Speck, Lupus, Mothers of the Land, Record Deal For Xmas, LSD, Lasers

0:00?Welcome to Interceptor Beyond Podcast. My name is Arthur, and today it's the first episode of the Green Room Sessions, where I attend gigs and interview musicians right there somewhere in the backstage. Usually it's a green room. As a contrast to the main podcast, which is more like a studio recording, the Green Room Sessions is raw and almost unedited. You'll hear some background music, maybe some people talking. At the beginning of the episode, we started outside, but then after like one minute, after realizing that it's not really possible to record there, we moved to the Green Room at the backstage. And that's where all the interviews took place. I did cut out only maybe like two minutes from this episode. The edits are minimal. And today we have an interview with, three interviews with three really cool bands. Speck, Lupus, and Mothers of the Land. And each interview is followed by the band's song. And in the end of the episode, I have a small summary that I recorded at home. So check out the bands. The links are in the description to this episode. Also the chapter codes, the time codes, I mean, to the parts of the episode are also in the description. Don't forget to subscribe, because more cool stuff is coming up. And that's it. Enjoy. We'll start with Speck.

1:19PatrickHi, I'm Patrick. I'm the drummer for Speck. And I really f***ing love drumming.

1:27LisaSound shake. Hi, I'm Lisa. I play the bass.

1:32MarcelHi, I'm Marcel. I'm playing the guitar.

1:34HostAnd the band tonight is Speck, right? When I told my friends today that I'm going to interview Speck, they're like, Speck, I like that name. Awesome. So I know your band, you started a couple of years ago, in 2018, I think, something like this. And I know your band because of Days of Confused. Somehow they invited you to play one of the first gigs, I think.

1:58MarcelIt was our second gig, yeah.

2:00?Yeah. Yeah.

2:02HostSomebody, I don't remember exactly the band.

2:06SpeckCan you hear me?

2:16HostActually, it's good that we need to start over. Because you get through, finally, you're like, relaxed a bit. Actually, we don't need to start that over. Actually, I'm recording all this time.

2:29HostSo once again, so we met at Days of Confused show, organized by Verena and Nicolas, right? Yeah, great, great organizers, great people. So you played with some bands from the United States, right?

2:43PatrickYes, it was ecstatic vision. We were really, really excited because I was a longtime fan of them. And then our second gig was with them and I was like, that's real?

2:55SpeckYeah. Wow.

2:57HostSo you were, were you, were you nervous? Nervous, like, or was it like a blast? I mean, you asked me if I was nervous before the interview or during the interview. I am, you know, I can, I can accept that.

3:11?What about you?

3:13PatrickI from IPA can say I was nervous because it was like, we rehearsed once in summer, once before the first gig, first gig rehearsing again. And then it was the second gig with ecstatic vision. So obviously we were not sure about the whole, where it would evolve and the whole concept. So yeah, I was definitely nervous.

3:35HostBut then you played, I think I was, yeah, I was there. I mean, I don't remember anything fucked up. So it means that everything was fine. How was experience for you?

3:45MarcelI mean, it was great. I mean, you have to tell the whole story because in the, in the beginning we, we weren't the band. We were just some guys who had just met each other and we had the opportunity just to, to, to play the gig

4:04Marcelbecause the, the other band of Patrick wasn't able to play. So we said, all right, we play. And Nick and Verena from Dazed and Confused were at the show. It was in the, in the Café Carina. And then two weeks later, we were booked for the Dazed and Confused show. And this was actually like the, like, yeah, the starting point for the band actually. And then ever since we just went on and some people, uh, I mean, people liked the stuff that we were doing. And so we just kept on doing it and now we're a band, I guess.

4:39HostSo it was a happy accident. That's a cool story. You know, it's like, it's not like, all right, I started the band and you know, like boring stuff. No, no, that's like a cool stuff. We need to mention that what's interesting about your band is that you play instrumental music, right? There's not much singing. There's maybe some, a little bit of improvisation, not a lot of improvisation, right? So, uh, you like jamming a lot and recording. Like 90 to 95% is jammed.

5:10MarcelWhen we play, we just talk about, uh, who will start or, uh, in which theme we're kind of going. If we like maybe starting slower and, or if you like fall to the floor, uh, from the beginning, that that's, that's the only thing that we're talking about when we are playing and everything after that is just improvised and jammed and yeah.

5:35HostSo today it's going to be also improvised, especially in this heat. Yes, yes, absolutely. And, uh, Yulek, uh, Lisa, sorry, I have your names here.

5:49HostSorry about this. I'm also fucked up because of the heat. Um, where are we? Can you tell the people where are we? They could.

5:58LisaAt the moment we're at, um, Arena in Vienna. Um, it is a great location. Um, there are some buildings, um, with, made out of old bricks. Um, it used to be a slaughterhouse. Yeah. Um, but we're very thankful that today this is uh, uh, music location.

6:20HostUm, there are... That was about, about the heat.

6:23SpeckOh, yeah.

6:24LisaWell, it's pretty hot today, but...

6:28HostIt's 35 degrees, 36.

6:30LisaThat's true. That's why you need to get a beer as soon as possible.

6:35SpeckAnd the Beerwoche, yes.

6:36?Yes. Yes.

6:37HostYeah. And, uh, we're, uh, so we're at Arena and it's a Beerwoche. So there are many, there are several bands per day in this week. I mean, I have to tell it to the international people. And we're in Vienna, you know. It's Saturday and it's around six o'clock. So that people understand how we feel right now. Yeah.

6:56HostAll right. So, uh, we know how you started. You, I think you recorded an album. You have an album, right?

7:03MarcelYes. Yes. We recorded an album. The album was also jammed. There was just one track that we, we went into, in, in the studio with, with, with the idea of this riff and we just went with it and everything else was just jammed. And that's it. And the next album is going to be like that.

7:24HostAnd, uh, first of all, I mean, I really liked the album. Secondly, I really liked the album cover.

7:31MarcelYeah, um, um, and an old friend of mine, uh, Leonie Mattis is her name. She was, uh, she went to school with me and she studied, uh, illustration in Hamburg in Germany.

7:46MarcelAnd some day I was just sitting, uh, somewhere with Lisa and I just showed her Instagram account. Like, oh my God, this is so goofy. You need to see this.

7:56SpeckAnd then, yeah, it is very nineties.

7:59MarcelAnd, um, she also did it, did the whole, uh, the whole thing in Microsoft paint. I think, no, yeah. Almost everything is made in Microsoft paint.

8:09HostHoly shit. Why it's not written in the bad description.

8:12SpeckYeah, that, that's why you are here.

8:14MarcelSo, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, so, so that you can give some background information for you.

8:20SpeckI will give you, I can give you a lot of notes.

8:23MarcelYeah, and that, and we just asked her and, um, I don't know, uh, we were, we knew that this album cover would polarize and we were not sure if this would be an appropriate thing to do, but in the end it, I don't know, it, it, it, it paid off. I think.

8:40?Yeah.

8:41HostUh, in my experience, uh, for example, I interviewed the band, uh, I interviewed the band of broom and they have the white, uh, bunny on the front cover, but they're a doom metal band. Right. So I asked them, you're like, oh, you're so like cool and stuff. That's why you put the, the bunny there like, like for like, and they said, no, no, no, it was a joke. We just made it as a joke. And that's it.

9:07HostSo the, the more controversial you can be, the better it is. I think, you know, like it depends.

9:13?It depends. Yeah.

9:15PatrickI remember some YouTube comments, like we came for the cover, but it stayed for the sound.

9:21HostBut it's great. It's great. It means that the cover is working and the music is working, you know, stayed for the sound.

9:28PatrickAnd, and also from a friend of mine, his children, we totally love this cover. And we're always kind of like, can we hear some speck?

9:36?It's great.

9:39HostUh, you pressed a vinyl and it's sold out. And now, uh, tell me this, like, uh, what's up with the album right now at the moment?

