Category Archives: Q & A

From The Heart – Bryan Fontez of Last Bullet

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As we continue getting to know Toronto’s Last Bullet and frontman Bryan Fontez, we touched on topics such as song writing, cover songs, keeping true to one’s artistic vision, selling out, their local music scene and the future plans for the band.

 

On the earlier EPs, I felt the lyrics were more fun and “young band” type of material. On the last EP and the new track, there is a definite change. What is changing about the band to push out new ideas?

It’s a combination of things. Ultimately the first EP was written before I had joined the band, when everyone was in fact much younger lol. Brenden had  written most of the music and then Mike our rhythm guitarist had written all of the lyrics. So if the songs sound a little more party oriented it’s because Mike’s influences are more along the lines of Motley Crue, AC/DC and Bon Jovi.

The only lyrics I wrote were for the song “Can’t Move On” and ultimately that was the audition that landed me the gig as the frontman. At the time Mike had vague idea’s about the vocal melodies for his lyrics so I had him hum and sing them to me the way he envisioned them and then I moulded them to my style and personality to make it feel more genuine when I sang them live.

The Love.Lust.Illusion. EP was the first time I had an opportunity to write songs from scratch with the band. So in a way that’s the first time you’re hearing the real/full Last Bullet with all the members. Mike wrote the lyrics for the song “State of Confusion” and I wrote the rest. I have a lot of similar influences to Mike lyrically but I think I naturally gravitate towards themes that are darker, edgier and a little more aggressive, so that’s probably why you noticed a difference in the lyrics and melodies.

But like I said before, we are all growing as individuals so you can expect our lyrics, music and themes to change constantly based on the experiences we have through life. It’s just a natural progression for us and you’ll definitely be able to hear a lot of our personalities in our music.

 

Bands just don’t rock much anymore, free from gimmicks. It is tempting to jump on a bandwagon and join a scene in order to be more successful?

Never. I mean money is great because it helps you open opportunities and do things you wouldn’t be able to do without it. But I’ll never understand a band that jumps on a band wagon or a scene in order to find success. That’s disingenuous and pathetic. You’re lying to yourself as an artist and you know full-well that nothing that you’re creating is coming from the heart.

Money means nothing to me. If it did I most certainly wouldn’t be a musician I can tell you that much. There is no money in this, and if you’re getting into it or writing music because you want to make money, then you’ve completely missed the entire concept of being a musician. I make music because I enjoy it, it might sound harsh but I don’t write music for anyone but myself first. I mean I hope people like it, I really do, but I don’t write it for them, I write it for me. And my standards are so high for the music that I create that hopefully the average person will dig it as well.

I’m also a professional DJ on top of being a songwriter. I’ve seen a lot of my peers and fellow musicians abandon their bands and start a solo career making EDM. Why? Because it’s quick, cheap and easy to do. It’s also way more popular right now and extremely easy to make a name for yourself in quickly. And although I appreciate some of that music and the people who make it, but what sounds more exhilarating and interesting to you…

Sitting in a bedroom and pressing buttons to make synthetic sounds and then pressing play live and mixing songs together for a bunch of people on drugs that will make you love anyone and anything OR singing lyrics from the heart, screaming at the top of your lungs and developing a chemistry with your band on stage during a 40 minute live set where anything can go wrong at any point in time, on any given night, where we’re all fighting, sweating, losing our minds and are completely focused on giving people the best live show imaginable.

In my opinion, they don’t even compare. I love shit that rocks, and I’ll die to keep it alive.

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I really dig your acoustic cover of ‘Feel Like Making Love’ from 2012. Any other songs you have covered or would like to in the future?

Wow you really dug deep into our SoundCloud eh? lol. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our music and do your research. It’s refreshing most, people barely listen to our single before they interview us lol.

That cover was a lot of fun to do. It really get’s to show our skills vocally and as dynamic musicians. We love going acoustic and a lot of our songs start off that way. As far as covers go, we have quite a few we’ve done that we draw on from time to time. We normally only do one in a set, MAYBE two. Recently we’ve been doing our own version of Vasoline live. But the list of covers we’re known for doing are as follows…

Slither (Velvet Revolver)

Jailhouse Rock (Elvis)

Show Me How To Live (Audioslave)

Mr. Brownstone (Guns N’ Roses)

Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be (AC/DC)

Bounce (Danko Jones)

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What is the Toronto music scene like right now and who are some other up and coming bands we ought to check out?

The Toronto music scene is pretty damn good. There’s a lot of great music coming out of here, and there’s a great community of musicians who are super supportive of each other and come out to all the shows, festivals and events. Toronto is very eclectic and probably the most multi-cultural city in the world, so you’ll hear a lot of different styles and genres of music as well as a lot of different sounding types of rock bands.

As far as some bands that we enjoy playing with and are similar to in sound and attitude, there’s a bunch that we are really good friends with and would suggest for you to listen to. Fallen Heirs, Diemonds, The Lad Classic, Glass Ampp, Head of the Heard, The Standstills, just to name a few.

Bands we love and have played with outside of Toronto? Our boys in The Wild are from Vancouver and are a GREAT band. Open Air from Calgary are awesome. Monster Truck from Hamilton, The Sheepdogs from Saskatoon, I could go on and on. There’s a lot of great Rock N’ Roll coming out of Canada right now.

