So to
start things off, how did you guys start out?
Brett
(B): So basically
Joe and I had been in a psychedelic heavy drone type of improvised project. We
had that going for a few years and after a while we just felt like doing
something that was a little more "song-oriented" I guess. Our
hometown Little Rock has a very good doom scene with a lot of heavy and
experimental bands. So it felt natural to start a doom band as well. We knew
Devin from him playing in other bands around town and we got along. He's a good
guitarist so we just asked him to join. It's a pretty simple story.
Last
year you put out your 2nd full-length album, titled "Foundations of
Burden". Could you give a brief presentation of the record for those
out there that've yet to hear your music?
Brett : It's kind of hard describing my
own stuff I guess, I can't really be objective about it... Well it's heavy,
proggy, very melodic, with a lot of textures and guitar interplay. Songs tend
to be pretty linear, generally without verse/chorus structure.
Devin: We focus on getting different
interesting sounds, exploring different sounds, different leads... There're a
lot of different "flavors" to enjoy, nothing drastic but there are
lot of dimensions fitted into this coherent whole I guess.
Brett : A lot of different guitar tones,
tons of them.
Devin : Lots of vocal layering and
harmonies, big sounding vocals... all of that just comes together to create the
recipe of the band I guess. Those are the big ingredients, with the big,
soaring melodic vocals and the deep low plodding guitars.
Could
you explain the title of your latest album? Where it came from?
Brett: It's supposed to relate to the
things that we do to ourselves, our lives, the decisions we make that can lay
foundations for your troubles. It also relates to the foundations of society
and the things that we can't escape, like decisions made by people in the past
that we have to deal with now.
Devin: In the modern world you inherit a
lot of bullshit. In our generation, a lot of the movies coming out are end-day
movies; our science fiction is about the world being destroyed whereas a lot of
older science fiction was about exploring. We've inherited this bad situation
where we HAVE to change or we're going to die, whereas the previous generations
just enjoyed themselves and didn't worry about all of that as much as they
should have.
It was
more of an optimistic outlook.
Devin: Well it was also kind of ignorant.
They didn't know that they were fucking things up. So it's about that too I
guess.
Could
you tell us a little more about the lyrics and the subject matters that you
explore? There seems to be somewhat of a progression from what I've understood
Devin: That's interesting. But no,
actually Joe and I write the lyrics pretty much 50-50. He writes some of the
songs; I write some of the songs... we wrote them separately so we didn't have
any intended "theme" or anything. Then again maybe there is one that
emerged on its own. Other than that, it's very difficult for me to explain the
lyrics because I've only got some ideas as to what Joe's songs are about. I
also prefer to leave it more open to interpretation, because a lot of the songs
that I write tend to revolve around at least 2 distinct ideas. So the songs
mean something to me that I don't intentionally try to put into the lyrics. I
guess the simple answer would be that I don't explain my lyrics.
This is
just another assumption, but I sense some Lovecraftian influence when it comes
to your writing style.
Brett: That's sort of true. It was taken
from a direct experience though, this "trip" where I encountered this
"thing" that could only be described as a sort of Lovecraftian
entity.
Considering
that your music has a strong atmospheric, "visual" aspect to it, what
would you say are some of the non-musical influences that come into play in
Pallbearers' sound?
Brett: I know that Joe is really into
Murakami (Haruki), and I think that there's some influence in some of his
lyrics of this last album. I haven't really had any direct influence from any
particular writers. I like a lot of sci-fi stuff. Philip K. Dick is a favorite.
I like Greg Egan a lot, I've also been getting into some Charles Stross lately.
I have a tendency towards hard science fiction, SF that, although weird, could
seemingly be true under the right circumstances. I read a lot of comics as
well. Anything by Alejandro Jodorowsky is golden. Visually, I’m inspired a
lot by artists like, Moebius, Michael Whelan, Roger Dean... Artists who create
fantastical and awe-inspiring worlds to get lost in.
We've
heard that quite a few people (notably in Europe) were reported to have come
out of your shows crying. Have you ever had any feedback from people who were
that moved by your albums or some of your live shows?