9:49MarcelThe first album is sold out. And, um, we also have today our repress with us. So our first album got repressed via Tonsonen records. And, uh, the official release will be on, on the 19th of August. And today we still, we have some copies already here. And there's also some other stuff coming up, um, this year still, I, I don't know, but there's still some things coming up. Yeah. And there is also going to be an album for next year.

10:19HostHow did you get on Tonsonen records?

10:22MarcelUh, we got a mail on Christmas, on Christmas evening, and, uh, actually, actually we wanted to write them because it was one of our, uh, our labels that, that we liked because we are, uh, friends with Combinat Robotron, for example. They are also on Tonsonen records. And then we said around Christmas time, we need a break. We need time for the family. And then on Christmas Eve, we got a mail from Tonsonen records that they want to sign us. So we just said, yeah, let's do it.

10:54HostCome on. Some friends helped you out. Don't lie.

10:58MarcelI don't, I don't know. I mean, Combinat Robotron certainly, uh, uh, helped us in that way. But other than that, I don't know.

11:07HostOkay. From what I hear, it's, it's, it's normal. I mean, not normal, but I mean, uh, uh, it's not, uh, not like friends helping out, you know? I mean, it's, it's real. That's what I mean. But yeah. And just ask about the, the friends just for the job. Don't worry.

11:23SpeckThere's mutual admiration for Combinat.

11:26MarcelAnd we also met them last year and not, not, uh, this year when we played in Dresden and in Halle in Germany, we, we met for the first time. And like, uh, for a year, we were like, you could say, uh, uh, how do you say?

11:42SpeckLetter buddies. Letter buddies. Yeah.

11:44MarcelWe were letter buddies and we, we.

11:46?Pen poles.

11:47MarcelPen poles. Pen poles. Yes. And then we met each other. And I don't know, they're just like, uh, like, like we've knew then for, knew them for years. They are very, very nice people. And, uh, like with Tonson records and, and, and playing the gigs with them. And also with electric moon, it was like a natural fit.

12:08?Yeah.

12:08HostI mean, the whole Tonson records is high quality stuff. They, I think they focus on instrumental music, right? I know a band Vespero. They also pretty good from, from that band. All right. And so, uh, you play instrumental music. For me, instrumental rock is like classical music in a way that not in a bad way, obviously, but, uh, in a way that you can enjoy it no matter what country it is. For example, no matter where it plays, it's a music, pure music. So you don't get hinged on the lyrics. And, uh, regarding this, uh, I know you don't have, uh, singing in your music, but what do you think about the lyrics? Are they helping or like distracting, uh, from the music?

12:56SpeckThat's a tough question, actually.

12:58HostI only ask tough questions.

13:00MarcelSome, uh, sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't. When we, uh, recorded our, uh, we just finished our recording, uh, recordings for the next album that is coming on next year via Tonesone Records. And we had literally no lyrics and no, no vocals in there. So we just went instrumental for that. And at the moment I'm thinking it's also very nice, but, um, we will see how it turns out when we, when we mix the stuff. And I mean, when we're playing live, I think it's very nice because we can somehow low key each other and it gives people some sort of, oh, there's another element. There's not just the guitar and, uh, and drums and bass. And I, I think you don't, you must not do it all the time, but when you have the feeling it's, it's good, then it's probably good.

13:56?Yeah.

13:59PatrickMaybe on the general question, like how lyrics influence music. I think for me, it's lyrics in English was always like another instrument, but I could also read some meaning into the music of the people that I read, uh, that I've written it and which I got a lot of songs on top of my head where I said, yeah, the lyrics really mean a lot to me. However, I have always had to read them up again because it's not natural for me to process English lyrics like English. And so I'm always listening to it. It's like another instrument. And from that kind of view, I always have the feeling like, um, Marcel's guitar is telling a story like other lyrics are usually, or the singing is telling a story. So I usually go with that flow where it fits.

14:51HostSo music is your language, your communication thing, like direct, one-to-one.

15:00?Yeah, I guess.

15:04?That's perfect. That's perfect. That's perfect.

15:11HostAlright, um, we're gonna jump around between topics and questions, so don't worry because

15:18?fuck it.

15:20HostSo you've never played here, right? At this, uh, place. Uh, we have played at Arena Basel

15:27Lisabefore with our friends from Half-Baked Cheese. That was a great gig. Um, but we've never played the open air stage at Arena, so that is new to us. Is this like the first gig that you have in a while?

15:40HostI mean, having followed, when was the last gig in general for you?

15:44?Three weeks ago. Three weeks ago. Three weeks ago.

15:46PatrickThree weeks ago, we played in Netherlands and in Köln in Netherlands with our good friends from D and D and D and W.

16:02SpeckThis is like a side project from Bismuth.

16:05?Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

16:06PatrickReally, really cool. Really love the guys. Thanks again to Peter for everything.

16:11?Yeah.

16:11PatrickAnd in Köln, we were playing with Astral Compact. Awesome, awesome stoner band. And our friends from the Neue Planet, we organized it. We're really grateful that we both helped us out so much. Yeah.

16:26HostSo, you already started the international career, touring around Europe. Next is United States.

16:32?Yeah, I guess.

16:35LisaWe'll see about that.

16:37HostUh, but, uh, did, uh, Tonsonen somehow helped you out with the, uh, touring part or they just focused on?

16:47LisaThey give us, give us contacts if they have some, um, and they help us out where they can. Um, yeah.

16:54HostSo, I guess once you're on Tonsonen on a label, you, you get, uh, uh, you become recognized as a band and they already, like, if there's a promoter, they see that you're on Tonsonen, for example, it's like, okay, quality stuff, you know, it's easier to get, uh, booked.

17:12MarcelIt's like a sigil or something that you'll, you know, in, in Austria, there's like also the Amagütesiegel. Uh, the Amagütesiegel, uh, is put on, uh, is put on, uh, uh, on meat when it's, when the quality is good, but, uh, it's, it's all a scam, but, uh, but it's like the same, yeah. Yeah, if you're, if you're signed on, on a label that has some kind of reputation, I mean, there are a few labels all in Germany that are, that are, uh, uh, very specialized, like also Sulatron records or Tonsonen records and stuff. Uh, when you, when you manage to get on there, it's usually a good thing. Yeah.

17:54?Yeah.

17:56PatrickHonestly, it's also a lot of word by mouth and talking with the people and getting into the whole scene and then you get all the contacts and so on. So booking is still a lot of work,

18:10?but it got easier.

18:12HostYou do your booking yourself?

18:14PatrickYeah, mostly. We were quite, we were really lucky till now because we got the good support from like Based and Confused. We also helped us to play in Czech Republic. We got in contact on Facebook with like Peter who got us organized and connected with Netherlands and with other people. So it's like, it's a good scene. And if we like you, we recommend you.

18:42HostAll right. And so, uh, so the plan now is to record, have you recorded a new album already?

18:50MarcelIt's already recorded. And at the moment we are, uh, mixing this stuff and, and sorting out what we'll, what we'll, uh, make, what we'll make to the album. And that's it actually. There's also a split album coming out, uh, via Sulatron records, uh, with Intercosmos. Um, it's already in the pressing plant, but I don't have any date on that. But yeah, the next album is already finished, but we're mixing and mastering is still, uh, is still on the to-do list. And, um, yeah.

19:24HostYeah. Uh, how, how do, how different is it from the previous album?

19:32HostUm, music, did you, maybe you record it in some different way? Maybe there's some concept

19:38Lisadifferent behind it, you know? Um, so we spent a lot of time and effort in, um, um, um, upping our rehearsal room. Um, especially Patrick and Marcel, um, put quite some effort into it. Um, um, and we had a sound engineer with us, Goethe, many thanks to Goethe. Yeah. He's our spirit animal, our guy for anything. Um, yeah. So, so that's different from our first album. Um, our first album was recorded in a studio. And I would say that's, that's quite the difference, um, to, um, record, uh, in your own rehearsal room, where there's coffee and, yeah.

