Deadly Vipers, Laser Eyes, Wizzerd, Truckfighters

0:11?Welcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur. And today on the episode, as you can see in the title, we have four bands. We have Laser Eyes from Austria, Deadly Wipers from France, Wizard from the USFA, and Truck Fighters from Sweden. Really, really nice people. It was great. It was recorded at Arena Bean. Yeah. Anyways, the time codes are in the description. Don't forget to follow this podcast on Spotify or any platform if you dig it. Don't forget to rate this show, also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Anyways, let's talk to Deadly Wipers.

0:48HostOkay. So my name is David, and I'm the guitar player for the band Deadly Wipers. Deadly Wipers. We're right now recording in the green room at Arena. Today you're going to play the second show. Yes. Second show of the tour with Truck Fighters and Wizard. And it's excellent. Great band. Truck Fighters are the first legend. So it's an honor to play with them. So just before we start recording the interview, how did you, I asked about the, you said that you make equipment, you work in a music store. And my question is, this is how you get to know Truck Fighters because you made the pedal for Dungro? Yes, exactly. Previously, I was a fan of Truck Fighters since the beginning. And I know that Mr. Dungro uses certain pedals. He uses Russian Big Muff. They are famous first pedal. And I know he gets some issues and trouble with them during all the years. And so I'm an electronician and a professional luthier. And so I contacted him one time to say, I can repair your pedals and make them really stronger. So he sent me the first one. I repaired, I sent back to him. He was really happy about it. And so during the years, I repaired maybe three or four pedals for him. And one day, the band invited me to be their guitar tech in the L-Fest. So he was in France. He was more easy for me. And I made him his first signature pedal. I made him one, especially for him.

2:36DavidCustom-made. Yeah, custom-made. Completely.

2:38HostDid he want something special? Did you say that I would make a custom or you just made a custom and gave it to him? I made the... It was a surprise. It was a surprise. And I think he was really happy.

2:50?Yeah.

2:51HostYeah, because I checked online everything, right? And I saw first at the Truck Fighters when he somewhere mentioned to you. And then I saw you at the photos. Okay. And then when I started to do research on Deadly Vipers, I realized that you made it. That's how I got the connection.

3:05Deadly VipersOkay, great.

3:06HostSo that's how you get to know Truck Fighters. And then let's talk about the Deadly Vipers. How did the Deadly Vipers start? Okay. So I think Deadly Vipers started maybe 10 years ago. The beta version of the band was 10 years ago. It was a different style of music. There was another drummer. There was another singer. He plays guitar too. So we grew as a musician and composer during two or three years maybe. And after the scenes became a bit more serious, we changed two times the singer. And now he's Fred since 2016 or...

3:53Deadly Vipers2017 probably. Yeah, for sure. Maybe.

3:56Host2017. And Fultronant. Fultronant. You released it in 2017. Yes. So we fired a singer during the recording of the album. Sad. In 16. It was a bit of drama. And Fred was a good friend of us. And he asked him to sing in the band. And we know him as a musician and singer, a folk singer. He was really great. And we made the decision to try. And he was the best way. And now that you released last year, now it's 2023, 2022, Low City Drone.

4:36DavidYes. Yes, Low City Drone. So it's with the new drummer, Rudy. He's from, since 19, he's in the band. And Low City Drone is on further record the label of Track Fighters.

4:52HostYes. And Mr. Dango, I think he mixed. Yes, he mixed. In fact, we recorded the album at the same place we recorded the first one. And I just contacted Dango to know if he can mix the album. Because I'm just a fan of Track Fighters and I love their sound. And after the mix, they say, do you want to sing with us?

5:18?Nice. Yes.

5:19HostYou mean to sign?

5:21Deadly VipersWith the Father Rama.

5:22HostWith the Rama. Yes, yes, yes. He mixed the album. And after he said, he asked it. So he mixed and then he decided to put you on Father Rama. All right.

5:31DavidI sing he like it a bit. Yeah, I guess.

5:34HostWell, you're right at the home at Father Rama. Because Father Rama, we need to say that it's Mr. Dango's and Mr. Uzo, right? Yes. Record label. Recording label.

5:49Deadly VipersYes, exactly.

5:50HostAll right. So he mixed it. You recorded, he mixed it. And you're on Father Rama. Did your life change after that?

5:58DavidHow? I don't know. Not really, actually. Yes, the band became a bit bigger now since eight or nine months.

6:10HostBecause we are in more media. We have more reviews. We have more interviews. We have more share into the different social media. So it's a bit different. It's a bit different. We got a lot of top of the year pull in December. We get a lot of stuff. So it's great. We are happy.

6:35Deadly VipersIn France?

6:35HostYes, in France. In France. We don't have a lot of rock or stoner rock media. Just two or three. But we have been in there for sure. And around the world, we get a good paper in Metal Hammer. And it's a good trophy for us. Yeah, I saw it. You got good reviews on many magazines. Metal Hammer also reviewed it.

7:04?Yeah.

7:04HostIt's a big deal. Yes, I think so. We were really happy. We know we have made a great album. For us, it's a great album. It's a different album than the first one. The first one was more into the classic stoner rock, chaos scenes. In fact, those with more, maybe more punky energy. And this one is a bit different. We tried to keep the stoner rock, riffage, sound. But we just, we put more progressive scenes to the songs with a lot of parts, with the keyboard. We wanted to add keyboard, so Fred play the keyboard now. Just because we are just one guitar, sometimes it's complicated. So the keyboard adds a bit of atmosphere to the song. And it's great, I think. Yeah, I listened to the album. I think it's really cool. And Dango mixed it really well. So did he, okay, it's the second. Is it the first time you're touring with Track Fighters?

8:11DavidYeah, absolutely. The first time.

8:12HostHow was yesterday? Because you were in Regensburg. Yeah, it was a solo show. It was really great. And the Track Fighters was a bit late because of their flight. And it was a bit complicated. So for the sound check, it was really, really quick. Really quick. We did like a two-minute sound check. Their sound, okay, it's fine.

8:34?Yeah, okay. Clean, clean. It's sound.

8:36HostDo we have the fast? Fast works? Yeah, good. Yeah, it's a lot of time later. And yeah, it was great. We played first this time because at TIS2 with Wizard. One day we play first. The day after we play second. So it's equally perfect for the band. And because it was a sold-out show, not all the people were inside the club because there was a long, long line in the street. So we played for maybe half of the place because it was a bit early. But it was great. It was really great. People were really kind. It's the first time we played in Germany yesterday. And it was really great. I hope it will be the same in Austria. Yeah. And you just told me before the interview, it's the first time you've been to Austria. And I guess it's like a big, it's the first time this tour is so international. Yes. Yeah, it's our first tour. In fact, we, we just have made, uh, we just did some, um, date in France and in Spain because we are living just to the border of Spain and Cabestani. Yes. Cabestani, Cabestani first city. Cabestani is, uh, is where I live is, um, is a little village is a little village next to Perpignan, the biggest city in this area. And, uh, we made some joke with, uh, closest friend about, uh, Cabestani is the fuzziest city in the world. And so you can buy your t-shirt Cabestani first city.

10:10HostThat's cool. I mean, uh, now you can start slowly building, uh, a scene, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, pause scene, make a festival like, like truck fighters do with their music. Yeah. In fact, in fact, in Cabestani, um, there is a very famous, famous band that is called the Liminianas. The Liminas is a garage, garage rock band. They are really famous because there was a lot of, uh, TV show like Gossip Girl and a lot of stuff. And, uh, I was their guitar tech. Yes, because the, um, uh, three years ago, they made a super band with, uh, Emmanuel, Emmanuel Seigne, the actress, the wife of Roman Polonsky and with Anton Newcomb of the Brian Justone Massacre. Yes. He's a legend. So, uh, and I was guitar tech for, for them. And so in Cabestani, we got a lot of fuzzy band. Wow. Okay. So, so you're, you're connected to many musicians because you're a technical, uh, specialist.

11:08DavidYes, I'm maybe better in technical than in playing guitar, but I don't know.

11:14HostWell, uh, so far it's going well. I mean, and the reviews are, uh, an example of that. So, uh, today, uh, you're playing here at the Brenna. Where are you going tomorrow?

11:24DavidUh, we are going in Munich. Yay.

11:26HostI mean, uh, you, you play in Germany in what's next?