 

What touring or gigs if any is lined up for the near future?

Right now we’re in the middle of planning an East Coast Canada tour in May and we have plans do another tour sometime in September. Right now we are booked to play April 2nd at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto.

 

KEITH CHACHKES

 

 


Introducing… Last Bullet

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Last Bullet, photo credit: Alex Moscall

Toronto Canada’s Last Bullet are rockers on the rise. With several EPs under their belt the last few years, they have been honing their style in clubs and bars from coat to coat. They just released a new music video for their new single, the track ‘Sin’. We caught up with frontman Bryan Fontez via email to learn more about this young, but improving act.

Congratulations on the new video for ‘Sin’! It looks like a lot of planning and production value went into it. Let’s hear more about it!

Thanks! I really wanted the video to convey the grit and heaviness of the song, so I began looking for some really decrepit, abandoned, broken down places to shoot. I stumbled upon a particular spot online that looked old, beat up, and full of character. We soon found out that it was actually the attic of the 87 year old historical landmark in Toronto known as the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. The song has a lot of darker socio-political themes so I wanted that intensity reflected visually.

Society has become more ignorant, naive and lacking in common sense than ever before. The lyrics depict a world that is choosing to ignore the consequences of their actions and would rather continue shooting themselves in the foot then be a part of the solution.

Shoot day was EXTREMELY exhausting. It was one of the most tiring things we’ve ever done as a band and had we not had the help of even one of our friends we could not have done it. The attic was on the 24th floor, the elevators only went to 19, so we had to do 8-9 elevator trips to the 19th floor and then about 50+ trips up and down 12 flights of stairs hand-bombing individual pieces of equipment. We started at 7/8am and didn’t begin filming until 1pm, we finished at 6pm and then tore down and repeated then entire process again but in reverse.

As far as the ending when I light myself on fire lol… The song is about the perspective of a person who has cynically given up on the word, because of all the bullshit that is taking place in society and how people are choosing to just keep destroying the planet, be horrible to each other and ultimately choose to simply exist rather than truly live their lives. The fire/suicide ending is a visual metaphor of this “person” giving up on the world.

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The track itself represents a meaner, more mature sound for Last Bullet. Is this a signal of change to come in your new music?

Definitely. We are constantly changing as human beings and our music is a reflection of our accomplishments, failures and experiences as people. As we grow our music will do the same. I wouldn’t say that you can expect all of our music to sound like Sin going forward, because we’re much more dynamic than just that one song, but it’s definitely a vibe that we’ll be tapping into more often going forward.

While we love writing and playing songs about having a good time, we’re sick of not seeing any bands or artists with anything relevant and meaningful to say. There’s a lot of really incomprehensible and messed up shit going on in the world and no one is using art to speak out and make a difference anymore. Music is so powerful that it’s changed the course of human history with words, emotions and melodies. We have aspirations to light your blood on fire as much as Rage Against The Machine does, and you’ll definitely be hearing more music from us with that being the goal. But at the same time we’ll never stop playing raunchy, filthy tunes that will make you want to down your glass and shake your ass.

 

Is there a full-length Last Bullet release in the works, and will we hear it in 2016?

Unfortunately there are no immediate plans to release a full length album in the immediate future. When we went into the studio late last year we recorded and finished 3 new tracks. We were going to release them as a short EP, but we believed that each song was strong enough to be a single, so we decided to focus on each one individually and give them the attention and effort that they each deserve. The next single will be released next month and the 3rd sometime after the summer.

We’ve got about 4-5 new songs written that we currently play live. a few of them are already crowd favourites and you can bet your ass that we’re extremely excited to get back in the studio at some point this year to record them and get them out to our fans and lovers of rock n’ roll all over the world.

The tentative title for the EP was going to be “Long Story Short” because each of the 3 songs are so drastically different from each other and are a great representation of how dynamic this band truly is. We really cover the entire spectrum of rock with these songs. It’s interesting to see how we’ve managed to make it work. As far as a full length, we would absolutely love to but we don’t have the time or the money to get something like that done, nor is there a demand for it yet. But the moment we’re able to quit our jobs and focus on music full time, that’ll be the first thing on our list, followed closely by a massive US tour.

 

The raw, rock sound of the band is complimented very well by the vocals. How much work goes into the writing of melodies and vocal parts?

Sometimes a lot and sometimes not very much at all. It depends how naturally and instinctually the melody, lyrics and phrasing come to me. When I hear a guitar riff, a chord progression or a drum beat I’ll usually put it on repeat and let the phrasing come to me. When I say phrasing I mean the particular moments where my ear wants to hear vocals and then I really try to pay attention to what my brain is telling me to do, or what it wants to hear as far as tone of voice, syllables used, grunt, rasp, vibrato, and then I usually start turning this melody of sounds into words that fit the gaps and phrasing I’ve kind of mapped out.

Mind you that’s just one way I like to write vocal melodies or lyrics but ultimately every vocal part I write is like a big square block of stone that I’ll slowly chip away at until I’ve left with a sculpture that I’m happy with. And then you have moments where you write vocal parts in 2 mins without even thinking and you’re done lol. That’s happened to.

