I interviewed guitarist/singer/songwriter Trevor Church of the superb HAUNT, who, I suppose, are part of this whole "New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal" thing going on now. He’s also the frontman for the doom metal band BEASTMAKER and runs his own record label. In fact I bought this LP from them for three bucks, because he’s trying to liquidate them to make space for other stuff. So, buy one, cheap ass!
Haunt played with HELL FIRE and our local Detroit boys MIDAS, at the Outer Limits Lounge. Now, maybe it’s different in other cities and states, but Metro Detroit essentially has two parallel metal scenes.
There’s the actual metal scene that exists in outlying blue collar burbs and nearby cities with clubs like the Token Lounge, Diesel, and the Machine Shop in Flint, where overweight bikers with beer bellies who were actually around in the 70s and the 80s go to see every has-been, also-ran, and even up-and-comers that trek across the country; in fact, I saw LYNCH MOB with XYZ, ALL OF NOTHING, and GANGWAY at the Diesel concert lounge last night!
Then there’s the Hamtramck hipster metal scene, with bars like Small’s, the Sanctuary, and the Outer Limits Lounge, which are nestled within a little burg within the Detroit city limits, where kids LARP like it’s 1982 on the nights that those clubs aren’t doing garage punk, indie rock, or some benefit for a lame ass progressive cause; the kind of places where you’d get kicked out for wearing an ICED EARTH t-shirt or where they try to convince you that the W.A.S.P. song “Animal” is actually an ironic comment on “rape culture.” Plus those clubs only have street parking with no lots, which means you have to park in front of someone’s house to see a show.
And then Rachel and I showed up wearing matching Haunt t-shirts to be as deliberately uncool-and-fanboy-like as possible, only to find out that none of the metal hipsters were even there! I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of the Token Lounge regulars, including the guy who looks like Bobby Ellsworth of OVERKILL, had mosied on down to Hamtramck!
Anyway, here’s the interview.
Trevor allowed me to waste forty minutes of his time asking stupid and clichéd questions he’s heard a million times, while revealing some rather interesting info about his familial connections to SAMMY HAGAR and MONTROSE, and how he bucks all that obnoxious Wolfgang Van Halen-tier nepotism nonsense in the music biz. We actually talked about a lot of stuff here; Haunt’s music and lyrics, various bands, old and new, the different metal labels, the economy of touring, and even the ULTIMTE EVIL. Hint: it ain’t the devil.
Revenge of Riff Raff: Being from Fresno, CA, what would someone like you know about the frost taking over?
Trevor Church: We’re one of the top producers of produce in the United States, so most of your oranges, lemons, and pretty much all food, really, is really temperamental, and it actually gets cold, so we can get 32 degrees, which is probably not super cold for somebody out in these parts, but it’s just so low because we’re low elevation-wise. We don’t get snow… will not stick, but when it gets that cold, it will actually ruin all the food, so they have this whole… if you saw how it looks… I think we grow 60% of the nation’s food, so you get kind of an up close look at where your produce is coming from and what they have to do to keep the citrus from freezing and any of the stuff from freezing over is quite the look, it’s pretty extensive. So it does get cold.
RoRR: So that’s what inspired the winter theme of…
TC: I just don’t really like the cold, so I always think of those things. I kind of think of cold weather as the, ya know, when things aren’t looking great, I kind of assign it to cold.
There’s the actual metal scene that exists in outlying blue collar burbs and nearby cities with clubs like the Token Lounge, Diesel, and the Machine Shop in Flint, where overweight bikers with beer bellies who were actually around in the 70s and the 80s go to see every has-been, also-ran, and even up-and-comers that trek across the country; in fact, I saw LYNCH MOB with XYZ, ALL OF NOTHING, and GANGWAY at the Diesel concert lounge last night!
Then there’s the Hamtramck hipster metal scene, with bars like Small’s, the Sanctuary, and the Outer Limits Lounge, which are nestled within a little burg within the Detroit city limits, where kids LARP like it’s 1982 on the nights that those clubs aren’t doing garage punk, indie rock, or some benefit for a lame ass progressive cause; the kind of places where you’d get kicked out for wearing an ICED EARTH t-shirt or where they try to convince you that the W.A.S.P. song “Animal” is actually an ironic comment on “rape culture.” Plus those clubs only have street parking with no lots, which means you have to park in front of someone’s house to see a show.
And then Rachel and I showed up wearing matching Haunt t-shirts to be as deliberately uncool-and-fanboy-like as possible, only to find out that none of the metal hipsters were even there! I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of the Token Lounge regulars, including the guy who looks like Bobby Ellsworth of OVERKILL, had mosied on down to Hamtramck!
Anyway, here’s the interview.
Trevor allowed me to waste forty minutes of his time asking stupid and clichéd questions he’s heard a million times, while revealing some rather interesting info about his familial connections to SAMMY HAGAR and MONTROSE, and how he bucks all that obnoxious Wolfgang Van Halen-tier nepotism nonsense in the music biz. We actually talked about a lot of stuff here; Haunt’s music and lyrics, various bands, old and new, the different metal labels, the economy of touring, and even the ULTIMTE EVIL. Hint: it ain’t the devil.
Revenge of Riff Raff: Being from Fresno, CA, what would someone like you know about the frost taking over?
Trevor Church: We’re one of the top producers of produce in the United States, so most of your oranges, lemons, and pretty much all food, really, is really temperamental, and it actually gets cold, so we can get 32 degrees, which is probably not super cold for somebody out in these parts, but it’s just so low because we’re low elevation-wise. We don’t get snow… will not stick, but when it gets that cold, it will actually ruin all the food, so they have this whole… if you saw how it looks… I think we grow 60% of the nation’s food, so you get kind of an up close look at where your produce is coming from and what they have to do to keep the citrus from freezing and any of the stuff from freezing over is quite the look, it’s pretty extensive. So it does get cold.
RoRR: So that’s what inspired the winter theme of…
TC: I just don’t really like the cold, so I always think of those things. I kind of think of cold weather as the, ya know, when things aren’t looking great, I kind of assign it to cold.
RoRR: So, you actually, you know, you sent me an extra copy of Mosaic Vision?
TC: Yeah.
RoRR: Uh, did you want it back, or can I give it—to spread the...
TC: No, keep it.
RoRR: All Right! So, I like how you release an album every year, and that they’re short, as opposed to putting out these 65-minute long epics that take like three years to come out. Was that the plan all along, to put out short albums, 35, 40 minute albums, so you could just consistently put them out, one after another?
TC: I’ve always found that, like, in my life, I always listen to music on the way to work. It’s kinda like, in my younger years, it’s kind of the time where I really tried to get into a vibe 'cause you have to go… generally you go to a job you don’t really love, so you need to have something to get your day started. And I like when you listen to a full album by your favorite band on the way to work and back, and it’s like you’ve listened to it. You don’t have to create a time for it all to be absorbed, because I always find that that’s kind of the time when you need it the most, um, driving… I always loved driving and listening to music. It’s always been one of my favorite things to do. So I think short and sweet is a great approach, as opposed to, like, really long, and you never actually get to finish the record. There’s probably albums that I love, and I never even finished ‘em.
RoRR: So you never plan on making that epic power metal production with the strings and choirs…
TC: Never, never, no. Also, what really influenced my growing up, my dad listened to a lot of… we listened to a lot of 60s music in the house, and I always loved how quick the songs were, there and done and pow in TWO minutes. I mean songs back in those days, two and half minutes was epic!
RoRR: You got any favorite 60s bands?
TC: Oh, yeah! THE ZOMBIES were a huge influence for me. Um, the Beatles.
