MUSICAL CHAMELEON…NICK OLIVERI

Posted on March 27, 2015 by nealdude85

First off, I’m gonna be that guy and gush on how honored I was to interview Nick Oliveri. He’s been jamming and singing to me since I was nine years old, especially with Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, and Mondo Generator. Being an artist can be a thankless job, but it must be pretty cool to know that you’ve influenced generations of kids like myself. In anticipation for the show tonight, I’m releasing our chat. The interview was taken in the middle of the night after a long day for the hard rocker, but luckily Oliveri is a super chill and down to earth guy, and he did his best answer my questions. Enjoy.

How and when did The Uncontrollable begin? Cuz I know you were doing some acoustic shit with Blag Dahlia from the Dwarves recently.

The Uncontrollable began as a name I used to draw on my peachie folders in sixth grade (hahaha) that I would someday turn into a band, but I didn’t. Eventually, we started using it for an acoustic tour I did with Blag Dhalia in England and it was a name for the both of us playing at the same time, like a lil duo-band.

What’s the name of your new album? I was told that you recorded the entire thing solo–from drums, bass, guitar, to the vocals. Did you find this experience more frustrating than liberating, or was there a combination of the two?

The name of the new album, “Leave me Alone”. I called it that cause I did the record basically by myself with all the instruments, but I had some guest guitar solos, so yeah, that’s pretty much why. Yeah it was frustrating and also very satisfying to finish. I had a lot of things happen while making the record that set me back, like rolling my car-which made for some good lyrics for one the the tunes I didn’t have lyrics for at the time.

This question always intrigues me in a confusing way, kinda like the old “Chicken before the egg” quandary. Do you start a song in your head with lyrics, a hook/riff or chorus, bass line, or drum line? What’s your method on this one, especially when recording an entire album from start to finish by yourself?

It’s always different, but mainly I start with a riff, then build on it from there. With this last record I did a lot of stuff with drums then transposed it to record and transposed it to guitar (what I was humming in my head) and reversed it and demoed it a bunch of times before I went into the studio. I’m not the slickest drummer in the world but I practiced my ass off. I did record it myself but had Harper and Trevor helping me, they were behind the controls, recording me. I did some of the stuff at home on my Protools in the little apartment I had but yeah, it was the chicken before the egg, man (laughs).

Speaking of range, I’ve always admired your ability to go from the soothing sounds of songs like “Auto Pilot” and “Another Love Song”, to pissed and charged songs like “Tension Head” and “Six Shooter”. Is this adjustment easy for you? Are there times when going from a mellow jam to something pissed a difficult exercise and vice versa?

Right on thanks. It’s easy for me to transition from going softer vocals to harder vocals, but going hard vocals to soft vocals is not as easy I guess. I’m not very good at singing but I can scream my ass off though. So yah, that’s a tough one for me. I guess I just do the best I can do, sometimes it’s off (laughs)

It seems like you’ve had worn a hundred hats, from Kyuss, to Queens, Mondo Generator, The Dwarves, B’Last and now The Uncontrollable. You’re a bit of a musical chameleon. Does this flexibility give you a sense of freedom? It must be cool to be constantly collaborating with so many great artists.

Yes and no. Yah it’s good to play in bands that you like, its great– I’ve been very fortunate on that. But I’ve been home for a bit, haven’t been working or touring for some time, a few months now. So I’m getting ready to get back going and start back up with this new tour. I guess theres some sense of freedom to that and it’s a lot of fun to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians. Fortunately I’ve been able to play with a lot of really cool bands. So yah there’s a sense of freedom but at the same time theres a lot of free time-you’d think that there’d be every minute would be taken up, but everybody’s got their lives as they get older, lives that they’re tending to. You know when you live at mom’s house you have that all for one, one for all band thing going when you’re a kid, and lots of my friends are parents now, like Mark (Lewis from Doors to Knowhere). It makes things a little more difficult to go down and jam on a nightly basis, plus I’ve got my band in the Desert and now I’m in LA.

Oliveri and BL’AST

On the topic of BL’AST…how did you hook up with those guys? Cliffords a great friend of mine, and growing up surfing and skating in Santa Cruz, that band is engrained in my musical DNA.

I’d known Clifford for a long time and he’s come to see some of the first Queens shows that were in Santa Cruz, and I’m sure he was at some of the Kyuss stuff too. Anyways, he was at the Catalyst and we (Mondo Generator) played on a tour with Wino and The Saviors and it was the last night of our tour. He asked me and my drummer Hoss if we would do this BL’AST thing they were doing, the remix of Blood. They were at Dave Grohls place and he was remixing it. He asked if I would do it and I said, “yeah sure, I’d love to do it” and same with Hoss, he was down with it too. So we did that for awhile and it was great, had a lot of fun. Now we have Joey Castillo and it’s even better, you know. I mean, nothing against Hoss, Hoss is a great drummer, but I think Joey comes from that hardcore school of drumming and he really just fit the bill better—he plays his ass off and I think he understands the music more, he understands BL’AST more. That’s pretty much all it comes down to. Hoss grew up up with some Skynard, which is great, but Joey was in some really hard core bands so it makes sense to him—he’s seen blast in the old days and Hoss was like, “BL’AST Who?” So that was the difference.

