EXHALANTS INTERVIEW FROM TRANSLATE #10

 In creating the most recent issue of TRANSLATE zine I had to do some editing on a number of the interviews just to make everything fit.  I got most of it, but some bits and pieces had to go.

For those who haven't seen the actual physical zine, well, here's a freebie for you.  If you want to get a copy (there's a ton of other stuff in there, plus cool design) there's some HERE.

For those that do have it, thank you.  Here's the unedited version of the interview with Steve Pike from EXHALANTS.

 

 

First off, how long have you been playing guitar and when did you start getting more into gear, amps, pedals, and so forth?

I got my first guitar when I was 7 years old. It was a small classical guitar that my parents bought for me in elementary school so I could take a few lessons that the school was offering. Didn't really pick it back up until I was about 13 though, that's when I was getting into listening to grunge/90's alt rock and really wanted to play more seriously. So I guess I really started at 13.

I didn't really start investing into gear until I had moved back down to Austin when I was 19. I was obsessed with Dinosaur Jr and wanted a Marshall stack and a Fender Jazzmaster so bad. I saved my money and bought a really cheap MG series half stack. Slowly realized that it wasn't the sound I looked for. I've had a lot of friends help point me into various directions over the years. It also helps that my tastes have changed over the years as to what sounds I prefer. Watching YouTube videos of old shows from bands I like really helped me try to find my sound too, seeing what they were using and how they used. To be honest with you I'm not a huge pedal guy, I try not to rely too heavily on them. I'd rather focus on what the amp and guitar are doing. Don't get me wrong, I use them and they're there to add textures n such, but I'm not a pedal nerd who wants 25 pedals on a board and only use one of them for a small part in one song in the set. It's a waste of space and money. I think Bill and myself are very conscience of being economical not only in space, but what we use for pedals.

 

How much have you switched up your set up since Exhalants started?  It looks like you and Bill use quite a lot of gear overall.

Overall not too much has changed in the past two years with our set ups. The first year Bill and myself were trying to find out what works for the sound we wanted to play off of each other. I also had to change my pedal set up after the first 4 months because someone broke into my car and stole my pedal board. But for the most part it's always been a 4x12 and 8x10 on either side of the stage and drums up front in the middle. It's a pleasing aesthetic to us but is also as functional as possible when it comes to being able to hear each other on stage and having the audience being able to hear everything clearly

 

Right, but it seems you've rotated through several different iterations of amps and cabs

 

I've always used Sunn Concert Lead heads with exhalants. I had a red knob Concert Lead in the beginning, but that lasted maybe for a couple of months before I switched over to two silver face Concert Leads. I also started on an old Japanese guitar that I had played on for years, but then happened onto a really good deal on a Robot Graves Industries aluminum neck and got sucked into that cult pretty damn quick.

My cab situation hasn't really changed too drastically either. I've always used Marshall 412 1960A cabs. They are cheap and consistent. I just recently built those Worshiper 4x12's that I used for the Safehouse session, so that's the newest thing as far as cabs go.

Bill has always used Ampeg 810's for the same reason I used those Marshalls for so long. His amp situation hasn't changed that much as well over the years. It's always been a Traynor TS-140 thru a power amp. He's gone through a few power amps, but other than that it's been pretty much the same since day one. Bill has always been playing a Travis Bean TB2000 bass for as long as I've known him. He's more of an aluminum aficionado than I am, I mean, he is kind of responsible for me taking that path. He had a short scale TB2000 that he had custom built for him for a short time, and he played on that Six String EGC Bass on that West Coast tour you saw us on. But he always comes back to his tried and true TB2000.

 

There it is.  That’s the stuff the gear nerds want to know.  So I was about to ask- You use an aluminum neck guitar, right?  Is it custom, or from a certain company and what do you find to be the advantages of using a guitar like this?

 

Ahhh, so you want the gear nerd shit! hahaha.

Well, I get a lot of questions regarding my guitar. It's a Jazzmaster body with a bolt on aluminum neck made by Robot Graves Industries. I swapped out the original pick ups for Seymore Duncan Custom P90's, ripped out the top hardware, replaced the bridge and tremolo unit with a Mastery system, and added some chrome knobs that do nothing to the tone or playability except help make my guitar look mean as fuck haha.