RoRR: (joking excited sigh) THE BEATLES?!
TC: … FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS… I mean the Beatles, because that’s kind of one of those bands that obviously went on to do much longer songs and things, but in their early, ya know… they helped me learn how to play guitar and sing, to be honest. That’s what got me kind of going on that. And THE MISFITS, stuff like that, which was influenced by that as well. Short, to the point.
RoRR: Sure! So, when I put on Haunt, for me it’s no different from putting on JAG PANZER or BLIND GUARDIAN or HAMMERFALL. Do you consider yourself part of the "New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal," or do you consider yourselves just another metal band that absorbs its influences and spits ‘em back out, or where do you place yourself in that
TC: Um, I’ve said this before many times. I get asked this, so I’m gonna repeat it.
RoRR: Sorry, I should have checked!
TC: No, it’s good, because there’s so much out there, it’s impossible to know. When I started Haunt, I had no clue that there was anything called the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, because there was only a handful of bands, and I was asked in an interview when Luminous Eyes came out, what do you think of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, and I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And then they told me about the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal Youtube page, and, so I had to kinda like go look at it and go, OH! And, ya know, obviously, I’ll embrace anything that is a musical community of people that are trying to do likeminded things, so I definitely embrace it. I’ve never really felt like truly 100% traditional metal, because I grew up in California where punk music was definitely more… there was more of a scene for that in the 90s than heavy metal. There wasn’t a lot of metal bands at all, if ANY! And we all, Sam, my bass player, who’s from Southern California, we all grew up listening to punk. There’s no way that any heavy metal guy from California now can say that they were not listening to punk music at some point in time. So, I like to think there’s a little bit of [punk] in it, and I’m always gonna be a rocker, but I love heavy metal. I always have. I started listening to heavy metal in 1986 or ’87. My uncle was in a heavy metal band. My dad was in a heavy metal band. So, it’s just always been around.
RoRR: It’s a family tradition?
TC: It’s a family tradition absolutely. It’s genetic. But the thing is, is like it’s rad to be a part of something that I didn’t know existed, and now that I know it exists, and I’ve watched it grow, and I see a lot of bands forming and a lot more people starting to come out and embrace instruments being played, as opposed to instruments NOT being played, um, it’s cool! And, you know, a lot of us older dudes are like dads and stuff, so hopefully you’re carrying on the tradition of playing.
RoRR: Is it hard to be a dad and do the touring thing?
TC: Um, yeah, I mean, it’s not impossible. It’s more of an emotional thing than anything, because, you know, you’re missing out on precious years. I am, anyway, as far as I’m concerned. But I get to be home way more than if I had to work at a 9 – 5 normal job. I wouldn’t see my son nearly as much, as opposed to being gone three months out of the year and being home nine. Ya know?
RoRR: Right, I get it. So, you mentioned instruments. My favorite Haunt album is actually Mind Freeze. I like how you incorporated all the synthesizers in that one. Will we see another one with lots of synths?
TC: Um, you know, all of them, I’ve put a lot of synth in the music, but the thing that started happening when I did Mind Freeze was like, how the fuck am I doing to do these songs without a keyboard player? I searched far and wide, and I never found one…
RoRR: In California you couldn’t find a person to play the keyboard?
TC: There’s no such thing as a heavy metal keyboard player in America.
RoRR: And you don’t want to import anyone named Bjorn?
TC: I can’t. They’d have to uproot their lives to be a keyboard player in my band. What we ended doing is we figured out a way… we use a sample pad, and we’re able to upload the synths that I did, and basically have it with us, but as time has gone on since then, I don’t like doing that as much. So what I’ve done… I just finished a record that will be out next year, and I kind of put it up front a little bit more to where it’s more of like intros instead of going through the songs, just because I found, that even with the samples and everything that we could do, there’s not a person up there to be like, “I can’t hear it”, and they can turn it up. You know what I mean? So there’s not a human to be like, “Yo, what’s going on?” You know what I mean? Like I said, there is synth on all the records, but maybe not as dominant.
RoRR: That’s what I meant. Prominent, like incorporated into the arrangements. I thought that was really super cool how you did that.
TC: I mean, there’s a time and place for it all, and maybe I’ll find that, like, inspiration again in the future, if maybe somebody joins me that I know who can be a part of the band and do it. You know, it really came down to, like, I had, like, 50% of people loving having the synths, and then I had others be like, 'you shouldn’t do synth.' And, then, it’s, like, okay, I don’t listen to anybody, obviously, but I just do what I wanna do, but, like I said, it’s… when you hear the next record, you’ll hear what I mean. I’ve put it in places where, like, the music stops. It’s there.
RoRR: Are you a synthwave fan? Do you like that kind of music? Because, when I heard that, I immediately thought some of the outrun/synthwave/retrowave….
TC: Not really. No. I would say more like I have some new wave influences and people that I like. Obviously my dad, my dad’s band. They always had a keyboard player. Jesse Harms was the keyboard player in the Sammy Hagar band. And I kind of always loved that they just… and that’s another one where it’s like, you wouldn’t even know there’s keyboard in a lot of the songs. And there wasn’t. He kind of was like backup singer mainly, and then here and there there’d be like some scattered keyboard riffs. So that’s kind of where I’m trying to go now, to where it’s like, oh here’s a keyboard riff…
RoRR: Kind of like what Geoff Nichols does in BLACK SABBATH, where he kind of peppers the guitar riffs, or something?
TC: Yeah, peppered. That’s a good way to put it. So my keyboard influences are definitely more rock ‘n’ roll than… Jonathan Cain is the ultimate keyboard player. Um, do you know who he is? So, Jonathan Cain is the keyboard player for JOURNEY. And, so you gotta remember where I come from, California; those are my dad’s buddies.
RoRR: Hey, Journey rocks! No disrespect!
TC: Steve Perry is actually from Hanford, which is about 40 minutes from Fresno. So I’m very, very close to the California music scene, so Jonathan Cain is a massive influence. I wish I had a nickel of his talent! So, Journey is a big one for me. It actually influenced a lot of the Mind Freeze stuff a lot, big time, how I did a song like “Have No Fear.” I took a lot of that from Sammy and Journey, to be honest with you; a lot of my chord structures.
RoRR: Wow! So, Journey is a big influence! That’s terrific! Lyric time! So Haunt lyrics don’t deal in the demons and wizards and heroes’ journeys, and you’re not overtly political; it seems like it’s a lot of reflective stuff, “Crystal Ball”, “Light the Beacon”… do you just write about stuff that happens to you?
TC: A lot of it comes from my personal life. I come from a musical family, obviously. If you don’t know, my dad played bass for VAN MORRISON, Montrose, and Sammy Hagar…
RoRR: Damn! That’s quite the pedigree!
TC: Yeah, my dad has platinum records, and, um, my mom’s cousin played in Montrose, Sammy Hagar, and then went to play in HEART. My uncle, Paul, my mom’s brother, he had like this 80s… they were like a Sunset Strip metal band. They got signed, but they were a little bit too late. Grunge kinda happened right when they…
RoRR: What was their name?
TC: CRY WOLF. And, I mean, they had it all, dude. They had the hair… they did it, and they were a hard working band. They toured with PANTERA a couple times before Pantera got big. So, anyway, I had a couple cousins I grew up with playing music with, and they tragically left this Earth a little bit too early and leaving me in kind of this massive spiral in my life. I went into a little abyss of something very unusual for me, and, when I started Haunt, people thought it was a spooky kind of theme to go along with what I was doing in Beastmaker. But it was more that I was haunted by the deaths of my cousins that I grew up playing music with.
