playing with each other a lot because we continued on with Serpents.  He and I have a really good relationship in terms of playing music and we just kind of get together and jam with no problems.  We communicate pretty well with one another in terms of how we're playing.  As far as comparing him to Joe, they have two different styles.  Todd pretty much can do anything from what I've seen, he's very analytical, he picks the music apart, knows how to do it, makes it happen…done and done.  Joe is a blues guitar player man, he's into the jam, you know?

CD: Yeah Joe is very much a feel, from the gut, improv type of guitar player.  

HP: Let's talk about some of the other projects going on outside of Sixty Watt.  King Giant released Dismal Hollow back in 2012 and then got hit with the injury bug [guitarist David Kowalski broke his leg and TI broke his wrist] and was unable to tour.  What's going on with King Giant?

TI: We are seven songs into the next album and I'm talking fully tracking everything.  This is all pre-production, not the actual recording, but our pre-productions are pretty goddamn high level…overdubs, harmonies…the whole thing.  So we're seven songs into that and I'm really excited for that album.  We're working on two more tracks for it right now and then we've already got the artwork going as well.  I think it's gonna be amazing when you see it, the graphics and the artwork are just fantastic.  And then hopefully we'll look for a release in the summer of 2014.  As far as shows go, hopefully in June or July, we'll start playing out again.  But right now our main focus is to get the album done because we're not really good at multi-tasking.  We can't write an album, record it, and play shows…we have to do one or the other.

HP: Chuck, Foghound just released Quick, Dirty & High which you mentioned earlier and I know you guys are playing shows including the Moving the Earth and Eye of the Stoned Goat Festivals.  Have you guys considered doing a tour and/or shows that feature Foghound, King Giant, and Sixty Watt?

CD: There has been talk of that, at least to do a show in the future.  I know if there were a reason for Sixty Watt to travel for a show in…I don't know, Texas or Chicago or Milwaukee or wherever, then maybe we could all share a backline and tour together on a short mini-jaunt or whatever.  But absolutely, I don't see a reason why we wouldn't do something like that.

HP: Going back to the original lineup for Serpents of Secrecy which you alluded to earlier, what happened with Aaron [Lewis] and Johnny [Throckmorton]?  Why aren't they involved anymore and Chuck, why did you decide not to be involved with the project?

CD: The biggest problem was geographical locations and logistics.  When you have people driving from Richmond, Connecticut, and West Virginia and trying to converge on Baltimore to do any work, it's a logistical nightmare.  It just didn't work.

JF: Yeah it wasn't working out logistically for everybody and Chuck and I were already talking about the Sixty Watt reunion and he was also concentrating on Foghound.  But Todd and I really enjoy playing with one another and wanted to keep playing together, so we enlisted a friend of his, Greg Hudson, [the drummer] from a band out of DC called Tone.  We started writing and we've been shopping around for singers and we've actually nailed one down.  He's a former singer of a band that's very prominent in our genre, but we're not ready to announce that right now since Serpents is basically on hiatus through the spring while Todd and I are doing all of the Sixty Watt stuff.  But you will be hearing from us.  

HP: And will there be another guitar player added to replace Aaron [Lewis] in Serpents?

TI: Right now, no.  We're trying to keep it logistically as simple as possible, so even if I write stuff that really requires two guitars, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it as far as how we do that live, whether we bring somebody in for live shows or what have you.  But right now, we're just writing.  We have five tracks so far.

JF: Yeah we were busy with Serpents prior to the Sixty Watt reunion, but right now we really have to concentrate on this because Todd is learning a whole new set.  I even had to throw in a [Sixty Watt] cd and sit down and listen…"oh that's right, that's how I did that."  [Laughs]

TI: And in between that, I'm writing and recording with King Giant.  There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not with a guitar in my hands working on one of them. 

HP: I don't think most people understand the tireless work ethic that goes into something like this…the effort it takes to create music, much less to get your name out there.  Chuck mentioned living hand to mouth earlier and you guys have referenced countless shows and tours.  Can you go back to the beginning and tell us a little bit about the early days when Sixty Watt was first coming up?

