Portrait of An Artist – An Interview with A Storm Of Light


 

a storm of light band photo2

One of the best releases of 2013 was A Storm of Light’sNations To Flames (Southern Lord). Led by multi-instrumentalist/visual artist Josh Graham (Neurosis, Red Sparrow’s, Battle of Mice) we have followed their quiet evolution over five releases. Perhaps equally well known as the long time artist in residence for Neurosis and other Neurot recording artists, he has also done an array of brilliant, genre defining artistic work that would have our attention, even if he didn’t also make music.

 

 

Nations To Flames is a departure of sorts stylistically from most of ASOL’s previous work. The slow post-metal tracks are lessened, in favor of aggression and venom the tempos. The music has an urgency that matches the subject matter too. Graham expands on the genesis of creating his new opus: The entire album took about ten months, maybe close to a year to write. We decided that we wanted to play faster music after we played with Slayer and Wormed last year. We got to watch Slayer at sound-check. I had seen Slayer a bunch of times, but never without an audience. Seeing like that was pretty cool. It really inspired me, the first spark to make a faster, heavier album. Then we started the writing process. We’d put together a rough song, guitars and some rough vocals. Then we sent the tracks to Billy. We all live in different places. Our bass player Dominic (Seita) lives in Rhode Island and Billy (Graves), our drummer lives in Knoxville, TN. I’m in New York. I’ll send the tracks around to Billy and he will send back drums, and then we change the tracks around some more. We’ve had days when I worked on and edited the songs. Dom adds bass, and we’ll change them again. We just kept rearranging tracks until we were happy with them. I think we’ve had a better response with the faster songs too. Our first record, (And We Wept)The Black Ocean (Within)…. I mean I like it, and it’s heavy, but some of it is so…slow. (laughs) There is so much stuff between guitar notes, that it is a little stagnant to play the songs over and over. Even when we are rehearsing, it’s mind blowing how fun these new songs are to play. There is really no time to think about it. It’s a really different way of playing together.”

 

 

 

Throughout his career, he has been a person sought out by others to collaborate with. How then does Graham choose his own band of conspirators when the stakes are high? Although names like producer/engineer Travis Kammeyer and producer Matt Bayles, who mixed the new album, jump out at you, neither was chosen on their reputations alone. Rather, they were tasked to join up based on a trust of what they bring to the process:

 

a storm of light album cover

Billy our drummer plays in Generation of Vipers with Travis. Being as how we are situated not living in the same state, we were struggling at first to figure out how to get the tracks we were recording back and forth. We did the official demos for the last two albums with Travis. Just basic stuff, with drums. They didn’t even spend that much time on it. The sound they got, we were really blown away by it. For Valley… (As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade) we already had the recording plans in place. We did the demos again with Travis for Nations.., and we just felt it was time to go with him for the entire album. We thought we would just track with him at last. He didn’t have a lot of outboard gear in the studio either. While we were very comfortable recording on our own, we felt it was important to have someone we really had the respect of, for his knowledge. And it’s the same thing with Matt. Matt, I just know him for a long time. His work with the ISIS guys, who are friends of mine, and a bunch of other bands is well known. His work obviously speaks for itself. Our friends in KEN Mode just recorded and mixed their new album with Matt. And the sound of that record, it was amazing at how different it sounded from anything they had done before. He’s so versatile. He was able to get clarity out of all of the insane layering that we do, which we’ve never been able to get before. It was awesome!”

 

 

It would be an error to classify all of Graham’s output as “conceptual”. Sometimes what that concept is is left to the listener’s own interpretation as a teaching instrument, but sometimes people miss the point when everything is esoteric. Still, ASOL’s albums are each a unique concept album in their own right. Nations To Flames tells a very specific tale. A dire warning of the eventual end of times for the human race, lest we fail to alter our course: “For the last two records that we let the concepts be more loose and not defined. For the first two records, the concepts were so entirely adhered to, the sequencing of the songs, the concepts of the songs; because of the lyrics was a linear story across the entire record. I think it was keeping the records themselves from being as good as they could be. After the second record we felt maybe that was too self-sacrificing to the songs to keep to this linear story. We are now approaching it better, and more loosely. As for the current album, overall lyrically, we are looking at the current state of humanity versus the environment and the potential of where these things might end up. The powers that be ignoring the larger issues: government, global warming, pollution, things like that. The lyrics capture this view of humanity leading a view of the climb in our inhumanity. The artwork itself is more of a focus on what might happen before and after that. The girl signifies some hope. Maybe someone younger will come along, spread some ideas and help change the path that we are on. It also of fits with kind of the fully destroyed environment, and surviving after this catastrophic event has happened. Just biding time until this environment reveals itself, or creates this non-friendly environment to people, and they just end up dying out. It’s a multi-tierd story.”

