Jim Santora Radio Interview, March 27th, 2013 Jim Santora radio interview 3/27/13 [Transcribed from the podcast.] Jim Santora: ,at this time we have our first guest of the evening, the band is known as DEVIL TO PAY. They have a CD that is coming out on April 9th, it is ‘FATE IS YOUR MUSE’. You can check out the band at deviltopay.net and also at facebook.com/deviltopay and we have the entire band with us. We have guitarist/vocalist Steve, on guitar we have Rob, on drums we have Chad, and on bass we have Matt. Guys, welcome to the program. Chad & Matt: Thank you! Steve: Thanks for having us! JS: Very welcome here. The first thing I wanna throw in before we actually kinda talk about the record and things like that. When I first got the release and we actually started playing the track here on the program, ‘This Train Won’t Stop’ was one of the songs we were playing and we had a guy that’s actually been listening to the show and actually his band has been played on here as well, and he was telling me about you guys cause, I forget what the story was whether he played a show with you guys or something like that but, turned out that two of the bands that have actually, we have a segment here called the Triple Threat Match where we take 3 indie artists and we kinda have a little competition kinda thing, we showcase the music and people can vote for their favorites. But two of the bands that we’ve had on that Triple Threat Match also end up in your credits on your latest CD, and those two bands are Beezlefuzz and Admiral Browning, so um Steve: nice! JS: So the first question that I wanted to throw out to you guys is... how did you get to meet those guys and obviously they’ve... for the type of sound and stuff, very similar to what you guys are doing as well, so I’m sure everybody’s kinda supporting themselves out there, wherever they are in the country playing a similar style of music. Chad: yeah we met those guys at the SHoD festival a couple years ago, was that the 5th one that they had? The Stoner Hands of Doom festival in, it was in Maryland. We met Admiral Browning and really liked those guys and got their CDs and stuff, and we played with them again at the SHOD festival last year. That was in Connecticut, right? Steve: yep Chad: Connecticut and that’s when we met Beelzefuzz and those guys are amazing. Steve: Yeah, we’ve known some of those guys for quite a while and uh, Darin is in Pale Divine also so the musical lines run pretty far back, but uh, big fans of all those guys and Pug as well, and all that Admiral Browning stuff we’re big fans of. JS: mmkay, very cool there. So now lets talk about Fate is Your Muse, this is actually your fourth full length album, And kinda tell us a little bit about, getting it together as far as putting the songs together and then going into the studio and just laying the tracks down. Matt: I think we just finally decided we were gonna get another album together and just buckled down and kinda, got off the road for a little bit, and started focusing on that and everything just kinda came together pretty quickly, really. But it was nice that Rob was with us this time from start to finish on every song and I think this album really came together strong, definitely. Anybody else? JS: ok, the other thing, anybody else have any other comments? Steve: uh well, we’ve taken some time between albums that we don’t, we’re not, it’s not our preference to take as long as we took, but, when the ball starts rolling with, the jammin’ and the songs and trying to get all the pieces together, it’s really kind of a process for us, so, by the time we make a decision and put a date on it, when we hit the studio, everything kinda comes together in the apex, as it were. It’s hard, it’s hard to put into words, really, you just, you’re jammin’, you’re jammin’ on some new shit for a long time and eventually some of the songs are already there and the rest of them are just nebulous pieces and you kinda have to make it happen. JS: ok, very cool there, and for those that are just joining us here we are talking to the members of DEVIL TO PAY. ‘Fate is Your Muse’ is coming out April 9th. Great release here and also if you wanna check out the band right now while we’re on the interview here you can go to deviltopay.net and facebook.com/deviltopay. Now, in the write up that I got in here of course it said for fans of bands like Black Sabbath and C.O.C., Monster Magnet, Down, Clutch, Tool, Orange Goblin and so on, and what I really like about this and actually what I think is really cool cause you guys also are on Ripple Music which is the label that is putting out the CD. There’s some very cool music that’s coming out of that record label, we’ve had interviews here with other Ripple music artists like Mos Generator and Mothership, two other great bands, and all these bands just , this, just this style of this, this real heaviness about themselves, and, if it’s heavy rock, some people call it doom metal, some people call it stoner rock, whatever it is. Kinda give us your take on, as far as that