rock – Weirdo Shrine

11 November 2023

Q&A: Bleeding Lizard – The Mind Garden (2023, self-released)

Working on an album all by yourself within the DIY ethic can be quite a pain in the backside, especially when it comes to planning. I am working on such a project with my band at the moment and I can completely relate to Cameron Selbig and his band Bleeding Lizard that way. So it was no surprise to me that even though we finished our interview months ago, it still took until November to release the new album The Mind Garden and for Weirdo Shrine to publish this article. It is all good though, just listen in quickly and see why nobody into some seriously psychedelic indie rock should miss this gem!

How are you? How was the pandemic period for Bleeding Lizard?

Well to be quite honest, this band formed well after the whole pandemic period. Since we’ve been refraining from live shows for now, there hasn’t been much interaction with us and the COVID virus. Let’s hope things stay that way when we get out on the road haha

Can you introduce yourself and your multiple musical projects? And what can you tell me about your musical background?

My name is Cameron Selbig and I have been releasing music since I was 13 years old (I’m 20 now). I’ve had a love for music ever since I was a little toddler and that has only grown as I get older. In middle school, my best friends (Benson Wood, Noah Tresner) and I started our first band called “Borderline Youth” because we all liked playing music and being in a band just sounds awesome when you’re 13 years old. We actually ended up playing quite a few shows and making a little 5 song self-titled EP and a Christmas single. Those times were fun but as we got older and entered highschool, drama arose and we eventually broke up. After that I took on making music on my own with a tiny little audio interface and a single microphone. I took on making beats in an FL Studio Demo and quickly became infatuated, I made a few horrid sounding demos and decided that music was something I would put aside for a while. Eventually I joined forces with Benson and Noah again to become what is now our main project, “Flying Fuzz”. In our time apart, Benson and Noah had picked up heavy metal and punk music and indoctrinated me into the culture. We soon picked up another member, Albert Motzel, and started playing shows all over the midwest and have made an album and 2 EPs since.

What does a regular day in your life look like?

A regular day for me isn’t much to share about, typically I’ll wake up, go into my job at the University of Minnesota, exercise, cook something nice for myself and then find some time to get outside and do something creative

What is the best thing about The Mind Garden?

The absolute best part of The Mind Garden is that it is a culmination of almost all of my musical influences up to this point and serves as a look into my mind. I feel like this album is truly a full expression of me and my essence and I hope that some people can relate to my experiences.

Where do you live and what is the environment like for musicians like you?

As of writing this I am living in both Minneapolis, MN and Madison, WI. I think that the environment for musicians in Minneapolis is amazing, there are a ton of bigger venues for smaller local artists to make their way to as well as a community for almost every genre. I do have to say there is heavy favoritism and weird clique drama between a lot of the local bands around here though. It IS avoidable if you stick mostly to yourself but honestly finding close connections in the music world here is very difficult. Lots of transactional relationships and shit-talking other bands. Madison is much worse though, there is almost nowhere to play anymore unless you’re just setting up your equipment in a park somewhere, almost all venues are 21+ and usually don’t book local acts unless they are huge bands. The DIY scene has always been great with a lot of comradery but its taken a hit this past year with the death of many of the venues that were willing to allow local acts to play. R.I.P Truckers Atlas. This is a topic I could talk about much more in depth for much longer but I feel that this interview is already getting a bit lengthy

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

Lauryn Hill, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Mac Demarco, Crumb, VomBom, SHOOBIE are all amazing

Can you tell me about how you go about composing and recording songs?

Our process is fairly unorthodox at the moment, everything is DIY and we are only just beginning to understand the nuance of the recording arts. We record out of a bedroom studio doing live drum takes into a 16-track recorder and then layering the rest of the instruments and vocals on top. Most of the songs were written as they were recorded and each one took about a day or two to record. Overall it took us about 2 weeks to be finished writing and recording. Since then, I have been spending countless hours in FL Studio, mixing and mastering all of the songs to get them to a professional sounding quality.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

We will be preparing our live band for fall shows and planning an album release show in November.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Go head on over to our spotify to listen to our first 2 singles, check out our instagram too, where we keep updates on how the band is doing plus what we’re working on 🙂

26 October 2023

Q&A: Emergency Group – Venal Twin (2023, Centripetal Force)

When you have a hard describing a band’s sound I guess they are doing a good job. Emergency Group is one of those combos with a sound that you want to call free jazz or freestyle avantgarde rock, but whatever nomenclature you want to throw at it, it does not seem to it justice. It is improvisational music, it dares to be loud when it needs to and quiet when it feels the room for it, and completely rocks my world these days. Venal Twin feels like a pretty good representation of the state of the world right now, and I love to rock its hectic jams while walking the streets of the city I live in. Let’s see what guitarist Jonathan Byerley has to say about it…

How is Emergency Group doing? Can you give us a peek into your life as musicians?

It’s been a really exciting year for us! Our first album, Inspection Of Cruelty, came out at the beginning of the year and people really responded to it positively. Since then, we’ve started gigging and have recorded several more sessions. We just released our second album, Venal Twin, and have a third on the way (which will be our vinyl debut) next year. Next spring or summer we hope to get out and do some touring.

Can you introduce the band? How did you get together?

Robert Boston and I met when we were both in the songwriter Zachary Cale’s band, touring a little and recording the Skywriting album. For a long time I played in a rock band called Plates Of Cake and there was a period where Cale was playing bass in that group while I was playing bass in his. Anyhow, Robert and I clicked and started jamming as a duo in 2019. Robert and Andreas know each other from the world of modern dance having both worked with the Martha Graham and Mark Morris dance companies. Dave has played in a ton of bands and hosts a prog-rock and prog-adjacent show on WFMU called It’s Complicated. Robert called upon Dave to make the group a quartet.

Where do you live and what is the music scene like there?

We live in Brooklyn where there are a vast number of different micro-scenes. Emergency Group has really been buoyed by the musical communities adjacent to and around venues like Mama Tried, Union Pool, The P.I.T., labels like Island House Recordings, and of course the independent radio station WFMU.

What is your musical background? How did you become such good players?

I’m really just a rock guy and have been playing guitar since I was a kid. On the other hand Robert and Andreas are classically trained musicians with deep backgrounds in both jazz and modern dance as accompanists, performers and composers. I don’t know how Dave got to be so good at the bass but he rules. He’s also a great writer and a DJ like I mentioned.