RoRR: Oh okay, so it’s not some sort of spooky… where you watched a couple Argento movies…
TC: No, no, so it’s like, it lives with me every day. There’s not a whole day that passes… my whole life was forever changed in those moments. I can never be who I used to be. You know what I mean? It’s gone. My childhood was, like, erased. That’s how I feel about it. I lost three cousins I grew up playing music with. And, very young. Like, I’m now the oldest of my generation on that side of the family, which is crazy to think about, ‘cause I had two that were older than me and one that was a little bit younger than me. My cousin Michael taught me how to play guitar. He passed when I was nineteen, and that was really tough. And then, my cousin Daniel… he was a drummer, so you have to realize he was very important. You know, there’s a lot of failures to the roads of getting anywhere, you know? Just, sadly, he had to be along for a lot of the failures and then died. And that was tough. That was the hardest one for me because, when my parents divorced in 1988, he became kind like my brother, 'cause my dad moved to Fresno to live in the family home there, and it just so happened my cousin Daniel lived there, and so that became my second home, and we grew up together. So, when he passed, that sent me on a crazy downward… like I started drinking heavily, and things were out of control. So a lot of my music is just therapy for myself to try to get through the days. I didn’t want to write the same lyrics as other people. I did not want to be singing about sci-fi, fantasy…
RoRR: You didn’t want to do another Tolkien-based…
TC: I like that kind of thing. I just didn’t really see myself… you know, at my end years, I wanted to have more depth, so when I talk about my songs, they’re not just some, like, 'oh, I’m into swords.' I wanna be like, I wrote a song for my cousins or me battling my personal life, you know, which is an everyday battle for me really, 'cause like I said, my life was… you know, a lot of people get to talk about their childhood or have somebody to talk about it to. I do not. I have to kind of remember… and, so that’s what “Light the Beacon”… if you knew how many people came up to me crying about that song… I mean, I had a dude just in Nebraska in tears 'cause he lost his brother during Covid. And, it just so happens that song came out in that time. I remember the first time I played that song live. I was shaking, 'cause it was like really wearing my personal life on my sleeve, and I’m gonna now share this with you guys. And, then “Crystal Ball”, I’ve told this story before. My dad’s best friend Chuck Ruff (the Edgar Winter drummer?)… Chuck Ruff’s wife read Tarot cards and all that and she told me that I was gonna be a musician, and at the time, I didn’t believe it, because I wanted to be a professional skateboarder when I was teenager.
RoRR: Hey, I mean, that’s California, listening to punk, right?
TC: Yeah, so I’ve skateboarded my whole life, so I was like, eh, no. But I always played, ya know. Music’s in the blood, so… but she was like, “You’re gonna play music.” And, lo and behold, I owe her one!
RoRR: That’s pretty prophetic!
TC: I owed her one in the end! I didn’t really believe… I knew I was going to play, but I didn’t know I was going to end up taking it as seriously. I had some big fucking shoes to fill! You know, my dad is not some like, ohhh…
RoRR: Just some local guy who was in a few local bands. He was in Montrose and Sammy Hagar!
TC: My dad is massive! But we were poor! So we come from a different area of that. Like I’m not fucking Sammy Hagar’s kid! I’m the bass player’s kid. I didn’t have cars or nothing. We grew up very… I had to work my way to… and I’m glad, though, ya know, my dad really instilled that you have to go out there and fucking earn it. And I watched, you know, these other kids that have a lot of money… I’m cut of the same cloth technically in the musical aspect of it, not the financial one, and they struggle way harder than I do. I could write fucking songs all day, and they need other people to do it.
RoRR: I was gonna say, because you just write out banger after banger after banger. “Mercenary” is about war. Was that inspired by Ukraine and Russia, or is it just kinda war in general?
TC: Yeah, I mean, I’ve always kinda had a fascination with war. I’ve traveled the world and seen a lot of places, and I just don’t really like… like you said earlier, I don’t really wear my political ideals on my sleeve by any means, but it’s more just like seeing the effects of war on children really bothers me as a dad. I just don’t really agree with the way things work. I think it’s like robbing children of their innocence and being able to be kids. I don’t think there’s any amount of money or any amount of power that that should actually be a thing. I just think it’s like evil in its purest form. So, to me, that’s more of a song about evil, than actually talking about Satan, because there’s nothing more evil in this world than robbing children of their innocence.
RoRR: Absolutely! This may sound like a stupid question. I was going to ask if “Burst Into Flame” is about the Human Torch, but I have a feeling it’s probably not.
TC: Ah, no. I wrote that as more of like an enlightening song for people to, like, if they’re feeling down or just feeling like, you know, they need a little influence to rise above their personal negativity…
RoRR: So it’s an inspirational song!
TC: A lot of mine is. Like I was saying, my songs are like therapy for myself. So I kind of wrote it to try to get myself in, you know… I always say I’m always trying to find the light in the dark, because I’ve found the dark, and the dark doesn’t work. Honestly, that’s the best way I can ever put it. If you’re gonna put yourself in the dark, you’re gonna find it to be an abyss. Darkness only breeds more darkness.
RoRR: This is kind of more of a philosophical question (not to mention, an awkwardly worded question, haha). Wolf Hoffman of ACCEPT said that, in the 70s and 80s, it was all about creating a mystique, being inaccessible to fans. We saw STRYPER in a club with a stage that was like three feet off the ground, and they had this metal barrier installed up in the front that usually isn’t there as if they’re still trying to create the aura of you being in this huge arena, and I tried to email them for an interview, and nobody responded, since they probably work through a manager. And then we saw METAL CHURCH at the same club, no barrier, and they did a free meet and greet right at the merch table after the show! So now they say the industry is all about chilling with fans and being easy to access and becoming friends with your fans and not creating a mystique. Do you agree with that, or is there one you prefer? Like, do you prefer, if you actually could go back to that time where it’s like, you are the rock star on the stage and you have all these managers, and you’re this inaccessible, God-like figure, or do you prefer the, you know…
TC: Well, I mean, I grew up around rock stars, so I could tell you that one of the biggest influences I have… and it’s not even because I wanted it to be an influence. It just happens because of my upbringing. I watched Sammy Hagar with his fans, and that guy is not inaccessible. He makes himself very accessible to the point where it’s almost… like he has stuff to where fans can buy a ticket that they’re on the fucking stage!
RoRR: Really?
TC: Yeah, he had, like… I remember he did this tour where they had Montrose do like four songs, and this was not that long ago. It was before Ronnie offed himself. But, um, I was tripping out, because I was like, why is there bleachers behind the stage? What the fuck is this? And, like tables. So, like, fans were able to buy these… I mean, I’m sure it costed a pretty penny, but that makes it accessible, as opposed to inaccessible. Like Sammy’s literally fucking sitting… he’s onstage playing and blending margaritas and fucking personally… I mean, I don’t drink alcohol, it’s not for me, but I thought it was like… as an onlooker, I was like, I mean, that’s pretty bad ass to be able to go, yeah, fucking Sammy Hagar poured me a fucking margarita! Or whatever, and I’ve also experienced being backstage for his meet and greets, which are really incredible and actually affordable as opposed to some I’ve seen, that either (a) don’t do that or (b) charge an astronomical amount for that.
RoRR: And are total dicks about it! Like I’ve heard that Ace Frehley just signs your autograph and says, “Get lost.”