20:30?Yeah. All kind of things. And alcohol.

20:33HostYeah. Or you don't drink when you record?

20:36LisaWell, we do. I, I drink for all the three of us. I gotta admit that.

20:49PatrickI honestly got to say for this album, I didn't drink anything or something else during the recording because it was like focused and being in the moment. So it is different from the previous album. Yeah, it is different because from, uh, I think it sounds more like us and how we perceive ourselves. Yeah. Because we put really, really a lot of effort and iterations into the sound process. We, we had some really good takes and we would like to release them and we're like, yeah, but we, we made such huge jumps on the sound perspective that we sound outdated to us. Yeah. So we worked really, really a lot on that because how we play and how we sound is, at least for me, major influence on what I'm playing and how I'm playing. So from that perspective, it's, um, quite different from the, from the first album. However, it's, it's still us and we were the same people on the first album. So you get, it's a refined version of us. Yeah. You get better.

21:58MarcelI would also say it's a more refined version of us. The first album was like, you know, Corona hit, hit every musician out there and you couldn't do any concerts, couldn't do any shows. So we just went into the studio and made the best out of it. And thanks, thanks to God and everyone who supported us. I don't know. Thanks to Alex Vatagin who recorded this piece with us, uh, while we couldn't play any concerts. And I think this was a good decision, but we weren't really sure what this is going to be with us. Uh, we knew that we were okay. We're, we're playing and we are, uh, we're a some gigs and it would be nice to record an album and we did that. But I think the next album is, is, is going to be more like us and more from the heart and, uh, everything we like to do everything. We like to do everything on ourselves. We also print our t-shirts ourselves. We also, like Patrick does the booking for us, uh, and we recorded everything ourselves and stuff. And I think, I think it's going to be very nice and it's up to the listener if they like the, the first album more or the second album. I think, uh, you have to kind of go forward as a musician and develop some, something, I don't know. You can't sound the same all the time. And I think it's important to, to, to, to, how did you say it? To ref, to refine it. It's like this, if, if you think like of Speck,

23:41Speckuh, in a, in a, in a big tank, the second album is the distilled extraction of that.

23:49PatrickI, I had some, some vegan Camembert at home the last weeks and on the, on the inside it was like so, yeah, if it develops some punch and some stench over the time, it's like the culture's developing still and so on. That's it. Our vegan Camembert cultures have developed.

24:10HostThat's a great analogy. Yeah. Usually, uh, the first album is you're getting to know each other. It's just like a trying out if it works out for any bands, you know, usually sometimes it takes three, four albums to get the right, you know, like if you talk to, I mean, if you talk to the history, read the history of many famous bands, man, some people were not discovered for 10 years, you know, but you have a good start. It's going here. I mean, the momentum is going, so just hold on to it. Keep doing what you're doing. You're doing it right. So, thank you very much. We wish you all the best with that. So, uh, uh, we're like almost done for now because later this was just, this interview is, uh, a first interview just to get to know you, but later if you would like, we would, we would make a proper, uh, episode just dedicated to your band if you would like to. Maybe when, maybe when the next album comes out. When the next album comes out. Um, and, uh, usually I put the song at the end of the, of the interview of the episode. So, which song would you like me to put your song at the end of this part? Wait, let's, let's, do you have one? Let's all say

25:26Marcelit on screen. I mean, I mean, I'm really, I'm really proud of the med session and any bit of the med session is like, you can take that and I won't say anything, but I really like maybe, I think a hidden gem of our first album is Firmament. I really like, I really like the, this tune, yeah. But I don't know,

25:48Patricklet's ask Patrick here. Ah, for me, it's probably Megachunk. Megachunk, yeah. Yeah, because it is, I, I totally lost where we are in the tune and I was doing some weird changes and we caught up instantly on it. That's like such, such a speck moment where I have no idea what's happening. I've lost time as a drummer and I have got to honestly commit that it sometimes happens and we all snapped together again. That's, that's really great.

26:23LisaYeah, that was some great speckitude. Me, I like the med session a lot personally, but from the first album, I would say the title track Unkraut. I just like how it's

26:43Speckeight minutes. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I meant Unkraut, sorry. I meant Unkraut. Oh, you did.

26:49LisaYeah, I mean, it's almost two years since we've recorded this song. Yeah, I would say it's Unkraut.

26:58MarcelAnd we never played the stuff live because we can't, we can't play. Well, we, we, we were asked once on a concert to play a song from the album and we were so confused by it. Yeah, that, that we did it, but we did it just like five minutes and then we totally changed the direction and it took a whole nother, uh, it, it, it grew into a whole nother beast. And then after the concert, the guy came up to us and said, yeah, the first thing was great, but did you improvise the rest? Because I didn't recognize it. And yeah, I mean, we're, we're a champ and we, we tried to write stuff and we tried to, to come up with ideas and, and record them like three, four times after another,

27:45Lisabut it doesn't work. It, we can do it. And yeah, the first take always has the, the most energy.

27:52PatrickYeah. Yeah. Yeah. The, the, the next album is all first takes. Yeah. Once played. I tried sometimes, like I'm a drummer. I have a range of mine. Like, Hey, can we do this? Can we do that? It always got worse.

28:10HostSo Unkraut you want to say, or maybe like a song that, uh, a good introduction to your band.

28:16MarcelI mean, you could also pick a, just, just pick a song. I don't know. No, I don't do that. You don't do that. Okay. Then, then let's, then let's just go with Unkraut. Yeah. The title

28:27?track of the first album. I think the baseline in the beginning is very nice. And, and the,

28:32Marceland the drums are like very repetitive and stuff. It's, it grooves. And then, yeah, I think that's, that would be a good introduction to, if, to our band. Yeah.

28:43HostAll right. Then we're going to put it at the end. Um, also where people, are there still vinyls left online that you can buy? Just to repress. But still, right? Yeah. Where can people get it?

28:56MarcelUh, they can order them via Tonsonnen Records. They can buy them today if they're lucky enough to be

29:02Lisaat the, to be at the arena. And we'll, we'll put some, uh, online on Bandcamp. Yes. Um, it will be released on the 19th of August as well. Um, and we'll, yeah, of course we're, we're

29:17Patrickbringing, um, vinyl to our concerts. And it got remastered, the second press. Am I right? The second press could also be released in like two weeks. Yeah, but it got also got remastered. Yes. Yeah. New remastering on the second press. Yeah. Check it out. Not online, only on vinyl. Also a completely new cut.

29:36MarcelIt got new. The, the, the negative for, for the record was completely, uh, made new. And, and yeah, also the mastering was done, uh, again. All right. And what, on what social media

29:51Hostcan people follow you? What's the best one so that they can stay in touch with you?

29:56HostLike Instagram or Facebook? Bandcamp. Bandcamp also. So basically if they want to get in touch with you, it's the best waste in touch is Instagram. If they want to book you.

30:09MarcelIf they want to book us, uh, yeah, they can do that. We also have a mail address on our Bandcamp, are some booking informations, but, uh, Facebook, some people try to book us over Facebook. Some people try to book us, uh, on Instagram. We respond to everyone. So for an honest in touch experience,

30:31PatrickI still recommend physical being here at the concert. Absolutely. I'm, I'm, I'm in the presence

30:37Hostof the band. It's really pleasant experience. I really recommend it to everyone. Come to Vienna, check out the band and guys, thank you very much for this. Thank you very much. I wish all the best and see you on the, see you live a bit later and see you live in the next future concert. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thanks Speck. And now let's talk to Lupus. So a little bit of context. Uh, so, uh, now I'm recording, uh, so, uh, uh, I'm talking to Lupus and Lupus already played. They were the first band and I really enjoyed this concert. It was hard rock sweaty, but somehow I feel that, uh, because of this hotness, it was weather. Everybody were on the same field, like feeling, you know, like everybody got into the music faster than usual. Well, that's what I wanted to say. Oh, by the way, how I know about you. I was, uh, I saw your show at when, uh, the guys from Atomwom organized fractal nights. It was in Fenster. Yeah. And I made the poster. No problem. Uh, and I made the poster for that event. That's how I know. Yeah. And that's how I know about the band. I wasn't here. I know you. That's why I talk to you.