What is your opinion of the free jazz tag? Would you consider yourself a jazz artist and why/why not?

Great question – ultimately, I think we are a rock group that shares some of the ethos of free jazz. I think we’re at our best when we’re really playing “out”. We’re trying to do a lot with our music, including making music that is danceable, but I find the more dissonant and atonal aspects of the group to be the most interesting. Obviously I’m not speaking for the other guys when I say this, but I personally shy away from the jazz term because a) we don’t play tunes out of any jazz-historical songbook and b) I don’t play “jazz guitar” in any kind of way that that term is typically understood.

When do you consider a piece of music yours? Do you consider that question when composing?

We’ve only just started incorporating composition into the group. On the record that comes out next year, Robert and I each contribute a tune. Otherwise we’ve been wholly improvisational. Sometimes we find “it” and sometimes we don’t, but it’s pretty clear to us when an improvisational passage transcends to the level of a “piece” that we’d like to share with people. Those are the releases we have out. The live thing is a little different because we’re trusting the audience to bear with us for a little while while we find out whatever it is we’re gonna do.

What role does improv or jamming play in your lives?

I’ve been a songwriter for years and it finally just became a drag. On the other hand, improvisation, jamming, spontaneous composition – whatever you want to call it – is really liberating for the immediacy. That is, in contrast to the lifecycle of getting songs out there: Writing them, teaching them to the band, testing them out on stage, recording, mixing, releasing, and so on… with all that there is like a 2 year tail between writing a song and giving it legs. On the other hand with improvisation you’re just putting down ideas to tape. Good session, bad session – it is what it is. This band is all about throughput. Right now that’s what feels fresh and exciting for me.

What is the highlight of your career so far?

I’ll answer this within the context of Emergency Group’s career, which is only about a year old. We got to record a Lagniappe Session for Aquarium Drunkard, which was an honor, and we used the opportunity to record Robert’s arrangement of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 2. I think it turned out really well. Secondly, we recorded an as-yet-unreleased album with producer Chris Schlarb, aka Psychic Temple. That guy is a prince and collaborating with him has been an incredible experience.

What are you looking forward to most this year (or the next)?

I’m mainly just looking forward to more gigs. I want to take this band on the road!

What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do immediately after reading this interview?

I’ll be shameless about it. Buy our stuff on bandcamp!

20 October 2023

Q&A: Zenon – Arven (2023, Self-Released)

There is a warm, natural feel about Arven, the second album by Norwegian folky fuzz rock band Zenon. It warms up the soul in a similar way as Wolf People used to do, or Graveyard and Witchcraft at their most jazzy pastoral and still versions of themselves. It is definitely rock ‘n roll, but there is just a little more depth to it than with most others. The beautiful interchanging of voices between lovers Filip Zenon Ramberg and Michelle Uller adds a dash of magic that makes it a record worthy of playing repeatedly this year. Weirdo Shrine may be no more, but we could not let this interview slip…

Hi guys, can you please introduce your band to the Weirdo Shrine audience?

Filip: We are Zenon, a Norwegian rock band led by me, Filip Zenon Ramberg.

On December 1st we are releasing our second album, ”Arven”, following the debut “Passasje” from 2021. Musically, trying to write for the present day and age, but also proud of our roots in the underground rock music of the 1970s, as well as our love and respect for jazz and traditional folk music. The music and lyrics are written by me, I also do most of the instruments in the studio, except bass – expertly handled by Martin van Houtum, and vocals – by my wife to be Michelle Uller. On the live dates, we expand to a quartet with me on drums, and Håkon Oftung from Jordsjø joining us on guitar.

What is the biggest trigger for you to do what you do with this band?

Filip: There is a certain truth in all the best music I know. A certain “something” which can move me and make me feel alive. To question and wonder. My aspiration is to write this type of music.

What are your musical backgrounds? And what was the first time you knew you wanted to play rock music?

Martin: I vividly remember my first proper music experience. That would be my dad playing The Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” cassette on the car stereo. I was maybe five or so years old, and it just blew my tiny little mind. I had no concept of rock music in particular, or any other genre, but I knew music was going to be an integral part of my life forever. I started playing the guitar a little while later, but didn’t really stick with it – until picking it up again years later, somewhere in my early teens. By then I had discovered 60’s music, and so my fate was pretty much sealed… Eventually I started learning other instruments too. Nowadays I mostly enjoy songwriting, music production and playing the piano. It’s ever changing.

Michelle: Growing up I played the saxophone in the local marching band for five years. Hated the marching, but loved playing concerts. I never learned reading music properly, so I mostly listened a lot, committed the melody to memory and then played the songs by ear. In my teens I also did some singing at school events and talent competitions. That’s how Filip and I met, actually – a county talent competition for teens. (I also watched Yellow Submarine almost every day when I was a toddler!)

Filip: I was drawn to music from very early on, but at around 13 there was the definite conviction that ”I can do it!”.

What music do you listen to in the band bus? Any weird tastes among you?

Filip: Actually most of my music listening is very private. Ideally I’m lying on the floor by my record shelves with headphones. Then it all depends on the mood. Ideal band bus mood is focused and positive, not too chatty. In a sense it is the building up of a certain energy for the gig. So any music that is not too demanding or too simple would be a good fit. Weird tastes: … I do listen to a lot of old traditional folk music and religious ceremony music from all around the globe. Much of that music has a different tonality, sometimes odd meters, and certain – let’s say – connotations, all of which puts people off, which I perfectly understand, as it took me years to appreciate. However, just like free jazz, when it finally makes sense, its the only thing you want to listen to.

Martin: These days, I mostly listen to either ambient / minimalism, or the greatest band of all time, The Beach Boys. There are many, many exceptions from this though, and especially electronic music is a field I’m delving deeper and deeper into now. Or Congolese rhumba, 50’s exotica, gamelan, etc. etc… I will, however, blast Close to the Edge any day, easily. Weird tastes: I admit to owning a Whitney Houston album, and even playing it occasionally.

Michelle: In my opinion you can never go wrong with the greats: The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Prince, Radiohead, the list goes on. I do have a sweet spot for Francoise Hardy and Jacques Dutronc as well (the coolest couple in music!). Weird tastes? I am a die hard fan of one of Japan’s biggest ever boy bands, Arashi.

What would be the ideal line up for the ultimate live show, and where would it be held?