 

KEITH CHACHKES

 

 


Introducing – Deadaudiosaints

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Only a few ears since forming near Leeds UK, electro-rockers Deadaudiosaints have been turning on ears with their eclectic mix of catchy rock anthems, hummable chorus and riffs. Vincent Renn of Ghost Cult caught up with Danny Jones to learn more about this up and coming band.

 

You guys formed in 2013, and seem to be touring non-stop. What’s that like?

We love playing live, it’s what it’s all about. You can’t replicate a crowd connection anywhere but in that environment. Plus it’s always good fun travelling in a van then arguing on who is sleeping where.

 

What bands inspired your sound and inspired you to be musicians?

We all have a few different influences but share common ground with bands such as Marilyn Manson, Placebo, Papa Roach, Deftones, Rob Zombie. The musicianship and stage shows from these in particular are big influences.

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Would you say that it’s all the different influences that give you guys the sound which is clearly your own?

For sure. Because we all have our own spin on each others ideas it gives us a very diverse catalogue to bring things from. Which is where our sound comes from.

 

‘Forever’ is one of those songs that sounds familiar, yet fresh and brand new. Can you tell us how the single came together?

Forever actually started off as a synth line idea then musically things developed over that pretty quick. With regards to the lyrics and stuff. I riffed around with the melody then began playing around with the lyrics. It’s kind of my twist on the ‘He fucked me over in Love’ scenario. I flipped it round to ‘She fucked me over in Love’. The track means a lot to me so it was cool that the end product turned out pretty sweet. Plus we had Tyler ‘Scout’ Acord (formerly of Issues) mix and master the track to get that big sound which was really cool.

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How does the writing process work for you guys? Is it a studio process or are you always writing?

It just depends on the mood to be honest. A lot of ideas are thrown around outside the studio then we all get together to put it all together and iron out the creases to put the Deadaudiosaints sound to it.

 

What else do you guys have planned as far as releasing new music?

We are busy writing and filtering through stuff and we are hoping to get our debut album out this year. There will no doubt be a new video soon too.

 

Who’s on your bucket list to tour with?

This list could be huge but definitely Marilyn Manson, Placebo, Papa Roach, Rob Zombie, Korn, 30 Seconds To Mars.

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What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone whom you inspired to become a musician?

‘Make your music for yourself, enjoy it, do your own thing’ If you believe in what you do and people can see the passion then they will connect with it.

 

How soon can your fans in the United States expect to see you?

We are hoping to be over in States this summer but if the opportunity arrises sooner then we will be there straight away.

 

 

Addams Family or The Munster’s and why?

Addams Family but not entirely sure why ……….. but the Munsters had The Dragula.

 

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Deadaudiosaints on Soundcloud 

 

VINCENT RENN

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Workaholic Rockers – Wolf Hoffmman of Accept

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In Part 2 of Victoria Anderson’s interview with Wolf Hoffman of Accept, the legendary rocker discusses the bands first foray into making a live concert DVD, more details about the making of Blind Rage (Nuclear Blast), Wolf’s signature guitar, the challenges of touring and travel as a veteran band and detail about the next Accept album due n 2017. The band plays The Badlands Club, in Sioux Falls SD on March 3rd as part of their “Blind Rage World Tour”.

 

You are extremely busy because you have your very first live DVD and CD coming out. Why have you waited so long for Accept to put out a live DVD?

“When we first started we didn’t want to come out with one right away. We felt we didn’t have enough new material. We didn’t want to do something where we had five new songs on the DVD and the rest of it is old material. We wanted to wait until we had at least two new albums under out belts, so that’s kind of what we did. For Blind Rage there is a bonus edition with a complete live DVD available. So we actually did release a complete live show. It was filmed in Chile two or three years ago and that is part of the bonus, deluxe packaging of Blind Rage. So it is available, but we’ve never really had a stand alone DVD of just DVD concert footage. That is correct. And we have something in the can that might be released later on this year. We’re actually looking at the material right now and waiting for it to be edited. Then we’ll see whether or not we like it enough so that it is going to get released. But, in all likelihood, yeah, something is going to happen here.”

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Accept, photo by Susanne A. Maathuis

And then you have the documentary as well.

“Yeah, that’s been a long on-going project that still might be going for a few years. It’s really a, not so much documentary that’s going to be filmed, it’s more of a holding pen for everybody who has memorabilia, or any footage, or live tapes from whatever time. We’re just collecting that and one day we will release something; a history of Accept. I don’t know, something. It’s just because people always send us stuff and we never really knew what to do with it. Well all have a certain amount of stuff individually, but we wanted one central location where all this gets collected for all eternity.”

 

Speaking of eternity, your first album came out way back in that mythical time of 1979. How has recording and playing changed in thirty odd years?

“Well the technology has changed dramatically. The business, of course, has changed as we all know dramatically from the days of vinyl and cassettes and now it’s download and god knows what else next. But one thing really never has changed, the song writing aspect of it. It’s identical. A good song is still a good song. You can’t really ever change that with the technology. You can’t make that part any easier. The other part is the touring aspect is exactly like it was thirty years ago. You still have to go from A to B. You’re on a tour bus or on a plane. Set up your gear and play a show, just like you did back then. There are a few things that make life more easy but others get more difficult. Like traveling gets harder and harder. Air travel is not as much fun as it used to be.”