TC: Yeah, I mean, I can understand some of it to an extent… again, I mean, when you’re born and raised in California, you’re not… the rock star thing maybe happened there, but I also feel like you also get some of the laid back part of it all, where it’s like, nah, I’m gonna talk to anybody that wants to talk to me. I’m not gonna be an asshole. That doesn’t get you anywhere. And Sammy’s a very prime example of treating his fans really good. So luckily I’ve seen that, and I go, that really pays off for him, because he has not put out a good record in thirty fuckin’ years!
RoRR: (laughing) Would you actually tell him that?
TC: Absolutely! I mean, I tell his sons that all the time! I’m like, what is your dad doing? Like, what the fuck is this? Like, why doesn’t he just write what he wrote back in the day? Like, why is he trying to be… but then again, ya know, that’s what he wants to do, so he’s doing what he wants to do, so there’s nothing wrong with that at all. It’s just that, I know that he could do better than what he does.
RoRR: I feel uncomfortable doing that.
TC: Nobody should do that. Like I would only say that if I was approached, like what do you think of my new record? I don’t like it. I mean, he has a lot of records I love. Not everyone’s gonna be a winner. That’s just the fuckin’ reality of it. I mean, there’s so many bands that have stood the test of time… not every fuckin’ album has that effect. I’ll probably have the same effect. I just don’t care. You do what you have to do. You need to do music. You need to keep it creative, and I respect anybody that keeps it going, that keeps the flame going, playing, doing what they wanna do. There’s something to be respected there even if it isn’t good.
RoRR: Sure! Are there any bands that you think album twenty-five is only slightly less good than album number four?
TC: I’m trying to think of anybody with twenty-five albums.
RoRR: Well, MOTÖRHEAD had twenty-three.
TC: That’s a different story, because it’s kinda all the same.
RoRR: (laughter) Really? You think…
TC: I really think he really just stuck to what he does. Lemmy’s a master of just rock ‘n’ roll, so I don’t think he ever strayed from it.
RoRR: Well, do you think a band should stick to what they know and just make the same thing over and over again, albeit, slightly different versions, or do you think they should, like, try to branch out and be super out there and try to be always ahead of the game?
TC: I mean, again, like, you get down to, do you wanna tell people what to do, or do you, like… I think there’s nothing wrong with just doing what works for you. There’s only one band that I can constantly go back to, to say that they should have done what they started doing, and that’s METALLICA, 'cause they’re fucking awful. And, they had some really great records, so there’s that situation where you could be like, why did they ever change?
RoRR: Money.
TC: But then you go back to Lemmy and Motörhead, where it’s just like, you have rock records from the 70s to the fuckin’ end. And, to me, you could just put one on and probably feel the same feelings. I’m trying to think of a band that had a lot of longevity that did a lot of records that really, really influenced me… I just can’t even think of any. BLITZKRIEG. I really love Blitzkrieg. I really love Brian Ross (who also sings for SATAN). He’s like one of my favorite singers of all time! So, Brian Ross, like, if you listen to him sing, he’s never changed. His voice, his technique, his approach… and he has a decent amount of albums. I lot of the bands I love just don’t have the catalog length. Satan, you know, they have more albums now…
RoRR: Right! They’re doing more of a career now than back when they were…
TC: Yeah, and then like early DEF LEPPARD. I mean, they don’t have records anymore either.
RoRR: First three are the classics.
TC: Yeah, but still, even after that, they only had like three or four records anyway. So they didn’t really push out a lot of stuff, and then, you know… JUDAS PRIEST has done a lot, and I feel like they’ve really kinda kept it to how it should be.
RoRR: Do you have any opinion on Tim “Ripper” Owens and the whole KK’S PRIEST thing?
TC: No. I mean, I just think that it’s sad that they can’t reconcile and just play. That’s my thing. I’m like, “Why?” You’re not on this Earth forever, and it’s like why not play and let the fans get to enjoy the last years of what you’re gonna have? Because it’ll be gone, and that’s that. You know, look at Glenn Tipton. It’s sad. You know, because you know he would be playing those songs right now if he could. Despite contractual anything, it’s like, you guys made enough money, you made enough fans, who fucking cares? Just hash it out. You’re gonna die one day, and if you could leave a, you know… they already have left a mark, but I’m just saying… another one’s like SAXON. Didn’t they just have one of their guitar players just quit and get Brian Tatler of DIAMOND HEAD?
RoRR: Yep, that’s the current Saxon lineup.
TC: That would be… I love seeing bands that have, that can kinda just stick it out, and the only thing that gets in the way is a dead member. Like that is the only time I feel like it’s acceptable. You know, otherwise, it’s like, fuckin’ get through your… you can’t bring money with you when you’re dead. That’s my two cents.
RoRR: Sure, that’s terrific! There are a lot of bands who will not get back together. They will not speak to so and so. Like, a perfect example: Udo and Accept will never get back together.
TC: Yeah, and it’s stupid, and I don’t like seeing a lot of those kinds of things. It doesn’t really do anything for me. Like, I will prefer to go see Def Leppard if they still have realistically their entire band, because Steve Clark died, but they replaced him with Vivian Campbell, which is a great replacement. Go up there and be the same guys playing, and their shit’s still affordable. You can buy a ticket and not be broke. So I respect them heavily for that. I don’t respect Metallica. I don’t respect Pantera. I don’t respect any of that right now. It’s such a money grab to me, and it’s hard…
RoRR: That’s a pretty bold statement right there!
TC: I don’t like Pantera. I never have, because they have a tough guy mentality, and they spawned a lot of macho, chauvinistic bullshit in the 90s that I hated; especially coming from the punk scene in California. That was just like, “no.” I could look at it; army cargo shorts, shaved head, oversized fucking black metal t-shirt with some bullshit on it, not for me. Never has, never will.
RoRR: Even pre-Cowboys Pantera, like Power Metal, or those early records?
TC: They were a different band then. They’re not even the same band. It’s not the same at all.
RoRR: Right. So, you were on Shadow Kingdom, but now you basically release stuff independently. Were there any offers from those big labels like Nuclear Blast or AFM, and if there were, would you take them?
TC: So I’ve had some emails sent in my time, and I just prefer… we’ve done really well, um… I’m partners with Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon, and we’ve been releasing records now for like three years, and we are doing just as much as a major label would for an underground heavy metal band like myself.
RoRR: But Jarvis is signed to Century Media, I think?
TC: Yeah, but he’s just, this just happened just recently. He’s just licensed his first two records from Century Media to be on Iron Grip, so he’s kinda leaning that way himself. They’re not really doing anything for smaller underground bands. You get a release, you’re pushed aside, and you’re broke and working a shitty job. There’s bands that are bigger than I am… I’m a small band. I don’t have a big band. I don’t have to work because we do things ourselves.
RoRR: So, what you’re saying is, some band signed to one of those kinds of labels, will put out the record, it will come out, it’ll drop in the store, and then basically they fend for themselves?
TC: They do one pressing of vinyl, and it’s over with. You would have to pay wholesale price to get ‘em. I’ve been on some labels before, where it’s very interesting, not Shadow Kingdom, but it’s just hard to get stuff, and I don’t really like that. I think I should own my music and have control over it to an extent, especially in this digital era. The other thing is, how commercial digital music is distributed. I don’t really agree with it. My next record is going to be the first time I’m not putting the album on Spotify.
RoRR: What about Bandcamp?
TC: Bandcamp is artist controlled. It’s the greatest thing ever. And it’s part of the reason we can do that. It’s part of the reason I don’t have to work is because I’ve been able… since I started it from day one, it’s DIY, and everybody knows where to go to get a Haunt record, or to get a Haunt fucking t-shirt, or whatever. They know that’s me! I’m shipping it!