11:30DavidWell, next it will be Netherland, Netherland, Oland, Netherland. Do you know? Oh, fine.

11:35?Okay. Both fine. They're not, okay.

11:37HostNobody's gonna. On my podcast, nobody gets angry about pronunciation or anything like that.

11:43?Okay.

11:44HostAll right. So, uh, I guess everything for you is a new experience. Yes, for sure. I, for me, uh, I live it this experience before, uh, as a guitar tech. So I met already, I have met two. And, but now it's different is with my band. I'm playing on stage. So I'm, I'm really happy for that. Are you, are you nervous when you're on stage performing? Yes, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. Uh, in fact, I don't have issues to play in front of people. Uh, but, uh, um, I have, um, an issue or in my end. Uh, and after, uh, several minutes, I have, uh, like, um, I don't know, say in English, it's

12:24DavidTendinite. Uh, Tendinite, uh, Tendinite.

12:28?Yes.

12:28HostI have, um, a scene like that is an issue since few years now. And sometimes it's, it's okay. And sometimes, uh, beginning of the, the, the second song I have, I can play like I need and I want to play. So I'm a bit nervous. I can, I can move the same way. I need to, I need to stretch my hand. Uh, so it's a bit, it's a bit complicated. Uh, well, you just need to do stretching before playing. Uh, I try to do stretching, but, um, in fact, I have to do research about that. And, uh, um, in, in France, it's called la crampe de l'écrivain is it's something that the writer gets because they write a lot and they, um, they, uh, Oh, I don't not say that like you, you, how, how do you hold it? Yeah. They hold very strongly their, their pen and they can't write and I have the same issues. In fact, I had something like this, but then I stopped, uh, because I was illustrating. Okay. Uh, and that's, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's crap. Yeah. It's, it's overworking saying like this.

13:35?Okay.

13:36HostWell, regarding that you will figure it out. I'm pretty sure. Just, uh, uh, scary that happened before the two or one was it all the time on the word did it stick? Actually, actually is actually is all the time at all the show. I have that. And, uh, it was since me one year, so two years when I have changed my, uh, my um, my guitar pitch, uh, um, diameter, uh, I teach softer one. It was, uh, easier for me, but now it happened with the, with this thinner, uh, yes. You know what? Maybe you can change the technique a little bit. And, and because of that, the, uh, sound will change. I'm talking about, uh, Tony Iommi. Yeah. So maybe the, there's, there's a potential new music genre is going to happen. And I'm a big fan of Tony Iommi. I have the same M in fact. Which one is that? For people who don't know. Yeah, it's the, it's the new Lainey, Tony played, uh, Lainey super group during, uh, all the time of black Sabbath and, uh, they made a new model of 30 Watts Lainey, Lainey 30 LB or LA. I don't remember. And I play with, uh, with this one since maybe one year and I love it. Nice. Uh, I don't know much about equipment. Like I'm not so deep into it. I'm not a musician. I am a fan. It's a bit different. Um, so what are the plans for deadly vipers? Oh, after the tour, survive the tour.

15:14Deadly VipersAnd then after, yeah, survive the tour because it's a run day and we are tired a

15:18Hostbit, um, I think, uh, I, uh, I hope, I hope to make connection at this tour, uh, to know more promoter, uh, uh, more people into the scene. And it will be great if we can be, uh, if we can get an invitation to some festival and things like that, and to grow, make a new fan, new fans, speak to new fan. And it can be great. Okay. So I hope so. Yeah. You want to get new fans and get new experience. All right. That's good. Uh, and I wish that the wipers all the best now it's time for the song. Um, could you please give me, uh, uh, deadly vipers song that I will give, I will put in the end of the interview.

15:59?Low city drone. Thank you, deadly vipers. And now let's talk to laser eyes.

25:14Laser EyesHey, how's it going? This is Lucas from laser eyes. Hey to all. This is Tom from laser eyes.

25:20HostGuys, congrats. We just, uh, we're at arena, as I mentioned in the previous interview, uh, we just listened, uh, and see you perform on stage, uh, really good show. We already dug it. Uh, how do you feel?

25:35Laser EyesOh, thank you so much. A little bit sweaty, but, um, they have showers here. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Very excited. Um, it's a pity that we couldn't be longer, but that's, that's just how it is. How long did you play? I think we, we had a very short set, about half an hour, but that's, uh, pretty good. That's pretty good. And that's the way it is. And we are very, very honored and very thankful to be opening for, for the mighty truck fighters.

25:57HostHow come that you are opening for the mighty truck fighters?

26:01Laser EyesWe just, you know, um, reached out to their booking agency and they forwarded our request. And then, um, well, the promoter here in the arena, we listened to the space thing.

26:12?Yeah. Yeah.

26:14Laser EyesPhilip, I think he listened to our stuff and he said, well, yeah, that's good. It's shout out to Philip. Shout out to Philip. Thank you, Philip. Thank you so much for making it possible. And now we're here and now you're here.

26:25HostAll right. Uh, did you do extra special for the, uh, performance for today? We, I saw a bandana, uh, not bandana, a Rambo.

26:35Laser EyesOh, well, yeah, actually, I mean, well, the, the special thing is we downscaled actually a little bit. So, because we, we, we had only limited space in our car and we don't have, we didn't bring any roadies or, or hands. So we had to set up everything by ourselves. And since Tom has so much equipment, we, we, he plays a guitar cap, a bass cap, looper, 20,000 pedals. Then we have, um, a laptop that directly controls his loop station, directly controls our lights. We have to set up our own stage lights. Um, we have to set up drums and we have to set up in-ear monitoring. So it's like, um, we, we have to set up stuff for like five people in a band, but we're only two. So that's also the concept of, of laser eyes to play as much.

27:17HostI noticed that, uh, you are using your phone as a flashlight.

27:22Laser EyesYeah, I was just at the beginning because I couldn't see anything on stage, but I was trying to, to, to get, to get, to get a lot.

27:28HostWas it, uh, uh, an idea that everything is dark? This was the original idea. It just happened.

27:35Laser EyesActually, we, we asked the light guy, the light technician, um, just to, to dim the lights at the very beginning of the show, because that's where we have the triggered strobe flares going on and, and we asked them, you asked him, please just turn down the lights during the intro and then just do whatever you want.

27:53HostOh, and then he went full on.

27:55Laser EyesAnd he went, yeah, so it was, he was, he was amazing. So, um, shout out to the, to the, to the light guy whose name, I don't know, but shout out. No, uh, light was really, really cool, except in the beginning, uh, it was too dark for a long time, so I couldn't see my guitar for the first half minute I was playing. But still very good. Yeah, it was like it was, so it's okay. And then the light was awesome.

28:18?Yeah.

28:19HostI mean, never, yeah, that's what, what I saw was like, oh, it's like really dark. Are you sure that you're playing right now? And then I saw that you're with the phones like, okay, it's a part of the show.

28:28Laser EyesIt's just, it just happens. Yeah. But maybe back to the bandana, because we're using earphones, uh, Lucas has the problem sometimes that they fall out. And so, uh, I had the idea, okay, let's take Kung Fu fighting his intro song and he said, okay, I'll buy a bandana and it's, it's fitting with the song. And the earphones keeps my in-ear monitor in my ear. Yeah. A life hack. A life hack. Thank you. Thank you. That's the perfect word. It's a life hack.

28:56?All right.

28:57HostSo, uh, there's not many interviews. Uh, well, there's no interviews in English, uh, regarding your band. So we need to do some basic stuff. Absolutely. Uh, so I know that you are from Graz. I know that you are, there are two band members here too, and I know that you're using samples and you don't sing. What can you tell me more?

29:17Laser EyesYeah, that's absolutely correct. Um, wow. Um, where to start?

29:21HostWhen did you start?

29:22Laser EyesWell, we started, I think, well, like five, six years ago or something.

29:26Host2019.

29:27Laser EyesYeah. That's maybe you did some research. We didn't, we don't even know. Um, it's very, very funny story. Actually. I, it was a blind date. I, I posted on, on social media that I was looking for a.

29:36HostIt's your thing. Tinder's thing.

29:37Laser EyesIt's Tinder. Yeah. It was like a Tinder date. Yeah. So I posted on social media.

29:41HostI mean, Julian's thing. Tinder, man.

29:45?Don't do it, man. Hello. All right.