JF: We got to the point where, even though we were a Baltimore band, we were playing [legendary New York clubs] CBGB's or the Continental once or twice a month.  

CD: Jim and I used to go out with demo tapes, you know when cassettes were actually real and not a nostalgia item, we had demos on cassette and we would go out to shows like Clutch at the old 9:30 Club [and hand them out].  And then lo and behold we get a phone call and we get this prime opening gig for Clutch and Shine (before they became Spirit Caravan) at the 180 Club in Hagerstown, Maryland.  So we practiced our asses off and it just so happens that the guy that signed Clutch to their first deal at Earache Records shows up.  [Clutch drummer] Jean-Paul [Gaster] introduced us after the show [and] we exchanged information and the next thing you know [he calls and says] "hey I want to get you guys out on the road and see what you can really do, I manage this band Nebula and they have a tour coming up."  There was no money in it and we had never been on tour.  [In fact] we had only rented a van to go up to [play] New York, so we actually went out and got [ourselves] a band van and built a horrible, torture rack loft in that son of a bitch, and that was our first tour, opening for Nebula for three weeks.  [Then] in the middle of it, like three of the shows got cancelled, so we actually spent an unpaid week living off of other people's charity and it was a debacle and a nightmare, but we were addicted to it after getting [that] first taste…and that's where the whole masochist thing comes into play.  You really gotta love hurting yourself to do this. 

JF: We started the hard way.  Literally it was like flirting with the bartender to try to get drinks or hopefully we [would] meet up with some friendly people to get a place to stay or a meal.  [We were] stealing the shit sandwiches from little gas station road stops, you know the ones that no one should eat?  We were living off that stuff man. 

CD: Or like Oklahoma City where, being the country boy that I am, I think I was the only one who knew how to syphon gas out of gas tanks that would get us to the next town.  We couldn't afford much.  $5 was either gas or food…and then we were really counting on some free beer and a pizza when we got to the next show.  We lived off the charity of others.  And that's part of the addiction of this whole thing, that brotherhood and the camaraderie that comes along with it.       

HP: Is that brotherhood still alive and well?  How are things different in today's heavy music scene?

CD: Well, the most obvious thing right now is that I'm 15 years older.  When you're young and you're looking at things through young eyes and you're going out to rock shows four nights a week, everything's awesome all the time.  I never stopped playing music after Sixty Watt, I've always had a band.  [But now] I book a lot of these shows and a lot of it is very selfish because, [since] I don't get to go to as many shows as I used to, I'm putting shows together that feature bands that I really want to see.  But it has always been a brotherhood when you're in a rock band and you're part of a scene and it's really kind of cool that everybody goes out and supports each other’s bands.  

JF:  Sixty Watt was a band that wasn't just a part of the stoner/doom scene, we were playing with hardcore bands, thrash bands, death metal bands…we would play with anybody.  We made a lot of friends [by] playing a lot of shows and it worked out pretty cool for us. 

Pretty fucking cool indeed.  And now, over 10 years after disappearing from a heavy music scene that they helped to create, the mighty Shaman is back.  Do not miss your opportunity to see Chuck, Reverend Jim, and Todd (along with vocalist/guitarist Dan Soren) as they prepare to add to an already storied legacy.  Cash strapped?  Geographically challenged?  Feeling sick?  Don't tell that shit to Sixty Watt, they know all about it.  Just be sure to get your ass to one of the following scheduled dates to witness this revival in all its glory.  

Sixty Watt Shaman is scheduled to appear here:

3/22/14 - Moving the Earth Festival - The Windup Space - Baltimore, MD

4/25/14 - Desertfest London - Electric Ballroom - Camden, London, U.K.

5/03/14 - Eye of the Stoned Goat Festival - Ralph's Rock Diner - Worcester, MA

Heavy Planet would like to extend much thanks and gratitude to Chuck Dukehart III, Reverend Jim Forrester, and Todd Ingram for sharing their stories.  Good luck on the road fellas…we'll see you out there.

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