 

 

 

True to the spirit of the bands’ past body of work, Nations has some great guest turns such as Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Wolves In The Throne Room axeman Will Lindsey. Josh talks about working with both:

 

Actually we sent Kim the full record out and I just told him to pick out whatever he was feeling. The same with Will. We’ve known will forever. We’ve toured with Wolves In The Throne Room and he’s toured with us as a second guitar player. So we’ve have a long term relationship with him, I’m sure he’ll be back, touring with us again. I love what he brings to the table. The same thing with Kim. Having been with Soundgarden, as their art director, in a way, for over three years, I have gotten to do about four packages with them. I did the King Animal artwork, a few seven inches, several shirts, and a few videos. So I’ve gotten to know Kim well. He also played on the Valley… record. This one is way heavier, so when he heard, it threw him for a loop. The stuff he ended up bringing to the table was amazing. The most important part of it for me was to have guitar input on the the record that isn’t me. I can layer stuff until the cows come home, but it’s going to sound like me. So having Will and Kim on the album really completes the palette.”

 

 a storm of light band photo1

Even the most talented and confident person in the world doesn’t get up in the morning and proclaim that they are going to make a masterpiece happen on a given day. For the true artist, the creative process is not akin to turning a faucet on to high and waiting for brilliance to pour out. Josh talks about how he juggles music and design work without hurting the quality of either, by compartmentalizing each: “I have to shut down writing. I don’t like doing that, but once we finish a record, I have to shut it down. It just becomes too consuming. Then I will start it back up again more formerly when we need to start writing again. When we are actively writing, I am not doing any art yet. I am working on how the songs fit together. Eventually, I start arriving at a place where I am ready to start exploring visual ideas. I can think visually and figure out where the visual concepts tie back to the lyrics, tying them back into the whole concept. On this record, I actually re-wrote some of the songs three times. More so in the case of what I wanted the melodies to be. Some stuff ended up changing to fit better into the concept of what I wanted the record to be. It’s definitely both. It’s so hard to be focused on artwork and then break away and do music. I tend to work 10-12 hours at a time on whatever I am doing. So to split it up, I would just get derailed. It’s not ideal, but that is what I do.”

 

 

At one point Josh was one of those artists as well known for the number of side projects he was in, as he was for his main proclivities. Of late, he has dialed those distractions down a notch to focus on his main gigs.

 

I’m working on a dark-folk thing called Crooked Sun, but it keeps getting side-tracked. My hope is that once we get touring I can dedicate more time to that. Other than that, I am trying to focus on the stuff at hand, and not trying to get side-tracked. A lot of the stuff I was doing before, I wasn’t really interested in where it was taking me. I wasn’t getting all that I needed out of it. That is why the side projects were happening. Right now, between ASOL and Crooked Sun, I am getting everything I need out creatively. I am still definitely open to working with more people in the future.”

 

A Storm of Light on Facebook

Keith (Keefy) Chachkes


Still Fiendish After All These Years: Doyle


doyle-abominator

 

In the last four decades of music, few bands have invaded the popular consciousness the way the The Misfits have. The original group were only around for a relatively short time, but left an indelible mark on music with their angry, infections hardcore punk. They broke boundaries and helped define the genre of early East Coast, US hardcore, and along the way influenced many other genres too. It’s hard to see that in the sea of ubiquity that is their logo on shirts, patches, stickers, tattoos, and even songs heard in liquor commercials now (‘Where Eagles Dare’), but that is because their brand lives in people’s minds as much as the songs do. Glenn Danzig branched off with his own legendary solo career, but his former band mates like Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, stayed in the life, and has played Misfits music non-stop since 1977. Armed with a new album, Abominator (Monsterman Records), we caught up with Doyle by phone while he was on the road as a special guest of the Danzig 25th Anniversary Tour, doing a set of songs from the band he and Glenn helped bring to life in the first place.