scene, as far as that music goes, it seems to me that there’s a lot of bands that are now kinda coming out in more, as far as embracing that type of music which I think is great, and I think there’s kind of a, a little bit of a, of a resurgence of that style of music where, I think people are looking for something different and this seems to be, what people are grabbing, I just kinda wanted to get your thoughts on that. Steve: Well the whole stoner rock and doom metal underground has been kinda doing it’s thing for a while now and I think it’s picking up a little bit. As far as us hooking up with Ripple, we, it was kind of a, I hate to be cliché about it, but it was like fate, intertwining, and coming together for us to hook up with those guys, because what they’re doing is what we’re all about, and um, the artists that they’ve represented through their label are right up our alley. They have a knack, through their, the Ripple Effect, which is the blog they review music on, of finding bands who have been around for a while that people don’t really know about, and that’s kind of the story of, DEVIL TO PAY cause we’ve been kinda kickin’ around in Indiana for ten years now. So, when it all came together it made a lot of sense, and they’re great guys, and all those bands are amazing bands and we’re just really happy to be a part of it and I hope that the resurgence continues and gets a little more press and a little more attention because the music’s pretty deserving, so we’re just glad to be a part of it. JS: Well, and I totally agree with your statements there. And the one thing I see is that, I think that there’s a time now where, as with any type of musical style there’s always, um, this, what, what is deemed ‘cool now to listen to’ kinda goes off to the side after a while and people are lookin’ for something different, and, from what I’m seeing and listening to these songs, I mean, and it brings up a lot of great elements. it brings up a very modern style sound for this style of music but also it has a lot of classic elements that go into it as well and I think that draws even a bigger audience for those people that are into the bands that are like, the Black Sabbaths from like the 70s and then, you have your C.O.C.s from the late 80s and 90s and so on that kinda, have that style and people can kinda relate to it and be like, “yeah this is really cool and I can really get into this” Steve: yeah definitely. I feel pretty fortunate to be, playing music in an era where I have so much to choose from, inspiration wise, from the beginnings of rock and roll on up there’s really, an infinite amount of stuff that you can draw from and, when you’re able to do the kind of thing that we try to do which is draw from your modern influences and then your 60s and 70s and 80s and all your favorite things, if you’re lucky you can kind of get it across. And, I think that so far, people have been responding to that. JS: k, very cool. And for those that are just jumping on here we are speaking to the members of DEVIL TO PAY. Now, let’s talk about one of the songs like we’ve been playing here, is ‘This Train Won’t Stop’, a great song, kind of upbeat, fast paced, but still got that heaviness and there’s a crunch about it and even a little bit of a melodic quality to it. Kinda tell us a little bit about that song as far as lyrically and kinda musically how you guys decided as far as putting that together the way that you guys did for that release. Steve: Well, frankly we had been working on show material and kinda running through the motions. That song came up a while ago, from a jam, and, we just kinda, full steam ahead gettin’ your rocks off and gettin’ the frustrations out, basically. It almost all came together, I can’t say it all came together, but almost all of it came together pretty fast, in the same kinda time frame, so, by the time we revisited the recording of it, cause we try to record all the stuff we lay down, it wasn’t too difficult to really map out, the different sections, As far as the lyrics go, there was a lot of talk in 2011 about, the end of the world and, 2012 and the doomsday stuff and, being a big fan of, Mayan architecture and the whole Mayan culture I was getting a little irritated because, people were basically saying “it’s all going to end!” and it just sounded like the same old, same old from these religious people. So that was kinda the impetus for the lyrics and basically saying, it’s just kind of ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous. So, take a step back and look inside yourself and realize that, if anybody tells you anything for certain they’re probably wrong. JS: ok, very cool there. And also talking about some shows here, DEVIL TO PAY does have an album release show April 12th, looks like the venue is Radio Radio in Indianapolis. Let’s talk about as far as shows after that, are you guys planning on getting out on the road and supporting the release and do you have anything you can kinda say as far as where you’ll be, where you’ll be going in support? Steve: We’re