Nick’s down with the Murderers. Oh yeah, Gi Gi too

What do you think about the current crop of bands in Santa Cruz? Obviously you are fans of Doors to Nowhere and B’Last, but what do you think about other cats like The Highway Murderers?

Of course I’m fans of Doors to Nowhere and BL’AST. Yeah, the Highway Murderers. Those guys are great. They are a fantastic band. I played with them last time I played at the Catalyst and it was rad, totally, totally rad. Those are the bands I like from Santa Cruz, but I’m sure that there are some others that will come to mind after this interview (laughs).

What are some of your best and worst experiences in Santa Cruz?

Everything’s been good there, for the most part. Anytime we’ve had a bad time, good people such as the Lewis’s household, they always took care of us up there. Having the BL’AST guys from up there has been good, places to stay and shit like that, so that’s cool. I don’t know about any seriously bad experiences up there. So far so good.

.Everyone is super psyched about your show on March 27th…what is it about Doors to Nowhere and You Know Who that inspired you to tour with those guys?

What inspired me to go on tour with You Know Who, is that they kick ass. It’s also Mike Pygmie’s band who also plays in The Uncontrollable and Mondo Generator as well, and he’s a fucking ripping guitar player, and he writes some cool stuff. Doors to Nowhere, they’re my friends and they kick major ass, just a group of great guys. That’s why I was inspired to do it- my friend Mark (Lewis of Doors to Nowhere) called me up and said, “Hey, you wanna do this tour, and these shows?” I was like, “I dunno if I can” cause I had some overlapping stuff going on with the Dwarves, but that fell through till April so it just so happened I had the time off and the time to rock with the Uncontrollable and my friends. So Mark set it up. It’s his fault that we are going to have a good time. So I’m really looking forward to seeing all those guys. Sorry my interview is so jumbled…I’m pretty thrashed. Thanks, see you at the show!

A CHAT WITH DOORS TO NOWHERE’S MARC LEWIS

Posted on March 6, 2015 by nealdude85

As promised, SPLIT PEAK SOUP will be bringing you front and center into the minds of three band members who will be playing a hard rocking show, March 27th at the Catalyst. In this installment we chat with the prolific guitarist/vocalist, Marc Lewis, of Doors To Nowhere. Here’s an excerpt of our conversation regarding his inspiration and motivation to create the music he loves.

Tell me a little bit about the formation of Doors to No Where. I know you’ve played in several bands, what led you to focus on this current project?

I was looking to do something new, I had done Live Wire for so long that I was ready for a change. With Live Wire, there was so many lineup changes making it not feel like a band anymore. My favorite part about being in a band is that time you have with your bro’s in the jam room. It’s therapy and such a good outlet. When I was in The Fire Sermon we reached a level in our live performances that were so powerful and moving. When we stopped playing and Live Wire ended I was a bit lost and not in the greatest place in my own life. When I was looking to start D2N I wanted to find like minded people that just wanted to play music. I didn’t want to get involved with anything fake or with the goal of being a rock star. I reached out to Sean (bass) and we just started jamming. It was just a natural and easy process. Once Pete joined us on drums and we started writing Lucky You I feel D2N really kicked into gear. I started to get indescribable feeling music gives you. I started to feel that power and energy in our live shows that I had with The Fire Sermon and Live Wire. I was hooked again! Music does that to you.

If you had to describe D2N’s style of music how would you put your sound into words?

That’s is such a hard question. I have so many influences musically, it’s hard to nail it down. I would hope that D2N has their own style and sound.

How influential has the desert/stoner rock genre been on your own musical development?

Enormous. So many bands I listen to can be traced back to that genre. They either influenced desert rock or were influenced by desert rock. The four Kyuss albums are such a big influence on me even wanting to play music those albums are staples of my childhood. All the of shoots from that genre have also made a large impact. Just think about all the amazing bands that can be traced back to the desert scene in some way. That sound and style will never get old to me.

A young man and his Axe

When you sing, I can sense a great deal of emotion behind your words. Are you the songwriter? Or does the band collaborate as a whole? Describe how you approach writing lyrics to a song, and how they reflect your personal experiences?

The songs I sing are all my lyrics. Sean who plays bass also sings and he writes his own lyrics. My lyrics definitely reflect my personal experiences. I always try to have a hidden meaning to my songs. I don’t wanna be too obvious but I usually have a point or a story I want to tell and if you have been in a similar situation you can definitely relate. I try not to be some prolific poet or preachy and just sing what I want and feel.