RoRR: I know, because it’s sent right from your house! I don’t know if that’s where you live…
TC: That is where I live.
RoRR: Oh, okay!
TC: I mean, I don’t care if people know where I live! I’m in Fresno! But, you know, I have no interest in major labels. I have no interest in any labels really. I don’t think they can really do anything for me. I don’t think there’s a big enough scene for it to actually break through. The only label that could have the power of that is a label like Loma Vista, something of that nature, where it’s not a heavy metal label or anything like that. I don’t really wanna be… nothing against any of the bands… I don’t wanna be associated with Nuclear Blast. I don’t like 90% of their catalog, so I don’t really feel like I fit in there. That’s why Shadow Kingdom worked. He was kind of doing a lot of reissues and a lot of stuff, like labels like that, I could see myself being associated with. But it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to be on their label. But, you know, like No Remorse, High Roller, guys like those guys, Underground Power, there’s a lot of cool labels that cater to more of what I’m interested in.
RoRR: Do you have an opinion on the Swedish bands like ENFORCER, AMBUSH, WOLF, those kinda bands?
TC: Absolutely! I mean, I love Enforcer! Olof’s a great friend of mine, and I think they should be a lot bigger! And that’s right where you go sign to Nuclear Blast, and it means nothing. Because they are on that, and they play places like this when they come to America. It might work really well for them in Europe, but to me, you can’t really be super famous at all unless you are big in America. It’s fact in the music business.
RoRR: So, you’re saying, regardless of how big the crowds are in Europe, it don’t mean jack shit if you’re not huge in the States?
TC: Yeah. The European crowd is all the same people. Like the festivals over there… and, I mean, you gotta realize Europe is so small, these towns are like three hours away, and you just get on a fucking train. Here it’s like a trek, like we are going on a fucking pilgrimage essentially.
RoRR: I mean, you ain’t lying! We go to Chicago, we go to Cleveland, we go everywhere within a three, four, five hour vicinity…
TC: But you’re lucky! Come out to my way, where you have to drive THIRTY-SIX hours to get over here! You’re going back to the old horse and carriage days damn near, because you can’t get here in a day unless it’s on an airplane.
RoRR: Right, and that’s probably totally out of the budget.
TC: I mean, yeah, it always is out of the budget. Flying is not anything any band… I mean, maybe it was easier back in the day, because there wasn’t as many regulations on how much fucking your suit case weighed. You know? So now it’s like, you get fifty pounds, and then it’s $125 per added thing, so… but, to go back to the question, Ambush, another really great band, I absolutely love them, they fuckin’ rule, but they have no presence here, and that’s a tricky situation.
RoRR: I know! I was gonna say, among people I know, I’m always the guy who says, “Check out Wolf! Check out Ambush! Check out Enforcer! Check out Bullet!”, and people are like, woa, you know? And check out Haunt too, obviously.
TC: They’ve never heard of ‘em here, really. It’s ‘cause it’s really hard to come over here.
RoRR: (looking over) Hey, look! ETERNAL CHAMPION and Ambush patches!
Edwin Oslan
Revenge of Riff Raff
TC: Yeah.
RoRR: Uh, did you want it back, or can I give it—to spread the...
TC: No, keep it.
RoRR: All Right! So, I like how you release an album every year, and that they’re short, as opposed to putting out these 65-minute long epics that take like three years to come out. Was that the plan all along, to put out short albums, 35, 40 minute albums, so you could just consistently put them out, one after another?
TC: I’ve always found that, like, in my life, I always listen to music on the way to work. It’s kinda like, in my younger years, it’s kind of the time where I really tried to get into a vibe 'cause you have to go… generally you go to a job you don’t really love, so you need to have something to get your day started. And I like when you listen to a full album by your favorite band on the way to work and back, and it’s like you’ve listened to it. You don’t have to create a time for it all to be absorbed, because I always find that that’s kind of the time when you need it the most, um, driving… I always loved driving and listening to music. It’s always been one of my favorite things to do. So I think short and sweet is a great approach, as opposed to, like, really long, and you never actually get to finish the record. There’s probably albums that I love, and I never even finished ‘em.
RoRR: So you never plan on making that epic power metal production with the strings and choirs…
TC: Never, never, no. Also, what really influenced my growing up, my dad listened to a lot of… we listened to a lot of 60s music in the house, and I always loved how quick the songs were, there and done and pow in TWO minutes. I mean songs back in those days, two and half minutes was epic!
RoRR: You got any favorite 60s bands?
TC: Oh, yeah! THE ZOMBIES were a huge influence for me. Um, the Beatles.
RoRR: (joking excited sigh) THE BEATLES?!
TC: … FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS… I mean the Beatles, because that’s kind of one of those bands that obviously went on to do much longer songs and things, but in their early, ya know… they helped me learn how to play guitar and sing, to be honest. That’s what got me kind of going on that. And THE MISFITS, stuff like that, which was influenced by that as well. Short, to the point.
RoRR: Sure! So, when I put on Haunt, for me it’s no different from putting on JAG PANZER or BLIND GUARDIAN or HAMMERFALL. Do you consider yourself part of the "New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal," or do you consider yourselves just another metal band that absorbs its influences and spits ‘em back out, or where do you place yourself in that
TC: Um, I’ve said this before many times. I get asked this, so I’m gonna repeat it.
RoRR: Sorry, I should have checked!
TC: No, it’s good, because there’s so much out there, it’s impossible to know. When I started Haunt, I had no clue that there was anything called the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, because there was only a handful of bands, and I was asked in an interview when Luminous Eyes came out, what do you think of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal, and I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And then they told me about the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal Youtube page, and, so I had to kinda like go look at it and go, OH! And, ya know, obviously, I’ll embrace anything that is a musical community of people that are trying to do likeminded things, so I definitely embrace it. I’ve never really felt like truly 100% traditional metal, because I grew up in California where punk music was definitely more… there was more of a scene for that in the 90s than heavy metal. There wasn’t a lot of metal bands at all, if ANY! And we all, Sam, my bass player, who’s from Southern California, we all grew up listening to punk. There’s no way that any heavy metal guy from California now can say that they were not listening to punk music at some point in time. So, I like to think there’s a little bit of [punk] in it, and I’m always gonna be a rocker, but I love heavy metal. I always have. I started listening to heavy metal in 1986 or ’87. My uncle was in a heavy metal band. My dad was in a heavy metal band. So, it’s just always been around.
RoRR: It’s a family tradition?
TC: It’s a family tradition absolutely. It’s genetic. But the thing is, is like it’s rad to be a part of something that I didn’t know existed, and now that I know it exists, and I’ve watched it grow, and I see a lot of bands forming and a lot more people starting to come out and embrace instruments being played, as opposed to instruments NOT being played, um, it’s cool! And, you know, a lot of us older dudes are like dads and stuff, so hopefully you’re carrying on the tradition of playing.
RoRR: Is it hard to be a dad and do the touring thing?
TC: Um, yeah, I mean, it’s not impossible. It’s more of an emotional thing than anything, because, you know, you’re missing out on precious years. I am, anyway, as far as I’m concerned. But I get to be home way more than if I had to work at a 9 – 5 normal job. I wouldn’t see my son nearly as much, as opposed to being gone three months out of the year and being home nine. Ya know?
RoRR: Right, I get it. So, you mentioned instruments. My favorite Haunt album is actually Mind Freeze. I like how you incorporated all the synthesizers in that one. Will we see another one with lots of synths?
TC: Um, you know, all of them, I’ve put a lot of synth in the music, but the thing that started happening when I did Mind Freeze was like, how the fuck am I doing to do these songs without a keyboard player? I searched far and wide, and I never found one…
RoRR: In California you couldn’t find a person to play the keyboard?