Martin: I would pay top dollar to experience a drum/harp duo of Jaki Liebezeit and Alice Coltrane – preferably in my back yard (for convenience).

Michelle: I’ll give you a 180 on this instead: I’d much rather have a time machine so I could go back to Queen‘s Christmas Eve concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1975.

Filip: The classic Coltrane quartet at the peak of their powers, possibly the night when the ”Live at the Half Note” album was recorded, which I think was spring 1965. Could we move that to spring 2024 and three tickets reserved in the front row, please.

What is the best thing that happened to the band so far, and would would you still like to happen in the future?

Michelle: I love that Filip invited Martin and me to join him for his second album – Filip and Martin have known each other and played in bands and projects together over the last 20 years, and we’ve all kind of grown up together. Being able to contribute on this album, with people one loves so dearly, is really magical. Also, we’ll play some gigs in early 2024 – can’t wait!

Where do you live and how does it influence your music?

Michelle: Filip and I and our baby daughter live in a lovely little house between a big forest and a big fjord. It gives us an immense peace looking out at the fjord, and I guess it somehow inspire us to make something that’s real and organic. I know nature is very present in Filip’s music and in influencing him when he writes.

Martin: I live in an apartment centrally in Oslo. I guess the proximity and wide selection of record shops, instrument shops and concert venues allows me to indulge in music in a very hands-on, practical sense. As for inspiration, Oslo is surrounded by a myriad of forest hike trails, which for me is an excellent way to catch a breath and mentally work out whatever song arrangement I’m currently working on.

What is/was the best era of (rock n roll) music in your opinion?

Filip: Obviously the 60s and 70s was a very special time in the world which was reflected in the art of that era including music.

Martin: An ever changing answer – but today, I want to say early instrumental surf music, spearheaded by Dick Dale and the like. The sound of a stratocaster + spring reverb + maxed out showman amp is just out of this world.

Michelle: 1964–1975.

Where can we see the band play in the near future? Any other plans/schemes you’d like to share?

There will be a short concert tour with concerts in Norway in January-February 2024. I hope that we will be able to have one or two annual tours in the years to come. Eventually, gigs abroad will hopefully become a possibility.

Then, the writing, rehearsing and recording of the third album in what I believe is turning into a trilogy; I have made the first important step, which was to have a dream in which I was shown the cover art, by myself, oddly enough.

What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do immediately after reading this interview?

I hope the readers will follow us on our Instagram https://www.instagram.com/zenonmusikk/ where there will be more information and eventually some music as the release date approaches.

9 October 20239 October 2023

Review + Q&A: The Cyclist Conspiracy – Mashallah Plan (2023, Subsound Records)

Serbian avant-garde orchestra The Cyclist Conspiracy struck a nerve at the Weirdo Shrine headquarters from the second we laid eyes on them. The strange moniker was only the tip of the iceberg it appeared as the more we uncovered about this strange and interesting group, the more intriguing things got…

The further we wandered into the Mashallah Plan, the harder it became to find a grip on where we were. Was this ethno folk territory? Psychedelic kraut rock? Avant-garde sax pop? Nomadic Arabian desert blues? Or a little bit of everything all at once? Pretty soon we did not even mind anymore, as all we could be was mesmerised by the angelic voices of the The Cyclist Conspiracy choir…

Surely enough, in 60s style and reminiscent of musicals like Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, The Cyclist Conspiracy has incorporated a choir of heavenly female voices into their folky fold. It creates an extra outlandish attraction within an already pretty varied melting pot of styles. Proper “world” music in its freest form. Meet The Cyclist Conspiracy!

In line with their enigmatic moniker and collective stage presentation, The Cyclist Conspiracy answered their questions as a group entity. Who are they? What are they on about? Where do all those worldly and otherworldly influences come from? We asked, and found the answers we were looking for…

Hi guys, how are you? Can you introduce the band to the Weirdo Shrine audience?

Fine, thank you. We are the Cyclist Conspiracy, the (anti) world orchestra. We were formed as an informal project in 2014 within the Society for the Development of Alchemical Studies “Vasko Popa” and nowadays we are a musical troupe consisting of seven male and female souls.

Where do you live, and how would you say it influences your music?

We live in the Balkans, on the fringes of the Empire, or more precisely in Serbia, a liminal space between the East and the West. Our country, as well as the whole region, has a very rich historical background and has witnessed numerous catastrophic and miraculous events – the Ottoman conquest, the vampiric plague, and the birth of Barbarogenius, to name a few. All these events tended to shape cultural and crosscultural dynamics in a unique way – so our culture was always a synthesis of various influences and a very primordial basis of our own. This, in general, goes for the rest of the Balkans as well. The Balkan is, in spite of the exotic picture most of the people outside it might have, a birthplace of tragedy. The tragedy that was born out of the spirit of music, of course. No wonder “the song” and “tragedy” sound almost the same in Greek.

What can you tell me about the creation of Mashallah Plan? Most of the songs were originally released on an EP, weren’t they?

Yes, they were. The EP was supposed to be a teaser but it took us more time than expected to do the proper album, obviously. Also, we recorded the EP in an improvised studio, with very modest equipment so it didn’t really sound the way we wanted. Three songs from the EP will re-appear on the album (“The Great Staurocycle”, “Virility”, and “The Blood of the Lamb”) simply because they were part of the story from the beginning and they make whole only with the rest of the songs on the album. It was a long process and sometimes I had a feeling that it was almost out of our control – that the album was this separate entity with its own schedule, regardless of what we wanted. Luckily, everything ended up well. Actually, even better than we expected, since we’ve been super lucky with the labels too – Davide and Subsound have been extremely nice and supportive.

In what way was the novel by Svetislav Basara responsible for the band name? And (why) should we all read it?