I like using aluminum neck guitars mostly because of the tone and sustain. There's a very unique sound you get when playing on it that I absolutely love. Another advantage is it resonates a wider range of frequencies, so it helps with the articulation of notes and chords. I also like being able to hold notes for a stupid amount of time too when I'm droning by myself or with Bill at the practice space.

 

Not being very well-schooled in gear some of that goes over my head, but I have noticed the definite difference in sound of an aluminum neck versus regular guitar. 

So Austin has a vast musical community, as well as a long history of really loud and weird bands and it seems like you all carry a bit of that with you in what you do.  Who do you see, past and present, as some of the more innovative musicians in town?

 

For any genre?

 

Well, I guess insofar as indie/DIY/whatever bands.

 

I mean I have my favorites, but if you’re looking for me to give Stevie Ray Vaughn a shoutout you’re barking up the wrong tree.

I can see it, especially on the more Trance Syndicate side of things, but we kinda draw from a wider well. As far as innovators of Austin past, I gotta give it up Scratch Acid, Cherubs, Butthole Surfers, Gorch Fock, and Big Boys (I've always considered Jesus Lizard a Chicago band).

My favorite guitar player in the Austin area is hands down Jonathan Horne. He has a wild mixture of freak jazz and surf guitar that's always so much fun to watch, and is also one of the kindest people I know. He's the only one I can really think of that's really out there pushing boundaries in music in general.

 

That being said, do you think there’s also a history of gear trading, or gear-influence, among bands of a similar ilk in town?

There is for sure. I can't speak to the past, but I can tell you that craigslist and facebook gear swapping pages have really accelerated the process.  But it also tends to lead itself to gear hoarding, and people who don't actually play in bands that hold on to a lot of nice stuff, but that's everywhere.

 

Have you benefited from any of this?  Like getting some stuff off of a musician you look up to?

Not really. Most of the gear I've gotten from has been from pawn shops or friends. A lot of the old heads around town still hold on to their stuff. I really don't have any cool gear stories.

 

I bet some of those pawns at one time were owned by someone cool.  we can just use our imaginations for that.

A man can dream.

 

All former Stevie Ray Vaughn gear.  Every last bit.

Welp, time to sell all my gear to a blues lawyer and cash in!

 

How tight, or insular, do you find the Austin music scene to be?  I’m thinking particularly around the idea of long time locals versus newcomers, since it’s a popular place to move to.  Is there a protectiveness to it by the locals?

I mean, no one is really a local to Austin anymore. Everyone is from somewhere, and I think that's why most people get along for the most part. There's for sure different scenes and cliques, and my biggest problem is that people don't want to go outside of their circle, but not all of Austin is like that, there's still a lot of people who actually like going to shows not to be scene, but for the music and for finding/supporting new music. I don't care where they come from, but those are the people I fuck with.

 Wanna hear what they sound like (in the odd situation in which you don't already know)?  Go HERE

IT'S FEBRUARY AND THESE ARE REVIEWS

 Winter doldrums always seem to set in around this time, no matter where I am.  I think it's just any possible allure I could have towards winter (it's much more mild in the Pacific Northwest) kind of starts fading away by this point and I'm ready for Spring, sunshine, and warmer days because frankly I get kind of bored.

Thankfully, this year has already given quite a few interesting nuggets of music to digest that I'm quite excited about and so here's a bunch of opinions about all that.  Check it out for yourself and defeat boredom with new music.

BARATRO, “Terms and Conditions” EP

Outside his most-known work as part of Unsane bassist/vocalist Dave Curran has kept himself pretty busy over the years.  Not only acting as a full-time touring soundman, and doing studio work, he fronted Pigs, a trio of like-minded noiseniks that made a couple records.  Now he has another trio, Baratro, composed of himself and a couple fellas from Italy.  So I imagine getting together for regular practices is pretty non-existent, which is probably why these tracks were recorded in 2019 and just seeing the light of day now.  That all being said, Curran has such a distinct style between his raspy scream, unfuckwithable bass sound (he seriously has one of the most vicious sounds on the planet), and distinct songwriting style (his contributions to Unsane are never given enough credit in my opinion) it’s a fairly good guess as to what’s in store here on this debut EP.  If you’ve ever heard a lick of Unsane in the last 15 years, or either of the albums Pigs hurled at listeners, Baratro is not far off the mark.  I’d go far as to say some of the guitar work here isn’t afraid to mess around with a couple pedal effects and show off a bit of post-hardcore moodiness, but the rest is slower, mean-spirited, and pissed off noise rock of the highest caliber.  It’s fucking dense, like being encased in concrete and then having the sound of sledgehammers and power drills trying to free you before you die being all you hear, dense.  The tracks have been floating around digitally for a bit now, but the vinyl version is just coming to fruition now. (Sangue Dischi)