TC: There’s no such thing as a heavy metal keyboard player in America.
RoRR: And you don’t want to import anyone named Bjorn?
TC: I can’t. They’d have to uproot their lives to be a keyboard player in my band. What we ended doing is we figured out a way… we use a sample pad, and we’re able to upload the synths that I did, and basically have it with us, but as time has gone on since then, I don’t like doing that as much. So what I’ve done… I just finished a record that will be out next year, and I kind of put it up front a little bit more to where it’s more of like intros instead of going through the songs, just because I found, that even with the samples and everything that we could do, there’s not a person up there to be like, “I can’t hear it”, and they can turn it up. You know what I mean? So there’s not a human to be like, “Yo, what’s going on?” You know what I mean? Like I said, there is synth on all the records, but maybe not as dominant.
RoRR: That’s what I meant. Prominent, like incorporated into the arrangements. I thought that was really super cool how you did that.
TC: I mean, there’s a time and place for it all, and maybe I’ll find that, like, inspiration again in the future, if maybe somebody joins me that I know who can be a part of the band and do it. You know, it really came down to, like, I had, like, 50% of people loving having the synths, and then I had others be like, 'you shouldn’t do synth.' And, then, it’s, like, okay, I don’t listen to anybody, obviously, but I just do what I wanna do, but, like I said, it’s… when you hear the next record, you’ll hear what I mean. I’ve put it in places where, like, the music stops. It’s there.
RoRR: Are you a synthwave fan? Do you like that kind of music? Because, when I heard that, I immediately thought some of the outrun/synthwave/retrowave….
TC: Not really. No. I would say more like I have some new wave influences and people that I like. Obviously my dad, my dad’s band. They always had a keyboard player. Jesse Harms was the keyboard player in the Sammy Hagar band. And I kind of always loved that they just… and that’s another one where it’s like, you wouldn’t even know there’s keyboard in a lot of the songs. And there wasn’t. He kind of was like backup singer mainly, and then here and there there’d be like some scattered keyboard riffs. So that’s kind of where I’m trying to go now, to where it’s like, oh here’s a keyboard riff…
RoRR: Kind of like what Geoff Nichols does in BLACK SABBATH, where he kind of peppers the guitar riffs, or something?
TC: Yeah, peppered. That’s a good way to put it. So my keyboard influences are definitely more rock ‘n’ roll than… Jonathan Cain is the ultimate keyboard player. Um, do you know who he is? So, Jonathan Cain is the keyboard player for JOURNEY. And, so you gotta remember where I come from, California; those are my dad’s buddies.
RoRR: Hey, Journey rocks! No disrespect!
TC: Steve Perry is actually from Hanford, which is about 40 minutes from Fresno. So I’m very, very close to the California music scene, so Jonathan Cain is a massive influence. I wish I had a nickel of his talent! So, Journey is a big one for me. It actually influenced a lot of the Mind Freeze stuff a lot, big time, how I did a song like “Have No Fear.” I took a lot of that from Sammy and Journey, to be honest with you; a lot of my chord structures.
RoRR: Wow! So, Journey is a big influence! That’s terrific! Lyric time! So Haunt lyrics don’t deal in the demons and wizards and heroes’ journeys, and you’re not overtly political; it seems like it’s a lot of reflective stuff, “Crystal Ball”, “Light the Beacon”… do you just write about stuff that happens to you?
TC: A lot of it comes from my personal life. I come from a musical family, obviously. If you don’t know, my dad played bass for VAN MORRISON, Montrose, and Sammy Hagar…
RoRR: Damn! That’s quite the pedigree!
TC: Yeah, my dad has platinum records, and, um, my mom’s cousin played in Montrose, Sammy Hagar, and then went to play in HEART. My uncle, Paul, my mom’s brother, he had like this 80s… they were like a Sunset Strip metal band. They got signed, but they were a little bit too late. Grunge kinda happened right when they…
RoRR: What was their name?
TC: CRY WOLF. And, I mean, they had it all, dude. They had the hair… they did it, and they were a hard working band. They toured with PANTERA a couple times before Pantera got big. So, anyway, I had a couple cousins I grew up with playing music with, and they tragically left this Earth a little bit too early and leaving me in kind of this massive spiral in my life. I went into a little abyss of something very unusual for me, and, when I started Haunt, people thought it was a spooky kind of theme to go along with what I was doing in Beastmaker. But it was more that I was haunted by the deaths of my cousins that I grew up playing music with.
RoRR: Oh okay, so it’s not some sort of spooky… where you watched a couple Argento movies…
TC: No, no, so it’s like, it lives with me every day. There’s not a whole day that passes… my whole life was forever changed in those moments. I can never be who I used to be. You know what I mean? It’s gone. My childhood was, like, erased. That’s how I feel about it. I lost three cousins I grew up playing music with. And, very young. Like, I’m now the oldest of my generation on that side of the family, which is crazy to think about, ‘cause I had two that were older than me and one that was a little bit younger than me. My cousin Michael taught me how to play guitar. He passed when I was nineteen, and that was really tough. And then, my cousin Daniel… he was a drummer, so you have to realize he was very important. You know, there’s a lot of failures to the roads of getting anywhere, you know? Just, sadly, he had to be along for a lot of the failures and then died. And that was tough. That was the hardest one for me because, when my parents divorced in 1988, he became kind like my brother, 'cause my dad moved to Fresno to live in the family home there, and it just so happened my cousin Daniel lived there, and so that became my second home, and we grew up together. So, when he passed, that sent me on a crazy downward… like I started drinking heavily, and things were out of control. So a lot of my music is just therapy for myself to try to get through the days. I didn’t want to write the same lyrics as other people. I did not want to be singing about sci-fi, fantasy…
RoRR: You didn’t want to do another Tolkien-based…
TC: I like that kind of thing. I just didn’t really see myself… you know, at my end years, I wanted to have more depth, so when I talk about my songs, they’re not just some, like, 'oh, I’m into swords.' I wanna be like, I wrote a song for my cousins or me battling my personal life, you know, which is an everyday battle for me really, 'cause like I said, my life was… you know, a lot of people get to talk about their childhood or have somebody to talk about it to. I do not. I have to kind of remember… and, so that’s what “Light the Beacon”… if you knew how many people came up to me crying about that song… I mean, I had a dude just in Nebraska in tears 'cause he lost his brother during Covid. And, it just so happens that song came out in that time. I remember the first time I played that song live. I was shaking, 'cause it was like really wearing my personal life on my sleeve, and I’m gonna now share this with you guys. And, then “Crystal Ball”, I’ve told this story before. My dad’s best friend Chuck Ruff (the Edgar Winter drummer?)… Chuck Ruff’s wife read Tarot cards and all that and she told me that I was gonna be a musician, and at the time, I didn’t believe it, because I wanted to be a professional skateboarder when I was teenager.
RoRR: Hey, I mean, that’s California, listening to punk, right?
TC: Yeah, so I’ve skateboarded my whole life, so I was like, eh, no. But I always played, ya know. Music’s in the blood, so… but she was like, “You’re gonna play music.” And, lo and behold, I owe her one!
RoRR: That’s pretty prophetic!
TC: I owed her one in the end! I didn’t really believe… I knew I was going to play, but I didn’t know I was going to end up taking it as seriously. I had some big fucking shoes to fill! You know, my dad is not some like, ohhh…
RoRR: Just some local guy who was in a few local bands. He was in Montrose and Sammy Hagar!
