Chron Goblin Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We've been very busy preparing for the release of the album (which occurred officially on Sept 13th) - lining up album reviews, interviews and press, receiving our vinyl and CD orders, ordering new merchandise for our fall tour, finalizing bookings for our fall tour, mailing out pre-sale packages.  All in all a lot of the business end of things to set ourselves up for a successful release!

We also had the honour of opening up for Weedeater in July and Vista Chino in early September here in Calgary, which were both amazing shows to be a part of!  And, believe it or not, we played a stoner rock wedding for our friends Clint and Isabelle who got married on a property in rural Alberta (this is the second wedding we've had the honour of playing!).  We setup outside between two trees and played a bunch of new songs and a few covers as well (Sweetleaf, Green Machine, Fortunate Son). 

2. You have a new album out, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction the new album has?

I think overall Life for the Living leans in a heavier direction, although we've made an effort to keep a strong presence of melody, groove, and an atmosphere of fun.  The production on the album is definitely superior to our last release and that really enhances the punch and presence of the songs.  I think our sound has naturally evolved on this latest release to be tighter, more concise and direct, and I think that is due to all four of us having a strong involvement in the writing process and ensuring that we rework each song until we are all satisfied with it.  Furthermore, I think that our musical influences and interests have been channelled more directly with the songs on this album and that the artists that continue to make great music have inspired us to challenge ourselves to become better musicians, songwriters and performers.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

Our singer Josh Sandulak handles all of the lyrical content for our songs and I know he focused a lot on his perspective of the various socio-political changes that have been occurring globally in recent times.  Many of his lyrics are rooted in sentiments of the need to grasp the opportunity for betterment and personal freedom and expression and I think that is reflective of many of the world events that have occurred in the last two years.  In tandem with this, Josh has written about his observations of our own smaller social group and witnessing their struggle to achieve success as young adults in a highly competitive society and finding one's own place to be creative and expressive.  I think Josh has taken these observations and channelled them through his creative muse, and that's what you hear in the songs and see on the lyric sheet included with the CD.  

4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the name Chron Goblin?

The name stemmed from one of our band members who used to be a part of a work crew that would partake in some "herbal activities" while on the job.  One of the crew members commented that they were a bunch of "Chron Goblins" as they would light up extremely frequently, and we've always thought that would be a hilarious tongue-in-cheek name for a band.  I think the name represents us well that we have  a sense of humour, it's unique and fun, and can also align us with a genre of music that we are heavily influenced by - that being stoner rock of course!

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?

I think our biggest highlight so far has been the honour of playing the UK's Desertfest this year in London.  It was our first show out of Canada and it was such an amazing experience playing at the legendary venue that is The Underworld.  We've also had the privilege of opening up for some amazing Canadian and USA bands such as Vista Chino, Weedeater, 3 Inches of Blood, Bison BC, and The Devin Townsend Project.  We'll also be opening up for Orange Goblin in Edmonton this fall which we are extremely stoked for!

I think most of our fans will attest that our live performance is very high energy and aggressive.  We always dig for a deep cosmic headbanging nod but like to play fast as well.  I think we manage to pull off some great dynamics in our live performance as we move from riffs to psychedelia to  swing and even some thrash.  All in all we like to crush beers and always have fun on stage as we put out our best effort to make the crowd move.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

Absolutely!  Our local album release show is Saturday Sept 21st at The Palomino here in Calgary.  Below are the rest of our fall dates we've booked so far.  We also have a serious goal of making it into the States and back to the UK for 2014 as we continue to promote our new release.

September 20 @ The Slice
Lethbridge, Alberta
with We Hunt Buffalo and Lethbridge’s Lustre Cream and Dirt
*Album Release Show

September 21 @ The Palomino
Calgary, Alberta
with We Hunt Buffalo and Temple
*Album Release Show

October 17 @ The Pawnshop
Edmonton, Alberta
*opening for Orange Goblin

October 19 @ The Gateway
Calgary, Alberta

with Throne of Vengeance

October 25 @ Logan’s Pub
Victoria, BC
with Buzzard

October 26 @ The Media Club
Vancouver, BC
with Kicked of the Farm and very special guest

November 8 @ O’Hanlon’s Pub
Regina, Saskatchewan
with Black Thunder

November 9 @ Amigo’s
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
with Shooting Guns

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or received any interest?

We have received some interest from small label groups, but we haven't really found someone who we are ready to call home yet.  We are absolutely open to working with a label - in particular we are hoping to setup some national distribution and representation.  However, we've managed to accomplish a lot in the last four and half years with self representation and we will continue down this road for the time being!

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner rock and metal?

We have been absolutely blown away by the international response and support we have received in the last few years!  Darty and myself attended Desertfest in 2012 simply to check out some great UK and European bands that rarely make it across the pond to North America, and we met so many great people and handed out hundreds of download cards.  The opportunity to play Desertfest 2013 helped solidify a stronger presence in the UK and Europe and that's been demonstrated by thousands of international hits on our website and many sales through the online store we've created.  I was personally mailing out some of the presale items yesterday and I sent copy of our new vinyl album to someone in Australia and more to the USA and UK!  We've also had many album reviews for Life for the Living come out in Russia, Hungary, Italy, the UK, USA.  It's been so amazing to see support come from all parts of the globe and we can't wait for the opportunity to play live for all of these great fans.

9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

We'll continue to write our favourite songs that we've never heard.  We haven't gotten sick of riffs, groves and melodies yet, so I'm sure those will continue to take a strong presence in future songwriting.  Although as our musical interests continue to expand and diversify, those influences will be sure to creep into our songwriting and playing.  At this time we don't necessarily have a master plan for the direction of our music, but I think that is advantageous as it allows us to create what we feel is strong and powerful at the time of writing.  We like to be spontaneous as well as goal-oriented so I'm sure we'll find a balance between the two that will lead to more challenging and exciting songwriting.  

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We are of course huge fans of a lot of the current stoner rock stuff out there like Clutch, The Sword, Red Fang, Truck Fighters, Graveyard, Orange Goblin, Kadavar and these guys never leave our playlist.  We must mention our devotion to Black Sabbath and we were fortunate enough to catch their set at The Gorge, Washington a few weeks ago.  It was also great to see Dozer and Lowrider reunite at Desertfest this year for some amazing shows.  Locally we'd love to give a shout out to Black Mastiff, a superb band from Edmonton, and our doom brothers in Witchstone from our hometown.

But our music catalogues range from everything including hardcore, soul, funk, metal, blues, etc.  We appreciate it all and those influences definitely creep in to our playing and jamming.

11.Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Josh is a talented videographer and has his own production company called Pretty Dead - he spearheaded the creation of our  music video for "Bring Your Idols" and we are super stoked on how it turned out!  Darty's big into the skateboarding scene and we all like to ski or snowboard in the winter and take advantage of the great mountains we have.  We also do a lot of camping and general drunkenness in the time off we have between our full time jobs and our dedication to making our band successful. 

12. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

We really appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed by Extremeundergroundmusikzine!  We'd also encourage anyone interested in us to check out our music on iTunes, CD Baby or through our online store on our website at www.chrongoblin.com (you can also buy merch there.)  Add us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and shoot us a message! We love hearing from new fans and we've made a lot of great international friends that way.  If you're able to catch a live show make sure you come say hello and have a beer with us! Thanks and long live the riff!!!