 

EDITRIX, “Tell Me I’m Bad”

Editrix is a dichotomy of soothing and pretty colliding head-on with the abrasive and weird.  Often I like the experimentation and challenge of what they are presenting, and occasionally it just doesn’t work for me.  Several songs on the A-side emphasize their clash of jittery, fuzzy punk-funk jams with vocalist/guitarist Wendy Eisenberg’s lullaby voice and it takes a few listens before it comes into focus as the work of overall good that it is.  It doesn’t hurt that her vocal style is a dead ringer for Karla Schickele from Ida, and the lesser known (but more apt for comparison to this band, Beekeeper) and truly brings so much character to Editrix to balance out the sonic ADHD happening.  On songs like “The History Of Dance” and “Torture” rubbery bass lays a funky foundation that is interspersed with bits of distortion and lots of twists and turns of catchy fun, while songs like “Chelsea” and “Taste” are a bit more straightforward with reckless distortion abuse and lots of bashing that I really like.  “Chillwave” could be a Coriky song gifted to the band, while both “Instant” and “She Wants To Go and Party” feel like half-joking exercises in fucking around.  Overall, it’s a varied record that feels sort of all over the place, but still tied together with a unique and distinct approach. (Exploding In Sound)

 

NONAGON, “They Birds”

I had to go back to Nonagon’s previous outing- “The Last Hydronaut”- to check and see if I was listening to the same band, because I could swear they significantly altered their sound since I last heard them a few years back.  In a way, yes, they did, but not how I had thought.  Previously I had thought of Nonagon as being a noisy, math rock-leaning group from the Shellac school of music. On their newest offering, “They Birds” things seem far more pretty and melodic and I’ve come to realize a lot of it had to do with the recording.  Earlier efforts put an emphasis on a rumbling bass and opted for a less-polished, somewhat grimy sound.  On “They Birds” everything is glossed over with a clear sheen, as if it all came straight from a J. Robbins Burning Airlines session.  Each instrument is clear and precise, the tempos are a bit more upbeat, and overall, the band just got better at dialing in their sound.  It’s still replete with math rock trickery and plenty of clang, but the band has improved their craft significantly in the studio.  (Controlled Burn)

 

NOPES, “Djork”

The new Nopes record goes off in a looser, more punk direction than previous efforts while still keeping some of that Hot Snakes/Jesus Lizard love ensuring things remain full throttle throughout.  Some stuff gets real weird, veering off into bizarre territory, “Lithium Hop” and “Drink the Cat” being the most mind-fucking of these examples.  “Amber Is the Color Of Your Alert” not only goes for snarky song title, but also breaks out some spazzy guitar fretboard acrobatics bookending a sludgy-ass riff and one free-form fuck-all jazzy part and somehow makes the whole thing sound like a fun time at the sock hop.  They close out the record with an 8 minute dirge befitting inclusion as an unreleased Unsane B-side.  So when I initially stated this band plays loose and hyper dirgy punk while I’m going on about the myriad left turns they take into other territory it’s worth noting there’s 13 tracks total so you get a bunch of those fast and wild songs too. (Magnetic Eye Records)

 

PORTRAYAL OF GUILT, “We Are Always Alone”

