Dredg Interview 99

This is a Dredg interview from 1999, from Bo Jangles in Sacramento, CA, a club that doesnt exist anymore.

AMP- So how much longer until Dredg.com is up?

Dredg- We just talked to the guy yesterday, we paid him the money..well we paid him half….We’ll see it soon, hopefully in the next 2 weeks…From there it will be updated a lot because we are going to put it up and see how it goes… We have not been able to see it altogether…..

Dredg FACT- Out of the 4 of them, two go to University of Santa Clara, one attends an art school, and another attends San Diego State.

AMP- How did this album come about?

Dredg- A lot of Acid (Kidding)……..

AMP- {After leading me on to a couple of other off-the-wall explanations on how the album came about(one being Willy Wonka), they eventually tell me, that a couple of them had recently spent time traveling around the world and a lot of this album deals with most of their personal experiences while traveling.}

Dredg- …..We wanted to do a story to it, to put a little extra, whatever in there, so we just started talking about what we wanted everything to be about.

AMP- Are the words in the booklet, the lyrics?

Dredg- Yeah, you got to find them, they are kind of hidden in there. If you know the whole story, and you know the whole album, you’ll know all the lyrics.

AMP- You guys don’t have a normal or typical sound. I tried describing your sound to my friend at work, and I could not do it. What are the major influences in your music?

Dredg- Probably like, landscapes, and stuff like that.

AMP- A lot of your songs are instrumental, so I guess in a way you could sort of visualize scenery. How long did it take you to finish the album?

Dredg- It was all over a period of time. It was good because we could go in over a weekend and mix, and get a break, and then go in again and record some more. It was probably a full year until it came out.

AMP- What does HDCD do? (On Dredg’s album, they used the HDCD program to record)

Dredg- (Engineer Travis Crenshaw steps in and explains it)- It’s a clarity thing. There are 3-4 different formats you can use, and at this particular mastering studio, Rocket Lab, they offered either HDCD, or not HDCD. HDCD is a lot clearer, a lot more punchier sounding, it works better for rock bands in general. It has a heavier edge to it, it could only benefit the CD, and then you are required to put the label “HDCD” somewhere on your CD.

AMP- (I then go into how I noticed a bigger and in-depth sound on the album, thinking it was the HDCD…….The band then laughed at me, told me that it was not HDCD, but the studio, then we went to the next question. Explain some of the guests on the album, and what they contributed….

Dredg- Ooh, Shannon Harris of Spike 1000 (Track 5), Gus Farwell (Track 6), he does the opera…All of it was pretty much improv.

AMP- Were there any effects on his voice?

Dredg- No, it was just two mics, stereo mics, and that room. (A reverb room that the band liked at the studio.) Oh yeah, and Gianna the cell player…..beautiful Italian girl…..She also did some stuff on the album.

AMP- {The band then goes into explaining what they all went through to make Gianna feel comfortable in the studio, and how Gianna made them feel, while in the studio for 6 days……(smirk).} Where are you guys from?

Dredg- Los Gatos, CA

AMP- How long have you been Dredg?

Dredg- We have been developing for the last 5 years.

AMP- Are you the original members?

Dredg- Yeah.. The old shit, is like the old old shit, we probably have been playing as a band for about 8 years.

AMP- From your 3-song demo, to your album now, has the sound from the two changed, or is this your overall style from the beginning? I mean, from your 3-song demo and the album now has about the same vibe. So I mean before you guys did the first one, were you guys different?

Dredg- Yeah, we were always changing…It’s cool you said that. I always thought the 3-song was a lot different than the new one, but it hints to this one.

AMP- {About this time, a plane went over us, and whatever was said, really was not heard…} I have only seen you twice, at Big Shots, and tonight..What are some of the other bands you have enjoyed sharing the stage with?

Dredg- Far, definitely Far. Papa Roach, Spike 1000. Queens of the Stone Age…

GO SEE DREDG—-www.dredg.com

Past Promoted Shows

Here are some of the many shows Ascensive.net promoted. A lot were never scanned and posted online, but these were what were found lying around in a shoebox. These range from 1999-2001. These fliers were printed and cut up at Kinkos, stuff in envelopes with other promotional items like stickers, posters, tapes, and cd’s, and sent out to team members, or posted at local schools, record stores, and concert venues.