 

Doyle, who is still the same guy he always was, has changed little over the years in his demeanor and style. He tells it like it is when he speaks to you. While he has been happy to reunite with Danzig for these shows, as he has done over the last few years, he is far from sentimental about it. He talks about being a part of Glenn’s tour and fights about choosing the relatively small set list (7-8 per night) out of dozens of songs:

I’m the first one to complain! He don’t want to listen to nobody, man! I say “Let’s do this one”… “nope!” “Let’s do that one.” “nope!” “Let’s do this”- “nope!” (laughs) There’s is no talking to him!”

 

 

To me it’s just like going to work. It’s like packing a lunch, and punching a clock. It’s exactly the same as it always was. To me it’s no big deal. I mean, it’s cool for me to hear Glenn sing them again, but to me it’s all the same. I could probably play all of these songs blindfolded and riding a unicycle, and I’ve never rode a unicycle before. (laughs)”

I have a lot of fun on the road with these Danzig shows man. The crowds are great and we have a lot of fun. Of course, I’m on the road so much, I can’t remember where I was last night! (laughs) I am playing just with Danzig set for a Misfits set, only, on this tour. It’s a lot easier than playing with my old band. We have the new Doyle band now. We’ll plan a tour with my band, some place warm during the winter months. The big shows in Europe with Danzig were pretty cool. Like huge crowds of over 100,000 people. It’s insane!”

doyle press photo

 

Speaking of the legendary strife and split that broke up The Misfits in 1983 and led Danzig to first form Samhain, and then his own band, Doyle is very candid when it comes to talk the prospects of his brother Jerry Only and Glenn someday patching things up.

“To me I wish those two would stop smashing their heads together, patch things up and reunite. Then we could make an album, go on tour and blow this motherfucker up! We could shove that shit down everybody’s throats if we wanted to. “

 

Still, Doyle is focused on the present and future, as much as he protects his own history. He spoke at length between the difference between his past attempts at having a band and the current group comprising the Doyle band now, the process he goes through to create new music, and having to cut himself off from making too many new songs at once:

 

I have a real writing partner now, writing with me in Alex Story (Cancerslug). When I am done writing songs I give them to him. I write all the music, I write all the songs. It’s not all music, it’s called songs, because they are mostly complete. He puts melodies and lyrics on them and they are done. That’s actually how he got the gig. I called him up and he was walking into a Danzig show in Houston. I said “hey man I have these twelve new musical compositions, I’d like you to work on with me.” He sent me back the songs in like two days and that is exactly how you hear them on the record. He’s great. He writes really killer lyrics.”

See, I write all the music in my band. That is my rule in my band, I write all the music. If you come in to rehearsal with a song, you go home with that song. I write the riffs in my band. I write all the songs. I play all the guitars, drums and bass. I programed all the drums, before Dr. Chud came in and recorded them. I basically put it all together and hand it over to you. Here’s the blueprint of it! Then I tell Alex to do with it whatever the fuck he wants after that. I have it worked out how it should go in my mind, but I give it to him to finish because he’s a genius. He works at his house, I work at my house, and that is it!”

We started writing in 2008 and we stopped in 2012. We actually recorded it ourselves, in our own studio. We went out and bought all the gear, learned how to use it all, learned Pro-Tools and everything. Chud did the drums. I did all the bass and guitars, and Alex did the vocals. We wrote 38 songs, and we have over three albums worth of material in the can. We’re back in the studio to go back to recording. They are just waiting on me to finish my tracks and then we will have the second album all done. Then when that is done, I might just do some more writing to give the third album to get more of a different vibe going. I kind of have to stop sometimes. I write all the time, so I really need to stop myself. I stopped, because I wanted to finish this new record first. It kind of drives me nuts, but I don’t like to start something else until I finish off the last thing. Once we get off the Danzig tour, I’m gonna map out the rest of the songs. We have four more new ones completed and a bunch of others ready to go.”

 

 

 

One thing Doyle takes great pride in, is that many have tried but few can replicate his classic guitar tone, that really, other than some volume and some improvements in EQ, hasn’t really changed much in all these years. The guitars on Abominator sound as crisp and killer as ever. Of course, everyone in music that Doyle meets asks him how he does it. He shares his secret with us:

You know what it is? Everybody asks me how I get that sound. James Hetfield asked me. Scott Ian asked me, “what the fuck do you use?” It’s not what I use., it’s how I hold my guitar. If Eddie Van Halen played through my rig, he would sound like Eddie Van Halen. If I played through his rig, I would sound like me. Everybody holds the guitar the same way, but I hold the neck and my pick differently. I hold the guitar neck so high and so hard, my fucking left hand always bleeds. Whoever is playing it, that is how they sound if they hold it that way. One time Johnny Thunders plugged into my brother’s bass rig and he sounded like Johnny Thunders. He was like, “what the fuck!?!” But that is what it is. Most people just sound like themselves.”