Brett: For sure man. I've had multiple
people come up to me and say that they've played some stuff at peoples'
funerals, or in some way mention that it has helped them deal with with death
in their families or other difficulties. People who were going through rough periods
of their lives that have listened to Pallbearer as a form of healing. So
yeah, it's a fucking great feeling.
Brett,
I've read that you consider Pallbearer to be rooted in European influences
rather than American influences. In what way do you see yourself closer to the
European doom scene?
Brett: Generally a lot American doom bands
have a lot more sludge and hardcore-type influences I suppose. It seems like
European bands generally sound more mournful, more drawn out, with more melody.
Most of the good funeral doom is European, then of course there's My Dying
Bride and all of the Peaceville stuff. Then there's Prog rock, which was never
that big of a thing in the US, which was a big influence for us. So we
generally listen to a lot of European music.
To get
to a lighter subject; what're some of the weirder experiences you've had while
on the road?
Brett: Everything, literally every
experience is weird.
Devin: We were accepted into a homeless
community one time.
Brett: Yeah homeless people thought that
we were homeless while we were walking around because we were so stinky and
homeless-looking.
Devin: We had been on tour for so long and
hadn't showered. We looked and smelled terrible. We were walking around late at
night looking for food. There's this thing in the US where you've got a
Drive-Thru where you have to have a car, you can't go inside but the Drive-Thru
is open. But because of insurance and people getting injured or whatever you
have to have a car to go through it. All that they had open was fast-food so we
were trying to figure out how to get food this late without having a car,
because our van couldn't fit through the drive-thru. So these homeless guys
were like "Come with us to Wendy’s' they'll let you cheat here,
they'll serve you food". So we all ended up following them but the guys at
Wendy’s' were like "No, get the fuck out of here, we're not going to
serve you food" (laugh). There were also a couple of their homeless
friends across the street, so we realize that we had been accepted as homeless
people that night.
Joe: Instead of getting hit up, asking
for change, the just kind of assumed that we were just new to the city.
So did
they ever find out that you weren't homeless?
Devin: I don't know, we didn't bring it
up.
Joe: It was kind of after the fact that
we realized what was happening, that they thought we were homeless too (laugh).
Essentially we are.
Devin:
We're just one step above.
So what’s' next
for Pallbearer after this tour?
Brett: Well we're pretty much touring
non-stop until August and then we're going to take some time off to write,
getting our next album ready.
Joe: ...Then do the same goddamn thing
for like... forever (laughs)
Brett: ... until we die.
Joe: Which will probably be really soon.
Brett: Yeah.
To
finish things off: could you name one of your favorite albums, movies and
books?
Joe: One of my most recent favorite
books is Hardboiled Wonderland at the End of the World by Haruki
Murakami.
Devin: Probably our favorite movie of
all-time for all of us would be This is Spinal Tap. We're all obsessed
with it. I have a little tattoo of it. Spinal Tap is definitely the best movie
ever created as far as I'm concerned.
Brett: Yeah, no doubt.
Joe: Our collective favorite album is St.Anger
by Metallica.
(Everyone
laughs)
Brett: I really like Diaspora by
Greg Egan. It's a really crazy, far-future sci-fi, a transhumanist-type
book. It's pretty cool. His stuff is pretty amazing in general. Again, any Jodorowsky. The Incal, and the whole
universe that spun off from it, is essential reading as far as I’m concerned.
Joe: That's also mine.
Brett: One of my favorite albums would be Long
Misty Days by Robin Trower. That's a really good one.
Joe: Animals by Pink
Floyd is one of my all-time favorite albums.
Brett: Close
to the Edge by Yes
Joe: Herz Aus Glas (Heart of Glass)
by Popol Vuh. I really like the whole Popol Vuh discography, I listen to
it frequently.
Brett: Chapter III: Parasomnia
by Colloseum, the finnish funeral doom band. That third album is one of
my favorites. All of their shit is amazing. 
Brett: That's a good question, man. I'd say Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöh
Joe: Yeah, that or like... Üdü Ẁüdü. Those are the 2 Magma albums that I listen to the most.
Thank
you to Lauren, to the band and everyone who made both this amazing show and
this interview possible!
Interview
by Robin Ono
Pallbearer
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