Puya Interview

Puya

I saw Puya, I beleive it was the 13th of February @ Big Shots in Roseville, CA, outside of Sacramento, CA. I had only heard of them 2 week prior to seeing them. I just heard metal/salsa combined. I did not know what to think. How can it be done? I look in the paper and see Puya is playing that weekend. I’m there….Ok, skip all the other stuff. I am blown away buy this band. Hmm…..Maybe kinda like hardcore Santana, maybe? The Latin influence is there, but the metal, and hardcore is right there with it all. I advise you to go see them, if and when, and everytime they are in your area. Here is a quick interview I did with Sergio, the lead singer of Puya, in their tour van after their set that night………

AMP: Sergio, have you ever been to Sacramento, CA?

Sergio: West Sac, we played in West Sac, and um, I can’t remember where the hell it was….

AMP: Where are you guys from?

Sergio: We are from Puerto Rico. Most of the guys are from the Metro area, and I am from the West Coast of Puerto Rico.

AMP: ….and how long have you been together, as a band?

Sergio: As Puya, we have been together for about 6 years….

AMP: Have you played in any bands before then?

Sergio: Yeah, I have played in a couple different bands, but just some local bands, and some cover bands, nothing significant.

AMP: How have the shows been going, ya know, you have been some of the Seupultura tour…….?

Sergio: The shows we have done with Seupultura and Fear Factory have all done really well, ya know, the response has been great, the kids go nuts when we play, ya know, its always been a positive feedback.

AMP: Is there a scene, is there a bigger scene for you guys back home in Puerto Rico?

Sergio: Um….There is not a big scene in Puerto Rico, I mean it’s there, I’d be lying to you if I told you there was, it’s not, its a very small real underground scene. Theres a few good, really good bands. I mean just like everywhere theres a lot of bands, but theres very little, very little good bands…so…

AMP: Who are your influences? I would guess with your Latin influences, and your rock, metal, etc……

Sergio: It varies man…..Personal influences you know, it’s kinda like, everything from like Latin old, like old Salsa, like Hector LaVoe, (Ok, I cannot spell the names he is listing, I will try, if anyone reads this, and knows the spelling of these artists, please email me, and I will correct them…) Rueben Blades, Willie Colongne, Garangcumbo, to like, go right into hip hop, like old school hip hop hardcore like, Public Enemy, Eric B. & Rakim, ya know, like KRS-ONE, and all the way into hardcore shit like old Metallica, Sepultura, Meshuggah, other old shit like Slayer.

AMP: So what other bands, other than Sepultura, other bands that you have played with, earlier on?

Sergio: Actually we opened for Slayer in Puerto Rico, which was really cool. We played a show at the Edge in Florida with Fishbone also, they played inside, and we played on the outside stage, so that was cool, and we have played with Suicidal Tendancies, we have played with S.O.D., their reunion tour we just did that, when they first started up again, and Fear Factory.

AMP: Since your vocals are in Spanish, not all, but (the majority of them are), what is the subject matter of most of your songs?

Sergio: A lot of the subject matter in the songs are, kinda a search, search for the truth, search for your own truth. Dont let people force feed you shit, that you can go find yourself. Go beyond what is right there in front of you. Ya know, some of the stuff is like day to day situations that happen, ya know situations we have found ourselves in, like, dealing with people who want to take control of what is your soul, and body of work. Other stuff is like homage to home, how to like, our first single “Oasis,” and its kind of a tune that reflects on how we sometimes serach for that something all over the world, and when you come to look at it, it’s always been right there, right where you are from, ya know, always been right next to you.

AMP: Well, got one last question, and I’m trying to think of what it was because I forgot. I guess, what is in the works for you right now?

Sergio: Right now we are gonna try to stay on the road as long as possible, we are going to try and hook up with some tours, hopefully be able to do some Summer tours, like maybe the Ozzfest, or the Warped tour, try to get on that, and try to get some exposure, get as much exposure to the people as we can.

AMP: How do you think you guys played tonight?

Sergio: I think we played cool, I think we were tight. I think the crowd took a little while to warm up, but ya know, they got started, I dont think they were expecting anything like us today.

AMP: No, no way, not at all. Well, thank you for letting me interview you.

Sergio: Anytime jAy

Interviewer: jAy Ingram

Interviewed: Sergio Curbelo