 

Really? Why is that?

“It’s a hassle with all the security checks. You can’t do this. You can’t do that. The room on the plane gets smaller and smaller. They don’t allow you to take your gear. Just ten, fifteen years ago you could take road cases or anything on a plane. Now a days you can’t. It was a lot easier to ship gear around the world and take your instruments and all your stuff. Now it’s harder and harder with all the security threats. Touring doesn’t get any easier. But the core principal is exactly as it was thirty years ago. You want to entertain people. You want to have fun on stage. You want to put on a good show.”

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Part of a good Accept show is your guitar playing. I read you have a signature guitar through Framus. This guitar has a carbon fiber finish. What made you go with a carbon fiber finish?

“It’s just another cool idea that we worked on together. You know Framus is a German company. They not only make amazing instruments but they are really really good at finishing. The first one they made for me is reminiscent of a WWII bomber. It has an aluminum finish with rivets. It looks pretty authentic. They put one of those lady decals on there like the WWII bombers had. It’s mind blowing. It’s really really well done. This time around they just thought what else can we do. They came up with this idea to do a carbon fiber look. It looks amazing. You should see it up close. Way, way cool. So I’m very excited to work with Framus. They are the best guitar company I know.”

 

So when you aren’t doing music, and videos, and touring around the world, what do you do to occupy your time?

“I don’t really have any free time. As shitty as it sounds, it’s actually true. We work on this stuff pretty much nonstop. I either work on this classical stuff or work on Accept’s new songs. Now we’re writing songs for the new album everyday when we’re are not touring. I don’t have time for any hobbies or anything. I’m a photographer. If I had to name something, I still do quite a bit of photography. Even that I don’t have that much time for any more.”

 

CHECKOUT PART 1 OF OUR INTERVIEW HERE:

 

VICTORIA ANDERSON

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Grand Masters – Wolf Hoffmman of Accept

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I had the pleasure of sitting down with Wolf Hoffman, the guitar legend behind long running metal band Accept. After taking a sabbatical, they reemerged with three heavy hitting albums. The last of which was Blind Rage (Nuclear Blast) for which they are still on tour. The band starts a brief leg of US tour dates at the legendary Badlands Club, in Sioux Falls SD this week, on March 3rd.

Wolf, you are on part 5 of the Blind Rage tour. Why so many parts?

“Just because that’s just how life goes sometimes. We came to an end just before Christmas and everybody took a little break. It’s sort of dictated by the world we live in I guess. Nobody really tours through Christmas. We surely didn’t, so we all went home and here we go again.”

 

Are you playing any cities for the first time this tour?

“No, we did some dates when we first started the tour for Blind Rage about a year and a half ago we did a few shows in California and New York.”

Wolf Hoffman of Accept, photo credit by Alan Hess

Wolf Hoffman of Accept, photo credit by Alan Hess

For you, what is the appeal of touring so much?

“That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day, you know. You make records for people to enjoy them. But, at the end of the day you want to go out there and play those songs and get the experience of being in front of people. That’s really the end goal always you know. If you want to take this a step further, the record is just a necessary thing we have to do to make this happen. It’s just a means. It’s never the end goal to me, anyhow. Really, just make records to go on tour.”

 

Would you prefer being on tour all the time to making records?

“No, that would be a little too extreme I think. There are artists that do that. They only make a record every, I don’t know, five or ten years. But that’s a little extreme. I enjoy making records; don’t get me wrong. It’s just at the end of the day the fun is always on the road.”

 

You are touring on Blind Rage but you also have a new solo album out this year. Tell us about that.

“This has been in the works forever and ever. I’ve always been busy with Accept I always go into the studio for a week here or there for years and years that I’ve been working on this. It’s finally now over Christmas I had the time to put it all together and put it in the can, so to say, to get it out of my system. It’s a follow up album to one I did in 1987 where I took some classical pieces and metalled them up for guitar. I did the same thing again. This time I took well- known classical pieces and rearranged them completely for rock instruments. This time around I worked with an orchestra from Prague, the Czech Republic. That was an amazing experience just to go over there and work with these guys. It’s going to come out soon, late spring.”

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How has writing and rearranging a classical album expanded your writing for Accept?

“I think it all helps. It’s actually quite mind blowing to see the details of what these grand masters from two hundred years ago what they’ve actually written. You see how timeless the melodies and pieces. They are so good, so well written. They are mind blowing. You think, hopefully a little bit of that rubs off on you. At the end of the day you can’t compete with that at all. I’m a metal guitar player doing my thing. It pales in comparison to what Beethoven or Mozart did before. But, I do it for fun because I love it. It’s a passion.”

 

Was the arranging and writing on your own easier or harder than the process writing with Peter (Baltes, Accept bass player)?

