Chris Dinsmore
Mudface
I'm doing very well. Thank you for taking the time out to interview me!
We wrote a lot of music prior to recording this EP. So much has happened during the writing process in our personal lives and as a band. We learned so much from the recording process of our last record "The Bane Of Existence", it really made the process for this EP alot of fun and smooth this time around.
In today's world, attention spans are short. Social media has made it so. Here in the bay area, technology comes at us fast without giving us much time to digest it and because music, television, etc plays a role in our modern technological advancements, it seems bands are putting out albums every other year instead of every three to five years just to keep people engaged. I think our thought process was and this is before we signed with Art Gates Records, was let's put out an EP of four to five really strong songs out every year to a year and a half to keep people wanting more. Albums are expensive, however, I do think our next batch of songs will be an album next time around, because we are sitting on alot of ideas.
So far its been great. Its been received well both here locally and worldwide. We really try not to over think anything. Coming from the bay area, there is always this expectation of us being a thrash metal band and we love and respect the genre and the bands that are from here, but we have so many different influences, lately, we've really been exploring those other avenues. We realize it is extremely hard to be original, but we never put much thought in trying to sound like a certain band.
Over all, we are very proud of it. We are continually growing as musicians and song writers. This will always be the case and as creators of this music, you will always try to strive for perfection, but for me personally for the first time, I am very satisfied with the end result.
Yes, this is the first time we have worked with a label and they have been great. We are very appreciative they believed in us and are helping us get our music out to the world. I think for the band this was a step we wanted to take to help us try to get our music out to as many people who will listen.
On our last record " The Bane Of Existence", we had the honor and pleasure of working with producer Bob Marlette ( Rob Zombie, Seether, etc) and singer/ songwriter/ musician Sahaj Ticotin (Ra, Meytal). They both taught us so much as to how to approach songs and lyrics and song writing. We just tried to absorb as much as we could during that process and apply it moving forward. I know musically, we dont like to complicate things. For me personally, I like a less is best approach. There are so many genres of metal out there and so many bands that are technically awesome, however, in my opinion, so much gets lost in translation, it loses my attention.
The song "Awaken To A Different Sun" was actually written for the last record and when it didn't make the cut, we knew we would use it down the road after we polished it up a bit. I started toying with the idea of creating a concept album based on the song. The song is about an astronaut who is turned in space by a vampire and spends his whole eternal life trying to go back in time and space trying to reverse what was done to him, the sad irony, like a dog chasing its tail, is he will be chasing nothing forever. But as life will have it, we are confronted with obstacles and personal challenges and sometimes these challenges and obstacles are so strong, we feel the need to write about them.
Wow, I'm flattered by the comparison. This is definitely one of my favorite tracks on the EP. Musically the guys created quite the canvas musically for me to write lyrics to. The song is about my disdain for those in power with their fake promises that are never followed through. I love musically how the song goes from this frenetic whirlwind during the verses into this slow, powerful almost doomy chorus. Definitely a fun song for sure!
For me its "Rabbit Hole". This is a very personal song for me that deals with depression. It affects me personally as well as some of my family and friends. When I heard the music to this song it affected me in that direction immediately.
I believe there is a truth to that. After a long hard stressful day of work, I'm either throwing on something very calm and soothing, or I'm listening to metal. Music is awesome in this sense. It is the sound track to our lives, it strikes emotions in us in our daily lives. How often do you hear a song and it immediately takes you back to a certain day or time period in your life. Music is amazing in that way. Metal music has been there for me in so many emotional states, I'm glad it exists. I'm glad music exists period!
Social media has really helped bands get out to more people that more then likely would never leave their neighborhood, that being said, it too has its limits. Being signed to a label isn't for everyone, but there are many benefits to being signed such as distribution and promotion, etc. On our last record, we hired a PR guy to get our music out there and it was very effective. Had we not signed with a label, this probably the route we would've taken again. Again, for this band, its all about trying to get our music out to as many people as possible. Also, Social media limits the actual human face to face element and believe that going out to other bands shows and talking to people goes a long way locally as well!
Absolutely. Believe it or not, lately I haven't been listening to metal much. I go through these cycles from time to time. I believe it gives me a renewed love for metal and other forms of music when I take breaks from it. I was very fortunate to have parents thar appreciated music and understood how important it was to me. I don't think my Mom realizes how much of an impact she had on me and my musical endeavors. When I was young, she used to buy me '45's all the time and always differents genres. She would bring me Kiss, The Bee Gee's, The Commodores, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, etc, etc. This definitely shaped how I wanted to approach things musically. I will always appreciate that!
Touring will definitely be happening. To what extent, we dont know, but we do realize this is another extension of getting our music out to the world and this is what Mudface is really good at...Our live shows!
Thank you so much for the great review, the interview and doing what you do. The band really appreciates it!
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