29:48Laser EyesYeah, that was. I'm done with Tinder. That was right. Yeah. I was looking for someone to, to form a two piece heavy rock band. Uh, he responded. Then we met. Yeah. I saw the post and I thought, okay, I'm searching a drama for a two piece project. And so we met and it fitted from the beginning. Yeah. And that's where this size was born. And the whole, well, concerning a question about the lyrics and everything. Um, it, that's just how it came along. Um, we were hesitant to sing at all, to be honest, but we didn't want to be fully instrumental. So we were like, okay, let's put in some voice, but heavily, heavily processed voice with vocoders and everything. I used to have a vocoder back at my drum kit, but all the drum sound was bleeding so heavily into the vocoder microphone. And since it's so heavily distorted, you would hear a lot of super duper distorted drum sound. So it was not really possible. So that's why we opted for these triggered samples. And since all the light shows and strobe lights are programmed anyway, which is programmed in the vocal samples as well. Yeah. I think it was a development because we met and I only had a guitar amp and the guitar and an octaver. And we tried and tried to find our sound. Then we had the sound with bass and guitar, you can say. And then, um, we added the looper, then we added samples, but at our first gig, uh, the samples didn't work. I today, I also today don't know why it worked at the sound check, but at the gig, it didn't work. So, okay. And the next step, uh, was the strobe. Then we started, but, but in the beginning, uh, his girlfriend, uh, was controlling the strobe at our shows, uh, his brother built us a food switch. So he was controlling it by foot, but then, uh, we, we found a way to, to control it via the laptop. So it's triggered. There's the project that the song is in the laptop. And, um, there's also coming a midi click to my loop station. So I don't have to, to start the record exactly at one because the midi is triggering it. And the midi is also triggering the strobes.

31:53HostHow was the sound check today then? Actually very smooth.

31:57Laser EyesYeah. I have to say that the crew is, was really, really, really good. They read our rider. They had the concept. I think we were done in half an hour. Very professional stuff. Shout out. It's really, really professional.

32:10HostIs it first time in the head for you?

32:11Laser EyesUh, in the big, well, in, in the big hall. Yes. We played previously just across here, you know, in the smaller one. Um, yeah. So it's the second time in, in Arena venue. Yeah. And I was playing, uh, I have a second band and I was playing in the small hall and in the Beissel.

32:27?All right.

32:27Laser EyesSo we might be coming back to Arena Beissel. Maybe soonish.

32:31?Yeah.

32:31Laser EyesNothing confirmed yet, but maybe. Who knows?

32:33HostHow soonish? One month, two months?

32:35Laser EyesNo. Maybe this year. We, we are still in discussion. All right.

32:40?Soonish. Soonish. Soonish. This year.

32:43HostI mean, this question is for the, uh, like in the end, the plans, but we can talk about this. Okay. So right now. So, okay. So you got together, uh, found the, uh, found everything, uh, loop pedals, equipment. How did you get on Kerberos records?

33:01Laser EyesUm, we actually, I don't really, well, no, I, I reached out to Kerberos records actually. And that was, I think when our single Hans von Berenland was released, um, they had a look at it and they said, well, yeah, let's, let's do it. That's the easy, easy, easy, easy story. And that's basically all there is to it. Yeah.

33:20HostNo connections, connection, no connections to the people. Connections are good. No worries.

33:24Laser EyesAbsolutely. We, we were just complete strangers to them and they were complete strangers to us. We just reached out and they responded and they said, let's do it.

33:32HostAnd, uh, Gansfeld was, uh, before you.

33:35Laser EyesGansfeld was released before our, um, well, first single actually, the Hans von Berenland was after Gansfeld and will be on our new record that is, um, hopefully to come out this year. Oh, working hard.

33:49HostAnd so new records, right? Hopefully. So, um, okay. New records, uh, hopefully this year, right? Here we go. The sound, did it change?

34:01Laser EyesVery, very much so actually. Singing. Um, we have lyrics on every single song except one. Exactly. One, yeah. There will be. But, uh, maybe this will fit your question. Uh, all songs we played today, uh, are going to be on the new record. So we don't play the old songs anymore. Hardly. Hardly. Maybe. Yeah. In two weeks we'll play another show in Graz and there we might. One song, yeah. Yeah. But we also play the songs different than on the record. Yeah. They're constantly evolving. They're evolving during our rehearsals and live jams. So, constant evolution. But maybe on the record coming, after our upcoming record, we will try to sing. Live. Live, maybe. Absolutely. Okay. Because maybe we are going to downgrade a little bit. Uh, not so many samples, not so many loops, uh, more riffing and singing. Maybe. We don't know. Maybe we make a dance with synth, a dance album with synth, we don't know.

35:04HostOkay. So, uh, there's a lot of drastic, uh, changes. Okay. Uh, did you record it in a new place, a new studio or something like this?

35:13Laser EyesSo we, we kind of remodeled our rehearsal space to a, I wouldn't call it a professional recording studio, but we, we, we, we upgraded and we did, uh, most of the recording just in our space. And we have like six of eight songs fully recorded, but all of the eight songs that will be on the new album are fully written. So we just need to get back and finish recording. And there will be four songs that will be shorter and a little bit more danceable, just like our single. Are you going commercial? Almost. Um, and then there will be four very heavy, long proc doom called whatever you want. So I'm going commercial tear everything apart.

35:58HostThat's something that you like really like aim. Like maybe there's like a band that you kind of try to be like, let's do this time. Like, uh, I mean, I can, I can only mention bands that, uh, I interviewed. So broom from some, some, from LA, no San Francisco. Uh, they're like June bands. It's like, they play sad music, but they're really happy people.

36:19Laser EyesYeah. That's it. I know. I know. Um, uh, Tom listens a lot to indie pop for instance, right? Yeah. Indian intellectual pop mainly. Yeah. I listen to. And elder. And elder. I love elder. So shout out to elder. Um, I love lengthy proggy music in all can be heavy music. Can be soft music. I, I love King Chisert. Uh, yeah, but I also like the heavy stuff. I also listen to indie pop every now and then.

36:45HostOh my God. Yeah. Cool. The thoughts are.

36:48?Exactly. All right. So, uh, who's going to do, okay. You're recording. Who's doing the mixing of stuff. Have you decided already?

36:56HostSame people, not same people.

36:57Laser EyesSo we have decided, but we, we, we, unfortunately we cannot say it yet officially, but we have a decision. Yeah.

37:04HostSomebody in Austria.

37:06?Yes. Somebody we know.

37:08Laser EyesI think. Yes. You might, might know the person because you're into music and you. I might know. You might know the band. At least the person is from, and we have another option, but also the other option is quite, I wouldn't say maybe famous. I don't know. In Graz.

37:25?Yeah. Yeah.

37:27Laser EyesBut yeah, we have two people we're, we're aiming for and we'll see.

37:31?Yeah.

37:32HostSo you haven't asked yet.

37:33Laser EyesWe, we asked both actually.

37:35HostAnd they agreed. You just decided.

37:36Laser EyesWe just have to, to make the decision. Yeah.

37:39HostWhen you're going to make the decision, they're also waiting for you.

37:41Laser EyesI know. I don't know if they're waiting for us, to be honest. Um, no, we, we, we should, we will make tests, mixes, test mixes maybe. And then just reach out to everyone. Yeah.

37:51?Yeah.

37:52HostWow. A lot of changes. It's just so singing and production people. So you're going commercial. Okay.

37:59?No, no way. No, no, no. I'm joking.

38:02Laser EyesAll right. So.

38:04HostOkay. What's, so what's the plan? All right. Uh, you're going to re like record the other stuff release. When do you plan? Are you planning? Okay. I know what you're going to re-release it around September.

38:14Laser EyesI hope so. I hope so. We have to hurry up actually a little bit, but you know, since, um, I think due to the pandemic, um, I think vinyl pressing plants are still heavily delayed. Right. Right. So let's say we submit everything to the plant. I don't know how long we're going to wait. Six months.

38:31?Yes.

38:31Laser EyesThen you can probably cross off September for, of the cards this year, right?

38:36HostWe've got tapes. You can do tapes.

38:37?We can do tapes.

38:39HostUm, 50 tapes, limited edition, hand science of 30 euros each.

38:43?Maybe.

38:44Laser EyesSo you want to go commercial. I get, I see.

38:46HostI come from the marketing perspective of music. So I already like into this stuff. Yeah. While you're deciding on the color or the thing, I already know how to sell this shit.

38:55Laser EyesYeah. There you go. Yeah. We have to, we have to see what the pressing plans going to say. But I, yeah, as, as you just mentioned, we, we heard that there's quite a queue.

39:03HostWell, it was a queue at least half a year ago. I don't know if it's changed. I'm only, maybe I'll ask Crackfighters because they have their own record label.

39:11Laser EyesI know. I know. Yeah. Which is amazing, by the way. They're just very, very good bands. Um, Witch Rider from Graz. They are on their label. Fantastic band. Please check them out. Yeah. Yeah.

39:27HostAll right. So, uh, okay. Oh, probably this year. Uh, any, uh, gigs in the near future. So you mentioned the random buy. So maybe sometime near weeks, we're going to play. This episode comes out next week on Wednesday.

39:41Laser EyesI know. Um, in two weeks, we're going to play in guards again. And actually I do want, I want a break because I really want to finish recording. Yeah. Uh, but you know, if, if something comes up, an invitation or something, we're going to accept it. It's also, to be honest, the Truckfighters gig today delayed the recording process, but. Oh my God. Yeah. Chance opening for Truckfighters.

40:02HostI know what to tell the Truckfighters. You're delaying people recording. You're like, shit, what the fuck is that?

40:08Laser EyesIt's Truckfighters fault because everyone is waiting for this. Yeah.

40:11?I know.

40:12HostYou're so big. Everybody has to like make a way for you. Oh, finally you came again after a long time or whatever. Why are you recording the new album?

40:19?Sure.

40:20Laser EyesActually, I want to get back and do everything as fast as possible, but we want to keep our standards high. So you can't rush it.

40:29HostAll right. Uh, time for a song.

40:32?Hans von Berenland.

44:52?Thank you, LaserEyes. And now let's talk to Wizards.

44:55SamMy name's Sam. I play the drums.

44:58JamieI'm Jamie. I play guitar.

45:00LaneI'm Lane. I play bass.

45:02JalenAnd I'm Jalen. I sing and play guitar.

45:05HostWizards. Wizards. Because of the vipers, the French accent. First of all, hello from Bobby Parker of the Salem's band.

45:17WizzerdHi, Bobby.

45:18?Hi, Bobby. Hi, Bobby.

45:20WizzerdHi, Bobby. We love you, Bobby. We love you, Bobby. Bobby mixed the album.

45:23JamieYeah, he mixed our album. So, uh, he's kind of the reason we're here since the, uh, Truck Fighters signed us with the label. So thanks, Bobby, for bringing us here. Hello, Bobby.

45:34HostUh, so I have a quote from him because ask him to ask you a question. So tell them I love them and I wish them luck on their tour. Uh, and the question from lobby, uh, Bobby, uh, is why the toilet in their basement is raised up on a pedestal. So they stayed in the basement when they played colors.

45:54SamIt's a throne and a throne needs to be ascended. And so the throne is raised. Why, why, why is your toilet not three steps above the floor?

46:08WizzerdThat's my question to you, Bobby.

46:11?Bobby.

46:12JalenIf you don't have to hunch over to pee in your toilet, then you have a terrible toilet.

46:19JalenYou know, it's really funny. It's funny. Uh, I think Bobby is not the first person to ask us about our downstairs basement toilet in the, in the jam house.

46:27JamieIn the same style of someone else asking us through an interview. This is the second time this situation has happened.

46:33WizzerdIt's a very famous toilet. It's a famous toilet.

46:37HostWell, I, I can imagine it's a famous toilet, but, uh, you know, when I asked Bobby, like, well, a question I didn't expect that kind of question.

46:45JamieI'm not sure it's been cleaned in, in a long time either.

46:49HostAll right. Yeah. So I, so that I, I, I, I saw that Bobby was promoting your album and, but he didn't know that he was mixing it. Yeah. And that's when I wrote to him. I was like, okay, you toured together. And he's like, actually, I mixed the album. I was like, oh, I don't know. But it's so nice. It's like, it sounds good. No, no, really, really. It sounds really good. So.

47:09JalenHe did a fantastic job. Bobby did a fantastic job mixing it. And, and, uh, being, I think probably the first album or, or second album that we else, is it the second or the first album that we outsourced from the first one that we, that we outsourced to mix. Cause we, we, uh, mixed and, uh, we didn't master the originals, but we mixed all the, uh, uh, the first two albums ourselves. It didn't turn out too great. You have to give it to another set of ears and, and Bobby definitely had the right set of ears to mix this album. Yeah.

47:36SamMostly we had, um, it was a lot of, uh, Randall, um, a guy who used to be playing with us, playing keyboards and mostly Jamie assisting him with the mixing. So it was a lot done like in the band. And we really needed like this outside set of ears with a different perspective on the songs.

47:57LaneMix your, when you mix your own stuff, uh, you tend to sit there and nitpick everything. You get down to the smallest little sound and you're trying to erase it or make it sound just perfect. And a lot of the times it just requires like, I don't know, a seasoned engineer or just an outside person to have that ear and say, okay, I know this is going to sound good. I know this is what sounds good. They send it back to us and we loved it.

48:22HostCongrats on this album because I was checking it out. I mean, I knew about your band for, for a long time, especially as the name and I listened a little bit, but then when I knew that I was going to interview you, I listened like deep dive on it. And I really liked it. I didn't expect the sounds because it's a comparison, especially to the previous, uh, stuff, like, uh, since that stuff, I might be wrong. Of course. I'm always.

48:44JalenThough, uh, when we initially came out or, or started developing this album, uh, just like all of our other albums, we've had, we've had the songs written for years before we had ever record, uh, recorded them. And, uh, that kind of gave us a lot of time to really define them and, and, and move on with our sound. And we kind of had this whole period of, of all this, let's do a bunch of like really funky songs, you know, get that real funk rock feel and into some of these and, and kind of step out of the boundaries of doing, you know, just straight stone or doom. Cause it can get real repetitive and real boring at times. So we want to, we want to freshen things up. We've, uh, we've kind of always, uh, uh, described ourselves as the, uh, uh, sativa side of stoner doom instead of the indica side of stoner doom where we're getting you pumped. So we're getting you going, we're, we're getting you excited. You know, that's, that's the whole point of wizard. Yeah.

49:35HostThat's what I heard. It's like the funk, the, the, the, the rhythm of it, you know, and that's, that's what I, what I got from clutch, you know, and actually because Julian, I didn't tell you, but because of clutch, I have a funk intro in all, in all my episodes because, uh, because of the, one of the clutch songs that I like is Barbara. Well, uh, this, uh, yeah, yeah. And it's like marching band funk style of stuff. And when I listened to your stuff, I had the same feeling, you know, like, you want to move.

50:04WizzerdIt's groovy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

50:08HostThat's what I like. All right. So, uh, you released this album, uh, last year, like how, and the response was amazing. So how, and this is like, is it your first time in Europe? No. Yes. Yes. Yes.

50:20WizzerdSecond time. Second time.

50:22SamYeah. Yeah. Last time we came was 2019. Yeah. Yeah. We came over and toured in October with Kal-El from Norway. Uh, great stoner rock, uh, awesome band, um, amazing band.

50:38WizzerdLike Jalen's favorite band, actually.

50:42JalenOne of my favorite, one of my absolute favorite bands. I was listening to Kal-El, um, uh, I think, uh, probably my last year of college and I heard their album on, uh, either Mr. Stone Believer or Mr. Doom 666, one of those YouTube channels.

50:55HostOh yeah. That's, I think I also discovered you on one of those channels. It's possible, highly possible.

51:00JalenBut, uh, we found those guys and, uh, you know, long story short, we did a tour with them that we brought them over to the States and they in turn, uh, helped us get over to Europe and we did a, uh, uh, it was only eight shows. It wasn't a lot. It wasn't, uh, it wasn't properly booked. We didn't have an agency or, or, uh, a touring company, um, put it on. We, we booked it all ourselves or rather, uh, they booked it for us. So it was a lot of downtime. We were there for almost, uh, almost three weeks. Well, we were here, I guess here, we were here for almost three weeks and we only played eight shows. So it was, it was more like a vacation and kind of a chance to, you know, stretch our legs and say that, oh yeah, we went over and, and toured over in Europe. But this feels like our first real tour over here. How does it feel?

51:50HostIt's the second show tonight.

51:51JalenFantastic. VN was the loudest crowd. I think we have ever had in our entire lives. And we have been playing together for over 10 years.

52:00WizzerdWe were all nerves last night. Uh, worried. Cause this is a lot, uh, out of, out of our league is, is how we were putting it. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, we were all a little nervous last night. We did that for a show. Once we got that out of the way, now we feel like we're in the groove. Yeah.

52:18HostYou finally get the bug off of the touring and like you can relax, you know.

52:22WizzerdTonight was the best show we've ever had. I mean, I feel like all four of us feel that way. This is the best show we've ever had. It would have been the best show if I didn't spill my beer.

52:32?Nah. What happened?

52:34WizzerdSpilled beer is the sign of a good time.

52:36HostNo, no, no, no. On my podcast, nobody spills a beer. We lick it off. Uh, you know, no, no beer is, is wasted. What happened?

52:44?What happened?

52:45JalenUh, so we were playing and I think it was either the first or second song and I had my, my sweat towel was on the, um, uh, the wedge, the monitor right in front of me and the, the towel just slipped ever so slowly and just knocked over my beer.

53:00HostYou could see it in slow motion.

53:01WizzerdYeah. Well, I watched it just, I watched the towels slowly go down. I was thinking, oh, that's okay. And then I saw this big pool of beer next to all of my, all of my equipment. And luckily the, uh, the, um, monitor sound guy ran over and just cleaned it up. And I immediately turned around and said, thank you. Oh my God. Thank you so much. I'm so sorry.

53:21HostWas it also the first time you experienced such crew? Like the, the, the scale of it of like being in the arena of some venue. Oh yeah. Yeah.

53:31JalenThis is, um, as far as these shows go, um, these are some of the biggest shows that we have ever played in our entire touring career. We have toured for five, six, seven years. How long now? Uh, we've been touring. Since 2016. Yeah. We've been touring since 2016 and we've done West coast. We've done East coast. We've done, uh, um, pretty much all over the U S and we, we, you know, we play a lot of bars. We play a lot of smaller, uh, smaller venues. We've played some delis. We've, we've played restaurants.

54:01HostI've seen it. I checked it out. You played all the plays. I mean, you're a working musician. So you have to do everything.

54:08WizzerdWe, we, we, we play what we can get.

54:10LaneUh, this is, this is the first time we've seen this sort of scale of crew working with ourselves, but, um, we've sort of had the ability to dip our toes in the water. Uh, Jamie and I went on tour with a band called Hinder. If you know them.

54:24HostUh, Julian, do you know Hinder? No.

54:26WizzerdLips of an angel. Lips of an angel. Go home.

54:29HostShout out to Hinder.

54:31?Go home. Get stoned. Yeah.

54:34LaneBut yeah, no. So we, we had a little opportunity to see what it was like. And it, I think it's kind of helped us just work in this sort of scale, like the organization and everything like that.

54:44JamieI also work in a, um, like college center that's kind of similar to this size and type of production. So I've seen that a little bit too.

54:51HostSo you were a little bit mentally prepared for what you expect.

54:53JamieYeah. For how it works, but never from this side, from the artist side.

54:57HostAll right. So what was the most surprising thing then, I guess, for you?

55:01JalenI guess, for example, today we're, we're not used to the professionalism because when we, when we go and play, uh, smaller shows, it's kind of just like plug in, do a quick line check and then, oh yeah, we'll work it as we go. But you know, even today we were running about half an hour, 45 minutes late and they still, the sound crew still took the time to do a very thorough sound check with us. And we, we're, we're not used to that. We're not, uh, uh, we kind of just fly by the seat of our pants and see how it goes because usually it turns out pretty well, but I was, uh, very pleasantly surprised with how professional and thorough, um, the, the people here are.

55:38HostBut wait a second. You, you toured with a stoner band, right? Yes. Yeah. Didn't you get the same treatment?

55:43WizzerdSort of. So it's very different for touring. Yeah. America's very different.

55:48?Yeah.

55:48LaneSo, uh, a lot of the times, so like we were talking about with the Europe tour where we had no agent, we had no name, big name behind us or whatever. It was hard to get some shows, some places just would never answer back in America. You can hit a pretty much, well, a lot of, not anywhere, but a lot of places and you can get a show at a small dive bar, whatever. And that's kind of how we started. That's kind of how we've grown up. We just hear about, uh, these venues from bands from other states, other towns. And they say, this is my local spot. Come play here. This is my local spot. Come play here. And we just hit them up over, like talk to the venue over Facebook messenger, email, whatever. And then we get there and it's usually just line checks. Like, you know, not, I don't show up so early.

56:32WizzerdLike, like in Europe, you show up so early to get everything set up and it's very professional. I mean, even with the stoner tour, when it, I mean, it was along the same lines, it was still rather professional as far as the timing and when we needed to be there. Um, but all the venues are venues that we had played before, uh, and you know, had, had similar experiences in, but it was a little bit more professional in the sense that, okay, load in is at four o'clock and show isn't until eight. So we have all this time to do soundcheck and all that, but the soundcheck and all the extra time wasn't for us. It was for the headlining band. It's, it's when you're, you're doing a, uh, a supporting tour over in the States. It's much, much, much different, uh, than, than coming over here. It's, uh, it's a little eyeopening to be completely honest.

57:23JamieI'd like to add to that to the response from, um, fans and people that come to see the shows is, is amazingly different. Like on, like you brought up the stoner tour. I think maybe the biggest crowd was a hundred to 120 people. Really? Yeah. So playing something like this, even being the second out of four bands was like insane for us. You know, the people actually really care and they, they, um, they support them. They, they, they like it and they're invested too. Like the crowds invested the whole time. They're actually watching what's happening instead of walking around or talking or something else, which is.

57:58HostSo the, the, the, the, the, the crowd really responded to the music that really like into the music during the years.

58:05JamieYeah. I mean, and that's something that, um, you do get in America, but not to the same, like

58:12Jalenabsolute degree, not to the same degree. Like there is a level of respect that a lot of the pop, you know, the, the, the people that come out have for, uh, musicians and for shows when it comes to the States. But, uh, I, I just feel like, uh, uh, people over here get a lot more into it. A lot more, uh, um, they're a lot more, um, fans. Yeah, exactly. Invested. They're, they're, they're more fans. They're, they're actual fans. So as opposed to like, oh yeah, I, I saw this band that now I get to brag about seeing this band. They're like, oh, I got to see this band and I got to see this band and this band and this band. It's, it's a completely different mindset. Um, as opposed to the States.

58:50JamieOf course, it's not everybody, but it's just seems as a collective more so that way.

58:55HostThe reason why I'm asking about the comparison between the United States and Europe is because usually in Europe, everybody thinks that, okay, United States is, uh, it's, it's the land of, of opportunity, whatever, you know, like everything is so much better there. The touring is so much better than that. And the same way it's, uh, how Americans view the European tours, but in the same time, there's like, uh, there are different levels and different sides. Oh yeah. Yeah. But, uh, for example, like, uh, uh, I forgot, I think when I was talking to psychic hits and I asked them about, uh, touring at the West coast LA and there they said, like, nobody gives a shit about musicians.

59:36JalenThey really don't. So as far as let's, let's put things into perspective here. So when, when you, when you come over and you tour in Europe, um, the booking manager, the promoter, whoever ensures that the bands get everything that they need and are provided essentially basic services, you know, food, water, drinks, uh, lodging, all that stuff. When you go over to the States and you try to tour, they don't care. They say, okay, well, we'll get you on the show. And then you're like, Oh, can we have something to eat this? Oh, uh, uh, uh, okay. I know none of that is provided. It's yeah.

60:15SamAnd of course there are exceptions.

60:17WizzerdLike there are many places that we play like ACEs high saloon in Salt Lake city, Utah.

60:25?Uh, fantastic venue.

60:26SamThere are many places that really provide for us and take care of us and respect the artists, but many places, it seems like the, uh, the average thing is that, uh, a touring band is a step above a homeless person.

60:43WizzerdUnless they're already famous. Yeah.

60:46LaneSo all of this is of course, from the perspective of like our scale of band. Right. And it's tiny boys. Yeah. So it just as working musicians, it's, it's very hard.

60:57HostI think when I was talking to psychic, the, uh, one of the singers was touring with somebody really, like really famous, but post famous, like after seventies famous, I forgot who it is. I'm sorry, but they got the same treatment. So, uh, it depends. Are there your hot shit or not? Yeah.

61:15JalenThat's pretty much how it is. It's, it's like you either, um, have the draw to be able to, cause I feel like that's kind of the thing as far as, uh, uh, touring over in the States. If you have the draw, the natural draw just by name to be able to bring heads into our, but you know, put butts in seats, then they're going to take you a little bit more seriously than, oh, just some, some podunk band from, from nowhere town, Montana. They're going to treat you a lot differently.

61:42HostAll right. Touring is hard. Yes. And being a musician is really hard, especially in the start, in the beginning.

61:51WizzerdBut it is fun. It is fun.

61:52HostOh, it's definitely fun.

61:54WizzerdThat's the blood you have to shed for the job. You know, it's just part of it.

61:58?Yeah.

61:58WizzerdAll the hardship is just part of the fun.

62:00JamieAnd you get to travel everywhere and see everything you want to see.

62:04HostHopefully tonight you will still check out the city. You, you, you, you mentioned that you might. Yeah.

62:11LaneYeah. We were, we heard some people or locals say that Vien is, uh, uh, kind of empty after the lights go off, I guess.

62:19HostYou also should be quiet.

62:21?Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

62:22WizzerdWe're quiet. Sometimes we're okay. We're not bad.

62:27WizzerdWe're louder. What do you mean?

62:30HostYou'll be fine. And you just say that you Americans are like, Oh, Americans. By the way, congrats on the music video. Like a do machine. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I really enjoyed the video. Thank you. And, uh, famous cameos by famous people. Like Nicola Mary, Brent Bjork and other people. Right. Uh, so, and also shout out to Kadabra because Kadabra, uh, I interviewed them when they were here. Oh yeah.

62:55WizzerdThey were here a couple of months ago. Huh? Yeah. They were just here. We love those boys. We love those boys to death.

62:59JamieI got a question for them. Um, did they paint the town?

63:02HostI will ask them on the next time.

63:05?Yeah.

63:06WizzerdShout out to their drummer, Chase. I want you to have my butt baby.

63:11HostChaz spilled the beer during the interview.

63:14WizzerdOh, really? Hey, good, good, good job, Chance.

63:18?Uh, Chaz. Also known as Chaz, AKA Chase, but mostly Chaz.

63:22WizzerdUh, he's, he's my drummer lover. Oh.

63:26HostOh, okay. I feel some love. Yeah.

63:29WizzerdOh yeah. Chase is a really, Chaz, Chaz, Chaz, Chaz, Chaz. Chance.

63:34?Chance.

63:35HostReally lovable guy. So like shout out.

63:38WizzerdCharlie's great. Charlie's great.

63:40LaneBefore we move on from the music video, I just wanted like a quick note. Um, while we're talking about other bands, I wanted to give a shout out to, uh, the guys in Mountain Tamer. They helped us with the video.

63:51WizzerdMindburner Productions. They did a fantastic job. They're based out of LA. Uh, Solar Haze. We had some cameos from them. Good friends. Good friends.

63:59HostMore shout outs. If you want to put more shout outs.

64:01WizzerdOh yeah. We want to shout out everybody. Of course. Shout out Grandma Rita.

64:05?Yeah. Grandma Rita. Yeah.

64:06JalenMy grandma in Arizona. She took care of us. She took care of us and treated and treated the boys like they were her own grandchildren. Uh, that was, uh, I think a couple. No, that was not on the same tour, but you know, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll still give Grandma Rita a shout out. She'll enjoy that.

64:21?Yeah.

64:23?Okay.

64:24HostSo what's the plan now? So you just released a, basically you released an album, uh, last year in September. I think like, like on Fezzorama records and Bobby mixed it and stuff. So what's the plan? Uh, you're going to survive this tour. Yes.

64:39WizzerdThat's hopefully the plan. Yeah. That's, that's a questionable, but hopefully. I wouldn't say we will survive this tour. I think we are going to annihilate this tour because it's a good approach.

64:51JalenWe're, we're two for two right now. I've had people, uh, come up to us at the, or come up to me at the merch table and say, yeah, you guys have set the bar tonight. So we'll see if that gets raced.

65:01JalenAnd even, even knowing that they're going to see truck fighters, like we'll see if that gets raced.

65:06HostAll right. So yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's kick the truck fighters. But, uh, oh, by the way, I really love. I love the Merlin memes.

65:15?Oh. Who?

65:17WizzerdNever, never heard of that band. I have no idea. Not sure. Merlin? I mean, I've heard of Merlock. Are they a band? Yeah, Merlock. They're a fake band though. They're not real. They're like AI generated, but I, Merlin, it doesn't ring a bell.

65:32HostAnd also from perspective of Merlin, I have no idea who is the wizard.

65:36WizzerdUh, uh, we are the wizard actually.

65:38HostI have no idea. I guys, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm talking to a different wizard. The spelling is different.

65:46HostYeah. This one, this, uh, yours is like some America. I wanted to talk to European.

65:52WizzerdThat's not a spelling in Montana.

65:56WizzerdWe don't have the proper edumacation for, uh, spelling.

66:01HostOh yeah. What's a surprise.

66:05SamPerfect. And if we can give one final shout out. Yeah. Uh, we want to shout out our good friend case in Amsterdam, taking care of us, keeping us safe, keeping us fed, keeping us warm, giving us a place to sleep. He's our best friend.

66:20WizzerdHe's our Dutch grandpa. Uh, we love, we love case.

66:24HostUh, in the end, I put the song by your band. Could you give me a song that's a good introduction to your band?

66:32?Go give a listen to Doom Machine. Thank you wizards. And finally, let's talk to track fighters.

70:58TruckfightersHello. Uh, my name is also. I play bass and sing in track fighters. Hello. I'm Mr. Dango guitar and, uh, a little bit of screaming, maybe.

71:09?Dancer.

71:10TruckfightersDancing, yeah. Jumper. Hard rock dancing.

71:14HostUh, first of all, we're recording, uh, in the green room right after your show. The show was amazing. We saw it. We saw it from the side also. It was really good. You played today with a bass a little bit, not yours.

71:26TruckfightersYeah. Uh, the bass itself is, uh, was decent. But, uh, the guy had, like, super thin strings. And it's, uh, it's tougher to play because it feels almost like a guitar. I like, uh, fixed strings. And, uh, also you can hit the strings much harder. Uh, uh, thinner strings just make more, it sounds weird and out of tune.

71:55HostSo, but still, you know, nobody noticed. Uh, there's nobody knows after, I mean, now after the interview, everybody will know and we'll check out here. And, uh, too late. It's too late. But, uh, still, it was really cool show. I mean, nobody noticed anything. Uh, how was it for you? It's a second show in a row in the first tour in a long time. Yeah.

72:16TruckfightersYeah. It's like, it was yesterday.

72:20HostOh, you started yesterday. Yeah, I know.

72:23TruckfightersNo, it's, it's all right. No, it's, uh, I think, uh, day nine or 10 might be tougher.

72:30?Energy?

72:32TruckfightersMaybe, uh, the voice, perhaps.

72:34?Ah, the voice.

72:35TruckfightersYeah. Energy is fine. It's just, you have to eat and sleep good.

72:39?So then you...

72:40HostWhat's, what's, uh, what would you recommend how to eat, what to eat? I, I see that you're eating, what, what's that? Avocado?

72:48TruckfightersYes. Oh, yeah. Well, you need to eat, uh, a lot and proper food, I guess.

72:52?What is proper food?

72:54TruckfightersIt's, it's, uh, beer.

72:55HostIt's fast food. Fast food and beer.

72:57TruckfightersYeah. Not so much fast carbohydrates. More like, um, good proteins and slow high cover.

73:03HostYou sound like a hipster.

73:05TruckfightersYeah. Maybe I do.

73:07HostOh my God. Trackfighters going commercial. He is a hipster. He's a jumping hipster.

73:13TruckfightersYou know, I actually feel tired already after the second show. So I guess I had to eat more. Yeah. To manage the rest of the tour.

73:21HostWell, okay. Um, I know that you have a lot of experience with touring. So all this complaining is nothing. You will survive any kind of tour in any kind of situation in any kind of, uh, country or continent. I mean, you played everywhere. Yeah. You've been playing since 2001. My God.

73:43HostUh, I watched, uh, veterans. Let's call it like this. I watched today the famous documentary that you have.

73:54?Yeah.

73:54HostSo are you planning to do another documentary in the next, uh, three years? Because it's going to be, I think 20 years or no more.

74:01TruckfightersLike 20 years anniversary. You mean? I think we have to find someone crazy enough to do it.

74:08HostI mean, I mean, I'm, I'm going to do it. I know that you were. Okay. I know that that was your whole plan to invite me here. So to make the documentary. I mean, that's why my question is here. All right.

74:21TruckfightersBut it will be no visual only talking for two hours.

74:25HostWe're talking right now. So it's part of the documentary already.

74:29TruckfightersOkay. All right. Awesome.

74:32HostEasy. It's, it's like, uh, when you, what, when, uh, you had like a tour in the United States and somebody asked you one of the bands, like, do you want to come? And you said like, yeah, sure. If you organize the tour and they did. And you came in, you know, so same thing, but other way around. Yeah.

74:50?Yeah.

74:50TruckfightersIt was the same thing with the documentary as well.

74:54?Yeah.

74:54TruckfightersJörgen, uh, uh, Christian just asked us, can we film you when you play? And I, then for, they thought it was fun. So can we come and film a little bit more?

75:06?Yeah.

75:07TruckfightersThey were after the show when they came up to us, like, uh, we have a new idea. Maybe we can do a movie just about you guys. You're like, okay, sure. But we didn't really think that we're going to do it. Of course.

75:17HostSo how long did it take to, to make a, how long did they, uh, record?

75:21TruckfightersMaybe two years or you remember. I mean, they didn't record that often, but it was over a two, two, three year time span, I think in the end.

75:32HostOkay. I have two years. I can do it in two. Let's do it like this. I can do it in one year. All right. Uh, what was this? Like in 25, it's like a anniversary, like 20 year anniversary for that. The documentary, I think, or no, wait, I think it came out in 11.

75:48TruckfightersSo 25 is something like, or something else that could, I, I, I remember. 16 would be 15. Then 25 would be like, uh, um, gravity X, 20 years. Oh yeah.

76:03HostYeah. 20 years. It's great. It's perfect occasion to, to, to record the documentary of making, remaking and touring and retouring with the, with the gravity X. Yeah. All right. So, okay. Let's go back to reality. Uh, this tour, what are your plans with this tour? Is it like a preparation for an upcoming album that everybody's asking for?

76:27?Yeah.

76:28TruckfightersI think we actually found a drummer now that can play on the album.

76:32?Joel, say hello. Hello.

76:35TruckfightersOh, that's a, wow. That statement. We have to think a bit about that.

76:43HostJoel plays drums in Enigma experience, right? Yep.

76:48TruckfightersYes, he does.

76:49?Yeah.

76:50HostActually, thanks to Joel. I knew, uh, the timetable for today because you did the Instagram story like a, like a video and I paused it and see the timetable of like, okay, cause I didn't know. Right.

77:04?Right.

77:07HostSmartphone cameras are really good.

77:10?Yeah. Good camera.

77:11HostSo, okay. So we found the drummer, I guess.

77:15?Yeah.

77:15HostJoel, is this like news for you?

77:18?I think. I think it is. Say it again.

77:22TruckfightersWe think so.

77:24HostAll right. So, which means, uh, my God, Truck Fighters, even the tour is named, how do, what's the name of this tour?

77:35TruckfightersYeah. Who's drumming, drumming, who's drumming on this?

77:39HostYeah. It's like a meme with the truck fighters, with the drummers and stuff. Yeah. Even if you go to Wikipedia page of like fans of your band, it's like 15, 20 drummers are there, which is probably that's how it's in real life.

77:53TruckfightersI think it's only 12 or 10.

77:56?11. 11.

77:58HostOkay. Exaggerated. It didn't really count. Come on. How would they count?

78:02TruckfightersYeah. But there's been a few.

78:05?Yeah.

78:05HostAnd then you just for fun decided to call this tour who's drumming on this tour, whatever. And, uh, Joel was drumming on this tour.

78:13TruckfightersJoel, we forgot to tell it, tell Joel about it. So he actually wrote to me. Am I drumming on this tour?

78:22TruckfightersYes, you are. Relax.

78:27TruckfightersSometimes we just talk to each other, me and Niklas, and we kind of think that he also are part of it. When we booked a tour or something or a plan in the future. It's like, oh, yes, we have to ask Joel if he can do it.

78:45?Yeah.

78:46HostYeah. I thought that I called you Joel. I didn't know because I only read how to. YOLO.

78:52?YOLO.

78:52HostYeah. I didn't know. Sorry. Almost the same. Almost the same. So, okay. So it means, okay, you found the drum. So it means it's the next step in the evolution of truck fighters, like a big step, right? So, uh, tell me that you're working on the new album.

79:06TruckfightersNot yet. But the thing is, uh, we're getting lazy by age, I think. But the thing is, the past two or three albums, we, uh, decided, uh, we, we create songs. We do songs. Uh, we meet each other and we do one or two songs. And just, uh, how do you say? Uh, just, uh.

79:30?Be creative on the band. Yeah.

79:33TruckfightersJust, uh, professional, uh, decide, okay, we meet this day and we create a song or two. So we need to just plan a little bit. It's tougher for us to plan those. Back in the days, we could just say, Hey, what are you doing? Should we rehearse or do something? Now we need to plan a bit ahead.

79:52HostBut now it's like everybody has families. Everybody is more responsible, trying to take care of everything, not much time.

80:01TruckfightersSo, uh, after this tour, we don't have that many gigs. So hopefully we'll meet each other and do some songs.

80:09HostWhat do you prefer? What do you actually would prefer in this case? Like after this tour, get another tour, but for example, North America or something like this, or sit down and, uh, make new, let's say EP, like four or five songs or something like this.

80:26TruckfightersNo, we wouldn't do an album, but, uh, we'll, we'll see. We'll start creating songs and we'll see how long it takes.

80:35HostIs it like any special occasion why you decided that you will do something like an album now? Because it's been for a long time. It's like, uh, last album was 2016, I think.

80:46?Yeah.

80:46HostIt's like four, look at that. Yeah.

80:49?Seven years. Seven years. Yeah.

80:51TruckfightersSeven long years.

80:53?Yeah.

80:53HostBut in the meantime, uh, uh, a lot happened. So, uh, Father Rama went higher up, like more responsibilities with Father Rama. Coffee Company. I don't remember when you started the coffee company. What's the name of the company?

81:07TruckfightersCoso Coffee, 2017. Do you have coffee here? No. That's the reason why there's no album coming. Did you hear? 2016 was the last album, 2017, the coffee came.

81:17?Yeah.

81:18HostBut I, I, I, when, when I was researching it, I was like, okay, it makes sense. You know? And especially that I know that you don't want to do an album if it sucks.

81:28TruckfightersSo it would suck if we do it.

81:29HostNo, I mean, I mean like, like you don't, you don't want to force it, you know, like you don't want to force the, the, the, the music. That's what I thought.

81:37TruckfightersUh, somehow you need to force it a little bit, but you need to want to force it. You need, you need to plan like, okay, we, we set, set aside time for this now and we do it.

81:51HostAnd also if you think that creatively it's there, like there's something creatively to be done. It doesn't matter.

81:58?Uh, no, no. Just, uh, we're not that, uh, psychedelic. Uh, we, we, uh, I mean, uh, when we, uh, uh, wrote and recorded Universe, it took a lot of time because we thought that we were going to get in some creative mode. But after, after that album, we, we just fuck it. Just, we, we, we see each other at eight and we, we do a song and at five, we need to have one or two songs ready. We, we just put all this creative, I need to be in send mode, uh, stuff aside. Just, uh, think about it a little bit more professional.

82:39TruckfightersThis is work. Let's create a song, uh, a good song.

82:43HostWhat makes, uh, a good truck fighter song? Have you ever figure, thought about what's like, okay, this is truck fighter song.

82:51TruckfightersI think, I think the key is when me and Dango think it's really good. It's, it's the combination that makes it good. Sometimes I do like a vocal line or something that I'm really happy with and send it to Dango. And it's like, ah, ah, and at first you get disappointed, but you know, there's something in it that, so you try something else and you try and you try and you try. And he says, yes, this is really good. And I think, yeah, this is really, this is better than the stuff I did before. So the, I think that's the key. We need to set the emotions aside and don't feel hurt by, I think this sucks. Or I think this is bad. Try something else. Okay. Let's do it. So a more professional view to songwriting. I think.