“The Cyclist Conspiracy” is actually an English translation by Randall A. Major. The original Serbian title, “Fama o biciklistima” is a pun that refers to Fama Fraternitatis, a Rosicrucian manifesto from the 17^th century. So, sometimes I like to describe it as Robert Anton Wilson’s/Robert Shea’s “Illuminatus!” trilogy from the Rosicrucian perspective 😊. Joking aside, the book is one of the Serbian (post)modern classics and it tells a Borgesque story about a secret brotherhood that recognizes the bicycle as the last invention in accordance with God’s will (because the man produces the labor in his own sweat) and thus renounces all the technology and the modern world. But it’s crazier than you think. This typical postmodern playfulness was brought to another level and there are all kinds of references and characters intermingling throughout the book, from Vladimir Solovyov, Kemal Ataturk, Stalin, Sherlock Holmes, and Freud to Faulkner, Situationists, Artaud, and Paul Virilio, creating this unexpected network of correspondences. The cyclists themselves do some pretty crazy things as well, like smashing clocks, waging an occult war against Nazis through their dreams, or enjoying mystical dinners with the “Nightmare Chicken” as the main dish. It’s funny, it’s witty, it’s deadly serious and tongue-in-cheek at the same time, and it just fills you with this wonderful fanaticism 😊. And fanaticism is a necessary thing if you want to create art, as Laibach pointed out years ago – so we named ourselves after the book and this concept gave us a brand new playground to pursue our musical, esoteric, philosophical, and other interests.

I love the way the album sounds super eclectic, like there is a strong folk vibe but you cannot really pinpoint which part of the world it originates from…can you help us out? Which parts of the world have influenced you musically?

Definitely a lot of North-West African and Middle Eastern music, as well as some Byzantine choral music. However, they were just “incorporated” into the rock form although some of the songs were written in a manner that distantly resembles modal music. Actually, we prefer the word “synthesis” instead of “syncretic” or “eclectic”, it gives a clearer picture of what we are trying to do. It is like an alchemical process, you must be aware of the nature of the elements you are experimenting with, their origin, the way they correspond with each other, and above all – the fact that your final goal is a synthesis of the given elements, not the experiment for the sake of experimenting. It’s not an easy process and it often results in failure and frustration but when everything falls in its place it becomes a true blessing. “Mashallah Plan” represents just one aspect of the band and the traditional/folk influences are actually much wider. We have this general curiosity about traditional music that spreads to different parts of the world. Also, we are deeply rooted in Balkan music and we already had a few releases in “Cyclomanges” series dedicated to rebetiko.

What about lyrically? What message does the album convey in general?

Music has been considered to be the highest form of art since Ancient Greece and we worship it as such. So we really wanted to put the emphasis on the music that creates the story in its own language without too much lyrical content blocking it. We also really hate to write the lyrics, it’s such a pain in the ass 😊. On the other hand, we tend to use certain symbols or certain signs on the map, to put it so, that can generate meaning. For example, “Mashallah Plan” refers to “Marshall’s Plan”, “master plan”, and Marshall guitar amps at the same time so there are definitely some anti-imperialist and crunchy overtones to it 😊. However, the album tells a very personal story about a spiritual journey. Originally, “Mashallah” is an expression in Arabic and it means something like “what God has willed has happened”. It’s obvious that we are going through a very difficult period of human history and “Mashallah Plan” was our search for hope. Everything starts with a man riding a bike (and thus crucifying himself from the bird’s perspective), away from civilization and towards the desert, and ends with Simorgh, the ultimate bird itself. The latter is a direct reference to “The Conference of the Birds”, a mystical Sufi poem from the 12th century by Farid ud-Din Attar . “Deneb” also carries this bird symbolism – it is a star in the constellation of Cygnus (The Swan) with a very long cultural history. So basically, it’s all about birds, as always 😊.

Which contemporary bands do you listen to on a regular basis?

I can never get tired of Secret Chiefs 3 and Killing Joke, for sure. I love Circle very much too, Diminished Men had a couple of really cool releases… I saw Poil/Ueda live a few months ago and have been obsessed with their latest record since then. There is this amazing Russian psychedelic prog-pop act I discovered a few years ago, Inna Pivaras and The Histriones, they are absolutely brilliant. USSSY are also awesome. I also listen to some local bands like Ab Re, Crno dete, Lenhart Tapes, Hotel Makedonija, Dunavski Buzukije – there is a pretty interesting underground scene in Serbia and all of these bands have a very distinctive sound which is, in one way or another, influenced by traditional or urban folk music.

What are your future plans?

We are currently working on “Back to the Hermetics and Martial Arts Vol 1.”, a collection of songs that was shaped during the “Mashallah Plan” era but couldn’t fit the album musically and conceptually. Actually, it’s totally different compared to “Mashallah Plan”, the songs are shorter and more cinematic, they flirt with all kinds of genres, and have a certain “Faustian” quality – they are definitely less “solar” and darker than the “Mashallah Plan” stuff. So, we hope to enter the studio again in early 2024. We also plan to play live as much as possible. The first concert will be in Belgrade in early November and then probably more gigs in Serbia and the region.

What should the Weirdo Shrine readers do immediately after reading this interview?

I don’t know. Whatever they think is the right thing to do, I guess. Anyway, if they don’t have better things to do they can always check the first three volumes of “The Music of the Secret Society that Owns Belgrade” on Inverted Spectrum Records. There are some great bands and authentic weirdos there. The fourth volume will be out soon so keep an eye on that too! Thank you for the interview!

24 May 2023

Review + Q&A: Doug Tuttle – Keeping Alive (2023, Echodelick Records)

Doug Tuttle‘s laid back fuzzed out slacker pop might not sell as many records as like-minded spirits such as Kurt Vile, Eels or Jonathan Wilson, but that has nothing to do with the quality of his songs or his skilled performance. Keeping Alive is yet another example of why life can be pretty damn unfair in that respect.

Then again, there is no art without suffering, and Tuttle’s music might have lacked the subtle melancholy that is so striking about his performance were he more rich and successful. The why of it remains a big question mark though, because the ten songs on Keeping Alive are all major earworms, sung straight from the heart, and with plenty of character to make them stand out from a crowd.

The slight psychedelic haze makes it perfect music to play out on your porch, preferably in a hammock, reflecting on life, and realizing it is not so bad. We are alive, we keep ourselves afloat, and we are here in the summer evening on our own porch sitting back and enjoying good music. So from this perspective I’d like to raise my beer to Doug Tuttle and say “cheers man, thank you for keeping alive and penning these fine tunes”. You are being heard, at least by this little Shrine Weirdo.

I find Doug Tuttle at his home in the Boston area, where he builds guitar pedals for a living. Like a lot of contemporary musicians, he is struggling to get by from his music. All the more reason to shine a light on his music and his person in praise of the creative talent that is Doug Tuttle and is latest creation Keeping Alive.

How are you? How was the pandemic period for you?