TC: My dad is massive! But we were poor! So we come from a different area of that. Like I’m not fucking Sammy Hagar’s kid! I’m the bass player’s kid. I didn’t have cars or nothing. We grew up very… I had to work my way to… and I’m glad, though, ya know, my dad really instilled that you have to go out there and fucking earn it. And I watched, you know, these other kids that have a lot of money… I’m cut of the same cloth technically in the musical aspect of it, not the financial one, and they struggle way harder than I do. I could write fucking songs all day, and they need other people to do it.
RoRR: I was gonna say, because you just write out banger after banger after banger. “Mercenary” is about war. Was that inspired by Ukraine and Russia, or is it just kinda war in general?
TC: Yeah, I mean, I’ve always kinda had a fascination with war. I’ve traveled the world and seen a lot of places, and I just don’t really like… like you said earlier, I don’t really wear my political ideals on my sleeve by any means, but it’s more just like seeing the effects of war on children really bothers me as a dad. I just don’t really agree with the way things work. I think it’s like robbing children of their innocence and being able to be kids. I don’t think there’s any amount of money or any amount of power that that should actually be a thing. I just think it’s like evil in its purest form. So, to me, that’s more of a song about evil, than actually talking about Satan, because there’s nothing more evil in this world than robbing children of their innocence.
RoRR: Absolutely! This may sound like a stupid question. I was going to ask if “Burst Into Flame” is about the Human Torch, but I have a feeling it’s probably not.
TC: Ah, no. I wrote that as more of like an enlightening song for people to, like, if they’re feeling down or just feeling like, you know, they need a little influence to rise above their personal negativity…
RoRR: So it’s an inspirational song!
TC: A lot of mine is. Like I was saying, my songs are like therapy for myself. So I kind of wrote it to try to get myself in, you know… I always say I’m always trying to find the light in the dark, because I’ve found the dark, and the dark doesn’t work. Honestly, that’s the best way I can ever put it. If you’re gonna put yourself in the dark, you’re gonna find it to be an abyss. Darkness only breeds more darkness.
RoRR: This is kind of more of a philosophical question (not to mention, an awkwardly worded question, haha). Wolf Hoffman of ACCEPT said that, in the 70s and 80s, it was all about creating a mystique, being inaccessible to fans. We saw STRYPER in a club with a stage that was like three feet off the ground, and they had this metal barrier installed up in the front that usually isn’t there as if they’re still trying to create the aura of you being in this huge arena, and I tried to email them for an interview, and nobody responded, since they probably work through a manager. And then we saw METAL CHURCH at the same club, no barrier, and they did a free meet and greet right at the merch table after the show! So now they say the industry is all about chilling with fans and being easy to access and becoming friends with your fans and not creating a mystique. Do you agree with that, or is there one you prefer? Like, do you prefer, if you actually could go back to that time where it’s like, you are the rock star on the stage and you have all these managers, and you’re this inaccessible, God-like figure, or do you prefer the, you know…
TC: Well, I mean, I grew up around rock stars, so I could tell you that one of the biggest influences I have… and it’s not even because I wanted it to be an influence. It just happens because of my upbringing. I watched Sammy Hagar with his fans, and that guy is not inaccessible. He makes himself very accessible to the point where it’s almost… like he has stuff to where fans can buy a ticket that they’re on the fucking stage!
RoRR: Really?
TC: Yeah, he had, like… I remember he did this tour where they had Montrose do like four songs, and this was not that long ago. It was before Ronnie offed himself. But, um, I was tripping out, because I was like, why is there bleachers behind the stage? What the fuck is this? And, like tables. So, like, fans were able to buy these… I mean, I’m sure it costed a pretty penny, but that makes it accessible, as opposed to inaccessible. Like Sammy’s literally fucking sitting… he’s onstage playing and blending margaritas and fucking personally… I mean, I don’t drink alcohol, it’s not for me, but I thought it was like… as an onlooker, I was like, I mean, that’s pretty bad ass to be able to go, yeah, fucking Sammy Hagar poured me a fucking margarita! Or whatever, and I’ve also experienced being backstage for his meet and greets, which are really incredible and actually affordable as opposed to some I’ve seen, that either (a) don’t do that or (b) charge an astronomical amount for that.
RoRR: And are total dicks about it! Like I’ve heard that Ace Frehley just signs your autograph and says, “Get lost.”
TC: Yeah, I mean, I can understand some of it to an extent… again, I mean, when you’re born and raised in California, you’re not… the rock star thing maybe happened there, but I also feel like you also get some of the laid back part of it all, where it’s like, nah, I’m gonna talk to anybody that wants to talk to me. I’m not gonna be an asshole. That doesn’t get you anywhere. And Sammy’s a very prime example of treating his fans really good. So luckily I’ve seen that, and I go, that really pays off for him, because he has not put out a good record in thirty fuckin’ years!
RoRR: (laughing) Would you actually tell him that?
TC: Absolutely! I mean, I tell his sons that all the time! I’m like, what is your dad doing? Like, what the fuck is this? Like, why doesn’t he just write what he wrote back in the day? Like, why is he trying to be… but then again, ya know, that’s what he wants to do, so he’s doing what he wants to do, so there’s nothing wrong with that at all. It’s just that, I know that he could do better than what he does.
RoRR: I feel uncomfortable doing that.
TC: Nobody should do that. Like I would only say that if I was approached, like what do you think of my new record? I don’t like it. I mean, he has a lot of records I love. Not everyone’s gonna be a winner. That’s just the fuckin’ reality of it. I mean, there’s so many bands that have stood the test of time… not every fuckin’ album has that effect. I’ll probably have the same effect. I just don’t care. You do what you have to do. You need to do music. You need to keep it creative, and I respect anybody that keeps it going, that keeps the flame going, playing, doing what they wanna do. There’s something to be respected there even if it isn’t good.
RoRR: Sure! Are there any bands that you think album twenty-five is only slightly less good than album number four?
TC: I’m trying to think of anybody with twenty-five albums.
RoRR: Well, MOTÖRHEAD had twenty-three.
TC: That’s a different story, because it’s kinda all the same.
RoRR: (laughter) Really? You think…
TC: I really think he really just stuck to what he does. Lemmy’s a master of just rock ‘n’ roll, so I don’t think he ever strayed from it.
RoRR: Well, do you think a band should stick to what they know and just make the same thing over and over again, albeit, slightly different versions, or do you think they should, like, try to branch out and be super out there and try to be always ahead of the game?
TC: I mean, again, like, you get down to, do you wanna tell people what to do, or do you, like… I think there’s nothing wrong with just doing what works for you. There’s only one band that I can constantly go back to, to say that they should have done what they started doing, and that’s METALLICA, 'cause they’re fucking awful. And, they had some really great records, so there’s that situation where you could be like, why did they ever change?
RoRR: Money.
TC: But then you go back to Lemmy and Motörhead, where it’s just like, you have rock records from the 70s to the fuckin’ end. And, to me, you could just put one on and probably feel the same feelings. I’m trying to think of a band that had a lot of longevity that did a lot of records that really, really influenced me… I just can’t even think of any. BLITZKRIEG. I really love Blitzkrieg. I really love Brian Ross (who also sings for SATAN). He’s like one of my favorite singers of all time! So, Brian Ross, like, if you listen to him sing, he’s never changed. His voice, his technique, his approach… and he has a decent amount of albums. I lot of the bands I love just don’t have the catalog length. Satan, you know, they have more albums now…
RoRR: Right! They’re doing more of a career now than back when they were…
TC: Yeah, and then like early DEF LEPPARD. I mean, they don’t have records anymore either.
