What was the beginning pint for your music career? How did it all start?
Hard to say if it was a spell or a curse that was put on us, but one day Gaben, Mikal, and I found ourselves playing in a band with a mysterious magical Gorilla Wizard named Bertrum. None of us had even held an instrument before—I was a plumber.
Was there any bumps on the road? What kind of challenges did you have to deal with?
Once we accepted our fate, things began slipping into place. After much begging, Bertrum allowed us to say one final, teary goodbye to our friends and loved ones, but ever since we’ve been enjoying writing head-smashing riffs together. I miss my wife sometimes.
What was the most fulfilling and satisfying moment so far?
There was one time where we found this dude who had accidentally eaten a box of Bertrum’s Maple Crunch cereal—not recommended, by the way. You need to have immortality or at least some resistance to radiation to eat that. Anyway, he was pretty lost—babbling about signs in the woods and slipping on banana peels, but we played some music for him and set him straight. That kid was alright, hope he’s doing well. More on that here.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Heavy and fun, much like myself. We all have varied musical tastes, but the big, overarching theme for us is a lot of energy and a lot of headbanging. Bertrum goes through about 200-300 bananas a day, so we really have to come up with songs that allow for him to get all that energy out of his body.
What is your creative process like?
We like to follow Bertrum’s lead. He has his inner thoughts constantly beaming into our insignificant, ineffectual human minds so it’s hard to keep up with all the riffs, but usually Mikal will grab on first and throw some drums in there to help sort out the madness. Once we have that, Gabe and I can focus and chisel away until we find the freshest, most pristine riffs contained within.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Well, Bertrum can see the future, so in order to avoid some sort of butterfly effect, we’re gonna need things to stay real close to how they are right now. Things get pretty great for us.
If you were asked to give a piece of advice to upcoming bands, what would that be?
Put out as much high-quality content as you can. It’s a numbers game, and if you have good stuff, people will start to listen. It helps when your buddy can put a spell on you to remove all sense of fear and doubt, but if you don’t have a magical friend, simian or otherwise, just push through it yourself and get your music out there.
What has been the best performance of your career so far?
Remember that story about the kid with the cereal? We got that whole thing on camera and not only was it accepted to the Portland Film Festival (and others) but they asked us to stream a performance live. Setting that whole thing up was a lot of fun, and it was cool to play for people who would normally not be our audience, both geographically and aesthetically.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing now?
I reckon I’d still be a plumber, still be with my friends and family, and it would still be 1959, which is the point in time from which I was removed by Bertrum.
What is new with the band at the moment? What are you currently working on and would like to share with the world?
A few weeks ago, Bertrum got mad at us and sent us to this weird blank space where all we were allowed to do was eat bananas. We wrote a song about it called At War with Our Past Selves, which you can find on all streaming platforms and watch here. We have a killer new EP coming out this Fall called White Knuckle/Black Magic that is really gonna kick your asses. In the meantime, we just heard about some jerk that’s been forcing rats to bring him garbage. Think we might have to go have a word with him…
