1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We’re just five guys trying to make some good rock music.
2.In 2016 you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
If we talk about genres, we don’t like to put one label like ‘stoner rock’ on it. We make a mix of a few genres. And we don’t like to limit ourselves in one particular direction. At the moment I would say that we play a mix of Blues rock, Stoner rock and classic rock. But this list might be extended in the future. If you want to picture it, it’s like a long ride thru the desert with a few substances in the glove compartment.
3.The band has been around since 2012 but waited until 2016 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 4 years?
We first tried to get a repertoire of cover songs together so we can establish a name in the local area. We did some local gigs, expanded our setlist and got more and more gigs. Not just in the local area but also in places like Duisburg or Magdeburg. Truth is that we never really started writing our own material before 2016. And since then we started to put our own stuff in our setlist and see if people liked it and how their reaction would be.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Well, on the ep it’s a bit different writing then what we’re working on now, lyrically. Like the first song ‘Play It’ is just about me playing guitar in my room because my day was shitty. It was the first song I’ve written and has no deeper meaning. But later on like ‘Holy Hypocrite’ it’s the kind of type of social critical lyric that we’re writing at the moment. This song in particular is about mankind tending to choose financial profit over life itself with a distinct view on the subject of climate change and global warming. With the songs we’re writing at the moment it has the same kind of dystopian ring to it. We just tend to mix it up a bit with some occult stuff.
5.I know that the bands name comes from the name of an evil spirit from 'Algonquian' folklore, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
At the moment it doesn’t really fit at all to the music we’re playing. We don’t really use lyrical themes from it nor musical influence. We used the name because it was a monster in one of our favorite TV-Shows ‘Supernatural’. But maybe we should make some connection sometime, when I think about it…
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Jan Ole (Rhythm guitar): The first gig in Duisburg in January 2016. It was the first nonlocal gig and it was amazing. The people were just crazy as fuck.
Steffen (Drums): The same as mentioned above. It was the first time we felt something like a ‘tour feeling’. You know, driving to the venue, transporting all our stuff, build everything up. And everything in a city you never went before. It’s about 350 km away from home.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Our last gig this year is at the Senftöpfchen Pub in Duisburg on Oct. 7th. It’s the only one left this year and in winter we’ll try to get some gigs for next year.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We had contact with a smaller label near Hamburg and we hope to release our stuff there in the near future, if everything turns out great. Also we received some interest from a bit bigger label from Denmark.
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner rock and doom metal?
We received mostly positive feedback from reviews all around the world. We had a magazine from Chile, Poland, USA, etc. and almost everybody rated us above average. Of course this is a three song EP, so from the Stoner/Doom community came not 10,000s of people on to us. But from the guys that contacted us feedback was all positive. And according to our Facebook stats we got a little fanbase somewhere near Johannesburg in South Africa.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
After our last gig we’re planning to write the rest of our debut-LP. Some stuff is already written and a few things already played live. But some stuff needs completing so that we hope to release it in spring 2018. Musically we’re heading into a more complicated territory. We write longer stuff like ‘Holy Hypocrite’ and tend to go more into a progressive direction. We move a bit away from the Classic Rock foundation and try to establish a more concept-based song. There’s a song split into two parts/chapters and lyrically we are working with a loose concept. And as mentioned in a question at the beginning, we try not to limit ourselves in musical direction. So who knows, maybe we’ll become a Bavarian folk band. ;)
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Jan Ole: Of course Malcolm Young from AC/DC and James Hetfield from Metallica had a big influence on me. And with time guys like Matt Pike from Sleep and High On Fire, Bill Kelliher from Mastodon and Joshua Homme from Kyuss and QOTSA had a big impact on me. Lyrically it’s Neil Fallon from Clutch and Nergal from Behemoth. Also, I fell in love with the works of Science-Fiction writer Philip K. Dick. Nowadays I listen to all kinds of stuff. I just discovered the prog band Yes for myself. I just love the Prog bands from the 70s like Genesis, King Crimson and Pink Floyd. Of course I listen to Mastodon, Clutch, Kyuss and Sleep. But also I like Black metal stuff like The Committee. And I also recently discovered Fantomas which is some very fucked up music, I love it. And a band called Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Steffen: Phil Rudd was a very big influence on me. AC/DC was one of the very first bands I’ve listened to. His straight, dry beat, just hammering it down is mesmerizing. Nowadays it’s Chris Layton from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. The soulful way he plays the drums is just fascinating to me. He revolutionized my playing style.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Jan Ole: Watching TV-Shows and movies, playing some video games. Most recently I try to fight my laziness with reading. As I mentioned Science-fiction works, and I take some interest in Philosophy. Guys like Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Noam Chomsky.
Steffen: Table-tennis, meeting with some friends, just enjoying my free time. And I like to expand my horizon with a little help from my friends. ;)
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview. We really enjoyed it.
Cheers!
Jan Ole & Steffen
We’re just five guys trying to make some good rock music.
