HXR20YR RETROSPECTIVE: HXR043- NULL, "Act Of Love"

Null is a band that has been going on and off for nearly a decade.  The members get together, write sporadically, and then busy themselves with a myriad of other projects, and find time every now and again to play shows.

The project took a serious backburner role not long after gaining a bit of momentum when vocalist/guitarist Carter Wilson began playing drums in Coliseum.  Coliseum toured very hard and was a full-time project for several years, which left Null as almost an afterthought.  Once Coliseum slowed down and then quietly disbanded Carter went back to spending most of his time in the Birmingham, Alabama area where he was able to reconvene with his bandmates in Null and get moving once again.

Not long after Null released their first full length record, “Sleepwalking Days”.  I really cannot recall one bit about how I ended up hearing this record.  It may have been Ryan from Coliseum informing me of it’s existence, or I may have just stumbled upon it through various internet rabbit holes and discovered that it was members of stuff I was familiar with.  It could have even been through the split they did with Self Defense Family, a group that I follow pretty closely.  Either way, once I got an earful of “Sleepwalking Days” I was not only amazed by the unique sound they were creating, but also how different it was from Coliseum.  Granted, it’s one member who was playing a different instrument in that band than he is in Null.  But still, I was impressed and like all things I get a kick out of I investigated further.  It turns out I had met some of these guys ages ago when I booked a show for bands they used to play in, namely Legion and Die Young, two bands very much in the hardcore realm, and polar opposites of what Null get up to.

I eventually reached out to the band expressing my interest and a couple months later they messaged that they would be heading up the coast for a tour and asked if I could set them up with a show.  So I obliged and saw firsthand the way Null does what they do in a weird basement with other weird bands that, overall, went pretty well.  Upon seeing them I also realized they got that incredible low-end sound from using a synth instead of a bass guitar, which is far from unheard of, but it was cool to see on my end.

As I talked more with the other members we talked about Hex releasing their next full length, whenever that would come to pass.  They related that they were actually quite close to finishing a second record and would send me demos when it was done.  The thing is, they had been a band for a long time already at that point, but seeing as how they were on the backburner for so long they didn’t have the opportunity to do much for most of that time.  So they had this big backlog of songs saved up for whatever and were breaking some of them back out to add to a second LP.

So they sent me the second record.  And I let them know I was good to go whenever they were.  But they asked me to sit on it for a bit in case they wanted to make any last minute changes.  That lasted almost a year.  I thought maybe they had given up on the thing?  And while I waited they did a tour with Young Widows and I again asked them if they still wanted to release the record.  It turns out they did, but they were very perfectionist-minded about the whole thing and really wanted to ensure everything went right.

Between that time and when the record actually came out I had moved to Oregon, found a new pressing plant to work with, new projects to work on, a new job, and other big life hurdles and then there was a big problem with the Null record.  There was an error in the mastering and the whole thing had to be re-cut into a new lacquer before proceeding forward.  That being said, I also found a new place in my neighborhood to cut lacquers (it’s been very convenient for this label to exist in this city), and went through a ton of hassle, but finally got the Null record out there by early 2018.  It was a long process between getting to know these guys, working out releasing a record, and actually seeing the thing done.

So to elaborate more on the group, their long stretch as a band, and the record that became “Act Of Love” I spoke with guitarists Carter Wilson and Kevin Wright.  Here’s what came of it.

So Null has been a band for a pretty long time correct?  There was just a long stretch where you all were unable to do much of anything?

CARTER:  Kevin and I have been making music as Null since 2008.  Those first few years mainly involved a lot of improvised sets, a couple of which were recorded for some tapes.  I joined Coliseum in 2009 and was on tour for quite a bit from 2010-2013.  During that time Null would play sporadically, and then in 2014 we shifted from more improvised music to written material and started getting together the sound and line up that we have now.

KEVIN:  It started as a way for Carter and I to do something heavy when Kayhan (bassist, Coliseum, Yautja) and Jeff were gone doing Die Young stuff and Legion (former band of all members) couldn’t play shows.  At first it was just the two of us but that evolved into adding new people for shows.  But each show was different.  Sometimes the material would only be played with one line up foe one show and we wouldn’t play it again.  Some things were reoccurring, but the line up would shift for almost every single show we played.

How did you all come together as a group?

C:  It’s interesting to note that we come from Birmingham’s DIY punk scene and all started in a hardcore band called Legion.  Some members from Legion went to play in Die Young, some to Coliseum.  Me and Kevin formed Null out of that group while Kayhan went to school in Nashville where he formed his band Youtja.

Around 2013-2014 time I wanted to try and idea for Null that intentionally went against everything we were comfortable doing- cleaner guitars, vocals with melodies, really vulnerable sounds instead of just blowing people away with lots of amps and volume.  Some songs came from that idea and I think it took us by surprise, and we were really into it.  It was new and different from any other band we played in, and we thought it was worth exploring.  Every person in the band was playing an instrument they hadn’t previously played in a band, so it just felt like something exciting to do for people that have been  playing in this small local scene for so many years.  We’re still evolving from that idea and it’s molded us to where we’re at now.

