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Grey Host

2/28/2014

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Last April, purely by chance, I happened upon Dawn for Vultures, the debut album by a Cincinnati band called Grey Host. Being a doom fan, I was instantly intrigued. I was skeptical, however, because all the good doom bands come from Sweden and the Pacific Northwest and other far off places, right? Dead wrong, folks. Dawn for Vultures blew me away and eventually led me down the rabbit hole that is the Cincinnati music scene, which ultimately led to the creation of this blog. So it's fair say that The Blog of Doom may not exist without that chance encounter with Grey Host. I recently caught up with the Cincinnati doom masters to (slowly) discuss the band's formation, the debut album, and future plans.



How did you get into doom and what bands influenced you?

John: I got my start though hand-me-down stoner rock and Seattle grunge records from my uncle when I was young. I latched onto the Kyuss and Melvins records especially, and went looking for more of the same while in middle school. From there, thanks to magic of the internet, I discovered bands like Neurosis, Earth, Electric Wizard, and Sleep in high school. These were groups that were unlike anything else I'd ever heard and were a step beyond the death metal my mates were into at the time. From there it was a progression to finding new bands and discovering earlier bands I hadn't heard of. I admittedly slept on Pentagram for the longest time, which was a huge mistake.

Jason: I really started getting into doom by discovering Neurosis. I took home the A Sun That Never Sets CD and I was hooked. From there I just did my research and looked into any bands I thought had an interesting sound. I've always kind of leaned towards bands that still had some melodic tendencies like Isis and the like, but meeting John and starting to jam with what would become Grey Host, I began to appreciate the ugly fuzzed out stuff and traditional doom more and more.

Seb: I suppose my introduction to doom came in two parts. While in high school, I arbitrarily bought Black Sabbath-S/T, and it just so happened to be that when I popped the disc into the player, a thunderstorm rolled in. Listening to "Black Sabbath" for the first time as lightning shoots across the sky is an experience that leaves a mark. At the time, however, I was more into death metal and that lovely early 2000s hardcore/metalcore/grindcore stuff, like Botch, Zao, etc., and I couldn't conceive that there were more bands doing that slow sound. Cut to my freshman year in college, I'd gotten a bit bored with metal, and one day, I receive an IM that says "download this. Heaviest album ever." It turned out to be a link to Buried At Sea-Migration. That opinion was correct and opened the downward spiral into doom bands for me.

How did Grey Host come together?

John: Grey Host began in our (recently former drummer) Zac's bedroom during a jam session after a night of drinking. I had been messing around with some riffs, and had finally found a drummer interested and willing to do something different. Zac had attended CCM with Jason, who was a well-known metalhead, so he had arranged a meeting and jam session. From the minute I met him, I knew we were destined to make heavy things together. We were a three piece for a year and a half, writing and sporadically playing out, before we invited our good dear friend Evan to join us on keys. On the low end, we had played with a few bassists, but none really stuck until Seb joined us earlier in 2013. He had been friends with a few of us already, had played with his former band Giants Stood Motionless, and he was just a great fit for our sound and personalities.

How long did it take you guys to write and record Dawn for Vultures?

Jason: The material for Dawn for Vultures was written over the course of a year or so. John had basic ideas for songs before we even met, and when we started jamming we put our heads together to flesh out ideas. Usually songs would be born from a riff either of us came up with and then we would get together and bounce new riffs off of each other. More often than not I'd have an idea or riff that would work perfectly with one of John's, so most of the songs are very collaborative in that sense. The recording came about as a luxury of the space we practiced in. Myself and some colleagues from school started a studio in an empty warehouse on the east side of town by Lunken Airport, so we had access to recording gear that was borrowed and shared amongst ourselves and other bands. Zac and I both went to school for production so we dove in and got our hands dirty with this album, and because of the nature of the space we tracked in we had a lot of time to hash out our ideas and change them when needed. The time from recording to mixing and ultimately releasing the album was also around a year. We tend to do everything pretty slowly.