RoRR: First three are the classics.
TC: Yeah, but still, even after that, they only had like three or four records anyway. So they didn’t really push out a lot of stuff, and then, you know… JUDAS PRIEST has done a lot, and I feel like they’ve really kinda kept it to how it should be.
RoRR: Do you have any opinion on Tim “Ripper” Owens and the whole KK’S PRIEST thing?
TC: No. I mean, I just think that it’s sad that they can’t reconcile and just play. That’s my thing. I’m like, “Why?” You’re not on this Earth forever, and it’s like why not play and let the fans get to enjoy the last years of what you’re gonna have? Because it’ll be gone, and that’s that. You know, look at Glenn Tipton. It’s sad. You know, because you know he would be playing those songs right now if he could. Despite contractual anything, it’s like, you guys made enough money, you made enough fans, who fucking cares? Just hash it out. You’re gonna die one day, and if you could leave a, you know… they already have left a mark, but I’m just saying… another one’s like SAXON. Didn’t they just have one of their guitar players just quit and get Brian Tatler of DIAMOND HEAD?
RoRR: Yep, that’s the current Saxon lineup.
TC: That would be… I love seeing bands that have, that can kinda just stick it out, and the only thing that gets in the way is a dead member. Like that is the only time I feel like it’s acceptable. You know, otherwise, it’s like, fuckin’ get through your… you can’t bring money with you when you’re dead. That’s my two cents.
RoRR: Sure, that’s terrific! There are a lot of bands who will not get back together. They will not speak to so and so. Like, a perfect example: Udo and Accept will never get back together.
TC: Yeah, and it’s stupid, and I don’t like seeing a lot of those kinds of things. It doesn’t really do anything for me. Like, I will prefer to go see Def Leppard if they still have realistically their entire band, because Steve Clark died, but they replaced him with Vivian Campbell, which is a great replacement. Go up there and be the same guys playing, and their shit’s still affordable. You can buy a ticket and not be broke. So I respect them heavily for that. I don’t respect Metallica. I don’t respect Pantera. I don’t respect any of that right now. It’s such a money grab to me, and it’s hard…
RoRR: That’s a pretty bold statement right there!
TC: I don’t like Pantera. I never have, because they have a tough guy mentality, and they spawned a lot of macho, chauvinistic bullshit in the 90s that I hated; especially coming from the punk scene in California. That was just like, “no.” I could look at it; army cargo shorts, shaved head, oversized fucking black metal t-shirt with some bullshit on it, not for me. Never has, never will.
RoRR: Even pre-Cowboys Pantera, like Power Metal, or those early records?
TC: They were a different band then. They’re not even the same band. It’s not the same at all.
RoRR: Right. So, you were on Shadow Kingdom, but now you basically release stuff independently. Were there any offers from those big labels like Nuclear Blast or AFM, and if there were, would you take them?
TC: So I’ve had some emails sent in my time, and I just prefer… we’ve done really well, um… I’m partners with Jarvis Leatherby from Night Demon, and we’ve been releasing records now for like three years, and we are doing just as much as a major label would for an underground heavy metal band like myself.
RoRR: But Jarvis is signed to Century Media, I think?
TC: Yeah, but he’s just, this just happened just recently. He’s just licensed his first two records from Century Media to be on Iron Grip, so he’s kinda leaning that way himself. They’re not really doing anything for smaller underground bands. You get a release, you’re pushed aside, and you’re broke and working a shitty job. There’s bands that are bigger than I am… I’m a small band. I don’t have a big band. I don’t have to work because we do things ourselves.
RoRR: So, what you’re saying is, some band signed to one of those kinds of labels, will put out the record, it will come out, it’ll drop in the store, and then basically they fend for themselves?
TC: They do one pressing of vinyl, and it’s over with. You would have to pay wholesale price to get ‘em. I’ve been on some labels before, where it’s very interesting, not Shadow Kingdom, but it’s just hard to get stuff, and I don’t really like that. I think I should own my music and have control over it to an extent, especially in this digital era. The other thing is, how commercial digital music is distributed. I don’t really agree with it. My next record is going to be the first time I’m not putting the album on Spotify.
RoRR: What about Bandcamp?
TC: Bandcamp is artist controlled. It’s the greatest thing ever. And it’s part of the reason we can do that. It’s part of the reason I don’t have to work is because I’ve been able… since I started it from day one, it’s DIY, and everybody knows where to go to get a Haunt record, or to get a Haunt fucking t-shirt, or whatever. They know that’s me! I’m shipping it!
RoRR: I know, because it’s sent right from your house! I don’t know if that’s where you live…
TC: That is where I live.
RoRR: Oh, okay!
TC: I mean, I don’t care if people know where I live! I’m in Fresno! But, you know, I have no interest in major labels. I have no interest in any labels really. I don’t think they can really do anything for me. I don’t think there’s a big enough scene for it to actually break through. The only label that could have the power of that is a label like Loma Vista, something of that nature, where it’s not a heavy metal label or anything like that. I don’t really wanna be… nothing against any of the bands… I don’t wanna be associated with Nuclear Blast. I don’t like 90% of their catalog, so I don’t really feel like I fit in there. That’s why Shadow Kingdom worked. He was kind of doing a lot of reissues and a lot of stuff, like labels like that, I could see myself being associated with. But it doesn’t necessarily mean I want to be on their label. But, you know, like No Remorse, High Roller, guys like those guys, Underground Power, there’s a lot of cool labels that cater to more of what I’m interested in.
RoRR: Do you have an opinion on the Swedish bands like ENFORCER, AMBUSH, WOLF, those kinda bands?
TC: Absolutely! I mean, I love Enforcer! Olof’s a great friend of mine, and I think they should be a lot bigger! And that’s right where you go sign to Nuclear Blast, and it means nothing. Because they are on that, and they play places like this when they come to America. It might work really well for them in Europe, but to me, you can’t really be super famous at all unless you are big in America. It’s fact in the music business.
RoRR: So, you’re saying, regardless of how big the crowds are in Europe, it don’t mean jack shit if you’re not huge in the States?
TC: Yeah. The European crowd is all the same people. Like the festivals over there… and, I mean, you gotta realize Europe is so small, these towns are like three hours away, and you just get on a fucking train. Here it’s like a trek, like we are going on a fucking pilgrimage essentially.
RoRR: I mean, you ain’t lying! We go to Chicago, we go to Cleveland, we go everywhere within a three, four, five hour vicinity…
TC: But you’re lucky! Come out to my way, where you have to drive THIRTY-SIX hours to get over here! You’re going back to the old horse and carriage days damn near, because you can’t get here in a day unless it’s on an airplane.
RoRR: Right, and that’s probably totally out of the budget.
TC: I mean, yeah, it always is out of the budget. Flying is not anything any band… I mean, maybe it was easier back in the day, because there wasn’t as many regulations on how much fucking your suit case weighed. You know? So now it’s like, you get fifty pounds, and then it’s $125 per added thing, so… but, to go back to the question, Ambush, another really great band, I absolutely love them, they fuckin’ rule, but they have no presence here, and that’s a tricky situation.
RoRR: I know! I was gonna say, among people I know, I’m always the guy who says, “Check out Wolf! Check out Ambush! Check out Enforcer! Check out Bullet!”, and people are like, woa, you know? And check out Haunt too, obviously.
TC: They’ve never heard of ‘em here, really. It’s ‘cause it’s really hard to come over here.
RoRR: (looking over) Hey, look! ETERNAL CHAMPION and Ambush patches!
Edwin Oslan
Revenge of Riff Raff
7th February, 2024
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