doing a few shows here or there immediately after the release. Right now we’re looking at July to line up some touring dates around the Midwest. We have plans for getting down to Texas and we’re hoping to get to the west coast. There’s a big festival in Indianapolis in September called the Indy Metal Fest, we’re already confirmed for that. There are other festivals that are kinda on the drawing board, so there’s a lot of things in the works but nothing super concrete at this time. So, give us a call. JS: ok, well either that or we’ll keep, definitely keep an eye on the website cause I’m sure you guys will be posting out some dates there. Any idea of kinda hitting the east coast as well? I know you guys, we talked about going out and doing stuff in Maryland in the past, but, anything that’s in the plans or something that you might work out for this year? Steve: Yeah definitely, we all have to look at the schedule and try to make it work. There’s nothing in the immediate plans, but we have a lot of friends on the east coast so, I think it would be safe to say we’ll definitely be heading to the big borough of New York City in the next three months, probably. JS: (laughs) alright, very cool there. One more question for you guys and then we’re gonna be playing the song ‘This Train Won’t Stop’ from the latest release ‘Fate is Your Muse’ again for everyone listening here. April 9th that will be available. Let’s, and kinda go around for each guy, and I throw this question out to basically everybody that comes on the show. It’s an influence question but I kinda throw a twist in there. Tell me the first, whether it was a person or an artist, whoever it was, that first instance where you heard something whether it was on tv or a live show, whatever it is, that, this is what you wanted to do, you wanted to be a performer, you wanted to learn how to play an instrument right from there, be in a band, go out, tour, all that kinda stuff, who was the person or artist that did that for you? Steve: Who do you wanna start with? JS: Let’s go around the room, we’ll start with Steve and go around. Steve: Well, I was always into John Cougar as a kid, so I’d have to give it up to John Cougar, although that first concert I ever went to was, sad to say, Bon Jovi / Cinderella, that pretty much sealed the deal. After that it was all hard rock and metal all the time. Chad: This is Chad, I play drums in DEVIL TO PAY. My first influence was KISS. It was, I was 5 years old and it was Easter and it was 1976 and I got the ‘Destroyer’ album. Ever since then I totally wanted to be a drummer in a band, and yeah. I’ve pretty much known my whole life this was what I wanted to do, and I’m living the dream! JS: there you go, very cool. Rob how about yourself? Rob: I would have to say Metallica. When I saw those guys play live I was completely blown away, had never seen anything quite like that and all the hair moving around I thought ‘damn, I gotta get into that’ so, I’ve been a fanboy every since. Well, yeah, been a fanboy ever since, so it’s , they put me on my course so I had to give them props for that and then, I mean, influence-wise James Hetfield’s been a huge influence. Death metal bands have been huge influences for me, kinda going back to some of the things we talked about earlier, that’s one of the things I love about this style of music, it’s open enough that you can kinda tap all of that, all of those different influences and pull it into the music now. A death metal band you can’t tap into your 70s love. (laughter) so anyways, yeah, that’s pretty much it. JS: alright, very cool. Matt? Matt: I would say in my youngest years it was Gene Simmons, I had a life sized poster, covered in blood, onstage, live that I worshipped when I was a kid, but as I got older my main influences were Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, Black Sabbath.. when it comes to my style and playing. But yeah, that rock and roll, that first vibe was Gene Simmons (laughs) it’s weird but that always is what stands out most to me as a kid, definitely. JS: well, and I know we mentioned, and of course there was a mention of the KISS Destroyer album as well, which, Matt: that was my first album as well JS: ,that was my first taste, of like, what ‘hard rock’ was, before, before that it was like the Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra and stuff like that, but it wasn’t until I had an aunt bought me for Christmas, the KISS Destroyer album and, I’m a kid like, I dunno, I’m 7, 8 years old, and it’s like, that thing was GOLD and just kinda put me on that path of, just hard rock and metal, from that point, so, very cool there. I think there’s a lot of people that prolly have a KISS Destroyer album somewhere, I’m sure there’s people listening saying “hell yeah”and they’ll crank it up after this show, I’m sure, so. Guys, I wanna take the time to thank you guys for, for coming on the show here, I wish you guys the best of luck with the CD and also when you guys do get out on the road that you crank it out loud and proud for sure.