Category: Interviews

Interviews with artists and other interesting people

Kenny Grohowski Interview

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Source: Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast.

The jazz/metal crossover can take many forms, but in the case of Kenny Grohowski, that overlap is clear and overt. Growing up as a serious fusion head, this NYC-via-Miami drummer went on to study jazz at the New School and play with established artists such as Lonnie Plaxico and Andy Milne. Metal was a later discovery for him, but as of 2019, Grohowski is now fully immersed in that scene. He regularly performs and records with the outlandish, eclectic Imperial Triumphant, as well as Simulacrum, a trio masterminded by John Zorn that draws on Grohowski’s entire skill set.

Kenny and I spoke about how hearing Meshuggah helped him get over his fusion snobbery, the unique “swing” of metal, the anatomy of a Zorn session, how he’s able to make his blastbeats breathe and much more.

Kate Gentile Interview

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Source: Heavy Metal Bebop Podcast.

Kate Gentile is a drummer-composer with a highly advanced and personal musical language. Trained in jazz from high school on, she began listening to metal in recent years and has since gravitated toward some of the more intense, outlandish areas of the underground. In this episode, she discusses a slew of her favorite death-metal bands — including Cenotaph, Defeated Sanity and Malignancy — the process of incorporating double-kick drumming into her jazz work, why Tony Williams’ playing was a revelation early on, what she admires about metal fandom and much more. To learn more about Kate and her work, go to kategentile.com.

5049 Records Podcast Episode 203 – Trevor Dunn Part II

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Source: 5049 Records.

On the verge of releasing his first recording of chamber music, the best dude around, Trevor Dunn, returns to the podcast for a second go-round on the mics. Living in Brooklyn since 2000 Trevor has been a key figure in dozens of projects led by John Zorn, Mike Patton, Erik Friedlander, Kris Davis and many many more. Now at the age of 51, he is embarking on a series of releases of his own projects. For this talk we cover a lot of ground: being a sideman, compositional process, Ornette Coleman, film-scoring, the Fyre Festival and a lot lot more. It’s a good time to be a Trevor Dunn fan.

Robert Fripp on Breaking out of the “Male Prog Ghetto”

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Source: Rolling Stone.

When Robert Fripp looked out from the stage of the Anfiteatro Romano in Pompei during a King Crimson show there in July 2018, he saw something he didn’t expect: women.

“Seeing men sitting next to their wives,” he marveled during a recent press event in London’s West End. “Seeing young men sitting next to their girlfriends. And a lot of old people, mainly male, too. But nevertheless, a lot of them were young, and a lot of them were women. This is astonishing.”

Neraterræ Interview

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Source: This Is Darkness.

Alessio Antoni introduced himself to me several years ago, when he released The Nhart Demo(n)s, as Nhart. Since then the project has morphed into NERATERRÆ. As NERATERRÆ, Antoni has quickly taken the dark ambient community by surprise with this incredible debut, The Substance of Perception. For this debut he has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the dark ambient scene: Northaunt, Phurpa, New Risen Throne, Treha Sektori, Taphephobia, Infinexhuma, Xerxes the Dark, Ugasanie and Flowers For Bodysnatchers (in order of appearance on the album). Such a surprising debut in the dark ambient scene warranted a closer look at the person behind the project. I hope this (relatively short) interview will help readers to know a bit more about Antoni and his new album, which is set for release on 26 April 2019 through Cyclic Law.

Nels Cline Interviewed About Tonight’s Orlando Performance

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Source: Orlando Weekly.

This week, Cline comes to town in the heavy company of saxophonist Larry Ochs and drummer Gerald Cleaver for a night of mindbending improvisation on the heels of their latest work, What Is To Be Done, released this year on Clean Feed Records. The nameless trio bring the noise, and then some, with enough combined experience to fill a lifetime. Ochs is one of the founding members of free jazz legends Rova Saxophone Quartet. Cleaver has lent his percussion acumen to jazz heroes like Jeremy Pelt, Miroslav Vitous and Roscoe Mitchell. Cline’s résumé is more like a compact history of underground music, with experiences ranging from Sonic Youth to William Parker, down through Wilco and the Geraldine Fibbers. Collectively the trio can take performance, and their audience, to the outer limits of musical experience with focused energy and dazzling ferocity. Don’t fear the skronk, though – they let beauty shine through too.