Simple themes and trance-like repetitiveness seem to be at the core of Null’s music and you all do it very well.  I’m often reminded of Lungfish in that respect, except generally more heavy, or sort of stoner rock.

K:  I find a lot of comfort in the repetition.  One of the things that drew me to bands like Lungfish and Om was just finding something simple and getting lost in it.  For m, personally, it’s at the core of my inspiration for the band.  Although, more often than not, it’s very indirect.

C:  Yeah, Null’s music has always dealt in repetition from the beginning, and for me it was about getting into that deeper, vast feeling that we loved from those bands like Lungfish, Swans, Om, and even jazz records I loved with longer form songs.

My understanding is that many of the songs that ended up being on “Act Of Love” were written during, or right around the time of the first LP, but were sat on for quite awhile?  Is this correct?

C:  So by “Act Of Love” all those ideas were in place and I think we had a sense of identity and where we want to go with this band.  We had been playing live for a couple years and made our first album in that time.  I think we took what was working out of that first release and expanded on that for “Act Of Love”.  The songs came really fast after our first record and we toured with the songs before we tracked them.  After we tracked the music we took some time to straighten up the vocal ideas, and then eventually mixed over a long period because of life, jobs, children, etc.

What led to titling the record “Act Of Love”?

C:  “Act Of Love” was taken from the last song we wrote for the record and it was sort of a more global look on humanity’s highs and lows.  Particularly how easy it is to overlook all the acts of human kindness that happen everyday when you see so much injustice, senseless violence, and police brutality, especially through the lens of the American news media.  I think love, kindness, and empathy are very important.

So why use a synth instead of a bass guitar for your music?

C:  Like I mentioned earlier, we were all playing different instruments than we typically do in bands, and our synth player who is normally a drummer doesn’t play string instruments.  But he had synths.  We just tried it out and ended up liking the results.  I was happy about it because I’m a big hip hop fan and doing something with a really big low end was really appealing to me. I think the same goes for Kevin.

How did you arrange the artwork for “Act Of Love” and what was the idea behind the art?  It’s definitely something that I think people familiar with this label would not expect to see.

C:  That is Sara Roberson, a Birmingham artist who also sings in a punk band called Black Hole Kids.  We just had a conversation about all the lyrics and that was her interpretation.  She had done a shirt for us and some designs on a 7”.  I’m just a fan of her imagery and it seemed natural to have her do the cover.

Where is Null at at this point?  I see you definitely play around regionally, but things are pretty quiet on the touring end and recording side.

C:  We are getting ready to start recording new songs.  New material is incorporating bass guitar in addition to synth, using some electronic percussion here and there, and I think it’s heavier than where we’ve been previously.  As far as shows we’re playing local shows and shows around the Southeast, and short runs of shows elsewhere when we can.

What's been the best thing about Null and what has been the worst?

C:  The best thing is that Null is truly a gift that keeps on giving, as far as having an outlet for creative ideas for over a decade now.  I’m thankful for Kevin, who has been a partner in taking on any off-the-wall ideas I’ve had throughout the years and I’m grateful to still be playing with some of the older musicians I met coming up in the punk scene here when I was a teenager.

I really can’t say there is a negative to any of it because I’ve never set expectations for any aspect of my creative life.  I only recognize that the participation in these activities is one of the things that makes me want to be on this planet, and I’m humbled by anyone who has agreed to help us along the way.

K:  I’d say the best thing is just knowing that I always have a creative outlet to express whatever ideas I come up with and to be able to explore that stuff with a group of really good friends and fellow musicians that inspire me constantly to be creative.  Not only in this band, but in day-t-day life and other projects.  We always talk at practice about other bands in town, and all of our favorite local bands have band members that are also in Null.  We are also extremely lucky to have such a solid group of friends in the DIY community in Birmingham who are always super supportive of us.

As far as negatives, honestly, we’ve already accomplished so much in the lifespan of this band that I couldn’t possibly feel negative about any of it.  When Carter and I started jamming silly stoner riffs in a storage unit ten- almost eleven- years ago I’d never have expected it to be what it is today, and to have accomplished what we’ve accomplished.  It’s been a truly positive force in my life and I’m psyched to have gotten to share it with so many friends.

The test press jokes continue.  This is the first to use some letterpress technique on the text 

Well, that’s just far too posi.  There was the thing with having to get the record remastered after it had already been lacquered, which caused quite a delay and that was a bummer.

C:  I guess we’re more well-adjusted than I thought!  Man, I’ve had far worse disasters happen trying to put out records, so thanks for hanging in there with us!

So that's that.  And now, because you know what comes next- all this week LPs going for $5, CDs for $4 and the digital download for $4.  Get 'em HERE or HERE.