40:15LupusRight. So one of the first fractal nights, right? The first one. Oh, oh, very first. I made the

40:23Hostposter. The yellow one. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyways. Uh, what's your name? It's David Henry.

40:30OskiHenry David. And what do you play? I play the E-Gitarre. Leo, I play bass. I'm Oski. I play electric

40:39Hostguitar. Michi and drums. Samuel, I'm the singer. So first of all, uh, I want to say that I talked to the brother of the drummer. Who's the drummer? Yeah. I talked to the, to, to, to your brother and he said that you don't like social media. You don't like anything that's, you know, like this technology

41:00Lupusor old boring shit. No, it's not that we don't like it. We're just not good at it. We would,

41:09Lupuswe would like to be better at it. We don't think so much about it. We should think about it more,

41:16HostI think. Well, if you want to go commercial, that's a, that's a thing. Then you need to think about it a little bit more, but I mean, you look like the band that is like old school, uh,

41:30Lupusrock and roll. Would you agree or not? Yeah, but still making money would be nice. A bit, just a little bit. Just a little bit. Actually, we don't care about the money. We're doing it

41:44Hostfor the fun, Leo. Such lies. I like it. You start like a normal musician, then in the end, you're going to be... The lies are starting already. Yeah, yeah, you're going to be like thinking about contracts in the end, you know, like who's going to get a little bit of this or that. No, but seriously, you know, like, uh, what's your plan? I mean, at least for this year. I'm starting with the hard questions already. Yeah, we recorded our second album

42:14Lupusnow and we're planning to launch our first single now in August, but we didn't do a video clip yet. So you see our, our social media, how do you call it? Well, the problem is that there's not much

42:35Hostinformation, uh, online. I mean, social media, but it was not easy to find even your names. I had to check out Spotify to see the names of who's who, you know. Probably no one should know our

42:50Lupusnames. Well, it's a problem like for people like me, you know, I want to talk to you and I want to

42:56Hostknow your names. So I would like to have a press page somewhere with your names, biography, some basic stuff, you know, so it's easier for me to, you know, like just to know what's up, you know, how to

43:09Lupusaddress you at least. The problem with this, uh, social media thing is, uh, Michi and I play in three

43:17Hostother bands. I heard Henry plays in two bands. Um, so if it were, if it was only Lupus, maybe we would be able to focus more on these things, but, um, we're always switching, so it's not so easy. Actually,

43:37Lupusit would be, actually, it would be a full-time job, but because of less money making, it's not possible. Yeah, so there's another job. Well, you have three jobs. You have this band, two more bands,

43:54Hostand social media, and nothing is getting money, as I understand. Yeah, but whatever, it's just about,

44:02Lupuslike, fun, like, we, like, we, Lupus, we play now since more than five years. I can't, I stopped counting, and, yeah, it's just always fun, always when we are on stages. Way more than five years. It started in 2016, I think. The thing is, we are good friends, and we enjoy making music together.

44:26HostThat's the point. Oh, that's, that's, that's what, uh, manager, a music manager would like to hear, because you're dedicated to your music, to, to, to, to. Yeah, we like each other, and we enjoy having fun

44:39Lupustogether at our room, where we're making music, and we enjoy playing concert, concerts as well, but

44:48Hostnot that often, but when, then, we enjoy. Uh, it's not the first time you play at Arena Bison, no? No, no, no, no.

45:00LupusYeah, Bison, yes, but we played at the Arena, the big, the big hall. We played at the big hall. You opened for somebody, no? Here we go. We opened for Avalanche. It was the 10-year anniversary of Avalanche, and, yeah, we opened it. It was quite an experience.

45:21HostBecause it was sold out because of Corona. I wanted to ask you about Corona. How did it affect you? So, in this case, it was good.

45:32LupusNo, it was fucked up, of course. Fucking Corona was... No, no, I mean, I didn't get it. We were used to play concerts every month, and then, with the Corona start, we played a concert a year. Yeah, but you mean, but you mean playing the big hall? It was because... No, I mean, that's what I mean. It was sold out. It was sold out? Yeah, because there, because there were limited seats. Yeah, right? Yeah, sorry, I mean, it's been a long time. I forgot, you know. It was a 15th concert. That sucks. Okay. But still, the people were standing on the chairs, so... Yeah, at least Umut. He's the best. Umut is our biggest fan, or... Who is Umut? We should say hello to Umut, right? Yeah, say hello to Umut. Umut is our man. Umut is a Viennese legend.

46:23LupusHe's, um... He's bartender at Kreisky, and he was bartender at other bars, legend bars, and he's the man. Okay. And he makes our music in the bars.

46:34HostIs he active on social media? Yeah, he is. So, we're gonna use him to promote this podcast and you. Yeah.

46:43LupusHe will share it. He will share it for sure. Okay, I know who to contact. He's the one who's doing the most social media for us. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. He's got Rote Beardose on Instagram, so... We saw what he heard on Spotify in one year, and Lupus was at the first place.

47:05HostOh my god, he's like a super fan. If he's a super fan, he's like a family member. He's a human. Superhuman. Superhuman, super fan, keep him, I don't know, make him your roadie. Or merch guy. If we ever go on tour, Umut is going with us.

47:26HostWhen was the last time you were on tour, or not so much?

47:29LupusWe haven't been. We never went on tour. We are going on tour, but...

47:35HostIn October. It's like a mixed tour with three bands. We are not too sure about how it's gonna go, but... Yeah, Germany. Ourselves. So, we don't know yet. But it's not the first tour. Yes, it is. We didn't do a tour yet. We just went to... How is it called? Ost-Tirol to a festival with a friend of ours who has a camper van. That was a tour experience for us, but it was just one day, so... Okay, but how was this tour experience? What happened there? I'm sure, you know. If you had one, something happened there.

48:19LupusYeah, but some of the guys took Alice Day, so it was great.

48:23?I love it.

48:25LupusWe were treated like rock stars.

48:29HostAlright, alright, alright, alright. So, it was a pleasant experience, eh?

48:35LupusYeah. So, people asked me to bring them to Backstage, and I thought, okay. But Backstage was a really fucked a place, but still there was beer.

48:47HostYeah, there was something, at least some beer. So, you never recovered from that tour. You're still touring, I guess, mentally.

48:54LupusYeah. Yeah, dreaming about it, of course.

49:00HostOkay, so, you released an album a couple years ago, I think?

49:07?Three years.

49:07HostThree years ago, right? Two years.

49:10?Two years.

49:11LupusTwo years. January 21.

49:13?Two?

49:14HostYeah, and now you recorded a new album, and you have a single, and more stuff. When is new stuff coming out, first of all? That's a big question.

49:25LupusNo, it's not this year. Let's say, let's say it's autumn. Just say it's here. Autumn is a good. New album, autumn this year. Single? Single is coming, let's say, September, and the whole album is coming in autumn.

49:42?Or maybe winter, but actually autumn.

49:46HostWhen are your next gigs? Because today's podcast will come out next week, on Wednesday.

49:53LupusOh, shit. Oh, shit.

49:55?Oh, shit.

49:56Lupus17th of November?

49:58?Ah, yeah, of course.

50:00LupusOn 17th of November, there's gonna be a big thing. So, we have these three bands. It's Ando, plus Akuren, and us Lupus. And it's kind of a mixture band. So, it's Michi on the drums in every band. It's Leo on the bass in every band. And so, there are a few more friends in the other bands. And we're having this mixture, nice thing going on.

50:34LupusSome hand-in-hand band thing that we're gonna change every two songs.

