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Interviews

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS Interview with Kim Benzie & Clint “Vinnie” Vincent

It’s been a while since we’ve talked with Dead Letter Circus. Five years to be exact. Back when we did our previous interview with the Australian band, they had just started touring in the States, and were trekking across the country with a bunch of metal bands. A few years doing that and they built up a pretty solid following in America. But as with everything in life, things change over time.

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Interviews

FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES Interview with Brian Deneeve & Mike Pilato

Maybe there’s something in the air, but over the past few years we’ve seen a bunch of bands come back from the dead. From Autumn To Ashes are one of the most recent resurrectors, and they recently wrapped up a West Coast reunion tour where they played a bunch of songs spanning their entire catalog.

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Interviews

WOVENWAR Interview with Nick Hipa & Shane Blay

All things considered, it’s pretty crazy how Wovenwar started. Everybody knows the story of what happened with As I Lay Dying, but not many people know that the seeds of Wovenwar were actually planted over a decade ago deep in the heart of Texas, long before As I Lay Dying clawed their way to international fame, and years before their infamous demise. 

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Interviews

PALMS: An Interview with Aaron Harris & Jeff Caxide

Given the names involved, it’s no surprise that Palms have attracted a bunch of attention since the release of their self-titled debut album last year. The band that features Deftones frontman Chino Moreno with former members of Isis garnered endless praise with their first record, captivating a legion of fans since their formation just a few years ago. Impressive for a part-time project that took off when Moreno and drummer Aaron Harris began meeting up for hikes at Runyon Canyon. Who would’ve guessed that a stroll to Inspiration Point would have led to a 46-minute opus and a gig at the Hollywood Bowl?

According to Harris and bassist Jeff Caxide, working with Moreno is something they’ve always wanted to do. Today we talk with Harris and Caxide about their time in Isis, their journey with Palms, and advice they’d give to their 20-year-old selves.

Key takeaways:

  • One of the band’s most memorable moments was playing the Hollywood Bowl opening for System of a Down. “I didn’t even think there would be a possibility I’d get to play there sometime,” Aaron said.
  • When Isis went on their first US tour in 1999, Cave In’s van caught on fire. The gear they were able to salvage reeked like smoke for days.
  • Some advice to young musicians: save your money and don’t focus on getting a manager or getting signed. Focus on the process of writing good music.
  • On every tour with Isis there was at least one moment when they felt discouraged and thought about giving up. “It comes with the territory.”
  • Too many bands go into it with the wrong idea. “If you really love playing music, start with that.” It’s good to have dreams but start slow.
  • When Isis was recording In the Absence of Truth you could feel it was the beginning of the end for the band. Jeff said, “It wasn’t exactly said out loud, but that was felt it in the room between the five of us.”
  • Aaron was handling drum tech duties for Tool on their recent tour this year, and during “Push It” Danny Carey’s snare head broke. Aaron was able to change it in the middle of the song and the crowd went nuts.
  • Isis toured with Tool in 2006. Right before that tour Aaron got stuck at Heathrow Airport in London because of the gel bomb scare. He wasn’t sure he’d make it home in time for the tour, but ended up getting back right before they had to leave.
  • A couple months ago Isis made national news when people started confusing them with the terrorist group. “I thought it would happen a lot sooner to tell you the truth,” Jeff said.
  • People had already made up their minds about Palms when the initial announcement was made — before hearing any music.
  • “It’s a treat” to be able to work with Chino. It’s a vocalist they had always looked up to and wanted to do something with.
  • Aaron gets a lot of his song ideas while doing yoga; Jeff gets his while driving.

Links from this interview:

More about Palms:

  • Palms recently wrapped up a West Coast/Southwest tour with Boyfrndz
  • They’re currently writing new material but don’t know when they’ll hit the studio because the members have crazy schedules and live in different parts of the US.

If you’ve got feedback about this interview, what you liked about it or suggestions on how we could have done it better, we’d love to hear it. Send an email to ryan@ryansrockshow.com.

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Interviews

SILVER SNAKES Interview with Alex Estrada on Year of the Snake

We’ve been talking about Silver Snakes for a few years now, and if you’re already familiar with what they do you’re ahead of the learning curve. Featuring members of Horse The Band, the SoCal rock group have made quite an impression on the music scene with the 90s-inspired jams captured on their latest album Year of The Snake.

Having shared the stage with acts like Coheed and Cambria, Defeater, and Scale The Summit, Silver Snakes have been infecting crowds with their toxic venom, awing spectators across the nation with a compelling stage performance that affects the nervous system for weeks.

In this interview frontman Alex Estrada talks to us about the band’s latest record, what it was like playing with Coheed, and running his own recording studio. If you don’t already know him by name, you likely know his work — he’s produced some rad records, like the first Touche Amore album.

Oh and how could we forget? If you’re in the LA area, SS will be doing a show with Intronaut on November 4th at the Roxy and on December 18th with United Nations at Los Globos.

Here’s what’s covered:

  • 00:04 Deadhead (feat. members of Touche Amore)
  • 01:43 his relationship with Touche & recording their first album
  • 03:31 his old band Cathedrals
  • 04:19 the first Silver Snakes show ever
  • 05:08 working with Steve Choi of RX Bandits
  • 06:29 opening for Coheed and Cambria
  • 07:27 being held hostage by strippers in New Orleans
  • 08:46 why he started his own recording studio
  • 09:30 recording Year of the Snake
  • 11:11 advice to young engineers/producers/musicians

Bands mentioned in this interview:

  1. Deadhead
  2. Touche Amore
  3. Cathedrals
  4. Polygraph
  5. The CafFiends
  6. Coalesce
  7. Jesuit
  8. Tragedy
  9. His Hero is Gone
  10. Dear Life
  11. RX Bandits
  12. Shiner
  13. HUM
  14. Failure
  15. Peace’d Out
  16. Coheed and Cambria
  17. Iron Maiden
  18. Aeges
  19. Smashing Pumpkins

And here’s a stream of Year of the Snake in its entirety: