Robwrong: For the record, where are you all from and how did your band start?
Ed: We are based in New Braunfels, Texas, which is a smaller city located just north of San Antonio and a little south of Austin. Ben lives not far away in Schertz, Texas. George (my brother) and I grew up in S.A. and have been jamming together from the very beginning - off and on for about 12 years. My first serious attempt to make music with a band was in 1991 in a group that we called "Grunge Buffet", it was with Lee Lazarine who is now in "The Mullens" from Dallas, TX. After that fizzled out, I continued to write music and was somewhat content with just doing that. In 1998, after a 3 year stint as a 19D Cavalry Scout in the U.S. Army, I moved back to Texas and in November of 1999 George and I made the decision to put together a live band. We placed ads for a bass player and a vocalist in local musician mags and Ben was the first person we tried out. It was obvious that he was a keeper early on, he`s a true musician and he can sing better than I can. We tried out about 10 different singers but only one or two of them could sing better than Ben and I and the ones that could didn`t really get what we were trying to do. So we decided to attempt it as a three piece and things have been working out great.
Robwrong: What are your influences as far as writing styles?
Ed: When I`m writing music, my intent is to come up with riffs and progressions that are heavy, groovy, and bluesy. I guess you could say those three words and all that they imply, are influences to me. Mostly I try to make sure that the riffs have a soothing sort of fluid transition from one to another, unless I feel that the song calls for a drastic attention getter. Discovering the amazing world of alternative tunings was a major influence on my songwriting as well. I didn`t know about tuning the E String down to D until about 1991 when I was way into Soundgarden. I would have trouble figuring out their songs. My friend Matt Mayo, from "The Mullens" and "The Vultures" showed me a number of different tunings that really spurred my creativity. Nowadays, all of our songs are tuned down in one way or another to the keys of D, C, and B. As far as musical influences go, I suppose I`m still being influenced by Black Sabbath, Soundgarden, all of Glenn Danzig`s music, Jimi Hendrix live improv stuff, old Metallica, Bauhaus, ZZ Top and even some mellower music like Cowboy Junkies, The Smiths, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Van Morrison, Townes Van Zandt, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, John Lee Hooker, and B.B. King. The complex and diverse musical structures that speed metal popularized has also been incorporated into my creative style.
Ben: My influences as far as writing styles go are based on emotion, whether it be hatred, love, anger, sadness, happiness, beauty... I love a good composition. I like it to be aggressive and melodic.
George: Probably the drummers that I pay the most attention to are blues drummers such as Mitch Mitchell and Chris Layton. But Tommy Aldritch was the first heavy drummer that caught my ear.
Robwrong: Do you guys have any plans to record a full length soon?
Ed: Yes, but here`s the deal... We just spent all of our money picking up some pretty expensive equipment for performing live, practicing, and recording practices. So we`re broke. I don`t foresee having the money to record anything better than our "Wings of the Pheonix" demo until next summer. Good news, though... Roger Tausz from Bong Island Sound in Houston, TX heard the demo and offered to re-master it for us. He now has, and it sounds a lot better - louder, cleaner, and just overall more inspiring. We may end up recording a full length with him when the time comes.
Robwrong: What do you think of the Stoner Rock thing and what bands in the SR Scene do you guys dig?
Ed: Believe it or not, until a few months ago when I was initially contacted by SR.com, I had never heard of the terms `Doom Metal` or `Stoner Rock.` I didn`t know that other band that wrote music like ours even existed as I now see that they do. I guess that`s pretty silly, but I tend to be somewhat aloof at times. Within the last month I have purchased cd`s from Electric Wizard, Kyuss, Sleep, Eternal Elysium, Church of Misery, and Acid King. Cool stuff. I had heard Trouble back about ten years ago and thought that they were really cool. I got into Melvins a few years ago. That this scene exists is really weird to me. In some ways, you could say that Die Daily is like a similar species of monster that has evolved in isolation from contemporary influences.
Ben: I think the SR.com website is a great support for trippy bluesy acid type music as well as 100% pure beef heavy doom rock. You get to hear some really groovy katz playing from deep inside their souls, it`s not something that is pop rock trend. Right now, I`m diggin` Eternal Elysium and Trouble.
Robwrong: What kind of music did you guys listen to growing up?
Ed: Until I was in the 6th grade, about 13 years old I guess, I had never heard anything heavier than Elvis. I was an Elvis fan. The first heavy songs I ever heard were "For Those About To Rock" by AC/DC, "The Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden, and "Crimson and Clover" by Joan Jett. Man, I was blown away by the intensity of the music and thereafter hooked on the sound of distorted guitars and passionate vocals. Once I was hip to the scene, I got into Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Dio, Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Suicidal Tendencies, Mega-Deth, and Cheech & Chong. I am not now, nor have I ever been a Beatles fan.