Hey! The pandemic for myself and lots of other folks who either are at high risk/have folks in their lives at high risk is still very much an ongoing thing. The first year or so felt hopeful, and there seemed to be some sort of coming together/people looking out for one another, but the more time passes, the clearer it’s become how little the US government cares about the disabled community.

Can you introduce yourself and your music?

My name is Doug Tuttle (He/Him), I currently release records under my birth name. A number of years ago I was a part of the band MMOSS. Pre pandemic I also played bass in Mayo Thompson’s band. I’ve been writing and recording by myself for the past decade or so, and have 5 LPs, and EP, and a 7” to show for it.

What can you tell me about your musical background?

I got my first guitar around 6-7 as a gift from my mom’s cousin and her husband. I started playing in bands at around 12 years old, picked up the drums around 15 and played in countless short lived groups over the years. At 17 I started taking out electronics books from the library and teaching myself to design/build guitar effects/electronic musical instruments.

What does a regular day in your life look like?

I wake up some time between 8-9, take my medication and make coffee, walk 10 feet to the room were I work and build any pedal orders I may have (my day job: midfielectronics.com). Once that’s done I might sit around and play guitar, record a little, or build something musical/electronic for myself. Around 6 I make dinner for myself and my partner, at 7:30 I watch Jeopardy. At 9:30 I start smoking weed and watch TV/play guitar till I fall asleep. On the weekends my partner and I generally go for a hike.

What is the best thing about Keeping Alive?

Oh, I don’t know. It’s hard to get excited/have an accurate assessment of anything I put out at this point. The music world is so beyond shot, that it seems something will always pop up and make you/your music feel worthless no matter what you’re putting out/your original relationship with it. Over all I’m happy with the record, and so far only regret releasing one of the songs.

What can you tell me about its general message?

The current state of the US runs though all of it in one way or another -the rise of fascism, greedy landlords, over development, the seemingly purposeful dissolving of any sort of culture not based on nationalism, hatred or other-izing the marginalized.

Where do you live and how does it affect your music?

I live in the Boston area. It was once a great place to live, with a thriving community for nearly anything you could dream up. Now 99% of the people I know have been forced out/there’s little left to like here. We’re hoping to move away from the city at some point, but life circumstances have kept us here for the time being.

Before the rents shot up I was able to play/record drums in my apartment during the day which always felt like a pretty huge victory. Now years into the heavy handed gentrification that’s been running ramped it’s not really doable, so my last few records have programmed drums. That’s the only direct influence of the city I can think of.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

I honestly don’t listen to music too often these days, and when I do it’s the same 5 records I’ve listened to over and over most of my adult life. Getting kind of bored of the rich kids from the north playing country music vibe that’s going round these days/hoping for someone new to shake things up.

Can you tell me about how you went about composing and recording songs?

My songs almost always start as a chord progression that catches my ear, then I’ll start humming along till a melody jumps out. From there it’s a few weeks of playing around with that, finding other bits and pieces that’ll work along with the original idea. Once there’s a basic structure and melody down, I’ll record myself mumbling nonsense along with the chords, then go through and write down what it sounds like I’m singing.

Then I just start replacing words here and there till an idea starts to take shape. The sound of the words is way more important to me to get right from the start than the lyrics themselves, the meaning can be applied to a nearly limitless number of words if you work at it long enough, but there are only so many words that will sound right in certain places.

I record everything in my apartment myself. Nothing too crazy for the most part, just a laptop and a two channel interface.

What are your immediate and long term future plans

Nothing comes to mind, I put playing live/touring on the back burner back in 2018. It was just getting too expensive and quite honestly depressing to go out for two weeks and lose a bunch of money playing to nearly empty rooms. I’m always trying to write/record new songs, but that generally only becomes fruitful in short bursts so it’s hard to say definitively when that’ll lead to a new release.

I’m always trying though

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Not sure

29 April 2023

Review + Q&A: The Great Machine – Funrider (2023, Noisolution Records)

Sometimes doing the rock music thing is so unbelievably simple, you wonder what the fuzz is all about. Take Funrider by Israel’s The Great Machine. It says fun rider on the tin, it’s got a cool car on the front, and it features three dudes playing heavy rock ‘n roll till the wheels fall off. Nothing more, but certainly nothing less either.

On this fifth album The Great Machine are not making any great statements or artistic stands. Nor are they taking any prisoners. They are playing music to unload, to be free, and raucous, to live fast and die young, to race and to crash in a big ball of flames.

Their mixture of stoner, garage and doom is filthy and mean. It is music played by unshaven beer drinking dope smokers for unshaven beer drinking dope smokers. Don’t put this on if you like your edges polished and your hair combed. Do put this on if you are in for some danger and a rocking good time. No more, no less. Peace out.

To explain what they are all about, here is Aviran the singer and bass player of The Great Machine to make a proper introduction:

Hi guys, how are you and how was the pandemic for you as a band?

I’m fine working at a new venue in Israel in the last months. The pandemic was not to bad for us because we had a big studio in that time and we recorded the album Funrider in the early days when the madness started and when we finished the recordings we made a small venue out of it and had a lot of nice underground parties in it. We got one show at Desert Fest Belgium that we couldn’t make on time because Israel was red state at time and it was very upsetting but in the end we’ve passed that time in a good way.

Can you introduce the band for us?

The band are Aviran Haviv(me) Omer Haviv my brother and Michael Izahaky. Me and Omer started doing a band in our bedroom 22 years ago and ran with that till now Michael I’ve met at a pizza place we worked at together 11 years ago and soon after we created The Great Machine.

What can you tell us about your musical backgrounds?

Our musical backgrounds are very simple and obvious to kids who grow up in the 90s to a hippie mother. We’ve searched out grunge punk and metal while at home 60s 70s rock was the main soundtrack. That gives the main background to our sound and style. I think it’s obvious story for our sound and influences. Nothing special

What does an ordinary day look like in your lives?

Working raising kids drinking beer playing music. No yoga and healthy shakes yet.

What is the best thing about Funrider?

The best thing about the Funrider is that the Funrider resembles fun riding on every aspect of life and he brings the cool to the main board of life.

What can you tell me about where you live and how it affects your music?

We live in Israel, Omer in Tel aviv I’m a bit more to the North and Michael is traveling at the moment. The environment is very west Mediterranean and not stable but for us as punx it doesn’t matter so much we have our own atmosphere around what we are doing. We’ve created a scene for us and we’re pretty happy in it.

Who are your contemporary heroes?