“I was lucky enough to work with a guy from Italy. He’s a good friend. He plays piano. He’s really good at string arrangements. He and I pretty much work together like I work with Peter. Where the two of us sit in a room and we just hash out these ideas and bounce the ball back and forth. It was kind of similar in that respect. Only obviously the medium was way different because he was the guy writing all the string arrangements. I would just sort of tell him how I was hearing things in my mind and he was translating it to orchestra speak. To me it’s interesting to see how not so different it is even though it is a totally different medium. There’s an orchestra and nobody is singing obviously. And these are old time compositions but at the same time, a lot of times there are segments that sounds like Accept somehow just because of the guitars and drums and all that.”

 

VICTORIA ANDERSON

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Never Self-Satisfied – Bill Steer of Carcass

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Carcass, by Hillarie Jason

 

 

For most Metal fans, the 2016 Slayer, Testament, and Carcass tour may just “reign” as one of the year’s greatest, as the month-long North American excursion not only includes two Thrash Metal titans, but also marks the first outing in many years for the legendary Carcass.

Since 1985, Carcass’ raw-edged aural assault has ignited Metal fans and influenced scores of bands. With six albums under the band’s belt, the most recent being 2013’s critically acclaimed Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast), Carcass are set to shred with stateside performances starting on February 22.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with Carcass’ lead guitarist Bill Steer about the tour, as well as Carcass’ musical legacy, and he was kind enough to share some details.

First I’d like to talk your upcoming Slayer and Testament tour – how did this all come about and why tour now?

“Well, it’s probably surprising to learn the tour was initiated by agents talking to each other! The word reached us that there was a possibility we could play on this tour, and we couldn’t say no—if it was anybody else, we would have said no, but Slayer was the one band in our minds in this area of Metal music that we feel we could tour with without upsetting the audience!”

“We’ve seen Testament several times live, and have done festivals with them, but the touring thing has not happened before, so it’s going to be interesting for us—we’re not sure how accepting audiences will be of us, but it will be quite fresh for us as well.”

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Can we expect a follow-up to Surgical Steel any time soon? And if so, how will the music differ from that album or other previously recorded efforts?

“Hmm, interesting question, really, because the new music will have to differ from the previous record to a degree, because you have to feel like the music going forward. With Surgical Steel, we had the advantage where people didn’t know we were working on an album until it came out, and expectations were low, which was great, because when the album came out, it was actually great, and it was surprising to many people.

When [Carcass vocalist and bassist] Jeff Walker and I get together and write music through, we’re going to have to walk a tight rope— writing music that’s identifiable, as well as breaking new ground.

We do have a couple of songs tucked away—the momentum just picked up, and at the start of last year, we got together and worked on a handful of tunes, and we’re excited with some of the things we were working on. When we have a quiet time this year, in 2016, we’ll look into the stuff more carefully. “

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Carcass, by Hillarie Jason

Quite honestly, Carcass are legendary and helped shape and hone a sound—do you ever think about the influence you’ve had on other Metal and Grind bands?

“I’d rather just “grind” on with what we do, because thinking too hard about your place in the scheme of things…. that’s just confusing and a distraction—and, you can’t really stop being self-critical. In my view, if you get self-satisfied, it leads to complacency. That’s not good for anyone in any genre. “

“Occasionally, people are very nice to say those things to us—about being legendary—and that’s good to hear, but you’re only as good as your last gig and your last album.”

 

Are there any Carcass albums or songs you’re particularly proud of?

“From the initial phase of the band, I’d have to pick the obvious, which is Heartwork. I remember quite clearly feeling really delighted with the sound we got on the album, as it was the first time we got anything we were looking for in the studio that coincided with really good writing. The music on that record…that’s the most pleasing stuff we did at that time. “

“I’m quite fond of the two song songs on Heartwork EP—they were bashed out pretty quickly. We had a couple of B-sides, and I’m quite fond of those. As for other stuff, well, I’m still pleased with Surgical Steel. I can critique it, but it feels like a big achievement since we had so much stacked against us—doing something most people wouldn’t like—but we overcame the obstacles, and I just like the stuff on the record—it’s a hell of an album.”

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On the forthcoming Slayer tour, will your set list focus on newer Carcass music, or include some of the older stuff as well?

“I would say this is a different situation for us than when we were a headlining act, where a large chunk of the audience is familiar with our music. On a tour like this one with Slayer, there’s going to be so many people every night who don’t know anything about us, so we need to comprise a 30-minute set that is hard hitting…we’ll be chewing that one over. But, the set is probably going to lean more towards the middle period of the band and music from Surgical Steel.”

 

How do you feel Carcass has evolved musically and lyrically from album to album?

“The lyrics remain Jeff [Walker]’s 100 percent from my perspective—he gets very focused on something, and I think the lyrics he came up with on Surgical Steel were brilliant—easily the best to date.”

“The music thing is definitely more organic—I just have bunch of riffs, and we take them into the rehearsal space. Surgical Steel was quite straight forward. We hadn’t worked on Carcass material for so long, but we decided the music was going to have styles from all eras of the band. I was hearing some stuff that harkened back to the very early Carcass days, and it wasn’t out of place. It was a cool thing to do because looking back it made sense, it was quite harmonious, but any music we write now has got to move forward.”

 

Anything else Carcass fans can expect from the band this year?