 

 

doyle live

When discussing his decision to create his own record label, Monsterman Records, Doyle cuts right to the chase about why:

My theory is that everybody should be out for themselves when it comes to record labels. You wind up making 7 cents a record for the whole band, for over ten years, until you recoup. You spend the rest of your life paying those guys back for nothing. Now you put it out by yourself, and you make seven dollars a record right now. You don’t even need to sell a bunch bunch of records to get paid. And that is why we put out the record ourselves. And the labels did this to themselves. It’s their own fucking fault!”

Doyle on Facebook

 

Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

 

 

 

 

 


A Perfect Circle – Three Sixty


apc 360After a time of dormancy, A Perfect Circle sprung back to life a few years ago, determined to be an at least be an occasional live entity. At least that is what Billy Howerdel and Maynard James Keenan prefer for the fate of the band, lest they ruin the spirit they created together as composers and mutual muses. It has been good to see the band take up short tours, perform residences, or big international festivals the last few years. In addition to the release of the live box set Stone and Echo, the band also has a new greatest hits album out called Three-Sixty (A Perfect Circle Entertainment/WMG). Notable is the inclusion of the first new song from the band since 2004, ‘By And Down’.

 

Greatest Hits-type packages are an entire other can of worms unto themselves. In the past, when a band started to rise rapidly to fame, usually on the strength of a hit album or a a string of singles, labels would put out a “best of” collection to capture that interest and keep building the following. How many bands of the last generation actually have real hits? Songs that have merits artistically, yet actually become popular a rarity, which makes revisiting these APC tracks a real delight. Not only are they merit-worthy, most of them are memorable earworms, thanks to Mr. Howerdell, Mr. Keenan, and the other talented members that have come and gone. Especially the Mer De Noms and the Thirteenth Step material in particular. I always felt eMotive, save for a few songs, was lacking some of the sizzle of the original albums. I will say the deluxe edition has chill-inducing versions of ‘People Are People” (Depeche Mode) and ‘Fiddle And The Drum’ (Joni Mitchell) covers.

 

As for ‘By and Down’, it’s what you’d expect from a new APC track. It’s musically tight, and deeply moving. I’d say the deluxe edition of Three-Sixty is worth the purchase for long time fans for this new song and the live tracks, and the standard version is for you if you have somehow slept on them up until now.

8.5/10

 

A Perfect Circle on Facebook

 

Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

 


More Of A Student Than A Teacher – An Interview With Tony Levin


AP-8PG.inddTony Levin is the dean of progressive rock bassists. In his storied career he has been most closely associated with Peter Gabriel, and his smash success of the mid-1980s. As one of the most innovative players ever, Tony has also been aligned King Crimson, as well as other musical luminaries. Tony just added one more feather to his musical cap with his stunning collaboration with Marco Minnemann and Jordan Rudess in their eponymous band. With their debut album they are rewriting progressive music history, and once again Tony is front, center and way down low. Ghost Cult caught up with the venerable Mr. Levin via email, while he is on tour in Europe.

 

 

 

Please tell us how Levin Minnemann Rudess came together to make this album?

The idea started with producer Scott Schorr coming to me to do another ‘project’ recording, with some of my favorite musicians. I’d done one a year ago with Alan White and David Torn, that got some nice attention from the progressive rock fans. So, I chose Marco (whom I’d toured with a bit, in Eddie Jobson’s UKZ band) and Jordan Rudess (from Dream Theater, and we’d done two Liquid Tension Experiment albums together) as a couple of wild players… and I was ready to be surprised by the outcome.

 

 

What was the writing process like? Was it more improvisational, or did you all come in with some pieces to work on?

Usually, in this situation, you start out doing some jams, and then use them, or write around them. This time though we started with composing sections, first I did, then Marco — and before long, we had more material than could fit on the CD, and it was GOOD stuff. So though Jordan and I did some jamming, intending to add Marco later, that couldn’t make it onto the record (we did include the video of it in the Deluxe Edition with DVD.)

 

The important thing to me isn’t how the pieces are formed, it’s the quality of what you end with — I’ve been in other situations where jams led to great tracks — so I’m really happy with this release that I still enjoy listening to all the tracks, and will for some time.