My/our friends.

How do you go about writing music?

It’s coming through the heart to the brain and slowly born in to physical action on instruments.

No special methods

What are your immediate future plans?

Rock ‘n roll. In any aspect.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Call his/her mother and tell her how very gratefull s/he is for her love and sacrifice.

3 April 2023

Review + Q&A: Fiesta Alba – Fiesta Alba EP (2023, Neontoaster Multimedia Dept.)

If you think Weirdo Shrine will pass up a party like Fiesta Alba you must be our of your mind. Or on second thought, you must be a completely average boring normie with stale music taste. Fiesta Alba on the other hand are a party band for people who like their parties weird, otherworldly, and challenging.

On their debut EP this Italian bunch of “luchadors” wrestle themselves through episodes of math rock, hip hop, electronic beats, and heavy guitars. Four out of the five tracks have different vocalists too, each representing a completely different style, making the whole thing an even more varied and colorful slab of sound. Expect a danceable mixture of Battles, Rage Against The Machine, Talking Heads, and Manu Chao to convince you that everything you never thought to make up a good musical cocktail is actually quite enjoyable. I can’t wait what this eclectic orchestra is capable of in a full album setting!

So of course we had to find out who these mysterious mask wearing figures were. We decided to put on our most adventurous pair of pants and go right on and ask them. This is what Fiesta Alba replied….

How are you? How was the pandemic period for Fiesta Alba?

The period of the pandemic was fundamental for Fiesta Alba: while the planet was lashed by the virus and individual freedoms retreated in front of collective security, we went underground in the garage to redefine what we wanted our music to be. We shoveled coal into the underworld and laid the pillars on which our project rests. We are the diverted children of the pandemic.

Can you introduce the band, and how did you meet, etc, ?

The Fiesta Alba project was born from Octagon who, locked up in his bunker, developed a different approach to rock. So he got up from his chair and went looking for musicians capable of giving shape to the dream. With Dos Caras, artistic producer of Fiesta Alba and electronic sounds manager, they have known each other for several years during which they have shared paths in the cosmos of art rock and alternative music. Even with Fishman the bassist of the collective, there is an ancient knowledge and a mutual trust. The latest addition to the band was Pyerroth on drums who won us over with his groovy drumming and technical skills.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

Dos Caras has its background in alternative synthetic music and 90s dub. Fishman, on the other hand, has always traveled in search of his archaic roots in the groove of african music. Pyerroth grew up with progressive, alternative and “carbonara pasta” and as for Octagon, after crossing the post-punk galaxies on foot he was shipwrecked on the beaches of the most heretical and contaminated math rock possible. But above all, from the moment we got involved with Fiesta Alba we had to blend our backgrounds together and sacrifice them to find a new common ground.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

We wake up in bruising days with a vague feeling of frustration. While we pee in public toilets we dream of robbing post offices to finance planetary revolutions. But in the evening when we go down to the underground of our garage we jump for a spark of thrill as soon as the jack plugs in the guitar.

What is the best thing about your debut EP?

The courage to be nonconformist in a musical world that heavily suffers by conformism, not only in the mainstream, and to do it without niche esotericisms, in a usable way that can be listened to by anyone who wants to hear something different and enjoyable. In the debut EP we wanted to draw a genetic map in which to clearly inscribe our influences: post-punk, math rock, afrobeat, minimalism, but also hip hop, progressive and dub; these are the territories where we travel. We took the risk of being heterogeneous by producing a manifesto of our music. The real challenge was the attempt to formulate, from these assumptions, our own distinctive, distinguishable, stylistic hallmark.

Where do you live and what is the environment like for musicians like you?

We live scattered throughout the Italian territory, mainly in Rome and, as the ancients used to say, “Hic sunt leones”. Our environment remains tight to us and we don’t feel comfortable. This is why we have an internationalist vocation, that we express by collaborating with vocalists around the world, who give us a global and fertile dimension unavailable in our country. For example, the math rock scene – which seems to have a certain importance in the USA, Japan, but also in Europe and is widespread throughout the planet – does not attract much interest in Italy: the bands are few, they play within the enclosures of the genre with great virtuosity and poor sound quality surrounded by the almost total indifference of the specialized media. In general we find little mental openness in Italy with respect to musical genres, which are hardly contaminated as it happens in other countries. You can take for instance famous bands such as Sons of Kemet or Death Grips who come from different backgrounds but experiment with hip hop. In Italy this does not happen, perhaps because the market is small and everyone tries to achieve success without venturing into territories unexplored but looking instead for a comfortable conformism.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

We want to say it frankly: if there is a contemporary band of reference for Fiesta Alba undoubtedly are Battles. We say it without fear because we are aware that we don’t sound like them. However, our bible is made up of album-masterpieces rather than real bands. In addition to Mirrored by the aforementioned Battles, which remains a fundamental rock album of great inspiration, we consider Remain in light by Talking heads and Discipline by King Crimson as monuments which, despite the years passed, manage to teach a path forward. In the world of superheroes we cannot avoid mentioning Brian Eno, Steve Reich and Fela Kuti above all.

Can you tell me about how you go about composing and recording songs?

The compositional process starts from the guitars, which begin to record ideas by layering them on top of each other. We have given up on harmonic progressions and the harmonizations come by the layers, unplanned. Octagon’s guitar ideas are cut into loops and put on the computer. In practice it consists in loop-music and the composition becomes very similar to what was done with some grooveboxes from the 90s or those made with “Ableton live”. Once the composition of guitars and synths has been defined, a digital battery is designed and on this basis are recorded the synths of Dos Caras and the electric bass of Fishman. The digital drum part is replayed with Pyerroth’s style and human touch, and finally the vocals are added once the song is finished (but before the mixing done by Dos Caras).

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

Fiesta Alba provides a differentiated and adapted live counterpart for live performances that we are still fine-tuning to offer the best performance. We hope to perform soon but we want to do it with the same meticulousness with which we have curated the EP. For the next releases, on the other hand, we are already preparing the material and a second EP, in continuity with the one already released, will probably come out perhaps at the end of this year or at the latest by the beginning of ’24.

1What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

Masturbate first and then run right away on bandcamp https://fiestaalba.bandcamp.com/album/fiesta-alba to download or buy the ep. Write us everything you feel the urge to express on the e-mail fiestaalbaband@gmail.com, support us on fb https://www.facebook.com/fiestaalbaofficial/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fiestaalbaofficial/ and reflect on the meaning of life in the capitalist development model and the real joy of living.