“We’ve got a few festivals in the diary—I’d like to keep up our live chops, which means playing from time to time. I’d like to have a large chunk of rehearsal space time—if we’re going to make a new record, I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”

 

LINDSAY O’CONNOR

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Kitchen Kvlt Part II – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

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In Part II of our Q & A with Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary she detailed for us what she teaches in her private cooking classes, what she thinks of “celebrity chefs”, her food and travel experiences, and her dream gig:

You teach some specialized cooking classes. What does that entail for you and depending on the class, what can I expect to walk away with skills-wise?

My cooking classes are all over the place! It’s all about the group and what they want to learn. The two that I’ve taught the most are basic butchery… and vegan menus. Haha. I’ve taught scavenger hunts as team building activities and I’ve taught ultra modern techniques like sous vide and spherification. I’m doing a really fun combination class next month for a group I’ve taught before – after we learn how to debone chickens, I’m organizing a Chopped style mystery basket competition. Each team is going to get a bunch of ingredients from the farm we’re staying on and have to work together to make a side dish for the meal. I get to offer pointers and tips about their processes, and then judge the final products. One thing every class I teach includes is a basic lesson in knife handling and safety, because that’s really the most fundamental skill you need in any kitchen. My goal is that with whatever we’re focusing on in the class, everyone walks away feeling a little more confident than they did when they walked in.

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Thanks to the Cable and YouTube, there are a ton of cooking shows and “experts” out there who are not actually chefs. What is the biggest misconceptions about being a chef?

Oh my god – you’ve hit a nerve! Almost everything, seriously. My biggest annoyance with YouTube/TV “chefs” is that SO MANY of them do things so fundamentally wrong – how they hold a knife incorrectly or hack apart an onion, or their cutting boards are so cluttered and filthy – stuff like that. I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that it’s glamorous and we’re all making tons of money. HA. I wish! The hours are long, the pay absolutely sucks most times, and you miss out on most social events because you’re always working – and if you do get out with enough time to make a party or a show on a weekend night, you always end up showing up smelling like food, haha. With catering, there’s this weird ebb and flow of business where you’re either working 100 hours a week… or you’re practically unemployed. It’s anything but steady, so you have to be really good at budgeting. In a lot of ways, I work freelance. I am constantly trying to get my name out there, contacting every tour I hear about, trying to hopefully get the right person on the right day. In the mean time, I’m also looking for local work to sustain myself – dinner parties, classes, etc. There’s also this weird misconception that anyone who cooks professionally is a “chef”. It’s nitpicky, but it’s an annoyance across the industry – you are not a chef unless you are running a kitchen. Period. “Chef” is a title of respect that is earned after proving yourself for years and years, after being promoted, or after taking the leap and branching out on your own. If you have a boss that is not the owner, you are a cook. Just because you have a show on YouTube doesn’t mean you’re a chef. It’s really obnoxious. I run a company and I still feel kinda weird referring to myself as “a chef”. For me, the transition from “cook” to “chef” was really just a LOT of paperwork! I cannot tell you how much I now loathe emails. It’s making list after list – shopping, delivery, prep, food cost, scheduling, invoicing… it’s maddening. I actually do more paperwork than I do cooking at this point in my career! Our diets are also really fucked up. Most cooks don’t eat actual meals – we have bites here and there. I recently had to keep a food diary for my allergist and it was a nightmare – did I taste the aioli for seasoning 3 or 4 times? How many bites of that braise did I have while it was cooking? It’s absurd. Most of us develop a really weird association with food because actual meals are so few and far between.

 

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

I know one of your passions is travel, so what are some of the cool places you have been to and what locales do you favor for amazing food experiences?

I am borderline obsessed with the city of Montreal! Honestly I’ve considered living there so many times. It’s the greatest. The metal scene is amazing, they have the best drunk food in the universe (poutine, omg) and the people are just so NICE. I’ve been to Norway twice now, and I love it there too – the scenery is ridiculous. I’m not sold on their food though, to be honest – though maybe I just haven’t found the right places! As far as amazing food experiences, I am all about trying the weirdest stuff from the most hole-in-the-wall places. My rule is that I’ll try anything twice – even Icelandic hakarl (fermented shark), which is honestly the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth. It’s cliché, but I didn’t have a bad meal when I was in Paris – one of the most memorable moments was eating a fresh savory crêpe from a cart vendor while walking through the side streets of Montmartre. Really, I think I love any type of food that makes me feel a connection to the place I’m in. I lived in South America for almost a year and worked at some of the best restaurants there were – but my most memorable meals were eating ceviche from this totally illegal back alley mom and pop operation, and eating a whole roasted guinea pig with my hands in the middle of the main square during a street festival in Cusco. I remember the experiences I can’t replicate at home the most.

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You have some appearances coming soon up on some pretty cool shows, so by all means please plug those!

Well, I was on the Halloween episode of Guy’s Grocery Games – it was entertaining for sure. Catch it on the Food Network if you feel like seeing me cry about my cat. There is more stuff working, but I can’t actually discuss any of it right now – ask me again in a few months!

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

 

What is your dream music gig to cater for?