Ben: Growing up I listened to a variety of music... Alvin & The Chipmunks, Kiss, Night Ranger, Journey, Rick James. When I hit 12 years old, my parents took me to my first rock concert, `twas Kiss on their "Creatures of the Night" tour with The Plasmatics opening up. Wendy O` came out with electrical tape on her nipples, whoo hoo! As the years progressed, I started listening to bands like Venom, Slayer, Metallica, Metal Church, and W.A.S.P. I`m really open minded about just about everything except for one thing... I don`t do men, hahaha.
George: First Elvis, then Sabbath, then The Misfits, and then back to Elvis.
Robwrong: How many stoners does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Ed: What`s their motivation?
Robwrong: How often do you guys practice, like how many times a week? Just curious to see how serious you are about it.
Ed: We practice as a band at least twice a week in a 10x20 climate controlled storage unit that we pay 180 hard earned well spent dollars a month for. I think that right now, this is the most serious that any of us has ever been about being in an original music band. We love to play, to create music, and to have fun with fans (especially the female ones).
Robwrong: Do you guys plan on touring the west coast anytime soon?
Ed: Not any sooner than next summer, if that soon. It just depends on finances and how we are received by the scene in general, I guess. In the next six months we plan to play out in various Texas cities such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and we may even try to get as far away as New Orleans. We`ll see. If we don`t make it out west, it`s not from a lack of want to.
Robwrong: What are your drugs of choice?
Ed: I don`t take any illegal drugs. I have, though, experimented with just about every popular drug except for heroin. I took lots and lots of LSD for a number of years but have been happily straight since about 1994. However, I`m a beer gastronome of sorts. My favorites are Dos Equis Dark, Celis Pale Rider, Newcastle Brown Ale, and Bass Pale Ale. I also take psychiatric drugs on a regular basis. I was on Prozac for a few months, but I got a girlfriend for a while so, um, that had to change due to it`s adverse effects on the male sex organ. I`ve been on Celexa for the past year, but just got switched to Lamictal. The current diagnoses is that I`m not only depressed, but manic as well. It`s called bi-polar and it`s loads of fun.
Ben: Pot, Acid, and various pills.
George: Booze, I`m a bartender.
Robwrong: What are your future goals as a band and as individuals?
Ed: As a band, our short term goal is to play out at least twice a month (preferably more) in as many different cities as possible. I`ve written nearly two cd`s worth of music and we still need to learn some of those songs. Ben`s got some good ideas too, so after we learn the songs that I`ve written we`ll start writing new songs as a band. Long term (within the next year) goals are as you would probably expect. We hope to capture the attention of some independent labels and get a full length cd recorded and made available for worldwide distribution. Right now, my goals as an individual are pretty much the same as the band. Music is my life for this period of my existence. I`ve got about 120 college credits and will probably eventually finish that up. But I hate school, so I keep putting it off. I`ve taught myself web design and some JavaScript and am now trying my hand at Flash Animation, so I`ll probably end up getting a job in the technology industry. Unless, of course, I become a rock star. :o)
Ben: My future goals with the band are to stay inspired and to get the new music sounding tight. I want to stay faithful to the sounds that we create while continuing to move forward and grow as musicians. As an individual, I strive to overcome whatever obstacles I may encounter and to always chase my dreams.
George: As far as Die Daily goes, I`m just hoping that we can do a self supported tour sometime soon. Personally, I`d like to graduate from college sometime this decade and then get a real job.
Robwrong: What Rock stars out there that are making millions offend you the worst?
Ed: At one time in my life I would have answered this question with very bitter and accusing words. Now, I`ve seen enough good bands change or evolve to know better. But I still have some confusing feelings about the direction and general attitude that Metallica has taken. As a teenager I pretty much idolized James Hetfield and I still think that he is a great musician, but I just can`t relate to his music any more. One band that totally confounds me is "The Misfits" without Glenn Danzig. I can`t believe that they have the audacity to continue on with that name without The Original Demonic Blues Punk.
George: Mostly the popular rap-metal bands with their unfathomable lack of creativity and originality. To me, it seems like they are combining the most offensive aspects of rap music and the most abrasive qualities of bad heavy metal. If they dig it, then I guess it`s cool for them, but I can`t stand it.
Robwrong: Would you like to say anything to the StonerRock.com community?
George: It`s great that there are people like SR.com crew and the SR/DM community who care about helping out bands like us. It seems like there is a unique sense of down to earth give and take among the bands and fans. I`m grateful for that.
Ed: I`m not sure that I have any earth shattering words of wisdom, but I would like to say that I think this genre of music contains some of the most honest and creative music in the contemporary music world. I have never liked rap music, and it broke my heart when rap-metal started to become so popular. To me, discovering the bands that are associated with Stoner Rock and Doom Metal was like a breath of fresh (ganja-smoke filled?) air, truly a gift from the music gods. Thanks for your support, Rob, and congratulations on the upcoming WM release.