25 February 2023

Review + Q&A: Witchrat – Witchrat (2023, self-released)

For a band called Witchrat, these Washington, USA residents play some pretty down to earth music. The moniker suggests long wavy hair, twin guitars, and lots of spandex, but the could not be further from the truth. On this self-titled debut album there is no heavy metal in sight, photo- or otherwise. In stead we get a well balanced mixture of post metal guitars, shoegazer melancholics, and grunge rock’s flannel shirt aesthetics.

It is a cool mixture or various sounds that make for a unique band and sound, which makes Witchrat pretty hard to pigeonhole, but here at Weirdo Shrine we applaud brave souls like them. The melancholic atmosphere fits the time of year perfectly, and the album makes for great reminiscing while walking outside, watching the leafless trees, and pining for spring. The fact that the album gives plenty of room for the instruments to do their bidding, without to many interfering vocals strengthens this feeling of loss and austerity.

So shoegazers of all countries, stop staring at your loafers for a minute, and check out this Seattle band. You might like what you’ll hear, or at least find a reflection of your mourning darkness. Don’t let the name foul you, this is some well grounded and heavy dark music.

I found Rich (guitars) more than willing to explain Witchrat, and everything about it, from the band’s name, to their living environment, their hopes, and their dreams. If anything becomes clear from his story is that it becomes more and more important these days to support the underground, so visit their bandcamp and leave something nice!

How are you? How has the pandemic period been for Witchrat?

Hello and thanks for asking us to do this interview. My name is Rich and I play guitar for Witchrat, a mostly instrumental post-whatever band from Washington State.

The last few years had lots of ups and downs. It was weird and in some ways bad for everyone, everywhere. The suffering, confusion, paranoia, and negative energy affected all of us in different ways at different times. For me personally, work had a lot of changes and I moved a few times.

We wrote all of the music for our record Witchrat in 2020 and 2021, spent the first half of 2022 tracking, and the second half mixing and enhancing the tracks. Releasing this record kind of puts a stamp on the whole period.

Can you introduce the band, and how did you meet, etc? And can you elaborate on the name? I get sent a lot of music by bands called Witch-something but somehow your music does not fit that mood at all..;)

The name Witchrat is just something we brainstormed, and it hung around long enough to stick. I think it became official when we renamed our group text. Aside from Witchcraft, and Witch, I wasn’t aware how many Witch* named bands there are, but it really is amazing. There’s also a lot of Rat* named bands, too.

Witchrat is Drew (drums, engineering), Rich (guitar), and as of the end of last year Steve (bass). We also have an honorary lifetime member, Kyle (bass, vocals, 2019-2022) who no longer lives in Washington. All of our previous releases are Drew, Kyle, and me.

Kyle and I met in 2019 and started playing together over the summer. We shared an interest in a range of underground music from post rock to stoner doom metal. One night while drinking whiskey, we decided to start a band that sounded like a garage band covering Black Sabbath, mixed with Black Sabbath covering a garage band. The whole idea was to pursue what felt natural and not worry about filling a niche, and to take more control over the recording process than either of us had done in previous groups.

Later, we met Drew. We were lucky that Drew is not just a great drummer, but also had a background in audio engineering. The three of us moved our gear into a dedicated rehearsal space at the end of 2019. After that, we continued playing regularly and focusing on writing and releasing music on bandcamp, investing in our recording set up, and improving our process incrementally.

Towards the middle of 2022 Kyle had to relocate (for non-musical reasons) so we focused on recording and releasing Witchrat, and then brought in Steve. Steve and I played in a previous band (Giza – giza.bandcamp.com) so when we finished tracking and started writing new stuff, it was easy to bring him into the mix.

What can you tell me about your musical backgrounds?

One thing everyone in Witchrat (past and present) has in common is that it’s always been about playing music you want to listen to; instead of taking lessons or playing covers. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 12, Drew’s been playing drums and has a background in audio engineering. Both Steve and Kyle have been playing bass in a variety of bands forever. We all share the belief that if you put creative people in a room together and everyone focuses on the vibe that the end result is more than the sum of its parts.

What does a regular day in your lives look like?

We have normal day jobs and relationships just like everyone else. I spend most of my day wishing I was doing anything other than working, and can’t wait to play music or get outside as quickly as possible after work.

What is the best thing about the new record?

As we wrote the music, we learned how to get better results out of our rehearsal space and instruments, and how to use different mixing techniques to bring out the best version of each song. I say we, but it was mostly Drew. He really made this record special and incorporated many different elements into the final mix that show up all over the record. Some songs are in different tunings or use different guitars, or have layers, while others are stripped down and raw. Sonically, this record channeled the chaos and uncertainty from the past few years into something tangible. It’s the best representation of music we were never sure anyone would hear, because at times we never knew if we’d finish it!

What can you tell me about the reception of the album so far?

Listeners are finding us almost entirely from blogs like this one. For a mostly instrumental band, it’s fascinating to read what listeners project on our songs. Some people say we are shoegaze with a stoner influence, others say we are stoner rock with a shoegaze influence. Another reviewer described us as “Trippy post whatever” which feels accurate. So far it seems like people are digging it.

Where do you live and what is the environment like for musicians like you?

We live throughout Western Washington State, but rehearse near Seattle. There’s some great bands, clubs, and history for underground music here. It’s a great place to live. We’re surrounded by mountains, ocean, and forests, which can be really inspiring. The downside is it’s become a very expensive place to live, which has had an impact on the artist community.

Who are some contemporary musical heroes of yours?

Boris, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Hum, Neil Young, Electric Wizard, Mogwai, Mono, Naxatras, Shiner.

Can you tell me about how you go about composing and recording songs?

I like to think the music has already been written in some other world, and that we uncover it through ritually jamming. The building and our instruments are a ouija board we can use to access it if we focus on creating the right vibe. When it’s going well, our rehearsal space acts as an antenna, and we’re the speakers projecting these tunes from amplifiers in another dimension. Almost all of our music stems from something like that. It took a while to learn how to do this as a group, but now it doesn’t take much to spontaneously generate new material.

We set up mics in our rehearsal space so that we can capture the inspiration and develop conventional songs out of that. On Witchrat you can hear some of those original jams between the anchor songs. Sometimes the spontaneity and energy from the original is just better than any ideas we try to add to it later. We try not to overthink it.