I don’t know if I actually have a dream gig – really I just want to work for bands I like, because there’s nothing better after finishing a long day of work than to turn the corner and be surrounded by amazing music. I actually really like the festival atmosphere – whether it’s just a weekend thing or a multi-city thing – the people really make the gig for me. Though if I had to pick one coming up, it’d totally be the Black Metal Warfare tour. Good cities, good bands, and in my opinion it’s the best time of the year to tour. I think I could have a lot of fun with menus on that tour. 

Have an event or occasion to book Black Cat Culinary? Contact her here:

KEITH CHACHKES

 


Kitchen Kvlt – Chef Heather Feher of Black Cat Culinary

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Chef Heather Feher has a passion for all things that involve fine food and grim music. She has catered tours and all kinds of music festivals and has channeled her love of these things into her growing business, Black Cat Culinary. We caught up with the entrepreneur and Food Network alumnus via email about her business and how the music she loves has shaped everything from her menus to her path.Continue reading →


Take it Over the Top – an Interview with Matriarch

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Denver Doom just got Doomier—Matriarch from left to right: guitarist J. Hartnett, drummer Tyler McKinney, and guitarist/vocalist Austin Wilson. Photo credit Travis Heacock

Matriarch from left to right: guitarist J. Hartnett, drummer Tyler McKinney, and guitarist/vocalist Austin Wilson. Photo credit Travis Heacock

“The next song we’re working on is about 45-minutes long,” confesses Matriarch guitarist J. Hartnett. The declaration isn’t in the very least surprising: the weed-fueled basement jam sesh that is Matriarch’s debut EP, Magnumus: The 44th Scribe and Lorde of the Hallucinauts, is evidence this Doom-dealing, Denver-based outfit is it in for the long haul.

To the initiated in underground music, it’s well-known Denver is a hotbed for Doom. As the hometown of punishing acts like Primitive Man, In The Company of Serpents, and Khemmis, Denver’s arid expanse can withstand many-a rumbling low-end. And now, with Matriarch a part of the low-and-slow fold, it could be said the Denver Doom thing is truly a scene.

“It just came together,” Hartnett says of the band’s formation. “It just coalesced into what it is, although [Matriarch’s music] started a lot faster and more mid tempo. Honestly, we just kept smoking weed and slowing it way down.”

“We were actually going to write a soundtrack to the arm-wrestling movie, Over the Top, ” Matriarch guitarist and vocalist Austin Wilson chimes.

“Like how Dark Side of the Moon syncs up with the Wizard of Oz,” Hartnett says. “We were going to call it Lincoln Hawk, which was Stallone’s name in the movie—we make a lot of decisions that are marijuana based.”

Matriarch EP cover

 

It’s interesting to me that there are so many Doom Metal bands coming out of Denver—do you think it’s because weed is legal that everyone plays so slow?

“Maybe!” Matriarch Drummer Tyler McKinney exclaims. “But I think all of the Doom bands in Denver smoked weed way before it became legal.”

“The correlation or causation of it—it’s a good one,” Hartnett muses. “I don’t think it helps with the formation of bands, but it definitely helps with the attendance to a show.”

“Marijuana is not a suggestion—it’s a requirement to play or watch Doom,” Wilson says.

 

The debut Matriarch EP was released in April—

“on 4/20 at 4:20 pm—it’s so stupid,” Hartnett laughs.

 

Well, it only has two songs, and it’s 44-minutes long: How do you know when a Matriarch song is “done?”

“It takes a long time to get through writing a song,” McKinney explains. “We’ve even recorded drums for a song we’re in the middle of still writing.”

“Honestly, it takes us about eight months to get through a song,” Hartnett adds.

Matriarch, photo credit by Travis Heacock (3)

 

Are you guys “Tone Lords?”

“It’s more fun for us to just collect stuff and see what happens,” Wilson says.

“We like having the big presentation of it—the volume of it,” adds Hartnett.

 

Why do you do Doom?

“Well, we definitely make music for ourselves,” McKinney says.

“Yes, as cliché as it is, we wanted to do this for ourselves, whatever you want to call it,” says Wilson.

“And everyone in Matriarch has a really high standard; we don’t want to suck when we play out and it’s hard to sustain this minimal thing we do,” Hartnett admits. “But our biggest goal in playing this music is to have our own sound and to not sound like anyone else—even within the Denver or Doom scene, we want to have our own place…I do think we’ve sonically found our little niche.”

Matriarch guitarist Jake Harnett. Photo credit by Travis Heacock

Matriarch guitarist Jake Hartnett. Photo credit by Travis Heacock

 

Magnumus: The 44th Scribe and Lorde of the Hallucinauts is available over at the Matriarch Bandcamp.com page. You can keep up with more Matriarch information, as well as an update on their forthcoming 45-minute-long song, at www.Facebook.com/MatriarchDoom.

 

WORDS BY LINDSAY O’CONNOR

PHOTOS BY TRAVIS HEACOCK

 


Otherworldly Sounds – Kevin Hufnagel, Guitar Genius

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Kevin Hufnagel is one of the brightest and best guitarists and creatives in the underground scene, if not in all of music. He ha been in demand as a performer and a producer for over 20 years. You know his work from his many bands: Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Vaura, Byla and Sabbath Assembly too. However, over eight solo albums Kevin has explored new territory, free of the parameters typical genre-bands have to work within. Chris Tippell of Ghost Cult caught up with him via email to learn about his new solo album Kleines Biest and what makes him tick as an artist.