Was there a certain feel or theme you were trying to achieve on Dawn for Vultures?

Jason: There's no theme for the album, only an atmosphere we were trying to achieve with the tones and techniques used to record. We got pretty weird in the recording space with mic placement and selection. We had the luxury of being able to try out different things, like throwing a room mic up 18ft in the air on the other side of the warehouse, and miking up a guitar cab every different way we could think of. Also because the space was so huge, we used that space to our advantage, and I think that's the feeling we wanted to get across with the mix. Big, open, low and dirty.

It’s been almost a year now since you released Dawn for Vultures. How has the overall reception been?

John: Reception has been surprisingly warm, with glowing reviews from both bloggers and print media, along with great feedback from people in the local music scenes.

Do you have any plans to work on the next album yet?

Seb: In terms of working on the next album, we've been writing new material and have completed two songs over the past year that will likely make the final cut, but in light of the recent development that Zac, who has been playing drums with Grey Host since the beginning, recently moved away from the Cincinnati area, this process has slowed due to the search for a new drummer. The short answer is that new material is certainly forthcoming, but there's not a definite time frame as to when we'd expect it to come out.

John: The recording process for Dawn for Vultures was so drawn out that we had a chance to write new material while getting that ready for release. We have about three and a half songs down pat beyond the material on our release, and have been working on several more songs which aren't quite there. With Zac moving away from town, it gives the rest of us a chance to focus on shaping up the songs we have in the works.

Prior to Zac’s departure, were you able to get any touring in?

John: Not touring necessarily, but we've played out up in Dayton a handful of times. That's about it, though.

John, you are also an accomplished graphic artist. Does your artwork inspire the Grey Host material or is it the other way around? Are the two even related?

John: I've always used Grey Host's material as a source and inspiration for artwork. They play off each other and draw from the same well of influence since I'm working so intimately with both media.

Your cover of "Working Man" was interesting at Ironfest IV. How did that come about?

John: Ironfest is always a fun time and we were grateful to be asked to play it with a bunch bands we're also friends with. We really just wanted to throw something in that was a one-time thing for the hell of it.

So what's next for Grey Host, other than writing and finding a drummer?

Seb: The only thing on the books at present is playing a show on April 18th, 2014 with Temple (Cincy heaviness) and Men of Fortune (Peoria,IL) at Chameleon. So hopefully more shows, recording, etc. in the not too distant future.


Editor's Note: Thanks to John, Jason, and Seb for participating in this grueling, month-long interview. These guys aren't kidding when they say they do everything slowly. Great interview, though, and certainly worth the wait. Good luck to the Grey Host guys on the drummer search. We're looking forward to the next chapter of doom. For more info on Grey Host, check out the links below. - JO

Grey Host Website
Grey Host Facebook
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Matthew Sparks

2/18/2014

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I recently came across a local artist on Twitter who posted a picture of a leather bracelet that he had made. As I was already looking for some Viking apparel to wear on stage to irritate my bandmates, I asked him if he sold his bracelets. A couple of weeks later, I received two gorgeous black leather bracelets with Celtic imprints in the mail (at a very reasonable price). The artist's name is Matthew Sparks and it turns out that he also does comic book work and other illustrations. Matthew was very professional in my dealings with him, so I thought I'd give him an opportunity to present some of his work to The Blog of Doom community.

How did you get into doing leatherwork?

MS: I actually got into leather work due to wrestling. I'm a big wrestling fan and I had recently purchased a replica belt from WWE. Although I liked it, the strap is a type of plastic with no flexibility. I thought about having it re-leathered, but would not be able to pay an additional $200 - $300 on additional work on my belt, so I decided to try it myself. Since leather is expensive, I used scrap pieces that the company I work for sells for cheap. I made a bracelet for my wife and it sort of caught on from there.

Are you only doing bracelets right now, or have you ventured into other areas?

MS: For the time being, yes, I am only doing bracelets due to the cost of leather. I would eventually like to venture into the wrestling replica belt re-leather market.