On the album Lucky You I touched a lot on the struggles that one could face and individuals that abuse power. The song Set Me Free was about someone who was made to feel worthless and weak unless they devote their whole life to a leader . The song Lucky You is about someone saying you can have it all as long as you you’re under my control and give up your free will.

Can you pick a song from Lucky You (maybe your favorite) and describe how it came together (from the riffs to the songwriting and lyrics and the gelling of the other musicians in the band) and what it feels like when all these elements come together?

I really dig the song Bones. I think Pete’s drumming really gives it such a unique and driving feeling that accompanies the main riff. Lyrically it is one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s about being your own worst enemy and letting negativity break you down. It’s so easy to let life’s bad breaks destroy you. It’s easier to be a victim of circumstances rather than own up to them and accept responsibility for your own actions. The chorus is a reminder that everyone has dark days. I know I have had my share, but these day’s really make the good in my life even better. The love I have for my family, friends and the good I have just becomes stronger and more appreciated.

What’s it like playing shows with musicians you’ve looked up to like Clifford from Bl’ast and Nick Oliveri from Kyuss and Queens? Is it a surreal feeling, and does it make them feel more human when you are actually collaborating with them?

To me music is a surreal thing always. You can listen to a song and be transferred right back in time to the first time you heard it. Music can take you places for sure. When I listen to Blues For The Red Sun by Kyuss I can close my eyes and see myself right back in my dads car on the way to the beach. Playing with Nick is definitely a rad thing. I’m a huge fan of his music and we have become friends. I find that the musicians I have played with or met like Clifford and Nick that are doing this music thing because they have to or their life won’t be complete. Thats what I really respect because thats how I am. Over the years I have played shows with so many bands that are all about being rock stars. Everything is so formulated and over processed all way down to the clothes they wear. I don’t like to play shows with that vibe. Playing with bands like Mondo Generator, Bl’ast and You Know Who is what I want to be doing. We are friends and no ego’s are involved. Music is such a powerful communicator and source of inspiration. Nick, Mike and I could probably talk music all day and night.

Belting it out with passion

What can we expect from this show on March 27th? How do you think the lineup compliments each other and what sets them apart?

You can expect to have a good time and see some kick ass rock n’ roll. It’s amazing that some one of Nick Oliveri’s caliber is playing a show for only $5 and at such a small venue. It’s gonna be a real intimate environment. We are pumped to bring this tour home to SC. All three bands are playing music for the love and passion of playing music. None of us are about gimmicks or playing for fame or money. We are not gonna hide behind make up, tattoos or hair cuts. We just show up and give it our all to the songs we have written and rock out. All three bands play with energy and drive. All three bands are gonna bring big guitars and drums! Nick and the Uncontrollable are gonna bring that dangerous side of rock n roll. You Know Who is gonna deliver some incredible guitar playing. Mike Pygmie who plays Guitar for YKW shreds! As far as D2N, we are bringing new songs and heavy riffs. If you’re a fan of stoner rock or punk music you can’t miss this show. You’re gonna see three bands that are friends and ready to melt beards with Rock N Roll.

What can we expect from D2N in the future. Lucky You is an awesome combination of heavy riffs and heartfelt singing, can we expect more of the same?

We are gonna put out another record. We pretty much have most of it written already. Like “Lucky You” you’re going to hear heavy riffs for sure. When I write songs I tend to do the lyrics last after I feel the vibe of the song. Sometimes Sean and Pete hear something different and put their touch on it and can really change the vibe. For instance one of the new songs I wrote at home top to bottom lyrics and all. When I brought it in to play with the guys Pete starts in with this slow driving beat. That was not what I was hearing, but it changed everything in an amazing. These new songs we have definitely have something to say and I can’t wait to start this new record.

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!!!

Posted on February 21, 2015 by nealdude85

I was introduced to the heavy, psychedelic sounds of a band called Kyuss at an early age. Their sound was equally raw and hypnotic, a blend of howling vocals and soothing instrumentals that became somewhat of an obsession for me. Born out of the hot climes of Palm Desert, Kyuss wasn’t the first of its kind, but became ground breaker for introducing the world to the unique genre of music known as “Desert” or “Stoner” rock. Kyuss dissolved in the mid-nineties, and the remaining members continued to share their unique musical prowess with bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, Unida, and Mondo Generator. Twenty years after the breakup of Kyuss, their legacy still remains, and on March 27^{th at} the Blue Lagoon, you’ll have the opportunity to taste the desert with three unique bands that retain that primal yet melodic sound. The lineup consists of Santa Cruz’s own Doors to Nowhere, the low desert area’s You Know Who, and Uncontrollable, featuring ex-Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age member Nick Oliveri. Over the next three weeks I’ll be interviewing Nick, along with Mike Pygmie of You Know Who, and Marc Lewis of Doors to Nowhere to bring you into their world. Stay tuned and make sure to mark your calendars for this epic rock event!

Mark Your Calenders