As well as the likes of Gorguts and Dysrhythmia, you also have several solo efforts. How long has Kleines Biest been in the pipeline?

KH: Kleines Biest took a total of 6 months to make. I recorded and mixed it alone in my apartment, using only guitar through some effects pedals. Then I abstracted a lot of those tracks, digitally, in Logic. It was quiet an obsessive endeavor. My girlfriend would often come home to me sitting in the dark with headphones on, having not eaten or showered all day. I felt I was onto something I hadn’t really heard before in guitar-based experimental music. I wanted to have this mixture of bizarre, otherworldly sounds generated by warping my guitar sounds as much as possible, but with moments of more traditional soaring guitar harmonies. At least that was the concept in the beginning, then the material kept getting stranger and stranger.

Gorguts at MDF 2014, photo by Hillarie Jason Photography

Gorguts feturing Kevin Hufnagel (far right) at MDF 2014, photo by Hillarie Jason Photography

It’s such a radical jump from the larger bands you’re known for, and even from other solo efforts like Ashland which still had obvious clean guitar throughout, whereas its much less obvious and distorted. What inspired this leap?

KH: Well, there’s no point in making solo albums that sound anything like your other bands, first and foremost. Regarding the difference between this one and Ashland (which is all baritone-ukulele by the way, not guitar); even though I had enough material to make another album in the style of Ashland, I thought that would be unexciting, to me and the listeners. Instead, I had the desire to make something really abstract and futuristic-sounding. It still retains the darkness that seems to pervade everything I do, giving some coherence album to album.

You mention contemporaries such as Tim Hecker and Gas in the press release for this album. Were such artists your inspirations for this project, and if so what was it about them that influenced you?

KH: Those artists mentioned in the press release were more the label’s (Handmade Birds released the cassette version) impressions of my material rather than actual influences on me. This question just made me check out Gas though, and I’m enjoying it as I type this. I would say musically for this record I drew from influences as disparate as Fennesz, John Cage, This Mortal Coil, various ethnic and industrial musics, and the guitar harmony work found in Fates Warning and Mercyful Fate’s early catalogs; a combination of some of my earliest, more traditional influences and later, more avant-garde ones.

Do you agree that Kleines Biest has a soundtrack quality, perhaps in a sci-fi/horror sense?

KH: Certainly. I would say ultimately when it comes to influences on my work, they are more visual than musical. With this album I found that when I started a musical idea, I would immediately envision a landscape or a scene. This vision helped guide the rest of the piece, and thus I would sculpt an accompanying soundtrack… basically bringing to life what I imagined I would hear in a dream if what I was envisioning visually was just that. I was also heavily into watching the TV show called Disappeared, which is about true missing persons cases. The eerie, unsettling nature of those stories, episode after episode, started to seep into my work as well.

Kleines Biest (and your other solo outings for that matter) is so far departed from metal, much more so than anything else you have done before. Do you think its stuff that people who know you primarily for Gorguts will be in to it or is it a different kind of crowd?

KH: I don’t really consider whether fans of my bands are going to like my solo stuff at all while I’m writing it. Fortunately, those who follow my bands tend to be open-minded types. Still, I feel it’s mainly only the die-hards who really get what I’m doing and support it. I would like to reach more of an audience outside the world of metal, but it’s tough when that’s what you’re primarily known for.
Kevin Hufnagel ashlalnd

Is this kind of more ambient music something you would like to venture with further or is this a one off?

KH: I’ve been making ambient guitar music since the 90’s, so it’s nothing that’s new to me. I’ve already got another EP finished that’s ready to go. It’s a little less jarring than Kleines Biest, and is meant to be a companion piece to my ‘Polar Night’ EP from a few years back. Both will be issued together as one package, on cassette, later this year.

With touring with other projects, is there any plans to take this album out on the road or to do any shows for it, or is it just a studio project?

KH: Live I only play the solo acoustic compositions, so mainly stuff from Ashland and Songs for the Disappeared, as well as unreleased works. I haven’t figured out a way to perform the abstract, ambient material yet. So much of it is manipulated in the computer and layered in a way that I could never duplicate live, and I wouldn’t want to be one of those laptop guys that just presses play and pretends I’m doing something.

Do you focus on one project at a time, or switch between different things? How do you balance doing diverse projects?

KH: I’m involved in too many things to really just focus on one thing at a time. I usually split up my days, when I have the time, working on a variety of projects. Sometimes I will lean towards working on one more than the others if I’m really on a roll creatively, or there is a show/tour/recording coming up. It can feel overwhelming sometimes. These days I really need to be disciplined with documenting all my ideas sonically, as well as notating them in written form, because it gets to be too much for my little brain to remember everything.

 

What is in store for Kevin Hufnagel for the foreseeable future?

KH: Finish writing the next Dysrhythmia record, which I hope we can record this winter. Track the new Gorguts EP in October. Release my next solo record before the end of the year. Vaura is demoing new material currently, very different from our precious recordings. I’m also working with the band Sabbath Assembly now and our new record will be coming out in September on Svart Records. So expect a lot of new music coming from me in 2016.

CHRIS TIPPELL