Being an old person I have had the pleasure of seeing Majority Rule tons of times, as well as Pg. 99 a few times as well.  I was happy to book a number of shows for both bands and they always deservedly did great on any show because they’re tremendously talented bands.  Now, some 17 years, or whatever, later these Texas cats in Portrayal Of Guilt have not only picked up the torch but may be a little too on the nose in their worship.  I mean, they’ve toured with both bands on their reunions, Chris Taylor (Pg. 99) has illustrated record a couple covers for them, and both Taylor and Majority Rule’s Matt Michel guest on this new record.  I suppose there’s a ton of shitty, or over-done, bands P.O.G. could emulate so why not go with a couple bands that had a very unique sound?  I’m definitely not mad.  I mean, they nail the sound perfectly.  I was a little skeptical of P.O.G. in the past because some of their sound experimentation (particularly live) didn’t feel like it worked and some of their songs felt like incomplete sketches.  But that’s just me.  On this record they seem to really nail what they’re going for, even if the worship is a little too familiar.  The drumming here is fucking intense and occasionally gives some of these songs a bit of a spooky black metal feel, and where their influences would lyrically dip their toes into socio-political topics while keeping things personal, the lyrical fare here seems to be almost exclusively about depression and isolation.  So there’s a couple differences.  Either way, it’s a good listen for a band in full shred mode.  (Closed Casket Activities)

 

SHALLOW, NORTH DAKOTA/ KEN MODE/ KOWLOON WALLED CITY split 12”

Shallow, North Dakota was a band, not an actual place.  And they were from Canada.  And they were also, by far, pretty much the heaviest sludge band from that enormous nation (which puts them high in the running for ‘heaviest sludge band in the world’).  They recorded a couple records and split quite awhile ago.  Recently, a member of that band has had some very serious medical issues and despite Canada’s progressive social healthcare stage 4 is still a motherfucker so some people got together to help out a bit with this benefit compilation.  This record combines a long-unreleased song from the Canadian powerhouse, as well as fellow countrymen/noise slingers KEN Mode covering a pair of Shallow songs while stateside the Bay Area’s Kowloon Walled City does their own take on a Shallow song as well.  Plus, you get some fabulous artwork courtesy of Great Sabatini’s Sean Arsenian as well!  Whether you know anything at all about Shallow, North Dakota, or any of the bands on this split, if you enjoy ungodly heavy sludge rock/metal do yourself a favor and check out this slab of molten riffs and punishment for a good cause. (Wordclock Records)

 

SOME GIFTS, “Not Born Enemies”

I’m going to go right ahead and say that Some Gifts probably won’t appeal to anyone under the age of 25.  It’s music by dads who like really awesome stuff from the 90’s and as an elder music fan myself I’m OK with this.  They are deft craftsmen at songwriting and their well of inspiration is derived from the likes of J. Robbins, Faraquet, and maybe even Far on the slower/big rock portion of songs here.  Lyrically well-composed and treading through personal hardships, as well as some very on-the-nose socio-political gripes gathered over the last several years, this third full length from the band finds them doing what they do well.  While much of the first half of this recording is more uptempo it’s the second half that tends to move slower and rely on big riffs which I think I enjoy a bit more, particularly on “Familiar Traps” (which, side note, my wife is convinced the lead guitar on this track is directly culled from music from the video game “The Last Of Us”).  The cover screams ‘demo submission’ but the music should be right up the alley for fans of 90’s DC and alternative rock stuff, Deep Elm or Arctic Rodeo Records material, and finding that niche of time on the weekend after taking your kids out to the park but before getting them ready for dinner to jam with your pals in the garage.  (self-released)

 

TERMINAL BLISS, “Brute Err/ata”

One of many bands growing from the Pg. 99 family tree, this one is wild, noisy punk-hardcore where not a single song hits the 2 minute mark, most of them actually don’t even break a single minute.  Everything is a messy blast where vocals are run through a belt sander, drums blast by like an entire grocery store’s stock of shopping carts being dropped off a roof, and guitars shredding your face in a fit before being thrown down a staircase while the ‘record’ button is still on and keeping the results.  The artwork is a beautiful, trippy, frenetic mess and I love that aspect of things (when you have a couple of the underground’s best artists/graphic designers working together results are top notch).  If you get an LP the whole effort is too short to take up two sides so you get a badass etched B-side instead.  10 songs crammed into 11 minutes of headfuck chaos.  (Relapse)

 

USA NAILS/ PETBRICK split 7”

Petbrick side is a minute and a half of useless atmospheric noise followed by 30 seconds of digital grind trash.  USA Nails side is the song, “My Body”, which sounds more akin to stuff on their first record, rather than where they are now on their fifth.  It’s a bit odd for them as it contains some more melodic elements they don’t tend to go for these days, but retains their snappy and energetic punk chaos they are well known for.  I can get down with it, but I do prefer their more developed post-punk/noisy rock thing they got going on these days.  (God Unknown)