2.In 2016 you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
If we talk about genres, we don’t like to put one label like ‘stoner rock’ on it. We make a mix of a few genres. And we don’t like to limit ourselves in one particular direction. At the moment I would say that we play a mix of Blues rock, Stoner rock and classic rock. But this list might be extended in the future. If you want to picture it, it’s like a long ride thru the desert with a few substances in the glove compartment.
3.The band has been around since 2012 but waited until 2016 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 4 years?
We first tried to get a repertoire of cover songs together so we can establish a name in the local area. We did some local gigs, expanded our setlist and got more and more gigs. Not just in the local area but also in places like Duisburg or Magdeburg. Truth is that we never really started writing our own material before 2016. And since then we started to put our own stuff in our setlist and see if people liked it and how their reaction would be.
4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Well, on the ep it’s a bit different writing then what we’re working on now, lyrically. Like the first song ‘Play It’ is just about me playing guitar in my room because my day was shitty. It was the first song I’ve written and has no deeper meaning. But later on like ‘Holy Hypocrite’ it’s the kind of type of social critical lyric that we’re writing at the moment. This song in particular is about mankind tending to choose financial profit over life itself with a distinct view on the subject of climate change and global warming. With the songs we’re writing at the moment it has the same kind of dystopian ring to it. We just tend to mix it up a bit with some occult stuff.
5.I know that the bands name comes from the name of an evil spirit from 'Algonquian' folklore, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
At the moment it doesn’t really fit at all to the music we’re playing. We don’t really use lyrical themes from it nor musical influence. We used the name because it was a monster in one of our favorite TV-Shows ‘Supernatural’. But maybe we should make some connection sometime, when I think about it…
6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Jan Ole (Rhythm guitar): The first gig in Duisburg in January 2016. It was the first nonlocal gig and it was amazing. The people were just crazy as fuck.
Steffen (Drums): The same as mentioned above. It was the first time we felt something like a ‘tour feeling’. You know, driving to the venue, transporting all our stuff, build everything up. And everything in a city you never went before. It’s about 350 km away from home.
7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Our last gig this year is at the Senftöpfchen Pub in Duisburg on Oct. 7th. It’s the only one left this year and in winter we’ll try to get some gigs for next year.
8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We had contact with a smaller label near Hamburg and we hope to release our stuff there in the near future, if everything turns out great. Also we received some interest from a bit bigger label from Denmark.
9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner rock and doom metal?
We received mostly positive feedback from reviews all around the world. We had a magazine from Chile, Poland, USA, etc. and almost everybody rated us above average. Of course this is a three song EP, so from the Stoner/Doom community came not 10,000s of people on to us. But from the guys that contacted us feedback was all positive. And according to our Facebook stats we got a little fanbase somewhere near Johannesburg in South Africa.
10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
After our last gig we’re planning to write the rest of our debut-LP. Some stuff is already written and a few things already played live. But some stuff needs completing so that we hope to release it in spring 2018. Musically we’re heading into a more complicated territory. We write longer stuff like ‘Holy Hypocrite’ and tend to go more into a progressive direction. We move a bit away from the Classic Rock foundation and try to establish a more concept-based song. There’s a song split into two parts/chapters and lyrically we are working with a loose concept. And as mentioned in a question at the beginning, we try not to limit ourselves in musical direction. So who knows, maybe we’ll become a Bavarian folk band. ;)
11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Jan Ole: Of course Malcolm Young from AC/DC and James Hetfield from Metallica had a big influence on me. And with time guys like Matt Pike from Sleep and High On Fire, Bill Kelliher from Mastodon and Joshua Homme from Kyuss and QOTSA had a big impact on me. Lyrically it’s Neil Fallon from Clutch and Nergal from Behemoth. Also, I fell in love with the works of Science-Fiction writer Philip K. Dick. Nowadays I listen to all kinds of stuff. I just discovered the prog band Yes for myself. I just love the Prog bands from the 70s like Genesis, King Crimson and Pink Floyd. Of course I listen to Mastodon, Clutch, Kyuss and Sleep. But also I like Black metal stuff like The Committee. And I also recently discovered Fantomas which is some very fucked up music, I love it. And a band called Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Steffen: Phil Rudd was a very big influence on me. AC/DC was one of the very first bands I’ve listened to. His straight, dry beat, just hammering it down is mesmerizing. Nowadays it’s Chris Layton from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. The soulful way he plays the drums is just fascinating to me. He revolutionized my playing style.
12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Jan Ole: Watching TV-Shows and movies, playing some video games. Most recently I try to fight my laziness with reading. As I mentioned Science-fiction works, and I take some interest in Philosophy. Guys like Nietzsche, Karl Marx, Noam Chomsky.
Steffen: Table-tennis, meeting with some friends, just enjoying my free time. And I like to expand my horizon with a little help from my friends. ;)
13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview. We really enjoyed it.
Cheers!
Jan Ole & Steffen
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