50:42LupusThe singer, the guitarists, and pianists, and synthesizer peoples, and all the other peoples will do some other crazy stuff. But it's going to be a big thing. And, yeah, 17th of November, let's come to... Where?

51:00?Fluk.

51:01LupusFluk. Fluk, Vienna. Flying band change. Like, everyone on stage, all three bands, and changing. Switching all the time between the bands and the songs. Band for band goes hand-in-hand.

51:14HostMan, I mean, it's a...

51:16?That's a challenge.

51:18HostThat's a challenge. I mean, the drummer's gonna die. The drummer's gonna die! That's why you should come. To see a drummer die on stage. That's perfect.

51:28LupusCome see me die. Come see me die. He's quite young. He will do a great job.

51:36?But it's an experience.

51:38HostBut it's definitely an experience. Like, three gigs at the same time, kind of.

51:45HostAlright. So, a quick history lesson, in a way. How did it all start, the Lopez thing?

51:55LupusIt started with me and Oski, in a small chamber in the first district.

52:03?Yeah.

52:04LupusWith some two other friends of us. And then, Henry joined us. And then, we had a band called, I don't know, for two years.

52:17LupusAnd then, some other guys joined us. And, I don't know, it all started.

52:27LupusThe first room was like, going to hell, because it was really deep downstairs. And, we threw a pentagram on the walls.

52:42HostYou went the full Slayer. You went the Slayer. You wanted to be like Slayer. And, you saw a pentagram. But, it turned out, you became Lupus.

52:51?Yeah. Yeah.

52:53LupusLet's call it like this. But, the band, the way it's now, we joined five years ago, Michi and I.

53:02?Four years ago. Three, four? Yeah.

53:05LupusFour or five? Corona is three years already. Four or five years, more or less. So, and there was also a kind of, maybe a subtle switch of music, genre, direction. Maybe.

53:21?A little bit.

53:22LupusIt's getting a bit more, crouty, can I say crouty? It's getting a bit more, less, a little less stoner, stoner-y, maybe. We got a smooth rhythm section. And, we're pretty lucky to have them.

53:43HostAlright.

53:45HostThe Fractal Knights was, I think, oh my god, it was before Corona. So, I guess, maybe I even heard you when you were more stoner. I won't be surprised. I don't remember when was the Fractal Knights thing. I think it was at least three years ago.

54:01LupusYeah, the Fractal Knights was 19, right?

54:04?Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

54:05LupusI think, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

54:07HostSo, at that time you were already, like, moved to the new genre. Yeah, yeah.

54:12LupusWe started really early in this cemetery thing. The second underfloor. And it was in the first district, which was the contrary thing. And, yeah, we walked through the Kärntner Straße in Vienna. And then we went into the door and went to the second cemetery floor.

54:35?And it was just fucked up, full of, what do you call in Spain, fungi?

54:41LupusFungi. Yeah, the mushroom things, you know. And all the M's were dying. Mold. Yeah, mold. Not psychedelic mushroom, but mold. Mold around the walls because of the piss and the water in there. Maybe it was psychedelic. We didn't try. Yeah. Yeah. And we were hard rehearsing there. And we were really loud. And we were a lot of smoking. And police came sometimes. Even there.

55:15LupusYeah, that's where it all began. And after a while, Michi and Leo joined us. And it was just a restart of all, everything. Because, yeah, rhythm section is fucking important to every band. And that's what they did. They made it just what we are now. And it's fucking great.

55:43?Awesome.

55:44LupusAnd when police came, they turned off the lights. And they said, wow, the sound is pretty great, but you really gotta stop.

55:54HostSo confirmation about the police, the official statement of approval. It's all great. All right. So we see a progression in style. Different. You're going different genre a little bit. So how is the new stuff that you have now? The new stuff is different from the stuff that you have now.

56:17?From the first album, do you think? Yeah. From the first album.

56:21LupusI think it's different.

56:25LupusIt's very hard to explain for me. We're trying to make each song different, maybe, so that it's not getting boring.

56:36HostWas there an idea that, okay, this album, we're doing this and this, and we're... Forget about that shit. You know, like super limitations. Or you just play it with like this music song, this song and that's it.

56:51LupusI mean, it's different between the members because we all listen to different stuff. But we kind of meet, I think I can say, we meet at the Kaot genre point. I think everybody enjoys it. Like the stuff they are playing, like monotonic, not so much fucking around with melodies or structure, but more with dynamics and building up, building up dynamics, going down, long songs. I mean, they were always long, but now they're more to the point.

57:27HostNot so much, not so many melodies, just a bit straighter, I think.

57:34LupusAnd it's even hard for us, still hard for us to keep it low with all the melodies and stuff.

57:42?Yeah.

57:43LupusWe try to slow it a little bit down with the... But it's good for the ego, I think. Because when you're playing Kaot music, you're playing all the same. You're shaking your head to the same beat all the time. And sometimes a melody pops up, something builds up, but it's...

58:05LupusWe are working together, it's not so much that someone makes a solo or then the other person makes a solo, but we're kind of building...

58:13HostOr that, I don't know if it's already happening, but I think that's the goal. Or for me, I think that's what I would like to make. Do you think that subconsciously you're making it a little bit commercial? Like sounding commercial? More easier to listen to?

58:29?I think so.

58:31HostOski says, Oski is shaking his head, but I think so. I don't know, I'm making the... I think I'm making the stuff I want to hear. I don't know if it's more commercial. For me, it's more commercial for my taste, because I enjoy it more. But I don't know.

58:45?I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

58:48LupusLupus songs develop in many ways. And no matter what kind, Henry can always play something.

59:05?Damn.

59:06LupusWell, I can say... In English, it's silly.

59:10?It's fine.

59:11HostI can tell you about how I experience. So, for me, a lupus, when I say lupus, it sounds like... It looks and sounds... Well, first of all, it looks like a band that I... You take from 70s, you know, and you bring it to the now.

59:31HostSo, and what I mean is, it has a genuine feel of rock'n'roll. You know, I like rock'n'roll, the classic one, hard rock and stuff. Like that stuff. And that's the impression that I get when I see and I hear. Lupus. I don't know if that's what you wanted to do or not.

59:51LupusIt's in the core of everything we do, of course, this 70s sound. But I think for me what's interesting is trying to get out of the zone a bit, out of this thing. Make something new with it. It's not so easy. But I know we tried with the synthesizer. We tried with...

60:15LupusMaybe influences from world music, like Turkish. It's different kinds of melodies. Not the straight up four to the floor, but trying to explore a bit.

60:29?I don't know.

60:30HostYeah, I talked to Speck and in general with musicians that the first album, the first two albums, maybe the first five albums, you just search for your sound of who you are as a band.

60:44Lupus100%. That's true.

60:45HostAnd then you kind of feel confident that, okay, we kind of found what we want. We still want to experiment more, but it's kind of like we feel more confident about it.

60:58LupusI'm never totally confident, but still this searching thing is fun. So trying new stuff.

61:04HostProbably when you're confident, it means you're too confident. It means that you're too... Maybe you're arrogant, you know? You start to think like, okay, I'm the king of the world. Fuck everybody. My stuff, my shit is cool. Like say like this, you know?

61:19LupusThere's many people like this here.

61:21HostOh, I know. We've seen them all.

61:25?Yeah.

61:25HostAll right. So, I think it was with your band that you have some... Also, skateboards? No, you don't have skateboards. It's just different. Sure.

61:37LupusI mean, these three, Samu, Oski and Henry, are lifetime skaters.

61:46HostYeah, that's what I saw. I checked out your band camp and I saw that you have skateboards as a merch. Oh, that's true. That's what I mean. And that's really cool.

61:56LupusYeah, the boards, the design of the boards is with our first album cover. His, me, his brother did it. The brother's, the drummer's brother did it like really big on wood. And we took it as the album cover and yeah, we used it on the boards on Yama skateboards.

62:23?It's a brand from the west side of Austria and it's known west side.

62:30HostYeah, but it happened because of friendly connections. I mean, he skates for Yama, the whole crew is kind of befriended with them. It wasn't deliberate that we wanted to make a, it just happened.

62:47LupusThe thing is, we like, Samu, Oski and me, we are from Freilberg and we met each other when we were like, I don't know, 10 years old and we were used to go skating since then. And now we are, I don't know, 30, living in Vienna and still going skating. I mean, maybe, maybe a little bit less, but still going skating.

63:17LupusAnd yeah, meanwhile we had this band and still we wanted to connect it somehow, this music with the skateboarding thing.

63:33HostWith the skateboards, what I wanted to say is that, and in general, is that your music is good, you look good, merch is good, you have some cool merch, right?

63:44HostYou just need to keep it, like, keep doing what you're doing. As I tell all the bands that are doing it well, maybe concentrate a little bit of making it more, not, I don't want to say commercial.

63:58?Say whatever you're thinking.

64:00HostWell, I say it like to all the bands, like for example, I know that most of the bands, musicians and I also don't like the social media shit, you know, it takes a lot of time. But maybe not social media, you know, maybe more, work a little bit more on building connections with other bands or people in the industry so that they know who you are. Social media is only about telling people that you exist and so that people don't forget about you. That's the only reason.

64:33LupusI think you can do it also really fun, because Instagram can be so stuck up. You can, like, we are playing here on the 29th of September. Like, you can make also a bit funnier, but we are trying, we are kind of trying, I think. I don't know. It's tough. We are trying.

64:54HostWell, start with just simple stuff, like talking to your friends as usual, but maybe, like, tell stories. I mean, spread more words among your friends, you know, like that stuff. Social media is basically telling people that you know and you don't know what you do.

65:13HostAnd make it fun for the people who listen to it.

65:17LupusYeah, I mean, it's all the same. It's the same with videoclips. People don't want to listen to a song on YouTube if it doesn't have a catchy videoclip. It's part of it.

65:26HostI don't know. We are, I think we, yeah, I also think we should try more a bit, but, yeah. I can tell you because I make music videos, so I see who's ordering them and for what reasons. You should do a music video for us. We can discuss it. There are so many details, it's unbelievable.

65:49LupusFor my part, I don't really like commercial music because normally it's quite boring and people only listen to it because it's playing on the radio and they turn on the radio and then they hear it while they are working and stuff, but they don't really enjoy it. But you have to understand that Led Zeppelin was also commercial at the time and they're still good. Who?

66:14?Led Zeppelin or whatever. Led Zeppelin.

66:17LupusOr, or, um, um, Slaya was probably also mainstream at some point. I don't think, I don't think you have to get so stuck up with this thing of being underground. It's not about reaching the mainstream. Yeah. Our music is not mainstream. We're not, maybe not radio friendly, you know. We're just making our thing, it's more, a bit, maybe harder, a bit more rock and stuff. I don't know. Uh, but.

66:52HostWell, I could tell you a story what happened with the black keys, you know, the black keys, right? So they were playing in the garage and everything's fine. Played a couple of gigs and then they become big and then, uh, some whatever company talked to them and said, we want to buy your music for our commercial. And they said, fuck you, we don't sell out, fuck this. And it was fine. But then, but then the whole family, all their relatives said, ah, we actually needed that money for our lives. You know, it's like, it's fine. You're, you did, you're what you, you did. I mean, rock and roll and stuff.

67:29?Yeah.

67:30LupusBut, uh. Yeah, but the thing with the black keys is that they were actually really, really great. I really loved their songs, their old songs. But then when it became commercial, it really sucked. There was maybe one hit or something. We are beer drinkers and sound makers and I don't know. It, it doesn't mean in anything commercial.

67:58HostAll right, guys. We're already talking for like half an hour. Like I don't want to bother you anymore. And I'm, I'm, I'm really grateful for your time. Uh, at the end of the episode, I usually ask what, uh, to put the song of the band. Which song do you want me to put at the end of the episode? Of the interview? And it's better. And your band? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's better when it's a good introduction to your band.

68:25LupusNo song from album. Which number? We don't, at the moment, we don't enjoy playing our songs from the old album. Yeah.

68:39HostChoose any other band. You choose.

68:41?You choose. Maybe.

68:42HostYeah, everybody says I should choose. No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't choose.

68:47HostBecause you choose a song that you feel about and there are reasons.

68:53LupusI think our singer should choose because he writes a lot of lyrics and songs actually.

69:01?No, but it's, it's not released yet. Ah, sorry.

69:04LupusIt should be a released one.

69:07HostI mean, if you give me a one that's not released and it will come out on Wednesday, then fine.

69:15HostYou should decide. Or if you want to, like, you don't know. Maybe. It's better. Just tell me a song from the previous album. One.

69:23LupusWhat's the song? What's the song? What's the song? My favorite is bootless with the saxophone and it's a lot of different stuff and some James Bond in it and... Two fidgetes. Yes.

69:43?Yeah, that's true.

69:44LupusBootless. James Bonding and Clint Eastwooding. It's a really long number, like 30 minutes and it's starting quite easy. with saxophone and delays and stuff and then it's getting kinda heavy. Ennio Morricone guitar lines.

70:03HostAre you fucking shitting me? Is this for real? No, it's for real.

70:06LupusIt's starting easy and then it's like in your face.

70:10HostOkay, this episode is going to be like four hours long.

70:14HostAlright, guys, thank you very much. I wish you all the best.

70:18LupusThank you. Thank you for spreading the word really nice.

82:17?Thanks Lupus. And now let's talk to Mothers of the Land.

82:20HostFirst of all, a little bit of context. So, everybody played. Speck just played. You played. You're the band Mothers of the Land, correct? Yeah.

82:32HostSo, guys, first of all, I want to say that I really freaking enjoyed the gigs that you played. Thank you very much. I really, I really dig it. And also, one of the reasons, what I like about instrumental music, there's not much talking. There's a little bit of talking. A little bit mandatory talking. But, man, the energy is really cool. I really dig it. I don't know how to explain it.

83:02?Yes.

83:02HostToday, we need to again explain. It was 35 degrees, 36, everywhere.

83:10HostAnd on stage it's fucked up.

83:14HostOkay. Could you please introduce yourself so that we know your voices?

83:18JacobI'm Jacob, I'm the drummer.

83:20GeorgeI'm George, I play guitar.

83:23JackI'm Jack, I also play guitar.

83:26HostAnd we have also a fourth member that's not present at the moment. He's somewhere wasted.

83:31GeorgeHe's our bass player. Our bass player is not present at the moment.

83:35JackHe's probably not wasted. He's probably having adventures.

83:44HostAll right. All right. We want to be politically correct. He's not wasted. He's enjoying life. No, he's really not.

83:50?Totally true.

83:53HostSo, honestly, I didn't know much about you before this tonight. But I checked you out. There's actually not that much information online. So, could you please a little bit for the people who never heard about you. Explain quickly who you are as a band and how it's all started.

84:12JacobYeah. Well, it started with three of our actual members. With the bass player, Jaun, George and me, the drummer. Like 10 years ago, 2012. And we're in this formation since 2015 with Jack on the second guitar. And that's actually formation. We made both our albums.

84:32?And yeah, that we're going with now.

84:35HostSo, you said both of the albums. So, you had the live album?

84:40?No?

84:53?Three songs? Four songs? No, well, it was like...

84:55HostDeer in the Headlights session. Is that... What does it mean?

84:58JackSo, that was a purely live session that we had, where we played our songs. And then the first album, we recorded it within two days. And most of the recordings were done simply live in the studio.

85:23HostYeah, tape. I mean, tape is the motherfucker. It's really awesome, but really expensive. If something goes wrong, you have to go to switch to digital. That's what happened when all the bands that I interviewed, they were preparing to record digital, but the tape machine broke down and that day they had just recorded digital and stuff.

85:45JackWell, I think we're all big fans of 70s rock. And a lot of the recordings from those days were done live because the technology available was simply not as complex or like it is today.

86:03?So, we wanted to replicate the same kind of feeling. Like, for example, a band like Led Zeppelin or Rory Gallagher or whatever, where you have a bit of a live feeling in the recordings.

86:13JackAnd that's why we decided to record everything, like all of us playing at the same time. Also, so that we have this kind of... There's a bit of a psychic connection between musicians when you're playing live. And a lot of bands these days are recording with click tracks and really using a lot of post-production. And we wanted to just keep it old school and keep it kind of loose. And that's how the first record came around. The second record was quite similar.

86:43HostBut yeah, so no quantizing, no nothing.

86:47GeorgeNo, the first record was really intense. You know, it was just live. You know, so if you screwed up at the last minute and last moment, we had to play it like a 10-minute song again, you know. But I'm very proud of what we did.

87:02HostHow many takes on average did you take?

87:05JackI think it was maybe between one and five for each song. I think very often we took the first take in the end. Sometimes the third take, I don't know. But yeah, something like that. And like from my side, I mean, I hear those records and... Or at least the first one. And I still hear little mistakes that I did here and there. I think most people wouldn't catch on to that. But it's a funny, you know, little Easter egg, I guess.

87:30?Yeah.

87:31HostThat's absolutely normal to feel. To know your mistakes and it's a part of the process. And each time you try to make it better and stuff. And regarding that, actually, what are your plans for this year?

87:44GeorgeI guess I just write new songs, you know, new songs basically.

87:53HostI guess it's not the first time you play it. No.

88:01HostNo, I hope so not. It's a great place. No, but I mean, like for example, Speck. I think they played the second time from then. I need to listen to the recording again.

88:12HostBut it's a really cool place. So.

88:21HostWell, I love Bierwoche. I mean, everybody loves it.

88:25HostCan you explain what it is for the non-Austrian people?

88:28JacobOkay. So, Bierwoche is something happening at an arena. Arena is a very special place in Vienna where a lot of rock concerts and stuff like that is happening. And it used to be like a free space.

88:43HostSpeck people said it was a slaughterhouse.

88:48GeorgeFirst it was a slaughterhouse, then it was squatted in the 70s. That's where it is actually. And now it's kind of, you know, still living and still doing awesome stuff and supporting a lot of bands.

89:00JacobAnd it's actually a non-commercial place to the end now. There's no private firm or something behind it that's getting like the profits or something. So it's really a community thing. And yeah, the Bierwoche now is from the Arena Beisel. This is a special place in the arena again. And they're making a week of concerts with more or less free entry. Well, you can give what you want. Like two to three bands every day, a special beer prize, a special beer every day.

89:37GeorgeAnd if you're non-German speaker, I have to translate, Bierwoche means beer week.

89:42HostYeah, it's a beer week. Yeah, it's a beer week. And, of course, you meet such awesome bands as 290. We have Mothers of the Land, we have Lupus, we have Szpek. A really cool lineup. That's why when I saw the lineup, I was like, okay, I need to interview all the guys. I mean, it's a one-time opportunity to interview all the guys at the same time.

90:03?So, what do you think about... So, you're recording new stuff.

90:07HostDo you think it's going to be a little bit different from what you did before? For sure. In which direction and in which direction are you going? What do you think?

90:15GeorgeI mean, for me, it probably will be different. But, you know, as a listener, it's just going to be Mothers of the Land. You know? It's going to have two guitars, you know, wailing away, shredding and just a lot of bendings and harmonies. So, I think it's going to be pretty similar. But, I mean, we'll see. We'll see. It's hard to say.

90:56HostSo, at the moment... So, with the bands before, you know, all of them had their first album. They recorded their first album, right? And all of them, they feel that they're looking, and I also agree with that, they're looking for their sound. Can you say that you already discovered your sound of your band?

91:16?I think so. Yeah.

91:18GeorgeI think... What do you say? I mean, for me, I think we have our sound. Yeah.

91:22?For sure.

91:22JackYeah. Well, I guess what I would say is, when I joined the band in 2015, we kind of immediately had a connection, or kind of a similar goal in mind, at least Georg and I, as the two guitarists, we're just completely in love with dual guitar harmonies. And that's something that I never get tired of doing. I think he never gets tired of doing either. It's the best, you know. And, you know, that just combined with whatever other influences we have, and in new formations, and yeah, I think that's something that we'll always have. But we're open to including other things. Like, there are, you know, in the last few recordings, we've experimented more with maybe some folk elements here and there. Yeah.

92:20Jackwhatever we can execute properly in a live setting. So... And we're also a kind of band, like, there are a lot of really amazing bands, like psychedelic rock bands, that create incredibly complex recordings, where there's a lot of sophisticated instrumentation, and a lot of effects, and, you know, keyboard synthesizers, you know, whatever. But our goal was always to be able to write songs that we're able to play live and represent live. So, with the setup that we have.

92:49HostOh, that's cool. You know, when I was listening to your music, I had a little bit of feeling of the Nordic vibe a little bit, you know, like, especially with the guitars, you know, the solos. You know, like, I'm not like a super, like, deep into the music of knowing everything, you know, but this is my... I'm average listener. I'm talking about from the idea of average listener. So, would you agree that it's like...

93:16GeorgeI think I know what you mean. I think I know what you mean. It's hard to describe, to put my finger on it, but I think I know what you mean, yeah.

93:22HostSo, like, especially in solos and guitars, that kind of stuff.

93:28GeorgeA bit of a weird folk vibe and just the melodies itself, you know, by, you know, what we listen to ourselves.

93:36?It's just...

93:37HostWhat are your main influences as a band, maybe? Or maybe, who knows, maybe you listen to Bob Marley and it's like the main influence for you.

93:47GeorgeLike 70s rock with, you know, like these bigger than life guitar players.

93:54?Like, you know, like Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Gary Moore, you know, these people.

94:10HostIt would be cool to have a cool light show with your music.

94:14GeorgeYeah, that would be nice. Yeah. We had, we actually used a couple of times we used liquid lights. I don't know if that rings a bell.

94:30GeorgeAnd we actually want to use that. I mean, it's hard to do all the time with all these, you know, old projectors, but it's great. We have a nice light element to it as well.

94:41HostYeah. What I mean is that you look good. You sound good. It would be cool just to have a little bit of show because I think your music goes well with a little bit of fog.

94:55HostI don't want to say lasers, but something like that. Like something like that. More theatrical. Something like that.

95:04?Yeah.

95:04HostI mean, the transitions, I mean, the music and the songs all come together. There is the whole experience and the talking parts are just ruining the moment.

95:13?Yeah.

95:14HostAnd with your band, it's really crucial that there's no delay.

95:21HostNo, no, no jokes. No, how are you doing? No way. No, nothing like that. I don't like such things in the band. Unless it's really nice for the rehearse.

95:30GeorgeIf you have a charismatic front man and all that, of course.

95:34JackI think whatever way you're able to connect with the audience is a good thing. And if you're able to talk to the audience in a normal way, that's, of course, excellent. But I was always bothered by watching bands that are in between songs and like,

95:56JackAnd I mean, that can be good, but that's just not our kind of showmanship. We like to speak through our music basically. And you're right. Maybe some more visual elements would fit well too. But it's just a matter of planning and money. And you know, like the bigger you are as a band, the more you can manage to organize a bigger show.

96:21HostYou mentioned that to have like a front man, right? If you have a singer, you naturally have like a guy like in the front. So you don't have such guy like in a traditional sense. So what do you have as a band? What's in your case? How does it work in your case?

96:43GeorgeWell, I guess you have to ask the audience. I mean, I don't know. We don't have a focus point really.

96:50?I don't know.

96:52GeorgeI think it's just divided.

97:01GeorgeBut we don't have like this focus point.