Who are your target customers? Did you envision selling bracelets to metal musicians for stage apparel?

MS: To be honest, I never had a consumer in mind. It was just something to practice on for my replica belt as well as a new hobby to help me take a break from my comic book and illustration work.

Speaking of your artwork, what kind of themes do you focus on for your comic books and illustrations?

MS: I usually focus in the hero genre, but I can do just about anything as far as illustrations go.

Do you do commission work, such as album covers, show flyers, band artwork, etc?

MS: I do commissions, but it’s mostly illustrations I get at conventions. I don't do a lot of band artwork or flyers. Then again, I’ve never been asked to.


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Illustration courtesy of Matthew Sparks. Not to be reproduced without consent of owner.

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Editor's Note: Big thanks to Matthew Sparks for shedding some light on his artwork. As I mentioned, Matthew was very professional to deal with. If anyone is looking for some semi-custom leather bracelets or wants to give Matthew a chance to do some band artwork, you can contact him via the Twitter link below. - JO

Matthew Sparks Twitter
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Dead Meadow

2/17/2014

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Formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998, Dead Meadow has since become one of the most respected, critically acclaimed bands in the U.S. psychedelic stoner rock scene. On the heels of their late 2013 release, Warble Womb, Dead Meadow has embarked on a U.S. tour that makes a stop in Cincinnati this Friday night, 2/21, at Northside Tavern. I caught up with singer/guitarist Jason Simon to discuss the new album, among other things.

What can Cincinnatians expect from a Dead Meadow performance?

Jason Simon: A trippy good time with some jammin' tunes. Mark will be laying down the stoned out grooves to keep the crowd swaying. Steve will be drinking whiskey and kicking the deep, deep down bass. I'll be freaking on some far-out raga type shit.

How did having the original line-up back together influence the Warble Womb sessions?

JS: Mark has a looser more swinging feel to his playing. Other than that, I don't even know how to answer this question really. Warble Womb was Mark, Steve, and I making a record together. I don't know how having the original line-up influenced it because I can't imagine this record any other way. Does that make sense? 

Was there a conscious effort to move away from some of the reverb-heavy sounds of past albums?

JS: No. I usually bring in a song or a song idea with some chords and melodies and the band just takes it from there. We all play around with an idea until it grows into something that catches us as being interesting and cool. Songs often develop in unexpected ways and therein lays the fun. We never consciously attempt to make a certain type of record or a certain sounding record. Rather, the record just develops in a natural way that sounds cool to us at that moment.

Did you have a chance to mess with any unique equipment on the new album?

JS: Let's see, we're always using tape echoes and running things to a Tascam reel to reel. We're using an early 80's Tascam board that's adding some nice color as well as 1950's Ampex tube preamps that give it a nice classic old sound. It was all mixed down to a Studer two track reel-to-reel, adding to the tape feel. It's gotta hit that tape! There's a bit of Farfisa and a few unique pedals; a Dead Meadow pedal that Tym's Guitar out of Australia will be releasing, as well as a custom built fuzz that
Catalinbread Pedals put together for me called the Dead Merkin, basically a take on their Merkin Pedal with an added blend feature.

How has the fan reaction to Warble Womb been so far? Are the songs going over well in a live setting?

JS: We've been playing about five or six of these songs regularly in our sets and they've been going over great. We throw in a few more here and there. As to the fans overall reaction, I think they be digging it. Some probably wish it sounded like one of the older records; it always seems the newest Dead Meadow record takes a minute to catch on. The next one will come out and the same people will wonder why it doesn't sound like Warble Womb. You just gotta keep pressing onward, ya know?



Editor's Note: Be sure to check out Dead Meadow this Friday night, Feb 21, at Northside Tavern. Local psych-masters Electric Citizen are also on the bill, so this should be one hell of a show. For all things Dead Meadow, check out the links below. - JO
Dead Meadow Website
Dead Meadow Facebook
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