83:44HostAnd have you figured out like what kind of like, uh, maybe like a timing. Of a riff or like, like a structure, a song structure, a melody. If there's something working, like there, if there's a formula.

83:57TruckfightersNo, if it's good, it's good. It doesn't matter if it's, uh, three minutes or 13 minutes, or if it gets, uh, one chorus or three choruses. It doesn't matter. I don't think we have ever written a song and thought before, like let's do a heavy song or let's do a slow song or we just do whatever the rock and roll God sends to our heads, you know?

84:20HostWell, that's, that's ideal way how to do it. Have you ever thought about, uh, have you ever like even not thought about, but the Spotify, you know, like they get, um, the Spotify methods is that to get the attention of the listener as soon as possible.

84:38?Yeah.

84:39HostYou know, the first three seconds or six seconds, have we, have we ever like you thought about

84:44?it?

84:44TruckfightersNo, but I'm thinking if you want to think about it in a bit more like a cynical financial way, you should like share or cut your long songs into pieces because Spotify, they pay per play and not per minute. So if we have a 15 minute long song and we make five songs out of that, we get five cents the money. Uh, but so far we haven't done it like that.

85:09HostNo, no, no. You're talk practice. You didn't do that shit. Uh, um, by the way, like, I mean, you're a famous band, a successful band, you know, how, how is it for you with the Spotify? You know, because some people like thinking like if they get millions of Spotify plays, they get like to the next level, you know? I'm not sure that you get lots of, uh, I think it's like different because you can

85:35Truckfightershave a lot of place if, and they are if like one of those playlists where people who don't care about music, just press play and then you don't get any fans, but you have a lot of place or you can actually find a lot of new fans as well and get place. Maybe not millions and millions, but you can get place and get new fans as well. So I think it's both sides to the coin.

85:55HostI saw that you started to pay attention quite recently around maybe seven years ago, you started to pay attention on the Spotify statistics or where to play and where to book shows, you know, like, like, uh, uh, actually thinking what, what use it as a statistic.

86:13TruckfightersFor us, I mean, we are not on lots of playlists like that. Most of our plays come from people who actually choose to listen to it themselves. So then I think it's quite good.

86:26?Even though we don't really book shows based on statistics, it's interesting to see where people listen, I think.

86:33TruckfightersBut also it's a bit, it's hard to just say it like that because a lot of people have bought our vinyls and CDs over 20 years of time. So it's not like only people have the Spotify. You can't really count just that. I think. Yeah.

86:49HostWell, no, not on the Spotify, but I meant like when you started to pay attention. Okay. We have so many people in this country on this platform or whatever thing. I mean, it's really important because then you have to do the booking. Yeah.

87:00TruckfightersYeah. Of course. It's a nice, good tool to know where you're popular. I think.

87:04HostHave you noticed some changes in the recent, I mean, you're both in charge of Fuzzorama Records, right? So have you noticed any big differences? Well, except Corona, the manufacturing fucked up is fucked up, you know, but have you noticed, especially in the stoner rock, fuzz rock genre, some changes, like drastic changes? Because I think it's, I mean, some people can say it went up, some people say it went down.

87:35TruckfightersDefinitely. It's going up in general, like the whole scene. I'm not saying that Track Fighters gets lots of new fans, but most of the times when a band gets a lot of new fans is because they released an album and do a big promotion campaign around it and tour and tour and tour. But I think as a whole, the scene is growing. There's a lot of these small stoner, stoner rock festivals popping up all over Europe and US as well now. And a lot of bands are coming. And I think also that the stoner rock bands are getting booked a little bit into also the major festivals now, which did not happen at all 10 years ago ever. So I think it's a difference that's been gradually over 20 years, like the whole genre has become more accepted in the metal scene somehow. And more people discover that, wow, this is actually a kind of hard rock that is good when we didn't even know it existed. And then they get into it now because I think, I mean, it's not that far from the 70s, hard rock, the Sabbath or the grunge too. So it's those styles are like huge. And we are still considered a small underground genre.

88:52HostSo you also have your, what's the name of the festival that you have in December?

88:58TruckfightersAh, FASS Festival.

89:01TruckfightersCome to Sweden. But this year it's in November, actually 10th and 11th November.

89:07HostI mean, we'll come to Sweden, but Julian, would you come to Sweden?

89:13TruckfightersFASS Festival. We also have this in Vienna.

89:16?We've got a lot of FASS Festival.

89:17TruckfightersYeah. But this is Truck Fighters FASS Festival. It's a copyright infringement again, right? Yeah. We're gonna, we're gonna sue each other.

89:25TruckfightersActually, I remember that you guys played, you guys played at FASS Festival in Vienna. So it can't be that bad of a copyright infringement in the area.

89:34HostEspecially when it's the same band. No.

89:37TruckfightersI think that some words are too, like, common to copyright them, I guess.

89:43HostWell, can you copyright FASS? I'm not sure. No, no, no, no, no. It can be anything. By the way, like, this is my personal. Have you ever, like, after the documentary, talked to Josh Homie regarding that famous line? No. Nothing, right?

90:00TruckfightersWe actually met him before that. Ah, before? Yeah, and after. But we didn't really talk about, I mean, when we met him after, we just said thanks for doing that quote, that little thing for our movie. But, yeah, that was quite soon after, I think, we met them. I don't know. I mean, it's not like we know him or anything like that. We met him when we recorded our first demo, and we gave him, like, the Desert Cruiser demo. I don't know if he listened to it, but, like, I don't know. Yeah.

90:34HostIt's just, I wanted to know because it's like, like, it was a big deal. It kind of still would be a big deal. It's like a meme almost, like, with the truck fighters. Yeah. And then there's also, like, an interview that he did in 2011, like, maybe, like, a little bit, one year later with Nardwar, when he said, like, I don't know. I was wasted. I was sure. I was sure.

90:56TruckfightersAnd that's the truth. But, I mean, they actually shared it, the trailer, on their own Facebook page. No, no, no.

91:03HostOf course, it's like everybody loves us because it's a fun story. It's a cross promotion from both of you, you know, and he doesn't know.

91:10TruckfightersIt's very fun. But I don't think he really knows so much. I'm not sure, you know. Fuck it.

91:16HostWow. It's whatever. He's doing his own thing. All right. So, tour, maybe potential album. What else is on the rise? Enigma experience. What's up with that?

91:28TruckfightersNot much right now. I have to get the famous inspiration to do more songs.

91:35HostAll the talk about being professional has gone to shit. Here we go with inspiration. That's the key of the truck fighters, right?

91:43TruckfightersI have two small girls at home now, so it's hard to find time also at the moment.

91:49HostAll right. That's okay. You're excused.

91:53Truckfighters0.5 and 1.5 years old, so.

91:56?Yeah.

91:57TruckfightersI can actually excuse myself by not only starting a roastery. I also had like three small kids at the same time. They are getting older, so now it's easier to get time for other stuff. All right.

92:13HostSo, excuses. I hear excuses and complaining. All right. And so, which means for the fans, shout out to the reddit community, Stoner Rock reddit community, who's going to listen to all of these interviews. They're really fanatical about all this stuff. So, I guess new albums coming soon. Let's say it like this. I say it.

92:39TruckfightersIt's coming, but we don't promise any time. We just promise that it will come. Like Tool. They said it's going to be an album for 10 years and then it came after 14. Before Richard dies.

92:50?Oops. Jesus.

92:53TruckfightersHe will live for 20 more years, right?

92:56?Hopefully.

92:57HostAnd I hope Truck Fighters will also like, will last for a long time. All right. Don't want to bother you too much.

93:02TruckfightersI kind of hope that we can do a kiss now. Like one album each year for a while. That would be cool. That would be cool. Yeah. Like Abba also did it back in the days.

93:11HostAnd then reunion tour and then forever and ever, like last...

93:15TruckfightersAnd the hologram tour? Yeah, we can do that in one year.

93:21HostAll right. Time for a song. Could you give me a Truck Fighters song that's good introduction to your band?

93:27?Desert Cruiser. Thank you, Truck Fighters and everybody involved in this tour. And thank you, dear listener, for staying till the end. Don't forget to follow this podcast if you dig it. More stuff to come. Until next time, take care and bye.