97:04JackI think maybe the correct answer to that or possible answer to that at least is the focal point is the guitar melodies. Because a lot of bands use a vocalist to create catchy melodies and things you can latch on to as a listener. And our goal is to replace the singer with guitar melodies essentially. So I think melody is very important for us. There are a lot of bands that just have riffs and, you know, that's great. Heavy riffs are awesome. But we like to mix that with very melodic guitar playing so that people still have something to latch on to instead of just having a vocalist.

97:46GeorgeAnd in that case, I guess it's useful to just enjoy the music and maybe close your eyes, you know, and just get into this trance and, you know, get yourself carried away.

97:57HostWhen I mentioned the front guy, I mean, is that usually like, okay, if you have a standard band with a singer, it's easier because you already know what has been done before. Okay. This guy talks, he moves on stage, he energizes the audience. In your case, it's a little bit harder because I'm not sure, like, I don't know. For example, right? Like how, how does it work? You know, in general.

98:32HostWhy I'm asking all these questions is because I'm constantly thinking because I work with musicians, I make music videos and do promotions for musicians. And each time I'm seeing in what way the band can be a little bit commercial. I hate the word commercial myself, but more popular and get to more, get the audience. And when I ask about the front man is because I'm thinking like, okay, with the front man, I know what to do. Right. But for example, with your band, we're like, all right. So this doesn't work. That doesn't work. The last doesn't work. You know, which is good because in this way, like the bands, instrumental bands, they can do something completely different. So you can have more attention to the, to the show. You can have like, I don't know, like more theatrical regarding like, like changing the musicians who's in the front or who's in the back. Have you thought about it more like, like what you can do more regarding the band and regarding how you can make it bigger?

99:43HostHow can you make it more intense? Let's say like this. Like the life experience. Life experience. Because studio, okay. We understand.

100:40HostHow well are you with the social media stuff? Is somebody doing it or not really?

101:10HostThat's, that's the problem with all the bands today. And they all agree. Everybody agrees that there's not enough work regarding the promotion thing.

101:20HostI mean, it's completely separate work. It's like, I wouldn't advise anyone to do it in general, you know, it's a complete, ah, fuck it.

101:33HostI mean, of course you need to do it. But as I said to the Lupus guys, you know, like work all with the people, you know, if you can do social media, but just spread the words regarding the music industry, like around, hang out more, spread the words at least. Because with your band, like with all the bands here, there's not much information online. Some people had to look up the names on Spotify, more info just to get the names of who they are, you know, you know, I would recommend everybody to have a website. I'm old school.

102:15HostWhat was the reason? Corona?

102:21HostHow did Corona stuff affect you? Like fucked up as everybody else?

102:25JacobYeah, of course. We had a release show planned. No, like our second album should be released in, I think, June 2020.

102:47?Yeah. Yeah.

102:48JackI'd say the, maybe the biggest effect in that case with the release of our second album was that we weren't able to support it by touring at all. Yeah. Because I mean, very often when you release an album, you can tour to promote it. And if you're like us, you're not extremely good at social media. Touring is one way to get the word out there. Obviously Corona shut down that avenue.

103:14HostSo now thinking about all this experience, you know, are you going to change something regarding your next release?

103:20?In which direction?

103:25HostIn a good direction.

103:34HostYou've never made music videos or any kind of visual promotion.

103:41JackWe had a day where we were shooting out in a rock quarry and we actually had plans to make a longer video for our entire first album.

104:02JackBut yeah, it wasn't a big release. It was just something we kind of did on the side.

104:08HostAre you planning to do something like this for the upcoming release?

104:12?Maybe.

104:21HostWell, you need videos if you want to be promoted on YouTube, for example. So, but at the same time, you need a lot of luck to get. Are you signed as a band to a label?

104:39HostYeah, we all know Stone Free Records. Stone Free Records is a local record in Vienna, I think, in Austria.

104:51HostWell, I make music videos, that's why I say, yeah, of course, you need to make music videos. So, yeah, but it's necessary if you want to increase your chances to get known. But it's me, I'm talking like that, of course.

105:06HostOkay, guys, I don't want to bother you too much, we're already around this time. So, when are the next gigs and when the new stuff is coming out and where can people buy your stuff?

105:20?You're the social media guy, tell me.

105:34HostCan you say which bands?

105:37?You're not allowed to say?

105:39JacobWell, it's not officially announced yet, so I'm not sure if I should say it.

105:51HostAlright, like super awesome bands on which date in Viper Room?

106:04HostAlright, and when are you planning to release new music, the new stuff?

106:07GeorgeWell, when we have enough material. Right now, we're still in the writing phase.

106:14HostSo, winter, next year, probably, yeah. Yeah, it takes around six months to record everything and stuff.

106:34HostI highly recommend to do it a little bit faster. It's my average opinion.

106:43HostAlright, and do you have vinyls and stuff that you can sell? Sure.

107:05?Yeah.

107:06HostWhere people can contact you to keep in touch with your Instagram?

107:34HostWell, you can do the liquid thing on TikTok, you know, some stoned guys can enjoy it. You never know, maybe it goes wild.

107:49HostYou can do at least three minute videos.

107:55HostWell, anyway guys, thank you very much for this time. Thank you for agreeing to this. I wish you all the best. I would like to be on your shows in October and in general, listen more to your music because you guys are awesome. Keep it up. All the best.

117:04?Mothers of the land. So yeah, thank you everybody who participated in this interview. Speck, Lupus, Mothers of the land. It was a great experience. It was really hot as you can imagine. And as you have noticed by the end of the episodes, I was practically destroyed because we recorded at 6pm, then around 8pm, then around 11pm. I came there with musicians around 4.30pm. Man, it was hot. I don't know how they managed to play on the stage where it's hotter. Anyways, it was a great fun experience. The people are really nice. Thanks to all the people again. It was actually interesting. I found out that at Arena, you're not allowed to play after 11pm. And when I found this out, I looked up when I was standing there and I saw two residential buildings and I was like, okay, Arena is... I'm not sure if Arena can make it anymore. If you can't play loud after 11pm, this is not really... I don't know. Not groovy. But we'll see. But we'll see about that. I hope I'm wrong. So, as you could hear, I asked pretty much the same questions to all the bands. It was pretty cool to see how all of them respond in their own way. There's no wrong answer there. But I only realized it later when I was editing the episode. Definitely, I need to swear less and have more talk practice. I don't talk much in general. I should practice more. But definitely swearing less. There's no intro music. There's no untrue music. Because I think if it's a podcast about music, we should focus only on the music of the bands. Plus, everything that I heard that we can use for the podcast, for the actual podcast, for the intro and transitions or whatever, I didn't like it. Sounds cheesy. I couldn't find anything that would fit the podcast for now. So, in the regular Interceptor Beyond podcast, we have the sounds of the system booting up and the sounds of the analog tapes being played. And in the green room sessions, there's nothing for now. Thank you for listening to the podcast till the end. I'm surprised and didn't expect that you'd make it. Actually, this episode, the green room sessions, episode one is not actually one. It's a second one. The previous, the pilot, which is called field sessions or field recordings or in the field, it doesn't matter, which I recorded with Julian, which is four hours long. Basically us going through the music fest, discussing things, talking to musicians, talking to the people. So, I haven't finished editing it yet because it's freaking four hours and I need to edit it out because there's stuff that we need to edit out. I'm not sure if it will go public, public, like on all platforms, but it will definitely will be available on the Patreon page where you can donate a small amount and you'll have access to this episode. So, it's only for the hardcore fans, obviously. And yeah, I mean, if you enjoyed the previous episodes, the season one, please spread the word. Tell your friends, people who listen to podcasts, who like music, who like rock music, who work in the music industry, who want to know more about music industry or don't want to know more, but still interested in arts. Maybe. Maybe. I don't know. Tell them about it. Spread the word. And that's it. Thank you very much for staying for that long. And we will see each other, hear each other soon. There's more stuff coming up. Some more mature stuff is coming up, a level up. And that's it. I wish you all the best. Have a nice day. Bye.