What are your immediate and long term future plans?

Right now we are promoting Witchrat, and tracking for our next release with our new bass player. We hope to get the next record out to listeners quickly. We’ll probably play some shows this spring, too. Long term, we’d like to work with other musicians on split releases or on bigger collaborations, and keep releasing music.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do after reading this interview?

First thanks for reading this far. If you are interested in our music, check out the new self titled record at witchrat.bandcamp.com. It’s streaming free and available to download at name your price on bandcamp, and on all the major streaming platforms. All of our other music is on Bandcamp, too. You can follow us on there or instagram to keep up to date on new music, shows, and whatever else is coming up.

Thank you again to Weirdo Shrine for speaking with us. Blogs like yours are where I find most, if not all, of the music I listen to.

19 November 2022

Review + Q&A: Bazooka- Κάπου Αλλού (2022, Inner Ear Records)

Ok I’ll be honest here my fellow weirdos, I am not sure if I would have written about Bazooka if they hadn’t sung all their songs in Greek. The fact that they do, a language that is completely “Greek” to me (pun intended), gives their alternative psych power pop rock an outlandish twist that makes it just weird enough to twist my knobs.

Because as it stands right now, the songs on Κάπου Αλλού (Kapou Allou) have a mystical element to them, ephemeral even, putting them in the same ranks as Kikagaku Moyo (Japan), Upupayama (Italy), or Circle (Finland). Meaning; I do not understand a single word they are singing, and so I am left with the sounds of the words and their meanings or mine completely to imagine. There is an element of folklore in there as well, with Bazooka transporting you straight into their country, their culture, and the listener being instantly completely emerged.

The music is fine too you know; a pinch of Queens Of The Stone Age, a spoonful of Foo Fighters, a dash of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, all topped with a spicy Greek Tzatziki sauce. I just can’t help thinking what I would have thought of it had they sung in English. It does not matter anyways, because Bazooka does not. And Κάπου Αλλού is a very interesting album for people like me that like to go on holiday in their own heads very now and again.

I hit the band up for a chat, and was happy to find out they were perfectly willing and able to do so in English! Here’s their story:

Hey Bazooka! How is everything on your side of the globe?

Hi there! Things are pretty rough on our side of the globe. There’s a war going on that affects us all. Everyday life is getting harder and harder with prices in essential goods skyrocketing day by day. Immigrants drοwning in the sea has become an everyday reality. There’s a threat of war hovering in the air. Far right wing parties are threatening democracy all over Europe.

For us and our everyday life the way out of this misery is to remain focused on what we love, be creative and support one another. And there are many people in Greece doing exactly that. Generally speaking a change needs to be done worldwide before its too late. For once more the interests of a few greedy people are imposed violently to nations and because of this, things are looking ready to explode at any moment.

So for a start we could stop voting for parties which are a threat to humanity.

Can you kindly introduce your band to the Weirdo Shrine audience?

Bazooka consists of:

Xanthos Papanikolaou: Vocals, lead guitar, synth, organ

Aris Rammos: Bass

John Vulgaris: Drums, percussion, backing vocals

Vassilis Tzelepis: Guitar, backing vocals

Penny Liaromati: The fifth member of the band who helps us artistically and organisationally.

Dimitris Kyriakopoulos: Live member of the band who plays synth, organ, percussion and does backing vocals.

What are your musical backgrounds?

Most of us started playing music as teenagers. We got inspired to start a band and grab an instrument from bands like Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Captain Beefheart, Sonic Youth, Mudhoney, Wipers, Melvins and many other classic rock stuff. Some of us had parents that listened a lot to rock music and other genres also like jazz, blues and classical music and that was a huge influence too. In those years, when we started playing music and formed our first school bands we were living in our hometown Volos. Volos, a nice and quiet coastal town in central Greece played a big role in our young minds and hearts with its few options and little to offer to a teenager. That made us dream of a different life. It wasn’t only that we wanted to play music. We took it seriously and we wanted to make records and tour around the world like the bands we liked to listen.

Generally our main influences are derived from rock music and it’s sub genres throughout it’s history. From 50s rock and roll and 60s psychedelic rock and British Invasion to 70s krautrock and progressive bands throughout punk and post punk. Of course we listen to other genres of music also but these are the main influences of the band.

Where do you live, and how would you say that influences your music?

We live in Athens, Greece. Athens has all the positives and negatives of a big city. It never gets dull really but it can drive you crazy some times with all it’s traffic and noise. Athens it’s the city we live so it effect us in a profound way with its scenery, its people and its sometimes hard every day life. The city life though is something mostly reflected in our lyrics and less in our music.

What does an average day look like for a Bazooka member?

Aside of the band we are doing other stuff also. So when are not touring, rehearsing or recording some of us are DJing, others are working as sound engineers or play music with other projects and one of us works at a coffee/bar place.

What does it look like when you are writing music?

Most of the times I write the songs in a form of a demo and then all together we labor on them and refine them in the studio. The end result is a team work where each member of Bazooka gives their own character to the songs. There have also been a few times that songs started from jamming together. The writing process for the tracks on our new album took place during the pandemic in the bedroom studio I have in my house. When I had around 25 songs done, Penny Liaromati who also helped us with the production and arrangements in many of those songs, and who was responsible for the new album’s concept sonically and visually, chose 10 songs out of the 25 aiming for a cohesive and pleasant listening experience from start to finish. At the same time we started rehearsing those songs in the studio in order to perfect them where it was needed and get them ready for the actual recording of the album.

Where do you gather your inspiration?

From everyday life, from hopes and disappointments, from literature, poetry, painting and art forms in general, from history, from nature, from emotions and thoughts and from music of course.

What is “the dream” for Bazooka as a band?

The dream is to continue to make records, play live shows and convert as many people as possible to our music. Amen.

What are you most looking forward to in the immediate future?

We are looking forward to touring in Europe again next spring. Our last scheduled tour in Europe was cancelled due to the pandemic so we are pretty thirsty for our next one. We also hope to do a US tour again.

What should the Weirdo Shrine reader do immediately after reading this interview?

Go and listen to our new album ΚΑΠΟΥ ΑΛΛΟΥ (Kapou Allou) which literally means somewhere elsewhere or somewhere else.

It’s available in all physical and digital forms via Inner Ear Records and of course you can stream it on the usual platforms.