 

 

Like much of your work, the bass is equally a lead and supporting instrument on this album. Do you work out some of you more solo-y parts ahead of time or did you record them live on the spot?

Different on different pieces. Some of the stuff I wrote had bass or Stick (or cello) featured in some of the sections — never all of them, because it’s important to me to leave room for the other guys to add their own flavor to the piece.) On other pieces, instigated by Marco, there were bass ideas of his, that I just copied, or a little space for me to come up with something.

 

I’m okay with the bass being both supporting and lead on the album, but it’s not important to me that it take the lead – just that the level of the music is high, and that my bass playing supports what the band and the compositions are about.

 

I love the classic sound of the LMR band as a power trio. Marco played guitar on the album, so any thought to adding someone for future live dates or for a next album?

 

Good point — the guitar added a lot. We have no plans for a tour right now (because we’re all very booked up with other tours!) But we’re hoping there will be a follow up album before long, and that we’ll tour when that comes out. Whether we’ll add another player for that tour will be decided when the time comes.

 

 

When LMR eventually plays live, do you envision the songs being performed more freely for experimentation?

 

Wow, you’re good at thinking off into the future — we haven’t discussed that at all.  I know I love improv – whether it’s completely free form, or based on themes – so my vote will be to do some.

 

 

I didn’t know you played the cello! What other instruments are lurking around your home studio that may show up on an album someday that would surprise your fans?

 

I have lots of basses, and a couple of Chapman Sticks, all in my studio, but aside from the electric cello, that’s about it — those are more than enough to keep this bass player challenged!

 

You have played on countless, classic albums. Do you have an album, or a particular era of a band you consider among your finest work?

 

No, I don’t. I don’t spend much time thinking back on what albums I’ve done (usually only when doing interviews, in fact!) And I’m also not big on picking favorites… of albums or bands or players. I have a lot of respect for all the players, and artists, and albums that have moved me with their music — whatever the style of it. That’s where a lot of the inspiration comes to me to try to make my own playing and writing as creative and progressive as I can.

 

Since you are already working with Jordan again, is there any chance you will do another Liquid Tension Experiment album someday, or is that off the table since Mike split with John and Dream Theater?

We’ve got no plans for that – haven’t discussed it even — but using your metaphor of the table, I wouldn’t take any creative music ideas off the table… let’s keep them all there, and hope they come alive.

 

You were really on the forefront of blogging and social media from the music world. What about that medium is the thing that is most valuable to you as an artist?

 

I discovered back in the 90’s that on my website I could let music fans see what it’s like behind the scenes on a Peter Gabriel or King Crimson tour — even showing them my photos of themselves — the audience — which I try to shoot at each show.

 

Since then, progress in digital cameras in web speed has allowed much bigger photos than I started with, but what’s remained the same is the great opportunity to take down some of that wall that exists between performers and their audience.

 

Nowadays social media have blasted the wall down – so it’s not a radical idea for bands to communicate with their fans.

 

I know you are hitting the road now with Peter Gabriel soon. When can we expect some LMR dates to pop up?

This tour with Peter will only be for a month –  but next year is looking pretty busy for me — pretty soon we’ll put our heads together and choose a schedule for the next recording period. Right now, we’re just basking in the new record, how much we like it, and how great the reception has been so far, from the people who are hearing it.

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What advice can you give to a young musician starting out on bass or the stick?

 

I’m not a great advice guy… more of a student than a teacher. I guess I’d just speak from my own experience, and say that having the chance to play music, with cool players, and sometimes whatever music you want to play – it’s a really special thing. I’ve appreciated it more and more as the years have gone by. You get focused on how many people came to the show, or how many cd’s you sold – but it’s worth keeping in mind how lucky you are to just be doing it, if even for yourself.

 

Levin Minnemann Rudess website 

 

Keith Chachkes


Summer Slaughter Live Report


DEP (1 of 8)Another Summer Slaughter tour descended on America and Ghost Cult was there! Sure, kids on the interwebs bitched and moaned about how “extreme” the so-called “most extreme tour of the summer” really was this go around, but who really cares. Either you went and rocked out, or didn’t go and complained. The metal scene these days is far too diverse for such elitist attitudes to keep thriving, and no one is denying that the early years of the tour had some of the most brutal bands assembled on one stage ever. On the the other hand, when you can bring the current crop of some of the most exciting progressive bands in heavy music out on the road for two months, and criss-cross a country like the USA, you are doing it right my friends.Continue reading